The Mantality.co.za Blog

One of the coolest flying gadgets on the planet just got better! Previously the Parrot AR.Drone iPhone controlled Quadricopter was only available to fly (using the iphone FreeFlight App) with iphones, ipod touches and ipads. Now the makers of this insanely addictive flying device have released an Android App as well, so just about anybody that owns a tablet or smartphone worth its salt (IMHO Blackberry is a little on the skids as of late) can now fly one of these.

To use the FreeFlight application, your Android phone or tablet must meet the following criteria:
Your device must be running Android version 2.2 (or a later version). To check what version of Android is installed on your phone, go to Settings > About phone > Software information > Android version.

• The screen of your device must have the Multitouch function. Please refer to the user guide or specifications for your phone for more information.
• Your device must have an accelerometer. Please refer to the user guide or specifications for your phone for more information.

Get your Parrot AR.Drone today or find out more and how to download FreeFlight for Android here.

Whilst living in London, I found a company called Lovefilm which (back then) worked on a novel concept of hiring DVDs through the post. How it worked was that you would sign up; create a wishlist of titles you’d like to watch; select how many DVDs you’d like to keep at any one time; and as and when watched movies are returned new titles would be posted out. Genius!

Now, the British postal service is super quick so this makes it a very attractive option over there. Our postal service, (which I have immense faith in, and am constantly impressed by) although a day or two slower (i.e. 3 working days) does not make a viable choice from a postage point of view - more time would spent waiting for the DVDs to arrive than getting your money’s worth. Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve never been much of a non-fiction fan, I could never see the point of paging through reams of trivial story lines featuring humdrum characters, in mundane locations, going on about their everyday waffle - crafted and put to paper by some pencil-pushing keyboard-jockey, hopped up on a enough Union Roast coffee to make a Hanoverian Warmblood slightly woozy. Shouldn’t one be putting such time to good use, like reading a macho title along the lines of “Feats of Engineering in the 21st Century”, or “How To Profile People Like an Undercover CIA Operative”; hang on that one actually sounds quite interesting - but you get the point.  But all this self-induced fictional abstinence was a completely unfounded and a grossly unjust perception I bestowed upon this genre of writing. I can almost hear the snarky cliche “never judge a book by its cover.”

So I set about researching, finding (and reading) a few titles that fit a set of predefined criteria. And low and behold I hit the nail on the head and found precisely the genre of titles and authors I was looking for. And loads of ‘em too. Read the rest of this entry »

Hairier than a yeti’s nut sack, the Orlando Towers king swing is sure to have you whimpering like a school boy in anticipation - or at least put a bit of fluff on that thar chest of yours. Experience an exhilarating 100m plunge between two giant cooling towers, hurtling toward the ground at break-neck speeds, having the scream literally sucked out of you, whilst wondering if your heart is supposed to be that close to your adam’s apple. Sound like fun? Read the rest of this entry »

Roses, chocolates, silly teddy bears and dinners for two are fairly drab fun, but c’mon you can be a bit more creative once and a while can’t you - why not inject a bit of four-stroked adventure into an otherwise tame occasion. And with an outdoor adventure involving quad bikes on the cards: watch her perk up at the thought of having 500cc’s pulsating between her thighs for a few hours - oh and you being there will be nice too. Read the rest of this entry »

MilkMag is a new format uber-entertaining lad mag that is not only choc full of eye candy for men, but is very easy on the pocket too. Well, it’s free, so it doesn’t get much easier than that I’m afraid . And would you believe it’s “made in South Africa”. Read the rest of this entry »

Mantality.co.za will always have a soft spot for the underdog, and while Kalahari.net is essentially South Africa’s Amazon.com - not mentioning Wantitall.co.za which very originally pretty much just regurgitates Amazon.com’s offering down to the tee and then charges a hefty markup as well as only delivering your order in 20 working days. Read the rest of this entry »

Given that I devour magazines by the shed load each week, I was thrilled to stumbled upon Zinio Digital Magazines some time back, and was utterly amazed at the selection of digital titles available.

There is simply no better way to stay current with your field or subject of choice than by sitting down and brisking through the pages of a magazine and discovering the insightful and entertaining articles found in most premium titles. Read the rest of this entry »