MarcForrest.com

Blog

Weekly Tech Show on Ballito Life & Style FM

A few weeks ago, the guys from our local community radio station, in Ballito, Life & Style 88FM, asked me to join them once a week to present a weekly tech slot during their Monday afternoon drive show.

I was really excited to join them, as I often come across cool apps, tips and tricks & gadgets which usually share with people around me. I should, in fact, be blogging them on this platform, but alas!

I actually will be doing this again soon! I have decided to share all the content I share on the tech show in a weekly blog post here. These will be shared after the show on a Monday with links to all the apps & link to the podcast

So if you are keen, you can listen to the show on a Monday afternoon between 5 & 6 pm via their online site http://lifeandstyle.fm/ or through the TuneIn radio app or if you lucky enough to live in Ballito, on 88FM :)

You can also catch up with the weekly podcast on Mixcloud here -> https://www.mixcloud.com/marc-forrest/playlists/talking-tech-on-88fm/

July 31, 2017
What are Fidget Spinners and why are they the craze!!

If you have kids between the ages of 5-25 (or even 45 :)) you may or may not have heard of Fidget Spinners. They are they new craze and kids are going crazy for them.

Essentially Fidget spinners are moulded plastic or metallic devices that have bearings in them, and you then spin them. The fun comes in when there are a whole bunch of tricks that you can do as well. Think back to the Yo-Yo in 87, and you on the same path.

After my kids continue to nag me for days, I eventually got them one and loved the concept. And so, Fidgety, an online Fidget Spinner shop, was born. I have been sourcing stock from a number of people and going to keep adding some of the coolest spinners around. We already have stock of the awesome LED Fidget Spinners, as well as the Tri Fidget Spinners.

I have seen a couple of really cool videos online with guys doing tricks, so will post those on the Fidget Spinners Tips & Tricks page, as well as on our Facebook page.

We offer overnight courier (to major centres) around South Africa for R100, or if you stay in the Durban/Ballito area, you are welcome to collect from us.

Keep watching, cause I suspect this craze is only get bigger and bigger!!

May 2, 2017
Introducing iStore Makers

As many of you know one of my favorite “passion projects” was a concept called iPhoneograpy I co-founded in 2011 with the team from iStore. The concept was a platform for anyone to enter their iPhone photography into a competition and then have an annual exhibition. iPhoneography grew into something amazing, and soon started gaining a massive following. It has been exciting to see how the concept has grown over the years, and it’s largely thanks to the team at iStore!

So now, after 5 years of amazing exhibtions we have turned iPhoneography around and enter iStore Makers. iStore Makers is a platform that allows http://www.istoremakers.myistore.co.za/login/anyone to signup and upload photos & illustrations that have been created using a Mac, iPhone or iPad. This opens up a whole new world, and a new channel to showcasing some of the best talent we have in this space.

Below is an excerpt from the blog post I did on the iStore Makers Blog explaining what it is all about

So you’ve been part of the iPhoneography family for a while now. For some of you it started way back in 2011 and for others, you submitted your first masterpiece to the competition in 2015. But somehow it feels like you have been part of this forever. What started as a small group of hopefuls in 2011, experimenting with their iPhones and capturing meaningful moments, has now grown to a community of over 4000 iPhoneographers who over the past 5 years have taken over 18000 epic photo’s and won some even more epic prizes ranging from iPods to iPads to MacBook Airs. Every year we’ve gathered in Johannesburg and Cape Town to proudly show off what you have created at the iPhoneography exhibition. Whether it was a portrait of your dog, something abstract that caught your eye or a proudly South African piece, we’ve loved them all.

In fact, we’ve loved them so much that this year we’ve decided to start something bigger and better. It’s obvious that you’re a pretty talented bunch. Not only do you have a knack for taking some spectacular photographs, but some of you are creating beautiful illustrations that are getting us really excited. So we’ve widened the opportunity for you to now submit photographs as well as illustrations on any one of your favourite Apple products. It’s totally up to you.

And here’s the kicker. Gone are the days of the annual iPhoneography competition and only catching up with fellow iPhoneographers once or twice a year. We’re taking this thing to a whole new level. You now get to create, be inspired and share all year round. With opportunities to learn more with the latest tips and tricks, get involved in a variety of events and enter tons more competitions, we think you’re going to love it. Because we know you love to make cool stuff. That’s why we’re calling it Makers. And we can’t wait to tell you all about it!

I’m excited to see where iStore Makers go. Each month a panel of judges will vote on who has the best entry for that month, and there is a R1000 iStore voucher up for grabs each month. Then at the end of the year, there will be an overall judging of all entries throughout the year, with an iPad Pro & Apple Pencil for the winner.

To check out what iStore Makers is all about, visit the site at https://www.myistore.co.za/istoremakers/

February 10, 2017
Buying Bitcoins in South Africa

If you been following the trends online you will see Bitcoin is becoming more and more prevalent in today’s day and age. I can’t profess to know too much about Bitcoin or what it means for the future (there are some very clever people out there who do know) but I realised that it might be worth getting on the Bitcoin bandwagon sooner rather than later. The price of Bitcoin is currentley at it’s highest and is moving on up!

Bitcoin is a virtual currency that was created in 2010, and allows people to use it online to pay for things. In some places you can even use it as real world currency, so it is gaining traction.

I have been doing a bit of reading and digging to find out how to buy bitcoins in South Africa. Obviously, Bitcoins are quite pricy for 1 BTC (around R14,000 at the time of writing) so you can buy in smaller fractions, and I suppose eventually work your way up to full Bitcoins.

Bitcoin Wallets

The first thing you need is a . There are a number of ways you can do this, like storing them on your PC, online or even in a community or buyers. I wanted something simple, so after a bit of digging I came across . This is an online Bitcoin wallet which allows you to store you Bitcoins safely and securely. The only thing you can’t do is buy and sell Bitcoins through . This is not too much of an issue though, as you can still send & receive bitcoins

Purchasing Bitcoins

Once you have your Bitcoin wallet setup, you will then need to start . Now this is not as simple as walking into a bank and buying foreign currency, as there are a number of bitcoin exchanges where you buy and sell bitcoin. One of the more popular exchanges in SA is called Luno, although I haven’t used it (yet)

After some digging around I eventually found a platform called which allows you to purchase Bitcoins either in your currency or using online payment platforms like PayPal. I found a trusted seller in South Africa where I could pay via EFT, and bought R150 worth of bitcoin. This only works out to a measly 0.0106 BTC, but hey it’s a start :)

I went through the motions and did an EFT and the Bitcoins were deposited into my account. I then was able to move them over to my wallet where I can monitor them. The key to this site is to ensure you are buying from a trusted “seller” All sellers have ratings and the site is closely monitored for fraud etc.

There are also international sellers who allow you to pay via PayPal, but you have to ensure you have a verified account before you can proceed with these. The only con against using something like is that the price you are buying the bitcoins for is a lot higher than the going published bitcoin rate. As an example when I bought mine the “official” bitcoin price was around R14,000 but the going rate on was around R16,000, so you definitely get the shorter straw.

There is another way to buy Bitcoin using PayPal, using a site called , but it is quite a trick to get it right, and also a couple of fees and takes a while to get authorised. I will do another post on this way soon, and also test it out to see if it works.

Disclaimer: As I said above I am absolutely no professional on how Bitcoin works, and what the ins and outs are. These posts are merely my research into how it all works, and can’t gaurantee anything. I am testing the waters to see what all the “hype” is about. I’ll be updating the blog with some of my findings as I go along :) I will also be enabling comments on this post for disucssion if anyone has some info or tips about Bitcoin
Some of the links above are affiliate links which could help me and support me with this research

January 4, 2017
Review: Sushi Ninja, Ballito

Living in a small town like Ballito it’s a fairly common site to see new restaurants opening up, especially before the silly season. But there are also a few restaurants that have stood the test of time, and just keep going & going and you have to make a booking any time of the year to get in.

And that’s where Brett Michelin from Mozambik is a winner. He just “knows” the business, and is probably one of the most successful business owners I know!

So when a new spot called Sushi Ninja popped up on the raider, and word was that it was Brett’s new venture, we KNEW we had to get down there. So we did. And I am so glad we did…

So a bit of a back story around my sushi journey. In 2007 I went on a company incentive trip to Mauritius. We went deep sea fishing one day, and came back with a sizer of a tuna. The hotel chef offered to cut it up for us and offered us platters of fresh tuna. And there was a lot. Like too much, and we ate tuna until we couldn’t anymore. And I was all tuna’d out. I couldn’t look at any raw fish for years or even begin to try tuna or any type of sushi again.

But slowly over the last couple of months I have been sneaking a little bite here and there, but until last week, I had never ordered a full plate of sushi. And then came Sushi Ninja!!!

Sushi Ninja, is a small little area outside the popular Mozambik, with a couple of tables and a chef’s station where the master sushi chef France, does his magic. France comes with loads of experience, and prepares all the sushi fresh in front of you.

The menu options are pretty standard, with a couple of additional surprises, when it comes to sushi and very reasonably priced. The seafood used in the sushi is fresh as well, and full of flavour. The best item on the menu for me was the salmon battleships, which were delicious!!

Ballito doesn’t offer too many sushi options, so if you looking for flavorsome and well priced sushi, I highly recommend Sushi Ninja. Be sure to give France a hi-five on the way out to say thanks for the amazing sushi & service ;)

Disclaimer: I was not asked by Sushi Ninja or Zomato to write this blog post

December 9, 2016