Let’s start in town.

Table Mountain | You can’t miss it

Cape Town’s standout natural highlight is shaped, you guessed it, like a table. When it is drenched in a low-forming cloud, which drips over the edges, that is called the tablecloth. It is beautiful. Use your phone’s wide-angle setting for a picture.

The mountain creates a natural amphitheatre for the city, and the views get better as you go higher up the slopes.

The entire area around it is a nature reserve, and you can walk and drive around a lot of it. Be warned: the local knife-wielding tsotsis (gangsters) don’t care what a mugging will do to South Africa’s international reputation or about tourist sentiment. I wouldn’t go walking in the reserve or try climbing the mountain – which is still a great thing to do, I am reliably told.

I’ve often driven people along Tafelberg Road (which is Afrikaans for Table Mountain) and passed the cableway base station to see the view of Cape Town further along the mountain.

Table Mountain Aerial Cableway | 5821 Tafelberg Rd, Table Mountain, 8001

To get up to the top of Table Mountain, there is a cable car, which is a delight in itself. The views of the city bowl and the harbour are glorious. It runs from 8AM to 6:30PM and you should buy tickets online before you go – which can generally only be judged the day before, the locals tell me. The views truly are impressive, but don’t stand too close to the edge when taking selfies, okay?

Lion’s Head Hiking Trail | Signal Hill Rd, Signal Hill, 8001

A popular, and safer, hiking route is to climb Lion’s Head, Cape Town’s other well-known, non-furniture-resembling mountain. You can drive to the start of the hiking trail and mostly walk up there in an hour. The view is spectacular. There’s always someone selling ice-creams from a cooler box.

Other non-practising fitness fanatics like me, can still get a great view by driving around the next big-name mountain, Signal Hill. It’s named for the noonday gun, which sits on top and is fired, you guessed it, at noon every day.

The car park has a coffee truck and, often, a vendor selling a must-have South Africana, a soft-serve ice cream. A flake is definitely necessary. If the seller is driving a still-going 1970s Volkswagen bus, then the experience will be complete.

The view is glorious, looking down on the oval of the 2010 FIFA World Cup folly that is the Cape Town Stadium, with Robben Island in the bay.

There is one of those giant yellow picture frames if you want yourself seen inside them, and a couple of paragliding outfits, that will fly you, in tandem, off the edge right there.

Camps Bay

After a morning of sightseeing, pop down to Camps Bay for lunch and walk on the beach. Any of the seafood restaurants will be fine, as will any of the bars serving beer, cocktails and bubbly all day. It’s a good place to go for a sundowner in town too.

The drive down Camps Bay Drive from the mountains is spectacular. There are a few benches on that road and near Signal Hill that I always stop at and do my email when I am in Cape Town on business. I’m still mostly staring at my screen, but in between messages, I look up at the splendour on offer. Call me old-fashioned.

Hout Bay | Hout Bay, 7806

If you keep driving along the sea road, you will get to another charming community called Hout Bay. It was once a small fishing community (like most small Cape Town towns, it has a harbour) and has retained that villagey feel despite being as developed (and mainstream) as any part of Cape Town now. During the dark days of Apartheid, the liberal hippies who tended to live there in the 1980s made their own faux passport emblazoned with “Republic of Hout Bay”. Mzansi’s full name is the Republic of South Africa, hence the joke.

There was a famous story of a guy who travelled the world using it, when South Africa’s green passport (still called a green mamba, after the poisonous snake) was banned by most countries. I wish I could track him down. Inbox me if you know anything, please.

You can have lunch just about anywhere in Hout Bay and get good seafood. I have eaten at Mariner’s Wharf Harbour Front Emporium a few times, mainly because the views are spectacular.

Chapman’s Peak

Arguably Cape Town’s most beautiful drive is out towards Chapman’s Peak. The similarly named Chapman’s Peak Drive is free to the edge of the viewpoint, where you can park and take pictures of the glorious vista. The views back to Hout Bay and of another scenically well-placed mountain are fantastic. As many selfies have been taken here as on Table Mountain.

If you are planning to see the penguins, then carry on over, and drive through the remarkable feat of engineering that produced a cantilevered overhang. I always loved this as a kid.

The second-best drive, by the way, is the return journey – via Boyes Drive above Kalk Bay (below).

Noordhoek Beach | Noordhoek, Cape Town, 7979

The first beach you will see is Noordhoek Beach, a long strip of whiteish sand ideal for a long, usually windy walk. I honestly can’t tell you anything else about the area, because all I have ever done is walk on the beach – where you’ll often see horses doing the same.

Go home now, do not pass penguins

At this point, if you don’t want to go see the penguins, you can either go down to Cape Point or turn left just before Sun Valley and go home via Ou Kaapse Weg (Old Cape Road), which winds through the beautiful, thick fynbos of the Silver Mine nature reserve.

Cape Point Nature Reserve | Cape Peninsula, Simon’s Town, 7995

If you have ever wanted to go to the bottom point of Africa – and/or tell people that you have – then keep going south from Noordhoek. Noordhoek Main Road actually turns into Ou Kaapse Weg. Turn left at the big robot intersection in Sun Valley onto Kommetjie Road (M65) and through the charming seaside village of Kommetjie.

As you leave, the road name changes to Main Road, then morphs into Red Hill Road and then right onto Plateau Road. After about 25 minutes since Kommetjie you’ll turn right onto the accurately, but cheesily named, Cape of Good Hope Drive and the Cape Point National Park Toll Gate. Follow the road to the end of the world – or as close as the tourism authorities allow you to go, anyway.

The Flying Dutchman funicular had not been built when I was there as a kid. It takes you up to an old lighthouse, and the appropriately named Two Oceans Restaurant – also the name of a major road race. There is another food stop selling sandwiches, pizza, salads, beer and biltong, if you want to picnic, er, on the outside tables. Okay, in amongst the wilds of Africa.

You can obviously get a flat white, chai latte and Café mocha at the end of the world these days. There are cottages available if you want to spend the night at Africa’s southernmost tip.

Okay, at last, we get to the penguins.

Boulders Beach | Simon’s Town, Cape Town, 7995

The African Penguin colony living on Boulders Beach are a must-see attraction, especially if you are travelling with children. Once called the Jackass penguins because of their donkey-like braying, they waddle around on land and dive majestically off the rocks. It is quite rare to see a penguin up close (if you don’t live in Antarctica) and they are as quirky and unique as they seem in nature documentaries. There are about 2,000 of these endangered birds and it is rare for penguins to make their homes near large cities. This really isn’t something you can do every day. There is no cost involved, but please don’t feed them, or the dassies.

The other must-see residents, albeit not as famous, are those dassies – which are 4-5 kilogram rabbit-like rodents that are officially named rock hyrax. These mostly plant-eaters live in the rocks and emerge for scraps from tourists with adorable waddles and abundant cuteness. They are kind of like beach Ewoks, who live in rocks on a beach, instead of trees on a small forest moon.

While you are there, go for lunch in nearby Kalk Bay.

Olympia Café | 134 Main Rd, Kalk Bay, 7975

The Olympia is an institution in Kalk Bay, where hippies and then the rest of us have been going for decades. It’s a great breakfast or brunch spot too.

Harbour House | Harbour, Main Rd, Kalk Bay, 7975

For lunch, Harbour House is as legendary. Perched on the rocks next to Kalk Bay’s small concrete harbour, it has views of the sea, and the sea splashing onto the rocks below. The food is as good as the view. Downstairs is an excellent bar with the same views, only lower. There is a seal that hangs out in the harbour and seems to know how to pose for the camera, which it has been doing for much longer than Instagram.

Brass Bell | Main Rd, Kalk Bay, 7990

The Brass Bell is a renowned bar that has a great view for a sundowner, or an afternoon of lazy drinking. It is also on the rocks, as well as serving things on them, and has a good selection of drinks.

If you want to repeat the scenic route, return the way you came. But if you want to head straight back to Cape Town, then you can experience the coast’s second-most beautiful drive. From Kalk Bay, you drive up winding roads to Boyes Drive, which gives a glorious view of the seaside below. The road hugs the mountain, with the Silver Mine nature reserve on your left.

This drive is on a par with taking winding Ou Kaapse Weg (Old Cape Road) after Noordhoek, if you wanted to return after Chapman’s Peak Drive. This original pass over this mountain neck dates back to the early days of the country, I’m told, and the Cape Fynbos – which is part of the sprawling Silver Mine nature reserve – is beautiful.

Both roads come out at the same on-ramp to the M3 highway which takes you back to Cape Town.

Things to do in Cape Town

Robben Island Museum | Robben Island, Cape Town, 7400

If the ferry is running, it’s well worth a trip to see Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela famously spent most of his 27 years in jail. After Alcatraz, it’s arguably the second most famous island prison (Napoleon’s St Helena also had one famous prisoner) and achieved notoriety during Apartheid. Seeing the bleak, almost medieval, harshness of how the prisoners lived, but still maintained their humanity and the struggle is amazing.

Two Oceans Aquarium | Dock Rd, Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, 8002

If you have kids and want to see fish underwater, then the aquarium is your friend. The Two Oceans Aquariumis in the Waterfront, and therefore very central. I really like aquariums, so I am always happy to go see fish swimming. You should buy tickets before, if you can. It is surrounded by a giant shopping mall, if your thing is shopping malls. You can either wander around it remarking on how the stores are the same, or are different. The Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa is a worth a visits, if nothing else to see the excellent way these old silos were repurposed to include a hotel at the top.

Castle of Good Hope | Darling St & Buitenkant St, Cape Town, 8001

If you are truly bored, or if it’s raining and you have kids, or you watched too many vampire reboots and think castles are cool, then visit Cape Town’s very first European-built building. The Castle of Good Hope was built by the Dutch East India Company starting in 1666 (I am not making that up), on the site of the mud and wood first fort and has five stars named after long-dead people. We had to learn them by rote at school.

You can see the oldest bell in South Africa too, which was cast in Amsterdam in 1697, and marvel at its 300 kilograms. Whether you can ring it…

I was thoroughly bored when I was taken to the castle as a kid, and I doubt this seaside fort has gotten any more interesting. It does, however, have the distinction, according to its own website of being “considered the best-preserved example of a 17th-century architectural structure in the entire world”. You have been warned.

Sagrada Familia | Carrer de Mallorca, 401, 08013 Barcelona

Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia cathedral is a wonder to behold, not least because it’s still incomplete over a hundred years later. It took building technology that long to catch up to Gaudi’s vision. But the invention of concrete reinforced with steel has enabled the cathedral’s amazing and detailed tall spires to finally be completed. I am mesmerised every time I go there. The sheer size of the building, which was started in 1882 although Gaudi only took over as architect the following year, is as mind-blowing as the attention to details – and there are many, many details.

Inspired by nature, Gaudi wove these influences into all his work. The giant five-story columns look like the branches of small sapling trees, while the spectacular starburst ceiling feel like sunflowers looking down at you. You can spend half an hour outside the main doors just standing and staring at the incredible embellishment of the building. The themes are obviously biblical and are abundant. It’s well worth the visit as long as you book well in advance.

I’m lucky to have been invited to the annual MWC Barcelona telecoms conferences quite regularly over the last 15 years and have seen the progress. Watch this video to see what it will ultimately look like when it’s finished. Time Magazine also has a great feature on it too. You have to book online at sagradafamilia.org.

Casa Batlló | Passeig de Gràcia, 43, 08007 Barcelona

Casa Batlló is another Antoni Gaudi’s pieces, and is his most mature work to date, not least an architectural and creative feat. It’s my favourite of his buildings and the rooftop arches are arguably the most beautiful. The rooves of Barcelona buildings were used as the laundry and were dank, smelly places. But his famed Catalonian arches are pure genius, allowing in light and wind but keeping out rain.

Get the audio guide when you visit, because it reveals useful info about the various details. You have to book online at casabatllo.es.

Casa Mila | Provença, 261-265, 08008 Barcelona

Casa Batlló is situated on Passeig de Gràcia, essentially Barcelona’s Fifth Ave, an upper-class street with all the major fashion houses. A few blocks up the road is Casa Mila, nicknamed La Pedrera (the quarry), which was Gaudi’s attempt at a block of flats and communal living.

It’s perhaps architecturally less impressive, but still very interesting and worth the tour. The roof is awesome, with elegant chimneys that are artworks more than exhausts. The views from the roof are exquisite, of surrounding Barcelona, including Sagrada Familia.

Passeig de Gràcia | Barcelona

Passeig de Gràcia is a great place to shop all the luxury and high street brands. It continues up the drag, as it were, from las Ramblas and the grand Plaça de Catalunya square.

Think of it as a high-class shopping centre, in the old-fashioned European style. It’s a classic high street, that just happens to have two of the most amazing Gaudi buildings on it. It’s also a great place to grab little tapas.

Muji Passeig de Gràcia | Passeig de Gràcia, 21, 08007 Barcelona

The good news is Muji has opened several stores, including a flagship store on this main drag. I am a huge fan of Muji, which is Japanese for “brand of no brand”. Its simple elegance is quintessential Japanese design, with practicality as important as aesthetics. Muji’s travel accessories are legendary. The 50ml bottles are the ideal size for flying, as are the thoughtful pouches and other must-haves. Half of my own essential travel gear is from Muji. This is an ode I once wrote to its minimalist elegance.

Park Güell | Gràcia, 08024 Barcelona

Another great Gaudi creation is Park Güell. Situated on a hill, it has panoramic views of Barcelona and the famous dragon stairway. You’ll recognise it by the hoards taking selfies with the dragon itself. Inside the park are two of his buildings that have some of his furniture and other things from that period.

Barcelona Pavilion | Av. de Francesc Ferrer i Guàrdia, 7, Sants-Montjuïc, 08038

Near the original Fira conference venue, where MWC Barcelona used to be held, are a few interesting nearby attractions. A short walk up the hill is arguably the most important piece of modern-day architecture: Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s iconic Barcelona Pavilion.

You’ll instantly recognise the floor-to-ceiling glass walls that predominate now from his eternal design, and the Barcelona chairs he made to place inside it.

Considering it was built in 1929 as the German Pavilion for the World Exposition (this is a reconstruction rebuilt in the 1980s), it’s a sign of how profoundly good his design genius was. The chairs, incidentally, were a gift of the king and queen of Spain at the time. I think of this glorious house as the birthplace of modern architecture.

Parc de Joan Miró | C/ d’Aragó, 2, L’Eixample, 08015

Another famed son of Barcelona is Joan Miró, who designed the logo of La Caixo bank – surely the only bank to be able to boast such a distinguished designer. Just near the Fira is Miró’s famed 22m high Woman and Bird sculpture, which is worth a look. Head away from the Fira, across Plaza Espanya, passed the revamped bull ring (which is now a shopping centre, talk about the centre of popular culture moving from bullfighting to shopping) to see it.

La Rambla | 08002 Barcelona

La Rambla is the famous street that tourists flock to, and the best place to experience Barcelona’s notoriously good pickpockets. Be especially aware of them near the Fira too. Walk down La Rambla for the experience, but beware: it’s tourist trap hell. Do it once, if you decide to go down to the waterfront, which is a great place for a meal too.

Eating out in Barcelona

My favourite dish is jamón ibérico, the acorn-fed, cured ham leg that is marbled with juicy fat and tastes like Spain. Catalan cuisine is slightly different from Spanish, and the local bread is often smeared with a tomato/olive oil/garlic spread that is also very traditional. It’s often served as a starter in restaurants, but I’ve often had it for lunch. It’s called “pan con tomate” (in Spanish) or “pan tumaca” (in Catalan). At very function, there will be a cured leg that a waiter slowly, and painstakingly, cuts off slivers of this tantalisingly good pork.

Smallish baguettes are also on sale for a few euros, including at the Fira conference venue (buy one at 10am for lunch, as the queues at lunchtime are prohibitively long) and the airport. It’s usually my last meal.

Try all the other tapas dishes, as per your tastes, but the paella is a must. It’s considered a lunch meal, not strictly for dinner, but it’s always available.

You can pretty much get a good meal at any bistro in Barcelona. These are a few I have eaten at:

Mi Burrito y Yo | Carrer del Pas de l’Ensenyança, 2, Ciutat Vella, 08002

If you want a meal in the old Gothic Quarter (and you do) then this quirky restaurant is a good one. I walked passed this restaurant last year with a bunch of other people and randomly chose to sit down and have a meal. Needless to say, the experience was wonderful and the food excellent.

Mercat de Santa Caterina | Av. de Francesc Cambó, 16, 08003

For breakfast, or just for some fresh fruit, go to arguably the most beautiful food market you’ll ever see. Mercat de Santa Caterina was the old market that has since been given a glorious upgrade.

I’ve also eaten at Ciutat Comtal, a very traditional Catalan bistro which serves great tapas. Quimet & Quimet is yet another legendary restaurant that’s worth the visit.

Sure, ‘IBM PC‘ might evoke people doing dull things in dull offices, rather than the cool things people do with computers today. But this was 1981. IBM‘s debut PC, the 5150, revolutionised the market … despite the fact that it failed to outperform its rivals and was light on features unless you became light of wallet buying a load of upgrades prior to plugging the thing in. But to borrow a later Apple phrase, IBM quickly won out because it could ‘think different’.

Hang on, IBM was a lumbering monolith. How did it think different?

By doubling down on the notion of not being unique. That sounds counter-intuitive, but bear in mind the market at the time was all about proprietary everything. People were tired of that, so IBM upended the industry by basing its system on standard off-the-shelf parts and open architecture. Users were encouraged to poke around. Third parties could plug holes in the ecosystem and then expand on it – all without permission or interference from  IBM. The 5150 was an instant success and IBM quickly dominated.

So why aren’t we all using IBM PCs, IBM phones and IBM smartwatches today?

That ‘open’ thing was a double-edged sword. Inevitably, the industry bellowed: “Send in the clones!’ Within a year, IBM was staring at cheap ‘copies’ of its creation. Before long, no one was referring to ‘IBM PCs’ nor even ‘IBM-compatible PCs’. Compaq, Microsoft and Intel called the shots. And by the mid-2000s, IBM had exited the market it created. That might sound like failure, but as the late Charles Pankenier, IBM’s director of comms for the PC, once said, its legacy is nothing less than legitimising computing at the personal level.

Keep discovering

Don’t be that person who insists music died after an arbitrary year that’s in your head. Your phone provides access to countless songs. Use digital radio and streaming service recommendations to seek out music that’s new to you, and ensure your listening habits don’t become as stale as an Osmonds tribute act.

Test your ears

Are you an audiophile? Are you sure? Do yourself a favour and blind-test whether your ears can actually tell the difference between good-quality streaming and hi-res audio downloads. If you can’t, that might make you glum, but it’ll make things a lot simpler when playing music on mobile.

Buy the right kit

What is it you want to do with music and your phone? Block out the world? Get a pair of noise-cancelling in-ear buds or, for maximum isolation, over-ear cans. Blast your favourite songs into every room in your home? Try Apple HomePods or a Sonos setup. Pretend it’s 1983? Search for ‘cassette player phone case’ on Redbubble.

Pin your picks

There will always be albums that are special to you. Flag their tracks as favourites in streaming services to serve up more of the same. Pin them in Spotify. Also, add them to home screens as shortcuts or widgets. The free iOS app Albums: Music Shortcuts has great widgets for that – and within the app itself there’s also a nostalgic Cover Flow view.

Take it offline

You won’t always have instant internet access. So unless you want to listen to what an airline foists on you at 30,000 feet, or birds arguing when hiking in the wilderness, download favourites and keep them on your device. Maybe even consider buying DRM-free albums to own, rather than being at the whim of streaming services.

STASH TRACKS

Build playlists

If you like a tidy music library, chuck all the things you’ve not listened to yet into a bespoke playlist. Even better, if you’re on an iPhone/iPad, use MusicBox (R60) as a place to audition tracks that you’d like to check out later.

Swipe it up

For a handy combination of discovery and stashing, Recs by Discz (free with IAP on Android and iOS) is excellent. It borrows from Tinder, having you swipe through a stack of song cards to dismiss or like each one. The latter tracks go onto a Spotify playlist.

RETURN TO ALBUMS

Shift your habits

Turning decades of recorded music into a giant jukebox is fine, but delving back into the art of the long player can feel great. Filter your streaming view to albums, pick one, and resist the urge to skip.

Force LPs

If you don’t trust yourself and have an iPhone, Longplay gives you a grid of synced albums that you can re-order via various means. Tap one and it starts to play; further options lurk behind a long tap, but avoid them for best effect.

FINE-TUNE SOUNDS

Go Mono

Apps and operating systems can convert stereo to mono output – which is handy when wearing a single earbud to keep one ear on the world and avoid getting run over, or when your phone’s playing music in portrait, which makes nonsense of stereo.

Use EQ

Even the best phones have weedy bass when you play audio through their speakers. Try boosting it at the system level, or use a player that lets you fiddle with EQ levels.

Sing your heart out

Spotify provides lyrics for personal karaoke sessions, but Apple Music goes much further. If you see a mic button in the lyrics view, tap it to silence the main vocal and croon with your own gorgeous voice instead.

GO RETRO

Bring back the iPod

Because Apple lacks a nostalgia gland and a sense of humour, it smashes iPod tributes to dust (RIP Rewound). Google has no such cruel urges, and so retroPod (free) brings clickwheel glee to Android.

Try virtual vinyl

Should your format choice be more old-school, try the suitably named iOS app Vinyl Fetish (free with IAP), which bases playback around virtual records you can customise. This app gives you a virtual record for entire albums, not individual tracks.

PERFECT PLAYERS

Poweramp | Android

Poweramp is packed full of features. It’ll play almost any audio file you load on your phone, whereupon you can fiddle with everything from skins to EQ… and thereby consider yourself a unique genius until your friends bring you to your senses.

Dopper | iOS

If you’re an iPhone owner who still buys music (albeit digitally), Doppler will happily play whatever format you throw its way from any source. It’ll organise your audio too, searching for missing artwork and combining albums with multiple discs.

Cs Music Pro | iOS

If your main gripe with Apple’s Music app is that it was fine before Apple sidelined your music in favour of its streaming service, Cs will be bliss. It reimagines the classic app focusing on what you love – not what Apple wants you to love.

Most phones come with a notes app baked in but those are generally pretty bland and don’t offer much in the way of features. These apps, on the other hand, are purpose-built for chronicling your life or jotting down your thoughts. They’re (mostly) free or at the very least won’t charge you to download them.

1 Second Everyday Journal
Taking the modern-day fad for brief videos to its logical conclusion, this app asks you to select one second of footage from every day of your life. At the end of a decade, you’ll be able to watch a 1hr memory trip with more slam cuts (and probably more coherence) than a Michael Bay flick. Don’t want that commitment? It’s good for short ad-hoc projects too.
Free (IAP) / Android, iOS

Day One
This giant of digital journalling is the closest in nature to a paper diary, in that it lets you record your life in the way that best works for you. The app excels because of its flexibility, being well suited to folks who just want to make photo grids or map views from recent events, or anyone who strongly believes that every journal entry should be comparable in length to War And Peace.
Free (IAP) / Android, iOS

5 Minute Journal
Some might grumble at this app’s insistence you “surround yourself with what brings you joy” and “be in a state of gratitude”. But it has a point: this methodology can make you more mindful and boost positivity. And a five-minute journal in digital form brings advantages by allowing you to integrate images and video, and dig into meditation sessions and other helpful guides.
Free (IAP) / Android, iOS

Presently
The other apps in this roundup are keen to bolt on features, and then gate them behind payment. Not Presently, which is free and to the point. For each day, it asks what you’ve been grateful for. Tap a lightbulb and you get a new prompt. In the settings, you can adjust a few aspects of how the app looks, and that’s about it; but this all comes across as refined and focused, not brutally basic.
Free / Android

Moodistory
This one has you record how you feel day to day, rating your mood from 1 to 5 and adding context through journal entries. Inputs build to form a colourful calendar that lets you make connections between moods, days and activities. Well, that’s as long as you don’t spend all day laughing at text prompts whose wording makes it sound like you’ve murdered someone: “What did you do?”
Free (IAP) / Android, iOS

MealSnap
For health reasons – or because they inexplicably really like taking photos of food – many people shoot snaps of every meal. This app stores such pics and adds context through snack counts and portion sizes. This can be handy for tracking without the dull minutiae of calorie counting… or for lovingly pawing at pictures of meals without inflicting them on the rest of us via Instagram.
Free (IAP) / iOS

Now read: Mini Meme – Bots you can fit in your pocket

Hit and hope – You’re at the mercy of your device’s maker regarding when/if you’ll actually get Android 14, and which goodies will end up on your smartphone. The tips here are for vanilla Android – your options might differ. If you have a Pixel 4a or newer, head to ‘System update’ in the settings to check if the revamped OS is waiting for you.

Lock it down – Security is a major part of Android 14. It’ll block ancient apps built for Android 5.1 or older – although anything already on your phone will still run. Passkey support is improved, and there are new PIN input options. In ‘Security and privacy’ > ‘Device unlock’ > ‘Screen lock’, you can disable animations to thwart people nosing over your shoulder as you type to unlock.

Share the love – Android has a default share sheet, but some apps override it to add custom components. Android 14 seeks to stop this by giving app creators ‘ChooserAction’ slots that surface key commands within the standard share sheet. The redesign also makes it clearer what your action will do, such as sharing a link or an image.

Check your battery – Android 14 is optimised for battery life, and tracking options are improved. In Settings > Battery > ‘Battery usage’, there’s a welcome return for ‘Screen time since last full charge’, which helps you understand phone use. For background drainage, dig into ‘View by systems’ to see what’s eating your battery.

Adjust alerts

Splash the flash – In Settings, go to Notifications > ‘Flash notifications’. Toggle and preview options to flash your camera and/or screen when a notification arrives. This feature is designed for the hard of hearing but can benefit anyone surrounded by noise.

Fine-tune volumes – In the ‘Sound and vibration’ section of Settings, you now have the means to define separate volume levels for your ringtone and notifications. So you can make alerts more subtle but still be sure to never miss a call.

Read more easily

Go (really) large – You could already scale fonts in Android (Settings > Display > ‘Display size and text’). But now you can go all the way up to a whopping 200%. Smartly, the scaling is non-linear, which stops headings from becoming too gigantic.

Access quick settings – When you only want to change your system font size temporarily, digging into Settings is annoying. Handily, then, you can use the ‘Font size’ tile in Quick Settings, which gives you the same font-resizing slider as found in Settings.

Make it your own

Rock the lock screen – In Settings, head to ‘Wallpaper and style’. Swipe between the clock options to choose a style; tap the button below to access a screen where you can define the clock’s colour and size.

Take a shortcut – Scroll down and tap Shortcuts, then select which two action buttons you’d like on your lock screen – including Home, Camera, Do Not Disturb, Mute, Torch, Video Camera, Wallet, and a QR code scanner.

Create wallpapers – Under ‘More wallpapers’, you can choose from a built-in selection – or make your own. For example, tap ‘Emoji workshop’, choose a bunch of different emojis, and then decide how they’re displayed in terms of pattern and colour scheme.

Master gestures

Drop it – Although it’s best suited to larger screens, drag-and-drop exists on Android 14 phones. For example, select and then tap-hold a block of text. With another finger, use the app switcher to change apps, and let go to drop the text in place.

Get back – Bit of a punt, this one, since it’s not fully baked at the time of writing, but with Android 14 you should get a preview of what a back gesture (slide from left) will do. This could be useful, stopping you from unexpectedly ending up on your home screen.

With Table Mountain like a flicked-up collar, Cape Town has the confidence and smoothness that George Clooney-esque greying European men have. It has everything. Glorious coastlines, beautiful beaches (and 1-inch freezing cold water in the Atlantic, unless you go to the Muizenberg side, an hour’s drive away, here the warmer Indian Ocean flows passed) and scenic splendour aplenty. Unless you go in winter – where it’s both cold and windy; and rains too.

But summer is splendorous and November to March is a good time to be there. The seas are deep blue, and it’s worth the drive out along the escapement from Clifton to Hout Bay and then on the cliff-hugging Chapman’s Peak to a viewpoint that looks back on Cape Town in all her glory. Visit Robben Island – if the ferry is working.

The Grand | Haul Rd, V&A Waterfront, Cape Town, 8002

The Grand is a chic beach bar with a private beach, masses of seagulls flying by and a fairly good menu if you want to eat. It’s a fun, upmarket place, with tables on the beach. Go late afternoon for sundowners. The snobbish types can be easily avoided because the view is so good.

It’s just near the Waterfront, which is a tourist trap hell and to be avoided at all costs.

Long Street | Cape Town City Centre, Cape Town, 8001

Go drinking in Long Street. Pick a bar, any bar. It’ll do.

Woodstock is the equivalent of New York’s Soho or San Franciso’s Mission. A peri-industrial, working-class suburb that has been gentrified and is now filled with ad agencies, digital cool kids and good restaurants.

Old Biscuit Mill market | 375 Albert Rd, Woodstock, Cape Town, 7915

Great Saturday morning thing to do. Good food, organic “farmer’s market” and lots of craft beer. In a part of Woodstock, which is the cool part of town. Lots of great little stores nearby, selling old stuff or locally-made things.

Woodstock Exchange | Albert Rd, Woodstock, Cape Town, 7915

Woodstock Exchange is one of those converted factory-type spaces filled with one-off shops offering quirky furniture, hand-made leather goods, and small art galleries (mostly stocking unknown and mostly untalented artists; but staffed with earnest art snobs). San Franciscans will feel right at home.

Superette | Albert Rd, Woodstock, Cape Town, 7915

One of the lesser pretentious places in Woodstock Exchange is Superette, which serves wholesome food and good coffee. Again, very Mission-esque.

The alternative city guide to Cape Town, South Africa – The Guardian

Written by my friend Nechama Brodie:

“Cape Town is often described as being like a European city as if this were something African metropolises should aspire to. In some ways, it is not an entirely inaccurate description. The compact city centre, hemmed in by the harbour and the curve of Table Mountain, Lion’s Head and Signal Hill, is almost entirely walkable. Or, if you prefer, it’s also an easy trip on a MyCiTi bus or a hop-on, hop-off open-top Red Bus.

“The “grachts” – Buitengracht, Heerengracht, Keizersgracht – all sit above what were once freshwater canals, running from the mountain to the sea (gracht is the Dutch word for canal). The early Dutch-era street grid has been overlaid with later Victorian structures, and there are clusters of 20th-century brutal modernist buildings pointing towards the Foreshore (which is built on land reclaimed from the sea).

“Long Street has an assortment of bars, clubs, backpackers’ lodges, shops and restaurants. Just two blocks up, Bree Street, particularly between Buitensingel and Strand, is a little less frenetic and much more stylish. And there are hundreds of other little spots to be discovered, not just on the trio of Long, Bree and Loop Streets, but in the side alleys in between.”

Well, arguments still rage about what impact the iPhone had on Android. We know it began as a camera OS, before pivoting to phones and being swallowed up by Google. There’s evidence to suggest early iterations were BlackBerry-flavoured… but Android fans claim it was always designed for multiple input types, and Google long had versions running on keyboard phones as well as touchscreen devices. Which might be why the first Android phone tried to give us both.

The HTC Dream! What a masterpiece. It even had a real keyboard.

It really did. Look up the term ‘hedging your bets’ in a dictionary and there’s a photo of the HTC Dream. Instead of the iPhone’s sleek, opinionated form, HTC gave us a phone with an angled chin and a trackball. Android 1.0 provided a glimpse of what was to come… but having to turn the Dream and slide up the screen to type was maddening. Still, because Google didn’t care about ownership of everything, the Open Handset Alliance meant the Dream was soon joined by a host of rivals, each offering their own spin on what an Android phone could be.

A smart move by Google, making Android the Windows of smartphones.

Doubly so, given that Microsoft itself didn’t fully respond until the Windows Phone 7 in 2010 – which is a bit like turning up to a sprint race in your fanciest running shoes, only to realise your two rivals have long since headed to a bar to have piles of cash thrown at them. And it all worked out rather well for Google, with Android blazing past iOS in mobile market share in 2012, and never looking back since. Well, apart from when it wants to pilfer a few more choice features from Apple’s OS. The more things change…

As we guide you through this setup, just a few things. Firstly, Windows is an operating system developed by Microsoft for laptops and PCs. Not all laptops will come out of the box with Windows – If it’s labelled ‘Apple’, you’ll find something called MacOS and this guide will be of little help.

But if your new laptop bears any other brand, like Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, or Lenovo to name a few, you’re in the right place.

Step 1: Preparing for setup

Before diving into the setup process, take some time to prepare. Here are a few crucial tasks to complete even before you hit that power button.

Back-up your data: Ensure that all your important files, documents, and settings are backed up from your old laptop or PC. You can use external hard drives, or cloud storage services like Google Drive or Microsoft OneDrive. Just be sure to save all your important data before porting to a new machine.

Gather necessary accessories: Gather any bits and bobs you may need, like a mouse, keyboard, or external monitor. You may also have to charge up the battery on your new laptop straight out of the box, so go ahead and grab a multiplug and get it charged up.

Step 2: Initial setup and config

Once you’re ready, it’s time to set up your new Windows laptop. The next few steps are fairly straightforward, and the laptop will likely do a lot of the heavy lifting.

Power on and initial setup: Power on your laptop and follow the on-screen prompts to complete the Out of Box Experience. This includes selecting your language, region, and keyboard layout, and setting up user accounts.

Connect to Wi-Fi: You’ll have to ensure your laptop is connected to a Wi-Fi network to access online services and complete some of the setup tasks.

Pro tip: When you reach the account-setup stage, you might notice you’re forced to sign in with a Microsoft account. If you’d rather create a local account and sign in later, enter “no@thankyou.com” (without the quotes) as your email address and then literally any text as the password. This will throw up a message saying the account is locked and allow you to create a local account.

Windows update: After initial setup, check for Windows updates to ensure that your laptop has the latest security patches and feature improvements. Head over to Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update to check for updates.

Read More: Exploring the walled garden: First-time iPhone setup tips

Step 3: Customisation and optimisation

Now that your laptop is set up, it’s time to customise and optimise it to suit your preferences and needs.

Personalisation settings: Explore the personalisation settings to customise your desktop background, theme and colour scheme. You can also adjust display settings, such as screen resolution and brightness, to optimise your viewing experience.

Install essential software: Install essential software and applications based on your needs, such as productivity tools, web browsers, and multimedia players. Be selective to avoid cluttering your system with unnecessary programs.

Pro tip: We’d recommend checking out ninite.com. It’s a free package management system that allows you to select a number of free programs and intalls their latest version for you in one go.

Organise your files and folders: Logically organise your data to streamline your workflow and make it easier to find what you need. Create separate folders for documents, photos, videos, and other types of files.

Step 4: Security and maintenance

Okay, now you’ll have to ensure that your laptop is secure and well-maintained to protect your data and prolong its lifespan.

Activate Windows security features: Enable Windows security features, such as Windows Defender Antivirus and Firewall, to protect your laptop from malware, viruses and other online threats. If you have a subscription to a different antivirus, go ahead and install that one.

Pro tip: Some laptops will come preloaded with antivirus bloatware like McAfee, which will annoy even the most patient among us with ads and pop-ups. Be sure to uninstall it properly with Revo Uninstaller (available through Ninite) or by navigating to Settings > Apps > Installed apps then clicking on the ellipses menu and selecting Uninstall.

Read More: How to set up iCloud on your Windows PC

Set up backup and recovery options: Set up your backup and recovery options to safeguard data against accidental loss or corruption. You can use built-in Windows features or third-party backup options.

Regular maintenance tasks: Perform regular maintenance tasks, like disk cleanup, defragmentation (if you’ve still got a hard drive with a spinning platter, this isn’t recommended for SSDs) and software updates. This will help keep your laptop running smoothly and efficiently over time.

Step 5: Dive even deeper

Once you’ve completed the basic setup and configuration, take some time to explore advanced features and tips to enhance your laptop experience:

Keyboard shortcuts and gestures: Learn useful keyboard shortcuts and touchpad gestures to navigate your laptop more efficiently and easily perform common tasks. Here are a few to start with (where you see ‘Win’ we’re referring to the Windows key usually located between the Control and Alt keys):

• Win + I = Settings
• Win + L = Lock your account
• Win + P = Projection/second screen options
• Win + Shift + S = Screen capture tool
• Ctrl + Shift + Esc = Task manager (quicker than Ctrl + Alt + Del)
• Win + X = Admin tools/troubleshooting options
• Win + number row = Opens the pinned app on your taskbar
• Win + Space bar = Switch language

Accessibility features: Explore accessibility features, such as magnifier, narrator, and high contrast mode, to customise your laptop for specific needs or preferences.

Pro tip: If you’re looking for something specific, just drop the word into the ‘Search’ in the Windows Task Bar.

Power management settings: Optimise power management settings to extend battery life or maximise performance. Adjust sleep, hibernate, and power-saving options to suit your usage patterns.

Read More: Navigating the badlands: First-time Android setup tips

Firstly, make sure the phone you’re setting up is either brand new or a properly formatted hand-me-down or secondhand phone. Either way, there are a few steps to follow that’ll streamline the setup process.

Step 1: Preparing for setup

Before diving into the setup process, it’s vital you go out and gather everything you need.

Back up your old phone: Start by backing up your old phone to ensure a smooth transition to your new one. Luckily, this part is pretty straightforward. Use Google’s backup feature to save your contacts, calendars, text messages and other essential data. Navigate to Settings > System > Backup (or Settings > Accounts and backup > Backup and restore for Samsung Galaxy phones) to initiate the backup.

Gather necessary items: Have your SIM card (or eSIM activation details), Wi-Fi network information, and Google account credentials ready. Additionally, if you plan to transfer data from your old phone, a USB-C to USB-C cable will come in handy.

Step 2: Okay, it’s time

Now that you’re prepared, let’s get started with setting up your new Android phone.

Insert SIM card and power on: Insert your SIM card into the new phone and power it on. Follow the on-screen instructions to select your region and language, connect to Wi-Fi, and sign in with your Google account details. That last step isn’t strictly required straight away but it could save you a few headaches later on.

Set up security features: It’s always a good idea to enhance the security of your device by setting up a screen lock method, such as a PIN, pattern or biometric authentication (fingerprint or facial recognition). While you’re at it, consider enabling your preferred electronic payment method, like Google Pay, Samsung Pay, or any of the other locally supported systems.

Restore backup: If you didn’t do it earlier, sign in with your Google account to restore data from your backup. This includes contacts, calendars, app settings and more. During this process, you’ll have the option to choose which data to restore.

Step 3: Post-setup details

After completing the initial setup, don’t forget these important post-setup tasks.

Update system and apps: Ensure your device is up to date by checking for system updates in Settings > System > System update. Additionally, head to the Play Store to update your apps, ensuring you have access to the latest features and security patches.

Add other accounts: Integrate additional accounts, such as social media, email, and cloud storage accounts, to your device for easy access. Navigate to Settings > Accounts (or Passwords & accounts) > Add account to add new accounts.

Step 4: Personalisation and Customisation

Configure Google Assistant: Maximise the capabilities of Google Assistant by customising its settings. Access Assistant settings by saying “Hey Google, open Assistant settings” or navigating to Settings > Google > Search, Assistant and Voice > Google Assistant.

Explore additional customisation options: Delve into the settings menu to explore customisation options such as home screen layout, display settings, and notification preferences. Android offers a wide range of customisation possibilities, so feel free to go mad here and really make the phone your own.

Read More: Exploring the walled garden: First-time iPhone setup tips

Step 5: Explore advanced Android features

Now that your phone is set up, take some time to explore advanced features and tips to enhance your Android experience.

Utilise gestures and shortcuts: Familiarise yourself with gesture controls and shortcuts to navigate your phone more efficiently. From swipe gestures to app shortcuts, mastering these features can significantly improve your productivity — even if that’s just reordering your apps so you don’t have to swipe and scroll to look for it.

Explore built-in apps and services: Take advantage of the built-in apps and services offered by Android, such as Google Photos, Google Drive and Google Maps. These apps seamlessly integrate with your device, offering powerful features for managing photos, files, and navigation.

Discover accessibility features: Explore accessibility features designed to make your phone more accessible to users with disabilities. From screen readers to magnification gestures, Android provides a range of accessibility options to accommodate diverse needs.