Cape Town

Vanilla is Sur Ron in South Africa

We're importing these amazing electric bikes that turned out to be the most popular bikes of 2020

Cape Town

The Internet DB Board

Inventing the Internet DB Board. Like an electrical DB board is your go to spot when you have a problem, you should have an Internet DB board too.

Cape Town

The Vanilla Community

During the past six months we have become closer to our customers. Most businesses have gone home, some went back and we've gone into homes and offices and helped in both. We want to make sure your internet works well, and we cater for discerning clients.  In the past few

Cape Town

Covid-19 in Cape Town

Trending Corona virus in the city. We were hit pretty hard, and we will come back to normal. Stay home and wear a mask and wash your hands please.

Internet

Uncapped gigabit Internet

What is gigabit uncapped? At this speed you can only be betting unfettered bandwidth for a matched cost. There can not be a long term fixed price for such a product.

SmartTV

"Smart TV" OR Xiaomi Mi Box S media player

Best media player 2018. We stock these for all those in denial that their TV is smart. They have been working well for the least tech clients for years.

Netflix

Net Flieks

*Netflix, Netflix, Netflix. Netflix-Original, "Let's check Netflix!", "Netflix and chill?", "Do you have Netflix?"* Short of living on the moon for the last decade, it is almost impossible to not have heard of movie and TV series streaming giant Netflix

Security

The scariest email you've ever received?

The internet has seen its fair share of scams and tricks to squeeze money out of users all over the world, but a new kind of a scam is doing the rounds, and I personally, have never seen *anything* like this before...

Internet

An interesting month for the internet

From rising water levels worldwide, to new laws and regulations as well as nation wide internet shut downs, the ever-shifting internet has been busy over the last 30 days, so let's get stuck in!

Internet

"Look Ma, I got 1 million views!"

Technology is pushing society onwards and upwards as we create, develop and upgrade the world around us and, as expected, this push has opened up a whole new field of careers which never existed several decades ago.

China

回中国! (Back to China)

On the 16th of June, around midday, I left home to travel to China on a university studying programme for the second time in a year. Besides the basics of worrying about whether I had enough clothes, or my toothbrush, I had to consider my social media and messaging applications

Security

Let's go phishing!

Everyone has at some point either got an email from someone from an obscure African country or a phone call from an Asian call centre asking for your personal details and banking information. Now while we may laugh at these very transparent attempts at identity fraud or theft but...

Internet

Privacy Policies?

If you've opened your email recently, there's a very high chance that you have been flooded by tons of "Update our private policy" emails. Well, as much as these emails might look like spam... they're not...

Vanilla

How much freedom do you really have on the internet?

Many internet service providers around the world believe that a unrestricted access to the internet is pivotal to modern internet users' lives. This concept was coined as Net Neutrality by a media law professor from Columbia University in 2003.

Cape Town

Can you handle the heat?

On Friday the 11th of May, I arrived at the Vanilla offices for a very different reason. It wasn't for a meeting, or to work, but rather to taste test chilli sauces. And so, just before 1pm, the rest of the staff at Vanilla and I piled into the Play Room where our trial by fire had been set up

Languages

Calling all polyglots!

Many of us have decided at some point, "Right. This is it. I'm learning 'X'." And off you went down to the bookstore, asked the hopefully helpful bookseller there to direct you to the language learning section, and then picked out your, "Learn French 101: Complete guide with CD."

China

An internet without Google?

Many other different types of social media such as Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube along with 6 000 other websites cannot scale the Great Firewall and land themselves in mainland China.

Frontosa

When you get poor service - Asus fail - Frontosa review

After working with Frontosa for more than a decade - who we have always respected to have great computer build skills - we are shocked at the recent decision not to accept return on an ""Asus Universal Docking station"".

Access Points

Which Access Point Is Fastest?

"There’s something special about experiencing the full speed of fibre for the first time."

Vanilla

How does the internet work

What's the difference between fibre and fixed wireless, or adsl? What is the Domain Name System? Read this to learn some of the basics.

Telkom

Elderly forced to use Telkom

Last week we were shocked to hear that the body corporate of Good Hope Park - a retirement facility with frail care facility - has resolved that ONLY Telkom will be permitted to provide elderly residents with fibre optic (or other types of) telephone and internet access. Whilst Vanilla have

Fibre

Intelligent neighbourhoods, see no wires?

Our bodies have lungs to put much needed oxygen into our blood, and our blood carries energy that enables our muscles to work. Most importantly as we're humans, our brain and nerves give us intelligence with which to process information! In similar ways electricity and water provide our households with

Fibre

Fibre Networks and ISPs

A new fibre provider, Octotel, is currently laying down fibre cabling in Sea Point and other areas around Cape Town CBD. There's also Cybersmart and Vumatel and Telkom and MTN, and the City of Cape Town, and lots of others. For the residents this means more cabling and more digging

Internet

The Fastest Internet in Africa

Fibre has recently become a much-used buzzword, referring to super fast internet connectivity. Many companies are offering deals of 10Mbps or even 20Mbps Fibre. Compared to Telkom's 2Mbps ADSL lines, this might seem really fast. Yet, this is not even half of what fibre should be giving you. A fibre

Internet

My Partner in Crime (and Sales)

Meet Caitlyn Holiday, part-time model, tutor and sales consultant at Vanilla. In all the business meetings, cold calling and coffee pitstops, Caitlyn is by my side — I like to think we make a pretty impressive sales team. Like me, she is ambitious, curious and ready to explore the wonderful world