TechSmart 121, October 2013 TechSmart 132, September 2014 | Page 4

FROM THE EDITOR This is a call to arms! THIS T here’s something special about reading science-fiction. I remember the summer I tackled 1984 as a high school student, not quite grasping everything I read, but knowing that this book would make me want to find a lot more of this good stuff. Soon I became a massive Kurt Vonnegut fan, which in later years turned into an obsession with Philip K. Dick. To me, Dick remains the only writer I know of who can actually write you into a different state of consciousness (case in point The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch). IS A Therefore, it gives me massive pleasure to present the first ever TechSmart/ Gigabyte Science-Fiction short story competition. We are looking for local sci-fi writers who can produce captivating fiction with a local flavour. The best story is set to win an awesome Gigabyte U2440N notebook worth R10 000. Not bad for 700 words, right? There’s a few things we hope to achieve with the competition. Obviously unearthing new talent is key, especially in science-fiction, a genre that in my opinion is highly undervalued locally. I also hope this serves as a primer for all regular TechSmart followers who don’t usually read sci-fi, since the best stories will be published in the magazine. If you feel that there is a story is in you, please have a look at p39 for all the information, or head over to www.techsmart.co.za. I really hope to get enthralled in your sci-fi world soon. Enjoy the issue, Mike Joubert [email protected]. Published by: ABC Certified Tel: [phone]nd Floor, Block C, Menlyn Woods Office Park, 291 Sprite Avenue, Faerie Glen, PTA www.smartpublishing.co.za CORRECTION In our previous issue we incorrectly stated that the Brother J200 all-in-one’s new InkBenefit colour cartridges yield 133 pages. It is in fact much more at 1300 pages per cartridge. We apologise for the mistake. PUBLISHING INFO Copyright © 2014. All rights reserved. No material, text or photographs may be reproduced, copied or in any other way transmitted without the written consent of the publisher. Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the publisher or of the editor. We recognise all trademarks and logos as the sole property of their respective owners. TechSmart shall not be liable for any errors or for any actions in reliance thereon. All prices were correct at time of going to print. EDITOR PRINT & ONLINE Mike Joubert: [email protected] ADVERTISING Sandra-Lee van Rooyen > 079-515-8493; [email protected] Xander Pieterse > 079-524-0934; [email protected] STAFF WRITERS Ryan Noik [RN], Robin-Leigh Chetty [RLC], Mike Joubert [MJ] CONTRIBUTORS Stephen Aspeling, Deep Fried Man, Linda Pretorius, Moray Rhoda, Pippa Tshabalala, Mynhardt van Pletsen COVER PHOTO Basil Koufos > 082-439-2022 SMART PUBLISHING General manager: George Grobler [email protected] DESIGNERS Stuart Ponton, Annemart Swanepoel 02 September 2014 | TechSmart