STACK #202 Aug 2021

LIFE TECH FEATURE

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FATHER’S DAY

Funk fathers P-Funk and G-Funk – what are

George Clinton

they, and why are their fathers so important? One begins with the former and bows down to George Clinton , the eccentric and exalted American bandleader whose captainship of Parliament-Funkadelic – a rotating collective of musicians that rose to juggernaut prominence during the '70s – puts him alongside James Brown in the sphere of funk royalty. Two decades later, along came G-Funk: the US West Coast's sub-genre of gangsta rap. It utilised hypnotic bass, deep synths, and adoring homage to P-Funk tracks to create a new species of hip-hop. The father of this freshly funkified '90s sound was producer Dr. Dre , who in fact rarely used direct samples of P-Funk songs, instead having live musicians recreate P-Funk licks and beats.

THE PERFECT TIME TO UPDATE DAD’S TECH

AMOLED screen (with HDR10+ support) ensuring everything’s smooth as silk, and pro-grade Sony camera sensors for brilliant photography. With all this power under the hood, everything – even recording 8K video – is handled effortlessly. Alternatively, Nubia’s RedMagic 6 Pro [2] aims for super-big, with a massive 6.8-inch AMOLED display running at up to 165Hz. That makes it a great pick for dads who are into mobile games, with that same 888 CPU backed by a massive battery and actual trigger buttons on the phone’s shoulders. The Vivo X60 Pro [3] , meanwhile, aims squarely at photographer dads with its advanced camera engineered with Zeiss and an eye-grabbing curved screen with its almost-invisible front camera. The other thing that dad has probably not updated in years is his computer, and with the upcoming Windows 11 requiring the latest tech, it’s the perfect time to do it. If he’s more of a laptop user, then Microsoft’s stellar 13.5” Surface Laptop 4 [4] is a great pick, with its 11th-gen Intel CPU and super-sleek design, packing a lot of speed and functionality into a surprisingly light device that travels great. The Dell XPS 13.3” laptop [5] is also one to take a look at, especially for its eye-catching 1080p screen with almost no borders, and a high- quality webcam making Zoom meetings look great anywhere.

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computing power (great for everything from streaming video on the go to winding down with some mobile games), and connected features that are enhanced by the latest version of Android. ASUS might be a less familiar name in the phone market, but as a leading maker of computers of all sizes, they know their stuff when it comes to packing a quality experience into a small package. Their jet-black Zenfone 8 [1] boasts the latest Snapdragon 888 processor for ultra-fast performance, with a huge 5.9-inch 120Hz Samsung

T here’s so much tech around everyone’s lives these days – in our homes, in our cars, our pockets – and with so many now working from home at least a few days a week, tech has become more important than ever. But as the world and its technology gets faster, more capable and more demanding, it’s easy for those all-important devices to start lagging behind, slowing down and missing essential features. That makes a tech update for dad’s devices an ideal Father’s Day gift choice. If he’s the sort of person who happily just soldiers on

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with the same phone, computer or internet, constantly mumbling about how frustrating and slow it is, it’s the perfect time to get him that long-overdue upgrade, making both life and work feel better. Of course, the number one device that every dad uses – and the most likely to be in need of an upgrade – is his mobile phone. The tech in mobiles has come a long way in just a few short years, with the latest models sporting gorgeous big OLED screens, loads of

74 AUGUST 2021

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