STACK #219 January 2023

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JANUARY STACK TECH Technology has become an integral part of Australian lifestyles and continues to advance in leaps and bounds. From smartphones to smart homes, STACK keeps you up to date on the latest consumer tech in user-friendly terms, along with key points to consider before you buy. If you love tech, you’re in the right place.

STACK ’ s TECH tips

Are you going away this summer? Here are six easy tech tips to protect your home. 1 Invest in a wireless security camera system.They’re an easy-to-set-up and cost-effective solution to getting eyes on your home. 2 A video doorbell is an excellent deterrent. It captures who’s at the door, and you can pretend to be home if the

doorbell is pressed. 3 Setting smart lights up on a varied schedule can fool potential home invaders into believing you’re home. 4 A smart plug is valuable for turning devices like theTV on and off on a pre-set schedule to imitate occupation. 5 Sensors on windows and doors are a budget fix that will alert you via a push notification if opened in your absence. 6 Finally, wait until you’re home to post holiday snaps or videos to social media.You never know who’s watching on.

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Do you have a tech horror story? Has tech come back to ‘byte’ you hard? Have you sent a text to the wrong person or deleted your employer’s hard drive by accident?Well, we want to hear about it. Send your terror byte to editor@stack.com.au.This month, Craig Davidson shares his tech nightmare. I am a massive fan of technology and often store large amounts of data on portable hard drives. I also happen to have a cat from one of our neighbours come over to our home, and we feed it cat biscuits daily. Sometimes it tends to mark its territory outside our door. However, it would occasionally enter our house and make itself at home. One day, it was hanging about in the garage. I then realised I had left some of the hard drives in the garage on one of the bottom shelves. I had a horrible feeling about what he might’ve done

What was the hottest tech in…

A power board has become a household device that most of us take for granted. With more and more electrical devices entering the home, buying a good power board with surge protection is essential. However, once deployed, it’s soon forgotten about; until the need for more sockets becomes a priority. What is less well known is the power board origin story, one that began on these very shores. We’re an inventive lot: the Black Box flight recorder, cochlear implant, and Wi-Fi are just three examples of our ingenuity, but you may not have heard of the name Frank Bannigan. Bannigan formed an electrical company in the mid-1960s in Melbourne, specialising in kitchen appliances. Frustrated that he couldn’t test multiple devices at once, Bannigan recognised the need for multiple power sockets, and the concept behind the power board was realised. In the early ‘70s, the Australian inventor began selling the power board through his company. It proved a global best-seller, but unfortunately, the idea was never patented. And like all good ideas, the power board was blatantly copied worldwide.

before going into the garage. And I was right! He had marked his territory all over the portable hard drives. Worried that he might have damaged my data, I cleaned them with disinfectant, wiped them dry, and checked the hard drives. Thankfully the data inside was still intact, with no errors in any files. I felt relief, thankful that portable hard drives are built like tanks, sealed tight to protect from such problems. That day, I learned a valuable lesson: Portable hard drives can resist cat pee!

On The Radar

Fabulous February brings with it a look at some of the best laptops, tablets, and Chromebooks for back-to-uni considerations that won’t break the bank. Smartphones are also on the radar next month, and we take an early look at what to expect in 2023.

JANUARY 2023

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