STACK #223 May 2023

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STACK ’ s TECH tips

TECH

No matter how careful you are, aTV screen is a magnet for dust, grease, and dirt. And if you’ve got little ones, chances are yourTV will have fingerprints - or worse – permanently on the screen, no matter how often you tell them it’s not a touchscreen.To clean a contemporary TV screen, your first step is to unplug it. Use a dry microfibre cloth to remove dust and light stains. For more stubborn greasy patches, put a small amount of water onto a clean microfibre cloth (never put water directly onto the screen). Once cleaned, remove any remaining moisture with a different dry microfibre cloth. Avoid using chemicals to clean yourTV screen, and always check the manufacturer’s advice on cleaning.

MAY

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 ROVING REPORTER

PAUL JONES STACK ’s Editor-in-Chief

What tech can you not live without? I’ve got two – first, my Bose QuietComfort II earbuds. They keep the noise out when I travel, provide solace at home when I need to concentrate and soundtrack my daily dog walks. The other is a Garmin Instinct 2 Solar smartwatch – it has everything I need from a smartwatch with impressive battery life. How tech-savvy are you? I’m not an IT anorak, but I know enough to keep myself out of trouble, and I’m confident with all consumer technology. For any leftfield IT issues, there’s always a video on YouTube to lead you out of the digital fog. What tech changed your life? The Sinclair ZX Spectrum home computer. It brought games from the arcades into the house and led to a lifelong love of gaming, and my first gig reviewing video games for a radio station aged 11. Your biggest tech fail is? Not backing up an old Mac laptop many years ago before iCloud. It was a classic case of telling myself, 'I’ll do it tomorrow,' but I never did, and the hard drive died. I lost a heap of documents and photos. Since then, I back up daily. You really do learn from your mistakes. What tech don’t you have but want? A top-shelf, high spec gaming PC. It’s definitely a want and not a need, though - I barely have enough time to play FIFA on my PS5 these days.

1950

What was the hottest tech in…

The humble TV remote control is probably one of the most used tech devices in the home. Often frustratingly misplaced, it’s the nerve centre of our visual entertainment choices. The art of thumbing a button to surf channels while lying horizontal on the couch is as natural as putting one foot in front of the other. For our American cousins, unbelievably, the remote control TV made its debut way back in 1950. TVs were still a novelty, with few households able to afford one, but the clever bods at the Zenith Radio Corporation had already made a realisation; continually getting up to

change the TV station whenever an ad came on would prove too much of an effort for many. So, they invented the remote control, which the company aptly christened the Lazy Bones.

As if by magic, Lazy Bones could turn the TV on and off and change channels. Except, there was no magic at work at all. A thick cable ran from the remote to a motor in the TV set that controlled the actions. Ultimately, the cable proved unpopular with users who kept tripping over it. Ultrasonic wireless remote controls would follow six years later, but it would be another three decades before infrared technology was introduced.

On The Radar

If you’re looking for a big cinematic experience in the home or something small you can throw in a bag and take on your travels, in our June issue we’re going to comprehensively cover everything you need to know about projectors. Plus, we’ll have the skinny on some tax-time tech bargains just in time for the end of the financial year.

MAY 2023

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