STACK #241 November 2024

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STACK ’ s TECH tips

Smart tech can help you protect your most prized assets while away from home. Here are five tips to help keep your castle safe and secure.

NOVEMBER

Ensure batteries are fully charged in wireless cameras, video doorbells, and smartlocks. Activate motion sensors for interior and exterior cameras and lights and install door and window sensors. Schedule outdoor lighting to turn on after dark and indoor lights in different rooms throughout the night. Schedule a smartTV or speaker to turn on and off intermittently during the day and evening. If you don’t already have one, install a video doorbell. From a sunlounger in Bali, you can tell whoever is at the door that you’re too busy to answer it!

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.

The ECHO IV, created in 1966, was one of the earliest ‘smart’ home computers. It could operate appliances, manage shopping lists, and control temperature. However, it was too large and complex for commercial use. DYK?

1978

What was the hottest tech in…

What tech has been floating the boat of the writers at STACK recently? You can find it right here every month.

D ecades before the iPad became an electronic babysitter for busy parents, grabbing five minutes to take a toilet break was made possible with Speak & Spell. The idea behind the handheld educator was first brought to the Texas Instruments concept table in 1976 and developed from the company’s learning around its maths education toy, The Little Professor, released in the same year. The premise was simple: the device would speak a word, and the user had to answer it correctly. The overall design and tech needed to make it work required a lot of innovation. Before the device, toys used pull string or tape recording technology to replicate the voice. However, Speak & Spell was the first consumer product to use digital signal processing (DSP). This translated analogue information into digital, leading to the creation of synthesised speech – there were no moving parts in the unit at all. Powered by four C batteries, Speak & Spell included

EDITOR’S CHOICE

DJI Neo Drone If you’re keen to buy a drone but lack any flying experience, the DJI Neo is the perfect entry point. Boasting top-end features like 4K video and AI subject tracking at a price that isn’t sky-high, the Neo is recommended for beginners and seasoned flyers alike. It can be easily launched from the palm of your hand and is simple to fly – just select from one of six modes to get airborne and let the preset flight patterns enhance your footage via various manoeuvres and angles. The Neo has a flight time of up to 18 minutes, a maximum distance of 7km, and its incredibly compact and lightweight design lets it slip effortlessly into a small bag or backpack. If you’ve never flown a drone before, the Neo is ideal for perfecting take-off/landing and capturing professional looking short videos – all at an amazingly affordable price!

a keyboard for entering prompts and featured a headphone jack and AC adapter. It was one of the first gaming devices to use swappable cartridges, each containing a new suite of spelling software for the user. In operation, a synthesised voice would ask the player to spell a word. Players would then enter their answers on a keyboard and be granted three chances to guess correctly. If right, the voice would say, “That is correct,” and if the answer was incorrect, it would say, “Wrong”. Launched at CES in 1978, the Speak & Spell quickly became a global success, creating a new enthusiasm for educational toys. Hey, it even helped E.T. phone home in 1982!

It’s December, and that can only mean one thing. Well, two, actually. It’s the summer, and plonked right at the end of December is Christmas. Yes, it’s time to go elbow-to-elbow in that perennial shopping centre battle to secure the right present. Fear not, we’ll have all the top gifts to present in our annual tech Christmas gift guide. On The Radar

26 NOVEMBER 2024

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