STACK #243 January 2025

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STACK ’ s TECH tips

It’s vitally important to keep our children safe online. Here are our six tips for cyber safety. Establish digital-free zones. Keep devices out of bedrooms and bathrooms and ensure all devices are turned off and put away overnight. Set screen time limits. Avoid prolonged device use unless it involves homework. Use parental controls. Most devices feature built-in parental controls and restrictions, so ensure you take advantage of them and set suitable boundaries. Teach online safety as early as possible. Introduce the concept of online safety as soon as your child begins to use a device. And set clear expectations and rules before handing it over. Be active as a parent. Be involved in your child’s online activities and know where they visit when online. Educate yourself. If you’re not tech savvy, make it your priority to learn. Being informed is crucial to protecting your child in the digital space.

JANUARY

The first true laptop was introduced in 1981 and called the Osborne 1. Incredibly, it weighed 11kgs. DYK?

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.

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

EDITOR’S CHOICE

1972

What was the hottest tech in…

Sonos Arc Ultra soundbar + Sonos Sub 4 The next generations of Sonos’s popular Arc soundbar and wireless Sub – the Arc Ultra and Sub 4 – are a killer combination that elevates bass to new heights. The Arc Ultra delivers double the bass output of its predecessor via groundbreaking Sound Motion tech that produces more powerful bass from smaller internal components. When linked to the Sub 4 (sold separately), movies and music gain a deep and resonant presence that you can feel. Equipped with seven angled tweeters – including two upward firing height channels – the Arc Ultra fully immerses you in 9.1.4 channel spatial audio with distinct front, overhead, side, and rear channel separation. If you’ve been using TV speakers or are upgrading from a smaller soundbar, the vastly expanded soundscape will be a revelation. The Sonos Arc Ultra and Sub 4 is one of the best home theatre audio combos we’ve tested to date, delivering everything you’d expect from a premium sound system – and then some.

We take calculators for granted these days. Every smartphone and some smartwatches can access one whenever calculations on the fly are needed. But go back 60 years, and the only available calculators were huge, chunky machines that sat on a desk – permanently. However, all this changed in the late ‘60s when two power players in the electronics world came together to work on an idea for a portable calculator. Canon was at the head of development, but the company enlisted the expertise of Texas Instruments, the leader in semiconductor technology. This tech enabled the design to be reduced to a more compact size for mobile use. Christened the Canon Poketronic, it landed in stores throughout 1971. Basic in operation, it contained 13 rechargeable battery cells and could only perform four simple functions: divide, subtract, multiply, and addition. A vacuum fluorescent display would show the readout of the calculation.

But the real showstopper was the thermal tape that spat the printed results out of the side of the device in a strip. In the early ‘70s, if you whipped a Canon Poketronic out of your bag, you meant business.

Are you heading to uni in Feb or stepping up a year? In our February issue, we’ll take a deep dive into all the tech you’ll need to start or continue your university odyssey in one handy guide. On The Radar

It cost $345 on launch, a considerable amount of money in 1972 (around AUD$3000 today), and the price barrier inhibited mass commercial success.

But the Poketronic’s groundbreaking design, advanced technology, and

portability would lead to many imitators. Its legacy lies in the influence of subsequent developments in consumer electronics.

JANUARY 2025

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