March 2021

TechLife

The tech mag with a difference

TechLife1 min read
Work Smarter
All work and no play makes Homer – and most of us – go a little crazy, so finding ways to do the maximum amount of work in the minimum amount of time is an important skill. And in the age of COVID, it’s even more so, especially if you’re now part of
TechLife1 min readComputers
Google Guest Mode Stops Friends Ruining Your Smart Speaker Suggestions
Google smart speakers and displays will now offer a Guest Mode that doesn’t save interactions between you and Google’s voice assistant. The new feature still allows Google to answer questions, play music, set timers and control your smart home gadget
TechLife1 min read
Canon EOS R1 Rumored To Be Coming With Next-gen Autofocus And Key Video Feature
According to the reliable Canon Rumors, a “good source” has revealed that a new flagship Canon EOS R camera with Quad Pixel AF is a “strong possibility” and will likely be “shown to the world ahead of the Tokyo Summer Games, which [is planned for] Ju
TechLife1 min readComputers
Downloads
Make sure everything’s spic-and-span with Ascomp Cleaning Suite. Full version after registration. If your system boots up more and more slowly, then it is high time for a thorough system clean! But what data can be deleted without risk, or is still n
TechLife1 min readIntelligence (AI) & Semantics
Microsoft Wants To Listen To Your Voice Recordings - But Will Ask For Permission First
Microsoft has confirmed some important changes to how it processes voice recordings. From now on, users of the company’s voice-enabled services like Cortana can decide whether their audio recordings are stored and analysed by the company to improve s
TechLife1 min readComputers
Windows 10 Free Upgrade Loophole Still Works – Will Microsoft Ever Close It?
It looks like you can still upgrade to Windows 10 for free, despite Microsoft ending that offer several years ago. However, while the offer for Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 users to upgrade for free to Windows 10 is officially over, a loophole remains t
TechLife4 min readComputers
Lenovo Yoga 9i
$TBC, www.lenovo.com/au/en/pc The Lenovo Yoga 9i comes in strong at the tail end of 2020 as one of the best laptops of the year, giving us an early look at what Intel Evo is capable of while keeping things stylish and functional. Though it’s a bit o
TechLife1 min readTechnology & Engineering
Stratolaunch Starts Building Hypersonic Plane
Stratolaunch has begun construction on a prototype hypersonic vehicle designed to launch from the world’s biggest aeroplane. Pictures the company shared show a prelude of the sleek Talon-A reusable hypersonic vehicle coming together in a manufacturin
TechLife1 min read
Techlife
Editor: David Hollingworth david.hollingworth@futurenet.com Senior Journalist: Shaun Prescott Journalist: Joel Burgess Journalist: Stephen Lambrechts Journalist: Sharmishta Sarkar Journalist: Harry Domanski Creative Director: Troy Coleman Tim Bothwe
TechLife2 min readComputers
Acer’s New Classroom Chromebooks May Help Prevent The Spread Of Germs In Schools
Kids being walking germ-spreaders is enough of a problem at the best of times, let alone during a global pandemic. Classrooms have become major sticking points for governments aiming to limit the spread of Covid-19, but Acer has done its best to alle
TechLife2 min readEarth Sciences
Triassic Period Ended With A ‘Lost’ Mass Extinction
This epic rainy spell, known now as the Carnian Pluvial Episode (CPE), occurred roughly 233 million years ago and was a stark shift from the typically arid conditions of the late Triassic Period. But storms weren’t the only change Earth was facing. R
TechLife4 min readTechnology & Engineering
Arlo Video Doorbell
$299, www.arlo.com Dollar for dollar, the Arlo Video Doorbell is probably the best video doorbell out there. While it is pricier than the standard Ring Video Doorbell, it offers a higher resolution and smarter features, and it’s significantly cheape
TechLife1 min read
100 Mummies Found At Egyptian Burial Site
The number of mummy-filled coffins found in a series of burial shafts at Saqqara in Egypt keeps growing. At the start of September 2020, a team of archaeologists had found 13 coffins with mummies inside. By the beginning of October that number had ri
TechLife4 min readInternet & Web
Asus RoG Rapture GT-AX11000
$769, www.asus.com Asus makes a wide range of routers and mesh networking systems designed for home users, but it also owns the separate RoG brand – Republic Of Gamers – that specialises in high-performance gaming PCs and graphics cards, as well as
TechLife4 min readTechnology & Engineering
Gadget Guru
This may be preaching to the choir a little, since you are (of course) a regular reader, with (naturally) a subscription to the mag and a vast collection of smart technology cluttering up your every corner. But yes, tech can improve your central heat
TechLife3 min readIntelligence (AI) & Semantics
Bleeding Edge: The Best Of Emerging Tech
Apart from a VR controlled robot and Panasonic’s new steampunk HDR VR-goggles, the entire ET segment is dominated again by AI. It’s for good reason when you consider that AI is helping researchers discover illegal logging roads in the Amazon, and Goo
TechLife1 min readComputers
PS5’s HDR Problem On Samsung TVs Is Finally Being Fixed – But Not Until March
If you have a new Samsung TV, as well as a PS5 game console, you may have noticed some issues trying to get the best out of your hardware. Have no fear, however, as the problem is set to be resolved by a PS5 firmware update in March 2021. The PS5-spe
TechLife4 min readComputers
LG Bx Oled TV
$2,995, www.lg.com The LG BX OLED occupies a tense position in LG’s 2020 OLED TV range. As the cheapest of the lineup, it marks a more affordable entry point for those looking to switch to OLED. However, the model with the lowest specification, it s
TechLife1 min readPsychology
Google Makes 1.6-trillion-parameter Language Model
Large language models are the bedrock of a huge range of Google services and a new 1.6-trillion-paramter model is about to supersede the current 400-billion-parameter T5-XXL. Studies have shown that there’s a strong correlation between the number of
TechLife1 min readTechnology & Engineering
Huawei Patents Race Detection AI
In late 2020, research group IPVM uncovered Huawei documents that stated it was working on a system that could trigger a ‘Uighur alarm’ for the Chinese authorities. Huawei said, in response, “Huawei only supplies general purpose products for this kin
TechLife4 min readComputers
Best New Apps
Android/iOS, Free This messaging app has been a staple for many who are concerned with privacy but it recently exploded in popularity. This came in part thanks to a confusing update to WhatsApp which implied more sharing of user data. But Signal is p
TechLife1 min read
Games News
Bloomberg reports that a number of current and former CDPR staff “depict a development process marred by unchecked ambition, poor planning, and technical shortcomings”, alleging the team was aware of the issues ahead of release. It further alleges th
TechLife1 min readIntelligence (AI) & Semantics
US Finally Forms AI Strategy And Oversight Division
If you read the PR-styled White House press release about the National Artificial Intelligence Initiative Office (NAIIO), you might be inclined to think that the Trump Administration actually did something good by creating a unified AI oversight offi
TechLife1 min read
Reddit User Makes An Ace Attorney Bot For Heated Arguments On The Site
A Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney bot is turning Reddit arguments into courtroom scenes from the game. The bot was created by YouTuber Micah who uploaded a video of it in action, using the r/confession subreddit as an example. In the video, defence atto
TechLife2 min readBiology
Hidden Bacteria And Fungi Discovered On Da Vinci’s Drawings
But recent research has revealed another level of complexity to his drawings: a hidden world of tiny life forms. The findings could help build a microbiome ‘catalogue’ for artwork. Each of the pieces had a unique-enough collection of microbes that re
TechLife2 min read
Lucasfilm Games Confirms That Other Studios Will Be Able To Make Star Wars Titles
An official announcement from LucasFilm Games’ VP Douglas Reilly posted on StarWars.com points to the studio looking throughout the gaming galaxy for future partnerships. “We’re looking to work with best-in-class teams that can make great games acros
TechLife1 min read
Scott Pilgrim vs The World: The Game Complete Edition
US$15, Switch, PS4, PC, Xbox www.ubisoft.com The graphic novel’s plot lays the perfect foundation for an old-school beat-em-up, and it’s one that this game shakily builds on. Whatever character you initially choose – you’ve got a choice between Scott
TechLife2 min read
Airborne Kingdom
$37.99, PC, www.airbornekingdom.com I have built a lot of cities over the years, and I’ve given my citizens plenty of reasons to flee them. In Cities: Skylines, I flooded their homes in liquid poo; In Surviving Mars, I left them to suffocate; In Ann
TechLife2 min read
Omori
US$19.99, Switch, PS4, 3DS, Xbox, www.omori-game.com There’s a weird reputation surrounding games made in RPGmaker. The game engine is known for spawning a mix of your basic clunky demakes of classic RPGs and cult horror hits like Yume Nikki, Lisa:
TechLife1 min read
Override 2: Super Mech League
US$29.99, Switch, PS, Xbox, PC www.modusgames.com To understand what Override 2 is, it helps to understand what it isn’t. It’s a beat ‘em up and, sure, that immediately tells you a lot about the experience. Given the clear influence certain Japanese
TechLife5 min read
Mobile Games
If there was an award for proliferation of mobile games from a single brand, Marvel would certainly be right up there. Not a month or two goes by without some way to tap your screen with a Hulk, or Iron Man flavour attributed to it. Unfortunately, su
TechLife4 min readComputers
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold
From $3,799, www.lenovo.com When we first looked at the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold at CES 2020, we definitely saw it as the direction mobile computing was going to take in the coming years, and that is still very much the case – the Lenovo ThinkPad X1
TechLife2 min readTelecommunications
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip
$1,199, www.samsung.com The Galaxy Z Flip introduces the flip phone to the smartphone generation thanks to Samsung’s bold rethink of how foldable screens work: it collapses in half vertically. This means the Z Flip (and newer Z Flip 5G) has a big tr
TechLife2 min readComputers
Razer Book 13
$3,799, razer.com/au-en While we’ve often considered the Blade Stealth 13 to be Razer’s productivity-focused laptop, it’s always been offered with a discreet gaming-capable GPU, which was an unnecessary expense for anyone looking exclusively for a w
TechLife2 min readComputers
Sandisk Extreme Pro V2 1TB
$339, Shop.westerndigital.com Sandisk has rolled out a third version of its award-winning Extreme portable rugged solid state drive, one that sports a distinct orange carabiner loop. Confusingly, it looks exactly the same as the other Extreme produc
TechLife1 min read
Battlefield 6 May Be “Heavily Influenced” By Battlefield 3 , Industry Insider Claims
Battlefield 6 may be “heavily influenced” by Battlefield 3, according to industry insider Tom Henderson. In a recent YouTube video (via altchar), Henderson summarises all of the details they claim to know so far about the next Battlefield game. Specu
TechLife2 min readComputers
Dell 4K S3221QS Curved Monitor
$748.99, www.dell.com The Dell 4K S3221QS curved monitor is unique among its peers. Though most displays have kept up with ever-increasing refresh rates and higher resolutions, their aesthetic has been, frankly, lacking. In fact, other than a logo o
TechLife2 min readTechnology & Engineering
HP Reverb G2
$1,099, www8.hp.com The HP Reverb G2 is quite possibly the most exciting virtual reality headset on the market right now. That may come as a surprise to people expecting the likes of HTC, Oculus or Valve to be the ones to push VR forward, but the HP
TechLife2 min readTechnology & Engineering
HyperX Cloud Buds Wireless
$79, www.hyperxgaming.com Wireless earbuds come in different forms, but the neckband variety aren’t quite as popular as others tend to be. That extra piece that rests around the neck still serves a functional purpose, and if you’re in that camp, the
TechLife2 min readComputers
Oculus Quest 2
$639, www.oculus.com The Oculus Quest 2 is one of the top options around for beginners and seasoned VR veterans alike if you want to buy a VR headset and don’t have the budget for a PC-based VR setup, which requires more money, wires and fuss. This
TechLife2 min readTechnology & Engineering
Yamaha SR-B20A Sound Bar
$225, au.yamaha.com Yamaha has plenty of expertise where soundbars are concerned, and in updating its entry-level models it’s reasserted its proficiency. Here’s a tidily proportioned, expertly finished soundbar that’s able to put a rocket up the sou
TechLife6 min readComputers
Microsoft Word
Starting a new document is easy. Click File at the top and select New on the left. To start with a clean page, click the Blank document thumbnail (Fig 1). Now just start typing your letter, report, CV, book or whatever you want. Although you can crea
TechLife6 min readComputers
Miscrosoft Excel
Excel is a spreadsheet app that enables you to analyse numeric data, forecast what may happen when it changes and so plan ahead. It is often used to analyse finances, but this is far from its only use. Spreadsheets are used by companies to analyse da
TechLife6 min readComputers
Microsoft Powerpoint
PowerPoint creates slide shows containing text, images and videos, useful for many purposes. Businesses present products and services to customers, teachers present course materials, and families show slides of loved ones on anniversaries and birthda
TechLife12 min readComputers
Common Mac Problems Solved
Are you experiencing problems with your Mac? If so, don’t be scared and freak out because there may be a quick and easy way to solve the problem. Over the following pages, we cover the most common problems that people experience with their Macs and o
TechLife7 min readComputers
Help Station
I’ve been using Open Hardware Monitor to control my CPU fan. This was the only app I could find that controlled it. I have an Asus ROG Strix B450-F motherboard, AMD Ryzen 5 3600 overclocked to 4,150MHz, and the stock AMD CPU cooler. I tried to contro
TechLife11 min read
2020’S HOTTEST SCI & TECH TO WATCH OUT FOR
Discover how to turn water into green power. Electricity is generated by renewable energy sources – such as solar or wind – to power the electrolyser, needed to strip hydrogen from water molecules. When an electric current is passed through the pos
TechLife4 min readComputers
Learn How To Sign In To Multiple PCs
Anyone can do it Windows 10 A quick and easy sign-in option which uses your email address and password to give you access to a range of Microsoft services from Windows 10 and Skype, to OneDrive and Office. Also known as an offline account, a local ac
TechLife5 min readComputers
Run Windows Apps On Mac
There are several ways to run Windows-only apps on your Mac, but only one allows you to run them directly from your Mac desktop, and that’s Wine (winehq. org). Its command-line nature makes it fiddly, but thankfully more user-friendly variants exist.
TechLife3 min readComputers
IOS System Maintenance
Apple likes to keep your iOS device firmly locked down, and for the most part that’s fine. After all, most of us aren’t interested in jailbreaking our devices and the risks that come with that. But gaining more control doesn’t have to entail risks –
TechLife4 min readComputers
How To Use Android For Dictation And Transcription
Essays, emails, articles and the like mainly get written on computers because it is much easier to work on large screens and keyboards. But what about ideas that arrive while you are out walking or traveling? Pretty much everyone carries a smartphone
TechLife4 min readComputers
The Best Free Personal Backup Solution
Backup is the OG security solution, the cure to most of what ails you even today. And yet, so many of us neglect this simple process and just trust that nothing will happen. After all, it just doesn’t seem worth the effort… until it does. Both Window
TechLife6 min readComputers
Microsoft OneDrive
Since the release of Windows 10, the role and presence of Microsoft’s OneDrive cloud service has changed considerably. It is no longer an app, as such, and it is more intricately woven into the very fabric of the operating system, working behind the
TechLife3 min readScience & Mathematics
Give Your Scene A Brand-new Sky
Last October Adobe released the latest version of Photoshop. One of Photoshop CC 2021’s headline features is the new Sky Replacement Tool, which uses machine learning to automatically recognise the sky in your outdoor photos, isolate it and drop in a
TechLife2 min readScience & Mathematics
Get More From Autofocus
Focusing in fast-paced conditions is always a challenge for lovers of action photography. When a subject is moving erratically and at high speed, it draws on all of your camera skill and subject knowledge to correctly cover the main zones of the scen
TechLife2 min read
Ridiculous Tech
US$30 | retropatents.com There will come a day where the black turtlenecks, round spectacles and entirely void living spaces surrounding you just won’t be enough to remind you that you are an undiscovered genius that is just about to break through in
TechLife4 min readInternet & Web
Stay Motivated And Accountable At The Gym
“New year, new me”… it’s one of the reasons why gym memberships sky rocket early in the year, with gym-goers looking to make a positive change towards better health. But joining the gym is only half of the way there. Having a program that you can hol
TechLife6 min readComputers
Buyer’s Guide
From $1,199, apple.com/au Apple has outdone itself. 5G has been added, the CPU has more power than you’re ever going to need, and the dual-lens rear camera system can take spectacular photos in any kind of light. From $949, oneplus.com A simp
TechLife5 min readComputers
Turn A PC Into A Router
To most people, a router is a mysterious box that makes the internet work. In reality, the routers you buy are just low powered PCs with a built-in switch and some fancy antennas. The routing stuff is actually all in the software, and it’s entirely p

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