Author: Stephen Fenech

Shake it off and listen to Episode 591 of the Two Blokes Talking Tech podcast with Tech Guide editor Stephen Fenech and EFTM’s Trevor Long as they discuss the week’s biggest tech stories and product releases. On this week’s show – the dramas and difficulties of trying to book Taylor Swift tickets – are they using the right technology, latest EV developments including the new Polestar 2 and the cheapest with the BYD Dolphin and the new LG UltraPC laptops. You can listen to the show right here on Tech Guide site using the audio player below. It is also…

Peloton has launched new interactive fitness content that’s been tailored for its popular Tread and inspired by gaming to offer an enhanced experience on the treadmill. Lanebreak Tread is a gamified workout where the objective is to match and sustain speed and incline to keep up with animated cues on the screen and achieve the highest score possible. You can score points by following visual cues called Moments. With adjustments to the incline on the tread it’s possible to stay in lanes that contain Moments while adjusting speed will complete the requirement of each Moment to score your points. The…

Meta has revealed new parental control features to make it easier for them to manage the time their teenage children spend on Facebook, Instagram and Messenger. This announcement builds on the work created with Family Centre which provides resources and tools for parents to supervise their teen’s time on the social media platforms. These tools now include the ability to view the length of time their teen spends on Instagram and Facebook. A notification will appear after they’ve spent 20 minutes on Facebook and Instagram with a suggestion to take a break from the app and set a daily time…

The 2024 model of the Polestar 2 electric vehicle is going to see a vast improvement in performance and range and a significant reduction to its carbon footprint with orders starting from $67,400 on July 5. Polestar 2 will have a huge 22 per cent improvement in range – the Long Range single motor model is now certified for up to 654km. The EV has a new motor on the rear-wheel drive model and a rear-bias for the dual motor version which offers weight shift over the driven wheels to offer even more efficient performance to consume up to nine…

Go to the top of the class with Episode 557 of the top-rating Tech Guide podcast hosted by editor Stephen Fenech so you can stay updated and educated about the latest consumer tech news and reviews. On this week’s show: Forget remembering passwords – Apple is introducing passkeys, the race to have the cheapest EV in Australia is on and the Optus CEO admits they could have done things better after the data breach. In the Tech Guide reviews, we take a look at the new Google Pixel Tablet, MGI has launched a hi-tech remote control golf buggy and Hisense…

LG has released a range of UltraPC laptops which provides an affordable yet powerful solution with a large 16-inch display for students and young professionals. UltraPC is the entry level laptop in the LG range and is powered by the AMD Ryzen 7000 series processors and AMD Radeon Graphics for smooth high definition video viewing and streaming as well as video and photo editing capabilities. Under the hood is LPDDR4x 4266MHz memory and Dual NVMe SSD (solid state drive). They laptops have 16-inch 1WUXGA IPS (in-plane switching) screens with 1920 x 1200 resolution and a 16:10 aspect ratio to give…

MGI has released the AI Navigator GPS+ – new remote control golf buggy which now includes a full colour four-inch touch screen display and GPS course mapping. The new buggy plus comes with a 24V 380Wh lithium battery which can last 36 holes before it needs a recharge. Onboard the new buggy is a high-resolution four-inch colour all weather touchscreen display which is your gateway to more than 40,000 courses worldwide. Thanks to the built in high-performance GPS system, golfers will be able to see accurate distances on every hole of the course. Users will also be able to see…

The Google Pixel Tablet is a bit of an allrounder – it’s great for entertainment and running your favourite apps and, when attached to the included dock, can turn into a smart speaker, smart home hub and a mini smart TV. The Android tablet has a 10.95-inch LCD display with a 2560 x 1600 resolution, 60Hz refresh rate and has a soft touch rear panel and edges. It is also powered by the Google Tensor G2 chip which offers excellent performance and speed to make using the tablet a breeze. Onboard is 8GB RAM and either 128 or 256GB internal…

Voila! A fresh, delicious burger from grill to counter in 30 seconds. This week on The Best Movies You’ve Never Seen podcast we’re watching The Founder starring Michael Keaton. The Founder tells the story of Ray Kroc, a milkshake machine salesman who took McDonalds from a single burger stand in the desert to an international powerhouse. Stephen watched this in the cinema and has rewatched it a few times and Trevor thinks he might have watched it on a plane. We go through the memorable scenes and share some interesting facts, behind the scenes tidbits, trivia, fact v fiction and…

Wrap your ears around Episode 590 of the Two Blokes Taking Tech podcast which brings Tech Guide editor Stephen Fenech and EFTM’s Trevor Long together every week to discuss the biggest stories in tech. On this week’s show: Optus hold their Tech Day and we hear from Optus CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin, Optus also has a win in regional Australia, MG launches the MG4 which, at the time, was Australia’s cheapest EV and Hisense launches its 2023 TV and Laser range. You can listen to the show right here on Tech Guide site using the audio player below. It is…

Remembering a password is about to become a thing of the past for users who run iOS 17, iPadOS 17 and macOS Sonoma who will be assigned a passkey which can be used to sign in to their Apple ID on the web. With this passkey, users will be able to sign into any Apple web property using Face ID or Touch ID instead of a password. A passkey is a unique digital key generated and stored on the secure enclave of your iPhone, iPad or Mac. This takes the place of a password which had to be long and…

BYD has undercut the MG Motor MG4 by $100 to make its new Dolphin Dynamic now the cheapest electric vehicle in Australia when it hits the road before the end of 2023. Earlier this week, MG Motor revealed the price of its MG4 51kW at $38,990 plus on road costs. But today BYD snuck in under that price for the Dolphin Dynamic at $38,890 plus on road costs. “We are proud to introduce an EV of such high quality and safety that is now within reach for more Australians,” said EVDirect CEO, Luke Todd. “With state government rebates as high…

Optus CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin says she’s proud of how her team responded to the massive data breach last year but admitted they still need to rebuild trust and that there were things the company could have done better. Optus also revealed the work it was doing to block scam text messages and calls from reaching customers and showcased the many new and existing features and services of the network. Speaking at Optus Tech Day at its Macquarie Park headquarters, the Optus boss Kelly Bayer Rosmarin said she learned a lot about the company, her team and their customers in…

Web scraping is the automated process of extracting publicly available information from websites using bots known as web scrapers. There are several types of web scraping bots, one of which is the scraper API. An application programming interface (API) facilitates communication between a consumer-facing user interface and the service provider’s scraping solution. In addition, it is designed to provide users with hassle-free access to the provider’s scraper and proxy management tool. This article focuses on one example of the scraper API – the Google Scraper API. What is a Google Scraper API? The Google Scraper API is an example of…

Hisense has revealed the pricing and availability of its new 2023 TV and Laser range which will roll into stores from July with customers able to enjoy screen sizes ranging for 55-inch to a massive 130-inch. This year the entire range of ULED TVs include Hisense ‘s latest Mini LED technology which will offer a wider colour palette and a clearer and brighter picture. Mini LED includes thousands of tiny LED backlights which can light up smaller areas of the display to create impressive contrast and a much clearer picture. With the Hisense Laser TV and Laser Cinema models, customers…

Get onboard for Episode 556 of the top-rating Tech Guide podcast hosted by editor Stephen Fenech so you can stay update and educated about the latest consumer tech news and reviews. On this week’s show: Norton has issued a warning about tax time scams – what to look out for and how to avoid becoming a victim, LG has launched its colourful range of appliances and Australia’s worst smartphone habits have been revealed. In the Tech Guide reviews, we take a look at the new 15-inch MacBook Air, we’ll take a listen to the LG Tone Free T90 earphones and…

Australia, your password game is weak. New research by Telstra has revealed 78 per cent use the same password across multiple accounts and include pet names, favourite teams and birth dates. The study shows that 1.4 million Australians use the same password for 10 or more different accounts with 1.5 million admitting they keep their passwords handy in places like on the fridge and in their wallet. Alarmingly, Australians have lost $194 million so far this year to scams and hackers so boosting the strength of our passwords is one easy way of protecting ourselves. “Your password is the first…

MG Motor has announced one of the most affordable EVs in Australia – the MG4 51kWh Excite – will hit the road in August at $38,990 plus on roads costs. It is the first EV priced under $40,000 in Australia and brings it within reach of all Australians who are thinking of switching to an electric vehicle. The MG4 Excite 51 hatchback has a range of 350km and comes with MG’s 7-year unlimited kilometre warranty. MG Motor Australia has made the decision to discontinue the ZS EV Excite to make room for the MG4 51 Excite. The ZS EV Essence…

Leading Internet security brand Norton has issued a warning to Australians to be on the lookout for tax specific scams as we approach the end of the financial year. Cybercriminals take advantage of the fact that individuals and businesses are preparing to file their returns with the Australian Taxation Office and are looking to gain access to sensitive information in a bid to steal your money and/or your identity. Last year Australians last more than $3 billion to scammers according to the ACCC with that figure expected to rise unless we take steps to stay ahead of fraudsters. “There are…

LG not only make great TVs and home appliances they also offer excellent earphones as well including the Tone Free T90 which now includes Dolby Atmos and Dolby Head Tracking – a world first. So they are useful for enjoying your music, movies, TV shows and games which are now using Dolby Atmos audio to create a soundscape that comes from all directions. And with Dolby Head Tracking the sound is pinned in front of you putting you at the centre of the scene. As you move your head the sound stay in the same position relative to your head.…