Monday, September 28, 2020

Latest Gadgets News

Poco X3 will be going on its first sale today at 12pm (noon) via Flipkart. Key features of the Poco X3 include a large 6,000mAh battery, a quad rear camera setup featuring a 64-megapixel primary sensor, and the octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 732G SoC.

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Here's where to buy clear face masks for 2020 - CNET

Transparent face masks make reading lips easier and allow your facial expressions to shine through.

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Global death toll from COVID-19 surpasses 1 million - CNET

More than 33 million people worldwide have tested positive for the disease.

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6 striking designer face masks to buy for 2020 - CNET

From bows and silk to crystals, we found six face mask styles that are anything but ordinary.

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Here's how to buy face masks with popular styles for 2020 - CNET

These online stores have a variety of styles for all your face-covering needs, and their masks are a hit with CNET readers.

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Hulu's Monsterland horror anthology blurs the lines between humans and monsters - CNET

Review: This psychologically terrifying new creature-feature series will still give you chills even if you end up rooting for the monster.

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Latest Tech News

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) has today released its tenth quarterly performance report on the NBN, carrying on its plan to provide broadband customers an accurate idea of how different providers and technologies are performing over time.

The latest report collates data from a 30-day period spanning May 22 until June 20, 2020 – the first the ACCC has released that includes data during the Covid period of increased demand, from Australian residents working, schooling and generally spending more time at home.

The good news

Apart from one outlier RSP and the specific tests that it underperformed in (more on that below), most NBN providers are coping admirably during the increased load that they’ve been met with due to Covid and the resulting surge in demand it brought about.

The average download speed of all providers during the busy hours (7-11pm) fell between 82.8% and 90% of the maximum plan speed, while the bracket for the busiest hour from that window was between 78% and 88.4%.

Compared to the previous reporting figures, every single provider managed to bump their performance up in the busy hour download average test, while only Dodo and iPrimus dipped (by 1%) in the busiest hour metric.

Every NBN speed tier (as well as ADSL) saw an increase since last quarter to its overall average download speed as well, with NBN100 jumping from 84.5Mbps to 88.0Mbps and NBN50 rising slightly from 42.6Mbps to 43.3Mbps.

As far as the variance in average speed between different technologies, the story has remained rather similar since the last report. For both NBN50 and NBN100 plans, FttP (Fibre-to-the-Premises) and HFC (Hybrid Fibre Coaxial) connections provide around 92% of the maximum speeds they promise, while FttN (Fibre-to-the-Node) only manages about 82%.

The outlier

While most Retail Service Providers (RSPs) performed fairly similarly when comparing average speeds across different tiers, one provider, MyRepublic, did struggle to keep up in a handful tests.

When watching Netflix during busy peak hours, for example, the company's NBN50 plans had difficultly maintaining the necessary speeds to support three or more simultaneous streams, as shown in the ACCC’s chart below. 

Chart comparing capacities of RSPs to handle multiple HD Netflix streams. (Image credit: ACCC)

While all the other measured RSPs had almost 100% of their NBN services capable of handling two, three, or four HD Netflix streams, MyRepublic’s capacity dropped significantly with the introduction of each new Netflix instance beyond two.

Another hurdle the provider didn’t clear was the average latency of its broadband services during both regular and busy hours. While most RSPs were able to keep latency within 10-13ms for the most part, MyRepublic almost doubled this at 20.6ms during normal hours and 21.8ms during busy hours.

ACCC NBN report May-June 2020

Chart comparing average latency of connections between RSPs. (Image credit: ACCC)

Latency is a significant factor for activities that require user feedback – most notably video conferencing and online gaming – but as pointed out by the ACCC, “latency at even 30ms would have a detrimental effect on only the most latency-sensitive applications.” 

In other words, while the comparative performance may look bad, the impact on real-world use is likely to be limited.

MyRepublic did have one of the lowest occurrences of average daily outages across the board, however it’s worth noting that the outages the RSP did face were more likely to last longer (it had the highest proportion of outages lasting 10 minutes or more) suggesting higher resilience overall but a much slower recovery.

For further info, visit ACCC's page to see graphics depicting the latest broadband performance findings.

The best NBN250 plans on offer



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Latest Tech News

Telstra is taking the fight for broadband customers directly to the NBN Co, with Australia's biggest telco set to announce a 5G fixed-wireless offering, which the company is hoping will tempt users away from the nation’s broadband network.

The NBN alternative is expected to be available from Telstra tomorrow (Wednesday, September 29), and will deliver 500GB of data to homes through the telco’s 5G network for AU$85 a month.

Telstra says it will first be invitation-only, and it expects customers on the new 5G broadband service to be able to reach a typical speed of between 50Mbps and 300Mbps in the busy evening hours.

The actual speed each customer will receive will be dependent on their proximity to a 5G tower, and how many other users are using the same connection in your area.

Telstra isn’t the only one to challenge NBN Co with 5G – Optus was the first to join the fight, and it has a 5G plan with unlimited monthly data at AU$75 per month.

The major telcos move into the 5G fixed-wireless market lets them use their own existing 5G networks, meaning they don't have to pay the NBN a wholesale price to use its technology.

But Telstra arguably can’t afford to be as brazen as Optus in pursuing NBN customers to switch. The company signed a non-compete agreement with the NBN Co as part of a larger deal between the two which allowed NBN Co to secure some of the telco’s infrastructure assets (such as copper phone lines), as reported by the Australian Financial Review.

If Telstra breaks that agreement, it may no longer receive one-off payments from NBN Co when its customers move from older connections, such as ADSL to the NBN.

Who’s a 5G fixed-wireless service for?

A Telstra spokesperson told the Sydney Morning Herald that it will initially be targeting customers who are “having the poorest experience today”, and that includes older ADSL connections and the NBN.

It’ll be seeking those who have frequent faults and outages through their current technology.

The company said it plans to open up wider access over the course of the next 12 months, as its 5G infrastructure is further rolled out and faster mmWave equipment becomes more common. 

Telstra NBN plans compared



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Latest Tech News

With so many shows and movies to choose from on Australia's major streaming services, it can often be difficult to find the best new stuff to watch each week. 

In an effort to make things easier, every Monday we'll be hand-picking the best new shows and movies to watch on Aussie streaming platforms each week, covering the likes of Netflix, Disney Plus, Binge, Stan and Amazon Prime Video.

Below, you'll find a list of this week's highlights, separated by streaming service, with binge-worthy new shows sitting alongside some great big-budget new movie arrivals – and a couple of oddball left-of-field entries, just for some variety. 

Thankfully, there's a nice selection of new shows and great movies landing on Australia's streaming services this week. Here are our streaming picks for the weekend of September 28 to October 4, 2020.

Netflix

David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet (Documentary – available 4/10/2020)

He's narrated countless documentaries about the world around us – now it's time for David Attenborough's time in the spotlight. In the feature-length documentary David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet, the celebrated naturalist is reflects on his life while offering his concerns for the future of planet Earth.

Amazon Prime Video

The Walking Dead: World Beyond (TV Series – available 2/10/2020)

In this new spin-off of The Walking Dead, we follow a group of teenagers who are the first generation to come of age after the apocalypse. According to the show's synopsis, "Some will become heroes. Some will become villains. In the end, all of them will be changed forever." The Walking Dead: World Beyond will consist of only two seasons before it concludes.

Disney Plus

Ford v Ferrari (Movie – available 2/10/2020)

Based on true events, the sublime Ford v Ferrari recounts the infamous rivalry between American automaker Ford and Italian automaker Ferrari that would come to a head at the 1966 Le Mans 24-hour endurance race. In an attempt to beat Ferrari at its own game, Ford hires car designer Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon) to design a capable performance vehicle. Of course, he'll need a driver worthy of it, which is where the brash but brilliant Ken Miles (Christian Bale) steps in.

Binge

Raised By Wolves: Season Finale (TV Series – available 1/10/2020)

In this epic science fiction series produced by Ridley Scott (Alien, Blade Runner), Androids have been tasked with raising human children on a mysterious and unforgiving planet. Now heading into its season finale, all ten episodes of Raised by Wolves will be available to stream on Binge from October 1.

Stan

Code 404 (TV Series – available 01/10/2020)

One of the first shows to arrive on Stan as part of its partnership with NBC Universal's new Peacock streaming service, Code 404 is a comedy show in which a top London cop (Daniel Mays) is brought back from the dead using artificial intelligence. if only he wasn't such a goofball. Also stars Stephen Graham (Boardwalk Empire).



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Latest Gadgets News

Redmi 9A will be going on sale in India today starting 12pm (noon) via Amazon and Mi.com. The Redmi 9A comes in two RAM + storage configurations and three colour options. The phone is powered by the MediaTek Helio G25 SoC and packs a 5,000mAh battery.

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Latest Gadgets News

Xiaomi is hosting a Smarter Living 2021 event in India today. The company has teased the arrival of the Mi Smart Band 5, along with its first smartwatch in India. This watch is expected to be called the Mi Watch Revolve, which is essentially a rebadged model of the Mi Watch Color launched in China earlier. Xiaomi is also rumoured to launch Mi Smart AI speaker at the e...

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Best face masks to use for exercise in 2020 - CNET

And what to look for when you shop for a performance mask.

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Best toaster ovens of 2020 - CNET

Toaster ovens are bulky, inefficient and outdated. There, I said it. Now let's find the ones that are actually worth it.

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LA Comic Con 2020 is going ahead despite coronavirus concerns - CNET

Other conventions have opted to postpone or go virtual.

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Hyundai drops a potential Elantra N teaser in its TCR reveal video - Roadshow

It's about time Hyundai's N division got busy on another full-fat model to keep the Veloster company.

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Heat Domes and Surging Grid Demand Threaten US Power Grids with Blackouts

A new report shows a sharp increase in peak electricity demand, leading to blackout concerns in multiple states. Here's how experts say ...