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John Young gushes over his latest gadget, a versatile E Ink tablet. He loves the matt greyscale screen which he says is easy on the eye, the great battery life and variety of Boox pens that work with it. It's perfect for reading e-books, making hand-written notes which can be converted to text, drawing, email and general browsing. While he concedes ghosting is sometimes an issue, he's very impressed with the Onyx's sleek design and variety of available apps. Excited by this story? Keep us talking by supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BeyondInfinityRPP?fan_landing=true

A final word on a pretty ordinary year. Hope you enjoyed what we did and stand by for some cool new stuff in MMXXI

Live-to-air radio interviews on RPPfm. Twice weekly covid reporting from Piers Cunningham with Brendon Telfer. - Asian immunity stemming from previous exposure to coronaviruses including SARS - China understating its early cases of covid-19. Possible cover-up - V-Day in the UK: Pfizer vaccine rollout. Fine-tuning vaccinations with UK lessons - EU divisions - are we entering a "new pandemic era"? - Bill Gates warnings - can future pandemics be controlled by very fast development of vaccines? - a seasonal flu shot incorporating dose for latest covid strains? - new dangerous mutation in southern England - covid-20 and 21 on the way? Like what you hear? Check out our searchable backlist of over 800 science and technology podcasts, complete with show notes and other resources, at beyondinfinity.com.au

Piers talks with Simon Young, Head of Content at LithodomosVR, about how his company refocussed their business in 2020. LDVR is utilising its library of 500 visualisations of the ancient world for their new consumer web VR site ancient-world.co, with a headset version in the pipeline. He walks us through the process of how a VR experience of Hobart Town as it was 200 years ago was created and ponders the similarities of the VR experience and dreams. Part 2 of a 2 part in-depth interview. Excited by this story? Keep us talking and support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BeyondInfinityRPP?fan_landing=true

Piers hears from Simon Young, Head of Content at LithodomosVR, about how his company refocussed their business in 2020. As expert creators of digital visualisations for the world's most famous archaeological sites and museums, the abrupt end of international travel and mass tourism had a profound effect on their client base. Simon explains how the company changed tack and launched a consumer product which harnesses web VR. Part 1 of a 2 part in-depth interview. Fascinated by this story? Keep us talking and support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BeyondInfinityRPP?fan_landing=true

There are big changes foreshadowed for Windows 10. Expect to see tighter integration with the Android ecosystem, whereby apps can run on your PC, plus a more modern user interface and improved security. Meanwhile, Windows 10X could potentially mount an attack on Chrome OS. We give you the lowdown. Like what you hear? Check out our searchable backlist of over 750 science and technology podcasts, complete with show notes and other resources, at beyondinfinity.com.au

In June 2020, the 55th and final satellite in the Beidou constellation was successfully launched into geosynchronous orbit. The system provides global coverage for timing and navigation and offers an alternative to GPS, GLONASS and the Galileo positioning system. It has both civilian and military applications.

Live-to-air radio interviews on RPPfm. Twice weekly covid reporting from Piers Cunningham with Brendon Telfer. - the vital need for lots of testing; Victoria opening up; virus in sewage; living with covid - Sweden's ultimately unsuccessful approach, especially when compared to other Scandinavian nations - Australian state border closures; US response; Masks, Gates, Fauci

Live-to-air radio interviews on RPPfm. Twice weekly covid reporting from Piers Cunningham with Brendon Telfer. - theoretical elimination; vaccines; quarantine issues - Sweden's predicament; rampant 2nd wave; Anders Tegnell - bioethics; vaccine rollout and prioritisation; international travel prospects

At last, the iPhone 12 Mini is here. For those who loved the form factor of 2012's iPhone 5 or lament smart phones' unrelenting increase in size and yearn for single-handed texting, this device is exactly what you've been waiting for. Piers tells all about the smallest fully-specced phone Apple has released in years and reckons there's a lot to like. Excited by this story? Keep us talking by supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BeyondInfinityRPP?fan_landing=true

John Young's long-term report on Oppo's high-spec smart phone. He discusses its useability, controls and big beautiful OLED screen. He loves the great battery life and super fast charging capability, but has reservations about over-heating under heavy use and noisy night shots.

A look at Apple's 2020 laptop line up - impressions of ownership, pros, cons and which one to choose. They all have the same premium feel and share many features, but it's the new M1 processor that looks like being well worth the wait, that is if you haven't already committed... Love your gadgets? Keep us talking and support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BeyondInfinityRPP?fan_landing=true

In a major boost for Bitcoin and other leading cryptos, digital payment company PayPal is introducing the ability to buy, hold and sell cryptocurrencies and plans to significantly increase their utility by making them available as a funding source for purchases at its 26 million merchants worldwide from early 2021. The move is likely to increase the mainstream acceptance of digital currencies around the world. Fired up by this story? Check out our searchable backlist of over 750 science and technology podcasts, complete with show notes and other resources, at beyondinfinity.com.au

Tom Cruise is slated to make a movie in space. The action adventure star is renowned for doing his own stunts, so this should make for exciting entertainment. Though details are scarce, the project has the support of NASA and Elon Musk. NASA wants to commercialise activities on the space station and drum up public enthusiasm for its Artemis program to return astronauts to the Moon. Excited by this story? Keep us talking by supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BeyondInfinityRPP?fan_landing=true

Research at the University of Bath's Center for Accountable, Transparent and Responsible Artificial Intelligence is developing a new technique that allows more fluent communication by either supporting or, even better, replacing the need to type out what you want to communicate, by using brain signals to do the ‘typing’ instead. Intrigued by this story? Check out our searchable backlist of over 750 science and technology podcasts, complete with show notes and other resources, at beyondinfinity.com.au

How sophisticated disinformation campaigns muddy the waters and make it harder to understand the truth about Covid-19 vaccines. Research at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute and the EUvsDisinfo Project sheds light on false narratives seeded through news channels and social media. Like this story? Keep us talking by supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BeyondInfinityRPP?fan_landing=true

A look at the very ambitious plan for NASA and its international partners to land people at Shackleton Crater at the moon's South Pole in 2024. Project Artemis includes the deep space Gateway space station in lunar orbit and a lunar surface base with in-situ resource utilisation. Eventually the technology and skills learned at the moon will enable a manned mission to Mars. Like this story? Keep us talking - Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BeyondInfinityRPP?fan_landing=true

Live-to-air radio interviews on RPPfm. Weekly covid reporting from Piers Cunningham with Brendon Telfer. 16/10/20: Tough questions for the Premier from Peta Credlin. COVID-19 Hotel Quarantine Inquiry. Unrealistic elimination policy. Analog Vs digital contact tracing. 26/10/20: Endless lockdown. Northern metro outbreak. Government messaging. Asymptomatic spreading. Acceptable risk management. Comparison with NSW covid approach. Mounting pressure on Victorian government. Mornington Peninsula lockdown. Paralysis in decision making. Like this story? Check out our searchable backlist of over 750 science and technology podcasts, complete with show notes and other resources at beyondinfinity.com.au

In September 2020, the internet exploded with news of life existing at the Earth's twin planet. The James Clerk Maxwell telescope in Hawaii and the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array in Chile found the biomarker phosphine - a phosphorus and hydrogen molecule - high in the Venusian atmosphere. But there are deep doubts about how life could exist at Venus, given its hellish surface temperature and crushing noxious atmosphere. Scientists admit there will need to be corroborative measurements and that phosphine can exist without any connection to life. Spaced Out by this story? Check out our searchable backlist of over 750 science and technology podcasts, complete with show notes and other resources at beyondinfinity.com.au

John explains why he didn't buy a new Pixel 5 (he bought an Oppo Find X2 Pro instead). But he's still a fan of this mid-range smart phone from Google. He likes the OLED screen, great battery life (with shared charging capability), advanced camera system and 5G connectivity. He reckons for many people it's a perfectly good alternative to some of the high-end, uber-exxy phones out there. Like this story? Check out our searchable backlist of over 750 science and technology podcasts, complete with show notes and other resources at beyondinfinity.com.au