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NBN Co's promoting a "soft cap" on NBN ISP CVC charges, but will that add up to any change at all in the cost of Australian broadband services? HTC's announced a pair of new premium VR headsets -- but how do they stack up against Oculus or the upcoming PlayStation 5 VR kit? Guests Finder innovations editor Chris Stead (@oldmatemedia) and Aussie Broadband managing director Phil Britt Vertical Hold is brought to you by Aussie Broadband – changing the game with their award-winning network and Australian based support. Vertical Hold: Behind The Tech News - podcast hosts @adam_turner and @alexkidman speak to Australia's leading technology journalists every Friday to get the stories behind the tech news of the week. verticalhold.com.au facebook.com/VerticalHoldAU @verticalholdau

What's the tech behind BitCoin's booming rivals like Ethereum? What are 'smart contracts'? Why would you build an AI bot and give it dementia? Guests Access Informatics' Peter Marks (@petermarxy) and Dementia Australia CEO Maree McCabe (@MareeMcCabe) Vertical Hold is brought to you by Aussie Broadband – changing the game with their award-winning network and Australian based support. Vertical Hold: Behind The Tech News - podcast hosts @adam_turner and @alexkidman speak to Australia's leading technology journalists every Friday to get the stories behind the tech news of the week. verticalhold.com.au facebook.com/VerticalHoldAU @verticalholdau

The big telcos have spent fortunes on 5G mmWave spectrum, but why does it matter and when will we see it? Apple's finally got ECG on Apple Watch working down under, but is it really a heart-stopping feature? Guests SMH/Age writer Alice Clarke (@Alicedkc) and ZDNet Editor Chris Duckett (@Dobes) Vertical Hold is brought to you by Aussie Broadband – changing the game with their award-winning network and Australian based support. Vertical Hold: Behind The Tech News - podcast hosts @adam_turner and @alexkidman speak to Australia's leading technology journalists every Friday to get the stories behind the tech news of the week. verticalhold.com.au facebook.com/VerticalHoldAU @verticalholdau

Apple's Spring Loaded event predictably brought forth new iPad Pro, iMac and AirTag devices, but what's actually worth getting excited about? Guest News Corp tech editor and Hard Quiz champ Jennifer Dudley-Nicholson (@jendudley) - Vertical Hold is brought to you by Aussie Broadband – changing the game with their award-winning network and Australian based support. Vertical Hold: Behind The Tech News - podcast hosts @adam_turner and @alexkidman speak to Australia's leading technology journalists every Friday to get the stories behind the tech news of the week. verticalhold.com.au facebook.com/VerticalHoldAU @verticalholdau

Apple's unveiling new toys next week, but what's hiding behind its Spring surprise curtain? HP is bringing Instant Ink to Australia -- but what the hell is Instant Ink, and is it good value compared to ink cartridges or tanks? Meanwhile, in the smartphone wars there are definite winners... and more than a few losers. Guest Pickr editor Leigh Stark (@leighlo) Vertical Hold is brought to you by Aussie Broadband – changing the game with their award-winning network and Australian based support. Vertical Hold: Behind The Tech News - podcast hosts @adam_turner and @alexkidman speak to Australia's leading technology journalists every Friday to get the stories behind the tech news of the week. verticalhold.com.au facebook.com/VerticalHoldAU @verticalholdau "

What can you do if you're caught up in Facebook's latest massive privacy breach? How is the government considering changing the laws around social media? Guests SMH tech editor Tim Biggs (@TimBiggs) and SMH tech writer Peter Wells (@PeterWells) - Vertical Hold is brought to you by Aussie Broadband – changing the game with their award-winning network and Australian based support. Vertical Hold: Behind The Tech News - podcast hosts @adam_turner and @alexkidman speak to Australia's leading technology journalists every Friday to get the stories behind the tech news of the week. verticalhold.com.au facebook.com/VerticalHoldAU @verticalholdau

Why is Sony shuttering the PlayStation store? What kind of report card did the NBN get from the consumer watchdog? Guests Digitally Downloaded editor Matt Sainsbury @MattSainsb and ZDNet AU editor Chris Duckett @Dobes - Vertical Hold is brought to you by Aussie Broadband – changing the game with their award-winning network and Australian based support. Vertical Hold: Behind The Tech News - podcast hosts @adam_turner and @alexkidman speak to Australia's leading technology journalists every Friday to get the stories behind the tech news of the week. verticalhold.com.au facebook.com/VerticalHoldAU @verticalholdau

Should Twitter offer an undo or edit button -- and would anyone pay extra for it? Why is Facebook trying to build up a version of Instagram for under-13s? Guest Fairfax tech columnist Peter Wells (@peterwells)

Why is Epic also taking on Google as well as Apple in its battle to free app stores? Can Peloton change the way Aussies get fit with their high-tech bikes? Special Guest Age/Byteside writer Alice Clarke (@Alicedkc) Vertical Hold is brought to you by Aussie Broadband – changing the game with their award-winning network and Australian based support. Vertical Hold: Behind The Tech News - podcast hosts @adam_turner and @alexkidman speak to Australia's leading technology journalists every Friday to get the stories behind the tech news of the week. verticalhold.com.au facebook.com/VerticalHoldAU @verticalholdau

How could the Online Safety Bill censor Australians and change the way we use the internet? What are Non-Fungible Tokens and why are people paying millions online for digital art? Guest ZDNet AU cybersecurity correspondent Stilgherrian @Stilgherrian - Vertical Hold is brought to you by Aussie Broadband – changing the game with their award-winning network and Australian based support. Vertical Hold: Behind The Tech News - podcast hosts @adam_turner and @alexkidman speak to Australia's leading technology journalists every Friday to get the stories behind the tech news of the week. verticalhold.com.au facebook.com/VerticalHoldAU @verticalholdau

Were there any winners in the battle between Facebook and the Australian Government? Was Disney+'s Star Hub worth the wait? Guests @findercomau editor-in-chief Angus Kidman (@gusworldau), @Byteside editor Seamus Byrne (@seamus) and @TVBlackbox viewer advocate @SteveMolk. Vertical Hold is brought to you by Aussie Broadband – changing the game with their award-winning network and Australian based support. Vertical Hold: Behind The Tech News - podcast hosts @adam_turner and @alexkidman speak to Australia's leading technology journalists every Friday to get the stories behind the tech news of the week. verticalhold.com.au facebook.com/VerticalHoldAU @verticalholdau

Vertical Hold: Behind The Tech News - podcast hosts @adam_turner and @alexkidman speak to Australia's leading technology journalists every Friday to get the stories behind the tech news of the week.

NBN co announces new FTTP upgrade suburbs, Telstra ditches everything but prepaid direct debits and StarLink brings competition to the satellite broadband space in Australia -- at a cost. Special Guest Jen "Hard Quiz Champ" Dudley Nicholson from News Corp (@jendudley) Vertical Hold is brought to you by Aussie Broadband – changing the game with their award-winning network and Australian based support. Vertical Hold: Behind The Tech News - podcast hosts @adam_turner and @alexkidman speak to Australia's leading technology journalists every Friday to get the stories behind the tech news of the week. verticalhold.com.au facebook.com/VerticalHoldAU @verticalholdau

Why have NBN's HFC cable connections ground to a halt? Why is Telstra ditching free live sports in favour of Kayo? Guest ZDNet Australia editor Chris Duckett (@dobes) - Vertical Hold is brought to you by Aussie Broadband – changing the game with their award-winning network and Australian based support. Vertical Hold: Behind The Tech News - podcast hosts @adam_turner and @alexkidman speak to Australia's leading technology journalists every Friday to get the stories behind the tech news of the week. verticalhold.com.au facebook.com/VerticalHoldAU @verticalholdau

Listen Vertical Hold is brought to you by Aussie Broadband – changing the game with their award-winning network and Australian based support. Subscribe What would an Australian Internet look like without Google? As CBS pivots in the streaming wars, will Paramount+ be enough to see off Netflix or Disney's incoming Star streaming service? We're joined to talk all the latest news in the world of streaming - from 10 All Access becoming Paramount+ to the very imminent arrival of Disney+'s more mature-focused Star Hub in Australia with TV Blackbox expert Steve Molk! We also catch up on Google's threat to remove search from Australia with  ZDNet's Asha Barbaschow. Vertical Hold: Behind The Tech News - podcast hosts Adam Turner and Alex Kidman speak to Australia's leading technology journalists every Friday to get the stories behind the tech news of the week.

Vertical Hold is brought to you by Aussie Broadband – changing the game with their award-winning network and Australian based support. Subscribe! It's a week where the big players -- locally and internationally -- aren't exactly happy with where Australian tech legislation appears to be heading. Facebook's finally speaking up -- and out against -- the digital media code, while simultaneously trying to claim that it somehow doesn't do business in Australia. Yeah, that is as weird as it sounds. Meanwhile, Google's conducting "experiments" with how it shows Australian news content, but is this just innocent search research, or something more sinister? In the telco space, the spectrum auction is imminent, but not everyone is lining up with quite the same intentions. Telstra wants an open auction with a winner-takes-all methodology, but TPG and Optus want guaranteed spectrum to aid in competition. Who's in the right when it comes to public spectrum -- and does the reality of the communication minister's former employment make it even messier? Our special guest this week is  Finder editor-in-chief Angus Kidman Vertical Hold: Behind The Tech News - podcast hosts Adam Turner and Alex Kidman speak to Australia's leading technology journalists every Friday to get the stories behind the tech news of the week.  

Listen! Vertical Hold is brought to you by Aussie Broadband – changing the game with their award-winning network and Australian based support. Subscribe! This week we're off to Las Vegas for CES 2021! Except that, well... we're not. Because nobody is, thanks to this rotten pandemic. Instead, CES went "all digital", which meant we could stay in Australia and still enjoy everything from amazing new TVs to rollable phones to... the wellness toilet. Yeah, it's a thing. Meanwhile, Twitter was just the first of many companies to formally ban US President Donald Trump from using its service, opening up discussion around terms of use, social media obligations and "free speech". What will all of this mean for online social media discourse in Australia? It's a huge, huge week in tech news, with Samsung not only launching new TVs and whitegoods at CES 2021, but also hosting its own virtual show in Galaxy Unpacked, formally announcing the Galaxy S21 series and Galaxy Buds Pro headphones. Alex had the chance to go hands-on with the Galaxy S21 Ultra, and we delve into Samsung's plans for mobiles as well. This week we're joined by Jennifer Dudley-Nicholson from News Corp and Leigh Stark from Pickr to go behind the headlines and into the real story behind the tech news.  Vertical Hold: Behind The Tech News - podcast hosts Adam Turner and Alex Kidman speak to Australia's leading technology journalists every Friday to get the stories behind the tech news of the week.

How have podcasts evolved to embrace storytelling? How will Spotify and Hollywood shape podcasting's future? Special guest @TheFeedSBS co-anchor and Download This Show host @MarcFennell - Vertical Hold is brought to you by Aussie Broadband – changing the game with their award-winning network and Australian based support. verticalhold.com.au facebook.com/VerticalHoldAU @verticalholdau

Vertical Hold is brought to you by Aussie Broadband – changing the game with their award-winning network and Australian based support. Subscribe! Disney's signalled its streaming-first intentions recently at its investor day, with multiple new Star Wars and Marvel series, the launch of the more adult-centric Star tab to Disney+ and more, but what will that mean for Aussie TV consumers? Meanwhile, it's been 20 years since Digital TV launched in Australia. My, how time flies. But has Digital TV lived up to its promise, and in an era of Internet Streaming, does it have much of a future? We're joined to mull this over by TV Blackbox's Steve Molk. Vertical Hold: Behind The Tech News - podcast hosts Adam Turner and Alex Kidman speak to Australia's leading technology journalists every Friday to get the stories behind the tech news of the week.