Category: Technology

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Google has firmly planted its flag in many corners of the tech world, none more so than the budget smartphone space. The Pixel “a” series has served up some critically-acclaimed phones, but Australian availability has sadly been limited.

Thankfully, that’s not the case with the Google Pixel 6a. It has received a full Aussie release, and with an RRP of $749, it’s one of the most tempting options in the price range. It boasts the same Tensor chipset that powers the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro, a 12MP camera system and a choice of three colors – Chalk, Charcoal and Sage.

Can’t wait to pick up this brand new model? Here are the best storefronts for purchasing the Google Pixel 6a. For more information on finding the phone of your dreams, check out our guide to the 10 best smartphones in Australia.

Where to buy Google Pixel 6a

Where to buy Google Pixel 6a unlocked

amazon

You can grab the all-new the Google Pixel 6a from Amazon. You can even save some dough by opting for an international version of the device, though this isn’t recommended for novices.

• Free delivery on eligible items with an Amazon Prime membership
• Express delivery available
• 24/7 customer service
• easy returns

Check prices at Amazon

eBay

Nab this budget masterpiece on eBay. Thanks to eBay’s unique site design, you can browse a wide range of sellers to find the best price and product for you.

• Free delivery on eligible items with an eBay Plus membership
• New products added daily
• Shop by guaranteed delivery date

Check prices at eBay

google store

Purchase the Google Pixel 6a straight from Google itself. The Google Store provides a wealth of information about the 6a and other Pixel phones to ensure you won’t regret your purchase.

• easy returns
• Free phone recycling program

Check prices at Google Store

Kogan

Pick up the Google Pixel 6a from Kogan and get a free 20GB Kogan Mobile plan.

• Free delivery on eligible items with Kogan First membership
• Next-day delivery available
• Accepts Zip and Afterpay

Check prices at Kogan

dick smith

Dick Smith is a leading electronics retailer for good reason. Head over there to purchase the Google Pixel 6a now.

• Freight protection available
• Fast shipping available on some products
• Klarna availability

Check prices at Dick Smith

Which of these retailers offers free delivery

• Amazon: Free delivery on eligible items with an Amazon Prime membership.
• eBay: Free delivery on eligible items with an eBay Plus membership.
• Kōgan: Free delivery on eligible items or with a Kogan First membership.

Buy Google Pixel 6a on a plan

Prefer to buy your phones from mobile carriers? Click here for our complete guide to buying the Google Pixel 6a from Telstra, Optus and Vodafone.

About Google Pixel 6a

How much of a downgrade is the Pixel 6a from the Pixel 6? While refresh rate is reduced from 120Hz to 60Hz, and the camera demoted from 50MP to 12MP, there’s still plenty to get excited about when it comes to the Google Pixel 6a – especially for an RRP of $749.

Like other budget smartphones such as the iPhone SE, the Pixel 6a offers value by featuring a top-of-the-line chipset. The 6a runs on the same Tensor processor as the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro, meaning you can enjoy much of the same power as the 6a’s cousins ​​while saving plenty of cash.

Throw in 3 beautiful colors, a 6.1 OLED display and a purported 24 hours of battery life, and the Pixel 6a is an enticing value proposition indeed.

It appears Destiny 2 players will have limited options as far as comms go for the time being, as developer Bungie has briefly pulled the plug on text chat due to the presence of a game-breaking bug. Player reports indicate that the bug is the result of a specific copypasta (a long string of copied and pasted text) that is being sent through the whisper channel. Players who receive this message are being kicked out of the game, at which point they will receive and error message that reads: “Could not connect to Destiny 2 servers. Check your network configuration and try again.”

This bug appeared as long ago as yesterday, and at the time many players were taking their protection into their own hands. Many players recommended manually shutting off whisper channels and avoiding any areas with local or team chats in order to protect themselves from the malicious messages. Some players were even leaving their clans if they suspected that other clan members might be knowingly using the exploit.

Related: Destiny 2 will get skill-based match making in season 18, new raid launches in August

Shortly after reports began to spread, Bungie made the call to shut down text channels in order to work out a long-term fix, announcing via Twitter that they are taking this action across all platforms in order to investigate further. At this point, it’s unclear how long it will take to get the necessary patch in order, though Bungie is asking players to stay tuned for updates, and is sure to get one out as soon as possible.

This exploit comes on the heels of another problem with Destiny 2’s security, as it was recently discovered that Bungie is suing streamer MiffysWorld after repeated instances of cheating, harassment, and threats caused the streamer to go through at least 13 alternate accounts.

Explorations in UI/UX design: The link between technology & art

The role of the UX designer

Dabbling in UI design & development

The art of problem solving in UX/UI design

How to get started in UX & UI

Parked on the vast concrete expanse of the Main Assembly Building (MAB) at Tonsley is a 1981 Mitsubishi Sigma. Its body has been painted white, with even the windows and windscreens whited out. The only splashes of color come from the red number plates, printed with MIDIBISHI, and the snaking mass of wiring and speaker cable linking the car to various sound decks and projectors. But what this network of wiring and cables does is simply ingenious. Using MIDI (Musical Instrument Design Interface) sound technology sensors, the body of the vehicle responds to touch, transforming the vintage Sigma from car into musical instrument.

As the light fades, video projections of Mount Fuji and cherry blossoms brighten the wall and play across the car. The Sigma’s exhaust system, now converted into a smoke machine, fogs the stage, creating an ethereal atmosphere.

A performer in white coveralls approaches, playing a Japanese bamboo flute. He joins three comrades in red coveralls around the car, their color scheme matching the triple-bladed red and white logo of Mitsubishi Motors. Traditional music and the sound of crickets meld with an artistic video collage created from historical footage of the famous Japanese motor vehicle manufacturer.

The soundscape accelerates and the performers move between the car and decks, filling the space with a bespoke soundscape of industrial recordings, laser lighting and a fascinating video compilation of historical footage, mechanical plans, performance graphs and vintage media advertising.

The performers shift around the vehicle, playing it like an instrument as they coax their mix of beats and sounds from the car. A row of spanners connected to the front grill by cables and alligator clips is played like a keyboard of factory noise. Hammers, drumsticks, wrenches and slamming doors add a baseline of percussion.

The video projections are mesmerizing. Moving through time, the 45-minute performance carries the audience through the story of Mitsubishi, from its roots in Japan, through the history of car manufacturing at the Tonsley manufacturing site into an imagined future, ending with images of the innovative car-instrument revolving against an astronomical backdrop from the James Webb telescope.

Footage is overlaid and manipulated, psychedelic filters and laser lighting enhancing the soundscape being created in real time by the four performers using recordings they’ve collected from factories and industrial sites across Adelaide. Most visually fascinating is the historical footage from the Tonsley site showing the vast Mitsubishi production lines crowding the expanse of concrete under the audience’s feet. We are whisked through worker-intensive manufacturing into the highly-computerized robotic era, the flow punctuated by the floor siren and paper-bagged lunch.

The four performers (Emily Collins, Dexter Campos, Eric Bagnara and David Kotlowy) bringing this inspired concept to life are all descendants of workers who supported their families through factory work after arriving in Australia. They bring an impressive range of skills and talents to the project – the four artists collectively possessing decades of experience in both sound and visual art, including music composition and performance, video installation, curating and design.

Project curator Emily Collins says the team came up with the idea of ​​using industrial sounds from around Adelaide as a way of honoring the role of factory work in the troupe’s common history.

MIDIBISHI is an ingenious concept that blends art, nostalgia and technology to create a stunning celebration of both Adelaide’s industrial past, and the specific manufacturing history of the Tonsley site.

The MIDIBISHI sculpture installation is in the Main Assembly Building at Tonsley until August 31 as part of SALA (in parking mode, it broadcasts a series of experimental music soundscapes 24/7). Further live performances are scheduled for August 13 and 27 at 5pm.

UPDATE: Amazon has wasted absolutely no time increasing the prices of the Meta Quest 2 following the August 1st price hike. As we predicted, the price of both the Meta Quest 2 128GB/256GB have received significant price bumps, both going up by $150 AUD.

Accessories have also gone up with the Elite Strap with battery now costing $189 (was $145 before).

Facebook has announced that the Meta Quest 2 is getting a massive price increase as of August 1st. Both the 128GB and 256GB versions of the headset will increase by $100 USD (~$143 AUD) on August 1st. Accessories will also go up on August 1st. This means there’s litearlly less than 48 hours left before there’s a huge hike on these headsets and all of its accessories.

It’s expected that the new prices for the Meta Quest will be roughly $600 AUD for the 128GB version and $780 for the 256GB version. You’ve still got until August 1st to buy the Meta Quest 2 and its accessories at their original prices:

From August 1st onwards, Facebook will include a copy of Beat Saber for free with every purchase December 31st, but this hardly makes up the difference in price.

Facebook says that the increase in price of these products are due to an increase in costs to develop the headsets and ship them. It’s also assumed that Facebook was already taking a significant loss on each Meta Quest 2 headset sold.

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Preorders for that LEGO Atari 2600 kit we told you about last week have just gone live on the LEGO website, and the site is already straining under the number of people trying to get in.

The site is currently so besieged with people trying to preorder the kit that it had to resort to waiting room queues. At the time of writing, visiting the LEGO Australia website returns a queue page on a looping 15-second countdown. Once you’ve moved through the queue, you’ll be allowed to enter the site and (should stock still be available) preorder a LEGO Atari.

Who would have thought a LEGO Atari 2600 kit would draw this kind of attention? Definitely not me. Something has changed within the LEGO sphere during the pandemic. We never used to have this kind of clamor for a kit before.

Similar to the Nintendo Entertainment System kit from a couple of years ago, the Atari 2600 kit features the console itself, a small living room diorama, a joystick, and several cartridges. It also features a little end table to keep the carts in and small 3D models of Adventure, asteroidsand Centipede. The complete kit comprises 2532 pieces, which is actually fewer than the 2647 pieces found in the NES kit. This will be a build for grown-ups and more complex than the average set.

If you want to preorder the LEGO Atari 2600, you can do so via the official LEGO Australia website. Good luck.

LG’s Australian Business Solutions arm has unveiled a new project at Brisbane’s Stratton Bar & Kitchen which features a MULTI V 5 HVAC air conditioning system.

Created in partnership with Integrated Group, the system performs efficiently and to the unique design of the building. The former airplane hangar is over 80 years old, and features a curved-steel ceiling and spacious footprint which comprises a 150-seat dining area, as well as a bar and function space.

With no insulation, the owners sought a system that could effectively cool and soundproof the space without taking away from the aesthetic.

“The challenges we faced were essentially converting a shed with no thermal properties and no acoustic properties into a hospitality venue that would be around for years to come,” says Stratton Owner Ben Brown.

“Given the unique nature of the space, it was very important to us that the air conditioning units were both functional and aesthetically pleasing.”

Integrate Group was approached by Stratton to design the system’s capacity. The engineering group found that approximately 180kW of air conditioning would be required to suitably cool the venue.

“The LG MULTI V 5 system was chosen for the Stratton Bar & Kitchen project based on aesthetics, price and ease of installation. The system’s large capacity outdoor units allowed us to minimize the space and lighten the total load needed for installation, which helped us overcome one of the main design hurdles to keep the space neat and tidy,” says Integrated Group Managing Director, Jerome Higgins.

“The MULTI V 5 provided ultimate installation flexibility for its key components, which aided in our solution to build a mezzanine in the back to house the HVAC system, and not take away from the restaurant’s aesthetics inside.”

Differing cassettes were installed in the dining and bar areas as well as the kitchen. The space now features a bespoke, efficient cooling system that is easily operated through LG’s ThinQ app. The system is able to measure temperature and humidity levels and determine its parameters to achieve optimal energy efficiency and maximum indoor comfort levels.

“At LG, we are passionate about providing innovative technology that supports the ever-changing demands for businesses,” says Brad Reed, Head of B2B Marketing (Solutions for Business) at LG Electronics Australia.

“This project with Integrate and Stratton Bar & Kitchen is a great example of how our HVAC solutions enable a comfortable atmosphere for a variety of business settings, working unobtrusively in the background and adding to the aesthetic of the venue. The technology is what keeps offices, hospitals, hotels, shopping malls and other indoor commercial settings cool in the summer and warm in the cool months.”

To find out more about LG Electronics Business Solutions HVAC systems, click here.

AMD might be equipping faster GDDR6 memory chips on its upcoming high-end Radeon RX 7900 series graphics cards based on Navi 31 “RDNA 3” GPUs.

AMD’s High-End RDNA 3 “Navi 31” Powered Radeon RX 7900 Graphics Cards Allegedly Feature 20 Gbps Memory

The latest rumor comes from greymon55 and states that the red team’s fastest RDNA 3 GPUs based on the Navi 31 SKU will utilize faster GDDR6 memory dies. AMD’s RDNA 2-powered Navi GPUs come with up to 18 Gbps memory speeds. The 18 Gbps memory was added to the recent RDNA 2 refresh while the initial lineup made use of 16 Gbps dies.

Since 7000XT will use 20Gbps, I guess 7x50XT will still be 24Gbps+frequency upgrade mode.

— Greymon55 (@greymon55) July 30, 2022

It is stated that the Radeon RX 7900 series which will cover the high-end segment with their powerful MCM-based Navi 31 GPU design, will offer up to 20 Gbps memory speeds. That’s an increase of 11% compared to the existing fastest memory solution for the AMD Radeon RX 6000 cards.

Considering that the AMD Radeon RX 7900 series flagship comes with a 384-bit bus interface, we will be getting a 960 GB/s bandwidth solution plus there’s also Infinity Cache’s bandwidth which is expected to be increased to 384 MB (192 MB standard + 192 MB 3D V-Cache in six MCDs). Recent speculation has shown that with the new MCD Infinity Cache structure, the Radeon RX 7900 series can offer up to a theoretical 7 TB/s bandwidth which would be a massive increase versus the 1.79 TB/s bandwidth currently available on the RX 6950 XT graphics card.

A 7000 series upgrade exists. But the time is relatively late and I personally think that upgrading to 24Gbps is highly likely.

— Greymon55 (@greymon55) July 30, 2022

I think early 2024 is more likely.

— Greymon55 (@greymon55) July 30, 2022

But that’s not all, the leaker also says that an RDNA 3 refresh might feature the high-end 24 Gbps memory dies. This would yield the same GDDR6 bandwidth as NVIDIA’s flagship GeForce RTX 3090 Ti graphics card. Even the RTX 4090 Ti is expected to utilize 24 Gbps memory dies though we will see if that plan changes in the future. As for when the refresh is planned, it is expected around the end of 2023 or early 2024 so we got more than a year to go and the launch of AMD RDNA 3’s initial family to be witnessed before we talk about a refresh. The memory would be equipped with all of the refreshed models.

AMD RDNA 3 Navi 3X GPU Configurations (Preliminary)

News Source: Videocardz