Beyond Infinity

As America passes 500,000 tragic covid deaths, it celebrates a flawless, tour-de-force landing of its Perseverance rover on Mars. The spacecraft has recently sent back historic high definition video of the incredible entry, descent and landing sequence, raising morale in a nation still grappling with the pandemic. 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

NASA's Perseverance spacecraft carries 23 cameras, including 7 for entry, descent and landing documentation. For the first time, we will see hi def video of the car-sized rover as it rides its massive supersonic parachute, fires its rockets for powered descent and then is lowered to the surface of rugged Jezero crater from the sky crane. Should make for some interesting viewing! Excited by this story? Keep us talking by supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BeyondInfinityRPP?fan_landing=true

Senior medical specialist Geoffrey Wells, organiser of the Covid Doctors Network, says 6 million Victorians did not need to be forced into stage 4 hard lockdown, with all schools and most businesses closed, tight restrictions on movement and no social contact. He argues lockdowns cause more harm than the virus and should only be used as a last resort. He believes there are problems with the Victorian government and that we should be doing much better in dealing with the pandemic, like NSW which safely handles three times the number of returning travellers. 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

Australia's Lowy Institute has released an interactive online study of why and how some countries have done so much better than others in taming the covid pandemic. 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

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 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

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

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.

Live-to-air radio interviews on RPPfm. Weekly covid reporting from Piers Cunningham with Brendon Telfer. 2-9/11/20: Australian state border closures continue, but there are signs of hope. International travel bubbles under consideration. Politics of covid. Vaccine developments. Victoria's travel restrictions finally lifted. Flu numbers down massively from last year. The need for asymptomatic testing in sensitive industries. 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

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