Beyond Infinity

John's comprehensive critique of the much-leaked new Pixel smart phone. It has an impressive camera, with great low-light capabilities, but disappoints in other key areas like battery life and the lack of integration of Face Unlock into tap and go payment. He was considering an upgrade from his Pixel 2 but is adamant it won't be to this iteration of Google's device.

An Australian ex-pat was forced to reveal passwords and give Customs officials access to his digital devices on arrival at Adelaide airport. His phone contained intimate material of his partner. The man claims this breach of his privacy has cost him his relationship and has vowed never to return to Australia.

Launched in 2004, Google's web-based mail service has over a billion users. Many are getting closer to using up their free 15GB of storage, partly due to sharing the trillion plus images taken each year, not to mention 4K videos. And many users don't want to lose their email addresses or the archived email messages they have, so they will start paying Google for extra storage. This will add billions of dollars to the tech behemoth's bulging coffers and draw users away from other cloud services.

Physicist Dr Tony Heyes tells how the Serbian polymath Milutin Milankovic, interned in Budapest during World War 1, studied long-term climate change on Earth and showed the profound influence of axial tilt and orbital precession. We also discuss how active geology enhances the chance of life developing on planets.

A French-Australian study finds the way your muscle groups work together is unique. Like your iris, fingerprints and voice, your gait is an example of the immutable exceptionalism that makes you you. This insight may one day help identify you at a border crossing, but could also help with designing better prostheses, physical therapy and robotics.

In this fascinating discussion, Physicist Dr Tony Heyes explains the background and importance of the 1960s scientific revolution which became known as plate tectonics. He describes the roles played by German researcher Alfred Wegener and English geophysicist Frederick Vine in realising that it wasn't just a coincidence that the West coast of Africa and the East coast of South America have a similar shape and look like they might once have neatly fit together. Tony also explains geomagnetic pole reversals and the long-term cycles which influence climate and cause ice ages.

The SpaceX founder's plans for a regular shuttle service to the Red Planet; NASA's electromagnetic propulsion system confounds the experts. PLUS, resistance to new technologies and how automation could threaten half of Australian jobs.

After much procrastination, there's a space agency Downunder. And an Aussie satellite was launched from the ISS to study Earth's thermosphere. PLUS, Breakthrough Starshot aims to achieve 20% of the speed of light and go interstellar; The Kepler Space Telescope revealed weather on an exoplanet.

A look back at various stories we've done on the Social Network: UK kids disenchanted; The Zuck faces Congress; Queensland Uni study finds limiting time on FB lowers stress; Naming and shaming on FB; Does FB make you unhappy?

We discuss whether algorithm-generated music is any good. Is it creative or a strange perversion of the senses? We don't know, but still manage friendly conversation about London-based AI musicians Auxuman (or is it 'auxiliary human'?)

In a blow to Facebook's nascent Libra crypto project, online payments giant PayPal has decided to "forgo further participation... and to focus on advancing existing mission and business priorities". With doubts over regulatory approval, will other Libra associates follow suit?

The second known comet to travel through our solar system from interstellar space has been detected by amateur astronomer Gennady Borisov. Not much is known yet about this exotic object which is streaking by at over 110,000 kmh. But like its predecessor the cigar-shaped metallic Oumuamua, it's stimulating plenty of speculation about its composition and origins.

Hedge funds have for several years been using a trading strategy from outer space. Satellite speculators count cars, watch crops grow and follow oil inventories from on high and use this information to make significant gains playing equity markets. The question is: Is this fair?

A new Chinese-made camera has 4 times the resolution of the human eye and can individually identify people in a crowd of tens of thousands. Its development is of concern to civil libertarians and others worried about how this supercam can feed vast amounts of data into China's burgeoning social credit system.

Piers talks with leading experts on Buruli ulcers Professor Tim Stinear of the Doherty Institute and Professor Paul Johnson, Director of Research at Austin Health. While they acknowledge gaps in their understanding, they explain the spread of the disease from Victoria's Bellarine Peninsula to the Mornington Peninsula and why they believe mosquitos are the likely link from possums which carry the bacteria to humans. More: https://www2.health.vic.gov.au/public-health/infectious-diseases/beating-buruli

Fully operational in 2020, the comprehensive, AI-driven corporate ranking system will cover 33 million companies, both local and international. The EU Chamber of Commerce in China has described it as "the most concerted attempt by any government to impose a self-regulating market place and it could spell life or death for individual companies".

John describes changes to the relaunched Fold but still has doubts about Samsung's expensive tablet-in-a-phone. PLUS, the super high spec flagship phone from Huawei is seriously hampered by limited access to Google core services.

Australia's prime minister signs deal to be part of America's ambitious plans for the Moon and Mars; hopes to grow local space industry. Meanwhile, Russia and China agree to jointly explore the Moon and create shared deep space data centres.

John explains how Google Drive can delete your data due to account inactivity, even if you're paying for the service. We look at the benefits and risks of cloud-based data back-up and comparative pricing of different offerings.

After a four year legal battle, the world's biggest selling car maker has agreed to pay Aussies caught up in its emissions scandal up to AUD127.1 million, or about $1400 per car. Co-presenter John Young, who used to own a diesel VW, gives us his thoughts.