2019-05-01 Money Australia

WEBFIND

KOALA.ECO

SMART TECH

Small gadgets fit

smallerspaces

Whatis it?Google

HomeMini

Howmuch?$79

Pros:Thebiggest

innovationin interface

designis actuallythe

smallest,takingupalmost

nophysicalspace.Smart

speakersdon’treallyhave

buttons,levers,screens

orknobs;alltheyneed

aremicrophonesanda

speaker.Butthey’restill

incrediblyuseful,letting

youcontrolthembyvoice.

Youcanaskquestions,

checktheweather,set

timers,makeshopping

lists,playmusicandmore.

Cons:Checkdeals.The

Miniis oftenonsale,as

is Amazon’scomparable

EchoDot.

store.google.com/au

W

e don’talllivein mansions.While

someAustraliansaremovingout

ofthebigurbancentres,manyothers

continuetoflocktoourlargestcities.

Whatthismeansis thatformoreand

morepeopleanapartmentorsmaller

dwellingis home.Inevitably,theymay

needtomakeadjustmentstoensure

theirsmallerspacesworkforthem,

andtechplaysanimportantrolein

thisregard.

Smalltechcanoccupya smallerfoot-

printin theplaceyoulivein:something

that’sprettyimportantif yourhomeis a

studio,a one-bedroomapartmentor

a bedroomin a sharehouse.

Butin additiontobeingmindfulof

technology’sphysicalvolume– for

example,purchasinga smallercom-

puter,ratherthana largerone– it’salso

helpfultothinkaboutwhattechnology

canenable.Takea Kindle:a single

e-readercan,in theory,replacean

entireshelfofbooks.

Forpeoplewholivein smallplaces,

thesizeofyourcouchandbedmight

seemlikethebiggestconsiderations.

Butdon’tforgetwhatsmalltechcan

doforyoutoo.PETERDOCKRILL

Whatis it?AppleMac

Mini

Howmuch?From$1249

Pros:Appletooksolong

toupdateitssmallest

desktop,manyfearedthe

Mini’stimehadcome.

Luckilythe 2018 revamp

breathesnewlifeintothe

tiniestMac,whichnow

packs8th-genIntelCore

processors.You’llneedto

bringyourownmonitor,

keyboardandmouse(or

trackpad),butyou’ve

gotthefoundationsofa

powerfulcomputerhere,

in thesizeofsomething

notmuchbiggerthana CD

wallet.Rememberthem?

Cons:Pricierthan

previousgenerations.

apple.com/au

Whatis it?Amazon

Kindle

Howmuch?$139

Pros:Fewdevices

speaktothebenefitsof

smalltechbetterthan

e-readers.Notonlyare

theyvanishinglythinbut

theyletyoureadvirtually

anybookeverwritten,

providedyou’rehappywith

e-inkin placeofpaper.

Thenewbudgetmodel

includesa frontlight,

meaningyoucanread

in thedark,andfeatures

improvedvisuals.

Cons:E-readerinterfaces

takesomegettingusedto,

buttheysaynottojudgea

bookbyitscover.

amazon.com.au

Whatis it?Thecharityis helpingto

end“avoidableblindness”in thedevelop-

ingworldandamongAboriginal

andTorresStraitIslander

communities.

Whereyourmoney

goes:Thefoundation

continuestheworkofcele-

bratedophthalmologistand

humanitarianFredHollows,

whodiedin 1993.Acrossthe

world, 36 millionpeopleare

blind– andmanydon’thavetobe.

Conditionssuchascataracts,trachoma

anddiabeticretinopathycanbetreat-

edorcuredwithaccesstoaffordable

treatment.Thefoundationworksin

disadvantagedcommunitiesin Australia

andglobally,traininglocalteamsin eye

careandhelpingtorestoresightusing

cost-effectivetechniques.A donationof

$25canoftenrestorethevision,andthe

abilitytoearna living,ofsomeonein

thedevelopingworld.

Howtodonate:Makea tax-deduct-

ibledonationbycontacting 1800352

352,orvisithollows.org.Orparticipatein

oneofthefoundation’sWildWomenon

TopCoastrekevents,completing 30 and

60 kilometrewalks.Eventswillbeheldin

MelbourneonMay 24 andonthe

SunshineCoastonJuly26.NICOLAFIELD

GIVEIT UP

The Fred Hollows Foundation

THIS MONTH

Koala Eco is the brainchild

of an Aussie duo based in

Bondi. The company makes

100% plant-based house-

hold cleaning products using

essential oils rather than

synthetic fragrances. With

scents such as mandarin,

lemon myrtle, pink grape-

fruit and, of course, eucalyp-

tus, on the menu, Koala Eco

is worth a try to bring

an eco-friendly fragrance

to your home. NICOLA FIELD

SMART SPENDING