Plus•HowToRecover BrokenOrCorrupted Files

•Are Smartwatches ReallyUseful Or Just A Fad?

•High-quality Tower ServersTriedAnd Tested

£2.5028MAY3

JUN2015

ISSUE1364

tinyurl.com

/mm1364mm

HOWEASYISITTO

HACKAWIRELESSNETWORK?ESSENTIALSECURITYADVICEINSIDE

HOWTOGET OVER REGION BLOCKSWATCHINGBLOCKEDVIDEOSANDMORE!

MicrosoftKeyboard & Mouse

FREE

W

ORTH £14.99

Buy a CCL Windows 7 PC and geta Microsoft Wired Desktop 400for FREE.

www.cclonline.com

call: 08000 50 10 10visit:www.cclonline.com/pc email: pcsales@cclonline.comfind us: CCL Computers Ltd, Inmoor RoadOff Cross Lane, Bradford, BD11 2PS

CCL Computers recommends Windows

Windows 7 Home PremiumIntel Core i5 4460 3.2GHz CPU8GB DDR3 Memory1TB Hard DriveNVIDIA GeForce GT 720 2GBDVD+/-RW DriveWiFi & 10/100/1000 LAN3 YearsFREE Microsoft Desktop 400

OSCPURAMHard DriveGraphicsOpticalNetworkWarrantyPeripherals

CCL Alpha Supremacy PCThe Intel Core i5 processor and 8GB of DDR3

memory make this an amazing multi-tasking PC!

Windows 7 Home PremiumIntel Celeron G1840 2.8GHz CPU4GB DDR3 Memory1TB Hard DriveIntel HD GraphicsDVD+/-RW DriveWiFi & 10/100/1000 LAN3 YearsFREE Microsoft Desktop 400

OSCPURAMHard DriveGraphicsOpticalNetworkWarrantyPeripherals

CCL Alpha Prime PCOur lowest priced Intel base home PC, featuring

top quality components!

£274.99inc VAT

Prices from £484.99inc VAT

Prices from

Prices correct at time of going to publishing(5th May 2015). Images & case designs

are for illustrative purposes only call for details.Monitors and desktop bundles are available separately.

www.cclonline.com

Prices correct at time of going to publishing(5th May 2015). Images & case designs

are for illustrative purposes only call for details.Monitors and desktop bundles are available separately.

call: 08000 50 10 10visit:www.cclonline.com/pc email: pcsales@cclonline.comfind us: CCL Computers Ltd, Inmoor RoadOff Cross Lane, Bradford, BD11 2PS

www.cclonline.com

ASUS All-in-One PC ET2321Simple. Slim. StylishPowered by the 4th Generation Intel Core i7 Processor

Astonishing sound qualityImmersive sound with high-quality built-in speakers

Desktop subwoofer for rich, resonant bassASUS SonicMaster Premium audio technology

Bright and vibrant imagesUltra-sharp 23-inch Full HD display

IPS technology for wide viewing anglesPowerful discrete graphics

Next-generation technology

£599with F

REE

Delivery

ONLY

Ultra-fast 802.11ac 5GHz Wi-FiSuperSpeed USB 3.0 ports10-point multi-touch display

This week...

0808Wi-fi HackingRemember when going online meant you had to connect amodem to your phone line? Back then, the idea of wirelessconnectivity seemed like little more than a dream, but nowit’s everywhere. Is it secure, though? And if it’s not, whocould be trespassing on your digital turf? David Crookestells you what you need to know to remain safe

1818A Week With ASmartwatchIf you believe the hype, then you’ll have no doubts thatyou need to get yourself a smartwatch. If you’re morediscerning, though, you might wonder just why you’dwant one. What, ultimately, can these things offer that youactually need? To find out, Ian McGurren spent some timegetting to know an Android device

2626Apple Force TouchWe all know how much Apple likes to repackage things asif it just invented them, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t doa good job of it. One of its latest products to impress theworld is the new trackpad on its MacBook range, whichadd an intriguing force feedback system, which DavidBriddock examines this week

4646Group Test: TowerServersThere are a few ways to share media and files over a localnetwork, including using a NAS unit, but that doesn’tmean there’s no room for a proper dedicated server unit.With that in mind, David Hayward has testing six towerservers to see what they offer the average user

ContentsContents08

Wi-fi HackingWi-fi Hacking

18AWeekWithAWeekWithA SmartwatchA Smartwatch

Apple ForceApple ForceTouchTouch

2626

5656 3D Vision AndAugmented RealityWith virtual reality products being at the forefront ofpublic imagination, it’s not surprising that companies arelooking at new and innovative ways to present media.Among them are holographic projection and augmentedreality – both fields that Microsoft is currently exploring

6060Online RegionHoppingWhether you agree with them or not, the fact remainsthat licensing agreements mean online video services candiffer vastly depending on where you access them from.DNS services and proxies can get around that, but arethey actually legal? We look at how they work and howthey sit within the law

6464Fixing FilesDigital data may be fast and convenient, but it’s also quitefragile. If even a part of a file gets corrupted, that canmean the whole thing is completely inaccessible. The goodnews is there might a chance you can fix your brokenfiles, if you know how. It’s not necessarily a good chance,but it’s a chance nonetheless, and James Hunt is here toexplain how it works

Also InThis Issue...31 Component Watch

Nvidia has a new mid-range card design, andwe’ve got some dealson it right here

53 RememberingOne of the world’s mostloved computers, theCommodore 64

63 Top 5We kick off a newseries, taking a sidewayslook at the world oftechnology

86 Crowdfunding CornerConversion is the themethis week, and as always,we have some intriguingprospects for you

87 App Of The WeekDavid looks at aninteresting security app

Issue 1364 5

Group Test:Group Test:Tower ServersTower Servers4646 Group Test

Tower Servers46 Lenovo ThinkServer

TS14047 Fujitsu Primergy TX1310

M148 Dell PowerEdge T110 II49 HP ProLiant ML150 Gen9

E5-2603v350 Dell PowerEdge T20 Mini

Tower Server51 Lenovo System x3100 M552 Sum up

Reviews38 FREEme39 Quiet PC UltraNUC Pro40 ViewSonic VP2780-4k42 Ashampoo Music Studio 643 BenQ GW2765HT44 ThumbsUp Neoglow

Earphones45 Roccat Kave XTD 5.1

Analog

Experts82 Ask Aaron84 Ask Jason

Specialists68 Linux Mart69 Mac Mart70 Mobile Mart71 Hardware Mart72 Gaming Mart

News32 The Latest News30 Your Letters

Regulars54 Subscriptions74 Ad Index76 IT Essentials78 Classifieds88 Logging Off

SAVE A BUNDLESubscribe to Micro Mart

today and save 24% on theshop price.

Call 0844 844 0082Basic annual rate

UK: £77.50Europe: £185

Rest of World: £340

Online subscriber serviceChange your address and renew your

subscription atwww.subsinfo.co.uk

Email:micromart@servicehelpline.co.uk

563DVision And3DVision AndAugmented RealityAugmented Reality

Issue 13648

With wireless networks commonplace, are we becoming complacent?David Crookes looks at how safe your network really is

How Easy Is It ToHack A Wireless

Network?

Issue 1364 9

WIRELESSNETWORK HACK

Seconds. Mere seconds. That is the figure many an expertwill tell you measures the time it takes for a hacker toinfiltrate a home network. It may sound alarmist, it may be

designed to make you sit up and listen, but a study five yearsago showed that half of home wi-fi networks could be hackedin less than five seconds, and the situation does not appear tohave become better since.

With determination, it wouldn’t take long for anyone towork out how to get into a network. A report on the websitesecurityaffairs.co showed researcher Dominique Bongardfinding a way to attack wireless routers that had a poorlyimplemented version of Wi-fi Protected Setup (WPS). It tookhim just one second using offline calculations. To aid would-behackers, there are websites that promise to help you crack wi-fipasswords in two minutes. There are many others that detailpopular wireless hacking tools.

But then we’ve long known that wireless networks arevulnerable to attack. It may be that your neighbour is savvyenough to piggy back on your wi-fi, slowing down your access andbenefitting from a freebie. This is bad enough, but there would beno telling what he or she is using your network for: is he or shedownloading illegal items? Is he or she using it to hack into GCHQ?

Sure, we’re always wary of people hacking into public wi-fi(in January this year, even a seven-year-old was able to hack into

a public wi-fi system in under 11 minutes, and in-flight wi-fi isassumed to be at risk from rogues seeking to control the aircraftsystem), but home wi-fi is yours; it’s personal and it arguablycarries a greater personal risk. Stats in America show four outof five internet-connected homes are at risk of attack througha wireless router, and it would not be surprising to see similarfigures in the UK.

“Don’t be fooled by someone telling you your data is secure.If you are accessing the system wirelessly, it is never secure,”says hacker Matthew Beddoes, who was caught stealing carboncredits from the United Nations to sell on, earning him a three-year jail sentence. Invited to talk to businesses in the North Westof England last year by the Aintree-based Stack Group, the manwho goes by the pseudonym the Black Dragon demonstrated

We’ve long knownthat wireless networks arevulnerable to attack

Cloud Cracker is an online tool that helps penetration testers check the security of WPS-protected wireless networks

Issue 136410

how a £30 Raspberry Pi could be used to bypass securityfeatures. “All this code is free and publicly available.”

Explaining Wireless NetworksWireless networks are based on IEEE 802.11 standards as definedby the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. There aretwo security protocols: WEP and WPA, the former deemed weakand having been surpassed by the latter, which is now on versiontwo, WPA2. For hackers to gain access to a network, he or sheneeds to smash through this protocol. With WPA and WPA2 thiscan only be done through brute force, either by gaining an ideaof how the network is being used or using specific software andtools to do the job. Poor encryption and sloppy configuration arethe two key mistakes that allow hackers through.

And get through they do, for money is a motivating factorfor hackers. Being able to find holes in wireless networks can belucrative, and coders who provide software that enables cracksto be prised open are often paid handsomely for their efforts.Black hat hackers – those who prey on networks for their ownnegative ends – only see networks as a challenge, and theyare determined enough to win. White hat hackers seek to helpdefend us from these problems by finding vulnerabilities first, soare therefore always playing a game of cat and mouse.

What makes the problem worse is that we are relyingon wireless networks more than ever before, thanks to theInternet of Things becoming a reality in British homes. The

wi-fi network is the thread that ties these digital devicestogether in the home, and yet, according to security companiessuch as Avast, very little attention has been paid to securingit. Wireless routers are fast becoming a lucrative target forhackers – exposing financial information, passwords, privatephotos and even browsing history – and that is becausewireless traffic is open to eavesdropping.

Even when that traffic is encrypted, hackers are able to crackit open and pluck whatever information they need out of theairwaves. Whether they are taking those passwords or causingproblems with your emails, the issues hacking causes can bekeenly felt. Another problem is that encryption, while improved,is seldom strong enough to offer perfect protection. The goodnews, though, is hackers tend to go for the least protectednetworks. So let’s look at how easy we may inadvertently bemaking it.

Getting Hacked On A Public Wi-fi NetworkThere are some things to watch out for when accessingthe web on your travels.

1. Note the name of the connectionYou may think that you’re logging into Starbucks’wi-fi, but what’s that other similar soundingprovider? Should you be choosing StarbucksWiFi orWiFiStarbucks? If in doubt, you should always ask theprovider for the exact identifier before you connect.Getting the wrong one means you could be connectingto a rogue hotspot, and that may route your sensitiveinformation to a hacker’s server.

2. Turn sharing offOne of the first things to do when you’re hooking upto public wi-fi is turn sharing off. In Windows, go toNetwork and Internet > Network and Sharing Centerand select Homegroup and Sharing Options > ChangeAdvanced Sharing Settings. Choose the public profileand ensure network discovery, file and printer sharingand public folder sharing are turned off. On a Mac, goto System Preferences > Sharing and untick everything.

3. Activate the firewallFirewalls control the incoming and outgoing networktraffic, forming an effective barrier. Go to the ControlPanel on your PC and turn the firewall on. Using aMac? Go to System Preferences > Security & Privacy,select Firewall, click the padlock and click Turn OnFirewall.

4. Use a virtual private networkVPNs guarantee to encrypt and secure data, so if apublic wireless network is hacked, your data cannot beintercepted. If you’re restricting your web use to a webbrowser, CyberGhost has a free proxy for web traffic atwww.cyberghostvpn.com/en_us/proxy.

5. Just use your phoneA 3G or 4G connection is more secure than public wi-fi,and data plans are getting better again so make use ofit. You can tether laptops and tablets to your phone.Check out your provider’s web pages to find out howto do this.

A seven-year-old was able tohack into a public wi-fi systemin under 11 minutes

Please Read: Sales subject to terms & conditions (copy available on our website). Advert does not form part of acontract. †Pictures shown for illustration purposes only - colours may vary. Full specifications available online.Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and othercountries. All trademarks are acknowledged. At Mesh our PCs are Custom Built, Fully Burn-tested with ProfessionalCPU Overclocking options - Free Overclock Configuration is available for an unlocked CPU and when a Liquid CPUCooler is selected. 0% Finance - Pay 10% deposit, and pay the rest off within 12 months and pay no interest.*Lifetime Gold Warranty - Lifetime Labour, 2 Year Parts, 1 Year Free Collect & Return. Sales line open Monday -Friday 9am - 6pm. Online ordering 24x7. Prices and specification correct at time of going to press on 17/4/15. E&OE.

AMD A8 7600 ProcessorMSI A88XM-E35 MotherboardIntegrated AMD Radeon GraphicsFast 8GB DDR3 2133MHz Memory1TB Hard DriveMicro ATX (CiT1023) CaseMicrosoft Windows® 8.1Lifetime Gold Warranty*

£379

Matrix Fusion

sales@meshcomputers 020 8955 0731 www.meshcomputers.com

FREE GAME FREE GAME

••••••••

Intel® CoreTM i5 4690 ProcessorMSI B85M-E45 Motherboard2GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750TiFast 8GB DDR3 2133MHz Memory1TB Hard DriveCorsair Carbide SPEC-01 CaseMicrosoft Windows® 8.1Lifetime Gold Warranty*

£649

Elite Hercules GTX

••••••••

Intel® CoreTM i7 4790 ProcessorMSI B85M-E45 Motherboard2GB NVIDIA GeForce GT740 GPUFast 8GB DDR3 2133MHz Memory1TB Hard Drive120GB Patriot Blaze Solid State DriveNZXT H230 Silent CaseMicrosoft Windows® 8.1Lifetime Gold Warranty*

£749

Silent Prestige

•••••••••

Intel® CoreTM i7 4790K ProcessorMSI Z97 Gaming 5 Motherboard4GB NVIDIA GTX 970Fast 8GB DDR3 2133MHz Memory2TB Hard DriveIN Win 904 Aluminium CaseMicrosoft Windows® 8.1Lifetime Gold Warranty*

£1199

Elite Dominator - Director’s Edition

••••••••

Intel® CoreTM i7 4790 ProcessorMSI B85M-E45 Motherboard2GB NVIDIA GTX 960Fast 8GB DDR3 2133MHz Memory1TB Hard DriveIN Win G7 CaseMicrosoft Windows® 8.1Lifetime Gold Warranty*

£790

Elite GTX 960

Inc. VAT & Delivery Inc. VAT & Delivery

Inc. VAT & Delivery

••••••••

0% FINANCEBUY NOW,PAY JUNE 2016.Terms and conditions apply.

Inc. VAT & Delivery

AMD FX 8320 ProcessorMSI 970A-G43 Motherboard2GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750TiFast 8GB DDR3 2133MHz Memory1TB Hard DriveCorsair Carbide SPEC-01 CaseMicrosoft Windows® 8.1Lifetime Gold Warranty*

£599

Matrix Apollo

••••••••

Shown with the Zalman Z11 NEO case†

Inc. VAT & Delivery

Inc. VAT & Delivery

Issue 136414

Performing A Drive-ByThere was a time when some hackers would grab a laptop, drivedown a street and pick up on insecure wi-fi signals beaming outof people’s homes. There are also occasions when a neighbourwill look for available wi-fi and hope to piggyback on it. This isknown as snarfing, and it can be more than just a nuisance, asviruses are installed on systems and spam is sent.

The ease with which people can do this is due to a greatmany networks being like eggs. They have a hard interior, butcrack them and you’ll find they’re soft inside. A hacker willtherefore do all they can to get through that protective layer,looking for vulnerabilities and going after those networksthat are easier to get into. Someone attempting to penetratea large network such as a company will seek host names,network addresses ranges, exposed hosts, information aboutoperating systems and any software on the machines that maybe exposed.

In a home, an attacker will seek similar vulnerabilities, andwith so many devices now hooked into a network, there area greater number of entry points. A smart TV can be used togain access, and it may have fewer network restrictions. But themain entry point is an unsecured user. Using software such asAircrack-ng in combination with a wireless card, hackers are ableto discover passwords, having captured the handshake betweenthe computer and the router. Aircrack-ng even offers step-by-step instructions.

It used to be that software was needed to scan for availablewi-fi networks, but this is built into computers these days. When

you look to connect to a wireless network, you are given a list,and that has made it even easier for hackers to identify possiblenetworks to break into. The hackers tend to work together,posting information online to help them to complete their work.There are password lists available, for instance, which can beused to force their way into a network; the easier the password,the quicker the process will be. And so many people use thesimplest of passwords or don’t even bother to change the onethe router came with.

“Unsecured routers create an easy entry point for hackers

to attack millions of American home networks,” says VinceSteckler, chief executive officer of Avast. “If a router is notproperly secured, cybercriminals can easily gain access.” Toomany routers are poorly protected by default or common,easily hacked password combinations such as admin/admin oradmin/password, or even admin/<no-password>. And for thosewho change them, the most typical passwords are often tooeasily guessed.

Technology cannotsave most of us from socialengineering hacks

It is essential that you check the settings of your router

Issue 1364 15

WIRELESSNETWORK HACK

The problem is that the software used for these cracks is soeasily available. WEPCrack is an open-source tool, which letspeople break into 802.11 WEP secret keys. AirSnort bills itselfas a wireless LAN encryption key recovery tool. It operates bypassively monitoring transmissions, computing the encryptionkey when enough packets have been gathered. KisMAC for MacOSX and Kismet for Linux need advanced knowledge, but theywill help to crack WEP and WPA keys by brute force, exploitingflaws including weak scheduling and badly generated keys.

There are even online tools. CloudCracker is aimed atpenetration testers and network auditors who are looking tocheck the security of WPA-protected wireless networks, crackpassword hashes or break document encryption. Thankfullyfor those who use this particular service there is a charge,so a money trail is left. Access a secured network withoutauthorisation using CloudCracker and a hacker will likely fallfoul of the law. Use it to test your own vulnerabilities, though,and it could be money worth spending.

But with all this in mind, you should be protecting yourwireless router. In order to access it, you’ll need to enter yourIP address into a web browser, which you’ll be able to typicallyfind on the back of the device. Enter the default password(check your internet service provider for the details. For Sky, forinstance, you would enter admin/sky), and then make sure youalter it so something that is far less easy to crack.

While you have the router details open, though, you shouldalso look at the level of encryption you have for the datatransmitted from your computer to the router. It is very unlikelythat it will be set to the dated encryption format WEP, but makesure that it’s WPA2, and if it isn’t available, update the firmwarefor your router so that it supports it. WPA2 security with AES/CCMP encryption gives you a better chance of beating offhackers, but it’s not crack proof. Going back to 2010, ElcomSoft,a member of the Russian Cryptology Association, developed aproduct that combined graphics cards from Nvidia and ATI toaccelerate the recovery of WPA2 encryption passwords.

Fast forward to today, and you’re able to use the likes ofReaver, which “implements a brute force attack against WPSregistrar PINS in order to recover WPA/WPA2 passphrases”. Itsays it has been designed to be a robust and practical attackagainst WPS, and it has been tested against a wide varietyof access points and WPS implementations. What’s more, itwill recover passphrases within four to ten hours. Patienceis required, for sure, but it’s possible. The software works bytesting the connection between a wi-fi device and a router withWi-fi Protected Setup turned on. It goes without saying that toprotect yourself from such hacks to some degree, you need toturn WPS off.

Protecting Your HomeWireless NetworkHow to keep your network as safe as possible.

1. Encrypt the wireless networkAvoid using WEP. It has vulnerabilities, and it is veryeasy to hack. There are loads of tutorials online thatshow people how to do this with an app and a handfulof step-by-steps. Instead, change the network settingsso you’re using WPA/WPA2.

2. Change the router passwordSo many people do not bother to do this, and yet it is amajor vulnerability. Many ISPs reveal the default loginand password online, so you can’t really get much moreopen. Make sure you log in and change the passwordto something that is very difficult to guess – the longerthe better.

3. Enable the firewallA router has a firewall, but it’s not always turnedon. You need to check it and turn it on so it blocksunsolicited incoming traffic and protects the networkfrom the ‘wild’ internet. Some routers will also allowthe blocking of some outgoing traffic.

4. Enable MAC address filteringEvery wireless networking card has a MAC code.By enabling filtering, that address is registered toyour networked devices and only they will be ableto connect to the network. It’s not foolproof, sinceMAC addresses can be cloned, but as backup to WPA2encryption it will make your network more secure.

5. Change the SSID nameThe SSID is the name that is given to your networkby a provider and the one you look for when you’reconnecting. Many of them identify the network, soyou’ll see references to EE or Sky, for instance. Byaltering the name, you can mask this extra information,so knowledgable hackers have to work harder to figurewho provides your internet.

6. Do not allow remote accessThere’s a chance you’re not going to need remoteaccess to your router, so if this is the case then removethe ability. It’s usually disabled by default, so leave itthat way if it is. Sure, you’ll need a LAN cable pluggedinto your router if you want to make changes, but itwill disable the opportunity for wireless hacking.

Issue 136416

“Today’s router security situation is very reminiscent of PCsin the 1990s, with lax attitudes towards security combined withnew vulnerabilities being discovered every day creating an easilyexploitable environment,” says Steckler. “The main differenceis people have much more personal information stored on theirdevices today than they did back then.”

Router To NowhereIt doesn’t help that more than 75% of all routers that areprovided to customers by ISPs contain software or firmwareeasily exploited by hackers. Independent Security Evaluatorsresearchers said they discovered “critical security vulnerabilities”in numerous small office/home office routers and wirelessaccess points. “These vulnerabilities allow a remote attackerto take full control of the router’s configuration settings; someallow a local attacker to bypass authentication directly and takecontrol. This control allows an attacker to intercept and modifynetwork traffic as it enters and leaves the network,” the reportsaid. It is no surprise given that companies want to provide ascheap a device as possible to customers.

Still, Steckler says one of the biggest risks on any wi-finetwork is DNS hijacking. This is when hackers exploitvulnerabilities in a user’s unprotected router and play aroundwith the Domain Name Service so it diverts people from bonafide websites to malicious ones. It allows for the harvesting ofcredentials including logins. Because the user has been goingto a specific site and since it looks identical to the proper one,they suspect nothing and they potentially lose everything.

These so called man-in-the-middle attacks are not to betaken lightly, but you can protect yourself from them. Routersuse DNS servers that are automatically acquired from aninternet provider, so if you fear the settings have been alteredyou can opt to change them. You can go to the Networkand Sharing Center, select Change Adapter Settings, choosethe connection you want to alter and then click ‘InternetProtocol Version (TCP/IPv4)’ or ‘Internet Protocol Version (TCP/

IPv6)’. You can choose the Google DNS using the settings8.8.8.8 or 8.8.4.4, or for Ipv6 2001:4860:4860::8888 or2001:4860:4860::8844.

But even technology cannot save most of us from socialengineering hacks. In March at CeBIT, ex-hacker Kevin Mitnickused USB drives, wi-fi access points, PDF files and clonedwireless keycards, and he was able to gain control of targetedmachines. In his hacking career, his chosen method was tosift through the usernames and passwords thrown out bycompanies, and he was able to seize control of networks. Anti-virus software is no match for such methods.

There are more ingenious methods and lengths that hackerswill go to, though. In August last year, Gene Bransfield in Virginiahacked into the networks of his neighbours by fitting his petcat, Coco, with a wi-fi sniffing device. He called the animal hisWarKitteh and allowed it to exploit the networks of 23 homes, athird of which used WEP. The cost of the device was just £60. It’snot much of a leap to suppose that similar technology could beused on board drones by determined hackers.

When you then go on to read reports of vulnerabilities insoftware that controls wireless networking chipsets madeby Realteck Semiconductor, which is said to allow attackersto compromise home routers, you realise that you can bepowerless. The chips are inside models made by Netgear,D-Link and Trendnet. Hackers are able to exploit thevulnerability and gain administrative access to a router. Theycould infect devices on a wi-fi network. The advice has been tokeep router’s firmware current but that is essential to do. Butas one commentator pointed out, even if RealTek came up witha patch, it would not be implemented on all affected devices.Many of them are no longer supported by their manufacturers.

One thing you should avoid, though, is trying to exploitvulnerabilities yourself. Computer hacking is illegal inthe UK, and you will face a possible prison sentence. TheCommunications Act 2003 says a “person who (a) dishonestlyobtains an electronic communications service, and (b) doesso with intent to avoid payment of a charge applicable tothe provision of that service, is guilty of an offence”. So ifsomeone breaks into a wireless network that they should bepaying for or if they break into your wireless network andavoid charges, that could potentially get them into trouble, andthere have been cases where perpetrators have been caughtand taken to court. This is not the case the world over; inthe Netherlands, a court ruled that wi-fi hackers could not beprosecuted for breaching router security, because the majorityof hackers who do this are not gaining access to the computer,only the connection. But it is certainly how it works in the UK,so please do be aware of that.

What we’ve done here is show that there are tools availablethat allow ordinary people to hack. And by rememberingthat hackers are not always anti-social types locked away indarkened rooms, you should be better prepared to head themoff. As wireless networks become commonplace in our homes,taking small steps to protect your wireless router today will putyou in a far stronger position. mm

Hacking In Figures• 90% of internet hackers are amateurs.• 9.9% are for hire.• 0.1% are world class.Source: Crowd Control HQ

WEBSITES - ONLINESHOPS - BLOGS - IN 5 STEPS

DREAM THE IMPOSSIBLE!

THINK BIG!VITTORIO BRUMOTTI likes WebSite X5 Road Bike Freestyler & 10 Guinness World RecordsTM holder

No programming skills requiredCreate all the sites you want with unlimited pagesOver 1,500 customizable templatesDomain name and 12 months free webhosting includedCompatible with all the major browsers and mobile devicesTouch supportButtons and boxes for social appsButtons and boxes for social appsA built-in library with over 200,000 royalty-free pictures

50% OFF COUPON CODE* MM E V P R 1 1 M*The offer is valid until 21/06/2015 www.websitex5.com/store

Issue 136418

Ian McGurren spends a week with Android Wear strapped to his arm

Watches eh? They’re rubbish! Just telling the time andthe date, maybe an alarm if you’re lucky, but do theyhave any apps? Or a high-resolution screen? No,

so by that extension they deserve to be cast from the hi-techfutureworld of 2015 like vinyl records, newspapers and theTeasmade. Thankfully, though, both Google and Apple have seenfit to bring this relic of technology into the 21st century, so whathappens when the crusty old, precision-engineered wristwatch ofthe past meets bang-up-to-date, bleeding-edge technology?

The watch is something of a technological enigma in thismodern world. Barely unchanged for centuries, bar the digitalwatch’s introduction in the early 1970s, the device is a verygood example of functional technology that has long sinceperfected itself and reached its engineering peak. In termsof its main function, a Swatch is as good as a Patek Philippe,though the vast difference in price will afford you a bump in

handmade precision, complications and bragging rights. Thepoint, though, is that neither owner would have lamented anylack of features, as both would have fulfilled the purpose oftheir purchase: telling the wearer the time of day.

This is the dilemma many have with smartwatches: do theyreally need to be smart? What does a smartwatch offer thata regular, cheaper watch cannot? After all, both tell the time,and that’s pretty much a watch’s remit. Seeing the various

Wear It OutThe watch is something of

a technological enigma in thismodern world

Issue 1364 19

ANDROID WEAR

adverts for the Apple Watch and the Android Wear devices,it’s clear that the manufacturers are keen to promote thesmartwatch as less of a watch per se, and more as a secondscreen for your mobile device that happens to be on your wrist.In fact, calling it a watch may only cause to distract buyersfrom its real purpose.

I’m in the middle ground here. There are some stunningtraditional analogue watches that are mechanical works ofart, but I’m also from the era of the Casio calculator watchand digital watches with vacuum fluorescent displays, so atimepiece with fancy tricks appeals to me. But beyond having ashiny new gadget, can I justify a smartwatch to myself? I spenta week with an Android Wear device – the LG G Watch R – inan effort to understand just what it can offer me.

Which Watch?Unlike Apple Watch, Android Wear is not a device but insteadis a subset of the Android OS tailored for the smaller interfaceneeded for watches. Therefore, in common with its bigger

operating system brother, Wear is available on a selection ofdevices. Most cost around the £200 mark, with two coming outas the front runners – Motorola’s Moto 360 and the device Iused, the LG G Watch R. Why the G Watch R specifically? Easy:it’s the only Android Wear device to feature an OLED screen. Notonly does this extend the battery life by lighting only the partsof the screen in use at that time, but it’s able to offer a true low-

power mode, meaning the G Watch R can show a watch face atall times (like a real watch does) at little cost to the battery.

The HardwareSo how is the actual watch itself? Well, on the plus side, itlooks and feels just like a watch and not like some technologicalcurio strapped to your arm. On the negative side, though,while it does feel like a watch, it doesn’t feel like a £200watch or look like one for that matter. Don’t get me wrong,it’s well made and of good quality, but were it not smart, you’dhesitate to pay more than £50 for it. This isn’t helped by theuninspiring leather strap, though LG claims any 22mm watchstrap will work with it. The watch chap at the local market

The G Watch R istechnologically superb butuninspiringly designed, unlessyou like your watches manlyand made of chunky plastic

LG’s G Watch R is arguably the best Android Wear device

Google Now is one of the more successful app transitions to Wear

Issue 136420

wasn’t as convinced, though. Bottom line here – the G Watch Ris technologically superb but uninspiringly designed, unless youlike your watches manly and made of chunky plastic. On mynot-quite-as-manly as-I’d-like wrist, it didn’t look as good as myrather more fetching Skagen timepiece.

Looking past its watch attributes to the technology, andthings perk up a bit. Standing out is the round OLED screen,as in round like a watch, not square like other smartwatches. Stylistically it’s a hit, though practically it isn’t quite aseffective. The display is curtailed, and those apps that usethe full square screen are cut off, not ‘rounded’ off. But,conversely, the rounded watch faces are far more effective onthis screen, especially those that offer the low-power Always-On alternative time face. Coupled with the sharp 320 x 320screen, this is the best interpretation of Android Wear so far.

Day 1 – About timePopping the G Watch R from its very watch-like box, you getthe device itself, along with a USB charger and the chargingdock. It’s not the dock itself that’s the first bone of contention,the watch sits in it fine and doesn’t move, but it’s that itrealistically restricts any straps other than buckled ones beingused. An elasticated metal or bracelet style strap may lookgreat, but you’ll find charging a massive pain.

It stands to reason that Android Wear requires the use of anAndroid phone in tandem to do anything beyond telling thetime, and the newer, the better. For my week, I had Google’sown Nexus 6 to handle these duties, and it’s certainly a devicethat could do with a smaller alternative method of use. What’smore, it’s Google through and through, so no blaming glitcheson proprietary hardware or quirks of different software – froma Google Wear watch to a Google Wear app on a GoogleExperience handset, the chain is Google all the way.

Joining the watch to the phone is as simple as downloadingthe Android Wear app and pairing the watch to the phone. Forme, the process was straightforward and quick, though othershave found the app doesn’t work so well for them, and that’s asticking point to the whole setup.

The setting up of the watch could be done from both theapp and the watch itself. On the watch this is accessed byholding on the screen until the menu system appears, thenflicking up or down. It works fine, though better for quick one-off changes. Any more in depth changes are better done onthe phone itself.

Day 2 – Face offIf there’s one thing that’ll keep you tinkering with your watchin the first week, its the multitude of watch faces available.Those for the square-faced watches tend to be creative orlook like reasonable copies of real watches, but it’s on theround-faced watches like the G Watch R that they take ona whole new look. From Rolex to Casio G-Shocks, MickeyMouse to Swatch, all are available and many look impressive.The most effective facsimiles are those less ornate, such asthe classic digital LCD and VFD style from the 70s and 80s,simple designs that complement the hardware on which theyreside. The more extravagant end of the market still translatespretty well, but while the watch face can look like a TAGHeuer, the actual watch is still black plastic.

Aping of other watches isn’t where the true creativity lies,however. The real innovation is in those faces that cannot be

achieved on traditional analogue or digital watches, includingthose customisable on the fly. Of these, the standoutexample is the oddly named Pujie Black, a face with a clutchof configurable parts that allows the user to easily builda personal watch face. It’s simple to make them but vastenough to have a wide variety of modern-looking designs.There’s even a repository of faces made by others if theimagination runs dry. Topping it off, not only can you buildthe regular face, but also the Always On face too, taking fulladvantage of the G Watch R’s screen. After tiring of tryingout many different copy faces, it was Pujie Black that I foundmyself returning to, eventually settling on a face that gaveme the information I most wanted.

Pujie Black faces: “Pujie Black is a superb customisable face app that shows off Wear”

If there’s one thing that’llkeep you tinkering with yourwatch in the first week, itsthe multitude of watch facesavailable

Issue 136422

Day 3 – Wake upLike any other Android Wear device, the G Watch R can’treally do much without being attached to an Android phone,beyond a few basic watch-like functions. This is a shame,because I found my watch disconnected from the Nexus onmore than one occasion. This wouldn’t be so bad if it hadindependent use, but given the symbiotic relationship requiresa connection to make its smart functions work, it meant Icouldn’t safely rely on the watch to be my sole source ofnotifications. Reconnecting the device meant rebooting thewatch or even removing and adding the device to the AndroidWear app on the Nexus, both of which were a considerablepain, especially as there seemed to be no reason for why thedevice would lose connection, even in the midst of updatingwatch faces. Sometimes this could possibly be blamed onthe distance from the Nexus, but even then it would remaindisconnected until rebooted / re-added, even when placednext to the device again.

As well as loss of notifications, those of you who use GoogleNow will know that the service relies on a web connection forthe voice recognition to work its wonders. As the watch getsits connection to the internet via its ad-hoc connection to thehost phone, not via wi-fi, it means that no connection meansno replies, searches, navigation and more. This is annoyingenough when you see the little cloud with a line through itpop up, but it’s even more so when mid-task it just seemsto hang without any notification at all, and only checkingyour phone’s Wear app gives a clue that it has again becomedisconnected. For all its positives, this was my biggest sourceof frustration, and its frequency suggested a distinctive whiffof ‘beta’ about it.

Day 4 – Out And AboutIt’s all well and good playing about with the watch to myheart’s content, but to really see what it can do, it’s better togo and find out if Android Wear can improve day-to-day life.

It wasn’t a particularly warm day, so a heavy coat wascalled for, where my Nexus 6 will be somewhat deeply buried,and it’s here that the first real advantage of the watch makesitself known: notifications on your wrist. The walk into townwas punctuated by a few notifications from emails, textmessages and WhatsApp, all of which partially popped upon the watch’s screen. From here they could be swept upto read and / or to the side to ignore or reply. This was veryhelpful, saving rooting around in the pocket for a big phone,especially when a majority of the messages didn’t warrant animmediate response.

For those that did, however, it was an ideal opportunityto try out the reply function. Being a small device, having akeyboard is impractical, so the only form of input available isvoice activated, much like the voice input of the Google Nowservice. Here it’s a case of swiping to the ‘reply?’ screen anddictating the reply. Simple in concept, but in practice it wasquite hit and miss. Where replies were able to be kept to asingle sentence, the system worked quite well, as long as youwere able to speak clearly and didn’t require punctuation orcapitalisation (giving them away to recipients). If you wantany more than one sentence, though, tough, because afew seconds pause constitutes the end of the message. Anymistakes also required starting again, plus I elicited a few oddlooks talking into a watch in the middle of Marks & Spencer...

Day 5 – Appy DaysIt’s not mobile if it doesn’t have apps, and the Android Wearplatform is no exception. There are apps for the device itself,as well as regular phone apps that also add additional featuresto Wear watches. That said, there’s not a huge amount justyet, though the release of the Apple Watch will likely lead toan upturn in these kinds of apps. Most on Wear at presentare basic and reminded me very much of the Java MIDP appson phones of the early 2000s. Apps, such as Twitter, had thefeel of an RSS feed on a Nokia device; games were more aproof of concept than a serious distraction; and you’d expect akeyboard-free browser on a 320 x 320 circular screen to be asgood as it sounds.

That’s not to say there weren’t some good apps, thoughthese tended to be Google’s own factory apps. Google Nowis as good as it is on your phone – that is to say, exactly thesame. Fitness, while not quite as fleshed out as Apple Health,is pretty accurate. The phone app itself isn’t that great,though, with distance measured in steps rather than miles orkm. The remote for Play music wasn’t too bad either, if youwere already playing music that is, otherwise you get the firstplaylist and no easy way to navigate your library.

I elicited a few odd lookstalking into a watch in themiddle of Marks andSpencer

Wear’s message reply is good, as long as you keep it short

Issue 136424

Day 6 – Other ReactionsI’d had the G Watch R for a few days now, so it was time tosee what others thought of it. If Google wants a quote fromthe person on the street, it would be this: “Is that one of themApple Watches?” Yes, it’s not even out and already Apple hascornered the public’s awareness of smartwatches. The secondquote would probably be “So what’s it for then?”, and thisappears to be something even Apple hasn’t nailed. Whatexactly is the point of a smartwatch? It’s this that I struggledmost with. I showed them the changing faces (“Ooh. It’snot a real TAG though, is it?”). I showed them the replyingto messages (“But can’t you just answer it on the watch?”“No, there’s no speaker” “Oh. The Apple one has a speakerthough?”). I showed them the fitness, the navigation andmore, all of which they raised eyebrows at until learning of theneed for a phone for it to work in tandem with (“Surely it’sjust better to get your phone out, isn’t it?”).

It’s safe to say two things. One: Google hasn’t publicisedAndroid Wear well enough for the man on the Claphamomnibus to be aware of it. And two: most of the public doesn’tget smartwatches and, moreover, they don’t care either.

Day 7 – Time Runs OutI went into this experiment with an open mind, willing tolet the smartwatch impress me if it could, either with its

practicality or just with its futuristic allure. Certainly it’s oneof the most forward-looking devices I’ve had the experiencein using for a while, a real look into the inevitable future.Part of me loved it, especially having what is essentially avery cool watch with practically any face you can dreamof. This was helped by using the G Watch R and its superbround OLED screen, an experience that may be diminishedon cheaper, squarer hardware. That other bugbear of thewearable brigade – battery life – didn’t rear its ugly head forme, though I had accepted a nightly charge was needed andthat I would therefore not be using it to wake me.

But it’s there that the experience ran aground. Evenwith an update to Lollipop 5.0 on both the watch andGoogle’s own flagship handset, I still had connectionproblems from the first hour until when I took the watch offfor the last time. Even when it worked, I experiencedannoyances like the one-line limit to replies, having to looklike a bit of a fool talking to my watch, and trying (and oftenfailing) to justify it to onlookers.

Many of these issues may well be fixed in the future,though, as the platform grows and the hardware becomesclearer focused. It’s all a bit hit and miss now simply becauseall the manufacturers are breaking new ground with theseproducts. The other thing here is, like watches and likephones, the experience is very individual. I found the watchdidn’t add to my lifestyle much, but for those more activeor those who travel more, the watch may eventually proveindispensable for their everyday lives.

There’s a general view that smartwatches are a solutionlooking for a problem, and certainly for my week I foundlittle to challenge this view. I enjoyed tinkering with thecutting edge of mobile technology but found nothing aboutit that I missed when it was over, beyond easy checking ofnotifications. It seemed odd for me to spend money on anexpensive phone, only to then spend more on a device thatallowed me to not look at that phone. This is the odd cruxof Google and Apple’s marketing too: “buy the watch so youdon’t have to look at the phone we also tell you is amazingto look at”, and this is confusing the buying public no end.

In the film industry, there’s a method of pitching a filmknown as the elevator pitch – summing up a film in thelength it takes to ride a lift with a movie executive. If it can’tbe summed up succinctly in the 30 to 60 seconds, then it’sunfocused, unclear and will fail the test. After my week withAndroid Wear, I still couldn’t elevator pitch smartwatches toyou, and I don’t know if I’d want to either. Their purpose isunfocused, unclear and so far, they don’t fail, but they don’tquite succeed either. Maybe next year... mm

Most apps on Wearat present are basic andreminded me very much ofJava MIDP apps on phones ofthe early 2000s

The web browser on Wear is about as practical as it is on a Nokia 3330

Issue 136426

David Briddock investigates the touchy-feelyexperience on Apple’s latest MacBooks

Apple’s ForceTouch AndTaptic Engine

On 9th March, at one of Apple’s Special Events, CEO Tim Cookannounced changes to its MacBook product line-up. Includedin this was a brand-new, ultra-thin and light 12” MacBook

plus an enhanced 13” MacBook Pro. Both models had Retina displays,a better keyboard, USB-C and other welcome updates.

Confusingly, the 12” MacBook is lighter than both the 11” and13” MacBook Air products, which may well disappear altogether atsome point.

However, what caught many people’s attention was a completelyre-engineered touchpad. It’s a design that embodies both Force Touch,first mentioned for the Apple Watch, and the all new Taptic Enginetechnology.

PreviouslyBefore these models appeared, the state of play for trackpads onMacBooks (and any other ultra-format laptop for that matter) was ametal plate hinged at one end and usually balanced on springs.

Apple’s design concept had two elements. Firstly, to remove anyphysical motion from the trackpad and replace it with a more subtletactile feedback through the fingers. And secondly, to offer a range ofpressure sensitive click events. This redesign would mean the trackpadbecomes slimmer, lighter and more elegant – goals which always rankhighly on Apple’s product enhancement agenda.

As this new trackpad doesn’t have any physical movement, clickactions are triggered by finger pressure. Captured by four sensitive

pressure sensors, this push is translated into a click event, but thesensors can also determine the level of pressure exerted, so a ‘deeper’kind of push can be translated into a Force Touch event.

ForceTouchInternally, a Force Touch event is interpreted as something akin to athird mouse button press, a feature never before seen on any previousMac mouse or trackpad, even though it’s quite a familiar option toWindows and Linux users.

This new kind of event opens up many possibilities for an enhanceduser experience and, importantly, this experience will vary betweenindividual applications and even while performing different tasks in thesame application.

An Apple support document (see Links boxout) providesexamples of some of the shortcuts possible from a Force Touchevent. These include:

• Safari and Mail links (web page preview).• Finder file icons (document preview).• Finder file name (edit file name).• iMovie (timeline animation style options).

But what about providing some sort of click feedback?Because there are no moving parts, this was a key aspect of thedesign challenge.

Issue 1364 27

APPLE’SFORCE TOUCH

It was achieved by employing some clever vibrational technology,which fools the brain into thinking the trackpad has actually movedduring a click, so let’s examine how it actually works.

Taptic EngineMany users will still expect some kind of feedback, as a substitute forthe lack of physical movement. This is achieved through high-frequencyvibrations and something Apple call the Taptic Engine.

At its heart the Taptic Engine hardware is pretty rudimentary. Inessence, it’s a series of electromagnets directly connected to a metalrail. Mounted underneath the trackpad’s metal surface, this rail inducesbuzz-like vibrations every time a click event is detected. For a ForceClick event, there’s a second buzz.

It might seem a little counterintuitive, but a precise horizontal joltunderneath a trackpad feels, to the finger tip, just like a downwardclick. In theory, the Taptic Engine could imitate a wealth of virtualfeedback – for example, the edges of buttons and other user interfacecomponents, and even animated button movement.

HighQualityThere’s nothing particularly revolutionary here. Similar feedback motorsappear in game controllers and quite a few other devices. Yet, onceagain, it’s all about Apple’s quality of design, engineering and attentionto detail.

The four pressure sensors are able to determine a wide range ofpressure values, rather than just a click and force click. As they’relocated in the four corners of the trackpad, the software behindthese sensors can determine the exact location of the finger (or stylus)applying the force.

Therefore, it’s possible to capture both movement and pressuredata at the same time, and this data opens up a multitudeof smart interface opportunities, such as advanced signature

verification, handwriting recognition and pressure sensitivedrawing/painting tools.

Using the operating system ‘Settings’ app, virtual click pressure canbe adjusted to become more or less clicky depending on your personalpreference, and haptic feedback can be switched off completely if sodesired, although many will consider this vibrational feedback an asset.

In addition, there’s an audio feedback option, with three differentsettings. The lowest audio setting is most applicable for those whoalready prefer the ‘tap-to-click’ option, rather than a physical hingedpress type of click.

HapticHistoryAs always at an Apple event, the speakers like to present new featuresas something that could only have been envisioned inside its highlysecretive labs. However, this isn’t a new concept. In fact, haptic textureresearch can be traced back to work done by Margaret Minsky at theMassachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Vincent Hayward atthe McGill University over 20 years ago.

Completed in 1995, Minksy’s doctoral thesis centred on applyinga lateral force to simulate the feeling of texture. A custom softwareenvironment called Sandpaper subjected specific patterns of horizontalforce to a joystick, which allowed users to ‘feel’ various textures.

At around the same time, haptics pioneer Vincent Hayward, whohas written dozens of papers on the topic, was producing phantomclicks with horizontal forces in his McGill University lab. Of course,1990s technology was far less advanced than today, and Hayward’sprototypes weighed as much as a modern MacBook. What Apple’s

The rumour mill suggestsApple have bigger plans forTaptic Engine Technology

Trackpad elements

Trackpad’s Taptic Engine Trackpad settings

Issue 136428

lab team have done is to translate historical research into desirabletechnology for everyday computing products.

ElectrovibrationBut some will argue that Apple’s Taptic Engine technology shouldn’t beseen as the latest and greatest take on haptic feedback. Other researchgroups are already starting to release details of their own intriguingtactile investigations.

One such group can be found inside Disney’s Research labs inPittsburgh. With help from colleagues at Carnegie Mellon University,this team is investigating a very different technique that dispenses withelectromagnets altogether.

Named by Disney researchers as electrostatic vibration (andpreviously called TeslaTouch), it’s based on a phenomenon knownas electrovibration.

The idea to use electrovibration as feedback came from anaccidental discovery by Edward Mallinckrodt in 1954. Dragginghis finger over a conductive surface covered with a thin insulatinglayer and excited with a 110-volt signal, he felt a characteristicrubbery sensation.

What had happened is that an attractive capacitive force wasgenerated between his finger and the metal surface. Althoughvery weak, this force managed to simulate a rubbery surfacetouch sensation.

Varying the voltage, Mallinckrodt generated a range of tactilesensations that could simulate the act of touching other objects, suchas glass, stone and types of textiles.

ElectrovibrationBenefitsSince it doesn’t need any motors or moving parts, the electrovibrationsurface can be any size or shape – as big as a room wall or curved likea car windscreen. And electrovibration is easily combined with other

tactile technologies, including capacitive and resistive touch screens.Most importantly, electrovibration feedback technology isn’t exclusiveto Disney. Companies like Senseg (senseg.com) also exploit thisphenomenon and have demonstrated its distraction-free capabilities toautomotive manufacturers.

And at least one Microsoft Research group also seems tobe exploring electrovibration, so a future Microsoft Surfacetype cover may well offer a quite different kind of typing andtrackpad experience.

AppUpdatesApple has already started to update a selection of OS X apps to caterfor context-sensitive Force Touch events and Taptic Engine feedback.

So what sort of changes does this new trackpad usher in? Let’s sayyou have a map on the screen. Using a Force Touch, you can zoom inand out multiple levels, without clicking the same button repeatedly,and you can drop a pin anywhere you’d like with a single Force Touch.It’s fast and intuitive.

In iMovie, a Force Touch action allows you to quickly advance thetimeline’s frame rate. One single ‘deep’ press moves cycles through 2x,4x, 8x and so on – much faster than clicking four times to raise theframe rate to 16 times normal speed.

As far as haptic feedback is concerned, an iMovie supportdocument says that you’ll feel a snapping sensation when you movemovie clips around during editing. And you’re also supposed to feelthe beginning and end of each separate clip.

Many more apps already support a Force Click event, and the list(see Links boxout) keeps on growing.

To try it out for yourself, visit an Apple store or other Apple seller.After all, other manufacturers are bound to follow Apple’s lead, whichmeans your next laptop may well include similar technology.

MoreToComeAs always, the Apple rumour mill suggests it has bigger plans for TapticEngine technology.

Apple could, for instance, allow users to feel the display interfaceunder their fingertips by simulating smooth, bumpy or stickysensations. In this way, text fields, buttons and scrolling lists could allfeel very different to the touch.

This kind of feature would be extremely useful for tablets andsmartphones, where certain tasks could be performed without havingto look at the screen at all.

Take the virtual keyboard, for example. By running your fingers overit you’d be able to sense the different keys, giving a realistic touchtyping experience.

Obviously, the Taptic Engine mechanism itself must be miniaturisedfor these kind of devicese, and this could be a problem. In reality, theelectrovibration approach may be far more applicable for small-screenproducts, which means in future it may be Windows and Androidhandheld devices that offer the most flexible and cost-effective hapticfeedback experience. mm

Disney Research Electrovibration

Links• Margaret Minsky’s MIT project: goo.gl/7onF5X• Taptic Engine teardown: goo.gl/smQhVz• Force Click app support: goo.gl/obAEDg• Disney Research: goo.gl/leUN5x• Microsoft Research: research.microsoft.com• Senseg: senseg.com• iMovie 10.0.7: goo.gl/UPmhtA

Vincent Hayward

30 Issue 1364

By emailletters@micromart.co.uk

By postMicro Mart30 Cleveland StreetLondonW1T 4JD

Onlineforum.micromart.co.uk

GET INTOUCH…

Use For An Old MonitorAs a recent convert to Micro Mart, I followed (well, I thinkI did) with interest the use for redundant monitors... Adda Freeview box etc. make a TV (page 34). Help! What am Imissing? I added a SCART-to-VGA lead (eBay to the rescue),but no signal.... Yes, the TV aerial was connected, but nocontact between Freeview box and monitor (complete withintegrated speakers). Thought we’d got it made. Nooo. Twoof us have tried this independently and the same results withtwo different monitors etc. Freeview boxes check out okay, asdo monitors?

This was an interesting project that became short lived.Any help please, or was the author being hopeful?

Hugh Sheer

We think it might be the SCART-to-VGA lead that’s causingthe problem. If anyone else has any suggestions, please writeto us and let us know.

Something ForNothingIn response to Leigh Green (MoviePrices, Letters 1363), I’m afraid hisconclusion isn’t quite true. Peoplereally will pirate things just sothey don’t have to pay for them,no matter how little companiescharge. If that wasn’t true, thenthe Android operating systemwouldn’t be beset by piracy likeit is. Apps only cost a couple ofpounds usually, but that’s enoughfor people to look for illegaldownloads anyway.

The problem is everyoneexpects something for nothing.Raised on a diet of free websitesand free music, they don’t realise

the value of content. People’s jobsrely on films, TV shows, books,magazines, newspapers and morebeing bought by other people.If no one pays for this content,the businesses go bust, peoplelose their jobs, and in the end thecontent itself suffers.

If you can’t afford to buya film, then you don’t get towatch it. Simple. There’s nothingthat entitles you to have accessto whatever content you wantwhenever you want it.

Steve Ripley

Gadget GimmicksIsn’t it funny how technology companies keeptrying to convince us that we need this or thatnew thing and people just ignore them? Likevideo calling, for example. Yes, some people liketo use webcams for social chat or for business,but they’re in the minority. We’ve had thetechnology for landlines to have this kind offeature for a while now, but how many peopledo you know who actually own a video phone orwho use their mobile phone regularly to do thesame thing?

The fact is these great new features thatwe’re supposed to get excited about actuallymake life more difficult or awkward.

Voice recognition is another one. Siri and itsilk are supposed to save us time and make usfeel like we’re living in the future, but their badpoints outweigh the good a lot of the time. Youcan’t use them in the quiet carriage of a train,for a start, and you don’t always want people toknow what you’re searching for on your phone,even if it’s something perfectly innocent.

The latest thing that they want us to buy intois curved screens on phones? Why? What onearth is the point? Give me a screen I can foldup to save space and I’m sold, but until we getto that point, I’m happy with what I’ve got.

Dan Taylor

Issue 1364 31

Component

Watch

The GeForce GTX 960 is Nvidia’s latest mid-price card, andwhile it hasn’t lived up to everybody’s (quite high)expectations of it, few people would disagree that itmakes a pretty decent graphics card to buy new if you

can’t afford the considerably more expensive GTX 970. To helpmake the purchase worth it, we’ve looked at a few GTX 960models and found the best available price for each of them.

Deal 1: Zotac GTX 960 (2GB DDR5)RRP: £169.99 / Deal Price: £149.99Zotac does the cheapestversion of the GTX 960,giving you the lowerprice outright for thehardware. Specs-wise it’snot much different fromreference design, with threeDisplayPort, one HDMI 2.0,one DVI and a GPU clock of 1127MHz. It also has the standard2GB of GDDR5 found in most low-end GTX 960s. It might not bethe best version of the card in performance terms, but it’s hard toargue with that price.Where to get it: Box.co.uk – bit.ly/1FBR6QT

Deal 2: Gigabyte GTX 960 (2GB DDR5)RRP: £180.78 / Deal Price: £149.99Gigabyte’s ITX-based GTX960 is slightly superior, butthen you do pay extra forit. As well as the standardset of reference features,Gigabyte’s model has aslightly faster GPU clock:1165MHz against thestandard 1127MHz. It’s notlikely to create a massivedifference, but Gigabyte’sreputation is solid enoughthat between it and the faster clock, if you can find it at the sameprice as Zotac’s, there’s no reason not to pick it.Where to get it: Novatech – bit.ly/1Hv5WZN

Deal 3: EVGA GTX 960 Superclocked Edition(2GB DDR5)RRP: £172.16 / Deal Price: £161.72EVGA’s superclocked version of the GTX 960 has a GPU clocked ata faster-than-reference 1216MHz, but it’s otherwise quite standard.

The price is a fairly bigjump from cheaperversions, but the fact thatthe card is faster nicelymitigates this circumstance,even if there’s nothingelse interesting about thehardware. It’s good, it’sfast, and if it wasn’t for thelast card on this list, we’d be telling you to go for it.Where to get it: Ebuyer – bit.ly/1Hi4K6t

Deal 4: Palit GTX 960 Jetstream (2GB DDR5)RRP: £179.16 / Deal Price: £163.15Palit’s GTX 960 Jetstream is the first version of the card tofeature a pair of fanscooling its factory-overclocked GPU, butthat excitement ispartly undercut by theknowledge that its GPUis clocked at 1203MHz –slower than the previous,single-fan card. So eitherthe EVGA model doesn’t have enough cooling or the Palitmodel has too much, and we think the latter is the more likelysituation. But again, with such a small difference in price it’s alllargely rendered moot by the next card…Where to get it: Scan – bit.ly/1KkGGq1

Deal 5: MSI GTX 960 OC Edition (2GB DDR5)RRP: £179.99 / Deal Price: £163.49This MSI GTX 960 basically shows the previous cards on thispage how it’s done, witha factory-overclocked1241MHz GPU clock (thefastest we’ve looked at)and a pair of non-referenceZero Frozr fans, whicheven stop spinning at lowload to ensure a quietercard. For the sake of lessthan £15, it’s hard not torecommend it. The perfectbalance of price and performance – as long as you can find it at aprice this cheap. Luckily we’ve got you covered on that front.Where to get it: Ebuyer – bit.ly/1dl7Wah

ComponentWatchThis week, we check out some variations on a particular graphical theme

32 Issue 1364

New BandsFrom Beurer

Microsoft pushes legit purchases

Windows:No FreeUpgrade ForNon-GenuineUsers

A lawsuit hasreportedly beenfiled over inAmerica claiming

that Fitbit’s suggestionsthat its fitness devices canaccurately track sleep are nottrue. According to a coupleof reports on the web, theCalifornia chap who hasfiled the lawsuit says thatFitbit’s devices have beenoverestimating sleep comparedwith polysomnography (trysaying that first thing in themorning), which is anothermeans of tracking adopted bysleep scientists.

Referring to a 2012 studypublished in the Sleep Healthjournal, the lawsuit complainsthat Fitbit is misleadingconsumers as it is presentingits data on sleep as moreaccurate than it actually is.

The suit isn’t the first classaction Fitbit has been facedwith in recent years as thepopularity of its devices hasgrown, with a complaint overrashes caused by one of itsproducts cropping up in thepast. As for this current claim,the growing wearables industrywill no doubt be keeping itscollective eye on this one.

Sleep-tracking claims questioned

FitnessTrackerFacesLawsuit

AMicrosoft executivehas confirmedthat non-genuineWindows users

won’t be eligible for a freeupgrade to an above-boardversion of Windows 10.

Any non-genuine Windowsusers upgrading will be stampedwith a “desktop watermark”notifying that the OS is non-genuine, according to OperatingSystems bod Terry Myerson.

Mr Myerson also notedin a blog post on the issue

that “we are planning veryattractive Windows 10upgrade offers for theircustomers running one oftheir older devices in a Non-Genuine state.”

In other Windows news,Candy Crush Saga will be pre-installed with the OS – with ablog post at Xbox Wire notingthat the “added bonus” willbe provided as standard forcustomers upgrading. Willthis make users more likely toupgrade? Of course not.

Advanced sensors offer more data

Following last week’s panicover the strength (or lackthereof) of my variouspasswords, this week I’vebeen thinking about thesecurity of my wi-fi (thanksagain, Mr Crookes).

Even though I seem to bethe only person I know whohas changed the default SSIDof my wireless network andthe default wireless key, I’mstill aware that there arealways going to be potentialvulnerabilities.

It’s a scary thought thatsomeone could be connectingto your network and stealingyour data, and it’s just plainirritating if they’re using yourinternet connection for freeto download movies off thePirate Bay or whatever.

As always, though, short ofnever using wireless, there’slittle you can do other thanusing best practice. Thatmeans changing those defaultsettings and passwords,making it harder for hackersto gain access. There’s still achance it could happen, butwhy make it easy if you don’thave to?

Editor

Anthony

Health and wellbeing brand Beurerhas revealed its AS80 and AS80 Cwristbands, complete with advancedsensors to provide more informative,

interactive and detailed data on physical activity andsleep than ever before.

Designed for comfort and all-day wear, theAS80 is splashproof and its OLED X displayshows a range of data at the touch of a button,providing users with set goals and targets. Dataincludes number of steps, distances, calorieconsumption, activity duration and customisable

progress levels. As for the sleep tracker, thatmonitors sleep movements to look at rest typeand quality, plus a wake-up alarm makes sure youget up without waking anyone else in the house.

Find out more at www.beurer.com.

New exhibition showcases air traffic controller

TNMOCGalleryTakes FlightMore news from

our friends atThe NationalMuseum of

Computing, who would likeyou to know that it’s justopened up a gallery dedicatedto the past, present and futureof air traffic control.

Now, you can satiate yourinner pilot by checking outthe exhibits, which includea high-fidelity Air TrafficControl Simulator, lettingvisitors either observe aircraftmovements on a panoramicthree-screen virtual airport ortake up position for a hands-oncontroller experience.

Why is this happening atBletchley? That’s because thePark used to be home to theNATS engineering training

college (NATS was once theNational Air Traffic Services, butis now NATS Holdings a public-private partnership providingair traffic control services inthe UK, and sponsorship forthe gallery). With restored and

working hardware plus radarrecording systems and the rest,this sounds worthy of a visit forany flying – or just technology– fans among you. As always,the website for more details is(as always) www.tnmoc.org.

34 Issue 1364

T he world of Information Security can be a murky onfrom time to time, and that fact has been exposedby the recent debate surrounding security researcherChris Roberts’ claims to have hacked the systems of

Boeing and Airbus planes. In fact, it has recently emerged inFBI affidavits that Roberts’ claims extend to him having takencontrol of engines and causing the plane to deviate from itscourse (tinyurl.com/MotI1364a).

Roberts was arrested earlier in the year, following a tweetclaiming he had hacked a United Airlines 737/800 (tinyurl.com/MotI1364b) by compromising the in-flight entertainment systems,and it was during his questioning on that matter that his previouswork came to light. Not that he’s been shy about making claimsover the years. Indeed, there’s video dating back as far as 2012where he talks about his success in hacking flight systems, and heeven claims to have messed about with the International SpaceStation’s climate controls (tinyurl.com/MotI1364c).

While not everyone believes that Chris Roberts has donewhat he claims to have done (and have gone to great lengths toexplain why: tinyurl.com/MotI1364d), the idea is undoubtedlya frightening one that taps into a very modern paranoia. Eitherway, they’re dangerous claims to be making – ruinous to a careerif false, potentially ruinous to a career and your status as a freeman if true (not to mention dangerous to the large of peopleyou’ve put at risk), so one may wonder why you would make themunless you really saw the need. As nobody seems to be implyingthat Roberts meant any real harm with his actions, one can onlyassume that he really perceives this as necessary grandstanding.

Aaaaaaaand Finally...It’s a geek’s geek’s geek’s world these days, and there arefew people who symbolise the rise of sci-fi culture in the waySimon Pegg does. As an actor, writer – and the man currentlyfinishing off the script for the next Star Trek movie – it seemedstrange that he would turn on the comic book movie in the wayhis interview with Radio Times seemed to imply (tinyurl.com/MotI1364e). Indeed, he soon beat a hasty retreat via his blog(tinyurl.com/MotI1364f) claiming he was being “a bit trollish”.

In the Ourobous-like world of the internet, where everythingis up for reappropriation, parody and outright theft, memeshave become something akin to the common currency.

Ideas, concepts or attitudes that are continually recycled toseemingly endless ends, pretty much everyone has used or comeacross one – whether or not they understand the anthropologicalbackground of the term, first coined by Richard Dawkins wayback in the mid-70s (tinyurl.com/MotI1364g).

The shorthand nature of the internet meme – a simpleimage that instantly carries with it social and cultural baggage,is one the things that have made them so popular a target foradvertisers in recent years, either in the form of attempts tocreate their own or the use of established memes in promotions.However, Delta Airlines has taken the appropriation of memesto a whole new level in a very unusual application: the creationof its latest safety video (tinyurl.com/MotI1364h). Describedas the ‘Internetest Safety Video On The Internet’, it featuresmultiple animals and people you’ll recognise and even theterrifying dancing baby birthed by LucasArts, shared by email,taken mainstream by Ally McBeal and credited by many as thefirst internet phenomenon of this kind.

Frankly it’s a work of gonzo genius that we can onlyapplaud, though whether it will manage its obvious aim ofgetting audiences to put down their devices and pay attentionremains to be seen. Perhaps that it comes close to trumpingAir New Zealand’s epic effort (tinyurl.com/MotI1364i) ispraise enough.

Meanwhile... On The Internet...

The technique of rotoscoping – where animators trace overa projected film image to either mimic the movement oradd effects (www.tech-faq.com/rotoscoping.html) – is a well-used tool from the filmmaking kit bag. Perhaps the mostfamous application of the method pioneered by thelegendary animator Max Fleischer in his Out Of The Inkwellseries are the lightsabers in Star Wars (www.alienryderflex.com/rotoscope), but the technique has also been heavilyused by animated films throughout the years – not least

those of Disney. Indeed, YouTube channel Movie Munchieshas created two videos showing multiple occasions whereDisney has used rotoscope techniques to repurpose oldanimations into new situations (youtu.be/pbjVjZrrE3w),saving the time and effort of the animation. Despite its age,it’s a visual effect that still has the power to impress – to witthis remake of Taylor Swift’s ‘Shake It Off’ video that’s beenRotoscoped by animation students from the University ofNewcastle, Australia (youtu.be/pbjVjZrrE3w). Most

reminiscent of the ‘Lucy In The SkyWith Diamonds’ (tinyurl.com/mmdiamond2) section of the movieYellow Submarine, it certainly addsa surreal twist to Swift’s ditty andprovides a wonderful showcase forthe 49 students who animated theframes for the project.

.AVWhy? Videos For Your Eyes...Not Necessarily For Your Brain

rWmYaptf

Eyes...B i

QUICK BITS... Starbucks has announced a partnership with Spotify to help promote its Premium service

Issue 1364 35

When did you get your first mobile phone? We’re guessing youwere probably old than these two. Anyway, let’s get on to thosecaptions, shall we?

• Think Tank: “Snap chat buddies.”• JayCeeDee: “This is much more fun than those wooden

blocks.”• JayCeeDee: “Oh no! Mum’s putting more pictures of us

on Facebook again. Can we un-friend her?”• ...JB: “Technology, bro. Gran said we’d do much better

than the tin cans she used.”• Thomas Turnbull: “This replicator app still has a few

bugs.”• Stephen Cove: “I need a nappy, not an appy.”• Alex Moore: “First cut the umbilical cord, then get them

attached to something else.”• Ian Davidson: “HTC – happy tech children.”• Benji Archer: “I’m glad we’re out of that womb. The signal

was terrible!”• Ed Winslet: “Looking Who’s Talking 4G.”• Paul Neville: “These new phone are complicated, but baby

steps…”• Leigh Spriggs:“A Nokia? I’m a baby, not stupid!”• Harriet Dane: “Why wait till you’re a teenager to be

antisocial?”

The winner this week ‘Looking Who’s Talking 4G”, which wassuggested by Ed Winslet. Well done!

To enter this week, head to the ‘Other Stuff’ section of ourforum (forum.micromart.co.uk) and say something funny(but not too rude) about the picture below or email us viacaption@micromart.co.uk.

Caption Competition

“Looking Who’s

Talking 4G”

California. Lands offorests, deserts,Disneyland and… self-driving cars.

Yes, Google’s self-drivingbubble car is now ready to burnsome rubber on public roads.Before now, it’s been a privateaffair only but if you happen to bedriving on the roads of MountainView over this summer – and ifyou are, lucky you – then youmay chance upon one of a fewprototype cars that will be in fullglare of public scrutiny.

Speed will be capped to25mph and they will always havea human being inside in case ofany mishaps that have been partof the self-driving narrative inrecent weeks. With a removablesteering wheel, accelerator andbrake pedals, full manual controlis possible.

We’d love to see one ofthese cars for ourselves, but thissummer we’re more likely to beenjoying views of the back of aslow-moving lorry on the alwaysbusy M1. Such is life.

Public testing for prototype

GoogleBubbleCar GetsGo-Ahead

Price Cut ForRaspberry PiB+ slashed to just £16

Do yourself a favourand get on this, ifyou haven’t alreadyinvested some of

your earnings in a teeny, tinycomputer on a board.

Priced beforehand at $35,the Raspberry B+ board is nowgoing to cost you a mere $25

(or £16 in UK money). Thecost reduction is down to thefantastically vague “productionoptimisations” and theRaspberry Pi Foundation will behappy as this will surely meanyet more sales of a board thathas already been selling wellsince it was released.

35

36 36436 Issue 1364

Snippets!Nintendo Brings BackWorld ChampionshipsNintendo has decidedto resurrect its WorldChampionships event forthe first time in quarter ofa century. With qualifyingevents in Best Buy locationsaround the States plannedbeforehand, tournamentfinals are due for the 14thJune, just before this year’sE3 event starts in earnest.The first, and indeed last,World Championships tookplace back in 1990 whenNintendo toured US citiestesting gamers on SuperMario Bros. and Tetris.

Further details are minimalbut suffice to say that we’rea smidgeon jealous of ourAmerican friends.

Doom Goes Boom!Oh this is fantastic. Creatorsof Doom, Bethesda Software,have let loose a teaser of itsreboot of the classic shooterwith a full unveiling of thetitle due at this year’s E3 showin LA. As short as the teaseris – and, boy, is it short (justa few seconds) – it has anundoubted nostalgia qualityabout it. Bluntly, it got us allexcited inside. Track it downonline and feel the same way,why don’t you.

President Tweets.#IsThisSuchABigDeal?President Obama has joinedTwitter. You will find him at@POTUS if you’re into thatkind of thing and you’ll be ingood company – he had 1.68mfollowers the last time wechecked, and had apparentlybroken the record for the fastesttime to one million. As for thePresident’s first tweet? It wasn’ta bad effort:“Hello, Twitter! It’s Barack.Really! Six years in, they’re finallygiving me my own account.”

Ho, and indeed, ho. Thatpost attracted well over230,000 retweets at the lastglance. We’re not jealous, ohno no no.

36 Issue 1364

EE Bags 10m4G Users

If further proof wasneeded that everythingKevin Bacon touchesturns to gold, EE’s

powerful marketing messagesurrounding its 4G network haspaid off.

The operator now has over10 million customers signed upto its 4G network, becomingthe first European operator toreach that figure. EE says thatif the current pace of growthcontinues, it will support anExabyte of data per year by2018, triple the amount ofdata the network supportscurrently. The network alsorevealed that it’s running more

traffic over 4G than 3G for thefirst time.

While this is all great newsfor the network, its popularityis leading to more complaints,as Ofcom has said that EE hasreceived the most moans ofany mobile service iduring April-to-December last year, with itsbroadband service also ‘topping’the charts, There’s work to bedone, then, but perhaps this is inpart down to the growth in thenumbers now on board.

Meanwhile, BT is keen forits takeover deal of EE to gothrough claiming that it’s notgoing to affect the market inany negative way.

The tech specs of the Oculus Rift VRheadset are out there and it appearsthat Linux and Mac users are going tohave to wait a little while until they

can join in the fun.A blog post on the specs from a chief

architect at the company confirmed that“development for OS X and Linux has beenpaused in order to focus on delivering a highquality consumer-level VR experience at launchacross hardware, software, and content onWindows.” The post also stated that whileOculus hoped to resume development for OS Xand Linux, it doesn’t “have a timeline.”

Boo, hiss and all that jazz, which will also be thecase if you’re a confirmed laptop user, as we werealso informed that such hardware simply won’t beable to handle the required frame rates and thatanyone wanting to get on board with the projectwould need a dedicated, high-end graphics cardand processor setup: Windows 7 SP1 or later, Inteli5-4590 processor, Nvidia GTX 970/AMD 290 orbetter graphics card and 8GB RAM, to be specific.

The power is needed to render 400 millionshaded pixels per second for a smoothexperience, so this is going to be a case ofhigh-end early adopters enjoying the Oculusvision of the future.

Most 4G users in Europe

QUICK BITS... Blizzard has banned a “large number” of accounts from World of Warcraft as it tries

No Mac or Linux support on the horizon

Oculus Rift WillBe Windows Only

Issue 1364 37

SoftMaker Office 2016 Lands

4K VisionFromViewSonic

The latest iteration of theSoftMaker Office suite ishere, but with a 2016 tag,and it promises a faster, more

responsive experience with interoperabilitywith all major Office file formats.

Utilising more CPU cores to get your tasksdone without lag, the suite opens and savesin newer and older XML-based and binaryformats without losing any formatting andboasts over 400 improvements over thecurrent suite. These include support for 4K

monitors, zooming and scrolling on Windows8 touch-screen devices and support forphoto frames on each of its word processor,spreadsheet and presentation tools.

Included, Thunderbird and Lightninghandle e-mail and scheduling and thesuite comes with a license for up to threePCs. You can test it for free for 30 days bydownloading the evaluation version fromwww.softmaker.com and then decidewhether it’s worth the £72.40 for theProfessional version.

I f you happen to bearound London’s Sohoarea from 27-31 Mayyou may like to hang

around at HyperX’s Pop-UpShop at Peter Street.

The Kingston memorydivision has joined up withIntel and Overclockers UKto create a “fully immersivegaming experience” for gamingenthusiasts to go head-to-head with professional players.

Competing on recently releaseddriving title Project Cars, playersgrabbing the fastest lap timeswill bag daily prizes includingperipherals and accessories,plus a grand prize of a customgaming rig could be won in thefinal day of competition.

Naturally, you’ll also be ableto buy all manner of HyperXproducts too and it sounds likethis could be worth a look ifyou’re in the area.

A ward-winningmonitor proViewSonic hascooked up its latest

4K monitor in the shape of theVG2860MHL-4K. Aimed more atbusiness professionals, the priceof £369 certainly means thatanyone wanting an ultra-HDexperience in their home setupwon’t be completely priced outof this one. The 28” screen hasa 3840 x 2160 at 60Hz nativeresolution, displaying four timesmore images with twice thedetail of a full HD monitor.

Ten-bit colour processingdelivers 1.07bn colours forsmooth greyscale and lifelikeimagery, while features on themonitor include picture-in-picture, picture-by-picture andequally-split horizontal andvertical images.

Connectivity is cateredfor with DisplayPort 1.2 andMini DisplayPort 1.2 bothsupporting 4K resolution at60Hz, plus HDMI and fourUSB ports are available formobile devices, Blu-ray etc.A 2ms response time, built-indual speakers and a Blue LightFilter for a more comfortableviewing experience completethe important stuff and youshould head over towww.viewsoniceurope.com/ukfor more details.

Optimised to be faster and more responsive

Pop-up event in London this weekend

Ultra HD monitor from screen specialists

to stamp out botting... Read more on this in our Specialists section (p.72)

HyperXInvitesYouTo ‘MeetThe Pros’

Office screenshots are pretty dull, so here's

a big picture of a strawberry instead

38 Issue 1364

REVIEWS

W ith the tagline of'Listen in Style',Pioneer hasreleased its

FREEme Bluetooth speakerproduct, which delivers audiooutput from two 40mm full-range speakers backed up by apassive radiator. This portabledevice has dimensions of 151x 45.5 x 8.2mm and weighs361g, so it can easily betransported in a pocket orbag. Two versions of theproduct are available. The IF1model comes in a choice ofblack, white or aqua rubbercovering, while the moreexpensive IF3 version has achoice of black or brownleather livery. My review unitwas the black IF1 FREEme.

In common with numerousother devices performing asimilar task, the FREEme ispowered by a lithium-ionbattery pack that is ratedat around seven hours ofpower. However, unlike theseother devices, the FREEmecomes with instructions onhow to replace the battery.While I haven't tested thisreplacement feature, I havemanaged to squeeze over tenhours of playing time from asingle battery charge.

With the body of thisBluetooth speaker encasedwithin a perforated metallicgrill, the unit’s various controlsare concealed on the rearof the device rather thanthe more convenient top of

Reasonable output buta little pricey for itsfunctionality

76

Quality

Value77Overall

Pioneer FREEme

DETAILS• Price: £129.00• Manufacturer:Pioneer• Website:www.pioneer.eu/uk• Required spec: n/a

Michael checks out a portable Bluetooth speaker

down the pairing button fora second. If necessary, thestandard 'OOOO' passwordcan be used to completethe connection. The FREEmecan hold details of up toeight separate Bluetoothconnections, although onlyone can be active.

When the FREEme is linkedto a smartphone, then it can actas a speakerphone for receivingand making calls. Incomingcalls are announced with aringtone as the music is puton temporary hold. Dependingon a short or long press of theFREEme phone button, a callcan be accepted or rejected. Inthe case of the latter, or whena conversation is ended, themusic output will be restored.

As mentioned earlier, there'san aux connection for use by

devices that do not supportBluetooth. When a device isconnected via the aux option,it will take preference over anyBluetooth output. It does notstop the Bluetooth output,which continues merrily on itsway, but you just do not hear it.

Audio quality wasreasonable for a device of thissize, and you can downloadthe free Pioneer WirelessStreaming app in order tomake certain adjustments tothe FREEme audio output tohelp justify the price of theproduct. Pioneer has includedtwo- and three-pin plugs withan AC adapter, non-slip sheetand a drawstring carry pouch.mm Michael Fereday

the unit. Running from leftto right, these controls aremade up of a micro-USB portfor charging the battery, auxinput, a pinhole reset option,phone call button, volumelevel adjustment, Bluetoothpairing and power on/off.With power turned on, awhite light will appear on thefront of the speaker.

There's one other control,which involves the unit’s NFC(near field communication)support. This can be activatedby holding your smartphone ortablet close to the top of theFREEme. The power light willflicker while the connection isestablished before reverting toa steady glow.

Standard Bluetoothpairing is generally quick andstraightforward as you hold

Issue 1364 39

ONTEST

Reviews

We’ve had our shareof ultra-compactPCs through ourdoor of late, and

most have left us with a verypositive impression. However,there is one tiny PC that hasso far eluded our test bench:the Intel NUC – until now,of course.

The Intel NUC (NextUnit of Computing) bare-bones platform has quite afollowing these days, thanksto the amount of computingperformance that can beshoehorned into such adiminutive case.

Quiet PC’s take on theIntel NUC, the UltraNUC Prooffers an extensive rangeof configurations throughthe custom build area on itssite. The model we have ontest here has an Intel fifth-gen NUC Core i3 5010U at2.1GHz, 4GB of 1600MHzRAM and a 128GB SamsungSM951 M.2 SSD, on whichthere’s a copy of Windows 8.1.

Despite the minuteproportions of the chassis, theUltraNUC manages to packin a surprising amount ofconnectivity. The front of thecase houses a pair of USB 3.0ports, with one having superspeed charging, along witha 3.5mm headphone/speakerout audio port. At the rear ofthe case, you’ll find anothertwo USB 3.0 ports, gigabitEthernet, mini-HDMI and mini-

it’s a more convenient shapeand weight compared toother mini PCs we’ve tested inthe past.

Windows 8.1 workedextremely well on theUltraNUC; there weren’t anyproblems with loading theOS or navigating around it.Likewise, office duties were abreeze, and our collection ofolder games ran withoutany difficulty.

Speaking of which, theHD5500 GPU on the UltraNUCisn’t the most powerful built-in graphics engine, but it didmanage to handle the likesof Assassin’s Creed 4 and Left4 Dead 2 reasonably well,so there are some gaming

qualities hidden within thistiny PC. Media and HD contentplayed flawlessly; we even hadour test 4K video play withoutthe system struggling.

Cooling doesn’t seem to bean issue here, thankfully. TheUltraNUC is deathly silent, andat times you'll actually needto check the power LED tomake sure it’s on. Also, thanksto the abundance of ventsalong the sides and backof the case, there’s enoughairflow to keep it cool. Evenwith the tests we conducted,including the media tests fora couple of hours, the top ofthe UltraNUC was only slightlywarm to the touch.

We really enjoyed ourtime with the Quiet PCUltraNUC Pro. It’s an extremelycapable mini PC with ampleconnectivity, which can beconfigured to become moreof a gaming powerhouse ifyou want. There’s only onenegative we can think of andthat’s the use of mini-HDMIinstead of a full-sized port.mm David Hayward

DisplayPort, as well as thepower port. All this on and ina case that measures just 115x 111 x 32.7mm, and whichweighs around 400g.

The UltraNUC isextraordinarily well puttogether, a neat little packagethat works extremely wellunder normal computingduties. It’s ideal as mediacentre or a unit to fit behinda monitor, which is helped bythe inclusion of a VESA mountin the package. The colourscheme reminds us of theolder Revo R3610, with thewhite/gunmetal grey on blackshiny plastic. Obviously thedesign is significantly differentin this case, and in many ways

The Quiet PC UltraNUC Pro is an extraordinarily small PC

But one that packs a lot into its micro frame

DETAILS• Price: From £525• Manufacturer:Quiet PC• Website: goo.gl/5Lbo6U• Required spec: n/a

Just when you think a performance PC couldn’t get any smaller…

An excellent mini-PC with plenty ofperformance andpotential

Quiet PC UltraNUC Pro

97

Quality

Value88Overall

40 Issue 1364

ViewSonic VP2780-4k

Not long ago, I coveredViewSonic’s VX2880ml,a 28” 4K screen for lessthan £500. The

problem with that display wasthat it only supported 30Hz in4K resolution, making it lessthan optimal for gamers.

Learning from those lessonsclearly, the VP2780-4K is amarginally smaller 27” panelthat can deliver 60Hz operationsat full resolution, even if it’s reallybuilt for CAD engineers andphotographers.

Monitors that start with VPfrom ViewSonic are part of itsprofessional range, and for thatsector the price of less than £700is something of a tease, to peopleused to paying double that.

And unpacking this for the firsttime, the design certainly looksthe part. It comes pre-attached toa chunky support arm that offersplenty of vertical travel, enoughto spin the screen into portraitmode when required. As it’s builton IPS technology it features 178ºviewing angles in both horizontal

DETAILS• Price: £699 inc. VAT• Manufacturer:ViewSonic• Website:viewsoniceurope.com/uk• Required spec:DisplayPort or HDMIoutput

The support stand providesa strong and stable base, andthe input port options areequally impressive. You get twoDisplayPort inputs, one each offull size and another mini-DPoption, and no less than threeHDMI ports. One of these HDMIports is the new 2.0 spec with10-bit colour support, and theother two are the lesser MHL2.0 standard.

My first reaction was towonder in what situation youmight need five potential inputs.However, it transpired thatViewSonic’s picture-in-picture(PIP) technology actually allowsyou to use the 4K resolutionto display four 1080p sourcesat any one time. And for good

ViewSonic tries to muscle into the professional market with a new 4K screen

measure, it also has a four-portUSB 3.0 hub built in.

But the real party trickof this design is its colourpresentation, because accordingto ViewSonic, the panel in theVP2780-4k can deliver 100%sRGB, and 80% of Adobe RGBdefinition with a colour variance(Delta-E) of less than 2.

While to most people thecolours just ‘look good’, theseare the sorts of specificationsthat make those working withcolour professionally swoon.As a reviewer, my problemis that my colour calibrationhardware just isn’t up to thejob of demonstrating this levelof quality, and the human eyecan only detect a Delta-E of

and vertical, making it idealfor rotating.

To retain stability while thescreen moves, the front feet ofthe support are widely placed,but without this design choiceit would be generally unstablewhen at maximum verticalpositioning.

Specifications• 27" 4K UHD IPS monitor with 100% sRGB and 99%

EBU for CAD/CAM, video editing, photography• Natural resolution of 3840 x 2160• 1.07 billion colours with Delta E<2 for accurate colour

performance• HDMI 2.0, dual DisplayPort, MHL 2.0, 4 x USB3.0 ports• Multipicture support for viewing up to 4 video sources• Fully ergonomic stand with pivot, height adjustment,

swivel and tilt

Issue 1364 41

ONTEST

Reviews

A 4K display that playand work equally wellq y

88

Quality

Value88Overall

that designers work in, andunless it’s tightly controlled, anydiscrepancy exhibited by thisscreen will be a significant factor.

For those who aren’tdiagnosed as pantone positive,this display delivers a very richgamut that brings photographs,videos and 3D games alive.There isn’t much movie orTV content available at thisresolution, but what I could findlooked stunning and oddly 3D,in a way that stereo separatedimagery fails noticeably tosuccessfully convey.

The question that needs tobe asked is whether you coulduse this at home. If you havethe cash, then I don’t see whynot, unless you’re a frame-rate

1.0. Across the majority of theViewSonic VP2780-4k’s colourrange, pixel colour variation ismore subtle than that marginand therefore beyond a human’sability to appreciate.

There is only one slight flyin this multi-spectral ointment,and that's a slightly inconsistentbacklight. It’s definitely brighterat top centre than the corners,but only by a degree that wouldbe noticed by professionaldesigners. That’s a minor shame,because in almost every otherrespect the VP2780-4k is a veryclassy act indeed.

It needs to be stated thatcolour accuracy is often heldhostage to fortune by theactual environmental lighting

obsessive wanting the almostlag-free refresh that only TNdisplays can deliver. But as IPSand 4K screens go, there'ssurprisingly little input lag or lackof response at 60Hz, amazingly.

These idiosyncrasies aside,this is a remarkably high-qualityscreen that ViewSonic currentlyoffers with a zero dead-pixelwarranty. And at this qualitylevel, the price is a snip evenif it might seem excessive formost consumers.

There are still ongoingissues using a 4K screen forthe Windows desktop and ingames I’ve noticed, but theseare likely to be addressed asproducts like this one becomemore commonplace.

In the meantime, if you’dlike decent 4K panel but refuseto pay silly money, then theViewSonic VP2780-4k is a veryplausible option.mm Mark Pickavance

42 Issue 1364

Ashampoo Music Studio 6

This is an update to theAshampoo’s Music Studioprogram that I reviewedlast year. For those that

are not familiar with the product,it’s essentially a collection ofassociated utilities collated into amain menu. They cover all theessentials from extracting orrecording your audio files,through modifying andorganising them, to finallyburning the results to CD or harddrive. It also includes a basicmethod of labelling them as well.

With this release it's increasedthe main menu from eight to tenoptions, adding a playlistgenerator and an audio splitter.The playlist generator is quite auseful utility that’s morecomprehensive than the one builtinto Windows Media Player. It hasa simple point-and-click interface

DETAILS• Price: £29.99• Manufacturer:Ashampoo• Website:ashampoo.com/uk• Required spec:2.4 GHz CPU, WindowsVista or later, 1GB RAM,1024 x 768 16-bitgraphics card with256MB RAM

that makes it easy to pick tracksfrom different folders. It will alsocollate the chosen tracks, pickingup the artist and song titles fromthe source files (of course,assuming this data was saved inthe first place). Alternatively, itwill search the Free-DB databaseonline, to see if a match can befound. Once the list is complete,you can save it in a range ofdifferent formats, which aregenerally compatible with mostof the popular audio players. Thisversion also supports the Appleformats AAC and m4a. So youcan burn your music to disc orconvert iTunes songs into MP3and WMA format, to listen onyour home stereo or otherdevices without iTunes.

I wasn’t really convinced thatthe audio splitter was aparticularly useful feature, butof course if you have a liveconcert recording, it would allowyou to split away individualtracks or perhaps remove someof those you’re not particularlykeen on. It could also be used tocreate ringtones from any ofyour MP3 recordings, which forsome phones have to be keptunder a certain length. Another

useful feature of the splitter isremoving those annoying two-second gaps you sometimes getin live recording.

Obviously one of the mainfeatures of the Music Studio isaudio ripping, where it canextract the audio tracks fromCDs, video files, audio tapes andvinyl discs, automatically creatingplaylists in the process. This itdoes very well. You can chosefrom a number of outputformats, setting the sample andbit rate and whether you want amono or stereo recording.

After ripping, Music Studiooffers a number of moreadvanced editing options, whereyou can globally change thevolume levels to maintain aconstant or normalised level. Thisis particularly useful if you’recompiling a selection of tracks foran event, which could potentiallyhave different volume settings.You can also optimise the rippingto accommodate audio tapes andvinyl discs (what we in the UKrefer to as records).

Other advanced featuresinclude multi-track overlay andediting, which includes the facilityto record a microphone input

Ashampoo presents an upgrade to its Music Studio suite

over your music. You can alsoedit the raw data as a waveform,changing the volume, or fade thestart and end. There’s also agraphic equaliser where you cancompletely change the tonalvalue of individual tracks.

I mentioned in my last reviewthat the editor for creating andprinting your CD covers andlabels was somewhat lacking infeatures. Well, there's been someimprovement, because it now listsmany more compatible printers,my own Canon MG5450 beingone of them. Quite an importantpoint really, because my printerwill print directly onto CD orDVDs. Sadly it doesn’t retain theprinter information, so you haveto select it every time. Also, theediting functions are stillsomewhat primitive compared tosimilar products. While you canimport your own backgroundgraphics, there's no facility tosearch for online graphic content,but at least this version will nowimport artist and track data fromthe CD itself.

If Ashampoo can fix theseproblems, then it's surely on to awinner here.mm Joe Lavery

Remains good value, butwith a little work could beeven better

78

Quality

Value77Overall

The program will lift artist and track data from your CDs

Issue 1364 43

ONTEST

Reviews

BenQ GW2765HT

Despite advances inmonitor technology,trying to find a goodIPS display that can hit

WQHD resolutions for under£300 is still something of agamble. There are a number ofthem available, but finding theright one, with decentconnectivity and from acompany you can trust can befairly difficult.

BenQ, though, may have theanswer in the form of theGW2765HT. This is a 27" IPSmonitor with a resolution of 2560x 1440, and using the Flicker-FreeBenQ Eye-Care technology todeliver a stunning image that’seasy on the eyes.

Other features include adynamic contrast ratio of20,000,000:1, 350cd/m2brightness, and a response timeof 4ms. Connectivity is good too,with HDMI, DVI, DisplayPort andVGA; there’s even a pair of 2Wspeakers built into the frame.

It’s surprisingly ergonomic aswell, with height adjustment,swivel and tilt built into themonitor arm, which requiresscrewing into the rear of themonitor with the VESA mounts.It’s a little ungainly to fit, andonce everything is screwed intoplace, the movement is a tad stiff,especially for the tilt. But thedesign is secure enough, andthere’s no sign of wobble or alack of build quality.

The aesthetics of theGW2765HT aren’t the best we’veever seen, admittedly. The piano-

DETAILS• Price: £278.99• Manufacturer: BenQ• Website:goo.gl/zR7M1w• Required spec:DisplayPort, HDMI, DVIor VGA output

black, glossy bezel is somethingof a fingerprint and dust magnet,and there’s some reflection off itif the monitor is angled toward alight source.

However, where theGW2765HT may lack in its designit certainly makes up for in theimage that’s displayed on the

screen. We found it to be one ofthe best we’ve seen from a 27"panel. The colours are crisp, andthe brightness level is fantastic.There’s also a reduction in eyestrain, and you can tell the Flicker-Free technology makes adifference to how the image ispresented and viewed. Viewing

Looking for an IPS, WQHD monitor for under £300? Then read on…

angles are good at 178º on thehorizontal and vertical; there’s justa slight drop in the colour tonewhen looking at the screen fromthe extremes of the viewingangles.

The preset Game, Photo andMovie modes are a little dark forour tastes. Thankfully, you canadjust nearly every aspect of theimage through the OSD, whichcan be accessed through a set ofsix buttons around the back ofthe right-hand edge of the panel.The eye-care modes – Office,Reading, Multimedia and Surfing– are designed to lower thebrightness and blue light levelsand reduce the strain on youreyes. While they do indeed work,again we much preferred thelevels we could customise overanything that was preset.

The BenQ GW2765HT is agood, high-resolution monitor. It'sgreat for everyday tasks, as well isgaming and viewing HD content.We liked the ergonomics and thequality of the screen, as well asthe connectivity on offer, and theprice isn’t too bad either. It wouldbe better of course if there was aUSB hub built into the monitor,and we’d prefer to see a matt-black finish throughout, but onthe whole we’re impressed.mm David Hayward

A good monitor, withexcellent ergonomicsand less eye strain

The BenQ GW2765HT is a good IPS monitor

There’s more connectivity than usual, and good ergonomics as well

87

Quality

Value88Overall

44 Issue 1364

ThumbsUp Neoglow Earphones

Most technologyproducts, like USBhubs and wirelesskeyboards, are

created to solve a problem ormake life easier. Nevertheless,there has always been andalways will be plenty of roomfor more frivolous items too.From telephones shaped likehamburgers to pen drives thatresemble cartoon characters,these features add nothingother than a kitsch appeal and asense of fun. Quite often theactual functionality of theseproducts is bog standard atbest. Is that the case with theNeoglow earphones, though?

Their key selling point isthe fact that the main cablecontains an “electroluminescentwire” and “sound reactivetechnology”, which basicallymeans it lights up (in blue)and flashes in time to yourmusic, so slow music shouldmean slow flashing, whilemore upbeat tunes should seeyou illuminated like a one-man disco. This function canbe turned on and off usingthe silver button on the built-in control module, which isrecharged via a micro-USB porton the side. (This button canalso be used to answer phonecalls on a smartphone.)

But ThumbsUp also promisesa “Comfortable fit with highquality sound” – a potentiallymore difficult target to meet,

DETAILS• Price: £19.95• Manufacturer:ThumbsUp• Website:tinyurl.com/prxtvhd• Required spec: Anyaudio device with3.5mm output

considering their relatively lowprice. Sadly, they only succeedin one of these aims. The rubberearbuds fit snugly into your earsand provide a decent amount ofnoise isolation, so you shouldn’tfind your favourite Gene Pitneyalbum being spoiled by thesound of your colleagues, friendsor family trying to engage youin conversation. The problemis, if anything is going to ruinyour enjoyment of ‘Twenty-Four Hours from Tulsa’, it’s theNeoglow earphones themselves.

Although not terrible, thesound from these earphones isdistinctly muffled, like listeningto a radio with a quilt overyour head. On the plus side,we didn’t hear any distortionat high volume, and the bass

response wasn’t the worstwe’ve ever heard from budgetearphones. But even taking thatinto account, the fact remainsthat the audio quality is justnot good enough, even at £20,because you get the feeling thatif they didn’t flash, the Neoglowearphones would probably retailat closer to £10 (maybe £15 onthe high street).

Unfortunately, this isn’tthe only problem with theseearphones. In spite of thechunky module on thecable, which also houses amicrophone, there are novolume controls. Why such abasic feature was omitted isa mystery, because it wouldhave made these earphone farmore appealing.

We look at some ‘flashy’ budget earphones

Ultimately, the Neoglowearphones are a novelty product,but their price doesn’t quitereflect that. In their favour,though, the flashing effect is alot of fun, and if you want toget noticed and to turn heads,they’re sure to do that. It’s ashame there isn’t a choice ofcolours, but that’s perhapssomething that ThumbsUp willintroduce further down the line.Regardless of the colour, though,whether you should buy thesedepends on how important looksare to you over sound quality. Ifyou accept that your music isn’tgoing to sound its best, thenthey’re an interesting, if slightlyoverpriced, prospect.mm Anthony Enticknap

Sadly, they don't sound asgood as they look

65

Quality

Value66Overall

Issue 1364 45

ONTEST

Reviews

Roccat Kave XTD 5.1 Analog

Roccat has had a goodrun of decent gamingperipherals of late. TheTyon mice range and

Ryos keyboards have all scoredhighly in both the eyes ofreviewers and gamers alike.

The same can be said for theheadsets on offer, in particularthe Kave range. We’ve revieweda Kave headset from Roccat inthe past and found it to be agreat addition to the gamer’sarsenal. Now, though, we’vemanaged to get our hands onthe higher end of the Kavescale, the Kave XTD 5.1 Analog.

The Kave XTD offers a ‘real’5.1 surround sound setupthanks to three main driversin each ear cup. There’s a pairof 40mm drivers covering thecentre, front and rear, with athird 30mm vibration driverthat gives quite an explosivelevel of bass.

The left ear cup houses adetachable, omni-directionalmicrophone with excellentnoise cancelling technology– complete with a mute LEDquick recognition notificationon the mic’s tip. It’s a smallenhancement, but one a lot ofavid headset-wearing gamersare keen on having.

There’s a long, three-metre,tangle-free cable with a dual-mode remote located roughlyhalfway along. The remote is apretty solid affair and features

DETAILS• Price: ~£79.50• Manufacturer: Roccat• Website:goo.gl/UDds8B• Required spec:Soundcard with centre,rear, sub and mic jacks,spare USB port topower headset LEDs

a number of controls that areeasy to reach without fumblingaround. From it you can alterthe volume levels of each driver(front, centre, rear and sub)and switch between movie andgame preset modes, as well asturning the mic on or off. Youcan either clip the remote toyour shirt, or you can clip it ina Desktop Mode to an included

bridge that will sit near yourkeyboard or mouse.

The cable terminates witha USB connection and four3.5mm audio jacks. Naturally,you’ll need a soundcard setupthat can accommodate the fouraudio jacks. If you do, thenyou’re in for a real treat, as thesound quality from the KaveXTD 5.1 is absolutely superb.

Become completely surround in sound

Every detail of each audio rangeis picked up with near perfectclarity. Gaming sounds superb,but also films and music haveextra depth and come aliveonce you put the headset on.

In terms of comfort, theear cups and headband areextremely well padded andcan be worn for a length oftime without any signs ofdiscomfort. There’s also a higherthan normal amount of noisecancellation thanks in part tothe cushioning and padding onthe ear cups, but also due to aZero Noise Interference IsolatorRoccat has installed in theheadset. This innovative piece oftechnology apparently cuts outany electromagnetic interferencefrom other components. As tohow much it actually does cutout we’re not sure, but sufficeto say we were cocooned in ashell of near silence when wewore the Kave XTD.

The Roccat Kave XTD 5.1Analog headset is an excellentbuy for the avid gamer andaudiophile, but at £79.50 orthereabouts, it’s quite pricey.But you get what you payfor, and in this case it’s anextremely good headset withsuperb 5.1, hardware-drivensurround sound.mm David Hayward

Excellent qualityheadset, although alittle expensive

The Roccat Kave XTD 5.1 Analog headset is singularly impressive

The remote is simple but effective

97

Quality

Value88Overall

Gaming sounds superb,

but also films and music

have extra depth

DETAILS• Price: £390• Manufacturer:Lenovo• Website:goo.gl/Z0J4VI• Required spec:Server software,Linux or Windows(licence needed)

From a businessperspective, Lenovo hasits eye on the ball. Thecompany has its hands

in virtually every conceivableindustrial and commercial piethere is, from engineeringthrough to science, government,education and health. Sufficeto say, it knows a thing or twoabout producing a cost effectivetower server.

The Lenovo ThinkServer TS140is one of the newer chassisdesigns within the ThinkServerrange. It’s not quite as domain-level orientated as the TD350range, but then nor is it aslightweight as the TS130. Thisputs in a unique position thatcombines functionality and costeffectiveness, both keywordsexecutives like to bandy arounda boardroom.

The TS140 is a 4U tower formfactor measuring 174 x 425 x430mm and weighing in theregion of 11kg. Our model camefitted with a Lenovo C226-C2motherboard on to which there

Anybody who’s spent any timein a packed server room will nodoubt tell you that the possibilityof a conversation that doesn'trequire you to shout an inch fromthe other person’s ear is a gloriousthing indeed. The TS140 may noteliminate all noise, but it’s farquieter than most tower serverswe’ve worked with in the past.

The Lenovo ThinkServer TS140therefore may not be the mostpowerful server, but it’s certainlymore than capable as a solidworkgroup resource. It can beupgraded relatively cheaply, it’senergy efficient and you cangrab the base model, such asthe one we tested, for as little as£390. This makes it far from abad choice for smaller serverroom deployments or individualand workgroup solutions.

GROUPTEST

It’s been a while since aserver was a toweringmonolith that gentlyhummed in the centre ofthe server room, whileIT staff rushed aroundand fed its every whim.Now, there are plenty ofmid-tower server unitsavailable and at areasonable cost too.David Hayward takes sixto his underground,air-conditioned bunkerand tests them out tosee which of them areworth considering

Tower Servers

TowerServers

Lenovo ThinkServer TS140

was an Intel Xeon E3-1226, quad-core 3.3GHz processor, 4GB of1600MHz ECC UDIMM memoryand a single 1TB hard driveinstalled. OS not included, then.

The motherboard offers goodconnectivity in the form of fourUSB 3.0 ports, a pair of USB 2.0ports, VGA, two DisplayPorts anda single gigabit Ethernet port.On-board there are four memoryslots with support for a maximumof 32GB, five SATA ports withRAID levels 0, 1, 5 and 10, twox16 PCIe slots, a single x1 PCIeslot and a single PCI slot.

The TS140 can happily housefour 3.5" SATA 7.2K 6GBEnterprise Drives, to a maximumof 16TB total storage, andthrough the Intel AdvancedManagement Technology builtinto the motherboard you’ll beable to configure the setup toyour individual needs. Optionalextras come in the form ofremote management, up to eightgigabit Ethernet ports, rackmounting kits and various KVMoptions. However, while theamount of you can pack in to thechassis of the TS140 is impressive,equally of note is the lack ofnoise once it’s powered up.

We only has a single hard drivefitted in the case of this test andwere running a copy of UbuntuServer 14.04.2 LTS, but the TS140was remarkably quiet consideringits business-like heritage, wheresilence isn’t so much of a drivingforce compared to a home PC.

There’s ample room inside for potential upgrades

The Lenovo ThinkServer TS140 is oneof the quietest servers we’ve ever used

88

Quality

Value88Overall

Issue 1364 47

GROUPTESTTower

Servers

design, as far as server towersgo, but there’s plenty ofventilation and cooling thanks tothe large mesh area at the frontof the case. We did like thescrewless chassis and the factthat the drives can be mountedon rails for easy fitting.

The server was reasonablyquiet, although not as quiet asthe previously reviewed TS140.There’s little chance you’d hear itover the continual drone of theair conditioning in a server room,though, which is a bonus.

The Fujitsu Primergy TX1310 isa good overall tower server. It’s alittle more expensive than theTS140 from Lenovo, at around£430, but its upgrade options areroughly on a par with the Lenovoentry. The added benefit out ofthe box is the dual gigabitEthernet ports, the increasednumber of external USB 3.0 portsand the added USB 3.0 portlocated on the motherboard for

quad-core processor we sawpreviously in the TS140, but thistime we have a total of 8GBDDR3 memory and a pair of500GB hard drives, on to whichwe had a copy of UbuntuServer 14.04.2 LTS installed.

Rear IO connectivity is good,offering four USB 2.0 ports, twoUSB 3.0 ports, VGA, serial and apair of gigabit Ethernet ports. Weeven had a further dual Intelgigabit Ethernet card pre-fitted.On the motherboard itself, you’llfind four DDR3 memory slotssupporting a total of 32GB, twoPCIe x16 slots, a single PCIe x1slot and a single standard PCIslot; there’s a total of six SATAconnections supporting RAIDlevels 0, 1 and 10. Interestingly,you’ll find a USB 3.0 port locatedon the board, so you can fit aninternal backup solution.

The server chassis measures175 x 419 x 395mm and weighsaround 14kg. It’s a fairly standard

DETAILS• Price: £430• Manufacturer: Fujitsu• Website:goo.gl/RfAPdv• Required spec:Server software,Linux or Windows(licence needed)

Fujitsu may not have theserver room presencethat the likes of Dell, HPor Lenovo enjoy, but the

company’s server product rangeis a lot stronger than mostpeople expect. The PrimergyTX series, for example, offerseverything form the entry-levelTX1310, which we’re reviewinghere, up to the immenselypowerful TX300, with itssupport for multiple 12-coreXeon processors. In short,there’s something for everyserver-based situation with inthe product range.

The Primergy TX1310 maywell be the baby of the group,but that doesn’t mean it’swithout its fair share ofcomputing power. The D-3219motherboard is fitted with thesame Xeon E3-1226 V3 3.3GHz

the backup option. Althoughthere’s a good chance you’ll neveruse the internal USB port, it’s anice finishing touch and goes toshow there’s been some thoughtput in by Fujitsu.

This is an entry-level server,ideal for small offices andworkgroups or individualsolutions. The user though mayinstead opt for the slightlycheaper and quieter LenovoTS140. In the end, it’s purelydown to the name you trust orwho you’re used to dealing with.

Fujitsu Primergy TX1310 M1

78

Quality

Value77Overall

It’s reasonably quiet and does a decent enough job

The Fujitsu Primergy TX1310 M1 is afairly standard machine

48 Issue 1364

You’d be hard-pressedto find a server roomanywhere the worldthat doesn’t have

a Dell server in it. Even themost ardent IBM and HPfollowers will more than likelyhave something from the Dellproduct range stuffed into acorner. Such is the legacy ofthe company’s products interms of stability, affordabilityand familiarity.

The Dell PowerEdge T110II is the entry-level model inthe PowerEdge range, whichcaters for anything from a smallbusinesses through to some ofthe pretty complex setups that aglobal multi-national would nodoubt specify.

It’s a standard affair Delltower server, measuring 463 x189 x 420mm and weighingin the region of 14.5kg. Thespecification of our particularmodel came with a single IntelXeon E3-1220 V2 3.1GHzprocessor, 4GB DDR3 memoryand a single 1TB hard drive,which was OS free leaving us toinstall Ubuntu Server 14.04.2 LTS.

Rear IO connectivity isn’t thebest we’ve ever seen, thereare four USB 2.0 ports, eSATA,VGA, serial and a single gigabitEthernet port. Obviously youcan add to that depending onthe options you pick from theDell site, but for the base towerspec, this is your lot.

Internally, the motherboardhas four memory slots for atotal of 32GB DDR3 RAM,

we had costs in the region of£480, which is fairly expensiveconsidering you don’t get ahuge amount for your money.As you add more optionsthrough the Dell site, though,the price can rapidly rise intothe thousands.

This is a good starter server,but one that's lacking in someconnectivity and which canget expensive very quickly. Onthe plus side it’s a Dell server,so it’ll work with near any OSinstallation and it’s easy toupgrade and maintain.

DETAILS• Price: £480• Manufacturer: Dell• Website:goo.gl/Ed6Y2X• Required spec:Server software,Linux or Windows(licence needed)

Dell PowerEdge T110 IITower Servers

two PCIe x8 slots, a singlePCIe x4 and a single PCIex1 slot. There are five SATAconnectors available, but mostoptions for the T110 II includeadding a PERC RAID controller.Nevertheless, you’ll able toRAID any connected drives to0, 1 or 10.

The PowerEdge T110 II mayappear to be a little bland andvery minimalistic in its basespecification. Naturally, Dellwould want you to include alot more in the configurationstages. As it is, the server isdesigned for very lightweightduties – no more than a roomfull of users being connected,for example.

The advantage of using a Dellserver, though, is the amount ofsupport you’ll have for differentoperating systems. Dell has

taken great steps in makingsure that the PowerEdgerange is compatible with bothMicrosoft’s server systems aswell as Linux, in particular SUSEand Red Hat certifications. We,though, didn’t find any issueswith the Ubuntu Server versionwe were running.

Despite the fact thatconnectivity is lacking a bit, theDell PowerEdge T110 II is a prettysolid foundation to build on.It’s stable, fairly quiet, althoughagain not as quiet as the firstserver we reviewed. It’s an idealstarter server; there’s plentyof expansion and if you takethe Dell route then you’ll havecountless choices to upgradeand add components to boostconnectivity or performance.

The price is a bit of a stickingpoint, however. The model

76

Quality

Value77Overall

There’s not a server room in the world without one of these

The Dell PowerEdge T110 II is good,but expensive for what you get

Issue 1364 49

GROUPTESTTower

Servers

The HP ProLiant ML150Gen9 line of serverscome in a bewilderingrange of serial numbers

and options. For example,the ML150 Gen9 E5-2620v38GB H240 is considered asthe baseline entry-level server,whereas the ML150 Gen9E5-2620v3 16GB H240 HotPlug is the top level offering. Itgets confusing, since they areessentially the same base butwith different options added.

Nevertheless, the one wehave on test is the ProLiantML150 Gen9 E5-2603v3 4GBB140i. A bit of a mouthful,but one that comes with asix-core Intel Xeon E5-2603 v3processor at 1.6GHz, 4GB ofRDIMM memory and a single500GB hard drive, which againis OS free.

consider for the small office. Itmeasures 200 x 620 x 432mmand weighs near 20kg.

That said, it is an extremelycapable and powerful server.It is probably too much forthe small office to consider,even the base specification,purely because of the size andexpense. If you have a usefor it in mind, however, andyou’re serving a lot of users,then this is the one to consider.We can only imagine how wellit’ll perform with 60TB totalstorage, 256GB of memoryand a pair of 12-core XeonE5-2650L V3s installed.

DETAILS• Price: £1,056• Manufacturer: HP• Website:goo.gl/b03E8j• Required spec:Server software, Linuxor Windows (licenceneeded)

HP ProLiant ML150 Gen9 E5-2603v3

The connectivity, much likethe Dell PowerEdge, is a littlebleak around the back of themachine. You’ll find VGA, twoUSB 3.0 and two USB 2.0 portsand a pair of gigabit Ethernetports. The front of the chassisthough is where it begins to geta little busier. By removing thefront of the case you’ll revealthe hot-swap drive area. Thisis where you can plug in up toeight drives of varying capacitiesinto the HP Dynamic SmartArray, with every conceivableRAID option available.

Furthermore, themotherboard itself can supportdual CPUs, 16 DDR4 slots(two banks of four, eight perprocessor, each side of theCPU sockets), six PCIe slots ofvarying speeds and a micro-SDslot on board. The total amountof memory that can be fittedinto the ML150 Gen9 is 256GB,and the maximum storageoptions can top 30TB plus.

It’s quite an impressivething to behold, especiallyfrom the point of view of the

average home user. However,as you can assume then, thisisn’t your ordinary entry-levelserver. Whereas the otherservers we’ve tested so farhad some good expandability,the potential in the ML150Gen9 could run a very largeorganisation without anyhint of a problem. Mind you,it’ll also run into the tens ofthousands to do it.

The base model we testedcost £1,056. Once you start toadd more HP branded options,such a memory that can costfrom £186 to £282 and ML150compatible cradle hard drivesthat cost from £311 for a singleterabyte to £654 for 3TB, theend cost will soon mount up.

The cost though isn’t theonly flaw. The noise levelsfrom the ML150 are quiteextreme, especially since we’vebeen used to testing somereasonably quiet servers sofar. Also due to the extremeexpansion support of theML150 Gen9, it’s not thesmallest or lightest of servers to

86

Quality

Value66Overall

We only dream of filling one of these up with two CPUs and 256GB of memory

The ProLiant ML150 Gen9 is animpressive server, at an equallyimpressive price

50 Issue 1364

We’re back with Dellagain, specificallyanother of itsPowerEdge

models, in fact. This time,however, it is to presentsomething a little differentfrom the rest of the group.The Dell PowerEdge T20 MiniTower Server is, as the namestates, a more compact serverdesigned for small businessesthat want their own serverswithout having to dedicate aportion of the building as aserver room.

As with the other Dell Serversavailable, there’s a range ofoptions and extras. Our model,however, came with an IntelXeon E3-1225 v3 3.2GHzquad core processor, 4GB ofDDR3 memory and a 1TB harddrive on to which we installedUbuntu Server 14.04.2 LTS.

Despite it's ambition tobe compact, the rear IOconnectivity is really quite goodin this case. You’ll find a pairof PS/2 ports, single gigabitEthernet, two USB 3.0 ports,four USB 2.0 ports, VGA,two DisplayPorts and a serialport. Inside the motherboardfeatures two PCIe x16 slots, aPCIe x1 slot and a standard PCIslot. There are four memoryslots for a maximum of 32GBand four SATA connectionswith a few software RAIDoptions available.

The T20 measures 360 x175 x 435mm and weighs just12kg, which will make fitting

Windows Server and marketedit slightly differently.

We were quite surprised bythe lack of options available forthe T20. There are a few, as wementioned at the beginning ofthe review, but there doesn’tseem to be anything thatmakes this model stand outfrom the crowd. This meansthat unless you know how toupgrade and what componentsto upgrade in the future, you’releft with the limited selectionfrom Dell.

For just £350 it’s a good dealand a good server for sharingor individual use. But we’refairly sure you could adapt a‘standard’ PC for less and onethat’s a bit more powerful aswell. That said, our version ofUbuntu Server worked well andwe can appreciate the need fora smaller footprint server.

On the whole it’s a good,low cost server, and it’llprobably fit in well with thebusy office where there’s littleto no IT support. We can’t helpthinking, though, that thereare far better options availablewithout having to go down theDell PowerEdge Server route.

DETAILS• Price: £350• Manufacturer: Dell• Website:goo.gl/ocjLhE• Required spec:Server software, Linuxor Windows (licenceneeded)

Dell PowerEdge T20 Mini Tower ServerTower Servers

into a smaller office space a loteasier than any other modelhere. Speaking of which, it’salso the quietest server we’vehad running so far, even moreso than the first server on

test, the Lenovo TS140. Withthat in mind then, it’s easyenough to picture the T20 asan server that’s placed undera desk, much like an ordinaryworkstation, rather thanneeding an office move-around.

In truth there’s not muchdifference between this serverand an ordinary PC. Theupgrade potential is roughlythe same, and the connectivityisn’t too far different either.

In fact, you begin to wonderwhy Dell bothered with a miniserver such as this to beginwith, when they could havesimply dropped the cost of oneof their workstation modelsand offered it with a copy of

For just £350 it’s a good

deal and a good server for

sharing or individual use

88

Quality

Value88Overall

The Dell T20 Mini Server is a decent, low cost option

Issue 1364 51

GROUPTESTTower

Servers

We’re back with aLenovo productfor the finalreview of the

group, but the System Xwasn’t always a part of theLenovo stable. When thecompany acquired the IBM x86portfolio a way back, it alsomanaged to get its hands onthe original IBM System X, atower server range that’s ideallysuited for smaller businessesand remote environments, aswell as small workgroup andindividual solutions.

were reviewing. We’re notsure of the measurementsof the compact version, butthe one we had measured439 x 217 x 569mm andweighed an impressive 20kg.Not something you can hideaway or balance on top ofthat wobbly rack you’ve beenmeaning to tighten up.

The Lenovo System x3100M5 isn’t a bad server. It’s gotupgrade potential, it’s stable,and it’s fairly quiet. The onlyproblem is that it’s fairlyexpensive for what you get.Our model cost a cool £950,which is probably a little toomuch for a small company topay for the base specification.

Although it’s good, then, wethink Lenovo has a better andmore cost effective solution inthe form of the TS140.

DETAILS• Price: £950• Manufacturer:Lenovo• Website:goo.gl/SJyTN9• Required spec:Server software, Linuxor Windows (licenceneeded)

Lenovo System x3100 M5

There are currently fourservers in the System X line-up,with the x3100 M5 being theentry-level option. Don’t letthat fool you into thinking it’slacking though, as this servercan pack quite a punch whenproperly configured.

The model we have to testhas an Intel Xeon E3-1220 v3quad core 3.1GHz processor,8GB UDIMM memory and asingle 1TB hard drive ontowhich we installed UbuntuServer 14.04.2 LTS. The rearIO ports are pretty thin on theground, consisting of a VGAport, serial port, four USB 2.0ports and a pair of gigabitEthernet ports.

The motherboard has fourDDR3 memory slots that cantake a maximum of 32GB worthof RAM, two PCIe x16 slots,PCIe x1 slot and a standard PCIslot. There are also six SATAports for the four drive bays andtwo media bays, which can beconfigured for a hardware RAID

0, 1, 5 or 10. Finally, the x3100comes with a 430W 80 PlusSilver rated redundant powersupply in addition to the 350Wmain PSU.

There’s plenty of spaceto grow with the x3100.Upgrading is a fairly easyprocess, as the componentscan be of the off the shelfvariety and not limited toanything branded. It’s a pitythere’s not much more on offerfrom the rear IO, the frontof case does have a pair ofUSB 3.0 ports, but it’s ofteneasier to have the wealth ofconnectivity at the rear ofthe machine. Still, there areenough PCIe slots to insertmore graphics options or someother connection if needed.

Apparently there are twomodels of the System x3100available. One is a morecompact version, without theredundant PSU and lackinga few hot swap drive bays,and the other is the one we

76

Quality

Value77Overall

The Lenovo System X3100 is certainly a good all-rounder...

... But there aremore cost effectivesolutions available

52 Issue 1364

Lenovo ThinkServer TS140

How We Tested

We thought the Lenovo ThinkServerTS140 had the best offering of cost versusperformance. It’s a good all-round server andone that both a new company and largerworkgroups can get good use out of.

Each server had Ubuntu Server 14.04.2 LTS installed and was connected to a gigabit network, with a selection of folders shared forindividual users.

Dell PowerEdge T20 Mini TowerThe Dell PowerEdge T20 Mini Tower Servermay not be much better specified than thatof a normal desktop PC, but the fact is thatit’s ideal for a small company or one withoutaccess to IT staff.

LenovoThinkServer

TS140

Fujitsu PrimergyTX1310 M1

Dell PowerEdgeT110 II

HP ProLiantML150 Gen9

Dell PowerEdgeT20 Mini Tower

Lenovo Systemx3100 M5

Price £390 £430 £480 £1,056 £350 £950

CPUIntel Xeon E3-1226

v3 3.3GHzIntel Xeon E3-1226

v3 3.3GHzIntel Xeon E3-1220

v2 3.1GHzIntel Xeon E5-2603

v3 1.6GHzIntel Xeon E3-1225

v3 3.2GHzIntel Xeon 3-1220

v3 3.1GHz

Memory 4GB 8GB 4GB 4GB 4GB 8GB

HDD Installed 1TB HDD 2x 500GB HDD 1TB HDD 500GB HDD 1TB HDD 1TB HDD

Max No CPUs 1 1 1 2 1 1

Max RAM 32GB 32GB 32GB 256GB 32GB 32GB

Max No Drives Five Six Five Eight Four Six

No. Network Ports1x

gigabit Ethernet4x

gigabit Ethernet1x

gigabit Ethernet2x

gigabit Ethernet1x

gigabit Ethernet2x

gigabit Ethernet

Dimensions (mm) 174 x 425 x 430 175 x 419 x 395 189 x 420 x 463 200 x 620 x 432 360 x 175 x 43 439 x 217 x 569

Weight 11kg 14kg 14.5kg 19.8kg 12kg 20.1kg

EDITOR’S

CHOICE

HIGHLY CO

MM

ENDED

Issue 1364 53

REMEMBERING...

T he school yards of the early 80s were home to such gamingwonders as British Bulldog, Manhunt and Conkers, but aboveall else, they were the battleground for who preferred the

Spectrum over the Commodore.To the Spectrum owners, the C64 was a toilet-coloured,

uninspiring box that produced blocky graphics and was purchasedby parents who had more money than sense. The truth, though,was something else. In fact, the C64 (however much I hate toadmit it) was a far more competent and technologically advancedmachine than its 80s 8-bit rival.

Full-colour sprites and hardware scrolling, thanks to the VIC-IIchip, extra memory and a better keyboard than the rubber keys onoffer on the Speccy were just the tip of the iceberg. The pièce derésistance, of course, was the utterly amazing three-channel SIDchip that produced some of the most impressive soundtracks andeffects outside of the arcades.

Many of the games that appeared on the C64 were technicallyso far ahead of their time that even Commodore itself wasamazed at what the coders of the time were getting themachine to do. Take Uridium, for example. Here was a game thatfeatured 50Hz, multi-layer parallax scrolling and smooth-as-silkhardware sprites that drove forward in varying attack patterns.Although the Spectrum port was just as iconic and an incredibleachievement, it simply didn’t look anywhere near as good as theoriginal C64 version.

Its HistoryCommodore had already seen much success in the businessmarket and with the C64’s predecessor, the VIC-20. Early 1981, itbegan work on developing the next generation of entertainmentcomponents based on what was available in the arcades.

The results of that work were the aforementioned VIC-II graphicschip and the Sound Interface Device chip (SID). These were to befitted into a games console apparently called The Ultimax, whichwas cancelled after just a number of units. However, Commodoreengineers Robert Russel, Robert Yannes Charles Winterble and AlCharpentier managed to pitch an idea for a follow-up machine tothe VIC-20 to Commodore boss, Jack Tramiel.

The VIC-40, asit was then known, wentthrough many design alterations untilit was finally agreed on that it should resemble theVIC-20 to continue the available Commodore range, including thebusiness machines. By the time it was released to the eager press inJanuary 1982, the name was changed to C64.

The C64 soon became the highest selling single computer ofall time, despite the fact that it cost £399 when it was released tothe UK public. Its legacy to this day is still as strong as that of theSpectrum’s and probably will be for many more years yet to come.

The GoodOften far better graphics then the Spectrum and naturally theuntouchable audio from the SID chip, which is still going strong.

The BadExpensive, very expensive. A serial port for IO and the famouslydodgy 1541 disk drive. You have to admit that typing Load”” wasbetter than typing Load”*”,8,1.

ConclusionThe Commodore 64 was a singularly impressive home computer.Although I only owned one for a few months before upgrading toan Atari ST, the C64 still sticks in my mind as the computer I wouldhave liked to have known better.

So which one were you: a Spectrum owner or a C64 owner?

A monumental 8-bit computer this week

Remembering…Commodore 64

DidYouKnow?• There were an estimated 17 million C64s sold in its

lifetime.• You could run an Apple-1 emulator on a C64.• The C64 BASIC was pretty much a series of pokes.• One of the early Anarchist’s Cookbooks was how to hack

with a modem and a C64.

C64 BASIC or PET BASIC if you prefer Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders, one of the greatest ever C64 games

Issue 136456

In this series we’re uncovering some of themost interesting and innovative technologyprojects from Microsoft Research lab

teams across the globe. This time the themeis Microsoft’s investigations into three-dimensional vision technology, includingthe recently revealed augmented reality andholographic initiatives.

Interactive 3D TechnologiesThe Interactive 3D technologies (I3D) team hasan impressively diverse research scope, whichincludes 3D graphics, computer vision, novelhardware, machine learning (ML), augmentedreality (AR) and natural user interfaces (NUI).However, the main focus of these activities isclear: to envision and demonstrate radicallynew user experiences that incorporate state-of-the-art vision/graphics algorithms, deployed onadvanced display and sensor hardware.

One of the key words here is ‘demonstrate’,so rather than just write papers on theory,algorithms and techniques, each project hasa high practical content. This ensures thephysical and engineering problems associatedwith building complex systems are confronted,addressed and resolved.

As you’ll also see from the website (goo.gl/a2CS77), there are many ongoing projects, buthere’s a sample of the higher profile activities.

I3D ProjectsThe ‘Ultimate IO’ project explores how thecamera might be improved to capture reality.The scope includes the acquisition of 3Dgeometry, material characteristics, subtle lightfields and other novel display technologies thathelp deliver rich digital content visualisations.

The ‘Reality Remixed’ project was conceivedto tackle the most difficult technical anduser interface challenges associated with the

field of augmented reality (AR). In particular,the team investigate real-time tracking andreconstruction, augmented reality hardwareand devices, plus rich user experiences thatblur the physical and digital worlds.

Under the theme of ‘Recovering andUnderstanding Reality’, a team explores thesoftware side of virtual reality. Their effortshave resulted in probabilistic models andalgorithms that can be used to infer physicalproperties of the scene, such as scenecomposition, object recognition, materialsurfaces and lighting.

Also software based, the ‘deForm’project explores new algorithms that candigitally represent the dynamic nature ofreal-world objects. The challenge is to copewith the movement and deformation of allkinds of artefacts. This includes real-timehand poses, along with facial expressioncapture and classification.

However, one I3D project in particular hasrecently acquired a high level of publicity. AtJanuary’s Windows 10 ‘The Next Chapter’event, the on-stage presenters demonstratedan early prototype of the I3D team’sHoloLens headset.

To deliver a fully working, production-quality HoloLens, the I3D team andassociated contributors worked closely withMicrosoft’s Product Group members.

Eager for feedback, a HoloLens prototypeunit is currently being put through its pacesby Nasa, which is using it to better visualisethe scientific data and images returned bythe robotic Mars Rovers. That in turn willhelp them to plan future routes, observationsites and drilling activities.

Does I3D sound like an exciting place towork? If it does, you might be interested toknow Microsoft is still recruiting I3D teammembers, including researchers, postdocs,

David Briddock seeks out the roots of Microsoft’s holographicand HoloLens technology

3D Vision And Augmented Reality

MICROSOFTRESEARCH

IllumiRoom in action

Issue 1364 57

MICROSOFTRESEARCH

interns and so on, so visit the website (goo.gl/a2CS77) to see how to apply.

IllumiRoomIllumiRoom is a Microsoft Research proof-of-concept system to augment the areasurrounding a TV screen. These manifestthemselves as peripheral projectedvisualisations to create a wall-sizedentertainment experience, regardless of the TVscreen’s physical dimensions.

In operation, IllumiRoom (goo.gl/ZkXZSE)combines a Kinect for Windows camerasystem, a wide-angle projector and cleversoftware to blur the lines between on-screencontent and the surrounding environment.

The Kinect-captured room appearance andgeometry is overlaid by projected images,which are merged and synced with the TVscreen content. The effect is to seamlessly mixthe virtual and physical worlds in real time,extending the field of view and deliveringentirely new game experiences.

Microsoft has released a demonstrationvideo (goo.gl/jrbkJV) showing live, uneditedimages of the IllumiRoom system in action.

RoomAliveWhile still at the proof-of-concept stage, theRoomAlive (goo.gl/gjcZuV) project team thinktheir prototype system offers a glimpse into thefuture of interactive gaming. In essence, theteam are trying to answer the question “Whatnew gaming experiences can technologydeliver in the next few years?”

RoomAlive transforms any room intoan immersive, augmented entertainmentexperience through the use of videoprojection. Participants touch, shoot, stomp,dodge and steer though projected content,which seamlessly coexists with the surroundingphysical environment.

To do this, RoomAlive builds heavily on theIllumiRoom research project (described above).IllumiRoom is largely focused on extendingtraditional gaming experiences out of the TV

display. However, RoomAlive focuses on gamerinteraction and the sort of games that will bepossible with interactive projection mapping.

At its heart, RoomAlive has a projectordepth-camera unit, known as a procam.Each procam unit is a blend of a low-costcommodity wide field of view projector, aMicrosoft Kinect sensor and a computer. Theprojector handles the display rendering, whilethe Kinect is used for tracking.

A single procam unit would deliveran IllumiRoom-style experience, butRoomAlive has six procam units. This means

Holographic FoundationsDo you have a distinct feeling you’veseen something like IllumiRoom,RoomAlive and Surface Computingtechnology before? Well, you mightbe right.

As part of its January 2015Windows 10 ‘The Next Chapter’event (news.microsoft.com/windows10story), Microsoft revealedsome of its holographic initiatives.

Apart from a promised blended-augmented-reality HoloLens headsetand high-resolution 88” Holo Studiomonitor, there was a video showinga living room filled with 3D images,which were projection mapped ontowalls and furniture, and which wereproduced by IllumiRoom, RoomAliveand Surface Computing technology.

Watching the video, you becomeacutely aware how holographictechnology presented at the eventrelied heavily on the work done bythe Microsoft Research project teams,which themselves rely on criticalfoundation work carried out by otherResearch teams and in collaborationwith universities around the globe.

RoomAlive projection mapping

RoomAlive procam unit

Issue 136458

it can animate every square inch of yourliving room, using a technique known asprojection mapping, which transforms eachwall and every item of furniture into aninteractive display.

Each procam unit is auto-calibratingand self-localising. This means they canbe installed in whatever location is mostappropriate. This kind of flexibility helpsincrease its potential, especially whenconsidering home-based environments.

Most importantly, RoomAlive gamedesigners can create projection mappedgames without knowledge of a room’s specificdimensions, shape or colour scheme. Instead,RoomAlive automatically detects floors, wallsand objects, and content is rendered in real-time, dynamically adapting to the room’scolour and geometry.

In order to work in a realistic manner, 3Dimages must be displayed with the correctperspective. RoomAlive tracks the player’s headposition relative to the room (across all sixprocam units) and renders a view-dependentprojection, so RoomAlive content always lookscorrect as the player moves their head around.

To see for yourself what RoomAlive coulddo in a typical living room setting, take a lookat this video: goo.gl/5FBLwr.

3D Surface ComputingAnother 3D virtual worlds theme project,Surface Computing is all about creatingnaturalistic ‘in-the-air’ interactions.

Why in the air? Well, when objects arebound to a surface, it poses a fundamentallimitation in the way they can be manipulatedin the third dimension. To overcome thisrestriction, the team devised a novel solutionthat creates a continuous interaction space,both on and above a surface, so a user cansimply pick up an object off the surface andthen manipulate its position in 3D, just as if itwere a real object.

Although this description soundsstraightforward, the realisation of this conceptinvolves lots of sophisticated technology. Apartfrom an augmented reality headset, thereare switchable diffusers, infrared illumination,IR-based depth estimation, holographicprojection screens, a depth-sensing cameraand masses of sophisticated software.

And if you watched or read about theHoloLens headset demonstration at theWindows 10 ‘The Next Chapter’ event video(goo.gl/DcCPe5), you’ll know this technologyexciting both attendees and the media pressin general.

However, you don’t have to own anaugmented reality headset. This system also

works with an updated version of Microsoft’smulti-touch tabletop prototype (confusinglynamed Surface), as demonstrated by Bill Gatesway back a 2007.

The latest incarnation is called‘SecondLight’. In this version, secondarycontent is projected through the display, viatwo separate projectors, as well as an ‘in-the-air’ interaction sensor system to capture usergestures and manipulate objects held abovethe surface.

A couple of supporting monitorsare hooked up to the unit so observerssurrounding the tabletop can see what’sactually being outputted by each projector.

Real-world scenarios include thevisualisation and manipulation of 3Dmedical data, produced by MRI scannersand similar machines.

HoloDeskHoloDesk is a novel interactive systemcombining an optical see-through paneland Kinect camera to create the illusion thatusers are directly interacting with 3D graphics(goo.gl/KZE4Qe). One of its most importantcharacteristics is that a HoloDesk user doesn’thave to own or wear any specialised hardwareor input device. Instead a virtual 3D sceneis rendered through the beam-splitter panel(essentially a half-silvered mirror), whichcombines the virtual world with the real-world.

This technique creates an interaction arena.Virtual 3D objects can be displayed in this

Kinect v2The latest Kinect colour camera sensor is now 1080p compatible. What this meansin practice is that it has up to three times the fidelity of the previous version,resulting in significant improvements in small object visualisation accuracy.

The new sensor is supported by the Kinect for Windows software developmentkit (SDK) 2.0, which provides developers with drivers, tools, APIs, deviceinterfaces and code samples (goo.gl/7U2QPf). Version 2.0 offers more stablebody tracking in general and is capable of tracking as many as six people at atime, plus 25 individual joints per person.

MirageBlocks

RetroDepth

Issue 1364 59

MICROSOFTRESEARCH

arena, while hands placed inside can grasp andmanipulate these 3D objects.

The project vide, in which someoneselects and jiggles spheres and cubes, looksquite impressive (goo.gl/CyIsZV). The samevideo also covers the display, beam-splitterpanel and camera setup. It also hints atother possible applications, such as face andparticle tracking or interaction with variousreal-world physical objects.

MirageBlocksMirageBlocks is a research project (goo.gl/37YggG) that employs 3D stereo projectioncombined with Microsoft’s Kinect v2 camera(see boxout) to capture, display and interactwith digital renditions of 3D objects.

With MirageBlocks, everyday physical3D objects are rapidly digitised. A user theninteracts with this digital representation usingonly hand and finger gestures.

The project team have alreadydemonstrated a simple modelling application,where a complex 3D model is constructed withjust a few wooden blocks. Here each block isindividually digitised and assembled.

To operate MirageBlocks, you’ll need towear 3D shutter-style glasses, but the samesetup can also be used for telepresenceapplications, where real items from the remotesetting are digitised and projected as virtual 3Dobjects in your own virtual world.

Retro DepthRetroDepth is an advanced yet low-cost vision-based system able to accurately sense the 3Dsilhouettes of hands, styluses and other objects(goo.gl/e5GesJ).

The system elements include twoinfrared cameras, diffuse infrared LEDs and

a mat covered in an off-the-shelf retro-reflective material. This material aids imagesegmentation by creating a strong contrastbetween the surface and the object of interest.

The RetroDepth system captures high-precision input from items placed directly onor in motion above the mat. To do this thesystem’s software includes a highly efficientstereo-matching algorithm to precisely estimatethe object’s 3D contours. These contours aretracked in real-time across three dimensions.

What does this mean in practice? Take yourhand for, example. The movement of eachfinger and the precise location of each fingertip can be captured, so it’s possible to performcomplex gesture recognition, includingpressure sensitivity. For a stylus-type object, thetip’s position and physical stylus angle can becontinuously tracked.

MoViBingToday, owning a mobile phone meansowning a device capable of image and videocapture. In many cases, the image quality isat least as good as the instant film camerasof yesteryear. And because we’ll always haveour mobile phone to hand, this has caused ahuge rise in the number of photos we snapand videos we capture.

However, this deluge of digital data hascreated a few problems – in particular,the ability to associate searchable textualinformation with an image or video segment.Of course, these days our digital imagecollections can be flicked though quiterapidly. However, typically a video needs tobe watched in full to determine its content oreven discover the subject category.

As we all know, entering text on a mobilephone can be a tedious and error-prone

activity. It’s such a contrast to the snap-and-goimage capture process.

The MoViBing project team (goo.gl/DdMNp8) aim to help by automaticallygenerating video tag suggestions in real-timeand in multiple languages. This tag data isstored alongside the video file to simplifysubsequent access and management.

The user can quickly scan these tagsand keep the most appropriate ones, whilemarking the others for deletion. The remainingtags provide an always-available searchablemedium, and the same tag data can act as astarting point for Bing or Google searches. mm

Links• Interactive 3D: goo.gl/a2CS77• IllumiRoom: goo.gl/ZkXZSE• IllumiRoom video:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=re1EatGRV0w

• RoomAlive: goo.gl/gjcZuV• RoomAlive video: goo.gl/5FBLwr• HoloDesk: goo.gl/KZE4Qe• MirageBlocks: goo.gl/37YggG• MirageBlocks video: http://

research.microsoft.com/apps/video/default.aspx?id=146001

• RetroDepth: goo.gl/e5GesJ• RetroDepth video: https://m.

youtube.com/watch?v=96CZ_QPBx0s

• MoViBing: goo.gl/DdMNp8• Windows 10 Story: goo.gl/

DcCPe5• Kinect Windows SDK: goo.

gl/7U2QPf

MoViBing

Issue 136460

Pretending they’re in America so they can stream certain contenthas become the modus operandi for computer users around theglobe. Rob investigates the legal issues of region hopping

OnlineRegionHoppingIs It Illegal?

Issue 1364 61

REGION HOPPING

Anyone who regularly watches TV shows, films or othervideos online will have come across the words ‘We’re sorry,but this video has not been made available in your region’before. It can be infuriating to be denied access to content,

especially in a world where many of us have access to hundreds ofTV channels via Freeview, can access most pop music free-of-chargethrough Spotify, and/or use services like iPlayer to access a library offree film and television content at the click of a button.

Resultantly, many of us have probably thought somethingalong these lines: ‘if it’s truly a world wide web, isn’t restrictingaccess by our geographical location a tad archaic?’

Well, on first thought, it certainly does seem that way.Beneath the initial question, though, lies a murky legal debate.We did some digging to try and get to the crux of the issue.

Bending The RulesVPNs (virtual private networks) have supplied one solution to thisproblem. You may use a VPN at work – a shared system whereyou and your colleagues store files. Indeed, you may even haveone in your home. How is this relevant to region-locked videos,though? Well, a similar system of shared access has been usedby several app developers to offer their customers a way aroundthose irritating ‘not available in your region’ messages.

Chief among the providers of this service is probably Hola, anapp you’ve almost certainly heard of, or possibly even use on aregular basis yourself. Ofer Vilenski, the CEO of Hola, told MicroMart that his company are “a P2P network for anonymity – asort of extension to Google’s “incognito mode”, where we alsohelp to keep your IP random.”

Translated into layman’s terms, that essentially means that Holahelps its users to keep their location private from the websitesthey frequent. This is achieved through a shared peer-to-peernetwork where everyone who downloads the free version of theapp makes his or her IP address free for borrowing.

As a result, you can pretend to be in the USA by temporarilyusing an American IP address, and can gain access to all sorts ofotherwise blocked content through the process. Unless you’rewilling to pay for the premium service, someone on the otherside of the Atlantic is probably borrowing your IP address at thesame time. After all, there are programmes on British Netflix thataren’t on the American equivalent, too.

According to Softonic, Hola Better Internet is the thirdmost-downloaded browser add-on in the UK, after FacebookMessenger and AdBlock Plus. Worldwide, over 44 million usershave downloaded a version of Hola since its launch in 2008.

Taken at face value, then, the services of Hola seem likea popular and ideal solution to those pesky region-basedannoyances that the internet likes to throw at us. However, noteveryone is a fan of the idea.

Trying To Shut It OutHulu (not to be confused with Hola, guys, those vowels areimportant) is an online company based in America. It offers awide selection of television and film content, from cartoons toindie flicks, to sports documentaries and blockbusters. In the US,a lot of its library is available for free. You can pay to get showsquicker and in higher definition, if you like.

In the UK, though, the entire service is unavailable. LikeAmerican TV channels, Hulu only has the rights to screen itscontent in the USA and its territories. Well, that was the caseuntil they branched out into Japan in 2013, at least. The rulesremain the same though – they only have the rights to distributecontent in those countries, not anywhere else. Therefore, to

cheat your way on to its service certainly breaking a few rules. Itbreaches the legally binding terms and conditions, too.

In 2009, Hulu attempted to launch a service in the UKand Ireland, but discussions with major British broadcastersapparently broke down before the project could come tofruition. Legally, then, its library simply isn’t meant for Britons.

In April 2014, Hulu took a strict stance against locating-shifting internet users. Hulu publically announced that theywere cutting access for visitors of their site who were usinganonymous proxy servers that hide users true locations:

“A proxy server works as sort of a middleman betweena personal computer and the Internet,” the announcementexplained. “In practice, anonymous proxies are used to hideinformation about a person’s personal computer so they canbrowse the web anonymously – and sometimes access a site thatis restricted to a certain geography.”

“Due to contractual limitations, Hulu is unable to streamvideos to users of anonymous proxy servers because of possiblegeographical limitations,” it was clarified. “If our system determinesthat your computer is behind an anonymous proxy, you will need todisable it before you can access videos on Hulu again.”

There were complaints at the time that this decision wouldaffect American citizens who relied on VPNs to access theservice. Military personnel, particularly those serving abroad,were popular examples of those whose viewing patterns wouldbe damaged by the decision.

This was hardly a perfect fix, and, to this day, users of Hola canstill technically access Hulu using the services provided by the region-hopping specialists (even though Hola’s T&Cs urge you not to breachanyone else’s T&Cs). Hulu’s crackdown affected a few known proxyserver users, but the sheer range of shared peer-to-peer VPNs utilisedby Hola were impossible to shut out, it would seem.

Punishing The CustomerSo, if technological attempts have failed to crack down on thosewho circumvent terms and conditions of streaming websites viaborrowed VPNs, what other options are there? One idea is topunish the customers. It might sound drastic, but this process iscurrently being considered.

Netflix – arguably the best-known online content provider– has some specific notes in its terms and conditions thatattempt to cut down on those who are using VPNs to accesscontent made available to other countries. The company, whichannounced profits of $83.4 million in the last quarter of 2014,has this stipulation in its contract:

“The content that may be available to watch will vary bygeographic location. Netflix will use technologies to verifyyour geographic location,” the Netflix Terms of Use state. Andlater on: “we may terminate or restrict your use of our service,without compensation or notice, if you are, or if we suspectthat you are, (i) in violation of any of these terms of use or (ii)engaged in illegal or improper use of the service.”

Hola Better Internet is thethird most-downloaded browseradd-on in the UK, after FacebookMessenger and AdBlock Plus

Issue 136462

Although there’s little proof that this rule is enforced allthat much, further announcements have confirmed that itis a ‘violation of terms’ to use to a VPN to access the Netflixlibrary of another country or territory. Again, content licensingrestrictions are the problem here. For varying reasons,distributors of films and television shows are rarely willing (orperhaps, able) to sell a package allowing unrestricted globalaccess to their content.

A Netflix representative told The Independent, “by wayof background, what we do is nothing different than whattraditional TV networks do to prevent, for example, someonefrom outside the US watching the Olympics on NBC.com.

“Further background: We are working to become a globalinternet TV network and, as part of that, will have more globalrights to series, features, docs, comedy specials, etc. This shouldmake this whole issue moot over time.”

Arguably, this is the crux of the issue. In this day and age,there are enough internet masterminds in play that, even ifNetflix and Hulu could shut down the likes of Hola, another‘workaround’ would probably present itself to avid onlinestreaming fans in a matter of minutes.

Either way, the problem would remain: why isn’t morecontent globally available in a legal way, if it’s so easy to cheatthe system? Millions of customers are willing to pay subscriptionfees to the likes of Hulu, Netflix and HBO (which has also wadedinto the argument over recent months), but why should theaccess to the movies and TV shows that they love be determinedby their address in this day and age? Are we not a globalcommunity online?

Coming To A HeadMore and more, viewers are expecting to have access to theirentertainment of choice at the same time as everybody else.However, in many cases, the entertainment industry is clinging tothe idea of regional distribution rights which divide up the globefor their convenience. Therefore, you end up with every single

episode of Friends being available on American Netflix, andnothing of the sort on the English version. Both Hulu’s attemptedcrackdown and Netflix’s threats to shut down accounts bothpoint to one fact: online streaming services are trying to respecttheir region-based deals with distributors, despite the fact thatbypassing the relevant border via a VPN has never been easier.

This makes perfect sense, from a business standpoint,considering that these deals with distributors are surely lucrativecontracts for the companies involved. We can see this in howthings have come to a head in Australia. There, the governmentis now considering passing a bill that would make using VPNsto access foreign streams and bypass regional copyright lawsa criminal offence. The bill under consideration states that“copyright owners would be able to apply directly to the FederalCourt for an injunction to disable access to an infringing onlinelocation… The injunction power would only apply to onlinelocations operated outside Australia.”

Essentially, this means that if you’re in Australia, and using aVPN to access content meant for audiences outside of Australia,the copyright owners could ask the government for permissionto shut your connection down altogether. Again, the idea hereseems to be in favour of supporting the copyright owners (as in,the owners and distributors) at the same time as restricting thelibrary available to the individual viewers.

The reason Australia is considered such a hotbed for VPNusage? That’d be because only 18 of the 100 most popularshows on American Netflix are available on the Australianversion. These customers are paying the same amount, shouldthey really be denied access to the likes of Breaking Bad,Sherlock and Twin Peaks? The service can explain away suchanomalies as much as it likes, but it hardly seems fair.

Quite simply, a paying customer utilising an online serviceis surely entitled the same treatment, regardless of theirwhereabouts. However, before this can be the case in termsof streaming media, there needs to be some big changes inthe way content is distributed before any disparity is likelyto change. Netflix, with its aims to broker a global library ofcontent, will hopefully be first to buck the trend. After that,perhaps the rest will follow suit. mm

Why isn’t more contentglobally available in a legalway, if it’s so easy to cheatthe system?

Which of these do you recognise, we wonder

Top5SystemBuildingLessons

11Attach The Cooler First!So you’ve finished putting all the standoffs in place inyour brand new PC case, being sure they line up with theholes on your motherboard. Then you’ve spent a couple

of minutes screwing them all in. Excellent. Now, if you haven’talready, you simply pop in the processor and attach the… Ah,small problem: you can’t fit your cooler, because you need toget to the other side of the board to put the holding bracket inplace. And sadly, all the fist shaking and bad language in theworld won’t change that (and trust us, we’d know).

22 Have Plasters NearbyWhether it’s the result of bad design or actual, genuinesadism from manufacturers, many PC cases seem tohave an abundance of sharp edges and pointy bits

in them – all waiting to slice or impale your precious fingers.Inveterate optimists might shrug off damage to a digit, safe inthe knowledge they have another nine to fall back on, but mostof us will be rather more alarmed to find blood streaming fromour extremities as a result of trying to fit a new graphics card.Also, it’s probably not good for the components.

33 There Are Always Too Many ScrewsAnyone who’s ever put together a flatpack wardrobewill know there are always bits left over that you simplycannot account for. Sometimes they’re spares, but other

times you know they’re meant to be in there, somewhere. Butwhat can you do, other than pray it doesn’t collapse on youthe next time you take a shirt out? That logic can undoubtedlybe applied to PC builds too, but in this case that leftover screwprobably isn’t going to cause any problems – not unless it’srattling around inside the case, that is.

44 You Have To CompromiseThey say half the fun of going holiday is planning it,and the same can certainly be said of system building.We’ve all been there, on Ebuyer, Overclockers or

whatever, compiling a list of components: “Ooh, that

processor looks nice. I’ll have that. 16GB of RAM? Yes, please!And I must have that 500GB SSD…” Then you click on thebasket total: £6,000! Yep, it’s easy to get carried away by all theshiny things, but if you want to build a PC, you’ll probably haveto accept that you won’t be able to get half the stuff you want– unless you’re rich, of course, in which case, would you like tobe our friend?

55 Don’t Keep Checking PricesAgain, this is dependent on whether you’re an ordinaryperson or a millionaire tax exile (our offer of friendshipstill stands), but for those of us on a budget, it’s rarely

wise to continue window shopping after you’ve already boughtall the parts for your new computer. Within a matter of days,there could be something newer and better, and/or the thingyou just bought could be reduced dramatically in price. Youmight well curse yourself for not waiting a bit longer, but thinklike that too much and you’d never buy anything at all.

63Issue 1362 6666666666666666666666666333333333333333333333IIsssssssus e 1313626262626262622262622266262

Issue 136464

Not all that is corrupt is lost...

Fixing Files

Issue 1364 65

FIXING FILES

A s technology marches onwards,we become more and morereliant on hope that data westore long-term will remain

in pristine condition. These days, it’sentirely possible that everything from yourmusic collection to your holiday snapsto your complete archive of personalcorrespondence could exist only digitally,with no hard copies available anywhere.

While having data on a computermakes it easy to search, archive andreproduce, it also makes it easy todestroy. Data in digital form is vulnerable,in some ways more vulnerable than whenit’s stored on paper and other ‘analogue’mediums. After all, in what other mannercould a single particle of smoke leaveyour half-finished novel wiped out orinaccessible? Where else can a singlescratch mean that all your schoolwork orresearch material becomes instantly lostto you?

The threat of data corruption hangsover all computer users in some formor another. Most of the time, we’repowerless to stop it, but that doesn’tmean that you can’t give yourself a betterchance to survive it, and indeed, evenrepair some of the damage. Over the nextfew pages, we’ll examine exactly howthat’s possible.

What Is File Corruption?File corruption can occur for manydifferent reasons, but the main symptomof it is always the same: your operatingsystem’s inability to find the data itexpects to find. What we mean by‘expects’ is a little wooly, but if youimagine the file as book, it could eitherhave an incorrect cover orincorrect contents.

If the ‘cover’ is wrong, itmeans there’s a problem inthe file system. When you tryto open a file, your file system(a collection of data aboutthe files on your hard drive)tells the operating systemwhat it should find – a fileof a certain size or type, for example.Corruption in the file system means thatthis information is wrong. The file doesn’tlook like it should, and so the OS can’tread it.

Yet even if that process occurs withoutdifficulty – which is to say, the file systemisn’t corrupt – then the file itself couldstill be. The data in all files is encodedand structured in a specific way so thatprograms that want to open them knowwhat to do with the information inside.

In most files, you have a header at thestart (in the book analogy, this would bethe contents page) that tells applicationshow to understand the contents. Errorsanywhere in the file or the header couldleave it unreadable, because the twodon’t match one another – either thecontents page is missing or wrong, or thepages it points to are.

To give a simple example, if you opena jpg file in notepad it’ll mostly looklike gibberish, but you’ll see the letters‘JFIF’ near the start. This is part of thefile header and stands for ‘JPEG FileInterchange Format’. It essentially tellsprograms how to turn the ‘gibberish’ thatfollows into image data by making it clearwhat format the data is stored in. If thatheader is damaged, the program won’tknow what algorithms to apply to turnthe data back into an image, and if the

data is damaged, the application will tryto convert it back into an image using thestandard method for JFIF files but get noimage data in return.

Most corruption affects the larger partof the file system/file header/file dataorganisation, which is to say the filedata – the ‘pages’ of the book. There areseveral ways data can become damaged,

but sheer probability means itusually hits the biggest part.File data can be overwrittendue to a driver or softwaremistake, or lost if the harddrive sector it’s stored onbecomes physically damaged,or accidentally discarded if yourcomputer loses power halfwaythrough moving or copying

the data. A large number of problemsoccur during saving when the file is beingaccessed and rewritten (making it highlyvulnerable to accidents) but everythingfrom magnetic interference to viral activitycan cause corruption to occur.

In some situations, even a small amountof damage can leave render an entirefile unusable. Archives especially rely onhaving the whole file make sense in orderto reconstruct compressed data when itgets opened. Some files, such as JPEGs,

Data in digital form isvulnerable, in some ways morevulnerable than when it’sstored on paper

Issue 136466

can simply interpret junk data as valid,meaning you can easily access the rest ofthe file and even get a clear idea of howand where in a file data has been lost.

Finally, in some rare cases the file systemitself might become corrupt, meaning thatthe file is intact but inaccessible to normalmethods. In these cases the problem cannormally be solved by repairing the filesystem’s errors, recovering all data, butonly if you act quickly enough.

So if the worst does happen, is thereanything you can do?

Diagnosis And PreventionMost people might instantly delete acorrupted file once they’ve realised that itsprogram isn’t going to open it any more.That, though, isn’t a solution to anythingexcept recovering hard drive space. If thefile is corrupt, it’s worth trying to figure outwhy, and most importantly it’s worth tryingto see how much of it you can recover.

If you discover a corrupt file and there’sno obvious cause for it (i.e. you didn’texperience a power cut or recently remove avirus) then the most likely cause is damageto the storage medium, and possibly evenincoming hardware failure. CDs, DVDs andother types of disc can be scratched, buthard drives and SSDs can spontaneously fail,and that’s the thing to look out for.

Hardware failure is serious for a numberof reasons, not least because bad drivesectors rarely come along on their own. Ifone file has become corrupt, others willsurely follow as the hardware begins todegrade. In all probability, the first corruptfile you notice isn’t the first one to emergeon your system, so you may already havelost data without realising.

For this reason, the first thing you needto do when you find a corrupt file is checkthe integrity of your hardware. The easiestway to do this is to run a standard Windowsdisk scan. As well as checking the filesystemfor errors, which will hopefully restore anyfiles that are damaged due to damagedmetadata rather than actual corruption, afull surface scan of the hardware will revealany physically damaged (‘bad’) sectors.

If you don’t find bad sectors, then it’sgood news: the corruption is the resultof a software problem, and thereforenot indicative of any larger problem. Ifyou do, however, then your hardware isbeginning to fail.

At this point the best thing you coulddo is stop using your system entirely. In alllikelihood this would be very impractical,so the next best step is to back up anyessential files and order replacementstorage ready to transfer the data to new,intact hardware. Until that happens, themore you use your disk the more likelyyou are to corrupt more files and causemore physical damage, and both ofthese things increase the likelihood thatyour data will become unavailable in acomplete failure.

Only when you’ve successfully verifiedthat your hardware is safe to use and/orshored up the data that might be at riskshould you attempt to fix any damageddata that you’ve discovered.

Bypassing/Fixing CorruptionAs we’ve noted, on a standard Windows-based PC, file corruption can occur inone of two places: the file itself, or theMFT (Master File Table, also called theFile Allocation Table), which tells the diskwhere files are stored. In both cases, filesmay become lost or inaccessible, but inthe cast of MFT table corruption the vastmajority of information will still be there.

Because of the way data is stored, it’slikely that a partial form of stored datawill always be available with the righttools at hand. In the case of physicaldamage to something like a hard drive,specialist disk plate readers can be usedto retrieve the undamaged disk sectorsfrom physically damaged disk plates.A disk editor – software that directlyreads the information on the hard drive,bypassing the file system – can do thesame for data that has been logicallycorrupted without physical damage.

That’s specialist-level stuff, however,and more-than-likely to be out of theprice range of all but the most desperateuser, or a business that’s reliant on thedata they’ve lost. Home users mightprefer to use a file-reconstructionprogram, which can scan corruptdata and attempt to extract the validinformation by overwriting the corruptdata with something less confusing.

The software may, for example,attempt to reconstruct a file’s checksum.When corruption happens on a small

Issue 1364 67

FIXING FILES

scale – that is, individual bits and bytesbeing altered – a CRC check will quicklynotice this and declare the file invalid.However, it’s then possible for software toread the file, use the CRC check to findthe errors and then correct them. On awider scale, the damaged data might bereplaced with valid but non-original data,which makes the file valid to be openedand edited once more even if it doesn’tbring back the lost data.

If the damage is to the header,recovering the data is even easier: youjust need a program which can constructa new header, which isn’t difficult at all aslong as you know what type offile has been corrupted. Again,to use the example of a JPEG– as long as you know that thedata is supposed to represent aJPEG image, it’s a trivial matterfor a program to reconstructthe header so that you canview it once more. Some imageeditors can even do it on thefly, forcing themselves to interpret dataas a JPEG even if the necessary header iscurrently missing.

It’s also possible to rewrite theheader to take account for corrupteddata elsewhere in a file. Microsoft’sWMV format famously took the stepof including significant data at the endof a file, which meant that incompletedownloads lacked a full header andwould not support the seek function ofvideo players. For this reason, many videoeditors include a ‘repair WMV’ functionwhich can write a new header using onlythe downloaded material as a guide. Thevideo file then becomes seekable, so datathat could’ve been considered lost is nowaccessible again.

In the event of physical damage to amedium it becomes harder to recover lostdata, but there is always the possibilityof repair. A scratched DVD might seemunreadable and its data lost, but there areways in which the disc can be repaired. Aslong as the damage is purely to the plasticsurface of the disc rather than on the datastorage layer of it, a simple home-repairkit can be used to take a thin layer ofplastic off the disc, eliminating (or at leastreducing the severity of) any scratches. Thedata is then recoverable despite the initialappearance of ‘corruption’.

Useful ProgramsRepairing corrupt files is virtuallyimpossible to do manually, but a numberof software programs exist that cando their best to repair them. In many

cases data that has been damaged oroverwritten can’t be brought back, butif the rest of the file can be recoveredyou might only lose a small amount bycomparison. It could mean the differencebetween rewriting all of your universitydissertation and five pages of it – not tobe sniffed at!

File Repair (www.filerepair1.com)is a freeware application which canreconstruct and salvage a wide varietyof files, including Office documents,archive files, media, images and PDFs.In most cases the corrupt data can’t bereconstructed, but the file header can

be rewritten so that any valid data thatremains will become accessible onceagain. It’s a relatively simple program – ifit can’t recognise the format there’s norecovery you can do, and likewise if thefile is unreadable, inaccessible or too largeto analyse then you’re out of luck too.But as a free piece of software, it’s worthtrying out first.

The software Office Recovery(www.officerecovery.com) covers similar

ground, but it’s worth noting that it alsooffers an online version of its toolset,which allows you to upload corrupt dataand subject it to meta-analysis to see ifyour file can be restored. The catch isthat recovering your file in such a way isonly free if you are willing or able to waittwo weeks for the results. A paid versionof the service charges $59 for a 48-houraccess to your recovered file, so you’vegot to weigh up the cost-to-benefit.

Finally, if the problem is with a corruptstorage medium, you can use any numberof undelete programs but Piriform’sRecuva (www.piriform.com/recuva) is

a strong choice. Again, it’sfreeware, it’s able to scan evendamaged media in the hopeof recovering file fragments,and it can look on both yourlocal drive or removable mediato extract damaged files readyfor processing by a moresophisticated recovery tool laterdown the line. Unfortunately,

reconstructing corrupt data is all butimpossible in the vast majority of cases.All you can hope to do is salvage what’sthere and make the best of it.

As ever, the only way to be completelyimmune from this type of failure is tocreate backups regularly and often. Butif the worst happens and you’re caughtunaware, hopefully we’ve given you thetools and knowledge you need to getthings back in working order! mm

The only way to becompletely immune from thistype of failure is to createbackups regularly

Lin

ux

Specialists

68 Issue 1364

David Hayward hasbeen using Linuxsince Red Hat 2.0in schools, businessesand at home, whicheither makes himvery knowledgeableor a glutton forextreme punishment

It’s a sad fact that one

of the better Linux projects

has had to close down

It’s always a bit sad to see adistro being shelved. Therehave been a few distros overthe past year that enjoyed a

well thought out communityfilled with like-minded usersand as a result they've offeredusers an alternative place tosettle away from the biggernamed distros.

Now one of the communityfavourites is set to close its doorsonce and for all. Foresight Linuxhas seen many changes over theyears and featured a stableGnome backbone, where manya user cut their teeth and foundLinux for the first time.

Now, or more accurately atthe end of May, the ForesightLinux Council has decided toretire this once glorious distro.As Michael Johnson, on behalfof the Foresight Linux Council,states, “The Foresight LinuxCouncil has determined thatthere has been insufficientvolunteer activity to sustainmeaningful new development ofForesight Linux.”

This is a shame, and it’s asad fact that one of the betterLinux projects has had to closedown due to a lack of supportfrom the community.Considering Linux, as a whole,

is a vibrant and very vocalcommunity, it’s a pity thevolunteers are so hard to find.Surely it wouldn’t take much tooffer a little time to help keepa project alive? After all, youdon’t need to be a developer;perhaps there’s a way to keepa project alive simply byoffering to put together ahow-to or to help new users inthe distro forum?

Perhaps we need to look atour own favourite distro andconsider what we can do tohelp the team out in the

future? The best thing to do tobegin with is to email the teamand see if there’s anything theyneed any help with. You couldbe more helpful in the distrocommunity and maybe evenoffer your coding skills to somesegment or another to helpwith the newest release.

Whichever it is you choose,let’s not have another distroretire any time soon. If you use itand you like, then support it.

The $9 ComputerWord of the C.H.I.P., the ultra-small 1GHz computer with512MB of memory, is reachingfever pitch in certain areas of theinternet this week.

No doubt you’ll already haveall the necessary informationrelated to the C.H.I.P. by now,but if not, then you’ll be in for apleasant surprise as you read

through its many uses via theKickstart page at goo.gl/zVAeJj.

The $50,000 goal set by thedevelopers has been blownaway to the tune of animpressive $1.384 million at thetime of writing and with just 19days left to go, at the time ofwriting, it looks like it’llcontinue to amount to an evengreater number.

The Debian-run C.H.I.P. couldwell see a new set of hobbyistscoming up with innovative ideasthat surpass that of theRaspberry Pi. And why not? Isn’tthe legacy of Linux innovationand creation?

We’ll hopefully get hold ofone soon, and we’ll put itthrough its paces. Until then,have a think about what youcan do with a computer that’ssmaller than your thumb.

Farewell, Foresight, and thanks

for all you’ve done

Farewell And HelloThe sad end of a distro but the beginning of something else

Craig Grannell isa writer, designer,occasional musicianand permanentloudmouth. He’sowned Macs since1996, when Apple wasfacing certain doom,and is thereforepleasantly surprisedby its current success.Find Craig on Twitterat @craiggrannell

Ma

cGet The MessageGet The Message

In my office, I’m surrounded byscreens. I have a slightly agingiMac and a very old Appleflatscreen attached to a

newish Mac Mini. Then there’s aniPad, an iPhone, a couple of bitsof Android kit and the AppleWatch that’s permanently gluedto my wrist during daytime whileI try to figure out what I canactually do with the thing.

With the exception of theAndroid stuff, which tends toremain blissfully silent, the otherscreens get terribly excited atvarying points during the day.Because I never really know whatdevice I’m going to be using atany given time, they all haveimportant notifications active. AndApple apparently hasn’t yetfigured out that if I’m typing onmy iMac and my iPad is 30centimetres away, I probably don’tneed a notification on both, so amessage from someone can belike a series of klaxons going off.

The bigger issue, though, isthat the messages too often turninto a kind of abstract Burroughs-esque narrative. Conventiondictates that messages should belisted in order of theirtimestamps, but Apple sometimesthumbs its nose to such rigidity inrules. Instead, I’ll sometimes find

my Apple Watch buzzing about amessage that never actuallyappears on the Mac. I’ll reply, andthe message I’ve just respondedto will sheepishly appearunderneath my answer. It wouldbe comical if this bug hadn’tpersisted since the very firstversion of Messages. As it is, it’squite the opposite of funny.

Similarly irritating is thebafflingly awful piece of garbagethat is ‘discoveryd’. This little gemis responsible for a large part ofMac networking, and it’s in factnot so much a gem as a fistful ofdung. It frequently screws up DNSname resolution, often uses insaneamounts of CPU and messes upgetting Apple devices back onto anetwork when they wake fromsleep, resulting in duplicatenames. Communication betweenkit then becomes a big problem.

The fix for the latter issue andsometimes the former is to quitand restart. In fact, withdiscoveryd, you have to quit andrestart everything – only a totalreboot of networking kit and theaffected items will solve theproblem – and then you have thejoy of anticipating when it willstrike next. It could be days or itcould be mere minutes. It’s like agame, albeit one bereft of fun

and entertainment, and whereyou wish you could play literallyany other game (well, perhapsaside from ‘see how long you cansurvive in this small pool ofravenous sharks’ – although it’s aclose-run thing).

Quite how Apple allowed itselfto get into this position is unclear.Most commentators suspect thecause is the company’s relentlessschedule. In forcing iOS and OS Xalike to get a major update everyyear, we too often see only a fewmajor bugs squashed beforesilence ensues for months, whileengineers are presumably busybeavering away on what willbecome the next big thing. Butwhen your messages have beenshowing up out of order for yearsor you’re again looking at a Findersidebar showing Apple TV (2),Apple TV (3), Mac Mini (47), MacMini (WHEN WILL IT END?), youstart to wonder when Apple willget the message and recognisethat the goodwill it’s banked overthe years isn’t infinite – and in factis starting to look a little scarce.

We wish there was a hammer in

Activity Monitor to hit discoveryd

with when it goes wrong – which

happens a lot

Why are bugs so stubborn in current releases of OS X?

Issue 1364 69

Mo

bil

eGet Lost In An AppGet Lost In An App

Ian McGurren looks at some of the mostinteresting interactive media on tablets

Ian is a professionalIT analyst, a semi-professional writerand a pretty amateurelectronic musician.He likes gadgetry andloves making gadgetsdo things they werenever designed to do

Books are book and appsare apps and never thetwain shall meet. That'sthe commonly accepted

idea, where books – ebooksincluded – are fine to carry ontheir successful formula of pagesof text and occasionalillustration. Don't fix what isn'tbroken. But there areincreasingly more examples ofwhere the app and the book arebeginning to merge, sometimesinto something more excitingthan even the sum of its parts.

Unsurprisingly, some ofthose most receptive to thisamalgamation of media is youngchildren, having likely grown

up with tablets more than theprinted word. There are a plethoraof exciting titles for them, fromstories to factual:

On the Night You Were Bornis a typical child's bedtime story,but with the iPad the story can beeasily personalised for your childby way of their name, recordedspeech and images. Beautifullyillustrated, it's a great way tomake a story more personal andmemorable for the child.

CBeebies Storytime featuresa ton of interactive stories fromchildren's favourite CBeebiesstars, all presented in a gorgeouspop-up book style. Charlie &Lola, Peter Rabbit, SomethingSpecial and more are all there,with the ability to have the storyread to the child or for themto read it themselves whenconfident. Best of all, being BBC,it's all totally free.

It's not all for kids, though, asthose kids soon grow up, andwith their growth come new,more interesting and exciting appsfor them to get their teeth into:

Journeys of Invention, fromthe Science Museum, is arguablythe modern equivalent of theencyclopaedias of the past thatmany of us stared wide-eyed atas kids. Here, though, insteadof the static pages, there aredetailed animations, and insteadof just reading about them, youget to interact with the exhibitsthemselves, albeit virtually. It'snot the cheapest at £7.99,but it's ideal for firing youngimaginations.

Or how about something lessfactual but just as exciting? TheAdventures of Sherlock Holmesfor the iPad is, as one mightdeduce from the title, an appfocused on Britain's best-knowndetective. Here it's five of Conan-Doyle's titles, with interactiveelements that embellish the story.As they're essentially the storiesin text form, it's one for the olderchildren, who are happy to readlong stories but brought to lifewith animation and interactivity.

More mature readers users arealso benefitting from this newkind of storytelling, though, andnot just with straightforwardinteractive books:

American Interior is aninteractive version of ex SuperFurry Animals lead singer GruffRhys' latest opus – the true storyof John Evans, a 18th centuryWelsh farmer who travelled to

the USA in the search of a tribeof Native Americans who weresaid to speak Welsh. Presentedas part album, part book, parttravelogue, it's received plauditsfrom all corners for demonstratingjust how these different kinds ofmedia can effectively merge.

The Sailor's Dream fromSimogo is also anothercombination, this time of game,storytelling and gorgeous art.Initially confusing to reviewersexpecting a game, The Sailor'sDream is more in keeping withPC titles such as Dear Esther,using gaming engines to tella story interactively. It has itsdetractors, citing it as too arty andunfocused, but even they agreethat the way it tells the story isengaging and beautiful.

There's little doubt books willstill be produced 50 years fromnow, though maybe sold moreas PDFs and MOBIs than in print.The medium has many millionsof advocates, some of whom donot want to have their storiestold interactively. But, as theseapps show, interactive storytellingis growing into something of itsown experience, and there arethose quite sure that, in time,it will have its own Catcher inThe Rye or A Tale of Two Cities.Finnegan's Wake could evenmake sense!

70 Issue 1364

There's little doubt

books will still be produced

50 years from now

Ha

rdw

are

Andrew Unsworth hasbeen writing abouttechnology for severalyears, he's handy witha spanner, and hishandshaking skillsare second to none

Issue 1364 71

My love of thesupremely powerfuland supremelyexpensive Intel Core

i7-5960X has long been onrecord, and if you’re a computerenthusiast it’s difficult not to loveit. However, the Core i7-5960Xisn’t just desirable because it’sthe most powerful consumerchip Intel currently produces orbecause it’s the chip that fewordinary consumers can justifybuying. It’s also Intel’s flagshipHaswell-E chip, which heralded anew enthusiast–level platformwith high-end, high-performance components suchas DDR4 RAM. On top of that, itwasn’t just more powerful thanthe outgoing Core i7-4960Xbecause it had two more cores;in my tests, I found that theCore i7-5960X was morepowerful than the Corei7-4960X core for core.

You’ll therefore understandwhy my Fozzie Bear socks wereblown completely off my feetat news of the Intel Xeon E7v3 series of enterprise-classchips, the flagship of whichhas not eight or even 10, but awhopping 18 cores of electron-trafficking power. Of course,the Xeon E7 v3 chips are notdesigned for consumers, andit’s likely that precious few of usmere mortals will get to see onein the wild.

Indeed, the Xeon E7-8800and 4800 series CPUs aredesigned for large enterprisessuch as banks and financialinstitutions, where having avast amount of data residentin memory, and having thatdata crunched and analysed, isof vital importance. The mostexciting chip in the series,purely going off specs, is the18-core Xeon E7-8880 v3, andI’m sure it’ll be well suited tothe task of managing massiveamounts of data. Like theoutgoing E7 v2 series chips, thisCPU can handle up to 1.5TBs ofrandom access memory.

To put that in perspective,the Core i7-5960X can ‘only’handle up to 64GBs of RAM,and unless you’re cutting aHollywood blockbuster onyour X99-based workstation,you’re unlikely to need all that64GB. However, the new v3chips have more cache memory,with high-end v3 chips having45MB compared to high-end

v2s’ 37.5MB. The high-endXeon E7-8880 has a stock clockspeed of 2.3GHz and a boostclock speed of 3.1GHz, whichis sensible for such a tightlypacked die.

Intel’s army of Xeon E7-8800V3s is destined for the high-endservers of the world, but thatdoesn’t mean we can’t rejoiceat its birth, because what worksat the top end of the marketeventually trickles down tothe lower end. It doesn’t seemthat long ago, even though itwas, that we were marvellingat four- and six-core server-class CPUs, and now six- and

eight-core CPUs are no longerexcessively extravagant thanksto chips such as AMD’s FX andIntel’s Core i7 chips. I’m sureit won’t be long before eight-core chips are seen as boring,pedestrian and ordinary, and it’s12-core chips that are withincredit card distance of bringingconsumer-based joy andhappiness to PC devotees.

Intel’s latest server-class CPUs have Andrew Unsworthlooking to the future of consumer computing

Core Blimey

What works at the top

end of the market eventually

trickles down

72 Issue 122972 Issue 1364

Ga

min

g

Plug&PlayVictorian London always seemedlike a natural time and settingfor the time-hopping Assassin’sCreed franchise, even if Ubisoftonce dismissed the notion as“too obvious”. In recent months,rumours that the latest instalmentin the long-running sandboxfranchise was indeed headingto Britain’s capital in the 19thcentury have grown increasinglypersistent. A name even leaked:Assassin’s Creed: Victory.

Well, the rumours were true,even if the name wasn’t quiteon the mark. On the 12th May,the latest chapter got its grandunveiling, as Ubisoft Quebecshowed off the first gameplaytrailer and plot details forAssassin’s Creed: Syndicate. Setin the year 1868, it introducestwo new protagonists –brother and sister Jacob andEvie Frye, whose aim is to buildup their own syndicate amongLondon’s criminal underground,and use them to overthrowthe Templar Chapter that hasa stranglehold on power. Allthe things you’d expect from aVictorian Assassin’s Creed arepresent and correct. Cobbledstreets? Check. Lots of hats andbustling, five-foot wide dresses?Check. Gaslight? Check. Horse-drawn carriages? You betcha.

In fact, Syndicate will bring afew new mechanics to the nowfamiliar platforming-and-murdermix. In a twist borrowed fromthe Grand Theft Auto series,you’ll now be able to boot anunsuspecting driver from hismount and steel his carriage; oneof the most rousing momentsin Syndicate’s gameplay trailershows the player belting downLondon streets in a carriage, thehorses galloping frantically on thegrimy cobblestones.

The sequel also throws in agrappling hook – akin to theones you might have fiddledwith in games like Batman:Arkham Asylum or BionicCommando – which allow theplayer to reach high places insatisyingly short order. And ifthere’s one thing the heroes inthe Assassin’s Creed series lovemore than just about anything,it’s skulking about on rooftops.

Stealth and combat havereportedly been given anoverhaul, too, with a newsystem which allows for morefluid movement while sneakingaround, while Jacob (or Evie,if you choose her) have beengiven a new arsenal of weaponswhich include knuckledustersand hallucinogenic darts – theidea, Ubisoft says, is to bringa greater amount of hand-to-

hand combat to Syndicate, withsome missions ending in gore-laden mass brawls.

It all sounds promising,but when it comes to theAssassin’s Creed franchise,there’s an almighty elephant inthe room: last year’s Unity. Aninfamously botched release,Unity was riddled with bugs andmechanical problems; an-oftshared image was of a ghoulishcharacter composed of nothingmore than a set of grinningteeth and staring eyes – allbecause his flesh texture hadn’tloaded up.

“The worst thing that canhappen actually when yourelease a game is to have one ofyour bugs becoming the frontcover of the entire internet,”a developer said in a videoexpressly designed as an apologyfor Unity. “Nobody’s happy whenfour years’ of hard work is justimaged with a bug.”

Ubisoft says it’s learned somevaluable lessons from Unity,the lowest-scoring entry in thefranchise so far. If that’s the case,then Assassin’s Creed: Syndicatehas the chance to restore theseries’ reputation, and maybeeven revitalise what has become asomewhat staid formula.

Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate isout this winter.

Ryan Lambie has lovedvideogames since hefirst stared up in awe ata Galaxian arcadecabinet in his local chipshop. 28 years on, Ryanwrites about gaming forMicro Mart. He’s stilladdicted to chips andstill useless at Galaxian

Specialists

This week, Ryan takes an early look at Assassin’s Creed:Syndicate, and checks out Blizzard’s hardline approach tocheats in World Of Warcraft...

Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate heads to Victorian London, with a

fresh bout of Templar bashing, fighting and rooftop skulking

Creed Is Good?Creed Is Good?

Issue 1364 73

GAMING

OnlineEven as rumours begin to circulatethat NCSoft’s glossy MMOWildstar is about to switch fromsubscriptions to free-to-play,World Of Warcraft continuesto hold onto a devoted coreuser base. Sure, its numbershave dwindled considerably inrecent months, but at aroundseven million accounts, Warcraftremains the biggest subscription-based MMO in the planet.

In fact, Warcraft’s lead designerIon Hazzikostas remains confidentthat the estimated three millionplayers that the game lost in thespace of a month. The players’departure, Hazzikostas says, is“cyclical” – a result of themlosing interest after an initialspike of excitement following theexpansion, Warlords Of Draenor.

"Players aren’t necessarilyviewing World of Warcraft as

a year-round lifestyle so muchas a game that they love,"Hazzikostas told VentureBeat,"where they’re going to checkin, see what we’ve got, play thecontent in a patch, go off, playsome other great game thatjust came out, and then comeback when we have somethingnew to offer them. And to someextent, that’s okay. We don’twant to prevent people fromenjoying the game that way."

Meanwhile, Blizzard has saidthat it’s banned “a large number”of Warcraft accounts in an effortto stamp out bots. AlthoughBlizzard hasn’t officially confirmedthe number, it’s thought that itcould be as high as 100,000.

Blizzard, it seems, hasbrought in a new system thatdetects who’s been using botslike Honorbuddy – a pieceof software allowing players

to automate repetitive taskslike grinding and resourcegathering. The number of bansseems to have been so drasticthat Bossland, the maker ofHonorbuddy, has decided towithdraw the bot from the web.

"It seems like Honorbuddywas detected, we are not sure,but looking at the ban threads,we think that it's the most likelyoption at the moment," Bosslandwrote in a statement. "We aresorry for all your lost WOWAccounts, hopefully you can usethem again after the six monthban is lifted."

For its part, Blizzard hasstated it will ban any playerusing bots – even casual playerswho use programs to do thingslike automate crafting. “If aprogram is pressing keys for you,”Warcraft’s community managersaid on Twitter, “you've violatedthe [Terms of Use].” You havebeen warned.

Incoming (OrNot)While Assassin’s Creed remainsone of Ubisoft’s flagshipfranchises, The Division couldjoin it as the start of a popularnew series. Set in a near-futureAmerica riven by a pandemic,you take control of an agentcharged with maintaining orderand containing the disease –while avoiding infection or deathby angry mob yourself. An open-world game of shooting, stealthand group missions, it looks likeone of Ubisoft’s most ambitiousprojects in years, with no fewerthan four studios working on itscreation. The downside? All thatambition seems to be resultingin delays. Originally scheduledfor 2014, The Division waspushed back to 2015, and hasnow been bumped once again– Ubisoft’s disease-control epicis now set for launch in the firstquarter of 2016. Let’s hope it’sworth the wait.

Remember kids: don’t use bots. A reported 100,000 players have been

banned for using automated programs in World Of Warcraft

Ubisoft’s eagerly anticipated disease-control simulator The Division has

been delayed once again – it’s now scheduled for release in the first quarter

of next year

Index

74 Issue 1364

w

AD INDEX

NOTE TO ADVERTISERSMicro Mart © Dennis Publishing, 30 Cleveland Street, London W1T 4JD. Company registered in England No

1138891. This publication may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form in whole or in part without the

written consent of the publisher. Quotations for re-prints or other use of material are available on application.

THE BUSINESS ADVERTISEMENT DISCLOSURE ORDER 1977 (effective from 1st January 1978) requires all

advertisements by people who seek to sell goods in the course of a business to make that fact clear. It is the

responsibility of the advertiser to comply with the order. Lineage trade ads in Micro Mart carry this *T symbol.

It is an offence for which you may be prosecuted not to advertise the fact that you are a trader.

MICRO MART is published weekly by Dennis Publishing. Subscriptions rates available on request. Micro Mart

welcomes the submission of articles and reviews for publication. Please enclose a stamped self adressed

envelope; otherwise the return of material cannot be guaranteed. Contributions accepted for publication by

Dennis Publishing will be on an all-rights basis. Views or opinions expressed by freelance contributors are not

necessarily those of Dennis Publishing. Advertisements and goods/services offered are the sole responsibility

of the particular advertiser and Dennis Publishing cannot be held in any way responsible. Whilst every care

is taken the publishers cannot be held legally responsible for any errors in articles or advertisements or any

resulting unsatisfactory transactions. We will however investigate incidents on a written complaint. © Dennis

Publishing 2006. This publication may not be reproduced in or transmitted in any form in whole or in part

without the written consent of the publishers. ISSN 956-3881. Blimey.

2/3 CCL

6/7 Morgan

11 Mesh

12/13 PC Specialist

17 Watercooling UK

21 TP Link

91 Sapphire

92 Microdream

ToadvertisecontactKarlTaylor:+44(0)2079076706Karl_Taylor@dennis.co.ukorJoeTeal:+44(0)2079076689Joe_Teal@dennis.co.uk

Essentials

76 Issue 1364

TO ADVERTISE CALLKARL TAYLOR

02079076706

02079076689karl_taylor@dennis.co.uk

joe_teal@dennis.co.uk

IT or JOE TEAL

Classifieds Please mention Micro Mart when replying to adverts

78 Issue 1364

Have you got any old kit lyingaround you’d like to get rid of?Fancymaking a few pounds whileyou’re at it?Why not advertisein theMicroMart classifieds? It’seasy and it’s free, just email whatyou’ve got, howmuch you’d likefor it, and your contact detailstomicromartclassifieds@gmail.com, andwe’ll do the rest.Thereare thousands of readers outthere looking for componentsevery week, and youmay havesomething unwanted they’ve beensearching for – so get in touch andsave your kit from going to the tip!

Laptop for sale. Dell LatitudeE5420 i5 2.5 ghz, 4GB RAM,500GB hard drive, DVDRW, builtin camera. GenuineWindows 7 64bit professional. Only £150 plus £12for next day delivery. Payment viaPaypal or cheque or bank transfer,cash. Fantastic condition very fast.Tel: DaveThomas (07828) 982930 or(01942) 706571Email: davethomas96@aol.com

Laptop for sale. HPNC 6400 Core2 DUO 2.0mhz 3gb ram 80gb harddrive DVDCDRWFingerprintreader fantastic and fast . GenuineWindows 7 35 bit professional. Only£60 plus £12 for next day delivery.Fantastic condition very fast.Tel: DaveThomas (07828) 982930 or(01942) 706571Email: davethomas96@aol.com

Laptop for sale. HP Compaq6910p Core 2 DUO T73002.0mhz 3gb ram 80gb hard driveDVDCDRW Fingerprint readerfantastic and fast , Genuine win 735 bit professional Only £60 plus£12 for next day delivery. Fantasticcondition, very fast.Tel: DaveThomas (07828) 982930 or(01942) 706571Email: davethomas96@aol.com

HP 88 Inkjet Cartridgeseight time expired boxed HPcartridges £5Tel: Ian (01932) 856971Email: a2345@btinternet.com

WD 500GB external USB HardDrive. Excellent Condition. £20include P&P.Tel: Michael (01452) 303732

WD 3TB internal Hard Drive.Excellent Condition, £65 includingPost & Packing.Tel: Michael (01452) 303732

WD Internal SATA 3.5" 2TBHardDrive. Excellent Condition. £37.50included P&P.Tel: Michael (01452) 303732

Flat screen monitors. Mainly 15”£20+p&p and 17” £30+p&p buthave others on request. Whenpacking I will make sure theyhave lot of padding to reducerick of damage. Please email orcall me for more information.Tel: David (01616) 888119Email: pcmadnessltd@yahoo.co.uk

IBM Thinkpad T30 laptop forspares or repairs. Excellentcondition, but does not bootup.Not sure why. Could be an easyfix or for parts/spares.£15 plus P&P.Tel: Gordon (01314) 660205 E-mail:scobieg09@gmail.com

Webcam (Trust Spacecam). Boxedwith CD of installation softwareand instruction manual. Perfectcondition. £10.Tel: Gordon (01314) 660205 E-mail:scobieg09@gmail.com

HP Photosmart C4585 All-in-One multifunction colour printer.Perfect condition. Includessoftware and manual. £20.00Tel: Gordon (01314) 660205E-mail: scobieg09@gmail.com

Laptop Hard Disk Drive. Fujitsu.20GB. Excellent condition: £10.00.Tel: Gordon (01314) 660205 E-mail:scobieg09@gmail.com

ASUS P5QL-EPUMotherboard- 775 Socket - DDR2. Testedand removed from a workingenvironment, comes with I/OPlate. £45 inc Free Courier.Payment via PayPal.Email: info@jmcomputing.info

PC Desktop Ram (DIMM)Memory. Siemens PC100 -222- 620 16M x 64 SDRAM.HYS64V16222GU-8 Only £8.Tel: Gordon (01314) 660205 E-mail:scobieg09@gmail.com

PCDesktop Ram (DIMM)Memory.64MB Siemens PC100-322-620MT8LSDT864AG-10CZ5 -Only £8.Tel: Gordon (01314) 660205E-mail: scobieg09@gmail.com

Western Digital Cavier SEDesktop Hard Disk Drive 160GB.Perfect condition. Only £10Tel: Gordon (01314) 660205E-mail: scobieg09@gmail.com

Asus Z97 Gryphon Armor Kit.Steel backplate with plastic topand auxilliary fan. Also someminor plastic bits. £20. Email formore details.Email: graham_rocknell@yahoo.co.uk

Netgear DG834N Rangemax NextWireless N Modem Router kit.Excellent condition complete withpower supply, network cables,telephone cable, ADSL filter andsetup CD. £10.00.Tel: David Ewles (01295) 253554Email: david@ewles.gb.com

4x 1GB DDR2 Ram (OCZ NvidiaSLI PC2 6400 epp 4-4-4-15).£40.00 for all 4 + Post/Packing.Perfect working order.Email: ken.toole1@virginmedia.com

LAPTOPHARDDRIVE. 160GBSATA 2.5".WESTERNDIGITAL.Model:WD1600BEVT. Fully tested.Perfect working order. Partitionedand formatted NTFS. Free postage.Price £22. Paypal accepted.Email: geofry@tiscali.co.uk

DESKTOPHARDDRIVE. 640GBWestern Digital 3.5" SATAmodelWD6400AAKS. Perfect workingorder. Partitioned and formatted.Only used as back-up drive. Freedelivery. Price: £33. PayPal accepted.Email: geofry@tiscali.co.uk

Vintage Amstrad PC1512 HD20.Colour Monitor 20MB Hard Drive5.25 Floppy Original AmstradDisks Manuals spare Keyboardand Mouse. This is a rare fullyfunctioning collectable. £60.Tel: (01949) 876235Email: hc4203@gmail.com

Laptop for sale. Toshiba Portagei5 2.5GHzModel R830-13c4GB RAM, 320GBHDD.Wi-Fi,fingerprint scanner, HDMI ouput.Sold on eBay for over £200; only£150 plus £15 p&p. Bargain. Greatcondition. Very light.Tel: Dave Thomas (07828) 982930or (01942) 706571Email: davethomas96@aol.com

Seagate Barraucda 250GBSATA Hard Drive 3.5". Testedand removed from a workingenvironment. £12 inc FreeCourier. Payment via PayPal.Email: info@jmcomputing.info

CorsairVengence 16GB(2x 8GB)DDR3MemoryCMSX16GX3M2A1600C10.Neverusedbut boxopened. Selling due towrong voltage, these are 1.5VandIneeded 1.35V.Asking £85.00 inc.postage to theUK.Email: fabstock1@gmail.com

4x 1 GB DDR2 RAM (Ocz NvidiaSLI PC2 6400 epp 4-4-4-15)for Sale. £40.00 for all 4 + Post/Packing. In perfect working order.Email: ken.toole1@virginmedia.com

HP Microserver n40l / windows7 Pro / 4GB RAM / 400GBdrive / MS Office 2003. ThisHP n40l Microserver is inexcellent condition and comeswith Windows 7 re-allocated,activated, & completely updatedFeb 2015. Also installed isMinitools Partition Magic, MSOffice 2003 HP basic, withcodes/ coa’s. Buyer may have

To place an ad in our classifieds, simply fill in theform at www.micromart.co.uk or send your adby post to Maaya Mistry, Micro Mart, DennisPublishing, 30 Cleveland Street, W1T 4JD

HARDWARE FOR SALE

ClassifiedsPlease mention Micro Mart when replying to adverts

79Issue 1364

Linux Mint, or a completelybare drive. 2 spare drive frames.I have the original packing asper HP original delivery. So faras I can see, this Microserverwill take 16GB memory andup to five hard drives. See itworking before buying, (byarrangement). No refund underany circumstances. Collect fromHarrogate, North Yorkshire.£140. Cash on collection.Delivery might cost £8 viaHermes, maybe much more toHighlands/ Islands. Payment byCheque O.K subject to clearing,Paypal at £25 additional.(tocover their fees).Tel: (07794) 528857Email it_central@ntlworld.com

Used AsusWireless Router for sale.Dual-band 4 x GB Ethernet Wi-FiRT-N66U N-900. £65.00 O.V.N.O.Selling cause I have no need for itsince upgrade to BT Home Hub 5.Email: beme12355@googlemail.com

SKY PLUS and SKY PLUS HDREMOTEs. Original £7.50 +P&P please email or call me formore information.Tel: David (01616) 888119 Email:pcmadnessltd@yahoo.co.uk

US Robotics External 56KMessage Modem. Includes V.9056K Standard X2 Technology.Boxed and complete. Perfectcondition. £25 + p&p.Tel: Gordon (01314) 660205E-mail: scobieg09@gmail.com

2 x 2GBDDR3 1600MHz RAM.Recently taken from a 2012macmini.As new £25.Email amstereofan@gmail.com

XFXGeForce Nvidia 8800GtsGraphics Card for Sale. £40.00 +Post/Packing. Perfect working order.Email: ken.toole1@virginmedia.com

XFXGeForce Nvidia 8800GtsGraphics Card For Sale. £40.00 +Post. In perfect working orderEmail: ken.toole1@virginmedia.com

Custom Built modifiedwatercooled gaming desktop. i54670K, R9 280X, Silverstone RV-

01 USB3, 1000W PSU: parachordsleeving, Z87M OC Formula,8GB Kingston Fury 1866MHz,180mm and 120mm Radiator.Mods, Yellow and Black colourscheme! No Storage. Email forpics and info. Buyer collect:Gloucestershire. £800 ono.Tel: Adam (07426) 874117 Email:flaming_monkey95@hotmail.co.uk

Asus A8V motherboard, socket939. Clips holding CPU coolerbroke, CPU overheated & shutdown. M/B should be OK andthere is 4GB of ram on board.Free, collect only. North Wales.Tel: (01286) 678584Email: gw7hav@googlemail.com

Kingston HyperX 2x2GBDDR2 1066MHz RAM. Testedand removed from a workingenvironment. £45 inc FreeCourier. Payment via PayPal.Email: info@jmcomputing.info

CPU sale. Intel Core 2 DuoE4400 2.0GHz £10, IntelPentium 4 630 3.0GHz £7, IntelCeleron M 350 1.3GHz £5, IntelCeleron Mobile Dual core T15001.866Ghz £6, Intel Pentium 4630 HT 3.0Ghz 2MB cache £8,AMD Athlon 64 3200 £5 Athlon64 3500 £6 Athlon 64 3200 Dualcore £10 postage £2.Tel: Jeremy Gill (02089) 430683Email: arthur.pewty1@virgin.net

2 x 512MBPC3200DDR400.Thesetwo sticks were removed frommyworking system, now redundant. £5,plus £1 P&P.Tel: Alan (02084) 202322Email: alan@asandco.co.uk

DDR2memory sale. 2 x Nanua PC23700 256MB £6 pair, 2 x HP PC24200 256MB £7 pair, 4 x HP PC24200 512MB£10 pair or £18 for four.Tel: Jeremy Gill (02089) 430683Email: arthur.pewty1@virgin.net

Asus M2N2-SLI Deluxemotherboard bundle. With AMDAthlon 64 4000 CPU, 4Gb Corsairram, fan, backplate, manual,driver CD. £40Email: david.white38@ntlworld.comI

BM/LENOVO SFF BASEUNIT.P4/ 2.8 H-T, 2GB RAM, 40GBHard Drive, CD-Rom, 10/100Network, sound, USB, Cleaninstall XP-pro, fully updated,Office Suite, Anti-Virus, & allusual utilities, COA LicenceSticker & Install media, £25Tel: Pat (07710) 348638Email: pat4cars@aol.com

FUJITSU-SIEMENSMINITOWER. Pentium D 2.8Dual-Core, 2GB RAM, 80GBHard Drive, DVD-RW, Gigabitnetwork, sound, Clean InstallXP-pro, fully updated, Officesuite, Anti-Virus & all usualUtilities, Legal COA sticker &System Image. £35Tel: Pat (07710) 348638Email: pat4cars@aol.com

DELL OPTIPLEX GX240 SFF.P4/1.6, 20GB hard Drive, 768MBRAM, CD-Rom, 10/100 network,Sound, Front USB, Clean installXP-pro, fully updated, worksOK but slow by modernstandards, £15.Tel: Pat (07710) 348638Email: pat4cars@aol.com

LG Flatron W2246S 22” monitorwith power and VGA leads.No dead pixels in very goodcondition. £50 Buyer Collects(Verwood, Dorset)Tel: (01202) 826057 Email:geoffandcynth@themailspot.com

CD Optical Drive for installationin desktop PC Only £10.Tel: Gordon (01314) 660205E-mail: scobieg09@gmail.com

Very rare Viking IBM 16MBDram Card (15109 66G5109)for Compaq, IBM Thinkpad, EtcLaptop Only £20Tel: Gordon (01314) 660205E-mail: scobieg09@gmail.com

2x 1GB PC2100-648.These twomatched sticks were removed fromone of my redundant systems. Plusone PC2700 (DDR 333Mhz) andone 512Mb PC3200 DDR400 stick.All for £5 plus £2 P&P.Tel: Alan (02084) 202322Email: alan@asandco.co.uk

TP-Link 54Mbps 4 port WirelessG Router. Perfect condition andboxed. Model: TL-WR340G.£20.00 plus postage.Tel: Gordon (01314) 660205E-mail: scobieg09@gmail.com

Intel Core 2 Duo E4600 3GHz775 Socket Processor. Testedand removed from a workingenvironment. £10 inc FreeCourier. Payment via PayPal.Email: info@jmcomputing.info

Addon Wireless LAN USB 2.054Mbps 802.11g Adaptor.Boxed with instructions andsoftware: £9.Tel: Gordon (01314) 660205E-mail: scobieg09@gmail.com

CD Stomper CD/DVD LabellingSystem: Software, Labels and LabelApplicator. Boxed. Unused. £9.Tel: Gordon (01314) 660205E-mail: scobieg09@gmail.com

56kb Fax Modem External. £10.Tel: Gordon (01314) 660205E-mail: scobieg09@gmail.com

DIR-615 Wireless N Router.Boxed, brand new. £30.Tel: Gordon (01314) 660205E-mail: scobieg09@gmail.com

Laptop DDR2memory sale. 2Corsair Value Select 533mhz 1GB£18 pair, 2 Hynix 800mhz 2GB £26pair, 2 Generic 533mhz 1GB £15pair,1 Generic 800mhz 1GB £10,1Nanua 666mhz 1GB £, 1 Samsung666mhz 1GB £8. Postage includedTel: Jeremy Gill (02089) 430683Email: arthur.pewty1@virgin.net

Two 120GB Maxtor DiamondPlus9 Drives plus one 80GBDiamondPlus 10. Can be suppliedwith two plug-in caddies. Noreasonable offer refused.Tel: Alan (02084) 202322Email: alan@asandco.co.uk

HP Elitebook 8760w i7 2820QM@ 2.2GHz 32GB RAM 750GBHDD Quadro 4000M GPU. Only2 small marks on whole machine.Cost £3500 when new. £900 ONOTel: (07772) 926632Email: stedaley19@gmail.com

Classifieds Please mention Micro Mart when replying to adverts

80 Issue 1364

WD 2TB desktop hard disk.Formatted ready for an OS. Runsvery nicely. New laptop meansmy desktop items must go! £40includes free tracked postage.Tel: (01619) 501218Email: jmbest2@sky.com

Toshiba C500D-B-11 laptop.Virtually new cost £279 will accept£150 O.N.O.Tel: (01217) 535324

Intel 3930K processor. Used, butnot overclocked. No box or fan.£220 ono. Will ship to UK address.Tel: Tim (01623) 624509Email tim.stirland@btinternet.com

Amstrad PcW 9256 in goodworking order with software. Offers.Tel: John Adams (02088) 641202Email: meeching@uwclub.net

Asus P8Z68-v LX socket 1155motherboard. Original box 1/0cover user guide driver disk fittedcore i3 2100 CPU 3-1GHz and 8GBPC1300memory. No fan.Workingfast and fine. £125 + free postage.Tel: (01619) 501218Email: jmbest2@sky.com

ASUS P5B Motherboard - 775Socket - DDR2. Tested andremoved from a workingenvironment, comes with I/OPlate. £35 inc Free Courier.Payment via PayPal.Email: info@jmcomputing.info

SAMSUNGGALAXYTab 3 forsale. 2mths old, 8GB, wi-fi, £80 opento offers.Willing to post at a charge.Tel: Christine (01386) 831836

SoundBlaster Audigy SE 7.1soundcard for sale. Perfectworking order. Selling due to notbeing needed any more. Just £12plus postage.Tel: Ian (01132) 629028Email: ianmatthewuk@yahoo.co.uk

Asus p8h61-mlemotherboardsocket 1155. Original box 1/0 coverdriver diskmanual together withCeleron 91620 dual core CPU and4 9195 pc1300memory.Workingfine. No fan. £70 + free postage.Tel: (01619) 501218Email: jmbest2@sky.com

Toshiba Satellite SA60 laptop.Model PSA60E-092058EN.Windows XP Home Edition withCertificate of Authenticity. Forspares or repair - broken powerconnector on mobo. No powercord. Otherwise in very goodcondition. £40.00 + p&pTel: Peter Scarth (01452) 372350Email: pscarth@blueyonder.co.ukApple Touch 32 GB iPod.Virtually new cost £199 will accept £100 O.N.OTel: (01217) 535324

400GB IDE drive 3.5 inchformatted ready for use. Only£20 plus £3 for p&p. I can loadgenuine XP Professional fromMicrosoft with genuine certificateof authenticity for an extra £10.Refurbished.Tel: DaveThomas (07828) 982930 or(01942) 706571Email: davethomas96@aol.com

Amstrad PcW 9256 in goodworking condition with software.Offers.Tel: John Adams (02088) 641202Email: meeching@uwclub.net

Panasonic KX-P7105 monolaser duplex printer. Sometoner left. Up to XP only – hence£25. Buyer collects from N2,East FinchleyTel: (02083) 431527Email: pnnikiel@gmail.com

Amstrad PcW9256 in goodworkingconditionw/ software. Offers.Tel: John Adams (02088) 641202Email: meeching@uwclub.net

GEFORCE 1GBYTE 24- PCIexpress PC card. HDMI DVIVGA PC video card. £10 plusp&p £4.50. 2 for sale. £10 each.Tel: (01707) 339063Email: awhishaw@aol.com

HP 4GB memory Microserverwith two hard disc drives. £110.One with Linux MINT. Otherwith Linux FreeNAS. Thiswill also run Windows 7 andWindows Server or Home Server.(Win 8 I’ve not tried it) Twospare HD slots with appropriatecaddies. Slot for your SATA DVDdrive also, (or use external usb

or DVD drive if needed. four usbsockets on front, two on rear.VGA, network, power sockets onrear. Supplied in original HP boxwith CD and leaflets etc.Collect from Harrogate, NorthYorks, or posted via Hermesfor £12 (or less if I can do itcheaper). Cash on inspectionand collection (Highlands andIslands might obviously costmore to be delivered).Tel: (01423) 872045Email: it_central@ntlworld.com

400GB IDE drive 3.5 inchformatted ready for use. Only£20 plus £3 for p&p. I canload genuine XP Professionalfrom Microsoft with genuinecertificate of authenticity for anextra £10. Refurbished.Tel: DaveThomas (07828) 982930or (01942) 706571Email: davethomas96@aol.com

EPSON PRINTERS T715 12multipack F.O.C. to good home,just pay postage £2.50. (Tescoequivalent original cartridges£120 current special offer!)Perfect crisp printing etc.Tel: Pete Dew: (07526) 988594

EPSON PRINTERS T711 6multipack F.O.C., just pay postage£2. Perfect crisp printing etc. Mayhave others F.O.C. if model olderthan 12 months.Tel: Pete Dew (07526) 988594

Lexmark Printer Z601,still working and in goodcondition, £25.Tel: (01386) 832758

Intel 3930K processor. Used,but not overclocked. No boxor fan. £220 ono. Will ship toUK address.Tel: Tim (01623) 624509Email tim.stirland@btinternet.com.

Apple Mac G4 Tower. 400MHZcpu, 640MB Ram, 2xHardDrive40GB,20GB. DVD & ZIP Drive.OS X v10.3 Panther+OS9. NOKEYBOARD OR MOUSE. £25ono Buyer collectsTel: (07941) 254296Email: jasonnd@hotmail.com

Wireless Motorised IP SurveillanceCamera. White In Colour - Controlfrom your mobile phone/tablet/pcwhen out of the home - ideal forhome security, baby monitoring,has sound and remote recordingetc BNIB - £25 Price includes postand packing.Email:omendata@gmail.com

Dell Inspiron 660 Intel i5QUAD CORE with ACER 23Inch LED monitor. AS NEW.Operating System: Windows8.1. MPN:620MT. Memory(RAM): 4 GB. Hard Drive: 1TB.Processor Type: Intel Core i5.Primary Drive: Optical DVD+/-RW, Processor Speed: 3.0 GHz,Features: Graphics Card GT6201GB. Acer LED monitor 23”HD. £520Tel: Hitesh Rao (01163) 198895

PRINTER CARTRIDGES.Suitable for Epson printer rangeT711 - T714. Work perfectly. 50pence each, plus postage (brandnew unused sealed). Over adozen available.Tel: (07541) 222678Email: petedew@gmx.co.uk

PRINTERST481-T486 6multipackF.O.C. to good home, just paypostage £2. Perfect crisp printing etc.Tel: Pete Dew (07526) 988594

INKJET CARTRIDGES suitable forEpson Printers T711 - T714 range,and T481 - T486 range. 79 penceeach, plus postage.Work perfectly,good crisp printing quality.Tel: (07526) 988594Email: petedew@gmx.co.uk

1.5TB SATA drive. Fullyrefurbished by governmentacknowledged company. All datataken off (some drives are stillunder Western Digital warranty)ONLY £40 including P&PTel: Dave Thomas (01942) 706572Email: davethomas96@aol.com2 HP Laserjet 3100 printer-fax-copier-scanners. In good workingorder. £25 each.Tel: John Adams (02088) 641202Email: meeching@uwclub.net

ClassifiedsPlease mention Micro Mart when replying to adverts

81Issue 1364

Trying to breathe life backinto an old machine? Whynot submit a wanted ad andsee if any of the thousands ofcomputer enthusiasts who readthe magazine each week havewhat you’re looking for?

WANTED: Fractal Design DefineXL full tower case. R1 (originalversion) in black.Tel: (01670) 860146Email: mm@tectron.co.uk

WANTED:Working DotMatrixPrinter in Good Condition.Thanks!Email: printer.20.odaily@spamgourmet.com

WANTED: Acorn computer eitheran A5000 or A7000. Also book onteaching yourself binary.Tel: (07817) 861011Email: Johnhaviland73@gmail.com

WANTED: Corsair PSU cable bag.Please email me if you can.Email: Paul@planetvoodoo.co.uk

Wanted: HD 3850 Graphics card,must be AGP. Tel: (07817) 861011Wanted: Fully workingmainboard for AMD socketAM2+/AM3, micro ATX size.Must use DDR2 RAM.Tel: Brian Taylor (07570) 452557Email: bmorgant@yahoo.co.uk

Do you have old software thatyou simply don't use?Why notadvertise is with us and see ifanyone else canmake use of it –youmaywell be surprised to findthat someone is looking it

Adobe Photoshop Elementsand Premiere Elements 12Full Version - Windows/Mac.Original Boxed CD with unusedproduct key. £47.50Tel: Ian (01932) 856971Email: a2345@btinternet.com

PCB design software 127 layers,schematic entry, PCB entry, PCBto Gerber file converter, output toprinter. £9.99Tel: NigelWright (07967) 527693Email: cresswellavenue@talktalk.net

Cyberlink PowerDVD 12Standard. Runs under Windows8, 7, Vista or XP. Original CDwith unused product key £7.50Tel: Ian (01932) 856971Email: a2345@btinternet.comMicrosoft Office 2013. OriginalSoftware only £100.Tel: Gordon (01314) 660205 E-mail:scobieg09@gmail.com

Windows 7 Ultimate 32-bit version. NEW software and license(certificate of authenticity) 100%genuine and unopened software.ONLY £45 including P&P.Tel: DaveThomas (07828) 982930 or(01942) 706571Email: davethomas96@aol.com

Sim City 2000. Boxed andoriginal. Classic gaming. £15.Tel: Gordon (01314) 660205 E-mail:scobieg09@gmail.com

Windows 2000 Professional.NEW software and license(certificate of authenticity) 100%genuine and unopened software.ONLY £15 including P & P.Tel: DaveThomas (07828)982930 or (01942) 706571 Email:davethomas96@aol.com

Windows Vista Business. Newand sealed. software and license(certificate of authenticity) 100%genuine and unopened. (Dellbranded but will install on anymachine) ONLY £15 including P&PTel: DaveThomas (07828)982930 or (01942) 706571 Email:davethomas96@aol.com

Windows 7 Home Premium32 bit versions. NEW softwareand license (certificate ofauthenticity) 100% genuine andunopened software .ONLY £35including P & P.Tel: DaveThomas (07828)982930 or (01942) 706571 Email:davethomas96@aol.com

Nuance Omnipage 18. OCRRuns under Windows 8, 7, Vistaor XP, Original CD with unusedproduct key £25.Tel: Ian (01932) 856971Email: a2345@btinternet.com

Acronis True Image Home 2012.Bootable CD. Application runs

under Windows 8, 7, Vista orXP. Original Acronis CD withunused product key £5.Tel: Ian (01932) 856971Email: a2345@btinternet.com

Windows 7 ULTIMATE 32 Bitand 64Bit DVD disks incl. SP1This is my "Get Genuine Kit" fromMicrosoft not OEM. New install orlegalise your copy with full ProductKey. only £50 incl. reg. postEmail: Dave ochdgh@aol.comNorton Family Premier 2.0. Runsunder Windows 8, 7, Vista or XP,Original Symantec unusedproduct key £15.Tel: Ian (01932) 856971 Email:a2345@btinternet.comMicrosoft Office 97Professional. Original disc withkey £18 inc postage.Tel: Andrew (01376) 512118

Windows XP Professional. Newand sealed. Book, softwareand license (certificate ofauthenticity) 100% genuine andunopened. (Dell branded butwill install on any machine)ONLY £15 including P&P.Tel: DaveThomas (07828) 982930or (01942) 706571Email: davethomas96@aol.com

Microsoft Office Small BusinessEdition 2003 with BusinessContacts. Legitimate OfficeSmall Office Business Editioncomprising Word, Excel,Powerpoint, etc. Comes withsmall piece of OEM hardwareand original license code (coa)£10 incl. delivery, cheque or PO.£10.50 by Paypal.Tel: (07794) 528857 Email: it_central@ntlworld.com

Wanted: LGGSA 2164 D softwaredisc to replace broken original.Tel: Glen Fremantle (01387)248976Email:bldamsys@yahoo.co.uk

Wanted:Windows 98 CDROMoperating systemwith boot disk,instructionmanual and serialnumber. Tel: Craig (07867) 930265or 01912093677Email: craigtin44@hotmail.com

IMPORTANTBUYING ADVICE

We work very hard topolice our classifiedads, and make themas secure as possible.However, please doyour bit too and use thefollowing guidelines:

• Never - NEVER - pay bybank transfer or post out cash,

unless you know the trader

already, or are sure it is okay

to do so. Pay by cheque, Paypal,

Nochex etc. wherever possible.

• Be wary of anyone who insists

on you paying by the above

methods if in doubt, get us

to check them out by mailing

editorial@micromart.co.uk

• Keep copies of all

correspondence

•When sending out goods, at

the least obtain a certificate of

posting from the Post Office

If you are in any doubt,feel free to send usa mail via editorial@micromart.co.uk.

Every year, thousands ofsuccessful transactionstake place through ourclassifieds, and that's justhow we like it.

Help us help youkeep them one of thesafest and most secureplaces to buy and sellcomputer kit.

SOFTWARE FOR SALE

HARDWARE WANTED

SOFTWARE WANTED

Send your questions to:Aaron BichMicro MartDennis Publishing30 Cleveland StreetLondonW1T 4JD

Contact Aaron by email at:aaron@micromart.co.uk

Please try to keep yourqueries brief and limitthem to just one questionper letter, simply so wecan squeeze in as many aswe can each week. Pleaseinclude relevant technicalinformation too.

Aaron

Meet Aaron Birch.He’s here to help youwith any generalupgrading, softwareand system buildingproblems. He’s gotadvice aplenty, andyou’re very muchwelcome to it!

AARONASK

82 Issue 1364

AWhatSpot?As a total newbie when it comesto PC technology and mobilephones, I have what I think isgoing to be a really easy ques-tion for you. Basically, I havea laptop, and in the area I livewe often have power cuts andother issues that mean Internetcan be less than reliable. This isa problem, as I need to use theInternet almost every day.

When I'm left with no Internetconnection, I'm at a loss, andhave to rely upon my phone (aniPhone 4) for all of my emailand browsing. This is useful,but it's hard to do many thingson such a small screen withouta full keyboard, so it's use onlyextends so far.

I have heard, however, that Ican use my phone and attachit to my laptop so I can accessthe Interent as normal, whichis something that sounds like itcould be a very good feature,and one that could be very usefulto me in these instances. Theproblem I have, is that I just don'tknow how to do this, and I'malso not sure if it's a good idea,as I don't want to run out of dataon my phone.

In short, I need some advicefrom a professional. How can Iactually do this with my honeand laptop, and should I eventry? Will is use too much data?I look forward to reading yourresponse in this fine magazine.Keep up the good work.

Mel

Most mobile phones can beused as a mobile hotspot thesedays, and it's one of the mostuseful functions for those whotravel a lot, and can't alwaysguarantee they'll have accessto a decent connection. Thisfunctionality extends to theiPhone 4 too, and using onewith your computer is easy.

To set this up, go into youriPhone's Settings and look forthe Personal Hotspot section.Here you'll be able to set upyour own personal hotspot andactivate it. To do so you'll needto give the hotspot a name,and you'll also need to specify a

password. Ensure your iPhone'swi-fi is operating, as well asyour laptop, and you'll be ableto locate and connect to theiPhone, which will then act as anInternet hotspot, granting youaccess to the Internet.

Using your phone as a hotspotcan be a huge help, lettingyou get online when all elsefails. However, it's not the mosteconomical or flexible option.Data plans for mobile phonesare nowhere near as generousas normal home broadbandpackages. Whereas many homebroadband deals offer 200-300GB, or even unlimited use permonth, mobile data plans offer atiny fraction of this, often around5GB. This means it won't takevery long at all to max this out ifyou're not careful.

If you simply need to do somelight browsing, or check email,this option is fine, and you

shouldn't have too many issues.Streaming video, downloadingdata, and even browsing moreintensive sites filled with images,animations, or embedded videocan take its toll. Doing this willquickly eat away at your monthlydata use, and you'll soon endup with extra charges on top ofyour contract.

If you do make use of yourphone's data, always keep aclose eye on your use, maybeusing your provider's ownmobile app to monitor phoneuse. Steer clear of heavy use,such as streaming video,and keep social networkingto a minimum, as Facebookfeeds can take up a surprisingamount of data, with images,embedded videos and so onfilling up your feed.

It's easy to turn your iPhone into a

personal hotspot

Issue 1364 83

THEEXPERTS

MP3 VeteranI've not used my home PC for quite some time, several years giveor take. To give you some idea, when I last used my PC, I wasmaking use of a cool little music program call Winamp, and Iused to use ICQ to talk to friends online. There was no Facebook,Twitter, or Instagram, and my browser of choice was NetscapeNavigator. The reason for this lack of use is travel. I've spent a longtime working abroad, with a lot of travel, so didn't really have timeto use anything other than my phone and, eventually, a tablet.

Now I've returned to the UK to settle down, and I wantedto make use of my PC (a cheap, new one, not the vastly outof date older model), with one of my major use being to playmusic, as I have an excellent PC speaker set that I kept from myold PC that still sounds superb.

I went online to grab my trusty Winamp, and found thatit's far from the program I remember, now owned by AOL ofall people. This isn't good, and I find it to be a cluttered andovercomplicated mess. What I need is a good MP3 player thatcan manage my MP3 collections (which is thousands of tracks).Extra features would be welcome, but not if they make theprogram a pain to use.

It should also be free, as I really can't justify paying for anMP3 player when there are so many free options that have donethe rounds. Thanks for your help.

Jez

I do, indeed, remember the likes of the original Nullsoft Winampand programs like ICQ. Winamp was the premier MP3 playerof its day, until AOL bought it, and many users either kept theold versions, or moved to other programs. Since then, AOL

has actually sold the program to new owner, Radionomy, butthis hasn't helped the program in the eyes of many. The newcompany is even selling Winamp 2 as a freemium title shouldyou be even vaguely tempted.

Clearly, you're not alone, and there are many more MP3Players around today, some good, some bad, and a few that I'dargue are even better in some ways than Winamp – even in itshalcyon days. One such tool I consider to be one of the best isMusicBee (getmusicbee.com).

This is totally free MP3 player and management app that alsocontains a whole heap of extra features. These features don'tget in the way of the core music playing and managing, makingit a perfect option for you.

It can easily manage and catalogue all of your MP3s, supportsplaylists, tagging (auto and manual), lyric display, CD ripping andburning, file conversion, and more. It's a great program, andone that I highly recommend.

MusicBee is one of the best free music applications around, and packs

in a ton of features

Winamp was the premier

MP3 player of its day, until

AOL bought it

JASONASK

Send your questions to:Jason D’AllisonMicro MartDennis Publishing30 Cleveland StreetLondonW1T 4JD

Contact Jason by email at:jason@micromart.co.uk

While we try to cover as manyquestions as we can, we regretthat Jason cannot answer yourquestions personally, but he’ll coveras many as he possibly can eachweek. Please ask one question perletter and remember to include thefull specification of your computer,including its operating system.

Jason

Meet JasonD’Allison, a veteranof Micro Mart’s panelof experts. He’s hereto help with anytechnical questions,including anythingto do with tablets orsmartphones, as wellas PCs

The Smart ChoiceFor the last five years my phone’s been an LGViewty Snap GM360. It’s served me well, butobviously it’s getting old. I do like many of thefeatures – in particular, the calender, camera andradio – and because of this I’m tempted to buyanother, similar LG. However, I’m also temptedto look elsewhere, and I’d maybe consider asmartphone (apparently my LG isn’t one).

What would suit my needs? The GM360 isn’ttoo good for social networking, nor for theinternet in general, and the touchscreen’s difficultto use without a stylus. I’d like any new phoneto be better in these areas. I don’t want to losethe LG’s user-friendliness, though, and I needsomething that’ll fit easily into my pocket.

I’m put off Apple’s phones because of thescreen fragility, and I hear HTC phones can behard to use. I like what I’ve seen of Samsung’sGalaxy range, but is it wise to jump to anotherbrand? I’d appreciate any advice you can offer.

Perry George, Yandex

Your LG GM360 is a feature phone. That is, itsfunctionality is pretty much set in stone. There’svery limited scope for updating the OS or addingnew apps. Smartphones, in every sense, are full-monty computers. Their operating systems canbe updated and often completely changed, andapps – from a choice of tens or even hundreds ofthousands – can be added and deleted at will.

Entry-level smartphones are now so cheap,no one should be buying a feature phone. I’llaccept no argument on that, Perry! For starters,the touchscreens on many feature phones,including your LG, are resistive – they requirepressure to register an input. No wonder youwant something better. The screens on modernsmartphones are capacitive – they work solely bythe electrical charge in your fingers.

Basically, even if you never tap into its fullpotential, a smartphone will be faster andmore pleasurable to use. But you *will* end uptapping into its full potential. Dying of hunger ina strange town and want to find a McDonald’s?Fire up the GPS and Google Maps. Been for ajog and need to check your pulse? Downloada heart-rate app and place your finger over thecamera. In Asda and want to know if Call ofDuty: Same as the Last One (Unlimited Edition)is cheaper elsewhere? Scan the barcode into aprice-comparison app. You know it makes sense.

Now, LG makes some fine smartphones, butdon’t buy one solely in the hope you’ll be familiarwith the way it operates. All smartphone OSs –most LGs run Android – work quite a bit differentlyto the proprietary OS on your GM360. You’ll havethe same learning to do regardless of which brandyou plump for. Not much, mind – it’s all dead easy.Oh, and HTCs are no harder than any other brand.

Regarding the calendar, Android has Google’sCalendar, Windows Phone has Microsoft’s

Calendar, BlackBerry has, well, BlackBerry’sCalendar, and iOS has, er, Apple’s Calendar.Imaginative names, huh? If you don’t likewhat’s supplied by default, there are dozens ofalternatives, most of them free.

The camera on the your old LG is actually fairlyreasonable. A 5MP sensor, auto-focus, and anLED flash – some newer low-end smartphonesfall short of that. Spend more than about £60,though, Perry, and you’ll usually be in a differentworld. And videos recorded on the GM360 makeLaurel and Hardy shorts look as though they wereshot in Ultra HD.

If you really do need an FM radio, bear in mindthat many smartphones don’t now have one.Be careful – check the specs. The trend thesedays is to use web radio, which just requires awi-fi or 3G/4G internet connection (your GM360supports neither).

As for screen size, bigger is better. Typingis so much easier on a bigger screen, andwatching videos, surfing the web and playinggames on a tiny screen is nearly as painful aschildbirth. In my view, 4.5” is as about as smallas you should go, and you may be surprised atjust how big a phone can be before you losepocketability. Your best bet is to pop into someshops to see which phones feel comfortable.Just be careful if you give any the pocket test –you don’t want to get arrested.

I wouldn’t worry too much about screenfragility. All smartphone screens are fragile toa degree, usually because they’re fronted bya sheet of glass. For some reason, iPhones doseem to come off worst, but not to the pointI’d recommend not buying one. It’s probablymore to do with their metal frames (many otherphones use plastic) than anything else.

Recommending any specific models isdifficult, because I don’t know your budget.I’d also need to know what features youabsolutely can’t live without and whetherconsole-level gaming’s on thecards. Maybe you couldsign up at forum.micromart.co.ukand ask for advicethere. A decent all-rounder, though, isthe new MotorolaMoto E (second-generation). The4G version canbe bagged forjust £99.

These days,

you’d need to

be a couple of

pixels short of

1080p to buy a

feature phone

84 Issue 1364

Issue 1364 85

THEEXPERTS

Not Known At This AddressMy wife has a Gmail account. She signed up, though, when itwas Google Mail, and that might be the problem. You see, she’sstarted receiving another person’s emails – lots of stuff aboutaccounts she doesn’t have and people in the US with the samesurname. I’ve searched online and Google says that when people‘own’ a googlemail.com address, they also ‘own’ the equivalentgmail.com address, yet it seems here that someone else hasmanaged to register it. Google says this is impossible, but mywife’s problem doesn’t appear to be unique. What’s your view?

Francis Kinsler, Gmail

It’s always been Gmail, Francis. Between 2005 and 2010 (theservice launched in 2004), a trademark dispute meant that inthe UK (and possibly Germany) Google was forced to change thename to Google Mail. Once that dispute was settled, the namereverted to Gmail. It was always Gmail everywhere else.

It’s true that when someone signed up for a googlemail.comaddress, the equivalent gmail.com address was automaticallyreserved (incidentally, googlemail.com addresses can no longerbe created). Therefore, it is indeed impossible for someone elseto register it. Your wife can use either variant – they’re effectivelythe same thing.

Almost certainly someone has created a Gmail account witha very similar name to your wife’s and then typed it in wronglywhen signing up to various websites. Probably a single characterwas missed off or added, turning the address into your wife’s.No doubt this person has scratched away a good deal of hair inwondering why expected emails aren’t coming through!

What can you do? Well, you could reply to the emailsand explain that you’re not the intended recipient – use the

explanation I’ve given above. Be firm – in effect, the emails arespam. You could also try to identify who the intended recipientactually is – look on Facebook and so on and send a message.You might be surprised at how easy it is to track someone down.Other than that, Francis, I fear your wife will just have to live withthe problem until the emails dry up. Sorry.

The View From HereMy trusty Toshiba Satellite Pro U400-246 laptop is about seven years old andthe hard drive has just failed. A workcolleague is sorting this out for mebut he’s also said that Windows Vista,the original operating system (there’sa valid sticker on the base), is now anonline security risk. Apparently I need toupgrade to Windows 7 (I don’t think thelaptop is capable of running Windows8.x). What’s the cheapest way to acquirethis? It seems a new copy is about £70.

J. Rose, South Yorkshire

You’ve been misinformed, my friend.It’s true that these days Windows XPshouldn’t go within 100 yards of theInternet (unless the host machine isn’t

on a network and there’s no data orcredentials you’re bothered aboutlosing), but the same is definitely nottrue of Vista.

Vista may well be an OS Microsoftwould prefer to forget, but underthe extended-support programme,the company has pledged to keep itupdated and free from gaping securityholes right up till 11th April, 2017. Vistacame in for some stick when it launched(mostly justified), but when fullyupdated and given suitable hardware– your U400-246’s default Core 2Duo P8700 CPU and 3GB of RAM areample – there’s nothing wrong with it.Windows 7 would give you virtually nobenefit. Save your money!

Is Windows Vista the devil in disguise?

Are you receiving someone else’s email?

Issue 136486

This week, conversion: converting your wired headphones to wireless,and your slow USB charge port to a fast USB charge point. All thanks tocrowdfunding projects you can support!

Spiro X1We’ve covered wireless headphones a lot in this column, butwireless headphones aren’t necessarily within reach of allconsumers. They are, after all, usually quite expensive, andspending £80-£150 on a single pair of headphones seems a littlecrazy when you consider that they might break or fail. And what’smore, you might have just spent that much on a new pair already.

Therefore, the Spiro X1 makes a decent alternative to wirelessheadphones: it’s a wireless headphone adaptor, built to convertany pair of standard headphones into a pair of Bluetoothheadphones, as long as they have a detachable 3.5mm audiowire, as most high-end headphones do. An LED halo gives yousimple feedback on the connection status and charge, andbuilt-in controls allow you to send commands to any pairedBluetooth device.

Early bird tiers are running out fast, but all backers pay just$50 (£32) for the Spiro X1 unit in black or white, and whileit only ships to US and Canadian addresses, there are servicesyou can use that will provide you a US shipping address andthen send it over. The goal is quite far away: at time of writingit’s raised $4,000 of $75,000, but there are still weeks to gountil the campaign has finished. We’re relatively sure this one’sgetting made.URL: kck.st/1R3nUEtFunding Ends: Wednesday, 17th June 2015

Crowdfunding Corner

Disclaimer: Images shown may be prototypes and Micro Mart does not formally endorse or guarantee any of the projects listed. Back them at your own risk!

USB ChargedoublerIt’s rare we look at IndieGoGo projects, simply because Kickstarteris the bigger site, but this project caught our eye: the USBChargedoubler. In an age when most phones won’t last 24 hourswithout a charge, having the ability to juice your batteries upfaster than ever isn’t something to be sniffed at. This gadgetprovides a full 1,000mA charge instead of the 500mA charge mostUSB cables offer.

The USB Chargedoubler doesn’t just provide a charge at doublethe speed of a normal USB cable, though that is the primarypurpose. It also has a magnetic design intended to fit on anormal keyring so you’re never without your custom charger. It’scompatible with Apple, Android and Windows devices. The ‘DataProtected Charging’ capability also ensures that the cable isolatesyour phone from the system it’s plugged into to ensure the safetyof your device and data.

The cable can be bought in both micro-USB and Lightning-compatible models, in a variety of different colours. It can even bebought with compatibly for the new USB-C standard! Worldwidedelivery is estimated for August, and the $14,000 funding targetshould have been met by the time you read this. You can get aChargedoubler for as little as $12 (£7.70), but beware: that pricedoesn’t include shipping insurance or tracking. If you want one,we’d advise paying for the $15 (£9.60) tier instead!URL: bit.ly/1Hhn5AQFunding Ends: Sunday, 7th June 2015

Issue 1364 87

APP OF THE WEEK

App Of The Week

Salient Eye

Iwas reading recently about variousprojects for old smartphones and tablets,the ones that now have a lesser version of

Android installed and are no longer able tokeep up with the demands a modern appasks from them.

There are a great number of uses an olderphone or tablet has, but one that caught myimagination was to turn the now defunctdevice into a home security platform using acollection of apps.

The apps themselves varied, but most ranto using the phone or tablet’s camera as akind of IP webcam. One in particular seemedto be a little more useful than the rest andeven featured motion detection, still pictures,email alerts and an audible alarm.

Salient EyeSalient Eye is remarkably simple to use, but it’squite an effective security alarm system. It’sfree to install and use, and once you have theapp on your desired device, all you need todo is set the volume as high as possible, entera security arm and disarm code, place thephone or tablet in a location that it’ll monitorand leave it alone for 30 seconds.

Once the 3- seconds has counted down,you’ll get a three-second beep before the appis ‘armed’ and monitoring the image in frontof the camera. Now, should anything move

within sight of the camera, the app will emita high-pitched klaxon, red alert alarm.

The alarm will continue to sound until youre-enter the disarm code, and you re-establishthe connection and monitoring again. Withluck, whatever triggered the motion detectionwill be caught red-handed.

There are also a number of interestingfeatures you can set up within Salient Eye.For example, you adjust the sensitivity ofthe motion detection, alter the detectioncooldown alarm time, block the Home buttonfrom working, set up an email account tosend alerts to and even warn you of networkloss or low power.

Furthermore, you’ll be able to control thearmed device remotely using the remotecontrol app for Salient Eye and by creatinga Salient Eye account through which tomanage the device. And the device you’reusing doesn’t even require a SIM cardpresent, as it can send alerts via wi-fi to thespecified e-mail address.

It’s an interesting security app, and if you’reanything like us, then you’ll already have afew smart devices dotted around your homeor laid to rest in a drawer alongside keysfor old locks and takeaway menus. If you’resecurity conscious or just want to set upsomething to monitor the nocturnal activitiesof pets, this could well be the app for you.

ConclusionWe found Salient Eye to be an excellentalternative to the hassle of setting upsomething more elaborate, like the RaspberryPi security and motion detection camera weworked on some months ago.

The motion detection in Salient Eye isexcellent, and its features are useful and workto near perfection. If it’s peace of mind you’relooking for, then we think Salient Eye is theonly app you’ll need to install. You can findmore details on its Google Play page at goo.gl/vzqPbU.

Turn your old phone or tablet into a smart security device

Salient Eye is an excellent motion detection app,

with a wealth of features

David Hayward gets security conscious this week

FeaturesAtAGlance• Free.• Excellent motion detection.• Captures images.• Sound an alarm and send you

alerts.

88 Issue 1213

potential to really mess things up if it makes changes peopledon’t like, as it did with Windows 8.

But what’s really got people nervous is also the ideathat instead of the predictable delivery of updates asper ‘patch Tuesday’, patches will arrive when they’re‘ready’, and many will be installed regardless of the PCowner’s wishes.

Given its track record for releasing broken code, thishas all the hallmarks of someone with inherently sweatypalms diverging into professional chainsaw juggling.

If you think I’ve been unkind to Microsoft, and I haveon occasion been that, the usual defence that is putforward is that given the almost infinite variance of PChardware, it’s amazing that Windows runs at all.

Yes, it’s true it does have a very flexible architectureto support, and in that respect it is almost impossible to

foresee every eventuality. However, it’s released duff andpotentially device bricking patches on the Surface tablets and

Lumia phones – i.e. hardware it actually designed. If it can’tactually get those very specific updates right, then what’s the hope

for the rest of us?I can’t help be admire its confidence, though it peaks my curiosity

that it has so much, with its track record. The only conclusion thatcan be drawn is that many of its current development engineers areso young that they don’t recall some of the utter clankers that they’vepushed out, then recalled in full-on emergency mode.

Unless it has some magical new internal means of testing patchesthat borders on artificial intelligence, then moving to a more aggressiveupdate schedule could be a disaster just waiting to happen.

What’s fascinating is that at least some parts of the company realisethis, and there is much talk about how enterprise customers will be ableto control the updates more than conventional users.

This is a critical admission, because it accepts that business customerslike stable unchanging platforms, and the potential for a rogue

OffOffLoggingLogging

88 Issue 1364

EDITORIALEditor: Anthony Enticknaptheeditor@micromart.co.ukDesigner: Laura Jane GunnionDesigner: Kevin KamalBonus John: John MooreContributors: Mark Pickavance,Robert Leane, Jason D’Allison,Joe Lavery, Sven Harvey, SimonBrew, Dave Edwards, Ryan Lambie,James Hunt, Mark Oakley, IanJackson, Roland Waddilove, MiniDanish Patries, Sarah Dobbs,David Hayward, Michael Fereday,Ian McGurren, Aaron Birch, DavidBriddock, Ian Marks, Craig Grannell,Kevin Pocock, Andrew Unsworth,Keir Thomas

Caricatures: Cheryl Lillie

ADVERTISINGGroup Ad Manager:Andrea Masonandrea_mason@dennis.co.uk

Senior Sales Executive:Karl TaylorTel: 0207 907 6706karl_taylor@dennis.co.uk

Sales Executive:Joe TealTel: 0207 907 6689joe_teal@dennis.co.uk

US Advertising ManagerMatthew Sullivan-Pondmatthew_sullivan@dennis.co.uk

MARKETINGMarketing Manager:Paul GoodheadTel: 0207 907 6393

PRODUCTIONProduction Coordinator:John MooreTel: 0207 438 2074MicroMartAdCopy@gmail.com

Digital Production Manager:Nicky Baker

SUBSCRIPTIONSSave 24% on the cover price:£77.50 for 51 issues by credit card.Visit subscribe.micromart.co.ukTel: 0845 126 1014

ONLINE SUBSCRIBER SERVICEwww.subsinfo.co.uk

Change your address, renewsubscription or report problems: call0844 844 0082 (UK) or emailmicromart@servicehelpline.co.uk

NEWSTRADE SALESNewstrade Director:David Barker

DENNIS PUBLISHINGGroup Publisher:Paul Raynerpaul_rayner@dennis.co.uk

Managing Director:John Garewal

Group Managing Director:Ian Westwood

COO: Brett ReynoldsCEO: James TyeCompany Founder: Felix Dennis

PUBLISHED BYDennis Publishing30 Cleveland StreetLondonW1T 4JDTel: 0207 907 6000www.dennis.co.uk

PRINTINGPrinted By: BGPDistributed By: Seymour

Certified Distribution:13,712 average copiesJan-Dec 2010

At both its Build conference and Ignite event, Microsofthas signalled a number of significant changes that willaccompany the next version of Windows.

The headline grabbing bit was that from this pointonwards it won’t be having big number version releases, butinstead the product will morph continually through a continuousimprovement program. That sounds interesting, but it also has the

Issue 1358 89

piece of code tohave unpleasantconsequences. But (a dthis is the part that doesn’t have a rational story yet) how doesthat work in the bigger context of ‘one Windows’?

The free update from Windows 7 and 8 is meant to poolthe vast number of Windows users on the same release, ina way that they haven’t really been since Windows 3.x waslaunched. But if businesses have a get-out clause, that breaksthose ambitions from the very outset.

However this works out, Microsoft looks intent on forcingitself to provide the level of service it’s often marketed butnever previously managed to come close to.

One part of me wants to salute its ambitions, and anotherpart is watching through my fingers in morbid fascination as towhat happens next.

Windows 10 is a major departure for Microsoft, so muchthat it really needs the company to reinvent not only its mostimportant product but also itself.

Mark Pickavance

Across1 Denoting a factor of 10-9. (4)3 Produce or fill with a deep, full,reverberating sound. (8)9 Positive movements or trends inbusiness activity (7)10 Node.JS Connect module for thisdomain redirection. (2-3)11 Those who watch examinationcandidates to prevent cheating. (12)13 Of or relating to bears. (6)15 A dwarfed ornamental tree orshrub grown in a tray or shallowpot. (6)17 Each of several possible ways inwhich a set or number of thingscan be ordered or arranged. (12)20 Enter data into a computer. (5)21 Withdraw a rope or hawserfrom a securing ring or block. (7)22 A trivial lie. (5-3)23 A meson involved in holding thenucleus together; produced as theresult of high-energy particlecollision. (4)

Down1 The first nuclear-poweredsubmarine, launched in the USA in1954. (8)2 The digital distribution oftelevision content via the Internet.(3,2)4 Wooden frames for holding anartist’s work while it is being paintedor drawn. (6)

5 Machines designed to achieveflight by means of flapping wings.(12)6 Google’s no visit, no fee onlineadvertising product for businesses.(7)7 King of the English, the eldest sonof King Edmund I and Aelfgifu, andsucceeded his uncle King Edred in955. (4)8 The branch of mathematicsdealing with the relations of thesides and angles of triangles andwith the relevant functions of anyangles. (12)12 German-born Americantheoretical physicist, founder of thespecial and general theories ofrelativity. (8)14 A machine used to project theimage of a circuit inphotolithographic semiconductorfabrication. (7)16 A dormant volcano in theChubu region of Japan. Rising to3,776 m. (2,4)18 Marks used in ancientmanuscripts to mark a word orpassage as spurious, corrupt ordoubtful. (5)19 Popular freely distributed crossplatform software application forimage processing. (4)

THIS WEEK'S CROSSWORD

LAST WEEK'S CROSSWORD

DISCLAIMERThe views expressed bycontributors are not necessarilythose of the publishers. Everycare is taken to ensure that thecontents of the magazine areaccurate but the publisherscannot accept responsibility forerrors. While reasonable care istaken when acceptingadvertisements, the publisherscannot accept any responsibilityfor any resulting unsatisfactorytransactions. As we write this,we’ve just eaten a whole six-pack of mini Danish pastries,and we’re feeling pretty happyabout it, especially because itgives us something else to focuson other than the weird weatherwe’ve been having. One momentit’s sunny, the next it’s rainy. Andwe just happen to have acamping trip organised for the

weekend, so we’ve beenobsessively looking at weatherapps on our smartphone to seewhat the forecasts say. So far,we’ve come to only one definiteconclusion: none of them haveany idea at all what the weatheris going to be like. Some sourcessay lots of sunshine all weekend,others predict only rain, whilesome say it will be mixture. Justto be safe, we’re packing ourraincoats, as well as our flip-flops and sunglasses. Call uspessimists if you like, though,but we don’t think there’s muchchance of us getting a suntanthis weekend. Whateverhappens, though, we’redetermined to enjoy our time inthe great outdoors (a fieldsomewhere in Surrey), even ifmeans we don’t get any morepastries for a couple of days.

Across: 1 TIFF, 3 Whizz-Kid, 9 Modicum, 10 Erode, 11

Coronagraphs, 13 Dynamo, 15 Leeway, 17 Vulture Funds,20 Aurai, 21 Hacking, 22 Handsome, 23 Heat.Down: 1 Timecode, 2 Fader, 4 Homage, 5 Zeeman Effect, 6

Knowhow, 7 Dies, 8 Econometrics, 12 Eyesight, 14

Neutron, 16 Graham, 18 Naive, 19 Path.

nd

Issue 1364 89

or drawn. (6)

Are technology outletstores really good value?

How does RAID work,and is it actuallyworth settingup at home?

How Microsoftis workingto crack thequantumconundrum

Plus the usual mixof news, reviews andadvice

* May be subject to change

Computers,

Technology

And TheOccasio

nal Cat

And TheOccasio

nal Cat

In Next Week sMicro Mart*

’