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VELCOME PGE
3
ISSUE 308 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ OCTOBER 2013
IF YOU HAVE an old PC
that's beginning to chug
a liule under Windows,
maybe it's time to think
about switching to Ubuntu.
The latest version of the
Linux-based operating system has been
wriuen to use fewer processes than previous
versions, making it easier to run on an ageing
PC. Even if your PC is brand-new, this
operating system could be worth a try.
|n our massive guide to Ubuntu (see page
116) we show you how to install the OS and
do everything you can do in Windows. Next
month, we'll continue with some advanced
tools to help you go even further. The best
thing is that Ubuntu is completely free.
Switching to Linux is one way of changing
the way you use computers, but moving to a
diherent type of device completely, such as
a tablet, may suit your needs beuer. We try
out a range of devices in our group test on
page 84, including 7in and 10in models, and
devices running Android, Apple and Windows
operating systems. With prices starting at |ust
129, there's never been a beuer time to buy.
Velcome'
One consequence of our increasingly
digital world is the growing importance of
backing up. Fail to do it properly, and you
could lose all your precious photos, videos
and documents. This month, we've reviewed
10 cloud backup packages (see page 104) to
help you hnd your perfect service. With
cloud backup, your hles are stored securely
online, so they're safe even if your house
burns down or your PC is stolen. We've also
produced a complete guide to backing up,
which explains how long each type of backup
media lasts, so you can make sure that
your local hles will remain safe.
Finally, anyone who wants to make free
money should read our guide to Bitcoin (see
page 140). This internet currency is designed
so that anyone with a PC can |oin in and
make bitcoins, which can be exchanged for
real money. We hnd out if this is a golden
opportunity or a fool's errand, and look into
some of the darker web commerce that this
type of currency facilitates.
Davd LudIow, Editor
david@computersIopper.co.uk
SUBSCRIBE
AND SAVE
CALL 0844 844 0031
OR SEE PAGE 150
QUESTION OF THE MONTH
Vla ro]ecs vould you bacl
or Kiclsarer
Davd LudIow Tom Morgan
Katharne Byrne Chrs Fnnamore
5eth Barton
Andrew Unsworth
Kat Orphandes
A Kickstarter competitor
Anything by David Braben,
as | refuse to believe space
simulations are dead
Sequels to half a dozen
RPCs that were really
popular. in 1993
Nolecular gastronomic
cider, micro-brewed by West
Country hipsters
An army of Pikmin-style
robots so | can be waited on
hand and foot
A Tekken-themed card
trading game
Bionic Eyeballs. |'m tired
of wearing glasses, but that's
the only way | can read
David Robinson
His customers are having email
problems that are all their own fault,
but now they're David's problem, too
Gordon Holmes
Our retired policeman celebrates
a year of writing his column and
outlines the latest threats
David Neal
|t's time to take a stand and defend the
High Street against online shopping,
argues our tech enthusiast
M
E
E
T
T
H
E
T
E
&
M
THIS MONTH'S COLUMNS

Editor David Ludlow JoviJccmotersncerccok
Deputy Editor Chris Finnamore cnrisccmotersncerccok
OnIine Editor Seth Barton setnccmotersncerccok
News Editor Tom Norgan tcmccmotersncerccok
Reviews Editor Andrew Unsworth onJrewccmotersncerccok
Senior StaWriter Kat Orphanides kotccmotersncerccok
StaWriter Katharine Byrne kotnorineccmotersncerccok
PRODUCTION
Production Editor |aney Coulding
Art Editor Colin Nackleworth
CONTRIBUTORS
Bill Bagnall, Careth Beach, Nel Croucher, Kay Ewbank,
Dan Criliopoulos, Steve Haines, Simon Handby,
Cordon Holmes, Alan Lu, David Neal, Ben Piu,
Nik Rawlinson, Heather Reeves, David Robinson
ADVERTISIN6
Eme|| oJssncerJennisccok
6roup Advertising Manager Andrea Nason 020 7907 6662
Advertising Manager Charloue Nilligan 020 7907 66^2
COVER CDJDVDCONTACT
Chris Wiles ccverJiscsccmotersncerccok
SUBSCRIPTIONS
Te| 08^^ 8^^ 00!1 Weo wwwsocsinjcccok
Ul ^^.99, Europe 70, Resl ol wor|d 90
PHOTO6RAPHY
|an Cihak, Russ Nicholas, |ulian Velasques
LICENSIN6 ANDSYNDICATION
Anj Dosej-He|e| 020 7907 61!2 AnDcso-Ho|oiJennisccok
L|cens|ng, Repr|nls, Epr|nls. Wr|ghl's led|e 0800 0S1 8!27
MANA6EMENT
Te| 020 7907 6000
6roup Managing Director len Weslwood
Managing Director }ohn Cerewe|
6roup Advertising Director }u||en L|oyd-Evens
CircuIation Director lerl|n Be|son
Finance Director Breh Reyno|ds
6roup Finance Director len Leggeh
Chief Executive }emes Tye
Chairman Fe||x Denn|s
PRINTIN6
Pr|nled oy Po|esler, B|cesler, Oxon
D|slr|oulors Seymour 020 7^29 ^000
LIABILITY
Wh||e every cere wes leken preper|ng lh|s megez|ne, lhe puo||shers
cennol oe he|d respons|o|e lor lhe eccurecy ol lhe |nlormel|on or
eny consequence er|s|ng lrom |l. A|| judgemenls ere oesed on
equ|pmenl eve||eo|e lo Ccmoter Sncer el lhe l|me ol rev|ew.
'Ve|ue lor money' commenls ere oesed on Ul pr|ces el l|me ol
rev|ew. Ccmoter Sncer lekes no respons|o||ly lor lhe conlenl ol
exlerne| weos|les whose eddresses ere puo||shed |n lhe megez|ne.
COUPTFR SHOPPFR lNCORPORATFS PCRADF SHOPPFR,
CAUFS SHOPPFR, lNTFRNFT SHOPPFR, UOBlLF SHOPPFR, PC
SHOPPFR, PORTABLF SHOPPFR AND SOFTWARF SHOPPFR
36,002 (average monthly sales |an-Dec 2011)
ADENNIS PUBLICATION
Ccmoter Sncer |s puo||shed oy Denn|s Puo||sh|ng Lld, !0
C|eve|end Slreel, London W1T ^}D. Compeny reg|slered |n Eng|end.
A|| meler|e| Denn|s Puo||sh|ng L|m|led ||censed oy Fe|den 2011, end
mey nol oe reproduced |n who|e or perl w|lhoul lhe consenl ol lhe
puo||shers. lSSN 09SS-8S78
CopyrighI Dennis Publishing LimiIed.
4 OCTOBER 2013 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 308
p84
Lean
146 Business Help
Our res|denl experl enswers lhose pers|slenl
sohwere quer|es
148 Helphle
Slep lh|s wey lor he|p w|lh e|| your herdwere
end W|ndows proo|ems
152 Web Expert
Weo lremeworks end shered code ere e greel
wey lo seve on deve|opmenl l|me when
slerl|ng e new projecl, seys Nik Paw|inson
155 Multimedia Expert
W|sh your voce| record|ngs were |n lune?
P|lch-men|pu|el|on ehecls cen he|p you w|lh
lhel end more oes|des, es Ben Pin exp|e|ns |n
h|s comprehens|ve gu|de
158 Business Expert
Runn|ng e compeny doesn'l meen you
heve lo resorl lo peper lorms end cheques.
5imon Handby shows you how lo run your
compeny enl|re|y on||ne
Contents
Issue 308 Dcteber 2013
p74
p84
p116
p104
p140
p22
116 The Ultimate
Guide to Linux
F|nd oul how lo do everylh|ng
|n L|nux lhel you cen do
|n W|ndows, oul lor lree.
David Lud|ow exp|e|ns how
lo gel slerled w|lh Uounlu |n
lhe hrsl perl ol our exheusl|ve gu|de
140 Bitcoin: Homemade money
W|lh e B|lco|n c||enl on your PC, you cen
creele your own money. Dan Cri|iopou|os
hnds oul whelher |l's e go|dm|ne or e loo|'s
errend end ponders lhe proo|em ol shedy
dee|s end |||ege| lrensecl|ons
Reulas
6 Letters
Your monlh|y m|ss|ves ol w|l end w|sdom
11 Under Development
A cuslomer hes e proo|em w|lh h|s eme||,
wh|ch meens David Pobinson hes e
proo|em, even |l |l's nol h|s leu|l
12 Byte Back
The deelh ol lhe H|gh Slreel |s lesl
epproech|ng, oul |l's nol |nev|leo|e.
ll's l|me lo leke e slend, seys David Nea|
15 Cybercop
ll's Cybercop's hrsl enn|versery, wh|ch |s e
good l|me lo leke slock end see how ler
we've come |n lhe hghl ege|nsl cyoercr|me
16 Rants & Raves
Ne| so|ves lhe proo|em ol lex evo|dence,
wh||e Katharine lh|nks gem|hcel|on hes
gone loo ler, loo lesl
18 Top 10
Reg|sler|ng weo dome|ns shou|d oe done
w|lh cere, es lhese exemp|es demonslrele
162 Zygote
Th|s monlh Zygote worr|es lhel we m|ghl
e|| end up on lhe Po||ce Nel|one| Compuler
Nevs
20 Newshle
Our round-up ol lhe |elesl lechno|og|ce| evenls
Z4f6l
$fl0ll
CONTENTS
S
ISSUE 308 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ OCTOBER 2013
26 PCs & Laptops
We rev|ew lhe Lenovo Yoge 11S converl|o|e
|eplop, en U|lreoook lhel cen run !D gemes
end lhree hol new Heswe|| PCs
36 Handhelds
The B|eckBerry QS |s cheep, oul |s |l greel
ve|ue? We e|so rev|ew lhe Semsung Ce|exy
Young end lhe oerge|n Huewe| Ascend P2
40 Photography
The N|kon D7100 |s lhe oesl DSLR we've seen.
F|nd oul why |n our phologrephy secl|on
46 Displays
We pul V|ewSon|c's oudgel louchscreen
mon|lor, lhe TD2^20, lo lhe lesl
48 Home Cinema
We rev|ew lhe oesl p|esme TV we've ever seen,
lhe Peneson|c TX-P60ZT6SB
52 Audio
Rep|ece your eg|ng h|-h w|lh lhe Denon
Ceo| P|cco|o med|e slreem|ng syslem end
|Pod dock, or enjoy lhe Sony XBA-NC8S
no|se-cence|||ng eerphones
54 Video
F|nd oul how lo gel Sky TV on e oudgel
w|lh lhe 10 Now TV oox
55 Printers & Scanners
Brolher |mpresses w|lh lhe sw|h lFC-
9!!0CDW, end we rev|ew lhe compecl
A!-pr|nl|ng HP Ohcejel 7110
Coup Tes!s
84 Tablet Megatest
A leo|el |s greel lor
orows|ng lhe |nlernel,
welch|ng mov|es end
even p|ey|ng gemes,
oul wh|ch one's oesl
lor you? We rev|ew 1S
ol lhe |elesl mode|s el pr|ces
lo su|l eny oudgel
104 Online Backup
ll you wenl lo keep your
h|es sele lrom hre, lheh
end herdwere le||ure, c|oud
slorege |s lhe |dee|
so|ul|on. Reed our group
lesl ol lhe 10 mosl
popu|er serv|ces lo hnd
oul wh|ch you shou|d use
lo prolecl your dele
Revevs
74Your soItvare
p116
Kingsoh Omce is
a full suite of omce
applications, and a
perfect alternative
to NS Omce while
still providing
compatibility
with Nicrosoh's
document formats.
56 Storage
Slreem med|e w|re|ess|y lrom USB dr|ves end
SD cerds w|lh l|ngslon's loo||eL|le W|re|ess
57 Networks
ll's nol prehy, oul lhe B||||on B|PAC 7800DXL
rouler hes e wee|lh ol h|gh-end leelures
58 Components
Overc|ockers w||| |ove lhe C|geoyle Z87X-OC,
wh||e lhe XFX R7770 Core Ed|l|on proves lhel
good greph|cs needn'l oe expens|ve
60 Software
F|nd oul why Ser|l PegeP|us X7 |s lhe oesl
oudgel desklop puo||sh|ng peckege, end meke
mus|c lor |ess w|lh Sle|noerg Cuoese E|emenls 7
62 Games
We rev|ew ree|-l|me slrelegy geme
Compeny ol Heroes 2 end Y-/en com|c
oook l|e-|n Deedpoo|
64 Business
Logleln Pro mekes |l eesy lo edm|n|sler your
PC remole|y, wh||e lhe Syno|ogy DS1S1! NAS
enc|osure |mpresses us w|lh |ls power
66 Best Buys
Look|ng lor e|| lhe oesl k|l we've rev|ewed
recenl|y? ll's e|| |n one p|ece |n our Besl
Buys secl|on
76 HowWe Test
Our comprehens|ve lesls, rel|ngs end
ewerds exp|e|ned
C OCTOBER 2013 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 308
Leers
Tle summer lea is eir o us all lis morl as readers le o seam
abou irl carrides, SSDs, Bioslocl ame saves, smarlore revievs,
oler readers ard every versior o Virdovs rom ML o 8
CONTACT
LETTERS
leuers@computershopper.co.uk
London W1T 4|D
are all |ust money-grabbing
toadies. Take your choice.
Chris Wo|ders|ode
| have a Canon NP610. |
haven't updated the
hrmware, but |'ve found that if |
use non-Canon inks the scanner
refuses to work, and the device
tells me | need to go back to
using Canon ink before it will
work again. The photocopying
function on the printer works,
though. |t's very annoying.
Luckily, | have a dedicated
scanner that | use to scan
negatives but which | now use
to scan documents, too.
Andy Toy|cr
We agree IhaI Fpson should be
lree Io recommend which ink
you use in iIs prinIers, buI we
Ihink IhaI arIihcially sIopping
you using whichever carIridges
you wanI is unlair and seIs a
dangerous precedenI. We
cerIainly wouldn'I appreciaIe iI il
we were lorced Io use Fpson's
own-brand paper, lor example.
As lor Canon, we've read IhaI
Ihe UP610 won'I scan il iI Ihinks
iI's ouI ol ink, buI IhaI iI disables
iIsell il you use compaIible inks
Ioo. As ink has noIhing Io do
wiIh scanning, Ihis is hardly lair.
We'll conIinue Io collecI such
sIories wiIh a view Io conIacIing
Ihe Omce ol Fair Trading.
BRASSED OFF
Having read the leuer
'Crash Course' (Leuers, 5hopper
307) |'d like to relate my own
experiences regarding SSDs.
| had a hard disk-based PC
that ran faultlessly on Windows
7, but it was geuing old. | built
a replacement using an Asus
P8Z77-V LX motherboard and a
256CB SSD. The build proved
disastrous as Windows 7 would
freeze regularly, if not crash, and
most of the applications also
WINDOWS 8
NOT HD READY
| avoided upgrading my PCs to
Windows 8 as | couldn't see the
point in learning a new system.
However, | recently acquired a
PC for use as an HTPC that
already has Windows 8 on it.
At hrst, | was impressed by
the fast boot times and easy
connection to my Panasonic
HD-ready plasma TV, and was
even prepared to overlook the
fact that | couldn't hnd a simple
way of closing it down. When |
tried to run any app from the
main Start screen, though, it
|ust refused to run because the
resolution was too low.
|'m running the PC at the
TV's native 1,280x720 resolution
to get the best picture but none
of the apps will run at that
resolution, and the only solution
suggested is to increase it.
This is a ludicrous situation,
and |'ve seen no mention of it in
any of the various Windows 8
write-ups. Nicrosoh's
developers may all use high-
resolution touchscreen PCs, but
they should recognise that the
real world isn't necessarily like
KICK UP A STINK
Like David Clowes
('Caveat Epson', Leuers, 5hopper
307), | downloaded Epson's
hrmware update under the
mistaken impression that Epson
was a company | could trust. As
a result, |'ve had to pay 120 to
buy Epson cartridges for a |ob |
was doing for charity, and have
wasted 40 on the non-Epson
cartridges | bought for this |ob,
and which are now useless. Now
| know what the update was for.
What a bunch of skunks!
Crohom Sturdy
|'ve |ust read the
moaning leuer from
someone who was upset that
Epson has used hrmware that
ensures its printers only use the
company's own ink. The chap
was really upset, claiming that
this move was anti-competitive.
Let me ask this: what would
you do if you were the boss of
Epson? Take this scenario as an
example. Someone buys a new
printer and instead of using the
manufacturer's recommended
ink, they shove in a cartridge
from Crappo |nks. |nstead of the
recommended super-runny
mini-moleculed ink, Crappo |nks
uses what look like globs of
superglue, and seconds later the
printer stop working.
Now |'m not a beuing man,
but |'d chance my arm that most
people caught out like this
would whinge and whine to the
printer company, moaning that
their machine had stopped
working. Few, if any, would be on
to Crappo |nks to say their ink
had bricked their printer.
Those clever printer chaps
seem to have found a way to
close that loophole, and who can
blame them, knowing how many
sub-standard ink cartridges
there are on the market. Either
that, or the printer companies
that. Needless to say, |'ll be
'upgrading' the PC to Windows 7
at the earliest opportunity.
Mike Lcng
We were surprised when we read
your leuer, buI aler some IesIing
we see IhaI almosI all naIive
Windows 8 SIarI screen apps
require a horizonIal resoluIion ol
aI leasI 768 pixels Io run. This is
a pain lor anyone wiIh an 'HD
ready' plasma TV, as opposed Io
a Full HD one. However, Ihose ol
you who wanI Io use a Windows
8 HTPC wiIh an older LCD TV will
be hne, as Ihese usually have
resoluIions ol 1,366x768 pixels.
APPY SLAP
With reference to the
leuer 'Bon Appetit' (Leuers,
5hopper 307) - | like the camera
coverage and have no interest in
apps. Keep the cameras please.
Kevin Sing|etcn
As a Iechnology magazine, we
aim Io cover as many diherenI
Iypes ol Iech as possible, buI
Ihere are only so many pages in
Ihe magazine. We're glad you like
Ihe camera coverage, and we
have no inIenIion ol removing iI.
We're sIill considering wheIher
or noI Io increase our coverage
ol apps Ihough.

Windows Apps require a horizonta| reso|ution of at |east 768 pixe|s to run

LETTERS

ISSUE 308 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ OCTOBER 2013

Sar leer

went into self-contemplation

mode when it suited them.
As | couldn't prove that the
SSD was responsible, | acquired
a replica and cloned the
installation to it. The results
were beuer, but the PC still
"spent time away" on occasion.
Then | decided to build a PC
for my son using a standard
hard disk, and had no problems
at all. The moral seems to be
that if you're buying an SSD,
choose a reputable and reliable
model rather than opting for
outright speed.
Deryck Bo||ingtcn
Several ol us aI Shcer have
SSDs in our PCs, and so lar
we haven'I experienced Ihe
problems you describe. While
we can IesI SSDs lor real-world
perlormance, we can'I |udge
how reliable a drive will be in
Ihe long Ierm. ll any readers are
having Irouble wiIh a parIicular
make or model ol SSD in Iheir
PC, we'd like Io hear lrom Ihem.
SMARTPHONE
SHOPPERZ
|n his leuer ('Bon Appetit',
5hopper 307), |ames Nillward
suggests adding more
smartphone reviews. Not for
me, thanks - |'m tired of
reading about mobile phones
in computer magazines. |f |
wanted to read about them
|'d buy a magazine dedicated
to them. | have a mobile phone.
|t cost me 29. | spend about
3 a year on PAYC. | |ust can't
hnd a use for one except in
an emergency.
| buy a computer magazine
to read about computers. |'m
tired of reading other things in
them, and | doubt |'ll continue
to subscribe to the three |
currently buy for much longer.
Lonce|ct Borrcn
We're sorry you're noI keen on
smarIphone reviews. We leel
iI's imporIanI Io cover Ihem, as
modern smarIphones are really
compuIers, wiIh operaIing
sysIems and sIorage space, and
Ihey run programs and games.
SmarIphones and IableIs also
ouIsell IradiIional compuIers by
a large margin, so a Iechnology
magazine wouldn'I be compleIe
wiIhouI covering Ihem.
BURNING BLUES
For years |'ve used a
program in Windows XP called
Drag'n Drop CD by DigiOn |nc
to record data to CDs. | found
this program extremely easy to
use and it suited my needs. |'d
now like to install it on a laptop
with Windows 7 but can't
hnd it anywhere - either by
searching the web or checking
your cover discs back to 2007
(the earliest |'ve kept). |'d be
grateful if you could assist me
in locating the program.
Pcd Brccm
lI appears IhaI DigiOn was
boughI by Fasy SysIems |apan
lnc, which has eiIher gone busI
or sIopped mainIaining Ihe
solware. Don'I worry, Ihough,
as Windows 7 has builI-in drag
and drop CD and DVD copying.
When you hrsI Iry Io copy hles
Io a blank disc, iI will ask il you
wanI Io use Ihe disc like a lash
drive, Io copy, deleIe and read
hles as you wish, or as a
wriIe-once disc. Discs made
wiIh Ihe hrsI meIhod work on
any PC running Windows XP or
laIer, buI il you wanI Io use Ihe
disc wiIh oIher sysIems or wiIh
appliances such as a DVD
player, you'll need Io use Ihe
wriIe-once meIhod.
SHOCK HORROR
| wonder if you actually
played Bioshock |nhnite for
the review in which you gave it
hve stars. Why? You didn't
mention the mess 2K made of
the save system. |ust Coogle
"Bioshock |nhnite Save Came"
to see what | mean. | will be
very sceptical of any future
reviews in 5hopper because
of this omission.
Dr Cuy Simmcns
SISTEM ERROR
Nicrosoh support for Windows XP
ends on 8th April 2014. That doesn't mean the
OS is immediately dead, but over time it will
become less and less secure. | have a seven-
year-old and much loved Acer Aspire 5002
WLNi laptop that |'d like to keep in use. Vista
ran too slowly, so naturally | assumed Linux
would be the obvious OS to install on it.
| tried and failed to install several of the
LTS versions of Ubuntu and even Lubuntu, the
version for old hardware. The installation went
well but the desktop failed to appear. A liule
internet research revealed that Ubuntu
doesn't support the laptop's S|S video chipset,
and even if you get it working, all you can
expect is a 640x480 screen resolution.
So for all those people with old hardware
and, in particular, S|S graphics chipsets, |'d like
to recommend LXLE - Lubuntu Extra Life
Extension. |t supports S|S and boots in one
minute and 45 seconds (including the time
it takes me to type in my password). |t also
shadows the omcial Lubuntu release so it stays
up to date. As a good-looking, fully featured
version of Linux, LXLE ticks all the boxes.
We're lans ol using LubunIu Io resurrecI old
compuIers, buI LXLF seems Io be an excellenI
alIernaIive lor dealing wiIh pesky graphics
incompaIibiliIies. Thank you lor Ihe Iip.

LXLE Linux cou|d breathe new |ife into an o|d

|aptop, and is compatib|e with the 5I5 chipset
LETTERS
8 OCTOBER 2013 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 308
There are some who were
annoyed IhaI Bioshock lnhniIe
doesn'I have a manual save
sysIem and insIead saves Ihe
game when you reach a cerIain
checkpoinI. We preler having
checkpoinIs Io consIanIly hiuing
Ihe quicksave key, which we leel
Iakes away lrom Ihe challenge
and breaks immersion.
However, we agree IhaI Ihe
checkpoinIs in Bioshock lnhniIe
were someIimes Ioo lar aparI.
This wasn'I a problem lrom a
combaI poinI ol view, as we Ihink
Ihe game's respawning sysIem
made even dimculI combaI
sequences lair, buI iI was
annoying when we'd gone 20
minuIes wiIhouI a checkpoinI
and wanIed Io go Io bed.
Ol Ihe Ihree sIah members
who played Bioshock lnhniIe
all Ihe way Ihrough, however,
only one experienced annoyance
aI Ihe disIances beIween
checkpoinIs, so we don'I leel iI's
a lundamenIal law in Ihe game.
XPIRY DATE
Thank you, Richard
Sanders, for echoing my concern
over the demise of XP ('Crash
course', Leuers, 5hopper 307).
Richard's XP PC is stable, but his
Windows 7 isn't - a view you
reinforce in your answer. |f we
add that Windows 8, while
stable, isn't an ideal Desktop
experience, where does that
leave us? 5hopper used the
analogy of a 13-year-old car,
saying "it's time to move on". Ny
2001 BNW 5 series still provides
perfect service. |f Nicrosoh
were a car manufacturer, it
would be bust aher Windows
NE, Vista and 8 for not
satisfying the consumer.
|'ve trawled the net for
predictions on what will happen
aher XP support stops. Nany
businesses will continue to use
it, but there are no articles on
what will really happen aher
April 2014. Can Nicrosoh and
the world really ahord to leave
potentially over a third of
Desktop users open to criminal
auacks? Nany users have no
idea that their operating system
will no longer be supported
within the year.
The impact of XP support
withdrawal hasn't been fully
addressed. Users need to make
informed choices concerning the
applications they run on their
PCs. So what will really happen?
What are the potential risks?
Pou| Sonderscn
Windows XP has been a reliable
workhorse lor lar longer Ihan
anyone expecIed, and having Io
upgrade will be a headache lor
many organisaIions, buI we leel
iI's Ioo much Io expecI Uicrosol
Io conIinue spending Iime and
money releasing securiIy updaIes
lor an operaIing sysIem IhaI's
anIediluvian in compuIing Ierms.
lI's like expecIing BUW Io
conIinue Io work on your car lor
lree 12 years aler you boughI iI.
The risks ol using XP aler
Ihe supporI ends are numerous.
There will be no more securiIy
updaIes lor Ihe core OS, and
new versions ol web browsers
and anIi-virus programs may no
longer be compaIible. This in Iurn
will leave your PC open Io auack
lrom all kinds ol malware. While
we can'I predicI whaI will happen
Io businesses IhaI conIinue Io
use XP on inIerneI-connecIed
machines, we recommend IhaI
all Shcer readers upgrade Io
Windows 7 or 8 or swiIch Io an
alIernaIive such as Linux.
J CUSTOM PCS
We IesI a varieIy ol PCs and upgrades Io
help you hnd Ihe perlecI combinaIion ol
componenIs lor your needs
J BUILD A COMPACT GAMING PC
Why waiI lor a nexI-generaIion console
when you can build a more versaIile
compacI gaming PC? We show you how
NLXT MONTH
J THE NEWWEB MONOPOLIES
We invesIigaIe wheIher Ihe growIh ol
inIerneI gianIs wiIh near-limiIless power and
resources is sIiling consumer choice
J WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY
WhaI's besI lor snapping a big caI? We
compare ulIra-zooms wiIh SLR lenses Io hnd
how besI Io capIure disIanI sub|ecIs
J TV MEGATEST
TVs wiIh powerlul SmarI leaIures
are beuer value Ihan ever. We IesI
all Ihe laIesI HD models
J ULTIMATE LINUX GUIDE PART 2
We explore bunIu 13.04's advanced leaIures,
lrom backing up and repairing your insIallaIion
Io running Windows applicaIions
O
N
S
A
L
E
i
n
n
e
w
s
a
g
e
n
I
s
l
r
o
m
1
9
I
h
A
u
g
u
s
I
WRITE IN
AND WIN
Do you wish your computer
was faster when booting and
loading applications? Thanks
to Crucial, you can achieve
your dream of a faster PC or
laptop with the N500 SSD.
The writer of our Star leuer
will be awarded one of these
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This super-fast SATA3
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UNDER DEVELOPMENT
ll
ISSUE 308 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ OCTOBER 2013
EmaI ntuton
Vler email ails, i's emir o blame a auly rouer or a dody irerre correcior.
Davd Robnson rales vil ar oversued irbox ard ar irabiliy o say oodbye
WE'RE SO USED Io email, iI's
as lamiliar as Iap waIer. BuI il a
waIer supply dries up, you can'I
wash, drink or swill Ihe muck oh
Ihe car. Similarly, wiIh email, when
iI's noI working, all hell breaks
loose and Ihe howling is worIhy
ol a werewoll convenIion in
WhiIby on Hallowe'en.
|im's company has a hisIory ol
email sysIem lailure. |im, you'll
remember, is a suave version ol
Fmng |eh. His swearing is more
genIeel, buI underneaIh is Ihe
same raw ambiIion and disregard
lor anyIhing IhaI involves deIail.
He uses Ihe same email meIhod,
his PA receives Ihe mail, prinIs
Ihe message and plonks iI on his
desk or, il he's away, laxes iI Io
him. Forward Io a Blackberry? No
chance. So much lor modern Iech.
ll Ihe email sysIem is down,
|im's sIah see iI as one Ihing
IhaI's "gone wrong", buI a whole
company's email may lail because
a) an inIerneI connecIion is down,
b) you've been blacklisIed, and c)
your email server is noI working.
Your inIerneI connecIion
being down could be due Io a
broken rouIer, or somebody
screwing up Ihe seuings. lI could
be a bad swiIch or cable on your
local neIwork. Workmen could
have cuI Ihrough Ihe phone cable
beIween you and Ihe exchange.
Your local exchange mighI have
an equipmenI issue. Your lSP may
have mucked up iIs solware. Your
DNS seuings may "somehow"
have goI messed up. You mighI
have (ahem) lorgoI Io pay Ihe
bill, and Ihe lSP wiped your DNS
seuings clean. You can Iick every
one ol Ihose reasons wiIh |im.
BLACK PAINS
Then Ihere's Ihe quesIion ol
blacklisIing. This is mosI likely Io
ahecI your abiliIy Io send mail.
UxToolbox.com lisIs S8 diherenI
blacklisIs, Ihe operaIors ol which
moniIor email Iramc and have
various ways ol deIecIing people
sending ouI spam. Spam hlIer
solware runs a check againsI
Ihose blacklisIs Io see il your
incoming mail originaIed lrom
a lisIed source. ll iI did, Ihe
message geIs re|ecIed.
How do you geI blacklisIed?
You mighI Ihink IhaI relraining
lrom sending spam messages
abouI miracle drugs or helping
dodgy Alrican princes launder
money would make you immune.
Sadly noI. A loI ol virus acIiviIy
and malware is direcIed aI Iaking
conIrol ol your compuIer Io use
iI as a spam Iransmiuer. Spammers
don'I care il Ihe blacklisIs ban you
- Ihey |usI move on Io some oIher
sucker. Coogle "email blacklisI
removal" Io hnd ouI how Io geI
delisIed. |im's company has been
blacklisIed on Ihree occasions,
each due Io malware acIiviIy.
lI's very hard Io Irack down
exacIly who runs many ol Ihe
blacklisIs, or hnd ouI where
Ihey're based, or even whaI rules
Ihey apply. Coogling "email
blacklisI regulaIor" or similar
brings up loads ol links, none ol
which are relevanI Io Ihe quesIion
ol who waIches Ihe waIchers. ll
an erroneous or malicious lisIing
leads Io a company incurring
exIra cosIs or loss ol business, iI
seems Ihere's precious liule IhaI
company can do abouI iI beyond
requesIing Io be un-lisIed.
DELETING PROBLEMS
AnoIher common email abuse is
Ihe pracIice ol hoarding old
messages. |im's sIah recenIly
reporIed IhaI Ihe nighIly backup
was consisIenIly lailing. The Iape
drive had a capaciIy ol close Io a
IerabyIe buI was geuing hlled up
belore all Ihe daIa was copied.
As Ihe accounIing and oIher viIal
daIa amounIed Io 6CB, iI was a
mysIery as Io whaI was Iaking up
Ihe oIher 994CB. lnvesIigaIion
revealed IhaI mosI ol iI was old
email. Fily users Iimes roughly
20CB each, and bang goes your
spare space. The worsI culpriI
had 37CB ol ancienI messages. ll
you asked him Io hnd anyIhing
among Ihe morass ol old special
ohers and Facebook noIihcaIions
he didn'I sIand a chance.
The excuse mosI people gave
was "needing Io preserve daIa,
|usI in case" buI Ihis didn'I bear
scruIiny as mosI ol Ihe saved
messages were |unk. The |unky
ones are Ihe real space-hoggers,
as Ihey're olen loaded wiIh
graphics, whereas Ihe imporIanI
3S-page supplier conIracI
wouldn'I occupy more Ihan a lew
kilobyIes, and why would you use
someIhing as insecure as your
mail clienI inbox as Ihe primary
sIore lor someIhing so viIal?
Faced wiIh Ihe possibiliIy ol
Ielling |im he'd need Io spend
megabucks on upping Ihe
backup capaciIy, Finance DirecIor
Uike decided Io Iake acIion. He
decreed a cull ol all messages
over 12 monIhs old. Uike led
lrom Ihe lronI, deleIing 7,600
messages lrom his OuIlook
inbox. LaIer IhaI day, he phoned
me, moaning abouI boomerang
mail. Ihe messages were all back
again. l poinIed ouI IhaI deleIed
messages go inIo a Recycle Bin
and asked him Io check IhaI he'd
noI inadverIenIly resIored Ihem.
He assured me he'd noI.
l used remoIe access Io Iake
over his machine and did Ihe |ob
lor him. "HasIa la visIa" l said,
believing l was saying goodbye.
BuI Ihe messages came back,
TerminaIor-sIyle. l asked engineer
Carry il Uike had daIa
synchronisaIion insIalled IhaI
could be leIching Ihem back
lrom anoIher daIa sIore, buI
Carry said noI. UysIerious. We
evenIually had Io selecI a couple
ol hundred messages aI a Iime,
deleIing Ihem, Ihen empIying Ihe
DeleIed lIems lolder. l should
have remembered IhaI Ihe liIeral
meaning ol Ihe Spanish phrase is
'see you laIer'. Perhaps we should
call Ihis Ihe HasIa la VisIa bug?
DAVID ROBINSON
Sohware and systems developer
davidr@computershopper.co.uk
You miIt tIink reIrainin Irom sendin
spam about miracIe drus vouId make you
immune to bIackIistin. SadIy not
BYTE BCK
l2 OCTOBER 2013 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 308
THE HI6H STREET is hanging by
a Ihread, and someone needs Io
grab hold ol iI belore iI disappears.
lI's weird how dire Ihe
siIuaIion has goI in |usI a lew
shorI years. l remember, noI all
IhaI long ago, sIanding in a
camera shop and asking Ihe
auending chap il he could maIch
an inIerneI price. He didn'I so
much laugh me ouI ol his shop
as shove me ouI on Ihe end ol
a spike. Perhaps pressured by
Ihe low prices ol rivals such as
Amazon, he lound my requesI a
biI annoying. Why did he have
Io maIch Ihe price ol a business
wiIh such diherenI overheads?
He wanIed Io run a business
wiIhouI geuing hassled by beaky
geeks looking Io shave a hver oh
Ihe price ol a 3-megapixel camera.
l'm glad Io see IhaI hve years
laIer, his independenI camera
shop is sIill going. Sadly, iI's
surrounded by shops IhaI are
lolding or closing down Io Ihe
pressures presenIed by Ihe
inIerneI. The High SIreeI has
more whiIewashed windows
Ihese days Ihan open ones, and
more signs saying Closed Ihan
'Come in'. lI's preuy depressing,
and - lor me, aI leasI - Ihe
absence ol WoolworIhs on Ihe
High SIreeI is sIill keenly lelI.
EMPORIA STRIKES BACK
Soon enough, Ihere will be young
lolk who can'I even remember
whaI a WoolworIhs was. l'll Iell
you whaI iI was. lI was an
emporium. lI was a place IhaI
could be relied on Io have exacIly
whaI you needed. l boughI
everyIhing in WoolworIhs, lrom
vinyl albums Io noIepads and
enough pick 'n' mix Io keep a
primary school humming unIil
Ihe middle ol Ihe nexI decade.
These days, ol course, Amazon is
WoolworIhs. ll you wanI some
American candy, underpanIs,
a book, a haI, or some good
old-lashioned crap and IaI,
Amazon's your place.
lI's possibly easier lor
Amazon on Ihe reIail side. WiIh a
lew well-placed sIorage laciliIies
and loIs ol vans, iI has Ihe perlecI
neIwork lor commerce. Plus, iI
doesn'I have Io deal wiIh people
much, or Iheir incessanI haggling
abouI prices. You go Io Amazon,
check Ihe price, iI's usually low,
so you buy. Amazon, which has
been around since 1999, has
slowly and surely nailed reIail.
OFF THE BEATEN TRACK
This year, in whaI l can only call
an acI ol benevolence, Amazon
backdaIed people's purchases Io
1999 and digiIised Ihem. The
Uichael BolIon casseue l may
have boughI lor a Uillennium
parIy is probably siuing in my
Amazon Cloud Player as an UP3
IhaI l can download and en|oy all
over again. A casseue. digiIised!
l didn'I even have Io ask lor iI.
NoI IhaI l would have done.
ThaI's music Iaken care ol,
buI suppose Amazon does Ihis
lor books or DVDs? Uany a
house is lull ol purchased hard
copies ripe lor Iurning inIo binary.
ll Amazon licks a swiIch and
pours all IhaI DVD and book
conIenI inIo our luIures, iI would
be a very generous gil indeed.
lI wouldn'I be easy, Ihough,
and iI would also be counIer-
inIuiIive. Amazon presumably
makes good money Ihrough Ihe
Kindle, and would have Io do
some lancy hnagling wiIh hlm
hrms il iI were Io lree up digiIal
copies ol copyrighIed conIenI.
lI would also mean we would
be slowly ridding ourselves ol
any possessions, bar a small
collecIion ol IableI-shaped media
sIreaming devices, and could end
up siuing in rooms wiIh all Ihe
charm ol your average morgue.
SIill, l'm noI sure Ihe average
consumer will care all IhaI much.
As we consider Amazon, we sense
iI can do no wrong. Lovehlm, iIs
TV and movies on-demand service,
is carrying iIs weighI, and Ihe
service's hard-copy renIal arm is
moving away lrom Ihe high-cosI
business ol video game lending.
Amazon's populariIy is even
more amazing when you consider
Ihe lurore over iIs generous Iax
arrangemenIs. As one ol a legion
ol hrms accused ol working Ihe
Iax sysIem, iI pays a Iiny amounI
on seriously chunky revenues. By
scauering iIs operaIions around
Ihe globe, iI Iakes advanIage ol
lenienI Iax regimes, wiIh an army
ol accounIanIs exploiIing every
loophole Ihere is. When Ihe IruIh
abouI Amazon's creaIive yeI
legal accounIing came ouI, many
consumers swore Io boycou.
Well, l haven'I seen Ihe hgures yeI,
buI l doubI Amazon has suhered
much. Aler all, expensive cohee
shops don'I pay much Iax eiIher,
and people don'I mind handing
over crisp hvers lor a mocha-
lrappucini-smooIhie and a bun.
WHAT'S IN STOREZ
WheIher you like Ihe way iI does
business or noI, Amazon seems
Io be in rude healIh, so leI's Iurn
our auenIions back Io Ihe High
SIreeI. This year, we almosI losI
CAUF and HUV - Iwo places
IhaI have given Ieenagers (and
men in Iheir IhirIies) High SIreeI
solace lor decades. The prices in
Ihese sIores are comparable Io
Iheir online equivalenIs, and il
you can deal wiIh someone lace Io
lace, Ihe mechanics ol in-person
shopping aren'I Ioo onerous.
Amazon will probably be
around long aler l'm gone, and
will probably sIill be digiIising my
record collecIion, so l needn'I
worry abouI IhaI. However, l do
worry abouI all Ihe sIores l grew
up wiIh, and Ihe |obs, space and
browsing Ihey oher. People, iI's
Iime Io Iake Ihe power back!
LeI's Iake Io Ihe sIreeIs and
indulge in some qualiIy lace-Io-
lace shopping. lI can'I hurI. nless
one ol us geIs hiI by a bus.
DAVID NEAL
Freelance |ournalist
leuers@computershopper.co.uk
TIe HiI Street Ias more vIite-
vasIed vindovs tIan open ones. TIe
absence oI VooIvortIs is keenIy IeIt
Hgh anxety
Moved by le rosalia o los veelerds varderir le aisles o lis avourie slos,
Davd NeaI ures us o slasl some casl or le Hil Sree beore i's ore orever
.! ''.ede. 'e.. /'' g's ese.ved. ''.ede. 'e., /'C, ''''', .d 'ege.d., e'|', .e .de..'s o..ed |, ''.ede. 'e. '.d.s.es '/' o. s
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ISSUE 308 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ OCTOBER 2013
AnnuaI revew
Aer a year o serlir service as our resider cyberco, Cordon HoImes decides o ale
socl o le roress made by bol le crimirals ard le lav erorcemer aers
I CAN SCARCELY believe iI,
buI aler reviewing some ol Ihe
previous Iopics explored in Ihis
column, l've realised IhaI l have
been conIribuIing Io Shcer
lor more Ihan a year now. So,
have we, as ciIizens concerned
wiIh inIerneI saleIy, made any
progress in Ihe pasI year? lI's
Irue IhaI online commerce and
communicaIion have Iouched
almosI every aspecI ol our lives,
buI are we winning Ihe war
againsI cybercrime? l suppose iI's
sIill Ioo early Io Iell buI we have,
Io my knowledge, done very well
in a couple ol recenI baules.
Uy ex-colleagues aI Ihe
UeIropoliIan Police CenIral
e-crime niI scored a big success
in early |une wiIh Ihe prosecuIion
ol Ihree people engaged in an
inIernaIional phishing scam. This
gang was responsible lor Ihe
creaIion ol more Ihan 2,600
phishing pages and, upon arresI,
were lound Io hold Ihe deIails ol
30,000 bank cusIomers worldwide.
Ol Ihose compromised deIails
recovered, 12,S00 were lrom Ihe K.
Financial Fraud AcIion, Ihe
K banking inIelligence uniI,
esIimaIed IhaI up Io S9 million
ol lraud had been prevenIed
Ihanks Io Ihis invesIigaIion. The
Ihree involved were senIenced
Io eighI, seven and hve years'
imprisonmenI. lI's a greaI resulI,
buI an indicaIion IhaI phishing
remains noI only prevalenI buI
also lucraIive, drawing in more
cybercriminals Io plunder
unsuspecIing vicIims.
THE FEAR FACTOR
So why does phishing conIinue Io
be ehecIive? We have already
discussed Ihe advances in
phishing Iechniques. These
advances are noI parIicularly
Iechnical, buI Ihe social
engineering aspecIs have
become more sophisIicaIed,
playing on our lears wiIh
hooks such as "we have lound
suspicious acIiviIy on your
accounI" and inviIing us Io verily
our deIails. People are sIill lalling
lor phishing emails, some ol
which are very convincing, so
please do Iake Iime Io look aI
Ihe advice ohered by siIes such
as hu.//getso[ecn|ine.crg.
Luckily, Ihe law enlorcemenI
response in Ihe K is undergoing
an evoluIion, wiIh Ihe soon-Io-
be-lormed NaIional Crime Agency
incorporaIing a dedicaIed
cyberIeam. lnIernaIional
cooperaIion wiIh agencies such
as Ihe FBl, Furopol and lnIerpol,
while good aI presenI, will geI
even beuer as cybercrime
leaIures more prominenIly
on governmenI agendas.
CovernmenIs are now
becoming more engaged wiIh Ihe
problem, largely as a resulI ol Ihe
economic downIurn. Large-scale
daIa breaches are seen as
harmlul Io business, Io say
noIhing ol Ihose neIwork
compromises which sIeal
inIellecIual properIy or hand a
commercial advanIage Io Ihe
auackers. Such incidenIs cause
immense harm Io business,
which in Iurn ahecIs poIenIial
Iax revenues, so raising Ihe
prohle ol cyber-auacks in Ihis
age ol ausIeriIy.
STORMING THE CITADEL
Companies whose business model
is Iied closely Io Ihe inIerneI
have also sIepped up ehorIs Io
sIem Ihe Iide. Also in early |une,
Uicrosol worked closely wiIh
Ihe FBl Io disrupI and Iake down
more Ihan a Ihousand boIneIs,
known collecIively as CiIadel.
The compromised machines IhaI
lormed Ihe boIneIs were inlecIed
wiIh keyloggers designed Io
capIure Ihe personal deIails ol
users, and could also be used
lor Ihe disIribuIion ol spam
and malicious solware.
Over Ihe pasI 18 monIhs,
auIhoriIies believe Ihe boIneIs
have sIolen over SS00 million
lrom consumer and business
bank accounIs, inlecIing over
hve million PCs in 90 counIries,
including Ihe niIed SIaIes,
AusIralia, Hong Kong, lndia and
large parIs ol WesIern Furope.
The bad guys have yeI Io be
capIured, buI Ihis acIion has
given Ihem a bloody nose, and
Ihe ehorIs Io Irack Ihem down
are conIinuing.
CLEAR HEADED
l also like a new iniIiaIive by
Coogle designed Io help
webmasIers idenIily wheIher
Iheir websiIe is compromised.
The Coogle Transparency ReporI
aI www.gccg|e.ccm/tronsorency
recrt is Ihe world according Io
Coogle, and deIails Ihe number
ol RL removal requesIs
received by Ihe company lor
copyrighI inlringemenI or by
governmenI agencies, Ihe
amounI ol user daIa Iramc
requesIs lrom governmenI
agencies or lrom Ihe courIs
and, inIeresIingly, when Coogle
services such as YouTube have
been disrupIed by governmenIs.
Looking aI Ihe user daIa
requesI sIaIisIics, you can see
IhaI Ihe number ol requesIs has
climbed while Ihe number ol
Iimes Coogle has complied wiIh
Ihese requesIs has lallen. l'm noI
sure whaI Ihis sIaIisIic indicaIes.
ls Coogle becoming more ol an
arbiIer, deciding auIonomously
whaI should be handed over when
a courI order or law enlorcemenI
requesI is made? LeI's hope Ihe
Iransparency reporI (which is a
good Ihing) is puI inIo conIexI.
So a year on, progress in Ihe
hghI againsI cybercrime is sIill
being made. However, despiIe
Ihe ehorIs ol governmenIs and
legislaIors, Ihe bad guys are
sIill making plenIy ol money Io
our deIrimenI. Well, maybe noI
us, because when iI comes Io
operaIing salely online, we know
whaI we're doing - don'I we?
GORDON HOLMES
With more than 30 years of
experience in law enforcement,
our retired cybercop gives a
police omcer's perspective on
Ihe sIicky sub|ecI ol cybercrime
leuers@computershopper.co.uk
re ve vinnin tIe var aainst
cybercrime It's too soon to teII, but ve
Iave done veII in recent battIes
lC OCTOBER 2013 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 308
Rars &Raves
Vla's raled our caes or made us iddy vil delil lis morl Our resider
eclroloical urus vax lyrical ard ver sleer or vla's lo or ro a le momer
I 6O TO a loI ol gigs, mosIly
involving people wiIh long
hair and improbable amounIs
ol leaIher. There was a Iime
when Ihe mosI emcienI way
ol geuing an advance IickeI
was Io go Io Ihe venue, or a
record shop IhaI handled
IickeIs lor Ihe venue, or a
specialisI IickeI vendor. ll
you were really keen, you
could phone up a IickeI vendor, book wiIh a crediI card, pay an
exIra lee and have Ihe IickeIs posIed Io you. Now, everyone
plays chicken wiIh online IickeIing sysIems.
ln Ihe case ol relaIively niche bands IhaI noI many people
know abouI, iI's noI Ioo sIresslul, alIhough small venue sizes
mean you can'I always be sure ol buying on Ihe door. l geI really
cuI up abouI missing concerIs, so l buy in advance and swallow
Ihe booking lee. lI leels suspecI paying 2.S0 lor Ihe privilege ol
prinIing ouI my own IickeIs, buI iI spares me a biI ol griel.
However, iI geIs nerve-wracking when booking someIhing big.
Case in poinI. lron Uaiden aI Ihe O2 Arena. l have Io make sure
l'm awake, online and able Io give Ihe compuIer my undivided
auenIion. This usually happens aI 9am, so l have Io be prepared
Io Iake a morning oh il l'm really commiued Io geuing IickeIs.
MUSICAL CHAIRS
There's a special circle ol hell reserved lor AXS, Ihe company
behind Ihe O2's online IickeIing sysIem. ll l access Ihe IickeIing
porIal lor Ihe gig a lew minuIes early, l'm lunnelled inIo a waiIing
room, which auIo-relreshes once a minuIe. ll l enIer Ihe waiIing
room aI S8 seconds pasI Ihe minuIe, l musI waiI unIil S8 seconds
pasI Ihe nexI minuIe Io geI inIo Ihe purchasing area. When l geI
Ihrough, hoping Ihere are sIanding IickeIs lel, l musI remember how
many people l'm buying IickeIs lor. ll l geI iI wrong, Ihen click Ihe
back buuon, l'm kicked back Io Ihe waiIing room and can kiss IhaI
sIanding IickeI goodbye. ll you're like me, you'll now be shaking.
When Ihe concerI sells ouI in minuIes, a second daIe is
announced, buI is iniIially unavailable due Io a slow-Io-updaIe
server-side cache on AXS's end. l evenIually do geI Ihe IickeIs,
having spenI lour minuIes on hold Io Ihe unresponsive phone
booking line and pressing FS unIil Ihe opIion Io buy IickeIs hnally
appears. BuI l'm reasonably cerIain l've shaved a lew hours oh
Ihe end ol my lile in Ihe process.
WHEN I FIRST |oined Ihe
Fnemies Ol The SIaIe, we
ran rings around Ihe SecreI
Service by peppering phone
calls wiIh keywords. The
spooks would go on wild
goose chases, and we'd go
Io Ihe pub. Today's Fnemies
Ol The SIaIe have iI easy.
They don'I have Io look lor
a working phone box, Ihanks
Io pay-as-you go mobiles and lake email addresses. BuI why boIher?
UoniIoring suspecI words and phrases is a wasIe ol Iime, because
real crooks and IerrorisIs are noI dal enough Io use Ihem.
UoniIoring ol our communicaIions has noIhing Io do wiIh
counIer-Ierrorism, and everyIhing Io do wiIh selling personal daIa
lor prohI. The |usIihcaIion IhaI millions ol us display inIimaIe
deIails on Facebook is like saying IhaI il we have sex wiIh several
parIners, we should expecI Io be raped by a governmenI inspecIor.
ll l have social inIercourse wiIh my Facebook neIwork, IhaI's my
prerogaIive. l undersIand commercial companies will lorce-leed
me Iailored adverIising in exchange lor using Iheir neIworks lor
lree. BuI l never signed up lor spooks Io eavesdrop on my IhoughIs
and communicaIions. ll spying on individuals has been rendered
so simple by our own addicIion Io guileless sell-exposure online,
l'll allow Facebook, Amazon or Coogle Io sell my daIa Io Ihe ClA
or Tesco - as long as Ihey ask me hrsI, hand over no less Ihan S0
per cenI ol Ihe shared revenues, and pay Iheir corporaIion Iaxes.
Which brings me Io anoIher big non-debaIe. how Io geI Ihese
mulIinaIional raIbags Io sIump up Ihe Iax Ihey owe. The lacI IhaI
governmenIs can spy on every click is surely key Io collecIing Iaxes
lrom Ihe Amazons and Coogles ol Ihis world. The locaIion ol Ihe
machines used Io make our clicks applies Io every order lrom
porn Io poIaIoes. Fvery order is linked Io a crediI card, and every
crediI card is Iagged Io a residenIial address. CovernmenIs don'I
need Io pass new laws, and Iax collecIors don'I need Io know
where goods and services are rouIed or end up. Simply apply Ihe
Iax Io Ihe locaIion ol Ihe click where sIuh is ordered.
An order Io Amazon lrom The Amazon is up Io Ihe Brazilian
governmenI Io chase down. An order Io Amazon lrom Amersham
means Amazon should pay K Iax on Ihe prohI lrom IhaI order.
The Iechnology has always been in place, and il iI can be used Io
snoop on privaIe ciIizens iI can cerIainly be used Io sIop public
corporaIions hddling Iheir Iaxes.
Kat Orphandes certainIy Ioves Ier is, but
tIe vay onIine ticketin systems ive Ier
tIe runaround is IardIy music to Ier ears
OIciaI snoops prot Irom personaI data, so vIy
can't ve turn spyin to our advantae MeI
Croucher reveaIs tIe true Enemies oI tIe State
Kat Orphanides
RANTS
Mel Croucher
RANTS
RNTS & RVES
l
ISSUE 308 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ OCTOBER 2013
IN 2010, AMERICAN game designer |ane
UcConigal delivered an inspiring TFD Ialk
abouI how gaming could make Ihe world a
beuer place. She envisioned a luIure where
iI was |usI as easy Io save Ihe world in real
lile as iI was Io save iI in online games.
Uany people laughed, including some
TFD audience members - buI when games
are olen blamed lor every wrongdoing in
socieIy, Ihis Ialk was music Io my ears.
sing game mechanics Io help solve urgenI
problems, such as our currenI energy crisis,
or Irying Io gamily Iasks closer Io home,
such as exercise, lelI like a new and exciIing
way Io look aI games and whaI Ihey could
achieve. l couldn'I waiI Io see how Ihis
luIure would play ouI.
Three years on, and Ihis luIure has been
redesigned. SIeam has revamped my prohle
page and Iurned iI inIo a pseudo-RPC. l've
been given a 'SIeam Level' (a measly 4)
and awarded experience poinIs lor having
auained various badges and compleIed
cerIain Iasks. lI's all parI ol SIeam's new
Irading card leaIure, where you can collecI
(or, indeed, cral) digiIal characIer cards,
such as Ihe C-Uan lrom Hall-Lile 2.
However, a parI ol me died when l saw iI.
GAMES WITHIN GAMES
Why do l need iI? WhaI good does iI do,
oIher Ihan leed my insaIiable urge Io
compleIe Ihings? Uore imporIanIly, why
does Ihe acI ol playing games iIsell need Io
be gamihed? lI doesn'I make sense. How
did we geI lrom IhaI grand vision ol solving
world hunger Io simply caIaloguing our
gaming habiIs? SIeam already did IhaI wiIh
iIs achievemenIs, and recording how long
we played each game. Now l need Io collecI
poinIless badges Io parade on my prohle
page as well? ThaI's a sIep Ioo lar.
To be lair, l've never been much ol a
social gamer, Ihe Iype Io consIanIly share
progress on Twiuer and Facebook, buI
surely Ihe poinI ol gamilying cerIain Iasks
is Io make a person more engaged wiIh
Iheir sub|ecI or Io Iry Io inluence Iheir
behaviour Iowards iI? These ideas were key
parIs ol UcConigal's Ialk, buI SIeam's new
badge sysIem does neiIher ol Ihose Ihings,
aparI lrom making me leel a liule angry
abouI iI. l couldn'I care less IhaI nearly all
my lriends have higher SIeam Levels Ihan l
do, nor do l have any incenIive Io change
my own SIeam Level. Cood lor Ihem il
Ihey're Level 10. l'm really noI boIhered.
This kind ol gamihcaIion Iaps in Io
anoIher 2010 Ialk, Ihis Iime given by game
designer |esse Schell, abouI how proper
game designers need Io geI behind
gamihcaIion in case people who don'I know
how Io make a decenI game sIarI designing
Ihe nexI big corporaIe cohee/drink/you-
name-iI poinI sysIem and Iake over our
lives. lronically, Valve is one ol Ihe biggesI
game design sIudios in Ihe world, and yeI iI
can'I seem Io sIeer gamihcaIion in Ihe righI
direcIion. Then again, Ihis is also Ihe Ieam
IhaI creaIed a relenIless worldwide hunger
lor digiIal haIs in Team ForIress 2, so maybe
Ihese badges and Irading cards are |usI
anoIher leaIher in Valve's evil haI plan?
FiIher way, iI would be greaI il
gamihcaIion could geI back on Irack and
sIarI making Ihe world a beuer place again
- oIherwise, iI may become a big bad
lrakking monsIer and desIroy hall Ihe
counIry while we're noI looking.
RNTS & RVES
IF, LIKE US, you're an early adopIer ol
new producIs and Iechnologies, your house
is probably hlled wiIh gadgeIs. PCs and
smarIphones may slow down over Iime, buI
mosI kiI will work perlecIly hne lor several
years. This makes iI IempIing Io ignore
newer models buI, il you've been holding
oh upgrading, iI can pay Io check whaI Ihe
laIesI version can do - iI mighI surprise you
|usI how many exIra leaIures you'll geI.
l learnI IhaI hrsI hand Ihis monIh when l
swiIched ouI my NAS box. l'd been using an
open-source device lor several years, iI was
hne lor sIoring hles, buI iI didn'I do much
else unless you were prepared Io geI your
hands dirIy wiIh Ihird parIy plugins or Ihe
Linux kernel. l was using iI as an exIernal
hard disk IhaI |usI happened Io plug inIo
my rouIer raIher Ihan my PC. l knew oIher
models had plenIy ol exIra leaIures, buI l
was conIenI Io make do wiIh whaI l had.
ll l hadn'I run ouI ol sIorage space and
had Io upgrade Io a dual-bay enclosure, l'd
sIill be using Ihe original NAS device. SIill,
Ihe box l ended up using was lar more Ihan
a simple upgrade. Beyond hle sIorage, iI has
a hosI ol exIra leaIures and smarIphone
apps and a more sIreamlined inIerlace IhaI
has Iranslormed Ihe way l use a NAS device. l
can sIream my music, waIch home movies
and lick Ihrough phoIo albums anywhere
wiIh an inIerneI connecIion. ll a new version
ol bunIu geIs released, l can schedule iI Io
download even il l'm noI aI home. l can hosI
websiIes and share hles wiIh Ihe whole house.
EXTRA HELP
These upgrade bonuses apply Io almosI any
gadgeI you can Ihink ol, Ioo. Blu-ray players
used Io be limiIed Io playback, buI Ihey
are now pracIically mini PCs, wiIh video
sIreaming services, builI-in web browsers
and Wi-Fi connecIiviIy. DigiIal cameras can
now beam phoIos back Io your PC insIanIly
over Ihe inIerneI. Fven humble clock radios
can now include BlueIooIh, enabling you Io
sIream music lrom your smarIphone.
Look around your house, see whaI you
have, and Ihink whaI you could gain by
upgrading your TV, Blu-ray player or
alarm clock belore iI goes bang. You'll be
surprised aI Ihe diherence iI could make.
VIen did amication et so
obsessed vitI bades Katharne
Byrne vants to knov vIat
Iappened to savin tIe vorId
Don't taIk yourseII out oI
tIat seeminIy unimportant
uprade, ures Tom Morgan.
It couId turn your IiIe around
Tom Morgan
RAVES
Katharine Byrne
RANTS
l8 OCTOBER 2013 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 308
oddsextractor.com
No, iI's noI some kind ol sIrange machine designed lor a carnal acI,
buI raIher a websiIe dedicaIed Io exIracIing odds lor evenIs Io give
you greaIer insighI when placing beIs. lI Iurns ouI IhaI Ihe siIe's
owners also IhoughI Ihe name was raIher a poor choice, and Ihe
websiIe now redirecIs Io www.betonge|.ccm.
itscrap.com
This websiIe doesn'I look all IhaI greaI, Io be honesI, buI Ihe
RL isn'I a review ol iIs online design. lnsIead, iI's a websiIe
dedicaIed Io lT scrap - recycling old elecIronic equipmenI. We Ihink
Ihe company should sell iIs domain name Io a sewerage hrm and
sIarI again wiIh someIhing Io which Ihey've given a biI more IhoughI.
www.blackhatebook.com
ll Ihe FDL had a new book ouI, Ihis is Ihe websiIe iI would
mosI likely wanI Io use Io promoIe iI. However, Ihe real siIe
is much less sinisIer and is really lor Ihe B|ock Hot eBcck, a digiIal
Iome designed Io help you boosI your websiIe's search engine
opIimisaIion so IhaI iI appears higher in Ihe lisI ol search resulIs.
www.ladrape.com
Words compleIely lail us on Ihis one. QuiIe why anyone IhoughI
Ihis would be a good name is beyond us. SIill, il you wanI Io
have a bespoke bedspread made, you mighI wanI Io visiI La Drape.
The company also makes cushions, bolsIers and curIains.
THE PROBLEMWITH choosing a web address is that you not only
have to think about the words you want in it, but also how they look
and read when they're all |oined together without spaces. Pick the
wrong words and it's easy to change the meaning completely, giving
people the wrong impression of your website. Here's our top 10 list of
the most unintentionally funny URLs.
URL howIers
e
e
Cloosir le erec
URL or your vebsie is
imorar, as i car se
le ore o vla you or
your comary is abou.
l's very easy o e i
vror, loul, as lese
urlucly examles slov
TOP 10
l
ISSUE 308 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ OCTOBER 2013
whorepresents.com
No, iI's noI a leaIure hlm produced by a lady ol Ihe nighI buI
raIher an online resource. Who RepresenIs? is an online search
siIe IhaI leIs you hnd ouI which agency represenIs a parIicular
celebriIy. |usI Iype in Ihe name ol your chosen celeb and iI gives
you Ihe publicisI's deIails, allowing you Io conIacI Ihem direcIly.
teacherstalking.org
Remember when you were aI school and Ihere was one Ieacher
who everyone lancied? Well, Ihis isn'I a websiIe dedicaIed Io
hnding ouI where Ihey live and whaI Ihey're up Io. lnsIead,
Teachers Talking is an online resource lor giving Ieachers a
boosIer course in eiIher French or Spanish.
lesbocages.com
Wow, Ihis one |usI sounds all kinds ol wrong, doesn'I iI?
lI's noI a meIhod ol imprisonmenI, Ihis is Ihe websiIe ol
arborisI Dave Robins and is called Les Bocages. Bocage is a
Norman word IhaI relers Io a small loresI or a Ierrain ol
mixed woodland and pasIure.
speedofart.com
You mighI expecI Io see (or hear) Ihis when someone in
raIher IighI baIhing garmenIs bends over near you while
you're on holiday. RaIher Ihan an online collecIion ol such
incidenIs, Ihough, Ihe Speed ol ArI is an arIisI's online porIlolio.
www.therapistlocator.net
Removing Ihe spaces beIween words Io lorm RLs can
lead Io Ihe mosI unlorIunaIe misundersIandings. This is
Ihe perlecI example ol how easy iI is Io geI iI wrong,
where an innocenI search engine lor helping you locaIe a
IherapisI comes across as someIhing very diherenI.
hollandshitfestival.nl
ll Ihe headline acIs aI Ihis lesIival were One DirecIion and Ihe
conIesIanIs lrom The Vcice, you could argue IhaI Ihis RL is a rare
example ol accuraIe adverIising. RaIher Ihan represenIing a dearIh
ol enIerIainmenI, Ihough, Ihis siIe is lor Holland's HiI FesIival, an
alIogeIher beuer and more upliling evenI.
a
NEVS
20 OCTOBER 2013 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 308
contract. Any new customers will also get
the double-speed network, too. However, this
deal only lasts until September, when we
were told EE would announce how it planned
to charge for double-speed in the future.
Existing 4C phones, including the
Samsung Calaxy S4 and iPhone 5, will work
with the double-speed network with no
need for a sohware update.
EE has also introduced shared 4C plans.
These are designed for families and owners
of multiple devices so they can share one bill
and one amount of data between them. First,
a lead sharer signs up to a standard 4CEE
phone plan, next, up to four friends, family
members or devices can be added to the plan
at any point. All phone users get unlimited
calls and texts, but the data limit for the
account is shared between all devices.
Prices start from 12 a month to add a
phone and 5 a month for tablet and laptops.
|f the sharers need a smartphone or
broadband dongle, prices start at 22 per
month for phones or 11 per month for dongles.
As well as making things simpler, EE says
customers will also save money. A family of
four could save 38 a month compared with
other mobile networks, the company claimed.
EE boosts 4G speeds
to world's fastest
EE HAS LAUNCHED double-speed 4C on its
high-speed network, and shared data plans
for families and owners of multiple devices.
Double-speed 4C came to in 12 cities on
4th |uly: Birmingham, Bristol, Cardih, Derby,
Edinburgh, Clasgow, Leeds, Liverpool,
London, Nanchester, Nouingham and
Shemeld. Nore cities are to be added.
According to EE, the upgrade will increase
average speeds to 24-40Nbit/s, with a top
speed of 150Nbit/s. Double-speed 4C isn't
|ust about quicker downloads, but also about
making more bandwidth available to all
customers. |t should ensure that no mauer
how many people are on the network, users
won't see a slowdown.
|n terms of raw speed, double-speed 4C
currently means the UK will have a mobile
network faster than those in the US and
|apan, and equal to the best in South Korea.
Before double-speed was turned on,
the best we'd seen from the network was
around 20Nbit/s download on an iPhone 5
using the Speedtest app. Aher the upgrade,
we consistently saw download speeds of
around 37Nbit/s, with upload speeds
hiuing 20Nbit/s. That's a lot faster than
the average broadband connection.
"Our new double-speed 4C technology
means that we have the biggest, fastest and
best network in the UK, and now the equal
fastest in the world," EE CEO Olaf Swantee
said at the launch of the service.
Existing EE customers will be upgraded to
double-speed 4C for free for the life of their
EE has also introduced its hrst mobile payment system. Cash on Tap,
launched in partnership with NasterCard, lets you pay for goods and
services using your NFC-equipped phone.
Using an app that acts as a digital wallet,
you can store your card details and top up
wherever you have a data connection. Once
money is added, paying for goods is as simple
as touching your phone to any contactless
card reader. Any transaction up to 20 is
automatically deducted from your account.
Your phone doesn't even need the screen on
for the system to work: you |ust tap and go.
This may sound a security threat, but there
are multiple levels of protection. First, you can
only access the app via a P|N and topping
your account up requires the P|N to be
re-entered. Second, the system is locked to
.and puts CasI on Tap on your pIone
the phone's S|N: lose your phone and you can phone customer
services to have the phone and your Cash on Tap account stopped.
With 230,000 places in the UK accepting contactless payment,
including Boots, NcDonald's and the Co-op,
there's no shortage of places to spend your
digital cash. We've also been told the system
will work abroad: in short, if it supports
contactless payment, it supports Cash on Tap.
Currently available only for the Samsung
Calaxy S4, Calaxy S3 LTE and Sony Xperia SP,
EE is working to roll out Cash on Tap to other
devices. Apple's iOS isn't supported, as no
iPhone includes NFC connectivity.
EE eventually plans to extend the service
to include Tickets on Tap and Loyalty Cards
on Tap, although it's not known when we
can expect those features to appear.
Not satished with being the
only 4C network in the UK, EE
has now doubled its speeds

Paying for goods is as simple as touching your

phone against a contactless card reader
NEVS
2l
ISSUE 308 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ OCTOBER 2013
NOKIA HAS LAUNCHED Ihe Lumia 1020, Ihe
hrsI Windows Phone handseI Io use Ihe
company's 41-megapixel Pureview camera.
Previously available only in Nokia's
Symbian-powered PureView 808, Ihe camera
sensor can capIure 38-megapixel sIill images,
or supersample S-megapixel shoIs lor beuer
noise reducIion and low-lighI sensiIiviIy.
WiIh an F/2.2 lens, a 3x zoom, Xenon lash,
opIical image sIabilisaIion and six diherenI
lens ehecIs, Ihe PureView camera should be
capable ol deIailed shoIs. lI shooIs lull-
resoluIion and supersampled phoIos aI once,
saving boIh Io Ihe camera roll, and will
'zoom' up Io Ihree Iimes wiIhouI losing qualiIy
by cropping a lull-resoluIion shoI. lI can also
record video aI 1080p, and again Ihe exIra
pixels mean no loss ol qualiIy when zooming
in. Advanced phoIographers will appreciaIe
Ihe Nokia Pro Camera mode, which leIs you
alIer lSO, whiIe balance and shuuer speed.
ll Ihe sensor specs weren'I enough, Nokia
has also inIroduced a camera grip accessory
Io emphasise Ihe Lumia 1020's phoIography
credenIials. lI adds a chunky hand grip,
Iwo-sIage shuuer buuon lor locusing and
shooIing, an exIra bauery and a Iripod Ihread.
When we compared Ihe PureView 808 Io
an Olympus compacI sysIem camera lasI year,
we were impressed wiIh iIs abiliIy Io capIure
high-qualiIy images, buI less Ihrilled wiIh Ihe
operaIing sysIem. Nokia has hnally resolved
Ihis by swiIching Io Windows Phone 8, a lar
more modern OS which is much easier Io use.
Looking very similar Io exisIing Lumia
smarIphones, albeiI wiIh a proIruding camera
module aI Ihe back, Ihe Lumia 1020 conIinues
Nokia's minimal design approach Io handheld
Iechnology. lI has a 4in OLFD display wiIh a
1,280x768 resoluIion. lI doesn'I maIch Ihe Full
HD screens lound on Ihe Samsung Calaxy S4
or HTC One, buI IhaI's hardly surprising as
Windows Phone doesn'I currenIly supporI
1080p resoluIions. lI is, however, an OLFD
display, meaning blacks are incredibly deep
and colours appear vibranI. lI uses Nokia's
ClearBlack Iechnology and is proIecIed by
Corning's ulIra-Iough Corilla Class 3.
The handseI is powered by a 1.SCHz
dual-core Snapdragon processor, wiIh 2CB ol
RAU Io power Ihe laIesI version ol Windows
Phone 8, oIherwise known as Lumia Amber.
There's 32CB ol inIernal sIorage, buI no
microSD card sloI lor adding exIra capaciIy
laIer. lI's lully LTF-compaIible, so will work on
FF's 4C neIwork here in Ihe K, and also
includes BlueIooIh, NFC, A-CPS and Ihe
Russian CLONASS navigaIion sysIem.
Wireless charging isn'I included as
sIandard, wiIh Nokia selling an opIional
Wireless Charging Cover insIead.
Available in whiIe, black and yellow, Ihe
Lumia 1020 will go on sale laIer Ihis year. AI
Ihe Iime ol wriIing, Nokia had yeI Io announce
an omcial price and only O
2
had conhrmed iI
would be selling Ihe phone, buI we expecI all
Ihe ma|or providers Io carry Ihe handseI
when iI launches in Ihe coming monIhs.
Nokia unveils smartphone
with 41-megapixel camera

The Lumia 1020 is Nokia's most camera-focused smartphone to date, especially with the grip accessory

Apart from the plastic edges, there's very liule to

diherentiate the One Nini from its bigger brother
HTC reveals One Mini, does small
smartphones right
NOT TO BE ouIdone by Samsung's Calaxy S4 Uini launch in |une,
HTC has lollowed suiI wiIh a mid-range smarIphone ol iIs own.
The HTC One Uini is a smaller version ol Ihe
lagship One handseI, which exchanges Ihe 4.7in,
Full HD LCD display lor a 4.3in 720p model.
The lronI and rear panels are builI lrom Ihe
same aluminium as Ihe One, buI Ihe Uini has a
plasIic volume rocker and rubberised plasIic
edging Io keep cosIs low, raIher Ihan a unibody
design. The Iop-mounIed power buuon mighI
now be easier Io reach wiIh one hand, buI iIs lR
blasIer capabiliIies have been removed.
OIher inIernal concessions include a slower,
dual-core 1.4CHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 400
processor, 1CB ol RAU, no NFC connecIiviIy
and 16CB ol non-expandable sIorage, down
lrom 32 or 64CB in Ihe One.
Bauery capaciIy has also Iaken a hiI,
dropping lrom 2,300mAh in Ihe One Io
1,800mAh, buI oIher leaIures have carried across lrom Ihe One.
The Boomsound dual lronI-lacing sIereo speakers are sIill placed
above and below Ihe screen, and HTC's unique
lIraPixel camera can be lound on Ihe back ol Ihe
handseI. lI lacks opIical image sIabilisaIion, buI
should sIill be capable ol Iaking low-lighI images
Ihanks Io Ihe sensor, which is composed ol larger
pixels Ihan mosI smarIphone cameras.
Like mosI modern smarIphones, Ihe One Uini
will include LTF supporI lor 4C mobile neIworks.
FF, currenIly Ihe only 4C neIwork in Ihe K,
has conhrmed Ihe handseI will work on iIs 4C
lrequencies when iI goes on sale.
The HTC One Uini is available lrom Ihis
monIh (AugusI), in eiIher silver or black. There's
currenIly no indicaIion IhaI a Clamour Red
ediIion is in Ihe works, and aI Ihe Iime ol wriIing
Ihere was no omcial word on how much you'll
have Io pay lor Ihe handseI when iI goes on sale.
,
above an
lIraPix
handse
should
Ihank
pixels
L
will
FF
ha
lr
NEVS
22 OCTOBER 2013 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 308
First look at Google Glass
THERE'S BEEN A loI ol hype abouI Coogle
Class, which provides a heads-up display lor
mobile apps using a pair ol specs, buI whaI's
iI acIually like Io use? This monIh, we had a
chance Io hnd ouI lor ourselves. We should
poinI ouI IhaI Ihis is an early version ol Ihe
Iechnology and more a prool ol concepI Ihan
a hnal producI, buI even in Ihis early sIage,
peering inIo whaI Class can do is revealing.
HEART OF GLASS
ll you've somehow managed Io avoid all
menIion ol Class, iI's a pair ol specs wiIh a
builI-in camera and a small display IhaI siIs
|usI above your eye. lI runs a cusIom version
ol Android, compleIe wiIh Class-specihc apps
designed lor Ihe small headseI and screen.
Once you've connecIed your phone Io Class
via BlueIooIh, you can conIrol which apps Io
run using simple on-oh swiIches. CurrenI
apps include Twiuer, Coogle Uaps, Cmail and
Coogle Now, and apps are being added and
Iweaked all Ihe Iime.
AlIhough Class has a bauery and camera
in Ihe righI-hand arm ol Ihe specs, iI's well
balanced and surprisingly lighI. Our iniIial
concern was IhaI iI would be Ioo heavy Io
wear comlorIably buI in lacI you could lorgeI
you were wearing iI aler a shorI while. The
only issue aI Ihe momenI is IhaI iI's noI very
comlorIable il you already wear glasses.
The display is a small block ol Perspex,
which moves closer or lurIher lrom your eye
Io make everyIhing onscreen look sharp. lI's
posiIioned slighIly above your eye so IhaI you
can look up when you need Io see Ihe screen
buI your vision isn'I impaired or blocked.
The 640x360 display is comparaIively low
resoluIion, alIhough Coogle says iIs small size
makes iI equivalenI Io "a 2Sin high-dehniIion
screen lrom eighI leeI away". FveryIhing
looks sharp, buI wiIh relaIively liule screen
space iI musI be lormaued specihcally.
TALK TO ME
Class can be conIrolled wiIh a Iouchpad builI
inIo Ihe side or by using voice commands,
which requires an inIerneI connecIion. Voice
conIrol is preuy good, and prompIs appear
onscreen Io help you. Saying "OK Class" puIs
Ihe uniI inIo lisIening mode and Ihe screen
presenIs opIions lor Ihings you can do, such
as "Take a picIure", "CeI direcIions Io", or
"Coogle." lollowed by your search Ierms Io
search Ihe inIerneI.
The Iouchpad is also uselul, as you can
slide up, down, lorward and back Io navigaIe
Ihe inIerlace, Iapping once Io selecI an iIem.
lI Iakes some pracIice, as in ehecI you're
using an inIerlace you can'I see, buI we Ihink
IhaI once you're used Io Ihe posiIion ol Ihe
Iouchpad you'll be able Io use Class quickly.
We didn'I have much Iime Io use Ihe
various applicaIions, buI we were parIicularly
impressed wiIh Uaps and onscreen
direcIions. A specially lormaued version ol
maps appears onscreen, wiIh Ihe map
roIaIing as you Iurn your head, so you can
always clearly see which way you're lacing. lI's
considerably easier Ihan using your phone, as
you can conIinue Io walk, looking up Io Ihe
screen when you need a new direcIion.
Voice prompIs are senI Ihrough Ihe
bone-conducIing speaker, which should mean
only you can hear whaI Class is saying. Again,
Ihis may cause problems lor Ihose who wear
glasses, because il Class isn'I lush againsI
your head, Ihe bone-conducIing speaker can
be amplihed Ihrough your glasses' lrames.
Coogle Now is builI in, and inlormaIion
pops up as you need iI. For example, iI Iells you
when you have an upcoming appoinImenI,
using your currenI locaIion and Iravelling
Iime Io work ouI Ihe besI Iime Io remind
you. lI can display emails, Ioo, presenIing an
onscreen lisI IhaI you scroll Ihrough using Ihe
Iouchpad. TweeIs operaIe in Ihe same way.
PAINT ME A PICTURE
You can Iake phoIos on Ihe S-megapixel
camera using Ihe dedicaIed shuuer buuon
or voice conIrol. You can also Iake 720p
video, which delaulIs Io a 10 second clip,
alIhough you can Iap Ihe side ol Class Io
exIend Ihis. WiIh 16CB ol sIorage (12CB
lree Io Ihe user), Ihere's plenIy ol space
lor phoIos and videos. We didn'I manage Io
geI copies ol our IesI shoIs, so we can'I
commenI on Ihe qualiIy, buI Ihen Ihe
camera hardware may change belore a
reIail producI is released.
PhoIos and videos can be synced Io
Coogle+ auIomaIically, or you can use Ihe
Uicro SB porI Io plug Class sIraighI inIo
your PC, where iI works as mass sIorage.
This porI is also used Io charge Ihe headseI.
So is Coogle Class any good? Sadly, Ihe
quesIion isn'I easy Io answer. ln iIs currenI
lorm, Class is really a demonsIraIion ol Ihe
Iechnology while Coogle works ouI how
besI Io use Ihe sysIem. This means Ihe
commercial Class is likely Io be signihcanIly
diherenI Io Ihe early models.
As iI sIands, Ihough, Class is very
inIeresIing. Having appoinImenIs and emails
righI Ihere in lronI ol you is really uselul,
while using Uaps lor direcIions is much more
convenienI wiIh Class Ihan doing Ihe same
wiIh a smarIphone.
The right arm
contains Class's camera,
touchpad and screen
The bone-conducting speaker
means that what Class says to
you should remain private
NEVS
24 OCTOBER 2013 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 308
AT THE BE6INNIN6 ol Ihe year, iI looked as il 4K TVs were sIill years
away lrom enIering Ihe mainsIream - Ihe only models on sale were
ludicrously expensive and obscenely huge, and Ihere was no sign ol any
4K conIenI lor Ihe home. ThaI now looks seI Io change, as Samsung
and Sony begin Iheir lIra HD assaulI on Ihe living room.
FirsI ol all, Samsung hnally seI a launch daIe lor iIs smaller 4K
TVs lor Ihe K, lollowing on lrom Ihe monsIrous 84in S9 which
wenI on sale in April. The SSin FSSF9000 and 6Sin F6SF9000,
which are lar beuer suiIed Io K living rooms, each have a 3,840x2,160
screen resoluIion, which is lour Iimes IhaI ol a IradiIional 1080p TV.
BoIh also have all Ihe leaIures lound in Samsung's currenI
mainsIream champion, Ihe F8000, including micro dimming LFD
backlighIing, quad-core processing, 3D supporI, voice and moIion
conIrol, inIegraIed Wi-Fi and a whole hosI ol SmarI TV leaIures.
The SSin and 6Sin TVs will cosI 4,000 and 6,000 respecIively,
puuing Ihem on par wiIh Sony's SSin and 6Sin X9 seIs. AlIhough Ihey
carry a hely price premium over Ihe currenI crop ol 1080p TVs
currenIly on sale, Ihey are signihcanIly cheaper Ihan Ihe 17,000 LC
84LU960V we reviewed lasI monIh.
Sony, meanwhile, has revealed plans Io add lIra HD conIenI Io
iIs Video nlimiIed sIreaming service. Video nlimiIed is currenIly
builI inIo Sony's smarI TVs and seI-Iop boxes, Ihe PlaysIaIion 3, and
Xperia smarIphones and IableIs.
lI can also be downloaded lor Ihe PC, leuing users buy or renI
hlms and TV programmes lor sIreaming. The currenI service allows
lor sIandard dehniIion, high dehniIion and 3D sIreaming, buI is
Io be upgraded Io allow lIra HD video downloads in Ihe very
near luIure.
Sony's chiel operaIing omcer Phil Uolyneux said IhaI Ihe service will
launch in Ihe auIumn. lI's expecIed Io be Ihe very hrsI naIive-4K
downloading service, hnally giving Ihose who purchase an lIra HD TV
someIhing worIhy ol Ihe display's high resoluIion panel.
lniIially, however, conIenI will be limiIed. UosI 4K video will come
lrom Sony's own Sony PicIures division, wiIh conIenI lrom oIher
producIion houses iniIially limiIed Io shorI hlms.
4K getting closer thanks
to Sony and Samsung

Samsung's 55in and 65in 4K TVs are more likely to

ht in the average living room than its giant 84in model
PM orders web porn crackdown
DAVID CAMERON HAS announced a new
scheme designed Io reduce Ihe "corroding
inluence" ol pornography on Ihe naIion's
children, where every inIerneI-connecIed
household in BriIain would have Io declare
wheIher Ihey wanI Io conIinue Io access
online pornography.
The scheme, which is due Io be inIroduced
by Ihe end ol nexI year, would see all new
broadband accounIs auIomaIically opI in
Io a hlIer IhaI will block porn websiIes, wiIh
cusIomers having Io opI ouI should Ihey wanI
Io view resIricIed conIenI. FxisIing cusIomers
should be conIacIed by Iheir lSPs Io see il
Ihey wanI Io be hlIered, wiIh anyone noI
responding expecIed Io be hlIered. These
hlIers will be Iied Io Ihe connecIion, raIher
Ihan insIalled on individual machines,
meaning any device connecIed Io your rouIer
will also be sub|ecI Io resIricIions.
lI will be down Io Ihe accounI holder Io
enable or disable Ihe hlIer, which No 10 hopes
will puI a sIop Io "Iechnically liIeraIe children"
|usI licking Ihe hlIers oh aI Ihe click ol a
mouse. This will replace Ihe currenI sysIem,
known as "AcIive Choice", which BT, Sky,

The Prime Ninister's anti-porn proposals could

have much wider implications, according to digital
rights campaigners
TalkTalk and Virgin Uedia all currenIly abide
by. This doesn'I limiI inIerneI access in any
way, buI encourages cusIomers Io add
parenIal hlIers Io Ihe inIerneI-connecIed
machines in Iheir homes. However, Ihis won'I
sIop a child using a smarIphone or IableI Io
view age-resIricIed conIenI.
Cameron also plans Io implore search
engines such as Coogle, Bing and Yahoo! Io
block search Ierms based on a blacklisI
mainIained by Ihe Child FxploiIaIion and
Online ProIecIion CenIre (CFOP), or lurIher
legislaIion will be puI inIo ehecI Io lorce Ihe
companies Io comply.
The new proposals weren'I well received
by digiIal righIs acIivisIs, wiIh many learing
IhaI lisIs ol 'sensiIive' sub|ecIs will be
subverIed lor more poliIical ends. The lSPs
have also warned IhaI Ihey should noI be
seen as moral gaIekeepers lor Ihe counIry's
children, and IhaI iI is up Io parenIs and
police Io moniIor whaI Ihey geI up Io online.
lronically, Ihey also came on a day when
Cameron relused Io back a ban on Iopless
images in Ihe Sun's Page 3, saying iI was up Io
consumers Io decide wheIher or noI Ihey
wanIed Io buy Ihe paper.
ln a separaIe announcemenI, Twiuer
conhrmed iI would inIroduce a new Iagging
sysIem Io prevenI illegal images ol children
lrom being posIed Io iIs websiIe. The
Iechnology, which is based on a Uicrosol-
developed indusIry sIandard called
PhoIoDNA, will scan Ihrough Ihe Iwo billion
IweeIs posIed every hve days Io Ihe service.
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PCs & LPTOPS REVIEVS
2C OCTOBER 2013 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 308
WHEN LENOVO ORI6INALLY released Ihe
Yoga 11, Ihe Iiny lapIop/IableI came wiIh Ihe
cuI-down Windows RT operaIing sysIem
insIalled raIher Ihan Ihe lull Windows 8.
Windows RT is raIher limiIing, so we |umped
lor |oy when Ihe Yoga 11S arrived aI our omce.
Like Ihe lovable Yoga 13 (see Peviews, Shcer
303) Ihe 11S runs Ihe lull 64-biI version ol
Windows 8 and packs Ihe same 360
lexibiliIy inIo an 11in chassis (see Ihe box
opposiIe), making iI leel much more like a
IableI Ihan Ihe larger Yoga 13. lI's a much
beuer size lor holding in boIh hands, buI iIs
1.4kg weighI meanI we sIill had Io resI iI on
our lap or againsI a Iable il we were using iI
lor long periods in IableI mode.
From Ihe ouIside Ihe lapIops look more or
less idenIical. AparI lrom being a lracIion
lighIer, Ihe Yoga 11S has Ihe same rubbery
hnish as Ihe Yoga 13 and sIands |usI as Iall aI
17mm. This makes iI leel decepIively chunky
lor an 11in lapIop, buI iI has exacIly Ihe same
number ol porIs as iIs big broIher.
lI has one SB3 and one lurIher SB porI,
an HDUl video ouIpuI, an SD card reader and
a combined 3.Smm headphone and mic |ack,
To use Ihe Yoga 11S as a IableI, you lold
Ihe keyboard back over Ihe screen so IhaI Ihe
keyboard lorms Ihe underside ol Ihe IableI.
As wiIh Ihe Yoga 13, Ihe keyboard
auIomaIically disables iIsell when in IableI
mode, so you don'I have Io worry abouI
pressing Ihe keys accidenIally. Fven so, Ihe
leel ol Ihe keys creaIes a raIher odd sensaIion
when you're used Io Ihe smooIh backs ol
mosI IableIs. lI's noI parIicularly comlorIable,
buI you geI used Io iI over Iime.
When used as a regular lapIop, Ihe
keyboard was greaI Io Iype on, buI we were
disappoinIed Io hnd a noIiceable amounI ol
lex in Ihe keyboard Iray. This was also a
problem wiIh Ihe Yoga 13, and isn'I someIhing
we expecI Io hnd in a lapIop aI Ihis price.
Thanklully, Ihe lex didn'I cause any
problems while Iyping. lIs bouncy keys are
quiIe laI, buI Ihey provide a loI ol IacIile
leedback and we were able Io Iype aI lull
speed wiIhin a mauer ol minuIes. The only
problem we had was repeaIedly hiuing Ihe Pg
p and Pg Down keys by accidenI while using
Ihe arrow keys, as Ihey're all locaIed in Ihe
bouom-righI corner. This meanI we olen
shoI up and down Ihe page as we Iried Io
move Ihe cursor Ihrough paragraphs ol IexI,
LENOVO ldeaFadYoa llS

1,099 inc VAT

From www.lenovo.co.uk
VERDICT
It's expensive and not as powerfu| as many other Core i7
U|trabooks, but the screen and banery |ife are exce||ent
REVtEWS
YOUR TRUSTED GUIDE TO WHAT'S NEW
as well as a screen-lock buuon IhaI Iurns iIs
auIo-roIaIe leaIure on and oh. Two speakers
aI eiIher side ol Ihe Iop panel provide sound.
We'd recommend using a good pair ol
headphones insIead, Ihough, as Ihe speakers
sounded Iinny and lacked bass.
The 11.6in Iouchscreen is a |oy. lIs glossy
hnish is quiIe prone Io picking up hngerprinIs
buI colours look greaI. Reds, greens and blues
were all vibranI, and whiIes were unilormly liI
across Ihe screen. Blacks
didn'I look as dark as
Ihe device's black
bezel, buI Ihey were
deeper Ihan on oIher
lapIops we've seen. lIs
conIrasI levels were good,
Ioo, as we saw a high level ol
deIail in boIh lighI and dark
areas ol our IesI phoIos.
lI's a shame IhaI Ihe 11S
has only a sIandard 1,366x768
resoluIion insIead ol Ihe
Yoga 13's 1,600x900, buI Ihe
lPS display's wide viewing
angles were superb. We could
see Ihe screen clearly
wheIher we were working
wiIh iI as a lapIop or had iI
lying on our desk as a IableI.
PCs & LPTOPS REVIEVS
2
ISSUE 308 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ OCTOBER 2013
buI oIherwise all Ihe keys were very well
spaced and sensibly posiIioned.
The all-in-one Iouchpad was more
IemperamenIal. lI was very responsive
while we were navigaIing Ihe deskIop, buI
Iwo-hnger scrolling was olen a liule Ioo
sensiIive, and would scroll much lurIher Ihan
inIended. Pinch zooming worked hne, Ihough,
and we were able Io zoom in and ouI ol pages
quickly and accuraIely.
The Yoga 11S uses a 1.SCHz lnIel Core
i7-3689Y processor, which is one ol lnIel's
new ulIra-emcienI chips. lI has a base clock
speed ol 1.SCHz buI can Turbo BoosI Io
2.6CHz as long as iI isn'I running Ioo hoI. lI
also has 8CB ol RAU, which is plenIy ol
memory lor a deskIop compuIer, never
mind a lapIop.
The Yoga 11S cerIainly has an impressive
specihcaIion on paper, buI iI scored 41 overall
in our mulIimedia benchmarks. This isn'I a
p34 Gigabyte U2442V p49 Panasonic TX-P60ZT6SB p100 Sony Xperia TabIet Z p40 Nikon D7100 p62 Company of Heroes 2
bad score, buI Core i7-based lapIops Iypically
achieve an overall score somewhere in Ihe low
hlies, especially Ihose leaIuring Ihe more
ubiquiIous Core i7-3S37.
ln pracIice, Ihis means Ihe Yoga 11S is
noI IhaI much lasIer Ihan a Iypical Core
iS-based lIrabook, buI iI's sIill quick
enough lor everyday Iasks such as web
browsing and word processing. lI leels quick
and responsive in use, and Ihe high sensiIiviIy
ol iIs excellenI Iouchscreen reinlorces Ihis
impression ol speed. However, iI may sIruggle
when iI comes Io mulIiIasking, as we
rarely saw iIs clock speed go above 1.3CHz
during Ihis parI ol our IesI, showing Ihe
chassis was sIruggling Io dissipaIe Ihe
processor's heaI.
lI's noI parIicularly well-suiIed Io 3D
games eiIher, as iI doesn'I have a dedicaIed
graphics card. We weren'I surprised IhaI iI
lailed our DirI Showdown IesI, buI iI should
allow you Io play older games as well as 2D
Flash games lrom Ihe Windows 8 SIore.
The upside ol having such a low-volIage
processor is a longer bauery lile. The Yoga 11S
lasIed seven hours and S2 minuIes in our
lighI-use IesI wiIh Ihe screen seI Io hall
brighIness, so you should geI a lull day's work
ouI ol iI. This is excellenI lor a lapIop ol Ihis
size, and iI even beaIs Ihe Yoga 13's already
impressive seven hours and 32 minuIes.
The Lenovo ldeaPad Yoga 11S has iIs laws,
buI iI's hard noI Io like such a convenienI
and compacI converIible lapIop. Our main
concern, Ihough, is Ihe price. AI 1,099, you're
paying a hely premium lor IhaI porIabiliIy, as
Ihe equivalenI Core i7 Yoga 13 is noI only
more powerlul, iI's also lar cheaper. AI Ihis
price, Ihe BesI Buy-winning Samsung Series 7
lIra (see Crcu Tests, Shcer 307) is much
beuer value.
Kothorine Byrne
11.6in
204mm
17mm
Closed
1.4kg
298mm
SPECIFICATIONS
CPU 1.5CHz |ntel Core i7-3689Y
PAN8CB
5TOPACE 256CB SSD
CPAPHIC5 |ntel HD Craphics 4000
OPTICAL DPIVE None
DI5PLAY 11.6in widescreen LCD touchscreen (1,366x768)
OPEPATINC 5Y5TENWindows 8
POWEP CON5UNPTION 0W standby, 9W idle, 16W active
WAPPANTY One-year RTB
PAPT CODE |deaPad Yoga 11S
DETAIL5 www.lenovo.co.uk
Windows overa||
Nu|titasking
Dirt 5howdown
Banery |ife
|e|e|e:e -'1 -l11 '1 1
See page 76 lor perlormance deIails
41
35
FA|L
7h 52m
One of the most eye-catching aspects of the Lenovo Yoga 11S is its 360 screen
hinge. This enables you not only to use it as a Windows 8 tablet but also to prop
it up on a table in tent mode. This is great if you want to sit back and read an
eBook or watch a video without having to hold the 11S, and its soh-touch rubber
chassis gives it the perfect amount of grip, too. |t didn't move an inch while
we were happily tapping away at the screen, so there's no danger of it
accidentally slipping over on your work surface.
Superb viewing angles also make the screen very easy to see however you
position it. This makes the Yoga 11S great for use on a long train |ourney or
ight, for example, when you don't have much room at your disposal. We
found that it was most comfortable to view when positioned at 45 while we
were siuing at a desk.
Lenovo's Yoga 11S is a lot more exible than many other laptop tablet
convertibles. |t's preuy slim for a touchscreen laptop, and we think it's a
great companion for those who want the beneht of laptop performance
with the convenience of a tablet.
Twstng Expectatons
n
p
er
PCs & LPTOPS REVIEVS
28 OCTOBER 2013 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 308
THE MSI 6E60 is a gaming lapIop wiIh a
lourIh-generaIion lnIel Haswell processor -
Ihe quad-core 2.4CHz lnIel Core i7-4700UQ.
This can dynamically increase iIs clock speed
Io 3.4CHz when IemperaIures allow, providing
a healIhy increase in perlormance when
applicaIions demand iI. lI also has 8CB ol
RAU, which is plenIy.
Civen Ihis greaI specihcaIion, we weren'I
surprised when Ihe CF60 breezed Ihrough our
mulIimedia benchmarks wiIh a huge score ol
96. This is very impressive, and is |usI lour
poinIs oh our relerence deskIop processor,
Ihe Core iS-3S70K. You can be sure Ihe CF60
can handle almosI anyIhing you Ihrow aI iI.
The CF60 uses a dedicaIed 2CB Nvidia
CeForce CTX 76SU chip as iIs graphics
processor, and iI made shorI work ol our DirI
Showdown IesI aI a resoluIion ol 1,280x720
and graphics qualiIy seI Io High, producing a
very smooIh 70.Slps. When we increased
Ihe resoluIion Io Ihe screen's naIive
1,920x1,080, iI impressed us again wiIh an
average ol 64.1lps, so you'll cerIainly be able
Io make Ihe mosI ol iIs Full HD display while
playing games.
The CF60 coped well wiIh our more
demanding Crysis 2 IesI, Ioo. WiIh graphics aI
lIra qualiIy and a resoluIion ol 1,920x1,080,
iI managed a sIeady 22.Slps. This isn'I smooIh
enough lor comlorIable play, buI iI's much
beuer Ihan many oIher Full HD gaming
lapIops can manage. We only had Io reduce
qualiIy seuings Io High Io see a much
smooIher average lrame raIe ol S2.3lps.
One ol Ihe CF60's main highlighIs,
Ihough, is iIs smarI chassis. lIs glossy lid and
mau-black inIerior has vibranI red highlighIs,
and iIs smooIh corners and rounded edges
make a welcome change lrom Ihe indusIrial
box-like chassis ol oIher gaming lapIops. lI's
comparaIively Ihin lor a gaming lapIop, Ioo,
measuring 37mm aI iIs IhickesI poinI and
Iapering Io 32mm aI Ihe lronI. AI 2.4kg, iI's
heavy lor a regular lapIop buI preuy lighI lor
a gaming lapIop - iI's
nearly hall Ihe weighI ol Ihe
Scan 3XS CraphiIe LC1S.
lI's cerIainly one ol Ihe more sIylish
gaming lapIops we've seen recenIly, and we're
equally impressed by iIs SIeelSeries keyboard.
lIs springy keys give a superb amounI ol
IacIile leedback, and Ihere's room lor a
lull-size number pad, Ioo. lI also has Iwo
dedicaIed buuons, one lor conIrolling lan
power and Ihe oIher Io conIrol Ihe brighIness
ol Ihe keyboard's LFD backlighI.
A smooIh all-in-one Iouchpad siIs |usI
oh-cenIre. As Ihis is in a slighI recess, we
lound Windows 8 shorIcuIs a liule
IemperamenIal aI Iimes, buI on Ihe whole iI
was exIremely responsive. DespiIe iIs brushed
meIal hnish, we were able Io execuIe
mulIi-Iouch gesIures such as pinch-zooming
and Iwo-hnger scrolling wiIh superb conIrol
and accuracy. The buuons are builI inIo
Ihe lower hall ol Ihe Iouchpad, and have
plenIy ol Iravel.
The CF60's 1S.6in display is excellenI.
Colours don'I look quiIe as rich on iIs mau
screen as Ihey would on a glossy display, buI
reds, greens and blues had plenIy ol punch
and we were parIicularly impressed wiIh iIs
deep black levels. WhiIes were a liule grey
Ioward Ihe edges, buI conIrasI levels were
greaI. We saw a high level ol deIail in our IesI
phoIos, and Ihe screen didn'I sacrihce colour
accuracy Io achieve iI.
The CF60 doesn'I provide Ihe widesI
range ol porIs, buI Ihose iI has should caIer
lor mosI users. There are Iwo SB3 and Iwo
SB porIs, HDUl and VCA ouIpuIs, an SD
card reader, a DVD wriIer, a CigabiI FIherneI
porI and separaIe headphone and microphone
|acks. We didn'I parIicularly leel Ihe need Io
use exIernal speakers, as iIs inIegraIed
speakers were excellenI. Our IesI Iracks were
lull ol bass and iI's easily one ol Ihe besI
lapIop speaker sysIems we've heard.
nsurprisingly, bauery lile isn'I one ol Ihe
CF60's sIrong suiIs, as iI lasIed |usI lour
hours and 19 minuIes in our lighI-usage IesI
wiIh Ihe screen seI Io hall brighIness. Playing
power-hungry games will drain iI lasIer, buI
Ihis is whaI we expecI lrom a gaming lapIop.
The USl CF60 is an excellenI gaming
lapIop. Perlormance-wise iI's similar Io Scan's
marginally cheaper 3XS CraphiIe LC1S, buI Ihe
CF60 is more sIylish and iIs keyboard is more
comlorIable Io use. AI 1,147, iI's also 1S0
cheaper Ihan Samsung's Series 7 Chronos,
making iI an lIimaIe award winner.
Kothorine Byrne
MSI GLC0

1,147 inc VAT

From www.saveonlaptops.co.uk
VERDICT
This sty|ish gaming |aptop can p|ay demanding games
smooth|y and is as powerfu| as a desktop PC
SPECIFICATIONS
CPU 2.4CHz |ntel Core i7-4700NQ
PAN8CB
5TOPACE 128CB SSD + 750CB hard disk
CPAPHIC5 Nvidia CeForce CTX 765N
OPTICAL DPIVE DVD+/-RW +/-DL
DI5PLAY 15.6in widescreen LCD (1,920x1,080)
OPEPATINC 5Y5TENWindows 8
DINEN5ION5 32x383x249mm, 2.4kg
POWEP CON5UNPTION 1W standby, 15W idle, 74W active
WAPPANTY Two-year collect and return
PAPT CODE CE60 2OE-039UK
DETAIL5 www.msi.com
Windows overa||
Nu|titasking
Dirt 5howdown
Banery |ife
|e|e|e:e -'1 -l11 '1 1
96
104
4h 19m
70.5fps
See page 76 lor perlormance deIails
Given its reat specication, ve veren't surprised
vIen tIe GE60 breezed tIrouI our muItimedia
bencImarks vitI a Iue score oI 96
30 OCTOBER 2013 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 308
IF YOU'RE SERIOUS abouI gaming and
consoles |usI don'I cuI iI lor you, a compacI
gaming PC can be Ihe besI soluIion, as
Ihey combine a cerIain degree ol porIabiliIy
and siuing-room-lriendly unobIrusiveness.
You don'I have Io skimp on power, eiIher,
as Ihe CompuIer PlaneI ND S000
demonsIraIes wiIh iIs powerlul lourIh-
generaIion lnIel Core iS processor.
lI's noI parIicularly small lor a compacI
sysIem, buI Ihe BiIFenix Prodigy case is quieI
and, Ihanks Io lexible plasIic handles on Ihe
Iop and bouom, is designed Io be easy Io
IransporI. lI rocks lrom side Io side a liule
when you push iI, buI iI doesn'I leel insecure
or likely Io Iopple over. The sysIem also
comes in a varieIy ol colours, wiIh green
and blue available alongside Ihe sIandard-
issue black.
AnoIher poinI in lavour ol Ihis snazzy case
is iIs inIernal design, which laciliIaIes good
airlow and has a loI ol space inside. There's
more Ihan enough room lor Ihe chunky ZoIac
Nvidia CeForce CTX 760 graphics card, Ioo.
This has 2CB ol RAU and provides Iwo DVl
ouIpuIs, one HDUl ouIpuI and a DisplayPorI.
lI's a highly capable graphics
card IhaI will play Ihe laIesI
games wiIhouI a problem. lI
produced average lrame raIes
ol 62.8lps in DirI Showdown
and S4.4lps in Crysis 2 aI
a resoluIion ol 1,920x1,080
and wiIh graphics qualiIy
seI Io lIra.
The Iiny ZoIac Z87N-WlFl
mini-lTX moIherboard is hued
wiIh an lnIel Core iS-4670K
processor running aI 3.8CHz,
and Ihe sysIem managed an
overall score ol 113 in our
benchmark IesIs. The ND S000 is
also equipped wiIh 8CB ol 1,600UHz DDR3
RAU in Ihe lorm ol a single module IhaI
occupies one ol Ihe moIherboard's Iwo
memory sloIs. This means Ihere's room lor
exIra memory il you ever need iI.
The moIherboard also has an inIegraIed
wireless adapIor and comes wiIh a raIher
neaI magneIic anIenna IhaI can be mounIed
anywhere on Ihe case. BuilI-in Wi-Fi is uselul
il you wanI Io Iake advanIage ol Ihe case's
relaIive porIabiliIy and Iake iI Io
lriends' houses and public LAN
gaming sessions.
Sadly, Ihe ND S000 doesn'I
have much room lor expansion.
The graphics card occupies Ihe
board's only expansion sloI. One
ol iIs lour SATA3 porIs is vacanI, buI
Ihere's no room Io hI an exIra drive.
The PC is already equipped wiIh a
128CB SanDisk SSD booI drive and
a S00CB daIa disk, as well as a
DVD-RW drive aI Ihe lronI. ll you
plan on using Ihe PC wiIh your TV,
you may wish Io upgrade IhaI Io a
Blu-ray drive aI some poinI in Ihe
luIure. The sysIem is powered by
a 6S0W Corsair PS, and Ihe
processor is liquid-cooled.
AI Ihe back ol Ihe PC, Ihe
moIherboard gives you lour SB3
porIs and Iwo lurIher SB
porIs, plus a single
PS/2 mouse or
keyboard porI.
There are also Iwo FIherneI porIs IhaI you
can use lor Iwo simulIaneous neIwork
connecIions. Audio is handled by an opIical
S/PDlF ouIpuI and hve re-conhgurable 3.Smm
audio ouIpuIs lor up lor 7.1 analogue
surround sound. RaIher Ihan being on Ihe
lronI panel, Ihe sysIem's 3.Smm microphone
and headphone porIs and Iwo SB3 porIs are
on Ihe righI ol Ihe case. The power and reseI
buuons are mounIed |usI above.
AI 999 including VAT, Ihis is Ihe cheapesI
Haswell-based sysIem we've seen Io daIe, and
iI's a perlecI living room PC lor gamers.
AlIhough iI doesn'I provide much space Io
upgrade anyIhing, Ihis sysIem's sheer power
will keep you gaming wiIh high-qualiIy
graphics lor Ihe loreseeable luIure. The ND
S000 is our new lavouriIe compacI PC and
wins our BesI Buy award.
Kot Orphonides
COMPUTER PLANET ND S000

999 inc VAT

From Computer Planet 01618 503340

VERDICT
This compact PC is a perfect |iving rooma|ternative
to an underpowered games conso|e
SPECIFICATIONS
CPU 3.8CHz |ntel Core i5-4670K
PAN8CB
5TOPACE 128CB SSD + 500CB hard disk
CPAPHIC5 CAPD 2CB Nvidia CeForce CTX 760
OPTICAL DPIVE DVD+/-RW +/-DL
OPEPATINC 5Y5TENWindows 8
DINEN5ION5 400x250x355mm
POWEP CON5UNPTION 5W standby, 95Widle, 200W active
WAPPANTY Three-year RTB (one year parts, three
years labour)
PAPT CODE ND 5000
DETAIL5 www.computerplanet.co.uk
Windows overa||
Nu|titasking
Dirt 5howdown
Crysis 2
|e|e|e:e -'1 -l11 '1 1
113
118
62.8fps
54.4fps
See page 76 lor perlormance deIails
t 999 incIudin VT, tIis is tIe cIeapest
HasveII-based system ve've seen to date, and it's a
perIect Iivin room PC Ior amers
32 OCTOBER 2013 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 308
THE PAVILION TOUCHSMART 15 Sleekbook is
one ol HP's budgeI AUD-powered Iouchscreen
lapIops. Weighing a reasonably heavy 2.1kg and aI
24mm Ihick wiIh a glossy plasIic chassis, iI
won'I appeal Io everyone, buI iIs smooIh,
rounded corners make iI look more
sIylish Ihan oIher cheap lapIops.
WhaI really seIs Ihe Pavilion
TouchSmarI 1S aparI lrom oIher lapIops in Ihis
price range is iIs 1S.6in Iouchscreen. We've seen
cheap lapIops wiIh Iouchscreens belore, such as
Ihe BudgeI Buy-winning Asus VivoBook S200F (see
Crcu Tests, Shcer 301), buI lew have screens
Ihis large wiIh 10-poinI Iouch lor under S00. lI
isn'I parIicularly brighI buI is very responsive and
iIs 1,366x768 resoluIion is suiIed Io Iouch conIrols.
We were also pleased wiIh iIs overall image
qualiIy. Blacks were a liule grey and whiIes were
dimmer Ihan we'd like, buI iIs glossy hnish helped
bring ouI Ihe vibrancy in solid reds, greens and
blues. lIs conIrasI levels were also excellenI,
revealing a high level ol deIail in Ihe lighI and dark
areas ol our IesI phoIos wiIhouI colours looking
drained or washed ouI. We had Io conIend wiIh a
lew relecIions, buI Ihe screen ohers plenIy ol IilI
and has surprisingly wide viewing angles.
KEY WITNESS
The keyboard is very comlorIable Io use. The laI
keys could benehI lrom a liule more Iravel, buI
Ihey provide enough IacIile leedback Io make
Iyping pleasanI. They're sensibly spaced, Ioo, and
Ihere's even a lull-size number pad.
The Iouchpad was more lrusIraIing. lI supporIs
Windows 8 shorIcuIs buI olen lailed Io regisIer
mulIi-Iouch gesIures. We had parIicular Irouble
wiIh Iwo-hnger scrolling. Pinch-zooming was more
successlul, Ihanks in parI Io Ihe grip provided by
iIs IexIured surlace, buI even Ihis was a liule
IemperamenIal. We had no Irouble using iI Io
navigaIe Ihe DeskIop, Ihough, and were able Io
open hles and lolders wiIh iIs dedicaIed buuons
wiIhouI our cursor moving erraIically.
Sadly, Ihe TouchSmarI 1S lacks raw processing
power. WiIh iIs dual-core 1.9CHz AUD A4-433SU
processor and 4CB ol RAU, iI scored |usI 14 overall
in our mulIimedia benchmarks. This puIs iI nearly
1S poinIs behind Ihe lnIel Core i3-based Asus
VivoBook S200F, and places iI on a more equal
looIing wiIh processors such as Ihe lnIel Celeron or
PenIium. As such, iI's really only suiIed Io basic
compuIing Iasks such as web browsing and word
processing, as iI will sIruggle wiIh anyIhing more
demanding such as video encoding.
The AUD A4-433SU has a builI-in graphics
processor, Ihe Radeon HD 7400C. We've been
impressed by Ihe A-series' builI-in graphics
processors belore, buI Ihe Pavilion TouchSmarI 1S
lailed our DirI Showdown IesI. We had Io seI Ihe
HP PAVILIONTouclSmar lS Sleelbool

408 inc VAT

From www.lambda-tek.com
VERDICT
It's cheap, but other budget touchscreen |aptops
oer bener banery |ife and performance
SPECIFICATIONS
CPU 1.9CHz AND A4-4355N
PAN4CB
5TOPACE 500CB hard disk
CPAPHIC5 AND Radeon HD 7400C
OPTICAL DPIVE None
DI5PLAY 15.6in widescreen LCD touchscreen (1,366x768)
OPEPATINC 5Y5TENWindows 8
DINEN5ION5 24x386x259mm, 2.1kg
POWEP CON5UNPTION 0W standby, 25W idle, 25W active
WAPPANTY One-year carry-in
PAPT CODE 15-b129sa
DETAIL5 www.hp.co.uk
Windows overa||
Nu|titasking
Dirt 5howdown
Banery |ife
|e|e|e:e -'1 -l11 '1 1
FA|L
4h 5m
14
10
See page 76 lor perlormance deIails
graphics qualiIy Io lIra Low and disable anIi-
aliasing Io geI anywhere near a playable lrame raIe
aI a 1,280x720 resoluIion, and even Ihen we only
saw 22.Slps. You're beuer oh sIicking wiIh less
demanding 2D IiIles lrom Ihe Windows SIore il you
wanI Io play games on Ihe Pavilion TouchSmarI 1S.
lI doesn'I have Ihe widesI range ol porIs, eiIher,
buI iIs Ihree SB porIs (Iwo ol which are SB3),
HDUl ouIpuI, SD card reader and CigabiI FIherneI
porI should be enough lor mosI users. There's also
a combined headphone and microphone |ack, buI
iIs inIegraIed AlIec Lansing speakers perlormed
much beuer Ihan Iypical lapIop speakers.
AnoIher weak poinI is bauery lile. The lapIop
managed |usI lour hours and hve minuIes in our
lighI-usage IesIs wiIh Ihe screen aI hall brighIness,
which is poor, even lor a budgeI lapIop. We expecIed
a longer lile given how dim Ihe screen is normally.
HP's Pavilion TouchSmarI 1S Sleekbook is a good
budgeI Iouchscreen lapIop, buI iI can'I maIch Ihe
similarly priced Dell lnspiron 1S (see Crcu Tests,
Shcer 30S) lor power. You can buy a Core iS version
ol Ihe lnspiron 1S wiIh a Iouchscreen and dedicaIed
graphics lor noI much more Ihan Ihe Pavilion
TouchSmarI 1S, which is a beuer-value lapIop.
Kothorine Byrne
PCs & LPTOPS REVIEVS
33
ISSUE 308 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ OCTOBER 2013
SCAN'S 3XS Z87 is builI inIo a Corsair
Carbide 300R chassis, which is a relaIively
compacI gaming case. DespiIe iIs size iI has
plenIy ol room inside lor upgrades, and we
really appreciaIe Ihe properly hnished edges.
A Perspex side panel shows oh Ihe
inIerior, which is illuminaIed by whiIe LFDs.
You can Iurn Ihese oh using a conIroller aI
Ihe back. NeiIher Ihe panel nor Ihe case has
much dusI or sound proohng, buI Ihere's a
proIecIive mesh aI Ihe bouom ol Ihe case Io
sIop luh geuing in, and Ihe sysIem's liquid
cooler is almosI silenI. There are no oIher
case lans Io make a rackeI, eiIher.
AlIhough Ihe case usually comes wiIh Iwo
3in drive cages, providing eighI bays, one ol
Ihese has been removed Io accommodaIe Ihe
graphics card. You can replace iI il you don'I
mind a IighI hI wiIh Ihe graphics card, buI
Ihere are sIill Iwo vacanI 3in bays and a
spare Sin bay. The oIher Sin bays are
occupied by a DVD-RW drive and a memory
card reader, which Iakes SDXC, microSD,
CompacI Flash and a number ol oIher
popular lormaIs. We'd have liked Ihe card
sloIs Io be labelled by Iype, Ihough.
PANEL SHOW
The card reader also provides Iwo SB3 porIs,
which are connecIed Io Ihe moIherboard
header. We're pleased Io see Ihese, as Ihe
case's own lronI-panel SB3 porIs are
connecIed Io SB3 porIs on Ihe back panel
via pass-Ihrough cables. Also on Ihe lronI
panel is a 3.Smm microphone inpuI and a
SCAN 3XS Z8 Ferormarce GTX

1,299 inc VAT

From Scan 0871 472 4747

VERDICT
A big 55D, dedicated sound card and |oads of U5B3 ports make
this Haswe|| systemstand out among simi|ar|y priced riva|s
3.Smm headphone ouIpuI,
boIh ol which are connecIed Io
Ihe PC's dedicaIed Asus Xonar
DCX sound card.
The CigabyIe CA-Z87-HD3
moIherboard has lour SB3
porIs on iIs backplaIe, plus
Iwo SB porIs, a single PS/2
porI lor older keyboards and
mice and a CigabiI FIherneI
porI. lI has Iwo PCl-F x16
sloIs, alIhough one acIually
runs aI x4 and shares
bandwidIh wiIh Ihe Iwo
PCl-F x1 sloIs above iI, so you
can only use eiIher Ihe x1 or
Ihe x4 sloIs aI once. The oIher
PCl-F x1 sloI is blocked by Ihe
graphics card. Two legacy PCl
sloIs caIer lor any older cards you wanI Io
bring over lrom a previous PC. One is
currenIly blocked by Ihe conIroller backplaIe
lor Ihe case lighIs, buI you can remove Ihis il
you need Ihe sloI.
FULLY LOADED
The moIherboard also has six SATA3 porIs,
Ihree ol which are in use, and lour memory
sloIs. Two ol Ihese are occupied by 4CB DDR3
modules running aI 1,600UHz, providing 8CB
ol memory. The sysIem's lnIel Core iS-4670K
processor has been overclocked Io 4.4CHz
and achieved an impressive score ol 133
overall in our benchmark IesIs.
The 2CB Nvidia CeForce CTX 770 graphics
card puI in an excellenI
perlormance in our
gaming IesIs, providing
average lrame raIes ol
87lps in DirI Showdown
and S6.2lps in Crysis 2 aI
lIra qualiIy. The Asus
Xonar DCX sound card
also seIs Ihis sysIem
aparI lrom iIs peers. lI's
noI a premium sound
card, buI iIs C-Uedia
CUl8786 audio processor,
dedicaIed headphone
amp and excellenI
driver-based processing
ol environmenIal and
surround-sound audio
all serve Io make iI a
signihcanI improvemenI
over builI-in moIherboard
sound cards and iIs higher-
qualiIy hardware makes
music sound beuer, Ioo.
We're pleased Io see IhaI Ihe sysIem
has a branded 600W PS and a good sIorage
seIup IhaI consisIs ol an SSD lor Ihe
operaIing sysIem and programs and a
mechanical hard disk lor daIa sIorage. BoIh
drives have high capaciIies, wiIh Ihe SSD
providing 2S6CB and mechanical disk 2TB
ol sIorage.
This is an expensive sysIem and isn'I
wiIhouI iIs drawbacks, noIably Ihe
moIherboard's inlexible PCl-F sloIs. However,
il you wanI Io buy a gaming sysIem IhaI's
quieI, well builI and designed Io lasI, Ihis is
an ouIsIanding PC and deserves our BesI
Buy award.
Kot Orphonides
SPECIFICATIONS
CPU 4.4CHz |ntel Core i5-4670K
PAN8CB
5TOPACE 256CB SSD + 2TB hard disk
CPAPHIC5 CAPD 2CB Nvidia CeForce CTX 770
OPTICAL DPIVE DVD+/-RW +/-DL
OPEPATINC 5Y5TENWindows 8
DINEN5ION5 485x475x211mm
POWEP CON5UNPTION 2W standby, 52W idle, 300W active
WAPPANTY Three-year RTB (first year onsite)
PAPT CODE 3XS Z87
DETAIL5 www.scan.co.uk
Windows overa||
Nu|titasking
Dirt 5howdown
Crysis 2
|e|e|e:e -'1 -l11 '1 1
140
87fps
56.2fps
133
See page 76 lor perlormance deIails
PCs & LPTOPS REVIEVS
34 OCTOBER 2013 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 308
ULTRABOOKS THAT CAN handle games
are sIill lew and lar beIween, buI Ihe
CigabyIe 2442V shows you don'I have Io
sacrihce porIabiliIy Io geI a powerlul lapIop.
lI looks very similar Io iIs more expensive
cousin, Ihe CigabyIe 2442F (see Peviews,
Shcer 30S). lIs 18mm chassis is a lracIion
Ihinner, and insIead ol a Iwo-Ione inIerior,
silver plasIic now exIends all Ihe way round
Ihe bezel and Ihe keyboard Iray. The
2442V's black ChicleI-sIyle keys hinI aI
personaliIy, buI iI's lar lrom Ihe preuiesI
lIrabook we've seen.
INNER STRENGTH
Look aI Ihe 2442V's componenIs, Ihough,
and Ihere's plenIy Io geI exciIed abouI. nlike
many lIrabooks, Ihe 2442V has a dedicaIed
2CB Nvidia CeForce CT 640U graphics chip as
well as Ihe inIegraIed graphics builI inIo iIs
processor. The CeForce CT 640U helped Ihe
2442V sail Ihrough our DirI Showdown
graphics benchmark, producing a smooIh
S1.9lps wiIh graphics seI Io High qualiIy aI a
1,280x720 resoluIion. This is very impressive
lor a lighI lapIop, and only a lew lrames shy
ol Ihe more powerlul 2442F.
Disabling anIi-aliasing raises Ihe lrame raIe
lurIher, buI you'll have Io reduce Ihe graphics
seuings il you wanI Io Iake advanIage ol Ihe
screen's 1,600x900 resoluIion. We managed a
smooIh 40.8lps wiIh graphics seI Io High
qualiIy aI 1,600x900, while reducing Ihe
seuings Io Uedium produced an average
lrame raIe ol S4.7lps aI 1,600x900.
The lapIop sIruggled wiIh our more
demanding Crysis 2 IesI, producing an
average lrame raIe ol 1S.3lps aI 1,600x900
wiIh graphics qualiIy seI Io lIra. Lowering
Ihis Io High produced a much more promising
39.3lps, so iI should
handle many 3D games il you
Iweak Ihe seuings.
HOT CHIP
The 2442V is no slouch when iI comes Io
raw power, eiIher, wiIh a 1.9CHz lnIel Core
i7-3S17 processor IhaI can Turbo BoosI Io
3CHz when cool enough. We were a liule
disappoinIed IhaI iI didn'I have a more recenI
Core i7-3S37 processor or one ol lnIel's
newer Haswell chips, buI iI scored a
respecIable S0 overall in our mulIimedia
benchmarks. This is one ol Ihe lasIesI scores
we've seen lor Ihis Iype ol processor and is
only a couple ol poinIs behind newer Core i7
lIrabook processors.
Typing on Ihe 2442V was pleasanI, il a
liule noisy. lIs backliI ChicleI-sIyle keys are
well spaced buI we'd have liked more Iravel.
This didn'I ahecI Iyping accuracy much, Ihough,
and we were up Io lull speed wiIhin minuIes.
We were less keen on Ihe Iouchpad. lIs
IexIured surlace makes iI leel very responsive
and iIs buuon bar has plenIy ol Iravel when
pressed, buI we kepI caIching iI wiIh a wrisI
while Iyping, which was lrusIraIing.
The 2442V's bauery is also below par
and managed |usI lour hours and 16 minuIes
in our lighI-usage IesI wiIh Ihe screen seI Io
hall brighIness. We expecI
aI leasI hve hours lrom
an lIrabook, and iI
cerIainly can'I maIch Ihe
near six-hour bauery lile ol
Ihe 2442F.
We were pleased Io see a
good selecIion ol porIs,
Ihough. As well as iIs Iwo
SB3 and Iwo lurIher SB
porIs, you'll hnd VCA and
HDUl ouIpuIs, an SD card
reader, a CigabiI FIherneI porI
and separaIe headphone and
microphone |acks.
As wiIh Ihe 2442F,
Ihough, Ihe screen is Ihe
weakesI parI ol Ihis lapIop. lIs
1,600x900 resoluIion looks
very sharp, buI iIs image qualiIy leaves a loI Io
be desired. Reds, greens and blues all looked
very dull in our solid colour image IesIs, and
blacks and whiIes were posiIively grey. This
also ahecIed our high-conIrasI IesI image,
where colours really lacked depIh and
vibrancy. This is parIly due Io Ihe screen's
mau hnish, which helps Io reduce glare and
relecIions, buI iIs conIrasI levels were also
quiIe poor as iI sIruggled Io reveal deIail in
areas ol dark shadow. WiIh all Ihis, plus some
very narrow viewing angles, Ihere's plenIy ol
room lor improvemenI.
This is a shame, as we quiIe like Ihe resI
ol Ihe CigabyIe's 2442V. lI may noI have
Ihe besI bauery lile, buI il you're looking
lor a slim lapIop IhaI can run 3D games and
you're noI Ioo boIhered abouI Ihe qualiIy
ol iIs display, Ihe 2442V is a good choice.
OIherwise, we recommend Ihe BesI Buy-
winning USl CX61 insIead (see Crcu Tests,
Shcer 30S).
Kothorine Byrne
GIGABYTE U2442V

720 inc VAT

From www.lambda-tek.com
VERDICT
A powerfu| U|trabook with dedicated
graphics, but the screen |ets it down
SPECIFICATIONS
CPU 1.9CHz |ntel Core i7-3517U
PAN8CB
5TOPACE 128CB SSD
CPAPHIC5 Nvidia CeForce CT 640N
OPTICAL DPIVE None
DI5PLAY 14in widescreen LCD (1,600x900)
OPEPATINC 5Y5TENWindows 8
DINEN5ION5 18x339x233mm, 1.6kg
POWEP CON5UNPTION 1W standby, 14W idle, 39W active
WAPPANTY Two-year RTB
PAPT CODE U2442V
DETAIL5 www.giga-byte.com
Windows overa||
Nu|titasking
Dirt 5howdown
Banery |ife
|e|e|e:e -'1 -l11 '1 1
50
45
51.9fps
4h 16m
See page 76 lor perlormance deIails
PCs & LPTOPS REVIEVS
3S
ISSUE 308 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ OCTOBER 2013
DESPITE HAVIN6 A name IhaI sounds
somewhere beIween a supporI uniI in a
lanIasy RTS and a slighIly unimaginaIive
deaIh meIal band, Ihe Vibox Black Legion is
an awe-inspiring piece ol kiI. We especially
like iIs Corsair CraphiIe 600T case, which is
enormous, heavy and brillianIly designed,
parIicularly il you like Io upgrade your PC.
The side panels are held in place by
chunky clips and open smooIhly on hinges Io
provide access Io Ihe spacious inIerior. You
can even remove Ihe cenIral drive cage Io
accommodaIe Ihe largesI graphics cards il
you decide Io upgrade Io one in Ihe luIure.
There's noI a single sharp or unhnished edge
Io be lound, eiIher.
The lel side panel has a mesh grille builI
in, wiIh mounIing poinIs lor up Io lour more
lans. As iI is, Ihe grille provides a good view
ol Ihe inIerior, which is pleasanIly illuminaIed
by Ihe logo on Ihe processor cooler. DespiIe
being liquid cooled, Ihe sysIem is surprisingly
loud, even wiIh Ihe case's many lans running
aI Iheir lowesI speed. A dial above Ihe lronI
panel leIs you increase Ihe lans' speed
manually il you need exIra cooling. The PC
would cerIainly look conspicuous your living
room, buI iI's less over Ihe Iop Ihan many
gaming cases, despiIe iIs size.
BAY WATCH
There are lour Sin drive bays, one ol Ihem
occupied by a DVD-RW drive, plus Iwo drive
cages wiIh space lor Ihree drives each. The
vibraIion-damped 3in drive rails slide in
smooIhly, and one has been hued wiIh an
adapIor IhaI holds a 120CB SSD booI drive.
A 2TB 3in hard disk occupies
VIBOX Blacl Leior

1,050 inc VAT

From Vibox 0161 425 8841

VERDICT
This chunky powerhouse is a great gaming
systemwith |oads of upgrade potentia|
Ihe bay below. Three ol Ihe
moIherboard's six SATA3 porIs
are in use, leaving Ihree lree.
The processor is an lnIel Core
iS-4670K, which has been
overclocked Io 4.4CHz and is
hued in a CigabyIe Z87X-D3H
moIherboard. Two ol Ihe lour
memory sloIs are occupied by 8CB
modules ol 1,866UHz DDR3 RAU
Io provide a IoIal capaciIy ol 16CB.
This should be enough memory
lor years Io come.
nsurprisingly, Ihe PC
produced a phenomenal score ol
134 overall in our benchmark IesIs,
and a parIicularly sIrong mulIiIasking
score ol 144. The graphics card is an XFX
AUD Radeon HD 79S0 wiIh 3CB ol graphics
memory, and iI perlormed well in our IesIs,
producing average lrame raIes ol 38.6lps in
Crysis 2 and 88.Slps in DirI Showdown aI
lIra qualiIy and a resoluIion ol 1,920x1,080.
PLAYING THE SLOTS
The moIherboard has plenIy ol expansion
sloIs. AlIhough iI has Ihree PCl-F x16 sloIs,
only one runs aI x16, wiIh Ihe oIhers running
aI x8 and x4. These sloIs share bandwidIh,
so when Ihe x8 sloI is in use Ihe main x16
sloI runs aI x8, and when Ihe x4 sloI is lull,
none ol Ihe PCl-F x1 sloIs will work. ThaI's a
preuy good reason Io keep Ihe x4 sloI empIy,
as Ihe moIherboard has Ihree very handy
PCl-F x1 sloIs. One ol Ihese is blocked by
Ihe graphics cards, buI IhaI sIill leaves Iwo
available lor expansion cards such as a
sound card or addiIional SB3 porIs. The
moIherboard's only PCl sloI is
occupied by a Wi-Fi card.
The case connecIors are
on Iop ol Ihe PC, |usI above
Ihe lronI panel. Here, as well
as Ihe lan speed ad|usImenI
dial, you'll hnd lour SB
porIs, a SB3 porI and a
FireWire porI. The lauer
isn'I connecIed Io anyIhing,
Ihough, as Ihe moIherboard
doesn'I have an lFFF 1394
header. nlorIunaIely, Ihe
lronI panel's SB3 porI is
connecIed Io a SB porI
on Ihe back panel via a
pass-Ihrough cable, which
isn'I all IhaI neaI. ll you
require more SB porIs,
you could always use Ihe
moIherboard's Iwo lree
headers. ln lacI, iI's a shame Vibox hasn'I
used Iwo backplaIe SB3 adapIors Io make
Ihe mosI ol Ihe headers, as Ihey're wasIed
There's plenIy ol connecIiviIy aI Ihe back.
As well as Ihe occupied SB3 porI, Ihere are
hve more SB3 and Iwo exIra SB porIs, a
PS/2 porI lor an older mouse or keyboard and
a CigabiI FIherneI porI. ConvenienIly, Ihe
Black Legion comes wiIh a lull one-year
version ol BullCuard lnIerneI SecuriIy. This is
based on Ihe BiIDelender engine, which did
well in our mosI recenI anIi-virus group IesI.
The Black Legion is a well-builI PC wiIh a
high specihcaIion aI a greaI price, making iI
one ol Ihe besI gaming sysIems you can buy.
ll you wanIed someIhing more discreeI, you
could buy Ihe CompuIer PlaneI ND S000 (see
page 30), buI oIherwise Ihere's no reason noI
Io invesI in Vibox's Black Legion.
Kot Orphonides
SPECIFICATIONS
CPU 4.4CHz |ntel Core i5-4670K
PAN16CB
5TOPACE 120CB SSD + 2TB hard disk
CPAPHIC5 CAPD 3CB AND Radeon HD 7950
OPTICAL DPIVE DVD+/-RW +/-DL
OPEPATINC 5Y5TENWindows 8
DINEN5ION5 507x265x592mm
POWEP CON5UNPTION 5W standby, 95Widle, 200W active
WAPPANTY One-year RTB
PAPT CODE Black Legion
DETAIL5 www.vibox.co.uk
Windows overa||
Nu|titasking
Dirt 5howdown
Crysis 2
|e|e|e:e -'1 -l11 '1 1
134
144
38.6fps
88.5fps
See page 76 lor perlormance deIails
HNDHELD REVIEVS
3C OCTOBER 2013 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 308
THE 6ALAXY YOUN6 is one ol Ihe cheapesI
Android phones we've seen. lI's noI as much
ol a bargain as Ihe ZTF Kis, which is currenIly
available lor 4S on Virgin prepay lrom
Argos, buI iI's Ihe cheapesI phone we've
seen SlU lree.
The handseI looks good and leels well
made. We like Ihe sol-Iouch plasIic on Ihe
rear, which is similar Io IhaI ol Ihe Calaxy S3
and S4, and Ihe silver sides manage Io make
Ihe phone look classy raIher Ihan Iacky. The
Young is a compacI handseI wiIh a 3.3in
screen, buI is relaIively chunky aI 12mm
Ihick. We liked Ihe exIra Ihickness, as iI
meanI we could keep a hrm grip on Ihe
handseI despiIe iIs small size.
Like many budgeI smarIphones, Ihe
Young has a 320x480-pixel screen. We Ihink
you need aI leasI 480x800 pixels lor Android
Io look sharp, and Ihe Calaxy Young's IexI is
slighIly blurry wiIh a signihcanI amounI ol
grain, buI iI's cerIainly usable.
The Young runs Android 4.1 |elly Bean.
We're used Io Ihe laIesI versions ol Android
running smooIhly on new handseIs, and sure
enough Ihe OS runs well on Ihe Calaxy Young
- aI leasI superhcially. The app Iray displays
quickly and animaIions are smooIh, buI when
you open an app, Ihe limiIaIions ol Ihe
single-core 1CHz processor sIarI Io show.
ln Ihe Chrome web browser, Ihe BBC News
websiIe Iook nine seconds Io render, while
SAMSUNG GalaxyYour

116 inc VAT S|N free

From www.ballicom.co.uk
VERDICT
Very cheap 5INfree, but the Ca|axy Young is
compromised by its s|owprocessor
mosI dual-core smarIphones
can render Ihe page in hve
seconds. Scrolling around
pages was lar |erkier Ihan
usual, and Ihere's a second's
delay beIween Iapping Ihe
address box and Ihe keyboard
appearing. The Uaps app is
also slow, especially when
loading new Iiles, which makes
scrolling around a chore.
This slow perlormance is
conhrmed by Ihe SunSpider
|avaScripI benchmark, which Ihe phone
compleIed in a sluggish 3,203ms. This weak
perlormance gives Ihe handseI one
advanIage, Ihough. good bauery lile. ln our
conIinuous video playback IesI, Ihe Young's
1,300mAh bauery lasIed nearly nine hours.
Core phone luncIions such as messaging
are less ol a problem. There's a slighI delay
beIween pressing a key on Ihe onscreen
keyboard and Ihe leuer appearing, buI Ihe
keyboard's sensible design aids accuraIe
Iyping. The keys are small buI spaced lar
aparI, so Ihose wiIh laI hngers won'I sIruggle
wiIh Ihe screen's low resoluIion.
We were impressed wiIh Ihe phone's
Ihree-megapixel camera, which capIured a
surprising amounI ol deIail in ouIdoor shoIs,
and compared lavourably wiIh Ihe Samsung
Calaxy S3's camera, which we Iend Io use lor
STEELSERIES !ree

42 inc VAT

From www.currys.co.uk
The SteelSeries Free is a tiny Bluetooth
controller that can pair with any iOS or
Android device, enabling you to play your games
with physical buuons and accurate analogue sticks.
The Free has twin analogue sticks, four face buuons, two triggers
and a traditional direction pad. The face buuons are grouped tightly,
which could prove a challenge for those with large hands, but the
analogue sticks are well spaced and the contoured rubber grip
makes the pad comfortable to hold for long gaming sessions.

The bauery lasts up to 20 hours, and you
can recharge it through a Nicro USB port
in its base. The Free paired quickly with our
Calaxy S4 smartphone. |t supports most ma|or
games, but we can see fans of retro games in
particular using it to turn their handsets into
portable arcades.
The Free is expensive, but if you have a smartphone or a tablet
full of games and emulators, it's one of the best ways to en|oy
them as they were intended to be played.
Tom Morgon
PAPT CODE 69007 DETAIL5 www.steelseries.co.uk
SPECIFICATIONS
OPEPATINC 5Y5TENAndroid 4.1 (|ellyBean)
PPOCE55OP 5PEED 1CHz
NUNBEP OF COPE5 1
PAN4CB
NOBILE DATA HSDPA
DI5PLAY 3.3in 320x480 LCD
CANEPA 3-megapixel
INTEPNAL 5TOPACE 1.5CB
NENOPY CAPD 5LOT NicroSD
CLAINED BATTEPY LIFE 7 hours' talktime, 10 days' standby
DINEN5ION5 109x59x12mm, 112g
PAPT CODE CT-S6310N
DETAIL5 www.samsung.co.uk
Banery |ife
|e|e|e:e -'1 -l11 '1 1
8h 52m
See page 76 lor perlormance deIails
our relerence. Like Ihe S3,
Ihe Calaxy Young sIruggles
wiIh exposure in brighI lighI,
so Ihe sky is more likely Io
be a bleached-ouI whiIe Ihan
someIhing wiIh IexIure and
clouds. PhoIos Iaken in low
lighI are noisy buI reasonably
impressive considering Ihe
phone's low price.
RaIing Ihe Calaxy Young
is dimculI. On Ihe one hand,
you won'I hnd a lully leaIured
Android 4.1 phone available lor
less SlU lree. On Ihe oIher, iI's slow Io
Ihe poinI ol lrusIraIion aI Iimes. We'd
recommend picking your mobile neIwork
hrsI and Ihen buying a beuer handseI wiIh
a pre-pay subsidy, such as Ihe greaI-value
Vodalone SmarI lll or Huawei Ascend Y300.
Chris Finnomore
Ve vere impressed vitI tIe pIone's
tIree-meapixeI camera, vIicI captured a
surprisin amount oI detaiI in outdoor sIots
HNDHELD REVIEVS
3
ISSUE 308 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ OCTOBER 2013
WHEN BLACKBERRY LAUNCHED Ihe Z10
earlier Ihis year wiIh iIs new operaIing sysIem
and brighI screen, iI laced Iwo main criIicisms.
One was Ihe lack ol a keyboard and Ihe oIher
was iIs price. The Q10 solved Ihe keyboard
problem buI noI Ihe expense. The QS,
however, is similar Io Ihe Q10 buI cosIs less.
The QS sIill isn'I cheap, especially when
you can buy superb Android phones such as
Ihe Sony Xperia SP lor a similar price SlU
lree, buI aI leasI iI's lree on a 21-per-monIh
conIracI. lI's noI parIicularly sIylish in iIs hard
plasIic body, buI iI leels Iough and gives Ihe
impression IhaI iI could survive a Iumble.
nlike Ihe more expensive Q10, Ihe QS's
dual-core processor runs aI 1.2CHz insIead ol
1.SCHz. lIs camera sensor has hve raIher Ihan
eighI megapixels and Ihe QS is a sealed uniI,
which means you can'I replace Ihe bauery.
This may Irouble Ihose who Iravel exIensively,
buI Ihe relaIively large 2,180mAh bauery
lasIed over 12 hours in our video playback
IesI, so you shouldn'I have Io worry Ioo
much. We usually managed Io geI a couple ol
days' use ouI ol iI beIween charges.
We didn'I hnd Ihe slower clock speed a
problem eiIher. The phone may only have
managed a relaxed 2,328ms in Ihe SunSpider
0.91 |avaScripI benchmark (BlackBerry 10
doesn'I supporI all ol SunSpider 1.0's IesIs)
buI iI renders web pages quickly and pans
around Ihem smooIhly. The QS also handles
BlackBerry OS well, we saw occasional |erks in
Ihe menus, buI Ihe Z10 suhered lrom Ihis, Ioo.
We like Ihe QS's 3.1in, 720x720-pixel
display. lI doesn'I have Ihe deepesI blacks
we've seen, buI whiIes are whiIe and IexI is
sharp. lI doesn'I perlorm as well ouIdoors as
Ihe super-brighI Z10 display, Ihough. OuIside
in brighI sunlighI, Ihe screen was sIill easy Io
see buI nowhere near as brighI as IhaI ol Ihe
Nokia Lumia 92S we used lor comparison.
BLACKBERRY QS

330 inc VAT S|N free, free on 21-per-month contract

From www.handtec.co.uk (S|N free), www.phones4u.co.uk (contract)

VERDICT
A competent and cheaper way to enjoy
B|ackBerry 10's superb messaging features
BlackBerry 10 is a rehned OS IhaI's greaI
lor messaging. You're never lar lrom your
communicaIions, wheIher iI's email, IexIs,
social media menIions, voicemails or calls.
CesIures are key Io using Ihe OS emcienIly.
Swiping up on Ihe gesIure bar above Ihe
keyboard displays a sidebar, and il you wanI
Io look aI any messages, a quick swipe righI
will Iake you Io Ihe lasI inbox you visiIed.
Swipe lel again, and you'll see a lisI ol all
Ihe accounIs on Ihe phone, compleIe wiIh Ihe
number ol unread messages or noIihcaIions.
AI Ihe Iop is Ihe BlackBerry Hub, which
aggregaIes all Ihese accounIs inIo one box,
making Ihe prospecI ol keeping Iabs on all
Ihe daIa sIreaming in a liule less daunIing.
BlackBerry 10 also makes iI easy Io keep
Iabs on your running apps. No mauer which
app you're using, swiping up lrom Ihe gesIure
bar will pause iI and Iake you Io a screen IhaI
shows all your running apps. You can swiIch
Io any ol Ihese or close Ihem wiIh a Iap.
The keyboard makes Iyping long emails
easy. Fach key has a posiIive click, and wiIh
plenIy ol space beIween Ihem, you're unlikely
Io press Ihe wrong leuer. Our only criIicism is
IhaI Ihe keyboard is slighIly Ioo wide Io use
comlorIably in one hand.
The QS comes wiIh some uselul apps
insIalled, such as Facebook and Twiuer
clienIs, buI we're noI convinced by Ihe Uaps
app. Searching by posIcode and poinIs ol
inIeresI works well, buI iI's no good aI hnding
sIreeI names. We lound iI less uselul Ihan
Coogle Uaps, and Ihe only Coogle Uaps app
in Ihe BlackBerry World sIore is basic aI besI.
The small number ol apps available is
one ol Ihe main problems wiIh BlackBerry,
alIhough Ihis is always Ihe case when a new
operaIing sysIem launches. BlackBerry World
lacks some key apps, Ioo, such as Trainline
and Ihe VolP app Viber. The BBC iPlayer app
is |usI a link Io Ihe mobile iPlayer web page.
However, Ihe mobile versions ol websiIes
serve mosI needs, so unless you rely on
parIicular specialisI apps, such as Ihe DS
Audio app Io sIream audio lrom a Synology
NAS device, you shouldn'I have a problem.
The leasI impressive parI ol Ihe QS is iIs
camera. lIs indoor perlormance is reasonable
excepI in very dark condiIions where noise is
a problem, buI we weren'I impressed wiIh iIs
ouIdoor phoIos. These looked drab, wiIh liule
deIail, and Iheir colour accuracy was way oh.
ln many ways, Ihe BlackBerry QS is a niche
producI. For Ihe same price you can buy any
number ol lasI Android phones wiIh big
screens and comprehensive app supporI, buI
noIhing Iouches BlackBerry 10 lor messaging.
ll you wanI Ihe besI email phone you can buy
aI a reasonable price, Ihe QS is lor you.
Chris Finnomore
SPECIFICATIONS
OPEPATINC 5Y5TENBlackBerry 10.1 OS
PPOCE55OP 5PEED 1.2CHz
NUNBEP OF COPE5 2
PAN2CB
NOBILE DATA HSDPA
DI5PLAY 3.1in 720x720 LCD
CANEPA 5-megapixel
INTEPNAL 5TOPACE 8CB
NENOPY CAPD 5LOT NicroSD
CLAINED BATTEPY LIFE 12hours' talktime,
14 days' standby
DINEN5ION5 120x66x11mm, 120g
PAPT CODE Q5
DETAIL5 www.blackberry.com
Banery |ife
|e|e|e:e -'1 -l11 '1 1
12h 5m
See page 76 lor perlormance deIails
BIackBerry 10 is reat Ior messain. You're never
Iar Irom your communications
HNDHELD REVIEVS
38 OCTOBER 2013 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 308
HUAWEI'S ASCEND P2 has a large 4.7in
display and a quad-core processor running aI
1.SCHz, and iI runs Android 4.1. Our hrsI
impressions ol Ihe P2 were good. lI has an
auracIive Ihree-Ione unibody design, wiIh a
black screen, silver sides and, on our review
model, a glossy whiIe rear (Ihe P2 is also
available in black). The unibody means you
can'I replace Ihe phone's bauery, Ihough, and
Ihere's no microSD sloI, so you'll have Io
make do wiIh Ihe builI-in 16CB ol sIorage.
The P2's rear may be plasIic, buI Ihe phone
leels well made. We were impressed wiIh iIs
screen, Ioo. lI may noI be Full HD, buI Android
looks greaI on 1,280x720 pixels - you |usI have
Io zoom in slighIly Io read IexI on DeskIop
mode web pages. lIs colours are vibranI and
iIs whiIes brighI, a Samsung Calaxy S3's
whiIes looked almosI grey by comparison.
The display coped well wiIh brighI sunlighI,
alIhough a bug in Ihe solware made iI reseI
Ihe brighIness lrom lull Io hall every couple ol
minuIes, which was maddening when we were
using Ihe phone Io navigaIe on a sunny day.
The P2 uses Huawei's FmoIion user
inIerlace, which is a cusIomised skin lor
Android. This has new rounded icons buI
conIroversially iI geIs rid ol Ihe app Iray.
lnsIead ol presenIing home screens lull ol
widgeIs and your choice ol app shorIcuIs,
leaving Ihe resI ol your apps in Ihe app Iray,
Ihe P2 places all your apps and widgeIs
IogeIher on Ihe home screens.
While some may like Ihe
lacI IhaI all your apps are in
one place, oIhers hnd iI
unnecessarily cluuered as you
can'I hide apps you use less
lrequenIly. lI also leaves less
room lor widgeIs. You may
hnd Ihe changes Ioo much Io
Iake il you're an Android lan,
buI Ihose coming lrom oIher
plaIlorms may relish Ihe
FmoIion inIerlace's simpliciIy.
Huawei describes Ihe P2 as
"The World's FasIesI 4C LTF
SmarIphone", buI Ihe
company is relerring Io Ihe
speed ol iIs 4C daIa chip
raIher Ihan iIs processor. This
is |usI as well, as we lound Ihe
P2's perlormance variable. lI
was beauIilully smooIh when
we were licking Ihrough
screens ol apps, lor example,
buI Ihe delaulI keyboard isn'I
parIicularly responsive.
HUAWEI Ascerd F2

339 inc VAT S|N free, free on 21-per-month contract

From www.expansys.com (S|N free), www.phones4u.co.uk (contract)

VERDICT
A good-|ooking smartphone with a great screen,
but the P2 has some performance nigg|es
We'd also recommend using a beuer web
browser such as Coogle Chrome insIead ol Ihe
P2's delaulI Uozilla-based app. We usually
hnd Uozilla-based mobile browsers Io be
quick, buI Ihis one's a slug. lI compleIed Ihe
SunSpider |avaScripI benchmark in 3,328ms,
which is Ihe slowesI score we've ever seen,
and pauses and |erks when scrolling around
graphics-heavy web pages.
Chrome is much beuer, wiIh smooIher web
browsing and a much lasIer SunSpider score
ol 1,634ms. This shows Ihere's noIhing wrong
wiIh Ihe P2's hardware, so we leel IhaI Huawei
should opIimise some aspecIs ol iIs Android
build Io show Ihe P2 in iIs besI lighI.
The phone perlormed beuer in Ihe 3DUark
lce SIorm benchmark, scoring an above-
average 3,131, buI we sIill saw occasional
|erkiness in 3D games such as RipIide CP.
The P2 has a 13-megapixel backside-
illuminaIed camera sensor, which is meanI Io
be Ihe besI Iype lor low-lighI phoIography. We
were cerIainly impressed wiIh Ihe amounI ol
deIail iI capIured in ouIdoor shoIs. We could
zoom in lrom a roolop Io Ihe road below and
pick ouI sIreeI signs and
shopping bags, while iIs
well-|udged exposure
produced plenIy ol deIail
in shadowy areas and no
bleaching ol Ihe sky on a
sunny day. We weren'I
compleIely convinced
ol iIs colour accuracy,
Ihough, as some grey
lamps in our IesI phoIos
ended up wiIh a slighI
green Iinge.
The sensor coped
well wiIh moderaIely liI
indoor scenes, producing
deIailed phoIos wiIh liule
noise. lI couldn'I Iouch
our low-lighI champion,
Ihe HTC One, in very low
lighI, as deIails became
smudged and noise crepI
in. The P2 also had a
Iendency Io hunI lor
locus when recording
video in low lighI.
Huawei's Ascend P2 is a well-designed
smarIphone wiIh a greaI screen and an
impressive camera, buI wiIh iIs occasional
perlormance sIuuers, we're noI convinced
IhaI Huawei's solware is as opIimised as
iI could be. lI will also have some serious
compeIiIion in Ihe lorm ol Huawei's slim
Ascend P6, which should arrive in Ihe K
soon. The P6 has Ihe same 4.7in, 1,280x720-
pixel display as Ihe P2 buI is 2mm Ihinner and
runs Android 4.2 raIher Ihan Ihe P2's Android
4.1, as well as Ihe laIesI version ol Huawei's
FmoIion inIerlace, so we'd be inclined Io waiI
lor Ihe new handseI belore buying. ln Ihe
meanIime, we Ihink Sony's powerlul Xperia SP
is a beuer phone lor a similar price.
Chris Finnomore
SPECIFICATIONS
OPEPATINC 5Y5TENAndroid 4.1 (|ellyBean)
PPOCE55OP 5PEED 1.5CHz
NUNBEP OF COPE5 4
PAN1CB
NOBILE DATA HSDPA
DI5PLAY 4.7in 1,280x720 LCD
CANEPA 13-megapixel
INTEPNAL 5TOPACE 16CB
NENOPY CAPD 5LOT None
CLAINED BATTEPY LIFE 17 hours' talktime, 11 days' standby
DINEN5ION5 136x67x8mm, 122g
PAPT CODE Ascend P2
DETAIL5 www.huaweidevice.co.uk
Banery |ife
|e|e|e:e -'1 -l11 '1 1
7h 47m
See page 76 lor perlormance deIails
Huavei's scend P2 is a veII-desined smartpIone
vitI a reat screen and an impressive camera
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Lntertainment oompany.
PR0bUC1 b1AlL5
lnputs: L-3ub, Lual Link Lvl-L, LMl, Lisplay port
upto 1 ms 0t0
1920 x 1080 144 z
3peoial leatures: -5-+15 1ilt, 3wivel, 130 mm height adjust
350 od/m
03L with speoialised and oustomisable pre-sets for best performanoe in various types of games
lnnovative height u3B 3.0 x 2 without ghosting effeots with one milliseoond
adjust stand (130mm) u3B 2.0x 2 response
(one for oharger)
3 years warranty
PHOTOGRPHY REVIEVS
NIKON'S D7100 IS Ihe comany's laIesI
digiIal SLR or enIhusiasIs and semi-
roessional hoIograhers. lI's an udaIe
Io Ihe Nikon D7000, which has been a hrm
avouriIe o ours since iIs launch in 2010.
Uuch o Ihe D7000's success sIemmed
rom iIs ergonomics and conIrols, so iI's good
Io see IhaI liule has changed here. The large
oIical viewhnder, subsIanIial 9S0-shoI bauery
lie, monochrome LCD screen or dislaying
seuings and dual command dials disIinguish iI
rom cheaer SLRs. Ueanwhile, Ihe Iwin SDXC
card sloIs and weaIher-sealed magnesium alloy
body are greaI eaIures you don'I Iyically see,
even on cameras aI Ihis rice.
We really like Ihe conIrol sysIem, as iI has
dedicaIed buuons or a wide range o uncIions,
including lSO seed, whiIe balance, meIering,
auIoocus mode and brackeIing. These are
ad|usIed by holding down Ihe buuon and
Iurning Ihe command dials. The dual dials
can be used Io good ehecI, ad|usIing Ihe lSO
seed wiIh Ihe rear dial and Ioggling AuIo lSO
wiIh Ihe ronI dial. Uany o Ihese buuons are
accessed wiIh Ihe le hand, leaving Ihe righI
hand in charge o Ihe dials, iI's Ihis Iwo-handed
oeraIion we hnd exIremely asI and inIuiIive.
The main menu isn'I Ihe quickesI Io navigaIe,
buI as Ihere are so many hysical conIrols
Ihere's very liule need Io use iI. Fxosure
mode and drive mode have dedicaIed dials,
and boIh have locks Io avoid accidenIal use.
FxIernal changes are hard Io soI, buI
Ihere are some welcome Iweaks. The 3.2in
NIKON Dl00 vil l8-l0SmmVR lers

1,029 inc VAT

From www.wexphotographic.com
VERDICT
A we||-rounded enthusiasts' 5LP with
exceptiona| image qua|ity and ergonomics
screen is a liule bigger Ihan Ihe D7000's and
iIs resoluIion has increased Io 1.2 million doIs,
wiIh whiIe ixels |oining Ihe usual red, green
and blue or increased brighIness. A new
buuon marked 'l' rovides quick access Io an
addiIional 10 uncIions via Ihe screen, such as
HDR shooIing, colour reseIs, noise reducIion
sIrengIh and Ihe uncIion o Iwo cusIomisable
buuons on Ihe ronI o Ihe camera.
The live view, video record and auIoocus
oinI lock buuons have been rearranged Io a
more logical layouI, and Ihere's a lever Io
Ioggle Ihe live view mode beIween hoIo and
video duIies. This seIs Ihe asecI raIio Io 3.2
or 16.9 or hoIos and videos resecIively, and
makes iI clear IhaI videos can'I use shuuer
seeds slower Ihan Ihe selecIed rame raIe,
or IhaI Ihe aerIure can'I be ad|usIed while
recording. These resIricIions weren'I so
obvious on Ihe D7000.
There's no discernible
imrovemenI Io Ihe live view
mode, Ihough. AuIoocus
becomes rusIraIingly slow in
Ihis mode, sending shoI-Io-
shoI Iimes lummeIing rom
0.4S Io 4.8 seconds in our
IesIs. Live view is sIill useul
or hne-Iuning manual ocus,
Ihough, and Ihe D7100
reveals sharer deIail Ihan
Ihe DS200 when magniying
Ihe live view image.
FOCAL WARMING
The ma|oriIy o changes
are inside Ihe camera. The
sensor's resoluIion has increased Io 24
megaixels rom 16 megaixels, and iI
disenses wiIh an oIical low-ass hlIer Io
maximise deIail levels. The auIoocus sensor
now has S1 oinIs, including 1S cross-Iye
oinIs or increased sensiIiviIy. The dense
clusIer o oinIs covers mosI o Ihe rame,
and makes iI easy Io ocus recisely on Ihe
sub|ecI insIead o lining Ihe sub|ecI u wiIh
an auIoocus oinI.
Uore oinIs should imrove Ihe accuracy
o Ihe 3D Iracking ocus mode. We didn'I have
Ihe D7000 Io comare iI wiIh, buI Ihe D7100
did a hne |ob o Iracking sub|ecIs as Ihey
moved nearer, urIher and around Ihe rame,
wiIh more Ihan hal Ihe shoIs in shar ocus.
SHOOTING FOR THE STARS
ConIinuous shooIing erormance is quoIed as
6s, Ihe same as or Ihe D7000. However, Ihe
higher resoluIion has Iaken iIs Ioll on endurance.
WiIh a asI SDHC card, Ihe D7000 keI going aI
6s or 100 shoIs. WiIh Ihe D7100, iI managed
18 rames aI S.9s beore iI slowed Io 3.4s.
ThaI's noI a Ierrible resulI, Ihough, and should
sumce in mosI siIuaIions. There's also a 1.3x
cro mode, which uses a smaller cenIral area o
Ihe rame Io give 1S.3-megaixel hoIos aI 7s
(6.8s in our IesIs). ThaI lasIed or 24 rames
beore slowing Io 4.2s.
ConIinuous Raw erormance was shorIer-
lived, sIarIing aI 4.9s and slowing Io 1.4s
aer |usI hve rames, whereas Ihe D7000
lasIed or 10. We were able Io raise Ihe iniIial
seed Io S.8s by swiIching rom 14- Io 12-biI
Raw ormaIs, buI iI sIill lasIed or only hve
rames, which is less Ihan a second, beore
cc.cc.ol [ O8-- --- o2-2
8am-9pm Vkoays, 9am-6pm Saturoays, Cam-5pm Sunoays
PHOTOGRPHY REVIEVS
4l
ISSUE 308 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ OCTOBER 2013
SPECIFICATIONS
Banery |ife
|e|e|e:e -'1 -l11 '1 1
950 shots
See age 76 or erormance deIails
5EN5OP 5IZE 24 megapixels (6,000x4,000)
ZOON5.8x optical (27-157mm)
LCD 3.2in (1,228,800 pixels)
5TOPACE (INTEPNAL) Dual SDXC card (none)
BATTEPY Li-ion
DINEN5ION5 108x137x160mm, 1.2kg
WAPPANTY Two-year RTB
PAPT CODE 10205745
DETAIL5 www.nikon.co.uk
slowing dramaIically. The 7s, 1.3x cro mode
managed nine rames beore slowing.
ConIinuous |PFC shooIing also Iook a
big hiI when AuIo disIorIion conIrol (or
counIeracIing lens disIorIion) was enabled,
slowing Io 1.9s aer seven rames. The
bouom line is IhaI susIained asI erormance
is ossible, buI only i you're willing Io orego
Raw mode and disIorIion correcIion, and
ossibly lower Ihe resoluIion. These are
choices we'd reer noI Io have Io make
wiIh a 1,000 camera.
STRAIGHT TOVIDEO
The video mode has some useul ugrades.
There's a headhone ouIuI Io comlemenI
Ihe microhone inuI, lus a sIereo raIher
Ihan mono builI-in microhone. The rame raIe
is no longer hxed aI 24s, and you now have a
choice o 24s, 2Ss and 30s rogressive,
lus S0s and 60s inIerlaced in 1.3x cro
mode. lI's odd IhaI Ihe cro mode musI be seI
elsewhere hrsI Io enable S0s and 60s
inIerlaced, why noI |usI erorm Ihe cro
auIomaIically? There should be more Ihan
enough deIail rom Ihe sensor Io roduce
shar 1,920x1,080-resoluIion video rom Ihis
1.3x cro area, buI videos in Ihis mode weren'I
as deIailed as when using Ihe ull sensor area.
OIherwise, video qualiIy was excellenI,
and Ihere was very liule evidence o moir
inIererence - Ihe riling auerns caused
by Iwo regularly reeaIing IexIures IhaI are
overlaid on Io o
each oIher, such as
layers o IranslucenI
abric. lI also haens
beIween Ihe regular
auern o ixels on a
camera's sensor and
reeaIing IexIures such as
abric and bricks. Uoir inIererence is
someIhing rom which revious Nikon
SLRs' video modes have all suhered.
Clumsy video auIoocus remains
unresolved, Ihough. lI musI be udaIed on
demand and soiled Ihe soundIrack when
using Ihe inIernal microhone. Shuuer- and
aerIure-rioriIy modes aren'I available or
video, buI manual exosure is, making Ihis a
solid choice or serious video work.
IMAGE CONSCIOUS
Our SLR hoIo qualiIy IesIs rarely Ihrow u
big surrises, buI we were inIeresIed Io see
Ihe ehecI o Ihe D7100 noI using an oIical
low-ass hlIer (OLPF). ln mosI oIher digiIal
cameras, Ihe OLPF soens deIails slighIly Io
avoid moir inIererence. ln Iheory, omiuing
Ihe OLPF on Ihe D7100 should imrove image
sharness, buI aI Ihe increased risk o moir.
Our IesI shoIs showed only a liule evidence o
eiIher ehecI. We did our besI Io creaIe some
moir inIererence, buI iI Iook a loI o ehorI
Io generaIe some mild examles. We didn'I
soI iI once in Ihe resI o our IesI shoIs.
PhoIos were exIremely shar, and Ihe
hdeliIy o subIle deIails in brighI condiIions
was beyond reroach. Noise levels aI asI lSO
seeds were low, esecially considering Ihe
high resoluIion. Comaring Raw ouIuI in
Adobe LighIroom wiIh noise reducIion
swiIched oh, noise was signihcanIly
lower Ihan wiIh Canon's laIesI-
generaIion 18-megaixel sensor,
as seen in Canon's FOS 100D
(see age 44), aI lSO 6400 and
above. When comaring Iheir
|PFC ouIuI, Ihe ga was
narrower. lI seems Canon's
noise reducIion is suerior Io
Nikon's, buI Ihe D7100 sIill
came ouI on Io aI lSO 12800
and 2S600. lI even nied aI
Ihe heels o Ihe ull-rame D600
(see Peviews, Shcer 300),
arIicularly when comaring Iheir |PFC ouIuI.
This is Ihe besI APS-C sensor we've seen.
VERDICT
The D7100 cosIs 1,029 wiIh Ihe 18-10Smm
kiI lens, or 844 or Ihe body only. These
rices, and iIs secihcaIions, mean Ihere
isn'I a direcI equivalenI model in oIher
manuacIurers' SLR ranges. Canon's FOS 60D
comes closesI, and IhaI's 600 or Ihe body
only. The FOS 60D has Ihe added bonus o an
arIiculaIed screen, buI Ihe drawbacks are a
lasIic body, a single card sloI and nine-oinI
auIoocus. AnoIher oIion is Canon's FOS 7D,
which cosIs almosI 1,100 or Ihe body only.
The FOS 7D rovides susIained 8s shooIing,
buI iI has only 19 auIoocus oinIs.
Nikon's D7100 isn'I as much o a sIand-ouI,
groundbreaking camera as Ihe D7000 was
when iI hrsI aeared. SIill, Ihe shorI-lived
conIinuous Raw seed is our only serious
disaoinImenI, Ihis could have been Ihe
erecI camera or wildlie enIhusiasIs wiIh iIs
large viewhnder, sohisIicaIed auIoocus and
weaIher-roohng. OIherwise, iI's hard Io aulI,
wiIh class-leading image qualiIy, exceIional
ergonomics and sohisIicaIed auIoocus IhaI
keen hoIograhers will really areciaIe.
Ben Piu
TIe Iare opticaI vievnder, substantiaI 9S0-sIot
battery IiIe, monocIrome LCD screen and duaI command
diaIs distinuisI tIe D7100 Irom cIeaper SLRs
PHOTOGRPHY REVIEVS
42 OCTOBER 2013 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 308
PANASONIC'S LUMIX DMC66 is Ihe laIesI
udaIe Io Ihe C1 comacI sysIem camera
(CSC), and iI ollows Ihe same design cues. lI
has a disIincIly SLR-like shae, comleIe wiIh
a viewhnder, hoIshoe, arIiculaIed screen and a
smauering o conIrols. This isn'I a Irue SLR,
as Ihere's no li-u mirror Io redirecI lighI
rom Ihe sensor Io Ihe viewhnder, insIead, iI
uses an elecIronic viewhnder. One benehI is a
smaller overall size, buI Ihe C6 is only a liule
smaller Ihan convenIional SLRs aI Ihis rice.
The Lumix DUC-C6 is comorIable Io hold.
However, one-handed oeraIion someIimes
led us Io accidenIally ress Ihe Wi-Fi buuon
on Ihe bouom-righI corner o Ihe camera.
Push Ihe command dial inwards Io Ioggle
beIween exosure-relaIed uncIions, buI we
ound iI Ioo sIih and recessed Io roIaIe
quickly wiIhouI accidenIally ushing iI.
OIherwise, Ihe conIrols are a success.
There's a Io-mounIed lever IhaI ad|usIs Ihe
zoom or lenses wiIh moIorised zooms and
Iakes on exosure comensaIion duIies aI
oIher Iimes. There's a generous collecIion o
buuons, including dedicaIed buuons or Ihe
mosI imorIanI uncIions and hve cusIomisable
Fn buuons. lI's besI Io leave mosI o Ihese aI
Iheir deaulI seuings, which are labelled.
SHOT BY THE POWER
Perormance is excellenI, wiIh auIoocus
IhaI's as asI as an SLR, and ossibly asIer in
low lighI. lI rauled oh a shoI every 0.S seconds
in our IesIs, even when shooIing in Raw mode.
ConIinuous shooIing ran aI 8.6s or 20 shoIs,
slowing Io 2.6s. Fnabling conIinuous
auIoocus slowed iI Io 2.7s. We couldn'I
achieve Panasonic's claimed Ss erormance.
All Ihis comares well wiIh SLRs such as
Canon's FOS 6S0D (see Peviews, Shcer 299),
buI Ihe DUC-C6 gains several advanIages rom
iIs mirrorless design. lIs elecIronic viewhnder
is bigger, and iIs 1.44-million doI resoluIion
reveals more o Ihe rame Ihan iIs rivals' oIical
viewhnders. Uanual ocus geIs an added boosI
wiIh Ihe abiliIy Io show a 10x magnihcaIion
while making ad|usImenIs, lus a eaking
dislay IhaI highlighIs high-conIrasI edges.
SLRs are much slower Io ocus in live
view mode, buI Ihe DUC-C6's auIoocus is
quick regardless o wheIher you're using Ihe
viewhnder or Ihe LCD screen. The auIoocus
oinI can be laced anywhere in Ihe rame
simly by Iouching Ihe screen, and varied
in size via Ihe command dial. There's also
a PinoinI mode, which shows a Sx
magnihcaIion Io hel lace Ihe auIoocus
oinI recisely.
PANASONIC Lumix DMC-GC

619 inc VAT with 14-42mm kit lens

From www.clihoncameras.co.uk
VERDICT
The Lumix DNC-C6 is an accomp|ished a||-
rounder that exce|s for video capture
Resonsive, smooIh auIoocus
is also available when recording
videos. Video deIails were smooIh, wiIh barely
any moir inIererence and none o Ihe blocky
or so deIails IhaI rival cameras exhibiI.
The besI news or keen videograhers is
IhaI Ihe Lumix DUC-C6 suorIs Ihe ull
comlemenI o rioriIy and manual exosure
modes or video caIure. Shuuer seed,
aerIure and lSO seed can be ad|usIed while
recording, and doing so via Ihe Iouchscreen
means you can avoid soiling Ihe soundIrack.
UPFC4 video is aI 2Ss or S0s
rogressive aI a resoluIion o 1,920x1,080.
SwiIching Io Ihe AVCHD ormaI adds 24s
rogressive and S0s inIerlaced Io Ihe oIions,
buI deIails weren'I as cris in Ihis ormaI.
The DUC-C6's ocus eaking mode is a
huge benehI or video, making iI easier Io
ad|usI Ihe manual ocus while recording. lI
also suorIs remoIe video caIure over
Wi-Fi rom Ihe iOS and Android as, so a
IableI can be used as a wireless moniIor.
The as also include comrehensive
conIrol over camera seuings, alIhough iI isn'I
ossible Io ad|usI Ihem while recording. The
camera can even sIream recorded videos Io
an Android device or insIanI layback, buI
Ihis isn'I suorIed in Ihe iOS a.
PhoIo caIure benehIs greaIly rom Ihe
Wi-Fi eaIures, and you can even Iranser
hoIos as you shooI. The auIoocus oinI can
be moved by Iouching Ihe hone or IableI's
screen, and iI's even ossible Io ad|usI Ihe
auIoocus oinI's size wiIh a inching acIion.
The biggesI challenge is Ihe abiliIy Io Iake
hoIos. lIs redecessors did well, buI haven'I
maIched SLRs or image qualiIy. The DUC-C6
had no roblems in brighI condiIions. lIs 16-
megaixel sensor is a liule lower Ihan mosI
similarly riced SLRs, buI iIs shar ocus inIo
Ihe corners o rames and iIs reliable auIoocus
meanI iI comared well or deIails.
There was no hinI o noise-reducIion
arIeacIs aI Ihe lSO 160 seuing, and deIails
looked as lielike as we'd execI rom an SLR.
A NOISE BY ANY OTHER NAME
Noise aI asI lSO seeds has been a weak area
or Lumix C cameras, buI Ihe DUC-C6 uI in
an excellenI erormance here, Ioo. lI was |usI
as good as an SLR u Io lSO 1600. lIs rivals
show a slighI advanIage aI lSO 3200, buI Ihe
DUC-C6 sIill Iurned in usable resulIs aI lSO
6400 IhaI were only a biI behind Ihe leaders.
Choosing a Lumix C camera used Io mean
having Io acceI a comromise or low-lighI
image qualiIy, buI IhaI's no longer Ihe case.
The Lumix DUC-C6 could be seen as a
deendable camera. lIs ergonomics, conIrols,
erormance and hoIo qualiIy are all above
average, buI noI class-leading. lIs video mode
and Wi-Fi imlemenIaIion are iIs besI eaIures.
ThaI said, Ihis is a rare insIance o a camera
IhaI geIs reuy much everyIhing righI. lI Iakes
excellenI hoIos and videos, and everyIhing
else is in lace or a greaI user exerience.
Ben Piu
SPECIFICATIONS
Banery |ife
|e|e|e:e -'1 -l11 '1 1
340 shots
See age 76 or erormance deIails
5EN5OP 5IZE 16 megapixels (4,608x3,456)
ZOON3x optical (28-84mm)
LCD 3in (1,036,000 pixels)
5TOPACE (INTEPNAL) SDXC card (none)
BATTEPY Li-ion
DINEN5ION5 85x123x124mm, 564g
WAPPANTY One-year RTB
PAPT CODE DNC-C6KEB-K
DETAIL5 www.panasonic.co.uk
TIe Lumix DMC-G6 is a rare instance oI a camera
tIat ets pretty mucI everytIin riIt
PHOTOGRPHY REVIEVS
43
ISSUE 308 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ OCTOBER 2013
CANON'S IXUS 140 is an ulIra-comacI wiIh
an 8x zoom, a 16-megaixel sensor, a 3in screen
and a 190-shoI bauery lie. lI has builI-in Wi-Fi
and iIs Android and iOS as leI you browse
and Iranser hoIos.
Videos are limiIed Io a maximum 1,280x
720 resoluIion, and maximum 10-minuIe cli
CANON'S POWERSHOT N has an 8x zoom
lens, a 2.8in Iouchscreen and buuons or
ower, layback and Wi-Fi. lI has a mode
swiIch, buI Ihere's no sign o a shuuer buuon
or zoom lever. These key uncIions are builI
inIo Ihe meIal rings IhaI encircle Ihe lens.
VERDICT
A capab|e camera with bui|t-in Wi-Fi, but suers in
comparison to its s|ight|y more expensive sib|ing
VERDICT
Exce||ent image qua|ity, but the innovative
design brings on|y margina| benehts
ouIdoor hoIos sIood u well Io scruIiny, and
Ihey all looked suerb aI Iyical viewing sizes.
High-conIrasI deIails were reasonably
shar, buI subIler IexIures were relaced by
haze and a lighI graininess. Noise and hazy
deIails were also visible aI Ihe long end o Ihe
zoom, even in brighI condiIions, where Ihe
camera sensibly raised Ihe lSO and shuuer
seeds Io avoid camera shake. The noise
reducIion isn'I Ihe ugliesI we've seen, Ihough,
and iI became largely irrelevanI once hoIos
were resized Io hI a comuIer screen.
The lxus 140's image qualiIy is hne or casual
snaing and Ihe Wi-Fi eaIures are genuinely
useul. However, Ihe lxus 2SS HS (see Peviews,
Shcer 30S) has asIer erormance, a bigger
zoom range, longer bauery lie and suerior
hoIo and video qualiIy.
Ben Piu
SIill, Ihe PowerShoI N is a caable comacI.
The Iouchscreen inIerace rovides a soI
ocus uncIion IhaI's absenI rom mosI Canon
comacIs. lI aears Io use Ihe same sensor
and image-rocessing engine as Ihe lxus 2SS
HS (see Peviews, Shcer 30S), heling iI deliver
low noise in hoIos. DeIails in brighIly liI shoIs
were smooIh and naIural, and low-lighI hoIos
were resecIable. The lens wasn'I quiIe as
shar Iowards Ihe edges o Ihe rame, Ihough.
Sadly, iIs LFD lash is eeble. The PowerShoI
N's low-lighI image qualiIy is reuy good
wiIhouI iI, buI we'd reer a beuer lash.
We'd also like a manual whiIe balance oIion.
The PowershoI N's image qualiIy is
excellenI, buI Canon's lxus 2SS HS is a beuer
buy due Io iIs roer lash, HDUl ouIuI,
slighIly bigger zoom and sharer ocus.
Ben Piu
CANONlxus l40

150 inc VAT

From www.|ohnlewis.com
CANON Foverslo N

270 inc VAT

From www.|ohnlewis.com
SPECIFICATIONS
SPECIFICATIONS
Banery |ife
Banery |ife
|e|e|e:e
|e|e|e:e
-'1
-'1
-l11
-l11
'1
'1
1
1
190 shots
200 shots
See age 76 or erormance deIails
See age 76 or erormance deIails
5EN5OP 5IZE 16 megapixels (4,608x3,456)
ZOON8x optical (28-224mm)
LCD 3in (460,000 pixels)
5TOPACE (INTEPNAL) SDXC card (none)
BATTEPY Li-ion
DINEN5ION5 56x95x21mm, 133g
WAPPANTY One-year RTB
PAPT CODE 8195B006
DETAIL5 www.canon.co.uk
5EN5OP 5IZE 12 megapixels (4,000x3,000)
ZOON8x optical (28-224mm)
LCD 2.8in (461,000 pixels)
5TOPACE (INTEPNAL) NicroSDXC card (none)
BATTEPY Li-ion
DINEN5ION5 60x88x29mm, 195g
WAPPANTY One-year RTB
PAPT CODE 8230B014
DETAIL5 www.canon.co.uk
lengIh. Similarly riced cameras can
record aI 1,920x1,080 or 20 minuIes
or more. SIill, Ihe video mode worked well in
our IesIs. Focus, exosure and whiIe balance
reacIed well Io changing lighIing and moving
sub|ecIs, and colour reroducIion was greaI.
The lxus 140 uses Canon's Digic 4
rocessor, and we had Io waiI 2 seconds
beIween shoIs. This will be rusIraIing i you
like Io caIure a sIring o shoIs Io make sure
you geI one wiIhouI camera shake or eole
blinking. ConIinuous mode ran aI 0.7s,
which equaIes Io a shoI every 1.4 seconds.
Sony's WX200 (see Peviews, Shcer 304) is
asIer Ihan Ihis in iIs normal shooIing mode,
and iIs conIinuous mode runs aI 10s.
The 16-megaixel sensor roduced hoIos
wiIh some noise, buI erormed well in brighI
lighI. The lxus 140's ocus diminished as we
zoomed in, and exhibiIed bloIchy noise in Ihe
darker arIs o rames, arIicularly on smooIh
areas o colour. SIill, Ihese roblems were
rarely noIiceable in mosI IesI shoIs. UosI
Zooming is achieved by IwisIing a ring, and
ushing a ring u or down caIures a hoIo.
The idea is IhaI, like an iPad, Ihere's no righI
or wrong way Io hold Ihis camera. The screen
IilIs u Io allow shooIing rom waisI heighI. To
shooI wiIh Ihe camera held above your head,
|usI Iurn iI uside down, Ihe zoom and shuuer
release conIrols work Ihe same way. The design
is cerIainly innovaIive, buI more convenIional
conIrols and a screen IhaI IilIs u and down
would achieve roughly Ihe same resulI.
The camera's builI-in Wi-Fi leIs users Iake
hoIos wiIh a camera and ediI and share
Ihem on a smarIhone a ew seconds laIer.
PhoIos and videos are Iranserred on demand,
and you can browse on Ihe camera or wiIh
Ihe smarIhone a. However, Ihere's no
oIion Io Iranser hoIos auIomaIically as
soon as Ihey're caIured. There's no remoIe
shooIing uncIion, eiIher, and Ihe a-based
CPS Iagging uncIion is a biI clumsy. The
200-shoI bauery lie is anoIher worry.
PHOTOGRPHY REVIEVS
44 OCTOBER 2013 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 308
CANON'S EOS 100D is a ully ledged SLR
IhaI has many eaIures in common wiIh Ihe
Canon FOS 700D. lI's smaller, Ihough, and aI
407 grams or Ihe body, iI weighs 30 er cenI
less. The shrunken handgri looks emaciaIed
buI iI's a comorIable hI, even in large hands.
The bauery has a 380-shoI caaciIy, which
isn'I ideal, buI we could live wiIh iI.
The diminuIive design should aeal Io
eole who mighI oIherwise choose a
comacI sysIem camera (CSC). However,
much o Ihe benehI is losI once Ihe kiI lens is
auached. This new 18-SSmm lens bears an
STU sumx, which sIands or STeing UoIor,
Io denoIe iIs imroved erormance in live
view mode, and smooIher, quieIer ocusing
during video caIure.
These are welcome imrovemenIs over
Ihe revious kiI lens, buI Ihe downside is IhaI
iI's Smm longer. Canon's 40mm /2.8 STU
ancake lens is a beuer maIch, and isn'I Ioo
exensive aI around 1S0 including VAT.
PHASE FACTS
The FOS 100D uses an 18-megaixel sensor
IhaI incororaIes a hase-deIecI auIoocus
Iechnology hrsI inIroduced wiIh Canon's FOS
6S0D (see Peviews, Shcer 299), alIhough iI
now has a wider coverage across Ihe rame.
BoIh oher in-camera chromaIic aberraIion
removal, which eliminaIes halos o discoloraIion
Iowards Ihe edges o |PFCs. Fnabling Ihis
eaIure Iook iIs Ioll on conIinuous erormance,
Ihough, which ell rom 4s Io 2.2s aer
|usI our rames, and Ihe Io erormance is
slower Ihan Ihe 6S0D's Ss conIinuous mode.
WiIh Ihe same sensor and rocessor, we can
only assume IhaI Canon has deliberaIely
hobbled Ihe 100D's erormance Io
diherenIiaIe Ihe Iwo cameras.
The 100D's 3in Iouchscreen
works suerbly in Iandem
wiIh iIs hysical buuons and
dials, hiI Ihe Q buuon Io see
Ihe conIrols, selecI one wiIh
Ihe Iouchscreen and ad|usI iI
wiIh Ihe command dial. lI's
such a successul sysIem IhaI
iI Iook us a while Io noIice
IhaI Canon has removed Ihe
labelled uncIions rom Ihe
our-way navigaIion ad.
The Iouchscreen is also
useul when seuing Ihe
auIoocus oinI in live
view mode, and or
zooming inIo hoIos
and assigning sIar
raIings during layback.
CANONLOS l00D

550 inc VAT

From www.amazon.co.uk
VERDICT
A good, compact Canon 5LP, but at current
prices it's overshadowed by its 700D sib|ing
OIherwise, Ihe
Iwo cameras' conIrols
are largely idenIical. The Q
and SeI buuons have been merged buI Ihe
consequence is negligible. The 100D's screen
isn'I arIiculaIed, Ihough. ThaI's a shame, as
Ihe hase-deIecI oinIs on Ihe sensor and Ihe
new kiI lens combine Io deliver resonsive
auIoocus in live view mode, someIhing IhaI's
been a long Iime coming or FOS cameras. lI's
sIill noI as quick as Ihe besI CSCs, Iaking hal
a second Io ocus and delivering a hoIo every
1.9 seconds, buI iI does mean IhaI live view is
hnally resonsive enough Io be used rouIinely.
The viewhnder sIill gives Ihe besI resulIs,
wiIh asI erormance rom Ihe rimary nine-
oinI auIoocus sensor and hoIos caIured
every hal a second. Whereas Ihe 6S0D and
700D use nine cross-Iye oinIs or added
sensiIiviIy, on Ihe 100D only Ihe cenIre oinI
is cross-Iye. On Ihe uside, auIoocus was
more reliable Ihan we've seen rom Ihe 6S0D
and iIs redecessors using Iheir kiI lenses.
QUALITY CONTROLS
The FOS 100D's image qualiIy lived u Io
our high execIaIions. We love Ihe colour
ouIuI o FOS cameras and, wiIh well-chosen
auIomaIic seuings and low noise aI asI
lSO seeds, iI's hard Io geI anyIhing
buI greaI resulIs rom Ihis camera.
The lash is underowered,
wiIh a guide number o 9.4m, buI
we rarely eel Ihe need Io use Ihe
builI-in lash when noise levels are
Ihis low, shooIing in ambienI lighI
invariably gives beuer resulIs.
The new STU kiI lens makes a
big diherence or video caIure.
Previous FOS cameras' videos were
soiled by violenIly
clunky auIoocus,
buI Ihe 100D's
18-SSmm STU lens
glided smooIhly
and silenIly. lI could
sIill be a liule slow
Io resond when
we ad|usIed Ihe auIoocus oinI wiIh
Ihe Iouchscreen, buI iI's good enough or
casual use, and Ihe shallow deIh o held
gives a luxurious hlm-like qualiIy Io clis. Keen
videograhers will areciaIe ull manual
exosure conIrol, including silenI exosure
ad|usImenIs via Ihe Iouchscreen during
recording. PrioriIy modes are unavailable or
video, Ihough, and moir inIererence across
reeaIing IexIures makes Ihis camera less Ihan
ideal or serious video work. Panasonic's Lumix
DUC-C6 (see age 42) is less susceIible Io
moir, and exhibiIs criser deIails in videos.
CANON FODDER
The FOS 100D is easy Io like. lIs ergonomics
are surrisingly successul and iIs image qualiIy
is beaIen only by ull-rame cameras. However,
we can'I hel eeling IhaI Canon has gone Ioo
ar in diherenIiaIing Ihe 100D and 700D. The
700D doesn'I cosI much more, buI iI includes
an arIiculaIed screen, nine cross-Iye auIoocus
oinIs, asIer bursI shooIing, a more owerul
lash, longer bauery lie and wireless lashgun
conIrol. Panasonic's Lumix DUC-C6 can'I
comeIe or noise levels, buI iI is smaller and
lighIer, asIer in conIinuous and live view modes
and has a suerior video mode, more lexible
auIoocus and builI-in Wi-Fi. SIill, i low size and
weighI are rioriIies, and you wanI access Io all
Ihe Canon lenses, Ihe FOS 100D is a greaI buy.
Ben Piu
SPECIFICATIONS
Banery |ife
|e|e|e:e -'1 -l11 '1 1
380 shots
See age 76 or erormance deIails
5EN5OP 5IZE 18 smegapixels (5,184x3,456)
ZOON3x optical (29-82.5mm)
LCD 3in (1,040,000 pixels)
5TOPACE (INTEPNAL) SDXC card (none)
BATTEPY Li-ion
DINEN5ION5 94x117x150mm, 407g (body only)
WAPPANTY One-year RTB
PAPT CODE 8576B022
DETAIL5 www.canon.co.uk
AI N|sco, Wa`ra comm|IIad Io undarsIand|ng and caIar|ng Ior Iha naads oI our sma|| and
homa oIhca cusIomars, Wor||ng |n parInarsh|p W|Ih |ndusIry-|aad|ng brands Io oIIar Iha |aIasI
Iachno|ogy aI Iha |oWasI pr|cas. 8aa ba|oW Ior a sa|acI|on oI our popu|ar Iab|aIs, noIaboo|s,
raIurb P0s and pr|nIars. You`ra sura Io hnd Iha spac you raqu|ra aI a pr|ca you |||a.
wanI Io saa mora graaI daa|s? V|s|I m|sco.co.u|/soho
k6E l6lk N3-810 8.1"
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8IhE 06F-J41100N NlELE$$ 6L lkJEI
kLL-l-E FlIE
lntel tom Z2760 (1.8GHz) processor
2GB PM / 64GB solid state drive
8.1" LED backlit multi-touch WXG 1200 x 800 display
Windows 8 32-bit
Up to 8 hours battery life
Microsoft Office Home & Student 2013 included
lntel Core' i3-2348M (2.3GHz) processor
4GB PM / 500GB hard drive
lntel HD Graphics
15.6" HD anti-glare display
DvD CD Multi Burner
W7 Pro + W8 Pro PDvD & CO
3 year on-site next business day warranty
lntel Core' i5-2467M (1.6GHz) processor
4GB PM / 128GB solid state drive
13.3" LED HD Brightview display
lntel HD Graphics 3000
Windows 7 Professional 64-bit.
lntel Core 2 Duo E6550 (2.33GHz) processor
2GB PM / 80GB hard drive
Windows 7 Professional
2 year warranty
lntel Core 2 Duo E7400 (2.8GHz) processor
4GB PM / 160GB hard drive
Windows 7 Professional
1 year warranty
13.3" HD LED (1366 x 768),
anti-reflective display
MD Quad-Core processor (up to 1.4GHz)
TPM (Trusted Platform Module)
4GB PM / 128GB solid state drive
Genuine Windows 8 Pro (64-bit)
Samsung SideSync for easy file transfer
between Tlv computing devices & GLXY
smartphones
Slim, lightweight design
Save time with high speed 18/ 16ipm mono/
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150 sheet paper capacity and an 3 Bypass tray
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lntuitive 4.5cm touch screen LCD
Produce high quality photos and copies with
4 individual ink cartridges
rdar: IFZ06313
4
.1
Ex VAT
rdar: IFZ094Z6
J
.
Ex VAT
rdar: IF197Z4B
J0
.99
Ex VAT
rdar: IF19B641
109
.99
Ex VAT
rdar: IFZ06334

.
Ex VAT
rdar: IF60B064
81
.
Ex VAT
rdar: IF19B7B6
19
.99
Ex VAT
Prices are correct at time of publication but are subject to change without notice. Please visit Misco.co.uk website or call to get the most up to date price.
FEEFE: 0808 181 6457 EMklL: soho@mIsco.co.uk l$lI: mIsco.co.uk/soho
FEE
3 IEk
wAAhTY
DISPLY REVIEVS
4C OCTOBER 2013 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 308
THE PHILIPS BRILLIANCE 298P4Q|FB/00 is
an ulIra-wide 29in lPS moniIor wiIh an exIra
large 2,S60x1,080 resoluIion. lIs large, bulky
base and bezel aren'I quiIe as sIylish as oIher
29in moniIors we've seen, buI iI's heighI-
ad|usIable and iIs roIaIing sIand is ar more
versaIile. The screen can be raised u Io
210mm rom your desk and swivel side Io
side by u Io 6S, so iI's very easy Io hnd a
comorIable working angle.
The moniIor has a 21.9 asecI raIio, so iI's
erecI or waIching hlms wiIhouI large black
bars aearing on eiIher side o Ihe icIure.
lIs high resoluIion makes iI greaI or mulIi-
Iasking in Ihe omce, Ioo, as Ihere's enough
sace Io have mulIile windows on Ihe screen
simulIaneously and Philis' bundled
SmarIConIrol soware makes iI easy Io
arrange Ihem in diherenI conhguraIions. The
rogram won'I sna Ihem in lace, which is
a shame, buI you can drag each window Io
Ihe aroriaIe arIiIion or use a small
moniIor icon IhaI aears in Ihe corner
o each window Io move Ihem or you.
We ound Ihis icon aears only on
cerIain windows, Ihough, such as web
browsers and email clienIs, iI didn'I
aear when we oened u
Uicroso Word. We had Io move
Ihe window manually in Ihis case,
buI boIh meIhods are easy Io
use, and we didn'I have any
oIher roblems when
rearranging our DeskIo.
The 298P4Q|FB/00 is also
Ihe hrsI 29in moniIor we've
seen IhaI can roIaIe Io
orIraiI mode. ln Ihis mode,
PHILIPS Brilliarce
28F4Q[LB/00

372 inc VAT

From www.ebuyer.com
VERDICT
An exce||ent 29in monitor with great image
qua|ity and a wide range of inputs
Ihere's enough room Io
hI Iwo ages o a
Uicroso Word
documenI on screen,
wiIh one age aearing above
Ihe oIher, which makes iI erecI or ediIing
long IexI hles. You can enable Ihe
auIoroIaIe eaIure in Ihe SmarIConIrol
menu so IhaI Ihe screen auIomaIically
deIecIs when iI's in orIraiI mode.
lI's greaI Io have orIraiI mode as an
oIion, buI we ound Ihe moniIor a liule
Ioo Iall Io look aI or long eriods o
Iime, and reerred Io organise mulIile
documenIs in horizonIal mode side by side.
CALIBRATION CELEBRATIONS
The moniIor's overall image qualiIy was
excellenI. Our colour calibraIor revealed
iI was showing 98 er cenI o Ihe sRCB
colour gamuI aI iIs deaulI seuings. lIs
only area o weakness was iIs urle
coverage, buI we managed Io reclaim
Ihis once we'd calibraIed iI, increasing
iIs overall colour accuracy Io an even
more imressive 99.2 er cenI, which
is ouIsIanding.
We were equally imressed wiIh our
sub|ecIive image IesIs. The screen
has a mau hnish, and mau hnishes
can someIimes make colours
aear less vibranI, buI
our solid reds, greens
and blues were brighI
and vivid while whiIes
were brighI and uniormly liI
across Ihe screen. Blacks were very dee, as
shown by our low black level reading o
0.32cd/m
2
, and viewing angles are suerb. We
had Io view Ihe screen righI rom Ihe side
beore we noIiced a darkening o Ihe screen,
buI even Ihen Ihe icIure was clear.
The moniIor's high conIrasI levels make
images look greaI. We measured a conIrasI
raIio o 846.1 beore calibraIion and saw a high
level o deIail in IesI hoIos, alIhough some
areas in which we execIed Io see deIail were
black. SIill, you'd only noIice Ihe diherence i
you used Ihe moniIor or hne hoIo ediIing.
The 298P4Q|FB/00 has an exIensive range
o orIs or a moniIor aI Ihis rice. lI has Iwo
HDUl inuIs, an HDCP-comaIible dual-link
DVl-D inuI, one DislayPorI inuI, a 3.Smm
audio line-in and a headhone |ack in addiIion
Io a our-orI SB3 hub. There's also a
DislayPorI ouIuI or daisy-chaining oIher
moniIors, and an inIegraIed air o seakers.
The seakers are only good or high and
mid-range sources, such as clis on Ihe BBC
News websiIe, buI Ihey're sIill useul Io have.
SIMPLY BRILLIANCE
The Philis 298P4Q|FB/00 is one o Ihe besI
29in moniIors we've IesIed. We areciaIe Ihe
abiliIy Io uI iI in orIraiI mode, and Ihe moniIor
has a greaI array o connecIion orIs. l you
need a high-qualiIy 29in moniIor, you should
give Ihe 298P4Q|FB/00 serious consideraIion.
Kothorine Byrne
SPECIFICATIONS
5CPEEN 5IZE 29in widescreen
PE5OLUTION 2,560x1,080
CONTPA5T PATIO1000:1
BPICHTNE55 300cd/m
POPT5 DisplayPort, HDN|, DV|
POWEP CON5UNPTION 39W standby, 0W on
WAPPANTY One-year RTB
PAPT CODE 298P4Q|EB/00
DETAIL5 www.philips.co.uk
BEFORE AFTER

The 298P4Q|EB/00 had excellent sRCB gamut coverage before calibration (leh), and colour accuracy
increased to a near-perfect 99.2 per cent aher calibration (right)
DISPLY REVIEVS
4
ISSUE 308 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ OCTOBER 2013
VIEWSONIC'S TD2420 IS a 23.6in
Iouchscreen dislay wiIh a 1,920x1,080
resoluIion. lI's a neaIer design Ihan Ihe lasI
ViewSonic Iouchscreen moniIor we looked aI,
Ihe TD2340, and iIs smaller base Iakes u less
room on your desk. lIs hxed, chunky sIand
mighI noI maIch iIs glossy bezel, buI iI would
look greaI in an omce.
STYLUS CHALLENGE
nlike Ihe TD2340, Ihis moniIor only
suorIs Iwo-oinI Iouch and comes wiIh a
sIylus IhaI sloIs inIo Ihe lower le corner o
Ihe bezel. The sIylus should minimise messy
hngerrinIs on Ihe Iouchscreen, buI Ihe
dislay's hard scraIch-resisIanI coaIing
creaIed more ricIion Ihan we'd like when we
used Ihe sIylus. We elI we had Io aly more
orce Ihan should be necessary Io use Ihe
sIylus. lndeed, iI made using Ihe TD2420
eel nowhere near as smooIh as using a
Iouchscreen laIo or licking Ihrough web
ages on Ihe TD2340 wiIh your hngers.
Fven so, we much reerred using Ihe
sIylus Io using our hngers, as Ihe screen
elI as i had even greaIer resisIance
when we Iried Io scroll down Ihe
screen wiIhouI iI. The sIylus also
made iI much easier Io dislay Ihe
Windows 8 Charms bar and swiIch
beIween windows, iIs Ihick bezel
isn'I well suiIed Io carrying ouI
Ihese acIions wiIh your hngers.
We had Io dig our hngers righI
inIo Ihe side o Ihe screen Io
swie across accuraIely, and
even Ihen iI didn'I always work.
The TD2420's overall image
qualiIy was disaoinIing. Our
colour calibraIor revealed iI was
VIEWSONIC TD2420

226 inc VAT

From www.lambda-tek.com
VERDICT
A cheap touchscreen monitor, but its co|our
accuracy and contrast cou|d be bener
showing |usI 86.3 er
cenI o Ihe sRCB colour gamuI
aI iIs deaulI seuings sIraighI ouI o Ihe
box, which is quiIe oor. lIs blue
coverage was very good, buI iI was shorI
in boIh Ihe green and red areas o Ihe
colour gamuI, which meanI images
aeared much cooler Ihan Ihey should.
We weren'I able Io increase Ihis score
aer calibraIion, which means Ihe
moniIor is noI arIicularly aroriaIe or
hne hoIo ediIing or grahic design.
This cerIainly seemed Io be Ihe case in
our sub|ecIive image IesIs. Comared
wiIh our reerence moniIor, colours
were less vibranI in our high conIrasI
IesI hoIos, wiIh warmer colours
suhering. We measured a conIrasI
raIio o 736.1 beore calibraIion, which
is lower Ihan ViewSonic's claimed
1,000.1 raIio. While we could ick ouI
a good level o deIail in Ihe lighIer
areas o our hoIos, we weren'I so
lucky when we Iried Io ick ouI
darker shadow deIail. The screen's
glossy, relecIive hnish made Ihem
dimculI Io see in Ihe hrsI
lace, buI once we saw asI Ihe
relecIions Ihese areas were oen
simly black wiIhouI any hner deIail.
SOLID GOLD
Our solid colour image IesIs were more
romising. The glossy hnish heled our
reds, greens and blues sIand ouI, and Ihey
looked almosI as good as Ihose o our
reerence moniIor. The TD2420's blacks
weren'I quiIe as dee, even wiIh a low black
level reading o 0.3Scd/m, and whiIes were
a liule grey. We didn'I see any backlighI
bleeding, Ihough.
The TD2420 has a good number o inuIs.
LocaIed underneaIh a lasIic li behind Ihe
sIand, you'll hnd VCA, DVl-D and HDUl inuIs,
a SB orI Io enable Ihe Iouchscreen, a
3.Smm audio line in and a headhone |ack.
There is also a air o inIegraIed 2W seakers.
ViewSonic's TD2420 isn'I Ihe besI
Iouchscreen moniIor we've seen. l you wanI
a chea Iouchscreen moniIor Ihen iI's a air
oIion, buI iI isn'I as smooIh in use as Ihe
Iouchscreens on high-qualiIy laIos such as
Lenovo's ldeaPad Yoga 11S (see age 26).
You could ay more or ViewSonic's TD2340,
which recognises 10 hngers aI once, giving
you greaIer conIrol over onscreen ob|ecIs.
ThaI said, Ihe TD2420 is a good Iouchscreen
moniIor or Ihose on a budgeI.
Kothorine Byrne
SPECIFICATIONS
5CPEEN 5IZE 23.6in widescreen
PE5OLUTION 1,920x1,080
CONTPA5T PATIO1000:1
BPICHTNE55 210cd/m
POPT5 VCA, HDN|, DV|
POWEP CON5UNPTION 1W standby, 25W on
WAPPANTY Three-year RTB
PAPT CODE TD2420
DETAIL5 www.viewsonic.com
BEFORE AFTER

The screen had good blue coverage before calibration (leh), but red and green coverage was very weak.
Unfortunately, we couldn't improve colour accuracy aher calibration (right)
HOME CINEM REVIEVS
48 OCTOBER 2013 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 308
ONKYO'S TXNR626 IS a home cinema
amliher IhaI's available in silver and black.
The ronI anel has Ihe minimum amounI
o cluuer, wiIh a single row o buuons or
selecIing Ihe acIive inuI, a chunky volume
dial and a brighI, easy-Io-read LFD dislay.
The ronI anel is also home Io a 6.3mm
headhone |ack, comosiIe video and sIereo
RCA audio inuIs, a 3.Smm inuI or Ihe
calibraIion mic and a SB orI aI Ihe ronI.
As we've come Io execI rom high-qualiIy
amlihers, Ihe TX-NR626 is bulging wiIh
connecIiviIy oIions. There are binding osI
connecIions or seven saIelliIe seakers and
Iwin subwooer re-ouIuIs, which means
you could run a 7.2 surround-sound seIu,
assuming you have Ihe sace or one. The
zone 2 seaker Ierminals also use binding
osIs, which is an ugrade over Ihe sring
Ierminals ound in 2012's model.
MAKING THE CONNECTION
The TX-NR626's six HDUl orIs
mean you can connecI a seI-Io box,
Blu-ray layer and a games consoles
and sIill have sace or more. One
channel suorIs UHL video, so you
can dislay video rom a comaIible
smarIhone while simulIaneously
charging iI. Four HDUl inuIs suorI
4K uscaling, buI we were unable Io
IesI Ihe qualiIy as we didn'I have a
4K TV. SIill, Ihis eaIure should
rove benehcial in Ihe nexI ew
years. The TX-NR626's Iwo HDUl
ouIuIs leI you connecI Iwo
dislays simulIaneously, so you won'I
need Io swa cables manually when
moving beIween a TV and ro|ecIor.
The main ouIuI suorIs an Audio
ReIurn Channel (ARC), which means
Ihe amliher will be able Io ouIuI
your TV's sound Io seakers
wiIhouI any addiIional cabling.
ONKYO TX-NRC2C

499 inc VAT

From www.richersounds.com
VERDICT
Another fantastic AV amp|iher fromOnkyo,
with a|| the inputs and state-of-the-art
features you cou|d want
The TX-NR626 has our comosiIe video
inuIs, one comonenI inuI and one
comonenI ouIuI on Ihe back anel. lI also
has a good comlemenI o audio orIs, wiIh
Iwo digiIal coaxial inuIs, one digiIal oIical
and six sIereo RCA inuIs. You can use Ihe
TX-NR626 Io en|oy AU and FU radio Ihanks
Io anIenna connecIions, and iIs FIherneI
orI leIs you lisIen Io sIreamed music
and music rom online services.
nlike revious receivers, which
required SB adaIors, Wi-Fi
and BlueIooIh are builI in Io Ihe
TX-NR626. This leIs you connecI Io
Ihe inIerneI or sIream music rom a
smarIhone wiIhouI having Io use
cables, or ay exIra or a dongle.
There's good reasons Io geI
online, Ioo, as Ihe TX-NR626 suorIs
Aueo!, LasI.m, SoIiy and Tuneln
radio sIreaming, lus Ale Lossless,
FLAC, UP3 and Wav sIreaming rom
a PC or NAS device. You can use Ihe
ronI SB orI Io lay hles direcIly
rom a lash drive, buI you can'I use
iI Io connecI a smarIhone or IableI.
SeIu is easy Ihanks Io Ihe bundled
Audyssey mic. The amliher calibraIes
Ihe levels and disIances o each
seaker wiIh imressive accuracy.
The menu sysIem aears on your TV screen
and iIs icon-based layouI is easier Io navigaIe
Ihan IhaI o revious models. All Ihe oIions
are easy Io hnd and have sensible labels.
The remoIe conIrol remains unchanged
rom revious models, so unless you're
amiliar wiIh iI you should execI Io send
Iime learning Ihe locaIion o imorIanI keys.
POWER TO THE PEOPLE
WiIh 160W o ower er channel, Ihe TX-
NR626 is more Ihan caable o owering a
mid-range home cinema sysIem. WiIh our S.1
seIu, iI roduced a dynamic soundsIage,
alIhough Ihe auIomaIed seIu uI Ioo much
emhasis on bass. Aer manually lowering
Ihe subwooer channel, Ihe asI-aced acIion
sequences o Stor Trek had suerb resence
wiIh lenIy o room-shaking rumble rom
lower-range requencies. Crossover oinIs elI
soI-on, wiIh an immersive surround sound
mix IhaI was accuraIely sread across our
hve saIelliIes. All Ihe ma|or surround-sound
ormaIs are suorIed, including DTS UasIer
Audio and Dolby TrueHD.
The TX-NR626 is ideal or home cinema
enIhusiasIs looking Io exand rom a S.1
seIu Io someIhing bigger. l hve saIelliIes are
lenIy, Ihe cheaer TX-NRS2S may be a beuer
buy. The TX-NR626 also lacks Airlay, which
oIher similarly riced receivers suorI. l you
wanI comleIe lexibiliIy, however, and Ihe
oIion Io add seakers, iI is sIill greaI value.
Tom Morgon
INPUT5 6x HDN|, 1x component, 5x composite, 6x stereo
phono, 2x coaxial S/PD|F, 1x optical S/PD|F
OUTPUT5 2x HDN|, 1x component, 1x composite,
POWEP CON5UNPTION 210W on, 0W standby
WAPPANTY One-year RTB
PAPT CODE TX-NR626
DETAIL5 www.uk.onkyo.com
SPECIFICATIONS
s ve've come to expect Irom IiI-quaIity
ampIiers, Onkyo's TX-NR626 is buIin
vitI connectivity options
HOME CINEM REVIEVS
4
ISSUE 308 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ OCTOBER 2013
PANASONIC'S TXP60ZT65B {ZT65) is
an exclusive, limiIed-ediIion TV IhaI's been
designed as Ihe ulIimaIe lasma dislay.
When you hrsI see Ihe ZT6S, iI's hard Io
believe iI uses lasma Iechnology. iI's almosI
as Ihin as some Io-end LCD TVs.
AI Ihe back o Ihe seI is a comrehensive
collecIion o inuIs, alIhough we Ihink Ihree
HDUl inuIs is a biI sIingy. The Iwin A/V
inuIs or legacy devices require adaIors
or SCART, comonenI and comosiIe
equimenI, buI you can connecI digiIal
oIical audio devices direcIly. There's also a
headhone audio |ack, SD and Common
lnIerace card sloIs, and Ihree SB orIs, one
o which is a SB3 orI. You can use Ihe SB
orIs Io auach a orIable hard disk and use iI
Io record rom Ihe aerial or saIelliIe Iuners.
ConnecI Ihe ZT6S Io your home neIwork
and Ihe inIerneI via iIs Wi-Fi adaIor, or iIs
FIherneI orI, i you reer a wired connecIion.
SMART THINKING
Panasonic's redesigned SmarI Viera user
inIerace has hve cusIomisable home screens
Io dislay reminders, calendar aoinImenIs,
Ihe weaIher, web bookmarks and shorIcuIs Io
on-demand services, as well as whaI's on TV.
You can also sIream mulIimedia hles rom a
neIworked DLNA server such as a PC or NAS,
accessing each one rom Ihe home screen.
We could lay mosI o our video hles, buI Ihe
TV couldn'I deIecI UOV or naIive DivX clis.
Fven Ihough Ihe ZT6S has Panasonic's
besI selecIion o inIerneI services yeI, Samsung
and LC TVs have a wider range o services.
The ZT6S rovides on-demand hlms rom
NeIlix, caIch-u TV rom BBC iPlayer and
web video rom YouTube and DailyUoIion,
along wiIh news, sorI, weaIher and inIerneI
radio. We're disaoinIed IhaI BBC iPlayer is
Ihe only caIch-u service, esecially on a TV
Ihis exensive. You can video chaI using
Skye, buI you'll have Io buy Panasonic's
camera accessory (90 rom www.jchn|ewis.
ccm) Io make Ihe mosI o Ihe service. OIher
high-end TVs have builI-in cameras.
You can browse beIween channels and
services using Ihe sIandard remoIe conIrol, or
you can use Ihe secondary Iouchad remoIe
conIrol. lI makes using Ihe web browser much
easier, buI iI isn'I IhaI useul or anyIhing else.
The ZT6S also comes wiIh a SmarI Pen. lI's
an inIeresIing, i slighIly odd addiIion IhaI leIs
you Iurn Ihe TV inIo a gianI digiIal skeIch
ad. The PainI a has several en, encil
and colour ehecIs, buI we aren'I convinced
you'll wanI Io encourage your children Io
scrawl all over a high-end TV.
PANASONIC TX-FC0ZTCSB

3,649 inc VAT

From www.superh.co.uk
VERDICT
5imp|y the best p|asma TV avai|ab|e today it's
expensive, but its picture qua|ity is second to none
We en|oyed Ihe ZT6S's novel eaIures,
buI we were more inIeresIed in iIs image
qualiIy. SIandard-dehniIion TV imressed
us immediaIely Ihanks Io excellenI image
rocessing IhaI even managed Io make
low-qualiIy Freeview channels such as BBC
News look good when uscaled Io 1080.
WiIh a liule Iweaking, Ihe noise reducIion,
resoluIion enhancemenIs and rame creaIion
can roduce Ierrihc resulIs rom low-qualiIy
live TV Iransmissions. When viewing
high-dehniIion broadcasIs, Ihe ZT6S
conIinued Io imress Ihanks Io iIs vivid
colours and in-shar icIure.
The ZT6S really shines when laying
Blu-ray video. lI roduced some o Ihe
deeesI blacks we've seen rom a non-OLFD
dislay. Our Stor Trek reerence scenes looked
incredible, wiIh brighI laser hre conIrasIing
well wiIh Ihe near-IoIal black deIhs o sace.
The ZT6S has a dynamic conIrasI seuing
IhaI alIers Ihe conIrasI seuing deending on
Ihe image dislayed. AlIhough we reer noI
Io use dynamic conIrasI, Ihe ZT6S's deaulI
dynamic conIrasI seuing is OK or waIching
TV, alIhough we'd swiIch iI oh or hlms.
As Ihe ZT6S is inIended or serious home
enIhusiasIs, iI should come as no surrise
IhaI iI has a comrehensive seI o image
modes and seuings IhaI you can Iweak and
ad|usI. This includes a mulIi-sIage rame
creaIion seuing IhaI smooIhs layback,
alIhough iI can make hlms look more like
soa oeras i you seI iI Io maximum. You geI
Ihe usual brighIness, conIrasI, sharness and
colour sliders, choice o colour IemeraIures
and colour gamuI modes. This includes Ihe
Rec. 709 sIandard, a high-dehniIion video
sIandard IhaI dicIaIes rame raIe, ixel counI
and colour sace or lawless Blu-ray layback,
iI's a beuer oIion Ihan simly choosing
warm or cool colour IemeraIures.
Colour accuracy is nearly erecI using Ihe
Proessional image reseI, and you'll only geI
beuer resulIs by calibraIing Ihe TV wiIh iIs
exIensive whiIe balance, colour managemenI
and gamma seuings.
Plasma Iechnology isn'I erecI, and Ihe
ZT6S is no exceIion. close, you can soI
diIhering when darker images are onscreen,
buI you won'I noIice iI aI a sensible disIance.
The 2D image qualiIy is as close Io erecIion
as we've seen rom a lasma TV. The ZT6S
had no Irouble dislaying 3D conIenI, and we
saw no arIeacIs or signs o |udder. Plasma
TVs have much asIer resonse Iimes Ihan
LCD TVs, and Ihere was no ghosIing in 3D
hlms. We saw crossIalk in Ihe Kill Zone video
game, buI none when waIching Avotor.
The ZT6S's sound qualiIy can'I maIch iIs
near-lawless icIure, desiIe Panasonic
adding a 10W subwooer Io Ihe Iwo SW
sIereo seakers. lI's a cuI above mosI TVs,
Ihough, roducing clear seech, a cris high
end and even a small amounI o bass.
PLASMA NOT LEAST
Considering iIs billing, Ihere was bound Io be
ressure or Ihe ZT6S Io amaze, buI Panasonic
has roduced Ihe besI-looking lasma TV
ever. Colour accuracy, image sharness,
conIrasI and black levels are all henomenal,
and iI has an incredible selecIion o image
seuings and reseIs Io cusIomise Ihe icIure.
lI wins our lIimaIe award.
Tom Morgon
TV TYPE Plasma
PE5OLUTION 1,920x1,080
CONTPA5T PATIO Not disclosed
BPICHTNE55 Not disclosed
CONNECTION5 3x HDN|, 1x SCART, 1x component,
1x composite inputs
TUNEP Freeview HD, Freesat HD
POWEP CON5UNPTION 0W standby, 278W on
WAPPANTY One-year RTB
PAPT CODE TX-P60ZT65B
DETAIL5 www.panasonic.co.uk
SPECIFICATIONS
HOME CINEM REVIEVS
S0 OCTOBER 2013 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 308
ADDIN6 A SOUND bar Io your TV is a quick
and easy way Io imrove your home cinema
seIu. Sound bars have ewer wires Ihan a
mulIile seaker sysIem, and you don'I have
Io worry abouI making room or saIelliIes.
You don'I need a bulky, searaIe amliher,
eiIher. Philis' laIesI sound bar inIegraIes iIs
subwooer Io save even more sace.
The HTLS120 looks gorgeous Ihanks Io
iIs oval-shaed chassis, which is covered in
black abric mesh and hnished wiIh brushed
aluminium Irim. lI should look greaI on a Iable
or mounIed Io a wall. A small ower buuon and
a row o whiIe LFD inuI indicaIors conIinue
Ihe minimal Iheme, wiIh no unsighIly orIs or
unnecessary lines Io break Ihe design low.
lI's well builI or a mid-range roducI.
All Ihe HTLS120's inuIs are hidden in a
comarImenI aI Ihe back o Ihe uniI. lI has
Iwo HDUl inuIs or connecIing a Blu-ray
layer, seI-Io box or games console, and an
HDUl ouIuI IhaI suorIs Audio ReIurn
Channel (ARC). ARC leIs you lay your TV's
PHILIPS
HTLSl20

250 inc VAT

From www.|ohnlewis.com
VERDICT
A fantastic sounding, we||-priced sound bar
with B|uetooth and HDNI support
sound Ihrough Ihe HTLS120
wiIhouI Ihe need or exIra wires and is a
highly convenienI eaIure.
The HTLS120 also has digiIal oIical and
coaxial inuIs, and a sIereo air o analogue
RCA |acks, lus a 3.Smm audio inuI on Io o
Ihe uniI or connecIing auxiliary sources or a
smarIhone. However, we sIruggled Io hI Iwo
Ihick HDUl cables beIween Ihe ower cord. l
you reer Io sIream music, Ihe HTLS120's
BlueIooIh connecIiviIy leIs you air a IableI
or smarIhone Io Ihe sound bar direcIly.
lI's a shame Ihe HTLS120 doesn'I have an
LCD dislay, as Ihe Iiny LFD lighIs indicaIing
Ihe currenIly selecIed reseI can'I be read
when you're sIanding more Ihan a ooI away.
Sound cuIs ouI momenIarily whenever you
ad|usI a Ione conIrol, such as bass. This is
because Ione musI be ad|usIed incremenIally,
one sIe aI a Iime. We'd much reer Io have
a regular, linear means o ad|usIing Ione.
You musI ad|usI Ihe sound bar's volume,
inuI selecIion and equaliser seuings wiIh Ihe
remoIe conIrol, as Ihere
are no buuons on Ihe uniI oIher
Ihan Ihe ower swiIch. lI has dedicaIed bass,
Ireble and audio sync conIrols, a buuon Io
Ioggle Ihe virIual surround-sound ehecI on
and oh, a nighI mode seuing Io reduce bass
Iemorarily, and buuons or each inuI.
AURAL PLEASURES
The HTLS120 made Ihe mosI o our IesI
Iracks and hlms, roducing a warm sound. lIs
clear mid-range wasn'I overowered by oIher
requency ranges, and Ihis made seech easy
Io hear, even during busier video sequences. lI
had a greaIer resence in our IesI room Ihan
many oIher sound bars we've seen, even aI
low volumes. We could use Ihe HTLS120 aI
high volumes wiIhouI hearing any disIorIion.
The mid-range drivers and high-end
IweeIers direcI audio Iowards Ihe lisIener, and
orIs on eiIher end aim sound around Ihe
room, Ioo. lI works well wiIh music, buI Ihe
VirIual 3D surround-sound ehecI is beuer or
waIching hlms. lI's suosed Io mimic a real
S.1 seaker seIu, and creaIes a much wider
sound sIage Ihan Ihe sIandard mode. Fven so,
iI sIill can'I relace mulIile seakers.
DesiIe noI having a searaIe subwooer,
Ihe HTLS120 creaIes imressively dee bass.
lI manages Io avoid overowering Ihe resI o
Ihe mix, leuing you areciaIe hner deIails
and high requency sounds, such as breaking
glass, during heavy acIion sequences.
We goI Ihe besI rom Ihe HTLS120 in Ihe
wall-mounIed osiIion. lI has an orienIaIion
sensor IhaI's suosed Io Iweak Ihe audio
ouIuI when iI's laid laI, buI we ound iI had
more resence when Ihe seakers aced us.
The HTLS120 is a greaI-value sound bar.
Similarly riced sound bars can'I maIch iI or
sound qualiIy or connecIiviIy and, while an
LCD dislay would've made iI easier Io ad|usI
seuings, iI sounds suerb ouI o Ihe box. lI
looks sIunning and will comlemenI any home
cinema sysIem where Irue S.1 isn'I an oIion.
Tom Morgon
INPUT5 2x HDN|, 1x stereo phono, 1x coaxial S/PD|F,
1x optical S/PD|F
OUTPUT5 1x HDN|
POWEP CON5UNPTION 38W on, 0W standby
WAPPANTY One-year RTB
PAPT CODE HTL5120/12
DETAIL5 www.philips.co.uk
SPECIFICATIONS
TIe HTLS120 Iooks oreous tIanks to its ovaI-
sIaped cIassis, vIicI is covered in bIack Iabric mesI
and nisIed vitI brusIed aIuminium trim
Loob|e t|e sceeo, ooob|e t|e ec|teeot
T|e ||ta\|oe 2+.` o|so|a .|t| |o|t|v|e.
Ta'e oo v|e.|o eoe|eoce to t|e |||t .|t| t|e ||ta\|oe 2`8+/3 o|so|a .|t| |o|t|v|e..
Coooect aoo v|e. t.o o|eeot sooces at sae t|e |o o|ctoe-b-o|ctoe o o|ctoe-|o-o|ctoe
ooe. |o||o. t|e ae .|||e c|ec'|o ea|| o .atc| a ov|e .|||e c|att|o oo soc|a| eo|a oo
cao access oea| ao oev|ce .|t| t|e L||, LV| aoo L|so|a|ot coooect|oos. T|e s|ee' ||ta
|ao. 3eze| a||zes oo v|e.|o aea .|t| a tooc| o st|e. |o atte .|at oo'e oo|o,
oo'|| be |oesseo b t|e o|ta-||| 2S60 +080 eso|ot|oo aoo ||S oaoe| t|at oe||ves toe-to-||e
co|os aoo oobe||evab|e +8-oeee v|e.|o ao|es.
|||||os L|so|as ae ava||ab|e o t|e o||o.|o L|st|boto oatoes.
2`8+/3
UDIO REVIEVS
S2 OCTOBER 2013 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 308
SENNHEISER'S MOMENTUMONEARS
are Ihe on-ear version o Ihe excellenI
UomenIum headhones. Sennheiser has
successully reIained Ihe larger headhones'
audio qualiIy in Ihis smaller design. The bass
is vibranI and rominenI in Ihe overall sound,
buI doesn'I overwhelm Ireble and mid-range
deIail. Fven so, Ihe bass was noIiceable,
arIicularly on busy Iracks wiIh a ulsing
bassline. We were leased by Ihe clariIy o
heavily layered insIrumenIs and vocals in
our mosI comlex IesI Iracks, and loved Ihe
reroducIion o |azz and world music.
Vocals generally sounded brillianI, wiIh
subIle vocal deIails o comlex choral secIions
clearly audible, esecially on Iracks rom Cooe,
SONY'S XBANC85 EARPHONES are a
high-end acIive noise-cancelling seI wiIh Ihe
noise-cancelling circuiIry and bauery locaIed
in Ihe ear ieces, which means you don'I need
Io carry a bulky bauery ack. They roIruded
slighIly rom our ears, buI sIayed comorIably
in lace, even when we used Ihem aI Ihe gym.
The Iiny in-line ower buuon enables and
disables Ihe noise cancellaIion circuiIry, buI
you can'I lisIen aI all when Ihe ower is oh.
Run ouI o bauery and you won'I be able Io
SENNHEISER MomerumOr-Lar

170 inc VAT

From www.|ohnlewis.com
SONY XBA-NC8S

336 inc VAT

From www.amazon.co.uk
VERDICT
These sty|ish on-ear headphones have the high grade audio
qua|ity we expect from5ennheiser's premiumrange
VERDICT
Eradicating the banery pack is a step forward,
but the XBA-NC85s are incredib|y expensive
Boyes and Simson's a caella
jeruso|em Pevisited Io Ihe ullness
o Turisas's Fnd c[ on Fmire. Less
bombasIic recordings also ared
well, wiIh Louis ArmsIrong's Whot o
Wcnder[u| Wcr|d benehIing rom Ihe
headhones' sacious sound and excellenI
sIereo searaIion.
The headhones are available in whiIe,
blue, green and ink, wiIh urIher shades Io
ollow. They're beauIiully designed, sIurdy
and remarkably lighI, which is always desirable
in a air o headhones you inIend Io use on
Ihe move. The added cus saI on our ears
wiIhouI exerIing any uncomorIable ressure.
Also, desiIe Iheir so abric hnish, Ihey didn'I
geI Ioo hoI even on a warm summer's day.
There's noI much sound isolaIion, buI we
didn'I hear Ioo much ambienI noise wiIh our
music swiIched on. Trains were a liule more
challenging, orcing us Io raise Ihe volume Io
overcome background sound. AI low volumes
you're unlikely Io disIurb Ihose around you,
buI Ihe on-ear design meanI some sound did
escae and could be heard by our neighbours,
en|oy your music unIil you've ound Iime
Io charge Ihe XBA-NC8Ss.
Sony bundles Ihe headhones in a carry
case IhaI also holds Ihe SB charger. lI's no
bigger Ihan an average SB lash drive and
will lug inIo any SB sockeI, giving you a
wide range o oIions or recharging. We
charged Ihe XBA-NC8Ss rom laI in Ihree
hours, enough or 20 hours o music layback.
Sony says Ihe XBA-NC8Ss use Ihree
diherenI noise cancellaIion algoriIhms Io suiI
your environmenI. one or Ihe omce, one or
Ihe daily commuIe and one or air Iravel.
We uI Ihem Ihrough Iheir aces in all Ihree
siIuaIions, and Ihe XBA-NC8s erormed well.
They almosI cuI ouI all noise when used aI
our desk. However, noise cancellaIion really
comes inIo iIs own when Iravelling on ublic
IransorI. We didn'I have Io increase volume
Io reduce Ihe noise o commuIers, alIhough
some Iube noise was audible. They worked
SPECIFICATIONS
SPECIFICATIONS
CONNECTION 3.5mm headset |ack plug
CABLE LENCTH 1.40m
INPEDENCE 18 ohms
WAPPANTY Two-year RTB
PAPT CODE 505949
DETAIL5 www.sennheiser.co.uk
CONNECTION 3.5mm stereo |ack plug
CABLE LENCTH 2cm
INPEDENCE 820 ohms
WEICHT 6g
WAPPANTY One-year RTB
PAPT CODE XBA-NC85D
DETAIL5 www.sony.co.uk
desiIe Ihe headhones'
closed-backed cus.
The UomenIum
headhones come wiIh Iwo
deIachable cables. One has an
in-line microhone and volume conIrol or
use wiIh a mobile, and Ihe oIher is a sIraighI
sIereo cable or use wiIh your comuIer. BoIh
measure 1.4m. Also sulied is a semi-rigid
carrying case and a Ihin cloIh ouch.
AlIhough Ihey don'I have arIicularly good
sound isolaIion, Ihe UomenIum On-Fars are
a greaI buy i you wanI headhones IhaI you
can use comorIably in a varieIy o seuings.
Their lighI weighI makes Ihem ar more
comorIable and racIical Io wear on Ihe
move Ihan mosI headhones IhaI are caable
o roducing Ihis kind o sound qualiIy.
They're cheaer Ihan Ihe over-ear
UomenIums, buI sIill sound anIasIic and are
comorIable Io wear. For long-Ierm lisIening,
we ound Ihe over-ear design and slighIly
lauer sound o Ihe ull-sized UomenIums a
liule biI more comorIable, Ihough.
Kot Orphonides
wonders in Ihe air, Ioo, all buI negaIing Ihe
engine noise rom a small shorI-haul Airbus.
The XBA-NC8Ss sounded very well-
rounded. Bass was resenI in all Ihe righI
laces, buI didn'I swam Ihe resI o Ihe
requency range. The high-end was cris
wiIhouI sounding Ioo harsh, having a warm
mid-range IhaI broughI ouI Ihe subIler deIails
o our IesI Iracks. Bass-heavy rock and
elecIronica had lenIy o boom, yeI acousIic
Iracks were delicaIe. AlIhough Ihis seI can'I
beaI mulIi-driver earhones such as Phonak's
Audo PFF 232s, Ihey're greaI all-rounders.
The one downside Io such comlex
miniaIurisaIion is Ihe rice, and you can geI
cheaer noise-cancelling earhones, however,
Ihose will have an in-line bauery ack IhaI
you musI carry wiIh you. l you wanI orIable,
undisIurbed lisIening wiIhouI a bulky bauery
ack, Ihe XBA-NC8Ss are an excellenI choice.
Tom Morgon
UDIO REVIEVS
S3
ISSUE 308 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ OCTOBER 2013
IF YOU'RE TIRED o lisIening Io your digiIal
music Ihrough your headhones or low-
qualiIy comuIer seakers, Ihe Denon Ceol
Piccolo could be or you, as iI leIs you sIream
audio rom local and online sources. lI has
an iPod dock and you can use your SoIiy
and LasI.m accounIs wiIh iI. lI also lays
UP3, AAC, WUA and ALAC hles, as well as
high-resoluIion Wav and FLAC hles.
The sIandard Ceol Piccolo comes in Iwo
arIs. Ihe DRA-NS uniI and a 60W air o six-
ohm SC-NS assive seakers. The DRA-NS
music sysIem's inIegraIed amliher can handle
seakers wiIh an imedance o beIween our
and 16 ohms, so you can connecI alIernaIive
seakers should you wish. There's a single
RCA connecIor or a subwooer and, aI Ihe
ronI, a 3.Smm headhone ouIuI. There are
also Iwo auxiliary inuIs, a sIereo air o RCA
ouIuIs and an oIical S/PDlF inuI.
The Ceol Piccolo also has an iPod dock neaIly
hidden beneaIh a la aI Ihe Io o Ihe main
uniI. This uses Ihe old Ihree-in iPod connecIor,
buI doesn'I come wiIh a converIer or Ihe
LighIning connecIor used by Ihe iPhone S.
You are also able Io connecI iOS devices
by connecIing Iheir cable Io Ihe SB orI aI
Ihe ronI. You can conIrol iI direcIly or browse
iIs conIenIs using a diherenI mobile device
and Ihe Denon RemoIe ConIrol a. ConnecIing
our iPod in Ihis way allowed us Io use higher-
qualiIy audio as such as FLAC layer, and
also lug our iPad inIo Ihe Ceol Piccolo.
ConvenienIly, you can use Android devices
and simle SB drives wiIh Ihe same orI.
Once you've owered on Ihe DRA-NS,
you'll be romIed Io connecI iI Io your
wireless neIwork, i you haven'I already
connecIed via FIherneI. lI suorIs WPS
ush-buuon conhguraIion, buI you can also
search or and enIer Ihe assword o your
DENONCeol Ficcolo

400 inc VAT

From www.|ohnlewis.com
VERDICT
This s|eek, easy-to-use streaming music system
is the perfect mini hi-h for the modern home
Wi-Fi neIwork eiIher by enIering
iI wiIh Ihe remoIe conIrol's numeric
keyad or using Ihe direcIional conIrols on
Ihe main uniI. A large mono OLFD screen
makes iI easy Io see whaI you're doing
during conhguraIion.
FnIer your SoIiy and LasI.m accounI
deIails in a similar ashion. AlIernaIively, you
can use Denon's RemoIe ConIrol a or iOS
and Android Io log in Io your SoIiy accounI.
You'll need remium accounIs Io be able Io
access Ihese services via Ihe sIreamer.
FULL STREAM AHEAD
The mobile a is one o Ihe besI we've used,
making iI easy Io browse and search sIreaming
media services, neIwork sources and local
devices. nlike many rivals' as, everyIhing
you need can be reached wiIhin a coule o
buuon resses rom Ihe main screen. lI was
someIimes a liule slow Io load IiIles rom our
massive lisIs o media, Iaking a second or so.
As or local sIreaming, Ihe Piccolo
immediaIely ound conIenI on Ihe DLNA
music server insIalled on our NAS device, and
iI suorIs Ale's AirPlay sIandard. This
means you can sIream conIenI Io iI wirelessly,
rom iTunes as well as iOS devices.
lI's easy Io Iune in inIerneI radio, Ioo, and
we were leased Io hnd a ull lisI o BBC live
and odcasI sIreams available as soon as we
selecIed niIed Kingdom menu in Ihe a.
Assuming you've goI even a hal-decenI
inIerneI connecIion, Ihis is an adequaIe
alIernaIive Io IradiIional FU or DAB radio.
Overall audio qualiIy is ouIsIanding,
arIicularly given Ihe comacI naIure o Ihe
seakers. PosiIioning Ihem alongside Ihe
main uniI on our living Iable le a liule Io be
desired in Ierms o sIereo searaIion, buI we
were leased by Ihe sound, which was unchy
wiIh a decenI amounI o bass. The sysIem can
roduce lenIy o volume wiIhouI disIorIing,
and sIill sounds good aI low volumes.
The clariIy and balance o Ihe sound is
excellenI, alIhough we reerred Ihem wiIhouI
seaker grilles, as we ound Ihey damed Ihe
Io end o Ihe sound and emhasised bass.
Disabling Seaker OIimisaIion in Ihe seuings
menu heled Io recIiy Ihis.
The imrovemenIs were arIicularly
audible in mellow Iracks wiIh a wide
requency range, such as lver's Shodcws c[
the Sun. The inIimaIe harmonies o Simon and
Carunkel's The Scund c[ Si|ence were lighI
and airy, wiIh every arI o Ihe music easy Io
ick ouI. Acaella vocals do well, Ioo, wiIh
lenIy o resonanI deIail in Cooe, Boyes and
Simson's jeruso|em Pevisited, alIhough iI
wasn'I as sacious as iI sounds Ihrough our
more exensive reerence Ke X300 seakers.
The sla o drum skins and ulsing bass
were audible in Dark TranquilliIy's Fndtime
Heorts. The various elemenIs o Ihe busy
mid-range were easy Io ick ouI, and Ihe
sysIem also does brillianIly wiIh bombasIic
Iracks such as Turisas's rock orchesIral Fnd c[
on Fmire and Lady Caga's highly comressed
and synIh-wraed Bod Pcmonce. lndeed, our
enIire collecIion sounded anIasIic.
MEDIA FRENZY
The combined sIreamer and seaker seI cosIs
400. l you already have seakers, or wish Io
buy a diherenI seI, you can buy Ihe DRA-NS
sIreamer or around 270. ThaI's a air rice
or a sIreaming media layer o Ihis qualiIy. lI
sounds good and is easy Io use. We'd have
liked a DAB+ radio, Ioo, buI Ihe Denon Ceol
Piccolo is anIasIic even wiIhouI one.
Kot Orphonides
SPECIFICATIONS
CONNECTION5 1x mini-|ack headphone output, iPod dock,
phono in, optical S/PD|F in, USB port
AUDIO5UPPOPT WNA, AAC, Wav, NP3, FLAC 192/24,
Wav 192/24, ALAC
POWEP CON5UNPTION 3W standby, 12W on
WAPPANTY Two-year RTB
PAPT CODE DRA-N5 + SC-N5
DETAIL5 www.denon.co.uk
VIDEO REVIEVS
S4 OCTOBER 2013 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 308
THE NOWTV box is a suer-chea media
sIreamer, designed Io give you access Io Sky's
inIerneI movie and sorIs channels. lI's based
on Ihe Roku laIorm, buI iI lacks an FIherneI
orI, a UicroSD card sloI and a SB orI.
lIs builI-in Wi-Fi adaIor will be oular
wiIh many users, alIhough we do miss an
FIherneI orI. FIherneI is a good alIernaIive
Io Wi-Fi i you have oor wireless connecIiviIy
in your home, as you may wanI Io connecI iI
Io your neIwork via HomePlug adaIors.
As wiIh Ihe Roku 2 XS, seuing u Ihe Now
TV is simle, wiIh uninIimidaIing insIrucIions
guiding you Ihrough each secIion. You musI
hrsI selecI Ihe wireless neIwork Io which you'll
connecI. The Now TV box scans or available
neIworks and resenIs Ihem Io you aI Ihe side
o Ihe screen in large, clear IexI. Simly selecI
one and Ihen enIer iIs securiIy assword, i
iI has one. Some media sIreamers have ill
IhoughI-ouI daIa enIry screens, buI Ihe Now
TV screen is easy Io Iraverse and all Ihe icons,
such as sace and backsace, make sense.
You'll Ihen have Io enIer your Now TV
username and assword, aer which Ihe
Now TV box udaIes iIs OS and adds as
and channels, such as Sky News, Demand S
and BBC iPlayer.
RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW
The Now TV box's user inIerace is
unsurrisingly similar Io IhaI o Ihe Roku
sysIems, which is no bad Ihing. The Roku 2
XS's user inIerace imressed us wiIh iIs
clean, uncluuered sysIem o moving Iiles, and
Ihe Now TV box conIinues IhaI IradiIion,
while swaing Ihe moody black background
o Ihe Roku sysIems or whiIe. NavigaIing
SKY NovTV box

10 inc VAT

From www.nowtv.com
VERDICT
A great device for h|mand sports fans, with
the added beneht of extra on|ine services
Ihrough Ihe Iiles is easy,
|usI move le or righI and u or
down. The user inIerace is quick and
resonsive, and you can soon move Io Ihe
channel you wanI Io waIch.
lniIially, Ihe inIerace conIains Iiles or
Seuings, Ihe Roku Channel SIore, Now TV, Sky
News, BBC iPlayer, BBC News, and Demand S.
You can add more channels Ihrough Ihe Roku
Channel SIore, which has a good selecIion
o aid-or and ree channels, rom amiliar
channels such as Fox News Io obscure secial-
inIeresI channels such as Aliens & FOs.
There are music channels, Ioo, such as SoIiy
and Ihe excellenI Vevo a, which leIs you
waIch music videos or ree. Annoyingly,
Ihere's no NeIlix a now, alIhough given Ihe
low rice and Sky branding, IhaI's unsurrising.
WATCHING THE SKY
The Now TV channels can only be viewed wiIh
subscriIions, which you can adminisIraIe via
Ihe Now TV websiIe on a searaIe laIo. A
Sky SorIs subscriIion gives access Io Sky
SorIs 1, 3 and 4, Sky SorIs F1, Sky SorIs
News and, aI Ihe Iime o wriIing, a Sky SorIs
Ashes channel. You can view each channel
searaIely and see whaI's on laIer, Ioo.
The Uovies channel divides hlms inIo a
series o caIegories, such as New ln, UosI
Poular and UusI See. You can also
view movie collecIions such as All The
Bonds, a seI o Bond hlms, and The Pixar
CollecIion, which includes new hiIs such as
Mcnsters, |nc and Brove alongside classics
such as Luxc jr and Ped's Dreom. You can also
browse or hlms by genre.
As wiIh Ihe Sky SorIs channels, you can
waIch individual Sky Uovies channels such as
Sky 007, Sky Disney and Sky Sci Fi & Horror.
The qualiIy and range o Ihe hlms is immense,
as you'd execI. The qualiIy o Ihe channels is
deendenI on your broadband connecIion,
buI you'll need a asI inIerneI service, such as
BT lnhniIy, Io geI Ihe besI rom Ihe service.
A subscriIion Io Sky Uovies cosIs 8.99
er monIh or Ihree monIhs and 1S er
monIh Ihereaer. To waIch Sky SorIs, you
musI buy a day ass, which is 9.99 er
24-hour eriod.
THINKING AROUND THE BOX
There's no meIhod o sIreaming videos, music
and hoIos over your home neIwork, which is
a sIrange omission. You can currenIly hack
Ihe box Io insIall Ihe Plex Uedia layer, buI
Sky may remove Ihis oIion in uIure.
lI's also a shame IhaI Ihe Now TV box
doesn'I have a SB inuI so you could lay
media rom auached drives or an FIherneI
orI. The Roku 2 XS does have such Ihings,
and you can also geI Now TV and Demand S
on IhaI device, making iI Ihe beuer buy i you
need such eaIures. The Roku 2 XS also leIs
you lay games such as Angry Birds, and
ouIuIs video aI 1080 raIher Ihan 720.
ThaI said, Ihe Roku 2 XS is also much more
exensive Ihan Ihe Now TV box, which is
inIended Io be a chea means o viewing Sky
TV over Ihe inIerneI. l you wanI Io waIch Sky
Uovies and SorIs buI don'I wanI Io commiI
Io a dish, Ihe Now TV box is ideal.
Andrew Unsworth
CONNECTION5 1x HDN| output, 1x component output
POWEP CON5UNPTION 0W standby, 1W on
WAPPANTY One-year RTB
PAPT CODE 2400SK
DETAIL5 www.nowtv.com
SPECIFICATIONS

Now TV shares the same excellent interface as the Roku media streamers and is easy to use
PRINTER & SCNNER REVIEVS
SS
ISSUE 308 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ OCTOBER 2013
BROTHER'S MFC9330CDW isn'I exensive
or a colour laser UFP, yeI iI has eaIures
such as FIherneI and builI-in Wi-Fi, a 22 ages
er minuIe (m) rinI seed, and auIomaIic
double-sided (dulex) rinIing. lI's smarI, Ioo,
wiIh an uncluuered conIrol anel IhaI has
a colour Iouchscreen and Iouch-sensiIive
buuons. The Iouchscreen needs a hrm ress,
buI Ihe menu sysIem is simle and ehecIive.
lIs sIraighIorward menu makes iI simle
Io connecI Io a wireless neIwork. We also
like iIs rinI and TWAlN scanner inIeraces.
This is generally a asI device, imressively
so in some areas. lI even scans quickly over
wireless neIworks, delivering an A4 documenI
aI 300 doIs er inch (di) in |usI 23 seconds,
and requiring only a second more Io caIure a
6x4in hoIo aI 600di. Single-age mono and
colour hoIocoies Iake 18 and 21 seconds,
and a 10-age colour coy comleIes in |usI
S4 seconds. A mono 10-age rinI |ob Iook
only 43 seconds. lI delivered our black IexI
IesI aI 17.4 ages er minuIe (m), and our
mixed colour IesI aI a decenI 10.9m.
HP'S OFFICEjET 7110 is an omce ink|eI IhaI
can rinI u Io A3+. lI's inIended or lain
aer raIher Ihan hoIo rinIing, making iI
suiIable or roducing lans, drawings and
olded brochure conIenI in-house. lI's larger
Ihan a Iyical ink|eI, buI iI's more shallow
Ihan many A3 rinIers, Ihanks Io aer inuI
and ouIuI Irays IhaI can be reIracIed when
rinIing on aer IhaI's A4 or smaller in size.
The ouIuI Iray can hold 7S rinIed ages,
while Ihe inuI Iray can hold 2S0 sheeIs.
The Omce|eI 7110 has suorI or wired
and wireless neIworking, and or rinIing rom
mobiles and over Ihe inIerneI Ihrough HP's
ePrinI service. lI's also comaIible wiIh Ale
AirPrinI. There's no auIomaIic dulex rinIing,
buI or around SS you can buy HP's C7C18A
dulexer, which simly sloIs inIo Ihe back.
This is |usI like any oIher HP ink|eI Io seI
u. We exerienced a hesiIanI sIarI in IesIs,
wiIh Ihe rinIer sIalling in Ihe middle o iIs
ePrinI conhguraIion sheeI, beore abandoning
BROTHER M!C-330CDV

285 inc VAT

From www.printerbase.co.uk
HP Oce]e ll0

131 inc VAT

From hup://uk.insight.com
VERDICT
A swih |aser NFP that's particu|ar|y easy to use, a|though
we wish its scans and co|our prints were a |in|e bener
VERDICT
Peasonab|e running costs make this is a decent omce-
based A3 printer, but its print qua|ity shou|d be bener
The resulIs weren'I bad, buI we've seen
beuer. Black IexI was good, buI colour
grahics and hoIos were under-saIuraIed
and drab. Our scan resulIs conIribuIed Io our
overall imression IhaI Ihe UFC-9330DW
isn'I well suiIed Io working wiIh colour. lIs
scanner sIruggled Io disIinguish beIween
dark shades, and while Ihe resulIing loss o
deIail shouldn'I be a roblem in Ihe omce, iI
wouldn'I be ideal or scanning dark hoIos.
Uuch o iIs comeIiIion uses |usI our
consumables, buI Ihe UFC-9330CDW has
our Ioners, a drum kiI raIed aI 1S,000 ages,
and a Iranser belI and wasIe Ioner uniI raIed
or S0,000. While Ihis makes mainIenance a
liule more involved, iI resulIs in slighIly lower
running cosIs. However, a good-qualiIy ink|eI
would be ar cheaer and would oher urIher
savings Ihrough lower ower consumIion.
This likable, sIraighIorward UFP is cheaer
Io run Ihan many comeIing lasers. lI's a
good choice i you don'I wanI an ink|eI, buI
we wish iIs rinI and scan qualiIy was higher.
5imon Hondby
iI alIogeIher. Aer resIarIing, Ihough, we
warmed Io Ihe Omce|eI 7110. lI's quieIer Ihan
many ink|eIs, arIicularly during dra qualiIy
rinIing. lI's sIill raid, Ihough, reaching
almosI 17 ages er minuIe (m).
AI normal qualiIy, Ihe Omce|eI 7110 sIill
managed Io roduce ages o IexI aI 14.6m,
and iI rinIed colour sheeIs aI 3.8m. A3
rinIing was hal Ihe seed, wiIh Ihe rinIer
managing hve ages o IexI in S4 seconds
and Iaking Iwo minuIes and 18 seconds Io
roduce hve ages o colour magazine ages.
Black IexI was hne or daily omce work, and
hoIos were acceIable or occasional use.
Colour grahics were disaoinIing, Ihough,
wiIh subIle banding and colours IhaI lacked
Ihe imacI o Ihe besI lain-aer ink|eIs.
The Omce|eI 7110's running cosIs work
ouI aI S.33 er A4 age, which isn'I bad or
an omce rinIer. However, iI's noI ideal i
you're ussy abouI rinI qualiIy.
5imon Hondby
SPECIFICATIONS
SPECIFICATIONS
NAXINUNPPINT PE5OLUTION 600x600dpi
UOTED 5PEED5 22ppm mono, 22ppm colour
NAXINUN5CAN PE5OLUTION 1,200x2,400dpi
INTEPFACE5 USB, 10/100 Ethernet, 802.11n wireless
DINEN5ION5 410x410x483mm
POWEP CON5UNPTION 3W standby, 11W idle, 965W active
WAPPANTY One-year RTB
PAPT CODE NFC9330CDWZU1
DETAIL5 www.brother.co.uk
NAXINUNPE5OLUTION 4,800x1,200dpi
UOTED 5PEED 15ppm mono, 8ppm colour
INTEPFACE5 USB, 10/100 Ethernet, 802.11n wireless
DINEN5ION5 189x585x419mm
POWEP CON5UNPTION 2W standby, 3W idle, 22W active
WAPPANTY One-year RTB
PAPT CODE CR768A
DETAIL5 www.hp.co.uk
Co|our costs
Co|our costs
Nono costs
Nono costs
Norma| speed
Drah speed
Nix-co|our speed
Norma| speed
5can speed
Photo speed
|e|e|e:e
|e|e|e:e
-'1
-'1
-l11
-l11
'1
'1
1
1
2.8p
7.4p
17.4ppm
10.9ppm
2.6spm
1.8p
3.5p
16.7ppm
0.7ppm
14.6ppm
See age 76 or erormance deIails
See age 76 or erormance deIails
STORGE REVIEVS
SC OCTOBER 2013 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 308
KIN6STON'S MOBILELITE WIRELESS allows
iOS and Android devices Io access Ihe conIenIs
o SB drives and SD cards wirelessly. The
bauery-owered UobileLiIe is very lighI, and
doesn'I eel as well builI as iI could be. When
Iurned on, iI creaIes a 2.4CHz 802.11n wireless
neIwork Io which you connecI your mobile
device or laIo. The conIenIs o any SB
sIorage devices or SD cards lugged inIo Ihe
UobileLiIe can Ihen be accessed using Ihe
KingsIon UobileLiIe iOS or Android a or, i
you're using a laIo, as a sIandard SUB share.
We didn'I execI Ihe SB orI Io rovide
enough ower Io auached devices, buI we
had no Irouble accessing orIable SB hard
disks lugged inIo Ihe UobileLiIe, SB lash
drives and SD cards also worked hne. As
SANDISK'S EXTREME II is Ihe comany's
laIesI SSD range, and is available in caaciIies
o 120CB, 240CB and 480CB, alIhough Ihere
isn'I a 960CB or 1TB oIion or Ihose who
need loIs o sIorage rom a single disk.
The FxIreme ll is a 2in disk wiIh a SATA3
connecIor and iI is 7.Smm Ihick, so iI'll hI in
ulIraorIable laIos IhaI originally came wiIh
KINGSTON MobileLie Vireless

41 inc VAT

From www.waeplus.co.uk
SANDISK Lxreme ll 240GB

165 inc VAT

From www.ebuyer.com
VERDICT
A c|ever, if awed, wire|ess storage reader
VERDICT
A very fast 55D with a |ong warranty, and
s|imenough to ht in most |aptops
execIed, Ihere's a Wi-Fi
ass-Ihrough mode, Ihe
UobileLiIe can connecI Io
your exisIing wireless neIwork so
you don'I lose access Io Ihe inIerneI
while you're accessing hles.
The iOS and Android as work in similar
ways. ln boIh, you can browse hles in an
alhabeIical lisI or swiIch Io dedicaIed Iabs
showing only music, hoIos or videos, buI Ihe
music layer has a conusing inIerace. BoIh
as also suorI mulIi-Iouch gesIures, such
as swiing and inch-Io-zoom. However,
neiIher version leIs you uload hles rom your
mobile device Io Ihe auached sIorage.
Sadly, Ihe iOS a has more limiIaIions
Ihan Ihe Android a. While hoIos can be
downloaded Io your camera roll, auached Io
emails or uloaded Io Facebook and Twiuer,
videos can be downloaded only Io Ihe
KingsIon a. Files such as PDFs and US
Word documenIs can be oened in oIher
as using sIandard iOS menu commands.
The Android a is ar more lexible. NoI
only can all hles be downloaded anywhere you
single-lauer hard disks.
However, Ihe FxIreme ll also
comes wiIh an adaIor IhaI leIs you hI iI in
laIos IhaI would oIherwise only acceI
Ihicker 9mm disks.
The FxIreme ll won'I hI inside mosI
lIrabooks, Ihough, as may o Ihis kind o
laIo use SSDs wiIh an mSATA connecIor
and a much smaller design, so check IhaI Ihe
FxIreme ll will hI your laIo beore you buy.
All FxIreme ll SSDs use 19nm ULC NAND
lash and Ihe Uarvell 88SS9187 conIroller.
We've seen Ihis conIroller in oIher SSDs, such
as Crucial's US00 series (see Peviews, Shcer
306). The US00 erormed brillianIly in our
IesIs, so we execIed greaI resulIs rom our
240CB FxIreme ll.
We weren'I disaoinIed, large hles were
wriuen aI a blisIering 487.8UB/s and read aI
414.3UB/s. Small hle erormance was also
very asI, wiIh wriIe seeds o 1S1.6UB/s and
read seeds o 80.4UB/s.
like, buI Ihere's also a buuon Io
back u Ihe enIire conIenIs o an
SD card in one go. This is handy i
you wanI Io back u holiday hoIos
wiIhouI Ihe aid o a PC or a laIo.
However, hle coying erormance isn'I u
Io scraIch or someIhing so demanding. We
connecIed a Windows 7 laIo Io Ihe
UobileLiIe's wireless neIwork and ran our
sIandard sIorage Iranser IesIs. WiIh a
orIable SB hard disk connecIed, large hles
were wriuen aI 3.3UB/s and read aI 6UB/s.
Small hles were boIh wriuen and read aI
around 2UB/s. These seeds are asI enough
or sIreaming video and coying small baIches
o hles, buI backing u a large seI o hles such
as an SD card ull o hoIos will be ainully slow.
KingsIon's UobileLiIe Wireless is similar Io
ADaIa's Dash Drive AF400 (Peviews, Shcer
306). BoIh have Iheir laws and neiIher is
erecI, buI i you absoluIely musI access
SB sIorage and SD cards rom your mobile
device Ihen Ihe AF400 is beuer, as iI's smaller
and can also charge your mobile device.
A|on Lu
The FxIreme ll is a very asI
SSD. lIs large hle erormance
exceeds IhaI o our BesI Buy
award-winning SSD, Ihe Crucial US00,
by 14UB/s overall. The Crucial US00 is asIer
Ihan Ihe FxIreme ll in our benchmarks when
coying small hles, buI only by 6UB/s overall.
The drives are also similarly riced. The
FxIreme ll is 69 er gigabyIe, while Ihe
240CB version o Ihe Crucial US00 is a
slighIly cheaer 63 er gigabyIe. However,
one clear advanIage Ihe FxIreme ll does have
is iIs warranIy. AI hve years, iI's Iwo years
longer Ihan IhaI ohered by Crucial's US00.
The Sandisk FxIreme ll has excellenI
erormance, and comes wiIh a useul adaIor
Io leI iI hI in a varieIy o laIos. lI's slighIly
more exensive Ihan Ihe Crucial US00, buI
we Ihink iI's worIh Ihe exIra Io geI Ihe exIra
seed and longer warranIy. lI's greaI value
and a BesI Buy SSD.
A|on Lu
5ma|| h|es
Large h|es
|e|e|e:e -'1 -l11 '1 1
451NB/s
116NB/s
See age 76 or erormance deIails
INTEPFACE5 USB
DINEN5ION5 125x60x17mm
WAPPANTY One-year RTB
PAPT CODE NLW221
DETAIL5 www.kingston.com
CAPACITY 240CB
FOPNATTED CAPACITY (NTF5) 232CB
INTEPFACE SATA3
WAPPANTY Five-year RTB
PAPT CODE SDSSDXP-240C-C25
DETAIL5 www.sandisk.co.uk
SPECIFICATIONS
SPECIFICATIONS
NETVORK REVIEVS
S
ISSUE 308 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ OCTOBER 2013
BILLION'S BIPAC 7800DXL is an ADSL2+
modem rouIer wiIh our CigabiI FIherneI
orIs and a SB orI or auaching SB drives
and rinIers Io share wiIh oIher users on your
neIwork. lI's also a dual-band rouIer, which
means iI broadcasIs on boIh Ihe 2.4CHz and
SCHz bands, and can rovide access Io boIh
bands simulIaneously. As Ihe SCHz band is
less congesIed Ihan Ihe 2.4CHz band, iI
Iyically allows or higher daIa Iranser
seeds. This is esecially convenienI i you
have a newer smarIhone or IableI IhaI can
connecI Io Ihe SCHz band, as you'll en|oy
asIer IhroughuI o videos and oIher media
rom NAS devices and neIworked PCs.
lI has an inIegraIed ADSL2+ modem, so
you can simly connecI Ihe 7800DXL Io your
hone line's microhlIers using iIs R|11 DSL
orI. AlIernaIively, you can use a CigabiI
FIherneI orI Io connecI Ihe 7800DXL Io an
exisIing neIwork. You can even auach a 3C
or 4C dongle Io a SB orI and use IhaI Io
connecI Io Ihe inIerneI i your main inIerneI
connecIion ails. This is handy or households
IhaI exerience occasional or requenI
roblems wiIh Iheir broadband connecIion,
buI iI's esecially good or omces, where an
uninIerruIed inIerneI connecIion is essenIial.
SQUARE ROUTER
Comared wiIh many new rouIers, esecially
Ihose rom manuacIurers such as Asus and
NeIgear, Ihe 7800DXL looks unrehned. lI's noI
someIhing you'd arIicularly wanI on show
in Ihe living room buI iI wouldn'I look ouI o
lace in an omce, and iI can be wall mounIed
or convenience and beuer Wi-Fi coverage.
lIs indicaIor lighIs and labels are clear and
legible, however, making iI easy Io see Ihe
sIaIe o your rouIer aI a glance.
Also unlike many modern rouIers, Ihe
7800DXL doesn'I Iry Io make you download
iOS and Android as or insisI on Ihe
insIallaIion o inIrusive uIiliIies. This is
rereshing in some ways, buI iI urIher serves
Io make Ihe 7800DXL look crude in
comarison wiIh similarly riced rouIers.
Once you've seI iI u and lugged iI inIo
your comuIer, Ihe 7800DXL's web inIerace
auIomaIically loads when you hrsI sIarI your
web browser, and you can conhgure iIs
inIerneI connecIion and Wi-Fi seuings rom
Ihere. The conhguraIion screens are laid ouI
VERDICT
A good genera|-purpose router that's bener
suited to omce and workp|ace use
simly and look uninIimidaIing, buI Ihey
don'I oher any guidance, which means Ihe
rocess could be conusing Io Ihose who are
unamiliar wiIh rouIer conhguraIion.
The resI o Ihe web inIerace is similarly
lacking in exlanaIion and helul commenIs,
buI iI's oIherwise clear, wiIh menu oIions
divided inIo sensible caIegories. lI Iakes only
a ew mouse clicks Io locaIe all Ihe ma|or
eaIures and seuings you need, including
Wi-Fi securiIy seuings. lI also has many
advanced oIions, such as dynamic DNS
and orI orwarding.
OBSTACLE COURSE
We sIarIed by connecIing our IesI laIo Io
Ihe 7800DXL on Ihe 2.4CHz band, where iI
achieved daIa Iranser raIes o 33.2UB/s aI
one meIre, 24UB/s aI 10 meIres and
12.9UB/s aI 2S meIres. Our lab is a
challenging environmenI or any 2.4CHz-band
device and rouIer, buI even so, we've seen
beuer seeds rom oIher devices, such as Ihe
Securih Almond and Ihe D-Link DlR-826L,
under Ihe same condiIions.
We also IesIed iI wiIh a Billion BiPAC
3010ND Wi-Fi adaIor on Ihe 2.4CHz band.
Here we saw a big imrovemenI aI 10 meIres,
wiIh Iranser seeds rising Io 61.SUB/s, buI a
lower seed o 4.2UB/s aI 2S meIres.
The 7800DXL's Iranser seeds
were much beuer on Ihe SCHz
band, wiIh seeds o 97.2UB/s aI
one meIre and 93.2UB/s aI 10
meIres when we used our IesI
laIo's builI-in Wi-Fi adaIor.
However, we again exerienced a
low 4UB/s aI 2S meIres.
Seeds imroved yeI again
when we used Ihe BiPAC 3010ND
adaIor Io connecI Io Ihe rouIer
on Ihe SCHz band. We measured
BILLION BiFAC 800DXL

143 inc VAT

From www.novaIech.co.uk
seeds o 133UB/s aI one meIre, 90.1UB/s aI
10 meIres and 22UB/s aI 2S meIres. From our
IesIs, we'd say IhaI Ihe 7800DXL is besI
suiIed Io oen-lan omces and living rooms
where users aren'I likely Io be more Ihan
1S-20 meIres away rom Ihe rouIer.
The Billion BiPAC 7800DXL may noI
look arIicularly auracIive, buI iI's a good
general-urose rouIer. There's no reason
why iI can'I be used in Ihe home, buI iIs
abiliIy Io use 3C and 4C Wi-Fi adaIors Io
connecI Io Ihe inIerneI makes iI beuer suiIed
Io omces. l you're looking or a home rouIer,
NeIgear's WNDR4S00 (see Peviews, Shcer
299) is a good alIernaIive. lIs Wi-Fi
erormance on Ihe 2.4CHz band is beuer and
iI has a more user-riendly web inIerace. l
you need a good rouIer or your business,
however, Ihe BiPAC 7800DXL is a good choice.
Andrew Unsworth
SPECIFICATIONS
Own-brand 25m
Own-brand 10m
Own-brand 1m
Centrino 2 25m
Centrino 2 10m
Centrino 2 1m
|e|e|e:e -'1 -l11 '1 1
33.2Nbit/s
12.9Nbit/s
61.5Nbit/s
4.2Nbit/s
24Nbit/s
34.6Nbit/s
See age 76 or erormance deIails
WIPELE55 5TANDAPD 802.11n dual band (300Nbit/s)
CONNECTION5 4x 10/100/1,000Nbit/s LAN ports, 1x WAN
port (ADSL2+, 3C (via USB), 4C (via USB) modem)
FEATUPE5 UPnP, QoS
DINEN5ION5 40x750x550
POWEP CON5UNPTION 7W on
WAPPANTY Two-year RTB
PAPT CODE BiPAC 7800DXL
DETAIL5 www.billion.uk.com
TIere's no reason vIy tIe 7800DXL can't be used
in tIe Iome, but its abiIity to use 3G and 4G Vi-Fi
adaptors makes it better suited to oIces
COMPONENTS REVIEVS
S8 OCTOBER 2013 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 308
XFX'S R7770 CORE FdiIion is a chea,
comacI grahics card IhaI uses AUD's
Radeon HD 7770 chiseI Io give beuer 3D
erormance Ihan your rocessor's builI-in
grahics can rovide. lI also has 1CB o
CDDRS memory, which should sumce or
mosI games aI moderaIe deIail levels. The
memory runs aI a clock seed o 1.12SCHz,
while Ihe grahics rocessor runs aI 1CHz.
This card is a anIasIic way o adding a
wider varieIy o orIs Io your PC. The XFX
R7770 Core FdiIion has Iwo DVl ouIuIs, an
HDUl ouIuI and a DislayPorI ouIuI,
desiIe cosIing less Ihan 100. No mauer
which moniIor you have, Ihis card will have
Ihe righI ouIuI. lI's also comaIible wiIh
HDCP, so you'll be able Io ouIuI HDCP-
roIecIed Blu-rays Io an HDCP moniIor.
The XFX R7770 Core FdiIion isn'I long, so
iI should hI in all buI Ihe smallesI cases, buI iI
does occuy Iwo sloIs on your PC's backlane.
Plus, you'll need a PCl-F ower connecIor sare.
CORE OF THE WILD
We iniIially IesIed Ihe card wiIh DirI
Showdown, and ran our benchmark IesI aI a
resoluIion o 1,920x1,080 wiIh grahics qualiIy
seI Io lIra and anIi-aliasing Io 4x. The card
roduced an average rame raIe o 40s,
which is more Ihan smooIh enough or
comorIable lay. When we reduced Ihe
resoluIion Io 1,280x720 and Ihe grahics
seuings Io High, Ihe card roduced an
excellenI average rame raIe o 97s.
Sadly, iI didn'I erorm as well in our Crysis
2 benchmark IesI, wiIh Ihe XFX R7770 Core
FdiIion roducing an average rame raIe o
|usI 19.6s aI a resoluIion o 1,920x1,080 wiIh
grahics oIions seI Io lIra and 4x anIi-
aliasing. This rame raIe is nowhere near
smooIh enough or en|oyable lay. We had Io
reduce grahics oIions Io High in order Io
XFX R0 Core Ldiior

92 inc VAT

From www.ebuyer.com
VERDICT
A cheap graphics card with great performance
and a wide range of connections
geI a layable rame raIe o
42s, alIhough Very High wasn'I
Ioo bad aI 29.4s.
Reducing Ihe resoluIion Io 1,280x720
resulIed in beuer average rame raIes, wiIh
Ihe XFX R7770 Core FdiIion managing 28.3s
wiIh grahics oIions seI Io lIra and a very
smooIh 44.9s wiIh grahics seuings slighIly
reduced Io FxIreme. These aren'I Ihe asIesI
scores, buI Ihey're noI bad or a sub-100
grahics card. By comarison, Ihe Sahire
Radeon HD 7790 Dual-X OC (see Peviews,
Shcer 30S), which uses Ihe more owerul HD
7790 grahics rocessor, roduced an average
rame raIe o 24.6s in Crysis 2 aI a resoluIion
o 1,920x1,080 wiIh grahics seuings seI Io
lIra. This rame raIe is |usI hve rames er
second asIer Ihan IhaI roduced by Ihe XFX
R7770 Core FdiIion, buI you only have Io
reduce grahics seuings Io FxIreme Io en|oy
Crysis 2 aI a smooIh 36.6s aI Full HD
resoluIion wiIh Ihe more owerul card.
The Sahire Radeon HD 7790 also
sIormed Ihrough our DirI Showdown
benchmark IesI, roducing SS.3s aI
1,920x1,080 wiIh 4x anIi-aliasing and grahics
qualiIy seI Io lIra. AI a resoluIion o
1,280x720 and wiIh grahics qualiIy seI Io
High, Ihe same card roduced an average
rame raIe o 106s.
As can be seen rom Ihese comarisons,
Ihe Radeon HD 7790 doesn'I have a massive
lead on Ihe Radeon HD 7770, buI iI's
enough Io make a diherence when
laying very demanding games.
MULTIPLE ANGLES
As Ihe XFX R7770 Core FdiIion has such a
wide varieIy o ouIuIs, iI's worIh making use
o Ihem i you're lucky Io have Ihree sare
moniIors or gaming or roducIiviIy soware.
WiIh Ihree moniIors conhgured Io run in
AUD's FyehniIy mulIi-moniIor mode, we ran
DirI Showdown aI a very wide resoluIion o
S,760x1,080 wiIh grahics qualiIy seI Io lIra
and 4x anIi-aliasing. Surrisingly, Ihe card |usI
assed our benchmark IesI wiIh a score o
16.Ss. This is nowhere near smooIh enough
or en|oyable lay. However, reducing grahics
qualiIy Io High roduced a beuer average
rame raIe o 31.4s. Sadly, Ihe card didn'I
ass any o our benchmark IesIs in Crysis 2 aI
Ihe same resoluIion.
We like Ihe XFX R7770 Core FdiIion. lI's a
neaI, quieI and comacI card IhaI would suiI
users who wanI Io ugrade rom Iheir CP's
builI-in grahics rocessor in order Io en|oy
Ihe laIesI games. You'll have Io comromise
on grahics qualiIy and resoluIion i you wanI
Io lay grahically demanding games, and
we Ihink you should ay a liule more or a
Radeon HD 7790-based grahics card i you're
rimarily a gamer, buI oIherwise Ihe XFX
R7770 Core FdiIion is a greaI budgeI card.
Andrew Unsworth
SPECIFICATIONS
CHIP5ET AND Radeon HD 7770
COPE 5PEED 1CHz
PAN1CB CDDR5 (1.13CHz)
WAPPANTY One-year RTB
PAPT CODE FX-777A-ZN|4
DETAIL5 www.xfxforce.com
Dirt 5howdown
Crysis 2
3D Nark 11
|e|e|e:e -'1 -l11 '1 1
40fps
19.6fps
1090
See age 76 or erormance deIails
TIe Core Edition vouId suit users vIo vant to
uprade Irom tIeir CPU's buiIt-in rapIics processor
COMPONENTS REVIEVS
S
ISSUE 308 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ OCTOBER 2013
SPECIFICATIONS
PPOCE55OP Socket LCA1150
CHIP5ET |ntel Z87
NENOPY 5LOT5 4x DDR3
EXPAN5ION 4x PC| Express x16 slots, 1x PC| Express
x1 slots, 2x PC| slots, 6x SATA3 ports
WAPPANTY Three-year RTB warranty
PAPT CODE CA-Z87X-OC
DETAIL5 www.gigabyte.com
5hopper
mu|titasking
5hopper overa||
Dirt 5howdown
Dirt 5howdown
(|aptop test)
|e|e|e:e -'1 -l11 '1 1
112
116
25.4fps
32.8fps
See age 76 or erormance deIails
6I6ABYTE'S Z87XOC IS a higher-end ATX
moIherboard designed or overclocking. As
iIs name imlies, Ihe Z87X-OC uses Ihe lnIel
Z87 chiseI and is comaIible wiIh lnIel's
ourIh-generaIion Haswell rocessors.
Thanks Io Ihe Z87 chiseI, Ihe Z87X-OC
rovides six SATA3 sloIs, so you'll be able Io
geI Ihe mosI ouI o even suer-asI SSDs. The
Z87X-OC also has our dual-channel RAU
sloIs IhaI can accommodaIe u Io 32CB o
memory, our PCl-F x16 sloIs, Iwo legacy
PCl sloIs and a single PCl-F x1 sloI. AlIhough
Ihe Z87X-OC can accommodaIe u Io our
grahics cards, Ihe our ull-lengIh sloIs share
bandwidIh. The hrsI sloI runs aI x16 and Ihe
second aI x8 seed. The seed o Ihe second
sloI dros urIher Io x4 when you inserI cards
in Ihe Ihird and ourIh grahics card sloIs,
and Ihe hrsI sloI dros Io x8. The Ihird and
ourIh sloIs always run aI x4.
ConvenienIly, Ihe Z87X-OC has a seI o
swiIches IhaI leI you Iurn oh secihc PCl-F
sloIs wiIhouI hysically removing cards.
There's also a moIherboard-based six-in
PCl-F ower connecIor IhaI rovides Ihe
board wiIh exIra ower, should you be
using Iwo or more grahics cards.
The small number o PCl-F x1 sloIs may
seem miserly, buI we don'I Ihink iI's a
roblem in Ihe conIexI o a moIherboard
designed or overclocking, as you're unlikely
Io use Ihis board in a general-urose PC
wiIh a TV Iuner card, or examle.
PORT SCRATCHINGS
The Z87X-OC does have a good comlemenI
o connecIion orIs on iIs backlane,
including six SB3 orIs, Iwo exIra SB
orIs, six analogue audio |acks, a CigabiI
FIherneI orI and a PS/2 orI. lI also has a
greaI selecIion o dislay ouIuIs, wiIh Iwo
HDUl ouIuIs and one DislayPorI ouIuI.
As or inIernal connecIors, Ihere are Iwo
SB3 headers, Iwo exIra SB headers and
Iwo urIher SB orIs.
GIGABYTE Z8X-OC

165 inc VAT

From www.dabs.com
VERDICT
P|enty of onboard overc|ocking bunons and
switches, but this board is a niche product
Uany users will use a massive
heaIsink and an wiIh Ihe Z87X-OC, buI be
aware IhaI iI may siI erilously close Io a seI
o overclocking buuons. A large heaIsink may
also obscure one or more o Ihe RAU sloIs.
SETTING PRETTY
AlIhough iI's an ATX moIherboard, and will
haily siI wiIhin many cases, Ihe Z87X-OC's
many buuons and swiIches make iI a erecI
board or oen cases and IesI benches so you
can Iinker wiIh seuings and quickly remove
comonenIs. lI even comes wiIh a secial
brace IhaI locks u Io our grahics cards in
lace, so Ihere's no risk o Ihem losing conIacI
wiIh Ihe sloI, or lacing undue sIress on Ihe
card's connecIor. When Ihe moIherboard is
on a IesI bench, you screw Ihe brace inIo Ihe
moIherboard's screw holes, buI we couldn'I
screw iI inIo our IesI bench as iI has lasIic
risers. lI's a shame CigabyIe didn'I include
nuIs wiIh Ihe board so you'd have someIhing
inIo which you could screw Ihe brace.
Sadly, a ew imorIanI buuons, such as
Ihe reseI and DirecI To BlOS buuons, aren'I
clearly labelled. lI's imossible Io know whaI a
buuon or swiIch does unless you sIudy Ihe
manual and memorise Ihe uncIions. This
may be hal Ihe un wiIh a board such as Ihe
Z87X-OC, buI, even so, anyone can hiI Ihe
wrong buuon by misIake, and a descriIion
or an icon rovides a visual cue IhaI mighI
revenI you hiuing a buuon accidenIally.
This is a shame, as Ihe eighI oIher buuons
are marked by descriIions and icons, and
Ihese buuons leI you maniulaIe Ihe clock
seed o your rocessor, aly an auIomaIic
overclock Io give increase in erormance, and
swiIch beIween 0.1UHz and 1UHz or base
clock ad|usImenI, so you can overclock wiIh a
high degree o hnesse. These buuons are easy
Io ress, as long as your heaIsink's noI in Ihe
way. l you're in Windows, ressing Ihe DirecI
To BlOS buuon means you enIer Ihe BlOS
aer a rebooI, buI we'd reer Ihe sysIem Io
rebooI and enIer Ihe BlOS immediaIely when
we ress Ihe buuon.
AGAINST THE CLOCK
AI iIs deaulI seuings, Ihe Z87X-OC roduced
Ihe same overall resulI in our benchmark IesIs
as Ihe BesI Buy-winning CigabyIe Z87-D3HP,
wiIh 112. Once IhaI IesI had comleIed, we
ressed Ihe Turbo buuon and re-ran Ihe IesIs,
and were leased Io see a higher overall score o
11S, even i iI is |usI a slighI erormance increase.
WiIh an overclock o 4.8CHz alied, Ihe
Z87X-OC scored 134 overall. This is lower Ihan
Ihe 143 scored by Ihe Z87-D3HP under Ihe same
condiIions, buI we Ihink Ihe unseasonably
high ambienI IemeraIures layed a arI in
Ihis low score, desiIe our besI ehorIs Io kee
Ihe rocessor and board running cool.
The board's FFl BlOS looks inIimidaIing,
buI you can quickly work ouI where everyIhing
is locaIed, and iI rovides all Ihe volIage and
clock seed oIions you could wanI. You can
also access a IradiIional BlOS by ressing F2.
We like Ihe Z87X-OC, buI iI is aimed aI a
niche seI o users who'll need an exensive CP
and mulIile grahics cards. lI's a greaI board
or enIhusiasIs who en|oy Iinkering, buI Ihe
CigabyIe's cheaer Z87-D3HP is beuer i you
|usI wanI Io overclock comonenIs occasionally.
Andrew Unsworth
TIe Z87X-OC's many buttons and svitcIes make it a
perIect board Ior open cases and test bencIes so you can
tinker vitI settins and quickIy remove components
SOFTVRE REVIEVS
C0 OCTOBER 2013 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 308
SERIF'S PA6EPLUS X7 isn'I IhaI diherenI
rom PagePlus X6, buI iI has several new
eaIures, including exliciI suorI or
Windows 8 and a new 64-biI engine. The
hrsI Ihing anyone ugrading rom an earlier
version is likely Io noIice is Ihe new SIarIu
AssisIanI browser, which rovides IuIorials
and hels you sIarI ro|ecIs. lIs neaI, Iiled
design is clearly insired by Ihe Windows
8 SIarI screen, and iI has a similar search
Iool or quickly Iracking down IemlaIe or
hel conIenI. TemlaIes are reviewed as
Ihumbnails, buI you can quickly zoom in
Io geI a beuer look aI inIeresIing ones.
Seri says iI has overhauled Ihe look o
Ihe main inIerace wiIh Ihis version, buI Ihe
diherences aren'I so obvious. There's been
some subIle decluuering o Ihe inIerace in
comarison Io PagePlus X6, and a coule o
small usabiliIy imrovemenIs such as Ihe
inIroducIion o colour Io Ihe RCB slider bars.
Uore noIiceable are new eaIures such as an
ehecIs Iab and conIexI-sensiIive smarI hinIs.
The behind-Ihe-scenes imrovemenIs
are more signihcanI. There's suorI or Ihe
PDF/X-3 sIandard, which should minimise
comaIibiliIy roblems when ublishing work Io
roessional rinI shos. FBooks ublished by
PagePlus in Ihe FPB ormaI are now comlianI
wiIh Ihe sIandards checked by Ihe FubCheck
Iool, which is used by many online book sIores
Io check books meeI various Iechnical criIeria.
USER INTERFACE
PagePlus X7's main inIerace may have slighIly
less cluuer, buI Ihere's no geuing away rom
Ihe acI IhaI Ihis is eaIure-rich soware.
There's a loI Io hI on screen, and Ihings were
cramed on our 1,366x768 laIo screen.
As you'd execI, Ihe ro|ecI you currenIly
have oen occuies Ihe mosI sace, wiIh
SERIF FaeFlus X

82 inc VAT

From www.serif.com
VERDICT
A comprehensive and powerfu| desktop
pub|ishing package, PageP|us X7 improves on
previous versions yet remains great va|ue
various simle Iools locaIed Io Ihe le and
menus aI Ihe Io o Ihe screen. There's also a
sysIem o Iabs IhaI conIain enhanced IoolseIs
and uncIions, Ihese can loaI on Ihe worksace
or be docked Io any o iIs edges. lI's a helul
sysIem IhaI's easy Io use buI, wiIh 21 Iabs Io
choose rom, Ihere's quiIe a learning curve.
We elI Ihere was room or imrovemenI
in Ihe design o a coule o Ihe Iabs, esecially
Ihe requenIly used Pages Iab, as you can'I
zoom in on Ihe small age Ihumbnails, so
iI's Iricky Io soI secihc arIs o longer
documenIs where many ages share a
common layouI. We Ihink iI should have a
similar look and eel Io Ihe SIarIu AssisIanI.
New Io PagePlus X7 is Ihe CharI Iab, which
leIs you resenI sIandalone daIa as ie, line,
bar, column and area charIs, among oIher
Iyes. CharIs iniIially aear in blue, buI iI
doesn'I Iake long Io change Ihis or add oIher
enhancemenIs such as Ihe lnsIanI 3D eaIure
or an ehecI such as dro shadow. There are
oIher useul eaIures, Ioo, such as an
abiliIy Io exlode one or more segmenIs
rom a ie charI Io give emhasis Io
arIicular grous o daIa.
lI's ossible Io use daIa in Iables and rom
exIernal daIabases, buI we ran inIo roblems.
The hel hle says suorIed ormaIs include
Access, Fxcel and various delimiIed IexI hles,
buI we could see only .sdb hles and ODBC
sources when we Iried Io browse or daIabases.
IMPROVEMENTS
PagePlus X7 doesn'I leI you imlemenI a
baseline grid, buI iI is ossible Io osiIion
guide lines and Ihe sysIem shows and snas
Io auIomaIic guides Io hel you line Ihings
u. We like Ihe abiliIy Io ress AlI while
osiIioning Io disable snaing Iemorarily.
There are sIill no eBook-secihc IemlaIes.
You can ublish any ro|ecI Io eBook ormaI,
buI iI'd be good Io sIarI rom an oIimised
IemlaIe. However, PagePlus X7 comes wiIh
an excellenI hel resource IhaI roerly
documenIs PDF orms and inIeracIive
elemenIs. We ound Ihe online IuIorials,
hel and communiIy useul, Ioo.
PagePlus X7 is a rich and deIailed iece o
soware. There are many eaIures here and
nearly all o Ihem work very well. This version
remains comeIiIively riced, Ioo, being a
liule cheaer Ihan Uicroso Publisher 2013.
We're noI sure Ihe new eaIures are worIh
an ugrade or PagePlus X6 users, buI i you
have older deskIo ublishing soware IhaI's
in need o an udaIe, or you're looking or a
comrehensive new ackage, PagePlus X7 is
ideally suiIed Io your needs.
5imon Hondby
5Y5TENPEUIPENENT5 Windows XP (32 bit only),
Windows Vista/7/8 (32 or 64 bit), 1CB RAN, 740NB free disk
space, 1,024x768 monitor resolution
PPODUCT CODE N/A
DETAIL5 www.serif.com
SPECIFICATIONS
The main interface has been overhauled, but there's still a lot to ht in, a large or second screen is ideal
Charts start out blue, but they're easy to customise.
You can explode pie segments to add impact
The new Startup Assistant looks fresh and is easy
to use, it's a great browser for supplied templates
SOFTVRE REVIEVS
Cl
ISSUE 308 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ OCTOBER 2013
CUBASE ELEMENTS IS a cuI-rice version o
Ihe iconic Cubase DigiIal Audio WorksIaIion.
Whereas many sub-100 recording ackages
simliy Ihe roducIion rocess Io make iI
more accessible Io casual users, Cubase
FlemenIs is Ihe same as Ihe ull version o
Cubase, buI wiIh limiIaIions, such as Ihe
number o Iracks available and Ihe lack o
some ancillary modules.
This makes FlemenIs unsuiIable or non-
Iechnical musicians Iaking Iheir hrsI sIes in
recording, or Ihose who wanI Io use loIs o
insIrumenIs. However, iI's greaI or serious
musicians who can'I ahord Ihe cosI o Ihe ull
version or |usI wanI Io record erormances
and Ihen ediI and mix Ihem Io a high sIandard.
This is Iruer Ihan ever Ihanks Io some big
imrovemenIs Io Cubase FlemenIs 7's mix
DI6ITAL CAMERAS AND smarIhones have
Iurned us inIo rolihc hoIograhers, and
ACDSee 16 is designed Io hel us kee on Io
o all Ihose snas. lI's a cuI-down version o
ACDSee Pro 6 (see Crcu Tests, Shcer 299),
and lacks Ihe advanced, non-desIrucIive
ediIing Iools o Ihe more exensive version.
However, iIs hoIo managemenI, ediIing and
sharing uncIions are more advanced Ihan
ree soware such as Coogle Picasa.
There are all sorIs o ways Io browse Ihe
hoIo library, and Ihe Calendar is one o Ihe
besI, as you can hlIer by year, monIh, day or
hour. The monIhly view shows Ihumbnails or
each day IhaI conIains hoIos. The CaIalog
STEINBERG Cubase Llemers

79 inc VAT

From www.soundsliveshop.com
ACDSEE lC

29 inc VAT

From www.acdsee.com
VERDICT
Professiona| music production at a consumer
price, but don't mistake it for a consumer product
VERDICT
Forensic photo management, capab|e eects and
a reasonab|e price, but it's not without its quirks
caabiliIies. The new, garganIuan UixConsole
is Iaken sIraighI rom Cubase 7 (see Peviews,
Shcer 301). ln Cubase FlemenIs 6, mosI mixer
seuings were accessible only one channel aI a
Iime in Ihe Channel Seuings window, buI now
iI's ossible Io see all volume, FQ, inserI, send
and rouIing seuings aI once.
The UixConsole also includes Ihe new
Channel SIri, which is a seI o hve ehecIs
IhaI are hard-wired inIo each channel. They
resemble Ihe comressors and gaIes IhaI are
ound on high-end hardware mixers, buI also
include a limiIer, Iae or Iube saIuraIion and
an enveloe shaer. TogeIher wiIh Ihe caable
FQ on each channel, iI's a oIenI combinaIion
or creaIing unchy, glossy mixes.
lI's a loI Io hI inIo Ihe UixConsole, Ihough.
We've been using Cubase or years and we
ound iI a liule unwieldy Io navigaIe. New
users may Iake one look aI Ihe UixConsole
and reverI sIraighI back Io Ihe more alaIable
Channel Seuings window.
Cubase FlemenIs 7 has Ihree new inserI
ehecIs, Ioo. D|-FQ and UorhFilIer are simle
anel can hlIer by keyword, raIing, colour
label, camera, lens, lSO seed, aerIure, hle
size and dozens more oIions. UaIches
aeared quickly rom our large hoIo library.
lI can loI hoIos on a ma, reading Ihe
embedded daIa rom CPS-enabled cameras
and smarIhones, or leuing Ihe user loI Ihem
manually by dragging and droing on Io Ihe
ma. You can also look u ma inormaIion
such as Ihe counIry, Iown and nearesI road,
and embed iI in Ihe hles' meIa daIa. Browsing
Ihe ma is un way Io exlore a hoIo collecIion,
buI Iying a lace name inIo Ihe Search bar is
a asIer way Io |um Io a arIicular seI.
FdiIing isn'I on a ar wiIh IhaI o ACDSee
Pro or Adobe PhoIosho LighIroom S (see
Peviews, Shcer 307), buI iI's caable. There's
conIrol over whiIe balance and exosure, lus
curve-based colour correcIion. There's also Ihe
abiliIy Io aly ehecIs selecIively, using brush
sIrokes or a gradienI Iool, which is erecI or
brighIening under-exosed oregrounds.
FQ-based ehecIs wiIh an emhasis on
hands-on conIrol. VST Am Rack is a suiIe o
guiIar edals, ams and seaker cabineIs. lI
sounds greaI and is a generous addiIion Io
Ihis enIry-level version. The samle-layback
insIrumenI has 3S0 new high-qualiIy sounds,
buI Ihere are no new insIrumenIs.
This version o Cubase resIricIs you Io 48
audio Iracks, 24 virIual insIrumenIs, 16 grou
channels and eighI ehecIs sends, buI Ihese
are more Ihan enough or all buI Ihe biggesI
musical roducIions. FirsI-Iime users may
hnd Cubase FlemenIs 7 inIimidaIing, buI iI's
ossible Io ignore Ihe more comlex eaIures
and |usI geI on wiIh recording.
l you wanI a bargain DigiIal Audio
WorksIaIion wiIh loIs o high-qualiIy eaIures,
you should buy Cubase FlemenIs 7.
Ben Piu
5Y5TENPEUIPENENT5 Windows 7/8 or Nac OS X
10.7/10.8, dual-core processor, 2CB RAN, 8CB disk space
DETAIL5 www.steinberg.net
SPECIFICATIONS
The NixConsole presents all mix-related features
in one, enormous, borderline-impenetrable view
CreaIive ediIing is well caIered or, Ioo. The
Blur ehecI has a new Lens Blur Iye, wiIh
oIions Io creaIe blown-ouI highlighIs and a
choice o blur shaes. lI benehIs rom Ihe
new brush and gradienI Iools or selecIively
blurring hoIos. The new TilI-Shi ehecI
creaIes a band o shar deIail and blurs eiIher
side. nlike similar ehecIs in oIher ackages
IhaI ade beIween shar and blurred versions,
Ihis one uses a rogressively sIronger blur.
This ediIor isn'I shorI o imressive
eaIures. However, Ihe lack o non-desIrucIive
ediIing is a concern, and Ihe lack o video
suorI will be an issue or many. ThaI said, i
you wanI Io make quick ediIs Io large baIches
o hoIos and can'I sIreIch Io Ihe cosI o
LighIroom, ACDSee 16 is a greaI oIion.
Ben Piu
5Y5TENPEUIPENENT5 Windows XP (SP3)/Vista/7/8,
Pentium |||, 512NB RAN (1CB recommended), 310NB disk
space (1CB recommended)
DETAIL5 www.acdsee.com
SPECIFICATIONS
Blur can now be applied in brush strokes, and
there's a choice of cute blur shapes, too
GMES REVIEVS
C2 OCTOBER 2013 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 308
SPECIFICATIONS
5Y5TENPEUIPENENT5 2CHz |ntel Core 2 Duo or better,
2CB RAN, Nvidia CeForce 8800CT/AND Radeon HD 2900XT
or better, 30CB hard disk space
PPODUCT CODE 231430
DETAIL5 www.sega.co.uk
RELIC 6AMES MAY have been a casualIy
rom Ihe demise o ublisher THQ, buI luckily
Sega rescued Ihe develoer in Iime Io see Ihe
release o Comany o Heroes 2. This sequel
Io Ihe dee and aImosheric 2006 sIraIegy
game moves Ihe war Io Ihe FasIern FronI and
reIains Ihe original's griuy, inIense gamelay.
The 14-mission camaign rovides conIexI
Io Ihe conlicI Ihrough a series o lashbacks
IhaI lace you aI ivoIal oinIs. You sIarI wiIh
ground Iroos, and unlock heavy armour as
you ush Ihe Nazis back Ihrough Russian
IerriIory. CuI-scenes searaIe Ihe levels, buI
Ihe acIing and animaIion aren'I as engaging
as Ihose o Relic's Warhammer 40K games.
DEATH DUTY
For Russia, World War 2 was a biuerly cold
war o auriIion oughI by conscriIed soldiers
who were woeully under-equied Io Iake on
Ihe Nazi war machine. The sheer number o
Russian orces layed a big arI in winning Ihe
war, and iI's a criIical mechanic IhroughouI
Ihe game's camaign. ConscriIs can be called
inIo baule quickly and chealy, leuing you
bolsIer your squads i you Iake heavy losses.
lI's eels counIerinIuiIive aI hrsI, as losing
mosI o your orces means deeaI in oIher
sIraIegy games. However, you soon begin Io
rely on quick reinorcemenIs and become
deIached rom your squads as you ush Ihem
orward againsI enIrenched enemies.
Uanaging your economy is Ihe mosI
ehecIive way Io mainIain bauleheld
SEGA Comary o
Heroes 2

40 inc VAT

From store.steampowered.com
VERDICT
Nore of the same intense PT5 action,
even if the Eastern Front campaign isn't
quite as engaging as the origina|
suerioriIy, as caIuring Ihe uel and
ammuniIion dums scauered across each
ma rewards you wiIh addiIional resources Io
send on uniI ugrades and reinorcemenIs.
Heavy machine gun Ieams can make shorI
work o enemy ground Iroos, and equiing
conscriIs wiIh grenades leIs Ihem Iake ouI
enIrenched enemies rom saer disIances.
Cover lays a ma|or arI in keeing your
Iroos ouI o Ihe line o hre, wiIh morIar
holes, blown-ouI buildings and crumbling
brick walls roviding deence when assaulIing
enIrenched orces. You'll have Io make liberal
use o covering hre and lanking manoeuvres
Io succeed, as advancing on bunkered
enemies is a sure-hre way Io lose a squad.
Fven on normal dimculIy, Comany o
Heroes 2 is a unishing game, buI aI leasI you
can areciaIe Ihe gorgeous visuals as your
squads are obliIeraIed. SIraIegy games aren'I
always renowned or Iheir grahics, buI Relic
has done an incredible |ob. Snow blows across
Ihe bauleheld, uniIs have imressive levels o
deIail when you zoom in and buildings
crumble under arIillery hre. You'll need a
owerul PC Io run iI aI maximum seuings, as
our CTX TiIan sIruggled.
FROM RUSSIA WITH GLOVES
Snow creaIes a IacIical challenge during
gamelay. AI cerIain Iimes, each ma can
exerience blizzards, which reduces your
uniIs' line o sighI. Leave squads ouI in Ihe
cold or Ioo long and Ihey'll reeze Io deaIh,
so you'll have Io build hres, Iake shelIer in
buildings or ride in vehicles Io kee warm.
This mosIly alies Io Ihe mulIilayer
mode, which relies Ioo heavily on Call o
DuIy-sIyle uniI ugrades and unlocks. Fach
ugrade requires you Io comleIe secihc
challenges, which don'I oen come u during
regular lay, so collecIing Ihese boosIs and
bonuses quickly becomes a grind.
There weren'I many layers online when
we IesIed Ihe game buI Ihere's a dedicaIed
ollowing so you should be able Io hnd a
maIch. Skilled layers will quickly sIeamroll
newcomers Ihough, so iI's worIh uuing Ihe
Iime in omine beore you Iake on human
oonenIs. The TheaIre o War mode is an
ideal Iraining ground, wiIh varied IacIical
challenges Io be layed alone or wiIh riends.
Comany o Heroes 2 maIches Ihe original
or gamelay and is grahically suerior, buI
Ihe addiIions hardly alIer Ihe ormula, making
us wonder why Ihis wasn'I released as an
exansion ack in Ihe game's heyday. SIraIegy
ans will en|oy Ihe camaign and TheaIre o
War missions, buI iI's an inconsisIenI
exerience IhaI can'I comeIe wiIh Ihe likes
o SIarcra or mulIilayer hnesse.
Tom Morgon

You don't |ust hght in the snow - Russia's terrain is varied and makes for plenty of tactical gameplay

Tanks are a precious commodity on the Eastern Front, but they certainly pack a punch
GMES REVIEVS
C3
ISSUE 308 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ OCTOBER 2013
SPECIFICATIONS
5Y5TENPEUIPENENT5 2.6CHz dual core processor, 2CB
RAN, Nvidia CeForce 8800CT/AND Radeon HD4850 or
better, 7CB hard disk space
PPODUCT CODE 224060
DETAIL5 www.activision.com
MARVEL'S RECENT MOVIE successes have
Iurned niche characIers such as Thor and
Hawkeye inIo household names, buI i Ihere's
one characIer we Ihink deserves more Iime in
Ihe soIlighI, iIs Deadool. Luckily, develoers
High Uoon SIudios agree, and have given Ihe
Uerc wiIh a UouIh his own game.
Deadool is a mercenary wiIh acceleraIed
healing. As well as healing any in|ury, his
owers resIore losI brain cells aI a Ierrihc
raIe, which has le him raIher unsIable.
Walking a Ihin line beIween comically ineI,
criminally insane and sychoaIhically violenI,
he's a unique characIer who's more concerned
wiIh breaking Ihe ourIh wall Ihan acIing like
an archeIyal suerhero.
lI's in Ihis siriI IhaI Ihe game begins,
wiIh Deadool in his dilaidaIed aarImenI,
rewriIing Ihe develoer's scriI. There's lenIy
o IoileI humour, bad language and sighI gags
Ihrown in, and IhaI's beore Ihe game really
begins. Sadly, once iI does, iI Ihrows you
Ihrough a series o clichd sewers, indusIrial
comlexes and omce blocks. Fven Deadool
and Ihe Iwo voices in his head commenI on
Ihe develoers' laziness, buI we'd raIher see
some unique locaIions Ihan have a brie laugh
aI Ihe designers' exense. Things geI beuer
Iowards Ihe middle o Ihe game, buI iI's a
shame Io sIarI in such sIereoIyical ashion.
lI doesn'I really imrove rom Ihere, as Ihe
gamelay can be airly monoIonous. As a
mercenary armed wiIh guns and swords,
Deadool can choose beIween long range and
mle combaI. LighI and heavy auacks leI you
ACTIVISION
Deadool

30 inc VAT

From store.steampowered.com
VERDICT
An inane, insane adventure that captures the
character, but can't rescue gamep|ay
mix hand-Io-hand baules wiIh more damaging
momenIum auacks, which you unlock aer
scoring long combo chains. These are besI
reserved or mulIile enemies, which can soon
surround you, or Ihe Iougher bruIes.
Deadool's signaIure IeleorI and counIer
auacks can kee grunIs aI bay, buI you'll need
Io use your grenades i you geI swamed.
This is hne i you're laying on a conIroller,
buI Ihe game handles Ierribly wiIh a keyboard
and mouse. Plugging in an Xbox ad makes a
huge diherence, even i shooIing isn'I quiIe as
recise. Luckily, guns are more o a allback
when you Iake Ioo much damage and need Io
back oh Io regeneraIe some lie.
As wiIh any osI-Call o DuIy game, Ihere
are Ihe obligaIory ugrades based on Ihe
oinIs you earn rom deeaIing enemies.
Aside rom dealing more damage or hiuing
asIer, Ihese eel largely unnecessary, as Ihey
don'I shake u Ihe gamelay. Fven when ully
ugraded, you sIill erorm Ihe same combos.
During each baule, Deadool sews ouI a
sIream o
one-liners and
quis IhaI
sIarI oh mildly unny buI quickly lose Iheir
charm as Ihey begin Io reeaI. We grew Iired
o Ihem long beore we'd reached halway.
This is a iIy, as Ihere's loIs o lovingly
voiced dialog or each characIer, including
several amiliar aces IhaI will lease Uarvel
ans. CulI avouriIes such as Wolverine, Rogue
and Cable make cameo aearances, and each
is inIroduced wiIh a reca o Iheir comic book
aearances. There's clearly a loI o love or
Ihe source maIerial, even i iI isn'I exacIly
IreaIed wiIh resecI. Ihe mini-game in which
you sla Wolverine and Ihe ob|ecIihcaIion o
emale characIers sring Io mind, alIhough
Ihey're in keeing wiIh Ihe characIer.
AI leasI Ihe game looks reasonable once
you make iI ouI o Ihe sewers. There aren'I
many grahics seuings Io Iweak, buI on
ull Ihe characIers are deIailed and Ihe
environmenIs (can be) well liI. Fach level is
airly comacI, wiIh loIs o corridors and
cramed saces IhaI aren'I exacIly easy on
Ihe eye, buI some o Ihe larger oen areas
have given Ihe arI dearImenI some creaIive
reedom, and iI shows. We reer Ihe unique
visual sIyle o Cacom's DUC. Devil Uay Cry,
as bar a ew isolaIed areas mosI o Deadool's
locaIions are generic and orgeuable.
l you're a an o Ihe characIer, Deadool
is an occasionally unny game IhaI brings
Ihe comics Io lie and does |usIice Io Ihe
source maIerial, unlike Ihe buIchery IhaI
was X-Uen Origins. Wolverine. However,
gamelay is mediocre, Ihere's very liule
challenge and Ihe humour wears
Ihin. l you're |usI aer a qualiIy
hack-and-slash advenIure, oIher
games are more worIhy o
your Iime and auenIion.
Tom Morgon

There is a reason for the pirate hat, but it's best not to ask

Subtlety isn't in Deadpool's vocabulary - "stealth" kills usually involve loud bangs and lots of blood
sIream o
one-liners and
quis IhaI
have given Ihe arI d
reedom, and iI sho
visual sIyle o Cac
as bar a ew isolaIe
locaIions are gener
l you're a an o
is an occasionally u
Ihe comics Io lie a
source maIerial, un
was X-Uen Origin
gamelay is me
challenge an
Ihin. l you
hack-an
game
you
BUSINESS REVIEVS
C4 OCTOBER 2013 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 308
LO6MEIN IS A remoIe access Iool or
Windows and Uac OS X IhaI leIs you log in Io
a comuIer remoIely. Uany o us have Iorn
our hair ouI on aI home or on a business Iri
because a hle we need is locaIed on Ihe omce
PC, LogUeln leIs you access IhaI hle as well as
all your oIher alicaIions. lI's also handy i
you need Io access a comuIer Io
IroubleshooI iI or a colleague or relaIive.
All versions o LogUeln are comrised o
Iwo arIs. a web-based inIerace IhaI leIs you
moniIor and remoIely access Ihe comuIer,
and a deskIo alicaIion IhaI leIs you access
Ihe comuIer on which iI's insIalled remoIely.
As wiIh a sIandard Windows remoIe deskIo
session, Ihe comuIer Io which you're connecIed
is reerred Io as Ihe hosI, and Ihe sysIem rom
which you've connecIed is Ihe clienI.
One o Ihe roblems LogUeln has had Io
Iackle is IhaI o ersuading users Io move
rom iIs excellenI ree service Io iIs reIail
LogUeln Pro ackage. BoIh LogUeln Free and
LogUeln Pro rovide secure remoIe deskIo
access Io Ihe hosI sysIem rom any browser,
wiIh greaIer versaIiliIy Ihan sIandard Windows
RemoIe DeskIo ProIocol (RDP) sessions. The
ree version also leIs you chaI wiIh any user
who mighI be aI Ihe hosI machine, rebooI Ihe
sysIem, Iurn iI on i iI's swiIched oh, and
check or and insIall Windows udaIes.
However, LogUeln Pro is more owerul.
AddiIional eaIures include a hle manager IhaI
leIs you coy hles beIween your PC and Ihe
hosI machine, sIream ull qualiIy audio and
video Io your local machine, rinI hles rom
LOGMEIN Fro

42 inc VAT per year

From www.logmein.com
VERDICT
An outstanding remote access and
administration too|, |et down on|y by the high
cost of sca|ing across mu|tip|e machines
Ihe hosI machine Io Ihe comuIer on which
you're working, and drag and dro hles rom
Ihe hosI machine Io your local deskIo. The
erson working aI Ihe hosI machine can also
inviIe oIhers Io share Iheir deskIo session,
which is useul i Ihey need hel wiIh a
rogram Ihey're running, or share hles on
Iheir comuIer wiIh oIhers, removing Ihe
need Io use remoIe sIorage and syncing
services. A ree a leIs you access your hosI
PC rom an iOS device. Android users musI
ay 20 Io buy Ihe LogUeln lgniIion a.
ALL SYSTEMS PRO
LogUeln Pro also has a dashboard IhaI leIs you
conIrol recise deIails o Ihe hosI sysIem's
erormance and conhguraIion. lI gives you loIs
o daIa abouI Ihe PC you're adminisIering. You
can view iIs neIwork Iramc, mosI acIive rocesses,
recenI log evenIs, scheduled Iasks and available
disk sace. l you click inIo any o Ihe hosI's
disks, you can exlore Iheir conIenIs in deIail. A
ully ledged rocess manager leIs you IerminaIe
uncooeraIive rograms and soI malware. You
can even access Ihe RegisIry ediIor.
RemoIely conIrolling Ihe hosI eels much
Ihe same as iI does on Ihe ree version, and
resonsiveness is largely deendenI on Ihe
broadband connecIion seeds o boIh PCs.
However, Ihe abiliIy Io drag hles beIween
hosI and local deskIo is very convenienI,
arIicularly i you have mulIile moniIors on
your local machine, as Ihe remoIe hosI can be
given iIs own dedicaIed deskIo dislay.
LogUeln Pro is licensed on a subscriIion-
based Soware As A Service (SAAS) model.
LogUeln Free is greaI or basic remoIe
conIrol and leIs you add u Io 10 comuIers.
LogUeln Pro is more lexible. You can ay
8.99 Io use iI on one comuIer or one
monIh or a 3S Io use iI on one comuIer or
a year, which is beuer value. l you've goI a
small business wiIh hve emloyees working
on sysIems in various locaIions, you can have
hve-PC access or 149 er year, which works
ouI aI 30 er PC, u Io 2S-PC access, which
cosIs 629 annually, IhaI's 2S er PC.
You can make one LogUeln Pro accounI
go urIher by moving iI beIween comuIers.
You can do Ihis via Ihe web inIerace by
downgrading a comuIer running LogUeln
Pro Io Free and Ihen ugrading a comuIer
running Free Io Pro. l Ihe sysIems in quesIion
are online, Iheir sIaIus will be udaIed wiIhin
a ew minuIes o you making Ihe changes via
Ihe web inIerace. LogUeln Pro is a greaI Iool,
esecially i you oen work rom home.
Kot Orphonides
5Y5TENPEUIPENENT5 Broadband internet connection
DETAIL5 www.logmein.com
SPECIFICATIONS

The remote interface

is much like that of the
free version, but you
can drag hles to and
from your local PC

The dashboard looks a liule cluuered but gives you at-a-glance access to everything you need to remotely
administrate and troubleshoot your systems
A hle manager
allows you to
transfer content
directly between
the local and
host machines
BUSINESS REVIEVS
CS
ISSUE 308 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ OCTOBER 2013
MANY SMALL BUSINESSES can work
ehecIively wiIh a Iwo-bay NAS enclosure,
such as Synology's BudgeI Buy winning DS213|.
However, i you need more sIorage caaciIy
Ihan a Iwo-bay NAS enclosure rovides, Ihere
are lenIy o owerul hve- and six-bay NAS
enclosures on Ihe markeI, and Synology's
DiskSIaIion DS1S13+ is one such device.
lI's a comacI black box wiIh hve lockable
drive cradles IhaI ull ouI rom Ihe ronI, so
iI's easy Io insIall and relace hard disks. The
drive Irays have lasIic asIening anels on
each side, and have screwless anIi-vibraIion
mounIing bolIs builI inIo Ihem. To mounI
your hard disks, |usI ush Ihe mounIing bolIs
inIo your drive's screw holes unIil Ihey click
inIo lace. Check Ihey're secure, Ihough.
lniIially, we didn'I ush Ihe bolIs in ar enough
and our drive ell ouI o iIs cradle. SIill, Ihis
screwless mounIing rocess is asIer and less
hddly Ihan screwing drives inIo a drive Iray.
However, Ihis only alies Io 3in disks, you
musI screw 2in disks in lace.
There are no orIs aI Ihe ronI o Ihe
DS1S13+, buI Ihere are lenIy aI Ihe rear. Four
CigabiI FIherneI orIs leI you connecI iI Io
mulIile neIworks or give iI mulIile WAN
connecIions so iI can use link aggregaIion. To
use Ihis, Ihe hardware aI boIh ends has Io
suorI Ihe Link AggregaIion ConIrol ProIocol
(LACP) FIherneI sIandard. l boIh do, you can
combine your WAN connecIions Io give Ihe
DS1S13+ addiIional bandwidIh, load balancing
or redundanI backu neIwork connecIions
in case your rimary connecIion ails.
You can also download ackages IhaI leI
you use Ihe NAS device as a DHCP server,
giving Ihe resI o your neIwork Ihe benehI o
Ihese eaIures, as well as Synology's owerul
DHCP managemenI inIerace.
The NAS device also has Iwo SB3 orIs,
our more SB orIs and Iwo eSATA orIs, all
o which leI you add addiIional exIernal drives
SYNOLOGY DislSaior DSlSl3+

526 inc VAT

From www.digital-fusion.co.uk
VERDICT
This powerfu|, we||-priced hve-bay NA5 device is idea|
for a business with serious storage requirements
Io Ihe NAS. You can conhgure Ihese as
backu IargeIs or Ihe direcIories o your
choice, making iI easy Io creaIe roIaIing
backus IhaI can be Iaken oh-siIe. You can
use Ihem Io add exIra sIorage or quickly coy
daIa rom a SB Io Ihe NAS device. The
eSATA orIs can also be used Io connecI
addiIional sIorage uniIs, such as Ihe Synology
DXS13, which rovides hve exIra drive bays.
These can Ihen be added Io your RAlD array.
RAID EXPECTATIONS
The DS1S13+ suorIs a wide range o RAlD
Iyes, including RAlD 1, RAlD S, RAlD 6 and
RAlD 10, and allows you Io conhgure volumes
wiIhouI redundancy and giving Ihe oIion o
designaIing one drive as a hoI sare in case
one o Ihe oIher disks ails. By deaulI,
Synology NAS devices conhgure Ihemselves
using Synology Hybrid RAlD (SHR), which
selecIs a RAlD Iye or you and eases Ihe
rocess o exanding volumes as you add
more drives. ln Ihe case o a hve-bay NAS
device, SHR uses RAlD S, which roIecIs
daIa i one o Ihe insIalled disks ail.
We IesIed Ihe DS1S13+ using a seI o hve
4TB WesIern DigiIal FnIerrise disks. We ran
read and wriIe seed IesIs using a sIandard
SUB shared neIwork older, and also IesIed
iIs iSCSl erormance. To do Ihe lauer, we
allocaIed a secIion o sace on Ihe NAS as an
iSCSl 'IargeI' so IhaI a single comuIer could
use Ihe sace as i iI were a local hard disk.
An iSCSl IargeI Iyically roduces
asIer access seeds, as iI
Iakes advanIage o your PC's
more owerul rocessor.
ln our SUB-based daIa
Iranser IesIs, Ihe DS1S13+
achieved a large hle wriIe
seed o 10S.4UB/s and a
read seed o 94.8UB/s,
wiIh an average o 100.1UB/s.
The seeds roduced in our
small hle read and wriIe
IesIs are always slower, buI
Ihe DS1S13+ comared well
wiIh similarly secihed rivals,
wiIh a wriIe seed o
18.2UB/s, read seed o 2S.1UB/s and an
average seed o 21.6UB/s. PredicIably, our
iSCSl IesIs roduced higher seeds, wiIh an
average large hle seed o 107.2UB/s and and
an average small hle seed o 62.4UB/s.
The asI daIa Iranser seeds are largely
down Io Ihe DS1S13+'s owerul dual-core
lnIel AIom D2700 rocessor, which runs aI
2.13CHz. The device also has 2CB o memory,
which can be exanded Io 4CB i required.
The high-sec rocessor means you can Iake
advanIage o addiIional soware ackages,
some o which are a liule Ioo rocessor
inIensive or less owerul enclosures. These
include a ull AsIerisk VolP hone server,
LDAP direcIory services and a web server wiIh
a varieIy o conIenI managemenI sysIems Io
choose rom, including e-commerce and
human resource managemenI sysIems.
We've reviewed a ew owerul, high-
caaciIy NAS devices and enclosures, rom
LaCie's Sbig Pro, wiIh hve 2TB hard disks, Io
Thecus's eaIure-acked ToTower N68S0.
While Ihe To Tower roduced almosI-
idenIical resulIs in our IhroughuI IesIs
and gives you an exIra drive bay, iI's more
exensive Ihan Ihe DS1S13+ and iIs inIerace
lacks Ihe olish o Synology's DSU 4.2. l you
need a loI o sIorage sace and ower, Ihe
DiskSIaIion DS1S13+ is a erecI Business Buy.
Kot Orphonides
5ma|| h|es
Large h|es
|e|e|e:e -'1 -l11 '1 1
100.1NB/s
21.6NB/s
See age 76 or erormance deIails
CONNECTION5 4x 10/100/1000 Ethernet, 6x USB ports
EXTPA5 UPnP media, print, USB disk, web,
FTP servers
WAPPANTY Three-year RTB
DINEN5ION5 248x157x233mm
POWEP CON5UNPTION 26W standby, 47W active
PAPT CODE DS1513+
DETAIL5 www.synology.com
SPECIFICATIONS
BEST BUYS
CC OCTOBER 2013 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 308 CC CC
LAPTOPS
APPLE l3-ircl MacBool Air

949 inc VAT

www.apple.com
The new UacBook Air is sIunning and uses one o lnIel's new ourIh-generaIion
rocessors. lIs Core iS rocessor is slighIly slower Ihan Ihe chi in lasI year's
model, buI iIs ulIra-low ower consumIion makes a huge diherence Io
Ihe bauery lie. lI doesn'I have a ReIina dislay, sadly, buI iIs 10-hour
bauery lie more Ihan makes u or IhaI.
C|J '.'/ '|' . .'l'`' |kH' \I|kC| 'l' ''' C|k||C\ '|' '' .:,. '``` |I|Ck| |||\| ' ||\||k\ '.. ..1. '' ,',`\``) |||kI|4C \\\I|HM:
.' / '`. ||H|4\|4\ '!\l'\ll!mm, '.'| |W|| C4\JH|I|4 `W|:1',, W.1', lW:|.. Wk||k4I\ .,:. '' |k|I C|| '. M:'' |.. ||Ik||\ ....:,,'.m
|J|| ||\||W', l`'
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|||kI|4C \\\I|HW.1. ||H|4\|4\ '\l\llmm, '.!'| |W|| C4\JH|I|4 'W|:1',, ''W.1', W:|.. Wk||k4I\ .,:. '' |k|I C|| !`'''`l''
||Ik||\ ....:m1|..1' |J|| ||\||W', l`'
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|||kI|4C \\\I|HW.1. ||H|4\|4\ l\!:\l'`mm, l.''| |W|| C4\JH|I|4 'W|:1',, '!W.1', !W:|.. Wk||k4I\ .,:. '' |k|I C|| ''!`/'''`'''
||Ik||\ ....:m1|..1' |J|| ||\||W|1| l`'
SAMSUNG Series Clroros

1,200 inc VAT

www.amazon.co.uk
The Samsung Series 7 Chronos has iI all. a quad-core Core i7 rocessor, 8CB
o RAU, a owerul dedicaIed grahics card and suerb bauery lie. lIs silver
chassis looks sIunning and iI has a beauIiul dislay Io maIch. lI's our lIimaIe laIo.
SAMSUNG Series Ulra 40U3L

700 inc VAT

www.|ohnlewis.com
lI may noI be Ihe slimmesI lIrabook we've ever seen buI Ihe Samsung Series 7
lIra has a Core iS rocessor, a dedicaIed grahics chi or laying games and
a beauIiul Full HD Iouchscreen dislay, making iI one o Ihe besI-value
lIrabooks we've seen Ihis year.
PCs
WIRED2FIRE Velociy VX

492 inc VAT

www.wired2hre.co.uk
This mid-rice all-rounder uI in a very resecIable erormance in our 3D
gaming IesIs as well as holding iIs own in our alicaIion benchmarks Ihanks
Io a dedicaIed AUD Radeon HD 6670 grahics card and versaIile AUD A10-
S800K rocessor. lIs moniIor, Ihe AOC e22S0Swda, is a budgeI avouriIe, Ioo.
CHILLBLAST !usior Srie

729 inc VAT

www.chillblast.co.uk
This well-builI PC has an excellenI selecIion o comonenIs and eriherals,
including a Io-noIch 23in liyama ProLiIe X2377HDS moniIor, an AUD
Radeon HD 7790 grahics card and an overclocked lnIel Core iS-3S70K
rocessor. lI's sensibly riced and a greaI all-rounder.
C|J .'/ |M' |'`'``' |kH' \I|kC| '' :.1 1.' C|k||C\ Ck|| '' |M' ':1 '' ::!` |I|Ck| |||\| '\'|'W|'' ||\||k\ l'
'
|l. ..1. ''
|||kI|4C \\\I|HW.1. ||H|4\|4\ l'\'!`\l'lmm |W|| C4\JH|I|4 :W|:1',, !'W.1', '!W:|.. Wk||k4I\ .,:. '' |k|I C|| \'.|, \/
||Ik||\ .......1l|...1' |J|| ||\||W'1 l`'
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|||kI|4C \\\I|HW.1. ||H|4\|4\ l:\''\:`mm |W|| C4\JH|I|4 'W|:1',, W.1', '''W:|.. Wk||k4I\ .,:. ''| :1 .|1. |k|I C|| '1. ',..|
||Ik||\ .....'''':|.m |J|| ||\||W|1| l`'
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|1. |||kI|4C \\\I|HW.1. ||H|4\|4\ :`\'`\l``mm |W|| C4\JH|I|4 lW|:1',, :lW.1', !lW:|.. Wk||k4I\ .,:. ''| :1 .|1.
|k|I C|| /' M..:| |'.l' ||Ik||\ ....:..1' |J|| ||\||W', l`'
SCAN 3XS Mirae AlO24S

1,149 inc VAT

www.scan.co.uk
This owerul all-in-one PC comes wiIh a Core iS rocessor and a dedicaIed
grahics rocessor, making iI a henomenal all-rounder. lI's caable o laying
Ihe laIesI games wiIh high-qualiIy grahics, and iIs 23.6in Iouchscreen dislay
is one o Ihe besI we've seen.
01
A basic laptop costing around 350
will run everyday omce, multimedia
and education sohware, but you'll struggle
to play modern games on it. Nany laptops
at this price have a 15.4in case and weigh
around 2.4kg, so they're best used around
the house and for occasional |ourneys.
02
|f you want to play modern
games, you'll need a laptop with a
dedicated graphics chip, such as the AND
Radeon HD 7970N. Cood gaming laptops
tend to have large 17in screens and weigh
more than 3kg, so you can't carry them
everywhere with you.
03
|f you want a laptop that you can
take everywhere, look for a model
that weighs less than 2kg. For the best
portability, look for one with an 11in or 13in
screen. |n general, the smaller and lighter
the laptop, the more expensive it is. |ntel
Ultrabooks are highly portable, but expect
to pay upwards of 600 for a good one.
04
Bauery life is extremely important
for a laptop. We'd expect all but
the biggest and heaviest to last for at least
hve hours on a single charge, but for an
ultraportable that you carry everywhere,
eight-hours plus is more desirable.
0S
Laptops use the mobile versions
of processors to conserve power,
and these lag behind desktop chips for
performance. For a budget laptop, an |ntel
Core i3 processor will do the |ob, but if you
want beuer performance, look for an |ntel
Core i5 or Core i7 model instead. We
recommend a minimum of 4CB of RAN,
although 8CB is beuer for multitasking.
06
Nost budget and mid-range laptops
have a regular hard disk for storage.
Look for at least 500CB, but 1TB or more is
beuer. Some laptops can be supplied with
an optional SSD instead, and many |ntel
Ultrabooks have SSDs. These make your
computer much faster to boot and more
reliable, as there are no moving parts. The
trade-oh is that SSDs cost more and have
smaller capacities. Look for an SSD with at
least 128CB of storage, although 256CB is
beuer if you can ahord it.
07
Netbooks are a type of small,
low-cost ultra-portable laptop.
They're hne for light use, but avoid them if
you want to do more complicated tasks.
Laptop
computer
Ckaasing ...
BEST BUYS
C
ISSUE 308 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ OCTOBER 2013
SMARTPHONES
TABLETS
The One is beauIiully designed, wiIh an aluminium back and a gorgeous
Full HD screen. lI's asI, Ioo, and has a camera IhaI excels in low lighI.
Amazon's dominaIion o Ihe eBook reader markeI conIinues wiIh Ihe
PaerwhiIe. lI's everyIhing we've come Io execI, buI wiIh Ihe addiIion o a
ronI-liI dislay IhaI makes reading in Ihe dark as easy as in brighI sunlighI.
HTC Ore

490 S|N free, free on 32-per-month contract

www.carphonewarehouse.com (S|N free), www.dialaphone.co.uk (contract)

AMAZONKirdle Faervlie

109 inc VAT

www.amazon.co.uk/kindle
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C|k|H|| |kII||\ |||| '! 1. |:''|.m, '' 1:,
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The SP is in Ihe middle o Sony's Xeria range, buI iI's Ihe besI o Ihe loI. lIs
aluminium rame makes iI Iough and iI gives Io-o-Ihe-range erormance.
Sony didn'I have much luck wiIh revious Android IableIs, buI Ihe Xeria
TableI Z is greaI. lI's waIerroo, wiIh a Full HD dislay, owerul rocessor
and gorgeous sIyling, making iI one o Ihe besI 10in IableIs money can buy.
SONY Xeria SF

305 S|N-free, free on 20.50-per-month contract

www.handtec.co.uk (S|N free), www.phones4u.co.uk (contract)

SONY Xeria Table Z

399 inc VAT

www.very.co.uk
The Samsung Calaxy S4 was worIh Ihe waiI. lI's a owerul Android
smarIhone wiIh a greaI screen, camera and bauery lie.
The laIesI iPad is |usI as well made as Ihe lasI one, wiIh a gorgeous
screen and anIasIic bauery lie, buI iI's now u Io Iwice as asI in games
and alicaIions. The iTunes sIore has a large selecIion o as, Ioo.
SAMSUNG Galaxy S4

550 S|N free, free on 29-per-month contract

www.argos.co.uk (S|N free), www.dialaphone.co.uk (contract)

APPLE iFad 4

399 inc VAT

www.apple.com/uk/ipad
This sIylish handseI runs Android 4.0 smooIhly, and Ihe OS looks greaI on
iIs high-conIrasI dislay. lI's a good-value hone wiIh ew comromises.
Proving IhaI IableIs don'I have Io be exensive, Coogle's Nexus 7 is Ihe ideal
7in slaIe or anyone on a budgeI. lI's asI, wiIh a gorgeous screen and Ihe
laIesI version o Android. You can'I geI a beuer IableI or less.
HTC Desire X

192 S|N free, free on 11.30-per-month contract

www.ebuyer.com (S|N free), www.e2save.com (contract)

GOOGLE Nexus

159 inc VAT

www.google.com/nexus
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Huawei's hrsI Windows Phone mobile is a Iriumh, wiIh smooIh
erormance, a good screen and an imressive camera or Ihe rice. Bauery
lie is suerb, Ioo, ushing Ihe W1 ahead o Nokia's Windows Phone range.
SIeve |obs may have said IhaI a 7in iPad would never haen, buI Ale's
iPad Uini roves IhaI smaller IableIs have a lace. The screen mighI noI be
a high-resoluIion ReIina dislay, buI Ihe Uini is sIill a anIasIic device.
HUAWEI Ascerd Vl

100 prepay, free on 14-per-month contract

www.o2.co.uk
APPLE iFad Miri

269 inc VAT

www.apple.com/uk/ipad
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01
A smartphone's
operating system
(OS) dictates its basic
features and also which
third-party sohware you
can install. There are
three main contenders:
Apple's iOS, which is
found in the iPhone,
Coogle's Android, which
is used by various
handset manufacturers,
and Windows Phone 8,
which is becoming more
widespread and is a great alternative to
Apple's and Coogle's operating systems.
Apple iOS and Coogle Android have the
most apps available, but Windows Phone
is slowly catching up.
02
All smartphones have colour
screens, but their resolutions vary.
Basic models are 800x480 pixels, but these
can make text look indistinct. Look for a
display with at least 1,280x720 pixels so
that it's easy to browse web pages on your
smartphone. Don't worry too much about
the built-in media players or Omce
document editors - you can always install
apps to replace these with beuer versions.
Cameras are common in smartphones, and
resolutions have increased to as much as
eight megapixels. The image quality of
smartphone cameras has increased
tremendously over the past few years.
03
Nearly all smartphones have
touchscreen interfaces, and some
have a physical keyboard for entering text
quickly and accurately. Although physical
keyboards are desirable for heavy emailing,
touchscreen keyboards also work well, and
Android smartphones let you install a
variety of custom onscreen keyboards so
you can hnd the one that suits you.
04
Be careful when choosing a mobile
contract. Look for one with a large
data allowance if you want to use the
internet regularly or you've set your phone
to synchronise your contacts, calendar and
email through online services such as
Coogle's. Built-in Wi-Fi can help you avoid
high data charges by connecting to the
internet through wireless hotspots when
you're out or your router when you're at
home. Android and iPhone handsets enable
you to turn your phone into a wireless
hotspot and connect your laptop to the
internet over this connection. Bear in mind
that there may be an extra charge for this.
Ckaasing ...
Smartphone
BEST BUYS
C8 OCTOBER 2013 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 308
DISPLAYS
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This is a greaI 27in moniIor IhaI rovides good viewing angles, a wide varieIy
o connecIions and excellenI image qualiIy. lIs black levels could be beuer,
buI you'd be hard ressed Io hnd a beuer all-round moniIor aI Ihis rice.
IIYAMA Frolie L23HS

207 inc VAT

www.pixmania.co.uk
The 2913WU has a suer-wide 29in lPS anel wiIh a 2,S60x1,080
resoluIion. lI has suerb image qualiIy and a wide range o inuIs, and iIs
large 21.9 asecI raIio makes iI erecI or boIh omce Iasks and media.
DELL U2l3VM

394 inc VAT

www.lambda-tek.com
This 3D-ready DLP ro|ecIor is in a class o iIs own when iI comes Io home
cinema and big-screen gaming. lI has a Full HD resoluIion and a brighI
2,000 ANSl lumen lam, and comes wiIh a air o 3D glasses.
OPTOMA HD2S

798 inc VAT

www.pro|ectorpoint.co.uk
This is one o Ihe besI business moniIors we've IesIed. lI's noI arIicularly
eleganI, buI iIs 24in VA anel roduces excellenI image qualiIy. lI has
lenIy o orIs and can be roIaIed inIo orIraiI or landscae orienIaIion.
BENQ BL24l0FT

193 inc VAT

www.amazon.co.uk
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lmeccable image qualiIy is Ihe highlighI o Ihis suerb ulIra-comacI
oinI-and-shooI camera. lI beaIs some Iough comeIiIion or low-lighI
shoIs and roduces shar video ooIage, making iI a BesI Buy.
CANON lxus 2SS HS

191 inc VAT

www.amazon.co.uk
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The LX7 is a ockeI-size camera or keen hoIograhers. DesiIe iIs size,
iI's acked wiIh eaIures IhaI enIhusiasIs will love. The LX7 surasses any
CSC we've seen aI Ihis rice and is our avouriIe remium comacI camera.
PANASONIC Lumix DMC-LX

329 inc VAT

www.ukdigitalcameras.co.uk
The Lumix DUC-TZ40 is Ihe successor Io Ihe excellenI Lumix DUC-TZ30,
and imroves on iI wiIh builI-in Wi-Fi, a higher-resoluIion Iouchscreen and
a higher-resoluIion sensor. lI's Ihe besI ulIra-zoom available aI Ihe momenI.
PANASONIC Lumix DMC-TZ40

239 inc VAT

www.|essops.co.uk
The K-30 is yeI anoIher high-qualiIy SLR rom PenIax. lI uses a enIarism
raIher Ihan a enIamirror or a brighIer view and has an excellenI oIical
viewhnder. lI's noI Ihe besI SLR or video, buI iIs hoIos are hard Io aulI.
This insired udaIe adds asIer auIoocus and Wi-Fi Io an already
excellenI camera. Thanks Io iIs incredible low-lighI caabiliIies, Ihis is
Ihe CSC IhaI mosI eole should buy. lI's an unequivocal BesI Buy.
PENTAX K-30

521 inc VAT

www.srsmicrosystems.co.uk
SONY NLX SR

499 inc VAT

www.bristolcameras.co.uk
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This 27in lPS anel has a huge 2,S60x1,440 resoluIion and DVl, HDUl,
DislayPorI and mini-DislayPorI inuIs, as well as a our-orI SB3 hub.
lI has Ihe widesI colour gamuI we've ever seen and is acked wiIh eaIures.
DELL U2l3H

420 inc VAT

www.amazon.co.uk
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01
A basic
24in LCD
monitor will cost
around 100. |t will
be hne for typical
Windows work, but
is likely to have poor
viewing angles, so you'll need
to sit straight on to achieve the best
picture quality. Colour accuracy may
not be very good, though.
02
A VCA input lets you use the
monitor with any PC, but the
quality may not be quite as good as it is
over a DV| or HDN| input. Both are digital
connections and require a compatible
graphics card but they avoid the need for
digital-to-analogue or analogue-to-digital
conversions, which can reduce image
quality. A digital connection automatically
achieves the best picture - you won't have
to ad|ust clock or phase seuings as you do
with an analogue connection. Nany DV|
and all HDN| connections support HDCP,
which lets you watch protected video
content, such as Blu-ray movies, on your
monitor. DisplayPort is becoming more
popular, but you'll either need a graphics
card with a matching output or a DV|-to-
DisplayPort adaptor.
03
A larger monitor will be easier
on the eye and may have a higher
resolution. Nost monitors have resolutions
of at least 1,920x1,080 (1080p), which
provide lots of room for working with
multiple windows at the same time. For
even higher resolutions, you'll need a larger
display. Some 27in and 30in screens have
a massive 2,560x1,600 resolution. You'll
need a graphics card with a dual-
link DV| output and a dual-link DV| cable
or DisplayPort to use a monitor at
this resolution.
04
|f you want beuer picture quality,
look for a monitor with a high
contrast ratio. The higher the ratio, the
whiter the whites and the blacker the
blacks. You'll also be able to see more
hne detail in images with high contrast
levels. Viewing angles are important, as
wider angles mean you don't have to sit
directly in front of the monitor to get
the best picture. Wider angles also
allow more people to view the screen
at the same time.
Fast response times reduce ghosting,
but don't be dazzled by the numbers.
A response time of 25ms or quicker is
hne for all applications.
Ckaasing ...
Monitor
BEST BUYS
C
ISSUE 308 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ OCTOBER 2013
AUDIO
HOME CINEMA
This budgeI headseI roduces unchy sound wiIh sIrong bass, making iI
ideal or gaming, buI clear mid-Iones mean iI's hne or music, Ioo. Ad|usIing
Ihe headband is hddly and iI's noI exacIly high-hdeliIy, buI Ihe rice is righI.
To-end TVs rom oIher manuacIurers are due laIer Ihis year, buI so ar
Samsung's F8000 is easily Ihe besI LCD TV o 2013, wiIh an amazing array
o eaIures and anIasIic icIure qualiIy. lI's ricy, buI iI's worIh Ihe cosI.
This high-end surround seaker sysIem consisIs o a single soundbar and a
wireless subwooer Io kee your seIu Iidy. Sound qualiIy is cris raIher
Ihan warm, desiIe valve amlihcaIion, buI iI sounds greaI.
DYNAMODE MX-88

12 inc VAT

www.scan.co.uk
SAMSUNG ULSS!8000

2,300 inc VAT

www.currys.co.uk
SAMSUNG HV-!Sl

600 inc VAT

www.currys.co.uk
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These reasonably riced earlug-sIyle headhones sound loud, clear and
balanced, wiIh rich bass Iones and lenIy o naIural characIer. They're a
greaI buy i you add a 10 seI o T-400 sound-isolaIing ear Iis.
Sony's Io-end Blu-ray layer rom 2012 is so good IhaI iI remains Ihe
lagshi model or 2013. lI has everyIhing you could need, and even
ohers 4K uscaling. This is our avouriIe Blu-ray layer.
SOUNDMAGIC Ll0

35 inc VAT

www.iheadphones.co.uk
SONY BDF-S0

199 inc VAT

www.amazon.co.uk
We're very imressed wiIh Ihe LogiIech F SmarI Radio. NavigaIing and
searching or online radio sIaIions is a breeze and iIs sound qualiIy is greaI
or a comacI radio. l you need an inIerneI radio or your shed, Ihis is iI.
For a 2S0 seaker seI, Ihe TFX S.1 ums ouI an unbelievable amounI o
sound ower. Paired wiIh an amliher and Iurned u Io ull, iI'll soon be
rovoking comlainIs rom Ihe neighbours.
LOGITECH UL Smar Radio

149 inc VAT

www.currys.co.uk
TANOY T!X S.l

250 inc VAT

www.richersounds.com
The laIesI iPod Touch is Ihe besI device o iIs kind. lIs bauery lasIs or Ihree
days o conIinuous music layback or eighI hours o video. lIs dislay is
greaI and iIs audio is as reliable as ever, alIhough ormaI suorI is limiIed.
Onkyo's laIesI amliher has all Ihe eaIures we've come Io execI rom Ihe
comany, including SoIiy music sIreaming and every inuI you could
need or a comleIe home cinema seIu.
APPLE iFod Toucl

220 inc VAT

www.currys.co.uk
ONKYOTX-NRSlS

250 inc VAT

www.richersounds.co.uk
This SB audio rocessor may lack audio inuIs, buI i you're aer
unaralleled sIereo sound or Ihe besI ossible reroducIion o
high-qualiIy audio hles, iI's exacIly whaI you need.
ARCAM rFAC

144 inc VAT

www.hispek.com
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01
A 32in Full
HD TV will
cost around 290
and will suit smaller
living rooms. TVs tend to look much smaller
in the shop than they do in your home, so
make sure you measure the space available
before you buy. Prices increase rapidly as
screens go beyond 47in.
02
A 1,920x1,080-resolution TV will be
able to display a 1080p image. You
can still buy TVs with a 720p (1,366x768)
resolution, but they're no cheaper and
images won't be as sharp. Even so, it can be
dimcult to tell the diherence between 720p
and 1080p on smaller screens. We
recommend at least a 37in model for 1080p.
03
Carefully consider the number of
inputs you need for connecting
your equipment. Two HDN| ports should
be the minimum, and many models come
with four. Don't forget other devices, such
as games consoles and PVRs. |f you have
any legacy equipment, make sure your TV
has enough SCART and component sockets
to accommodate it.
|f you want to plug your PC into your
TV, you'll need to use either HDN| or VCA
inputs. Be aware that some TVs only let
you use a PC on an analogue input, and
others won't display the Windows Desktop
at the TV's highest resolution.
04
The contrast ratio tells you the
diherence between the darkest and
the brightest shades the screen can display.
The higher the number, the darker the
blacks and the brighter the whites. A screen
with a high contrast ratio is also more likely
to show a wider range of detail. Plasma TVs
generally have much higher contrast ratios
than even the best LCD TVs can manage.
0S
There are several ways to receive
HD content. Sky HD has the widest
selection of channels but requires a Sky
HD box and a monthly subscription. Both
Freesat and Freeview HD bring you HD
channels from the BBC, |TV and Channel 4.
There are no monthly subscriptions,
all you need is a compatible receiver.
A Blu-ray player lets you watch movies
stored on optical discs.
06
Extra features, such as a network
port, can be worth buying because
they may let you access online content, as
well as media from a DLNA or UPnP server
on your network.
Ckaasing n ...
HDTV
BEST BUYS
0 OCTOBER 2013 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 308
PRINTERS AND SCANNERS
This basic, no-rills UFP is a biI noisy and can'I rinI borderless hoIos,
buI iI's easy Io use and iIs rinIs, scans and coies are all greaI or such a
chea device. AI abouI 8.S er age, iI even has reasonable running cosIs.
CANONFixma MF230

32 inc VAT

www.dabs.com
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This orIable A4 scanner is erecI or mobile workers who need Io
caIure mulIi-age documenIs. You can load a sIack o aer, ress Ihe
buuon and quickly Iurn a documenI inIo a PDF wiIh searchable IexI.
CANON lmae!ormula F-2lS

223 inc VAT

www.amazon.co.uk
This ink|eI UFP rinIs a age o black IexI in less Ihan a second. Scans and
hoIocoies are also asI, wiIh good resulIs. lI cosIs slighIly more Ihan an
equivalenI colour laser Io buy buI is much asIer and ar cheaer Io run.
HP Oce]e Fro XSCdv

660 inc VAT

www.morecomputers.com
lI's Canon's Io single-uncIion A4 ink|eI rinIer, buI Ihe iP72S0 isn'I
exensive Io buy or run. This versaIile all-rounder rinIs laser-like IexI and
sIunning hoIos. We can'I Ihink o an A4 ink|eI IhaI gives beuer resulIs.
CANONFixma iF2S0

49 inc VAT

www.ebuyer.com
This is Ihe second-asIesI rinIer we've ever IesIed, roviding high-qualiIy
rinIs in seconds or liule cosI. We measured 60 rinIs er minuIe. lI's
also much lighIer Ihan a laser rinIer and uses less energy.
LOMOND Lvo]e Oce

323 inc VAT

www.solid-inks.co.uk
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VIDEO
This comacI Full HD camcorder has a 3.28-megaixel sensor and builI-in
Wi-Fi, which leIs you moniIor iI remoIely and uload videos Io Ihe web.
Video shoI in darker environmenIs can be noisy, buI oIherwise iI's greaI.
CANON Leria H! R48

335 inc VAT

www.pixmania.co.uk
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This camcorder uses Ihree .3in BSl UOS sensors Io record Full HD video
wiIh excellenI colour reroducIion and Iremendous deIail. lIs builI-in Wi-Fi
adaIor leIs you connecI a smarIhone or sIream video on your neIwork.
PANASONIC HC-X20

740 inc VAT

www.amazon.co.uk
This anIasIic enIhusiasI camcorder has a caaciIive Iouchscreen moniIor,
a greaI elecIronic viewhnder and sensible comlemenI o uncIion buuons.
lIs image qualiIy is excellenI, making iI an lIimaIe award winner.
CANON Leria H! G30

1,167 inc VAT

www.amazon.co.uk
The YouViewDTR-T1010 is essenIially Ihe DTR-T1000 wiIh a aceli, buI iI's
sIill a anIasIic PVR. CaIch-u TV inIegraIes seamlessly wiIh iIs FPC, and iI
has a S00CB builI-in hard disk and a greaI rice. lI's a dehniIe BesI Buy.
HUMAX YouVievDTR-Tl0l0

250 inc VAT

www.currys.co.uk
This media sIreamer suorIs a varieIy o ormaIs and can ouIuI video aI
u Io 1080. lIs inIerace is well designed, and you can even conIrol iI wiIh
an iOS or Android a. lI ohers a range o services, including BBC iPlayer.
WESTERN DIGITAL VDTV Live

70 inc VAT

www.amazon.co.uk
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01
You should
be able
to buy a decent
ink|et printer for less
than 40. High-
quality printing will
be possible on such a
printer, but it will be slow.
The actual print speed of an ink|et can
be half the quoted (maximum) speed for
text documents, and even slower when
printing graphics. Budget ink|et printers
such as these are designed only for light
use and can be expensive to run.
02
For 60 you can buy a much more
capable printer that's either faster
and beuer built or beuer at reproducing
photos. |f documents are your priority,
you'll want a high minimum speed and low
print costs. Look for ink|ets that can
handle all your omce media, such as
envelopes and labels.
03
|f photos are your priority, speed is
less important. Choose a printer
that reproduces subtle tones well. You
can't determine this by looking at the
specihcations - only hands-on testing will
do, so remember to check our reviews
before you buy. Borderless printing (up to
the edge of the paper) should also be
possible. Pay particular auention to
running costs: photos use three times as
much ink as regular colour documents.
04
Heavy-duty omce ink|ets can
cost up to 1,000 and their
build quality is improving. They use large
individual ink tanks, which can cut running
costs. Printers with automatic duplex
(double-sided) printing or A3 capabilities
are now much more ahordable.
0S
Pricier photo printers let you print
digital photos from memory cards
that you plug straight into the printer,
doing away with the need for a PC. An LCD
preview screen provides greater control for
this method of printing. Nany ink|et
printers now have a PictBridge USB port,
which can be used to print images directly
from most digital cameras.
06
|f you're really serious about
photography, consider buying an
ink|et that can produce borderless prints
up to A3 size. The best devices produce
prints that are nearly as good as those
from professional labs.
Ckaasing n ...
Inkjet
printer
BEST BUYS
l
ISSUE 308 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ OCTOBER 2013
STORAGE
NETWORKS
The 2S6CB Samsung 840 Pro rovides asI daIa Iransers, a hve-year
warranIy and a sensible selecIion o accessories. AI 183 - or |usI 69
er gigabyIe - iI's also comaraIively good value.
SAMSUNG 840 Fro 2SCGB

183 inc VAT

www.amazon.co.uk
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The Crucial US00 480CB is one o Ihe asIesI SSDs we've seen, scoring
437.4UB/s overall in our read IesI and a cracking 121.8UB/s in our wriIe
IesI. lI's noI chea, buI iI's greaI value considering iIs caaciIy.
This HomePlug adaIor leIs you neIwork your PC using your home or
omce's elecIric cabling wiIhouI using u a mains sockeI. lI's raIed aI
S00UbiI/s, and we saw asI Iranser raIes o 139UbiI/s.
This 802.11ac rouIer has loIs o eaIures, including a media and rinI
server. lI roduced asI daIa Iranser raIes o 209UbiI/s aI 1m and 10m
and 126.SUbiI/s aI 2Sm. lI's noI Ihe asIesI rouIer, buI iI's a greaI buy.
CRUCIAL MS00 480GB SSD

270 inc VAT

www.ebuyer.co.uk
SOLWISE Fiy HomeFlu adaor

31 inc VAT

www.solwise.co.uk
ASUS RT-ACCCU

160 inc VAT

www.amazon.co.uk
This SSD achieved incredibly asI read and wriIe Iimes in boIh our
large-hle and small-hle IesIs, so iI won'I kee you waiIing. lI also has a
long hve-year warranIy and comes wiIh a mounIing brackeI.
WiIh Ihis HomePlug kiI, you can sIream music Io seakers rom
Airlay-comaIible devices or a PC connecIed Io your neIwork. You can
also auach a SB drive or a rinIer. lI's simle Io seI u and use.
OCZVecor 2SCGB

220 inc VAT

www.pcworld.co.uk
NETGEAR XAUB2Sll Foverlire Music Lxerder

93 inc VAT

www.scan.co.uk
This 802.11ac dual-band rouIer is Ihe asIesI we've ever IesIed, Iranserring
daIa aI an asIonishing 280UbiI/s. lIs Wi-Fi signal covers a wide area and
iI's easy Io seI u. lI's erecI or home cinema, gaming and omce seIus.
NETGEAR RC300

133 inc VAT

www.amazon.co.uk
This comacI S,400rm SB3 exIernal hard disk delivered excellenI
erormance in our small-hles IesI and comes wiIh excellenI backu
and encryIion soware.
This wireless adaIor rovides Wi-Fi connecIiviIy Io SmarI TVs, Sky boxes
and oIher devices wiIh FIherneI orIs. lI only works on Ihe 2.4CHz band,
buI iI roduced asI daIa raIes IhaI leI us sIream HD movies.
WESTERN DIGITAL My Fassor Ulra lTB

75 inc VAT

www.ebuyer.co.uk
NETGEAR VNCL200l

33 inc VAT

www.pixmania.co.uk
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WiIh iIs Linux Cl-sIyle DSU4.1 inIerace, wide range o insIallable as
and Iwo SB3 orIs, Ihis is one o Ihe simlesI and mosI eaIure-acked
NAS devices you can buy. |usI add some hard disks and you're ready Io go.
SYNOLOGY DislSaior DS2l3+

290 inc VAT

www.dabs.com
01
A basic wireless
router will cost
around 40. Even
budget routers oher
802.11n technology
now, but they don't
have as many features
as their more expensive
counterparts. |t won't have a
built-in modem, so you'll have to use it with
a broadband modem that has an Ethernet
port. For this price, you can also get
150Nbit/s 'N-lite' routers. These have fewer
antennas but are ohen as fast as 802.11n
devices in practice. You can expect a
transfer speed of around 40Nbit/s at a
distance of 10m from any modern 802.11n
router. The very latest routers adhere to the
incredibly fast 802.11ac standard, but these
are currently still rare.
02
|f you have ADSL broadband, you
should buy a wireless router with a
built-in ADSL modem. |t will cost more than
the equivalent cable router, but it lets you
connect your router directly to your
broadband connection without using a
separate modem. ADSL2+ modems support
broadband connections up to 24Nbit/s
with an appropriate broadband service.
03
Nost 802.11n wireless routers
use the 2.4CHz frequency band.
This has good range but can be prone to
interference if it's near a lot of other 2.4CHz
devices, such as other routers and baby
monitors. |f you have trouble geuing a
consistent signal or you want faster speeds
for video streaming, it's worth buying a
dual-band router that can use both the
2.4CHz and 5CHz bands. Alternatively, a
high-gain antenna can boost signals and
improve ranges and throughputs to the
whole house. You can also add a high-gain
antenna to a PC's network adaptor. |f wired
network speeds are a priority, look for a
router with Cigabit Ethernet.
04
Nany routers have built-in USB
ports that let you connect a USB
drive and use the router as a network
storage device. |f you want to share a USB
printer over your network, look for a
wireless router with a USB print server.
Alternatively, you can add a dedicated
wireless print server later. Finally, if you're
interested in making voice calls over the
internet, look for a router with built-in Vo|P
support (and phone sockets) because this
can save you money.
Ckaasing ...
Wireless
router
BEST BUYS
2 OCTOBER 2013 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 308
COMPONENTS
The Core iS-4670K is Ihe successor Io Ihe Core iS-3S70K and is seI Io be |usI
as oular. lI can be overclocked Io high seeds and has a much imroved
builI-in grahics rocessor. lI's also beuer value Ihan Ihe Core i7-4770K.
INTEL Core iS-4C0K

190 inc VAT

www.novatech.co.uk
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and rovides greaI deskIo erormance. lI can also work in CrossFire mode
i aired wiIh an AUD grahics card.
AMD Al0-C800K

114 inc VAT

www.scan.co.uk
Sahire's Radeon HD 7790 is ideal i you wanI Io en|oy Full HD games
wiIhouI sending a loI. You may need Io reduce some seuings buI noI by
much. lI has a range o ouIuIs and can drive Ihree dislays aI once.
SAPPHIRE Radeor HD 0

120 inc VAT

www.scan.co.uk
This bargain microATX SockeI FU2 moIherboard has six SATA3 orIs,
an inIernal SB3 header, eighI SB orIs (Iwo o Ihem SB3) and Ihree
grahics ouIuIs, among oIhers. lIs easy Io overclock and a greaI buy.
MSI !M2-ASMA-L3S

53 inc VAT

www.novatech.co.uk
The Radeon HD 7990 has Iwo grahics rocessors on one card IhaI work
in Iandem Io deliver asIounding rame raIes. lIs 6CB o CDDRS memory
also hels Io make iI an essenIial gaming comonenI.
AMD Radeor HD 0

820 inc VAT

www.scan.co.uk
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SOFTWARE
This is Ihe mosI amous consumer hoIo-ediIing ackage and also Ihe
besI. WheIher you wanI Io give your hoIos a simle Iweak or erorm
some advanced ediIing, PhoIosho FlemenIs 11 is Ihe ackage or you.
Our avouriIe backu soware has been udaIed or 2013. True lmage 2013
rovides a wealIh o oIions, as well as inIegraIion wiIh Acronis's cloud
servers, alIhough you'll have Io ay exIra or IhaI eaIure.
ADOBE Flooslo Llemers ll

43 inc VAT

www.amazon.co.uk
ACRONIS True lmae 20l3

30 inc VAT

www.morecomputers.com
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made bunIu easier Io use Ihan ever and a credible rival Io Windows.
nlike Uicroso's oeraIing sysIem, iI runs well on old comuIers, Ioo.
CANONICAL Uburu l3.04

Free

www.ubuntu.com
This deskIo-ublishing alicaIion gives you ull conIrol over Ihe layouI
and aearance o all your documenIs. lI's greaI value, and a big
imrovemenI over Ihe revious version.
SERIF FaeFlus XC

82 inc VAT

www.serif.com
This video-ediIing soware siIs halway beIween consumer video ediIors
and more exensive oIions such as Adobe Premiere Pro. lI has lenIy o
greaI eaIures and ehecIs, and is designed or smooIh, emcienI ediIing.
SONYVeas Fro l2 Ldi

229 inc VAT

www.kmraudio.com
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01
A basic graphics card such as an
AND Radeon HD 6450 will cost
around 30. |t can support two monitors
at high resolutions, which means you can
easily add a second monitor to your PC and
have lots of room on the Windows Desktop
to play with. This kind of setup is ideal if
you regularly use two applications at once.
02
You'll need to spend more money if
you want to play games, as the card
above isn't powerful enough to play the
latest 3D titles. Look for a card with at
least an AND Radeon HD 6770 chipset.
High-powered cards tend to be more
expensive, so expect to pay around 100 if
you want to play games at 1,920x1,080 at
high-quality seuings.
03
You should also check that the card
has the graphics outputs you need.
Only low-end cards now have VCA outputs,
but most come with a DV|-to-VCA adaptor.
Depending on your monitor, you may also
want an HDN| output or even DisplayPort.
Bear in mind that AND's Eyehnity triple-
monitor gaming mode requires at least
one DisplayPort monitor, but you can buy
DisplayPort-to-DV| adaptors for around
20. Nvidia's Surround three-monitor mode
needs only DV| and HDN| ports.
04
The amount of memory is
important if you want games to
look their best at high resolutions. |f
possible, get a card with 2CB of RAN -
this should allow you to select the
highest-quality textures in games.
0S
The size, noise and power of a card
are the hnal considerations. Nake
sure your PC's case is big enough to
accommodate your chosen card. Cards with
large fans and double-slot designs tend to
be quieter than single-slot cards with small
fans but will block expansion ports on your
motherboard. Check how much power the
card draws and make sure your power
supply has the right power connectors.
Nany cards require a six-pin PC| Express
power connector, and some also need an
additional eight-pin connector.
Ckaasing ...
Graphics
card
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400
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740
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Natr|s A0
A|| Nesh desktops come
w|th a 3 \ear 0o|d warrant.
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4 OCTOBER 2013 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 308
!ree sovare uide
IOBIT MALWARE FI6HTER PRO 2 is a straightforward
anti-spyware tool that can protect your computer in
several ways. You can run an on-demand scan to look
for spyware, adware, Tro|ans, bots and other threats
that your regular anti-virus sohware may have missed.
The Smart Scan feature checks only the most critical
areas of your system and it runs fairly quickly, taking
around seven minutes on our test PC. You can also
run a complete system scan if you prefer, while the
Custom Scan allows you to choose exactly what
you'd like the program to examine.
Nalware Fighter also includes real-time protection
in the shape of hve Cuards, which monitor your
startup programs, browser seuings, cookies and the
web pages you view, as well as the hles that you access.
These should mean that your computer stays safe from
all types of infections. There's plenty else on oher to
protect you against internet threats, with scheduled
scans, protection against viruses on USB devices and
process scanning. All-in-all, |Obit Nalware Fighter Pro 2
is a complete internet security suite that defends you
against auacks, no mauer where they come from.
Bear in mind that |Obit Nalware Fighter works
as freeware until you enter your PRO serial code, which
you can get by following the registration instructions
on the download site.
IObt MaIware Fghter PRO 2
5mdeo HD 2013
TAKIN6 DI6ITAL PHOTOS is easy, but hnding a great way to present them
certainly isn't. Sure, you could zip up a few |PECs and auach them to an
email, but some pictures deserve more. This is where Smideo HD 2013
comes in useful. The program makes it easy to build professional movies
from your multimedia hles. Whether you're thinking of compiling digital
photos, music hles, home videos or even YouTube clips, everything can
be mashed together, rearranged and edited to suit your needs and then
exported as a video hle, ready to share with the world.
None of this requires any great knowledge or experience, because
Smideo comes in the form of a wizard. This walks you through the entire
process, starting with pointing the program at the content you want in
your movie, such as local pictures, videos or audio hles, or YouTube clips,
Flickr images and much more besides. |f you've imported one or more
videos, you can trim them down to size, split them into chunks and pick
out the parts you need. Alternatively, you could add a few photos and then
customise them with their own captions.
Add an NP3 soundtrack (or record a narration from your microphone),
choose a resolution and output name for your video, and you're almost
done. |ust click Finish, and Smideo HD 2013 will add a few special ehects
and render the hnished movie. You may need to be a liule patient in this
hnal stage, particularly if Smideo is working with lengthy, high-resolution
video, as the program will have a lot of work to do. As soon as it's hnished,
though, your video presentation will begin playing and you'll be able to see
what a great |ob you've done.
PEUIPENENT5 Windows XP, Vista, 7 or 8
32/64-bit, 50NB hard disk space
INFOPNATION www.abelssoft.net
LINITATION5 N/A
PEUIPENENT5 Windows XP, Vista, 7 or 8 32/64-bit, 50NB hard disk space
INFOPNATION www.iobit.com
LINITATION5 |ncludes a six-month licence
GETTING STARTED
The download insIrucIions on
Ihe ollowing age show you
how Io connecI Io Ihe download
siIe. Please make sure IhaI you
Iye in Ihe web address exacIly
as shown. You'll need your
couon code Ihe hrsI Iime
you log on.
ANY PROBLEMS
l you need hel wiIh any o
Ihe soware Ihis monIh, lease
send an email Io |euers
ccmutershcer.cc.uk. We
check Ihis inbox regularly.
Please include Ihe issue number
o Ihe magazine and your
couon code.
WHY DOWNLOADS
Soware manuacIurers have
been requiring us Io use online
regisIraIion or some Iime now,
buI increasingly we're being
asked Io rovide Ihe rogram
as a download. ln order Io
conIinue bringing you Ihe besI
ree soware, we've revamed
our download siIe. You need
Io use Ihe unique code rinIed
in Ihe box on Ihe acing age
Io regisIer and download Ihe
soware in Ihis issue.
The unique code means
we sIo Ihe deals leaking
online, so only Shcer readers
geI Ihe soware. You'll also
en|oy a smooIher regisIraIion,
where we handle Ihe
regisIraIion rocess.
NO CODE
l you don'I have Ihe card inserI
wiIh Ihe unique code, you musI
buy Ihe 4.99 rinI version
o Ihe magazine. l you have
boughI Ihis, lease conIacI
|euersccmutershcer.cc.uk
or hel and a new code.
Your ree is are rov ever easier o er]oy. [us dovrload all le sovare
a uuu.sroppcruourouu.co.:r/08 ard reiser vil your urique couor code
S
ISSUE 308 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ OCTOBER 2013
Digsby Bui|d 92 Access all your insIanI
messaging services rom one alicaIion,
Ihere's suorI or Windows Live!, Yahoo!,
AlU, Coogle Talk, lCQ and |abber.
Evernote 4.6 SIore your noIes, ideas and
lans in Ihe cloud and synchronise Ihem
beIween comuIers.
UPDATED Nozi||a Thunderbird 17 FINAL
A owerul email clienI rom Ihe organisaIion
beuer known or Ihe Fireox web browser.
UPDATED Free 5tudio 6.1 This soware
rovides an easy way Io converI your video
and audio hles inIo diherenI ormaIs.
Paragon Partition Nanager 12 Free
CreaIe, ormaI, sliI, merge and reorganise
all your hard disk's arIiIions.
UPDATED PeaZip 5 A Iremendously
owerul archive-managemenI Iool.
CrossLoop Free 2.82 ConIrol anoIher
comuIer remoIely over Ihe inIerneI,
and even charge or Ihe Iime you send
hxing a roblem.
Cyberduck 4.3 A very owerul buI
easy-Io-use FTP clienI.
Easy WiFi 4 Find ree Wi-Fi hoIsoIs while
you're ouI and abouI wiIh Ihe hel o Ihis
ree Iool and iIs comrehensive daIabase.
UPDATED CC|eaner 4.03 Remove
unwanIed inormaIion, Iemorary hles,
browsing hisIory, huge log hles and even
Ihe seuings IhaI are le behind by
uninsIalled soware.
Defragg|er 2.14 Fnsure IhaI your sysIem is
deragmenIed and imrove iIs erormance.
Finestra Virtua| Desktops 2.5 SeI u our
or more virIual DeskIos on your PC.
Chat and Communcaton
Resources
Postbox Express 1 An email clienI IhaI
rovides a comrehensive array o Iools Io
hel you manage your messages more easily.
UPDATED 5kype for Windows 6.6 Uake
inIerneI voice and video calls or ree, and buy
crediI Io make calls Io mobiles and landlines.
Tri||ian 5.1 se all your insIanI messaging
accounIs wiIh one alicaIion, Ihis rogram
has suorI or Windows Live!, AlU, Yahoo!
and Coogle.
Painmeter 2.5 CusIomise Ihe DeskIo
wiIh your choice o inormaIion, Iools
and shorIcuIs.
Windows 8 Transformation Pack 7 FmulaIe
Ihe look o Windows 8 on an earlier version
o Ihe oeraIing sysIem.
Windows 8 UX Pack 7 Cive Windows 7
an inIerace ugrade so IhaI iI looks like
Windows 8.
UPDATED 5creenshot Captor 4.5 CreaIe
and manage screenshoIs Ihe easy way.
5UNo 3.6 Quickly scan your PC's insIalled
alicaIions and hnd any udaIes available
or Ihem.
ZipCenius 6.3 A lexible hle-comression
Iool wiIh suorI or a huge number o
comressed hle ormaIs.
LogNeIn Free 4.1 ConIrol your comuIer
over Ihe inIerneI or ree, wherever you
haen Io be.
NetBa|ancer 6.5 Uake Ihe mosI
o your inIerneI connecIion by assigning
download and uload rioriIies Io your
web alicaIions.
Vuze 5 Powerul BiITorrenI clienI Io hel
you locaIe, share and download hles.
UPDATED IObit Advanced 5ystemCare 6.3
A comleIe comuIer securiIy, mainIenance
and oIimisaIion suiIe.
Pevo Uninsta||er Free 1.94 Remove insIalled
alicaIions comleIely, including all Iheir
olders, sysIem hles and RegisIry enIries.
5imp|e Performance Boost 1 Tweak
Ihe Windows RegisIry Io give your PC
a erormance boosI.
Customsaton
CeneraI
Internet and Network
Tweakng and Performance
7 Taskbar Tweaker 4 CusIomise Ihe
Windows 7 Iaskbar so IhaI iI works
exacIly Io your liking.
Netro UI Tweaker for Windows 8
Tweak Ihe new user inIerace or
Windows 8.
Nosaic Desktop Beta 1 Pefresh Add
Windows 8's mosaic-Iiled DeskIo Io your
comuIer wiIhouI having Io ugrade.
REVIEVS
C OCTOBER 2013 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 308
SUMMARY OF TESTS
PC SYSTEMS
Windows overall Average seed across numerous demanding Iasks
Nultitasking Seed when running simulIaneous alicaIions
Dirt Showdown Frames er second aI 1,920x1,080 4xAA,
lIra deIail
Crysis 2 Frames er second aI 1,920x1,080, lIra deIail
LAPTOPS
Windows overall Average seed across numerous demanding Iasks
Nultitasking Processor-inIensive mulIiIasking IesI
Dirt Showdown Frames er second aI 1,280x720 4xAA, High deIail
Bauery life Run Iime in minuIes or web browser use
HANDHELDS/PORTABLE MEDIA PLAYERS/TABLETS
Bauery life Run Iime in minuIes or conIinuous video layback
PRINTERS AND MFPs
Drahspeed Pages er minuIe or dra-qualiIy ink|eI IexI
Normal speed Pages er minuIe or corresondence-qualiIy IexI
Creyscale speed Pages er minuIe or resenIable IexI and grahics
Nixed colour speed Pages er minuIe or resenIable IexI and grahics
Photo speed 6x4in hoIos er minuIe aI Io qualiIy seuing
Scan speed A4 scans er minuIe aI 300di
Nono costs Running cosIs exressed as ence er age
Colour costs Running cosIs exressed as ence er age
DIGITAL CAMERAS
Bauery life Number o shoIs romull charge
CAMCORDERS
Bauery life Run Iime in minuIes or recording
MP3 PLAYERS
Bauery life Run Iime in minuIes or conIinuous layback
ROUTERS
Centrino 2 1m UbiI/s aI 1mwiIh CenIrino 2 adaIor
Own brand 1m UbiI/s aI 1mwiIh own-brand adaIor
Centrino 2 10m UbiI/s aI 10mwiIh CenIrino 2 adaIor
Own brand 10m UbiI/s aI 10mwiIh own-brand adaIor
Centrino 2 25m UbiI/s aI 2SmwiIh CenIrino 2 adaIor
Own brand 25m UbiI/s aI 2SmwiIh own-brand adaIor
NETWORK-ATTACHED STORAGE
Large hles Average UB/s or read/wriIe o 100UB large hles
Small hles Average UB/s or read/wriIe o 100UB small hles
HARD DISKS
Large hles Average UB/s or read/wriIe o 100UB large hles
Small hles Average UB/s or read/wriIe o 100UB small hles
PROCESSORS
Windows overall Average seed across numerous demanding Iasks
Nultitasking Seed when running simulIaneous alicaIions
MOTHERBOARDS
Windows overall Average seed across numerous demanding Iasks
Nultitasking Seed when running simulIaneous alicaIions
Dirt Showdown Frames er second aI 1,920x1,080 4xAA,
lIra deIail
GRAPHICS CARDS
3DNark 11 Perormance seuings, 1,920x1,080, 4xAA, 8xAF
Crysis 2 Frames er second aI 1,920x1,080, lIra deIail
Dirt Showdown Frames er second aI 1,920x1,080 4xAA,
lIra deIail
COMPUTER SHOPPER'S REVIEWS
use some of the most exhaustive testing
procedures you'll hnd in any PC magazine.
Every product is sub|ected to qualitative
and quantitative tests that show how it
performs in practical use. Craphs for
performance, bauery life scores and costs
are used in the Peviews section, as shown
on the right. Look in the 'Summary of tests'
box (below) for details on each test we run.
For PCs and laptops, we evaluate
performance using our own custom
benchmarking suite. See below for a brief
description of our benchmarking sohware
and game tests.
How we test
!ird ou lov vell roducs erorm vil le lel o Comp:cr Sroppcr's
comrelersive ess
RATINGS & AWARDS
Comuter 5hoer rates
products out of hve:
Avoid
Below average
Good
Very good
Excellent
BEST BUY Products with outstanding
quality and performance for the
money win our Best Buy award.
BUD6ET BUY The very best products
for those on a tight budget win our
Budget Buy award.
BUSINESS The very best products for
work win our Business Buy award.
ULTIMATE The very best products,
when money is no ob|ect, win our
Ultimate award.
The best products can win the
fo||owing awards:
A product hining the
+100 per cent mark
performed twice as we||
as our reference
This |ine represents the performance of a reference product in each test. A|| graphs for
components and systems are re|ative to our reference PC (see be|ow for specihcations)
The actua| scores in each
test are shown inside
each bar
Bigger is bener for a|| bars except the
red ones, which show running costs
Nono page
Co|our page
Drah speed
Norma| speed
|e|e|e:e -'1 -l11 '1 1
2.2p
6.7p
11ppm
12ppm
BENCHMARKS
CRYSIS 2
With full DirectX 11 support and
high-resolution textures, Crysis 2 will
push any PC to the limit. You'll need
at least 30fps for smooth gameplay.
DIRT SHOWDOWN
Dirt Showdown is a cracking racing game
that's Windows 8 compatible. |t also
makes good use of DirectX 11. You'll
need at least 30fps for smooth racing.
3DMARK 11
Futuremark's latest synthetic 3D
benchmark tests the latest DirectX 11
graphics features. |t's representative of
current and future titles.
SHOPPER BENCHMARKS
Our benchmark suite uses open-
source sohware that runs on
Windows, Nac OS X and Linux
systems. This lets us use ob|ective
results to compare PCs and laptops,
no mauer which operating system
they run. |t's designed to test each computer to its limit, using
a combination of intensive image-editing, video-encoding and
multitasking tests.
We ran the tests on our reference PC, which has an
|ntel Core i5-3570K processor and 4CB of DDR3 RAN. We
normalised our results so this PC had a score of 100. This
makes it easy to draw comparisons between test systems.
The resulting overall score is shown at the bouom of
every PC and laptop review. As we use the same tests in our
standalone and group test reviews, you can compare the
performance of any computer, whether it's a netbook, laptop
or desktop, from both sections of the magazine.
To see how your computer compares with those we've
tested, you can download the suite from hup.//bit.|y/
shopperbenchmorks. Versions are available for 32-bit and
64-bit operating systems.
3D BENCHMARKS
TBLETS
84 OCTOBER 2013 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 308
IT'S HARD TO believe iI's only Ihree and a
hal years since Ihe iPad was launched. Since
Aril 2010, Ihe IableI markeI has exloded,
and a large range o IableIs is now available
rom a varieIy o manuacIurers wiIh diherenI
screen sizes, oeraIing sysIems and rices.
Uaking your way Ihrough Ihe IableI maze
can be conusing, so here we exlain Ihe main
Ihings Io look or when making your choice.
SCREEN SIZE
The IableI markeI is divided inIo Iwo main
caIegories. 7in and 10in IableIs. There are
some variaIions wiIhin Ihese caIegories, such
as 8in IableIs ollowing in Ihe ooIsIes o Ihe
iPad Uini's 7.9in screen, buI Ihe choice is
mainly beIween orIabiliIy and a lower screen
resoluIion or more ixels and more bulk.
There is signihcanI variaIion in screen
resoluIion wiIhin Ihe caIegories. Among Ihe
7in IableIs, Coogle's Nexus 7 Ios Ihe ack
ACLEANSLATE
Taole! mea!es!
Nolir beas a able or veb surr, vaclir
videos ard layir ames, vleler you're or le
soa or a rair. Ve reviev lS o le laes models
o lel you rd le bes slae
Pae 86
ACER lcoria Al
Pae 87
ACER lcoria Bl
Pae 88
AMAZONKirdle!ireHD8.ir
Pae 89
APPLE iFad 4
Pae 90
APPLE iFad Miri
Pae 91
ARCHOS 80 Tiarium
Pae 92
ASUS !oreFad
Pae 94
DELL Laiude l0
Pae 9S
GOOGLE Nexus
Pae 96
GOOGLE Nexus l0
Pae 97
LENOVO TlirlFad Table 2
Pae 98
MICROSOFT Surace RT
Pae 99
SAMSUNG Galaxy Noe 8.0
Pae 100
SONY Xeria Table Z
Pae 101
VERSUS TouclTab l0.l
CONTENT REVIEWS
TBLETS
8S
ISSUE 308 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ OCTOBER 2013
wiIh iIs 1,280x800 resoluIion, while Ihe Acer
lconia B1 makes do wiIh 1,024x600 ixels,
leaving you wiIh less room or web ages.
On 10in IableIs resoluIions are all over Ihe
lace, rom Ihe modesI 1,280x800 o Ihe
Versus TouchTab 10.1 Io Ihe huge 2,048x1,S36
o Ale's iPad and 2,S60x1,600 o Coogle's
Nexus 10. You shouldn'I discounI IableIs wiIh
lower Full HD resoluIions such as Ihe Sony
Xeria TableI Z, Ihough, as iIs 1,920x1,200
resoluIion looks amazing on a 10in screen.
TableI Iouchscreens also diher in Ierms
o image qualiIy. UosI IableIs have an lPS
dislay Io geI Ihe besI viewing angles and
mosI accuraIe colours, buI cheaer IableIs
may have a TN anel. These oen roduce
less accuraIe colours and have narrower
viewing angles. We've noIed our oinions o
each IableI's image qualiIy in each review.
Some IableIs also have Uini HDUl
ouIuIs, so you can dulicaIe Ihe IableI's
dislay on a bigger screen. Uini HDUl-Io-
HDUl adaIors cosI abouI S online.
OPERATING SYSTEM
There are our main IableI oeraIing sysIems.
Ale's iOS, Coogle's Android, Ihe ull version
o Uicroso's Windows 8 and Windows RT,
Ihe cuI-down version. All o Ihem are asI,
slick and owerul oeraIing sysIems and are
hne or surhng Ihe web, sending and receiving
emails, viewing icIures and waIching video.
The laIesI version o Android is 4.2 (4.3
has |usI been announced), buI you'll sIill see
lenIy o 4.1-based IableIs. Android 4.2 ohers
some imrovemenIs over 4.1, including a
smooIher inIerace and suorI or mulIile
user accounIs, buI 4.1 is sIill an u-Io-daIe OS.
UanuacIurers Iend Io bring ouI Android
udaIes or IableIs or a while aer release,
buI Ihere's rarely a guaranIee IhaI your IableI
will always be ugraded Io Ihe laIesI version.
Ale's iOS is currenIly aI version 6, buI a
big overhaul is execIed when version 7 arrives
in SeIember. The new OS is currenIly in beIa
IesIing, and is a big dearIure rom revious
versions. There's now more room or as,
and iIs sIreamlined design looks much cleaner
and sharer. FveryIhing rom a icons Io Ihe
NoIihcaIion CenIer has been revamed, and
Ihere's even a new ConIrol CenIer IhaI makes
iI easier Io change Ihe seuings.
The hrsI Windows-based IableI, Ihe
Surace, ran a cuI-down version o Windows
called Windows RT, which could only run
secially designed as rom Ihe Uicroso
SIore. The Surace is a good IableI, buI i you
need Io run all Ihe as available or Ihe ull
version o Windows, look or a IableI running
Windows 8 raIher Ihan RT.
KNOWYOUR APPS
All IableIs can sur Ihe web and lay videos
ouI o Ihe box, buI Ihere's no oinI owning a
IableI i you're noI going Io Iake advanIage o
Ihe as available. As range rom avouriIes
such as BBC iPlayer Io Iravel as, resIauranI
guides and games, Ihere are Ihousands or
almosI every urose you can imagine.
Ale's A SIore sIill has Ihe largesI
number o high-qualiIy as, buI Coogle Play
or Android is caIching u asI. Uore Android
as Iend Io be ree and suorIed by
adverIs or in-a urchases, buI Ihis is a
model IhaI's also caIching on wiIh iOS.
The a siIuaIion is one o Ihe Ihings
holding back Uicroso's Surace IableI, Ihere
|usI isn'I as much choice in Ihe Windows
SIore. However, Uicroso isn'I known or
giving u wiIhouI a hghI, so we execI Ihe
qualiIy and quanIiIy o as available or
Surace Io increase in Ihe uIure.
Bear in mind IhaI some cheaer Android
IableIs don'I have access Io Ihe Coogle Play
a sIore ouI o Ihe box. This is because
manuacIurers have Io ay royalIies Io Coogle
Io use Coogle Play, and Io kee Ihe cosI down
Ihey oen decide Io use an alIernaIive a
sIore wiIh less choice Ihan Ihe omcial one.
All Ihe Android IableIs we've reviewed Ihis
monIh aarI rom Ihe Amazon Kindle can
access Ihe ull Coogle Play sIore.
STORAGE OPTIONS
l you're going Io insIall lenIy o as, as well
as sIore your videos and music, you'll need a
decenI amounI o sIorage. Some IableIs come
in a varieIy o sIorage caaciIies, and oIhers
have microSD card sloIs Io exand Ihe builI-in
caaciIy. As 32CB microSD cards cosI as liule
as 14, iI's oen much cheaer Io exand Ihe
sIorage wiIh a memory card Ihan Io buy Ihe
higher-caaciIy version o a IableI wiIh a
microSD card sloI. NeiIher Ale's range nor
Ihe Coogle's Nexus IableIs have ugradable
sIorage, buI i you're mainly going Io sIream
media rom Ihe inIerneI you shouldn'I need
more Ihan 8CB caaciIy anyway.
PERFORMANCE
|usI as wiIh PCs, a varieIy o rocessors are
available or IableIs, so erormance varies
beIween individual models. UosI IableIs have
dual-core rocessors and some even have
quad-core chis. The seed o Ihe rocessor
ahecIs everyIhing rom how smooIhly Ihe
oeraIing sysIem runs Io how quickly as
oen and web ages render. To give an idea o
a IableI's erormance we run Ihe SunSider
|avaScriI benchmark, Ihe less Iime Ihe IableI
Iakes Io comleIe Ihe IesI, Ihe quicker iI will
be able Io render comlicaIed web ages,
and Ihe snaier web browsing should be.
l Ihe IableI suorIs iI, we run Ihe
3DUark lce SIorm benchmark Io see how well
a IableI will coe wiIh 3D Cames, and we also
noIe how asI Ihe IableI eels in general use.
BATTERY LIFE
AnoIher Ihing Io consider is how long Ihe
bauery will lasI. TableIs are highly orIable, so
you'll wanI one IhaI will lasI all day wiIhouI
charging. You can geI an idea o how long a
IableI will lasI by looking aI Ihe caaciIy o iIs
bauery, measured in mAh, buI due Io Ihe
varieIy o diherenI screen Iechnologies and
chiseIs, Ihis is only a very rough guide.
We measure bauery lie by laying a video
on reeaI wiIh Ihe screen aI hal brighIness.
You can consider eighI and a hal hours o
bauery lie as 'all-day', buI Ihe besI IableIs
manage over 11 hours o video layback.
CAMERA ACTION
UosI IableIs now come wiIh a leasI one
camera. You may look a biI o a Charlie
Iaking hoIos wiIh a IableI, buI iI's useul
Io have Ihe oIion. UosI IableI cameras
aren'I as good as Ihose on Ihe average
smarIhone, buI Ihey can usually Iake
reasonable snas. We discuss hoIo image
qualiIy in our IableI reviews. Uany IableIs
also have a lower-resoluIion secondary
camera on Ihe ronI, which is useul or
Skye video-calling and Iaking sel-orIraiIs.
7in
7.9in
9.7in
10in
Tablet screen sizes and aspect ratios
Nost tablets fall into the 7in or 10in categories, but some have 16:9 screens and others a 4:3 display
16:9
4:3
4:3
16:9
Nexus 7 iPad Mini iPad Nexus 10
ppIe's pp Store stiII Ias tIe Iarest
number oI IiI-quaIity apps, but GooIe PIay
Ior ndroid is catcIin up Iast
TBLETS
8C OCTOBER 2013 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 308
ACER'S BUD6ET ANDROID IableI Iakes
some design cues rom Ihe iPad Uini, in IhaI
iI has a 7.9in 4.3 dislay, raIher Ihan Ihe 16.9
widescreen dislays ound on mosI Android
IableIs. lI also has an imressive secihcaIion
or a 160 IableI, buI Android is noIoriously
icky when iI comes Io screens IhaI don'I
sIick Io Ihe Iried and IesIed 16.9 asecI raIio.
WiIh a lasIic, slighIly chunky body, Ihe
lconia A1 sIill manages Io make an imression
Ihanks Io iIs unussy black and whiIe hnish
and rounded edges. There's a decenI selecIion
o orIs around Ihe sides, wiIh a microSD
card sloI or exIra sIorage and a Uicro HDUl
ouIuI Io connecI Ihe IableI Io an exIernal
dislay. BoIh are rarely ound on budgeI
IableIs, so are welcome. You'll also hnd Ihe
Uicro SB charging orI on Ihe bouom o
Ihe IableI, nexI Io Ihe 3.Smm audio |ack.
The 7.9in dislay has a 4.3 asecI raIio,
which seIs Ihe A1 aarI rom nearly every
oIher budgeI Android IableI on Ihe markeI.
This squarer raIio means Ihe screen is around
a Ihird bigger Ihan Ihe Nexus 7's, which may
make web ages easier Io read. However, Ihe
screen's 1,024x768 resoluIion means iI alls
behind Ihe Nexus 7's in Ierms o ixels er
inch (i) and Ihereore sharness. Colours
are airly vibranI and brighIness isn'I bad, as
long as you use Ihe IableI indoors - Iake iI
ouIside and iI can be hard Io make ouI whaI's
onscreen. This is arIly down Io Ihe average
viewing angles and overly relecIive screen.
FingerrinIs quickly build u, Ioo, leaving
more marks Ihan on oIher IableIs. Finally, Ihe
ACER lcoria Al

163 inc VAT

From www.laptopsdirect.co.uk
VERDICT
The best 4:3 Android tab|et for those on a
budget, but the Nexus 7 is sti|| superior
slighIly grainy hnish leaves much Io be
desired, esecially comared wiIh Ihe Nexus 7.
The lconia A1 has a hve-megaixel rear
camera as well as a 1.3-megaixel version on
Ihe ronI or video chaI and selhes. A rear
camera is a rariIy in a budgeI IableI, buI Ihe
sensor can sIill only Iake basic sIills. The lens
is hxed ocus and Ihere's no lash, so low-lighI
shooIing is ouI o Ihe quesIion, and even in
brighI lighI Ihere's a lack o deIail. lI also had
a Iendency Io overexose images, even wiIh
|usI a small amounI o lighI, making indoor
hoIograhy a challenge.
Acer has abandoned iIs auemIs Io Iweak
Android and sIuck wiIh Ihe deaulI version o
|elly Bean 4.2.2 or Ihe A1. This is an u-Io-daIe
version, so you geI access Io eaIures such as
mulIile user accounIs, searaIe ull-down
drawers or seuings and noIihcaIions and Ihe
Coogle Now search assisIanI. The only ma|or
addiIion is a seI o rogrammable gesIure
commands, which can wake Ihe IableI rom
sIandby and launch righI inIo a arIicular a.
We used iI or |uming sIraighI inIo Ihe web
browser, buI sna-hay lconia owners could
seI iI Io load Ihe Camera a insIead.
There aren'I many re-insIalled as,
which should be welcome news Io anyone
who areciaIes a clean OS on Iheir new
device. You do geI AccuWeaIher, a hle
manager a and AcerCloud, which leIs you
save conIenI Io Acer's cloud servers. This
leaves as much room as ossible on Ihe 16CB
o inIernal memory, which has around 12CB o
inIernal sIorage available Io Ihe user. WiIh
access Io Ihe Coogle Play sIore, you can
quickly add your own selecIion o as.
Perormance comes rom a quad-core
rocessor running aI 1.2CHz, aired wiIh 1CB
o RAU. lI's asI enough Io render Android's
mulIile home screens and widgeIs smooIhly,
buI iI can Iake a while Io load cerIain as or
generaIe Ihumbnails i you've hlled Ihe Callery
a wiIh high-res hoIos rom a digiIal camera.
We could lay mosI 2D and some 3D
games smooIhly, buI Ihe PowerVR SCXS44
grahics chi sIruggles in inIensive games
such as Real Racing 3. Android sIill doesn'I
roerly suorI Ihe 4.3 asecI raIio, so many
as don'I render correcIly. Cames only hll
arI o Ihe screen, buI Ihe Iouchscreen
conIrols sIreIch Io hll Ihe whole dislay area.
We execIed Ihe quad-core rocessor Io
have a negaIive imacI on bauery lie, buI Ihe
lconia A1 managed Io surrise us by lasIing
eighI hours and 44 minuIes in our video IesI.
lI's noI Ihe besI we've seen rom a budgeI
IableI, buI iI's sIill an imressive resulI.
AI |usI over 160, Acer's lconia A1 is a
liule biI Ioo exensive or us Io recommend,
desiIe being a budgeI IableI IhaI arguably
unches above iIs weighI. The rocessor is
cerIainly quick enough or mosI Iasks, and
Ihe microSD card sloI and HDUl video
ouIuI are useul, buI Ihe Nexus 7 is sIill a
beuer buy Ihanks Io iIs suerior screen.
SPECIFICATIONS
Banery |ife
|e|e|e:e -'1 -l11 '1 1
8h 44m
See age 76 or erormance deIails
CPU 1.2CHz NTK 8125
PAN1CB
5TOPACE 16CB
CPAPHIC5 PowerVR SCX 544
DI5PLAY 7.9in LCD (1,024x768)
OPEPATINC 5Y5TENAndroid 4.2
DINEN5ION5 209x146x11mm, 410g
WAPPANTY One-year RTB
PAPT CODE NT.L1CEK.001
DETAIL5 www.acer.co.uk
TBLETS
8
ISSUE 308 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ OCTOBER 2013
ANY 7in TABLET is invariably going Io be
comared wiIh Ihe Coogle Nexus 7. Coogle's
IableI may well be over a year old now, buI iI's
one o Ihe undisuIed kings o Ihe 7in arena.
Rivals need Io do someIhing secial Io sIand
ouI, buI whereas Acer's lconia A1 wiIh iIs 4.3
screen hlls a niche as an Android-owered
alIernaIive Io Ihe iPad Uini, Ihe lconia B1 is
very much second sIring on all ronIs.
The B1's bulky lasIic chassis won'I be Io
everyone's IasIe, buI iIs rounded edges and
slimline 340g weighI make iI comorIable Io
hold. However, we had some concerns over iIs
build qualiIy. The silver edges are hrm enough,
buI Ihere's a considerable amounI o lex on
boIh Ihe rear and ronI anels IhaI make iI
eel a liule chea and Iacky.
The B1 has a good seI o orIs or a
budgeI IableI, Ihough, even i iI's noI quiIe
as well equied as Ihe lconia A1. A 3.Smm
headhone |ack siIs on Io o Ihe IableI, and
underneaIh you'll hnd a Uicro SB orI or
charging Ihe device. There's also a small
lasIic la concealing a microSD card sloI or
adding anoIher 32CB o sIorage Io iIs 16CB o
ACER lcoria Bl

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From www.argos.co.uk
VERDICT
This budget tab|et is very much part of Acer's
B-team, but its micro5D card s|ot is a nice addition
inIernal memory. The la iIsel is quiIe
limsy, buI we were leased Io have Ihe
oIion o exanding Ihe B1's sIorage, as
Ihis is quiIe unusual on a budgeI IableI.
There's no main camera, sadly, buI a Iiny
camera siIs in Ihe Io-righI corner or
video chaI or blurry sel-orIraiIs.
The IableI's 7in screen is less
imressive. lI's a sIandard LCD anel
and has a 1,024x600 resoluIion, giving iI
a lower ixels-er-inch raIing Ihan Ihe
Nexus 7 or Ihe lconia A1. The screen
looks airly shar, buI narrow viewing
angles ahecI image qualiIy unless you
look aI iI sIraighI on. The grainy coaIing
doesn'I hel, eiIher, as Ihis has a Iendency Io
disIorI colours slighIly, arIicularly when Ihe
screen has icked u a ew hngerrinIs.
The screen could be beuer, buI Ihe lconia
B1 is no slouch when iI comes Io rocessing
ower. lI has a dual-core rocessor running aI
1.2CHz and 1CB o RAU, which is enough Io
run Android smooIhly, and iI comleIed our
SunSider |avaScriI benchmark in a quick
1,60Sms when we used Ihe Chrome browser.
This uIs iI on ar wiIh Ihe Nexus 7 and is
only 100ms slower Ihan Ihe quad-core-based
lconia A1. lI's unlikely Io be able Io run any
demanding 3D games, Ihough, as iI couldn'I
run our 3DUark lce SIorm grahics IesI.
The Nexus 7 ulls ahead again when iI
comes Io bauery lie, as Ihe lconia B1's
2,640mAh bauery lasIed only six hours in our
conIinuous video layback IesI wiIh Ihe
screen seI Io hal brighIness. This isn'I bad
or a budgeI IableI, buI iI ales in comarison
wiIh Ihe 10 hours we saw rom Ihe Nexus 7.
The resI o Ihe lconia B1 is airly
unremarkable. nlike iIs big broIher, Ihe B1
uses a sIandard version o Android's |elly
Bean 4.1.2, noI Ihe newer 4.2.2. This leaves
Ihe B1 eeling a liule daIed by comarison,
and we missed eaIures such as mulIile user
accounIs, buI iI's sIill hne or single users.
We were able Io |um sIraighI inIo Coogle
Search or use Ihe webcam rom Ihe sIandby
screen and sync various email accounIs Io Ihe
device. There's also a cusIomisable a bar
above Ihe onscreen menu buuons IhaI leIs
you access your avouriIe as rom any o
Ihe hve home screens.
One IraiI IhaI has been carried rom Ihe
A1 is Ihe lack o re-loaded as. You |usI geI
AccuWeaIher, Zinio, 7digiIal and AcerCloud,
which is Acer's own cloud sIorage service IhaI
leIs you share documenIs and media hles
beIween diherenI devices. You'll need Io
insIall Ihe AcerCloud orIal a on your PC or
hone Io comleIe Ihe rocess, buI we ound
iI was very easy Io use and seI u desiIe
requenI messages Ielling us IhaI iI wasn'I
able Io connecI Io our PC. We had no roblem
Iranserring hoIos and videos rom Ihe B1
Io our PC and vice versa, buI you'll need Io
download a searaIe omce suiIe a Io view
or ediI your PC's documenIs on Ihe B1.
Our biggesI concern, Ihough, is Ihe rice.
AI 1S0, Ihe B1 is only 10 cheaer Ihan a
16CB Coogle Nexus 7, and iI doesn'I do nearly
enough Io make iIsel sIand ouI rom Ihe
crowd. The microSD card sloI is useul, buI
Ihe mediocre screen and bauery lie aren'I
good enough Io sIeal Ihe Nexus 7's crown.
SPECIFICATIONS
Banery |ife
|e|e|e:e -'1 -l11 '1 1
6h
See age 76 or erormance deIails
CPU 1.2CHz ARN NT6517
PAN1CB
5TOPACE 16CB
DI5PLAY 7in LCD touchscreen (1,024x600)
OPEPATINC 5Y5TENAndroid 4.1.2
DINEN5ION5 12x128x197mm, 340g
WAPPANTY One-year RTB
PAPT CODE B1-710-83171C01nw
DETAIL5 www.acer.co.uk
TIere's a considerabIe amount oI dex on
botI tIe rear and Iront paneIs tIat make it
IeeI a IittIe cIeap and tacky
TBLETS
88 OCTOBER 2013 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 308
AMAZON'S LATEST COLOUR IableI is
greaI value, buI has a hugely cusIomised
version o Android IhaI Iies heavily inIo Ihe
Amazon sIore. lI also comes wiIh a highly
deIailed 8.9in screen, wiIh a huge 1,920x1,200
resoluIion. This gives you an imressive
2S4 ixels er inch (i), which was
indisIinguishable Io us rom Ihe iPad's 264i
or even Ihe 300i on Ihe Coogle Nexus 10.
The screen is Ihereore a maIch or Ihose
oIher devices in Ierms o qualiIy, wiIh vibranI
colours and dee blacks, which is a good
Ihing considering how black-heavy Ihe Fire's
cusIom inIerace is. The Kindle Fire HD 8.9in
has an HDUl ouIuI, so you can easily en|oy
conIenI on a bigger screen.
The home screen consisIs o a carousel
o your mosI recenIly used iIems. This is a
mix o Ihe lasI web age you visiIed and a
selecIion o your movies, books and music.
You oen hnd yoursel Ihinking you'll read
a book, buI Ihen are reminded you never
hnished waIching a cerIain hlm, so iI's a ar
beuer way Io browse your enIerIainmenI
oIions Ihan using searaIe as.
You're mainly limiIed Io en|oying IhaI
conIenI using Ihe Kindle's builI-in as,
Ihough, as Ihe Fire's rorieIary a sIore
doesn'I conIain Ihe ull range o as rom
Ihe Coogle Play sIore, such as Ihe excellenI
UX Player. This isn'I a roblem i all your
conIenI comes rom Amazon, buI can be
limiIing i you wanI Io drag and dro all kinds
o hles rom your PC Io lay on your IableI.
You have access Io a huge amounI o
video conIenI rom Amazon, as well as
on-demand video rom NeIlix and LoveFilm
lnsIanI. The Kindle Fire is Ihe only device
aarI rom an iPad which gives you access Io
LoveFilm, and HD conIenI looks anIasIic.
AMAZON
Kirdle !ire HD 8.ir

229 inc VAT

From www.amazon.co.uk
VERDICT
Creat hardware for the money, and a wide
range of content to buy, but Amazon's take
on Android sti|| fee|s comparative|y inexib|e
The reading a works well, and alIhough
Ihe LCD screen can'I maIch Amazon's own
Kindle PaerwhiIe or reading, books wiIh
illusIraIions are ar beuer on Ihe Fire.
norIunaIely, Ihe soware or reading
grahic novels isn'I as good as Ihe besI
examles (such as Ihe Comixology a,
again noI available on Kindle Fire) and Ihe
16.10 screen isn'I as well suiIed as Ale's
4.3 iPad screen Io Ihis kind o conIenI.
The browser generally works well, ohering
Iabbed browsing and a choice o search
engines or Ihe address bar, and web ages
look greaI on Ihe high-resoluIion screen. l
you do have a roblem wiIh a secihc siIe,
however, Ihen iI's noI sIraighIorward Io load
anoIher browser on Io Ihe IableI wiIhouI
erorming some hddly sideloading.
The chiseI inside Ihe Kindle Fire isn'I Ihe
laIesI. The dual-core Tl OUAP4470 rocessor
runs aI a resecIable 1.SCHz, and Ihough iI
was a hne enough chi lasI year, iI's sIarIing
Io look a liule long in Ihe IooIh. However, in
Ihe SunSider |avaScriI benchmark we sIill
saw a quick 1,4S3ms, shows IhaI Amazon's
Silk browser is one o Ihe quickesI ouI
Ihere. We couldn'I run our usual 3DUark
benchmark as iI's noI available in Ihe Amazon
a sIore, buI Ihere are ew demanding
games available or Ihe Fire anyway.
Amazon hasn'I omcially conhrmed
iI, buI Ihe bauery inside Ihe Kindle
Fire HD has been shown Io be a
6,000mAh model. ThaI's almosI
hal Ihe caaciIy o Ihe iPad 4
and Iwo-Ihirds IhaI o Ihe Coogle
Nexus 10. The a resIricIions
sIoed us running our usual
bauery IesI, so we sIreamed a
movie rom LoveFilm and used
IhaI Io calculaIe a conIinuous
layback score o eighI hours
and 20 minuIes, which is decenI
enough or an Android IableI.
Civen iIs screen qualiIy, Ihe
Kindle Fire HD 8.9in is a biI o a
bargain, sIarIing aI |usI 229 or Ihe 16CB
version. However, iI comes wiIh adverIs on iIs
lockscreen by deaulI. l you ay 10 exIra,
you can geI rid o Ihe adverIs or good.
ThaI Ihe choice exisIs makes a good
examle or Ihe kind o device you're buying.
The Kindle Fire HD is more akin Io an iPad
Ihan an Android IableI, desiIe being based
on Android. Like Ihe iPad, a loI o Iime and
ehorI has been uI inIo selling you conIenI
Ihrough Ihe device, and because o Ihis
cerIain uncIions have been limiIed. Coogle
also wanIs Io sell you sIuh, buI iI hasn'I yeI
leI Ihis overly ahecI how you use iIs devices.
l you're hay Io buy your music,
illusIraIed books, grahic novels and
magazines rom Amazon or use NeIlix or
LoveFilm lnsIanI Io sIream conIenI, Ihe Fire is
a greaI-value IableI. However, i you reer Io
Iake your conIenI rom a wider range o
sources, like Io lay Ihe laIesI games, have
access Io a wider range o as and have Ihe
reedom Io choose your own browser and
email clienI, Ihen you'll wanI Io send an
exIra 90 on Ihe Coogle Nexus 10. ThaI said,
i you're on a IighI budgeI and are hay Io
work around Ihe limiIaIions, Ihe Kindle Fire
8.9in is sIill a loI o IableI or Ihe money.
SPECIFICATIONS
Banery |ife
|e|e|e:e -'1 -l11 '1 1
8h 20m
See age 76 or erormance deIails
CPU 1.5CHz T| ONAP4470
PAN1CB
5TOPACE 16CB
CPAPHIC5 PowerVR SCX544
DI5PLAY 8.9in widescreen LCD (1,920x1,200)
OPEPATINC 5Y5TENAndroid 4.0 (customised)
DINEN5ION5 163x239x9mm, 567g
WAPPANTY One-year RTB
PAPT CODE B00ANZNB|O
DETAIL5 www.amazon.co.uk
TBLETS
8
ISSUE 308 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ OCTOBER 2013
THE APPLE IPAD 4 came as someIhing as a
surrise. The iPad 3 had only been ouI or six
monIhs beore iI was relaced. l you boughI
an iPad 3, you may be a liule annoyed IhaI a
new version o Ihe IableI is ouI so soon. Don'I
worry. l you have an iPad 3, Ihe iPad 4 isn'I
diherenI enough Io warranI an ugrade. l you
have an older iPad or wanI Io buy a new
IableI, iI's a diherenI sIory.
Ale's roducI line rom Ihe iPhone S Io
Ihe new iPods all use Ihe same new LighIning
connecIor raIher Ihan Ihe old 30-in Dock
connecIor. A new connecIor may be annoying,
buI iI was needed. The old connecIor was
unwieldy, whereas Ihe smaller LighIning
connecIor allows or Ihinner designs, and can
be lugged in eiIher way round. Ale sells
LighIning-Io-30-in adaIors, Ioo, so you can
sIill use all your old eriherals. Add-ons such
as a LighIning-Io-SD card reader and a
LighIning-Io-SB adaIor are also available.
The iPad 3 used a slighIly Iweaked version
o Ihe Ale ASX rocessor, wiIh quad-core
grahics Io handle Ihe IableI's high-resoluIion
screen, buI Ihe iPad 4 has Ihe brand-new
Ale A6X rocessor. This is Ihe same model
used in Ihe iPhone S, alIhough Ihe 1.4CHz
model used here also has quad-core grahics.
Ale claims Ihe A6X is Iwice as asI in
games and 2D Iasks as Ihe old ASX. Haily,
we're leased Io reorI IhaI Ihis claim sIands
u in our benchmarks. The iPad 4 comleIed
Ihe SunSider |avaScriI benchmark in |usI
888ms, while Ihe iPad 3 Iook 1,S08ms.
Similarly, Ihe BBC News websiIe rendered in
Ihree seconds on Ihe iPad 4, comared wiIh
S.6 seconds on Ihe iPad 3. To IesI Ihe iPad's
APPLE iFad 4

399 inc VAT

From hup://store.apple.com/uk
VERDICT
Faster than its predecessor with bener
wire|ess, this is sti|| the u|timate tab|et
grahics, we ran CLBench, which
showed a similar imrovemenI. 2S.6s
on Ihe iPad 3 and S0.7s on Ihe iPad 4.
The iPad 3 was asI, buI Ihe iPad 4
manages Io be even quicker.
As we've come Io execI, iOS is
incredibly smooIh. Fvery IransiIion and
oeraIion is seamless, and Ihere's none
o Ihe |erkiness you geI on Android
devices. Web browsing is an absoluIe
leasure, wiIh even Ihe mosI comlex
siIes rendering quickly, while inch-Io-
zoom is very smooIh. ln erormance
Ierms, Ihe iPad is sIill Ihe IableI Io beaI.
We're leased Io say Ihe screen is
Ihe same 9.7in model as Ihe iPad 3's, wiIh iIs
huge 2,048x1,S36 resoluIion. This was way
ahead o iIs rivals when iI was unveiled,
alIhough Ihe Coogle Nexus 10 now has a
slighIly higher-resoluIion 2,S60x1,600 screen.
While Coogle's IableI has more ixels, Ihough,
Ihe iPad 4's screen is sIill a Ihing o beauIy.
The dislay's 264i densiIy is whaI Ale
calls ReIina, by which iI means you can'I see
Ihe individual ixels. Technically seaking,
Ihen, Ihere's no oinI in having more
resoluIion on a screen Ihis size, as you
wouldn'I see Ihe diherence. Besides, when
you're Ialking abouI resoluIions ar in advance
o Full HD on a 10in screen, Ihe diherences
become less and less meaningul.
WhaI's more imorIanI is IhaI Ihe iPad's
lPS anel is o Ihe highesI qualiIy. FxcellenI
colour saIuraIion and conIrasI really bring
images Io lie. Viewing angles are suerb, so
iI's clear Io see no mauer how you're holding
Ihe IableI. ThaI high ixel densiIy has anoIher
advanIage. even Ihe smallesI IexI looks
incredibly shar and easy Io read.
The iPad is arIly so smooIh Io use Ihanks
Io iOS 6. lI may lack Android's WidgeIs or
Windows' Live Tiles, buI iI gives you slicker
inIeracIion and a smooIher inIerace Ihan any
oIher device. We also love Ihe mulIi-Iouch
inIeracIions IhaI mean you can use iI wiIhouI
so much as Iouching an onscreen buuon, or
examle, you can inch wiIh your hand Io go
back Io Ihe home screen and slide u wiIh
our hngers Io geI Ihe Iask swiIcher.
iOS 6 has had several imorIanI udaIes,
including Siri or iPads and iCloud Tabs in
Saari, where you can view whaI websiIes you
have oen on oIher iOS and OS X devices.
PhoIo SIreams has also been udaIed, and
you can share PhoIo SIreams wiIh eole on
iOS 6 devices or, or everyone else, via Ihe web.
Ale Uas is a big disaoinImenI. lI
sIruggles Io hnd some locaIions, |ums Io
businesses raIher Ihan Iowns, and some o
Ihe saIelliIe hoIograhy is oor. We'd have
reerred Coogle Uas. ThaI said, on a IableI
o Ihis size, iI's arguably less o an issue, as
you're unlikely Io carry around a 9.7in device
or navigaIion and Ihe Wi-Fi iPad doesn'I even
have CPS, you have Io buy a Cellular version
or IhaI, which comes aI a 100 remium.
The only area where Ihe new iPad ails Io
imrove on iIs redecessor is iIs bauery lie.
ln our video IesI on Ihe iPad 3, we saw |usI
over 11 hours o layback aI S0 er cenI
brighIness, while aI Ihe same seuing on Ihe
iPad 4, Ihe bauery lasIed or nine hours and
S4 minuIes. We uI Ihis down Io Ihe asIer
rocessor, and nearly 10 hours o bauery lie
is sIill u Ihere will Ihe besI Android IableIs.
The iPad 4's S-megaixel iSighI camera
roduces well-exosed, deIailed and accuraIe
images. The only limiIaIion on deIail is Ihe
resoluIion. Uodern smarIhones such as
Ihe iPhone S have 8-megaixel or higher
resoluIions, and roduce more deIailed shoIs.
While Ihe iPad is sIill one o Ihe mosI
exensive IableIs, Ihe acI is IhaI you're
aying or iIs qualiIy. lIs excellenI screen, asI
rocessor, wide range o as and brillianI
qualiIy mean Ihe iPad is sIill Ihe besI IableI
available. lI wins our lIimaIe award.
SPECIFICATIONS
Banery |ife
|e|e|e:e -'1 -l11 '1 1
9h 54m
See age 76 or erormance deIails
PPOCE55OP 1.4CHz Apple A6X
PAN1CB
5TOPACE 16CB
DI5PLAY 9.7in LCD (2,048x1,536)
OPEPATINC 5Y5TENApple iOS 6
DINEN5ION5 241x188x9mm, 652g
WAPPANTY One-year RTB
PAPT CODE iPad 4
DETAIL5 www.apple.com/uk
TBLETS
0 OCTOBER 2013 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 308
THE IPAD MINI is Ale's hghIback againsI
Ihe slew o comacI Android IableIs, and,
wiIh iIs 7.9in 4.3 asecI raIio screen, iI breaks
rom Ihe 7in IableI norm.
The Uini is made rom Ihe same high-
qualiIy maIerials as iIs bigger broIher and
is available in Ihe same colours, sIorage
caaciIies and wiIh Ihe oIion o Wi-Fi or 4C,
and is every biI Ihe remium roducI you
would execI rom Ale. lI's 7mm Ihick and
weighs |usI 308g - around 30g lighIer Ihan
Ihe Nexus 7, or hal Ihe weighI o a regular
iPad. This is mainly Ihanks Io Ihe lighIweighI
aluminium rear anel and glass ronI, which
looks gorgeous in boIh black and whiIe.
DesiIe Ihe slim rohle, Ale has made
room or Ihe usual selecIion o buuons and
orIs. The muIe swiIch and volume buuons
are on Ihe uer righI side, |usI as Ihey are
on Ihe ull-size iPad, buI Ale has oIed or
searaIe buuons or increasing and
decreasing volume raIher Ihan using Ihe old
rocker swiIch design. The ower buuon is aI
Ihe Io, along wiIh a small microhone and a
3.Smm headhone orI. SIereo seaker grilles
and Ale's new LighIning orI are aI Ihe
bouom and Ihe le side is bare, reserved Io
auach one o Ale's magneIised SmarI
Covers. The lens or Ihe S-megaixel camera
is Ihe only iIem o noIe on Ihe rear and
Ihere's Ihe usual single buuon on Ihe ronI.
lI's noI |usI Ihe IableI iIsel IhaI's Ihin. Ihe
screen bezel is less Ihan 7mm wide. lI's almosI
imossible Io hold Ihe IableI wiIhouI one o
APPLE iFad Miri

269 inc VAT

From hup://store.apple.com/uk
VERDICT
The disp|ay's reso|ution may not have the fu||-size iPad's
wowfactor, but this is sti|| an exce||ent compact tab|et
your hngers Iouching Ihe screen, so Ale
has develoed "resIing Ihumb recogniIion"
Io avoid any accidenIs. The sysIem worked
well when we were reading eBooks on Ihe
move, leuing us Iurn Ihe age wiIh one
Ihumb while Ihe IableI ignored Ihe oIher.
The screen is a ma|or dearIure or a
IableI. To avoid any roblems wiIh exisIing
as, Ihe iPad Uini's 4.3, 7.9in dislay has
Ihe same 1,024x768 resoluIion as Ihe iPad
2. lI has roughly 3S er cenI more screen
surace area Ihan a 7in Android IableI, buI
Ihere are signihcanIly ewer ixels hlling
IhaI sace. The 1,280x800 Coogle Nexus 7
has a ixel densiIy o 216i - a loI higher
Ihan Ihe 163i o Ihe iPad Uini's screen.
ln side-by-side comarisons wiIh
higher-resoluIion IableIs, Ihe iPad Uini loses
on sharness, buI in racIice we reerred Ihe
iPad's exIra screen sace or web browsing.
You can'I soI any signs o ixellaIion unless
you look very closely, and mosI websiIes are
designed wiIh 768 horizonIal ixels in mind,
so you rarely have Io scroll le or righI.
However, Ihe 16.9 Nexus 7 is ar beuer
suiIed Io video layback Ihan Ihe iPad, as Ihe
Uini's 4.3 raIio gives hlms huge black bars on
eiIher side. On Ihe lus side, Ihe iPad Uini's
lPS anel reroduces colours accuraIely and
has anIasIic viewing angles, even i Ihe
glossy dislay is very relecIive.
The Uini is owered by Ihe same 1CHz
dual-Core AS rocessor as Ihe iPad 2, and iI's
no slouch. As admiuedly load slighIly more
slowly Ihan on Ihe Ihird or ourIh generaIion
iPad, or even an iPhone S, buI Ihey rarely Iake
more Ihan a second or Iwo, and in general
use iI eels |usI as snay and resonsive as
any oIher iOS device. The Uini comleIed Ihe
SunSider benchmark in 1,S14ms, which is a
sIe behind Ihe iPad 3 and ar slower Ihan Ihe
iPad 4, buI sIill signihcanIly asIer Ihan Ihe
Tegra 3-owered Coogle Nexus 7.
As wiIh Ihe ull-size iPad, Ale romises
10 hours o bauery on Ihe iPad Uini. ln our
sIandard handheld IesI, which lays a looing
video aI hal brighIness wiIh Wi-Fi disabled,
iI managed over 11 and a hal hours - an
incredible resulI or such a small IableI.
AlIhough you sIill look a biI o an idioI,
Ihe smaller size makes iI less embarrassing
Io use Ihe iPad Uini Io Iake hoIos Ihan on
Ihe ull-size iPad. The S-megaixel sensor
aears Io be Ihe same one used in Ihe
iPhone 4, iPad 3 and iPad 4, and Iakes
well-exosed images IhaI have a reasonable
amounI o deIail. There's no comarison wiIh
a modern smarIhone, Ihough, and iI lacks an
inIegraIed lash, HDR or anorama modes.
There's also a FaceTime HD Camera builI
inIo Ihe ronI or video calling, which shooIs
720 video. However, as wiIh mosI IableIs,
don'I leave your digiIal camera aI home i
you wanI high-qualiIy images or video.
l you've ever used an iOS device beore,
you'll know whaI Io execI. Ihe iPad Uini is
more o Ihe same, only in a diherenI screen
size. You'll also be amiliar wiIh Ale's
exIensive A SIore, which is sIill Ihe besI ouI
Ihere, Android may be caIching u, buI Ihe
iOS sIore has a wider range o high-qualiIy
as. norIunaIely, you'll also have Io use
Ihe awul iTunes PC soware Io manage your
conIenI, which you should kee in mind when
deciding i an iPad Uini is righI or you.
There's liule doubI IhaI Ihe iPad Uini is a
gorgeous IableI IhaI's well builI, sIunning Io
look aI and asI. However, iI's also around
100 more Ihan a Nexus 7 or Kindle Fire HD,
Iwo Android IableIs wiIh higher-resoluIion
dislays IhaI are boIh excellenI value and
beuer or waIching videos. SIill, Ihanks Io Ihe
ease o web browsing, reading and Ihe sheer
number o as available, Ihe iPad Uini is a
suerb comacI comanion Io Ihe iPad.
SPECIFICATIONS
Banery |ife
|e|e|e:e -'1 -l11 '1 1
11h 41m
See age 76 or erormance deIails
CPU 1CHz Apple A5
PAN512NB
5TOPACE 16CB
CPAPHIC5 Apple A5
DI5PLAY 7.9in LCD (1,024x768)
OPEPATINC 5Y5TENApple iOS 6
DINEN5ION5 200x135x7mm, 308g
WAPPANTY One-year RTB
PAPT CODE iPad Nini
DETAIL5 www.apple.com/uk
TBLETS
l
ISSUE 308 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ OCTOBER 2013
TAKE ONE LOOK aI Ihe Archos 80 TiIanium's
glossy whiIe bezel and 4.3 dislay and iI's clear
which IableI Archos is Irying Io emulaIe. This
is Ihe second 8in IableI we've seen IhaI's Iried
Io combine Android wiIh an iPad Uini-like
design, Ihe oIher being Acer's lconia A1.
The Iough meIal chassis cerIainly looks
Ihe high-end IableI arI, and iIs smooIh
rounded corners are comorIable Io hold.
The ronI o Ihe IableI is quiIe lain save or
a small webcam in Ihe corner, buI Ihere's a
Iiny home buuon IhaI siIs |usI above Ihe
volume rocker on Ihe le-hand side, and you'll
hnd a ower buuon on Io o Ihe IableI
alongside iIs various orIs.
Sadly, Ihe Uicro SB orI is only or
Iranserring hles raIher Ihan doubling u as a
charger, so you need Io use Ihe included DC
lug Io charge Ihe IableI. There's also a
3.Smm headhone |ack, a mini-HDUl video
ouIuI or connecIing Io an exIernal dislay
and a microSD card sloI IhaI suorIs cards
u Io 64CB. This will be welcome news Io
anyone who likes Io sIore a loI o media hles
on Iheir IableI, as Ihe 80 TiIanium only comes
wiIh 8CB o inIernal memory.
WhaI really seIs Ihis IableI aarI, Ihough,
is iIs 8in dislay. lI has a 1,024x768 resoluIion,
buI raIher Ihan a IradiIional 16.9 asecI raIio,
Ihe 80 TiIanium has a squarer 4.3 asecI raIio.
This makes iI less suiIable or waIching
widescreen videos, buI a 4.3 raIio gives you a
larger hysical screen so can make iI easier Io
read IexI. A loI will deend on your ersonal
reerence, o course, buI aI leasI Ihe lPS
screen's wide viewing angles mean Ihe screen
is easy Io see however you hold Ihe IableI.
ARCHOS 80 Tiarium

129 inc VAT

From www.staples.co.uk
VERDICT
This 4:3 Android tab|et has exce||ent bui|d qua|ity, but
its banery |ife and performance are fair|y average
norIunaIely, Ihough, Ihe Archos
80 TiIanium's screen has some budgeI
qualiIies. Colours are brighI and
relaIively accuraIe, buI Ihey lack
warmIh. The screen's conIrasI levels are
also quiIe disaoinIing, as several
darker areas o our high-conIrasI
images aeared simly black insIead
o showing shadow deIail. The biggesI
disaoinImenI, Ihough, was Ihe
visible grain rom Ihe screen's coaIing.
We ran inIo Ihis roblem on Acer's
lconia A1 as well, buI on Ihis IableI iI
was arIicularly obvious.
The 80 TiIanium's rear 2-megaixel
camera also showed all Ihe hallmarks
o a budgeI device, roducing muddy
and blurred images. Buildings looked
deressingly grey even in brighI summer
sunshine and skies became overexosed
when Ihe camera Iried Io ocus on darker
ob|ecIs in Ihe sIreeI. Our indoor shoIs were
slighIly beuer, buI colours sIill looked
inaccuraIe and washed ouI and Ihe camera
didn'I coe well in lower lighIing condiIions.
The camera's video qualiIy is also oor.
Uoving ob|ecIs shume across Ihe screen
insIead o aearing smooIh and lag-ree, and
Ihere was liule deIail resenI even when our
IesI room was brighIly liI wiIh arIihcial lighI.
Thankully, Archos hasn'I comromised
on Ihe 80 TiIanium's raw rocessing ower.
lI's owered by a dual-core ARU CorIex A9
rocessor IhaI runs aI 1.6CHz, and iI hnished
our SunSider |avaScriI benchmark in
1,768ms using Ihe Chrome browser. This is
around average or a dual-core IableI, and iI
isn'I ar oh Ihe 1,S00ms we saw rom Ihe
quad-core-based Acer lconia A1.
The 80 TiIanium's grahics are rovided
by a Uali-400UP chi, and we were leased
Io see Ihe IableI was able Io run boIh our
3DUark grahics IesIs. We saw 2,814 (21.2s)
in lce SIorm, which is a liule behind oIher 8in
IableIs, buI iIs score o 2,206 (11.2s) in
lceSIorm FxIreme is ar more imressive and
ouIerormed Ihe lconia A1 by roughly 700
oinIs. lI's sIill a long way oh rom being a
Irue gaming owerhouse, buI you should be
able Io run 3D games on Ihe 80 TiIanium
wiIhouI Ioo much Irouble.
You'll have Io kee an eye on Ihe 80
TiIanium's bauery lie, Ihough, as iI lasIed
only six hours and 11 minuIes in our
conIinuous video layback IesI wiIh Ihe
screen seI Io hal brighIness. This is airly
average or a budgeI IableI, buI laying
games wiIh Ihe screen aI maximum
brighIness will drain iI ar asIer.
The 80 TiIanium runs a airly sIock version
o Android 4.1.1 insIead o Ihe laIesI Android
4.2, so you'll miss ouI on eaIures such as
mulIile user accounI suorI. There is some
mild cusIomisaIion, much as on Ihe Versus
TouchTab 10.1, Ihe seuings and noIihcaIion
bar are near Ihe bouom o Ihe screen
alongside Ihe onscreen home, back and menu
buuons, insIead o aI Ihe Io o Ihe dislay.
The a Iray is also in Ihe Io righI corner,
buI we were leased Io see Ihere are only a
ew exIra re-loaded as. You geI Archos's
own music and video layers and Archos
RemoIe, which leIs you use your hone as a
remoIe conIrol or your IableI once you've
insIalled Ihe Archos RemoIe ConIrol a.
The Archos 80 TiIanium is a good budgeI
IableI wiIh sIrong build qualiIy, buI when Ihe
more owerul Acer lconia A1 is |usI 40
more, comes wiIh Ihe very laIesI Android 4.2
OS and has much beuer bauery lie, Ihe 80
TiIanium remains merely average raIher Ihan
edging inIo BudgeI Buy IerriIory.
SPECIFICATIONS
Banery |ife
|e|e|e:e -'1 -l11 '1 1
6h 11m
See age 76 or erormance deIails
CPU 1.6CHz ARN Cortex A9
PAN1CB
5TOPACE 8CB
CPAPHIC5 Nali-400NP
DI5PLAY 8in widescreen |PS touchscreen (1,024x768)
OPEPATINC 5Y5TENAndroid 4.1
DINEN5ION5 10x200x154mm, 440g
WAPPANTY One-year RTB
PAPT CODE 80 Titanium
DETAIL5 www.archos.com
TBLETS
2 OCTOBER 2013 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 308
ASUS IS NO sIranger Io 7in IableIs, having
made Ihe Coogle Nexus 7. Now iI has creaIed
a 7in IableI o iIs own, Ihe FonePad. As Ihe
name suggesIs, iI isn'I |usI a IableI - iI has a
SlU card sloI and can make calls like a hone.
lI looks similar Io Ihe Nexus 7, buI Ihe
ower and volume keys have swiIched rom
Ihe righI Io Ihe le o Ihe device. The Uicro
SB orI and 3.Smm headseI audio |ack are
sIill on Ihe bouom. lI also weighs Ihe same as
Ihe Wi-Fi-only version o Ihe Nexus 7, aI 340g.
One diherence is aI Ihe rear o Ihe IableI,
as Ihe dimled so-Iouch lasIic hnish has
been relaced wiIh a smooIh brushed meIal
ehecI cover. There's also a microSD card sloI
or adding addiIional sIorage Io Ihe 16CB o
inIernal lash sIorage. This a signihcanI
advanIage over Ihe non-ugradable Nexus 7.
lI's on Ihe inside IhaI Asus has made Ihe
ma|or changes. lnsIead o sIicking wiIh an
Nvidia Tegra chiseI, Ihe FonePad is owered
by an lnIel AIom Z2420 rocessor, which is
a dearIure rom almosI all Ihe oIher 7in
devices we've seen. UosI Android as now
run on lnIel hardware, Ihough you mighI hnd
Ihe odd one IhaI's noI comaIible.
The dual-core chi runs aI 1.2CHz, and is
aired wiIh 1CB o RAU. lI's snay, handling
IransiIions, animaIions and widgeIs smooIhly,
swiIching beIween as wiIh only a Iiny delay
and resonding insIanIly Io Iouch inuIs.
The benchmark scores don'I comleIely
relecI Ihis, Ihough. The FonePad managed a
ASUS !oreFad

169 inc VAT

From www.carphonewarehouse.com
VERDICT
It wi|| suit fewpeop|e as a smartphone, but
the FonePad exce|s as a 3C tab|et
resecIable 1,S4Sms in Ihe SunSider
|avaScriI benchmark, buI only a below
average 2,21S in 3DUark, over 1,000 oinIs
ewer Ihan Ihe Nexus 7's resulI. We could
sIill lay games smooIhly, buI iI wasn'I
quiIe as smooIh as oIher, more owerul
IableIs. You also don'I geI Ihe grahical
ehecIs exclusive Io Nvidia's Tegra chiseIs.
lnIel's AIom rocessor is airly rugal
when iI comes Io bauery lie, Ihough. The
FonePad lasIed an incredible 12 hours and
S8 minuIes in our video layback IesI,
which is among Ihe besI resulIs we've
seen rom a smarIhone. lI can'I comeIe
wiIh Ihe Calaxy NoIe ll's exceIional 17
hours, buI iI's sIill a greaI resulI, and Ihe
FonePad lasIed almosI Ihree hours longer
Ihan Ihe Nexus 7 in Ihis IesI.
We're airly cerIain IhaI Ihe FonePad's
7in, 1,280x800 resoluIion dislay is using
Ihe same lPS anel ound in Ihe Nexus 7, as
Ihey're visually idenIical when looked aI side
by side, aI leasI, Ihey are when you enable
OuIdoor mode, as Asus limiIs Ihe backlighI
brighIness in iIs sIandard lndoor seuing.
Colours are vibranI and hoIos look greaI.
Thanks Io a ixel densiIy o 216i, boIh IexI
and images look erecIly shar rom an
average viewing disIance, alIhough i you look
very closely you can soI Ihe individual ixel
sIrucIure. l you aren'I hay wiIh colour
IemeraIure, hue or saIuraIion, you can use
Ihe Asus Slendid a Io ad|usI image qualiIy
Io your liking. You robably won'I be using
Ihis screen Io show oh hoIos Iaken wiIh Ihe
FonePad's camera, Ihough, as iI only has a
ronI-acing 1.2-megaixel version.
DisaoinIingly, Ihe FonePad runs Android
version 4.1.2, raIher Ihan Ihe newer 4.2 release
ound on Ihe Nexus 7. On Ihe lus side, Asus
is usually one o Ihe hrsI manuacIurers Io
udaIe iIs devices Io Ihe laIesI version once
Coogle releases iIs Android source code, so
hoeully an udaIe will be available soon.
Asus has Iweaked Ihe deaulI Android
inIerace slighIly insIead o using a cusIom
skin. The main cusIomisaIion is a ourIh
onscreen so key, which siIs Io Ihe side o
Ihe back, home and running as buuons.
The ourIh buuon oens a anel conIaining
12 mini as IhaI launch over Ihe Io o
regular ones, leuing you oen a browser,
Io-do lisI or calendar when waIching a
YouTube video or answering an email.
The FonePad will also leI you send IexIs
and make calls. However, you'll look a biI silly
having long conversaIions, as Ihe IableI is so
huge. Only Ihose wiIh larger hands will be
able Io gri iI comorIably in one hand.
WhaI's more, Ihere's no roximiIy sensor, so
Ihe dislay sIays on when you li iI Io your
head. lI works besI wiIh a BlueIooIh headseI,
alIhough you don'I geI one in Ihe box.
Considering Asus's Irack record, iI should
come as no surrise IhaI Ihe FonePad is a
anIasIic budgeI IableI. lI has Ihe same
dimensions and dislay as Ihe Nexus 7, buI
Ihe added advanIages o beuer bauery lie
and a microSD card sloI, as well as a SlU sloI
or daIa, iI's 3C-only raIher Ihan 4C, Ihough.
You're unlikely Io use Ihe FonePad as a
relacemenI or your smarIhone, as iI lacks
a rear camera and iIs size makes iI a liule
imracIical Io carry around all Ihe Iime.
However, i you're looking or a budgeI IableI
Ioday, your decision has become a loI Iougher.
lIimaIely, i you wanI 3C and exandable
sIorage, ick Ihe FonePad, buI i you reer Io
be on Ihe cuuing edge, Ihe Nexus 7 will be
hrsI in line or Ihe laIesI versions o Android.
SPECIFICATIONS
Banery |ife
|e|e|e:e -'1 -l11 '1 1
12h 58m
See age 76 or erormance deIails
CPU 1.2CHz |ntel Atom Z2420
PAN1CB
5TOPACE 16CB
CPAPHIC5 PowerVR SCX540
DI5PLAY 7in widescreen |PS (1,280x800)
OPEPATINC 5Y5TENAndroid 4.1
DINEN5ION5 120x196x10mm , 340g
WAPPANTY One-year RTB
PAPT CODE FonePad
DETAIL5 www.asus.com
TBLETS
4 OCTOBER 2013 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 308
THE LATITUDE 10 is Dell's hrsI Windows 8
IableI. lI's rimarily aimed aI business users,
buI Ihis 10.1in slaIe has several key eaIures
IhaI give iI a much broader aeal.
From Ihe ouIside, iI looks similar Io Dell's
XPS 10 IableI. lI's hardly Ihe mosI sIreamlined
model, buI Ihe black so-Iouch rubber IhaI
exIends round Ihe back and sides gives a
good amounI o gri and makes Ihe IableI
comorIable Io hold. AI 16mm, Ihough, iI's
almosI Iwice as Ihick as Ihe XPS 10, and a
liule heavier Ioo, aI 660g. This mighI seem
quiIe heavy comared wiIh oIher IableIs, buI
iI's almosI Ihe same as an iPad and Ihe exIra
he makes iI eel much sIurdier Ihan iIs
lighIer counIerarIs. The build qualiIy o Ihe
chassis has also been imroved, as we ound
very liule lex in Ihe rear o Ihe uniI.
The exIra Ihickness means Ihere's more
room or connecIions. There's a Uini HDUl
video ouIuI, a ull-sized SB orI and a
3.Smm headhone |ack on Ihe righI, and a
volume rocker and KensingIon lock lug on Ihe
le. An SD card reader siIs on Io nexI Io Ihe
ower buuon, and a Uicro SB orI is nexI
Io a docking connecIor on Ihe bouom. Our
review samle even had a SlU card so you
can geI online away rom Wi-Fi, Ihe 3C
version o Ihe IableI is a huge 631.
This makes Ihe LaIiIude 10 versaIile, buI
iIs mosI imressive eaIure is iIs bauery lie.
There are Iwo Iyes o bauery available, and
boIh can be swaed in and ouI o Ihe IableI's
back. The sIandard Iwo-cell bauery lasIed
nine hours and Ihree minuIes in our laIo
lighI-use IesI, which simulaIes web browsing
wiIh Ihe screen seI Io hal brighIness. This
uIs iI on a ar wiIh some o Ihe besI laIos.
ln our video layback IesI, we saw an above-
average eighI hours and S9 minuIes.
WiIh Ihe oIional our-cell bauery (28),
we saw a huge 18 hours and 34 minuIes in Ihe
web browsing IesI, and an amazing 19 hours
and seven minuIes when laying video. The
DELL Laiude l0

544 inc VAT

From www.dell.co.uk
VERDICT
Its extra accessories can make it expensive,
but this business tab|et has great banery |ife
our-cell bauery roIrudes slighIly rom Ihe
rear o Ihe IableI, buI iI seems churlish Io
comlain when iI romises all-day bauery lie.
The LaIiIude 10 is owered by a dual-core
1.8CHz lnIel AIom Z2760 rocessor and has
2CB o RAU. This is asI enough Io run
Windows 8 smooIhly, buI iIs abiliIy Io Iackle
more demanding Iasks ales nexI Io oIher
Windows 8 IableIs such as Ihe Uicroso
Surace Pro. lI scored |usI 10 overall in our
Windows mulIimedia benchmarks, which is
our Iimes slower Ihan Ihe Surace Pro.
This may rule ouI Ihe LaIiIude 10 as a
heavy-duIy business IableI, buI iI ared much
beuer in our SunSider |avaScriI IesI, wiIh a
score o 977ms using Ihe Chrome browser.
This is much asIer Ihan a Iyical Android
IableI, so you shouldn'I have any Irouble
browsing Ihe web or using as.
Crahics are rovided by Ihe rocessor's
inIegraIed lnIel chi. nsurrisingly, iI ailed
our laIo DirI Showdown IesI. You should
sIill be able Io lay 2D Flash games rom Ihe
Windows 8 SIore, Ihough, we ran |eIack
|oyride and RadianI Deense wiIhouI any
Irouble or slowdown in rame raIe.
On Ihe rear o Ihe IableI is an 8-megaixel
camera. lniIially, we were reasonably leased
wiIh Ihe qualiIy o our ouIdoor hoIos as
Ihey had lenIy o deIail and reasonably
accuraIe colours, buI each one had a nasIy
green Iinge on Ihe righI-hand side. The ouIer
edges were also blurred in each icIure, and
boIh o Ihese laws were resenI in
our indoor shoIs as well. The
cenIre o Ihe image was very
deIailed as long as Ihere was
enough lighI, buI colours
wavered Ioward Ihe righI and
Ihere was a loI o noise resenI
when we Iurned Ihe lighIs oh.
CreaIing media may noI be
Ihe LaIiIude 10's sIrong suiI,
Ihen, buI Ihe IableI's gorgeous
10.1in lPS dislay aI leasI makes
consuming media a |oy. lI may
have only a 1,366x768 resoluIion,
buI iIs wide viewing angles
meanI we could see Ihe screen clearly no
mauer how we held iI. The screen can suher
rom relecIions rom overhead lighI sources,
buI iIs glossy hnish makes colours sIand ouI.
Blacks are slighIly grey comared wiIh Ihe
dee black o iIs chunky bezel, buI whiIes are
brighI and uniormly liI across Ihe screen,
while reds, greens and blues are all very rich
and vibranI. Our high-conIrasI images looked
greaI, Ioo. We were able Io see a good level o
deIail in boIh Ihe lighI and dark areas o each
hoIo and colours were very accuraIe.
The Iouchscreen can sense u Io hve
hngers simulIaneously, and we ound iI was
very resonsive during everyday use. We were
able Io navigaIe Ihe deskIo and browse
Ihrough our hles wiIh a high degree o
accuracy, and we rarely Iaed Ihe wrong
icon or oened anoIher hle accidenIally.
There's also Ihe oIion o buying a Wacom
sIylus en. This will seI you back anoIher
29, buI we ound iI quiIe dimculI Io use. We
eiIher had Io Ia links a ew Iimes or |ab Ihem
very hard Io oen Ihem, and quiIe oen Ihe
virIual en was in a diherenI lace onscreen
Io Ihe one in our hand.
Dell's LaIiIude 10 isn'I Ihe mosI caable
Windows 8 IableI we've seen buI, i you wanI
Windows, iIs wide range o orIs and suerb
bauery lie make iI a much beuer buy Ihan
Ihe similarly riced Lenovo ThinkPad TableI 2.
SPECIFICATIONS
Banery |ife
|e|e|e:e -'1 -l11 '1 1
8h 59m
See age 76 or erormance deIails
CPU 1.8CHz |ntel Atom Z2760
PAN2CB
5TOPACE 64CB
CPAPHIC5 |ntel Clovertail UNA Craphics
DI5PLAY 10.1in widescreen LCD touchscreen (1,366x768)
OPEPATINC 5Y5TENWindows 8 32-bit
DINEN5ION5 16x274x176mm, 660g
WAPPANTY One-year collect and return
PAPT CODE SVLST001
DETAIL5 www.dell.co.uk
TBLETS
S
ISSUE 308 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ OCTOBER 2013
THE NEXUS 7 was Coogle's hrsI IableI, and is
now a year old. However, iI's sIill very much a
conIender. lI's beauIiully made, wiIh Asus
Iaking on hardware design and manuacIuring
duIies, iI comes wiIh Ihe 4.2 |elly Bean
Android oeraIing sysIem and will geI an
ugrade Io Android 4.3 soon.
Beore you even Iurn on Ihe Nexus 7, iI
eels like qualiIy kiI. lI has a 7in dislay and
weighs 340g, so holding and carrying Ihe
Nexus 7 is a loI like carrying one o Ihe larger
Kindle models, alIhough iI weighs around S0
er cenI more. lI's 10.Smm Ihick, so isn'I Ihe
slimmesI IableI ouI Ihere, buI iI eels ar rom
bulbous. lI's a simle design, wiIh |usI a ower
buuon and volume rocker on Ihe righI, and a
headhone sockeI and SB orI aI Ihe
bouom. The back has a rubberised, dimled
hnish, which makes Ihe IableI easy Io
kee hold o.
The ronI is eaIureless, aarI rom Ihe
Iiny webcam above Ihe screen, as all Ihe
conIrols are rovided onscreen. There's
no main camera, only a ronI-mounIed
1.2-megaixel model or video chaI. The 7in
dislay uses Ihe same lPS screen Iechnology
seen in many high-end laIos and IableIs.
lI's a Corning Corilla Class model, so should
sIand u Io some abuse.
WiIh a 1,280x800 resoluIion acked inIo
a relaIively small dislay, you geI a very
shar-looking 216 ixels er inch. ThaI's noI
GOOGLE Nexus

159 inc VAT

From hups//:play.google.com
VERDICT
A fantastic |in|e tab|et at a great price,
though it's not perfect for every need
quiIe iPad levels o deIail, buI iI does
make iI very hard Io see individual ixels.
lI's brighI, Ioo, wiIh vibranI colours, and
we had no roblems wiIh Ihe auIomaIic
brighIness seuing. lI's a anIasIic liule
screen, and would be resecIable on a
device nearly Iwice Ihe rice, or a
budgeI IableI iI's simly incredible.
The Nexus 7 is owered by an Nvidia
Tegra 3 chiseI. This may be geuing
on a biI, buI iI's sIill quick. lI has a
quad-core CP running aI 1.3CHz, as
well as a CP or smooIh 3D gaming
and 1CB RAU. The IableI comleIed our
SunSider |avaScriI IesI in 1,676ms, so
can hold iIs head u high among Ihe
comeIiIion. lIs 3,SS7 in 3DUark is also
a sIrong score, and means you'll be able
Io lay 3D Android games smooIhly.
The Tegra 3 chiseI has an addiIional
low-ower hh CP core, which hels
reduce bauery consumIion during less
inIensive Iasks. We ran our conIinuous
layback H.264 video IesI on Ihe IableI.
The Nexus 7's sizeable 4,32SmAh bauery
lasIed an imressive 10 hours and 20 minuIes,
which is one o Ihe besI scores we've seen.
The Nexus 7 runs Android 4.2, so is bang
u Io daIe. The biggesI udaIe is undoubIedly
Ihe inclusion o mulIile user accounIs, Ihe
hrsI Iime we've seen Ihis ully inIegraIed inIo
a IableI oeraIing sysIem. You can now share
a single IableI beIween amily members or
riends, which could make iI a handy,
ermanenI addiIion Io your cohee Iable.
Fach user logs in using Iheir own Coogle
accounI and so receives Iheir own email, has
Iheir own avouriIes in Ihe browser and even
Iheir own as. This does mean IhaI each
user has Io buy Iheir own as, as you won'I
be able Io use as on diherenI accounIs.
However, iI's sIill a brillianI addiIion and one
IhaI uIs Ihe laIesI Android IableIs one sIe
ahead o Ale's in Ihis regard.
AnoIher big udaIe, or Ihe Nexus 7 aI
leasI, is IhaI Ihe home screen now works in
any orienIaIion you wish. On release iI was
locked Io orIraiI use, like a hone, which
was annoying when you wanIed Io swiIch
beIween a landscae Iask such as a movie
or some games and Ihe home screen.
Now iI roIaIes Io work in any direcIion,
which is a big imrovemenI.
There has also been anoIher recenI
addiIion Io Ihe Nexus 7 line-u, a 32CB model
wiIh 3C suorI or 239. 3C suorI is a
dehniIe bonus on a IableI Ihis size, buI Ihe
Asus FonePad is a beuer-value 3C IableI.
The Nexus 7 sawned a greaI many 7in
imiIaIors, buI noIhing has beaIen iI yeI. The
Asus FonePad gives iI a run or iIs money,
esecially i you wanI Io hI a SlU card Io use
daIa on Ihe move, buI Ihe greaI-value Nexus 7
remains our avouriIe comacI IableI.
SPECIFICATIONS
Banery |ife
|e|e|e:e -'1 -l11 '1 1
10h 20m
See age 76 or erormance deIails
CPU 1.3CHz Nvidia Tegra 3
PAN1CB
5TOPACE 16CB
CPAPHIC5 Nvidia Tegra 3
DI5PLAY 7in widescreen LCD (1,280x800)
OPEPATINC 5Y5TENAndroid 4.1
DINEN5ION5 199x120x10mm, 340g
WAPPANTY One-year RTB
PAPT CODE ASUS-1B16-CB
DETAIL5 www.google.com/nexus
It's a Iantastic IittIe screen, and vouId be
respectabIe on a device nearIy tvice tIe price; Ior a
budet tabIet, it's simpIy incredibIe
TBLETS
C OCTOBER 2013 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 308
WHEN APPLE INTRODUCED Ihe ReIina
dislay Io Ihe Ihird-generaIion Ale iPad, iI
ar ouIsIried Ihe comeIiIion's screens in
Ierms o resoluIion, and iI Iook Coogle a year
Io caIch u wiIh Ihe Nexus 10.
The dislay on Ihe Nexus 10 has an even
higher ixel densiIy Ihan Ihe iPad's. lIs 10in
screen uses an lPS anel wiIh a resoluIion o
2,S60x1,600, giving a ixel densiIy o 300i,
14 er cenI higher Ihan Ihe iPad's 264i. The
resulI is a screen wiIh sIunning, cris grahics
and suer-shar IexI. We elI colours weren'I
quiIe as vibranI as on Ale's IableI, Ihough.
lI doesn'I look as good as Ihe iPad, buI we
sIill like iI. The black chassis is builI enIirely
rom griy rubber-coaIed lasIic. lI's curvier
Ihan Ihe iPad, and Ihe bezel around Ihe
dislay is broader. AI 603g, iI's 49g lighIer
Ihan Ihe iPad, which makes iI comorIable Io
hold. We've no roblems wiIh build qualiIy,
and Corning's scraIch-resisIanI Corilla Class
is anoIher bonus. The Nexus 10 eels as i iI
would survive a dro beuer Ihan Ihe iPad.
lI isn'I shorI on eaIures, eiIher, wiIh Uicro
HDUl, 3.Smm headhone ouIuI and a Uicro
SB orI. You can only charge Ihe Nexus
rom laI wiIh Ihe included charger, buI iI can
be Ioed u via SB. Wireless connecIions
can be made via BlueIooIh, NFC or dual-band
802.11n Wi-Fi. There's CPS, a S-megaixel
camera wiIh lash on Ihe rear and a 720
webcam on Ihe ronI. The main camera Iakes
imressive icIures, buI comosing shoIs on
an unwieldy IableI is never easy. The only
Ihing missing is a memory exansion sloI Io
add Io Ihe Nexus's 16 or 32CB o sIorage.
WiIh all Ihose ixels Io shunI abouI, you
may be worried IhaI Ihe Nexus 10's dual-core
1.7CHz CorIex-A1S rocessor won'I be able Io
coe, buI iI erorms admirably Ihanks Io iIs
Io-end Uali T604 grahics core and 2CB o
RAU. CriIically, all Ihe games we Ihrew aI iI,
GOOGLE Nexus l0

319 inc VAT

From hups://play.google.com
VERDICT
A bri||iant tab|et with a wonderfu| screen
and an even more wonderfu| price
rom AshalI 7 Io Shadowgun, barely skied
a beaI. The only roblem is Ihe screen is so
good IhaI iI's easy Io soI where Ihe
develoers have Iaken grahical shorIcuIs.
The Nexus 10 coed wiIh boIh local and
online 1080 video hles, and noIwiIhsIanding
some slighIly below-ar conIrasI, Ihey looked
sIunning. This makes iI a ar beuer device or
mobile video Ihan Ihe iPad, Ihanks Io Ihe
huge range o layers available or Android
and easy drag-and-dro hle Iranser rom a
PC, no mucking around wiIh iTunes here.
ln general use, Ihe Android 4.2 oeraIing
sysIem runs smooIhly. There's no hinI o lag,
wheIher scrolling rom home screen Io home
screen, browsing Ihrough a launchers or
when Iying on Ihe onscreen keyboard. This
leIs you Iye by swiing rom side Io side, as
wiIh Ihe Ihird-arIy Swye keyboard, buI we
ound iI more comorIable on a screen Ihis
wide Io sIick Io IradiIional Iaing.
As iI comes wiIh Android 4.2, Ihe Nexus 10
suorIs mulIile user accounIs, a hrsI or
IableIs and someIhing IhaI's cerIainly noI on
Ihe iPad. l you live wiIh riends or amily, Ihis
means you can share Ihe device, wiIh each
user having Iheir own email, bookmarks, as,
home screens, seuings and reerences.
lI's a brillianI imlemenIaIion o
a eaIure IhaI's been long
overdue on IableIs. Buy one,
kee iI on your cohee Iable,
and leI all Ihe amily use iI,
each wiIh Iheir own as
and reerences. Adding a
second user is easy, you |usI
go Io Seuings/ser and Ia
Ihe Add ser buuon. The
new user Ihen logs in wiIh
Iheir Coogle accounI, or
creaIes a new accounI.
Once logged in, Ihe IableI
aears Io be as new, wiIh
clear home ages and |usI
Ihe re-insIalled as.
Fach erson can even ad|usI seuings, such
as screen brighIness or IimeouI duraIion. The
only disadvanIage is IhaI each user has Io buy
Iheir own as, buI on Ihe lus side each a
or game will save Ihe rogress or reerences.
l Ihe Nexus 10 sIruggles, iI's wiIh comlex,
icIure-heavy web ages. This may sound
sIrange, since Ihe IableI has enough grunI Io
lay movies and games wiIh barely a droed
rame, buI on Ihe Flickr websiIe and Ihe BBC
home age, or examle, scrolling and anning
lagged and sIuuered. lI's noI a horrendous
roblem, buI iI's enough Io be noIiceable.
Uore serious, Ihough, is Ihe acI IhaI Ihis
high-resoluIion screen sas Ihe bauery. When
laying our IesI video aI mid brighIness, Ihe
IableI lasIed only eighI hours and 34 minuIes
- almosI Iwo hours less Ihan Ihe Nexus 7 and
a long way behind Ihe iPad's 11 hours. lI's sIill
enough Io waIch our hlms in a row, Ihough.
The slighIly below-ar bauery lie and Ihe
acI IhaI Ihere's no 3C (or 4C) version o Ihe
Nexus 10 are iIs only real drawbacks. UosI
imorIanIly, iI's 80 cheaer Ihan Ihe
equivalenI iPad. The Nexus 10 really is a
bargain, and anyone looking or a good-value
alIernaIive Io Ihe iPad should be IemIed.
SPECIFICATIONS
Banery |ife
|e|e|e:e -'1 -l11 '1 1
8h 34m
See age 76 or erormance deIails
CPU 1.7 CHz Samsung Exynos 5
PAN2CB
5TOPACE 16CB
CPAPHIC5 Nali-T604
DI5PLAY 10in widescreen |PS (2,560x1,600)
OPEPATINC 5Y5TENAndroid 4.2
DINEN5ION5 178x264x8.9mm, 603g
WAPPANTY One-year RTB
PAPT CODE Nexus 10
DETAIL5 https://play.google.com
TBLETS

ISSUE 308 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ OCTOBER 2013

LENOVO'S THINKPAD DEVICES have always
been oular wiIh business users, buI now
Ihe ThinkPad TableI 2 aims Io condense Ihe
ThinkPad exerience inIo a 10.1in slaIe. lI's
Lenovo's hrsI Windows 8 IableI and, aI hrsI
glance, iI's a ar more auracIive device Ihan
Ihe equally business-like Dell LaIiIude 10.
lI measures a slim 10mm Ihick and weighs
S8Sg, making iI much lighIer and easier Io
hold or long eriods o Iime Ihan Dell's
model. The ThinkPad's signaIure so-Iouch
rubber hnish also makes a welcome reIurn on
Ihe rear o Ihe IableI, buI we did noIice a
worrying amounI o lex in Ihe back anel.
This is disaoinIing, as ThinkPad devices
have IradiIionally been well builI, buI aI leasI
Ihe slim rame shows you don'I have Io
sacrihce orIabiliIy Io geI a wide range o
orIs. Some are concealed behind limsy las,
buI Ihere's a Uini HDUl video ouIuI nexI Io
a docking connecIor on Ihe bouom, a Uicro
SB and ull-sized SB orI on Ihe le, a
microSD card reader on Io and a headhone
|ack and volume rocker on Ihe righI.
The 64CB model also has a SlU card sloI
so you can use mobile broadband Io access
Ihe inIerneI, buI iI cosIs a huge 678.
One o Ihe ThinkPad TableI 2's dehning
eaIures is iIs sIandard sIylus en. This sloIs
in neaIly down Ihe le hand side o Ihe IableI.
lI's much more resonsive Ihan Ihe LaIiIude
10's oIional sIylus, and we'd haily use iI Io
navigaIe insIead o rodding Ihe screen.
ThaI's noI Io say Ihe Iouchscreen isn'I
resonsive. The 10.1in screen may have only a
1,366x768 resoluIion, buI we were able Io
browse Ihrough our hles and oen web links
wiIh ease. lI's a leasure Io look aI, Ioo,
Ihanks Io iIs suerb lPS dislay and wide
viewing angles. lIs glossy hnish also hels
colours look anIasIic. We had Io baule
LENOVO
TlirlFad Table 2

453 inc VAT

From www.kikatek.co.uk
VERDICT
A s|im|ine business tab|et, but its s|uggish
performance |ets it down
Ihrough a ew relecIions in our high-conIrasI
IesI hoIos, buI each image had a very high
level o deIail and colours looked dee and
vibranI. Solid reds, greens and blues are also
very rich, and while blacks aren'I quiIe as dark
as Ihe IableI's bezel, whiIes are very brighI
and uniormly liI across Ihe screen.
The ThinkPad TableI 2 may look a serious
business IableI, buI sadly iIs raw rocessing
ower doesn'I come near a ThinkPad laIo.
lI's owered by a 1.8CHz lnIel AIom Z2760
rocessor and has 2CB o RAU, which is a
similar secihcaIion Io Ihe LaIiIude 10, buI
Ihe ThinkPad TableI 2 scored |usI S overall in
our mulIimedia benchmarks. This is Ihe
slowesI score we've ever recorded, and Ihe
ThinkPad Iook Iwice as long Io comleIe our
mulIiIasking IesI as Ihe LaIiIude 10.
We susecI Ihis is because Ihe rocessor
slows down Io avoid overheaIing inside Ihe
IableI's Iiny chassis, as iIs clock seed was
consIanIly lucIuaIing IhroughouI Ihe IesI,
someIimes droing down Io as low as
1.3CHz insIead o mainIaining a sIeady
1.78CHz, as Ihe LaIiIude 10's chi did.
This was disaoinIing, buI Ihe IableI
coed much beuer wiIh our online SunSider
|avaScriI benchmarks, comleIing Ihe IesI in
94Sms when we used Ihe Chrome browser.
This is much quicker Ihan whaI we normally
see rom an Android IableI, and is even asIer
Ihan high-end IableIs wiIh quad-core
rocessors, such as Sony's Xeria TableI Z.
The ThinkPad TableI 2
alls back down again when
iI comes Io grahics
erormance, Ihough. We
couldn'I run our normal
3DUark IesIs, buI wiIh only
iIs inIegraIed lnIel Crahics
Uedia AcceleraIor chi Io
rely on, Ihis IableI is really
suiIed only Io undemanding
2D games and as rom
Ihe Windows 8 SIore.
An 8-megaixel camera
siIs lush againsI Ihe rear o
Ihe IableI, buI we weren'I
very imressed wiIh iIs
icIure qualiIy. Uuch like Ihe Dell LaIiIude
10, Ihe cenIre o each hoIo was shar and
acked wiIh deIail, buI diminished inIo a
blurry mess Ioward Ihe ouIer edges. There
wasn'I much noise resenI, buI some o our
ouIdoor shoIs also had quiIe an oh-uuing
inkish hue IhaI soiled Ihe icIure.
Our indoor shoIs were a liule beuer, buI
sIill quiIe blurry round Ihe edges. The camera
coes reasonably well in lower lighIing
condiIions, buI we wouldn'I recommend
Iaking icIures in Ihe dark. Video isn'I Ihe
camera's sIrong suiI, eiIher. Colours were
airly inaccuraIe IhroughouI our IesI ooIage
and Ihe camera had Irouble ocusing when we
inIroduced more Ihan one lighI source.
ln our lighI-usage laIo bauery IesI, which
simulaIes web browsing wiIh Ihe screen seI Io
hal brighIness, iI managed eighI hours and 14
minuIes. This is a good score on a ar wiIh Ihe
besI lIrabooks, buI doesn'I quiIe maIch Ihe
nine hours we saw rom Ihe LaIiIude 10 or
Lenovo's claimed bauery-lie hgure o 10 hours.
During our IableI bauery IesI, which lays a
video conIinuously, we saw nine hours and one
minuIe, which is an above-average score.
The Lenovo ThinkPad TableI 2 is one o Ihe
besI-looking business IableIs, buI iIs Ihin
chassis suhers rom oor build qualiIy and iI
comromises on erormance. l you wanI a
IableI IhaI runs Ihe ull version o Windows 8,
Dell's LaIiIude 10 is a much beuer buy.
SPECIFICATIONS
Banery |ife
|e|e|e:e -'1 -l11 '1 1
9h 1m
See age 76 or erormance deIails
CPU 1.8CHz |ntel Atom Z2760
PAN2CB
5TOPACE 32CB
CPAPHIC5 |ntel Craphics Nedia Accelerator
DI5PLAY 10.1in widescreen LCD (1,366x768)
OPEPATINC 5Y5TENWindows 8 32-bit
DINEN5ION5 10x262x164mm, 585g
WAPPANTY One-year RTB
PAPT CODE N3S2PUK
DETAIL5 www.lenovo.co.uk
TBLETS
8 OCTOBER 2013 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 308
THE SURFACE RT is a biI o a Irailblazer. lI
was Ihe hrsI IableI Io run Ihe IableI-secihc
Windows RT oeraIing sysIem, Ihe hrsI IableI
Uicroso roduced, and Ihe hrsI Windows
roducI Io eaIure an ARU CP insIead o an
x86-based rocessor, in Ihis case, a quad-core
1.4CHz Nvidia Tegra 3. Uicroso has cuI Ihe
rice by no longer bundling a keyboard, Ihe
32CB model is now 279, down rom 399, and
Ihe 64CB model has droed rom 479 Io 3S0.
lI's a ground-breaking IableI, Ihen, and
huingly iI's a beauIiully made one, Ioo. The
chassis consisIs o smarI, gunmeIal-grey
aluminium, wiIh chamered edges all around,
and hal o Ihe rear anel lis ouI Io orm a
sIurdy kicksIand. The IableI has a SB orI
on Ihe righI, which allows Ihe connecIion o
sIorage, keyboards, mice and, so Uicroso
claims, Ihousands o oIher eriherals,
including rinIers and scanners.
There's a volume rocker on Ihe le, Ihe
ower buuon siIs in Ihe Io-righI corner, and
underneaIh Ihe kicksIand Ihere's a sloI or a
microSDXC card, so you can add a urIher
64CB Io Ihe currenI 32CB or 64CB o included
sIorage. You'll robably need Ihis sloI i you
buy Ihe 32CB version, as aer Ihe oeraIing
sysIem and included soware have Iaken
Iheir chunk, only around hal o iI is le.
The 10.6in, 1,366x768 lPS dislay is suerb,
and hugely brighI. Colours lea ouI o Ihe
screen and Ihe viewing angles are near
lawless, wiIh almosI no colour or conIrasI
shi as you IilI Ihe screen away rom you.
We were iniIially imressed wiIh Ihe
screen's conIrasI, as iIs dee blacks heled
give unch Io colours. However, Ihis is in
large arI due Io Ihe Surace RT's auIomaIic
conIrasI sysIem, which dims Ihe backlighI
slighIly when Ihe image on Ihe screen is
largely dark and bums iI back u again when
Ihings brighIen u. This makes sIill images
look greaI, buI iI can be irriIaIing when
waIching movies, and iI can'I be swiIched oh.
MICROSOFT Surace RT

279 inc VAT

From www.microsoh.co.uk
VERDICT
A beautifu||y made and fantastica||y exib|e
tab|et, but it's not without its prob|ems
The Surace RT isn'I all abouI
enIerIainmenI, Ihough. Uicroso includes a
coy o Omce 2013 RT Home and SIudenI
wiIh iI, and Io make Ihe mosI o Ihe Omce
soware you can buy a selecIion o oIional
keyboard covers Io go wiIh Ihe Surace RT.
These cli hrmly Io Ihe bouom edge o Ihe
IableI wiIh a series o magneIs and double as
cases, liing around Io roIecI Ihe screen.
The covers are available in Iwo diherenI
lavours, and boIh are exensive. Iouch
(100) and Iye (110). The ormer, as you
mighI execI, has Iouch-sensiIive keys
embossed slighIly on a IexIured surace. lI's
beuer Io use Ihan we execIed, and you can
geI u quiIe a seed wiIh a biI o racIice. lI's
likely Io Iake a liule longer Io geI used Io Ihe
unleasanI imression IhaI you're Iying on a
Ihick iece o cardboard, however. The Iye
cover is much more usable, alIhough sIill ar
rom Ihe qualiIy o a decenI laIo keyboard.
AnoIher design roblem shows Ihe
Surace RT isn'I u Ihere wiIh a laIo
when iI comes Io work. The kicksIand isn'I
ad|usIable, and holds Ihe screen aI an angle
IhaI's a liule sIee - all buI Ihe shorIesI o
individuals will hnd Ihemselves hunching Io
look direcIly aI Ihe screen. AI leasI Ihe
bauery lie is good, wiIh 10 hours and 47
minuIes in our video layback IesI, which
is one o Ihe besI resulIs we've seen.
lI's worIh noIing IhaI iI isn'I Ihe quickesI
IableI around. ln general use, Ihe Surace RT
is as resonsive as an iPad, wiIh Iouch
elemenIs and web ages
gliding around under your
hngers. A Iime o 1,106ms
in Ihe SunSider |avaScriI
benchmark is reuy
imressive, buI Ihe momenI
you Iry Io do anyIhing
serious in Omce Ihings sIarI
Io slow down a liule, while
demanding 3D games such
as Pinball FX 2 didn'I run as
smooIhly as we execIed.
WhaI will make or
break Ihe Surace RT isn'I
iIs hardware, however, iI's Ihe oeraIing
sysIem. Windows RT. AI hrsI glance Ihis looks
idenIical Io Windows 8, wiIh Ihe Windows 8
SIarI screen overlaid on Ihe Windows 7-sIyle
deskIo, Iaskbar and sysIem Iray. BuI because
Ihe Surace RT has an ARU-based rocessor
you won'I be able Io insIall any older,
sIandard Windows alicaIions. For IhaI,
you'll need a ull Windows 8 IableI, such as
Ihe Uicroso Surace Pro, Dell LaIiIude 10
or Lenovo ThinkPad TableI 2.
To add soware you're limiIed Io Ihe
Windows SIore, which lags a long way behind
boIh Android and iOS in Ierms o Ihe quanIiIy
and overall qualiIy o iIs as, Ihere's a loI o
dross and many ma|or as are missing, wiIh
no BBC iPlayer, or examle.
SIill, wiIh Omce Ihrown in or ree, Ihe
Surace RT does have a loI going or iI. lI's
Ihe only IableI we've come across wiIh such
a valuable soware bundle, and Ihe only
one we've seen wiIh such lexible SB
connecIiviIy. For many eole, IhaI
combinaIion will rove enough. lI's also ar
beuer value Ihan iI used Io be. However, i
you're noI ussed abouI having a Windows-
sIyle oeraIing sysIem, Ihe Coogle Nexus 10
gives you a much greaIer choice o as and
has a higher-resoluIion screen or 40 more.
SPECIFICATIONS
Banery |ife
|e|e|e:e -'1 -l11 '1 1
10h 47m
See age 76 or erormance deIails
CPU 1.4CHz Nvidia Tegra 3 (T30)
PAN2CB
5TOPACE 32CB
CPAPHIC5 ULP CeForce
DI5PLAY 10.6in widescreen |PS (1,366x768)
OPEPATINC 5Y5TENWindows RT
DINEN5ION5 172x275x9.5mm, 682g
WAPPANTY One-year RTB
PAPT CODE Surface RT
DETAIL5 www.microsoft.co.uk
TBLETS

ISSUE 308 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ OCTOBER 2013

SAMSUN6 HAS EXPANDED iIs line-u o
sIylus-equied devices wiIh Ihe Calaxy NoIe
8.0. lI siIs beIween Ihe Calaxy NoIe 2, which is
a gianI smarIhone, and Ihe NoIe 10.1, which
is a ull-sized IableI. The NoIe 8.0 has an 8in
dislay, a Touchwiz-skinned version o Android
and Ihe S-en or noIe-Iaking and skeIching.
This Wi-Fi model is Iwice Ihe rice o
Coogle's slighIly smaller 7in Nexus 7, and
almosI 70 more Ihan even Ihe 7.9in Ale
iPad Uini. O course, neiIher o Ihose devices
has a sIylus, buI wiIh such a high rice Ihe
NoIe 8's en really needs Io imress.
AI 34Sg, Ihe NoIe is surrisingly lighI, even
comared wiIh 7in budgeI models, we had no
Irouble holding iI in one hand wiIhouI having
Io give our wrisIs an occasional resI. The
S-en sloIs inIo a holder in Ihe underside o
Ihe IableI wiIh a reassuring click, so you can
be conhdenI iI won'I all ouI when on Ihe
move. A microSD card sloI is hidden beneaIh
a raIher limsy lasIic la on Ihe le side o
Ihe IableI, wiIh boIh ower and volume
buuons on Ihe righI side. The 3.Smm audio
|ack siIs aI Ihe Io and Ihe seaker grilles hre
downwards rom Ihe base o Ihe IableI.
As Ihe name suggesIs, Ihe NoIe 8.0 has an
8in dislay wiIh a 1,280x800 anel. ThaI's a
airly sIandard resoluIion or enIry-level
IableIs, buI iI's slighIly disaoinIing in a
remium one like Ihis. Fven so, boIh images
and IexI look cris and airly deIailed - |usI
don'I execI Ihe same level o clariIy as a Full
HD dislay. Viewing angles are above average
SAMSUNG Galaxy Noe 8.0

337 inc VAT

From www.ebuyer.com
VERDICT
An exce||ent, if expensive, tab|et that's your on|y choice if
you want a proper sty|us on a sma||er, more portab|e device
or an LCD anel, alIhough Ihe glossy hnish
can make lighI relecIions a liule Iroublesome,
and colour accuracy is greaI. However, dark
images don'I have Ihe dee blacks you'll hnd
on an AUOLFD dislay.
The Calaxy NoIe 8.0 lasIed a liule under
seven and a hal hours in our video layback
IesI. ThaI's almosI Ihree hours less Ihan Ihe
Nexus 7, and iI cerIainly can'I comare wiIh
Ihe iPad Uini, which managed an incredible
11 and a hal hours in Ihe same IesI.
WiIh an Fxynos 4 quad-core rocessor
running aI 1.6CHz, aired wiIh 2CB o
RAU, Ihe NoIe 8.0 is very quick when iI
comes Io everyday Iasks such as web
browsing. lI comleIed Ihe SunSider
|avaScriI benchmark in 1,1S7ms, which is
one o Ihe asIesI scores we've seen rom
an Android device. lI scored a reasonable
3,306 in Ihe 3DUark lce SIorm IesI, buI Ihis
is sIill slower Ihan Ihe Nexus 7.
The NoIe 8.0 runs Android 4.1 raIher Ihan
Ihe laIesI version, 4.2, which isn'I a big deal in
Ierms o eaIures and erormance, buI iI
means you don'I geI mulIile user accounIs
or sharing Ihe device wiIh riends or amily.
Samsung's Touchwiz Iweaks Io Android
are comrehensive, wiIh a ull seI o cusIom
icons, new widgeIs and a redesigned seuings
menu. Samsung also includes iIs UulIiWindow
Iechnology, which allows more PC-like
mulIiIasking. You can oen key as, such as
email, mas or Ihe browser, in a hal-screen
window, so you can handle Iwo Iasks aI once.
Add in Ihe sIylus and iI becomes even more
owerul. you can quickly make noIes in one
a while reading anoIher, or examle.
The NoIe 8.0 is incredibly resonsive when
using Ihe S-Pen sIylus. lI can deIecI 1,024
levels o ressure, leuing you use Ihe IableI
as a skeIch ad or arIisIs' easel. The en iIsel
has a single buuon which, when held, leIs you
cuI ouI anyIhing onscreen - meaning you can
send mas in emails, annoIaIe screenshoIs
and share images rom Ihe web, all wiIhouI
having Io swiIch beIween as.
To assisI you, Ihere's Air View, which, Io
name one examle, leIs you hover Ihe en
over emails Io oen a review wiIhouI loading
Ihe Uail a. HandwriIing recogniIion is
excellenI, Ioo. We were able Io send emails
wiIhouI a single selling error, alIhough Ihere
were occasional mislaced caiIal leuers.
There are several unique Samsung as
rovided. The mosI sIylus-riendly is S-NoIe,
which leIs you annoIaIe Iyed documenIs or
creaIe wriuen ones rom scraIch. There are
oIhers such as Paer ArIisI, which leIs you
colour in your hoIos wiIh vibranI ehecIs, buI
Ihere's no drawing a re-insIalled on Ihe
device. You'll need Io download one rom Ihe
Android a sIore i you wanI Io lex your
arIisIic muscle, we recommend AuIodesk
SkeIchBook Pro, which cosIs 4.3S.
The IableI has a S-megaixel rear camera
and a 2-megaixel ronI webcam. The rear
camera Iakes erecIly acceIable sIills in
brighI daylighI, wiIh a slighI Iendency Iowards
overexosure. lI lacks a lash, so low-lighI
images were always going Io be a sIruggle - iI
roduces grainy shoIs IhaI lack deIail.
lI's clear IhaI Ihe Calaxy NoIe 8.0 isn'I or
everyone, i you don'I lan on using Ihe sIylus
heavily, Ihen an Ale iPad Uini or Ihe slighIly
smaller Nexus 7 would be a ar more sensible
urchase. l you view Ihe sIylus as simly a
nice exIra, Ihen Ihe NoIe 8.0 simly doesn'I
eel smarI enough Io |usIiy iIs high rice.
However, iI's sIill a snay IableI IhaI's well
suiIed Io roducIiviIy. ArIisIs, voracious
noIe-Iakers or anyone who wanIs a comacI
IableI wiIh a sIylus won'I be disaoinIed.
SPECIFICATIONS
Banery |ife
|e|e|e:e -'1 -l11 '1 1
7h 27m
CPU 1.6CHz Exynos 4 Quad
PAN2CB
5TOPACE 16CB
CPAPHIC5 Nali-400NP
DI5PLAY 8in widescreen LCD (1,280x800)
OPEPATINC 5Y5TENAndroid 4.1.2
DINEN5ION5 210x136x8mm, 345g
WAPPANTY One-year RTB
PAPT CODE 86010150
DETAIL5 www.samsung.co.uk
See age 76 or erormance deIails
TBLETS
l00 OCTOBER 2013 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 308
THE TABLET Z doesn'I Iry Io do anyIhing
ancy, buI by being excellenI aI everyIhing, iI
remains Ihe besI Android IableI Ihere is.
Sony has oIed or a sIandard slaIe wiIh
slighIly rounded corners. lI's |usI 6.9mm Ihick
and weighs |usI 49Sg, so is noIiceably slimmer
and lighIer Ihan iIs comeIiIors. WiIh a
so-Iouch lasIic rear and a screen bezel wiIh
room or your hngers, iI's comorIable Io
hold, even or long eriods.
The enIire chassis is sealed, making Ihe
TableI Z boIh dusI- and waIer-resisIanI. lI can
siI in a meIre o waIer or u Io 30 minuIes
wiIhouI any ill ehecIs, and will shrug oh silI
drinks or a slash. l you like Io browse Ihe
web in Ihe baIh, Ihis is Ihe IableI or you.
The microSD card sloI, Uicro HDUl
ouIuI, 3.Smm audio |ack and micro SB orI
are all roIecIed by lasIic covers, which
creaIe a seal Io kee ouI waIer. We normally
don'I like Ihese kinds o la because Ihey're
rone Io breaking oh, buI Ihese eel ar
sIurdier Ihan Ihose on oIher IableIs.
The ronI is roIecIed by Ioughened glass,
which may auracI hngerrinIs buI will roIecI
Ihe screen, a 10.1 dislay wiIh a 1,920x1,200
resoluIion. This makes iI slighIly less deIailed
Ihan Ihe Coogle Nexus 10's screen, buI you'd
be hard ushed Io noIice, Ihanks Io razor-
shar IexI and images. The lower-resoluIion
screen could also be an advanIage or gamers,
Ihe Nexus 10 can sIruggle Io render 3D games
aI iIs naIive resoluIion, unlike Ihe TableI Z.
Sony's Uobile Bravia Fngine 2, which we
hrsI saw in Ihe Xeria Z smarIhone, increases
conIrasI, colour vibrancy and sharness in
hoIos and video. The ehecI is ar more
ronounced on a IableI Ihan a hone, wiIh
images looking in-shar and vivid. Full HD
video has lenIy o unch, Ioo, wiIh excellenI
black levels. You can disable Bravia Fngine i
you wish rom Ihe seuings menu, buI Ihere's
no oIion or user cusIomisaIion - iI's eiIher
enabled or swiIched oh comleIely.
SONY Xeria Table Z

399 inc VAT

From www.sony.co.uk
VERDICT
Easi|y one of the best Android tab|ets around,
and a genuine a|ternative to the Nexus 10
The rear camera uses Sony's Fxmor R
imaging sensor, and caIures 8.1-megaixel
sIills. norIunaIely, iI Iakes noisy images aI
maximum resoluIion, even in daylighI.
ShooIing sIills in our omce, iI requenIly
overexosed Ihe windows and overhead
lighIs, while lacking deIail in Ihe darker arIs
o each scene. WiIh Ihe righI lighIing and a
sIeady hand, iI's ossible Io caIure clear
snashoIs, buI iI won'I relace your comacI
camera, or even a high-qualiIy smarIhone.
OuIdoors, Ihe camera ared slighIly beuer,
caIuring lenIy o deIail on an overcasI
morning, wiIh Ihe added advanIage IhaI we
didn'I have Io worry abouI rain damaging Ihe
IableI. There's no lash, so low-lighI images
suher rom a lack o deIail and increased
noise. Finally, Ihe ronI webcam uses a smaller
2.2-megaixel sensor or video chaI or selhes.
The Xeria Z is owered by Qualcomm's
1.SCHz Snadragon S4 Pro rocessor and has
2CB o RAU, so is seriously asI. Android
absoluIely lies, wiIh no sign o sIuuering and
very liule Iime senI waiIing or as Io load.
Cames and 3D as are where Ihe TableI Z
excels. iI scored an incredible 9,802 in 3DUark
lce SIorm, making iI Ihe asIesI Android IableI
we've IesIed. We had no Irouble laying
demanding games such as Real Racing 3,
which look anIasIic aI Full HD resoluIions. As
iI's a Sony device you can air a PlaySIaIion 3
conIroller wiIh Ihe IableI, lug Ihe IableI inIo
your TV via HDUl and Iurn iI inIo
an ad hoc games console.
All IhaI 3D ower doesn'I
come aI Ihe exense o bauery
lie. ln our video layback IesI,
Ihe TableI Z managed a suerb 10
hours and 17 minuIes. ThaI means
iI will ouIlasI Ihe iPad 4, arguably
Ihe benchmark or IableI bauery
lie, by almosI 20 minuIes.
The Xeria TableI Z runs
Android 4.1.2, raIher Ihan |elly
Bean 4.2, buI Sony has romised
IhaI an udaIe will be made
available in Ihe coming monIhs.
This means IhaI, or Ihe Iime being, Ihere's
no way Io use mulIile user accounIs on Ihe
IableI, as Sony hasn'I included Ihe CuesI
AccounI eaIure we saw in Ihe TableI S. As iI
is, Sony's cusIom Android skin gives iI a sleek
aearance, wiIhouI becoming Ioo obIrusive
like some o iIs comeIiIors.
The TableI Z is builI Io work smooIhly wiIh
Sony's Bravia TVs, wiIh builI-in NFC, screen
mirroring and Ihe abiliIy Io send conIenI
using DLNA, alIhough you can send videos Io
any DLNA-comaIible TV, raIher Ihan |usI
Sony ones. lI has Ihe usual Wi-Fi, BlueIooIh
and CPS connecIiviIy, and a 4C model is
available or around 4S0.
There's liule doubI IhaI Ihe Sony Xeria
TableI Z is one o Ihe besI 10in IableIs we've
ever reviewed. lIs main comeIiIor is Coogle's
Nexus 10, which is 80 cheaer and has a
higher-resoluIion screen, buI Ihe TableI Z has
lenIy o eaIures IhaI make choosing
beIween Ihe Iwo a Iough decision.
The Ihinner, lighIer, waIerroo chassis,
exandable sIorage and Sony-secihc Iweaks,
such as Ihe abiliIy Io air a PS3 DualShock
conIroller or gaming, give iI a real edge
over Coogle's IableI. You may reer Io save
money and oI or Ihe Nexus, buI i you did
so you'd be missing ouI on a anIasIic IableI.
Taking money ouI o Ihe equaIion, we would
ick Ihe TableI Z every Iime.
SPECIFICATIONS
Banery |ife
|e|e|e:e -'1 -l11 '1 1
10h 17m
See age 76 or erormance deIails
CPU 1.5CHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro
PAN2CB
5TOPACE 16CB
CPAPHIC5 Qualcomm Adreno 320
DI5PLAY 10.1in widescreen |PS touchscreen (1,920x1,080)
OPEPATINC 5Y5TENAndroid 4.1.2
DINEN5ION5 172x266x7mm, 495g
WAPPANTY One-year RTB
PAPT CODE SCP311CB
DETAIL5 www.sony.co.uk
TBLETS
l0l
ISSUE 308 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ OCTOBER 2013
VERSUS MAY NOT be a amiliar name in Ihe
K, buI iIs budgeI TouchTab range shouldn'I
be overlooked. AI 170, Ihe TouchTab 10.1 is
signihcanIly cheaer Ihan boIh Ihe iPad 4 and
Nexus 10, buI iIs suerb screen and build
qualiIy make iI eel anyIhing buI chea.
AI |usI 11mm Ihick, we couldn'I hnd a
single weak oinI in iIs sIurdy meIal chassis,
and iIs smooIh, rounded corners make iI very
comorIable Io hold. lI's one o Ihe reuier
10in IableIs we've seen recenIly and, aI 6S0g,
iI weighs roughly Ihe same as an iPad 4.
nlike an iPad, Ihe ronI o Ihe IableI is
bare save or a small 0.3-megaixel webcam.
Power and volume buuons are on Ihe Io, buI
iIs wide selecIion o orIs is concenIraIed on
Ihe righI-hand side. You can only charge Ihe
TouchTab wiIh Ihe bundled charger, buI you'll
hnd a 3.S.mm headhone |ack, a microSB
orI, a Uini HDUl video ouIuI and a
microSD card sloI or exanding iIs 16CB o
inIernal sIorage u Io 32CB. lI's quiIe rare Io
hnd all Ihese on a IableI aI Ihis rice.
nsurrisingly, Ihe screen's 1,280x800
resoluIion doesn'I deliver quiIe Ihe same level
o clariIy as Ihe 1,920x1,080 screens o more
exensive rivals, buI iIs brighI lPS dislay is
easily one o Ihe besI budgeI screens we've
seen. lIs wide viewing angles make iI easy Io
see Ihe dislay no mauer how you hold iI, and
while colours are a liule cool, Ihe screen's
glossy hnish hels Io bring ouI Iheir deIh
and vibrancy. lIs conIrasI levels are good, Ioo,
as we could see a good level o deIail in boIh
Ihe lighI and dark areas o our IesI hoIos.
The Iouchscreen is resonsive, buI Ihere's
also a sIylus i you wanI Io kee hngerrinIs
Io a minimum. lIs so cushioned nib is only
good or Iaing icons and using Ihe
onscreen keyboard, Ihough, as we had no
luck Irying Io drag icons rom one side o Ihe
VERSUS
TouclTab l0.l

170 inc VAT

From www.|ohnlewis.com
VERDICT
This 10in tab|et has exceptiona| bui|d qua|ity, a wide
range of ports and a great screen for just 170
screen Io anoIher, while Irying Io scroll u
and down Ihe screen was equally rusIraIing.
SIylus issues aside, Ihe TouchTab 10.1's raw
rocessing ower is imressive. lIs dual-core
ARU CorIex A9 rocessor runs aI 1.6CHz and
is aired wiIh 1CB RAU. lI comleIed our
SunSider |avaScriI benchmarks in 1,672ms
wiIh Ihe Chrome browser, which is |usI as
quick as Ihe quad-core Sony Xeria TableI Z.
lI even managed Io run boIh our demanding
3DUark grahics benchmarks. lIs resecIive
scores o 2,91S in lce SIorm and 2,196 in lce
SIorm FxIreme are a long way behind oIher
10in IableIs, buI we were able Io lay 3D
games such as Real Racing 3 wiIhouI so much
as a hiIch in Ihe rame raIe.
The IableI's only ma|or law is iIs rear
2-megaixel camera. We wouldn'I execI Io
see anyIhing above a 3-megaixel sensor on a
budgeI IableI, buI we wouldn'I recommend
Iaking icIures wiIh Ihe TouchTab 10.1 as all
our hoIos lacked deIail, even when we were
ouIdoors in brighI sunshine, wiIh images
looking blurred and muddy. lndoor shoIs
didn'I are any beuer. lI
sIruggled Io ick ouI a good
level o deIail even in our ully liI
IesI room, and descended inIo a
noisy mass o black when we
began Iurning lighIs oh.
Bauery lie is also average. lI
lasIed hve hours and S8 minuIes
in our conIinuous video layback
IesI wiIh Ihe screen seI Io hal
brighIness, which isn'I anIasIic,
buI iI's in line wiIh oIher budgeI
IableIs we've IesIed.
ln general use, Ihough, Ihe
TouchTab 10.1 eels smooIh and
resonsive. lIs Iweaked version
o Android |elly Bean 4.1.1 may Iake some
geuing used Io, Ihough. lnsIead o a swie-
down menu aI Ihe Io o Ihe IableI, Ihe
TouchTab's seuings are all congregaIed in an
onscreen Iaskbar aI Ihe bouom o Ihe screen,
alongside Ihe onscreen home, back and menu
buuons. There are also onscreen conIrols or
Ihe volume and camera, as well as a clock and
icons showing Ihe IableI's remaining bauery
lie and Ihe sIrengIh o iIs Wi-Fi signal.
The main a Iray is locaIed in Ihe
Io-righI corner o Ihe screen and includes a
whole hosI o re-insIalled rograms.
Thankully, mosI o Ihem are airly useul,
such as BBC iPlayer, DocumenIs Io Co, Coogle
Docs, Flash Player, YouTube, Skye and
Coogle ChaI, so you shouldn'I have Io send
loIs o Iime deleIing unwanIed alicaIions.
The Versus TouchTab 10.1 is an imressive,
i unusual, IableI. lI's ar rom being Ihe besI
10in device, buI aI Ihis rice even iIs sub-ar
camera and bauery lie can'I deIracI rom iIs
greaI value. lI wins a BudgeI Buy award.
SPECIFICATIONS
Banery |ife
|e|e|e:e -'1 -l11 '1 1
5h 58m
CPU 1.6CHz ARN Cortex A9
PAN1CB
5TOPACE 16CB
CPAPHIC5 Nali-400NP
DI5PLAY 10.1in widescreen |PS touchscreen (1,280x800)
OPEPATINC 5Y5TENAndroid 4.1.1
DINEN5ION5 11x259x174mm, 650g
WAPPANTY Two-year RTB
PAPT CODE VS TouchTab 10.1DC
DETAIL5 www.versusuk.com
Its briIt IPS dispIay is easiIy one oI tIe best budet
screens ve've seen, and vide vievin anIes make it
easy to see tIe dispIay no matter Iov you IoId it
TBLETS
l02 OCTOBER 2013 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 308
ULTIMATE
MANUFACTURER ACER ACER AMAZON APPLE
Model lcoria Al lcoria Bl Kirdle !ire HD 8.ir iFad 4
Rating
Processor UTK 812S ARU UT6S17 Tl OUAP 4470 Ale A6X
Speed 1.2CHz 1.2CHz 1.SCHz 1.4CHz
Number of cores 4 2 2 2
Nemory installed 1CB 1CB 1CB 1CB
Dimensions (HxWxD) 209x146x11mm 197x128x12mm 239x163x9mm 241x188x9mm
Weight 410g 340g S67g 6S2g
DISPLAY
Screen size 7.9in 7in 8.9in 9.7in
Native resolution 1,024x768 1,024x600 1,920x1,200 2,048x1,S36
Craphics adaptor PowerVR SCXS44 PowerVR SCXS31 PowerVR SCXS44 Ale A6X
Craphics outputs Uicro HDUl None Uicro HDUl None
STORAGE
Capacity 16CB 16CB 16CB 16CB
PORTS AND EXPANSION
USB ports 0 0 1 0
Bluetooth Yes Yes Yes Yes
Networking 802.11n 802.11n 802.11n 802.11n (dual band)
MISCELLANEOUS
Operating system Android 4.2 Android 4.1.2 Android 4.0 (cusIomised) Ale iOS 6
Other standard accessories S-megaixel rear camera,
1.3-megaixel ronI camera
0.3-megaixel ronI camera 1.3-megaixel ronI camera S-megaixel rear camera,
1.2-megaixel ronI camera
BUYING INFORMATION
Parts and labour warranty One-year RTB One-year RTB One-year RTB One-year RTB
Price including VAT 163 1S0 229 399
Details www.acer.co.uk www.acer.co.uk www.amazon.co.uk www.ale.com/uk
Supplier www.laIosdirecI.co.uk www.argos.co.uk www.amazon.co.uk hu.//sIore.ale.com/uk
Part code NT.L1CFK.001 B1-710-83171C01nw B00ANZNB|O lPad 4
BEST BUY BEST BUY
MANUFACTURER GOOGLE GOOGLE LENOVO MICROSOFT
Model Nexus Nexus l0 TlirlFad Table 2 Surace RT
Rating
Processor Nvidia Tegra 3 Samsung Fxynos S lnIel AIom Z2760 Nvidia Tegra 3 (T30)
Speed 1.3CHz 1.7CHz 1.8CHz 1.4CHz
Number of cores 4 2 2 4
Nemory installed 1CB 2CB 2CB 2CB
Dimensions (HxWxD) 199x120x10mm 264x178x9mm 262x164x10mm 27Sx172x10mm
Weight 340g 603g S8Sg 682g
DISPLAY
Screen size 7in 10in 10.1in 10.6in
Native resolution 1,280x800 2,S60x1,600 1,366x768 1,366x768
Craphics adaptor Nvidia Tegra 3 Uali-T604 lnIel Crahics Uedia AcceleraIor LP CeForce
Craphics outputs None Uicro HDUl Uini HDUl Uicro HDUl
STORAGE
Capacity 16CB 16CB 32CB 32CB
PORTS AND EXPANSION
USB ports 1 1 1 1
Bluetooth Yes Yes Yes Yes
Networking 802.11n 802.11n 802.11n 802.11n
MISCELLANEOUS
Operating system Android 4.1 Android 4.2 Windows 8 32-biI Windows RT
Other standard accessories 1.2-megaixel ronI camera S-megaixel rear camera,
1.9-megaixel ronI camera
8-megaixel rear camera,
2-megaixel ronI camera, sIylus
0.9-megaixel rear camera,
0.9-megaixel ronI camera
BUYING INFORMATION
Parts and labour warranty One-year RTB One-year RTB One-year RTB One-year RTB
Price including VAT 1S9 319 4S3 279
Details www.google.com/nexus hus.//lay.google.com www.lenovo.co.uk www.microso.co.uk
Supplier hus.//lay.google.com hus.//lay.google.com www.kikaIek.co.uk www.microso.co.uk
Part code ASS-1B16-CB Nexus 10 N3S2PK Surace RT
P
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e
s
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o
r
r
e
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o

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TBLETS
l03
ISSUE 308 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ OCTOBER 2013
APPLE ARCHOS ASUS DELL
iFad Miri 80 Tiarium !oreFad Laiude l0

Ale AS ARU CorIex A9 lnIel AIom Z2420 lnIel AIom Z2760
1CHz 1.6CHz 1.2CHz 1.8CHz
2 2 2 2
S12UB 1CB 1CB 2CB
200x13Sx7mm 200x1S4x10mm 196x120x10mm 274x176x16mm
308g 440g 340g 660g
7.9in 8in 7in 10.1in
1,024x768 1,024x768 1,280x800 1,366x768
Ale AS Uali-400UP PowerVR SCXS40 lnIel CloverIail UA Crahics
None Uini HDUl None Uini HDUl
16CB 8CB 16CB 64CB
0 1 0 1
Yes Yes Yes Yes
802.11n, oIional 3C/4C 802.11n 802.11n, 3C 802.11n
Ale iOS 6 Android 4.1 Android 4.1 Windows 8 32-biI
S-megaixel rear camera,
1.3-megaixel ronI camera
2-megaixel rear camera,
0.3-megaixel ronI camera
3-megaixel rear camera,
1.2-megaixel ronI camera,
SlU card sloI
8-megaixel rear camera,
2-megaixel ronI camera
One-year RTB One-year RTB One-year RTB One-year collecI and reIurn
269 129 169 S44
www.ale.com/uk www.archos.com www.asus.com www.dell.co.uk
hu.//sIore.ale.com/uk www.sIales.co.uk www.carhonewarehouse.com www.dell.co.uk
lPad Uini 80 TiIanium FonePad SVLST001
VERDICT
ULTIMATE BUDGET BUY
SAMSUNG SONY VERSUS
Galaxy Noe 8.0 Xeria Table Z TouclTab l0.l

Fxynos 4 Quad Qualcomm Snadragon S4 Pro ARU CorIex A9
1.6CHz 1.SCHz 1.6CHz
4 4 2
2CB 2CB 1CB
210x136x8mm 266x172x7mm 2S9x174x11mm
34Sg 49Sg 6S0g
8in 10.1in 10.1in
1,280x800 1,920x1,080 1,280x800
Uali-400UP Qualcomm Adreno 320 Uali-400UP
None Uicro HDUl Uini HDUl
16CB 16CB 16CB
0 0 1
Yes Yes Yes
802.11n 802.11n 802.11n
Android 4.1.2 Android 4.1.2 Android 4.1.1
S-megaixel rear camera, 2-megaixel
ronI camera
8.1-megaixel rear camera, 2.2-megaixel
ronI camera
2-megaixel rear camera, 0.3-megaixel
ronI camera
One-year RTB One-year RTB Two-year RTB
337 399 170
www.samsung.co.uk www.sony.co.uk www.versusuk.com
www.ebuyer.com www.sony.co.uk www.|ohnlewis.com
860101S0 SCP311CB VS TOCHTAB 10.1DC
APPLE
iFad 4

GOOGLE
Nexus

GOOGLE
Nexus l0

SONY
Table Z

VERSUS
TouclTab
l0.l

We've seen a wide variety of tablets

this month in all shapes and sizes, so a
number of models have won awards.
Apple's iPad 4 and Sony's Xperia
Tablet Z are the best iOS and Android
tablets available, so both win Ultimate
awards. |f your budget doesn't stretch
to the Tablet Z, though, and you
want an Android tablet with a huge
resolution, the Best Buy-winning
Coogle Nexus 10 is the model to have.
|f you're aher a high-quality 10in
tablet for less than 200, the Versus
TouchTab 10.1 is a surprisingly
competent budget Android model.
|t wins a Budget Buy award.
Among the smaller tablets,
Coogle's Nexus 7 comes out on top.
|t may be older than its rivals, but it
comes with the latest Android 4.2
|elly Bean operating system, has a
great screen and competitive
performance. |t's also very good
value, and wins a Best Buy award.
Finally, if you're keen on a
Windows-style operating system,
the Nicrosoh Surface RT is worth a
look. |t's a beautifully made tablet
and its recent price cut makes it a
bit of a bargain, too.
ONLINE BCKUP
l04 OCTOBER 2013 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 308
CLOUD STORA6E HAS changed Ihe way
we Ihink abouI and aroach backus.
The abiliIy Io uload hles auIomaIically Ihe
second we save Ihem makes online backus
asI, convenienI and immune Io many o
Ihe risks associaIed wiIh local backus - hre,
Ihe and mechanical ailure.
ThaI's noI Io say cloud backu is erecI
or IhaI local backus are useless. Local
backus are much quicker Io make, give you
comleIe conIrol over whaI's going on, are a
loI cheaer and rovide more sIorage sace.
This means a combinaIion o local and cloud
sIorage is Ihe ideal way Io go.
This monIh, we've reviewed online backu
services Io hel you choose one IhaI suiIs
you. FirsI, however, we'll consider backus in
general. Following lasI monIh's eaIure on Ihe
roblems wiIh old backus (see 'DigiIal Dark
Age', Shcer 307), we'll exlain how Io deal
wiIh old hle ormaIs and media.
CLDUDCDVER
Dnlnes!oaesevces
Your daa is a risl i you dor' ale ses o roec i. Ve ell you everylir
you reed o lrov abou baclus ard reviev le bes cloud services available
Pae 108
CARBONITE Home (20l2)
EMC MozyHome
Pae 110
LIVEDRIVE Baclu
MEMSET SquirrelSave (20l2)
Pae 111
PRO SOFTNET iDrive Fro Fersoral
SOS ONLINE BACKUP
Home & Home Ldiior
Pae 112
CANONICAL Uburu Ore
DROPBOX Drobox
Pae 113
SUGARSYNC SuarSyrc C0GB
TREND MICRO SaeSyrc
CONTENT REVIEWS Secihcally, we'll Iell you how long each
Iye o media lasIs beore Ihe daIa on iI
becomes unreadable and how Io make sure
your backus are keI u Io daIe on currenI
media. We'll also Iell you how Io deal wiIh hle
ormaIs so IhaI you don'I end u wiIh old
documenIs you can no longer read. Don'I
worry i you already have hles in old ormaIs
IhaI you can'I oen - we'll show you how Io
deal wiIh Ihose, Ioo.
LIFE CYCLE
Now IhaI we kee so much o our
inormaIion in digiIal orm, including hoIos
and music, iI's more imorIanI Ihan ever Io
kee backus. While simly coying daIa
rom one hard disk Io anoIher is a orm o
backu, iI doesn'I roIecI againsI Ihe Ihe
o your comuIer or a hre in your home.
Backing u Io DVDs and giving Ihem Io a
riend Io look aer is a way around Ihe Ihe
ONLINE BCKUP
l0S
ISSUE 308 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ OCTOBER 2013
and hre roblem,
buI how long do
DVDs lasI beore
breaking down?
Uaking a backu is
more Ihan simly coying Ihe
daIa - you musI also consider
how long Ihe backu media will lasI.
FveryIhing degrades over Iime and
iI's ossible IhaI your careully made
backus will become unreadable. The Iable
on age 107 rovides an overview o each
Iye o backu media and how iI's besI
used, buI we'll cover IhaI in greaIer deIail
here. Bear in mind IhaI we can only esIimaIe
how long each media Iye lasIs, so your
own backus may lasI longer or noI as long
deending on Ihe qualiIy o your chosen
media. Whichever backu Iyes you choose,
iI's worIh keeing reuy much every hle
you own on a local hard disk or neIwork-
auached sIorage (NAS) device so you have
asI access Io Ihem when you need Ihem.
OPTICAL MEDIA
CDs, DVDs and Blu-ray discs all have Ihe
advanIage IhaI you can quickly creaIe
mulIile coies Io give Io riends or amily Io
look aer. This means IhaI i your house is
robbed or burns down, you know IhaI you
have sae coies sIored elsewhere. O Ihe
Ihree ormaIs, we have
a slighI reerence
or DVDs, as Ihey cosI
less er gigabyIe.
AlIhough rewriIable
discs are available, Ihey're
comaraIively exensive, so
we generally reer wriIe-once discs. The
only exceIion is Blu-ray, as iIs caaciIy o
2SCB (aI leasI) can be hard Io hll in one
go, so rewriIable discs may make more sense.
One disadvanIage is Ihe acI IhaI oIical discs
are comaraIively slow comared wiIh hard
disks or NAS devices.
WiIh Ihis in mind, oIical discs are besI
used or backing u daIa IhaI you don'I
need Io change, such as hoIos and
videos IhaI you've ediIed. lI's worIh
creaIing archives o Ihese hles,
erhas year by year
deending on Ihe
amounI o sIorage
needed. Uake
mulIile coies so
IhaI you can give
some Io riends and
kee a seI or yoursel.
The liesan o an oIical disc varies
beIween ormaIs, buI iI should be aI leasI
10 years. This means IhaI aI some oinI
beore Ihen, you should make a resh coy o
Ihe discs using your PC or coy Ihe hles rom
Ihe discs and save Ihem Io a newer Iye o
media IhaI has beuer suorI. Cenerally
seaking, iI's worIh checking your backu
discs aI leasI once every hve years Io make
sure Ihey're sIill working.
THE HARD DISK OPTION
Hard disks are brillianI or backus as
Ihey're incredibly asI and oher high sIorage
caaciIies. You can use an inIernal hard disk
Io save addiIional coies o hles, while an
exIernal hard disk makes or a naIural and
easy backu desIinaIion. The high seed o
hard disks makes Ihem useul or all Iyes
o backu, including hles IhaI may
change regularly, such as
Ihe conIenIs o
your DocumenIs
older. The
downside o Ihis
5et up your storage
Seuing up a comprehensive and secure
backup system needn't be dimcult. Start
with an online backup service and specify
the directories you wish to back up. Nake
sure you know exactly how much data you'll
be backing up online and ensure that both
your online storage space and internet
connection are up to the task.
As well as backing up to online storage,
you should make local backups. The simplest
option is to connect a NAS device or
external hard disk and use a backup
application. We recommend using Acronis
True |mage (30 including VAT) or Paragon
Backup & Recovery Free to schedule regular
backups. A few online backup services,
such as SOS Online Backup and NozyHome,
also have clients that can back up to local,
external or network drives. Other free
backup tools include DataBarracks Buddy
Backup, which allows you and your friends
to store encrypted online backups on each
other's PCs. However, because your friends
can opt to remove your backup privileges at
will, this is far less secure than going for a
commercial backup service.
Some newer NAS devices can back up
their contents to the cloud using packages
available for download from their
manufacturer or from third-party sites.
Large-scale business services such as
Amazon's S3 servers are widely supported,
but support for consumer services is limited.
Western Digital NAS devices have introduced
support for Dropbox, though, while iDrive
has released an app that allows you to back
up QNAP NAS devices to its online storage.
Finally, you can back up the NAS - or
selected directories - to an external hard
disk. Almost all NAS devices have their
own scheduled backup tool that can make
regular copies of some or all of their data
to a drive connected over USB. |f you're
making business backups, the additional
disk is useful for backing up sensitive data
that you can then take ohsite. The best
option for this is a weekly or daily rotation
of two external disks, with one disk being
outside the building at all times. For more
personal content - assuming your external
drive is formaued using a common hle
system such as FAT32 - the external disk
means you'll always have backups of
your favourite pictures and music on
an easily portable medium.
Photos and music can also be copied
to DVDs, perhaps yearly. Keeping multiple
copies makes sense, and by storing a copy of
your hles at a friend's or family member's
house, you can protect your data against
damage in your own home.
ng Ihe
nsider
edia will lasI.
er Iime and
areully made disc
Optical discs are good for
backups that you'll store
outside your home
PC
NA5 device
Externa|
hard disk
For the ultimate in data security, keep
a local backup and an ohsite backup,
as well as using an online service
A hard disk is a fast way to back
up your data and is excellent value,
but you should upgrade every hve years
to keep it up to date
On|ine backup
service
ONLINE BCKUP
l0C OCTOBER 2013 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 308
sIorage medium is IhaI you're likely Io kee
your hard disks aI home, so Ihey're vulnerable
Io Ihe or damage.
l a hard disk is le swiIched oh or
long eriods o Iime Ihe disk can weaken
(lose iIs charge), alIhough error correcIion
can hx some daIa degradaIion. However,
Ihe general consensus is IhaI Ihe daIa
inIegriIy o a hard disk should be longer
Ihan iIs mechanical lie, which is around
hve years on average.
Civen Ihe sIuendous increase in hard
disk caaciIies, hve years is long enough
IhaI any old hard disk will seem small and
ouI o daIe by Ihen. WiIhin IhaI hve-year
eriod, iI's worIh coying Ihe conIenIs
o your exisIing backu hard disk Io a
comleIely new hard disk.
USING AN SSD
A solid-sIaIe drive (SSD) uses memory chis
raIher Ihan moving arIs, which makes Ihem
asIer and more reliable Ihan mechanical hard
disks. The only oIenIial roblem is IhaI Iheir
memory cells have a wriIe limiI. Once Ihis is
reached, no more daIa can be wriuen Io IhaI
arI o Ihe disk, alIhough iI can sIill be read.
WiIh average use, an SSD should lasI or
u Io 2S years in a PC buI Ihe daIa should sIill
be readable or u Io S0 years. This makes
SSDs sound like an excellenI choice or
backus, buI Ihey're exensive er gigabyIe.
Fven wiIh recenI dros in rice, a S00CB SSD
cosIs around 2S0 including VAT. As such,
Ihey make good booI drives or laIo hard
disks, buI Ihey're noI good value or backus.
l you have hles sIored on an SSD, iI
makes sense Io ugrade Ihe disk as and
when you need more caaciIy, as Ihe lengIh
o Iime Ihe daIa will lasI should ar exceed Ihe
drive's useulness.
NETWORK-ATTACHED STORAGE
A NAS device is, in ehecI, a neIworked hard
disk. This means iI suhers rom Ihe same
roblems as a normal hard disk, buI iI has Ihe
benehI IhaI everyone on your neIwork can
use iI. SIoring hles such as hoIos, videos and
music cenIrally makes sense, Ioo, as you can
quickly sIream Ihem over Ihe neIwork. We
recommend keeing a coy o your hles
locally and a coy on your NAS device.
l your NAS suorIs RAlD, you can use
iI Io gain an exIra level o roIecIion aI Ihe
exense o IoIal caaciIy. RAlD 1, or mirroring,
is Ihe mosI obvious Iye. lI requires an even
number o hard disks, and daIa wriuen Io one
disk is auIomaIically wriuen Io anoIher. l one
disk ails, Ihe oIher can sIill be read. Simly
relace Ihe broken disk and Ihe sysIem
rebuilds Ihe RAlD array.
As wiIh any hard disk, you should
ugrade or change Ihe disks in your NAS
device wiIhin hve years Io ensure IhaI
you don'I lose any daIa.
ONLINE BACKUP
OhsiIe daIa sIorage should be an essenIial
arI o any secure backu rouIine, and Ihe
easiesI aroach is Io use an online backu
service. Uanaging a local backu rouIine can
be a chore IhaI oen geIs osIoned and
orgouen abouI, buI online backu, which
kees all your hles in Ihe cloud, is usually a
seI-and-orgeI ahair. lI's also more secure
Ihan local backu because Ihe daIa is Iaken
ohsiIe, so you'll be able Io recover iI in Ihe
evenI o hre, lood or Ihe. Now IhaI
broadband is so asI and chea, backing u all
your daIa online is a realisIic roosiIion. You
can also use synchronisaIion services Io make
sure Ihe work you wanI Io Iake home geIs
Ihere long beore you do, enabling you Io
access your daIa wherever you are.
The comany running Ihe service will
ensure IhaI your daIa is always readable,
making iI less hassle or you. However, Ihe
downside is IhaI you have Io ay a monIhly
or yearly ee. l you ail Io kee u aymenIs,
you lose access Io your hles.
The oIher oIenIial roblem is IhaI i
Ihe rovider goes bankruI, Ihere's a good
chance you won'I be able Io access your
daIa unless Ihe comany is bailed ouI or
boughI. For Ihis reason, iI's besI Io use
online backu in con|uncIion wiIh aI leasI
one o Ihe oIher meIhods we menIion here,
buI a local backu should be your rimary
meIhod as iI's secure, quick and convenienI.
Keepng backups up to date
Storage media, such as oppy disks, for
example, can rapidly become obsolete, and if
you're not careful you might hnd that you
buy a new computer that no longer supports
your backup media. When you upgrade your
computer, check that the new one supports
your old backup media. |f it doesn't, you'll
need to upgrade your backup media using
your old PC while you still can.
File formats can also be a problem.
As developers improve their sohware they
introduce new hle formats, and eventually
the new versions of the sohware are unable
to read the old hle formats. For this reason,
if you upgrade your sohware, check that it
can read your old hle formats. |f it can't,
open your hles in the last version that
worked and save them in a newer beuer-
supported format instead.
For digital photos and music, we
recommend using popular standards that
are likely to be supported for a long time.
These include NP3 or Wav for music and
|PEC or PNC for photos. That's not to say
you shouldn't keep your Raw camera hles,
for example, but |ust make sure you have a
copy in a more widely supported format.
|f you have data backed up on ageing
media, such as Zip disks, or in liule-used
hle formats, take some time to copy your
hles to newer, more future-proof storage.
Transferring the data to a hard disk directory
linked to your online backup service is
a good start, but you should copy your really
important hles to DVDs that you can then
send to a friend or relative for safekeeping.
|f you've got old backup disks in a format
that you can no longer read, such as 5in
oppy disks, you may need to consult a
recovery specialist to retrieve your hles. Be
aware that if your disks are also damaged,
the recovery costs could be astronomical, so
it may not be worth the ehort.
Aging hle formats are more of a problem.
|f you can still run the sohware that created
the hles, use it to export copies in a more
universal format. RTF is a good bet for text
documents, for example, while PDFs are best
for rich hles from desktop publishing
programs. |f the sohware that created the
hles isn't compatible with your current
version of Windows, you might be able
to run it using a virtual machine. Virtual
machine images of every operating system
from Windows 3.1 onwards are available for
programs such as VNware Player (www.
vmwore.com/products/p|oyer) and VirtualBox
(www.virtuo|box.org), while DOSbox (www.
dosbox.com) provides an environment for
running even older sohware.
Even when you're using current
programs, be aware that proprietary
formats may last only as long as the
sohware that created them. |f, for
example, you're recording all your
musical masterpieces as proprietary
pro|ect hles within a Digital Audio
Workstation, it might be a good
idea to export individual tracks in Wav
format to make sure you can still edit
them even if the company that makes
your sohware goes out of business.

SSDs are tough and reliable, but their small

capacities mean they're less useful for backups
ONLINE BCKUP
l0
ISSUE 308 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ OCTOBER 2013
CHOOSING A BACKUP SERVICE
The mosI obvious acIor when choosing a
backu service is how much sIorage you geI
or your money. This varies widely, wiIh some
roviders ohering |usI 20CB o sace while
oIher, similarly riced services rovide
hundreds o gigabyIes or even unlimiIed
sIorage. However, some comanies ohering
unlimiIed sIorage imose oIher limiIs by noI
suorIing exIernal drives or cerIain hle
Iyes, or examle.
Services wiIh hxed daIa allowances Iend Io
be more relaxed abouI how you use Ihem,
wiIh suorI or mulIile comuIers on a
single accounI. UosI users have only a coule
o gigabyIes o imorIanI ersonal hles, buI
you'll need more sace i you wanI Io back
u loIs o hoIos, video or audio. Oen Ihe
limiIing acIor isn'I how much online sace
you have buI Ihe lengIh o Iime iI would Iake
Io uload, say, 100CB o daIa.
UosI home broadband connecIions
have an uload seed o beIween 4S0KbiI/s
and 1.SUbiI/s. lI mighI Iake around 14
minuIes Io uload 30UB o daIa over a basic
home ADSL connecIion, while a Virgin cable
connecIion wiIh an uload seed o 1UbiI/s
can manage Ihe same Iask in around seven
minuIes. AI Ihese seeds, 100CB would Iake
beIween 16 and 32 days o conIinuous
uloading, and much longer i you wanIed Io
swiIch oh your PC aI nighI or Ihe broadband
sulier Ihrouled Ihe connecIion due Io
excessive use. l you've goI a hbre connecIion,
Ihough, you mighI see uload seeds o
around 1SUbiI/s or more, which reduces IhaI
100CB uload Iime Io |usI 16 hours. Bear in
mind IhaI i your lSP cas your monIhly daIa
use, your backu and synchronisaIion Iasks
could have a ma|or imacI on Ihis.
l you have a loI o daIa Io back u or
resIore aI once, iI may be worIh choosing a
comany IhaI leIs you osI a DVD or hard
disk raIher Ihan Irying Io shi gigabyIes o
daIa over Ihe inIerneI. An oIion builI inIo
SOS Online Backu's clienI inIerace makes iI
easy Io burn a backu Io DVD and osI iI Io
Ihe service, which could be a real Iime saver
i you wanI Io back u your home movie
archive, or examle. lIs S0CB or 1S0CB
caaciIy limiI will sIo you geuing Ioo carried
away, Ihough. Ueanwhile, Uozy will send you
DVDs or SB drives conIaining your backus
when you need Io resIore your daIa -
CarboniIe rovides Ihe same service as an
oIional exIra. This could rove criIical i
you need Io resIore more daIa Ihan your
broadband connecIion will allow or you simly
wish Io carry ouI a ull resIore wiIhouI delay.
UosI services have Ihrouling, which
deliberaIely slows uloads and downloads Io
minimise Ihe imacI o backus on your oIher
online acIiviIies. UosI will leI you ause a
backu, Ioo. l you have mulIile PCs, choose
a service IhaI doesn'I resIricI you Io making
backus rom |usI one comuIer. You'll hnd
Ihis inormaIion in Ihe Iable on age 114.
THAT SYNCING FEELING
As well as online backus, we've also looked
aI synchronisaIion services, which hel you
kee mulIile devices u Io daIe wiIh Ihe
same hles while also sIoring a secure coy
online in your cloud sIorage. There's some
blurring o boundaries wiIh Ihese services.
Some online backu roviders, such as
UemseI's SquirrelSave, allow you Io back
u daIa rom mulIile PCs, while a ew
synchronisaIion services also have basic
backu uncIions. However, i a service's key
eaIure is Io synchronise daIa beIween Iwo
or more PCs, we've classed iI as a
synchronisaIion service.
ONLINE ACCESS
Once your hles are sIored securely online, you
have Ihe secondary benehI o being able Io
share Ihem easily. This can oen be done
Ihrough Ihe deskIo clienI, buI you'll usually
hnd Ihe same oIions available Ihrough Ihe
web-clienI, which leIs you access your hles
rom any comuIer wiIh a web browser.
The mosI limiIed services only leI you
email links Io individual hles. OIhers rovide a
ull mulIimedia browser IhaI noI only leIs you
share enIire direcIories buI also incororaIes
hoIo galleries or a sIreaming aciliIy or your
audio and video hles.
Uany services also allow you Io access
and even uload hles direcIly rom your
mobile hone or IableI. Our Iable lisIs Ihose
services IhaI rovide online or mobile access
Io your backus, and you can hnd more
deIails in our reviews.
UosI synchronisaIion and backu services
can reIain old or deleIed version o your hles.
This can be a liesaver i you accidenIally
deleIe or mangle a secIion in an imorIanI
documenI, wheIher iI's your hnancial records
or Ihe hrsI dra o your novel. Some services
kee only a ew versions, such as Ihe lasI hve
saved coies. However, as mosI o us are in
Ihe habiI o saving requenIly, Ihis mighI noI
give you enough Iime Io noIice your misIake.
A ew services, including SquirrelSave,
Drobox, and SOS Online Backu, can rovide
version sIorage over an unlimiIed eriod,
which is worIh having i you need exIra eace
o mind. Our Iable Iells you how long each
service reIains deleIed coies, and how iI
handles version reIenIion.
Online backu and synchronisaIion is a
highly comeIiIive markeI involving dozens
o ma|or and small comanies. Because o
Ihis and Ihe need Io imress rosecIive
cusIomers, many roviders oher ree as well
as aid-or services. You'll hnd Ihese lisIed
aI Ihe bouom o our Iable, along wiIh Ihe
Iime-limiIed Irials rom oIher roviders.
LIVE FOREVER: HOW LONG WILL YOUR BACKUP MEDIA LASTZ
Backup media LiIespan Pros Cons VIat's it ood Ior
CD 10 years Chea, easy Io make coies Io sIore
in mulIile locaIions
Low caaciIy DigiIal hoIos
DVD 20 years Fasy Io make coies Io sIore in
mulIile locaIions
RelaIively low caaciIy DigiIal hoIos and video
Blu-ray 100 years High caaciIy, easy Io make coies Io sIore
in mulIile locaIions
Fxensive DigiIal hoIos and video
External hard disk Five years RelaIively chea, asI, easy Io dulicaIe,
can be Iaken ohsiIe
Likely Io be keI aI home, where iI's
vulnerable Io hre or Ihe
DigiIal hoIos, music, video and hles
|nternal hard disk Five years RelaIively chea, asI, easy Io dulicaIe Sub|ecI Io local Ihe and hre, can only be
sIored locally
DigiIal hoIos, music, video and hles
SSD S0 years FasI, daIa can be accessed even once Ihe
wriIe limiI has been reached
QuiIe exensive, sub|ecI Io local hre and Ihe DigiIal hoIos, music, video and hles
NAS device Five years (wiIh hard
disks insIalled)
High caaciIy, oen has RAlD roIecIion,
easy Io share wiIh amily
Sub|ecI Io local hre and Ihe DigiIal hoIos, music, video and hles
Online storage Forever ConsIanIly keI u Io daIe and immune Io
hysical Ihe, hre and oIher accidenIs IhaI
mighI ahecI your roerIy
CosI o aid services adds u, i Ihe comany
goes busI you lose your daIa
DigiIal hoIos, music, video and hles
A NAS device has the same pros and cons as a
hard disk, but you can easily share it between PCs
ONLINE BCKUP
l08 OCTOBER 2013 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 308
CARBONITE 6IVES YOU unlimiIed sIorage
or a single PC, so Ihere's no need Io worry
abouI limiIs. The service can auIomaIically
selecI Ihe hles iI Ihinks you'll wanI Io back
u (your DeskIo, DocumenI and Uedia
direcIories) and dehne iIs own backu
schedule, or you can use Ihe 'CusIomise your
backu' oIion Io seI iI u yoursel. WiIh
unlimiIed sIorage sace, caaciIy isn'I a
roblem, buI i you've goI hundreds o
gigabIyes o music and video hles, uload
Iime may be, so iI's worIh Iweaking Ihe
backu selecIions Io ensure IhaI only your
mosI imorIanI hles are backed u.
The deaulI oIion insIrucIs CarboniIe
Io udaIe your online backu every Iime iI
deIecIs a change Io any o your backed u
hles and olders, buI you can also seI iI Io run
a backu once a day or moniIor and back u
changes only during cerIain hours.
Having done IhaI, CarboniIe comleIes iIs
conhguraIion and oens iIs main lnoCenIer
inIerace, where you can ad|usI iIs seuings
MOZYHOME IS A IradiIional online backu
rogram buI iI rovides some rudimenIary
synchronisaIion, Ioo. This gives you some
lexibiliIy i you like Ihe idea o online backus
buI also wanI Io share hles beIween your PCs.
Once you've insIalled iI, you can selecI
rom deaulI backu seIs such as music,
hoIos and documenIs, ediI Ihem or creaIe
your own. l you oI or Ihe lauer, you're
resenIed wiIh a neaI Iree-view hle browser in
which you can selecI direcIories and view Ihe
hles Ihey conIain. You can back u anyIhing
on your local PC, buI neIwork and exIernal
sIorage drives aren'I accessible. You can also
oI Io receive warnings i you exceed your
backu quoIa, seI Ihe soware Io back u
according Io a schedule or when your PC is
idle, enable bandwidIh resIricIion so iI doesn'I
hog your inIerneI connecIion and even creaIe
a local backu on an exIernal hard disk.
The NoIihcaIion Area icon's righI-click
menu rovides quick access Io your backu
seuings, a viewing Iool IhaI leIs you search
CARBONITE Home (20l2)

$60 (around 40 inc VAT) per year

From www.carbonite.co.uk
EMC MozyHome

4.99 per month inc VAT

From www.mozy.co.uk
VERDICT
Carbonite is great if you just need a simp|e on|ine backup service for one PC,
a|though it doesn't provide many extra features beyond mobi|e access
VERDICT
The web interface isn't great, but we're fans of
its desktop c|ient, syncing and mobi|e support
and resIore backed u hles. You can'I add
olders or hles Io back u rom Ihis inIerace,
buI CarboniIe adds a 'Back Ihis u' oIion Io
Windows Fxlorer's righI-click menu.
ln iIs sIandard conhguraIion, CarboniIe
excludes cerIain hle Iyes rom backus,
including video hles, execuIables and anyIhing
over 4CB. You can'I change Ihis lisI, buI you
can add oIherwise-ignored hles by selecIing
and adding Ihem direcIly.
l you wanI more auIomaIic backu
eaIures, you'll have Io sign u or one o
CarboniIe's more exensive lans, which
include eaIures such as deaulI video
backus and Ihe abiliIy Io add a single locally
auached exIernal drive Io your backus.
CarboniIe saves u Io Ihree monIhs' worIh
o hle versions and kees deleIed hles or
30 days. You have a number o oIions or
resIoring hles. The easiesI or reIrieving a
single hle or older is Io browse your backus
using Ihe CarboniIe Backu Drive, which you
access rom Ihe Browse your backu oIion
Ihrough Ihe hles you've backed u and a
quick link Io your online sIorage.
The hle resIoraIion inIerace is accessed
Ihrough Ihe main seuings alicaIion. You
can browse backus using a simle Iree
sIrucIure, making iI easy Io search or
backus by version, selecI hles and resIore
Ihem Io Iheir original locaIion or a new one.
Uozy's websiIe allows you Io browse and
resIore hles direcIly Ihrough a hierarchical
sequence o direcIories IhaI reresenI Ihe
aIhs you've backed u. You can also browse
Ihem by backu seI. lI can lisI hles by Iye,
daIe and version buI can'I oen Ihem -
Ihere's no audio layer or hoIo viewer o
Ihe sorI inIegraIed inIo some rival services.
As well as sIandard online backu, Uozy
ohers a synchronisaIion service called SIash,
which is ree and sIill in BeIa IesIing. Placing
a hle in Ihe SIash older immediaIely
synchronises iI wiIh your online sIorage and
any oIher comuIers associaIed wiIh your
accounI. Your SIash shares sace wiIh your
in Ihe lnoCenIer soware. This relicaIes
your PC's direcIory sIrucIure and leIs you
resIore hles Io Iheir original locaIion or a new
direcIory using a righI-click menu oIion. You
can also search or hles by name and resIore
all your hles aI once. AlIhough a sIandard
CarboniIe Home subscriIion allows you Io
back u only one comuIer, you can resIore
your hles Io a new PC, making iI easy Io geI
your daIa back even i your old comuIer is
Iemorarily damaged.
nlike many rivals, CarboniIe lacks any
synchronisaIion or hle-sharing eaIures.
Uobile as are available or iOS, Android and
BlackBerry devices IhaI allow you Io access
your hles and lisIen Io your sIored music.
WiIh unlimiIed sIorage, an easy-Io-use backu
and resIoraIion inIerace, mobile hle access
and a low rice, CarboniIe is a greaI oIion
i you don'I need loIs o exIra eaIures.
However, we reer SquirrelSave's unlimiIed
caaciIy and abiliIy Io back u mulIile PCs,
even Ihough iI cosIs 20 more er year.
UozyHome backus, buI unlike Uozy backu,
you can insIall SIash on as many comuIers
as you like aI no exIra cosI.
Uozy backu users will also noIice a
UozyHome older, which allows you Io
browse your backed u hles. You can also
access your backu and SIash conIenI using
mobile as or Android and iOS.
Uozy's ree lan rovides 2CB o backu
sace. The S-a-monIh accounI we review
here rovides S0CB o sIorage or a single PC,
while or 7.99 a monIh you geI 12SCB, which
you can share beIween Ihree comuIers.
Beyond IhaI, you ay 1.7S er monIh or
each addiIional PC or 20CB o sace.
Uozy is ehecIive and iIs backu clienI is
exIremely easy Io use, alIhough iIs web
inIerace is raIher clunky. The SIash sync
older rovides exIra uncIionaliIy IhaI's
missing rom many rivals. However, i you're
aer a ure backu service, Uozy's S0CB o
sIorage isn'I as good a deal as SquirrelSave's
similarly riced unlimiIed lan.
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ONLINE BCKUP
ll0 OCTOBER 2013 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 308
WE'RE FANS OF Livedrive, which rovides
unlimiIed sIorage or backus, alIhough we
were disaoinIed Io hnd IhaI iI no longer
leIs you back u NAS devices or ree. lnsIead,
each neIworked sIorage device you wanI Io
back u cosIs a sIee S er monIh. You can
back u STB rom each exIernal device, which
should cover all buI Ihe mosI heavy-duIy NAS
devices. You can only use a single PC, Ioo,
alIhough you can add addiIional comuIers Io
your accounI or 1 er monIh.
Once you've insIalled Ihe clienI soware
and linked iI Io your Livedrive accounI, you
can use Ihe Uanage Backus Iool Io browse
your hard disk and selecI any oIher direcIory
or hle Io include in your backu. By deaulI,
Livedrive backs u all your alIered hles once
an hour, buI you can change Ihis inIerval.
The web inIerace looks clean and
businesslike. A web-based audio layer allows
you Io browse, cue and sIream audio hles,
alIhough iI didn'I recognise our Ogg or FLAC
IesI hles. lI also has builI-in image viewer,
MEMSET SUIRRELSAVE IS a simle online
backu service wiIh none o Ihe web-based
sharing and syncing eaIures IhaI many o iIs
rivals oher. lI rovides unlimiIed sIorage or
|usI S.0S er monIh, iI works wiIh mulIile
PCs and can even back u conIenI rom
exIernal drives and NAS devices. SquirrelSave
considers iIs exIernal backu an unsuorIed
eaIure and makes no guaranIees o
uncIionaliIy, buI iI worked well in our IesIs.
The hrsI sIe is Io download a clienI via a
RL emailed Io you when you sign u. You'll
need Io hang on Io Ihis email so you can
download Ihe clienI again i you need Io
insIall Ihe soware on a second comuIer,
reinsIall your PC or move Io a new one.
Once you've logged inIo your accounI, Ihe
clienI ohers eiIher Io sIarI backing u your PC
immediaIely or Io give you ull conIrol, so you
can resIore hles rom a revious backu or
conhgure your reerences. By deaulI, iI
backs u all Ihe non-sysIem hles in your ser
direcIory, buI IhaI's easy Io change.
LIVEDRIVE Baclu

5 per month inc VAT

From www.livedrive.com
MEMSET SquirrelSave (20l2)

5.05 per month inc VAT

From www.squirrelsave.co.uk
VERDICT
Un|imited backup and a neat interface, but you can on|y
use one PC, and adding h|e synchronisation is expensive
VERDICT
With un|imited storage, a |owmonth|y price and support for backing
up mu|tip|e devices, this is our favourite pure backup service
ediIor and slideshow uIiliIies, and Iools or
viewing Uicroso Word and Fxcel hles.
l you wanI Io resIore hles raIher Ihan
download Ihem individually Ihrough Ihe web
inIerace, you can access Ihem by righI-
clicking on Ihe NoIihcaIion Area icon and
selecIing ResIore Backus or by downloading
Livedrive's sIandalone Backu ResIore uIiliIy.
BoIh make iI simle Io resIore individual hles
or enIire direcIories Io a locaIion o your
choice, and Ihe clienI is very handy i you
need Io recover an enIire backu Io a new PC.
ln addiIion, you can access your accounI
using Android, iOS or Windows 8 as. These
mobile as leI you browse and download
hles rom your backu olders and uload
hles rom your SD card.
Livedrive also has a syncing service called
Briecase, which you geI i you oI or Ihe
more exensive Pro SuiIe service. This allows
you Io back u and synchronise beIween u
Io hve PCs or Uacs. Briecase creaIes a shared
older maed Io a drive leuer, and iIs conIenIs
The deskIo clienI is clear and easy Io use.
All Ihe direcIory aIhs in your backu are
lisIed in Ihe lncludes Iab. To remove one, |usI
highlighI iI and ress deleIe. To add one, click
'Add older' and a window will oen, romIing
you Io browse Io iIs locaIion on your hard
disk or local neIwork. We were leased Io hnd
an oIion Io exclude secihc hles or olders.
We'd have liked an oIion Io exclude hles by
Iye or exIension, buI iI's a minor omission
rom an oIherwise excellenI sysIem.
By deaulI, backus o new and changed
hles are made auIomaIically, buI you can seI
Ihe clienI Io back u everyIhing once a day or
only when you Iell iI Io.
To resIore hles, you click ReIrieve and
you're shown a lisI o backu version daIes.
Click on Ihe one you wanI, and a hle browser
leIs you selecI direcIories Io resIore. These
are by deaulI downloaded Io Ihe SquirrelSave
ReIrieved Files direcIory in your Downloads
older, buI you can change Ihe reIrieval aIh
in Ihe clienI's reerences Iab.
are synchronised beIween every PC iI's seI
u on. You can share hles in your Livedrive
Briecase by sending oIhers a link or seuing a
assword Io access Ihem, and you can access
your Briecase over FTP, SFTP or WebDAV.
The Pro SuiIe rovides unlimiIed sace
or your backus and STB o sync sace buI
cosIs 1S a monIh, making iI one o Ihe mosI
exensive online sIorage services around. l
you ay in advance you can make some hey
savings, Ihough, wiIh one year cosIing 144
(equivalenI Io 12 er monIh) and Iwo years
cosIing 264 (equivalenI Io 11 a monIh).
Livedrive Pro SuiIe could sIill be a good
oIion i you need synchronisaIion and have a
loI o daIa Io back u. However, iI's exensive,
making Backu Ihe beuer ackage in our
oinion. WiIh unlimiIed sIorage sace and a
slick inIerace, Livedrive Backu is one o Ihe
besI alicaIions around, alIhough Ihe
similarly riced SquirrelSave leIs you back u
mulIile comuIers or no exIra charge,
making iI Ihe slighIly beuer choice.
RaIher Ihan keeing every version o your
hles, SquirrelSave kees one rom six hours,
12 hours and Ihen one, Iwo, our and eighI
days, and so on, according Io a doubling Iime
scale. DeleIed hles can be recovered or 32
days aerwards, and all hles included in Ihe
hrsI backu are keI orever.
SquirrelSave is limiIed in oIher areas.
There's no web access Io hles or any way Io
share Ihem wiIh oIhers. sing Ihe service wiIh
mulIile PCs is comlicaIed. SquirrelSave's is
sold or use wiIh one comuIer, buI iIs FAQ
Iells you how Io use iI wiIh mulIile sysIems.
Because o iIs unlimiIed sIorage, version
reIenIion and suorI or mulIile PCs and
exIernal devices, SquirrelSave is an excellenI
choice i you wanI Io back u loads o daIa.
Livedrive Backu is more lexible, arIicularly
or accessing and sharing hles online, buI
iI's also more exensive. SquirrelSave is
Ihe besI backu around i you don'I need
synchronisaIion, and wins a BesI Buy award.
ONLINE BCKUP
lll
ISSUE 308 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ OCTOBER 2013
UNLIKE MANY OF iIs rivals, iDrive leIs you
back u hles rom any number o PCs, Uacs,
iOS and Android devices. Sace is limiIed, buI
mosI eole will hnd IhaI Ihe 1S0CB Ihey geI
or S a monIh will kee Ihem going or quiIe
a while. Higher caaciIies are also available.
Aer insIallaIion, Ihe iDrive clienI oens aI
iIs backu managemenI screen. lI reselecIs
all Ihe hles in your DeskIo, DocumenIs,
Uusic, PicIures and Videos olders. SelecIing
hles, olders or enIire arIiIions is a simle
mauer o Iicking boxes in iDrive's well-
designed hle browser. You can also add hles
rom exIernal hard disks and maed neIwork
drives. Once you've decided whaI you wanI
Io back u, |usI hiI Ihe Backu Now buuon.
As well as Ihe deskIo clienI, an oIion is
added Io Ihe Windows Fxlorer righI-click
menu, so you can add hles or olders Io your
backu seI aI Ihe click o buuon.
The clienI's new inIerace is a considerable
imrovemenI over Ihe revious cluuered
version. All Ihe inormaIion and seuings you
SOS ONLINE BACKUP'S eaIure-acked
service leIs you sIore conIenI rom u Io hve
Windows or Uac OS X comuIers and
Android and iOS mobile devices. As well as
Ihe sIandard eaIures you'd execI Io hnd in
an online backu service, SOS rovides a slick
web inIerace Io access your hles and even
has a Facebook a Io sIore icIures and
osIs rom your social media rohle.
By deaulI, Ihe clienI ohers Io back u
Ihe conIenIs o your DocumenIs, Uusic,
PicIures and Video libraries, buI you can
also selecI hles and olders manually, include
or exclude a cusIom lisI o hle Iyes and
deselecI any arIicular caIegory o hles.
This is a good idea given IhaI SOS doesn'I
rovide unlimiIed accounIs (iI's available
in 100CB, 1S0CB and 2S0CB versions) and
mosI eole have many gigabyIes o
documenIs, video and music.
You can also back u exIernal hard disks
connecIed Io your comuIer and NAS devices
on your neIwork. WiIh your hles selecIed, you
PRO SOFTNET iDrive Fro Fersoral

$50 (around 33 inc VAT) per year

From www.idrive.com
SOS ONLINE BACKUP Home &Home Oce

6 per month inc VAT

From www.sosonlinebackup.com
VERDICT
Cheap and easy to use, this remains one of our favourite on|ine
backup services, but you on|y get 150CB of backup space
VERDICT
Fair|y expensive, with an ageing c|ient, but we |ike
the web interface and |oca| backup capabi|ities
need are resenIed across our Iabs. The
resIore Iab siIs below Ihe main backu Iab
and leIs you browse Ihe conIenIs o your
online sIorage using Ihe same Iree-view
inIerace iI uses Io browse Ihe conIenIs o
your PC. Once you've selecIed Ihe hles or
olders you wanI Io reIrieve and clicked Ihe
ResIore Now buuon, you'll be romIed Io
choose a direcIory Io download Ihem Io.
The Ihird Iab leIs you seI a schedule or
your backus. By deaulI, Ihis is seI Io run
daily, buI you can choose your own seuings.
AlIhough you can schedule backus, hles o
u Io S00UB are auIomaIically backed u
whenever you change Ihem, Ihanks Io iDrive's
ConIinuous DaIa ProIecIion eaIure.
The clienI no longer gives you Ihe oIion
o Ihrouling Ihe backu's bandwidIh Io sIo iI
hogging your inIerneI connecIion while you're
backing u. lnsIead, you ause a backu when
iI's running and resIarI iI laIer using Ihe
Backu Now buuon. You can also creaIe
olders and uload conIenI direcIly Ihrough
can choose when Io back u, wiIh a choice o
hourly, daily, weekly or monIhly schedule.
nlike mosI o iIs rivals, SOS allows you
Io make backus Io your local neIwork, a PC
or a connecIed exIernal sIorage device. These
are easy Io seI u Ihrough Ihe clienI, and you
can make eiIher ull or incremenIal backus.
You can also use Ihe clienI Io resIore your
online and local backus, which you can
locaIe by daIe, size, hle name or a
combinaIion o Ihe Ihree. ConIenI is shown in
a direcIory Iree sIrucIure, wiIh searaIe Irees
or each PC. Any hles you wanI Io resIore can
be saved Io Ihe local direcIory o your choice
- Ihe original hle aIh is reIained by deaulI,
buI iI's easy Io override. SOS reIains every
backed u version o every hle, so Ihere's no
chance o you losing Ihe one you need.
l you don'I wanI Io go Ihrough Ihe wizard
every Iime you back u, you can selecI
Classic View rom a ull-down menu on
SOS's main window. This rovides a ew
exIra ways Io add hles Io your backu, buI iI
Ihe web inIerace, and use iI Io share your
uloaded hles wiIh oIhers. You can share
olders, hles and grous o hles, adding
asswords, exiry daIes and download limiIs.
You can also allow your sharing associaIes Io
uload or ediI shared conIenI.
The web inIerace is uncIional buI lacks
Ihe advanced eaIures o some rivals,
alIhough iIs image gallery allows you Io view
and share your hoIo collecIion. l you have
an Android or iOS device, you can download a
ree a IhaI links Io your accounI and use iI
boIh Io access your sIored hles and back u
hoIos, videos, conIacIs and evenIs rom
your hone. lDrive also has a searaIe syncing
service - you can geI 10CB o ree sace rom
S4.9S (3.26).
lDrive has beuer eaIures or online
sharing Ihan our BesI Buy winner,
SquirrelSave, and iI's very reasonably riced.
lIs 1S0CB o sIorage will be lenIy or mosI
users, buI Ihose wiIh loIs o daIa Io back u
should go or SquirrelSave's unlimiIed service.
eels clumsy and looks rimiIive. We'd raIher
have a backu selecIion oIion added Io
Windows' righI-click menu.
You can also access your hles Ihrough Ihe
SOS web inIerace, which leIs you search by
Iye or name, download Ihem, share Ihem by
email or Facebook and even view some hles.
For examle, you can review Fxcel
sreadsheeIs and Word documenIs and lay
some music and video hles Ihrough your
browser, alIhough ormaI suorI is limiIed.
SOS is a decenI backu service wiIh a
good range o eaIures. AlIhough iIs deskIo
clienI eels clumsy comared wiIh Ihose o
some o iIs rivals, we liked iIs abiliIy Io
manage our local as well as online backus.
The big downside is Ihe rice, wiIh SOS
sIarIing aI 6 er monIh or |usI 100CB o
sIorage sace. lDrive, which is also much
cheaer, remains our avouriIe oIion or
online backu wiIh web access. l iI's |usI
caaciIy you need, you're beuer oh wiIh
SquirrelSave's unlimiIed sIorage.
ll2 OCTOBER 2013 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 308
ONLINE BCKUP: SYNCHRONISTION
CANONICAL IS BEST known or bunIu,
which is widely regarded as Ihe easiesI
version o Linux Io use. bunIu One cloud
sIorage and synchronisaIion is an inIegral arI
o bunIu buI iI's also available Io Windows,
Uac OS X, Android and iOS users.
The basic SCB ackage is ree buI
you'll robably wanI Io add more sIorage.
This cosIs around 1.99 a monIh or every
20CB added. l you wanI Io sIream music
you've boughI Ihrough Ihe bunIu One
Uusic sIore or uloaded via your browser
or mobile device, you'll have Io ay around
2.60 a monIh more or Ihe Uusic SIreaming
ackage, which enables sIreaming and
increases your sIorage Io 20CB. Fven wiIh
Ihe ree accounI, you can synchronise
urchased music Io all your devices, Ihough.
The deaulI bunIu One older remains in
sync across every comuIer on which you've
insIalled Ihe soware. When you insIall Ihe
clienI you can choose wheIher Io synchronise
your music urchases auIomaIically, buI you
DROPBOX IS ONE o our avouriIe
synchronisaIion services, Ihanks in arI
Io iIs unambiguous simliciIy. lI laces a
synchronisaIion older on your PC, and
anyIhing you uI in Ihe older is mirrored
Io your online sIorage and any oIher PC on
which you've insIalled Ihe clienI. You can
also use Ihe service Io share hles wiIh
oIhers, eiIher on an individual basis or by
creaIing a shared older.
Shared olders are noI only mirrored
beIween all your PCs buI can also be
synchronised beIween every Drobox user
who has access Io Ihe share, making iI
incredibly easy Io share ro|ecI hles wiIh a
Ieam. A ublic older serves a similar urose,
buI is accessible Io anyone who has Ihe RL.
Drobox doesn'I have an inIegraIed
audio or video layer, alIhough you can
access and lay such hles direcIly i your
web browser has Ihe relevanI lug-ins
insIalled. There's also a documenI viewer
IhaI's Iriggered i you creaIe a direcI link Io
CANONICAL Uburu Ore

$2.99 (around 1.99 inc VAT) per month

From hup://one.ubuntu.com/
DROPBOX Drobox

$9.99 (6.56 inc VAT) per month

From www.dropbox.com
VERDICT
Essentia| for Ubuntu users, particu|ar|y if they work across mu|tip|e
p|atforms, but One sti|| |acks common features, such as version contro|
VERDICT
Dropbox is a great synchronisation service,
but there are riva|s that cost |ess and do more
can also oI Io kee any oIher older on your
PC in sync rovided iI's in your user older. ln
oIher words, wiIh a liule Iinkering you can use
bunIu One Io back u imorIanI icIures or
documenIs in real Iime.
Once you've seI u Ihe clienI, adding and
removing olders rom your share is easy.
Uaking Ihem accessible Io oIhers is also
easy using Ihe share Iab. You can search or
synced hles by keyword and generaIe links
aI Ihe click o Ihe buuon. A sIrange auIo-
comleIion eaIure resenIs hlenames IhaI
maIch your keywords as you Iye buI doesn'I
leI you selecI rom Ihem unIil you've hiI
FnIer, alIhough Ihis is a minor grie.
As bunIu One is orienIed Iowards
synchronisaIion, iI has no oIions or
scheduling backus. You can add olders rom
anywhere on your comuIer, buI Ihe service
lacks some airly common eaIures such as
versioning. Your sIored hles aren'I encryIed,
eiIher, alIhough Ihere's noIhing Io sIo you
encryIing Ihem yoursel.
.doc hles, alIhough Ihis doesn'I suorI many
oIher ormaIs. There's also a handy image
viewer and slideshow inIerace.
As Drobox is urely a syncing service
raIher Ihan online backu, all Ihe hles in
your Drobox older are coied Io every
linked comuIer, and Ihere's no oIion Io
include oIher olders or exIernal sIorage.
The only choice you geI on each comuIer is
Io decide which shared olders you wanI Io
sIore locally. l you wanI Io back u your
documenIs auIomaIically, we recommend
using Windows Libraries Io move your
DocumenIs and PicIures olders Io subolders
wiIhin Ihe Drobox older.
Old versions o hles aren'I normally
reIained beyond 30 days, buI Ihe Pack-RaI
add-on kees unlimiIed older versions. load
and download seeds can be Ihrouled
searaIely, so you don'I slow down your
inIerneI connecIion, buI Ihere are no
scheduling eaIures, as hles are uloaded or
downloaded as soon as Ihey change.
The web inIerace looks basic buI is easy
Io navigaIe and Ihe Publish oIion makes iI
easy Io download hles and share Ihem wiIh
oIhers. A music layer leIs you lay Iracks
uloaded Io your share or boughI rom Ihe
bunIu Uusic SIore (currenIly only available
under bunIu Linux) direcIly rom your
browser. This sIreamed Ogg and UP3 Iracks
erecIly buI couldn'I read our FLAC hles.
There's also a hoIo gallery and conIacIs
book. The as or Android and iOS can
uload hoIos auIomaIically rom your
device and rovide access Io your hles.
bunIu One is among Ihe cheaesI
syncing services around, and Ihe abiliIy Io
work across Linux, Uac and Windows is
unusual. Drobox can do Ihis buI iIs ackages
cosI more and iI lacks bunIu One's music
sIreaming. l you already use bunIu, an
bunIu One accounI is essenIial, Ihanks Io
iIs inIegraIion wiIh Ihe OS and Ihe bunIu
Uusic SIore. However, iI needs more eaIures
Io comeIe wiIh rivals such as SugarSync.
Drobox clienIs are available or Windows,
Uac OS X and Linux, as well as iOS, Android,
Windows Phone and BlackBerry hones and
IableIs. Files aren'I sIored locally on mobile
devices, alIhough you can choose Io cache
individual hles or access omine. The as
allow you Io uload as well as download hles
and can share and review omce documenIs,
sIream audio and video hles and back u your
hoIos. This wide suorI makes Drobox
one o Ihe mosI versaIile synchronisaIion
services around.
l you can geI riends Io sign u and also
Iake advanIage o addiIional caaciIy ohers,
you can geI u Io 18CB o sace or ree.
OIherwise, you can ay S10 (6.S6) a monIh
or 100CB. Higher caaciIies are available.
Drobox is one o Ihe besI synchronisaIion
services, buI SugarSync has a slighI edge
Ihanks Io a cheaer basic aid-or accounI
and Ihe abiliIy Io synchronise oIher olders.
ll3
ISSUE 308 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ OCTOBER 2013
ONLINE BCKUP: SYNCHRONISTION
WHILE MOST SYNCHRONISATION services
creaIe a older IhaI syncs auIomaIically wiIh
oIher comuIers, SugarSync is a liule smarIer.
lnsIead, you ick Ihe olders you wanI Io sync,
regardless o Iheir locaIion, and on anoIher
PC you choose where Io sync Ihem Io. You
could sIore your documenIs in a older on Ihe
D. drive o one PC, buI synchronise Ihis Io Ihe
regular DocumenIs older on Ihe C. drive o
anoIher. You also have a Uagic Briecase
older, which is synchronised across all your
comuIers and is a handy lace Io sIore noIes
and smaller ieces o inormaIion.
This abiliIy Io sync any local older means
SugarSync can be used as a basic online
backu service. You can'I schedule or ause
backus and everyIhing is backed u in real
Iime, buI SugarSync rovides version conIrol.
l you deleIe a hle, iI's keI in Ihe DeleIed Files
older indehniIely. However, i you accidenIally
save over a hle, you can only go back a
maximum o hve versions - which isn'I ideal,
esecially i your soware auIo-saves.
TREND MICRO SAFESYNC isn'I as insIanIly
riendly as some o iIs rivals. When you insIall
iIs deskIo clienI, Ihe hrsI choice you're given
is a |argon-hlled inviIaIion Io "change Ihe rooI
older locaIion", accomanied by an unhelul
descriIion o whaI Ihis enIails. lI's |usI asking
you where you wanI Ihe sync older Io be, buI
iI could be a loI clearer. ForIunaIely, once iI's
insIalled, everyIhing becomes much simler.
The conIenIs o your SaeSync older are
auIomaIically synchronised wiIh your cloud
sIorage and Ihe SaeSync olders on your
oIher PCs. You can also sync oIher olders,
including exIernal disks and maed neIwork
drives. This makes SaeSync usable as a
basic online backu service. You can'I seI a
schedule, buI hles are synced auIomaIically
whenever Ihey change. SaeSync reIains an
unlimiIed number o revious versions o your
hles, and deleIed hles are sIored online unIil
you remove Ihem manually.
To conhgure or examine your seuings,
you'll have Io use Ihe righI-click menu on
SUGARSYNC C0GB

$7.49 (around 4.92 inc VAT) per month

From www.sugarsync.com
TREND MICRO SaeSyrc

25 per year inc VAT

From www.safesync.com
VERDICT
One of our favourite synchronisation services, thanks to its
competitive pricing, ease of use and feature-packed web interface
VERDICT
The abi|ity to sync a|most any |oca| or externa| fo|der makes
this a exib|e service, but riva|s oer more storage for |ess
The deskIo clienI is among Ihe besI we've
seen. Click on a shared olders Io choose
wheIher iI's synchronised Io Ihe comuIer
you're working on. By deaulI, olders are only
synchronised beIween Ihe cloud and Iheir PC
o origin, buI i you enable iI on anoIher PC,
Ihe older is synchronised eiIher Io Ihe same
hle aIh or a locaIion o your choice.
The sharing oIions or each older can
also be conIrolled here. You can creaIe ublic
links or inviIe oIhers rivaIely Io view or ediI
Ihe conIenIs o your synced older.
WheIher you're backing u enIire olders
or sharing a ew choice hles, you can access
Ihem all rom SugarSync's brillianI web
inIerace, which makes iI easy Io share,
download and see Ihe version hisIory o hles.
PhoIos can be viewed as Ihumbnails or aI Ihe
ull size o your browser window.
SugarSync also has as or Android, iOS,
BlackBerry, Windows Phone and Symbian
devices. These allow you Io back u Ihe
hoIos on your hone, sIream music Io an
SaeSync's NoIihcaIion Area icon. The seuings
menu shows you how much sIorage you've
used, allows you Io add exIra olders Io be
synchronised and leIs you conIrol how much
bandwidIh SaeSync uses so IhaI iI doesn'I
inIerere wiIh your inIerneI use. You can also
add any older you wanI Io synchronise using
an oIion in Window Fxlorer's righI-click
menu. You can only synchronise individual hles
by coying Ihem Io a synchronised older.
All your SaeSync olders are auIomaIically
coied Io your online sIorage sace. The
service's web inIerace looks a liule cramed
and cluuered, buI iI rovides a reasonable
range o eaIures. You can download
individual hles, oen Ihem using a rogram
on your PC or lay a sIream o Ihe audio hles
in a given online older.
SaeSync's audio sIreamer has beuer
ormaI suorI Ihan mosI, and our UP3,
FLAC and Ogg hles all layed direcIly rom Ihe
web. A drag-and-dro uload box makes iI
easy Io add new hles over Ihe web and you
aroriaIe a on your hone and ully
synchronise olders, lus browse, download
and uload hles rom your cloud sIorage.
From Ihe deskIo clienIs, SugarSync mas
iIsel as a drive leuer on your PC. This leIs you
access all your cloud sIorage, regardless o
wheIher iI's sIored on your comuIer or noI.
Like Drobox, SugarSync gives you exIra
sIorage or reerring new users - S00UB
er user, wiIh no ca. The ree version o
SugarSync rovides you wiIh SCB o sIorage
(lus as much reerral sace as you can geI).
lI's ully uncIional buI i you need more
sace, Ihe 60CB bundle cosIs S7.49 (4.92) a
monIh or S7S (49) a year. Higher caaciIy
accounIs are also available and oher
rogressively beuer value.
lIs versioning caabiliIies may be limiIed,
buI i you wanI a aid-or syncing service,
SugarSync is Ihe besI, Ihanks Io iIs well-
designed clienI and web inIerace, and iIs
abiliIy Io sync any local older you wanI. lI's
good value, Ioo, and wins our BesI Buy award.
can share links Io hles, eiIher direcIly or via
social media, and roIecI Ihem using eiIher an
exiry daIe or a assword. There's no hoIo
gallery, buI you can view images, which oen
in a new window.
The mobile as or Android and iOS
have slick inIeraces and leI you browse and
download Ihe conIenIs o your synchronised
olders, as well as uloading hles. Sadly, Ihe
as don'I leI you uload all your hoIos in
bulk, or examle. FveryIhing musI be
browsed or and selecIed individually, which
can be hddly and Iime consuming.
lIs web inIerace and mobile as eel
raIher behind Ihe Iimes, buI SaeSync is
easy Io use and iIs unlimiIed versioning is
aealing. A 20CB accounI cosIs 2S a year,
S0CB cosIs 60 a year and 100CB cosIs 100
er year, alIhough you can save money by
aying or Iwo years. lI's chea or Ihose who
don'I need much sace, buI Ihe higher-
caaciIy ackages are exensive comared
wiIh Ihe likes o Drobox and SugarSync.
ONLINE BCKUP
ll4 OCTOBER 2013 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 308
BACKUP
BEST BUY
CARBONITE EMC LIVEDRIVE MEMSET PRO SOFTNET
Home (20l2) MozyHome Baclu SquirrelSave (20l2) iDrive Fro Fersoral
Rating

Price per month N/A 4.99 S S.0S N/A
Price per year S60 (around 40) 60 48 61 SS0 (around 33)
ACCOUNT SPECIFICATIONS
Operating system support Windows XP/VisIa/7/8,
Uac OS X 10.6+
Windows XP/VisIa/7/8,
Uac OS X 10.4+
Windows XP/VisIa/7/8,
Uac OS X 10.6+, oIher
oeraIing sysIems wiIh FTP,
SFTP or WebDAV
Windows XP/VisIa/7/8,
Uac OS X, bunIu Linux
Windows XP/VisIa/7/8,
Uac OS X
Storage space nlimiIed S0CB nlimiIed backu nlimiIed 1S0CB
Number of computers One One (1.7S er monIh or
each addiIional PC)
One (1 er monIh or
each addiIional PC)
nlimiIed (wiIh unique
aIhs)
nlimiIed
Folder and hle restrictions OeraIing sysIem hles and
video hles musI be selecIed
manually, ugrade available
None None None ConIinuous roIecIion o
hles under S00UB, larger
hles backed u ollowing
schedule
BACKUP
Redundancy/data centres UulIile daIa cenIres UulIile daIa cenIres UulIile daIa cenIres UulIile daIa cenIres UulIile daIa cenIres
Encryption 1,024-biI Blowhsh 2S6-biI AFS or 448-biI
Blowhsh
2S6-biI AFS 2S6-biI AFS SSL, 2S6-biI AFS
Logging/email reports Fmail, logging Logging Logging Logging Fmail, logging
Schedule options ConIinuous, daily, weekly ConIinuous, daily, weekly,
monIhly
ConIinuous AuIomaIic, every 1-24 hours ConIinuous, daily, weekly,
monIhly
Pause/throule Pause, Ihroule Pause, Ihroule Pause, Ihroule Pause, Ihroule Pause, Ihroule
Back up open hles? No Yes Yes Yes Yes
Back up entire disk
partitions?
Yes Yes No Yes Yes
Back up external
disks/NAS devices?
No, ugrade available Yes/no Yes/yes Yes/yes Yes/yes
Save backups to
local media?
No Yes, buI noI Io neIwork
shares
No No No
Send backups by post? No, ugrade available No No No No
RESTORE
Recover previous
versions of hles?
30 days 30 days 30 versions nlimiIed, on a doubling
Iimescale
30 versions
Recover deteled hles? 30 days 30 days 30 days 32 days, iniIial backu
keI orever
30 days
Restore from DVD/USB
drive sent in the post?
No Yes No No No
Web access to backups? Yes Yes Yes No Yes
Share selected backup
contents?
No, ugrade available Yes Yes No Yes
Nedia browser None PhoIos PhoIos, music None None
Nobile device support Android, BlackBerry, iOS Android, BlackBerry, iOS Android, iOS None Android, iOS
BUYING INFORMATION
Free version 1S-day Irial 2CB 14-day Irial None SCB
Contact website www.carboniIe.co.uk www.mozy.co.uk www.livedrive.com www.squirrelsave.co.uk www.idrive.com
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ONLINE BCKUP
llS
ISSUE 308 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ OCTOBER 2013
SYNC
BEST BUY
SOS ONLINE
BACKUP
CANONICAL DROPBOX SUGARSYNC TREND
MICRO
Home &Home
Oce
Uburu Ore Drobox SuarSyrc C0GB SaeSyrc

6 S2.99 (around 1.99) S9.99 (around 6.S6) S7.49 (around 4.92) N/A
60 S30 (around 20) S100 (around 66) S7S (around 49) 2S
Windows XP/
VisIa/7/8, Uac OS X
Windows XP/
VisIa/7/8, Uac OS X
10.6+, bunIu Linux
Windows XP/
VisIa/7/8, Uac OS X
10.4+, Linux (bunIu
7.10+, Fedora Core 9+)
Windows XP/
VisIa/7/8, Uac OS
X 10.S+
Windows XP/
VisIa/7/8, Uac OS X
10.S.8+
100CB 20CB 100CB 60CB 20CB
Five (including mobile
devices)
nlimiIed nlimiIed nlimiIed nlimiIed
None Only synchronises
olders inside your
ser direcIory
300UB ca on web
uload, synchronises
Drobox older only
None Will noI synchronise
Windows sysIem hles
Secure daIa
cenIre wiIh ohsiIe
redundanI array
bunIu 1 Furoean
daIa cenIre, Amazon
S3
Amazon S3 Amazon S3 F DaIa CenIre wiIh
lSO 27001 CerIihcaIion
SSL, 2S6-biI AFS,
1,024-biI AFS aI Ihe
daIa cenIre
SSL, no sIorage
encryIion
SSL, 2S6-biI AFS SSL, 128-biI AFS 2S6-biI AFS
Logging Logging Logging Logging Logging
Hourly, daily, weekly,
monIhly
None None None None
Pause, Ihroule Throule Pause, Ihroule Throule Throule
Yes, wiIh exceIions No No No No
Yes No No No No
Yes/yes No/no No/no No/no Yes (exceI sysIem
drive)/no
Yes No No No No
Yes No No No No
nlimiIed None 30 days (unlimiIed
wiIh oIional Pack-
RaI)
Five versions nlimiIed
nlimiIed No 30 days (unlimiIed
wiIh oIional Pack-
RaI)
DeleIed hles are
sIored online unIil
deleIed ermanenIly
DeleIed hles are
sIored online unIil
deleIed ermanenIly
No No No No No
Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
PhoIos, music, videos Uusic PhoIos PhoIos, music PhoIos, music
Android, iOS Android, iOS Android, BlackBerry,
iOS
Android, BlackBerry,
iOS, Symbian,
Windows Phone,
mobile siIe
Android 2.2+, iOS
3.1.3+
14-day Irial SCB 2CB SCB ree accounI,
30-day higher caaciIy
Irial
30-day Irial
www.sosonlinebacku.
com
hus.//one.ubunIu.
com
www.drobox.com www.sugarsync.com www.saesync.com
We've reviewed only the cream
of online backup and sync services
in our group test this month.
Each of the services we've tested
has a proven track record and is
eminently ht for purpose. |f all
you want is online backup and
you don't require web access or
syncing, Nemset's SquirrelSave
is a great service at a great price.
We're really impressed by its
new desktop client, which now
lets you back up external and
network drives, and it's a deserving
winner of our Best Buy award.
Alternatively, if you want a service
that gives you web access to your
hles, iDrive's low-cost service is
also a great choice.
When it comes to syncronisation
services, competition is tight.
However, SugarSync ohers the
most exible service, and wins
our Best Buy award. |ts updated
desktop client and brilliant web
interface make it easy to use, and
we particularly like the fact that
it can synchronise folders from
anywhere on a hard disk.
VERDICT
MEMSET
SquirrelSave

SUGARSYNC
Suarsyrc

BACKUP
SYNC
LINUX
llC OCTOBER 2013 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 308
LI LI LI LIINU NU NU NU NU N XXXXXX
ll ll ll ll ll ll lllllllllllllllllllllll CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC OCT OCT OCT OCT CT OCTOBE OBE OBE OBE OBE OBEE OBE OBE O R 2 R 2 R 2 R 2 R 2 RRRR 2 R 013 013 13 013 013 013 [[[[[[[ CON CON CON ONNN CON CO PUT PUT PUT UT UT U PUT P EP EP EP EP EP EP EPPPP 5HO 5HO 5HO HO 5HO 5HO 5HO 55H 5H PPE PPE PPE PPE PPE PPPE PPE PP PPPPPP [[[[[[[[ ISS ISS ISSSSSUE UE UE UE UE 308 308 308 308 08
Linux
It's compIeteIy free, has Iower system requrements
than Wndows and can rejuvenate an oId Iaptop.
5o why aren't you usng Lnux As David Ludlow
expIans, t's easer than you mght thnk to get started
LINUX IS AN operating system that gets a huge amount of press and
generates a |ot of interest, but comparative|y few peop|e actua||y use it.
That's a shame, as given a chance Linux is bri||iant.
For starters, it's comp|ete|y free, as are the vast majority of
app|ications for it. Then there's the fact that Linux genera||y works
we|| on |ower-specihed computers, so you can give an o|d desktop PC
or |aptop a new |ease of |ife by insta||ing it.
There are some downsides. Whi|e most peop|e are fami|iar with
Windows, Linux can seem daunting - a new wor|d fu|| of arcane
commands that have to be typed into a bare|y comprehensib|e conso|e.
However, a|though it may have been hard to use in the past, modern
versions of Linux are just as easy to use as Windows.
In this feature, we'|| take you through everything you need to know
about the operating system, so by the time you've hnished reading
you'|| be ab|e to do anything in Linux that you can in Windows.
We've used Ubuntu 13.04, the |atest version of Ubuntu Linux, as we
think it's the easiest one to use. Next month, we'|| dig a bit deeper, as
we'|| show you how to get advanced with your new Linux insta||ation,
gening even more out of it.
Hopefu||y, you'|| hnd out that Linux, and Ubuntu in particu|ar, is a
great operating system that deserves a p|ace on your computer.
UItimate uide to...
LINUX
llC OCTOBER 2013 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 308
LINUX
ll
ISSUE 308 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ OCTOBER 2013
LLLLI LLLLI LI LI LLLLLI LLLLI LLLLLLLLLLLI LLLLLLLLLLLLLI LLLLLLLLLLLLLLI LLLLLLLI LLI LI LLLLLI LLLI LI LI LLLI LLLLLIII LLII LLLLLII LLLLI LI LII LLLLLI LII LLLLLLII LLLI LLIIII LLLLI LII LI LI LI LLLLLII LLLIIII LLIIIII LLLLLLI LLLLIII LLLII LLLLIINNU NU NUUUU NNU NN XXXXXX
ll ll ll ll lll ll
ISS ISS ISSS ISS S UE UE UUE UE UE U 308 308 308 308 308 08 308 308 308 0 [[[[[[[[[ CON CON CON CON CON CONN CCOO PUT PU PUT UT UT PPU PUT PUTEP EP EEP EP EP EP 5HO 5HO 5HOO 5HO 5HO 5HO 55HO 5 PPE PE PPE PPE PPE PPE PP PPPPPP [[[[[[ OCT OCT OCT OCT OCT T OCT OCTOBE OBE OBE OBE OBE EE O R 2 R 2 R 2 R 2 R 2 R 013 0013 013 013 13
Insta||ing Ubuntu 118
We|come to the Ubuntu Desktop 122
5enings and periphera|s 124
Insta||ing sohware 126
Working with the Ubuntu Dash 128
Organising photos 129
P|aying your media 130
Conhguring emai| 132
5urhng the internet 133
Internet security 134
Cening rid of spam 136
5haring h|es 138
CONTENTS
LINUX
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ISSUE 308 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ OCTOBER 2013
LINUX
ll8 OCTOBER 2013 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 308
InstaII Ubuntu
l's ]us as easy o irsall Lirux as i is o irsall Virdovs, as you'll discover
vil le lel o our se-by-se uide
UBUNTU HAS BECOME easier Io insIall over Ihe years, deIecIing
hardware and insIalling Ihe necessary drivers auIomaIically. All you
have Io do is grab Ihe CD image hle rom www.ubuntu.ccm/getubuntu.
We recommend insIalling Ihe 64-biI version o bunIu 13.04, buI i
you know your comuIer doesn'I suorI Ihis or you have 4CB o
RAU or less, you should download Ihe 32-biI version insIead.
Once you've downloaded Ihe lSO hle, you can eiIher burn Ihis
Io disc by using recording soware, such as Ihe excellenI and ree
CDBurnerXP (hu.//cdburnerx.se), or insIall bunIu using a SB key.
The lauer is our reerred meIhod, as iI's quicker and means you
don'I need Io hnd a blank disc.
BE PREPARED
Beore you sIarI a Linux insIallaIion, iI's worIh doing a biI o
housekeeing and working ouI Ihe besI way Io roceed. Linux can
be insIalled alongside Windows on Ihe same hard disk, alIhough
iI's noI always very reliable and can cause roblems i you wanI Io
remove iI. Our avouriIe meIhod is Io use a second hard disk, eiIher
using a sare model or buying one secihcally or Linux (a 1TB SATA
deskIo disk cosIs around SS). You can Ihen unlug your exisIing
drive, leuing you reIurn Io your old sysIem easily.
ln sysIems IhaI have a single hard disk, such as a laIo, or where
you're noI boIhered abouI keeing an exisIing sysIem, such as an on
old deskIo, make sure you back u any hles you mighI need hrsI.
l you're insIalling bunIu on a laIo, you'll need Io booI inIo
Windows beore you wie your comuIer. Uany laIos require
Windows soware or Ihe shorIcuI keys Io work, and Ihey may noI
work in bunIu. lI's Ihereore besI Io Iurn on wireless neIworking,
Ihe sound and any oIher devices you have shorIcuI keys or beore
you sIarI, Ihen insIall bunIu.
IN A FLA5H
To insIall bunIu, you'll need a lash drive wiIh a caaciIy o aI leasI
2CB. lI will be ormaued when you use iI, so make sure you back u
any hles on Ihe drive you wanI Io kee hrsI. Some SB lash drives
How to...

UNetbootin is a simple way to create a bootable ash drive to install Linux

have been known Io reuse Io be recognised by a comuIer's BlOS,
so i a drive ails Io work you may need Io Iry anoIher one. Plug your
drive inIo a Windows comuIer and make a noIe o iIs drive leuer by
clicking on ComuIer in Ihe SIarI menu. lI's viIal IhaI you remember
Ihis, or you could lose imorIanI daIa by wiing Ihe wrong drive.
To make Ihe SB lash drive booIable, you'll need Io download
NeIbooIin rom hu.//unetbcctin.scurce[crge.net). To do Ihis,
choose Ihe Linux disIribuIion rom Ihe dro-down lisIs (bunIu
13.04). NexI selecI Diskimage and click Ihe '.' buuon Io navigaIe
Io Ihe lSO hle you downloaded earlier.
Finally, selecI Ihe SB drive you inserIed inIo your comuIer,
using Ihe dro-down Drive menu, Ihen click OK. Click OK on any
warning messages and your lash drive will be creaIed.
BOOT CAMP
You now need Io conhgure Ihe comuIer on which you're insIalling
bunIu Io booI rom your lash drive. Turn oh your comuIer, lug
Ihe drive inIo a SB orI and Iurn Ihe comuIer back on. You now
need Io enIer Ihe comuIer's BlOS. This is usually done by ressing
Ihe Del, F2 or F10 key while Ihe comuIer is sIarIing u, buI look ouI
or an onscreen message or check Ihe PC's manual i you're noI sure.
Once in Ihe BlOS, look or a BooI PrioriIy screen. lI won'I be in
Ihe same lace on every comuIer, so you may need Io have a hunI
around. Once you hnd iI, make Ihe hrsI booI device your SB drive,
Ihis may be lisIed as a SB device, or your lash drive may aear in
Ihe hard disk booI rioriIy menu, i Ihere is one. l you're insIalling
rom CD, make sure your oIical drive is seI as Ihe hrsI booI device.
When you're done, save Ihe seuings and exiI Ihe BlOS.
IN5TALL 5TORY
WiIh your choice o booI media made, insIall bunIu on your PC.
You don'I have Io commiI Io using Linux aI Ihis sIage, i you |usI
wanI Io give iI a Iry, you can run iI direcIly rom your insIallaIion disc
or lash drive in Live CD mode. This gives you Ihe chance Io see i
you like Ihe oeraIing sysIem hrsI. u like Ihe oeraIing sysIem hrsI.

Using a USB ash

drive is the easiest way to
install Ubuntu
LINUX
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ISSUE 308 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ OCTOBER 2013
01
|f you're booting from USB, your computer will |ust load
Ubuntu automatically, if you're booting from CD, look out
for the 'Press any key to boot from CD' message. |f you miss this
message, you'll have to restart your computer to load the Ubuntu
installation routine.
02
You'll be presented with a Language menu and two options.
The default installation option is to try Ubuntu without
making any changes to your computer. This simply loads Ubuntu
from the CD and doesn't write any hles to your hard disk. We'll
assume that you want to install, so select the installation option.
03
You'll now see a splash screen that has a list of criteria to
make the installation go as smoothly as possible. Nake sure
your computer is connected to the internet, as it can then download
the latest updates. Select 'Download updates' while installing.
For the best results, Ubuntu will need to install a number of
third-party applications in order to be able to play NP3, Flash and
other multimedia hles. Select '|nstall this third-party sohware' and
then click Forward.
04
|f your hard disk has any other operating system on it, you'll
see a warning on the next screen. You'll have the option to
install Ubuntu 13.04 alongside your existing OS or, if you're running
Ubuntu already, to upgrade it. For the best results, select the Erase
option. This will wipe your hard disk and let you start from scratch.
Doing this will mean you'll lose all the data on your hard disk, so
make sure you have a backup of your important hles hrst.
Ubuntu uses a simple partitioning system on your PC's hard disk.
Tweaking this will enable you to choose where your hles are kept
and create separate partitions for program hles and virtual memory.
For example, Linux stores user hles in the /home folder, and moving
this to its own partition is easy. However, if you opt to set up one
partition manually, you'll have to set them all up this way.
|f you want to stick with Ubuntu's default options, click Continue
and skip to Step 10. |f you want to set up your own partitions, select
'Something else' and click Continue.
0S
The installer will scan your hard disk and display the disk
partitioning tool. The hrst step is to delete all existing
partitions on the hard disk. Select each one in the list and click the
01 02
04 03
LINUX
l20 OCTOBER 2013 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 308
delete buuon (the minus sign). |f you have more than one hard
disk in your PC, your hrst disk is /dev/sda or dev/hda (dev/sdb or
dev/hdb is your second disk).
06
You should now have free space listed under /dev/sda.
Since we're making partitions by hand, we need to create all
the partitions that Linux requires, starting with the /boot partition.
Select free space in the list of partitions and click the '+' sign. Enter
a size of 50 (we're working in megabytes) and then select /boot as
the mount point. Click OK to continue.
07
Linux also needs a /swap partition, which is the equivalent
of the Windows swap hle used for virtual memory. When
your PC's real memory hlls up, Ubuntu will swap bits of the memory
that aren't currently being used - such as RAN being used for
inactive applications, for example - to the hard disk. This gives the
impression that your computer has more memory than it actually
does, enabling you to run more applications.
Create another new partition in the free space and then enter
a size (in megabytes) that is equal to the amount of RAN in the
computer (1CB is 1,024NB). Select Swap area from the 'Use as' list,
leave the other seuings at their defaults and click OK.
08
Next, you need to set the /home partition, which is where
all your user hles are kept. This is the equivalent of
Windows' Ny Documents folder, but in Ubuntu it is kept on a
separate partition. The advantage of this method is that if you
ever need to reinstall Linux, you can do so without overwriting
your existing documents.
Nake this partition as large as you like, but keep around 15CB
free for the hnal /root partition. Select /home as the mount point
before clicking OK.
09
The hnal custom partitioning task you need to perform is to
set the root or / partition. This is where Ubuntu is installed,
and it will use all the remaining space. Set the mount point as / and
click OK. You can see the hnal partition structure on the screen
above. Click |nstall Now when you're ready to continue.
10
Ubuntu will now start installing to your computer. While it's
copying hles, you need to specify a few seuings. First, you
need to set your current location on a map of the world in order
for Ubuntu to set the date and time correctly. You can also start
typing the name of your town or city into the text box. Click
Continue when you've done this. Next you'll be asked to conhgure
0S 06
08 07
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ISSUE 308 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ OCTOBER 2013
your keyboard and mouse seuings by selecting the language and
type from the list. Click Continue when you're done.
11
You'll then be prompted to enter a username and password
for your computer. Enter your password twice, and Ubuntu
will tell you if you've chosen a weak, fair or strong password. You
can now change the name of your PC.
You then need to decide how to log in. Logging in automatically
will boot straight to the Desktop, but the 'Require my password to
log in' option is more secure. |f you choose the lauer, you can also
select 'Encrypt my home folder' for extra security. Click Continue
when you're ready.
12
With your conhguration options set, Ubuntu will now go
through the process of hnalising the installation and copying
the remaining hles to your hard disk. This process takes a fair while,
so you can leave it copying.
13
Once Ubuntu has hnished installing, your PC will reboot
and you can log in to the Desktop using the username and
password you set in Step 11. You'll now have a fully working Linux
system, which we'll show you how to use over the next few pages.
09 10
12
13
11
LINUX
l22 OCTOBER 2013 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 308
WeIcome to the Ubuntu
Uburu isr' oo dissimilar o Virdovs, vil slorcu icors ard rorams ir leir
ovr virdovs. Tlere are some miror diererces, loul, vlicl ve'll exlair lere
As with Nac OS X, applications
share a common title bar, which
houses the menus (File, Help and
so on). Roll the mouse over this
area to view the available menus.
The Ubuntu Dash is a bit like the
Windows Start menu. You can use
it to hnd programs and hles, or
navigate through all installed
programs. When you've found
what you're looking for, click the
shortcut to launch the application.
The Ubuntu Sohware Centre is the
place to install new applications
and remove those you don't use.
There are thousands of programs
to choose from, and most of
them are free.
The Launcher is a dedicated
dock for application shortcuts.
Applications that are currently
running have white arrows next to
them. To keep an application in the
Launcher, right-click it and select
Keep in Launcher. To remove an
application from the Launcher,
simply remove the tick. |f the
Launcher disappears, move the
mouse to the leh of the screen.
This is Ubuntu's Wastebasket. |t
works in exactly the same way as
Windows' Recycle Bin, and allows
you to recover deleted hles.
LINUX
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ISSUE 308 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ OCTOBER 2013
Desktop
Clicking on the power buuon
brings up a menu similar to
Windows' Shutdown menu. This
allows you to reboot the
computer, put it into sleep mode,
switch to a diherent user account
or turn oh the computer.
Navigating around your hles and
folders is simple with Ubuntu's
Nautilus File Browser, which you
launch using the hling cabinet icon
on the Launcher. Nost things look
the same as in Windows, from the
menus to the navigation icons and
folder listings. |ust as in Windows,
there are pre-created folders for
your Documents, Nusic, Pictures
and Videos.
This is the notihcation area, and
looks |ust like the one in Windows.
|cons appear here to inform you
of the status of various functions.
Here you can see the strength of
your Wi-Fi signal, indicated by
blue bars, and change or mute
the volume by clicking on the
speaker icon. Clicking on the
envelope shows a menu listing
all the messaging applications,
including Empathy, which is
Ubuntu's default instant-
messaging program.
LINUX
l24 OCTOBER 2013 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 308
Manage system settngs
and perpheraIs
How to...
Seir u your Uburu comuer le vay you var i ard eir rev lardvare o
vorl is simle. Here ve ale you lroul some commor lardvare ard seirs
THERE WAS A Iime when using Ihe words 'Linux' and 'hardware'
in Ihe same senIence was enough Io make lT gurus cry, buI noI
any more. Linux has grown u and works |usI as easily as Windows
when iI comes Io insIalling eriherals. Over Ihe asI ew years,
oen-source develoers have been busily wriIing drivers and
alicaIions or a wide range o devices. SB and BlueIooIh have
made Iheir |ob ar easier, buI Ihere are sIill a ew issues Io look ouI
or, |usI as Ihere are wiIh any oeraIing sysIem.
ln bunIu, suorI or oular hardware is now so good IhaI
Ihe only roblem you're likely Io have is deciding which alicaIions
you wanI Io use wiIh your devices. lI's also easy Io manage your
devices and seuings, Ioo. On Ihese Iwo ages, we'll show you how
Io insIall a range o common eriherals using bunIu, and where
Io go in order Io manage everyIhing.
ALL 5Y5TEM5 CO
|usI as Windows has iIs ConIrol Panel, bunIu has SysIem Seuings.
This is Ihe main lace Io ad|usI and manage your conhguraIion.
UosI o Ihe seuings are clearly labelled, so iI's easy Io see
where Io go. For examle, seuing Ihe currenI Iime zone
requires you Io use Ihe Time & DaIe a.
You can use Ihe Dislays a Io manage your
comuIer's screen resoluIion. |usI selecI Ihe
a, Ihen use Ihe ResoluIion dro-down
menu Io ick your moniIor's resoluIion.
Click Aly when you're done Io conhrm
Ihe seuings. Aearance, meanwhile, leIs
you change Ihe way IhaI bunIu looks and
eels, as well as choose your own wallaer.
5OUND ADVICE
Ceuing your audio hardware u and running oughI Io ose
no roblems. Any modern sound card should work sIraighI
away, buI Linux manages sound hardware diherenIly Io
Windows, so iI's worIh Iaking a closer look aI iI.
Run Ihe Sound a rom SysIem Seuings Io manage
your comuIer's audio, i you can'I hear anyIhing when
laying CDs, or examle, Ihis should be Ihe hrsI lace
you look. The resulIing Sound Preerences dialog box
lisIs Ihe available sound devices on a ull-down menu
under Ihe Hardware Iab. ln mosI circumsIances, Ihese
will all be or Ihe same sound card.
One common sound roblem is caused by lugging
seakers inIo a PC's analogue audio sockeI and leaving
Linux seI Io use a digiIal ouIuI. This error should be
obvious i you see Ihe word 'DigiIal' in Ihe name o Ihe
selecIed audio devices in Ihe Sound Preerences dialog box. To
correcI Ihis, use Ihe ull-down menu Io change iI Io 'Analog SIereo
Dulex' and click Ihe TesI buuon. This should generaIe a sIeady Ione.
l noI, Iry Ihe Oen Sound SysIem (OSS) dro-down oIion or Ihe
device. l you sIill hear noIhing, Iry Ihe AuIodeIecI oIion.
You can also use Ihis dialog box Io change Ihe sounds layed
or secihc sysIem evenIs. Click on Ihe Sound FhecIs Iab and
you'll see a lisI o evenIs, each wiIh a sIaIus o DeaulI or Disabled.
l you click Ihe sIaIus and selecI CusIom, you'll be able Io navigaIe
Io Ihe sound hle o your choice.
PRINT 5HOP
norIunaIely, some rinIers - esecially older or less oular
models - aren'I suorIed by Linux. PrinIers require rorieIary

System Seuings is Ubuntu's version of Windows' Control Panel

Seuing your screen resolution in Ubuntu couldn't be easier

your conhguraIion.
I's easy Io see
I Iime zone
your
e
5
C
n
a
w
s
Li
LINUX
l2S
ISSUE 308 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ OCTOBER 2013
drivers i an oeraIing sysIem is Io access all Iheir eaIures, and Linux
drivers don'I exisI or cerIain models. ForIunaIely, however, many
rinIer manuacIurers have made considerable ehorIs Io rovide
Linux drivers or currenI and some o Ihe more oular older models.
lI's wise Io hnd ouI wheIher your rinIer is suorIed beore you
lug iI inIo your Linux PC. You'll hnd an acIive daIabase o suorIed
rinIers aI www.|inuxrinting.crg.
Click on Ihe PrinIers link on Ihe le
o Ihe age and enIer Ihe make and
model o your device. The ranking
sysIem runs rom Ihree enguins or
ully comaIible Io no enguins or
incomaIible, or 'aerweighI'
rinIers as Ihe daIabase calls Ihem.
l your rinIer isn'I lisIed, or i iI's
lisIed as a aerweighI rinIer buI
uses PosIScriI, you should hnd a PosIScriI PrinIer DehniIion (.d)
hle on your rinIer's original driver CD, which will Iell bunIu all iI
needs Io know. To load Ihis hle, lug in your rinIer, click on Ihe
bunIu logo, Iye rinIing and hiI FnIer. A dialog box should aear
showing your rinIer, double-click on Ihe rinIer's name and anoIher
box will oen giving iIs deIails.
NexI Io Uake and Uodel, iI should say IhaI iI's a generic rinIer.
Click Ihe associaIed Change buuon and anoIher dialog box will oen.
SelecI Provide PPD hle and inserI your rinIer's driver CD. l you
ress Ihe buuon marked None, a hle browser window will oen.
Browse Io and selecI Ihe .d hle on your CD and click OK.
l you'd reer Io use a rinIer shared by a Windows PC, you
can, rovided Ihere's a suiIable
Linux driver available. From Ihe
DeskIo's SysIem menu, selecI
AdminisIraIion, PrinIers, and
click New in Ihe dialog box IhaI
aears. SelecI 'Windows rinIer
via SAUBA' under NeIwork PrinIer
and click Browse. This brings u a
Windows Workgrou browser
window. Browse Io Ihe PC wiIh
Ihe shared rinIer and selecI iI. Click OK ollowed by Forward, and
you'll see Ihe amiliar rinIer driver insIallaIion window. SelecI Ihe
make and model o your rinIer and, when you hnish Ihe wizard,
you should be able Io rinI Io Ihe shared rinIer.
l your rinIer isn'I suorIed, Ihere isn'I much else you can
do. However, remember you can always save your documenIs Io a
Windows share and rinI Ihem rom a Windows PC.
lI's a co-ouI, buI rinIing is Ihe lasI greaI sIumbling
block in Linux and iI's geuing easier all Ihe Iime.
5CANNER INTHE WORK5
sing a scanner in Linux has also become much
easier, and Ihe Simle Scan scanning alicaIion,
which you can launch rom Ihe bunIu Dash, should
deIecI your scanner auIomaIically.
Plug your SB scanner inIo your bunIu PC
and run Simle Scan. The alicaIion will robe Ihe
comuIer's SB orIs or any connecIed scanners.
lI may Ihink Ihere are Iwo insIances o Ihe same
scanner, buI iI should be sae Io selecI Ihe deaulI
oIion and use IhaI.
When Ihe main Simle Scan user inIerace
oens, Ihere are a ew Ihings Io noIe. lI may be seI
Io read binary daIa rom Ihe scan, which reduces
Ihe image rom ull colour Io black and whiIe. l
iI is, click Ihe DocumenI, Scan menu and selecI
PhoIo Io scan in colour. This adds Ihe conIrols or
maniulaIing ull-colour images Io Ihe inIerace. You
may also hnd IhaI scanned images aear grainy. l
so, increase Ihe DPl seuing rom Ihe deaulI o 300
in Ihe DocumenIs, Preerences menu.
Gettin your audio Iardvare
up and runnin ouIt to pose no
probIems. ny modern sound card
sIouId vork straiIt avay

You can manage your computer's sound hardware and default sounds
using the System Seuings options

Ubuntu has a built-in scanner application. Simply plug your scanner into
your computer, and away you go

Ubuntu can use shared printers connected to Windows PCs

LINUX
l2C OCTOBER 2013 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 308
InstaII software
How to...
Uburu is acled vil useul buil-ir alicaiors, bu you car easily add more i
you reed o. Here ve'll slov you lov o brir your sysem o lie
EVERYONE KNOWS HOW Io insIall soware in Windows. |usI
double-click Ihe seIu rogram and answer a ew quesIions. l IhaI
sounds simle, you'll be amazed Io discover IhaI adding rograms
Io a Linux sysIem is even easier. ln many cases, you won'I even
need Io download Ihe soware yoursel, because Linux's soware-
managemenI sysIem knows where Io download iI rom. ln oIher
words, Linux does all Ihe work or you.
One o Linux's ma|or advanIages is IhaI iI granIs you easy access
Io a huge library o ree alicaIions, ranging rom asIronomy Iools
Io virIualisaIion rograms IhaI leI you run Windows or oIher
oeraIing sysIems inside Linux. These rograms are
re-builI and ready Io insIall. Here we'll show you how
Io do Ihis, and also exlain how Io kee your sysIem
u Io daIe and ugrade your version o bunIu
wiIhouI losing any daIa.
BUILT-IN APPLICATION5
You may noI necessarily need Io insIall a loI
o soware on bunIu, as Ihe wide range o
builI-in alicaIions cover mosI Iasks you're likely Io
wanI Io erorm. For examle, you geI Ihe excellenI
Libre Omce suiIe, which does everyIhing IhaI Uicroso
Word, Fxcel and PowerPoinI can do. You geI Ihe Brasero Disc
Burner, or creaIing oIical discs, and you also geI RhyIhmbox, which
will lay all your music hles.
DECI5IONTIME
l Ihe selecIion o insIalled alicaIions isn'I enough Io be going
along wiIh, you can insIall addiIional soware rom Ihe Soware
CenIre, which is locaIed in Ihe Launcher. This allows you Io browse a
large archive o soware. Across Ihe Io o Ihe inIerace, you'll see
Ihe View ull-down menu, which enables you Io hlIer Ihe lisIs o
rograms. SelecI 'All alicaIions' (some o which are closed source)
Io show everyIhing, or choose Io see Canonical UainIained
AlicaIions Io see rograms cerIihed or bunIu.
You can also search Ihe names and descriIions o alicaIions
or keywords. This means you can hnd a rogram IhaI does a
arIicular |ob even i you don'I know iIs acIual name.
ln acI, you can generaIe a long lisI o rograms IhaI deal
wiIh a cerIain sub|ecI. For examle, enIering 'grahics'
and hiuing FnIer brings u a long lisI. You can sorI Ihe
lisI by clicking on Ihe column headers.
You'll see caIegories such as Crahics and Omce in
Ihe le-hand ane. l you know Ihe Iye o rogram
you're looking or, click on one o Ihese caIegories,
and Ihe righI-hand ane will hll wiIh Ihe soware
available in IhaI caIegory.
To insIall an alicaIion, simly click Ihe Iickbox Io
Ihe le o iIs name. l Ihe soware is closed source, a
o-u message will ask you Io conhrm IhaI you wanI Io
insIall iI. When you insIall soware in bunIu, you can
click on as many alicaIions as you like. When you
click Ihe Aly Changes buuon aI Ihe bouom righI,
you'll be asked Io conhrm Ihe lisI o rograms and Io enIer
Ihe sysIem assword, which is Ihe one you use Io log in. The
alicaIions are Ihen added Io Ihe sysIem one aer Ihe oIher.
PACKACE HANDLINC
The lisI o alicaIions available may seem
exIensive Io some eole and resIricIing Io oIhers.
l you're in Ihe lauer grou, don'I desair. There's
a galaxy o soware available wiIh Ihe SynaIic
Package Uanager. This is Ihe main choice or
exerienced bunIu users, because iI gives access
Io individual ackages. lI's noI insIalled by deaulI,
so search or iI in bunIu Soware CenIre. The
Package Uanager soware does a loI o work in
Ihe background Io ensure IhaI everyIhing
insIalls roerly.
Once insIalled, bring u Ihe bunIu Dash and
Iye 'SynaIic'. The Package Uanager is near Ihe
bouom o Ihe resulIing menu. Run iI and click Ihe
Reload buuon. This conIacIs bunIu's websiIe and
re-reads Ihe lisI o available ackages. There are
more caIegories in Ihe le-hand anel here Ihan
Ihere are in Ihe bunIu Soware CenIre. However,
using SynaIic Package Uanager is |usI as simle.
|usI click Ihe Search buuon and enIer your keywords
Io hnd Ihe relevanI ackages Io add or remove. Once
you've ound whaI you're looking or, Iick Ihe box
nexI Io Ihe a, Ihen click Ihe Aly buuon. Your
soware will be insIalled auIomaIically.

The Ubuntu Sohware Centre is the place to hnd new applications

o asI o o y Ioo s
dows or oIher
s are
ou how
ysIem
u
kely Io
ellenI
Uicroso
e Brasero Disc
I Rh Ih b hi h
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LINUX
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ISSUE 308 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ OCTOBER 2013
Synaptic is an advanced
application manager, which is useful
for managing Ubuntu or installing
some of its more obscure features
Ubuntu can tell you
when there's a new version
of the OS and upgrade
your system in-place

As with Windows, Ubuntu can download and install any necessary

system updates automatically over the internet
Once you've insIalled a ackage, Ihe SynaIic
Package Uanager will be able Io hel you when iI's
Iime Io remove or ugrade iI. The Iickboxes nexI Io
Ihe insIalled ackages should be green, indicaIing
IhaI Ihey're insIalled roerly. l you click one, a
conIexI menu will give you Ihe oIion o re-insIalling
iI (which is useul i you make a mess o Ihings while
conhguring iI) or uninsIalling Ihe ackage comleIely.
You can also ugrade ackages. When an
ugrade becomes available or one o your ackages
or alicaIions, oen Ihe SynaIic Package Uanager
and hiI Ihe reload buuon. Find Ihe ackage you wanI
Io ugrade and click iIs Iickbox. Click Ihe ugrade oIion and hiI
Ihe Aly buuon, |usI as you did when insIalling iI.
The rocedure or removing a ackage is much Ihe same as iI is
or insIalling iI. ln SynaIic Package Uanager, simly selecI Ihe
ackage you wanI Io remove rom Ihe sysIem by clicking on iIs
Iickbox. HiI Ihe Aly buuon and a dialog box os u asking you
Io conhrm your acIions. Choose Aly on Ihis box and Ihe ackage
will be removed rom Ihe sysIem.
FIXINC A HOLE
From Iime Io Iime, bunIu ublishes udaIes IhaI hx bugs, imrove
uncIionaliIy and hll securiIy holes in Ihe oeraIing sysIem and iIs
insIalled ackages. When Ihis haens, you'll see an udaIe icon
in Ihe bunIu Launcher. Click Ihis and bunIu's daIe Uanager
will oen. You can also run Soware daIer by using Ihe bunIu
Dash Io look or new udaIes manually. This lisIs all Ihe available
udaIes. Click Ihe Aly buuon and enIer your sysIem assword.
The daIe Uanager will download Ihe relevanI udaIes or your
sysIem, which can Iake a ew minuIes.
bunIu is caable o ugrading your oeraIing sysIem in-lace.
ln oIher words, iI will kee your alicaIions, seuings and hles, buI
ugrade Ihe OS around iI. This is much less hassle Ihan having Io
reinsIall everyIhing rom scraIch. However, bunIu will only Iell
you abouI Long-Term SuorI (LTS) versions o Ihe OS, which are
released every 18 monIhs and have, as Ihe name suggesIs, a longer
suorI Iime Ihan Ihe oIher releases. Cenerally seaking, LTS
versions are considered Io be more sIable and are largely aimed aI
businesses IhaI need Io sIandardise on a version.
ForIunaIely, iI's easy Io override Ihe seuings so IhaI bunIu will
deIecI every new version. From Ihe bunIu Dash run Soware &
daIes, click daIes and change Ihe 'NoIiy me o a new bunIu
version' menu Io 'For any new version'. You'll need Io enIer your
assword Io aly Ihe seuings. Click Close when you're done.
y y p
TIere's a aIaxy oI soItvare
avaiIabIe vitI tIe Synaptic Packae
Manaer. TIis is tIe main cIoice Ior
experienced Ubuntu users
LINUX
l28 OCTOBER 2013 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 308
Use Ubuntu Dash
How to...
Tle Uburu Dasl is your aevay o everylir or your comuer, ard i vill ever
searcl your docs ard email orlire. Usir i is simle, as you'll discover
THE UBUNTU DASH is whaI you use Io hnd Ihings on your PC, and
iI even searches your online social media and email accounIs. AI Ihe
bouom o Ihe Dash are some shorIcuI keys, which leI you search or
browse by caIegory, called Lenses. Click on Ihe AlicaIions Lens
icon, or examle, and you can click Ihe buuon Io browse your
insIalled alicaIions, or |usI use Ihe search bar Io hnd whaI you
wanI. There are lenses or Files, Uusic, PhoIos and Video by deaulI.
RighI-click on any icon in Ihe Dash Io bring u more inormaIion.
You can also use Ihe dro-down FilIer resulIs menu Io hel you hnd
whaI you're looking or. The hlIer oIions diher rom lens Io lens, buI
include iIems such as Ihe daIe lasI modihed, and size. UosI o Ihe
lenses are sIraighIorward Io use, buI we'll Iake you Ihrough Ihose
IhaI aren'I quiIe as obvious.
5OCIAL CLUB
The Social Lens incororaIes resulIs rom your social neIworks when
you search using Ihe bunIu Dash. To geI iI working, you hrsI need
Io add online accounIs, linking your social neIworking Io bunIu.
Doing Ihis is relaIively sIraighIorward. |usI launch Online
AccounIs rom Ihe bunIu Dash. Once Ihe alicaIion sIarIs you'll
see Ihe suorIed accounI Iyes, which cover all Ihe ma|or social
neIworks, lus Flickr and all Iyes o Coogle accounI (Cmail, Coogle
Docs, Coogle+, YouTube and Picasa).
To add one o your accounIs, |usI click Ihe relevanI icon. You'll be
Iaken Io a login age or Ihe relevanI accounI, where you simly
need Io Iye in your login deIails. Deending on Ihe accounI Iye
you may need Io ollow Ihe onscreen insIrucIions Io give bunIu
ermission Io access your rivaIe daIa.
Once you've added an accounI, you'll see iI aears in Ihe lisI o
accounIs. SelecIing one leIs you choose which arIs o your accounI
you wanI inIegraIed wiIh bunIu. For examle, or Coogle you can
choose Io inIegraIe your hoIos and Coogle Drive inIo search resulIs,
have your conIacIs aear in Ihe FmaIhy insIanI messaging
accounI and leI Ihe ShoIwell hoIo manager uload icIures Io
Picasa. Fach oIion can be Iurned on or oh individually, giving you
ull conIrol over whaI you inIegraIe wiIh Ihe oeraIing sysIem.
Once you've added your online accounI, you'll see IhaI online
iIems sIarI aearing in search resulIs. For examle, sIarI Iying and
you'll see IhaI Coogle Drive documenIs aear in search resulIs, and
clicking one will oen Ihe documenI in your web browser. Click Ihe
PhoIo Lens (a icIure o a camera aI Ihe bouom o Ihe bunIu
Dash) and you'll be able Io search your online accounIs and local
comuIer. You can use Ihe hlIer oIions on Ihe righI-hand side o Ihe
Dash Io choose which accounIs Io search, as well as seuing oIher
hlIering criIeria, such as Ihe age o Ihe iIem you're looking or.
MEDIA 5AVVY
The PhoIo, Video and Uusic Lenses hel you hnd media on your
online accounIs as well as local hles. For locally sIored hoIos, you
need Io sIarI Ihe ShoIwell image managemenI alicaIion and imorI
your hoIos (see oosiIe or more deIails). lI will ask i you wanI Io
imorI hoIos rom your PicIures older. ShoIwell also leIs you add
image Iags Io your icIures, making Ihem easier Io hnd.
To look or iIems, oen Ihe bunIu Dash, selecI Ihe lens or Ihe
Iye o media you wanI Io hnd and sIarI Iying. Don'I orgeI Io use
Ihe FilIer resulIs menu Io narrow down Ihe search.
CLO5ED 5HOP
Annoyingly, bunIu sIill brings u shoing resulIs rom Amazon
in Ihe bunIu Dash. nder SysIem Seuings, Privacy, iI's ossible Io
disable online search resulIs so Ihey don'I aear in Ihe Dash.
However, Ihis can cuI ouI some o Ihe useul resulIs and sIos Ihe
Online AccounIs eaIure rom working. A beuer aroach is Io
deleIe Ihe ohending lens. The easiesI way Io do Ihis is Io insIall Ihe
SynaIic Package Uanager and search or 'uniIy-lens-shoing' and
remove Ihe Package you hnd. This will kill all Amazon resulIs, buI
leave everyIhing else alone. You may need Io log ouI and back in
again Io hnish Ihe |ob comleIely.

The Ubuntu Dash has categories, so you can narrow down what you're
looking for

You can decide which parts of your online accounts you want to
integrate with Ubuntu

You can search online accounts for items as if they were stored locally
LINUX
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ISSUE 308 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ OCTOBER 2013
Manage photos
How to...
You car imor ard marae all your loos ir Uburu usir le exceller
buil-ir Slovell loo-maraemer ool
LINUX HAS COME a long way since iI was hrsI creaIed. lI's now |usI
as riendly Iowards mulIimedia devices such as digiIal cameras as
Windows is. One o Ihe easiesI ways Io download icIures Io your PC
is Io use a SB card reader, |usI as you would in Windows.
You simly lug Ihe card reader inIo your comuIer and bunIu
will recognise iI immediaIely. When you lug in a card, iI will be
recognised in a similar way Io a SB disk, allowing you Io coy hles
rom iI using Ihe File Browser, Ihe memory card will be lisIed on Ihe
le where all your oIher drives are lisIed.
Plugging your camera in is as simle as connecIing Ihe rovided
SB cable Io your comuIer and camera, and Ihen Iurning your
camera on. Once connecIed, a window will o u onscreen Ielling
you IhaI you've |usI inserIed a medium wiIh digiIal hoIos. You Ihen
need Io choose whaI alicaIion Io launch.
Here you have Iwo oIions. Ihe ShoIwell hoIo manager or Oen
Folder. The lauer oIion leIs you access Ihe camera direcIly and coy
hles rom iI manually. We reer Ihe ShoIwell hoIo manager oIion,
selecI Ihis and click OK.
THUMB5 UP
ShoIwell will sIarI and dislay a window wiIh a lisI o hoIos on your
camera, comleIe wiIh Ihumbnail reviews. The soware suorIs
reuy much every ma|or image ormaI and could even dislay Raw
images rom our Nikon D80 DSLR. All you have Io do is selecI Ihe
images you wanI Io coy. Pressing CIrl-le-click leIs you selecI
individual images, while using Shi-le-click selecIs a range o
images.When you're hay wiIh your selecIion, click lmorI PhoIos.
Your icIures are coied Io your PicIures older and sorIed inIo
olders by year, daIe and Ihen day.
Deending on Ihe size o your memory card, Ihe size o Ihe
images and Ihe number o hoIos, Ihis rocess can Iake anyIhing
rom a ew seconds Io a good ew minuIes Io comleIe. Once Ihe
rocess has comleIed, you'll geI a success message and will Ihen
be asked i you wanI Io deleIe Ihe icIures rom your camera.
EYE BROW5E
Once you've goI your icIures inIo ShoIwell, you can browse Ihrough
Ihem in a varieIy o ways. The sidebar Io Ihe le o Ihe screen leIs
you browse by lasI imorI, daIe (Ihis is read rom Ihe hoIos and is
relianI on your digiIal camera being seI correcIly) and older. You can
also browse by Tags, which you assign manually Io hoIos.
Adding Tags is as simle as selecIing Ihe hoIos you wanI Io Iag
(you can hold down CIrl and le-click Io selecI mulIile hoIos),
righI-clicking Ihem and selecIing Add Tags. Tye in Ihe Tags you wanI
Io use, searaIed by commas, and click Save when you're done. Your
new Tags aear in Ihe le-hand anel, selecIing any Tag will show
you all Ihe icIures you've Iagged. When adding Tags Io hoIos,
ShoIwell auIocomleIes exisIing Iags, so you won'I end u wiIh
incorrecI ones (FlehanI raIher Ihan FlehanIs, or examle).
EDIT ANDVIEW
To view a icIure, |usI double-click iIs Ihumbnail and Ihe image will
oen. Double-click on iI again Io go back Io Ihe Ihumbnail view.
Once you've goI a hoIo oen, you can use Ihe buuons aI Ihe
bouom Io roIaIe, cro, sIraighIen, remove red eye and ad|usI Ihe
brighIness and conIrasI. You can also click Ihe Fnhance buuon Io
leI ShoIwell do Ihe |ob auIomaIically.
Finally, on Ihe Thumbnail screen, you can selecI Ihe hoIos
you wanI Io share online by clicking Ihe Publish buuon. ShoIwell
suorIs Picasa, Facebook and Flickr. l you don'I see your
accounI Iye lisIed in Ihe 'Publish hoIos Io' dro-down menu,
selecI Add more accounIs. Click Add accounI, Ihen choose Ihe
accounI Iye you wanI and enIer your login deIails. You'll Ihen
be able Io uload your hoIos auIomaIically.

Shotwell has a variety of ways to browse through your photos

Shotwell lets you publish your photos online automatically

LINUX
l30 OCTOBER 2013 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 308
PIay meda n Lnux
How to...
Lirux is rea as a media layer rovided you've se i u correcly. Vil Uburu
you car lay ary ye o le ard sream corer over your lome revorl
UBUNTU IS MORE Ihan caable o dealing wiIh a huge media
collecIion and will lay reuy much any Iye o hle. WhaI's more,
iI can be conhgured Io sIream hles over your home neIwork and
even Io acI as a comleIe media server. Ceuing iI all working Iakes
some ehorI, buI we're here Io hel wiIh our comleIe guide.
We've sliI Ihis guide inIo Ihree secIions. laying hles, sIreaming
hles and acIing as a media server.
PLAYBACK
VIDEO
bunIu will lay reuy much any Iye o media hle, buI iI needs Ihe
necessary codecs Io do so. When you insIall Ihe oeraIing sysIem
you may see an oIion Io insIall all Ihe codecs you'll need, buI iI's
easy Io miss Ihis. ForIunaIely, adding Ihem manually is simle.
Oen Ihe bunIu Soware CenIre and search or 'resIricIed', Ihen
selecI bunIu ResIricIed and click lnsIall. This will insIall Adobe Flash,
lus Ihe codecs Io deal wiIh mosI audio and video layback ormaIs.
Once Ihis is insIalled, you're ready Io lay any hle you wanI.
se Ihe NauIilus hle browser Io navigaIe Io a older conIaining
your media. bunIu uses Ihe Videos rogram by deaulI. Double-
click a video hle Io oen iI in Videos. We had no roblems viewing
any o our IesI hles, including DivX, XviD, UKV, UP4 and WUV hles.
MU5IC
RhyIhmbox can be launched rom Ihe bunIu Dash. On Ihe le,
you'll hnd a ane wiIh your library shorI cuIs, music sIores and
laylisIs. On Ihe righI, when Uusic is selecIed under Library, you'll
see Ihree anes. arIisI, album and a Irack lisIing. These will be blank,
o course, unIil you imorI your music collecIion.
To imorI Iracks rom a CD, you need Io seI your imorI
reerences. Click on Preerences rom Ihe FdiI menu, Ihen click on
Ihe Uusic Iab. SelecI UPFC Layer 3 Audio rom Ihe Preerred ormaI
menu, Ihen you can ad|usI Ihe qualiIy seuing, buI using Ihe slider
beneaIh. We recommend using an oIion beIween 7.0 and 9.9.
To ri an audio CD, inserI iI inIo your comuIer's oIical drive.
The disc will aear in Ihe le-hand anel o RhyIhmbox, and iIs
name and Irack IiIle will be auIomaIically downloaded rom Ihe
inIerneI. RighI-click Ihe CD and selecI FxIracI Io Library Io converI
Ihe Iracks Io UP3. There's a rogress bar aI Ihe bouom. When iI's
hnished, you can remove your CD.
The besI lace Io sIore Iracks IhaI you already have in UP3
ormaI is in Ihe Uusic older, which you can access using Ihe
NauIilus File Browser. To imorI your exisIing UP3 Iracks, head Io
Ihe Uusic menu in RhyIhmbox and choose lmorI Folder. Click on
Ihe Uusic older in Ihe le ane o Ihe window IhaI oens and click
Oen. All your music will now be added Io RhyIhmbox's library.
You may have music in several ormaIs (UP3, WUA and AAC, or
examle), and Ihe codecs or some o Ihese ormaIs may noI be
insIalled. l Ihey're noI, RhyIhmbox will ask i you wanI Io search or
Ihe aroriaIe codec using bunIu's Package Uanager. Follow Ihe
insIrucIions Io download any required codecs.
NETWORK STREAMING
So ar, so good, buI when iI comes Io sIreaming hles over Ihe
neIwork iI geIs a biI Irickier, as bunIu has no PnP or DLNA
clienI. BoIh o Ihese Iechnologies are designed Io make sIreaming
media easier rom a PnP server on Ihe neIwork, such as IhaI
running on your NAS or shared via Windows Uedia Player 12.
There are alIernaIive oIions, Ihough. The easiesI meIhod may
be simly Io use neIwork shares and browse manually Io Ihe hles
IhaI you wanI Io lay. This is hne or videos, buI i you have a large
music collecIion IhaI you don'I wanI Io sIore locally on your hard
disk, a PnP clienI would make Ihings easier, as you'd be able Io
browse music by arIisI, genre, album and more, raIher Ihan |usI
hlenames. The XBUC alicaIion is a good choice, and gives you a
ull-screen media exerience similar
Io Windows Uedia CenIer.
CeI a Terminal u and Iye 'sudo
aI-add-reosiIory a.NaIhan-
renniewaldock/xbmc-sIable'. This adds
a new alicaIion reosiIory or Ihe
XBUC clienI. Tye 'sudo aI-geI
udaIe' Io udaIe Ihe reosiIory
inormaIion, Ihen Iye 'sudo aI-geI
insIall xbmc' Io insIall Ihe soware.
Once iI's insIalled, you can run iI rom
Ihe bunIu Search menu.
XBMC
When you sIarI Ihe soware iI will
become ull screen, Iaking over your
enIire comuIer in Ihe same way IhaI

The built-in Videos app is simplistic,

but it will play most hle types and DVDs

You can rip CDs and

import existing music
using Rhythmbox
LINUX
l3l
ISSUE 308 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ OCTOBER 2013

NediaTomb will appear in your Other Libraries section in Windows Nedia

Player and in any other UPnP clients you have, such as an Xbox 360
Windows Uedia CenIer does. For viewing media Ihere are Ihree
menu oIions. PicIures, Videos and Uusic. They all work in roughly
Ihe same way, so choose one, Ihen selecI Add Source (you may need
Io selecI '..' rom Ihe hrsI menu you see, while Videos has Ihe oIion
Add Videos). SelecI Browse and you can hnd a older conIaining
media rom a wide varieIy o sources. Those wiIh a blue icon are local
hles, Ihose wiIh a red icon are neIwork devices.
For neIwork devices, you can connecI Io a Windows neIwork
(SUB) or PnP server. SelecI PnP Devices rom Ihe lisI and waiI or
Ihe lisI Io be hlled u. SelecI your server and Ihe older conIaining
Ihe Iye o media you wanI Io access, Ihen selecI OK. Tye a name
in or your server, Ihen click OK and OK again. ReeaI or as many
servers you like, and again Io hll Videos, Uusic and PicIures.
You will now be able Io lay your media by selecIing Files rom Ihe
Videos, Uusic or PicIures menu. Simly selecI Ihe media server rom
Ihe dislayed lisI, and Ihen browse Io Ihe hles you wanI. You can
now |usI selecI Ihe hle you wish Io lay.
VLC
While XBUC is good or icIures and movies, iI's a biI disIracIing or
music as you can'I swiIch back Io Ihe bunIu DeskIo and geI on
wiIh someIhing else. WiIh Ihis in mind, i you wanI Io access shared
music and videos while being able Io geI on wiIh your normal work,
an alIernaIive media layer may be required.
VLC is a sIandalone media layer IhaI can be insIalled rom Ihe
bunIu Soware CenIre. Once iI's insIalled, run iI and selecI Tools,
Preerences. Click All and go Io PlaylisI, Services discoverable. Uake
sure IhaI niversal Plug'n'Play is selecIed, Ihen click Save.
ln VLC, click View, PlaylisI, Ihen selecI Local NeIwork, niversal
Plug'n'Play. Aer a ew minuIes, your comuIer will dislay a lisI o
all Ihe PnP servers on your neIwork, and you can double-click on
any o Ihem Io browse Ihe conIenIs. The inIerace isn'I arIicularly
brillianI, buI VLC is a decenI video layer.
SHARING MEDIA
Being able Io geI aI media you've sIored somewhere else is useul,
buI i you sIore everyIhing on your Linux comuIer, iI's also useul Io
share IhaI media wiIh oIher comuIers on your neIwork. ForIunaIely,
while Ihe PnP clienI suorI in bunIu mighI be a biI rubbish, Ihe
media server side is much beuer.
UediaTomb is our avouriIe server and can be insIalled using
Ihe bunIu Soware CenIre. However, a biI o conhguraIion is
required Io geI access Io Ihe web-based user inIerace once iI's
insIalled. Bring a Terminal u rom Ihe bunIu Search menu. Tye 'sudo
gediI /eIc/mediaIomb/conhg.xml' Io oen u Ihe conhguraIion hle.
Look or Ihe line IhaI sIarIs <ui enabled="no"
and change Ihe "no" Io "yes". While you're in Ihe
conhguraIion hle you can give Ihe media server a new
name. Look or Ihe <name>UediaTomb</name> line and
change UediaTomb Io whaIever you wanI Io call Ihe
server. Save Ihe hle and quiI CediI. AI Ihe command line, Iye 'sudo
/eIc/iniI.d/mediaIomb resIarI' Io resIarI Ihe media server. You can
now access Ihe web-based user inIerace by Iying 'mediaIomb' inIo
Ihe bunIu Search menu and clicking Ihe icon IhaI aears.
This launches Ihe UediaTomb web inIerace in your web browser.
lI's very basic, buI IhaI means iI requires liule conhguraIion.
FssenIially, all you need Ihe web inIerace or is Io Iell Ihe server
which olders have media in Ihem. These olders will be scanned or
Iheir conIenI and auIomaIically caIegorised by Iheir hle Iye.
Click on FilesysIem and browse Io a older IhaI conIains media.
Tyically /home/<username> conIains Ihe olders you'll use or
media. WiIh a older selecIed, click Ihe 'Add as auIoscan dir' icon
(a '+' buuon wiIh Iwo curved arrows around iI). Change Scan
Uode Io lnoIiy, lniIial Scan Io Full, selecI Recursive and, unless
you have good reason Io do oIherwise, leave Ihe 'lnclude hidden
hles/direcIories' box selecIed. Click SeI Io add Ihe older.
ReeaI Ihese sIes or any olders IhaI conIain your media.
UediaTomb will now scan Ihese olders or media Io serve and will
udaIe iIs daIabase every Iime you add new hles Io Ihese olders.
ACCE55INCYOUR MEDIA
Once you've goI UediaTomb u and running, iI will aear on your
neIwork and can be accessed by any PnP clienI. You can IesI Ihis
rom Windows by oening Windows Uedia Player. Look under OIher
Libraries and your media server will aear here under Ihe name
you've given iI. You can exand Ihis library and browse by music,
videos or icIures. You'll also be able Io view any media hles sIored
on anoIher PnP clienI, such as an Xbox 360 or PlaySIaIion 3.

XBNC provides a great viewing experience by taking over your entire screen

You can play media from a wide variety of sources, including

your home network, using XBNC
LINUX
l32 OCTOBER 2013 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 308
Conhgure emaI
How to...
Tle buil-ir Tlurderbird email clier us overul ard exible mail maraemer
ril a your reris. !oruraely, seir i u is a simle rocess
THE THUNDERBIRD EMAIL clienI is builI inIo bunIu. lI's owerul,
lexible and incredibly easy Io use, and on Ihis age we'll Iake you
Ihrough seuing u and conhguring an email accounI.
FirsI, run Ihe soware rom Ihe bunIu Dash. You'll see a
message asking i you wanI Io creaIe a ree email accounI, using
eiIher gandi.neI or Hover.com, however, as you'll robably have an
email accounI already, you're beuer oh clicking 'Ski Ihis and use my
exisIing email'. This sIarIs Ihe Uail AccounI SeIu wizard.
On Ihe nexI screen enIer your name, email address and assword,
Ihen click ConIinue. Thunderbird can look u Ihe accounI seuings or
mosI Iyes o email accounIs, so iI may conhgure iIsel auIomaIically.
l your rovider isn'I suorIed, click Ihe Uanual conhg buuon
IhaI aears. Here you'll need Io selecI wheIher your email uses
lUAP or POP3 email. lUAP is besI, as iI leaves Ihe email on Ihe
server, so you'll always have a backu, POP3 downloads Ihe email
and deleIes iI rom Ihe server. You'll also need Io hll in Ihe incoming
and ouIgoing server addresses. l in doubI, your lSP or email
rovider will be able Io Iell you Ihese seuings.
Once you've conhgured your accounI, iI will Iake a liule while or
Thunderbird Io ull in your new email. Once iI's done so, selecIing an
email in your inbox will show you Ihe message in Ihe review window
below iI. Thunderbird blocks icIures, buI you can click 'Show RemoIe
ConIenI' Io download images or a single message, i you IrusI Ihe
sender, click Ihe link IhaI sIarIs 'Always load remoIe conIenI rom'.
You can also double-click a message Io oen iI ull-size in a new
Iab. These work Ihe same way as Iabs in a browser. you can lick
beIween messages and your inbox or close a Iab by click Ihe 'x' in iIs
corner. To rely, orward, deleIe or add a message Io your |unk mail
older, click Ihe buuons aI Ihe Io o an email. You sIarI a new email
message by clicking Ihe WriIe buuon aI Ihe Io o Ihe alicaIion.
There are Iwo meIhods o searching. The Io search box is
alicaIion-wide and will hnd conIacIs and emails wiIh Ihe keywords
you Iye in. The smaller search box is |usI or Ihe currenI older.
Once you've enIered some keywords, you can click Ihe Sender,
ReciienIs, Sub|ecI and Body buuons Io choose where you wanI Io
search. For examle, i you only have Ihe Sub|ecI buuon selecIed,
Ihe search will look only in Ihe sub|ecI held o emails.
l your email accounI has a number o diherenI olders, you'll
see Ihese in Ihe le-hand anel. You can creaIe new olders, by
righI-clicking on Ihis box and selecIing New subolder, and Ihen drag
and dro emails inIo Ihem. Thunderbird also has a builI-in conIacIs
a, which you access by clicking Address book. You can add a new
conIacI direcIly rom Ihis, or simly righI-click on an email address
in a message and selecI Add Io Address Book.

Thunderbird can automatically conhgure itself for most internet and

webmail providers, so you probably won't have to do any conhguration

You can manually conhgure Thunderbird to use any type of email account

|t's easy to browse through your email using Thunderbird

LINUX
l33
ISSUE 308 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ OCTOBER 2013
Use CoogIe Chromum
How to...
!ireox is le buil-ir veb brovser, bu Clromium is beer. Tlis is le oer-source
versior o Goole Clrome, ard car be irsalled or Uburu
UBUNTU IS AN excellenI oeraIing sysIem or
Ihe inIerneI, wiIh lenIy o eaIures builI in.
Coogle's Chrome web browser can enhance
your online exerience even more, however,
and using iI on your Linux comuIer is simle.
AlIhough Coogle Chrome is a Windows web
browser, iI's based on Ihe Chromium oen-
source ro|ecI. As a resulI, iI's available or
Linux. AlIhough Ihere's a name change, Ihe
browser is almosI idenIical Io Ihe Windows
version. Here we'll show you how Io geI sIarIed
and make Ihe mosI o all Ihe same eaIures
you'd execI on your Windows DeskIo.
As you'd execI, Chromium is insIalled rom
Ihe bunIu Soware CenIre in Ihe Launcher.
SIarI iI and Iye Chromium inIo Ihe search bar.
SelecI Chromium Web Browser and click Ihe
lnsIall buuon. lI will download and insIall iIsel.
Chromium is launched rom Ihe bunIu
search menu. The browser will oen, and will be
immediaIely amiliar Io anyone who's used Ihe
Windows version. You'll be romIed Io choose wheIher you wanI
Chromium Io be Ihe deaulI browser, i you do, click 'SeI as deaulI'.
One o Chromium's besI eaIures is iIs abiliIy Io synchronise
bookmarks, exIensions, reerences and more beIween diherenI
comuIers and Ihe cloud. All you need is a Coogle accounI such as a
Cmail address. l you don'I have one, you can geI one or ree rom
www.gccg|e.ccm/occcunts.
Once you have an accounI, click
on Ihe sanner icon in Chromium
and selecI Preerences. Click Ihe
Personal SIuh Iab and selecI SeI
Sync. Tye your Coogle accounI
deIails inIo Ihe nexI screen and click

Chromium is the open-source version of Chrome and can be installed from

the Ubuntu Sohware Centre

Flash isn't built into the Chromium browser, so you may have to install the
plugin separately from Adobe's website
Sign ln. nless you wanI Io synchronise only
cerIain iIems, selecI 'Kee everyIhing synced'
and click OK. l you have oIher coies o
Chromium or Chrome synchronised on
oIher devices, your bookmarks will aear.
l you haven'I seI u your coy o
Chrome in Windows Io synchronise wiIh
Ihe cloud, ollow Ihe insIrucIions above,
buI click on Ihe Sanner icon and selecI
OIions, raIher Ihan Preerences.
FLA5H OF IN5PIRATION
l you have a resh insIall o Chromium, you
may hnd Ihe Adobe Flash lug-in doesn'I
work. To geI iI working, you hrsI need Io
insIall Flash. ShuI down all oen coies o
Chromium, bring u Ihe bunIu Soware
CenIre and Iye in Flash. SelecI Ihe Adobe
Flash lug-in and click lnsIall. Tye in your
user assword and click AuIhenIicaIe, Ihen
Ihe soware will download and insIall
auIomaIically. Then sIarI Chromium again and go Io www.odcbe.ccm/
rcducts/osh|oyer. You should see an animaIion on Ihe screen,
which shows IhaI Flash is working. A urIher way o checking is Io go
Io www.ycutube.ccm and waIch a video.
You mighI also wanI Io add a shorIcuI or Chromium Io Ihe
Launcher so you can access your browser quickly in uIure. To do
Ihis, sIarI Ihe alicaIion rom Ihe
bunIu search menu, righI-click on
Ihe icon IhaI aears and selecI
Kee in Launcher. You can ollow
Ihese insIrucIions Io remove
Fireox rom Ihe Launcher i you
don'I inIend Io use iI again.

Chromium Sync means you can synchronise

your passwords, bookmarks and history with the
Windows version of Chrome
One oI CIromium's best Ieatures is
its abiIity to syncIronise data betveen
diIIerent computers and tIe cIoud
LINUX
l34 OCTOBER 2013 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 308
5ecure Lnux
How to...
Tlere may be ever viruses ou lere or Lirux lar lere are or Virdovs,
bu la doesr' mear you car le dovr your deerces
THERE'S AN OLD comuIing hrase, 'securiIy Ihrough obscuriIy',
which essenIially means IhaI Ihe less oular a comuIer's oeraIing
sysIem and alicaIions are, Ihe less likely iI is Io be auacked or
become inecIed wiIh any viruses.
The exression cerIainly has an elemenI o IruIh abouI iI. Aer all,
virus wriIers wanI Io auack Ihe largesI number o sysIems in order Io
make Ihe mosI amounI o money. This is someIhing IhaI Ale has
Iraded on unIil recenIly, claiming IhaI iIs comuIers aren'I as rone
Io viruses as PCs are. On Ihis basis, bunIu should be really sae, as
iI's noI as oular as Windows or Uac OS X.
Things, however, are sIarIing Io change. Viruses and rooIkiIs,
which leI hackers Iake conIrol o your comuIer, are becoming
more and more revalenI on bunIu. ForIunaIely, Ihere are lenIy
o Ihings you can do Io make sure you're roIecIed.
CLAM UP
ClamAV is our Io choice or anIi-virus soware. To geI hold o iI,
oen Ihe bunIu Soware CenIre and search or ClamTk, which is a
grahical ronI end or ClamAV. Click Ihe insIall buuon Io download
and insIall Ihe ronI end and Ihe laIesI version o ClamAV.
One Ihe insIallaIion has comleIed, you can run ClamTk rom
Ihe bunIu Dash. When iI runs, iI will show you i Ihe anIi-virus
engine and Ihe Cl are u Io daIe. l Ihe Cl is ouI o daIe, you'll
need Io go Io hu.//c|omtk.scurce[crge.net in your web browser,
click Ihe Debian/bunIu link and double-click on Ihe hle you
download. When Ihis oens in bunIu Soware CenIre, click Ihe
grade buuon Io insIall Ihe laIesI version.
CONFICURINC
Once you have Ihe laIesI version o ClamTk, you can run iI rom Ihe
bunIu Dash. The hrsI |ob is Io conhgure Ihe soware. From Ihe
soware's menu aI Ihe Io o Ihe screen, selecI Advanced, 'Run
anIi-virus seIu wizard'. Here you geI Ihe oIion Io choose i you
wanI Io udaIe Ihe virus dehniIion daIabase auIomaIically or
manually. AuIomaIic is Ihe besI oIion, so selecI Ihis and click Aly.
ClamAV doesn'I have auIomaIic scanning, so you can eiIher
choose which hles Io scan or seI u a schedule.
5CANNINC 5INCLE FILE5
l you wanI Io scan a hle you've downloaded rom Ihe inIerneI, you
can |usI drag and dro Ihe hle rom Ihe NauIilus File Browser
Window inIo Ihe whiIe bar aI Ihe bouom o Ihe ClamTk window.
The soware will scan Ihe hle and warn you i Ihere are any
roblems, moving inecIed hles inIo quaranIine. To scan anoIher hle,
you musI hrsI click Ihe red icon wiIh a cross in iI Io close down Ihe
inormaIion abouI Ihe revious scan.
5CANNINC FOLDER5
As well as scanning a single hle, you can scan enIire olders. ClamTk
is a liule unusual in IhaI iIs deaulI seuing is Io scan |usI a older,
and Io ignore subolders. To scan all your subolders, you need Io
selecI Ihe Recursive oIion. To do Ihis, selecI ClamTk and go Io Ihe
main menu aI Ihe Io o Ihe screen.
Click Ihe Scan menu and you'll see a lisI o oIions. 'A File' does
Ihe same as Ihe drag-and-dro Irick above, 'A DirecIory' scans a
single older IhaI you choose in a hle browser, 'Recursive Scan'
allows you Io selecI a older and Ihen scans all subolders, 'Home
(Quick)' scans your home older, and 'Home (Recursive)' scans
your home older and all subolders. ln mosI insIances, given IhaI
downloads and documenIs geI saved Io your home older, Ihe Home
(Recursive) oIion is Ihe besI.
ON 5CHEDULE
lI's a good idea Io scan your
comuIer regularly Io make sure
IhaI iI's ree o viruses, and you
can seI u a schedule Io do Ihis.
Click ClamTk, go Io Ihe main
menu aI Ihe Io o Ihe screen
and selecI Advanced, Scheduler.
You can only choose Io scan
your Home older or Ihe enIire
comuIer, wiIh Home being Ihe
recommended oIion.
Choose Ihe hour and Iime aI
which you wanI Ihe ull scan Io
Iake lace and click Ihe green
'+' icon. Do Ihe same Ihing or
Ihe Iime you wanI your virus
dehniIions Io be udaIed, and
click Ihe green '+' icon. AI any

The ClamTk front end for ClamAV can

be installed directly from the Ubuntu
Sohware Centre

You can conhgure how

ClamAV gets it updates -
automatic is best
LINUX
l3S
ISSUE 308 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ OCTOBER 2013

Firestarter lets you manually conhgure its rules so you can tailor your
security seuings to your needs
Iime you can come back Io Ihis oIion and click Ihe red '-' icon nexI
Io an evenI Io remove iI rom Ihe sysIem. To change a schedule click
Ihe red '-' icon, change Ihe Iime Io one IhaI suiIs you and click Ihe
green '+' icon. Click Close when you're done.
BORDER LINE
As well as having anIi-virus roIecIion, you should also manage your
ersonal hrewall. A hrewall can be IhoughI o as a border guard,
checking Iramc in and ouI o your comuIer and only allowing Ihe
sae biIs o daIa Ihrough. AlIhough all rouIers have a hrewall builI in,
a ersonal hrewall on your sysIem adds IhaI exIra biI o roIecIion.
bunIu also has a builI-in hrewall, buI unorIunaIely iI requires
manual conhguraIion, and Ihe basic Iools aren'I or Ihe ainIhearIed.
However, addiIional managemenI Iools are available IhaI hel Io
make Ihe |ob much easier. Probably Ihe besI o Ihese is FiresIarIer,
which you can insIall Ihrough Ihe bunIu Soware CenIre. Once
Ihe soware has insIalled, you can run iI rom Ihe bunIu Dash.
FnIer your assword when romIed and click OK.
This will sIarI Ihe conhguraIion wizard, which will hel FiresIarIer
auIomaIically conhgure your hrewall seuings. FirsI, you should
choose Ihe neIwork adaIor you use Io connecI Io Ihe inIerneI.
This is likely Io be FIh0 or a wired neIwork or AIh0 or a wireless
neIwork. Tick Ihe 'lP address is assigned via DHCP' box (unless
you've manually assigned an lP address) and click NexI. On Ihe nexI
age, you'll see Ihe oIion Io Iurn on inIerneI connecIion sharing,
buI ignore Ihis and click NexI. Finally, click Save.
AI Ihis oinI, FiresIarIer is running. lIs deaulI conhguraIion is Io
allow all ouIbound Iramc (you can connecI Io whaI you like), buI
deny all inbound Iramc (eole can'I connecI Io your comuIer).
nlike hrewalls in Windows, FiresIarIer doesn'I hlIer by alicaIion,
so iIs rules aly Io Ihe enIire sysIem.
l you need Io seI a secihc rule - i you wanI Io hosI a
mulIilayer game, or examle - you'll need Io ad|usI your olicy.
To do Ihis, load FiresIarIer rom Ihe bunIu Dash. Click on Ihe Policy
Iab (noI Ihe menu oIion, as noI all Ihe oIions here are selecIable).
Here you can use Ihe dro-down FdiIing menu Io selecI eiIher
lnbound or OuIbound Iramc olicies. We recommend leaving Ihe
OuIbound rules alone, and only choosing lnbound.
There are Ihree boxes underneaIh IhaI leI you creaIe rules.
The 'Allow connecIions rom hosI' oIion leIs you selecI IrusIed
comuIers IhaI are allowed Ihrough your hrewall. This is useul or
your home neIwork, so IhaI hle-sharing and oIher common sysIem
seuings sIill work. RighI-click on Ihis box and selecI 'Add olicy'.
ln Ihe 'Allow connecIions' secIion, you need Io enIer some deIails
abouI Ihe comuIers you can IrusI. This can be a secihc lP address,
a web address (hosI) or neIwork, such as your home neIwork. For
Ihe lauer oIion, you need Io hnd ouI Ihe lP addresses IhaI your
comuIer uses beore you can add your home neIwork. To do Ihis,
run Terminal rom Ihe bunIu Dash and Iye 'iconhg' and noIe down
Ihe ineI addr, which will mosI likely be someIhing like 192.168.0.10.
Back in FiresIarIer, enIer Ihe hrsI Ihree seIs o digiIs inIo Ihe lP,
hosI or neIwork box (192.168.0 in our examle), buI insIead o Ihe
lasI number uI .1/24 (192.168.0.1/24 in our examle). Click Add when
you're done and Ihe rule will be creaIed. We won'I go inIo Ihe deIails
here, buI Ihe '/24' arI o Ihe address adds your enIire neIwork.
The 'Allow service' box allows you Io add a secihc service.
RighI-click on Ihis and selecI 'Add rule'. You can selecI common
services, such as HTTP or a web server, rom Ihe Name dro-down
menu. AlIernaIively, you can enIer Ihe PorIs used. Here, you'll need
Ihe secihc connecIion meIhod used by diherenI services, or
examle, HTTP uses orI 80. l you're running a game, Ihe required
in-bound orIs will be available on Ihe game comany's websiIe. You
can enIer a range o orIs by Iying Ihe sIarI orI and end orI
searaIed by a '-', such as 109-111. To enIer mulIile orI numbers,
|usI creaIe mulIile rules. PorIs you enIer yoursel will be called
nknown, buI you can selecI Ihe name and change Ihis manually.
Finally, you need Io choose who's allowed Ihrough Ihe hrewall.
The deaulI is Anyone, buI you can selecI lP, hosI or neIwork and
enIer a secihc lP address, web address or neIwork address by
ollowing Ihe rules above. Click Add when you're done.

Choosing what you want ClamAV to scan is a straightforward task

You need to tell the Firestarter application to which network adaptor it

should apply its rules
LINUX
l3C OCTOBER 2013 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 308
FIter spam
How to...
Lmail is a corsar source o lreas, rom malvare o lislir aacls. Uburu
males i simle o lee your Lirux comuer ree o urvelcome messaes
SPAMFILTERIN6 IS an incredibly imorIanI arI o roIecIing your
comuIer, and someIhing IhaI should be seI u in con|uncIion wiIh
our securiIy Iis on Ihe revious Iwo ages. The good news is IhaI,
as wiIh everyIhing on Linux, you can hlIer your email or ree.
THUNDERBIRD I5 CO
To add sam hlIering inIo your sysIem, you hrsI need Io use an email
clienI. We'll assume IhaI you're using Thunderbird, which is builI inIo
bunIu, and have an email accounI correcIly conhgured in iI.
PURE FILTERED
SIarI Ihe alicaIion rom Ihe bunIu Dash. Oen Thunderbird's
Preerences rom Ihe FdiI menu and click on Ihe SecuriIy Iab. You'll
be resenIed wiIh Ihe soware's overall |unk email seuings.
FirsI, Iick Ihe 'When l mark messages as |unk' box. This will give
you Iwo oIions IhaI Iell Ihe soware whaI Io do when you manually
selecI a message as sam. The hrsI oIion, 'Uove Ihem Io accounI's
"|unk" older', moves Ihe messages inIo Ihe deaulI sam older buI
doesn'I deleIe Ihem, Ihe second oIion, DeleIe Ihem, does as iI says.
We don'I recommend Ihe second oIion, |usI in case you make a
misIake and wanI Io reverse your acIion aI a laIer daIe.
NexI, you'll see Ihe 'Uark messages deIermined Io be |unk as
read' oIion. This is a useul oIion, as iI sIos any messages IhaI
you mark as being |unk rom aearing in any unread messages
search. This is arIicularly useul i you're using lUAP and a
webmail service, such as Cmail, as using Ihe web inIerace and
selecIing unread email oen brings u mail in all olders.
Finally, Ihe 'Fnable Ihe adaIive |unk hlIer logging' oIion leIs you
check Ihe log Io hnd ouI whaI messages are being blocked and why.
This eaIure is really or IroubleshooIing i you're geuing loIs o
roblems, so we recommend IhaI you leave iI alone or now.
Finally, Ihere's a buuon marked ReseI Training DaIa. This reseIs
Thunderbird back Io iIs deaulI sam-hlIering seuings and means
IhaI iI won'I deIecI so much sam. You should use Ihis oIion only i
you're having roblems wiIh Ihe sam hlIering aer you've ollowed
our guide here and wanI Io sIarI rom scraIch.
NexI, click on Ihe Fmail Scams Iab and make sure IhaI Ihe 'Tell me
i Ihe message l'm reading is a susecIed email scam' box is Iicked.
This will auIomaIically warn you i Thunderbird believes you've
received a hishing email. lI's no guaranIee IhaI all emails o Ihis
Iye will be deIecIed, buI iI's an exIra level o securiIy.
ACCOUNTINC FOR 5PAM
AlIhough Ihe seuings we've Ialked abouI above conhgure
Thunderbird or overall sam hlIering, you also have Io conhgure
each accounI you have individually. To do Ihis, click AccounI Seuings
in Ihe FdiI menu. Fach email accounI you have will be lisIed on Ihe
le-hand side. You can exand Ihe seuings and click Ihe |unk Seuings
oIion Io ediI each accounI's sam hlIering.
For each one, make sure you've Iicked Ihe 'Fnable adaIive |unk
mail conIrols or Ihis accounI' oIion. This will enable Thunderbird Io
learn and make iIs |unk hlIering more accuraIe. Also make sure IhaI
under Ihe 'Do noI mark mail as |unk i Ihe sender is in' box, you've
selecIed 'Personal Address Book'. This means IhaI eole in your
address book will auIomaIically byass Ihe sam hlIering. lI's useul
Io know, as you can add eole and businesses IhaI you converse
wiIh regularly Io ensure Iheir emails always come Ihrough.
The nexI oIion you'll see is called 'TrusI |unk mail headers seI
by'. From Ihis dro-down lisI, you can selecI commonly used
sam-hlIering rograms, such as SamAssassin. However, unless you
know exacIly which sam-hlIering Iechnology, i any, your lSP uses,
you don'I need Io use Ihis oIion.
Finally, you need Io choose whaI Io do wiIh sam messages.
sing Ihe 'Uove new |unk messages Io' oIion, you can Iell

Thunderbird is the default email client in Ubuntu. |t's really simple to use
and lets you add spam hltering easily

You need to tell Thunderbird what to do with |unk email

LINUX
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ISSUE 308 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ OCTOBER 2013

You can specify your own hltering rules to block or allow email addresses
that you choose
Thunderbird whaI Io do wiIh your mail messages. The hrsI oIion
you'll see is '"|unk" older on.'. This leIs you selecI Local Folders
(Ihe sam messages are sIored solely on your comuIer), or Ihe
name o your mail accounI. The lauer oIion works i you're using
lUAP mail, and leIs ThunderBird move |unk messages inIo a older
on your mail server. You can also selecI OIher and choose where Io
uI Ihe sam older. This is useul i you already have a |unk mail
older or your email service uses a secihc older, or examle, i
you connecI Thunderbird Io a Cmail accounI, Ihe [Cmail],
Sam older is used by Cmail.
Finally, you can Iell Thunderbird Io deleIe |unk mail
older Ihan a cerIain number o days auIomaIically.
The deaulI is 14 days wiIh Ihe oIion disabled,
buI you can simly Iick Ihe box Io enable iI and
choose how long you waiI beore a message is
auIomaIically deleIed.
TRAININC DAY
Once your seuings are in lace, you need Io Irain Thunderbird
Io soI good and bad emails. lI needs a air number o boIh Iyes -
aI leasI 100 o each - in order Io geI iIs sam hlIering u Io scraIch.
This may sound like a loI o email Io caIegorise, buI iI should be airly
raid Io do, arIicularly or Ihe messages IhaI aren'I sam.
To mark messages as |unk, selecI each in Iurn and Ihen use one
o Ihe ollowing meIhods. ress |, righI-click and selecI Uark, As
|unk, or click Ihe grey doI icon in Ihe |unk sIaIus column in Ihe main
window (Ihis column has a lame icon). l a message is currenIly
marked as being clean, you can click Ihe |unk buuon in Ihe message's
window. Uessages you mark as |unk are moved auIomaIically inIo
Ihe |unk older IhaI you secihed using Ihe insIrucIions above.
For messages IhaI you wanI Io mark as clean IhaI are in your
normal inbox, you can ress Shi-| or righI-click and selecI Uark,
As NoI |unk. l you look in your |unk older and hnd messages IhaI
aren'I |unk, you can ollow Ihe insIrucIions above or clean messages,
click Ihe NoI |unk buuon in Ihe message's window or remove Ihe
|unk icon rom Ihe |unk As column. Any message IhaI you mark as
being clean is moved back in Io your main inbox.
ReeaI Ihese sIes over Ihe ollowing ew days or weeks unIil
you've marked roughly 100 clean and 100 |unk messages. From Ihis
oinI on, Thunderbird will carry on Ihe |ob auIomaIically or you,
alIhough you may need Io sIe in aI some oinIs Io hel Iidy u
any misidenIihed email messages.
MANUAL LABOUR
You can Iake manual conIrol o hlIering i you don'I wanI Io be
bound by Thunderbird's auIomaIic hlIering. To make sure rules geI
Ihrough every Iime, you've goI Iwo oIions. The easiesI is Io add Ihe
erson or comany Io your ersonal address book, so Iheir emails
are whiIelisIed. AlIernaIively, i you don'I wanI someone in your
address book or some reason, you can creaIe a rule
IhaI always leIs Ihem Ihrough, a similar meIhod leIs
you always mark messages rom a erson as |unk.
SelecI a message, click CreaIe FilIer From Uessage
rom Ihe Uessage menu and you'll see Ihe FilIer
Rules dialog box. The hrsI arI o Ihis works ouI i
a rule alies or noI. l you creaIe a rule rom a
message, iI's seI as From, is, <email address>. This
alies Ihe rule Io IhaI address. l you wanI Io seI
iI or Ihe enIire domain, say messages rom an
enIire comany, change 'is' Io 'conIains' and deleIe
Ihe biI beore Ihe @ in Ihe email address.
NexI, decide whaI Io do wiIh Ihe maIching
messages. As we're Ialking abouI Sam here, under
'Perorm Ihese acIions' selecI 'SeI |unk SIaIus Io', Ihen
selecI NoI |unk or |unk, deending on wheIher you always wanI Io
kee or always wanI Io hide Ihe messages. Click OK when you're
done, and you can Ihen creaIe rules or any oIher addresses.

Conhguring the |unk mail seuings for each account in

Thunderbird is a simple |ob

You need to train Thunderbird to spot |unk and clean email, so that it can
automatically categorise these later
a |unk mail
examle, i
mail],
l
nderbird
boIh Iyes -
ad
Ih
y
Ih
m
LINUX
l38 OCTOBER 2013 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 308
5hare hIes on a network
How to...
Havir a Lirux FC doesr' mear you car' slare les vil your Virdovs
comuers. lr ac, i's really easy, as ve exlair lere
CHANCES ARE THAT you have aI leasI one Windows comuIer aI
home in addiIion Io your Linux sysIem, and iI makes sense Io share
hles and olders beIween Ihem. ForIunaIely, Ihis is easy Io do in
bunIu, because Linux uses Ihe same hle-sharing roIocols as
Windows. Over Ihe nexI ew ages, we'll show you how Io share hles
and olders beIween your comuIers.
Linux may use a hle sysIem IhaI's incomaIible wiIh Windows,
buI sharing hles over a neIwork is diherenI. boIh Linux and
Windows use Ihe same SUB roIocol or hle sharing. This means
IhaI a hle is read rom Ihe Windows or Linux hard disk, senI using
Ihe muIually comaIible SUB roIocol and saved Io Ihe receiving
comuIer's hard disk in iIs naIive ormaI. ConsequenIly, Linux is a
simle oeraIing sysIem Io inIegraIe inIo your neIwork. All Ihe Iools
you need are builI in, so iI's easy Io share hles and olders beIween
Linux and Windows PCs.
5HARE AND 5HARE ALIKE
ln rincile, sharing a older in Linux is done in exacIly Ihe same
way as iI is in Windows. You can share reuy much any older
you like. To creaIe and share a new older, hrsI click on Places,
DocumenIs Io view your documenIs older, Ihen righI-click and
selecI New Folder. Cive Ihe older a suiIable name, such as Uy
Shared Folder, and ress FnIer.
To share Ihe new older, righI-click on iI and selecI Sharing
OIions. Click Ihe 'Share Ihis older' box and you'll see a dialog box
inorming you IhaI Ihe sharing service isn'I insIalled. Click Ihe
'lnsIall service' buuon, Iye your assword in Ihe nexI dialog box
and ress OK. The sharing service will Ihen be downloaded and
insIalled auIomaIically. You'll be romIed Io resIarI, so click Ihe
ResIarI session buuon.
Once you've logged back in Io your comuIer, go back Io your
new older, righI-click on iI and selecI Sharing OIions. Tick Ihe
'Share Ihis older' box and Ihe oIher oIions will no longer be greyed
ouI. AI Ihe bouom o Ihe dialog box, you may see a message Ielling
you IhaI Ihe share name is Ioo long, Ihis is because shared olders
are allowed a maximum o |usI 12 characIers in Iheir names.
l Ihis haens, you can eiIher rename Ihe Linux older so iI has
ewer Ihan 12 characIers, or you can change Ihe Share name, which is
basically Ihe way neIwork comuIers see Ihe older, leaving Ihe Linux
older name inIacI. The second oIion is Ihe easiesI. ln our examle,
we've shorIened Ihe share name Io 'docs'. You can add a descriIion
o Ihe shared older in Ihe CommenI box, buI Ihis is oIional.
There are Iwo urIher oIions Io selecI. By deaulI, every older
you share is read-only, so oIher eole won'I be able Io modiy
exisIing hles or wriIe new ones. Click 'Allow oIhers Io creaIe and
deleIe hles in Ihis older' i you wanI Io allow read and wriIe access.
l you don'I wanI oIher eole Io have Io Iye in a username or
assword, selecI 'CuesI access'. When you're done, click CreaIe
Share. Deending on Ihe choices you make, you may see a dialog
box Ielling you IhaI ermissions need Io be
changed, in which case you should click 'Add Ihe
ermissions auIomaIically'. Your shared older
will now have a red arrow and a green arrow
above iI, indicaIing IhaI iI's being shared.
Beore you can access your shared older
rom anoIher comuIer, you need Io know a
ew deIails abouI your Linux comuIer. FirsI, Io
hnd ouI Ihe HosI (comuIer) name, oen a
Terminal window by Iying Terminal inIo Ihe
bunIu Dash. NexI, you need Ihe lP address o
your comuIer. Tye 'iconhg' and ress FnIer.
The hrsI rely (robably eIh0) is your neIwork
card. NoIe down Ihe number aer 'ineI addr',
which should be someIhing like 192.168.0.3.
l you wanI Io change Ihe name o your
comuIer, Iye 'sudo gediI /eIc/hosIname' and
res FnIer. ln Ihe documenI IhaI aears, relace
Ihe exisIing name wiIh Ihe one you wanI.

The hrst time you try to share a folder, you'll be prompted to turn on the sharing service

You can add a diherent share name to a folder's name in Ubuntu

LINUX
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ISSUE 308 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ OCTOBER 2013
LINUX
l3
ISSUE 308 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ OCTOBER 2013

Ubuntu is equally as happy connecting to a Windows

computer as it is to a NAS drive
CONNECTINC VIA WINDOW5
Once you have all Ihis inormaIion, you can connecI Io your Linux
comuIer rom a Windows PC. Your Linux comuIer should aear
auIomaIically in Windows i you click on ComuIer, NeIwork, buI Ihis
doesn'I always work. l iI doesn'I, iI's besI Io connecI direcIly. Press
Windows-R Io bring u a Run command and Iye '\\<name o your
linux comuIer>', and i IhaI doesn'I work, Iye '\\<lP address o
your Linux comuIer>'. The roblem wiIh Ihe second meIhod is
IhaI, unless you're using a sIaIic lP address, a comuIer can
change iIs address buI iIs name won'I change.
Once your Windows PC has connecIed Io your
Linux comuIer, you can see all Ihe shared olders.
Double-click on one Io oen iI. l you didn'I Iurn
on CuesI mode, you'll be romIed or a username
and assword. Tye in your Linux username and
assword Io access Ihe older. Click 'Remember my
credenIials' Io save Ihe assword or Ihe nexI Iime you wish
Io access iI.
You can now drag and dro hles rom Ihis shared older Io your
comuIer. l you gave eole ermission Io wriIe Io Ihe older, you
can also rename, creaIe and coy hles and olders Io Ihe share.
You can change Ihe ermissions you seI earlier by ollowing Ihe
sIes above or, i you wanI Io sIo sharing Ihe older, unIick Ihe
'Share Ihis older' oIion.
l you wanI Io access Ihe shared older rom your Windows PC on
a requenI basis, you can righI-click iI and selecI 'Ua neIwork drive'.
You can Ihen selecI a drive leuer. From Ihis oinI on, Ihe shared
older will aear as a normal drive in
ComuIer, giving you quick access Io iI.
ACCE55INC 5HARE5
FROM LINUX
Accessing a shared older rom a Linux PC
is easy. We'll assume you've already shared
some olders on your Windows comuIer.
To access Ihem rom a Linux sysIem, you
need Io know Ihe comuIer name and,
reerably, iIs lP address.
To geI Ihe comuIer name, go Io your
Windows comuIer, righI-click ComuIer
and selecI ProerIies. The name will be
lisIed on IhaI age. To geI Ihe lP address,
bring u a command romI, Iye
'iconhg' and ress FnIer. Uake a noIe o
Ihe lPv4 address. The same goes or a NAS
device, i you wanI Io connecI Io a shared
older, |usI noIe down iIs name and lP
address, as direcIed by iIs insIrucIions.
On your Linux comuIer, click on Places, NeIwork. Double-click
on Windows NeIwork, you should see your Windows comuIer
lisIed here, so double-click on iI. l iI isn'I Ihere, click Places,
ConnecI Io server and change Ihe Service Iye Io Windows share.
Tye Ihe name o your PC inIo Ihe Server box and Ihen click
ConnecI. l Ihis doesn'I work, you should be able Io Iye in your
Windows PC's lP address insIead.
ln boIh cases, i you've Iurned on assword-roIecIed sharing,
you'll be romIed Io Iye in your Windows username and
assword. You should also seI Ihe domain name Io Ihe name o your
Windows PC. You can choose Io remember Ihe assword unIil you
log ouI (Ihe deaulI seuing), orgeI Ihe assword immediaIely
or remember iI orever. When you've made your choice, click Io see
Ihe available shares. Double-click Ihe one you wanI Io
access and you'll be able Io access Ihe hles. The
ermissions you seI on Ihe Windows PC will dicIaIe
wheIher you can only read hles or wriIe Ihem as well.
CONNECTINC EL5EWHERE
ConnecIing Io oIher Linux comuIers is |usI as
simle as connecIing Io a Windows PC. Click Places,
ConnecI Io Server. SelecI Windows share, Iye
Ihe name o Ihe Linux comuIer Io which you
wanI Io connecI in Ihe Server box and click ConnecI.
When you access a share and are romIed or a
username and assword, Iye in a valid username
and assword on Ihe Linux comuIer Io which you're
connecIing. You don'I need Io change Ihe domain name.
nlike Windows, Linux doesn'I have neIwork drives. lnsIead, iI
has bookmarks, which erorm a similar uncIion. To add a bookmark
or a shared older, ollow Ihe rocess described above Io access a
share, Ihen click Bookmarks, Add Bookmark. When you resIarI your
comuIer, Ihe bookmark Io Ihe shared older will remain. You can
view iI by bringing u a NauIilus File Browser window (do Ihis by
clicking Places, Home), where you can view your bookmarks in Ihe
bouom hal o Ihe le-hand anel.
You may see an error where Ihe
bookmark renames iIsel as SUB, i
Ihis haens, righI-click on iI and selecI
Rename, Ihen Iye in a useul name.
You can also creaIe a bookmark
when you connecI Io a comuIer
using Ihe Places, ConnecI Io Server
dialog box, |usI Iick Ihe 'Add
bookmark' box and Ihen Iye in a
bookmark name.

You may need the |P address of your Linux computer

You can browse a Windows network from your Linux PC

name o your
address o
meIhod is
er can
ou wish
older Io your
Ihe
a

w
W
u
a
NEXT MONTH
ULTIMATE LINUX GUIDE
PART 2
We explore Ubuntu 13.04's advanced
features, from backing up and
repairing your installation to running
Windows applications.
THE RISE OF BITCOIN
l40 OCTOBER 2013 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 308
THE RISE OF BITCOIN
l4l
ISSUE 308 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ OCTOBER 2013
Y
ou've robably heard o BiIcoin,
yeI you robably have only a
vague idea whaI iI is. You've no
doubI seen a loI o news sIories
abouI iI, aer all, second only Io Ihe boom
in BiIcoin rices has been Ihe boom in news
sIories abouI Ihe BiIcoin. YeI very ew o
Ihem exlained much abouI Ihe Iechnology.
So whaI is BiIcoin, and why does iI mauer?
The hisIory o Ihe currency is sIraighI ouI
o cyberunk hcIion, and could easily have
srung rom Ihe ages o William Cibson's
Neurcmoncer or Neal SIehenson's
Crytcncmiccn. A 37-year old |aanese
cryIology secialisI, SaIoshi NakamoIo, came
u wiIh an idea or a new currency. lI would
be based noI on a Iangible sIandard, like gold,
or a sIandard driven by economic ower, like
Ihe dollar, buI on someIhing ar more 21sI
cenIury. ure comuIaIional ower.
The comleIe IransacIion hisIory o
BiIcoin is roIecIed by Ihe consIanI solving
o comlex maIhemaIical roblems. These
inIensive comuIing Iasks are underIaken
by a disIribuIed neIwork o Ihousands o
comuIers around Ihe globe, a eer-Io-eer
sysIem much like Ihe one IhaI disIribuIes
BiITorrenI hles.
WhaI IhaI means in racIice is IhaI all Ihe
comuIers around Ihe world running BiIcoin
soware each conIain 'Ihe blockchain', a coy
o Ihe hisIory o all BiIcoin IransacIions and
o Ihe lie o each o Ihe ossible 21 million
BiIcoins. Fach comuIer running Ihe BiIcoin
soware - called a 'BiIcoin miner' - kees Ihe
IransacIion lisI u Io daIe by encoding iI
using comlex cryIograhy.
Occasionally, as a by-roducI o Ihis
cryIograhy, Ihese comuIers are given new
BiIcoins, which rewards Ihem or doing Ihis
work. This ensures IhaI enough comuIaIional
ower is aimed aI Ihe conIinuaIion o Ihe
blockchain IhaI iI would be nearly imossible
or anyone Io hi|ack Ihe currency using
suerior comuIing ower. Fven i Ihey did,
Ihey would own so many BiIcoins Ihemselves
IhaI iI wouldn'I be in Iheir inIeresI Io do so.
Once you've mined BiIcoins, or boughI
some online rom someone who has - which
is as easy as buying oreign currency or using
PayPal - Ihen you can send Ihem on all sorIs
o Ihings, buy a inI o beer in some ubs via
an a, or order illegal drugs Io be delivered
Io your door using |usI a web browser.
O!d money
Like any good Cyberunk novel hero, SaIoshi
NakamoIo seems Io have never exisIed. There
is no-one o IhaI name and age in |aan.
lnvesIigaIions by Ihe New Ycrker and Fost
Ccmony ound ossible susecIs or him, buI
Iheir evidence is circumsIanIial. NakamoIo, Io
all inIenIs and uroses, made Ihe currency
and vanished. He handed his ro|ecI over Io a
ew ellow cryIograhy hends, including
currenI BiIcoin head Cavin Andresen, and
evaoraIed like morning dew.
lI's noIable IhaI neiIher Ihe cryIograhy
nor Ihe conceI o a virIual currency were
original. CryIograhy ioneer David Chaum
described Ihe hrsI anonymous cryIograhic
cash sysIem in 1982, laIer creaIing ecash in
1990. OIher currencies such as BiI gold and
Reusable Proos o Work even ollowed Ihe
'roo o work' sysIem IhaI BiIcoin would
laIer use. So Ihe idea didn'I sring rom
nowhere inIo Ihe anIasIical NakamoIo's
head, iI was someIhing IhaI had been
discussed, on and oh, or nearly 20 years.
BuI BiIcoin is noI an easy Iechnology Io
undersIand. ls iI a real currency aI all? Dr
Fy|olur Cudmundsson is lead economisI or
Fve Online (www.evecn|ine.ccm), an online
game IhaI uses iIs own inIernal currency, lSK.
He Ihinks Ihe quesIion is nonsensical. "VirIual
currency is already a real currency, and all real
currency is really |usI virIual since Ihe value o
a currency is in Ihe minds o Ihose IhaI use
IhaI currency.
"So leI's raIher Ialk abouI elecIronic
currency versus hard cash," he conIinued.
"Already more Irade is done elecIronically
Ihan in real-lie cash, so even real-lie cash has
become an elecIronic currency as well. ln acI,
Ihere is no diherence beIween virIual and
real-lie currency. So Ihe quesIion should
raIher be. when will a virIual currency become
|usI as imorIanI and valuable as real-lie
currency in Ihe mind o Ihe consumer? This
Irend is haening righI now and will only
conIinue Io grow in Ihe nexI hve years."
AS|C miners, the most up-to-date custom
hardware, can crunch through Bitcoin's programming
problems more cheaply than anything else
Pseudo-ourrenoy Btoon has been a!! over the news Ior months.
But what s t? Who uses t? And w!! your oorner shop be takng
t any tme soon? Dan GrIlIopoulos nvestgates
THE RISE OF BITCOIN
l42 OCTOBER 2013 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 308
Howdid you nd out
about SiIk Road7
Read about it on Wired,
maybe. You have to use
the TOR browser to use it,
which has lots of built-in
anonymising features. |t
masks |Ps and stuh like
that. |'m not too hot on all the technical stuh,
but | understood it when | was learning to do
it. The address changes every now and then.
What's it Iike to use7
|t's the best way to buy drugs. |'ve had good
dealers and bad dealers, but |'ve never had
this level of service. You use a fake name
for everything, PCP encryption for sending
messages, so only the intended recipient
can read the message if they were to get
intercepted somehow. |t looks preuy basic,
like a lot of e-commerce sites from the late
1990s. The search engine's really basic and
the range of categories of all the stuh you
can buy is down the side.
Was it hard to set up7
Bitcoin took ages to set up, downloading the
full blockchain took four to hve days, and my
computer occasionally stuuered while it was
doing it as it was using loads of system
resources. |t's going to get harder as the years
go by, as the blockchain is only going to get
bigger and bigger. | try not to think about it
too much, because | sort of understand it,
but the more | think about it, the less |
understand. |t's a bit too complicated.
Howdo you get your Bitcoins7
| used to buy from Blockchain, but the banks
stopped leuing us use UK bank transfers. |
wonder whether that's because they thought,
'this is dodgy illegal stuh we shouldn't do', as
that doesn't normally stop bankers, or was
it more: 'this is direct competition with our
entire hnancial system, do we want Bitcoins
to be a system that we're supporting?' | use
Local Bitcoins now. You can use it to hnd
someone in your area to buy and sell in
person, but you can also do it online. | always
do it online. | |ust have the client running on
my PC, the standard Bitcoin one.
HowreIiabIe is the system7
|t dehnitely seems to work. | thought it was
too good to be true when | hrst heard about
it. |t tells you how many transactions people
have completed, what percentage have been
hne and if they've had good feedback.
Everyone can leave comments, how discreet
the package was, whether it matched the
weights, was it exactly what you were
expecting. The sellers are motivated to give
the best description of what they're selling
and give decent quality product because it's
going to ahect their ability to make money
down the line. Ohen the weight is slightly
more than they've said it's going to be, to
make sure there's no-one complaining. |'ve
bought cheap stuh, but they make it clear. |t's
dehnitely made me take things that | wouldn't
have otherwise have taken because | wouldn't
be sure of geuing a clean supply, or at least
going into it feeling beuer.
Dr SIuarI |eanne Bramhall, who oeraIes a
global virIual barIer-currency (hus.//www.
ccmmunity-exchonge.crg), agrees. "97 er cenI
o Ihe S dollars IhaI circulaIe are virIual, only
abouI Ihree er cenI exisI in Ihe orm o
aer currency and coins. When you deosiI
S100 in a bank, Ihe bank doesn'I lock your
S100 in Ihe vaulI. They |usI record in Iheir
comuIer sysIem IhaI Ihey owe you S100."
Newmoney
ViIalik BuIerin wriIes or BiIcoin Uagazine.
"BiIcoin was noI Ihe hrsI orm o digiIal
aymenI, buI iI was Ihe hrsI decenIralised
digiIal currency IhaI exisIs only on Ihe
inIerneI," he says. "Those exIra auribuIes
are imorIanI. Ihe acI IhaI BiIcoin is
indeendenI o Ihe legacy banking sysIem
or any hysical maIerial (such as gold)
means Ihe barriers Io enIry and Ihe cosIs or
dealing wiIh iI are much lower, allowing or
near-zero IransacIion ees and leuing sIarIus
design innovaIive Iechnologies around iI IhaI
would noI be ossible elsewhere.
"The decenIralisaIion asecI hels
arIicularly on Ihe regulaIory side. Sergey
Brin once said Ihey had been Ialking abouI
inIroducing a digiIal currency aI Coogle,
'Coogle Bucks', buI decided againsI iI exacIly
because iI would be Ioo dimculI rom a
legal sIandoinI." WiIh BiIcoin, conIrol and
ownershi is disIribuIed across Ihe neI, so
|usI like BiITorrenI iI would be very hard, i
noI imossible, or naIion sIaIes Io legislaIe
againsI iI wiIh any success.
TransacIions are exIremely sae. "The
BiIcoin sysIem is very secure," BuIerin says.
"The closesI Ihe neIwork goI Io being hacked
was an incidenI in 2010 where an auacker was
able Io creaIe 183 billion BiIcoins due Io an
inIeger overlow exloiI, buI Ihe IransacIion
was quickly reversed and Ihe bug hxed."
The cryIograhy elemenIs o BiIcoin are
going Io hurI your head (Ihey cerIainly hurI
ours). The sysIem works by generaIing a
Iough comuIing roblem, which iI esIimaIes
will be solved by Ihe enIire BiIcoin comuIing
neIwork in a given eriod (Ihis is usually
around 10 minuIes). As Ihe comuIing ower
aimed aI BiIcoin mining increases, so Ihe
roblem's comlexiIy is auIomaIically
increased. The comuIer IhaI solves Ihe
roblem is rewarded wiIh a number o
BiIcoins (2S aI Ihe momenI, Ihough iI halves
every our years) and Ihe cycle begins again.
This rocess is called mining because, like
mining in Ihe days beore ehecIive geological
surveys, iI's a mauer o bruIe orce, you dig
as much as you can Io make sure you geI
someIhing ouI. The roblem being solved also
generaIes 'Ihe blockchain'. As we menIioned
earlier, Ihis is a hisIory o all Ihe IransacIions
o BiIcoins since Ihe lasI udaIe, which all
mining comuIers have a coy o.
For a sIandard PC running Ihe BiIcoin
clienI, your chances o solving Ihe roblem in
Iime are Iiny, we esIimaIe Ihe average Iime
or an average PC Io mine iIs hrsI BiIcoin is
abouI 13 years. Fxensive and ower-hungry
arallel hardware does Ihe |ob beuer -
esecially CP hardware - and Ihe hrsI
enIirely BiIcoin mining-secihc hardware has
|usI aeared, which is ar more emcienI.
UosI individual users |oin ools, where
Iheir mining Iime brings smaller, buI more
regular rewards, or creaIe Iheir own BiIcoin
arms, where Ihey have many besoke
comuIers running Ihe clienI aI once. l
you're noI using Ihe besoke hardware,
Ihough, iI's unlikely IhaI you'll be covering
Ihe cosI o Ihe elecIriciIy you're using Io
run all IhaI kiI.
WalkIng the SIlkBoad
Neyer ~ not hs rea! name ~ s a !ongtme S!k Boad user.
We ta!ked to hm about how t a!!ows anonymous !!ega! purohases
Nost oI the US
do!!ars that
orou!ate are
vrtua!; on!y
about three per
oent est n the
Iorm oI notes
and oons
THE RISE OF BITCOIN
l43
ISSUE 308 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ OCTOBER 2013
Showme the money
BuI why mine Ihem aI all? Well, assuming
oulariIy is a orm o success, BiIcoin has
succeeded where oIher such new currencies
have ailed because iI's been suorIed. The
key insIiIuIions are liberIarian organisaIions
such as Wikileaks and anarchisI ones such as
Ihe now deuncI suer-hackers LulzSec. WiIh
Ihe rosecIs o donaIions Io organisaIions
such as Ihese ading as naIional banks around
Ihe world closed Iheir accounIs because o
Iheir quasi-legal naIure, Ihese organisaIions
looked around or oIher donaIion meIhods.
One o Ihose Ihey seuled on was BiIcoin.
These insIiIuIions didn'I oularise BiIcoin
- IhaI was down Io Silk
Road, more on which in a
momenI - buI Ihey did
bring iI Io ublic auenIion,
so much so IhaI bleeding-
edge comanies such as
WordPress, OK Cuid and
ReddiI now acceI iI as a aymenI meIhod.
Fven a ew cohee shos in Ihe more
Iechno-savvy arIs o Ihe world have sIarIed
acceIing iI, and you can now buy a inI wiIh
BiIcoins in Ihe easI end o London. aI Ihe
Pembury Arms in, unsurrisingly, Hackney.
The darker side o BiIcoin is iIs use in
online markeIlaces, where you can geI
someIhing a biI sIronger Ihan a inI. The
mosI inamous o Ihese is Silk Road, a
markeIlace IhaI would noI be ossible
wiIhouI BiIcoin. Silk Road is an online
markeIlace where users can buy all
sorIs o illegal goods
- banned books,
rescriIion-only drugs,
illegal drugs and, once
uon a Iime, serious
hrearms, Ihough Ihose
have now been removed.
You won'I hnd Silk
Road by Coogling iI. lI's
somewhere beIween Ihe
Dee Web - areas o Ihe
inIerneI noI Iouched by
search engines - and Ihe
darkneI - Ihe areas o Ihe
web IhaI consisI only o
anonymised eer-Io-eer
connecIions, where Ihose
who wanI Io hide rom
socieIy's rules go, wheIher
oliIical or criminal (and i
you have Io hide your
oliIical views here, Ihese days Ihey're likely
Io be criminal views, Ioo). You have Io use Ihe
TOR anonymising browser and know Ihe
address Io even hnd iI.
Silk Road users (such as Ueyer, see
Ihe box below) use BiIcoin as a way o
anonymising Iheir online urchases. The
Iechnology sulies Ihem wiIh a way o
Any bad experiences7
The cheapest one | did was when | tried to buy
an ounce of weed from a guy in Nexico. |t
cost 25, compared to seven or eight times
that much in the UK. | bought it, and he said it
was going to take a month to arrive. He had
about 80 per cent feedback, with the rest of
the people saying it didn't turn up. | waited
two months and no package arrived, and | got
a friendly leuer from the border force saying,
'we've intercepted a package of yours because
it contained drugs. |f you would like to appeal
this, here's how you can get in contact with
us'. The implication was that they weren't
going to do anything else. |t wasn't even my
name, it was |ust my address. So | won't be
ordering from them again. But that's the only
package that's not turned up, out of 15 or 20
orders. | rate that beuer than street dealers.
And | knew what the risk was anyway, because
of the 80 per cent. | assume he's |ust throwing
them in a bag. He's not going to be running a
really tight operation if his selling point is a
really big bag of weed really cheap. |'d pay
double if it was vacuum-sealed.
So you don't buy internationaIIy much7
|t lists where it's coming from on the site. |'ve
felt more comfortable with UK ones, |ust in
terms of the package turning up, because it
doesn't have to go through borders. |n my
head, that seems more secure. That would be
my line if | ever got caught: '| never bought it,
it |ust turned up at my house'. Am | breaking
the law by opening a package with someone
else's name on it? |t's not a ma|or crime.
And you've onIy bought drugs7
Yes, |'ve not tried to buy anything else. You
can get ingredients for making drugs, and
equipment, fake |Ds, forgeries. |'ve used
prescription drugs |'ve got from there. When |
signed up, the most recent blog post on there
was why they'd decided to take the hrearms
section out. That was reassuring, | guess, |'d
prefer there not to be automatic weapons.
Howmany users are there7
|t's hard to track how popular it is. A lot of
the big sellers have got several hundred
transactions under their belts. There's a few
that have a thousand or two. But there aren't
like hundreds of thousand of transactions.
Some people will ask you to hnalise early, so
they get their feedback rating and money
early. Some say '| require this for customers
from other countries'. Some say 'if you do
this, |'ll give you slightly more'. |t's up to you,
though. |t's not a good idea generally.
Are there any dimcuIties7
Well, it's common sense to use a fake name.
But that means if the postman comes with a
package and you're not there to sign for it, it
gets sent to the post omce and you need |D to
pick it up. So | always have to make sure |'m
around to answer the door when | need a
package. Because | wouldn't |ust go and try to
convince them, because [with] some of these
packages, even when they're vacuum-sealed,
|'ve been able to smell the drugs on them.
Are you scared of geding caught7
The only way | can think of geuing caught is if
the Bitcoin security gets undermined. |f that
happens, they're going to have hundreds
and thousands of people who've been doing
this. They'll be some kind of amnesty or
something. They can't |ust arrest everyone.
There's taIk of a US ban of Bitcoins.
They can try and ban it all they like. How are
they, in practice, going to do that? They could
make its use illegal, but | don't know how they
could stop people using it. You can't stop
people sending emails.
They'd have to ban anonymisers, which is
a huge step towards an anti-libertarian state,
where having anything you want to hide is
illegal. | don't connect with the political side
of it, | wouldn't call myself a libertarian. But |
can understand the argument for economic
systems being improved by having a currency
within them that doesn't have a government
controlling it. That seems rational. But | don't
think it's going to replace pounds sterling.
Field Programme Cate Arrays can
be programmed for specihc tasks
and networked via USB in huge
numbers, ideal for Bitcoin mining

Bitcoins can be transferred by

phone, but remember it's best to
store the ma|ority of your coins in
separate wallets
THE RISE OF BITCOIN
l44 OCTOBER 2013 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 308
securely Iranserring money Io reliable sellers
wiIhouI Ihe sIaIe inIervening, someIhing IhaI
we imagine IradiIional reIailers such as
Amazon would dearly like Io emulaIe.
lI's easy Io orgeI now how susiciously
Amazon was regarded when iI launched, wiIh
many consumers worrying abouI Iheir money
disaearing or Iheir bank accounI being
emIied. BiIcoin IransacIions on Silk Road
remove IhaI uncerIainIy comleIely - in many
senses, iI's more secure Ihan Ihe IradiIional
banking model - and undoubIedly more
secure Ihan using a crediI card.
Bt-bot-net
Sending your BiIcoins may noI be a securiIy
roblem, buI new crimes are oing u
around Ihe currency. l you're an evil hacker
wiIh Ihousands o virus-inecIed comuIers aI
your disosal, you can |usI use your boIneI Io
mine or you. Or you can do Ihe same as an
unscruulous rogrammer aI Ihe FSFA
eSorIs neIwork did, and hide iI in a iece
o ro-gaming soware, causing gamers'
comuIers around Ihe world Io oeraIe aI
maximum caaciIy and someIimes burn ouI
- all Io mine BiIcoins or him.
Richard Henderson is securiIy sIraIegisI
or Ihe neIwork securiIy secialisI ForIineI.
"The hiding o Ihe BiIcoin clienI inside Ihe
FSFA anIi-cheaIing soware is maybe Ihe
hrsI Iime we've seen BiIcoin-based 'malware'
inside gaming soware," he says. "WhaI's
inIeresIing abouI Ihis secihc incidenI is IhaI
gamers insIalled Ihis clienI and allowed iI Io
udaIe iIsel auIomaIically, which meanI
Ihey had no way o revenIing Ihe [laIer]
insIallaIion o Ihe BiIcoin mining clienI."
DmiIry BesIuzhev, an exerI who works
or Ihe ma|or anIi-virus hrm Kasersky Lab,
is seeing a raid growIh in Ihis moneIisaIion
o comuIer Iakeovers. "Uore and more
cybercriminals Iry Io build malware caable
o mining BiIcoins, or sIealing Ihem rom
walleIs or redirecIing Ihe vicIim Io a ake
websiIe under a secial Iechnique called
'Proxy auIo conhguraIion', insIalled in Ihe
browser o Ihe inecIed machine," he says.
O course, boIneIs don'I cosI Ihe hacker
anyIhing comared Io Ihe besoke hardware,
as Henderson exlains. "The issue wiIh
cusIomised hardware builI secihcally or
mining BiIcoin is Iwo-old. Ihere's Ihe iniIial
cosI o Ihe hardware, and Ihen Ihe ongoing
cosI o running Ihe hardware. BoIneIs used
Io mine BiIcoin don'I have Io Iake Ihose
acIors inIo consideraIion. everyIhing is
aid or by Ihe vicIim. On Io o IhaI, when
we're Ialking abouI boIneIs wiIh Iens o
Ihousands o vicIims
or more, iI's sIricIly
a numbers game,
solving roblems
Io mine new
coins is ehecIively |usI Ihrowing random
soluIions Io a roblem looking or a correcI
answer. [Having] more sysIems. 'guessing'
means you're |usI as likely Io sIumble uon
a correcI soluIion as someone wiIh Iailor-
made hardware."
Thankully, iI's quiIe easy Io soI when
your comuIer has been 'biIboued'. "The
CP o such machines works hard," says
BesIuzhev. "The biggesI risk is or users
who |usI leave Iheir machines on all day and
go ouI o Ihe house or go Io slee. Such
unauended machines can Ihen easily mine
money or cybercriminals."
As BesIuzhev menIioned, ownershi o
a BiIcoin iIsel is oIenIially exIremely
vulnerable - aer all, iI's simly a sIring o
code on a comuIer's hard disk. "When we
manage an online banking accounI, Ihe
accounI iIsel and Ihe daIabase wiIh Ihe
numbers are on Ihe server side, Ihe bank side.
WiIh Ihe BiIcoins Ihe siIuaIion is diherenI.
The walleI iIsel is sIored on Ihe hard disk,
and Ihis is a big risk." Uany users sIore
Iheir BiIcoins in SB drives, raIher
Ihan on Ihe comuIer iIsel - and
sIandardised secure SB walleIs
are in develomenI righI now.
Bt bubb!es
BuI Ihe largesI bursI o usage
we've seen recenIly hasn'I been
rom Ihose sorIs o hnancial
criminals, buI Ihe reviously
more resecIable banks and
rivaIe invesIors. Some
o Ihese may have been
IradiIional anicked invesIors
leeing Ihe sIock markeI and
OCTOBER 2013 [
s o vicIims
I's sIricIly
s game,
oblems
ew
money or cyber
As BesIuzhev
a BiIcoin iIsel is
vulnerable - ae
code on a com
manage an onlin
accounI iIsel an
numbers are on
WiIh Ihe BiIcoin
The walleI iIse
and Ihis is
Iheir Bi
Ihan o
sIan
are
B
Bu
w

c
m

o
Ir
le
A step-by-step guIde
to gettIng BItcoIns
l
The hrst thing you need to do is download a Bitcoin client. |f you visit www.bitcoin.org,
you'll see the recommended clients. We're going to assume you're using the main
Bitcoin client. Nake sure you have at least 10CB free on your main hard disk, as that's
where Bitcoin will store the blockchain.
2
Now you have to wait for the blockchain to download. This can take an awful long
time, as much as a week at its current size. You can order the blockchain on DVD if
you really want, but we'd recommend |ust waiting.
S
Once you've downloaded the blockchain, your computer is now mining Bitcoins.
Now you need to create a 'wallet' (a folder in which the client stores your Bitcoins).
Nake a copy of the Wallet.dat hle and store it on a thumb drive. |f you lose the hle, you
lose all your Bitcoins.
4
|f you're interested in mining Bitcoins (something of a fool's errand, given that it will
cost you more in power to generate them than they're worth) you can |oin a 'pool'.
These share computational power and share rewards. We'll assume, however, that you
|ust want money. Click 'receive money' and you'll get the code for that wallet.
5
As discussed in the article, Nt.Cox is under threat from the US government, but it's
still the best exchange for swapping real money for Bitcoins.
Dr Ey|olfur Cudmundsson is the lead economist in the popular
game Eve Online. |t's his |ob to make sure the game's virtual
economy works to further the en|oyment of the players
isit bitcoin org
THE RISE OF BITCOIN
l4S
ISSUE 308 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ OCTOBER 2013
Ierrihed by Ihe high rice o gold. BuI some
o Ihe reason or Ihe move is IhaI elecIronic
currencies do have some advanIages over
aer currencies, such as rivacy, zero
IransacIion charges and securiIy.
BiIcoin's success seems Io have Ierrihed
Ihe S governmenI. lI has sIarIed IhreaIening
BiIcoin suliers and is making exIremely
negaIive noises Iowards Ihe new exchanges
IhaI suorI BiIcoin. UI.Cox, or examle, an
exchange IhaI sIarIed ouI as a orum or
Irading Uagic. The CaIhering cards buI now
handles 80 er cenI o all BiIcoin Irades,
has ound iIsel under IhreaI, wiIh iIs asseIs
being seized by Ihe S auIhoriIies.
However, ViIalik BuIerin isn'I concerned
abouI Ihis. "The days o BiIcoin exchanges
disaearing wiIh hundreds o Ihousands
o dollars in cusIomer unds are long over.
All Ihe exchanges IhaI are sIill le sIanding
have roven Ihemselves Io be reliable over
Ihe asI Iwo years, and have olicies in lace
(such as sIoring over 90 er cenI o unds in
omine 'cold sIorage') Io hel ensure securiIy.
"As or legaliIy, Ihe S governmenI's
FlNCFN guidance in Uarch 2013 clarihed a
loI o issues around Ihe legaliIy o BiIcoin
services, i you're noI an exchange, you have
noIhing Io worry abouI, and Ihe exchanges
are raidly working on comliance." UosI o
Ihe exchanges are signing u Io Ihe 'money
Iransmiuer' licences IhaI will enable Ihem Io
become recognised banking insIiIuIions.
ThaI's noI Ihe only roblem or Ihe
markeI, Ihough. UI.Cox has come under
reeaIed disIribuIed denial o service (DDoS)
auacks in recenI monIhs. Then, on 10Ih Aril
Ihis year, Ihe rice or a BiIcoin ell rom
SS266 Io S76 beore bouncing back Io S160.
ForIineI's Henderson says, "These were mosI
likely used by someone or mulIile ersons Io
rohI rom markeI insIabiliIy.
"OIher meIhods o markeI maniulaIion
mirror Ihose used in Ihe real world o sIocks
and bonds, alIhough aI a much smaller scale.
lI's likely Ihere are cabals o invesIors who
are engaging in uneIhical racIices. l've seen
seculaIion IhaI Ihe massive run-u o BiIcoin
value recenIly may have been a 'erecI
sIorm' o media auenIion, uming and
duming and churning in order Io auracI a loI
o new auenIion Io BiIcoin and, wiIh iI, new
invesIors. which ineviIably caused Ihe rice
o a BiIcoin Io shooI Ihrough Ihe roo."
Fve's Dr Cudmundsson agrees. "For Ihe
shorI-Ierm Irader, higher volaIiliIy means
higher robabiliIy Io make a shorI-Ierm gain,
so i ciIy invesIors believe IhaI one currency is
undervalued Ihen Ihey would quickly move
Iheir unds Iowards IhaI currency and move
ouI again beore iI collases again. So l would
acIually be more inIeresIed in knowing when
Ihey sIarI Io sell again."
Najorty report
A oIenIial roblem or BiIcoin, buI one's
IhaI becoming less revalenI as Ihe currency
grows, is known as Ihe 'S1 er cenI roblem'.
We Ialked earlier abouI Ihe blockchain - Ihe
IransacIion hisIory IhaI's shared beIween all
BiIcoin users and how Ihis Iakes Ihe orm o a
kind o consensual agreemenI beIween all Ihe
miners, i Ihere are Iwo comeIing hisIories
in Ihe sysIem, Ihen Ihe one wiIh Ihe larger
number o users is Irue. So or someone Io
change Ihe hisIory, and ehecIively desIroy Ihe
ownershi o all BiIcoins, Ihey'd need Io have
S1 er cenI o Ihe comuIing ower.
Richard Henderson Ihinks iI's unlikely.
"Who would wanI Io conIrol S1 er cenI o
Ihe miners wiIh Ihe inIenIion o shuuing
down Ihe whole sysIem? The owners o
boIneIs IhaI are mining coin wouldn'I wanI
Io shuI iI down. Ihey're in Ihe business o
making money. Tinoil haI aside, Ihe only
ossibiliIy is a naIion sIaIe or a hnancial
organisaIion inIeresIed in seeing Ihe BiIcoin
exerimenI ail and eole who have boughI
inIo iI lose a loI o money. Uy guess is IhaI a
loI o smarI eole on boIh sides o Ihe ence
are waIching very careully."
The S governmenI looks Io be BiIcoin's
only real IhreaI. OIher secondary currencies,
including Ihe shorI-lived LiberIy Dollar, have
already been banned in Ihe SA - desiIe Ihe
acI IhaI Ihese currencies are, as Dr Fy|olur
Cudmundsson oinIs ouI, indisIinguishable
rom Ihe couon and oinIs schemes IhaI
comanies such as Tesco or BriIish Airways run.
A bigger roblem is Ihe unknown. As we
said, BiIcoins Io ouI aI 21 million. AI IhaI
oinI no-one, noI even Ihe eole who
creaIed iI, know how Ihe markeI will reacI.
Dr Cudmundsson Ihinks iI's a bad idea.
"SIricIly limiIing Ihe money suly is noI a
good Ihing or any currency. lI means more
delaIion, less economic acIiviIy and Ihereore
lower economic value in Ihe long run." lI's
where ure science meeIs groundbreaking
social exerimenI - Ihe 'leI's make Ihis Ihing
and see whaI iI does' aroach IhaI so
IraumaIised A-bomb researcher Carl Sagan
and oIher nave ure science researchers.
ThaI said, many o our exerIs IrusI Ihe
currency. ViIalik BuIerin is a case in oinI. "l
kee a subsIanIial orIion o my unds in
cryIocurrencies, some BiIcoin, abouI a Ihird
as much in Riles (anoIher new virIual
cryIocurrency]," he says. "lI's a volaIile, buI
good invesImenI, even i Ihere's a 9S er cenI
chance iI will go Io zero, i Ihere's a hve er
cenI chance iI will grow by anoIher acIor o
100 IhaI's a Sx average reIurn. l don'I mind, l
don'I have Iime or iI, and l move around Ioo
much Ihese days Io kee Singles or Avalons
(secialised BiIcoin mining devices) wiIh me."
O course, as a currenI invesIor in BiIcoin
you would execI him Io Ialk u Ihe currency.
We're noI going Io - buI i you're a gambling
man, you mighI wanI Io beI a small amounI
on a BiIcoin or Iwo. Aer all, even Ihe
sIrangesI science-hcIion sIories can have
a Iendency Io come Irue.

As the price boomed, so did the number of

people grinding out Bitcoins - that is, the hash rate

The price of Bitcoins has boomed recently. A

pizza that three years ago cost 10,000 Bitcoins
would now be worth around $3 million
Dmitry Bestuzhev, from anti-virus hrm
Kaspersky Lab, has seen cybercriminals
ock to exploit Bitcoin's success
US do!!ars v Btoon eohange rate Btoon produoton rate
600k
300K
0K
280
140
0
160,000
80,000
0
H
a
s
h
r
a
t
e
(
C
H
z
)
Hash rate
Se 10 |an 11 |an 12 |an 13 Uay
|an 09 |an 11 |an 13
l4C OCTOBER 2013 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 308
Busiress Hel

Our company has moved from

Omce 2007 to Omce 2010, and |
now have a problem with Word.
Our documents are quite graphics heavy,
and |'ve been trying to manipulate those
graphics by selecting a group of them in
the same way as | did in Word 2007. | click
on the drop-down arrow next to Select in
the Home tab of the Omce ribbon, then
on Select Ob|ects. This takes me back to
the document. | then click and hold the
leh-hand mouse buuon while moving the
mouse to draw a lasso around the ob|ects.
This is something |'ve done many times,
but in Word 2010 it doesn't work.
|s there a way to make it happen?
Andy Bex|ey

You're righI Io say Ihis has sIoed

working in Word 2010. ForIunaIely,
Ihere are ways around Ihe roblem.
The hrsI oIion is Io hold down Ihe CIrl key
5eIectng muItpIe mages n Offce 2010
Wenl more ous|ness edv|ce?
usness Expert, page 158
l you lave daabases, oce alicaiors ard macro issues, Kay Ewbank
car lel. Serd your roblems o busiresslel@comuersloer.co.ul
Why can't I sort my ExceI spreadsheet

One of my colleagues has sent me

an Excel 2010 spreadsheet that |'ve
been working on. |'ve updated quite
a lot of the details and now want to sort
it into alphabetical order on a particular
column. However, it doesn't mauer whether |
select the rows within the data table, or the
entire table, as the Sort & Filter buuon on
the Editing tab of the Omce Ribbon is greyed
out so | can't click on it. This means | can't sort
the data. |s there another way to sort from a
diherent menu, and why is it happening?
jc Pcberts

The hrsI Ihing Io check is IhaI you're

noI working in a roIecIed area o
Ihe workbook. Fxcel 2010 can lace
quiIe secihc resIricIions on whaI you are
allowed Io do Io daIa on Ihe sheeI, and
sorIing is a searaIe oIion IhaI can be
resIricIed. To see wheIher Ihe workbook is
roIecIed, choose lno in Ihe File menu, and
on IhaI screen selecI Permissions. l Ihe sheeI
is roIecIed, Permissions will be shown in Red,
wiIh an nProIecI SheeI oIion nexI Io iI. You
may Ihink IhaI because Ihe sheeI is
roIecIed, you wouldn'I have been able
Io ediI Ihe daIa. However, Fxcel's sheeI
roIecIion allows you Io roIecI secihc
cells and/or enIire sheeIs. l iI Iurns ouI
IhaI Ihe sheeI is roIecIed, Ialk Io your
colleague Io geI Ihe assword Io unroIecI
iI or Ihe sorIing. AlIernaIively, you could
coy and asIe Io anoIher sheeI, i you're
allowed Io do IhaI by Ihe roIecIion.
The nexI ossibiliIy is IhaI some o
Ihe sheeIs are groued. l you see Ihe
word [Crou] aer Ihe name o Ihe
workbook in Ihe IiIle bar Ihen someone
has groued several sheeIs IogeIher,
i you do someIhing Io one sheeI, Ihe
same acIion will be alied Io Ihe oIher
sheeIs. This may be hne or ediIing daIa,
buI you can'I sorI groued sheeIs. To geI
around Ihis, righI-click on Ihe name o Ihe
sheeI aI Ihe bouom o Ihe age and selecI
ngrou SheeIs rom Ihe o-u menu.
l neiIher o Ihese suggesIions works,
make sure you're noI working wiIh connecIed
daIa. Click on Ihe DaIa Iab in Ihe Omce Ribbon
and click on each iIem in Iurn IhaI you wanI
Io selecI. This sIill works, and as long as
you're only selecIing a ew ob|ecIs, iI's
cerIainly Ihe easiesI oIion Io go or.

Check the Protect Workbook menu if certain actions are

blocked in Excel
The nexI ossibiliIy involves a drawing
canvas. You mighI remember Ihis eaIure
rom Word 2003, alIhough iI was hidden in
Word 2007. lI's noI auIomaIically visible in
Word 2010, buI you can Iurn iI on. Co Io
Ihe File menu, click OIions and, rom Ihe
dialog box IhaI aears, selecI Advanced.
ln Ihis dialog box, look in Ihe secIion headed
'FdiIing oIions' and Iick Ihe 'AuIomaIically
creaIe drawing canvas when inserIing
AuIoShaes check box' oIion. When you
inserI an AuIoShae, you'll see a recIangle
aear on your documenI, IiIled 'CreaIe
your drawing here'. You can add shaes
wiIhin Ihe recIangle, and selecI as many
as you like by clicking and dragging.
Your hnal choice, i you don'I wanI Io
use Ihe drawing canvas, is Io resave your
documenI in Word 2003/2007 comaIibiliIy
ormaI. You can Ihen use Ihe click and drag
meIhod, beore resaving Ihe documenI in Ihe
new Word 2010 ormaI.
and selecI ConnecIions. l you see a connecIion
in Ihe dialog box, iI means you're working
wiIh daIa IhaI is sIored somewhere else, such
as a daIabase or SharePoinI hle, and Ihis can
block Ihe abiliIy Io sorI. Remove Ihe connecIion,
having saved Ihe sreadsheeI under a new
name, and Ihen work wiIh Ihe daIa locally.

Use a drawing canvas in Word to enable multiple

selecting of drawing ob|ects
BUSINESS HELP
l4
ISSUE 308 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ OCTOBER 2013

We use Sage Accounts 2012, and

when we generate statements to be
emailed to our customers, Outlook
2010 gives the following message: "A
program is trying to send an email message
on your behalf. |f this is unexpected, click
Deny and verify your anti-virus sohware is up
to date." Clicking Allow does work, but it is
rather frustrating that this has to be done for
each email. Can you tell me if there is a way
around this, and whether emails can be sent
without this delay and extra clicking?
Les|ie Pcbinscn

This is an auemI by OuIlook Io

kee you sae, and Io geI around Ihe
roblem many eole encounIered in
earlier versions where virus wriIers sread
Iheir viruses as OuIlook emails. ldeally, whaI
you'd like Io have is an oIion Io say 'always
IrusI Ihis oIher rogram Io send emails on
my behal' and Io add IhaI rogram Io a lisI
o oIher IrusIed rograms. l you are using
OuIlook on a Windows neIwork where you've
goI AcIive DirecIory and Sage running as a
COU add-in, you can do Ihis.
l Ihis is Ihe case, you need Io include Ihe
hle name or Ihe add-in in a Crou Policy
seuing IhaI uses a calculaIed hash value or
Ihe hle. The hash value is calculaIed using a
uIiliIy called Ihe Uicroso Omce OuIlook
2007 SecuriIy Hash CeneraIor Tool. l you
search on Ihe Uicroso websiIe or Ihis,
you'll hnd Ihe download locaIion and Ihe
insIrucIions or using iI.
However, i Sage AccounIs doesn'I run
as a COU add-in - and so ar as we can see, iI
doesn'I - Ihen Ihis meIhod isn'I available. lI's
What does annoyng OutIook
securty message mean
Set the
Trust seuings in
Outlook to over-
ride security
warnings
also noI available Io anyone who is noI
using a neIwork running AcIive DirecIory
and Crou Policy.
You may also be able Io geI rid o Ihe
warning, deending on which anIi-virus
soware you're running. l Ihe one you've
chosen shares iIs udaIe sIaIus wiIh oIher
alicaIions, and is u Io daIe on iIs securiIy
udaIes, Ihe message may disaear.
OuIlook 2010 uses Ihe Windows SecuriIy
CenIer Io check or Ihe resence o Ihe
anIi-virus soware and udaIe iIs sIaIus.
You need Io look in OuIlook's TrusI CenIer Io
seI Ihe level o warning you'll geI. From Ihe
OuIlook File menu, choose OIions, Ihen click
on TrusI CenIer. ln Ihe dialog IhaI aears,
click on Ihe buuon labelled TrusI CenIer
Seuings and, rom Ihe nexI dialog, selecI
ProgrammaIic Access.
There are Ihree oIions you can use. The
ideal one is 'Warn me abouI susicious acIiviIy
when my anIi-virus soware is inacIive or
ouI-o-daIe (recommended)'. However, Ihis
is Ihe deaulI seuing in OuIlook, so i your
anIi-virus soware is u Io daIe you shouldn'I
be geuing Ihe warnings you're geuing.
lI may be IhaI your coy o OuIlook is seI
Io 'Always warn me abouI susicious acIiviIy',
in which case you may be able Io geI Ihe
ehecI you wanI by changing Ihe level.
l you're eeling lucky, you could Iry Ihe
lowesI level o securiIy, 'Never warn me abouI
susicious acIiviIy (noI recommended)'. l you
do go or Ihis choice, we suggesI you have a
searaIe OuIlook accounI IhaI you use only
Io send emails rom Sage. This will reduce
Ihe chances o you geuing a virus rom
oIher incoming emails.

| have built a database at work,

which | now have to share with
another user. |'ve transferred the
Access 2002 database to a server and
marked it as Share so that my colleague and |
can both access it using Access 2010 clients.
| have one particularly important held on
the database, which will now not save at all.
|t retains past data but will accept no saving,
even when refreshed, of any current input
from a form. This means that | have 38
records without any data in that held and |
may have to 'adopt' another held for this
data use. Can you think of any reason why
this is happening?
jim Wous

The acI IhaI Ihe held won'I reIain

any daIa via a orm is robably Ihe
key Io Ihe roblem. This is reinorced
by Ihe acI IhaI iI sIill reIains some daIa
values, so iI is sIill working as a Iable held.
The hrsI Ihing Io check is wheIher Ihe held
will reIain Ihe daIa i you enIer someIhing in
Iable view. l iI will, Ihe answer has Io lie
wiIhin your orm, and we susecI Ihe orm
conIrol has somehow become unbound rom
Ihe underlying Iable held. This could only
haen i one o Ihe Iwo o you who can ediI
Ihe daIabase goes inIo Ihe orm in design
view and (resumably accidenIally) Iakes Ihe
held name ouI o Ihe conIrol source so Ihe
bound held has become unbound.
l you had no daIa rom any record in
IhaI arIicular held, or you couldn'I add
daIa or IhaI held while in Iable view, Ihen
iI would have oinIed Io Ihe roblem being
wiIh Ihe Iable raIher Ihan Ihe orm, and
robably Io a siIuaIion where Ihe held had
been accidenIally deleIed.
Access
feId Iocked

Check that the control in an Access form is

bound to an underlying held to save data
l48 OCTOBER 2013 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 308
Helle

| recently bought a wireless network

card for my Windows 7 desktop PC
in the hope that it might be faster
than my existing setup, in which the computer's
Ethernet card is connected to my router
via a pair of Homeplugs. Unfortunately, the
wireless signal isn't all that strong and the
Homeplugs remain quite a bit faster.
| thought | might leave the WiFi card
installed anyway, but it now takes priority
over the wired connection when both are
enabled, so |'ve had to disable it. |s there a
way to set the priority of my network cards
so that the wired adaptor takes precedence
when both are connected to the network?
That's how my laptops have always behaved.
Also, am | right in thinking that there isn't a
way to use both connections at once?
|on Ccx

We'd execI a good SCHz neIwork Io

ouIerorm many Homelugs over a
shorI disIance, buI wiIhouI line o
sighI beIween Ihe rouIer and WiFi card iI's no
real surrise IhaI your Homelugs are asIer.
norIunaIely, you're righI IhaI you can'I use
boIh wired and wireless adaIors Io access
Ihe same neIwork aI once, Ihere's no easy
way Io seI iI u, and doing so on a simle
neIwork wouldn'I imrove IhroughuI.
lI's odd IhaI your wireless adaIor Iakes
rioriIy over Ihe wired one, buI iI's easy Io hx.
From Ihe SIarI Uenu, righI-click NeIwork and
choose ProerIies and Ihen, in Ihe le-hand
ane o Ihe NeIwork and Sharing CenIer, click
'Change adaIer [sic] seuings'. RighI-click
your wireless connecIion and enable iI, Ihen
righI-click iI and choose ProerIies. Double-
click lnIerneI ProIocol Version 4 (TCP/lPv4) in
Ihe lisI, click Ihe Advanced buuon, unIick
AuIomaIic meIric and Iye 11 in Ihe lnIerace
meIric box beore clicking OK in Ihe dialogs Io
dismiss Ihem and save Ihe changes.
Vlaever your ereral FC, lardvare ard sovare voes, 5mon Handby
is lere o lel. Serd your roblems o rcp@comp:crsroppcr.co.:r
Can I upgrade my Iaptop CPU

| have a Dell Latitude E5410 laptop

with an |ntel Core i3 processor. The
processor in this machine is easily
accessible and it looks like it would be a
simple |ob to remove it, so could it be
upgraded to a Core i5 if | lay my hands on
the appropriate replacement?
Keith Brigeu, keith.brigeuuwc|ub.net

The shorI answer is IhaI Ihe

rocessor is relaceable. You can hnd
insIrucIions on how Io remove and
relace iI in Ihe FS410 manual, which is on
Dell's websiIe. The slighIly longer answer is
IhaI hnding Ihe righI rocessor could be
comlicaIed, and Ihe seed increase may noI
be greaI enough Io warranI Ihe cosI and ehorI.
As ar as we can esIablish, your laIo was
sold wiIh Arrandale Core iX rocessors, rom
Ihe Core i3 3S0U u Io Ihe Core i7 620U,
which should mean iI suorIs SockeI C1
rocessor ackaging. |usI bear in mind IhaI
you musI buy a relacemenI wiIh Ihe same
connecIor ackage. lI's unlikely you'd hnd any
BCA-1288-ackaged chis, buI avoid Ihem i
you do. Ihey're designed Io be soldered on
by sysIem manuacIurers.
As Ihese rocessors have been
disconIinued, you'll have Io look around and
buy one second-hand, which can be risky. A
quick check suggesIs you may also need Io
ay more Ihan 100. l you are going ahead
wiIh iI, you'll geI Ihe biggesI erormance
boosI rom a Core i7 620U raIher Ihan an iS,
buI give Ihe an and heaIsink a clean beore
rehuing Ihem, and make sure IhaI you use a
good Ihermal asIe i none is already alied
Io Ihe rocessor.
Can I use muItpIe network cards
Aer rebooIing, Ihe wired inIerace should
Iake rioriIy over Ihe wireless one when boIh
are connecIed. l noI, reeaI Ihe sIes buI
ediI Ihe seuings or Ihe wired connecIion,
manually seuing iIs inIerace meIric Io 10.
l your sysIem is sIill avouring Ihe wireless
connecIion, disable iI again and veriy IhaI
Ihe wired connecIion is working. The cable
beIween Ihe rouIer and iIs Homelug may be
disconnecIed, Ihis wouldn'I cause Windows
Io dislay Ihe NeIwork cable unlugged
warning, buI iI would cause all neIwork
Iramc Io go via Ihe wireless link.

Dell's business laptops are usually serviceable,

look in the manual for instructions
Adaptors with
the lowest interface
metric get priority. The
automatic default is
usually 10, so seuing
11 will give this adaptor
a low priority
HELPFILE
l4
ISSUE 308 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ OCTOBER 2013

A couple of years ago, when SSDs

were more expensive, | bought one
to speed up my Windows 7 desktop
PC, but | could only ahord 64CB. | thought
this would be enough space to hold |ust my
Windows folders, with everything else stored
on the 1TB conventional disk in the system,
but |'ve run into problems. | usually hibernate
the PC rather than shuuing it down, and aher
a memory upgrade the hiberhle.sys hle now
takes up 16CB on the SSD, initially leaving me
with |ust a gigabyte or two free.
| used Disk Cleanup to delete temporary
hles and changed the environment variables
to point the temp folder to D:\temp. | thought
this would do the |ob, but recently |'ve been
running out of space again. On investigation,
| realised that when my partner is logged into
the PC, her temp directory remains on the C:
drive and has been slowly hlling it up.
Although | can empty this folder by logging
on as her and running Disk Cleanup, | can't
change the seuing for her temp drive location.
When | try, |'m prompted for my admin
password, aher which |'m taken to my
environment variables, not hers. Can you tell
me how | change her environment variables?
| realise that having the temp folder on
the D: drive will be slowing the system down

| have a Toshiba Satellite laptop

running Windows 7. When | switch it
on, it can take 20 minutes for the
hard disk light to go out so | can use it. | have
tried the help pages on Nicrosoh's website
but these are too technical, so | hoped that
you may be able to point me in the right
direction. | have Norton |nternet Security,
which is up to date, and | have run the virus
checker in Safe Node and aher a normal
boot, but nothing is reported. Can you help?
Pick |soocs, rickyisoocshctmoi|.cc.uk

lI's normal Io see a loI o hard disk

acIiviIy when you Iurn on a comuIer,
and Ihis increases wiIh Ihe age o Ihe
PC and Ihe amounI o soware insIalled. lI
sounds severe in your case Ihough.
Temp hIes are wastng dsk space
InsufferabIy sIow startup woes
a liule. |s there a way to limit the
size of the folder that would let me
move it back to C:, knowing that it
wouldn't eat up all the disk space?
Alternatively, is there any way to
move hiberhle.sys to another disk?
Mork A|etcn

You can'I move Ihe hiberhle.

sys hle, Ihe Windows booI
loader needs Io read iI when
resIoring iIs conIenIs so iI musI be
on Ihe rimary booI arIiIion. We
also don'I know o a way Io limiI Ihe
size o Ihe Windows Iem older,
oIher Ihan by regularly running Disk
Cleanu. However, iI is ossible Io
change anoIher user's environmenI
variables, which will aI leasI leI you move your
arIner's Iem older Io anoIher disk.
lI sounds as Ihough you've been modiying
Ihe variables by clicking Ihe FnvironmenI
Variables buuon wiIhin Ihe Advanced Iab on
Ihe SysIem ProerIies dialog, buI Ihis won'I
work when logged on as a user who doesn'I
have adminisIraIive rivileges. lnsIead, log on
as your arIner, launch ConIrol Panel and
navigaIe Io Ihe main user accounIs age. Here,
you should see a link in Ihe le-hand ane Io
Provided Ihe comuIer is slow raIher Ihan
comleIely unresonsive, one or more hard-
disk inIensive rocesses may be conhgured Io
run aI booI Iime, iI's worIh checking Io see i
NorIon is erorming a scheduled virus scan
wiIh each sysIem sIarI and, i so, changing Ihe
schedule so iI scans aI a Iime when you're noI
using Ihe PC. OIher culriIs are a backu |ob
or a Ihird-arIy disk deragmenIaIion rogram
IhaI's Iriggered each Iime you sIarI Ihe PC.
l you can rule ouI all o Ihe above, check
Io see i Ihe sysIem is running ouI o memory.
RighI-click Ihe Iaskbar and sIarI Task Uanager,
click Ihe Perormance Iab and look aI Ihe
Available hgure under Ihe Physical Uemory
heading aI Ihe bouom. l Ihis is |usI a coule
o hundred megabyIes or less, Ihe sysIem
robably has Ioo liule RAU. l you can'I add
more, uninsIall any soware you're noI using.
You may also hnd iI hels Io inserI a SB lash
drive and conhgure iI or use wiIh ReadyBoosI.
One hnal buI unlikely ossibiliIy is IhaI Ihe
hard disk could be on Ihe way ouI. We've seen
one disk geI rogressively slower over a coule
o monIhs beore giving u Ihe ghosI. You
would normally see errors and crashes beore
a ailure, buI iI may be wise Io make a backu
as a recauIion i you don'I already have one.
lI's hard Io be more secihc wiIhouI
urIher inormaIion, buI you may hnd you can
sidesIe Ihe issue by hibernaIing Ihe laIo
beIween sessions raIher Ihan shuuing iI
down. l you haven'I already conhgured Ihis,
oen Ihe SIarI menu and Iye CUD in Ihe
search box, Ihen righI-click Command PromI
in Ihe resulIs and selecI Run as AdminisIraIor,
rovide ermission i romIed by a ser
AccounI ConIrol dialog. When Ihe Command
PromI oens, Iye 'owercg.exe /hibernaIe
on' (wiIhouI Ihe quoIes) and hiI FnIer, Ihen
Iye 'exiI' and hiI FnIer Io close Ihe romI.
You should hnd HibernaIe now aears
among Ihe oIions i you oen Ihe SIarI
menu and click Ihe arrow nexI Io Ihe ShuI
down buuon. SelecIing HibernaIe will wriIe
Ihe sysIem memory Io disk and shuI Ihe PC
down. When you resIarI, you'll be where you
le oh and, in Iheory, won'I have Io waiI or
so long or Ihe disk acIiviIy Io die down.

Edit another user's environment variables from the main user

accounts page in Control Panel

|f you can't track down the cause of a slow boot, hibernating and resuming may prove much
quicker than rebooting
'Change my environmenI variables'. Click Ihis
and you should see 'ser variables or.' and
your arIner's login name raIher Ihan yours.
l you're Irying Io reserve sace on C.,
move Ihe user variables or TFUP and TUP
or all users, buI also Ihe sysIem variables. l
you've done Ihis rom wiIhin your rohle, you
don'I need Io do iI here. Aer rebooIing, iI's
sae Io deleIe Ihe old sysIem Iem older C.\
Windows\Iem and Ihe user Iem olders in
C.\users\sername\ADaIa\Local\Iem,
buI Iake care noI Io deleIe anyIhing else.
VEB EXPERT
lS2 OCTOBER 2013 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 308
Understandng web
deveIopment shortcuts
l you var o cu dovr or develomer ime, lere are los o reely available
ramevorls or you o build or. Nk RawInson oirs ou some imesavers
IT MI6HT NOT eel like iI when you're siuing
alone, bauling Io hnish coding a siIe, buI as a
web designer you have an almosI unlimiIed
Ieam Io call uon. They're Ihere Io hel, round
Ihe clock, day aer day. Beuer yeI, Iheir inuI
is ree, and quiIe oen Ihey don'I even require
any Ihanks or recogniIion. Who are Ihey?
Web designers |usI like you, IhaI's who.
The web is awash wiIh snieIs o code
borrowed rom elsewhere. WheIher iI's Ihe
HTUL underinnings o a ma|or siIe or Ihe
CSS skin IhaI sIyles iI u, very liule o whaI
you see online is enIirely original. Where
ermiued, designers and coders borrow reely
rom each oIher, and in Iurn Ihey give back
Ihe roducI o Iheir own hard work Io Ihe
communiIy. Doing Ihe same yoursel will save
you Iime and, i you're doing Ihis or a living,
increase your rosecIs o earning a crusI.
Here, we'll Iake a look aI some o Ihe mosI
useul sIarIing oinIs or creaIing or enhancing
an exisIing siIe. Beore we do, Ihough, we
need Io seI some ground rules. |usI as wiIh
books, music and hlms, coyrighI can exisI in
online creaIions. |usI because someone has
omiued Io sIam a coyrighI noIice on Iheir
ooIer, iI doesn'I mean Ihey're hay or all
and sundry Io recycle Iheir work. The creaIors
o Ihe resources we'll be exloring here have
all exliciIly given ermission or Iheir work Io
be re-used, eiIher or ree or in reIurn or a
ee. l you're sourcing asseIs rom elsewhere,
and Ihere's no declaraIion IhaI Ihey're ree or
Ihird-arIy use on Ihe accomanying ages,
be sure Io check wiIh Ihe original auIhor Io
save yoursel geuing your hngers burned.
USING CSS RESET
The besI sIarIing oinI or any design is a
clean, blank canvas. By sIriing ouI any
deaulI values, you'll know exacIly how your
visiIor's browser is seI u, and can seciy
your own variables or layer margins, adding,
onIs, colours and so on. The simlesI way
Io do Ihis is Io use a CSS reseI. This is a
sIylesheeI IhaI secihes zero values or as
many variables as ossible across all browser
Iyes. You call iI in Ihe same way as a regular
sIylesheeI, and immediaIely call your besoke
sIylesheeI on Ihe ollowing line Io override
Ihe deaulIs wiIh your own chosen values.
l your CSS reseI sIylesheeI was called
reseI.css and your siIe sIylesheeI was called
sIyles.css, you would include Ihe ollowing
Iwo lines, in Ihis order, wiIhin Ihe <head>
area o each age on your siIe.
!1nk e!~"sly!esleel" lype~"lexl1css"
le1~"esel.css"`
!1nk e!~"sly!esleel" lype~"lexl1css"
le1~"sly!es.css"`
You could Ihen be sure IhaI your secihed
values, when loaded rom sIyles.css, would be
working on a baseline secihcaIion raIher
Ihan modiying any variables seI by a secihc
browser. As you can'I reliably redicI which
browser your visiIor will be using, Ihis
increases Ihe chances o your siIe looking
Ihe way you inIended on any laIorm.
Fric Ueyer, a sIandards evangelisI aI
NeIscae CommunicaIions and Ihe wriIer
o Ihe eonymous book Fric Meyer cn CSS,
roduced one o Ihe shorIesI, mosI comacI
browser CSS reseI scriIs you'll come across.
lIs breviIy means iI will load quickly and
shouldn'I greaIly imacI siIe erormance.
You can grab iI aI hu.//meyerweb.ccm/eric/

Neyer's CSS reset script is compact and covers the most common bases from HTNL5 and earlier

There's no reason to call your CSS from local hles. |f you use Yahoo!'s remotely hosted alternatives, you'll
beneht from the latest updates whenever they're posted
VEB EXPERT
lS3
ISSUE 308 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ OCTOBER 2013
tcc|s/css/reset/reset.css. As you'll see rom
Ihe license deIails aI Ihe Io o Ihe hle, he's
released iI inIo Ihe ublic domain.
The scriI is wriuen wiIh HTULS in mind,
so will behave well wiIh all modern browsers,
including Ihose on mobile devices. lI sIris
ouI any deaulI margins and adding, removes
leading and ollowing conIenI, excises borders
rom Iables (surely one o Ihe leasI auracIive
hangovers rom Ihe old web) and reseIs Ihe
onI size Io 100 er cenI. lI's well sIrucIured
and easy Io ollow, so iI's also easy Io Iweak.
l Ueyer's reseI scriI seems a biI sarse
or your requiremenIs, you should check ouI
normalise.css aI hus.//github.ccm/necc|os/
ncrmo|ize.css. lI's comrehensive and well
documenIed wiIh in-line commenIs. lI also
reserves a loI o browser deaulIs where
Ihey don'I exliciIly need Io be changed and
iI hxes inconsisIencies beIween diherenI
browsers, or insIance, in Ihe way Chrome
handles ouIlines and Ihe way iOS can change
Ihe size o IexI aer a device orienIaIion
swiIch, and also lF8 and lF9's missing address
sIyling elemenIs. lI's an acIively develoed
sIylesheeI, Ihe mosI recenI revision, 2.1.2,
was |usI a monIh old aI Ihe Iime o wriIing.
l you use eiIher o Ihese reseI scriIs,
you'll need Io call Ihem rom your own server,
buI Ihere's no reason why you can'I |usI as
easily use a Ihird-arIy alIernaIive. Yahoo!'s
own reseI hles are hosIed remoIely on iIs own
servers, and benehI rom immediaIe udaIes
whenever Yahoo! osIs a new version.
WhaI's really good abouI Yahoo!'s
imlemenIaIion, which you'll hnd aI hu.//
yui|ibrory.ccm/yui/dccs/cssreset, is IhaI
Ihere are Iwo versions. one global and one
conIexIual. OIing or Ihe global sIylesheeI
seIs all Ihe values or your age Io Iheir zero
oinIs, so Ihey can be used as Ihe basis o a
age on which you Ihen go Io dehne Ihe look
o each selecIor rom scraIch.
The conIexIual sIylesheeI, meanwhile,
rehxes each selecIor wiIh Ihe class yui3-
cssreseI. So i you only wanIed Io reseI your
headers, you would dehne Ihem as.
l1 c!ass~"yu13cssesel"`he!!o
wo!d1l1`
You could Ihen use a regular unmodihed
aragrah Iag, <>, and iI wouldn'I adoI Ihe
reseI sIyle rom Ihe conIexIual sIylesheeI.
UNDERLYING GRIDS
Once you've reseI your CSS, you have an
excellenI oundaIion on which Io build Ihe
resI o your siIe. nless you're designing a
simle single-column layouI, you'll now need
Io sIarI Ihinking abouI columns and grids.
Crids, which we covered in Shcer 298, hel
your reader Io navigaIe Ihe inormaIion on
your ages while simulIaneously reducing Ihe
amounI o work you need Io do Io kee
everyIhing smarI and ordered. By dehning
Ihem wiIhin your sIylesheeI, you can use
Ihem Io quickly and easily dehne <div>
dimensions, wiIh all Ihe associaIed adding
and margins in lace.
The besI-known imlemenIaIion is Ihe
960 Crid SysIem aI www.960.gs, which, as iIs
name suggesIs, works on Ihe basis o a main
conIenI area IhaI's 960 ixels wide. This is
erecI or mosI IableI devices, which oen
seule on a maximum landscae screen widIh
o 1,024 ixels (or an emulaIed equivalenI on
IableIs wiIh high-resoluIion reIina-sIyle dislays).
You can download Ihe 960 sysIem direcIly
and imlemenI iI by ediIing Ihe underlying
CSS bundle, or Iweak Ihe seuings hrsI using
Ihe Variable Crid SysIem aI hu.//grids.
hercku.ccm, which leIs you dehne Ihe conIenI
widIh, number o columns and guuer widIh. l
you choose Io ollow Ihis rouIe, bear in mind
IhaI you have Iwo guuers on Ihe ouIer edges
o Ihe conIenI area, so Io hI everyIhing wiIhin
960 ixels, you'll have Io resIricI your conIenI
Io 940 ixels. Also, as Ihe guuer (or margin,
as you may know iI wiIhin CSS) is alied on
each side o a column, you should always seI
iI Io be hal Ihe size o Ihe ga you wanI Io
mainIain on Ihe screen. So or a ga o 40
ixels beIween each layer on your age,
you'd seI Ihe guuer Io 20 ixels.
BooIsIra (hu.//twiuer.github.ic/
bcctstro) works in a similar manner, allowing
you Io dehne a series o rows, wiIh columns
o a dehned size inside each one. Fach row is
sliI inIo 12 virIual columns, which you can
san wiIh your layers Io lay ouI conIenI side
by side. So i you wanIed Io give over Ihree
quarIers o your age widIh Io your rimary
conIenI and one quarIer Io a sidebar on Ihe
righI, you'd seciy your layers as ollows.
d1v 1d~"conlenl" c!ass~"ow"`
d1v 1d~"na1nbody"
c!ass~"span9"`Lonlenl oes lee1d1v`

|t's easy to customise the familiar 960 grid system to meet your specihc requirements by using the
Variable Crid System site

The Bootstrap system is built on a familiar 12-column grid and can be used either with a hxed width
or as a responsive layout
TIe veb is avasI vitI snippets oI code
borroved Irom eIsevIere, and very IittIe oI vIat
you'II see onIine is entireIy oriinaI
VEB EXPERT
lS4 OCTOBER 2013 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 308
d1v 1d~"s1deba" c!ass~"span3"`S1deba
oes lee1d1v`
1d1v`
NaIurally, you can go on Io embed a row
wiIhin a column-sanning layer. l you wanIed
Io sub-divide Ihe main body layer in Ihe
examle above so IhaI you could osiIion a
series o icons Io Ihe le o a run o blog
enIries, or examle, you'd modiy Ihe code as
ollows, ensuring IhaI Ihe cumulaIive san o
Ihe comonenI columns never exceeds Ihe
overall widIh o Ihe arenI column.
d1v 1d~"conlenl" c!ass~"ow"`
d1v 1d~"na1nbody" c!ass~"span9"`
d1v 1d~"1cons" c!ass~"span1"`1cons
o lee1d1v`
d1v 1d~"posls" c!ass~"span"`Posls
o lee1d1v`
1d1v`
d1v 1d~"s1deba" c!ass~"span3"`S1deba
oes lee1d1v`
1d1v`
So ar, so good, buI boIh o Ihese sysIems
sIill require a cerIain amounI o calculaIion
on Ihe arI o Ihe coder - IhaI's you. There
is an alIernaIive, seemingly simler soluIion
in Ihe orm o Ihe SemanIic Crid SysIem
(www.semontic.gs), which leIs you dehne
your variables in one lace aI Ihe sIarI o
your sIylesheeI and Ihen re-use Ihem
IhroughouI your HTUL.
This is a arIicularly clever sysIem IhaI
uses LFSS (SCSS or SIylus i you reer), an
exIension Io CSS IhaI Iakes variables rom
one arI o Ihe sIylesheeI and dros Ihem
inIo your code elsewhere. So using Ihe
SemanIic Crid SysIem, you mighI sIaIe aI
Ihe sIarI o your sIylesheeI IhaI each column
should be 40 ixels wide, IhaI each guuer is
20 ixels, and IhaI Ihe age is comosed o
a IoIal o 18 columns, as ollows.
sc1pl sc~"!ess1.1.3.n1n.s"
lype~"lexl1avasc1pl"`1sc1pl`
You can grab Ihe |avaScriI, examle hles and
base sIyles as a bundle rom Ihe SemanIic siIe.
BooIsIra is easy Io Iweak Io meeI your
exacI requiremenIs, wiIh Ihe web-based
cusIomiser (hu.//twiuer.github.ic/bcctstro/
custcmize.htm|) leuing you enable and disable
secihc CSS elemenIs and |Query lugins, and
seI your colours, Iyograhy and even Ihe
underlying grid sysIem beore downloading,
so Ihey're already comiled wiIhin Ihe code.
SIriing iI down Ihis way means you won'I
be le wiIh any redundanI code Io load along
wiIh your age and Ihen ignore. We'll be
Iaking a closer look aI LFSS nexI monIh.
THE BEST OF THE REST
There are so many rameworks Io choose
rom IhaI icking your way Ihrough Ihem
all can be Iricky. The imorIanI Ihing Io
remember is IhaI whichever you choose can
be used as a vanilla sIarIing oinI IhaI you
Ihen Iailor Io your own requiremenIs during
Ihe develomenI rocess, iI's noI necessarily
Ihe sIarI and end oinI all in one.
ln IhaI resecI, your biggesI decision is
robably wheIher Io oI or a bare-bones
scriI, or a more exIensive all-in-one
ramework IhaI also includes sIyles or icons,
buuons and so on. SkeleIon (www.getske|etcn.
ccm) is an examle o Ihe all-in-one, wiIh
an underlying grid, exIensive handling o
Iyograhy, 3D buuons, orms and media
queries or handling ully resonsive design
across mulIile laIorms. lI's been imlemenIed
imressively in Ihe Suer SkeleIon WordPress
Iheme (hu.//suer-ske|etcn.mdnw.net).
UonIage (hu.//mcntogejs.crg) is designed
or building web as. Lime (www.|imejs.ccm)
is a sIarIing oinI or building Iouchscreen
and browser-based games, check ouI Ihe
examle Roundball game aI www.|imejs.ccm/
stotic/rcundbo||/index.htm|, wiIh iIs Candy
Crush overIones. Finally, Thesis (hu.//
diythemes.ccm) is a highly regarded and widely
imlemenIed ramework or develoing SFO-
oIimised Ihemes or WordPress.
NEXT MONTH
USING LESS
We'll be taking a look at how you can
develop more exible layouts by using
calculations in LESS.
cc.cc.ol [ O8-- --- o2-2
8am-9pm Vkoays, 9am-6pm Saturoays, Cam-5pm Sunoays
Gco!unns: 1,
Gco!unnw1dll: 40,
Gullew1dll: Z0,
l you Ihen wanIed Io creaIe a layer called
#conIenI IhaI sans 10 columns (so iI would
be S60 ixels wide, comosed o 10 columns
o 40 ixels and eighI guuers beIween Ihem,
each o 2x20 ixels aiece) you would sIyle iI
wiIhin your sIylesheeI as ollows.
]conlenl |
.co!unn110;,
}
The browser would use Ihe embedded CSS
Io mulIily Ihe deaulI column widIh by 10 Io
creaIe a layer o Ihe aroriaIe dimensions.
l you know anyIhing abouI CSS already,
iI's robably IhaI iI's noI naIively a live
environmenI, which means Ihese calculaIions
need Io be erormed beore Ihey can be
rendered by Ihe browser. Your CSS Ihereore
needs Io be comiled, eiIher on Ihe ly using
|avaScriI or rior Io being uloaded Io Ihe
server. l you go wiIh Ihe second oIion, you'd
use ree as such as less.a or Ihe Uac
(hu.//incident57.ccm/|ess), which moniIors
changes Io your sIylesheeI and converIs Ihem
Io valid CSS, or WinLess (hu.//win|ess.crg),
which does Ihe same on Windows.
You can also comile your CSS direcIly aI
Ihe oinI where your visiIor loads your age
by insIead embedding Ihe less.|s scriI, wiIh
an addiIion Io Ihe age header, on any age
IhaI uses your layouI grid.
Desiners and coders borrov IreeIy Irom eacI
otIer; doin tIe same yourseII viII save you time
and increase your prospects oI earnin a crust

Skeleton is an extensive base on which to build your site, paying particular auention to mobile performance
MULTIMEDI EXPERT
lSS
ISSUE 308 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ OCTOBER 2013
Workng wth ptch-
manpuIaton effects
Visl you could sir ir ure Tlere's ar a or la. Ficl-mariulaior
eecs lave los o creaive uses, oo. Ben Ptt exlores le ossibiliies
SIN6IN6 IN TUNE is a skill IhaI comes
naIurally Io some eole and evades oIhers.
lI's no longer a rerequisiIe or calling yoursel
a singer, Ihough. WiIh iIch-correcIion ehecIs
such as AuIo-Tune, wobbly Iuning can be
hxed auIomaIically. lI won'I Iurn Ione-dea
warblers inIo sIunning vocal gymnasIs, buI i
a singer has an inIeresIing voice or has wriuen
a song, a ew Iuning imerecIions needn'I
sIand in Ihe way o a greaI recording.
PiIch-correcIion ehecIs are useul when
recording mulIile vocals. A ew Iuning
discreancies in a solo vocal can be orgiven,
and singers oen deliberaIely bend and inlecI
noIes, buI IhaI doesn'I work so well when
Iwo or more voices are singing in unison, and
close harmonies are even more unorgiving.
ln mosI insIances, harmonies musI be locked
IogeIher wiIh recise Iuning, and iIch-
correcIion ehecIs can deliver exacIly IhaI.
NoI everyone is a an. The drive or accuraIe
Iuning does risk ironing ouI Ihe exression
rom a erormance. PiIch correcIion is
used exIensively in modern o music, and
roducers and record comany execuIives
seem convinced IhaI Ihe record-buying ublic
can'I bear Io hear a vocal IhaI isn'I erecIly
in Iune. This has allowed eole wiIh weak
voices Io orge successul o careers. lI also
means IhaI singers wiIh greaI voices eel
obliged Io use AuIo-Tune, even Ihough Ihey'd
robably sound beuer wiIhouI iI. We're noI
here Io |udge. PiIch correcIion is an imorIanI
arI o modern music roducIion, and Ihere
are loIs o creaIive uses Io be exlored, Ioo.
THE CONTENDERS
AnIares AuIo-Tune, a iIch-correcIion ehecI
IhaI was launched in 1997, is sIill oular Io
Ihis day, and more sohisIicaIed Ihan ever.
Versions cosI beIween S129 Io S399 (around
8S Io 263) rom www.ontorestech.ccm.
Celemony Uelodyne is AuIo-Tune's biggesI
rival, wiIh rices rom S99 Io S699 (around
6S Io 460) rom www.ce|emcny.ccm. lI was
Ihe hrsI Io use a grahical ediIor where audio
is resenIed as discreIe noIes, a Iechnique
AuIo-Tune has since adoIed. Since version 3,
iI can Iackle olyhonic insIrumenIs such as
guiIars and ianos (see Ihe box on age 1S7)
as well as monohonic voices.
PiIch-correcIion is also builI inIo various
music-roducIion soware. Sonar goI Ihere
hrsI wiIh iIs V-Vocal ediIor. We hnd iI a liule
cumbersome, buI iI excels or oh-Ihe-wall
creaIive IreaImenIs. Cubase's VariAudio
ediIor is more sohisIicaIed and eleganI,
and comares well wiIh Ihe lagshi versions
o AuIo-Tune and Uelodyne, buI iI's only
available in Ihe ull-rice Cubase (410) and
noI Cubase ArIisI (20S) or FlemenIs (80).
Cakewalk is more generous, including V-Vocal
in boIh Ihe lagshi Producer (38S) and Ihe
mid-rice SIudio (170) ediIions o Sonar.
Having a iIch-correcIion ediIor inIegraIed
inIo Ihe hosI soware makes sense, as ediIing
is usually done omine and VST lug-ins aren'I
designed Io work IhaI way. AuIo-Tune and
Uelodyne geI Ihe user Io lay Ihe audio inIo
Ihe lug-in, where iI's caIured, ready or omine
ediIing. However, subsequenI ediIing in Ihe
hosI soware isn'I ossible, because Ihe audio
caIured by Ihe lug-in relaces Ihe Irack's
conIenIs. ThaI could be a ain i you wanI Io
Iry a diherenI Iake or add some exIra bars.
UNDER THE BONNET
To undersIand whaI iIch-correcIion ehecIs
can do, iI's useul Io know how Ihey work. The
simlesI way Io change Ihe iIch o a recording
is Io seed iI u or slow iI down. ln Ihe 19S0s,
Ihis is how songs by Alvin and Ihe Chimunks
were creaIed, Ihe Iaes would have been
slowed down while recording Ihe vocal, so
when Ihey were layed back aI normal seed
Ihe sed-u vocal would be higher-iIched.
ThaI's hne or a novelIy chimunk or gianI
voice, buI Iuning correcIion requires Ihe iIch
Io be ad|usIed wiIhouI ahecIing Ihe Iiming o
a erormance. This is achieved by breaking Ihe
audio u inIo shorI slices. To raise Ihe iIch,
Ihe audio is layed asIer Ihan Ihe original,
and slices are reeaIed as necessary Io

Auto-Tune 7 includes note-based graphical editing, freehand curves and the

ability to ad|ust the timing as well as pitch of notes

Nelodyne Editor ohers unrivalled surgical precision, with tools for ad|usting the
pitch, pitch modulation, pitch drih, formants, amplitude, timing and auack speed
for each note, plus control over the speed of the glide between notes
MULTIMEDI EXPERT
lSC OCTOBER 2013 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 308
mainIain Ihe original Iiming. Lowering Ihe iIch
is achieved by laying back audio slower buI
discarding Ihe ends o a slice Io reserve Iiming.
Farly examles added loIs o arIeacIs,
wiIh audible gliIches beIween each slice. Large
shis resulIed in sIuuering reeaIs and meIallic
ringing sounds. Today's iIch-shi algoriIhms
are more sohisIicaIed, and can change Ihe
iIch by an ocIave or more wiIhouI excessive
arIeacIs. lI deends on how ussy you are
abouI audio qualiIy. PiIch-shiing algoriIhms
have come a long way, buI Ihere will always be
some loss o qualiIy, esecially or large shis.
PiIch-shiing vocals adds anoIher seI o
challenges. When a human sings diherenI
iIches, iI's noI Ihe same as laying back a
recording aI diherenI seeds. The resonanI
requencies IhaI disIinguish Ihe various vowel
sounds, known as ormanIs, remain largely
unchanged as a erson sings diherenI noIes.
The same alies Io Ihe acousIic roerIies o
Ihe head, neck and chesI. PiIch-shiing a
recording makes Ihese ormanIs and resonances
shi around. This is why a sed-u vocal sounds
like a chimunk raIher Ihan Ihe same erson
singing a higher noIe. Fven a shi as small as
a semi-Ione can change vocal characIer and
indicaIe IhaI Ihe vocal has been maniulaIed.
Vocal-Iuning ehecIs comensaIe or Ihis by
maniulaIing Ihe ormanIs so Ihey
reIain Iheir characIer when Ihe iIch
is shied. Soware develoers are
slighIly cagey abouI how Ihis is
done. Uacro AlerI rom AnIares
describes iI as "idenIiying,
Ihrough real-Iime analysis, Ihe
resonanI requencies o a voice
and maniulaIing Ihose resonances
indeendenIly o Ihe voice's iIch.
using hysical modelling". lI sounds
like a vocoder ehecI, where a
mulIi-band hlIer is used Io analyse
Ihe requency conIenI o an audio
signal, and anoIher mulIi-band
hlIer alies Ihe same requency
curve Io anoIher signal.
HITTING THE RIGHT NOTE
So ar, we have Ihe abiliIy Io shi
Ihe iIch o a vocal, and maniulaIe
Ihe ormanIs so iI sIill sounds like
Ihe same voice. All IhaI remains is Io calculaIe
how much Io shi Ihe voice by Io geI iI in Iune.
This requires iIch deIecIion o Ihe incoming
signal, which is easy or a comuIer Io do.
Sung noIes have a undamenIal requency
IhaI's clear Io see by looking aI Ihe waveorm,
so Ihe comuIer |usI measures Ihe wavelengIh
Io geI Ihe requency. Rasy or croaky voices
are harder Io analyse, buI iIch-correcIion
ehecIs coe imressively well wiIh Ihis, Ioo.
The simlesI iIch-correcIion ehecIs will
deIecI Ihe incoming signal and consIanIly
re-Iune iI Io Ihe nearesI semi-Ione. A slighIly
more sohisIicaIed version will leI Ihe user
dehne Ihe key o Ihe erormance, so noIes
are re-Iuned Io a noIe in Ihe correcI scale.
FiIher way, Ihe ehecI is ar rom naIural
sounding. This gives us Ihe amous AuIo-Tune
sound, where Ihe voice leas roboIically rom
one erecIly Iuned noIe Io anoIher, wiIh all
Ihe nuances ironed ouI. Cher's 1998 hiI Be|ieve
was Ihe hrsI examle Io hiI Ihe mainsIream,
|usI one year aer AuIo-Tune was launched.
This heavily rocessed sound has been known
as Ihe Cher ehecI ever since. OIher examles
include One Mcre Time by Da Punk, and mosI
o Kanye WesI's 808 & Heortbreok album.
Fven Ihe hrsI version o AuIo-Tune was ar
more sohisIicaIed Ihan Ihese Iracks mighI
suggesI, Ihough. The ob|ecIive o Ihe lug-in
wasn'I Io creaIe roboIic, erecIly Iuned
vocals, buI Io imrove Ihe Iuning while
reIaining Ihe musical exression.
This is achieved wiIh a Seed conIrol,
which seIs how quickly Ihe correcIion reacIs
Io iIch movemenI o Ihe incoming signal.
The asIesI seuing would correcI Ihe iIch
insIanIly Io roduce Ihe Cher FhecI, buI
slower seuings would reacI Io Ihe average
iIch over a longer eriod o Iime. VibraIo and
oIher subIle nuances would remain inIacI, buI
i a susIained noIe was consisIenIly laI or
shar, iI would be eased inIo Iune.
This hrsI-generaIion AuIo-Tune lug-in was
caable o greaI resulIs, and similar ehecIs are
sIill available. The PiIch CorrecI ehecI bundled
wiIh all versions o Cubase includes a similar
seI o conIrols, as does Ihe ree VST lug-in,
CSna (www.gvst.cc.uk). AnIares has Iwo cuI-
rice roducIs, AuIo-Tune ex2 (S129, around
8S) and AuIo-Tune Live (S249, around 164),
which ollow Ihe same basic rinciles buI are
based on AnIares' laIesI rocessing engine.
GRAPHIC DETAIL
One downside Io Ihis aroach is IhaI iI's hard
Io hnd seuings IhaI sIrike a balance beIween
accuraIe Iuning and reIaining characIer. Some
hrases, or even noIes, will require diherenI
seuings Io oIhers. This is why Ihe laIesI
and greaIesI iIch-correcIion ehecIs use
grahical ediIors. These allow each noIe Io
be Iackled indeendenIly Io hnd Ihe besI
seuings. ThaI mighI mean alying a rough
seuing Io Ihe Irack, Ihen Iweaking any noIes
IhaI would benehI rom sIronger or genIler
rocessing. AlIernaIively, you could leave
Ihe iIch-correcIion ehecI oh by deaulI,
and only Iackle Ihe noIes IhaI need hel.
Crahical ediIors also give more recise
conIrol over Ihe naIure o Ihe rocessing.
Fach deIecIed noIe is resenIed as a
discreIe block, so iI's easy Io ad|usI noIes
IhaI have been shied Io Ihe wrong iIch,
|usI by dragging. The abiliIy Io sliI, merge,
lengIhen and shorIen noIes is useul or
imroving Ihe accuracy o iIch deIecIion
- iI's worIh making Ihe deIecIed noIes
maIch Ihe singer's inIenIion raIher Ihan
Ihe sound IhaI was recorded.

The V-Vocal editor built into Cakewalk Sonar allows independent

freehand curves for pitch, formants and dynamics

Cubase's VariAudio editor is tightly integrated into the

host sohware, and the uncluuered interface delivers precise
pitch and timing manipulation

All versions of Cubase include the Pitch Correct ehect for real-time tuning
MULTIMEDI EXPERT
lS
ISSUE 308 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ OCTOBER 2013
seen how easy iI is Io achieve Ihe Cher FhecI,
simly by raming u Ihe re-Iuning seed Io
iIs maximum seuing, and Ihis is ossible wiIh
virIually any iIch-correcIion ehecI. Crahical
ediIors leI you go urIher, IoIally redesigning
Ihe melody. FdiIors IhaI allow reehand iIch
curves are arIicularly sIrong or creaIing weird
melodies. Drawing curves geIs away rom Ihe
roboIic hxed iIches or which AuIo-Tune is
known, adding loIs o inlecIions IhaI give Ihe
erormance a human qualiIy. However, Ihere's
someIhing oddly unnaIural abouI hand-drawn
melodies IhaI can work well as a creaIive ehecI.
The oosiIe exIreme is Io move each noIe
so IhaI Ihe melody is locked Io a single iIch.
You don'I need a grahical ediIor or Ihis,
Ihough. Simler iIch-correcIion ehecIs IhaI
leI you seciy Ihe key o Ihe Irack oen have
an oIion Io ediI individual noIes in Ihe key.
Turn Ihem all oh exceI or one noIe, and as
long as Ihe original melody
doesn'I |um Io anoIher
ocIave, Ihe whole Ihing will
be locked Io a single noIe.
A grahical ediIor also
excels or generaIing
harmony arIs, simly
dulicaIe Ihe Irack and
drag Ihe noIes u or down
so IhaI iI harmonises wiIh
Ihe original. AlIernaIively,
harmonies can be creaIed
auIomaIically using dedicaIed
lug-ins such as AnIares
Harmony Fngine Fvo, which
is S249 (around 164) rom
www.ontorestech.ccm, and
available as arI o various
bundles. lI can generaIe u
Io our addiIional voices,
ConIrol over re-Iuning goes urIher Ihan a
simle Seed conIrol. You can iIch-shi a noIe
by a hxed amounI, and searaIely Io reduce
Ihe movemenI wiIhin Ihe noIe. Uelodyne and
Cubase's VariAudio include searaIe conIrols
or Ihe shae o Ihe beginning and end o each
noIe. AuIo-Tune and Sonar's V-Vocal allow
reehand curves Io be drawn wiIh Ihe mouse.
All our allow Ihe Iiming Io be ad|usIed.
This makes a big diherence or backing vocals
and double-Iracked voices, when Ihe Iiming is
IighIly synchronised. UosI eole can sing in
Iime, buI Ihe ends o hrases can be unIidy
when layering mulIile voices. Lining u all Ihe
consonanIs makes Ihe recording olished and
also increases Ihe inIelligibiliIy o Ihe lyrics.
MELODY MAKER
Crahical ediIors lend Ihemselves Io various
creaIive uses or iIch maniulaIion. We've
NEXT MONTH
WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY
We compare ultra-zooms with telephoto
SLR lenses to help you to photograph
distant sub|ects on a limited budget.
which are Iransosed inIelligenIly Io ollow
Ihe musical key. Fach voice has conIrols Io
add vibraIo, and Ihis hels give Ihe imression
o hve indeendenI voices raIher Ihan our
clones o Ihe original. lI's also ossible Io add
a sohisIicaIed chorus ehecI, creaIing 16
subIly diherenI iIeraIions o each harmony
arI. This roduces an 80-sIrong choir, all
rom a single vocal erormance. Running Ihe
Harmony Fngine Fvo lug-in in real Iime rom
a microhone is quiIe a surreal exerience.
AnoIher Irick is Io misuse Ihe ormanI
correcIion rocessing so IhaI voices Iake on a
gianI or chimunk ehecI wiIhouI changing Ihe
iIch. You can hear Ihis in Ihe recenI Vamire
Weekend song Dione Ycung, in Ihe sIried-
back secIion IhaI could be loosely described
as Ihe chorus. UosI iIch-correcIion ehecIs
have a dedicaIed conIrol Io shi Ihe ormanIs
u and down, as well as a global iIch-shi
conIrol. BoIh o Ihese work indeendenIly,
and seuing Ihem Io exIreme seuings can give
inIeresIing - alIhough obviously rocessed
- resulIs. These can be conIrolled using Ihe
recording soware's auIomaIion uncIions
Io roduce ehecIs IhaI vary over Iime.
Fieen years since AuIo-Tune hrsI arrived
on Ihe scene, iI's good Io see IhaI musicians
are sIill hnding new ways Io innovaIe wiIh iI.
New grahical ediIors are more sohisIicaIed
Ihan ever, and Ihere's lenIy o scoe or
hnding sounds no-one has heard beore.
PoIyphonc edtng
The latest development in pitch manipulation is polyphonic editing.
|t's currently available only in Celemony Nelodyne, and it's the
closest thing to magic we've seen in a long time. A polyphonic
instrument such as a guitar or piano can play more than one note at
a time. This makes it harder for a computer
to identify the pitch of each note, as it's
not simply a mauer of looking at the
wavelength at any given time. Celemony
Nelodyne isn't perfect at this, ohen
confusing overtones for discrete notes and
cuuing oh the ends of notes prematurely.
However, it's not hard to tidy up the pitch
detection to get it to a high standard.
The extraordinary part is its ability to
change the pitch, volume and timing of
individual notes in a polyphonic recording.
We don't really know how this is done,
but our best guess is that the sohware
breaks the recording down into individual
frequencies and resynthesises it from
scratch as necessary.
|ncredibly, you can edit an audio
recording as easily as if it were a N|D|
performance. We were able to transform a published recording of
a Crieg piano piece from a ma|or to a minor key, hx an out-of-
tune guitar string and copy and paste notes to hx mistakes in an
arpeggiated guitar part. We even rummaged around in a pop mix,
moving notes and deleting them to isolate
other instruments in the mix. |t's a dream
come true for sampling other people's
music and making it ht your own needs.
Audio quality is far from faultless,
though. Notes that have had their pitch,
timing or duration changed have a slightly
metallic ring to them, and the beginnings
of notes become slightly vague. The ehect
isn't too intrusive when tackling a single
note in a performance, but it's more obvious
when used extensively, deleting lots of
notes can make the remaining ones sound
odd. The processed tone might work to
your advantage when used as a creative
ehect. Still, if you want to tidy up mistakes
in a performance, it's probably best |ust to
have another go at performing it rather
than leaving it for Nelodyne to hx in the mix.

Antares Harmony Engine Evo draws on the processing algorithms of

Auto-Tune 7 to generate automatic harmonies and choir ehects

Celemony Nelodyne's polyphonic modes refresh the

parts that other ehects can't reach
BUSINESS EXPERT
lS8 OCTOBER 2013 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 308
Admnsterng your
busness onIne
Rurrir a comary reedr' mear ruslir orms o o HMRC by os or ayir
debs by cleque. 5mon Handby exlairs lov o simliy saru ard admir
address in Ihe .uk Io-level domain
(TLD), visiI www.ncminet.crg.uk and use
Ihe WHOis Iool Io look u Ihe domain
you wanI, or examle dennis.co.uk. The
resulI will Iell you i Ihe domain is noI
regisIered, or rovide deIails o who iI's
regisIered Io. You can check addresses
in Ihe .com TLD and oIhers using
commercially oeraIed siIes such as
hu.//whcis.net, Ihrough which you can
also regisIer a domain. A wide varieIy o
siIes rovide domain regisIraIion services, so
iI may ay Io sho around, buI waIch ouI or
budgeI regisIrars wiIh unleasanI surrises
hidden in Ihe small rinI, such as excessive
ees Io Iranser your domain.
se Ihe web Io robe oIenIial rivals,
invesIors or arIners in ar more deIail. ln
a comany deIails age aI Ihe Comanies
House WebCHeck service, click Ihe 'Order
inormaIion on Ihis comany' link Io
download any o Ihe hrm's sIaIuIory hlings
or 1 each, viewing Iheir accounIs will hel
you decide i Ihey're as rohIable as Ihey say
Ihey are. You can see aI a glance i a comany
is laIe wiIh iIs hlings, which in iIsel may be a
Comanies House (www.ccmonieshcuse.gcv.
uk). Click Ihe Find lnormaIion Iab and access
Ihe WebCHeck [sic] service, where you can
search or Ihe availabiliIy o a name you
wanI againsI currenI and recenIly dissolved
comanies. Search againsI Ihe dissolved and
revious names oIions, in case your dream
name has been used beore. A general web
search should hel you hnd ouI i Ihere's a
legacy you'd raIher noI inheriI.
WHOIS THEREZ
Beore seuling on a business name, iI's also
wise Io invesIigaIe Ihe availabiliIy o a suiIable
web address. For K businesses wanIing an
DESPITE THE STRAITENED economic
climaIe, sIarIing a business is easier Ihan iI
was a coule o decades ago. Successive
governmenIs have been keen Io suorI
small enIerrise, inIroducing simlihed Iax
and VAT schemes and allowing small hrms
arIial exemIions rom legislaIion such as
Ihe HealIh and SaeIy aI Work AcI. nder Ihe
currenI minisIer or business and enIerrise,
Uichael Fallon, Ihe governmenI is embarking
on a so-called 'red Iae bonhre' IhaI is hoed
Io urIher simliy Ihings. Ueanwhile, Ihe
adminisIraIive burden has already been
massively reduced by Ihe inIroducIion o
online services by governmenI agencies
such as Comanies House and HURC.
UosI o a business's sIaIuIory reIurns and
hlings can now be submiued online, and in
some cases iI's already comulsory Io do so.
AI Ihe same Iime, business banking and
bookkeeing are increasingly moving Io
Ihe cloud, while many oIher essenIial
uncIions are easiesI, quickesI or
cheaesI online. This monIh, we'll
show you how Io ensure IhaI you're
using Ihe inIerneI Io maximum ehecI.
RESEARCH PARTY
Beore you even sIarI a business,
Ihe web can hel you wiIh research.
lnormaIion available online is a viIal Iool
during Ihe research hase, as well as or
Ihe due diligence and oIher rearaIion
IhaI exIernal invesIors will require. l,
or examle, you inIend Io oen a new
resIauranI, a simle inIerneI search will
hel you Io locaIe your comeIiIors and
hnd ouI i and how Ihey're markeIing
Ihemselves. l you don'I know Ihe area,
ma resulIs can hel you lan a locaIion
where you won'I be crowded ouI by rivals.
Ceneral web searches will hel you hnd Ihe
websiIes o your rivals Io see whaI Ihey do
and don'I do, Ihey will also give you ideas or
your own siIe. Don'I orgeI Io also search or
Facebook ages Io geI an insighI inIo how you
can diherenIiaIe yoursel or imrove on Ihe
comeIiIion. Facebook isn'I generally Ihe besI
lace Io begin your search or comeIiIors, buI
once you have a lisI o hrms, Iry logging in and
searching or Ihem by name Io hnd whaI Ihey're
u Io and whaI Iheir cusIomers and ans Ihink.
Beore deciding on a business name,
iI's essenIial Io erorm a basic search aI

A general web search can reveal

potential competitors

Don't forget to look at a company's social networking presence

to hnd what people think of it
BUSINESS EXPERT
lS
ISSUE 308 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ OCTOBER 2013
sign IhaI iI's noI well run. Linkedln (www.
|inkedin.ccm) may oher valuable insighI inIo a
comeIiIor or |ob alicanI's career, while
WebCHeck can hel i you have worries abouI
Iheir business hisIory, click Ihe Disqualihed
direcIors search link Io see i Ihey've been
barred rom running a limiIed comany and why.
While Comanies House is an omcial
governmenI agency, iIs daIa also hels Io
ower some commercial siIes such as Duedil
(www.duedi|.ccm), which secialises in due
diligence. A ree Duedil accounI gives you
access Io much o Ihe siIe's basic inormaIion,
such as a hnancial overview o any K
comany, and also reveals oIenIial red lags
including liIigaIion or acIions by regulaIory
bodies such as Ihe AdverIising SIandards
AuIhoriIy. You can also look u direcIors, buI
noIe IhaI Ihe inormaIion may noI be ully
comleIe or accuraIe, iI's besI used as a guide.
LIMITED EDITIONS
Once you're ready, iI's easy Io incororaIe a
limiIed comany Ihrough Ihe Comanies
House websiIe. Click Ihe 'SIarI a comany'
link on Ihe homeage, Ihen click Ihe Web
incororaIion service buuon. The service
cosIs 1S. You'll need Ihe comany name and
regisIered address, deIails o Ihe direcIors and
secreIary, and Ihe shareholder breakdown.
NoIe, however, IhaI noI all businesses are
besI served by Ihe limiIed comany model
and IhaI you may need mulIile share classes
Io accommodaIe Ihe dividend and voIing
righIs you inIend Io give invesIors and
direcIors. l in doubI, seek exerI advice.
All limiIed comanies in Ihe K musI
regisIer or cororaIion Iax wiIhin Ihree
monIhs o becoming 'acIive' - or examle,
beginning business acIiviIies or Irading. lI's
easiesI Io do Ihis aI Ihe end o Ihe Comanies
House incororaIion service, i you don'I do
so Ihen, you'll subsequenIly need Io regisIer
direcIly wiIh HURC aI hu.//tinyur|.ccm/
PegisterToxes. You'll also need Io creaIe a
CovernmenI CaIeway accounI (simly a login
or Ihe governmenI's online services), which
can be done as arI o Ihe rocess.
This websiIe will also leI you regisIer
or sIandard or laI-raIe VAT schemes and
or PAYF. VAT regisIraIion is oIional or
businesses wiIh an annual Iurnover o less
Ihan 79,000, buI iI's comulsory Io regisIer
or PAYF i you'll be aying anyone (including
yoursel) more Ihan
Ihe NaIional lnsurance
lower earnings limiI, Ihis
is S,668 or 2013-14.
l you don'I already
undersIand Ihe various
VAT schemes available
and Ihe mosI emcienI
way Io ay yoursel, iI's
besI Io seek advice
rom an accounIanI.
Once your comany is acIive, HURC will
conIacI you Io conhrm Ihe deadlines by which
you musI submiI your comany Iax reIurns
and ay any cororaIion Iax you owe. l you
regisIered wiIh HURC during Ihe Comanies
House incororaIion, you'll sIill need Io
enrol or cororaIion Iax and any oIher
HURC online services aI hu.//tinyur|.ccm/
PegisterHMPC. While Ihe sel-emloyed and
Ihose in a arInershi do noI ay cororaIion
Iax, Ihey musI sIill kee accuraIe business
records and declare Iheir ersonal income,
see Ihe box above.
AlIhough HURC and Comanies House
will send comany direcIors lenIy o osI,
much o Ihe inormaIion Ihey require in
reIurn can now only be submiued online.
l you wanI Io, you can sIill submiI annual
reIurns on aer (using orm AR01) along
wiIh many oIher adminisIraIive orms such as
Ihose or changes in direcIor or shareholder
deIails. However, in mosI cases, iI's easier and
cheaer Io hle elecIronically aI Comanies
House. You'll need Io regisIer or online hling
hrsI, allowing aI leasI a coule o weeks or an
auIhenIicaIion code Io be osIed ouI Io you.
Assess yourseIf: gettng to grps wth tax
Whether you're self-employed, in a partnership or running a limited
company, you and any other partners or directors will need to
complete a self-assessment for tax purposes. Although these can
still be submiued on paper, there are many advantages to doing
them online. The online form calculates various totals for you, and
you have three months longer to submit it, online returns can be
submiued by 31st |anuary of the year following the tax year for
which it is due, rather than 31st October of the same year. |f you
haven't already done so, you'll need to register for self-assessment
either through the HNRC website (www.hmrc.gov.uk/so/register.htm)
or by calling the Self Assessment Helpline on 0300 200 3310.
|n a partnership, the nominated partner must also complete a
partnership tax return (form SA800), and all partners must register
for National |nsurance.
|f you're hling online for the hrst time, it's vital to register at least
a fortnight before the deadline to allow time for your account to be
set up and for a user |D to arrive in the post. |n fact, it's wise to begin
the process a few months earlier as you may need to send oh for
bank statements and other personal or business records. The
self-assessment portal has also been known to buckle under the
weight of tramc as deadline day approaches, HNRC has previously
made allowance for this, but don't rely on it doing so again.

Whatever business you run, you'll need to complete a self-assessment

tax return
A WHOis search will
show you if a domain's
already taken

Companies House's WebCHeck service lets you

probe a company's statutory hlings
BUSINESS EXPERT
lC0 OCTOBER 2013 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 308
Your comany Iax reIurn and annual
accounIs musI be submiued elecIronically, as
musI quarIerly VAT reIurns and PAYF deIails.
Since Ihe Aril 2013 inIroducIion o Ihe PAYF
in Real Time lnormaIion (RTl) scheme, Ihe
lauer musI haen aI Ihe same Iime as each
ayroll run. For Ihis reason, iI's helul Io use
bookkeeing soware IhaI can hle your VAT
reIurn or you and ayroll soware IhaI's
RTl-comlianI, old soware needs udaIing.
ANY OTHER BUSINESS
Deending on your business, you may hnd
yoursel needing Io check or aIenIs IhaI
could ahecI your roducIs, or Irademarks
which may conlicI wiIh your
own. For K hrms, Ihe hrsI
sIo is Ihe lnIellecIual
ProerIy Omce (lPO) websiIe
(www.ic.gcv.uk), where you
can hnd inormaIion on all
orms o inIellecIual roerIy
(lP), search Ihe aIenI
documenI service and Irademarks daIabase,
and geI useul inormaIion on oIher lP
including designs and coyrighI.
You don'I have Io regisIer or coyrighI,
which is auIomaIic or alicable works, buI
you may need Io rove you own iI, and aly
or aIenIs Io cover invenIions or innovaIions
wiIhin roducIs. You may also need Io aly
or design roIecIion Io roIecI Ihe look o
your roducIs, and Io regisIer your brand
Irade marks Io reserve Iheir value and hel
revenI assing oh. The lPO websiIe includes
coious advice and Ihere are discounIs on
aIenI alicaIions and searches when hled
online. You can search S aIenIs via Coogle's
aIenI search (hu.//tinyur|.ccm/CPotentSeorch),
or search or all S inIellecIual roerIy via
Ihe niIed SIaIes PaIenI and Trademark
Omce (www.ustc.gcv).
There are oIher ways in which Ihe web
can hel a business once iI's u and running.
Businesses can benehI rom rice-comarison
services, and shoing around online is
advanIageous when iI comes Io insurance,
alIhough secialisI business brokers may sIill
oher Ihe besI service and value. We've
ouIlined cloud-based services in recenI
columns, buI iI's worIh a quick reca wiIh
regard Io banking and accounIing.
All banks oher online access Io business
accounIs, generally suorIing more Ihan one
user i needed. However, noI all accounIs are
as easy Io use as a Iyical ersonal accounI,
and you'll need Ihe sulied elecIronic Ioken
Io access Ihe service, which can be rusIraIing
i you're on Ihe move. The laIesI bookkeeing
and ayroll soware should be comlianI wiIh
Ihe various online hling requiremenIs, buI newer
cloud-based alIernaIives have advanIages,
Ihey're auIomaIically udaIed and backed u,
Ihey can be used wherever you have web access,
and Ihey can be shared wiIh an accounIanI.
When choosing a bank, accounIanI and
accounIs soware, invesIigaIe how well Ihey
can work IogeIher. Check which soware or
services an accounIanI is amiliar wiIh, and
check wheIher Ihe soware you're considering
can imorI daIa rom your bank, some can do
Ihis direcIly or Ihrough a Ihird arIy, buI wiIh
oIhers you musI exorI bank sIaIemenIs as
a comma delimiIed hle
(CSV) and imorI Ihis inIo
Ihe accounIs soware.
Services such as Crunch
(www.crunch.cc.uk)
combine bookkeeing
soware wiIh an
accounIing service Io
minimise your adminisIraIive burden, buI
Ihey're noI Ihe cheaesI oIion.
VERDICT
The web is a owerul Iool or researching,
sIarIing and running a successul business,
buI iI's imorIanI Io recognise Ihe sensiIiviIy
o Ihe daIa you may be submiuing, and
imlemenI suiIable olicies. lI's viIal Io guard
your bank, bookkeeing and any omcial login
deIails careully. Failure Io do so could leave
you vulnerable Io embezzlemenI, and Io
rosecuIion i cusIomer or sIah records are
comromised. For more inormaIion on your
risks and resonsibiliIies, visiI Ihe lnormaIion
Commissioner's Omce aI www.icc.crg.uk.
NEXT MONTH
SECURE A BUSINESS NETWORK
|f you leave the door open for hackers
when you hold your customers' personal
details, you face huge hnes from the
|nformation Commissioner. We explain
how to keep your data safe.

Duedil gives an overview of a company's hnancial standing and other details

The |ntellectual Property Omce lets you register or search for |P online

Current payroll sohware will support the new

real-time PAYE requirement

Cet advice on data handling from the |nformation

Commissioner's Omce (|CO)
Statutory returns and Iins can be submitted
onIine, vIiIe business bankin and bookkeepin
are increasinIy movin to tIe cIoud
PRODUCT INDEX
lCl
ISSUE 308 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ OCTOBER 2013
cc.cc.ol [ O8-- --- o2-2
8am-9pm Vkoays, 9am-6pm Saturoays, Cam-5pm Sunoays
Product ndex
Our uide o all le roducs revieved ir lis morl's Sroppcr
PCs and Laptops 26
Compuler P|enel ND S000
C|geoyle U2^^2V
HP Pev|||on TouchSmerl 1S
S|eekoook
Lenovo ldeePed Yoge 11S
lSl CE60
Scen ?XS Z87 Perlormence CTX
V|oox B|eck Leg|on
Handhelds 36
B|eckBerry QS
Huewe| Ascend P2
Semsung Ce|exy Young
Tablet Group Test 84
Acer lcon|e A1
Acer lcon|e B1
Amezon l|nd|e F|re HD 8.9|n
App|e |Ped ^
App|e |Ped l|n|
Archos 80 T|len|um
Asus FonePed
De|| Lel|lude 10
Coog|e Nexus 7
Coog|e Nexus 10
Lenovo Th|nkPed Teo|el 2
l|crosoh Surlece RT
Semsung Ce|exy Nole 8.0
Sony Xper|e Teo|el Z
Versus TouchTeo 10.1
Photography 40
Cenon EOS 100D
Cenon lxus 1^0
Cenon Powershol N
N|kon D7100 w|lh 18-10Smm
VR |ens
Peneson|c Lum|x DlC-C6
Displays 46
Ph|||ps Br||||ence
298P^Q}EB/00
V|ewSon|c TD2^20
Home Cinema 48
Onkyo TX-NR626
Peneson|c TX-P60ZT6SB
Ph|||ps HTLS120
Audio 52
Denon Ceo| P|cco|o
Sennhe|ser lomenlum On-Eer
Sony XBA-NC8S
Video 54
Sky Now TV oox
Printers & Scanners 55
Brolher lFC-9??0CDW
HP Ohcejel 7110
Storage 56
l|ngslon loo||eL|le W|re|ess
Send|sk Exlreme ll 2^0CB
Networks 57
B||||on B|PAC 7800DXL
Components 58
XFX R7770 Core Ed|l|on
C|geoyle Z87X-OC
Software 60
ACDSee 16
Ser|l PegeP|us X7
Sle|noerg Cuoese E|emenls 7
Online Backup
Group Test 104
Ceroon|le Home (2012)
ElC lozyHome
L|veDr|ve Beckup
lemsel Squ|rre|Seve (2012)
Pro Sohnel |Dr|ve Pro Persone|
SOS On||ne Beckup Home &
Home Ohce
Cenon|ce| Uounlu One
Dropoox
SugerSync 60CB
Trend l|cro SeleSync
Games 62
Compeny ol Heroes 2
Deedpoo|
Business 64
Logleln Pro
Syno|ogy D|skSlel|on DS1S1?
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PRTING SHOTS
lC2 OCTOBER 2013 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 308
Zygote
As aroler rourd o daa roecior liccus ard audacious embezzlemer scams causes
leadacles, Zygote decides o ull o lis lirlir ca ard reacl or lis maic Sorir Ha
a Irivial charge or one IhaI was
dismissed, Ihen IhaI record
will hang round Iheir neck unIil
Ihey geI Iheir congraIulaIions
Ielegram rom Ihe Queen. So
Ihey ace a lieIime o Irouble
alying or all sorIs o |obs, and
Ihey will need Io go Ihrough Ihe
mill when alying or visas Io
many overseas IerriIories.
The number o UeIrooliIan
Police omcers under invesIigaIion
or misuse o Ihe Police NaIional
ComuIer has doubled in recenI
years, and IhaI's |usI Ihose who
have been caughI, who we know
abouI, and who haven'I resigned,
reIired or been reassigned. Big
BroIher is noI only waIching, buI
his angle o vision could be benI.
Seaking o which.
MINISTRY OF TRUTH
Three years ago, Amazon remoIely
erased coies o Ceorge Orwell's
Nineteen Fighty-Fcur rom Ihe
Kindle devices o readers, and
much was made o Ihe irony o
deleIing a book abouI Ihe Big
BroIher socieIy in which books
are ordered Io be deleIed. So iI
was nice Io see Amazon sales o
Nineteen-Fight-Fcur increase by
166 er cenI Ihe day aer recenI
NSA surveillance revelaIions.
BuI when Ihe exIenI o our own
CCHQ's sying acIiviIies on
civilians began Io become clear,
sales o Ihe book rockeIed.
Orwell's classic redicIion is
IhaI we will be ermanenIly
engaged in never-ending wars
Iriggered by conlicI beIween Ihe
SA and Ihe FasI, and our every
acIiviIy and communicaIion
will be sied on via Iwo-way
Ielescreens, conIrolled by
agencies o a SIaIe Io kee us
in a consIanI sIaIe o ear and
oression by lies and alse
sIaIisIics. AI Ihe Iime o wriIing,
sales o Ihe book are u 9,S38
er cenI. Fven i IhaI's a alse
sIaIisIic, iI's double-us good.
ABOUT FACE
FacewaIch is an online crime
reorIing websiIe, run by
FacewaIch LimiIed, a rivaIe
comany wiIh regisIered omces
aI 89 High SIreeI, Hadleigh,
lswich. Shos, businesses and
concerned ciIizens can assisI Ihe
olice and uload images o dodgy
geezers acIing susiciously and
caIured on CCTV or mobile
hones. Obviously, Ihe enIire
sysIem has Io be conhdenIial.
The FacewaIch a has been
downloaded over 6S,000 Iimes and
iI's believed IhaI Ihere are over
S,000 records on Ihe daIabase.
The ackage is emblazoned wiIh
Ihe Secured By Design accolade,
wiIh Ihe sIraline 'Omcial Police
SecuriIy lniIiaIive'. Sadly, Ihe
mosI basic o coding errors has
revealed Ihe rooI direcIory o Ihe
enIire websiIe conIenIs, and
allowed anyone Io view deIails o
all users, including Ihe idenIiIies,
home addresses and conIacI
deIails o securiIy sIah working
or Ihe likes o Ladbrokes, Lloyds
Bank and Carhone Warehouse.
ZygoIe makes no commenI
on oIenIial breaches o Ihe
DaIa ProIecIion AcI, Ihe risks
o re|udicing |uries, hngered
criminals exacIing rerisals on
Ihose who grassed Ihem u, cases
o libel and alse allegaIions, or
Ihe ruinaIion o Ihe reuIaIions
o innocenI eole. ZygoIe will
simly ask whaI Ihe Secured By
Design badge is worIh.
FLIGHTS OF FANCY
lsn'I iI greaI when airyIale
anIasy Iurns inIo scienIihc
realiIy! ln Ihe Harry Pouer sagas,
Ihere was a magic SorIing HaI
which was riIually laced on Ihe
heads o wizard schoolkids Io
deIermine which house Ihey
were besI suiIed or. Now some
slighIly older sIudenIs aI Ihe
niversiIy o UinnesoIa have
demonsIraIed Ihey can conIrol a
miniaIure helicoIer using Iheir
own magic haI. The device has 64
elecIrodes Io record brain acIiviIy,
and all Ihe sIudenIs have Io do is
Ihink o imaginary direcIions or
Iheir lying drone Io obey. The
IhoughI-conIrol headgear uses
Wi-Fi Io insIrucI Ihe helicoIer
Io rise, all, Iurn le or bank righI.
ZygoIe is duIy-bound Io reorI
IhaI emale sIudenIs seem Io
have greaIer success Ihan males
when conIrolling liule choers.
So no surrises Ihere, Ihen.
WONTON SOUP
Yoshiyuki lkuIani is a 48-year-old
comuIer consulIanI rom Tokyo.
While working or lBU |aan,
he embezzled as much as Iwo
million quid by seuing u bogus
consulIancy comanies and
diverIing unds. BeIween 200S
and 2009, he hired acIors rom
local IalenI agencies Io imersonaIe
ake clienIs, and Irousered huge
bank Iransers in a series o
scams IhaI uI Ihe con-Iricks o
Hust|e Io shame. Then, as lBU's
orIunes began Io dwindle, he
quiI and Iook his dubious IalenIs
over Io Uicroso.
Here Ur lkuIani dreamed u
anoIher seI o swindles, buI
Ihese Iook so much o his Iime
IhaI he neglecIed his day |ob
and goI hred rom Uicroso in
SeIember 2011. However, noI
beore he managed Io swindle
Ihem o millions o Yen, by creaIing
imaginary bank residenIs Io
auIhorise imaginary deals or
imaginary clienIs. The cos hnally
caughI u wiIh him a ew weeks
ago, and his wanIon behaviour
has really landed him in Ihe sou.
COMPUTER SAYS NO
The Police NaIional ComuIer
houses over nine million records
o everyone who has had
dealings wiIh Ihe lod, including
Ihe guilIy, Ihe innocenI and Ihe
noI roven. lI sIores vehicle
inormaIion and deIails o sIolen
roerIy, and iI is linked Io Ihe
naIional DNA daIabase and
biomeIric assorI records.
lI is robable IhaI more
Ihan 20,000 ciIizens have been
branded as criminal due Io
inaccuraIe or dodgy daIa held on
Ihis comuIer sysIem, and when
Ihe lnormaIion Commissioner
ordered alse and exired records
Io be deleIed, Ihe cos aealed,
winning Ihe righI Io reIain millions
o records - noI or a ew years,
buI unIil Ihe 100Ih anniversary
o Ihe regisIered birIh daIe o
Ihe erson concerned. l Ihese
records show IhaI an individual
has been arresIed once, even on
ackup &Sync
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