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4 Issue 1196

This week...

0808Sub-£50MotherboardsA new motherboard can easily set you back hundreds ofpounds if you go for the highest of high-end units, butmost of us don’t have the cash for that kind of thing.Thankfully, though, the budget end of the market hasplenty of reasonably capable boards for less than £50.David Hayward has been looking at what’s available forboth AMD and Intel system builders, including even thevery latest processor lines

1818 SSD TipsWe’ve said it before, but putting a solid-state drive ina PC really can reinvigorate it. As effective as they arestraight out of the box, there’s still a chance you couldeke out even more performance from them if you knowhow. As it happens, Aaron Birch has more than a fewtips that will help you get the best from your SSD, andhe’s sharing them with us this week

4646 PC Case Group TestOn the face of it, PC cases do little more than holdyour components in place, while looking pretty (ornot) at the same time. However, as most of us willknow, there’s more than to consider when looking fora good case, and there are real disadvantages if youget it wrong. To help you choose the right one for you,we’ve been looking at a variety of chassis this week andseeing what delights they offer

ContentsContents08Sub-£50Sub-£50

MotherboardsMotherboards

18SSDTipsSSDTips

PC CasePC CaseGroup TestGroup Test

4848

Issue 1196 5

5656SteampunkComputingImagine if all modern tech was powered by steam.That’s pretty much the basis of steampunk, a culturalmovement that has permeated the worlds of fashion,fiction and, of course, computing. Mark Oakley hasbeen looking at how steampunk has been used tocreate impressive hardware and games over the years

6060Whats BeenHappening With3D Printing?The 3D printing revolution, that was seemingly aroundthe corner a while ago, never really arrived. So doesthat mean progress has stopped, or has coverage of thistechnology’s advancements just been less prominent?Join Sarah Dobbs as she checks up on this fascinatingworld and ponders where we’re headed next

6464Google’s NewProductsVery rarely does Google release a new product thatdoesn’t cause ripples of excitement to travel aroundthe world. Can its latest series of devices, includingsmartphones and audio streamers, live up the name itsmade for itself? What’s more, should its competitors,including Apple, be worried by what it’s releasing now?

Also InThis Issue...28 Code With AI2

This week’s topic issensor animation

30 RememberingWe look back at aninfluential gamesmagazine

31 Component WatchJames Hunt turns his eyeto gaming mice

63 Top 5Which technology-related things are themost addictive?

86 Crowdfunding CornerTwo games looking forfunding. Will you help?

87 App Of The WeekLooking to be moreproductive? This week’sapp could assist you

Issue 1384 5

SteampunkSteampunkIn ComputingIn Computing5656 Group Test

PC Cases46 Aerocool Dead Silence

Red Edition Cube Case47 Corsair Obsidian 250D48 BitFenix Prodigy49 NZXT Phantom 41050 Aerocool Strike-X Air51 BeQuiet Silent Base 80052 Sum up

Reviews38 XFX R7 370 2gb Double

Dissipation Black Edition40 Dell Inspiron 17 5000

Series42 Armello43 Pinnacle Studio 19

Ultimate44 Cities: Skylines

– After Dark45 Samsung SmartCam HD

Experts82 Ask Aaron84 Ask Jason

Specialists68 Linux Mart69 Mac Mart70 Mobile Mart71 Hardware Mart72 Gaming Mart

News32 The Latest News53 Your Letters

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Issue 13848

There’s a lot to take into consideration when we’re facedwith buying a new motherboard. Do we opt for one that’salready compatible with our current memory, CPU and

graphics card, or do we go instead for the latest CPU sockettype, memory and so on?

We also have to consider the huge list of features thatmodern motherboards have to offer. Do we want high-endgaming capabilities and overclocking support, and do we reallyneed to insist on having military grade components?

Financially, of course, we want the best for our money too.It’s the investment of the motherboard that dictates what youdo with your PC for the remainder of its life – be that a gamingmonster or a small media centre.

Here, we’re looking at a selection of reasonably priced, sub-£50 motherboards from both Intel and AMD camps that willoffer users a variety of potential setups. One way or another, ourhope is that there’ll be something within these pages that willhit the sweet spot of technology and price for those who areafter their next motherboard upgrade.

IntelStarting with Intel, there’s an exceptional line-up on offer thesedays. There are even Skylake boards for under £50.

Intel is generally regarded as the leading socket technologymanufacturer at the moment, and it’s been that way for a whilenow. AMD enthusiasts would probably disagree, whereas Intelsupports will claim the technology and performance crown.That, however, is not our concern right now; what matters isthese great deals.

MSI H81M-P33For just £30 or thereabouts, this MSI micro-ATX board has a lotto offer those who want a power-packed but compact system.

It supports Socket 1150, up to fourth-generation HaswellCore i7 CPUs and DDR3 memory, with a pair of memory slotsavailable on its tiny frame. You’ll find VGA, DVI, two USB 3.0ports and a four USB 2.0 ports, along with a pair of PS/2 portsand a three-port audio jack line-up.

There’s also gigabit Ethernet, a PCIe x16 slot and a single PCIe

MotherboardsFor Under £50

We look at eight value boards from bothIntel and AMD camps, to see what you

can get for your money

Issue 1384 9

MOTHERBOARDSFOR UNDER £50

x1 slot, two SATA-3 and two SATA-2 connections, and you gethigh-quality components throughout.

Speaking of the components, MSI, for a while now, hasproudly offered military class 4 quality across its entire range ofproducts. This, of course, means you’ll have some of the besthumidity, ESD (electrostatic discharge), EMI (electromagneticinterference) and high temperature protection found on anymotherboard currently available.

Plus you also get a better lifespan from the components,measured in decades if the PC is used under ‘normal’ officeduties and there’s more scope for a spot of overclocking shouldyou ever fancy tweaking a little more out of your installedprocessor and memory.

Another interesting feature of the MSI H81M-P33 is theClick BIOS 4, the latest UEFI BIOS that’s optimised for Windows8.1 and beyond. It’s extremely simple to use, very clear andmakes more elaborate setups a little easier to get to grips with,especially when you start to fiddle with overclocking and othersuch intricate details.

It’s certainly a good, small and well priced motherboard.However, it gets a little cramped when you start to load it upwith memory, a graphics card, a decent cooler and so on. Onthe other hand, if you’re looking for a motherboard that candeliver a decent level of performance for media duties and evena spot of lightweight gaming, then the MSI H81M-P33 has allthe essential features you’ll need.

If you want more information, then have a look at the MSIsite at goo.gl/5Socgz.

Asus H110M-D D3It’s another micro-ATX board again, but this time we’re lookingat one that can support the new Skylake S ocket1151 processorsfrom Intel.

The new Skylake socket has just one more pin than theformer Haswell architecture, with performance gains and a vast

improvement on power efficiency and battery life. It also supportsDDR4, as well as a maximum of three SATA Express x2 port orfour M.2 connections. It’s the sixth-generation of Intel processors,so it’s pretty up to date in terms of what’s currently available.

We’ve seen the Asus H110M-D D3 priced as low as £45, butyou may be able to find a better deal if you’re willing to shoparound for a while. However, less than £50 isn’t too bad forgetting hold of the latest socket technology.

On-board you’ll find a pair of DDR3 slots (unfortunately notDDR4), a single PCIe x16 slot and a pair of PCIe x1 slots, alongwith four SATA 6Gbps connectors.

The rear IO plate consists of one single PS/2 combo port,VGA, HDMI, gigabit Ethernet, two USB 3.0 and two USB 2.0ports. There’s the standard three-audio jack arrangement andoddly a parallel and COM port.

The addition of a COM port and LPT1 parallel port mayseem like a curious throwback from the late 90s era of desktopcomputing, especially on a modern socketed motherboard,but there are always situations where these ports can come inhandy, even nowadays.

But the Asus H110M-D D3 isn’t just for users who still havea computerised HAM radio mast attached to the back of theircomputers. The many features of this board include gamingquality audio, as well as high-quality components designedto protect the board from electrical surges, over-voltage, ESD,humidity and so on.

On top of that you also have the micro-ATX form factor, sothere’s plenty of scope for this being a media PC or lightweightgaming machine (although probably not as good in terms ofperformance as the MSI H81M), and thanks to the COM andparallel ports, an interesting project PC.

For more info, head to goo.gl/UQCHz3.

ASRock H61 Pro BTCBitCoin mining was, back in 2010, considered a worthwhilepastime for those who had the power of a decent machine todedicate to generating the valid hashes. These days, it’s a littlemore difficult, given the costs of running an individual miningoperation, the cost of electricity and the fact that generating avalid hash is now extremely rare.

To be honest, BitCoin mining was something we never gotinto, so we’re far from being experts on how it’s done. However,despite the limiting factors of BitCoin mining these days, there

There’s a lot to take intoconsideration when we’refaced with buying a newmotherboard

The MSI H81M-P33 is pretty good buy for those after a small Intel system

The Asus H110M-D3 is one of the first Skylake boards for under £50

Issue 138410

are still motherboards available that are designed with thatpurpose in mind.

Of the many, ASRock’s H61 Pro BTC was one of the firstavailable. It’s a Socket 1155 motherboard with support for third-generation Intel CPUs and comes with a pair of DDR3 memoryslots, a single PCIe x16 slot and five PCIe x1 slots. Obviously, thepoint is to use the GPU-based processing to mine for BitCoins.

The IO port at the rear of the board is home to six USB 2.0 ports,a pair of PS/2 ports, HDMI, VGA, gigabit Ethernet and the threeaudio jack block. Internally, you have just four SATA-2 connectors,SLI/Xfire connectors and another couple of USB 2.0 headers.

Objectively speaking, the ASRock H61 Pro is a bit of adinosaur compared to more modern motherboards, despiteit being only a year and a half old. It was released at a timewhen mining for BitCoins had dwindled to a point where it wasunprofitable for the individual to gain anything and when GPUmining was on its way out.

However, that’s not to say it’s not a decent motherboard thatcan be turned to other uses. The quality of this ASRock board isquite exceptional, and you get ASRock’s own version of multi-level protection against humidity, ESD, overheating and othersuch problems.

While you might not necessarily use it on your own forBitCoin mining, the board is certainly going to be of use to youif you’re a part of a larger organisation of miners, who combinetheir processing power and split the profits. It’s still a long shotas to whether you’ll make any decent profits to offset the powerconsumption and initial expense, but if that’s what you’re into,then this board could be worth checking out.

You can find more information at goo.gl/nHGMhm. Expectto pay somewhere in the region of £48 for it.

Gigabyte GA-B150M-D2VThe last Intel board we’ll look at here is another sixth-generationproduct that manages to creep in at £49.99, depending onwhere you shop.

To get a Skylake motherboard in at less than £50 generallyrequires some corners to be cut, as we’ve already seen in theAsus H110M. But again that doesn’t necessarily mean that themotherboard in question isn’t any good; you’ll just lack the likesof DDR4 and M.2 support.

Other Intel MotherboardsSome other notable mentions from the Intel camp include:

Biostar H61MGV3: Although fairly uninspiring, thisBiostar product comes in at around £30 and supportsSocket 1155 CPUs.

ASRock H61M-DGS: A relation to the ASRock H61Pro BTC, this £35 motherboard comes with a decent5.1-channel audio setup.

Biostar H81MGP2: Speaking of audio, this is asurprisingly good £38 motherboard with eight-channelaudio and Socket 1150 support.

If mining for BitCoins is your ‘thing’, then this example from ASRock will suit your needs

Intel® CoreTM i5 4460 ProcessorMSI H81M-P33 MotherboardIntegrated Intel® Full HD graphicsFast 8GB DDR3 2133MHz Memory1TB Hard DriveStylish Brushed AluminiumEffect CaseMicrosoft Windows® 10 HomeLifetime Gold Warranty*

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Find your ideal PC at www.meshcomputers.com

Please Read: Sales subject to terms & conditions (copy available on our website). Advert does not form part of a contract. Pictures shown for illustration purposes only - colours may vary. Full specifications available online.Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other countries. All trademarks are acknowledged. At Mesh our PCs are custom built, fully burn-tested with professional CPUoverclocking options - Free overclock configuration is available for an unlocked CPU and when a liquid CPU cooler is selected. 0% Finance - Pay 10% deposit, and pay the rest off within 12 months and pay no interest. *Lifetime GoldWarranty - Lifetime Labour, 2 Year Parts, 1 Year Free Collect & Return. Sales line open Monday - Friday 9am - 6pm. Online ordering 24x7. Prices and specification correct at time of going to press on 28/9/15. E&OE.

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Issue 138412

The Gigabyte GA-B150M-D2V is a surprisingly good micro-ATX motherboard that can handle Socket 1151 CPUs. There area couple of DDR3 memory slots available, a single PCIe x16 slot,two PCIe x1 slots and six SATA 6Gbps connectors.

The rear IO port boasts a pair of PS/2 ports, VGA, DVI, four USB3.0 ports, two USB 2.0 ports, gigabit Ethernet and the standardthree block audio setup. Sadly, there’s no HDMI in this instance.

Other features include a high-quality audio design, withspecialised audio capacitors and an electronic noise guard to preventinterference from other components. You’ll also find a better thanaverage traffic management Ethernet port, ideal for online gaming,and there’s extra emphasis on tweaking the clock speeds andboosting the performance of the installed CPU and GPU.

Overall, it’s a pretty good motherboard and a decentspringboard to the newer line of processors from Intel. As wesaid, though, you’re not going to get DDR4 or M.2 support inthis instance or some of the other modern benefits that Skylakeis offering. But for less than £50 you’ve got a performancemotherboard that’s small enough to tackle a number of differenttasks with relative ease.

If you’re interested in finding out more, the specifications canbe found at goo.gl/9vJvOY.

AMD MotherboardsThe other side of the motherboard coin comes in the form ofAMD processors. Intel might have the upper hand in terms ofnew technology, but AMD still has plenty to offer, even if it mayappear to have stalled for what feels like years now.

As it’s always been, you generally get faster clock speeds andmore features for your money when it comes to AMD, but asIntel fans will no doubt be able to explain, those things don’tnecessarily equal greater performance. Again, though, that’s adiscussion for another time.

Gigabyte 78LMT-USB3This is a micro-ATX, 244 x 244mm board that utilises the AMDAM3+ FX/AM3 Phenom II range of processors on Gigabyte’sUltra Durable 4 Classic setup, which protects the valuedcomponents against such things as humidity, electrostaticinterference, power failure and high temperatures.

The board consists of four DDR3 slots for up to 32GB of dual-channel memory, one PCIe x16 slot and one PCIe x1 slot. Thereare also six SATA-2 ports, an IDE connector, eight USB 2.0 andfour USB 3.0.

The IDE connector is a blast from the past, and it’s the levelof legacy support that could potentially make this board quiteappealing. For example, there’s no UEFI here, just a plain oldAward BIOS.

There are more modern connections as well, such as HDMIand the aforementioned USB 3.0, and the on-board graphics,in the form of a Radeon HD 3000, do a decent enough jobof providing good desktop visuals and HD content, althoughserious gaming is out of the question. However, it’s the factthat this board can support a mix of both older hardware andrelatively newer stuff that sets it aside. Linux users who are sickto the back teeth of having to do the UEFI dance every time theyfancy trying a new distro will certainly appreciate its absence.Likewise, those with IDE drives will also praise this board’s abilityto bring back their data from a dusty grave at the bottom of adesk drawer.

Naturally, you can pack this board with an FX 8320 BlackEdition 3.5GHz eight-core CPU, 8GB of 1600MHz RAM, anSSD and an R9 280 3GB graphics card, and it will certainly fly,allowing you to play the latest games. Not bad for a board that’sjust a tad under £41.

So although legacy users can enjoy the benefits of the 78LMT-USB3, so too can budget gamers or system builders. The lackof an advanced UEFI also makes overclocking more accessible,at least in a sense that you can do things the way you used tobefore everything went the way of Extensible Firmware. Andthe Ultra Durable 4 technology makes for a good platform toexperiment with, using one of the more robust AMD processors.

In short, the Gigabyte 78LMT-USB3 certainly won’t set theworld alight with its advanced technologies. But for the sakeof building a stable system that can support the best that theold tech and new tech has to offer, it has a lot going for it,

Intel might have theupper hand in terms of newtechnology, but AMD still hasplenty to offer

Another Skylake motherboard, this one has a lot to offer for the price

The presence of an IDE port may be handy for some legacy users

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Issue 138416

and it won’t break the bank either. However, the lack of certainaspects, such as SATA-3 and support for faster SSDs, may forceusers to look elsewhere.

For further information head to goo.gl/TH19Rq.

ASRock FM2A88M Extreme4+This particular motherboard was the first from ASRock thatsupported the AMD A-series Kaveri APUs. It’s quite a feature-richboard with four DDR3 memory slots, two PCIe x16 slots (one inx16 mode, one at x4), a PCIe x2 slot and a further legacy PCIslot, which means it supports dual graphics, for high-end gamingbuilds. And you’ll find eight SATA-3 6Gbps connectors as well.

There’s a PS/2 port, VGA, DVI, HDMI, optical S/PDIF out, fourUSB 2.0 ports, two USB 3.0 ports, gigabit Ethernet and a five-port audio block. On top of all that, you also get the Gigabytehigh density glass fabric PCB and all solid capacitor designs,which combine to make an excellent quality motherboard.

Although it may seem a little long in the tooth these days,despite being less than two years old, the ASRock FM2A88MExtreme4+ is an incredibly capable motherboard. There’s no reasonwhy you can’t fit an FM2+ A10 Pro along with a modern GTX970or AMDR9 390 Gaming 8G and have a fairly impressive gamingsystem. Likewise, since it’s still only a micro-ATX board, there’s a fairamount of performance here for a very good media centre.

The FM2A88M Extreme4+ is a pretty good buy for thosewho want a lot of technology for their money. It’s available foraround £49.99, but you may be able to find one going for a fewpounds less if you shop around.

There is one thing that you may need to consider, though:while very good in almost every way, there’s not a huge amountof clearance between the CPU and memory slots. So if you’replanning on fitting a bigger cooling solution, you may needto just take a moment to measure the distance first. Overall,though, you should be okay with more standard cooling setups.

More information can be found at goo.gl/XlnlqP, includingthe current CPU support list.Gigabyte GA-F2A68HM-HD2The Gigabyte GA-F2A68HM-HD2 is an FM2+ board for AMDprocessors up to the A10-7850K, with an AMD A68H chipset, apair of DDR3 slots and expansion slots in the form of one PCIex16, one PCIe x1 and a legacy PCI slot.

The back IO panel features two USB 3.0, four USB 2.0, HDMI,DVI, VGA, three audio jacks, a PS/2 port and gigabit Ethernet.And there are four SATA-3 6Gbps connections on board, alongwith an S/PDIF out header.

Gigabyte has upped its game in the quality department inrecent years – enough to put the wind up the likes of MSI,at least. This is apparent with this model, as you’ll find solidcapacitors throughout, high-quality Nippon Chemicon ARE seriesaudio capacitors, humidity protection and protection from powerfailure, surges and electrostatic charges. This is another one ofthe Ultra Durable 4 Plus range of boards, so you can expect apretty solid base on which to build your next system.

The support for Godavari and Kaveri processors means youhave a pretty decent selection to choose from and a selectionthat’s not too bad when it comes to building a capable gamingPC too. Of course, you could always opt for the older Richlandand Trinity AMD processors and up the clock speed throughsome clever overclocking. Suffice to say, you get a stablefoundation on which to build your system on.

Either way you look at it, the Gigabyte GA-F2A68HM-HD2proves to be a motherboard that punches well above its weight.And at an average price of £39, it’s cheap enough to considerfor a number of applications.

Despite its micro-ATX form, the board doesn’t feel toocramped. Granted, there’s not a lot of room between the PCIex16 and x1 slots, especially if you fit a dual slot graphics card inthere (depending on the card, you probably won’t have accessto the PCIe x1 slot at all), but you should be able to get accessto the legacy PCI slot without too much trouble.

Intel is generallyregarded as the leading sockettechnology manufacturer atthe moment, and it’s been thatway for a while now

The ASRock FM2A88M Extreme4+ is a great AMD based motherboard

This example from Gigabyte offers a lot for system builders on a budget

Issue 1384 17

MOTHERBOARDSFOR UNDER £50

The same goes for the positioning of the memory slots andthe CPU socket, in that there’s probably just enough room for abigger cooler and slightly higher RAM sticks to coexist withouttouching or creating a hazard for other cooling solutions.

For the motherboard overview and specifications, as well asthe CPU support list, the details can be found at goo.gl/lrSeNa.

MSI AM1IIf it’s a really cheap but still perfectly effective motherboardyou’re after, then look no further than the MSI AM1I.

This mini-ITX board costs just £24, but it comes with supportfor Socket AM1 Athlon and Sempron Kabini CPUs, a singleDDR3 memory slot and one PCIe x16 slot. There’s a pair ofSATA-3 6Gbps connectors, though, and the rear IO ports includetwo PS/2 ports, HDMI, VGA, DVI, two USB 3.0 and two USB 20ports, gigabit Ethernet and a three-block audio setup.

Naturally, it’s not the kind of motherboard you’d opt for ifyou’re planning on building a gaming machine, but for mediaduties (thanks to its size) it’s more than capable. We actuallyused one of these in a custom arcade cabinet, running Windows7 and a copy of MAME from an SSD, and it was a superb setupthat cost less than £100 for everything.

Another aspect is the fact that it runs quietly, with the rightcooler and processor, and it doesn’t get too hot either. Also,because it’s an MSI board, you get the usual military class4 components and higher-quality development than you’dnormally find on some of the competition’s motherboards.

Admittedly, it is a little niche in some respects, but if you havea project in mind where a small ITX computer will shine, thenthis could well be the board that ticks all the right boxes.

For more information, check out goo.gl/sNkPDU.

ConclusionObviously there are countless more Intel and AMD motherboardavailable for less than £50, but unfortunately we don’t have thespace to fit them all in the magazine.

The selection we’ve looked at here span a number of potentialprojects and capabilities, so hopefully somewhere in the list you’llfind a motherboard that’ll suit your needs. And if it’s a littlemore performance you’re after or a bit more technology, you caninstead go a tad higher to the £75 mark and find a surprisinglyexcellent choice of motherboards on offer. mm

Other AMD MotherboardsAs with the Intel motherboards, the same goes forAMD. Here are a few that are worth mentioning, butwe never had space for in the main article:

Biostar AM1ML: If you thought the MSI AM1I wascheap at £24, think again. This equivalent Biostarmotherboard will set you back less than £20.

MSI A68HM-P33: This MSI motherboard is extremelycapable at a reasonable £35.

MSI A88X-G41: Although tipping the scales at £50,this is an extremely good AMD motherboard and wellworth looking into.

This ITX board may be niche, but it’s ideal for those after a small media centre build

Issue 138418

Solid State Drives have been around for some time nowand, while the tech is still very expensive compared totraditional (mechanical) drives, more and more people areliving with the smaller capacities they offer in order to

enjoy their advantages. SSDs are much faster, more efficient andsilent. They use less power too. SSDs are still a more specialistitem than a mechanical volume, though, and not everyoneknows how to get the most out of one.

SSDs, for example, are limited in terms of rewrites. That,combined with the generally lower capacities, means that theyneed to be used with care if you want to get the most for yourmoney. SSDs shouldn’t be used selectively, at least not untilthe technology drops in price to something comparable to amechanical drive.

At the moment, you’re best tailoring your system to maximiseyour SSDs capabilities and usefulness, and this is what we’regoing to look at over the next few pages. We’ll cover the bestways to utilise the power of your SSD, how to increase its speedand lessen the wear and tear. So, let’s begin.

Keep In TRIMWe’ll start with the big one and that’s TRIM. This is a veryimportant feature of SSD technology; without it, SSD disks canquickly become much slower than they should be. The reason forthis is down to how solid state storage chips handle the deletionand overwriting of data.

A ‘traditional’ mechanical drive handles this in a simplemanner: when files are deleted, Windows (or your chosen OS)goes to what is effectively it’s contents list, removes referencesto the data and marks the space as not in use. The data actuallyremains in situ, but the markers that point to it are gone. Whenthe space is needed, the drive simply overwrites the data. Easy.

SSDs are different. Like mechanical drives, the OS will removedirections to the deleted data and mark the space not in use.However, SSDs cannot simply overwrite the existing data whenthe space is needed. First, the data must be physically deletedand then the new data written. This adds time to the wholedata handling process, slowing the drive down considerably –which is where TRIM comes in.

SSD OptimisationSSD volumes are fast and efficient, but how do you ensure

you’re getting the most from them? Aaron investigates

Issue 1384 19

SSD OPTIMISATION

TRIM is a special command that runs alongside the deletioncommand. When you delete a file from an SSD, the TRIMcommand is also triggered. This automatically goes and deletesthe data you’ve just deleted, instead of leaving it to be removedwhen the space is needed to be written on. When you come towrite to this space, TRIM has already deleted the data, so theSSD can write to it as if it was never used, thus keeping thespeedy performance. Nice, eh?

‘Why doesn’t everyone use this all the time?’, you may ask. Well,there are limitations to TRIM, and for various reasons, it isn’t alwaysactivated by default. The main limitations here lie with the currentlyinstalled OS and the SSD’s firmware. Support for it is only includedas default in Windows 7 and upwards, older editions of Windowscan only provide TRIM via the use of third party software and drivers.These have to be manually added by the user, and many don’t knowhow to do this, or even know what they’re missing.

The SSD’s firmware also needs to support TRIM. This probablywon’t be a problem for newer models, but some older units maylack this functionality. It’s always worth check that a model you’reinterested in buying supports TRIM. It’s a definite deal breaker. If it’san older model, always ensure you’re running the latest firmware.

If you’re using Windows 7 and above, TRIM is easy to use, butfirst you should check to see if it’s already in operation. To dothis, open up an administrator command prompt and then type‘fsutil behavior query DisableDeleteNotify’ and press Return. Thiscommand will return one of two answers, either 0 or 1. If theresult is 0, TRIM is enabled, so you don’t need to worry. On theother hand, if 1 is the answer, you’ll need to enable it. To do so,in the command prompt, type:

fsutil behavior set DisableDeleteNotify 0

And press Return. That’s it. TRIM should now be running.The best way to use TRIM is to upgrade Windows to at leastWindows 7. Third party programs will be useful, but having anOS that natively supports TRIM is far better, so if you’re on thefence about upgrading, now may be a good time to jump overto greener pastures.

If you’re still running a Windows version older than 7, suchas XP, you’ll need to see if your drive manufacturer has a utilityfor TRIM support. Intel has one (intel.ly/1UZyqSt), so doesCrucial (www.crucial.com/usa/en/support). If you can’t find anofficial upgrade to enable TRIM, you may have to use third partysoftware, such as SSD Tweaker (www.elpamsoft.com). This isa specialised tool that has a host of SSD functions, includingTRIM support for older operating systems. However, avoid somefunctions, such as defrag (we’ll go into this later). If you’re usinga Mac, you can also get TRIM software to help, such as TrimEnabler from Cindori (www.cindori.org).

Organise Your PCAlongside TRIM, organising your PC and data is paramount tothe optimum performance of an SSD. This includes a selectionof tasks which begin with the setup of your PC and theconfiguration of your Windows install and drives. By far the mostpopular and successful method of getting the most from an SSD inthis regard is using the SSD volume to host Windows and movingother programs and data to a mechanical drive. This is almostuniversally appreciated as a great way to ensure you have a fast PCand that you’re making the most of your SSD.

The reason for this is simple. The most active and used fileson your PC will always be those of your OS. It’s always runningand working away the background. As these are always needed,it’s best to have this data on the faster drive so that your OS isfast too and can do what it needs with speed. Other programs,such as office suites, browsers, games, creativity suites andso on aren’t as essential and rarely contribute to the speed ofyour PC. You’ll also rarely need access to these programs andfiles to be as quick, so they’re best installed and housed on themechanical drive.

SSDs cannot overwriteexisting data when the space isneeded. First, the data must bephysically deleted

Reusable?In the early days of SSDs, before people were more familiarwith them, it was a big fear that drives were very limitedin terms of rewrites. This is an actual fact; SSDs do havea limited amount of rewrites, after which the drives startto fail. The technology has come a long way, though, andtoday’s volumes are unlikely to show failures for a verylong time. In fact, most SSDs will easily match mechanicaldrives in terms of lifespan, if not outlive them.

Don’t panic about this if you’re considering buying anSSD. Even without the steps we advise, a drive will last avery long time. It can’t hurt to take precautions, though, toextend the life of the drive even more.

SSD Tweaker can be used to enable TRIM on older operating systemsActivating TRIM in Windows 7 and up is easy

Issue 138420

You could argue that more important programs, such as anti-virus, firewall, and other system-level utilities would benefit fromSSD location, and this may be true, so it’s really up to the useron this. The more activity there is activity on the SSD, the slowerit will run; it’s about balance.

In fact, some believe that the SSD should hold all of yourinstalled programs and games, leaving the mechanical drive(s)for data only. Again, it depends on what applications you wantto run quickly, and how much you value entire system speedover application speed, it also comes down to your uses.

For example, a gamer will obviously benefit from using an SSDfor game installs, as games will run faster and perform betterthanks to the faster data access speeds. An artist would valuethis speed with greedy apps like Photoshop, while a casual userwouldn’t really notice much difference from running a browseron an SSD. It all comes down to weighing the pros and consagainst your PC use. Whichever way you go, though, alwaysensure your OS is on your SSD, that’s a given.

Although we recommend you run Windows from an SSD,using mechanical drives for other things, this doesn’t mean all ofWindows. There are aspects of Windows you can – and, if youwant a speedy PC, should – move off the SSD. This includes thestandard document and data files associated with your account.These folders, such as Documents, Videos, Pictures and so on, canbe easily moved and relocated away from the system drive. Youcan do this by simply right-clicking on the folder in Explorer and

going into Properties. Click Location and use the Move option torelocate the folder(s) to a separate drive. This will change the pathwithin Windows, keeping this data away from the SSD.

When installing programs and games, always use the customoption and change the install location from the default, whichwill almost always be the OS volume, to another drive. Ifprograms use the Windows folder, Program Files, a new one willbe created, along with the full path.

With services like Steam, you’ll need to go into theapplication options and change the default location for games.You’ll be able to do this via the Setting menu, in the Downloads\Steam Library Folders section.

It goes without saying that you should also manually moveand save future data to another drive. So, don’t use your SSDfor collections like music or videos, and this takes up a lot ofspace. For SSDs to run at optimum, they need space to work. Ifthey get too full, they’ll begin to slow down, just like any otherdrive. As you’re running your OS on this volume, you want toavoid this.

SymbolismIf you’re reading this and already have an SSD and you’ve gota lot of installs already, you may be wondering how to changethis quickly. The most straightforward option is to uninstall andreinstall programs onto another drive, but there’s another routeyou can take. You can use symbolic links.

Symbolic links are specially created links that trick Windowsinto thinking a program is installed at a certain location, evenafter it’s been moved. Usually, simply cutting and pasting aprogram’s directory to another location will cause the programto stop working, as Windows and its Registry will be looking forthe old location, meaning you have to ’trick’ it.

These symbolic links are created using the command prompt(admin). The command we need is ‘mklink.’ This is used to makea new link for an existing program, redirecting Windows in theprocess. So, let’s say you have a program installed in ‘C:\Program

You can move some user folders to another drive with

ease

Don’t forget to change default download locations of apps like Steam so they don’t spam

your SSD

Symbolic links trickWindows into thinking aprogram is installed at acertain location

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Issue 138422

Files\TESTAPP’ and want to move it to the E: drive, you use thismethod. First, copy and paste the folder in question to the newlocation, then open up an admin command prompt. Once it’sopen, use the mklink command to redirect Windows as follows:

mklink /d C:\Program Files\TESTAPP E:\Program Files\TESTAPP

You’ll need to change the source and destination paths to yourown, of course, but once done Windows will now look for theprogram in the new location, not realising you’ve simply movedthe folder. The old one can be deleted.

Flipping The PageThe Windows page file is another system feature that’s essentialfor the speedy operation of a PC, but it’s also a problem for SSDsas it not only takes up space, but also speed and resources. Forthese reasons it’s best to move this off the SSD and place it on amechanical drive, or another SSD volume that doesn’t have theOS on it as well.

Moving the Windows page file is easy. To do this, open upExplorer and right-click My Computer/Computer and selectProperties. Go to Advanced Properties and then into Advancedand Performance Settings. Click Advanced again, and underVirtual Memory click Change.

The page file management screen will open. If everything isgreyed out, untick the first option ‘Automatically manage pagingfile size for all drives.’ This will activate the other options, andyou can use these to move the page file and change the amountof space allocated to it.

To move the file, highlight the SSD volume (probably C if it’syour OS volume) and select the option for no paging file. Now,highlight another drive, such as your mechanical storage drive,and select either a system-managed file or choose a customfile and specify the amount of space to use. Once you’re done,click OK. This will remove the page file on the OS drive, andinstead use another drive for the function. This way, you keepthe essential features of the page file, but aren’t taxing the SSDat the same time.

Move your page file to another drive and keep

your OS SSD speedy

Don’t defrag SSD volumes and ensure you disable auto optimise in Windows

Disabling write cache can help some SSD users Disable Superfetch and prefetch if you’re using an SSD

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Issue 138424

Defrag Is BadDefragmenting a hard disk is one of those tasks people alwaysrecommend. It’s been a staple tip for making PCs faster for years.These days it’s less of a problem, as later versions of Windows arebetter at handling data, and defrag is often run automatically bydefault, meaning we really don’t have to worry about it. At least,you don’t if you have a mechanical drive. With an SSD, you haveto train yourself to ignore advice from the past.

SSDs should never be defragmented as this will havelittle effect on them, as they operate differently. They’re notmechanical platters that need to move data around to makeaccess faster, they have solid state memory chips, which isn’taffected in the same way. More importantly, defragging a solidstate drive simply uses a lot of writes and re-writes. As wemention in the box outs, this isn’t the major worry most feelit is, but it’s always best to limit writes as much as you can toensure a longer life for the drive. For this reason, you shouldturn off defrag for your SSD drive.

To do this, right-click the drive in question and go to Properties> Tools > Optimize. The defrag tool will open and shows yourvarious drives. Highlight the SSD volume and click ChangeSettings. Now, you can remove the tick next to the option ‘Runon a schedule (recommended)’, but this will deactivate defrag forall drives, and you may still want to defrag mechanical volumes.So, instead click the button to choose drives. Untick the SSDdrive, but leave the others and click OK. This will stop Windowsfrom trying to optimise and defrag the SSD.

SSD TweaksAs well as the procedures we’ve covered, there are some tweaksyou can make to your system that can further optimise your SSD.These tweaks are varied, but all should help you get the most outof your SSD drive.

Disable Write CachingSome would argue that this feature should actually be enabled,and doing this will boost an SSD’s performance. This may be soin some cases, but write caching is actually more for mechanicaldrives, helping cache the data written to them. With SSDs, writespeeds are already so fast, it’s a feature that doesn’t actually helpall that much, and disabling it can take some stress off the unit.

To do this, go to Control Panel > Device Manager. ExpandDisk Drives and right-click on your SSD volume. Click the Policiestab and you’ll see the write caching entry, which is probablyticked. Untick this and click OK.

Disable Superfetch And PrefetchSuperfetch and prefetch are functions that tell Windows toload soon-to-be-needed data into memory in order to speedup proceedings. This is a very useful feature for slower,mechanical drives, but SSDs are so fast in practical terms it’s justnot needed. In fact, it can actually have a negative effect onperformance, as it unnecessarily takes up memory and resources.So, we’d recommend you take a moment to make sure it’sdisabled. To do this you’ll need to enter the Registry Editor andtinker with it a little.

Open Regedit by typing ‘regedit’ in the search or run bar.When in the editor, navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\MemoryManagement\PrefetchParameters.

When you’re there, double-click the EnablePrefetcher andEnableSuperfetch entries on the right, and set their respectivevalues to 0.

SATAMattersThe SATA interface used to connect disk drives to a PCcan affect the speed of a drive, especially SSDs, althoughdepending on your setup, this effect will vary in intensity.Most modern PCs and motherboards will have support for6Gbps SATA (SATA-3), while older models will still be usingSATA 3Gbps (SATA-2). Even new motherboards may not beentirely 6Gbps and may mix in 3Gbps ports.

Going by the numbers alone, you can see that thedifference is twice the speed for 6Gbps SATA connections,so you’d expect the difference in speed to be vast. Intruth, this is usually not the case.

Older, mechanical drive performance hasn’t changedmuch over the years, and most models simply cannotmake full use of the 6Gbps speed due to physicallimitations (limited I/O requests and simultaneousstreams). SSD, on the other hand, can make use of thehigher speeds, as these drives are far faster and able toaccess more data at any one time.

That said, don’t expect enormous boosts moving from3Gbps to 6Gbps. There is often a speed increase, that’strue, but in many cases it’s not all that much, and anSSD on 3Gbps is still very fast and perfect for most users.If you have spare 6Gbps SATA ports, though, alwaysconnect your SSD drives to these and use the older 3Gbpsports for mechanical volumes.

Indexing is not really

needed, so disable it

System Restore takes up a lot of

space – a problem for smaller SSDs

You may not need to use sleep or hibernate with an SSD, so can disable it

Issue 138426

Disable IndexingLike prefetch and superfetch, indexing is another feature designedto speed up Windows’ data access. It does this by tellingWindows to store the most commonly used files in memory forfaster access. With SSD, this isn’t such a problem, and it’ll take upsystem resources you don’t really need to use. Disabling it freesup these resources, giving your whole PC a speed boost.

To disable it right-click your SSD drive in Explorer and go toProperties. Click the General tab and untick the option ‘Allow fileson this drive to have contents indexed’ and click OK. Simple.

Disable System Restore For SSD DrivesSystem Restore isn’t a big bad monster, it’s actually very useful,and you’ll be glad you have it in a pinch. It can be a problemwith SSD drives, though, as they are generally much smallerin terms of capacity compared to normal Mechanical drives.System Restore images can take up precious space, so disablingthe feature for SSD volumes can be a help. Just make sure youappreciate the risks of doing so.

To disable System Restore on an SSD right-click Computer andgo into Properties. Go into System Protection and highlight yourSSD. Click the Configure button and select the option to disableSystem Restore and click OK.

Hibernate Instead Of SleepingUsing sleep on a system saves the current state to RAM beforeit goes to sleep, making for a speedy reboot back to where youwere. Hibernate is similar, but instead saves the current state toyour hard disk. Given the speed of SSD drives, there’s no needfor sleep, as hibernate is now very fast. So, if you’re still usingsleep mode and you have an SSD, switch to hibernate instead.

It could also be argued that there’s actually no need for eithersleep or hibernate with an SSD, as systems can boot up much fasterfrom cold anyway with an SSD. This being the case, if your PC bootsrapidly from an off state, consider disabling sleep and hibernate.

A quick way to turn off hibernation is to use the commandprompt. Open up an admin prompt and type ‘powercfg -h off’and press Return.

Configure SATA Ports To Use AHCI In The BIOSThis particular tip is one that many SSD users swear by andfor good reason. Ensuring your computer uses AHCI SATA(Advanced Host Controller Interface) for your SSD drives canlead to a much improved performance of the unit and is oftenmuch better than using IDE SATA. So, make sure you check this,and change it if needed.

The drawback here is that this is a tweak that really needs tobe done before you install Windows on the drive and thereforecould be a problem of you’re already running your OS. Whileit’s easily usually found in the BIOS, the specific steps to enableAHCI will vary from motherboard to motherboard, so consultyour documentation. You kept the motherboard documentation,didn’t you?

If you don’t want to reinstall Windows, there is a way aroundit and – again – it involves the Registry. Open it up and navigateto HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Msahci. Change the value of ‘Start’ in the right-hand pane to 0and reboot. Before you load back into Windows, make sure youset up SATA AHCI in the BIOS.

Create A Ramdisk And Move Caches To ItUsing some special software, you can create a ramdisk, whichis a way of utilising system memory as a drive, a very fastdrive. You can get the software for free from bit.ly/14LA9CUand, once installed, use it to can create your ramdisk. You’llneed at least 3GB of RAM to do this, and the free version ofthe program lets you create ramdisks of up to 4GB in size. Agreat use for your new ramdisk is to move various Windows’temporary folders and caches to it. This will provide lightningfast access to these often used files, and you’ll notice a definitespeed boost.

That just about ends our guide. Using that selection of tips,you should find you get even more performance out of yourSSD, not to mention a longer lifespan for your money. Couplethese up with general housekeeping and system maintenance,and you’ll have a very fast and responsive system, which isalways nice. mm

Ensure you use AHCI SATA for your SSD drive(s)

Issue 138028

Build an Android motion sensor animation app with David Briddock

Code With AI2Sensor Animation

In the last issue we used the Canvascomponent to build a touch animationapp.This time we’ll stay with theanimation theme and the canvas

component, but use the Android device’sbuilt-in motion sensors to control our sprite.

Remember, all you need to play alongis a Windows/Mac/Linux PC, web browserand Google account. This time, though,you’ll also need an Android smartphoneor tablet to test the app.

What We’ll LearnThis week we’ll build a basic ‘Hit theSprite’ game to further explore the Canvascomponent and, in particular, the collisiondetection element.

Also, instead of using touch interactionwe’ll look to move the sprite around thescreen with the orientation sensor, whichcaptures the angle of the device’s screenmany times a second and generates dataaccordingly. So then, let’s get started.

Starting AI2In your browser navigate to the AI2 homepage (ai2.appinventor.mit.edu) and signin with your Google account.

We need a new project so, in theProjects menu, select the ‘Start newproject’ option and give it a meaningfulname, such as ‘MMSensorAnimation’.

ScreenPropertiesWe’re automatically taken to the DesignerView where there’s already a componentcalled Screen1. We’ll drag and drop the othercomponents onto this screen.

To the right is the Properties panel forthe currently selected Screen1 component.

In this panel ensure the AppName is‘MMSensorAnimation’ then set the Title to‘MM Sensor Animation’. To help playabilitylet’s set the ScreenOrientation to ‘Landscape’.Now we’ll add some screen components.

TheCanvasIn the Palette panel open the ‘Drawingand Animation’ group, grab a Canvascomponent and drop it onto Screen1 in theViewer panel.

With the Canvas1 component selected inthe Properties panel set both the Height andWidth to the ‘Fill parent...’ option. Notice thatCanvas1 now covers the whole of Screen1.

AddingSpritesFor this game we need two sprites. One willbe the pre-defined Ball component while theother is an ImageSprite, just like we used lasttime. First, then, grab a Ball component fromthe Drawing and Animation group and drop itonto the Canvas1 area. With Ball1 selected in

the Components panel set the PaintColor tored and the Radius to 10.

Now for the sprite. Once again we’ll needan icon-sized image file. It could be the sameimage we used for the Touch Animationapp or a new image. Grab an ImageSpritecomponent from the same Drawing andAnimation group and drop it onto theCanvas1 area.

With ImageSprite1 selected rename it to‘Sprite1’. To set the image click on the Pictureproperty and select the ‘Upload File...’ button.Use the ‘Choose File’ button to find your PCfile and then click ‘OK’. The sprite image inthe Viewer panel should change.

Instead of using touch interactionwe’ll look to move the sprite around thescreen with the orientation sensor

Issue 1384 29

CODE WITH AI2

SensorAdditionTo capture Android device motion we’llalso need an OrientationSensor fromthe Sensors group. Grab one and dropit onto the Canvas1 area. Notice itappear just below the screen in the non-visible components list, as well as in theComponents panel.

CodingAProcedureIt’s time to start coding, so click on theBlocks View button located on the greenbar. Our gameplay is simple, namely hit thesprite image with the red ball. We want thesprite image target to appear at a random

position on the canvas when the app startsand after each collision event.

As this behaviour happens more thanonce we’ll put the behaviour inside aprocedure. Drag and drop a purple ‘toprocedure’ block from the Proceduresgroup into the coding area. Then changeits name from ‘procedure’ to ‘moveSprite’.

Next grab a purple ‘call Sprite1.MoveTo’block and drop it inside the procedureblock. Notice this block has two emptyvalues, namely ‘x’ and ‘y’.

To set the x value grab a ‘randominteger from’ block from the Math group.The first hole is filled with a blue Mathnumber set to one, the second with a

light green ‘get Canvas1.Width’ block. Dothe same for ‘y’ except this time we needa one plus a ‘get Canvas1.Height’ block.

Now we can grab a brown ‘whenScreen1.Initialize’ block from the Screen1component and drop it onto the codingarea. Inside we simply call the ‘moveSprite’procedure with a purple ‘call moveSprite’block from the Procedures group.

MotionBall direction and speed is related to the devicetilt angle, as captured by the orientationsensor. From the OrinetationSensor1component grab a brown ‘whenOrientationSensor1.OrientationChanged’block and drop it onto the coding area.

From the Ball1 component grab a green‘set Ball1.Heading to’ block and snap itinto position inside the brown block. Nowgo back to the OrientationSensor1, graba light green ‘OrientationSensor1.Angle’block and snap it onto the end of thegreen block.

Next grab a green ‘set Ball1.Speed to’block from the Ball1 component. Snap it intoposition right underneath the previous greenblock. To define a decent ball speed we’llneed a little mathematical fudge factor.

From the Math group grab a cyanmultiplication block (with an ‘x’ sign in themiddle). There are two empty values tofill. The first value is set by a light green‘OrientationSensor1.Magnitude’ block. Thesecond is just a Math number block withthe value set to ‘50’.

CollisionEventsWe also need to handle collisions betweenthe ball and sprite. From the Sprite1component grab a brown ‘when Sprite1.CollidedWith’ block and drop it ontothe coding area. Inside we just call the‘moveSprite’ procedure we created earlier.So grab a purple ‘call moveSprite’ blockfrom the Procedures group and snap itinto place.

That’s the coding done. Ensure thewarning and error counts in the bottomleft corner are both zero then carefullycheck your code against the Blocks Viewimage. Test with the AI Companion Appinstalled on an Android device (as wediscussed earlier in the series).

GoingFurtherThere’s loads of potential here. For examplereplacing the ball with an image sprite,increasing the ball speed over time, addingmore sprite targets, devising a scoringmechanism and so on. Just have fun.

Next time we’ll build a speech-enabledmemo app. mm

AI2 blocks view

AI2 designer view

Issue 138430

Going against the distinctlypartisan grain of 80s technologymagazines, Computer &Video Games was the first

multi-format gaming publication. It firstappeared as far back as November 1981,a time when there were very few homecomputer gaming magazines. It remainedon newsagent shelves until 2004, whenits owner turned its full attention to theweb-based incarnation.

C&VG stood out from the beginning; itoriginally cost 75p (around £2.90 today,apparently) and provided around 100 pagesof reviews, features, ads and all mannerof tips, tricks and cheats. This all cameenclosed within elaborate covers, addornedwith a large logo. More impressively, it wasone of the first magazines to publish pagesupon pages of BASIC listings for homebrewgames, sent in by readers, for a variety ofdifferent home computers – and who canforget the Golden Joystick Awards?

The first issue claimed that the magazinewas there to help push the boundaries ofthe reader’s imagination, much like theprogrammers who were coding the latestgames for the limited machines of the time.It looked at home computers, the actualmachines, early consoles, as well the arcademachines you could find at your local seedyarcade or in the pub.

You could get paid as much as £10 forsubmitting a review, with more on offer ifthe game happened to be one of the morepopular titles. Yes, I did send in some copy,but sadly it didn’t make the cut. I was onlyeight at the time and a tad inexperiencedwhen it came to writing.

Its HistoryC&VG was launched by EMAP, with TerryPratt at the helm as editor and stayed underIts ownership for nigh on 20 years. Then,in February 2001, Dennis Publishing (MicroMart’s owners) bought it. At that time, C&VGwas selling around 45,000 copies and had justlaunched a website.

A few years later Future Publishingacquired the title and attempted to mouldthe the magazine to better accommodatethe new generation of consoles andgaming. However, in October 2004, theprint side of Computer & Video Games wasfinally laid to rest and the focus was shiftedto the internet side of things. This proved ahealthy place for Britain’s longest runninggames magazine and, as such, the trafficwas enough to keep the name, if not themagazine, going.

Unfortunately, early 2014 saw Futureundergoing a restructure, which earmarkedC&VG for closure. Thus, on 26th February2015, the C&VG site was closed.

TheGoodIt covered a range of hardware and evenarcade technology. Program listings, inBASIC and even in Assembly later on.

TheBadIt often felt a little lacking in concentratedcontent. That’s the nature of trying to dealwith covering multiple, very distinct formats,we imagine.

ConclusionIt’s sad to see a magazine close, and C&VG’sclosure was particularly heart-wrenching.

David Hayward recalls another classic games magazine of the 80s and beyond

Remembering…Computer & Video Games

DidYouKnow?• Melissa Ravenflame never

actually existed, despite therivalry between ‘her’ and theother ‘Girlie Tipster’, HannahSmith, from Crash.

• Julian Rignall and a few othernotable names worked for C&VGin the past.

• The Golden Joystick Awards firstappeared in 1982/3, with winnersincluding Manic Miner, TheHobbit, Ah Diddums and Jet Pac.

• In the first issue, you could win acocktail Space Invaders cabinet!

The first issue front cover, they don’t make

‘em like that anymore

Melissa Ravenflame, the ‘Girlie Tipster’ of the 80s

incarnation of C&VG

Always one for controversy, this issue had

an eye-popping digital Lara Croft centrefold

Issue 1384 31

Component

Watch

C hoosing a gaming mouse can be a relatively costlyexpense, so it’s important to choose the right one.From number of buttons to weight to opticalresolution, there are a hundred different things to

make sure you’ve picked correctly, so don’t let price becomesomething extra to worry about. We’ve found the best dealsaround for these five models of gaming mouse so you don’thave to worry about doing so!

Deal 1: Asus Republic Of Gamers GX950RRP: £54.99 / Deal Price: £44.99Part of Asus’s well-respected ‘Republic ofGamers’ line, the GX950is a high-precision gamingmouse with six buttons,8200dps sensor and five-way cable management.The selling point is almostcertainly the weightsystem, which allows youto pick and choose theweight of your mousebased on what you findmost comfortable. Perfectfor gamers of any ability and perfectly in keeping with Asus’sexisting gaming credentials.Where to get it: Novatech – bit.ly/1jbSeAA

Deal 2: Gamdias Zeus ProfessionalRRP: £69.99 / Deal Price: £42.10Unlike most mice, theZeus Professional has threeindependently adjustableside expansion panelsso you can customisethe device for your handsize and grip. The lasersensor offers accuracy upto 8200dps, and a 2mcable length means there’salways plenty of room tomanoeuvre. Although expensive at RRP, discounts make this asolid-priced gaming mouse, and that means it’s definitely worthlooking at even if you consider yourself a casual gamer.Where to get it: Dabs – bit.ly/1L1nT1h

Deal 3: Mionix Avior 7000RRP: £79.99 / Deal Price: £53.99This high-end mouse has ninefully programmable buttons,three-step in-game DPSadjustment, user-assigned LEDcolours and a 2m long braidedcable, so you know it meansbusiness (or rather gaming).Ambidextrous design meansyou can use it whether you’re left or right-handed, and you canstore up to five profiles for quick recalibration. There’s also a two-year manufacturer warranty to keep your investment safe.Where to get it: 365games – bit.ly/1LnKuCd

Deal 4: Logitech G700s Wireless Gaming MouseRRP: £79.99 / Deal Price: £69.99The Logitech G700s is arechargeable wireless gamingmouse with a sensor thatcan be adjusted to anywherebetween 200dps and 8200dps.There are 13 controls, whichcan be altered using the built-in Logitech Gaming Software,and its microswitches are goodfor up to 20 million clicks, so even heavy gamers won’t wearit out! Combine all that with a fierce look and solid grippablesurface, and this is one mouse we don’t think you’ll regret buying.Where to get it: Ebuyer – bit.ly/1L1nEmQ

Deal 5: Razer Naga Epic ChromaRRP: £119.99 / Deal Price: £89.86Probably the most expensivemouse on the market, theRazer Naga Epic Chroma is awireless mouse with a 8400dpslaser sensor and 35MB ofon-board storage for storinggame profiles and software.Its built-in chroma light systemmeans you can tweak its LEDsto any of 16.8 million colours.At full price you might justifiably expect miracles. But this dealmakes it almost worth buying.Where to get it: Pixmania – bit.ly/1hs9fFE

Component Watch

ven heavy gamers won’t wear

Looking for a mouse for your gaming sessions? How about one of these?

32 Issue 1384

Amazon RefusesTo Sell Rivals’Releases

QUICK BITS... Edward Snowden has joined Twitter. Go on and join the 1.37m people (at the time of writing) who are

Marshmallow on board

LG And GoogleUnleash Nexus 5X

LG and Google haveteamed up againand the big reveal oftheir latest effort has

taken place: step forward theNexus 5X. It’s a device notablefor many things, not leastthe inclusion of Android 6.0Marshmallow, the latest mobileOS from team Google.

As for the build itself, wehave here a 5.2”, 423ppi fullHD display with advancedIn-Cell Touch technology –faster recognition, betteroutdoor visibility and crisperimages, according to LG.It’s powered by a 1.8GHzQualcomm Snapdragon 808processor and its Type-C USBport means a ten-minute

charge delivers four hours ofbattery life. It provides userswith a 12.3MP rear camera anda 5MP front-facing one, andwe’re told the sensors absorbmore light than any previousNexus device to create brighterphotos with great detail.

As for security, the Nexus 5Xcomes with Nexus Imprint, afingerprint sensor for unlockingthe phone and using AndroidPay (at least if you’re in theStates, for the moment).

Is it an iPhone-beater?Who knows? That phone isso popular, very little seemsto make a serious dent onApple and Samsung’s hold onthe market these days – but itcertainly sounds promising.

Apple TV and Google Chromecast removed

Issue 1384 33

Looking at this week’s grouptest, I’m reminded of howlucky we are as modern PCenthusiasts. The boring,beige boxes of the past havebeen truly consigned to therubbish tip of time, andwe’ve reached a point whereeven the cheapest of PC caseslook fairly decent.

Of course, if you want tospend more, you can still getall kinds of luxury cases, butyou don’t need to break thebank just to get somethingthat looks okay.

Obviously, what reallymatters is what you putinside your chassis, butlooks aren’t the only reasonto spend more on your case.Anyone who’s ever owned apremium case will know thisalready, but if you’ve onlyever gone for cheap units,upgrading to a better onewill be a revelation. Nomore sharp edges ready tocut your fingers open,multiple tool-free drivebays, external fan controlsand more. It really doesmake a difference.

Until next time,

Editor

following him @Snowden

Anthony

W ell, it’s one way of competing wesuppose; apparently, Amazon isgoing to stop selling the AppleTV and Google Chromecast from

October 29th, as it only want to sell products that“interact well” with Prime Video.

That’s the official explanation at least, but itsmacks of putting up the shutters in order to shoveits rivals to one side. Amazon isn’t obligated to sellits competitor products, of course, but then the flipof the argument is that it could be cutting off its

nose to spite its face when its competitor retailerswill all be selling Apple and Google productsalongside Amazon’s Fire TV. By reducing the choice,Amazon runs the risk of upsetting its customerswho may just decide to shop elsewhere. A possiblewin for the high street, then?

Amazon is certainly keen on rolling out its Primeservices onto anyone who will pay, so whether this isthe right tactic remains to be seen. It could be arguedthat it comes across as sour grapes, or as betraying alack of faith in its own products.

Web creation package from Incomedia

WebsitePackageEvolvesIncomedia has announced the launch

of the latest version of its WebSite X5software package. Now at version 12,WebSite X5 promises responsive website

creation results that automatically adjust to alldevice resolutions and websites that are alsoeasy to put together thanks to the package’sstep-by-step approach to creation.

The package comes in three flavours: Evolution,Professional and Home. The Evolution version(£50) is billed as the perfect tool for creatingwebsites, online stores and blogs in five easysteps with results that are responsive, compatiblewith all main browsers and optimised for searchengines. As this is a less technical version of theproduct, users can concentrate on the design,choosing from over 1,000 customisable templatesor create one of their own.

Going to the other end of the range,Professional 12 (£139) throws in more advancede-commerce features and compatibility with the

FeedReady app for iOS and Android users, linkingto the RSS feeds on created websites.

Trial it first at www.websitex5.com.

34 Issue 1384

R eddit has had a turbulent year, during which staffchanges exacerbated its already fractious relationshipwith its volunteer moderators, which in turn ledto outright revolt (tinyurl.com/MMnet84a) and

eventually the departure of its CEO, Ellen Pao. In the wake ofthis, its founders had to patch up a long-running rift in theirrelationship in order to try to steady the ship and set it on theright course.

In order to do this, it appears that and its new/oldcustodians have undertaken a fair amount of soul searchingto determine exactly how the site is going to operate goingforward. They probably did this thinking while they swept upthe ashes of their dreams that Reddit could be a bastion offree speech and a community policed throwback to principlesof the early internet – all of which had burned to the groundin the firestorm created by Gamergate, the iCloud photo leakand increasing critique of some of the sites darker corners(tinyurl.com/MMnet84b). It’s imperative for the survival ofthe site that changes were made, though, and that it beginto return some of the significant investments that have beenmade in it, based on its now 200 million unique users everymonth (tinyurl.com/MMnet84c).

There have been signs of the work that’s going on behindthe scenes recently in the wake of Steve Huffman’s return;some of the more distasteful areas are now harder to frequent(tinyurl.com/MMnet84d), and last week saw the launch ofUpvoted (upvoted.com), a site that seeks to do what everyoneelse has been doing for a couple of years now: plunder Redditfor interesting viral stories. Basically, if Reddit is the front pageof the internet, then Upvoted is a What The Papers Say-type digest of the best bits; it’s all here from AMA highlights,(tinyurl.com/MMnet84e) to Photoshop battles, Ask Scienceoddities to ELI5 insights. The only thing missing, ironically, is thecommenting and upvoting that drives subreddit posts to thesite’s front page in the first place (tinyurl.com/MMnet84f).Interestingly, though, it appears that the algorithm that handlesthat is also in for repair at the moment, so we may see evenmore changes soon (tinyurl.com/MMnet84g).

Seemingly since time immemorial, people have been talkingabout the idea of Facebook allowing people to react to

posts with a ‘Dislike’ rather than the ever-present ‘Like’. It’s neverhappened, though; the problems were obvious, not least thepotential for getting hit with a flood of ‘Dislikes’ to become adeterrent to people posting something in the first place. Last week,however, Facebook debuted the solution it’s planning to roll out.

A video posted to Mark Zuckerberg’s wall (tinyurl.com/MMnet84h) gave us the first non-leaked sight of the new

style ‘reactions’ that are being trialeld with some Facebookusers in Ireland and Spain. While ‘Dislike’ is notable forits absence (tinyurl.com/MMnet84i), the new emoji-styled icons will allow users to ‘Like’ and ‘Love’ a post; say‘Haha, ‘Wow’ and ‘Yay’; or express that they’re ‘Angry’ or‘Sad’. It’s a set of reactions that, according to commentson The Verge made by Facebook’s Adam Mosseri (tinyurl.com/MMnet84k), the firm was prompted to instigate bya constant stream of bug reports bemoaning the lack ofalternatives to simply Liking something, and was inspired byanalysis of one-word reactions and the use of stickers withinthe social network.

Exactly how we’re meant to react if we dislike the new feature iscurrently unclear.

It’s interesting to note the recent affair surrounding thecancelling of conference seminar by security consultant

Gianni Gnasa. He intended to outline vulnerabilities insurveillance cameras, in the face of legal threats from amanufacturer (tinyurl.com/MMnet84m), which has, onceagain, led to debate over ethical hacking (tinyurl.com/MMnet84n) and whether manufacturer attempts to limitthe work of white hat hackers are increasing the potential ofexploits for their hardware going unnoticed.

As more and more things become internet connected, wehear more and more stories like those recently engulfing VWand Jeep/Chevrolet. And when we know people like StefanRigo are out there (tinyurl.com/MMnet84o), we’d reckonthe dudes and dudettes out there hacking things to exposeflaws are pretty much the least of our problems – and inspiremore trust than some companies do. Hey, that’s just us,though... What do we know?

Meanwhile... On The Internet...

While ‘hacktivist’ group Anonymous’s decentralisedstructure and loose affiliations means you can never

really bring it down, authorities around the world have beenhunting down those involved in its so-called operations eversince it rose to prominence in the noughties.

The latest to fall foul of US legal eagles is Matthew Keys, ajournalist found guilty of providing members of the group withlogin credentials that ultimately allowed them to deface thefront page of the Wall Street Journal’s website in late 2010.He now faces a jail sentence (potentially 25 years, but likelyless than five), despite maintaining that he has been convictedon a case of mistaken identity and was targeted by policefor refusing to comply with requests to search his computer(tinyurl.com/MMnet84r). He intends to appeal.

While many predict that eventually electronic devices will killoff the traditional paper book, there are many people whoassert the superiority of the latter. Science, ironically, seems toagree with them (tinyurl.com/MMnet84p). Whatever youbelieve, it’s hard not to feel the excitement of reading a goodbook when you see the animated work of unPOP, which spenta month creating a paper representation of Hogwarts to showhow reading can inspire a young mind (tinyurl.com/MMnet84q).The only thing to really debate is whether you think HarryPotter counts as a good book, we suppose.

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

QUICK BITS... Crowdfunding site Patreon was hacked early in the month with 15GB worth of user data and source

g

twq).

Issue 1384 35

This zany guy was the subject of issue 1382’s kurazy kaptionkompetition. Here’s the best of bunch...

• JayCeeDee: “Just in case I fall off when I’m surfing!”• JayCeeDee: “Can’t get the hang of this ‘sub-net mask’ thing.”• ricedg: “You said I’d be thrown in at the deep end.”• doctoryorkie: “I went phishing, and all I got was this

kipper tie.”• The VFM Addict: “Immediately after parking his Volkswagen,

John dashed indoors to use his laptop.”• Think Tank: “Going phishing.”• Thomas Turnbull: “Can’t wait to test the waterproof coating

on my laptop.”• Cliff Baker: “A young man prepares to dive into coding.”• Brian Gough: “Things really are going swimmingly with my

new laptop.”• Robert Wheelhouse: “This is not what I meant by water

cooling!”• Leigh Spriggs: “I want a graphics card with CUDA technology,

not scuba!”•

This week’s winner, though, was Leigh Spriggs with “I want agraphics card with CUDA technology, not scuba!”, which is prettyclever if you ask us. Well done!

Of course, if you don’t agree, there’s only one thing to do,really: prove you’re funnier. So why not head over to the ‘OtherStuff’ section of our forum (forum.micromart.co.uk) andby caption the picture below – or email us your funnies viacaption@micromart.co.uk, remembering to ad the issuenumber to the email title.

Caption Competition

“I want a graphicscard with CUDA

technology, not scuba!”

CCCCCaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaap n

NVidia’s gamestreaming serviceis now up andrunning, and it’s

got a new name. What wasformerly known as NVidia Gridhas become GeForce Now, andoffers up to 1080p, 60 FPSstreaming (the first cloud-basedservice to do so) of a catalogueof over 50 games currently onthe books.

The service is open toNVidia’s SHIELD family ofgaming devices and it’s going

to cost £7.49 a month, whichisn’t half-bad really. In terms ofthe aforementioned catalogue,you can play titles from theLEGO collection and the BatmanArkham series, using voicesearch to find what you’re after.

If you do happen to owna SHIELD device, this is surelyworth looking at. Bear in mind,however, that you’re going towant an Internet connectionof at least 30Mb/s as you’llbe dropped down to a 720presolution at 30FPS if not.

Grid becomes GeForce Now

NVidia’s GameStreaming ServiceOut Of Beta

Skype IntroducesTranslation Tools

Microsoft hasannounced thatit’s to bringtranslation

functionality directly into thedesktop version of Skype.

Skype Translator is alreadyavailable as a separateapplication, but now Microsoftwants to bring the featurestraight into the desktop app,meaning translation featureswill also be available on laptopsand tablets running Windows

7, 8 and 10. Skype Translatorhandles 50 messaginglanguages and six voicelanguages and the update iscoming within a few weeks soyou’ll see a Translator icon inthe main chat window whenthe update’s happened.

code being let loose

Now integrated into desktop version

36 Issue 138436 Issue 1384

Snippets!Arkham PC Fix NearIt’s been a long old wait butBatman: Arkham Knight will bein digital stores for PC users bythe end of the month. Hoorahand hooza, you may say butit doesn’t quite make up forthe fact that PC gamers havehad to wait a full four monthsfor Warner Bros. to get its acttogether following the angryreception to the game’s woefulinitial outing on Steam.

It said in a statement onSteam that, while a majorpatch was released a fewweeks ago, the team wantedto fully iron things out beforemaking the title available forpurchase again.

Jailed Over Laser FiringA man in California has beensentenced to a year and ninemonths behind bars for firinga laser at a local sheriff’shelicopter. Barry Bowser – realname, we promise – is thelatest person in the States tobe charged on laser-relatedcases such as this one andhis two-day trial eventuallyled to the conviction. Bowserfired his laser from a propertyas a test, according to him,and he stupidly aimed it atthe helicopter which wassupporting officers on theground at the time. As ittemporarily blinded thepilot, this was a potentiallydangerous affair.

Facial Tech For Paying?Payment processing firmWorldpay has said that it’sdeveloping a chip-and-pinterminal that also takes intoaccount facial recognitiontechnology. It’s at prototype-stage at this point and theidea is that it will snap thecustomer’s face to verify ID ontransactions in an attempt totackle identity fraud. As wesay, it is only a prototype atthis stage so there is nothingto get too worried or excitedabout here just yet, although ifthe idea of having your photostored on a central databasebothers you then this is hardlysomething to jump up anddown over.

36 Issue 1384

Google BreathesNew Life IntoOld Hi-fi

The world and itsdog is now grippedin wireless audioheaven with digital

music services and streamingdevices having taken overfrom the good old-fashionedhi-fi of yesteryear.

Google hasn’t forgottenabout the past though and it’sannounced the ChromecastAudio dongle, a £30 device thatwill allow users to stream audiovia amps and speakers over

wi-fi. Connectable via a standard3.5m audio jack, optical orRCA cables, the dongle thenstreams audio from Spotifyand other apps (includingTuneIn Radio, for example)from Android and iOS devicesor from a Chrome browser.

This is potentially a bit ofa headache for the swatheof wireless speakers thathave become ever-presenton people’s wishlists as thischeap-as-chips option takes

the financial pain out ofgoing down that route. Thestreaming quality will dependon your connection of course,and it won’t have supportfor streaming audio acrossmultiple speakers at thesame time – not yet, anyway,although that’s likely to comesome time next year.

Game-changer? Possibly. Atthe very least it’s certainly asignificant development in theaudio space.

W e don’t typically cover affairsof the heart at Micro Mart butwe’ll make an exception thistime round as this is news of a

proposal with a technological element.An employee over at Valve Software, the

official SteamVR partner of the HTC ViveVR headset, decided to go where absolutelyno-one had gone before – proposing to hisgirlfriend within a virtual reality space. Thebig event happened in a Vive testing roomat Valve’s US headquarters where she hadgone under the assumption that she wasgoing to be testing some SteamVR demos.

She wrote on her Facebook feed: “So thereI was, typical day... on a sunken ship deck;fixing robots; painting three-dimensional fire;walking through the Alps. Suddenly, a virtualengagement ring started floating my way.”

Smooth. Although, when you considerthat the actual proposal took place with herboyfriend holding a trackable wand controllerwhile she wore a huge Vive headset and it allrather makes you hark back to simpler timeswhen people gazed longingly into each other’seyes to ask if they would marry them. Anyway,she said yes so that’s all good.

In other VR headset news…

Dongle costs just £30

QUICK BITS... Twitterʼs co-founder Jack Dorsey is now the companyʼs new chief executive for the

Couple Get Engaged…Over VRHeadsetValve proposal goes rather well

Issue 1384 37

VodafoneBoost PubSignals

Video Clip CaseThrown Out Of Court

A s part of its newRural CommunityProgramme,Vodaphone has

begun a pilot that will seefour village pubs in Norfolkand Wales benefit from anenhanced 3G signal.

The improvments will beprovided by using ‘femtocell’signal boosting stations,with each location gettinga dedicated box to facilitatethis. Vodafone has used thepubs because it says theyare the “nerve centre ofthe village”. Of course, it

also makes for a good story,giving Vodafone’s chieftechnology officer JorgeFernandes the chance to saysuch pun-tastic phrases as“we want to call time on nomobile coverage, not havetime called on the pub andvillage life”. Urgh.

The Oculus Riftheadset is goingto cost over $350,according to quotes

attributed to companyfounder Palmer Luckey. Ifcorrect, that correlates withthe upper end of estimatespredicting what the headsetwould cost at retail.

Apparently, Luckey gavethe game away during theOculus Connect conference,when he responded to aquestion asking whether theprice would be in line withits $350 developer kits and

he duly responded “We’reroughly in that ballpark.”

Reportedly, the firm isn’tespecially bothered about alower price point as it doesn’twant to compromise onquality in its custom hardware.

A merican sports are a very different beast to thepasstimes we enjoy here in the UK. We wouldn’tsay that they were worth sleeping through, though.When US sports broadcaster ESPN spotted a New York

Yankees fan snoozing during a game last July, the commentatorhad a field day making fun of him.

Then the clip went viral, amassing well over 1.5m views onYouTube, and the dozing chap decided enough was enough. He

opened up a $10m lawsuit against the broadcaster on the grounds ofdefamation of character as he claimed that the airing and distributionof the YouTube clip had caused him a great degree of mental anguish.Last month, though, the judge threw the case right out of courtstating that no action could be taken against ESPN for the comments.

Public shaming is never a good thing, and we actually feelrather sorry for the chap involved in this, however unintentionalany distress may have been.

More than $350, reports say...

Lawsuit against ESPN dismissed by judge

second time in his career

OculusRift Won’tBe Cheap

No excuse when the other half calls now

38 Issue 1384

A fter covering the XFXR7 260 Core Edition, Iwas hoping that thenext rung up on the

GPU ladder would containsomething more exciting.

The XFX R7 370 2gb DoubleDissipation Black Edition is XFX’spre-overclocked offering, andcosts about £30 more than theR7 360. For that extra dosh younot only get a bigger dual fancooler, but also the GPU core hasmore shaders, TMUs, ROPs, andcritically a 256-bit memory buswith bags more bandwidth.

And being the Black Edition,this one has also been factorytweaked with an extra 75MHz onthe GPU clock, now 1040MHz,and 50MHz on the baselineGDDR5 clock, giving the quadpumped equivalent of 5800MHz.

DETAILS• Price: £119.99(Ebuyer)• Manufacturer: XFX• Website: xfxforce.com• Requirements: PCIe3.0 x16 slot, PCIe six-pinpower line, Windows XPor later

Therefore, for just another £30you get almost a 50% bumpin GPU power over the R7 360,making this a better value option.

Most of this extra gruntcomes from the extra memorybandwidth rather than the clockspeeds or shaders, and thistranslates well for those wishingto run games at resolutions above1080p or multiple panels usingEyefinity mode.

The card supports four displaysfrom the available outputs,though the lack of HDMI 2.0

does mean you'll only get 4K at60Hz through DisplayPort.

However, there are a fewmore important skeletons in thiscloset that I’m duty-bound topull out and parade, in much thefashion as I’ve done with R7 360series cards.

Like that card, or specificallyall R7 360 cards, this one is builton a rebadged GPU – one thatwent by the name Pitcairn Pro,before it was the Curaçao Pro,and is-now calling itself TrinidadPro, but has an identically sized

XFX releases another 300 series card that uses much older technology

die with the same number oftransistors fabricated at theidentical 28nm scale process.

That GPU’s origins are theOEM Radeon HD 7850 thatappeared in 2012, when itsupported DX 11.2. These days,it’s sold as DX12 compliant,but that’s DX12 (11_1) and notDX12 (12_1) as delivered byAMD cards that support GCN1.1 and 1.2.

Being only GCN 1.0, it alsodoesn’t support TrueAudio,though it supports the Mantleand Vulkan APIs, should you beinterested in those.

I’m mentioning this becauseI think it’s important that youunderstand what you’re buyingisn’t the cutting edge of AMDvideo technology. However, I'llalso point out that this is stilldecent video technology that'sfine for general gaming.

What the benchmarkingreveals are numbers that are verymuch in line to what I wouldhave expected from an R7 270last year, and ironically 3DMark

XFX R7 370 2gb Double

Dissipation Black Edition

REVIEWS

Benchmark Performance On 3DMarkXFX R7 370BlackEdition

XFX R7 360CoreEdition

VTX3D

R9 285Cost £119.99 £88.03 £129.99

3DMark FireStrike

Performance 5521 3759 7329

Extreme 2664 1774 3626

Sky Diver 17993 13854 22193

Cloud Gate 23207 18878 25459

Ice Storm Extreme 136166 125379 138885

Normal 146736 144651 146869

Tests performed Asus Sabertooth X79, Core i7-3960X CPU, 16GB DDR3 quad-channel memory, CrucialMX100 SSD, running Windows 10 Build 10547.

Issue 1384 39

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kept on identifying this one as itspredecessor when I ran its tests.

What’s also important torealise is that pre-overclockedcards also have less headroom foruser tweaking, as this technologyis going about as fast as it’s everlikely to in this configuration.

On a more positive note, thepower demands of this layoutallows it to operate with only asingle PCIe six-pin power line,because everything above thisfrom AMD needs two or at leasta single eight-pin. Being able to

benchmarks demonstrate areanother 40% quicker thanthe plucky R7 370 series. Andconfusingly, they’re also fully GCN1.2 compliant, even though theylaunched over a year ago.

The bottom line on this cardis that if you wanted to buy anR7 270 last year but didn’t, thenyou needn’t worry that they’redisappearing from the shelves.

What concerns me is thatthere appears to be an expandinghole in the AMD range betweencards like this one and the Furyseries, which is being filled byolder R9 stock.

However this is fixed, I justhope for AMD and XFX’s sakethat this GPU and memory

combination doesn’t return nextyear as the R7 470.mm Mark Pickavance

A nice card butultimately rehashed GPUtechnology

87

Quality

Value77Overall

swap video card without havingto consider a PSU upgradeis always a good thing. Thisspecification should work with a500W PSU, covering the majorityof PCs built for gaming.

The big issue for the XFXR7 370 Black Edition isn’t thecheaper cards below it, but thelarge number of more powerfulones sat in the channel just aboveits cost.

There's a dearth of R9 285cards that can be found fora tenner more, which my

40 Issue 1384

Everyone has a laptop sizethey’re most comfortablewith that depends on ifthey need to carry it

places and what exactly they dowith theirs.

However, the choices havebeen rather clouded in recentyears by small 13" or 14"systems that had very high-resolution displays. You end upscaling the interface to makethe system usable, essentiallysacrificing the resolutionfor usability.

The alternative, as envisagedby Dell, is the Inspiron 17 5000series. For a machine that isn’tvery expensive or dusted withUltrabook magic dust, I’ll sayfrom the outset this is a pleasingcomputer to use.

The texturing of the silverplastic outer shell gives you

DETAILS• Price: Starting from£379. Reviewed: £649• Manufacturer: Dell• Website:www.dell.com/uk• Model No.Inspiron 17-5758

confidence that you won’tdrop it, and when you open itup, there's a lovely rubberisedfinished surrounding the amplysized keyboard and trackpad.

Mounting a 17” panel,there's plenty of room inopposing parts of the system,and Dell has generally used itwell. Therefore, there are nosilly ports along the rear edgeluring you to break them anddamage their associated cables.And the side placement of portsmakes them easily accessible, aswell as being logical for whatsort of things you’re likely toplug into them.

The review model was a high-end 5758 spec 5000 series, andit comes with a Core i7 CPU,Nvidia GPU, plenty of RAM anda 1TB drive.

But the standout featurehere is the 17.3" LED backlitdisplay, where you can usethe native 1080p resolutionwithout resorting to scaling or amagnifying glass.

Mark enjoys the full resolution potential of Dell’s new 5000 series laptop

At this price, it isn’t touch, andthe TN technology used doesn’thave great viewing angles, but it’scrisp, bright and the colours arewell saturated.

The model above this onedoes have touch for those thatlike want to use that featurewith Windows 10, and for thoselooking to save money, thecheaper versions have a 1600 x900 panel instead.

Unless you’re looking forextended battery life or have avery limited budget, this is thespec you want, where you get acombination of a powerful CPUand high-resolution screen.

The computing power inhere is substantial. Featuring afifth-generation Core i7-5500U(4M cache, up to 3GHz) and8GB of DDR3L RAM, things runalong nicely. However, a mildly

SpecificationsCPU: Intel Core i7-5500U (4M cache, up to 3GHz).RAM: 8GB (1x 8192MB) DDR3L, 1600MHz.GPU: NVIDIA GeForce 920M (4GB DDR3).HDD/SSD: 1TB HDD (5400 rpm).Display: 17.3" full HD (1920×1080) resolution TN panel,glossy.Optical Drive: DVD optical drive.Connectivity: Wi-fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 4.0.USB: 2x USB 2.0, 1x USB 3.0.Ports: HDMI, 10/100 Ethernet, SD, SDHC, SDXC cardreader, 3.5mm combo headphone/microphone audiojack.Battery: 40WHr, four-cell lithium-Ion.Thickness: 27mm.Weight: 2.83kg

Dell Inspiron 17 5000 Series

Issue 1384 41

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confusing choice is the inclusionof a low-end Nvidia GPU to sitalongside the one that Intelincluded inside the Core i7.

This addition suggests thatthere might be game potentialhere, though the GeForce 920Misn’t remotely that sort of GPU.Benchmarks reveal that it'sonly marginally quicker thatthe built-in Intel HD 5500 anduses more watts to achieve thatspeed advantage.

There may be somemultimedia power efficiencyto be gained here, but as agaming platform, don’t expectto be using 1080p resolution

I’ve only one real gripe aboutthis machine, and that’s lack ofupgradability. Dell very kindlyprovided a massive access panelon the base that allows accessto some of the internals. Usingthis, you can get to the 1TBhard drive and the SoDIMMmemory slots easily. However,I was expecting to at least seea M.2 SATA port, allowing aneat SSD upgrade to boost thismachine's performance, butthere isn’t one. Yes, you couldjust swap out the internal drivefor an SSD, but a dual drive iswhat users really want.

That point aside, this is a verylikable system that delivers exactlywhat many want in clean anduncluttered design. I’m not surewhat the GeForce 920M adds,but almost everything else in here

contributes to a very positive userexperience.

Dell is getting much better atthese types of system, and Asus,Acer and Toshiba should certainlytake note. mm Mark Pickavance

Big screen, big processorand decent battery life

78

Quality

Value77Overall

with details settings above theirlowest level.

Where this machine shinesmore brightly is in respectof general work duties andalso as a media system. UsingPCMark08 Home 3.0 test, thesystem scored 3016, a solidresult, and it also managed tolast over 3.5 hours using thesame test to completely drainthe battery.

In less challenging use, youshould get more than five hoursout of a charge and more thanfour hours of video playback.For any system with a Core i7CPU that's impressive mileage.

42 Issue 1384

Armello

A rmello first gainedattention thanks to asuccessful andenthusiastic Kickstarter

campaign in April last year. Bythat point, League of Geeks hadalready been working on the titlefor some three years. This makestwo things obvious: first, thegame is hardly big budget, andsecond it’s a bit of a labour oflove. Indeed, League of Geekshas opted for smooth executionand the subtle capturing ofimaginations, typical of a growingfavourite rather than an instanthit. With a good communityreception, success is still yet to beproven, but the game’s intriguingposition is winning players over.

Armello is a role-playing,tabletop, multiplayer title. Thesedon’t come around often, andit’s been likened to a Game ofThrones plot in its ‘race to rule’mentality. Yet it’s a race carriedout by four animals more akin tothe IP’s ‘banner sigils’ thanGeorge RR Martins’s characters.Single player, skirmish or a yet-to-be activated ‘ranked’ gamesare the options, and your aim isto triumph or else lose. In theland of Armello, the king, a lion,is mad and suffering from Rot.Rot corrupts and reduces hishealth daily, and you have ninedays (two turns a day) todethrone him.

Wolf, rabbit, bear and rat(male or female) are the

characters scouring ahoneycombed, isometric field toclaim victory. Mountains,swamps, dungeons, stone circles,forests, grass lands andsettlements make up the playingfield kingdom. Each can help orhinder your route to victory, andthis can be achieved throughprestige (deeds), the collection of‘spirit stones’ or gaining Rot.

Individual games areprocedurally generated, so themap may mean a personalhandicap at the start (swampsinjure, mountains cost two actionpoints). Players begin in their ‘clanlands’ and have three actionpoints per turn. Each turn, youdraw cards from Item, Spell andTrick decks. The number of drawsdepends on the number of cardsin-hand and your character’s own‘wit score’. More wit means morecards, but cards require gold ormagic to play.

Aside from wit, gold andmagic, you’ll also need to keepan eye on your body, feel,prestige, spirit and Rot stats.These, of course, are influencedby clan and character traits,items, cards and game events.Don’t be fooled; you’ll bescrutinising yours and the stats ofother players ever more closely asgames draw on.

The interplay of these statisticsmakes for a beguiling and tactical

affair, enough to keep drawingyou back in an attempt to masterevery machination. It’s tricky,though: if you have one Rotpoint, you’ll lose one health pointeach day. You can remove Rotwith a spell card, but if you’velittle magic, then you may bestuck looking for stone circlestiles, which offer small healthboosts. In Armello, you can ratherquickly find yourself roaming themap, ailing and poor or stridingaround, with spells and magicaplenty, gold, prestige and battleitems the envy of all. Thingschange quickly, though.

The King’s own guard roamthe map, and bounties canchange the game dynamicdramatically, as can ‘banes’, beastof the Rot, which spawn whensummoned either willingly or byaccident. Kill a bane and you gainprestige. Kill a guard, even in self-defence, and your prestige willsuffer. If you die by any means,your prestige takes a hit.Therefore, a leading player whotakes their eyes off the boardmight be defeated by plottingenemies, be poisoned, and intrying to regain contention,become magic-less and gold-less.Alliances can be made just aseasily as they are broken, andtrust is worthless.

You’d be right to think all ofthis leads to an intriguing but

Kevin Pocock rolls his die and turns up a spirited find

increasingly frantic attempt to getahead of your opponents. Do youprioritise prestige and entry to thepalace through deeds? Do youcollect four spirit stones to banishthe king? Or do you prioritisegold, equipping items andengaging in dice-driven battleswith other characters? Someplayers employ stealth, cunningand avoidance, but whatever youchoose, it’s valid if it works.

Ultimately, Armello is enjoyableand addictive enough to gainwell-earned support. After all, ithas 6,213 Kickstarter backerswho helped raise $305,360Australian dollars at a mediancost of $49 each. That’s no smallfeat and indicates clear faith. Inreturn, League of Geeks hasproduced a tactical and tricky title– one that should also be praisedfor striking art and animation,delightfully atmospheric musicand accessibility. Armello is trickyand infuriating. True since launch,the latter is more due to technicalproblems and disconnections(thankfully acknowledged, and ashrinking issue), but it’s fun andequally rewarding for all ages.Additional items unlock throughallegiance to a clan and repeatplays are enjoyable.

At £13, Armello is a solid buy,and upcoming developmentsmean it can only get better.mm Kevin Pocock

A Kickstarter king-makerand a fun one at that

78

Quality

Value77Overall

Just some of the tricks you can play on opponents

DETAILS• Price: £14.99• Website:www.armello.com• Developer:League of Geeks• Requirements:Dual-core 2GHz CPU,2GB RAM, DirectX 10,4GB free disk space,Windows 7 or later, aSteam account

Issue 1384 43

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Pinnacle Studio 19 Ultimate

If you’ve ever dabbled invideo editing, you’ll certainlyhave heard of Pinnacle’sVideo Studio, which is now

in its 19th edition. Recentlyupdated, the program isavailable in three versions,Studio, Studio Plus and StudioUltimate. This review covers theUltimate edition, which is themost expensive but, as youmight expect, has the mostfeatures and comes with bagsmore content. In fact, it hasmore content than any othereditor I’ve ever seen. To giveyou some idea, you have over1,500 transitions to choosefrom. These include the usualwipes, fades and dissolves, yetincludes things like rotating,collapsing boxes and two clipschanging place while rotatingaround a planet (I kid you not!).Then there’s an equallycomprehensive range of videoeffects which, like thetransitions, can be previewed byclicking on them. Finally, youget a huge collection of audioclips, covering every soundeffect you could wish for,together with a brilliantselection of background music.This is also more than it seems,because each audio track canbe changed almost infinitely inthe ScoreFitter. As the nameimplies, it’s a utility to subtlyalter the base track in terms ofits tempo and genre. You canalso stretch the audio file to fit

DETAILS• Price: £ 99.95• Manufacturer:Pinnacle• Website:www.pinnaclesys.com• Requirements:Dual-core 1.8GHz CPU,Windows 7 or later, 4GBRAM, 8GB disk space

your production, and in a fewseconds scorefitter will render itautomatically for you. This reallyis a massive collection, but likeall digital effects they should beused with some restraint.

This latest version of PVS isnothing like the last one Ilooked at. The new interface istypical of modern video editors,with a timeline along thebottom of the screen, below aproject bin and preview monitor.Clicking the tabs along the topof the project bin reveals thetransitions, effects, titles andother content. (Incidentallythese are not fixed tabs; youcan add or remove them to suityour current project.)

To assemble your video, yousimply drag and drop the filesonto the timeline, adding titles,transitions, effects and audio in

the same way. Once in position,you can edit them in terms oflength and content. In the caseof titles, there's a morecomprehensive editor to changeeverything from the font to thetext style and colour – even theway the letters will animate onthe screen.

After completing yourprojects, you’ll naturally want tosave them in a suitable format;here again there’s a wide rangeto chose from. The MyDVD DiskMenu includes a selection ofmenu templates covering DVD,Blu-ray and AVCHD, with outputformats up to 4K. It also providesa range of format types to suitthe final playback device.

Finally, for those who's arealready familiar with PVS, what’snew in this version? Well, mylast paragraph was a bit of a

A trio of new/upgraded video editing solutions from Pinnacle

clue, because the program cannow handle 4K video files.Naturally, you’ll need a systemthat can cope with theincreased file sizes, but I guess ifyou’re into video editing, that’sa given anyway. In my opinion,one of the most importantadditions is the move to 64-bitarchitecture; the performanceincrease on display isoutstanding. Other additionsinclude multi-camera editing, soyou can edit footage from twodifferent cameras while keepingthe clips aligned and audiosynced. On top of that, you canmulti-layer using up to six audioand video tracks.

Pinnacle obviously thought allthe content I mentioned earlierwasn’t enough, so it's added a30-day, all-access pass toStudioBacklot.tv, featuringbrand-new Pinnacle Studio 19content and loads of VideoStudio training. Incidentally, thisisn't the usual mediocregiveaway stuff you get withsome products; we’re talkingtop-quality training and filesthat are well worth having.

That's not a deal we'd easilyturn down. mm Joe Lavery

Simple to use andfantastic value for money

99

Quality

Value99Overall

A very simple drag and drop interface

The title editor is comprehensive

44 Issue 1384

Further additions includea commercial zone ‘tourism’specialisation, in whichhotels and other attractionswill spring up into the sky,towering above residentialstreets and the local drugstore. And should your citizensor tourists need help gettingto such places, a new taxitransport option can be calledon to add more strife to yourroad-planning rudimentals.

What ‘opens the box’ a littlehere is the addition of aninternational airport as well aswaterside leisure activities, like agood old fishing tour or marina.However, as with the otheradditions in After Dark, thesefail to add an extra engagingdynamic to change the way yougo about things. This is the realshame. Yes, the game mechanicdoes lead you towards thehappy balance that issuccessfully nurturing a growingcity, but the lack of drama orchange offers little extra to getexcited about.

Having said that, Cities:Skylines has a healthycommunity, plenty of mods andcharm enough to lure you backfor one final tweak of your busroutes. And in adding to that, Isuppose After Dark succeeds, ifnot in any fantastic fashion.mm Kevin Pocock

A fter Dark is the firstofficial add-on toColossal Order’s citysim, a game which

leap-frogged the troubled SimCity. Cities: Skylines brought asolid and enjoyable experienceto all those who delight inorder, productivity and happycitizens. So what does AfterDark add to it?

The main giveaway is in thename. ‘Day and night cycles’ arethe headline feature – or rathernight cycles that mix up thepermanent daylight. Anyhow,the inverted commas are therebecause the cycle isn’t exactlydaily. In Cities: Skylines, days goby in a blink, so rather thanchange the mechanic, we’vebeen given around a month ofnight and then of day.

Ignoring this quirk of thein-game star system (and yourcitizens daily lives), the changefrom day to night brings withit an attractive aesthetic. Streetlamps, commercial buildings,bridges and wind farmsilluminate as residents go tosleep. Residential areas quietenas life moves elsewhere.

Other things change atnight too – the rate of crimefor one, although if youhave a pretty safe city thenyou likely won't notice this abit. Certain ‘leisure’ facilitiessee an upturn in trade (the

A solid update, if lackingexcitement

76

Quality

Value66Overall

Cities: Skylines – After Dark

DETAILS• Price: £9.85• Developer: ColossalOrder• Website: www.citiesskylines.com• Requirements: IntelCore i5 3470, 6GBRAM, 1GB disk space,Radeon HD 7870 orequivalent, WindowsVista or later

How does a city look after dark? Okay, I guess…

Colossal Order has missed atrick here, and that’s a shame.

Safe too with the nightcycle is your mains power grid– that is, unless you load asaved game that incorporatesnothing but solar power.That’ll need adjusting, or youcan watch your city plungeinto darkness during themonth of dark every cycle ofthe moon. Oops!

new nightclubs and bowlingalleys, for example), althoughdisappointingly this doesn’tseem to strain your city’s policeforce either. Fights, propertytheft/destruction and somesocial unrest are definitely notto be encouraged, of course.Yet it’s certainly something I’dexpect to see more of afterdark. But no, once your cityis safe, it’s pretty much safe.

Issue 1384 45

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Reviews

Developed by SamsungTechwin, a part of theSamsung family, theSmartCam HD is a

single wi-fi camera solution fordelivering a 1080p live videostream of activity from a locationwithin the home. Along with thecamera unit, which can be free-standing or wall-mounted, thiskit consists of a power lead withtwo- and three-pin adapterplugs, Ethernet cable, mountingscrews and rawl plugs. You'llneed to download a free appfrom the iOS App Store orGoogle Play for setting up andcontrolling the live feed from thecamera with a smartphone.

The camera features a built-in microphone, speaker outletand a micro-SD card slot,which provides storage forany captured content. Whilereasonably well made, thecamera is rather lightweight,and I found it had a tendencyto topple over in free-standingmode, until I placed a weighton the stand to alleviate thisproblem. This is a design issuethat needs to be resolved.

Using the app, you'll need tocreate a free account in orderfor the camera to function.This account will require theentry of a user ID, a password,plus your name and emailaddress. Once the accounthas been registered, you'll beled through the setting up ofa link between the Samsungdevice and a home network,either via the supplied Ethernet

detection sensitivity, plus createa link to a Google account inorder to receive email alerts ofpossible activity.

When viewing the livestreaming feed from the cameraon a smartphone, you havethe option of landscape orportrait orientation. Personally, Ipreferred landscape orientationrather than the letterbox viewoffered with portrait mode.Video clips and still images canbe captured and stored on an SDcard. A two-way talk feature canbe used to communicate withwhoever is in the vicinity of thecamera, while soothing musiccan be played if the camera isbeing used as a baby monitor.Other options allow you toadjust brightness and opt for the

highest video setting of 1080pif your smartphone can handlesuch quality.

All in all, the SamsungTechwin SmartCam HD unitis easy to set up and deliversreasonable video quality,without necessarily matchingthe definition delivered by somecompetiting products. However,you do get a wide range offeatures that provide a greaterfunctionality, which could be thedeciding factor for some.mm Michael Fereday

cable or wi-fi. In the case of thewi-fi link, my chosen route, theprocess took approximately threeminutes, with an on-screen clockproviding a countdown.

With a link established,you can give the camera anappropriate name, such as itslocation, and add a protectivepassword. The SmartCamapp gives you the option ofadjusting various settingscategorised as General,Network, Time, Event andSD Card. Depending on theparticular category, you canadjust the volume levels for thespeaker outlet and microphone,turn on the night vision feature,switch to another LAN, selectfrom different time zones,adjust the motion and audio

DETAILS• Price: £84.94 fromAmazon.co.uk• Manufacturer:Samsung Techwin• Website: www.samsungtechwin.com• Requirements: n.a.

Michael continues to monitor home activity when he's out and about

Plenty of featuresbut requires stabilityassistance

Samsung SmartCam HD

77

Quality

Value66Overall

The SmartCam HD has

a tendency to topple over in

free-standing mode

46 Issue 1384

DETAILS• Price: £53• Manufacturer:Aerocool• Website:goo.gl/hGHNWg• Requirements:micro-ATXmotherboard, PSU

This micro-ATX case hasmany alluring features,not just for discerning PCcooling enthusiasts, but

also for those who fancy havingtheir hardware fitted into a casewith a little more style than usual.For starters, it comes in a rangeof colours: blue, green, black,white and red (the model wehave for review here). The finishfeatures extraordinary leather-coated front and top panels,with smooth matte-black sides oran optional acrylic window. Theleather exterior offers a far morepleasant look to the case, withthe black-and-red theme pairingespecially well, while keepingit generally scratch-proof andadding, in some small way, to thenoise filtering.

The front comes equippedwith a single 5.25” drive bay witha single 3.5" bay beneath, bothof which have the leathery fascia

motherboard lies horizontallyacross a raised section formaximum airflow when fittedand to allow 190mm of CPUcooler clearance and full-sizedgraphics card. The PSU is fitted atthe very bottom of the case, withthe exhaust fan aiming downthrough an included dust filterand out through the raised andcurved bottom of the chassis.

The drive bays are tool-lesswith rubber mounts, and leadingcables can be passed through aseries of slots designed to keepeverything tidy and to improvethe internal airflow. The slots arereally well machined, withrounded edges to protect boththe cables and your fingers.Finally, the rear houses a pair ofrubber-encased holes for anoptional water cooling setup,below which is a shielded, singlePCI bracket that will keepeverything in its place.

The Aerocool Dead Silence RedEdition Cube is a neat, stylish andvery functional case.

and can easily be popped out ofthe case mounts with the clips oneither side. To either side of theleather front panel there are apair of indented sections thatprovide ventilation access to thelarge 200mm/500rpm fanattached to the interior front ofthe case, drawing the air throughand over the internal componentsto be dealt with by the rear,internally mounted 120mmexhaust fan.

The top of the case has a lotgoing on. There’s a large centralpanel that can be removed infavour of an included meshedcover for greater airflow, whichunderneath would sit a set ofoptional fans. The central panelis easily removed with a slidinglatch, and a new panel can bepopped into place in a matter ofseconds, should you ever needto. Along the edges of the topcentral panel are the power,reset, headphone and mic ports,and on the opposite side arefour USB ports, two USB 2.0 andtwo USB 3.0. It’s worth noting aswell that the indented ventilationsection also runs along the topof the case, as it does on thefront panel.

Everything inside the case isrubberised to reduce vibrationsand noise levels, and the

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The humble PC casehas come a long waysince those beige boxesof the past. These days,you’d be hard pressedto find one that doesn’tlook futuristic andutterly amazing. DavidHayward takes sixdifferent cases andsees which have what ittakes to make it to yourdesktop, with the bestcombination of styleand functionality.

PC Cases

PC Cases

Aerocool Dead Silence Red Edition Cube Case

The rather magnificent looking Aerocool Dead SilenceCube, with its leathery red exterior The interior is spacious and well-managed too

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140mm fan, with a further120mm side-mounted fan andallocated space for anadditional rear-mounted 80mmfan. There’s also space setaside for radiator mountlocations, both on the frontand the side, and the H55,

This is designed as a mini-ITX case for gaming, though,and with that in mind you’llfind enough room inside for asingle 5.25" optical drive, two2.5" drives and two 3.5/2.5"drive combos. The caseincludes a front-mounted large

DETAILS• Price: £70• Manufacturer: Corsair• Website:goo.gl/uawBUP• Requirements: mini-ITXmotherboard, full sizedATX PSU capable

This is Corsair’s firstleap into the mini-ITX case market andone that spent its fair

share of time in the limelightat CES 2014 amid the fawningattentions of technologyjournalists the world over. It'scertainly unique, though itdivides opinion on whether it’svisually appealing or downrightugly. Beauty is in the eye of thebeholder, though, and despitelooking a bit like a small fridge,there are some decent designincentives to this case.

It measures 290 x 277 x351mm and weighs 4.42kg,which makes it a little too bigto be completely classed asmini-ITX (but still well withinthe realms of a living room PC).

It’s a fairly striking design,mind you, one that you’ll notforget in a hurry. The black,anodised brushed-metal finish,together with top-fittedwindow, side-fitted grilles andthe design of the sides, whichsweep down to form the largefeet, is quite appealing .

The front panel is keptextremely simple, with just apair of USB 3.0 ports, joined bythe pair of HD audio ports onthe right-hand side of theoptical drive and the powerand reset buttons inhabitingthe opposite side, the upper-left corner. This makes the casefeel more minimal, and due tothe brushed-metal finishcontinuing over the buttonsand port mounts, there’s agood sense of style.

H60 and H100i Corsair liquidcoolers are fully supported. Afull-sized PSU and full-sizedgraphics card can be fittedwith relative ease, and theinterior is arranged so that thefront mounted 140mm fan willdraw cool air over yourgraphics card with more thanenough clearance for largerCPU cooling solutions.

Opening the case is easyenough and requires aminimum of fuss. One featurewe did like is the fact that theentire case can be dismantleddown to the barebonesstructure for easy access. Thismeans you can better managecomponent and cable placingthan with most other ITX cases.

In essence, all this meansyou can have a relativelypowerful PC or instead opt foran ultra-mini gaming system,without sacrificing the overallstyle of the PC. In other words,you could comfortably havethis as a living room media andgaming PC without it actuallylooking too much like a mediaor gaming PC.

The only downside we foundwas the noise. While it wasn’ttoo overbearing, the fans didkick out a fair amount of noisewhen the case was placednearer than was ideal. It's stillan impressive, if odd-looking,mini-ITX case, though.

Corsair Obsidian 250D

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Not a mini-fridge, but rather the Corsair Obsidian 250D

Considering its size, there’s plenty of room inside

48 Issue 1384

BitFenix produces awealth of cases forall form factors thatincorporate both style

and functionality. The Prodigyrange, (Prodigy M for ATXand Prodigy for mini-ITX) areparticularly eye-catching andvery reminiscent of Apple casedesigns. In this instance, wehad the mini-ITX Prodigy casefor review, available in a rangeof colours, from black andwhite through orange, red,blue and green, all of whichlook good.

The case itself is a littlebigger than a standard ITXcube, because BitFenix addedtwo sets of flexible, but verysturdy, feet and handles.Both sets are made from acomposite technology thatBitFenix refers to as FyberFlex,and they absorb shock, reducevibration and allow you carrythe case around. They're veryflexible and allow you to pushand pull the case around withsome degree of force withoutfear of breaking anything.However, they do make thecase wobble slightly, and if youplace it on a desk, you’ll soonbegin to notice movementwhen you’re wildly hammeringaway on the keyboard.

The designs do differ slightlydependent on your colourchoice: the black Prodigy isactually a mesh-fronted case,which increases the airflowsignificantly by provided alarge area through which itcan expel or intake air. Other

cooling and a front pair of USB3.0 and HD audio ports.

We really liked the BitFenixProdigy, especially since thereview version was a decidedlyimpressive Ferrari red. Theexterior design of the caselooks fantastic, the interiordesign is extremely wellconstructed, and the overallfeeling is one of quality andengineered perfection. Okay, soit’s a little bigger than most ofthe ITX cases available, and theFyberFlex feet make it wobblea bit if you touch the case, butthese are only slight nigglesthat are easily overlookedwhen compared to the overallproduct, which is splendid.

DETAILS• Price: £60• Manufacturer:BitFenix• Website:goo.gl/McIlnb• Requirements: mini-ITXmotherboard, PSU

BitFenix ProdigyPC Cases

colours, however, use plasticcovers that restrict the airflow.The coloured plastic caseslook better, for our money,but if your main concern isventilation, then the blackversion may be preferable.

The Prodigy’s dimensionsare 250 x 404 x 359mm,

with it weighing a not tooconsiderable 7kg. There’s roominside for a single removable5.25" optical drive, five 3.5"drives and nine 2.5" drives,although not all at the sametime. The case comes with twolarge 120mm fans: one at thefront with room for anotherand one at the rear of the case,which can be swapped outfor an even larger 140mm fanshould you wish. There’s alsoenough room for a couple of

120mm fans in the top of thecase as well.

The internal structureis very well organised anddesigned, with plenty ofroom to accommodate thevarious components beyondthe motherboard. Thismeans there’s also enough

internal space for better cablemanagement and airflow. Andto add to the internal design,BitFenix provides a removablePSU cage for easy swappingout – provided you’re using amodular PSU design, of course.

Added benefits of theBitFenix Prodigy also includethe ability to fit full-sizedexpansion cards, just enoughspace for advanced cooling,plenty of motherboardclearance for high-end CPU

The overall feeling is one

of quality and engineered

perfection

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Although it does wobble a bit, the BitFenix Prodigy is asplendid ITX case

There’s a surprising amount of room inside

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I f it’s an eye-catching designwith sleek lines and animpressive looking LED litinterior you’re after in your

PC case, then NZXT has theanswer for you in the formof the Phantom 410. This isa mid-tower chassis that hasall the stylings of a StealthFighter. It’s lean, with angledsections across the front andover the top of the case –not quite centre, but slightlyoff and sweeping over awindowed section on the top,while moving to the oppositeside toward the bottom wherea mesh air intake sits.

The Phantom comes ina variety of colours: white,black, red, white with bluestripes 9which we have forreview here), black withorange stripes, gunmetal, andblack with white stripes. It mayseem like a crazy collection ofhues, but they work extremelywell and lend the case either amore futuristic look or that ofan armoured vehicle.

It measures a satisfyinglylarge 215 x 516 x 532mm andweighs 9kg. Inside you’ll findthree 5.25" drive bays andsix 3.5" drive bay slots, all ofwhich are tool-less and set outin a rail design for easy accessand removal.

Cooling is an importantfactor with the NZXT Phantom,since it seeks the allegianceof gamers. The included fanscomprise of a front 120mmunit, rear 120mm and a singletop 140mm fan. However, you

a section to the base wherethe PSU is fitted. Likewise,the underside of the case hasa mesh dust cover over thePSU fan and further meshsections for cooling and theaforementioned fan. What'smore, the entire case sits on aset of rubber feet to cut outnoise and vibration.

The only downside to thisrather set of features is thefairly weak front door, whichpops out and swings tothe left to reveal the 5.25"drive bays. While it's okay,it does feel a little flimsyconsidering the level ofquality throughout the rest ofthe case. However, in this dayand age, how often do weaccess the optical drive?

There are plenty of sectionsalong the inner rims of thecase to fit an LED strip, andthe windowed areas providea good level of viewing forthe light show some systembuilders insist on fitting. There'sthe potential here for a prettyspectacular looking case and, aswe said, the quality of the NZXTPhantom 410 is astounding.It has been machined to nearperfection, and regardless ofthe colour scheme, the caselooks truly wonderful. Certainlyone to consider come the nextcase upgrade.

DETAILS• Price: £70• Manufacturer: NZXT• Website:goo.gl/9LiQ9Z• Requirements:ATX motherboard orsmaller, PSU

NZXT Phantom 410

can optionally install a pairof 120mm fans at the front,another 120mm fan to theside, two 140mm fans alongthe top and finally anothersingle 120mm fan on thebottom of the case. Thesecan swapped out for single140mm fans if needed.

There are some pretty neatfeatures in the Phantom. For

one, the right-hand panelhouses easy access to the3.5" drive bays, rubberisedcable holes, loads of cabletie areas and a large cut-out section for the customcooling solution. The rearof the chassis offers sevenexpansion slots, a couple ofgrommets for passing a watercooling solution through and

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The NZXT Phantom 410 is certainly one of more impressive looking cases available

Internally, there’s ample space for the most elaborate of builds

50 Issue 1384

A s you can surmisefrom the title, this isan open-frame PCcase and one that

we’ve used in the past whenwe need to group test a varietyof motherboards, graphics cardsand other internal components.It's quite a spectacular thing tobehold, looking almost like it’sabout to transform into a robot,but it can look a little oddwhen sat on a desk and usedprimarily as a user’s main PC. It’snot that it’s ugly; it’s just not allthat practical to someone whodoesn’t continually have theirhands inside a PC. It measures340 x 613 x 535mm, so it’scertainly not the smallest ormost compact case on offerhere either. It does, however,

Aerocool Strike-X make itworth the expense. The qualitythroughout is very good indeed,with the various parts andsections machined to a highstandard, without a razor sharpedge in sight. Even the limitedcolour scheme (red mesh and redLED on the matte black of thesteel frame) looks pretty gooddespite the impracticality of itbeing a full-time desktop case.

We like the Aerocool Strike-XAir, but then our job makes usthe kind of people it’s designedfor. Since Micro Mart caters forPC enthusiasts, we’ll hazard aguess that you too spend moretime tinkering than using, inwhich case the Strike-X will suityour needs nicely.

DETAILS• Price: £90• Manufacturer:Aerocool• Website:goo.gl/8viIYf• Requirements:ATX motherboard orsmaller, PSU

Aerocool Strike-X AirPC Cases

limit its weigh to a manageable6kg, since it’s mostly just a steelframe and rubber mounts hereand there.

It has three 5.25" drive baysand three 3.5" drive bay slots,which are cradle, hot-swapbased. There’s the usual frontport selection, with a single USB3.0 and three USB 2.0 ports,headphone ports, power andreset. The dominant featureat the front is a large, hinged

mesh lid, behind which alarge 200mm fan resides. Themesh lid can flip up and allowyou access to the horizontallymounted motherboard area. Youcan either extend a jack to holdthe mesh section in place so it’sdirectly above the motherboardor have it rested on the frameso as to be angled down towardthe board and components.

The right-hand side of theStrike-X Air, where you’ll mountthe drives, can be completelyremoved and slides out of theframe to allow easier fitting.The cables can be run from thedrive section down to the PSUarea that's meshed at the baseand out through the rear ofthe case to various machinedslots and rubberised grommets,with access to the motherboardsection for better cablemanagement.

Obviously, drinks shouldn't beallowed within half a mile of thiscase, nor should your cat. Dustis a pain too and if left withoutregular cleaning or stuffed undera desk on a carpet, you’ll geteven more of a potential cloggingissue than you normally wouldwith a standard case.

If you’re a tester or tinkerer,though, the benefits of the

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The Aerocool Strike-X Air is certainly a unique PC case

Its odd design won't appeal to everyone

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plastic, with steel side panelsand plenty of rubberised padsthroughout and along theraised and removable, pair ofskids that make up the basestand. The top features a largepower button, slightly indentedin the centre, with two pairsof USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 ports,

There’s a fine balancebetween practicality,upgrade potential,cooling performance

and noise reduction whenit comes to choosing theright case. Most PC casemanufactures have a degreeof each but often don’t scoretoo highly when it comes tothe cooling and noise levels.BeQuiet, though, may haveticked all the right boxes.

The BeQuiet Silent Base 800is an interestingly designedchassis. While it doesn’t optfor the dazzling splendour ofmultiple LEDs and windowedside panels, it still looks prettygood. There’s a minimalistquality to it, with a hint ofcolour, depending on thewhether you opt for the silvertrim model or the orange-and-black version (with a rustyorange trim around the frontand sections of the interior).It’s a design that works welland that’s quite understatedand elegant.

This ATX case measures266 x 559 x 495 and weighsa hefty 9.4kg. Within, thereare three 5.25" drive bays andseven 3.5" drive bay slots.The included cooling solutioncomes in the form of twofront-mounted 140mm PureWings 2 fans and a 120mmrear-mounted Pure Wings 2fan. The Pure Wings 2 fansoffer a maximum speed of1500rpm, while only issuingaround 18dB(A) in terms of

alongside headphone andmicrophone jacks.

The rear of the case hasseven expansion slots, threecooling grommets, plenty ofmesh sections for the fan, asection for the PSU to fit atthe bottom of the case and aslide-out dust filter under thePSU section.

Inside the case, the firstthing you’ll notice is the sounddampening material coveringthe entire inner section ofthe side panel, with a squarearea cut out for placing a fan.There are plenty of colourcoded (depending on thechassis colours) rubber cablesections, along with similarcoloured silicone 3.5" driveslot rails – again to cut downnoise levels and vibration.

Throughout the interiorthere are foam pads where thePSU, drives and raised spacersfor the motherboard are fitted.This cuts down noise levelsconsiderably while raising thelevels of the component partsslightly for somewhat bettercooling, even if it is only a fewmillimetres.

The effect is superb, andit's exceptionally quiet, evenwith the side panel removed.BeQuiet has done a fantasticjob with the Silent Base 800,and it’s a case that we canwholeheartedly recommend.

DETAILS• Price: £90• Manufacturer:BeQuiet• Website:goo.gl/W47AMt• Requirements:ATX motherboard orsmaller, PSU

BeQuiet Silent Base 800

the noise levels. There’s alsoroom for a pair of 140mmtop-mounted fans, a single120mm side fan and a single140mm bottom fan.

The build quality of theBeQuiet Silent Base 800 isexcellent. The covers aremanufactured from ABS

The minimalist looks of the BeQuiet Silent Base hides some exceptionalengineering

Internally, it’s an excellent build and whisper quiet

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BeQuiet Silent Base 800

How We Tested

While it may not be the flashiest PC case in thegroup, the subtle looks and minimalist designof the BeQuiet Silent Base 800 make it one ofthe best manufactured cases we’ve seen forsome time. What’s more, it’s perfectly silentand has plenty of scope for further componentexpansion in the future.

We tested each case with an Asus H971-Plus motherboard, fitted with a stock cooler, stock RAM and an Nvidia GTX 750Ti and, wherepossible, a low-profile Asus GeForce GT210, generic DVD writer and a Kingston HyperX Fury 240GB SSD.

NZXT Phantom 410The NZXT Phantom 410 is an impressive PCcase. The angled lines of the chassis, thewindowed sections and the interior space allcombine to make it for ideal for a gamingsystem or a showcase PC that will look great.

BeQuiet SilentBase 800

Aerocool Strike-XAir

NZXT Phantom410 BitFenix Prodigy Corsair Obsidian

250DAerocool Dead

Silence Red Cube

Price £90 £90 £70 £60 £70 £53

Form Mid-tower Open frame ATX Mid-tower Mini-ITX Mini-ITX Cube micro-ATX

Measurements 266 x 559 x 495mm 340 x 613 x 535mm 215 x 516 x 532mm250 x 404 x

359mm290 x 277 x 351mm 265 x 411 x 381mm

Weight 9.4kg 6kg 9kg 7kg 4.42kg 8kg

No 3.5" DriveBay Slots 7 3 6 5 2 3

No 5.25" DriveBays 3 3 3 1 1 1

EDITOR’S

CHOICE

HIGHLY CO

MM

ENDED

Issue 1384 53

By emailletters@micromart.co.uk

By postMicro Mart30 Cleveland StreetLondonW1T 4JD

Onlineforum.micromart.co.uk

GETINTOUCH…Believable Speeds Or Dirty Deeds?

My BT saga continues. I have just tried todownload Catalyst Drivers via the much vaunted BTinfinity. 285MB of data, not much you would say,but just to see how long it would take I watchedthe Catalyst timer. For the first 20 seconds or sothe Mb/s thundered down my connection, butthen it slowed and slowed until the magic figure of174 minutes appeared that was to download lessthan 90MB of the data remaining. Is this a recordfor broadband .32MB per minute? Is that whatBT means by infinity? At that speed it should takethree years to download a terabyte of data.

My whole point is that internet broadband testsfail to analyse Upload and Download speeds over aperiod of time its no good analysing a few seconds

of speed it should be done over a much longerperiod of time. I checked my broadband speedsjust after I cancelled my download and lo andbehold my download speed was 17Mb/s. Are theI.S.P cheating the system by allowing a full speeddownload for 20 to 30 seconds or so and thenslowing it down? It wouldn’t surprise me one bit.If a reputable company like VW can manipulatetests for emissions what’s to say the ISP don’t dothe same for downloads tests. A few lines of codeto catch a request for a download test and youhave a dubious speed record.

I have just checked again and its still 17Mb/s forthe few seconds the test took according to U-switch.

Dave Shaw

Small Linux DistrosI am a user of Linux Ubuntu. It runs on my main PC, which I built manyyears ago. I recently astonished the man at SCAN computers when Itold him it was time for an upgrade and bought an Intel Pentium IVprocessor to extract what is, I believe, the maximum upgrade juiceI can from this old machine, which is based on a ASRock P4VM8motherboard. I sometimes wonder what that processor would havecost back when I originally put the machine together.

Anyway as someone who enjoys bumbling around withcomputer, and certainly is no expert (apart from when I built aSinclair ZX80 from a £99 kit with a 1K memory), I managed toinstall a LAMP system on this PC and – by using the phpMyAdminpart – I have several databases, which are accessed from mybrowser by typing in ‘local host’. No, please do not ask how Idid it, but I did and it works fantastically. I love it far more thanthe Windows database (whatever it is called), which caused meendless problems.

Now here is the thing, I thought it would be good to replicatethis system on an old IBM Thinkpad 600X and soon realised aftera while that, apart from the restriction of a 700MB CD, the actualmachine is low on memory (589MB) and so very few Linux Distroswould load and run. So, I was thinking about how I could do it,when the good old Micro Mart cavalry came to the rescue witha brilliant feature, designed especially for me, on Small LinuxDistros, which I am reading avidly.

I used to think that there was very little in the mag for Linuxbumbles like myself who like to play around, but I do hope thatsome more features will appear. For example I sort-of understandrepositories and how to use them, access them etc. but featureson this line would be great if targeted at the likes of me whoenjoy discovering new ways to extract the most from oldmachines and have only a little IT savvy. Keep up the good work.

Alan Peddler

Issue 138456

Mark Oakley presents his steamy guide to all things punk

Don’t they look funny?”And so it came to pass that my parents-in-law encountered

their first steampunk enthusiasts, leading to muchembarrassment for my wife and I as they exclaimed the aboveremark all too loudly, directly in front of the well-dressed group.

Of course, one man’s well-dressed is another’s laughing stock– particularly given that this was mid-afternoon on a drizzlysummer’s day in the lovely coastal village of Corfe Castle. Andwhile the location and time of day certainly helped the enthusiastsstand out from the crowd (as was no doubt the intention) ,it’s stillperhaps best not to lavish a group with such a damning, albeitunintentional, outburst.

The steampunkers moved on, and I was left having to answera barrage of questions from my wife’s parents regarding theirnewfound interest in this genre. A full half an hour later, andenergised with all this knowledge, imagine their joy when theybumped into the group again on a train out of the village. Whenwe next spoke to my father-in-law on returning from our holiday,he told us all about this second encounter and how he hadapparently decided that it would be not at all inappropriate to askof one of the group’s members, “So, steampunk… how about thatVictorian technology?” He didn’t get a reply.

True story, readers, and one that leads me nicely into thisexploration into the steampunk movement and its impact oncomputing, technology and gaming. And hey, if it can have animpact on my parents-in-law, it must be doing something right.

Steampunk: SayWhat?Steampunk, for want of a better description, is a genre of sciencefiction that celebrates both the Victorian era and the technologyof the time. Typically set in an alternative, very British Victorianworld (although the American version of steampunk relates tothe American West), the idea behind the genre is that the use ofsteam power has continued to progress, so much so that weapons,transport and gadgetry have adopted it on a mainstream level.

Steampunk started out life as a literary phenomenon, and theterm ‘steampunk’ was actually first coined by writer KW Jeter ina letter he wrote in 1987 to a science fiction-focused magazinecalled Locus. He was attempting to describe the genre of writingthat he and others were becoming known for pioneering at thetime, and he has since described himself as having “bumbled”across the term. He’s actually pretty modest about the wholething, but he is certainly viewed as one of the more importantdrivers of the genre.

Punked!

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While it’s a relatively recent genre of writing, it’s fair to saythat steampunk’s early influences can be traced as far back as the19th century when writers such as Jules Verne and HG Wells werealready writing about such fantastical notions as time machinesand travels to the centre of the very earth itself. Certainly in termsof fashions, transportation and ideas, these classic writers laidthe seeds for what we now know as steampunk, providing theinspiration for modern writers to create classic works of their own.

Inspired by the invention and use of steam-powered technologyat the time and bringing that in line with a futuristic, fantasticalstorytelling, the Victorian era typically plays a crucial role,with many stories being set in that era. However, that’s not aprerequisite, although being inspired by that era pretty much is. Asfor the technology itself, clockwork and cog-driven designs, brassand copper plating are all key elements of the steampunk look.

So gadgetry and technology that is far advanced from anythingwe know but ultimately has its roots in a bygone era are a stapleof steampunk – clockwork contraptions, steam-powered flyingmachines, airships and a general, mechanised viewpoint on theworld. The technology side of things is obviously why PC ownersand gamers often have more than a passing interest in steampunkover other science fiction genres, although the gritty, retro lookdoesn’t hurt to get people interested. It’s a unique, engaging lookthat certainly stands out from the crowd.

It’s also a look that you can recreate for yourself in your own PCsetup. Indeed, many already have.

SteamModsThe PC modding community isn’t one to pass up an opportunityto make some outlandish, over-the-top creations, and steampunkis a perfect place to start for that. Want lots of dials, cranks andcogs, all wrapped up with bells and whistles on? Thank goodnessfor the internet.

In America, Datamancer.com’s blog (www.datamancer.net) details some of Richard ‘Doc’ Nagy’s keyboard creations,turning your common key-tapper into a work of art. Made toorder, the custom-designed ‘boards include a $1,650 ‘Seafarer’keyboard, which looks as though it could have come straightout of the Bioshock: Infinite universe. Other boards include oneswith mahogany frames with brass accents; the ‘Sojourner’ board,which is crafted in polished brass and was featured in an episodeof the TV show Warehouse 13; plus the Copper ‘Baron of Cyprus’

keyboard, which has a polished copper frame, black leather plateand green jewel indicators. The site can even supply keyboardkits consisting of aluminium or brass frames so customers canpotentially build their own boards.

Beyond the keyboards-to-order, the blog also features a moddedAsus gaming laptop running off an Intel I7 2670QM processor,complete with a stained glass lid that also lights up. Thenthere’s what is described as “the device that started it all” - theSteampunk laptop. This Hewlett-Packard ZT1000 laptop runs bothWindows XP and Ubuntu Linux and features an “elaborate displayof clockworks under glass, engraved brass accents, claw feet, anantiqued copper keyboard and mouse, leather wrist pads, andcustomized wireless network card.” Ingeniously, the machine turnson with an antique clock-winding key, and this has received plentyof press attention, featured by the likes of Wired.com, the WallStreet Journal and The Boston Globe. Now that, my friends, is abeautiful machine.

Steampunk’s earlyinfluences can be traced as farback as the 19th century

Issue 138458

Steampunk Workshop (steampunkworkshop.com) isanother good place to start when looking for moddinginspiration. The website is the brainchild of Jake von Slatt “amaker, tinkerer, fabricator, and all around techno dilettante livingand creating just outside of Boston, Massachusetts”. His projectsare not confined to computing mods, but the works he hasdone in that area are magnificent.

Take his keyboard mod, for example. With the aim to builda fully functional retro keyboard, usable by a touch typist, hestarted with an IBM Model M keyboard from the 1980s, manuallycut out a brass cradle and various interior cutouts for the board,before then smoothing down with files. The keys were made ofbrass tubing, and then a healthy dose of black paint was addedto complete the look. Reading his website, it’s obvious that this isno mug’s game, and you really need to know what you’re doingto achieve these kind of results – but, wow does Jake know whathe’s doing.

The All-In-One PC project was completed in 2008, with Jakedeciding that his pumpless water-cooled PC was obsolete. Hebought himself a $300 24” widescreen monitor and set aboutturning that into his all-in-one project. Stripping the monitorright down, Jake then made an aluminium plate to hold amotherboard and disk drives, and a brass plates were positionedeither side of the monitor. A whole lot more sawing, trimmingand soldering later, including some bronze brazing rods to bepositioned on the sides of the build, the Kubuntu-based buildwas ready. And isn’t it a beauty?

These are but two of the possible steampunk modding sites tolook at, and if you’re not impressed with their efforts, I don’t thinksteampunk is really for you.

From Chaos Engine To The Order:Steampunk In GamingGiven the glorious imagination and styling that underpinssteampunk’s appeal, it’s little surprise that videogaming has a longand wonderful history of adopting the movement.

The first successful incarnation is probably the Bitmap Brothers’The Chaos Engine. Released in 1993 for the Amiga, The ChaosEngine was a steampunk lover’s dream. Set in a Victorian-ageEngland, the plot revolves around the adoption of future-styleweaponry and technology having been transported back to the1800s via a time machine, and it successfully taps into the genrewith the styling and overall look of the game proving key to itsenduring popularity.

While that effort may have been an early example, it’s certainlynot the most successful. That honour perhaps rests with Bioshock:Infinite, a truly outstanding multi-platform first-person shooter thatwon a ton of awards and sold in bucket-loads upon its release in2013. Drawing on the American version of steampunk, which takesits inspiration from the Wild West, Bioshock: Infinite’s fictional city-in-the-sky, Columbia, is very much the beating heart of the gamingexperience, as is the weaponry at your disposal. Away from thesteampunk sensibilities, this is just a riotously good romp in its ownright and a high-profile success that helped to bring steampunkinto the mainstream.

While I’m not a fan of the Final Fantasy series myself, the sixthinstalment is a decidedly steampunk-styled affair, with the industrial19th century the setting’s clear inspiration. There are robots andsteam-powered machines aplenty in this critical and commercialsuccess on the SNES. More recently, the point-and-click puzzlerMachinarium (2009) was undeniably inspired by steampunk,and it’s a beautiful game to look at, either on PC or on an iPad.Another popular iPad game taking its cues from steampunk is theaward-winning 80 Days, which even bagged itself a smattering ofBAFTA nominations this year and was named as TIME magazine’s2014 Game of the Year.

And finally we come to the controversial The Order: 1886. ThePS4 exclusive released earlier this year was much anticipated,as the console had yet to really launch an exclusive title thatshowcased its graphical capabilities. The Order: 1886 was tobe that game, but that didn’t stop gamers from complainingabout its heavy-handed adoption of quick-time events and non-playable cut-scenes. With a swathe of underwhelming reviews

There’s no getting awayfrom the fact that steampunkisn’t for everyone

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PUNKED!

hitting the press, graphically at least people were impressed,with the common consensus being that this representation of asteampunk Victorian era was the best that has ever been put intopixels. Clearly, developer Ready at Dawn (despite its reticence tolabel it as steampunk) had done its homework, and the worlditself is exquisitely realised. The characters at times may be thinlydrawn, but the weaponry – provided by the inventor NikolaTesla – looks and plays wonderfully. Chapters set in a blimp aretruly breathtaking to play and to watch, and while the gameitself might not be for everyone, it is, for the time-being at least,steampunk’s finest gaming hour.

So, YouWant To Buy Steampunk?If a full-on PC mod doesn’t float your boat just yet and you’dprefer to take a brief dip in the waters first, let me guide you in thedirection of some items you might want to buy.

Firstly, for gathering more information on the steampunkmovement and giving yourself the requisite knowledge to hold yourown in a steampunk-off, you could do worse than pick up a goodbook or two. Anything with the title ‘bible’ in it is usually a goodall-round place to start, and in this case, The Steampunk Bible byJeff VanderMeer and SJ Chambers is particularly notable, as it’s anillustrated guide to the subculture, looking back at its history andfocusing on the styles, fashions and influences driving steampunk.It is also, as with all the best guides, a beautiful thing to hold.

Classic steampunk novels include the likes of Infernal Devicesby KW Jeter, The Difference Engine by William Gibson and BruceSterling, and the anthology book Steampunk, edited by JeffVanderMeer. Beyond those examples, you could do a lot worsethan read HG Wells’s The Time Machine. Sure, it came longbefore steampunk was established as a concept, but many ofits themes and ideas could be considered as being at the roo ofmodern-day steampunk.

If you prefer your influences on celluloid, you’d probably have tolook at the critical failure that was Wild Wild West. In fact, this Will

Smith-fronted film was adapted from the 60s TV show The WildWild West and the Victorian-era scenery, gadgets and overall lookof the film was a definite doffing of the cap to steampunk. TheTV show, too, was one of the first mainstream examples of takingthe genre out to the wider public. For a more enjoyable movie towatch, try Steamboy, a pretty excellent animation in which steam-powered technologies dominate.

Gifts and costumes relating to the genre can all be found online(I don’t need to tell you how to use your web browser to do this),and if you really find yourself becoming more immersed in thegenre, why not take it up a level by heading to the SteampunkWorld’s Fair (2016.steampunkworldsfair.com). You’ll beheading over to New Jersey if you do, where you’ll be treated toa variety entertainment, workshops and panels, as well as seeingmerchandise galore from a raft of merchants.

Closer to home, The Asylum Steampunk Festival (www.asylumsteampunk.co.uk) in Lincoln is billed as the world’s“largest and longest running steampunk festival.” Taking place overthe bank holiday weekend (so 26th to 29th August next year), thefestival includes a costume parade, art, literature, music, comedy,tabletop gaming, and it’s run in a range of venues across the city,including Lincoln Castle.

DoThey Look Funny?There’s no getting away from the fact that steampunk isn’t foreveryone. As with many things surrounding technology andcomputing, it can be viewed as a bit geeky, and that can put somepeople off.

If you’re even mildly interested in the genre, though, I’drecommend at least taking a look at some of the resourcesmentioned throughout this article. Steampunk’s popularity hasbeen on the up in recent year, and I’d say it’s far from being merelya fad. Modern-day gaming successes have seen it thrust into themainstream and I, for one, welcome this sub-genre for givinggaming, computing and modding a welcome shot in the arm. mm

Issue 138460

It’s been the next big thing for a few years now, but is it reallyready for the home? What advances have there been? SarahDobbs checks back in with the 3D printing ‘revolution’…

A ccording to the Gartner hype cycle, any new technologygoes through a series of peaks and troughs until itsettles down and becomes commonplace. First, after the

technology is developed, there’s a rapid rise in excitement, before itreaches a peak of inflated expectations. Then, interest drops off intoa trough of disillusionment as people realise the hot new thing isn’tall it’s cracked up to be after all. Then, slowly, things pick up againuntil a plateau is reached.

It’s the same kind of cycle we’ve seen over and over and over againwith new gadgets over the years, and you probably don’t need tosee the diagram to recognise the pattern. We’ve seen it with digitalcameras, with MP3 players, with touchscreens, and many, many otherthings before and after. It’s not surprising, then, that 3D printing seemsto be going through the same cycle. And right now, we’re in thedisillusionment phase.

TheStorySoFarBack in 2009, when a key patent for the fused deposition modellingmethod of 3D printing expired, it looked like 3D printing might beabout to change the world. The expired patent meant that all kindsof companies could get to work making consumer grade 3D printers,and a flood of just about affordable printers hit the market. Over thenext few years, those printers because more sophisticated and moreaffordable – plus easier to use. The world went mad for 3D printing,

painting it as an amazing technology that could change manufacturingforever. If consumers could invent, modify or fix things at home, theargument went, we’d see less waste and also way more creativity. Everykind of consumer product would be affected. Exciting stuff, basically.

The 3D printing enthusiasts reckoned things were only going toget more exciting too, as more 3D printing patents expired. Last year,a patent relating to laser sintering expired, potentially opening thegates to a new wave of home printers that could create 3D objects bycutting rather than layering materials. We were teetering on the brinkof a whole new world.

But, um… it didn’t quite work out like that, did it? 3D printers aremore accessible right now than they’ve ever been before. Some well-known technology retailers even carry them, though usually onlinerather than in-store. And most of the consumer printers around at themoment can be used by beginners, not just people with engineeringdegrees. Yet I’m betting that almost no one reading this has a 3Dprinter at home.

So why didn’t home 3D printing take off? And why aren’t weseeing as many headlines about 3D printing breakthroughs as wewere, say, a year ago?

BreakthroughsThroughout 2012 and 2013, it seemed like there were new andhyperbolic headlines about 3D printing every week or so. Either a new

The State Of 3DPrinting In 2015

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3D PRINTING

method had been developed or a new service was launching or maybea new material could now be 3D printed. There was always something.That’s dropped off a bit now, though there have still been a few newdevelopments. Recently, for example, Staples announced that it waspartnering with Sculpteo to offer an online 3D printing service wherecustomers can upload their designs and receive their printed objects inthe post. Yes, it’s technically already the service Sculpteo already offers,but it’s interesting that a well-known retailer is drawing attention to itand making it more accessible to more people.

And just last week there was a new exciting 3D printingdevelopment at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, asresearchers announced they’d found a way to print clear glass. Glassis obviously a tricky substance to work with, but it also has someproperties you’d associated with a 3D printable material (mostly, thatit’s liquid at hot temperatures but sets solidly), so scientists had beenexperimenting with ways to print it into programmable 3D shapesfor a while. The problem had been creating an product that wasn’tcloudy or opaque, but by developing a printer that works at very hightemperatures and has three separate heating elements, the MIT teamreckon they’ve cracked it.

The point of highlighting these two stories is that there are stilllots of things happening in 3D printing, but maybe they’re not asrevolutionary-sounding as previous breakthroughs. And really, there areonly so many Kickstarter projects for developing inexpensive printers

anyone cares to read about. So maybe the lack of headlines is justbecause the news isn’t very exciting any more – or maybe people havejust got bored reading about it.

NewApplicationsThe potential applications for 3D printing are, in theory, endless. Andthere are many industries that have already wholeheartedly embraced3D printing. Good examples are dentistry, where models of patients’mouths can be printed and so can crowns, and the aeronauticsindustry, where prototype pieces can be quickly printed, tested andmodified, considerably speeding up the development cycle.

Again, though, we haven’t really heard much news about industrialapplications for 3D printing lately. It could be that the technology hasalready reached a saturation point, where everyone who’s likely towant to use 3D printing already is or it could be, again, that it’s justnot exciting to hear about new uses of 3D printing any more.

Particularly ambitious uses do still merit a mention in thenewspapers. To pull out a couple more recent examples, there was aconcept for a 3D printed ‘house’ that could be made and lived in onMars that got some attention recently, plus a Spanish cancer patientrecently survived an operation to install a 3D printed rib cage, both ofwhich make for fascinating stories. But it seems like 3D printing itselfhas gone from an amazing futuristic concept to, well, a thing that weknow can be done now. Unless someone’s making something trulyastounding, it’s not enough just to print something.

HomePrintersThe bitterest disappointment of the 3D printing revolution that didn’tquite happen isn’t anything to do with astonishing advances in medicalscience or architecture, though; it’s that most of us still don’t have 3Dprinters to call our own. To go back to the hype cycle for a moment,according to Gartner’s most recent predictions, consumer 3D printing isstill around ten to 15 years away from productivity. That seems a long,long way off compared with the kinds of predictions industry expertswere making just a few years ago.

In fairness to consumer 3D printer manufacturers, progress hasdefinitely been made in the kinds of machines that are available, andin how affordable they are. Some of the most popular 3D printershave dropped in price by hundreds of pounds over the last coupleof years (see boxout for details!), and the 3D printers you can buynow are easier to use, more reliable and capable of producing moredetailed prints than ever before.

Some 3D printing projects still capture the media’s imagination – like this

concept ‘house’ to be printed on Mars, created by designer Fabulous

3D printing services might end up more popular than home printers Plenty of cloud printing services already exist, but with big name retailers

getting in on the act, they should get more attention

Issue 138462

But the market doesn’t seem to quite be there yet. Last year, around108,000 3D printers were sold worldwide. To put that in context, in2014 approximately 192 million iPhones were sold worldwide. Thereare undoubtedly many reasons why 3D printers aren’t flying off shelves(lack of availability, high prices, perceived difficulty of use), but mostly itseems to be that people just aren’t convinced they need them.

TheFutureWhat’s next? Well, not to be defeatist or anything, but it seems likelythat the utopian world of home 3D printers so many people envisionedin 2009 will never quite come to fruition. Most people don’t have thetime, knowhow or even inclination to manufacture their own productsat home. That doesn’t have to mean all is lost or that 3D printing is afailure, though. As previously discussed, 3D printing is still widely usedin many industries, and it will continue to be useful to designers or infields where one-off customisable objects are needed.

From a consumer perspective, what seems more likely is that 3Dprinting services will become more popular. Big name retailers seemto be interested in incorporating those kinds of services into theirofferings. We’ve already mentioned Staples, and Asda has beenslowly expanding its 3D printing Mini Me service to more storesacross the country, after an enthusiastic response from customerswhen its trial version launched in York in 2013. So watch out for 3Dprinting ‘photobooths’ popping up in a shopping centre near you,any day now.

Undoubtedly, more advances will continue to be made in 3Dprinting, in all its guises. Just because we’re not hearing about it asoften doesn’t mean it’s gone away. And anyone who does wantto spend the time and effort on at-home manufacturing shouldbe rewarded with increasingly more effective, reliable and cheapermaterials and machines.

If we had to guess, though, we’d say the thing that will generate arenewed flurry of interest and excitement around 3D printing won’t bea cheaper consumer printer or an easy-to-use software suite; it’ll be abreakthrough in printing electronics. The day someone figures out howto reliably ‘print’ the components of a mobile phone or laptop, youwon’t hear about anything else. Until then, well, we’ll probably haveto cope with feeling a bit disillusioned about the whole thing. mm

3DPrintingBargainsStill fancy getting your very own 3D printer? Well, the goodnews is that consumer grade 3D printers have come downin price quite a lot over the last two or three years. They’restill not exactly cheap, but you no longer need to take out asecond mortgage to afford one. Here are some of the bestbargains available:

Velleman K8200 3D printer kitWas: £699.99Now: £399.99One of the first printers to be available in UK high-streetstores, this kit is available from Maplin. It’s dropped £300in price since it first went on sale in 2013, and now it’s oneof the cheapest options around. You’ll need to have somepretty good assembly skills, though, because you have tobuild it yourself, which may or may not be a deal-breaker.

Up! Plus 2 3D printerWas: £1590Now: £899The Up! Plus 2 is a pretty impressive printer, despite theawkward name: it’s got automatic platform calibration,and the platform itself is heated, which means you canuse more than one kind of plastic with the machine.Plus it’s quiet and produces relatively high-res prints, andcompared to its launch price a few years ago, it’s alsopretty affordable.

Cube 3D printerWas: £1,195+Now: £839+The models have changed over the last few years, witholder versions retired and newer, swankier ones beinglaunched, but where the cheapest Cubify printer used tobe well over a grand, you’ll now comfortably get enoughchange to buy a handful of different coloured filaments. (Itcomes bundled with white and neon green PLA, though,which is handy.)

Ultimaker 2 3D printerWas: £1950Now: £1699Considerably more expensive than other consumer-grade3D printers, the Ultimaker 2 has at least come down inprice over the last few years. And it’s got a pretty goodreason for its price: it’s far bigger than most of the othersin its class, which means its capable of printing biggerobjects. If you want to make more than just trinkets, thismight be the one for you.

3Doodler v 2.0 3D printing penWas: N/ANow: £99.99The cheapest and easiest way to experiment with 3Dprinting, the newest version of the handheld 3Doodler3D printing pen is available for under a hundred quid.The original was revolutionary in its way, but alsounwieldy and uncomfortable to use. The new one looksand feels far more like a pen, and while you can’t buildmassive structures with it, it’s still a great introduction to3D modelling.

Consumer printers are more affordable and advanced than ever before –

but does anyone want one?

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APP OF THE WEEK

A few activities that are a little too hardto stop doing…

Top5AddictiveTech Things

11Online GamblingGambling makes several billions pounds every year inthe UK, and it’s hugely prevalent among the Britishpopulation. In fact, excluding people who only play the

National Lottery, 46% and 40% of women in the UK were saidto have gambled in a 12-month period around 2013. Part ofthat success is no doubt thanks to the rise of online gambling.Here, users can easily fritter away their wages, benefits,birthday money or whatever on little games that couldpotentially earn them a few quid, but which normally just taketheir cash. We all know, the odds are always stacked in favourof the house, of course, but far too many of us get hooked,and the results can be truly damaging. The best option isprobably never to start in the first place.

22 Online ShoppingWhether you’re rich or poor, the lure of internet shoppingis a strong one. You’re basically able to walk freelyup and down the aisles of a shop that has an infinite

selection. Anything you could possibly want is right there on theweb, and there are so many deals and discounts around, it’s hardnot to get sucked in. And that’s without even taking into accounteBay, where you have the added temptation of auctions to getyou hooked. Our advice: when the couriers start addressing youby first name, it’s time to put the credit card away.

33 GamingVideogames have always had an addictive quality tothem, thanks to their inherent system of success andreward: you complete a level or beat a foe, and you feel

good, plus you might unlock something new for your character.With online gaming, you have the addition of other people –real folk, just like you, whom you can interact with. Whetheryou’re playing co-op or against each other, it’s easy to find that‘one last game’ of Call of Duty can turn into five or six, andyou find yourself still playing at 3am, when you suddenly realiseyou’ve wasting a significant part your life and that you reallyshould stop. Right after one more game, of course.

44 Social NetworkingSo you’ve just been on Facebook and posted a pictureof your cat eating a sausage. Good stuff. Now you cango about the rest of your day, right? Wrong. What you

actually end up doing is checking back every five minutes to seeif anyone’s Liked it yet or if there are any comments about it.Of course, you could just set up notifications on your phone ortablet, so you don’t have to do that, but you still end up goingback anyway, just to see what other people are up to (probablyposting pictures of their cats eating sausages).

55 UpgradingIf there’s one addiction we fully support, it’s thisone. They say power corrupts, and in the case of PCpower, once you’ve got a taste, it’s hard not to want

more. More RAM, faster processors, better graphics and soon. 60 frames per second at 1080p – that’s pretty impressive.But once you’ve seen that, why not aim for 120 frames persecond at 4K? And once you get there, why not… well, youget the idea. Of course, the one thing that stops us all fromupgrading ad infinitum (other than concerned loved ones) islack of money. If it weren’t for that, we’d probably be usinga Cray supercomputer by now, buying literally everything oneBay and watching videos of cats eating sausages on a hundred4K monitors, while simultaneously eying up whatever morepowerful supercomputers are due to be released next.

“What are you buying?” “I have no idea, but it’s really cheap!”

Issue 138464

GooglePicking Apples

I t is the season for announcements. Like autumnal leavesfalling, we’ve had Apple’s latest hardware, we’ll soon seeMicrosoft’s, and coming in the middle it’s Google’s turn to

shed some foliage.However, for whatever reason, Google isn’t as good at

keeping secrets as its nemesis Apple, so almost all the newproducts in its September 29th presentation in San Franciscohad been previously leaked.

Yet there are enough details that weren’t complete andprices we didn’t have to make this announcement still a trulyinteresting one. There first port of call was the Nexus phones,an area where many considered Google lost its way with theNexus 6.

Nexus 5X And 6PHaving owned a number of the Nexus 4 phones, I’m verykeen on the pure Google experience that these devices offer.The Nexus 4 and 5 were top spec devices that were highlyaffordable. And then along came the Nexus 6, which seemedto want to compete directly in price with the very high-endAndroid devices made by HTC and Samsung.

In many respects, the 5X and 6P are a return to the previousphilosophy of providing high-end hardware with a pureiteration of Android at an affordable price.

The Nexus 5X starts at just £339 for the 16GB model, andanother £40 buys you the more ample 32GB capacity, and itcomes in Carbon, Quartz and Ice colour schemes.

The colours are nice, but what’s really likely to turn headsis the hardware specification, because the 5X is built forspeed. Like LG’s new G4, this phone uses the Snapdragon 808processor, a 1.8GHz hexa-core CPU and Adreno 418 GPU. LGmakes this phone as well, unsurprisingly.

It also gave it 2GB of RAM, fast charges using a USB-C portand a dedicated chip to process sensor information. The USB-Cport banishes all those failed attempts to plug the cable inupside down, as it’s reversible, but Google also claims that justten minutes connected can get you four hours of use time.

That aspect is designed to undermine the Apple iPhone, andthere are also some others in the 5X design that address Applefeatures directly.

Mark Pickavance looks at the latest announcements

from Google, and how some mistakes the company

previously made are being addressed now

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GOOGLE

The first of these is a fingerprint reader, but not placed onthe front but on the middle of the back. The positioning allowsthe phone to be held more naturally for electronic paymentsand unlocking the phone for use, apparently.

The headline feature addresses one part of the phone designthat Google has previously somewhat ignored: the camera.This really is something special, because in the rear facingunit it’s managed to use a sensor with enormous 1.55 micronpixels, allowing for exceptional low light performance. It mightonly be rated to 12.3MP, but it offers an f/2.0 aperture, IRlaser-assisted autofocus and can shoot 4K video at 30 framesper second. The forward-facing camera is 5MP, with a lessimpressive sensor, but it achieves the same f/2.0 aperture.The big differentiation with its larger 6P sibling is the screen,because the 5X’s screen is 1080p, whereas the 6P has one evenmore detailed.

The Nexus 6P breaks ground in a few areas, but is alsoamped up in many of the same ways as the 5X. It’s made byChinese phone maker Huawei, and it’s the company’s firstNexus device. It’s gone for a metal-clad monoblock design,mounting a 5.7” WQHD (2560 x 1440) AMOLED display that’sprotected with Gorilla Glass 4. Because of the relatively narrowborder and the rear placement of the fingerprint reader,Google point out that this phone is actually the same size asmany 5” screen phones.

Inside, Huawei has deployed the monster Snapdragon 8102GHz octa-core processor, Adreno 430 GPU and 3GB of RAM,and matched that with 32GB, 64GB or 128GB of storage.While the rear camera is identical to the 5X, the front facer isenhanced to 8MP and can capture 1080p video at 30fps.

The 32GB model is £449, 64GB is £499 and the whopping128GB option is £579. Those prices make it significantlycheaper than the latest Apple devices, where the 64GB iPhone6 Plus costs £619 and there’s no 128GB option. The entry-level6P is £10 cheaper than the year-old iPhone 6 with just 16GB ofstorage, if you like a stark comparison.

A major focus for Google in both the 5X and 6P is batterylife, with them both having larger batteries than the Nexus6, and the 6P has one of the biggest ever in a smartphoneat 3,450mAh.

Also, according to the presentation, both phones operate atleast 30% more efficiently due to the superior power and appmanagement that Android 6.0 Marshmallow provides.

However, the advent of this new level OS isn’t all good newsfor those with recent Nexus devices.

MarshmallowA good portion of the presentation highlighted the advancesthat the latest Android incarnation, Marshmallow, brings tothe Google ecosystem. According to Google, this release is amulti-pronged assault on critical areas in the OS to improve thegeneral user experience.

I’ve already mentioned the power management, but thereare also enhancements in how apps interact with the user,each other and also the Google cloud infrastructure.

In a subtly iconic section of the show, where the presenterworked with a collection of images of children picking apples,some of these features were showcased. It’s now possible withthe photo app to send a picture collection link to another userand have them add their own images, providing a simple andimmediate means to collate images from an event withoutusing a special application or web tool.

App interaction has also been enhanced in the Android6.0 API, allowing you to search for a restaurant based ona message mentioning the location and then even book areservation without moving out of the conversation. Otherenhancements include more control over the lockscreen,as-needed security sanctioning, better text selection and pastefunctionality, and enhanced security that works with thefingerprint hardware on the 5X and 6P.

Visually it’s not much changed from Lollipop, but under theinterface it looks dramatically revamped and able to betterexploit the more powerful hardware that phone makers areusing moving forward.

Only time will tell if this version has a more dramatic take-up than Android 5.x, which is on only 1.6% of all Android

For whatever reason,Google isn’t as good at keepingsecrets as its nemesis Apple

Issue 138466

devices. Currently the vast majority of Android phones andtablets use the much older KitKat (4.4) or Jelly Bean (4.1 or4.2) versions.

Pixel CGoogle has produced a number of devices under the Pixelbranding that have all been very expensive Chromebooks. Thenew Pixel C entirely contradicts that prior history by beinginherently a tablet but also using the Android platform. Withmore than a mild homage to the Microsoft Surface, the Pixel Cis a hybrid design built around the powerful ARM-based NvidiaX1 processor.

Presentation attendees were generally very impressed withhardware, with many remarking how beautifully made itwas, and how light it seemed. The two stand-out featuresthat really wowed the Google fans were the superb 2,560 x1,800 resolution screen that boasts 500 nits of brightness andan impressive colour gamut, and the optional magneticallyattached keyboard. The flipside of the high portability of thisdevice is that the screen is only 10.2 inches, though at 7mmthick, this is so thin it makes some of the Apple tablet devicesseem stout by comparison.

The keyboard uses a similar switch mechanism to that of theearlier Pixel Chromebooks, which was very well considered,and it connects to the tablet by some powerful magnets. Howstrong these magnets are was covered in the presentation:

once the two are attached ,you can hold the Pixel C by eitherkeyboard or screen with equal confidence.

Android on the Pixel C can detect if the keyboard isconnected and allow input through that rather than anon-screen input. The peripheral communicates via Bluetooth,and a small battery in the keyboard powers that functionality.The battery is charged by the tablet when the keyboard isfolded under it using magnetic induction.

As with the Surface, Google has chosen to sell the keyboardas a separate and not inexpensive accessory, so it will beinteresting to see if people buy the Pixel C with or without one.

The cost of the Pixel C in the UK hasn’t been madeavailable yet, but the US cost of the device is $499 (£330)for the 32GB model and $599 (£396) for the 64GB one. Thekeyboard will cost $149 (£98), and both are expected toarrive here before Christmas.

Chromecast And Chromecast AudioThe Chromecast has been one of those inexpensive devices thatmany bought almost out of curiosity about what it might do.

The second generation device is more powerful, has enhancedcapabilities like AC class wi-fi, and yet it costs exactly thesame £30 here in the UK. When combined with Marshmallowcontrol devices, a whole new range of capabilities open up,including the ability to stream multiplayer games with up tofour people, and handle an even greater selection of streaming

How The New Nexus Models Shape Up

Nexus 5X Nexus 6P iPhone 6S Plus Galaxy S6 Moto X Style Nexus 6

Display 5.2” 5.7” 5.5” 5.1” 5.7” 5.96”

Resolution 1920 x 1080 2560 x 1440 1920 x 1080 2560 x 1440 2560 x 1440 2560 × 1440

Processor Snapdragon 808 Snapdragon 810 Apple A9 Exynos 7420 Snapdragon 808 Snapdragon 805

Clock/Cores 1.8 GHzhecta-core

2.0 GHzocta-core

1.8GHzdual-core

2.1GHz and 1.5GHzocta-core

1.8GHzhexa-core

2.7GHzquad-core

RAM 2GB 3GB 2GB 3GB 3GB 3GB

Storage 16GB, 32GB 32GB, 64GB, 128GB 16GB, 64GB, 128GB 32GB, 64GB, 128GB 16GB, 32GB, 64GB 32GB, 64GB

Rear Camera 12.3 MP 12.3 MP 12 MP 16 MP 21 MP 13 MP

Front Camera 5 MP 8 MP 5 MP 5 MP 5 MP 2 MP

Battery 2,700 mAh 3,450 mAh 2,750 mAh 2,550 mAh 3,000 mAh 3,220 mAh

Weight 136 g 179 g 192 g 138 g 179 g 184 g

Dimensions 147.0mm72.6mm7.9mm

159.3mm77.8mm7.3mm

158.2mm77.9mm7.3mm

143.4mm70.5mm6.8mm

153.9mm76.2mm11.1mm

159.26mm82.98mm10.6mm

Starting Price £329 £449 £619 £499 £399 £369

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services. It also comes in three colours, for those who like tonalcoordination for hardware that’s generally out of view.

Alongside the new and enhanced video casting device isthe Chromecast Audio which, as the name suggests, is entirelydesigned to distribute music throughout your home. Thecheeky design of this device, mimicking a vinyl record, beliessome very clever technology that Google put in it. Rather than

focusing on streaming from a phone or tablet, Google hasdesigned this hardware to link directly to music services likeSpotify, so once tracks are being played, the initiating hardwaredoesn’t need to be involved. You can still control them usingan Android phone, but they’d keep the music playing even ifthe phone was turned off or left the location.

For £30, again, Google is offering the potential to turnany old stereo or set of speakers into the equivalent of aSonos sound system. It’s also promising a ‘party mode’ wheremultiple sound systems throughout a house can be subtly timestaggered to sound in sync in the near future.

Final ThoughtsOverall, there was plenty of interesting technology on showthat is affordable even by those who don’t work in ‘the valley’.Or that’s the general impression, even if a few minor detailsdidn’t quite fit like crafted jigsaw pieces.

Generally, the 5X and 6P phones look great, but as a fewpeople noted, these are also the first since the Nexus S thatdon’t support wireless charging. A better camera is now aprerequisite of a decent smartphone, and from the examples sofar presented, the one in these is really good.

At the price Google is asking for the Nexus 5X, a borderlinepremium device, I can see it shipping plenty of these. However,for those that don’t mind a larger phone with an amazingscreen, the 6P’s price isn’t unreasonable either.

What was missing here was a replacement for the Nexus 7tablet. However, the fact that Google is supporting the 2013model with Marshmallow makes me think it really ought tokeep selling them, if it can convince Asus to make some more.

Where I can accept that the Nexus 4 should probably be lefton Lollipop, Nexus 10 tablet owners are unlikely to be thrilledthat they’re being disavowed at the same time.

As for the Pixel C, this product poses more questionsthan it answers, especially in respect to where Chrome OSand Android merge or not. From those that got a hands-onexperience, there was much praise for the design and thekeyboard, though sales figures are yet to confirm that peoplereally want hybrid systems as much as Microsoft, Apple andothers appear to think they do. How that product pans outcould entirely dictate if there is every another Nexus tabletfrom Google, I suspect.

The revamp of the Chromecast is very welcome, and theaudio version could get some real traction especially in theUSA, where they have homes big enough that sound doesn’ttravel easily through them.

For those who like and use Google technology there waspretty much something for everyone, and plenty for those whoare interested in their next smartphone purchase and want achange of scenery.

What was apparent was that Google is more aggressivelytargeting those areas that Apple has traditionally excelled in,with products that are priced to entice customers away. AsApple categorically refuses to compete on price, it may find itselfchallenged in a number of product lines by these developments.

What impressed this writer specifically was that within tenminutes of the presentation ending, it was possible to go toGoogle’s Play store and order almost every item shown, with theexception of the Pixel C, with less than a month delivery time onthe phones, and just a few days on the Chromecast devices.

Google obviously mean business, should any of itscompetitors be in any doubt. mm

The revamp of theChromecast is very welcome,and the audio version could getsome real tractiom

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Lin

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Specialists

68 Issue 1384

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

I’ve always been slightlybaffled by the reams ofinformation out there thatinstruct you how to make

your Linux look exactly andalmost behave exactly like eitherWindows or a Mac. Why?

Okay, so it’s a bit of fun tohave a Linux distro themed toresemble the latest Mac UI, andI’ll go as far as saying that aMac UI is a very pleasant thingto behold and generally a littlebetter looking than most of theLinux distros I’ve come acrossover the years.

The same could be said forWindows, to some degree.Windows 10 is a good lookingUI, I personally think, and Inever had any problems withthe tiles in Windows 8 either.That said, I’m not going to tryto make a Linux installation ofmine look like it.

I suppose it’s an interestingproject to get to grips with,and it’ll familiarise you withelements of the OS youprobably wouldn’t normallytouch. Experimentation isgood in technology; that’s

how most of us learned howto use our preferred desktopoperating systems.

There’s also the theory thata former Windows and Macuser could get to grips withLinux easier if it looked a littlelike an OS they're familiar with.However, I don’t really buy intothat one too much.

It’s not a bad thing to make aLinux distro look like a Mac orWindows OS, but to me it justseems a little pointless.

What’s Wrong WithThe Linux Desktop?Fair enough, there are somedesktop environments thatdon’t look or feel too appealing.Gnome 3 when it was releaseddidn’t quite fit the bill for manyusers, and the same could besaid for Unity too. However, withLinux being as dynamic as it is,it doesn’t take a great deal tochange a desktop environmentto something that you do like –be that MATE, Cinnamon, KDE,Xfce, LXDE or countless others.

So when an article crops upwith the promise of making

Linux look like another OS,while I'll read it for the sake oflearning about the technologybehind it, I do frown at the whyaspect of it. I mean, why can’tLinux simply look like Linux?Stop comparing the differentOSs and simply enjoy them anduse them however you wish orto fulfil your needs.

The Gela ThemeAnyway, the point is that Irecently read about the GelaTheme, a Gnome shell themethat looks rather splendid on itsown but which can be used inconjunction with a number ofother elements to create a veryMac-like look on a Linux desktop.

I dug a little deeper andfound the Windows 7 themepack for Unity, where you canmake your Ubuntu build looklike the familiar Microsoft UI(sudo apt-get install win2-7).And there’s also the MacBuntuTransformation Pack, fullyupdated for the latest Ubuntuand Mint distros (goo.gl/op7JQJ).

There are just a couple ofexamples, but I’m interestedin what you think. Is makingLinux look like another OS ahandy tool to help you learn thesystem and a fun project? Orshould it just be brushed underthe carpet so we can enjoyLinux with the various desktopenvironments already on offer?

Nope, it’s not a Mac. It’s really

Ubuntu themed to look like one

Make LinuxLook Like…

Mimicking another OS

Issue 1194 69

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

Ma

cA Sense Of Focus

Given that I’m a writer, itshould come as nosurprise that I tend tospend a lot of time in

text editors. I long ago gave upon perennial ‘favourite’ MicrosoftWord. This wasn’t because ofany kind of ill-judged anti-Microsoft sentiments. In reality,Word’s not a bad app on theMac, but it had long felt farmore than a focused tool forwriting. Much like Apple’s Pages,Microsoft’s software half thetime seemed desperate totread on the toes of layoutpackages like InDesign. Andeven though recent editionshave more stripped-back writingmodes, I tend to strive forsomething simpler.

For the most part, minimal texteditors are where it’s at for me.I started out with WriteRoomand then moved to Byword.For more complex projects, I’llwheel out the superb Scrivener.I’ve also checked out Ulyssesfor note-taking and fashioninglarger articles, and iA Writer forworking on shorter pieces.

The last two applications inparticular are now really quiteinteresting, in terms of howthey approach a focused userexperience across platforms.In many cases, friction whenworking with an applicationcomes from a lack of familiarity– and you might argue that thisis something Microsoft has beenattempting to tackle with itsdesire to get ‘proper’ Windowseverywhere. But on iOS, whatyou get is a world away from theMac and OS X.

Software, though, can bridgeany perceived divide through thefreedoms afforded to individualuser interfaces. Thus, whenyou first launch Ulysses foriPad, you’ll perhaps stop for a

moment and question whetheryou’re suddenly looking at yourMac’s display from a distance.The app is practically identicalto its OS X cousin – only,because it’s utilising standard iOSinterface components, it actuallylooks a bit nicer.

With its latest 3.0 upgrade,iA Writer is in somewhat similarterritory. In fact, you might sayit goes a bit further, because theiOS app is almost unnervinglydesktop-like, but the desktopapp borrows conventions frommobile. In the former case,there’s a menu bar and drop-down menus – somethingthat’s almost entirely absentfrom other iOS software. Oddly,though, it works. I’m not sureI’d want to plough through aniPad Photoshop in this manner,but with the relatively fewcommands available in iA Writer,it feels like a familiar and usablemeans of getting things done.And on the desktop, there’squite a lot of swiping, in orderto open the Library (where savedfiles are stashed) and Preview(to check how your Markdown’sbeing interpreted). There’s

an effortless lack of thinking,like you have when using atouchscreen, but transferredto a trackpad. It works reallywell, to the point you wonderwhy other applications haven’tfollowed suit.

None of this is a plea formore software to somehowbecome identical across Appleplatforms. I don’t want an iMacthat runs iOS any more than Iwant OS X on my iPad (that is,not at all). Each system has itsown strengths, and I’d soonersee developers playing towardsthem with the software theydesign. But with the apps thatare strictly about getting thingsdone – helping you achieve akind of razor-sharp focus – thatsense of already knowing howto use a new version of an appthe second you launch it can bevery useful indeed. However, ifApple’s 3D Touch on iOS endsup becoming that system’s ‘rightclick’, I might have to rapidlyrevise this line of thinking.

On iPad, Ulysses looks and

works much like the Mac version –

surprisingly, a good thing

When apps are almost identical acrossOS X and iOS, is that a good thing?

Issue 1384 69

70 Issue 1191

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Google announces more new shiny thingsthan usual, and Ian McGurren is impressed

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

Ireally like autumn. It's abeautiful time of the year,when nearly all sunlit hourslook like the photographic

magic hour, all rich colours andsoft sunlight. Then there's thefun of Halloween and thebombastic start to the cold nightsand lead-up to Christmas that isBonfire Night too. It's prettymuch my favourite season,though I could do withoutspiders. Autumn is also the besttime for mobile tech too, withthe simultaneous releases of newhardware and operating systemsfrom both Apple and Google.Hot on the heels of Apple'sannouncement comes the newlydesigned Google's turn, and thisyear it was a little different.

There have been rumours forsome years of Google's flagshiphandsets (well, technicallyspeaking, only handsets) goingfrom being one device tobecoming a catch-all 'brand'that would be licensed to othermanufacturers. Evidence for thishas popped up in the past withthe Google Play Edition devicesoffering vanilla Android on non-Google handsets, as well asGoogle's constant switching ofNexus hardware manufacturers.This year, though, while we stilldon't have Nexus-brand licensing,we do have not one but two newNexus handsets, including from apreviously unused manufacturer.

Actually, new isn't quiteright in the case of the Nexus5X, given that it's an updateto 2013's Nexus 5. However,that won't bother too many, asthe Nexus 5 is still regarded asone of the best Nexus handsetsmade, even more so than2014's Nexus 6. The 5X is againmade by LG and retains a verysimilar design, one far easier to

handle than the Nexus 6. The5X is actually marginally bigger,with a 5.2" screen that Googledescribes as "compact"! It stillhas many of the same specs –1080p screen, 16GB or 32GBstorage, no micro-SD – but withbumps where it matters. TheSoC is a hexa-core Snapdragon808, and the camera is now12MP. RAM, however, is also still2GB, to the chagrin of some.The Nexus 5X will launch in theUK shortly, starting at £299.

The more interesting of thetwo is arguably the Nexus 6P,from first time Nexus-er Huawei.The Nexus 6P replaces the Nexus6 but doesn't actually have a 6"screen any more, possibly to theapproval of many who foundthe Nexus 6's screen just too big(including yours truly), while alsopresenting a far more attractiveshell that may or may not havea passing resemblance to Appleand Samsung's finest. In terms ofspecs, the Nexus 6P is also biggerthan the 5X, with a 2GHz octa-core Snapdragon 810 havinga spacious 3GB RAM to playwith. The screen is still QHD andAMOLED, albeit the smaller sizemakes for a marginally higher ppi

(518 against the 6's 493). TheNexus 6P starts at £439 for 16GBand is also soon to hit the shops.

Both units not only launchwith Android 6.0 Marshmallowbut have rear-mounted 'NexusImprint' fingerprint sensors,ushering in the likelihood thatthe remaining Android flagshipsin 2016 will also have fingerprintreaders. They're also the firstNexus devices to adapt USB-Cfor their charging and data port,again a standard that looks to bein place in many more handsetsin the coming year.

After the (too) bigdisappointment of the Nexus 6,it’s encouraging to see Googleaddress two of that device's mainproblems by making a better bigphone and making a well-pricedphone – and then cheekily doingthat as two separate devices.Bringing the much loved Nexus 5bang up to date and releasing agenuinely attractive phablet is aclever way to do both and makemore money. How they’ll standup against the iPhone 6S’s Apple-ness, the Galaxy S6’s curves andthe ever-more-impressive budgetdevices is yet to be seen. As abrand, however, Nexus is back.

70 Issue 1384

Issue 1194 71

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are

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

Sir Clive Sinclair is ahead of his time, says Andrew Unsworth

Issue 1384 71

Steve Jobs is widelyregarded as a pioneerand treated like somekind of tech messiah by

some, and not without reason.It was under his direction thatApple popularised mobilecomputing for the masses, afterall, and if you ask me, and I’msure that you would, that hasbeen a good thing.

However, there is in myopinion a far more deservingtech pioneer, and that isSir Clive Sinclair. It was SirClive who popularised homecomputing in the UK withSinclair’s ZX80, ZX81 and ZXSpectrum computers. Thoseof us in our mid-30s whocan program a computerprobably caught the BASICbug while working through theexamples in the programmingmanual that came with the ZXSpectrum or by hacking pokesfrom Your Sinclair into theSpeccy’s interpreter.

However, Sir Clive Sinclairisn’t only a populariser of homecomputers; he’s a true inventorin possession of a genius andimagination far ahead of theirtime. I’ve been thinking this fora while, but even more so inthe last week.

It was Sir Clive Sinclair whopioneered the portable TV, andalthough these devices had asection in the Argos catalogue(I remember fondly looking atthem and adding a portableto one of my many pleadingmissives to Father Christmas),I don’t know of anyone whohad one. Were these devicespopular? I’m not sure that theywere. Goodness knows howlong the batteries lasted. Yet SirClive’s vision of truly portabletelevision has been realised inthe form of smartphones andtablets. Portable televisions areubiquitous. I was reminded of

Sinclair’s portable TVs whenwatching a video in my iPad inthe grounds of a rural hotel,and then again a couple of dayslater when I saw other peopledoing the same thing.

The other day I was chattingto people about electric cars,and a couple of people hadtest-driven them, as well ashybrids, with a view to buyingone of them. We laughed andjoked about the genuine fun

to be had in the Renault Twizyand how electric cars haveranges that make them viableas run-arounds.

If you haven’t seen it, theRenault Twizy is a slim electriccar with room for one personin front and room for a singlepassenger in the back. Itreminds me of the Sinclair C5,even though the Twizy has fourwheels and a roof.

The idea that electric carscould become not just an option

but truly mainstream withsupport from major motoringmanufacturers would haveseemed far-fetched even 15years ago, never mind when theC5 was released. Yet Sir Clive’svision of clean, electric personaltransport has come to fruition.

Sir Clive has done thebest that he can do with thetechnology he has had availableat the time of his manyinventions, but his ideas have

had to wait for technology andthe rest of humanity to catch upwith him for them to becometruly viable and mainstream.

Much has been writtenabout Clive Sinclair, and manywill wonder why more needsto be written about him, but Ican’t let the thoughts I’ve hadover the last couple of weeksgo unvoiced. Next time you’redown the pub, please raise aglass of your favourite tipple inhonour of the man.

The Tech Pioneer

Sir Clive Sinclair isn’t

only a populariser of home

computers

72 Issue 122972 Issue 1384

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Plug&PlayActivision can typically bank onthe autumn months belongingto the Call Of Duty franchise,This year, however, Black OpsIII has an unusually powerfulrival: EA’s Star Wars: Battlefront,which is also out in November.While Battlefront has the allure ofX-wings, TIE Fighters, Darth Vaderand John Williams’ irresistiblescore, Black Ops III has one thingthe Star Wars game doesn’t: asingle-player campaign.

Say what you will about thebrevity of CoD’s recent storymodes, at least Activision issticking with them – even ifthey’re only a small part of whatmakes the series one of the mostsuccessful on the planet. Like theModern Warfare strand of thefranchise, Black Ops III will take usinto the not-to-distant future of2065, where robotics and cerebralimplants have resulted in a newbreed of armoured, athletic supersoldier. The latest trailer(youtu.be/k2GMPVXLGbk)gives a fresh insight into thecampaign’s tone and events,which are best described asApocalypse Now meets Elysium.The trailer also features a jarringuse of the f-word, which might,unless we’re much mistaken, bethe first time we’ve encounteredone in a CoD trailer.

“I wanted to be a killingmachine,” growls a characternamed John Taylor, voiced byLaw & Order’s ChristopherMeloni. There’s a broodingatmosphere to the trailer akinto the Deus Ex series, whichextends to the chatter abouta “direct neural interface”.What will this augmentationdo? It’s not yet clear how it’llaffect the game itself, but thepositive and negative effectsof having a computer-boostedbrain is evidently the drivingforce behind the story. The plotalso appears to take in somekind of internal war betweenBlack Ops soldiers, and it isn’tentirely clear whose side we’ll

be on. And, lest you think it allsounds a bit too moody andheavy, there’s a scene wherea guy’s thrown off a balcony,and in one spectacularly weirdand unexpected moment, atank comes crashing through awall. Closer inspection appearsto confirm that it’s a Germantank from World War II. Whaton Earth’s going on? Are we infor a bit of Assassin’s Creed-like time hopping? Are thecharacters Universal Soldier-like veterans from WWII,thawed out and returned toduty? We’ll just have to waitand see.

Call Of Duty: Black Ops III is outon the 6th November.

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

Specialists

This week, Ryan takes a look at the details behind BlackOps III’s solo campaign, and checks out the new additionsto Elite: Dangerous...

Cybernetic bodies, cerebral augmentations and World War II tanks? It’s all

part of the plot Treyarch has in store for us in Black Ops III’s solo campaign

Fight The FutureFight The Future

Pokemon InMinecraft?We’ve seen all kinds of exotic and ingenious things built inMinecraft over the years, but what about a working version ofthe original Pokemon on the Nintendo Game Boy? That’s whatone user, Magib1, has been working away on for the past twomonths. It sounds like an unfeasibly complex thing to get upand running within the game, but footage appears to provethat it works: hero Ash Ketchum is shown wandering around amonochrome map just like the original 1996 game. “It is a ratherambitious project,” its designer says. He plans to have a fullyworking Pokemon game working within the next four months.

You have to admire the dedication: someone’s

building a working version of Pokemon Red on the

Game Boy... inside Minecraft

Issue 1384 73

GAMING

OnlineElite: Dangerous offers a colossaluniverse to explore, but allthat travelling and trading cansometimes get a little, well,lonely? Elite’s developer FrontierDevelopments have clearly beenthinking about this, because it’spreparing to launch somethingcalled Multi-Crew. As its nameimplies, the forthcoming updatewill allow multiple players totravel around together in thesame ship, with each player ableto take on a different aspect offlying their craft and controllingits weapons systems.

"Multi-Crew lets you fly in thesame ship with friends, which willup the intensity and camaraderielevels of a joint mission evenfurther!" Frontier wrote in arecent newsletter. "You’ll be ableto share and alternate controlof weapons systems, turrets andflight duties to multiply youreffectiveness. Even to the extentof piloting a ship-launched fighterand working in combinationwith the mothership. It’ll beespecially useful in some of thevery large trading ships comingin season two."

As part of Multi-Crew, Frontierare also adding avatars, whichplayers will be able to alter andcustomise as they see fit. “The all-new Commander Creator bringsyour in-game presence to life forthe first time,” the studio write,“and lets you identify friendswith a quick glance across yourship's bridge.”

These additional features areall part of the Horizons “seasonof major gameplay expansions”Frontier has pegged for releasenext year. Back in August, weheard of the update’s first bigaddition: the ability to land onplanets. With the PlanetaryLandings expansion, we’ll beable to bomb around on planetsurfaces in a vehicle called theScarab, which means we’ll beable to go mining for mineraldeposits, salvage valuable stufffrom crashed ships and do battlewith enemy forces.

As you may have alreadyobserved, Horizons isn’tparticularly cheap, particularlyif you’re an existing Elite:Dangerous player – the DLCby itself will cost £30, whilenewcomers can buy the base

game and the add-on for £40.The content Frontier’s addingto Elite: Dangerous is hugelyambitious, though, and if all goesaccording to plan, could makethe studio’s already vast space simmore sprawling than ever.

Expect Horizons in late 2015.

IncomingPre-orders are a common, if oftencontroversial, marketing tacticthese days. In the case of theforthcoming Deus Ex: MankindDivided, however, it seemsthat Square Enix misjudged thepublic’s mood on the matter. InAugust, it announced a, frankly,bizarre 'Augment Your Pre-Order'promotion – In essence offeringKickstarter-like tiers, where morepre-orders the game added up

to more bonuses for its earlypurchasers – incentives includedadditional in-game items andmissions, which built to a top tier,which would have seen the gamereleased four days earlier.

The online response tothe campaign wasn’t exactlypositive, though with manyrightly pointing out that all thebonuses except the early releasealready available to purchasers ofgame's 'collector’s edition'. Well,Square have since cancelled theprogramme, with the bonusesnow available to everyone whoorders early. Square has alsoannounced that the sci-fi sequelwill be arriving on the same datefor everyone – so look out forDeus Ex: Mankind Divided on the23rd February 2016.

Combat the loneliness of space travel with Multi-Crew, the new mode

coming to Elite: Dangerous that will allow multiple players in one ship

Square Enix’s controversial 'Augment Your Pre-Order' scheme has now

been cancelled following negative feedback from fans

Index

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Windows XP Pro ComputersFresh install.This Computer greatfor gaming, office work, surfing thenet, watchingmovies generally agood all round system from £100+p&pmight also have laptops priceon request please email or call mefor more information.Tel: David (01616) 888119Email: pcmadnessltd@yahoo.co.uk

Motherboard Bundle 3GHz AMD64bit CPU 512MBRam 5xpci2xSATA 2xIDE 1Gb LAN 6-channelsound firewire COMESWITHDRIVERCDANDMANUAL greatfor gaming, office work, surfingthe net, watchingmovies generallya good system spec can slightlybe changed if required £35 + p&pplease email or call me for more infoTel: David (01616) 888119 Email:pcmadnessltd@yahoo.co.uk

Motherboard Bundle 3.2Ghz Intel64 bit CPU 1GB Ram 2pci-e 2xpci2IDE 2SATA 8usb ports LAN 6chsound COMESWITH DRIVERCD ANDMANUAL Great forgaming, office work, surfing thenet, watching movies generallya good all round system spec canslightly be changed if requiredplease email or call me for a priceTel: David (01616) 888119Email: pcmadnessltd@yahoo.co.uk

Brand new Laptop bag still sealedin the plastic bag and never used(it came as part of a bundle) pleaseemail or call me for a priceTel: David (01616) 888119Email: pcmadnessltd@yahoo.co.uk

WIFI wireless PCMCIA card willfit in older laptops to connect towireless networks £10 +p&pTel: David (01616) 888119Email: pcmadnessltd@yahoo.co.uk

Internal 3 1/4 floppy drives.Choiceof white/black/silver/no face plateplease email or call me for a priceTel: David (01616) 888119Email: pcmadnessltd@yahoo.co.uk

HP 88 Inkjet Cartridges eight timeexpired boxedHP cartridges £5.Tel: Ian (01932) 856971Email: a2345@btinternet.comPC gaming hardware. I have got1 x force feedback steering wheel 1x force feedback joystick 1 x normaljoystick lots of game pads pleaseemail or call me for a price.Tel: David (01616) 888119Email: pcmadnessltd@yahoo.co.uk

Motherboard Bundle. 2.8GhzIntel 32bit CPU 512MB Ram3xpci 2xSATA 2IDE LAN soundgood for gaming, office work,surfing the net, watching moviesgenerally a good all round systemspec can slightly be changed ifrequired. Email or call for a price.Tel: David (01616) 888119Email: pcmadnessltd@yahoo.co.uk

Desktop cases. AT and ATXtypes and tower and flatbed formfactor different sizes and colorscan be posted or picked up fromManchester please email or call mewith your requirements for a price.Tel: David (01616) 888119Email: pcmadnessltd@yahoo.co.uk

160GB 3 1/2 inch desktop Harddrive. IDE and SATA clean pull(little to no use) no bad sectorstested all you need to do is plug inand go £20 +p&p please email orcall me for more informationTel: David (01616) 888119Email: pcmadnessltd@yahoo.co.uk

Gigabyte Geforce GTX680.Model GV-N680D5-2GD-B,2048MB RAM, PCIe x16,bare card, no box. £200ono. Collection only fromWokingham RG41.Tel: Bob Pratt (01189) 781753Email: bob@docbobs.com

Dell Latitude E5420 i5. Veryfast 2.5, 4GB RAM, 500GB HDD,DVDRW fantastic condition.Cheaper than any on Ebay. Verygood battery life. You can collectfrom Manchester or Portsmouthor I can courier out to you nextday for an extra £10. Please callall email for any questions. Ithas Windows 7 64 bit installedand activated with a genuinecertificate of authenticity.NEW £125.Tel: DaveThomas (07828) 982930 or(01942) 706571Email: davethomas96@aol.comAcer Aspire 1670 laptop. Nohard disc. Otherwise in excellentcondition. In laptop bag. £45.Tel: David (07901) 994958

NVidiaQuadro 600GPU. 1GBDDR3, Dual link DVI-I + Displayport. Max. Display at 60Hz +2560x1600, Direct X 11, Open GL4.4.The best per watt in its class.Big performance, small form factor,small power consumption. FrommyworkingWin8 PC. £32.50 inc post. .Tel: Dave (01206) 298773Email: ochdgh@aol.com

2 x 2GBOCZGold Series DDR2RAM. PC2 8500, (matched pair)P/NOCZ2G10664GK 5-6-62.1v Removed frommyworkingmachine. £40 the pair incl. reg. post.Tel: Dave (01206) 298773Email: ochdgh@aol.com

MOTHERBOARD+RAM+GRAPHICCARDBUNDLE.AsusP5QL SE +OCZ 4Gb RAM+ 1GbQuadro PCI-E Graphic Card. SEESEPARATEADS FORDETAIL.FrommyWindows 8machine.BUNDLE: £105 Incl. Reg. P&PTel: Dave (01206) 298773Email: ochdgh@aol.com

Compaq/HP nc6320 Laptop. Core2 Duo 1.8mhz, 512 Ram, 80gbHarddrive DVDRWWin 7 ProfessionalCOA.Memory can be upgraded foran extra charge. Very good batterylife. Collect fromManchester orPortsmouth, courier delivery for anextra £10. Please call all email forany questions. It hasWindows 732 bit installed and activated with agenuine certificate of authenticity.Refurbished £60.

Tel: DaveThomas (07828) 982930 or(01942) 706571Email: davethomas96@aol.com

Dell D830 laptop. Core 2 DuoT8300 2.4MHz (very fast) 2GBRAM 120GB HDD, DVDRWGenuineWin 7 pro 32-bitactivated. Fantastic condition.Good battery life. Collect fromManchester or Portsmouth, courierdelivery for £10. Call/email withquestions. Refurbished. £80.Tel: DaveThomas (07828) 982930or (01942) 706571Email: davethomas96@aol.com

Dell XPS12 Ultrabook. 4th gen i5,4GB RAM, 128GB SSD 10 pointtouch 12.5" 1920 x 1080 Display,Backlit US Keyboard, Wireless-AC,Bluetooth, USB3. £395Tel: Ian (01932) 856971Email: a2345@btinternet.com

NON ECC LOWDENSITYLAPTOPMEMORYMODULES.DOUBLE SIDED RAM.Working Laptop pull, Pleasedouble check as No returns dueto incompatibility. 8GB 2 X4GB Crucial 204 Pin SODIMM512Mx64 DDR. CT51264BC1067.M16FD BV1111Z.FS 201106 SU£27.50 the pair incl. Reg. p&pTel: Dave (01206) 298773Email: ochdgh@aol.com

Laptop for sale. HPNC 6400 Core2 DUO 2.0MHz 3GB ram 80GBHDD, DVDCDRWFingerprintreader, Fantastic and fast .Windows7 32-bit professional. Only £60 plus£12 for next day delivery.Tel: DaveThomas (07828) 982930or (01942) 706571Email: davethomas96@aol.com

Desktop PC. ZalmanT3 case,3.4GHz CPU, AsusMotherboard,Seagate 500gbHDD, SamsungOpticaldrive. 4gb Kingston RAMWifi&Ethernet, GenuineWin7 Ultimate.Collection preferred from Flintshireor willing to discuss options. £150.Tel: Paul (07900) 796780Email n-peckdd@5kid5.net

2 x 2GBOCZGold Series DDR2RAM. PC2 8500, (matched pair)P/NOCZ2G10664GK 5-6-62.1v. Removed frommyworking

Classifieds Please mention Micro Mart when replying to adverts

80 Issue 1384

machine. £40 the pair incl. reg. post.Tel: Dave (01206) 298773Email: ochdgh@aol.com

Asus Z97GryphonArmorKit.Steel backplate with plastic top andauxilliary fan. Also someminorplastic bits. £20. Email for details.Email: graham_rocknell@yahoo.co.uk

27" iMac. 2.9 GHz Intel i5, 1TBHDD, 8GBRAM– late 2012Model (thin edge) iMac in goodcondition, runningOSXYosemite.No keyboard ormouse, original box.£700.Tel: Chris Salter (01707) 880251Email: ChrisSalter@hoarelea.comCompaq/HP 6910p Laptop. Core2 Duo 1.8mhz, 2gb Ram, 160gbHard drive DVDCDRWWin 7Professional COA. Cheaper thanany on Ebay. Very good battery life.You can collect fromManchester orPortsmouth or I can courier out toyou next day for an extra £10. Callor email any questions. It hasWin 732-bit installed and activated with agenuine COA. Refurbished £60.Tel: DaveThomas (07828) 982930or (01942) 706571Email: davethomas96@aol.com

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

ASUSP5QL-EPUMotherboard- 775 Socket - DDR2. Tested andtaken from a working environment,comes with I/O Plate. £45 inc FreeCourier. Payment via PayPal.Email: info@jmcomputing.info

ANTEC 2800MIDI-TOWER.Black Antec case, Sempron 2800+,Gigabyte m/board, 2GB RAM, 80GBHard-Drive, DVD-RW, 10/100Network. Clean install ofWindowsXP, Office 2007, fully updated &activated, all usual utilities, XP COAon case. £39 (P&P £15).Tel: Pat (07710) 348638Email: pat4cars@aol.com

OPTERON185WORKSTATION.2.6GHzDual-Core, Freezer 64,4GB RAM, 160 + 300GB, CD-RW,DVD-RW, Floppy, network Card,Soundblaster , NVidea , Vista

Business, fully updated & activated,with copy of install media &workingactivation number. £79 (P&P £15).Tel: Pat (07710) 348638Email: pat4cars@aol.com

Laptop for sale. HP Compaq6910p Core 2 DUO T73002.0mhz 3gb ram 80gb hard driveDVDCDRW Fingerprint readerfantastic and fast , Genuine win7 35 bit professional Only £60plus £12 for next day delivery.Fantastic condition, very fast.Tel: Dave Thomas (07828)982930 or (01942) 706571Email: davethomas96@aol.comWD500GB external USBHDD.Excellent Condition. £20 inc. P&P.Tel:Michael Cunnane (01452) 303732

KINGSTON120GB SOLIDSTATEHARDDRIVE. For sale120GBKingston solid state harddrive model SSDnowV300 2.5"Sata3 - compatible with Sata2. Veryfast drive. Perfect condition. Freedelivery. PayPal accepted. Price £38.Email: geofry@tiscali.co.uk

Dell LatitudeE5420 i5 2.5 ghz, 4GBRAM, 500GBhard drive, DVDRW,built in camera. GenuineWindows7 64 bit professional. £150 plus £12for next day delivery. Payment viaPaypal or cheque or bank transfer,cash. Fantastic condition very fast.Tel: DaveThomas (07828) 982930 or(01942) 706571Email: davethomas96@aol.com

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

WD3TB internal Hard Drive.Excellent Condition, £65 inc P&P.Tel:Michael Cunnane (01452) 303732

Netgear DG834N RangemaxNext Wireless N Modem Routerkit. Excellent condition completewith power supply, networkcables, telephone cable, ADSLfilter and setup CD. £10.Tel: David Ewles (01295) 253554Email: david@ewles.gb.com

WDInternal SATA 3.5" 2TBHard Drive. Excellent Condition.

£37.50 included P&P. Flat screenmonitors. Mainly 15” £20+p&p and17” £30+p&p but have others onrequest.When packing I will makesure they have lot of padding toreduce rick of damage. Please emailor call me for more information.Tel: David (01616) 888119Email: pcmadnessltd@yahoo.co.uk

IBMThinkpad T30 laptopfor spares or repairs. Excellentcondition, but does not bootup.Not sure why. Could be an easy fixor for parts/spares. £15 plus P&P.Tel: Gordon (01314) 660205E-mail: scobieg09@gmail.comWebcam (Trust Spacecam).Boxed with CD of installationsoftware and instruction manual.Perfect condition. £10.Tel: Gordon (01314) 660205E-mail: scobieg09@gmail.com

For Sale: HP PhotosmartC4585 All-in-One multifunctioncolour printer. Perfect condition.Includes software discs andmanual. £20Tel: Gordon (01314) 660205E-mail: scobieg09@gmail.com

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

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

Toshiba Portage i5 laptop.2.5GHz Model R830-13c 4GBRAM, 320GB HDD. Wi-Fi,fingerprint scanner, HDMIouput. Sold on eBay for over£200; only £150 plus £15 p&p.Bargain. Great condition, and avery light device.Tel: Dave Thomas (07828) 982930or (01942) 706571Email: davethomas96@aol.com

DESKTOPHARDDRIVE. 640GBWestern Digital 3.5" SATAmodelWD6400AAKS. Perfect working

order. Partitioned and formatted.Only used as back-up drive. Freedelivery. Price: £33.PayPal accepted.Email: geofry@tiscali.co.uk

Seagate Barraucda 250GBSATAHardDrive 3.5". Testedand removed from a workingenvironment. £12 inc Free Courier.Payment via PayPal.Email: info@jmcomputing.info

XFXGeForce Nvidia 8800GtsGraphics Card For Sale. £40.00 +Post. In perfect working orderEmail: ken.toole1@virginmedia.comLAPTOPHARDDRIVE. 160GBSATA 2.5".WESTERNDIGITAL.Model:WD1600BEVT. Fully tested.Perfect working order. Partitionedand formatted NTFS. Free postage.Price £22. Paypal accepted.Email: geofry@tiscali.co.uk

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

4x 1 GBDDR2 RAM (Ocz NvidiaSLI PC2 6400 epp 4-4-4-15)for Sale. £40.00 for all 4 + Post/Packing. In perfect working order.Email: ken.toole1@virginmedia.com

Vintage Amstrad PC1512HD20.ColourMonitor 20MBHard Drive5.25 Floppy Original AmstradDisksManuals spare KeyboardandMouse.This is a rare fullyfunctioning collectable. £60.Tel: (01949) 876235Email: hc4203@gmail.com

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

Corsair Vengence 16GB(2x 8GB) DDR3 RAMCMSX16GX3M2A1600C10. Neverused. Selling due to wrong voltage,these are 1.5V and I needed 1.35V.Asking £85 inc. postage to the UK.

ClassifiedsPlease mention Micro Mart when replying to adverts

81Issue 1384

Email: fabstock1@gmail.com

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

Corsair Vengence 16GB(2x 8GB) DDR3 RAMCMSX16GX3M2A1600C10.Never used. Selling due to wrongvoltage, these are 1.5V and Ineeded 1.35V. Asking £85 inc.postage to the UK.Email: fabstock1@gmail.com

HPMicroserver n40l / windows7 Pro / 4GB RAM / 400GBdrive / MS Office 2003. This HPn40l Microserver is in excellentcondition and comes withWindows 7 re-allocated, activated& updated Feb 2015. Alsoinstalled is Minitools PartitionMagic, MS Office 2003 HP basic,with codes/COAs. Buyer mayhave Linux Mint, or a completelybare drive. 2 spare drive frames.I have the original packing as perHP original delivery. So far asI can see, this Microserver willtake 16GB memory and up tofive drives. See it working beforebuying, (by arrangement). Norefund under any circumstances.Collect from Harrogate, NorthYorkshire. £140. Cash oncollection. Delivery might cost £8via Hermes, maybe much moreto Highlands/Islands. Payment byCheque OK subject to clearing,Paypal at £25 additional (to covertheir fees).Tel: (07794) 528857Email: it_central@ntlworld.com

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

UsedAsusWireless Router for sale.Dual-band 4 x GB EthernetWi-FiRT-N66UN-900. £65.00 O.V.N.O.Selling cause I have no need for itsince upgrade to BTHomeHub 5.Email: beme12355@googlemail.com

Trying to breathe life backinto an old machine? Whynot submit a wanted ad andsee if any of the thousands ofcomputer enthusiasts who readthe magazine each week havewhat you’re looking for?

WANTED:Gigabyte GA-Z77X-D3H motherboard.Email: johnbeiry@gmail.com

WANTED: PC Tower case (beigecolour if possible) to rehome anAmiga A1200 vintage computer.TheAmigamotherboard is H410mm x L 190mm (H 16" x L 7.5").PSU not an issue but if available 250watt more than enough.Tel: Bill (07742) 061569 or(02641) 769503.

WANTED: Fractal Design DefineXL full tower case. R1 (originalversion) in black.Tel: (01670) 860146Email: mm@tectron.co.uk

Do you have old software thatyou simply don't use?Why notadvertise with us?

MicrosoftOffice 2000 standard.Upgrade retail box only PARTNUMBER 021-02661 £15 NEWAND SEALED.This includesthe followingWORD, EXCEL,OUTLOOK, POWERPOINT. If youneed an upgrade path I can supplyone for free. Please add £3 for p&p.Tel: Dave Thomas (07828)982930 or (01942) 706571Email: davethomas96@aol.com

Microsoft Project 2000 retailboxed new unopened box. ONLY£20. Includes Microsoft ProjectCentral and server software.Perfect to upgrading to the latestsoftware at a fraction of the cost.Please add £3 for p&p.Tel: Dave Thomas (07828)982930 or (01942) 706571Email: davethomas96@aol.com

Adobe Photoshop Elementsand Premiere Elements 12Full Version - Windows/Mac.Original Boxed CD with unusedproduct key. £47.50Tel: Ian (01932) 856971Email: a2345@btinternet.com

PCBdesign software 127 layers,schematic entry, PCB entry, PCBto Gerber file converter, output toprinter. £9.99Tel: NigelWright (07967) 527693Email: cresswellavenue@talktalk.net

Cyberlink PowerDVD 12Standard. Runs under Windows8, 7, Vista or XP. Original CDwith unused product key £7.50Tel: Ian (01932) 856971Email: a2345@btinternet.com

Microsoft Office 2013. OriginalSoftware only £100.Tel: Gordon (01314) 660205E-mail: scobieg09@gmail.com

Sim City 2000. Boxed andoriginal. Classic gaming. £15.Tel: Gordon (01314) 660205E-mail: scobieg09@gmail.com

Wanted: Instructions!A coupleof long shots, but does anyonehave instructions for theTEXET T581 BN programmablescientific calculator or theZOOSTORM Fizzbook NL2model [not the one available onthe net - wrong model]?Email: Alan Cox alancox28231@gmail.com

Wanted: PictureToExe software, formaking picture shows.Tel: (01202) 610602Email: ivor.mary@talktalk.net

Wanted: Quicken 2001 UKEdition. I need to reinstallthe program, but have lost myoriginal installation CD.Email: david.maddams@icloud.com

IMPORTANTBUYING ADVICE

We work very hard topolice our classifiedads, and make themas secure as possible.However, please doyour bit too and use thefollowing guidelines:

• Never - NEVER - pay bybank transfer or post out cash,

unless you know the trader

already, or are sure it is okay

to do so. Pay by cheque, Paypal,

Nochex etc wherever possible.

• Be wary of anyone who insists

on you paying by the above

methods if in doubt, get us

to check them out by mailing

editorial@micromart.co.uk

• Keep copies of all

correspondence

•When sending out goods, at

the least obtain a certificate of

posting from the Post Office

If you are in any doubt,feel free to send us a mailvia editorial@micromart.co.uk.

Every year, thousands ofsuccessful transactionstake place through ourclassifieds, and that's justhow we like it.

Help us help youkeep them one of thesafest and most secureplaces to buy and sellcomputer kit.

SOFTWARE FOR SALE

HARDWARE WANTED

SOFTWARE WANTED

Send your questions to:Aaron BirchMicro MartDennis Publishing30 Cleveland StreetLondonW1T 4JD

Contact Aaron by email at:aaron@micromart.co.uk

Please try to keep yourqueries brief and limitthem to just one questionper letter, simply so wecan squeeze in as many aswe can each week. Pleaseinclude relevant technicalinformation too.

Aaron

Meet Aaron Birch.He’s here to help youwith any generalupgrading, softwareand system buildingproblems. He’s gotadvice aplenty andyou’re very muchwelcome to it!

AARONASK

82 Issue 1384

StickingWith 7Looking at the Windows UpdateI see that there are nine updatesto download. I am registeredfor the Windows 10 upgrade,but this is shown as optionaland I have unticked this as Idon't want it yet. However,when I try to download theWindows 7 updates it still triesto download the Windows10 upgrade. If I allow thedownload will it automaticallyupgrade the computer or willit sit patiently on the hard diskwaiting for me to activate it?

I only want the Windows 7updates. How do I stop the 10upgrade downloading? Thanksfor your help.

Roger

There's no need to worryabout an unwanted upgrade toWindows 10. The update you'rebeing prompted to download

is likely just the applet thatcan be used to download andinstall Windows 10, it's not theactual OS. Even if you have theapp already, once downloaded,this simply sits on your Taskbar, but Windows 10 won’t bedownloaded or installed untilyou instigate it.

The actual update that'sresponsible for the Windows10 upgrade is KB3035583,and it's an optional install, socan be avoided if you don'twant it. If you've alreadyinstalled this, you can remove

it by simply going to ControlPanel > Add/Remove Programsand then View InstalledUpdates. Locate the KB updatein the list and uninstall it.Once it's gone, the Windows10 app (also called GWX)should be gone too. In future,all you need to do is avoid

downloading and installingthis update, and Windows 10won't bother you.

Uninstall Windows update

KB3035583 if you want to remove

the GWX, Windows 10 app

There's no need to

worry about an unwanted

upgrade to Windows 10

Issue 1384 83

THEEXPERTS

BrokenLinkBeing retired, in my late seventies, and us-ing my computers for office work, Internet,website building and maintenance, I havetested windows 10 preview, and my only realgripe was having to sign in with a Microsoftaccount. As I have to keep up to date withwindows, I decided to upgrade my eight year-old laptop, which is used mainly for testingas my main computer keeps all the importantstuff with a backup NAS.

The only upgrades the laptop has had areextra RAM, an SSD, and windows 7. I didthe upgrade to Windows 10 myself using anISO and the Media Creation Tool. The firstsurprise was that after the upgrade Windowsonly asked me to login with my local account,and has not demanded that I change to aMicrosoft one. The boot time was very quickand I found I had no problem using windows10. It was only after about six days that Icame across an issue.

I am taking part in a trial that requires meto input details using a link supplied to me viaan email. I discovered when I tried this underwindows 10, although I was still using mye-mail accounts with live mail, I was unableto activate the link. After trying everythingpossible I opened the email on my maincomputer, which still runs windows 7, andwas able to use the link without a problem.

I do not know if this a problem withWindows 10 or not, but I have decided not toupgrade my main computer until I can correctthis. Any thoughts on this would be helpful

Harold

I'm not sure what type of link you're tryingto open, and what this actually involves (visitto a web page to fill in a form, running of

software, a simple confirmation, etc.), so it'shard to theorise on what the problem is here.

I'd usually first suggest you check to seeif the link is valid and has no typos, then tryto copy and paste the link into a browserinstead of clicking it in the email. After that Irecommend you try to forward it to anotheraccount, and/or open it in another mail client.However, I suspect you may have tried at leastsome, if not all, of these things already.

Links haven't really changed all thatmuch over time, and there's no reason alink should work in Windows 7, but not inWindows 10, unless the results of that linkdo something very specific – such as openinga program or web script that has problemswith the new OS. Again, as I don't knowwhat the link is for, it's hard to advise.

That said, I have seen some people haveproblems opening email links within Officeand Outlook (2003, 2007, and 2010). Thisseems to rear its head when trying to openlinks in Internet Explorer. Other browsers areapparently not affected.

A potential fix for this involves the Registry,and creating a new key. To do this, search for'regedit' and run the Registry Editor. Whenopen, navigate to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\htmlfile\shell and create a new folder undershell called 'opennew', and within this createanother called 'command'. Change thedefault value of this by double-clicking the'(Default)' entry and entering (assuming C isyour OS drive):

"C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\IEXPLORE.EXE" %1

Once this is done, close the Registry Editor. Areboot shouldn’t' be needed, but can't hurt.

As the problem only seems to affectInternet Explorer, you may wish to simplymove to another browser, such as Firefoxor Chrome, and set it as your new defaultbrowser. This should also solve the problem.

A simple Registry tweak can fix some email link

problems in Windows 10

RAM?How can I tell what kind of RAM mylaptop uses? I have a decent laptop, butit's not got much RAM installed, so it'spretty slow. I think that I can upgradeor add some extra RAM to it to speed itup, but I don't want to put in the wrongtype of RAM, as I'm worried that woulddamage it, or the RAM.

Can you help?

Lee

Don't worry too much about puttingthe wrong RAM into a system. Ifit's wrong, you won't likely damageanything, the RAM just won't work, orthe system won't boot up. That's all.

Aside from checking online at themanufacturer's website, to actuallyfind out what RAM your system usesyou could simply open it up and lookon the RAM module itself, as the typeand speed of RAM is usually printedon a sticker, or you could use aspecial program. Once such programis CPU-Z

You can get hold of CPU-Z fromwww.cpuid.com. This is systeminformation software, and once youinstall and run it, you can view aplethora of information about yoursystem, including the type of RAM.

Need to know what RAM your PC has?

Use CPU-Z

84 Issue 1361

z

JASONASK

Send your questions to:Jason D’AllisonMicro MartDennis Publishing30 Cleveland StreetLondonW1T 4JD

Contact Jason by email at:jason@micromart.co.uk

While we try to cover as manyquestions as we can, we regretthat Jason cannot answer yourquestions personally, but he’ll coveras many as he possibly can eachweek. Please ask one question perletter and remember to include thefull specification of your computer,including its operating system.

Jason

Meet JasonD’Allison, a veteranof Micro Mart’s panelof experts. He’s hereto help with anytechnical questions,including anythingto do with tablets orsmartphones, as wellas PCs

84 Issue 1384

All Work, No PlayI’m having trouble withmy Orange San Franciscosmartphone. It’s got a fewapps I’ve paid for, but I’munable to upgrade them tothe latest versions. I believethis is because the Play storeitself needs upgrading, but I’munable to do that, either. I justget error messages. Can youadvise? Or should I give up andbuy a new Moto G?

Dave, BT

The chief problem here is thatthe San Francisco has obsoletehardware. Its SoC (system-on-a-chip) is the Snapdragon S1M7227, so the instruction set isARMv6. All modern ARM-basedSoCs employ ARMv7 (32-bit)or ARMv8 (64-bit). As I recall,Google abandoned support forARMv6 way back in 2011, withthe launch of Android 4.0 (IceCream Sandwich).

Another hurdle is thatyour ‘Frisco will be packingAndroid 2.1 (Eclair) or 2.2.x(Froyo), which again are longpast official support. Thereare numerous custom ROMsavailable, and some are builton Android 4.1.x–4.3.x (JellyBean) or even 4.4.x (KitKat).ROMs with any sort of stability,though, seem to top out atAndroid 2.3.x (Gingerbread).That’s still far too old.

Even so, Dave, if installing acustom ROM is a path you’dlike to tread, you should visit

www.sanfranciscoandroid.co.uk.Bear in mind, though, thateven if you do somehowmanage to get sorted with arecent version of Google Play,there’s no guarantee you’llsucceed in reinstalling orupdating all your current apps.ARMv6 devices now hold sucha small slice of the market thatmost developers simply don’tbother going the extra mile tosupport them. With its600MHz CPU, Adreno 200GPU, and 512MB of RAM, yourFrisco is now also woefullyslow. Sorry!

It really is time for a newphone. You mention the MotoG, and you can’t go far wrongwith the third-generationmodel (the latest one). Thereare two versions, though: onewith 1GB of RAM and 8GB of

storage and one with doubleof both. The latter is the plumchoice, especially as it’s pricedat £170. The scheduled releasedate is 22nd October, and it’sworth the small wait.

There are plenty of othermid-range contenders inthe market at the moment,however. New British outfitWileyfox is gaining somedeserved attention, andits Swift model – which isat least the equal of theaforementioned 2GB/16GBMoto G – costs just £129.Astonishing. It was meant tocome out on 22nd September,but this has slipped to 16thOctober, which may well havebeen and gone by the timeyou’re reading this.

Form an orderly queue, please

Bits And PCsThis week I have been mostly......Reading that the second-biggest UK seller on eBay – the king of cables, packagingmaterials, and dirt-cheap Chinese electronics – is allegedly in all manner of legal andfinancial difficulty, and it seems to have shut up shop (take a gander at goo.gl/0YZHsY)...Playing hook-a-duck at the Statutes fair in my hometown of Burton (some say I’m far tooold to be playing hook-a-duck, but when there’s a stuffed Mr. Blobby on the one-win prizerow, just take my money)...Watching my business partner wielding a hot-air gun and attempting to replace thesmashed back of a Sony Xperia Z2 (result: three attempts, two backs, and one dead phone)...Listening to my lad’s agonised sighs of despair at the death of the screen (again) on hisLenovo Y70-70 Touch gaming laptop (the original screen was faulty right from the machine’sChristmas Day unboxing, so this new screen will be the third in barely nine months)...Opting to forgo the Recaro seats (regular readers will understand)!

Issue 1384 85

THEEXPERTS

What On Earth?I can’t get Google Earth installed. At first, after downloadingthe setup file, the error message was this: ‘Google Earth needsadministrator privileges to install.’ I worked round that by locating‘googleearthsetup.exe’ in my Downloads folder, right-clicking it,and choosing ‘Run as administrator’, but now I get a different error:’The installer encountered error 1603.’ What’s going on? I’m usingWindows 7, if that helps.

Nigel, Gmail

Error 1603 usually appears if Google Earth is already installed.Maybe someone else has tried to get it running before? Anyway,Nigel, open Windows Explorer and drill down to C:\ProgramFiles (x86)\Google\Google Earth\Client.*. Right-click the file‘googleearth.exe’ and select ‘Create shortcut’. Finally, drag theshortcut to your desktop. You should then be able to launchGoogle Earth without issue.

Why did the admin error appear, though? Well, by default,Google Earth sets itself up to work on all of a PC’s user accounts(yours, your partner’s, your children’s, and so on). It thereforeneeds permission to tinker with accounts other than the one fromwhich it’s being installed (yours). Bad news for anyone not loggedinto an admin account or without a suitable password.

Luckily, there’s an easy workaround. After clicking the DownloadGoogle Earth button on the download page, you’ll see the privacy

policy. Underneath the scrollable text is a link labelled ‘advancedsetup’. Click this and untick the box labelled ‘Make Google Earthavailable to all users’ profiles’. You can then click ‘Agree andDownload’, and Google Earth will install without saying a word.

* In 32-bit versions of Windows, the path won’t include ‘(x86)’,and if it’s the Pro edition of Google Earth that’s installed, there’ll be‘Google Earth Pro’ rather than just ‘Google Earth’.

And you thought Microsoft had the monopoly on useless error messages!

WatchingTheClock (Again)In issue 1,382, Bob was having trouble with his media centre.“Recently, because of some niggles, I reinstalled Windows. I alsoupdated the BIOS,” he wrote. “Ever since, the PC will run for exactlyone hour before freezing and then producing a BSOD and anemergency file dump.”

He continued: “I’ve tested the RAM – all okay. I’ve also run ‘sfc /scannow’ at the command prompt – nothing amiss. What I did discover,though, was that Windows Media Center’s TV guide sometimes showedthe wrong programme times. I solved this by disabling Windows’automatic time-check. I’m still getting those hourly BSODs, however.”

In reply, I suggested downgrading the BIOS to the version in placepreviously and that Bob should replace the motherboard’s CMOSbattery. I also thought one of his two TV cards could be to blame, andrecommended testing them individually and installing different drivers.Then, I finished with this: “Are you running any scheduling softwarein addition to Media Center? Maybe this is configured to update itsprogramme guide every hour – Media Center itself could be, too. You’ddo well to uninstall anything related to the TV cards except their drivers,and make sure Media Center’s updates are set to manual.”

Well, Bob’s been in touch and it appears I couldn’t have beenmore wrong if I’d told him to chuck the lot away and get down toPC World...

I’ve discovered the cure! My better half trawled through onlineforums and found someone who’d had exactly the same problem. Ifyou recall, I’m running a Crucial M4 SSD (64GB, model M4-CT064), andapparently the original firmware on M4s has a bug that causes hourlycrashes once a drive’s reached 5,184 hours of operation. Since updatingmy drive’s firmware to version 07oH, my troubles have vanished!

Bob Valleley, via email

The shame. The shame! I knew this, Bob. I knew this! Stone me ifI didn’t write about Crucial M4 firmware problems in issue 1,259.Admittedly, that was over two years ago, but how could I forget?When I read something, I file it away, ready for future retrieval. Ihardly ever forget. This total oversight has shaken me. All the clueswere there in your original email, but not a single synapse wastriggered. Am I getting old?

Anyway, I apologise for leading you down the garden path. I’mjust glad you got to the bottom of the problem in the end. Andthank you – I think – for writing back in. For anyone else with anM4, head to Crucial’s SSD support page: goo.gl/QB95x3. Downloadand install the update tool, and if your firmware shows as anythingother than 070H (which remains the latest version), update.

Not quite everyone has forgotten about this

Issue 138486

This week, it’s our semi-regular look at the strange and exciting games comingout of crowdfunding platforms. This week, two games you probably wouldn’tfind on either of the big consoles…

Top SecretInspired by the real-world events in the case of Edward Snowden,Top Secret’s branching narrative takes you into the heart of the NSAwith an intriguing and tense interactive fiction game. You play afresh recruit tasked with tracking down the person who’s leakingdocuments to the press, and by using surveillance techniques anddeciphering intelligence, you have to bring them in – even if it meansputting your friends in danger.

The Kickstarter page offers a playable demo of the final game.The story will unfold in real time and can be played over email,encouraging immersive roleplay, or digitally in an offline version,which uses a fake email inbox. For added immersion, you can evenplay the game using PGP in the exact same way Edward Snowdendid. All you need to play is an email account and/or access toWindows, Mac or Linux for the DRM-free digital copy.

Created by a UK developer, the project looks set to reachits £8,000 target, and a copy of the game costs just £5, withcompletion due in May 2016. £8 gets you early access, and highertiers come with a number of rewards, including physical items likeposters and T-shirts, access to the launch party and the ability toadd content into the game itself. It’s fair to say it looks like it’ll bea unique and intriguing experience, and that alone should make itworth your time and money.URL: kck.st/1P7KhJmFunding Ends: Friday, 23rd October 2015

Crowdfunding Corner

Disclaimer: Images shown may be prototypes and Micro Mart does not formally endorse or guarantee any of the projects listed. Back them at your own risk!

Home FreeSick of playing the same old open-world experiences? Well, it’s fairto say this one isn’t that. Home Free is an open-world action-RPGin which you play a lost dog exploring a randomly generated city.Using your canine abilities, you beg, forage and steal to find yourplace in the world. Choose from over a dozen breeds in numerousdifferent colours.

The narrative is player-driven and designed to help youappreciate life from the dog’s perspective. Master the set of caninemoves and learn the rhythms of the city. When is garbage put out?Which parks empty at midday? How will you feed yourself? Allthese decisions and more must be made.

The game has been in development for two years now andis due out this time next year. A DRM-free copy of the gamecan be acquired by backing the project for as little as $15 (£10),but higher tiers get you the soundtrack, a T-shirt and even theopportunity to appear in the game as one of the low-poly humanNPCs. For $2,500 (£1,600) both you and your dog can appear inthe game, and you get a free minigame starring you both. Surelythere are some dog-lovers around who can’t resist that?URL: kck.st/1j4TK8dFunding Ends: Friday, 30th October 2015

Issue 1384 87

APP OF THE WEEK

App Of The Week

CloudCal and CloudTasks

Managing time can be difficult.Many busy people rely on adiary or some form of calendarnotification built into their

email client, while others take a more mobileapproach. The problem, though, with themobile side is trying to find an app that iseasy to use, neatly ties everything togetherand still offers you a handy format via whichto visualise your schedule.

CloudCalAndCloudTasksThe London-based startup Pselis may havethe answer for you in the form of two ofits leading apps: CloudCal and CloudTasks.The first is an organisational and productivitycalendar that is designed to help you seeyour busy schedule in a manner that’s botheffective and efficient. It uses a concept itcalls Magic Cirles, which will turn every dayin your calendar into a clock face to give youa visual breakdown of the events you haveplanned for that particular day. For example, ifyou have an all-day event, such as a birthday,on the second of the month, then that daywill have filled 24-hour clack face, but willalso be broken further down to include timedmeetings and personal arrangements.

The outer area of the clock face,circling the day in question, is wherethe various individual meetings willbe highlighted by the app, they willbe shown in different colours and insegments corresponding to the start andend times, according to the informationyou’ve entered into your schedule.

It’s fully customisable, with variousviews and so on and includes an interfacethat can fully sync with Outlook,Exchange, Gmail and Google Calendars.There’s an option to include maps,directions, invites and even attachmentsrelating to the meeting or event.

The other app from Pselis, CloudTasks,is a fully featured to-do list that is a goodcompanion to CloudCal. With it, youcan organise your day(s), set meetinggoals, enter a shopping list and generallyhelp better manage your life – all in aneasy to use task manager interface. It’seasy to sync with Google Tasks and theaforementioned CloudCal; you can breakeach task down into sub-categories andeven filter and sort the various events toa more personalised setting to help youmaximise your workflow.

ConclusionBoth apps are free to download, andwith an initial bit of effort expended onsetting them up and some time shapingthem to fit in with to your own workflowand visual preferences, they really work acharm. So if you’re one of those ultra-busyindividuals, who has each day packed witha seemingly endless succession of meetingsand other sundry tasks, and you’re findingyour current notification and calendarmanagement program a little inefficientand difficult to get along with, this pair ofapps could well be the ones for you.

Using Magic Circles, you can break each day down for easier viewing

CloudTasks makes task management

extremely easy and effective

This week, David Hayward gets productive with a pair of apps

FeaturesAtAGlance• Utilises eye-catching ‘Magic

Circles’ help break each daydown into a readable format.

• Both apps sync with Microsoftproducts, as well as Google’s ownproductivity tools.

• The apps are high personalisedand can be further tweaked tobetter suit your needs.

• All your data is stored securely.

88 Issue 1213

Clearly annoyed that its new FireTV product had beenoverlooked by arguably more successful products, Amazonhas decided to ban the sale of both the Apple TV and theGoogle Chromecast from its store.

By way of explanation, it crafted an imaginative pieceof nonsense to justify it, which it sent in an email to thoseresellers affected by this change.

“Over the last three years, Prime Video has becomean important part of Prime. It’s important that thestreaming media players we sell interact well with PrimeVideo in order to avoid customer confusion.”

The confusion it’s talking about is that neither of thesedevices supports Amazon’s Prime Instant Video service.And the way that appears to play at Amazon is that if you

don’t support our service, then we won’t sell your boxes,doesn’t it?

However, Amazon is having some sort of existential crisishere, because the only reason that the Chromecast doesn’t

support Prime streaming is because Amazon hasn’t bothered touse Google’s open APIs to write an interface. This is presumably

because it thinks it will sell more FireTV devices if it chooses not to.I can’t believe Amazon is seriously expecting Google to write the

code for it. Or is the ‘confusion’ here one that exists only in the mindsof Amazon execs, who’d like to eat their streaming revenue and boxshifting cakes too?

This, however, is a deep rabbit hole, which once entered could takeAmazon to places it hadn’t expected. Where next?

Does it imply that it soon won’t sell smart TV’s that don’t supportPrime and those game consoles that don’t either? That’s the problemwhen you pull on an errant piece of wool, because not long afterwardsyour entire sweater has unravelled.

Quite what Amazon thinks it’s achieving here is a complete mysteryto this writer, because the reality is that FireTV represents less than 1%of the market for stream management devices. Making people go

OffOffLoggingLogging

88 Issue 1384

EDITORIALEditor: Anthony Enticknaptheeditor@micromart.co.ukDesigner: Laura Jane GunnionDesigner: Kevin KamalBonus John: John MooreContributors: Mark Pickavance,Jason D’Allison, Joe Lavery, SvenHarvey, Simon Brew, Dave Edwards,Ryan Lambie, James Hunt, Mark Oakley,Roland Waddilove, MicrowavableChips, Barbecue Sauce, Sarah Dobbs,David Hayward, Michael Fereday, IanMcGurren, Aaron Birch, David Briddock,Craig Grannell, Kevin Pocock, AndrewUnsworth, Dave Robinson, KeirThomas, Rob Leane, Chris Hallam

Caricatures: Cheryl Lillie

ADVERTISINGGroup Ad Manager:Andrea Masonandrea_mason@dennis.co.uk

Sales Executive:Joe Teal

Tel: 0207 907 6689

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Tel: 0207 907 6393

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MicroMartAdCopy@gmail.com

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PRINTINGPrinted By: BGPDistributed By: Seymour

Certified Distribution:13,712 average copiesJan-Dec 2010

With both Apple and Google launching newstreaming devices recently, the shift away fromnetwork TV is in full swing. Streaming is the future,which bodes well for those like Netflix and Amazon

leading that charge.Or rather it would if one of those companies just didn’t do

something so mind numbingly stupid that Homer Simpson couldhave devised it.

Issue 1358 89

directly to Googleand Apple fortheir devices doesnothing for the Amazon bottom line and is highly unlikelyto cause a massive reversal of fortunes for the FireTV.

While Amazon was cooking up this PR fiasco, it alsolaunched the new Fire tablet, a 7” tablet for just £49.99. Thatsounds like a great deal until you realise that this Androidtablet doesn’t have access to the Google Play store and is infact an electronic shopfront for you to buy things on Amazon.

There was a time when stores actually gave their cataloguesaway free, but now it seems that Amazon can get people toactually buy theirs. Admittedly if you buy music or TV, you canalso consume that content through the tablet, but there’s afine irony in getting people to pay to spend more with you.

I can’t see this ending well, because it’s patently arestrictive trade practice that could attract an anti-trustinvestigation. Amazon therefore shouldn’t be overly confusedwhen that happens.

Mark Pickavance

Across7 In mathematics, a variable thathas zero as its limit. (13)8 Bring into harmony with. (6)9 A well-paid middle-classprofessional who works in the cityand has a luxurious lifestyle. (6)10 A distant planet of the solarsystem, eighth in order from thesun, discovered in 1846. (7)12 A British charity founded inOxford in 1942, dedicated tohelping victims of famine andnatural disasters. (5)14 Consuming something after thisspecified date could put your healthat risk. (3,2)16 Microsoft’s System PreparationTool for Microsoft Windowsoperating system deployment. (7)19 A section of a web page thatcan act as the container for asecond separate page or resource.(6)20 The Roman goddess of thedawn; counterpart of Greek Eos. (6)22 The supposed alchemicalprocess of changing base metalsinto gold. (13)

Down1 Unit of speed equal to onenautical mile per hour. (4)2 Stately ballroom dance for two intriple time. (6)3 Carried by bomber crews in WW2to send a message home in theevent of forced landing or ditching.(7)4 .ke TLD. (5)5 Brand name of a white fluid usedto paint over a typewriting error soit can be written over again. (6)6 Check an XML document toconfirm that it both is ‘well-formed’and follows a defined structure. (8)11 Shaped like a sword blade; longand narrow with sharp edges and apointed tip. (8)13 A succession of people from thesame family who play a prominentrole in business or politics. (7)15 The ‘Thunderbird’ who designedmost of the organisation’s high-techvehicles and equipment. (6)17 A measure of the absence ofcontaminants in a substance. (6)18 Conditions under which anaction may be undertaken oragreement reached. (5)21 The value of an unknownquantity satisfying a given equation.(4)

THIS WEEK'S CROSSWORD

LAST WEEK'S CROSSWORD

DISCLAIMERThe views expressed bycontributors are not necessarilythose of the publishers. Everycare is taken to ensure that thecontents of the magazine areaccurate but the publisherscannot accept responsibility forerrors. While reasonable care istaken when acceptingadvertisements, the publisherscannot accept any responsibilityfor any resulting unsatisfactorytransactions. If you’ve ever beenpaintballing, you’ll probably beaware of how much it can hurt,particularly if you’re hit at closerange. Well, we’ve been invitedto play a bit of airsoft, which incommon with paintballing,involves trying to shoot otherpeople with a pretend gun. Thereare few key differences, but themain one is probably that you

shoot little plastic balls at eachother instead of paint. What’s notso different is the fact that it canreally hurt, apparently, so we’vebeen looking at airsoft injurieson YouTube. Most of them seemsto involve people not wearing thecorrect safety equipment andfinding little balled lodged undertheir skin. Painful, yes, butnothing compared to anothervideo we started watching, inwhich we saw some on top ofbuilding backing away with anairsoft sniper rifle, only to backright off the edge and fallstraight down. At that point westopped watching, wrote up awill and seriously consideredwhether or not we should bedoing this stuff at our age. Ourconclusion: probably not, butthat’s never stopped us before.See you next week. Hopefully.

Across: 7 Codicological, 8 Escape, 9 Uganda, 10

Ladette, 12 Yodel, 14 ETOPS, 16 Air Mile, 19 Adults, 20

Payoff, 22 Psittacosauri.Down: 1 BOTS, 2 Finale, 3 Rosetta, 4 Locus, 5 Mikado, 6

Hard Sell, 11 Autodesk, 13 Simpson, 15 Polity, 17

Mayday, 18 Isaac, 21 Fire.

zon bottom line and is highly unlikely

Issue 1384 89

Hands on with theRasberry Pi touchscreen

Do website paywalls reallyever work?

The world’smost expensivesoftware errors

Plus the usualmix of news,reviews and advice

* May be subject to change

PCs And Stuff

(including cats

)(includi

ng cats)

In Next Week sMicro Mart*

’