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3
ISSUE 314 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ PRIL 2014
NOWTHAT MOST
broadband providers send
you a wireless router as
part of the package, you
may be wondering why
you'd need to buy one
from a third-party manufacturer. The answer,
of course, is that not all routers are created
equal. Swapping the model provided by your
|SP for one of the routers we've reviewed in
our group test on page 98 could give you the
Holy Router Trinity of more speed, more
range and more features.
Powerful computers don't have to be big,
power-hungry and noisy. Nini PCs have come
a long way, and you can now get some
serious computing power in a chassis the size
of a can of luncheon meat. Any of the PCs
we've reviewed this month are perfect as
general-purpose or media centre PCs, check
them out in our group test on page 80.
The operating system market has long
been dominated by Windows, Nac OS and
Linux, but now there's a new contender.
Chrome OS is designed for the web and the
Cloud, and is the foundation for a number of
Velcome'
new bargain laptops. We take you through
how to use the operating system, and even
show you how to try it out for free, in our
feature starting on page 110.
Where processing power is concerned,
Noore's Law has long ruled the roost.
However, quantum computers are set to
change all that, promising not only to vastly
increase how quickly certain computing tasks
can be performed, but also re-dehne what is
even possible with computers.
We examine the state of the technology
in our feature on page 130.
As far as we're concerned, you can never
have too much resolution, which is why
puuing together our Reviews section this
month was such a treat. As well as Sony's KD
65X9005A, the best 4K TV we have ever
seen, we've also reviewed Sony's high-
resolution-audio NDR-10RC headphones.
Check them out in our Home Cinema and
Audio sections on pages 48 and 50.
Chrs Fnnamore, Editor
cIris@computersIopper.co.uk
SUBSCRIBE
AND SAVE
CALL 0844 844 0031
OR SEE PAGE 144
QUESTION OF THE MONTH
Tle Mac is 30 years old lis year. Vla
vas le rs Mac you ever used
Chrs Fnnamore Tom Morgan
Katharne Byrne Davd LudIow
5eth Barton
Andrew Unsworth
Kat Orphandes
A Nacintosh LC at school - it
crashed more ohen than |eremy
Clarkson in a Reliant Robin
A Nac Plus with 1NB RAN
and no hard disk, which had to
pull all its programs oh a server
and would crash whenever you saved
A 1994 PowerPC Nac that
took days to render video ehects
before crashing at 98 done
An eNac, in 2005 when my
school upgraded one classroom
rather than move the whole
school oh Windows 95
Ny primary school forced
us to use Nacintosh LCs for our
|T lessons. |t's amazing | know
how to use a computer at all
A Nac Classic with a N|D|
interface, wired to synths in a
proto-hipster's basement
David Robinson
Slow-wiued customers grapple with
unintelligent advertising algorithms
|ust to test David's patience yet again
Gordon Holmes
Our resident retired policeman asks
who's in charge of catching the online
bad guys
David Neal
He may be late to the party, but buying a
satnav is the best technology decision
David Neal has ever made

THIS MONTH'S COLUMNS

The original iNac, which
was named aher a tasty fruit
mumn

Editor Chris Finnamore cnrisccmutersncerccuk
Features Editor Seth Barton setnccmutersncerccuk
News Editor Tom Norgan tcmccmutersncerccuk
Reviews Editor Andrew Unsworth onJrewccmutersncerccuk
Senior StaWriter Kat Orphanides kotccmutersncerccuk
Senior StaWriter Katharine Byrne kotnorineccmutersncerccuk
PRODUCTION
Production Editor |aney Coulding
Art Editor Colin Nackleworth
CONTRIBUTORS
Bill Bagnall, Nel Croucher, Kay Ewbank, Steve Haines,
Simon Handby, Cordon Holmes, Alan Lu, David Neal,
Ben Piu, Nik Rawlinson, Heather Reeves, David Robinson,
Clive Webster, Nigel Whitheld, |ain White
ADVERTISIN6
Eme|| oJssncerJennisccuk
6roup Advertising Manager Andrea Nason 020 7907 6662
Advertising Manager Charloue Nilligan 020 7907 66^2
COVER CDJDVDCONTACT
Chris Wiles ccverJiscsccmutersncerccuk
SUBSCRIPTIONS
Te| 08^^ 8^^ 001 / 0179S S92 90S Weo wwwsucsinjcccuk
Ul ^^.99, Europe 70, Resl ol wor|d 90
PHOTO6RAPHY
Henry Carter, |an Cihak, Phil Dawson, |enny Leskinnen, Russ Nicholas
LICENSIN6 ANDSYNDICATION
Anj Dosej-He|e| 020 7907 612 AnDcso-Ho|oiJennisccuk
L|cens|ng, Repr|nls, Epr|nls. Wr|ghl's led|e 0800 0S1 827
MANA6EMENT
Te| 020 7907 6000
6roup Editor David Ludlow JoviJccmutersncerccuk
6roup Managing Director len Weslwood
Managing Director }ohn Cerewe|
6roup Advertising Director }u||en L|oyd-Evens
CircuIation Director lerl|n Be|son
Finance Director Breh Reyno|ds
6roup Finance Director len Leggeh
Chief Executive }emes Tye
Chairman Fe||x Denn|s
PRINTIN6
Pr|nled oy Po|esler, B|cesler, Oxon
D|slr|oulors Seymour 020 7^29 ^000
LIABILITY
Wh||e every cere wes leken preper|ng lh|s megez|ne, lhe puo||shers
cennol oe he|d respons|o|e lor lhe eccurecy ol lhe |nlormel|on or
eny consequence er|s|ng lrom |l. A|| judgemenls ere oesed on
equ|pmenl eve||eo|e lo Ccmuter Sncer el lhe l|me ol rev|ew.
'Ve|ue lor money' commenls ere oesed on Ul pr|ces el l|me ol
rev|ew. Ccmuter Sncer lekes no respons|o||ly lor lhe conlenl ol
exlerne| weos|les whose eddresses ere puo||shed |n lhe megez|ne.
COUPTFR SHOPPFR lNCORPORATFS PCRADF SHOPPFR,
CAUFS SHOPPFR, lNTFRNFT SHOPPFR, UOBlLF SHOPPFR, PC
SHOPPFR, PORTABLF SHOPPFR AND SOFTWARF SHOPPFR
36,002 (average monthly sales |an-Dec 2011)
ADENNIS PUBLICATION
Ccmuter Sncer |s puo||shed oy Denn|s Puo||sh|ng Lld, 0
C|eve|end Slreel, London W1T ^}D. Compeny reg|slered |n Eng|end.
A|| meler|e| Denn|s Puo||sh|ng L|m|led ||censed oy Fe|den 2011, end
mey nol oe reproduced |n who|e or perl w|lhoul lhe consenl ol lhe
puo||shers. lSSN 09SS-8S78
CopyrighI Dennis Publishing LimiIed.
PRIL 2014 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 314
p
Lean
How to.
136 Run your games in
ultra-widescreen resolutions
137 Track and remotely wipe an
Android device
138 Manage and optimise photos in
Adobe Lightroom 5
140 Business Help
Our res|denl enswers your sohwere quer|es
142 Helphle
Herdwere end W|ndows proo|ems sorled
146 Advanced Projects
C|ive Webster shows you how lo sel up en
eulomel|c home CCTV record|ng syslem w|lh e
NAS oox end e coup|e ol lP cemeres
152 Multimedia Expert
You don'l heve lo pul up w|lh lhe seme o|d
lonls. Ben Pin shows you how lo edepl
ex|sl|ng lypeleces or even meke your own
cuslom ones r|ghl lrom screlch
149 Web Expert
Nik Paw|inson shows you how lo use
ooPress lo gel your commun|ly go|ng
155 Business Expert
ln lhe second perl ol our Uounlu server gu|de,
5imon Handby exp|e|ns h|e sher|ng
158 Linux Expert
Th|s monlh Nige| Whithe|d shows you how lo
use e rouler runn|ng cuslom OpenWRT
sohwere lo sel up e pr|nl server

Issue 314 AprI 2014

p
p
p
p
Fea!ues
110 The Ultimate Guide
to Chrome OS
Coog|e's weo-locused operel|ng syslem |s
emez|ng|y versel||e once you screlch lhe
surlece. We d|ve deep |nlo Chrome OS lo
show you execl|y whel |l's cepeo|e ol
130 Quantum
Computing
Quenlum compulers
polenl|e||y heve lhe
power lo chenge
compul|ng es we
know |l. We hnd
oul how new
deve|opmenls w|||
meke lhe prev|ous|y
|mposs|o|e poss|o|e.
Reulas
6 Letters
Your monlh|y m|ss|ves ol w|l end w|sdom
10 Under Development
S|ow-w|hed cuslomers c|ums||y grepp|e
w|lh un|nle|||genl edverl|s|ng e|gor|lhms lo
meke sure lruslreled David Pobinson jusl
cen'l gel whel he ree||y, ree||y wenls
12 Byte Back
He mey oe |ele lo lhe perly, oul ouy|ng e
selnev |s lhe oesl lechno|ogy dec|s|on
David Nea| hes ever mede
15 Cybercop
Reporl|ng e cyoercr|me |sn'l qu|le es s|mp|e
es d|e|||ng 101. Cordon Ho|mes s|hs
lhrough lhe eve||eo|e egenc|es lo see who's
|n cherge ol celch|ng lhe on||ne oed guys
16 Rants & Raves
Sme|| |s oeeul|lu| emong lhe sleh
lh|s monlh, es we wex |yr|ce| eooul l|ny
leo|els end even sme||er PC
162 Zygote
Smerlphones mey oe ru|n|ng our sex ||ves,
oul el |eesl lhey'|| soon oe eo|e lo he|p us
heer. leenwh||e, Zygote's d|scovered e use
lor !D pr|nlers wh|ch |s r|ghl on lhe nose
Nevs
18 Newshle
Our round-up ol lhe |elesl lechno|og|ce|
evenls
22 In-depth
Nol conlenl w|lh oe|ng lhe PC's o|ggesl geme
de||very p|ellorm, Sleem |s now en operel|ng
syslem. ls Sleem OS |s lhe lulure ol gem|ng?

ISSUE 314 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ PRIL 2014

26 PCs & Laptops
We see |l Asus's |elesl Zenoook |s e lecoook
Pro oeeler, lw|sl lhe Lenovo ldeePed Yoge 2
Pro |nlo shepe end merve| el Acer's vesl|y
|mproved oerge|n-pr|ced Chromeoook
36 Handhelds
The Tosh|oe Encore end De|| Venue 11 Pro
leo|els meke lhe cese lor W|ndows 8, end we
lesl lhe o|ggesl Nok|e phone ever!
42 Photography
F|nd oul eooul lhe Semsung Ce|exy NX, e
proper SLR w|lh e ou||l-|n Andro|d dev|ce. We
e|so rev|ew Sony's oerge|n A|phe A!000
46 Displays
The 27|n l|yeme ProL|le CB277!HS proves you
needn'l spend e lorlune on e mon|lor perlecl
lor gemes, wh||e lhe 2!|n HennsC HT2!1HPB
does lhe seme lor louchscreens
48 Home Cinema
We've oeen prehy |mpressed oy U|lre HD TVs
oelore, oul lhe s|mp|y slunn|ng Sony lD
6SX900SA |s lhe hrsl lo ree||y o|ow us ewey
50 Audio
ll you heve h|gh-reso|ul|on eers you need
h|gh-reso|ul|on heedphones, we pul lhe
Sony lDR-10RC cens lo lhe lesl
52 Video
S|ey lhe douolers end oreg more conv|nc|ng|y
eooul your gem|ng prowess. Beck up your
unoe||eveo|e prohc|ency c|e|ms w|lh lhe
Heupeugge HD PVR Rockel recorder
Coup Tes!s
98 Wireless routers
ll you're us|ng lhe w|re|ess
rouler lhel ceme slre|ghl
lrom your lSP, chences ere
you're nol geh|ng lhe
perlormence, renge or
leelures you deserve.
Rep|ece |l w|lh one ol lhe 1!
we've lesled lh|s monlh, end
gel e ooosl lrom on|y 21
80 Mini PCs
They're sme|| enough lo screw lo lhe oeck
ol your TV end w||| leke up |ess spece
lhen e CD cese on your desk, oul lhese
m|n| PCs heve enough
power lo meen
ous|ness. We
lesl 10 m|n|elure
PC merve|s
Revevs
74Your soItvare
p
Create greetings
cards, calendars,
newsleuers,
slideshows, yers,
posters, photo
albums and more
with this versatile
desktop-publishing
package
54 Printers & Scanners
We hnd oul |l lhe Cenon P|xme lC6^S0 ||ves
up lo |ls Besl Buy-w|nn|ng predecessor
56 Storage
We rev|ew lhe lexe|| Porleo|e W|re|ess Herd
Dr|ve, wh|ch |els you eccess up lo S00CB ol
dele lrom your smerlphone or leo|el
57 Networks
Heve e smerl TV w|lh no ou||l-|n W|-F|? The
Ed|mex CV-7^!8nDl |els you connecl lwo
Elhernel-on|y dev|ces lo your W|-F| nelwork
58 Components
Don'l m|ss lh|s lever| molherooerd p|us
lhe Sepph|re Tox|c R9 270X greph|cs cerd
60 Software
Check oul Pere||e|s Access end meke some
no|se w|lh Sle|noerg's Cuoese Arl|sl 7.S
62 Games
Try lhe mege-v|o|enl lele| Ceer R|s|ng, lhe
heunl|ng The Nove||sl end lhe puzz||ng
Broken Sword S. The Serpenl's Curse
64 Business
We |ook el lhe HP E||leoook 8^0 C1, e
ous|ness |eplop es lough es your joo
66 Best Buys
Look|ng lor lhe oesl k|l we've rev|ewed
recenl|y? ll's e|| |n our Besl Buys secl|on
76 HowWe Test
Our lesls, rel|ngs end ewerds exp|e|ned
ugh
p
C PRIL 2014 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 314
Leers
Tlis morl our readers are corcerred abou Goole's ryir eyes ard
eBools lavir a slor liesar, vlile our Sar Leer las ar elear use
o FoverFoir or your media FC la could revoluiorise your vievir
Sar leer

CONTACT

leuers@computershopper.co.uk
London W1T 4|D
|magine. Book aher book,
stored inside the toy, and it
crashes. Cone. Every last penny,
gone! |s there an eReader that
isn't going to crash in three
years, or LESS? Has Amazon
addressed the problem? Which
one works? Which outlasts the
others? Which is the worst?
So. your Ultimate Cuide is
nowhere near an Ultimate Cuide.
|'ll keep an eye out on the
newsstands |ust in case anyone
does publish a guide. But they
are all as bad as one another.
Oh well, thank goodness for
REAL books aher all.
Hugh Pcgers
We can'I commenI on how long
a Kindle is likely Io lasI, as Ihe
original model was only launched
in Ihe K lour years ago, buI we
have aI leasI one model on Ihe
Shcer Ieam IhaI's been going
sIrong since Ihe beginning ol
2010. You can expecI bauery lile
MEDIA BLISS
|'ve waited months for you to do a report on Tiny PCs and |
gave up and bought one in December, but should | have waited?
| wanted a device as small as the AppleTV, but as exible as a PC
and reasonably powerful for multimedia tasks on a budget of 300.
| purchased an |ntel NUC BOXD34010WYK3 for 199.98, a Kingston
SSDNow 60CB SSD for 46.98 and Two 4CB Crucial
CT51264BF160B| laptop RAN sticks for 49.98, so | |ust got there
under 300. |'m delighted with it as my Tiny PC will ht under my TV
in the lounge or, using the included bracket, mount on its rear.
| have a reasonably large 47in TV in the lounge which we sit
between six and 12 feet away from. But how does one make the
visual experience of using a PC look acceptable at this distance? |'ve
come up with the answer. Yes, it's a PowerPoint slideshow. Why
PowerPoint? |t's easy to use, it's WYS|WYC, it's exible and
conhgurable and no programming knowledge is required.
This gives people a front end very similiar to that of a Smart TV,
but with what you want rather than what you're given. Even if you
don't have Windows Nedia Center, you can conhgure the display
for improved visual access to Nedia Player and any other programs.
Michoe| Pcwberry
We're lans ol Ihe lnIel NC (see Ponts & Poves, page 16) so you
made Ihe righI choice. We also love Ihe idea ol using PowerPoinI as
a media cenIre program launcher, and aler IesIing ouI your media
cenIre deck, we can say iI works very well indeed. lmpressive work.
WHEN IN ROAM
|'m oh to Florence this
April with a Nexus 7 (not the
mobile version) and want to use
NiFi with a data S|N. So | went
round the local mobile phone
shops, including Carphone
Warehouse, Three and EE, and
asked them what they would
advise. All of them advised me
to buy a local S|N card and
nobody tried to sell me a NiFi
unit. Nobody seemed to know
more than was on their website,
and many knew less. Any chance
of an article on data roaming
abroad and the use of NiFi?
Dovid Crigths
We're surprised Three didn'I
know whaI a UiFi was, as iI's Ihe
brand name Ihey use lor Iheir
Vodalone's FuroIraveller, lor
example, is 3 per day.
THE LIBRARY OF
ALEXANDRIA
|t was with some trepidation
that | bought a copy of Computer
5hopper this month, for on the
cover was, "eBooks Ultimate
Cuide". As | stupidly bought one
last year, and then threw it into
the auic shortly aherwards, this
would sort the men from the
boys, | thought. Especially aher
an episode of Wotchdog had
exposed a leaked copy of an
Amazon internal mail which
implied that eReaders were toys
with a lifespan of three years.
Colly! All that money wasted!
|t could've been worse, though.
We have walls of books and the
thought of condensing future
purchases to a blip of electricity
stored forever within a Reader
was fascinating. |t seemed too
good to be true. Which it is.
porIable wireless hoIspoIs. We
haven'I IesIed any porIable
hoIspoIs lor a long while, lrom
pasI experience, unless you buy
one sIraighI lrom a neIwork, we
hnd Ihey can be hddly Io seI up,
requiring you Io enIer some
inlormaIion abouI your SlU's
daIa connecIion which can be
Iricky Io hnd.
We Ihink Ihe easiesI soluIion
is Io share Ihe daIa connecIion
lrom a smarIphone. ll you have a
phone running aI leasI Android
2.2 iOS 4.3 or Windows Phone
7.S, you can Iurn your mobile inIo
a password-proIecIed wireless
hoIspoI in Ihe Seuings menu.
Be aware IhaI noI all
providers leI you use your daIa
connecIion in Ihis way, and mosI
charge around 4Sp per megabyIe
when roaming, which will quickly
add up. ll you have a conIracI,
some providers will leI you pay
a laI lee per day Io use your
K conIracI's daIa abroad,
8 Cive your media PC a 5mart TV front end using PowerPoint
ISSUE 314 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ PRIL 2014
Io be signihcanIly reduced
aler abouI hve years, so IhaI
would be our guess lor Ihe
reasonable lile ol Ihe producI.
ll Ihe eReader does break,
you won'I lose your books, as
Ihey're all sIored on Amazon's
servers, ready Io be insIanIly
re-downloaded Io your eReader,
IableI, phone or compuIer.
XP SUPPORT
| read the leuer from
Andrew Numford about the
closure of XP support and
wondered why we still need it.
Surely aher all this time, the
bugs in XP have been removed
(it's one of Nicrosoh's most
stable operating systems).
What do these updates
actually achieve?
|f you have good anti-virus
sohware and a hrewall on your
machine why do you need the
updates? | see that in your Feb
2014 magazine you have
looked at NS Security
Essentials and only rate it at
two stars, so Nicrosoh's
security updates can't amount
to much. We all religiously
update our PCs mainly because
Nicrosoh asks us to, but apart
from killing a lot of time
waiting for the update to
download and install, what do
we really get out of it?
C|ive Droke
According Io Ihe securiIy
experIs who carry ouI our
anIi-virus IesIing, no longer
having securiIy updaIes lor XP
is noI as big a problem as
people Ihink. Uany cyber
IhreaIs go aler ancillary
solware insIalled on Windows
raIher Ihan Ihe operaIing
sysIem iIsell, so as long as you
keep solware such as Flash,
|ava, AcrobaI Reader and, ol
course, your web browser, up Io
daIe, you should be reasonably
well proIecIed.
You also need Io make sure
you're running updaIed
anIi-virus solware, such as our
BesI Buy-winning Kaspersky
lnIerneI SecuriIy 2014.
Problems will arise when Adobe
or Oracle, lor example, pulls
supporI lor
Windows XP, or
you can no longer
run Ihe laIesI
version ol Firelox or
Chrome. nIil Ihen,
and as long as
anIi-virus companies
keep releasing updaIes lor
Windows XP, you shouldn'I be
Ioo much aI risk.
WINDOWS
HATE RANT#1
Seeing the prize of an SSD
being ohered for a leuer being
published reminded me that |
need to get my SSD-based
computer sorted out. When |
had it built, there was talk that
the more read/writes there
were to a SSD, the shorter its
life would be, so | searched on
the net for a means of only
storing Windows and sohware
on the SSD and having all my
data stored on a hard disk. This
was achieved by making
Windows look on the D: drive
for the Users directory.
Nicrosoh then released
Windows 8.1 which refused to
install on my machine because
|'ve redirected the Users
directory. Since | can't
remember how | redirected it
in the hrst place, |'ve two
options, reinstall Windows and
all my sohware onto the SSD
without redirecting the Users
directory, which is tedious and
any customisations |'ve applied
will be lost. |'ll also have to
work out a way of correcting
those parts of Windows so
that the Users directory is still
on the SSD.
But then | read David
Ludlow's Rant about Windows
8.1 and |'m now wondering if
| should bother with it all. Will
| need to upgrade to 8.1 in the
future or can | stick to 8.0? |f
| do need to upgrade, what's
the easiest way to do it?
Dovid She||is
Windows 8.1 does cerIainly
conIain some annoyances, and
il you don'I insIall Ihe updaIe,
Windows will keep nagging you
unIil you do. You could always
keep ignoring iI (pressing
Windows-D Io make iI go away
each Iime), which is a meIhod
lavoured by some members ol
Ihe Shcer sIah.
There are some very lancy
meIhods lor redirecIing your
sers lolder online, buI il you
don'I wanI Windows Io Ihrow a
wobbly aI some poinI, we'd
recommend avoiding Ihem.
We hnd Ihe besI way in
Windows 8 is Io poinI each
ser lolder (such as Uy
DocumenIs, PicIures, Uusic
eIc) manually Io a new lolder
on a diherenI drive. To do Ihis,
open a hle explorer window,
expand DocumenIs, righI-click
on Uy DocumenIs Ihen click
Ihe LocaIion Iab. Click Ihe
Uove buuon and navigaIe Io
Ihe new DocumenIs lolder on
your oIher hard disk. You can
repeaI Ihis process lor all Ihe
ser lolders you wanI Io sIore
somewhere else.
You shouldn'I worry abouI
Ihe sers lolder causing
excessive wriIes Io your SSD,
Ihough, Ihe amounI ol daIa
Iransler lrom your DocumenIs
and PicIures is Iiny compared
Io Ihe amounI ol reading and
wriIing Windows does.
WINDOWS
HATE RANT#2
David's Rant and Nick Penn's
leuer both helped me to sum
up why Windows 8.1 doesn't
deliver. |, like Nick, thought
that the built-in security was
hne, but your tests disagreed.
Kaspersky, here | come.
As | mainly use my
computer for browsing, | hnd
Windows 8.1 a horror
compared to the old XP,
particularly when | want to
enter new Favourites. Also, on
the touchpad, moving the
cursor around the website |'m
using frequently causes the
site to disappear completely.
|ncidentally, should | remove
the Nicrosoh Security suite
before downloading the
Kaspersky suite?
jchn Yeotes
lI sounds like you may be using
Ihe SIarI screen version ol
Fxplorer, which is a pain, raIher
Ihan Ihe DeskIop version. To
avoid Ihis, always make sure
you go Io Ihe Windows 8
DeskIop (by clicking Ihe icon or
pressing Windows-D) Ihen run
Fxplorer lrom Ihe Iaskbar
shorIcuI Ihere.
You don'I have Io worry
abouI removing Windows
Delender belore insIalling
anoIher securiIy suiIe, as iI's
builI inIo Windows 8.
y reduced
W
yo
ru
ver
Chro
and a
anIi-v
+ With Nicrosoft's
c|osure of XP support,
shou|d users have
security worries?
LETTERS
8 PRIL 2014 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 314
J BUILDA BETTER PC
Uaking a PC yoursell is Ihe besI way Io geI
Ihe besI spec. We IesI Ihe laIesI componenIs
Io help you hnd Ihe parIs you need
J ANDROID COMPLETE COMPANION
Coogle doesn'I provide a prinIed handbook
wiIh iIs mobile operaIing sysIem. Our
compleIe guide is here Io plug IhaI gap
NLXT MONTH
J UK COMPUTING FALL AND RISE
Aler a lall lrom grace, Ihe BriIish compuIing
indusIry is back on iIs leeI. We charI Ihe rise,
lall and rise again ol K compuIing
J SLOW-MOTIONVIDEO
Slow moIion is Ihe oldesI Irick in Ihe book lor
creaIing a sense ol poignancy and grandeur.
We show you some advanced Iechniques
J RASPBERRY PI CCTV
WiIh a biI ol ingenuiIy, a Raspberry Pi
and a 20 camera module, you can make
a CCTV sysIem. We show you how
J APP CREATIVE
The debuI ol our new FxperI secIion, which
shows you how Io creaIe amazing apps
wiIh noIhing more Ihan a phone or IableI

i
n
n
e
w
s
a
g
e
n
I
s
l
r
o
m
1
3
I
h
U
a
r
c
h
WRITE IN
AND WIN
Do you wish your computer
was faster when booting and
loading applications? Thanks
to Crucial, you can achieve
your dream of a faster PC or
laptop with the N500 SSD.
The writer of our Star leuer
will be awarded one of these
solid-state devices, which
can be installed in a desktop
PC or a laptop.
This super-fast SATA3
6Cbit/s SSD will make your
computer boot incredibly
quickly and make applications
faster to load. With 120CB of
storage space, there's plenty
of room for Windows and all
your applications, too.
STAR
PRIZE
l20GB
SSD
We're ohering every
reader who has a
leuer published
and supplies their
address a
Computer
5hopper 'Ranter'
or 'Raver' mug.

g every
has a
hed
their
ter'
ug.
ry
SCROOGLE YOU
|'ve |ust read Nel
Croucher's Rant in the February
2014 issue, where he draws
auention to Coogle's (ab)use of
our personal search data. |'ve
used Coogle's services for years,
but, like Nel, have become
increasingly concerned about
what they might be doing with
my personal information and
what this means for my privacy.
| wonder whether it'd be
worthwhile for Computer
5hopper to do a more in-depth
analysis of this issue, given that
it ahects so many people, seuing
out exactly what Coogle does
with our information and what
the possible risks may be if we
get "scroogled". This could also
explain how to use Coogle's
services while minimizing the
personal information we provide.
|t would, of course, only be fair
to give Coogle the chance to put
their side of the case, too.
Thanks for producing a great
magazine - |'ve been a regular
reader since the very hrst issue!
Andrew Crcmtcn
lI's an inIeresIing quesIion, and
one which is hard Io answer.
Coogle is very open abouI whaI
daIa iI collecIs and whaI iI does
wiIh IhaI inlormaIion, iIs privacy
policy aI www.gccg|e.ccm/
c|icies/rivocy is relreshingly
clear and easy Io read.
FssenIially, Coogle learns
whaI you've been searching lor
and whaI's in your email, and
IargeIs adverIs accordingly.
We IreaI Ihis as a necessary
consequence ol using Coogle's
lree services. We're more worried
abouI whaI Coogle will be
obliged Io do wiIh your daIa in
Ihe luIure, which usually involves
handing iI over Io Ihe S
CovernmenI, see Ihe "For
legal reasons" secIion ol Ihe
"lnlormaIion we share" parI
ol iIs privacy policy.
nlorIunaIely, as Ihe
Snowden revelaIions show, il a
governmenI wanIs your daIa iI
will geI iI, and Ihe only way Io
avoid Ihis is Io use sysIems
such as web proxies Io increase
your online anonymiIy.
INEVITABLE
CONTAGION
| agree with Nel Croucher's rant
about the 25th anniversary of
the hrst virus being released.
However, |'m afraid that if it
hadn't been Robert Norris it
would have been someone else.
The idea had been around for a
while, so it would have happened
at some point. Back in 1975, |ohn
Brunner published The
5hockwove Pider where he has
people sending malicious
tapeworms into a continent-
wide datanet and adds that
there are so many of these
programs in the net that the PCs
have to give them a low priority
otherwise they'd do nothing
else. Read a synopsis of the
book on Wikipedia and decide
how much else has come true.
jchn Porr
This reminds us ol SIephen Fry's
Moking Histcry novel, which
debunks Ihe old "go back in Iime
and kill HiIler" Iheory by showing
IhaI someone else would have
simply Iaken his place. Viruses
are here Io sIay, and Iheir
poIenIial lor hnancial gain
Ihrough such ransomware as
CrypIolocker means Ihey're
able Io become ever more
sophisIicaIed, wiIh increasingly
severe consequences.
8 The sma|| print in Coog|e's Privacy Po|icy is refreshing|y easy to read
UNDER DEVELOPMENT
l0 PRIL 2014 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 314
Chosts n the machne
l le isr' geirg sooled by ar email clier, le's laured by le smell o sl ard ads
or roll-recl ]umers. Davd Robnson grales vil some deely urselirg secres
I'VE BEEN WRITIN6 Ihis column
in Ihe run-up Io ChrisImas, which
in recenI years has been a quieI
Iime, whaI wiIh Ihe recession and
Ihe usual cusIard excuse IhaI Ihey
can'I make decisions because "iI's
nearly ChrisImas". This is always
lollowed in |anuary by more
procrasIinaIion because Ihey're
"recovering lrom ChrisImas".
This year, Ihough, iI's all sysIems
go, and l've had Io plan Irips
carelully so l could see mulIiple
cusIomers on Ihe same day.
One day, l was in Ihe wilds ol
Lincolnshire looking aI dispaIch
procedures in a cold warehouse.
This was lollowed by an even
colder session surrounded by ice,
scaly skin and smelly innards in a
hsh processing lacIory. l was Ihere
working ouI how Io inIerlace a
hsh-sizing machine inIo Ihe
lacIory producIion managemenI
sysIem. Dressed in a pink hairneI
and size 13 wellies (Ihe smallesI
spare pair Ihey had available),
even Ihough my leeI are a size 9,
l looked Ihe heighI ol lashion.
THUNDERBIRD'S A GONER
On Iop ol all Ihis, Uozilla did
an auIomaIed upgrade Io my
Thunderbird email clienI and, lor
Ihe lasI Ihree weeks, Ihe clienI
has crashed aI leasI once a day.
Sending bug reporIs lailed Io
eliciI a response. An indignanI
user in one ol |eh's branches
along Ihe U4 corridor phoned in
high dudgeon, saying Ihey could
neiIher browse Ihe inIerneI nor
connecI Io Ihe main head omce
sysIem. Aler hall an hour's
poking abouI in Ihe enIrails ol
Iheir wide area neIwork, our besI
advice was lor Ihem Io pay Ihe
bill lor Iheir inIerneI line.
Aler IhaI, an indignanI
LancasIrian called lrom CliIheroe
Io complain IhaI a supplier had
senI him an email Ihe day belore
and iI had only |usI arrived. The
LancasIrian wanIed Io know
whaI we were going Io do abouI
iI. The answer was "noIhing". The
mail server log indicaIed IhaI
Ihe supplier's server had iniIiaIed
Ihe connecIion Io deliver Ihe
message aI 10.31.0S IhaI
morning, and IhaI iI had been
passed on Io Ihe user's email
clienI aI 10.31.07. Why iI Iook Ihe
supplier's server a day Io Iry Io
send Ihe message in Ihe hrsI
place is anyone's guess.
ON A ROLL
ln my spare Iime, Ihere was
ChrisImas shopping Io be done.
As well as sourcing presenIs lor
lamily and lriends, l also needed
a couple ol Ihings lor mysell. l'm
lairly conservaIive in my dress
sense (my wile and daughIer
would say 'dowdy') and am lond
ol a roll-neck |umper, buI Ihe
couple ol |umpers l have now, so
l'm Iold, are pasI Iheir besI.
l haIe shopping lor cloIhes on
Ihe high sIreeI. Having lound
somewhere Io park and paid a
lorIune lor Ihe privilege, l never
hnd whaI l wanI. Then iI rains.
Then l geI in a mood, and go
home empIy-handed having
wasIed an alernoon.
You can explore many more
opIions wiIh an inIerneI search.
AI leasI, IhaI's Ihe Iheory. Aler
Irawling Ihrough Iwo pages ol
Coogle resulIs lor a roll-neck
|umper, l was losing hearI. Uany
oherings were cheap and looked
iI, or medium-priced buI looked
cheap, or Ihey were a rubbish
colour such as puce, or Ihey cosI
130. So l was sIill empIy-handed
and grumpy, alIhough l had only
wasIed hall an hour, and l was dry.
The lollowing day, l was on
eBay looking lor a rooIed
ChrisImas Iree when up popped
an ad lor a roll-neck |umper lrom
Tesco. merino wool, and only 2S.
The guy picIured wore a black one
and looked all macho, like |ason
Bourne. However, iI was only
available in XS and XXL. Damn.
Charcoal grey? XS, S, XL and
XXL. l'm an U/L. The remaining
choice was a beige colour IhaI
|eremy Clarkson would call old,
buI Tesco did have availabiliIy lor
normal-sized people, and l could
collecI in my local sIore and save
Ihe posIage charge. ResulI!
LaIer, l was back on eBay and
ordering Ihe Iree. l'd |usI paid by
PayPal, when l goI a message
lrom eBay. "You've |usI boughI a
ChrisImas Tree! Perhaps you'd also
like. a ChrisImas Tree?" FBay
olen Iries Io sell me someIhing
l've |usI boughI. lI's an auempI
aI associaIed selling, buI iI's
done in such a cack-handed way.
Alongside opporIuniIies Io buy
more Irees was an ad lrom Tesco
lor, you guessed iI, a black
merino wool roll-neck |umper.
Uaybe Ihey've goI more sIock in
my size? Click. Nope.
For a week, Ihe Tesco |umper
ad haunIed me like Ihe ghosI ol
ChrisImas pasI, appearing on
websiIes selling everyIhing lrom
Raspberry Pi add-ons Io car
Iyres. So much lor AdSense's
conIexI-based selecIion ol whaI
Io adverIise. FvenIually, Ihe ads
lor Ihe black |umper ceased, only
Io be replaced by Ihose lor Ihe
charcoal grey version. On checking
Ihe Tesco siIe, l realised IhaI Ihis
was because sIocks ol Ihe black
had sold ouI. When Ihe grey was
sold ouI, l goI ads lor Ihe beige
|umper l'd boughI. The algoriIhm
IhaI seIs Ihis Irain ol evenIs in
moIion obviously hasn'I Ihe wiI
Io work ouI anyIhing beyond Ihe
ob|ecI hrsI viewed. lI's less a case
ol ArIihcial lnIelligence and more
Real SIupidiIy.
SIill, Ihe Iree was a success. lI
Iurned up 24 hours laIer in prime
condiIion. Cod bless Ihe neI.
DAVID ROBINSON
Sohware and systems developer
davidr@computershopper.co.uk
TIe Tesco umper Iaunted me Iike tIe Iost oI
CIristmas past, appearin on vebsites seIIin everytIin
Irom Raspberry Pi add-ons to car tyres
BYTE BCK
l2 PRIL 2014 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 314
The rght drecton
He's usually rubbisl a malirg savvy eclrological decisiors, bu sirce le bougl a sarav,
Davd NeaI is ready o ale or le vorld. [us as soor as ley male le decisior-malirg ool
I RECENTLY ENTERED Ihe
saInav world, and l never wanI
Io leave iI. This ChrisImas, my
wile and l were given a saIelliIe
navigaIion sysIem, and basically
iI is a lile-changer. You may leel
we're laIe Io Ihe parIy, buI Ihis is
a hrsI lor us. We have never had
a saInav. WhaI we have had
is any small number ol rows
abouI my lack ol geographical,
navigaIional and direcIional skills.
While some people have a
knack lor direcIion, l could go Ihe
wrong way in a lil. l have as good
a grasp ol my lel and righI as a
permanenIly spinning rubber ball,
and have been known Io geI losI
en rouIe lrom bed Io baIhroom.
The saInav really should have
enIered my lile sooner. Once,
abouI hve years ago, l auempIed
Io Iravel lrom somewhere called
Kings Hill Io anoIher place called
Bickley. The Iwo places aren'I lar
aparI and so, logically speaking,
should noI Iake long Io Iravel
beIween. l Iurned IhaI simple
|ourney inIo a round-Ihe-U2S
Irip IhaI Iook me inIo Slough,
Slough being very lar oh course.
You can'I drive and navigaIe
aI Ihe same Iime Ihese days,
and you can'I pull your car over,
phone up your mum and ask
her Io pick you up and Iake you
home lor some soup. You can'I
abandon your vehicle, and
you cerIainly can'I rely on Ihe
kindness ol Iaxi or bus drivers
Io poinI you on your way.
WhaI you should do, il you
are like me, and have spenI a loI
ol mornings wiping your elbow
while puuing your bum on Ihe
Iable, is buy a ruddy saInav.
SPEED BUMPS
l am very laIe Io come Io Ihis
conclusion, ol course, and l have
worn down Iyres and wasIed
peIrol going round and round Ihe
same roundabouIs and up and
down Ihe same B roads lor abouI
a decade longer Ihan necessary.
l've missed daIes, meeIings,
appoinImenIs, haircuIs - heck,
once l even managed Io drive
pasI HeaIhrow airporI when l
was supposed Io be geuing a
lighI. l don'I go anywhere on
Ihe U2S wiIhouI crossing Ihe
DarIlord Bridge aI leasI Ihree or
lour Iimes, and l once Iurned
Ihe wrong way ouI ol an FasI
London nderground sIaIion and
ended up in a parallel universe.
Uore worryingly, l recenIly
became Ihe navigaIor. During my
Ienure behind Ihe map, l Iook us
on more mysIery Iours Ihan Paul
UcCarIney, and blundered blindly
Ihrough unknown Iowns like Ihe
rear end ol a panIomime horse.
The cumulaIive ehecI ol my
Iechnological and Iravel illiIeracy
is IhaI ol a slow-moving man
holding up Iramc - IhaI, and
being glared aI by people who
are in Ihe same car as him.
EASY RIDER
Anyway, back Io Ihe saInav. ll l
could name a hrsIborn son aler
iI, l would. lI rode inIo our lives
like an erranI knighI mounIed on
a gianI rubber sucker, come Io
save us lrom yeI anoIher Irip
down a single Irack road IhaI is
almosI exclusively used by sheep
and slow-moving vehicles.
lI's so easy Io use. PuI in an
address, and iI hnds iI. lI Iells you
direcIions in one ol several voices
and guides you lrom door Io
desIinaIion and back again, and
noI once does iI inIerlere wiIh
Ihe seuings on your car sIereo.
Uy dear readers, ol course
you know all Ihis. WhaI l am
Ielling you is akin Io such sage
advice as Io walk around wiIh
Irousers on when ouIside Ihe
house, or Io never puI a sock
in a IoasIer.
You are all aI Ihe bleeding
edge ol Iechnology, and l expecI
IhaI sIreaming 4K ulIra-high-res
3D machinima Io your Coogle
Class is second naIure. Some ol
you are probably idly eyeing up a
smarI waIch aI Ihis very insIanI
and wondering how much more
ol Ihis column you have Io read.
DECIDING FACTOR
l don'I embrace Iechnology
quickly. The only Ihing l have
ever boughI on hrsI-day release
was a Uario KarI sIeering wheel
lor Ihe NinIendo Wii. ThaI was a
long Iime ago, and l should admiI
Io buying Iwo ol Ihem.
Now, when l buy someIhing, l
have Io be sure iI's righI lor me,
and IhaI iI will achieve Ihe goals
l wanI iI Io achieve. l don'I Iend Io
buy Ihings lor Ihe heck ol iI any
more, sorry, cheap drum machine
makers, buI l sIudy my opIions
and choose Ihe righI Ihing lor me.
Well, l Iry Io. l recenIly broke
my own rule and invesIed in a
games machine IhaI sIarIed Io
disappoinI me as soon as l liled
iI ouI ol Ihe box. Things didn'I
improve Ihe more Iime l spenI
wiIh iI. DespiIe several auempIs,
and deIailed communicaIions
wiIh iIs manulacIurer, l was
never able Io geI iI Io work.
The whole experience, like my
drive Io Slough, was unpleasanI,
and someIhing l do noI inIend Io
repeaI. For Ihis reason, my nexI
big invesImenI - and l hope l geI
Io buy iI soon - will be some kind
ol decision-orienIed saInav lor
people like me, people who olen
make Ihe wrong decision.
l need a navigaIion sysIem
IhaI can sIeer me away lrom IhaI
one lasI drink, IhaI exIra sick day
and IhaI exIra hour in bed. lI
musI surely be in Ihe pipeline. ll
so, puI me down lor Iwo. lI is,
aler all, always good Io geI a
second opinion.
DAVID NEAL
Freelance |ournalist
leuers@computershopper.co.uk
I Iave as ood a rasp oI my IeIt and riIt as a
permanentIy spinnin rubber baII, and Iave been knovn
to et Iost en route Irom bed to batIroom
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S|ap v|soa|s aoo sp||t-socooo ospooso .|t| ++z Ca|og

\|t| ++z oos| atos, t||s oo|to oo||vos o|ta-soot|, |ag-oo v|soa|s o a soa|oss
p|a|og opo|ooco. Sat|ao |ots oo ||g|||g|t a so|octoo aoa to b|og oo oppoooots oot
o t|o s|aoo.s, .|||o SatS|zo opt||zos t|o aspoct at|o. Sat|opao g|vos oo oo|c' accoss
to Sat|ago gao ooos as .o|| as t|o oo-scooo o|sp|a. \|oo oo'o oooo oosto|og t|o
copot|t|oo, || toc|oo|og o|sp|as oo ob||o cootoot oo t|o b|g scooo aoo |S3 3.0 g|vos oo
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CYBERCOP
lS
ISSUE 314 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ PRIL 2014
Who you gonna caII
l you're urlucly erougl o be a vicim o cybercrime, vlere do you urr Cordon HoImes
coremlaes le mair lav erorcemer agercies ir searcl o la crucial lelirg lard
WHEN IT COMES Io Ihe
invesIigaIion ol cybercrime,
who do we go Io? Who will Iake
noIice il your personal deIails are
sIolen by malware or phishing,
and your lile is Iurned upside
down when you hnd your bank
accounIs have been plundered
by persons unknown? l ask Ihese
quesIions as someone who is
very lamiliar wiIh Ihe world ol
cybercrime invesIigaIion.
Cybercrime and all iIs
iIeraIions have evolved lrom a
niche inIeresI inIo a mainsIream
Iopic, and Ihere are some big law
enlorcemenI players bauling lor
posiIion as Ihe K's auIhoriIy in
Ihe invesIigaIion ol such crimes.
AcIs ol cybercrime usually
conIravene Ihe CompuIer Uisuse
AcI 1998 and, in mosI cases, Ihe
Fraud AcI 2006, which in any
oIher circumsIance would
warranI a proper invesIigaIive
response by Ihe auIhoriIies. BuI
in Ihe case ol cybercrime, Ihis
sIill isn'I happening, alIhough
change is on Ihe horizon.
So why Ihe Iurl war beIween
cerIain law enlorcemenI bodies?
ThaI's easy Io answer. Since 2010,
Ihe governmenI has recognised
cybercrime as a Iier-1 IhreaI, so
agencies or law enlorcemenI
bodies wiIh Ihe skills Io IargeI,
bring Io |usIice or oIherwise
disrupI criminaliIy on Ihe inIerneI
will auracI more lunding and
resources. This has resulIed
in a complicaIed cybercrime
invesIigaIion landscape. Here, we'll
look aI Ihe main law enlorcemenI
bodies, who does whaI, and why.
NATIONAL INTEREST
FirsI, we have Ihe NaIional Crime
Agency (NCA). Born ouI ol Ihe
ashes ol Ihe Serious Organised
Crime Agency (SOCA), Ihe NCA
has sIaIed iIs inIenI Io recruiI
more Ihan 400 cyber-inIelligence
omcers Io assisI in Ihe
invesIigaIion, prevenIion and
disrupIion ol cybercrime.
nlorIunaIely, iI's noI aI all clear
which sorI ol cybercrime will be
Ihe locus ol Ihe agency's ehorIs.
We do know IhaI Ihe NCA has
a naIional remiI wiIh very sIrong
inIernaIional connecIions, and
sIah who are probably Ihe mosI
skilled ouIside Ihe UOD and
securiIy services. l imagine IhaI
Ihe organisaIion will go aler
organised criminal gangs which
operaIe globally buI whose
acIiviIies impacI K business and
(hopelully) Ihe general public.
However, Ihis remains Io be seen.
NexI, we have Ihe UeIropoliIan
Police's response Io Ihe NCA
purloining 60 per cenI ol iIs
cybercrime-Irained sIah, Ihose
who made up Ihe old Police
CenIral e-crime niI (PCe).
While l will admiI Io laying mysell
open Io charges ol bias, Ihe
PCe had some remarkable and
groundbreaking successes in iIs
briel lour-year operaIional
hisIory, wiIh numerous arresIs
and disrupIions in Ihe cybercrime
arena. UosI PCe operaIions
IargeIed cybercriminals operaIing
wiIhin Ihe K.
The new UeI Police Cyber
Crime niI is busily recruiIing,
and has sIaIed IhaI iIs remiI will
be Io invesIigaIe any cybercrime
IhaI impacIs on people or
businesses in London, including
malware, phishing, hacking and
disIribuIed denial-ol-service
auacks. l wish iI every success.
ACTION STATION
Towards Ihe end ol 2013, iI was
announced IhaI Ihe CiIy ol
London Police (CoLP) would Iake
responsibiliIy lor Ihe AcIion Fraud
reporIing cenIre. Previously, Ihis
cenIral reporIing Iool had been
shared beIween Consumer DirecI
and CoLP, and Ihere had been
criIicism abouI a lack ol response
Io reporIed incidenIs.
AcIion Fraud (www.
octicn[roud.c|ice.uk) was
inIroduced as a one-sIop shop
Io reporI allegaIions ol lraud
and inIerneI crime, and has Ihe
NaIional Fraud lnIelligence
Bureau (NFlB), run by CoLP,
working Io idenIily Irends and
perlorm analysis ol received
reporIs. Crimes are relerred by
NFlB Io individual police lorces
lor invesIigaIive acIion. This
remains Ihe besI opIion lor
reporIing such crimes lor anyone
boIh inside and ouIside London.
Trading SIandards has lormed
a naIional e-crime cenIre, wiIh a
sIaIed purpose ol dealing wiIh
online lraud including email and
daIing scams and aucIion lrauds.
The cenIre publishes a lisI ol
allegaIions iI plans Io invesIigaIe
aI www.trodingstondordsecrime.
crg.uk. The ReporI Fraud secIion
ol Ihe Trading SIandards websiIe
Iakes you Io Ihe CiIizens Advice
Consumer Service, where you can
hnally hle your reporI.
When comparing Ihe Trading
SIandards lisI wiIh Ihe AcIion
Fraud version, Ihere is an awlul
loI ol duplicaIion beIween Ihe
Iwo bodies. lI's conlusing as Io
who does whaI, and l can'I help
buI leel IhaI Ihis uncoordinaIed
approach will lead Io more Ihan
a soupon ol inemciency.
We have lour agencies
looking aI Ihe same sub|ecI,
imprecise overlapping remiIs,
duplicaIion ol subcaIegories lor
invesIigaIion and reporIing and
liule or no overall coordinaIion.
WhaI could possibly go wrong?
AI leasI Ihe sub|ecI is receiving
some auenIion, l suppose.
ln Ihis column, l have
concenIraIed on Ihe e-crime
invesIigaIion and reporIing
siIuaIion lor members ol Ihe
public and sIayed away lrom Ihe
more conIroversial NaIion SIaIe
communicaIion inIercepIion IhaI
hlls our daily papers, Ihe landscape
is conlusing enough wiIhouI
bringing IhaI loI inIo Ihe mix.
Cybercop, as ever, keeping an eye
on Ihings so you don'I have Io.
GORDON HOLMES
With more than 30 years of
experience in law enforcement,
our retired cybercop gives a
police omcer's perspective on
Ihe sIicky sub|ecI ol cybercrime
leuers@computershopper.co.uk
TIe aencies Iave imprecise overIappin
remits, dupIication oI subcateories and
IittIe or no overaII coordination. VIat
couId possibIy o vron
lC PRIL 2014 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 314
Rars & Raves
Vla's raled our caes or made us iddy vil delil lis morl Our resider
eclroloical urus vax lyrical ard ver sleer or vla's lo or ro a le momer
IT'S THAT TIME again. CFS
seI up shop in Las Vegas
and Ihe world's Iechnology
press descended Io see
whaI Samsung, Sony, LC
and Panasonic have in sIore
(see , page 20). TVs
were Ihe main locus. HoI
Iopics were 4K and OLFD,
Iwo Iechnologies which
remain expensive.
TVs wiIh lIra HD 4K resoluIions arrived lasI year, sIarIing wiIh
84in monsIrosiIies cosIing 2S,000, belore shrinking Io 6Sin and
SSin models, which are sIill larger Ihan many have room lor. Fven
belore CFS opened iIs doors, LC and Samsung announced Ihey
would be revealing 10Sin TVs. OIher companies lollowed suiI, and
many booIhs were dominaIed by 100in, 10Sin, 110in and 120in seIs.
UosI ol Ihese massive screens had 4K panels, meaning Ihey
had lour Iimes Ihe number ol pixels as a regular 1080p Full HD TV.
The high-resoluIion panels alone make Ihe price higher Ihan Ihe
average Full HD TV, buI wiIh OLFD Ihe price is sIraIospheric.
OLFD screens have lanIasIic conIrasI and vibranI colours, buI
Ihey cosI a lorIune Io produce. A 10Sin OLFD display wiIh a 4K
resoluIion lrom Samsung or LC will seI you back over S70,000.
lI's doubIlul wheIher even 10 per cenI ol Ihe K populaIion
has a room large enough Io accommodaIe a 10Sin TV, leI alone
Ihe budgeI Io ahord iI, so why make Ihese bold design sIaIemenIs
aI all? lI's noI as il S70,000 is more ahordable lor Americans. A
42in Full HD OLFD TV IhaI has Ihe phenomenal picIure qualiIy
buI a slighIly more ahordable price would be lar more popular
wiIh consumers, would hI in Iheir living rooms and wouldn'I
require a second morIgage or some black markeI organ dealing.
Some mighI say you lose Ihe benehIs ol 4K resoluIions below
a cerIain screen size. OIhers may say OLFD TVs are only available
in larger sizes as Ihey cosI a lorIune Io make, so Io make any cash
on Ihe TVs, manulacIurers need Io produce huge seIs wiIh huge
prices Io sell Io millionaires. The lormer isn'I Irue, as 4K looIage
looks crisper regardless ol screen size. The lauer is a concern.
ll manulacIurers really wanI OLFD TVs Io be more Ihan |usI
someIhing lancy on a show sIand, Ihe price musI drop, aler all,
no-one boughI DVD players when Ihey cosI 1,000, buI once you
could pick one up lor 20 every house had one.
SMALL IS BEAUTIFUL.
There's no doubI abouI iI.
You can keep your 10-grand
waIer-cooled gaming PCs,
your 1,000W power supplies
and your loam-lined Iower
cases wiIh lancy hinged
opening mechanisms as l, lor
one, have lallen in love wiIh
an exIremely Iiny PC. lI's Ihe
lnIel NC, iI's as big as a can
ol Spam and iI's Ihe mosI uselul PC l have ever owned.
WhaI l love abouI Ihe comically small NC is iIs versaIiliIy. lI'll
hI on any desk. You can sIick iI behind your TV. You can screw iI
Io Ihe back ol a moniIor and lorgeI iI exisIs. You can unleash Ihe
IorrenI ol power conIained in a modern PC anywhere you like, as
where you're going Io puI Ihe Ihing has ceased Io be an issue.
INTEL OUTSIDE
For a long Iime, l have been Irying Io hnd Ihe perlecI media
device Io plug inIo my TV, Io sIream media lrom my NAS device,
play hles lrom SB sIicks or waIch caIch-up TV or YouTube videos.
l Iried Io use an Xbox 360, buI iI was Ioo loud. A Samsung Blu-ray
player is reasonable, buI has a clunky and ugly user inIerlace. A
PC would do Ihe |ob, ol course, buI all Ihe PCs l've had have been
huge, noisy and Ioo big lor Ihe holes in my TV sIand.
The NC has solved all my problems. WiIh a looIprinI smaller
Ihan a discarded CD, iI siIs behind Ihe TV, connecIs over HDUl
and draws |usI over 7W when on, so l don'I leel like l'm wrecking
Ihe planeI. l can Iurn iI on lrom my smarIphone or IableI wiIh an
app, and l can use Ihe same app Io Iurn iI oh again. l've insIalled
Ihe Linux version ol Ihe XBUC media cenIre applicaIion, which is
lree, and l can now browse Ihe music and videos sIored on my
NAS or on YouTube using my IableI and play Ihem on my TV.
The NC even has some reasonable gaming power, so l've been
able Io play plaIlorm games such as Trine or Limbo, or relive my
youIh wiIh an Amiga FmulaIor and a copy ol Uagicland Dizzy, all
nesIled inIo a NexI Home TiverIon and noI hunched over a desk
in an omce chair, Iry doing IhaI on your average sIreaming box.
The NC has broughI Ihe PC ouI ol Ihe omce and inIo Ihe
living room, and made Ihe sola a lar more lun place Io be in Ihe
process. Nicely done, lnIel.
He's as excited about OLED and 4K as ever,
but tIe sizes and prices oI tIe screens bein
proposed at tIe recent CES sIov make
Tom Morgan despair over tIe Iuture oI TV
s Iar as Chrs Fnnamore is concerned,
bier is not aIvays better, vIicI is vIy
Ie's so excited about a versatiIe mini PC tIat
is so smaII Ie can pop it in Iis pocket
Tom Morgan
RANTS
Chris Finnamore
RAVES
RNTS & RVES

ISSUE 314 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ PRIL 2014

I NEARLY DIED recenIly. lI was on a
beauIilul winIer morning and iI was my
birIhday. l was walking Ihe dog along some
ancienI sea lorIihcaIions when l slipped and
lell on Io Ihe rocks below. The sound ol
breaking bones was sickening, Ihe pain was
indescribable, and Ihe Iide was coming in
much Ioo lasI.
As Ihe paramedics pumped me lull ol
morphine, Ihe lasI sound l remember was a
walkie-Ialkie squawking abouI calling ouI
Ihe rescue helicopIer. The nexI sound l
remember was a repeIiIive bar ol music
going plinky-plunky, bim-bom, as Ihe angels
plucked Iheir harp sIrings Io welcome me
Ihrough Ihe gaIes ol Heaven.
ARE YOU EXPERIENCEDZ
lI was only when l was wheeled inIo Ihe
operaIing IheaIre IhaI l recognised Ihe
musical composiIion was by Brian Fno. l
was noI in Heaven aI all, buI in Hell. lI was
Ihe welcome |ingle lor Windows XP, and Ihe
soundIrack Io my bionic enhancemenI ol
23 spikes sIicking ouI ol my leg, nine screws
and plaIes holding my bones IogeIher, and
a meIal hinged Ihing lasI seen in a VicIorian
IoileI cisIern and now residenI in my hip.
During Ihe days and nighIs IhaI
lollowed, l had plenIy ol Iime Io query
why Ihe hospiIal sIah were logging on Io
Windows XP several Iimes an hour, Io
upload or reIrieve daIa, and Ihen logging
oh again. lI Iurns ouI Io be Ihe only way Ihe
sysIem keeps running wiIhouI lalling over.
lI's Iime-consuming and clunky, buI Ihey
have no alIernaIive. Over lour hundred
million copies ol Windows XP were logged
globally lrom OcIober 2001 Io |une 2008,
and l am asIounded Io discover IhaI 8S per
cenI ol NHS compuIers sIill run Windows
XP. ThaI's way over hall a million machines.
The reason l am asIounded is because
supporI lor Windows XP ends aI midnighI
on April 8Ih, when Uicrosol will no longer
provide Iechnical back-up, hxes or paIches
Io help keep Ihe sysIem running, and
neiIher will Ihere be any securiIy updaIes
againsI viruses or malicious solware.
NATIONAL EXPRESS
lI's noI only Ihe NHS IhaI is heading lor
sysIem melIdown. Seeing as l had noIhing
beuer Io do Ihan lreI abouI never being
able Io work again, l phoned up as many
regional omces ol Ihe DeparImenI lor
Work and Pensions as l could Irack down
lrom my hospiIal bed Io ask, "WhaI
solware sysIem are you using?" The
answer kepI coming back as Windows XP.
Uy lollow-up quesIion abouI whaI
happens when Uicrosol supporI ends and
Ihe loodgaIes are opened Io chaos and
pandemonium was eiIher greeIed by
blusIering, or an honesI Io goodness,
lrankly expressed, "We have no idea."
So even il Ihe governmenI had Ihe
money, which iI hasn'I, Io have a migraIion
plan, which iI doesn'I, Ihe clock has already
run ouI. lI's already Ioo laIe. ln a lew shorI
monIhs, our personal daIa held by hospiIals
and social services will be lel wide open Io
Ihel and abuse. l am pleased Io reporI IhaI
l seem Io have goI away wiIh iI Ihis Iime,
buI l really musI remember noI Io dice
wiIh deaIh aler midnighI on 8Ih April.
"Plinky-plunky, bim-bom."
RNTS & RVES
I'MFORTUNATE ENOU6H Io spend
much ol my lile surrounded by Ihe laIesI
Iechnology. A Iricky by-producI ol a working
day spenI learning abouI and picking holes
in Ihe laIesI Iech developmenIs is IhaI iI's
easy Io lorgeI exacIly how much we depend
on bundles ol silicon, gold and liIhium.
Uuch ol Ihe Iime we Iake Ihis Iechnology
lor granIed, lapping up Ihe advanIages iI
brings and casIigaIing iI harshly when iI
doesn'I work as we wanI iI Io. lI's only when
we're removed lrom common experience
and placed in unlamiliar circumsIances IhaI
we can Iruly marvel aI Ihe luxury granIed by
our modern consumer Iech.
SLATE ARRIVAL
AI leasI, IhaI was my experience on a
recenI holiday Io |ordan. As iI's a beauIilul
counIry wiIh a magnihcenI and lascinaIing
hisIory, boIh biblical and secular, l didn'I
wanI Io rely on my increasingly lallible
memory Io sIore all Ihe sighIs, so l biI Ihe
bulleI and boughI a high-end digiIal camera
Io Iake some quick snaps. As l'm a gadgeI
hend, and my naIural impaIience means l
couldn'I waiI unIil geuing home belore
seeing how my phoIos Iurned ouI, l also
Iook my iPad, my handy phoIo lrame and
all-round Iechnological comlorI blankeI.
lI was only when l arrived in |ordan IhaI l
realised quiIe how powerlul a combinaIion
a modern camera and slaIe could be. There l
was, deep in Ihe |ordanian deserI, Iaking a
picIure ol an ancienI seI ol camels carved
inIo a rock lormaIion.
IT'S BETTER TO TRAVEL
A lew years ago, Ihe snaps would have
sIayed on my phone's SD card, buI noI in
2014. Oh no. NoI only did Ihe camera's CPS
Iag my phoIos wiIh my exacI locaIion, iI
also leI me Iransler Ihem wirelessly Io my
iPad as soon as l'd Iaken Ihem. A lew hours
laIer, once back on Ihe Wi-Fi, l uploaded Ihe
phoIos Io Facebook where people back in
BlighIy and as lar away as Ihe S and |apan
saw Ihe phoIos and leI me know whaI Ihey
IhoughI ol my phoIomanship. ll IhaI isn'I
someIhing Io marvel aI, l don'I know whaI is.
Even on Iis sick bed, MeI Croucher
nds time to ruminate on tIe
pervasive nature oI XP, and vIat
Iappens vIen support runs out
Sometimes you Iave to et avay
Irom it aII to appreciate vIat
you Iave, as AndrewUnsworth
IaIIs deeper in Iove vitI Iis iPad
Andrew Unsworth
RAVES
Mel Croucher
RANTS
PRIL 2014 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 314
uilt lor usiness. keady lor the Future.
owered by ntel* Core
"
rocessors.
Fu|itsu recommends Windows 8.
Meet the
Iouchables
Fu|tsus range
ol Iouch 0evces
Ultrabook, Celeron, Celeron nside, Core nside, ntel, ntel Loqo, ntel /tom, ntel /tom nside, ntel Core,
ntel nside, ntel nside Loqo, ntel vro, tanium, tanium nside, entium, entium nside, vro nside, Xeon,
Xeon hi, and Xeon nside are trademarks ol ntel Corporation in the U.S. and|or other countries.
Mss /daptable
STYLISTIC 07O4
kesilient and versatile,
Miss AdaptabIe can work
wherever she is, no matter
what shes doinq. !he slim
and hiqh perlormance
STYLISTIC 07O4 hybrid tablet.
Mr Endurance
Hard workinq and always
on the move, Mr Endurance
has to work wherever he can.
with 2 batteries he can keep
qoinq lor up to 2/hrs.
!he LIFE00K S9O4 is the
ultimate travel companion.
LIFE00K S9O4
For more nlormaton Iel: O845 634 5376
web: uk.lu|tsu.com/thetouchables
Emal: nlolu|tsu.com
Windows XP
still safe to use
MICROSOFT WILL OFFICIALLY sIop supporIing Windows XP on
Ihe 8Ih ol April 2014, buI has pledged Io conIinue providing
anIi-malware supporI unIil Ihe 14Ih ol |uly 201S. Uicrosol had
planned Io sIop supporIing iIs Uicrosol SecuriIy FssenIials
securiIy solware when iI sIopped all Windows XP solware
mainIenance, which would have lel users wiIhouI operaIing sysIem
paIches and anIi-virus solware wiIh ouI-ol-daIe signaIures.
Uicrosol doesn'I see Ihis as a reprieve lor Ihe OS and is merely
doing so in order Io help organisaIions and consumers migraIe Io a
new operaIing sysIem. The omcial Uicrosol blog warns. "Our
research shows IhaI Ihe ehecIiveness ol anIimalware soluIions on
ouI-ol-supporI operaIing sysIems is limiIed. Running a well-
proIecIed soluIion sIarIs wiIh using modern solware and hardware
designed Io help proIecI againsI Ioday's IhreaI landscape".
Based on our IesIing, iI's much beuer Io pay lor securiIy.
Kaspersky lnIerneI SecuriIy 2014 provides lar beuer proIecIion, or il
you don'I wanI Io pay, AvasI! 2014 Free AnIivirus is a much beuer
producI Ihan Uicrosol SecuriIy FssenIials.
NeiIher Kaspersky or AvasI! has announced any plans Io sIop
supporIing Iheir producIs under Windows XP. While XP has such a
large markeI share (around
30 per cenI ol Ihe deskIop
markeI), iI seems unlikely
IhaI eiIher company will
sIop supporIing iI soon.
Google buys
Nest Labs
6OO6LE HAS SI6NED a deal Io purchase NesI Labs lnc in a cash
deal valued aI S3.2 billion. The buy-ouI is Coogle's laIesI venIure
inIo Ihe lnIerneI ol Things, which will evenIually see smarI devices
replacing mosI ol Ihe household gadgeIs we use every day,
including lridges, washing machines, ovens, and in Ihe case ol NesI,
IhermosIaIs and smoke deIecIors.
NesI CFO Tony Fadell said. "WiIh Coogle's supporI, NesI will be
even beuer placed Io build simple, IhoughIlul devices IhaI make lile
easier aI home, and IhaI have a posiIive impacI on Ihe world.
"Coogle will help us lully realize our vision ol Ihe conscious
home and allow us Io change Ihe world lasIer Ihan we ever could
alone. We've had greaI momenIum, buI Ihis is a rockeI ship."
Former Apple employee Fadell, who helped launch Ihe original
iPod, lormed NesI in 2010. The company reinvenIs "unloved,
buI imporIanI" devices lor Ihe home, including Ihe NesI
Learning ThermosIaI and ProIecI smoke and carbon monoxide
alarm, which launched laIe lasI year.
Now IhaI Ihe company has agreed Ierms
wiIh Coogle, disIribuIion ol NesI producIs is
expecIed Io expand inIernaIionally. The
NesI brand won'I disappear, as Coogle has
sIaIed IhaI in Ihe wake ol Ihe Iakeover,
NesI will conIinue Io operaIe under
Fadell's leadership and wiIh iIs "own
disIincI brand idenIiIy".
+ Windows XP users should
start thinking about hnding
a new anti-virus program
ISSUE 314 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ PRIL 2014
uilt lor usiness. keady lor the Future.
owered by ntel* Core
"
rocessors.
Mr Sleek
LIFE00K u9O4 uLTkA00K
"
/t only 15.5mm thick, Mr SIeek
is the slimmest 1/inch on the
market. /ttractive and lully
leatured, his super hiqh res
screen stands out lromthe crowd.
!he super smart, LIFE00K
u9O4 uLTkA00K
"
.
Mss 0ynamc
LIFE00K T9O4 uLTkA00K
"
Slim and prolessional,
Miss 0ynamic is lull ol ideas.
with the llexibility to use either
her keyboard or touchscreen to
let everyone know what shes
thinkinq. !he stylish LIFE00K
T9O4 ConvertibIe uLTkA00K
"
.
Mr Iough
kuqqed and reliable Mr Tough
qets the job done whatever the
conditions. weatherprool and
with a touqhened screen,
unwanted intruders are always
kept out. !he STYLISTIC 0584,
ultimate work anywhere tablet.
STYLISTIC 0584
Fu|itsu recommends Windows 8.
Ultrabook, Celeron, Celeron nside, Core nside, ntel, ntel Loqo, ntel /tom, ntel /tom nside, ntel Core,
ntel nside, ntel nside Loqo, ntel vro, tanium, tanium nside, entium, entium nside, vro nside, Xeon,
Xeon hi, and Xeon nside are trademarks ol ntel Corporation in the U.S. and|or other countries.
Steam Machine
partners named
VALVE HAS NAMED Ihe hrsI seI ol hardware parIners IhaI will
produce SIeam Uachines, Ihe compacI, high-perlormance gaming
PCs meanI Io challenge IradiIional games consoles IhaI are vying
lor a coveIed spoI underneaIh your TV.
Valve iniIially produced a small number ol proIoIype SIeam Box
consoles, buI will be leaving hardware sales up Io Ihird-parIy
manulacIurers. As well as big names like Dell's Alienware subsidiary,
CigabyIe and ZoIac, and American PC sysIem builders Falcon
NorIhwesI, iBuyPower, CyberPowerPC and Origin PC, BolIon-based
Scan CompuIers has also signed up Io be a parI ol Ihe hrsI wave ol
SIeam Uachines - meaning K cusIomers won'I be lorced Io waiI
while Ihose on Ihe oIher side ol Ihe AIlanIic geI Iheir hardware.
UaIeriel.neI, Webhallen, AlIernaIe and NexI round oh Ihe lisI.
SIeam Uachines only have Iwo criIeria, Ihey musI ship wiIh a
SIeam ConIroller, developed by Valve wiIh dual Iouch-sensiIive
conIrol surlaces and hapIic leedback, and a copy ol SIeamOS.
ParIners are lree Io use any chassis and inIernal componenIs
Ihey choose. Some opI lor small PC cases and deskIop componenIs,
while oIhers have designed cusIom cases, using mobile processors
and inIegraIed CPs Io lower heaI and power consumpIion.
Perlormance and price also varies wildly, CigabyIe will use lnIel's
lris inIegraIed graphics, whereas Ihe DigiIal SIorm BolI ll has room
lor an Nvidia CeForce CTX 780 Ti, 16CB ol RAU and 1TB ol sIorage.
lI will also cosI a huge S2,S00+ depending on specihcaIion, which is
signihcanIly more Ihan some ol Ihe more resIrained designs.
SCAN 3XS STEAM NC10
One ol Ihe more exciIing SIeam Uachine designs is lrom Scan
CompuIers. The 3XS SIeam NC10 is shaped like a hi-h separaIe and
is Ihe same heighI as Ihe average Freeview seI-Iop box. This makes
iI much smaller Ihan a games console, so will easily hI in an AV rack
or underneaIh your TV. We spoke Io |ames Corbold, Scan's
Iechnical markeIing manager, abouI Ihe design process.
The 3XS SIeam NC10 was designed in-house and heavily
inluenced by where SIeam Uachines will siI in Ihe home. Scan
didn'I see Ihe poinI in building a IradiIional small lorm lacIor PC
IhaI won'I easily hI under your TV. "Why make someIhing IhaI
doesn'I hI inIo your living room lurniIure?" says Corbold.
The inIernal hardware will also be Iailored Io your living room.
According Io Corbold, Ihe sysIem is opIimised lor gaming aI 1080p
- easily Ihe sIandard resoluIion lor Ioday's TVs. The basic
specihcaIion includes an lnIel Core i3 4000U processor, 8CB ol
RAU, a 2CB Nvidia CeForce CTX 76SU graphics card and a S00CB
hard disk, which Scan says is cerIainly capable ol playing Bauleheld
4 aI 1,920x1,080. You'll also be able Io cusIomise Ihe machine lurIher
Ihrough Scan's websiIe wiIh SSDs and lasIer CPs.
Scan doesn'I expecI Ihe 3XS SIeam NC10 Io replace a high-
powered Windows rig Ihough. lnsIead, Corbold says IhaI SIeam
boxes will complemenI Ihe Iower PC in Ihe bedroom or omce, wiIh
SIeam's Cloud-synced games, you'll be able Io swiIch seamlessly
lrom Ihe hardcore gaming PC Io a more relaxed experience on your
sola using Ihe SIeam box and SIeam conIroller.
Scan will be asking lor 699 lor Ihe base specihcaIion 3XS SIeam
NC10 when iI launches "in Ihe second hall ol Ihis year". ThaI's noI a
bad deal lor a PC which can play games like Bauleheld 4 aI 1080p,
buI iI's overkill il you
only wanI Io play
Trine and Limbo.
+ We aren't sure about the
mirror hnish, but at least
Scan's Steam Nachine will
ht under your TV
NEVS
PRIL 2014 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 314
CES IS EASILY Ihe biggesI Iechnology Irade
show ol Ihe year, giving us our hrsI glimpse aI
Ihe gadgeIs IhaI will be arriving in sIores
during 2014. We were in Las Vegas Io see iI
all, and we've goI Ihe biggesI news righI here!
NEWYEAR'S RESOLUTION
Samsung and LC auempIed Io grab Ihe
headlines wiIh Iheir respecIive 105in curved
UItra HD TVs. WiIh OLFD Iaking a back seaI
Io 4K aI Ihis year's show, each model Iicks
every oIher box on Ihe TV buzzword bingo
sheeI, including a cinema-sIyle 21.9 aspecI
raIio and lrankly massive S,120x2,160
widescreen 4K resoluIion.
This was |usI Ihe Iip ol Ihe iceberg,
however. UosI manulacIurers had a 4K seI on
display, wiIh Sony leading wiIh iIs new
wedge-shaped X9. lI mighI be chunkier Ihan
oIher TVs, buI Ihe lower cenIre ol graviIy
means iI doesn'I need a huge sIand Io
supporI iI, while Ihere's more room inside lor
bigger, more powerlul speakers.
Panasonic isn'I making plasma TVs any
more, buI Ihe company promises Ihe move Io
LFD won'I compromise picIure qualiIy, and iIs
new 4K AX800 TVs will have wide colour
gamuIs and deep blacks IhaI rival plasma.
We saw one side by side wiIh 2013's
superb ZT6S, and alIhough we IhoughI Ihe
plasma sIill has a slighI edge wiIh black levels,
Ihe AX800 is brighIer, cleaner and has more
resoluIion, which is preuy impressive seeing
as Panasonic has only had a year Io really
locus on iIs LCD Iechnology.
PicIure qualiIy, resoluIion and size are
always Iop prioriIies wiIh new TVs, buI Ihis
year LC, Panasonic and Philips were equally
vocal abouI Iheir new SmarI TV inIerlaces.
VOICE SEARCH
Panasonic's new sysIem is called Life+. lI
learns whaI you waIch Ihen gives you Iailored
recommendaIions lrom boIh broadcasI and
online. Voice commands leI you search lor
conIenI by speaking inIo Ihe remoIe.
Some conIenI doesn'I have Io be called up
manually aI all. The new lnlo Bar auIomaIically
wakes Ihe TV when iI senses someone nearby,
presenIing uselul inlormaIion such as Ihe
currenI weaIher reporI. Lile+ can Ihen use Ihe
builI-in camera Io deIecI a specihc user and
presenI more personalised conIenI.
LC made iIs new WebOS smarI TV
plaIlorm - a sIreamlined inIerlace designed Io
be responsive and easy Io use wiIhouI
disIracIing you lrom Ihe currenIly playing
channel - Ihe locus ol iIs press conlerence.
The new l is colourlul, wiIh apps and
services represenIed by slices which only Iake
up Ihe bouom ol Ihe screen, so you can
always largely see whaI's playing on your TV.
There's no disIincIion beIween channels,
services or inpuIs - when you plug in your
Blu-ray player, Web OS will pop an
appropriaIe logo on Ihe menu bar so you
don'I have Io Ihink which HDUl inpuI your
player is plugged inIo.
WebOS is based on HTUL, so iI should be
easier lor developers Io code lor. lI's open
source Ioo, so developers don'I have Io |ump
Ihrough hoops Io geI services onIo LC's TVs.
Philips also made a ma|or deparIure lrom
previous years wiIh iIs new TV range, which is
now powered by 6oogIe's Android
operaIing sysIem. WiIh lull access Io Ihe
Coogle Play SIore, Philips TVs will have access
Io Ihe widesI range ol apps ol
any TV, and will geI new ones
signihcanIly quicker Ihan
oIher manulacIurers. lI also
means IhaI Ihe TVs will be a
loI more expandable, leuing
you pick a specihc app wiIh
beuer hle lormaI supporI il
you can'I geI a parIicular
video Io play.
Philips has Iweaked Ihe
delaulI Android inIerlace Io
make iI work on a TV, buI
even based on our shorI
demo, iI's a huge
improvemenI in usabiliIy and
speed over Ihe 2013 models.
TVs will sIill include Ihe
Philips Callery and exisIing
range ol smarI TV apps,
which are run in an HTULS
wrapper, buI we can see Ihis
disappearing as Android becomes Ihe
prevalenI OS in all ol Philips' TVs. Philips
didn'I Ialk abouI specihc producIs, buI Ihe
hrsI Android TVs will begin Io ship in Q2 2014.
K release daIes haven'I been conhrmed.
4K COMES HOME
Pushing 4K TVs is all well and good, buI unIil
Ihe conIenI arrives, Ihere's no real way Io
Iake advanIage ol Ihem. Thanklully, IhaI
could change in 2014, as Ihe Blu-ray Disc
AssociaIion (BDA) has conhrmed plans Io
exIend Ihe exisIing Blu-ray lormaI Io include
lIra HD and 4K supporI.
A dral exIension Io Ihe Blu-ray sIandard,
which is currenIly limiIed Io 1080p video, was
approved ahead ol CFS and could be ready by
Samsung's colossal 105in 4K TV
has a curved cinema-style screen
8 LC's WebOS smart TV interface is a ma|or departure from previous years, but it's very easy to use
THE HIGHLIGHTS CES
2014
NEVS

ISSUE 314 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ PRIL 2014

problems and Ihey aren'I
yeI inIegraIed wiIh our busy
lilesIyles. We're locused on addressing
Ihis engineering innovaIion challenge. Our
goal is, il someIhing compuIes and connecIs,
iI does iI besI wiIh lnIel inside."
Fdison has a dual-core 22nm lnIel Quark
sysIem-on-chip (SoC) IhaI provides low-
power consumpIion processing lor wearable
gadgeIs. Quark is as powerlul as an exisIing
AIom CP and was unveiled aI lDF 2013, buI
Ihis is Ihe hrsI Iime we've seen iI in a producI.
As iI's x86-compaIible, Fdison can be used
wiIh mulIiple operaIing sysIems and iIs
builI-in Wi-Fi helps widens Ihe scope ol
inIeracIion wiIh oIher devices such as
smarIphones and IableIs.
For us, Iechnology should be Ihere Io
augmenI your lile and make iI easier, so
we look lorward Io seeing il lnIel's
Fdison really will usher in a new
Iechnological age ol unobIrusive and
inIerconnecIed devices.
GETYOUR GAME ON
CFS isn'I Iypically Ihe place lor ma|or
gaming news, buI IhaI didn'I sIop Sony
lrom announcing Ihe imminenI sounding
PIayStation Now, a cloud-based game
sIreaming service IhaI will play an
enormous back caIalogue ol PlaySIaIion
IiIles on any console, IableI or smarIphone
- regardless ol Iheir original lormaI.
Building on Ihe Iechnology Sony acquired
when iI purchased Caikai in 2012, PlaySIaIion
Now sIreams game looIage over Ihe inIerneI
so Ihe receiving device need only be able Io
decode Ihe video and be capable ol
connecIing Io a PlaySIaIion conIroller.
The service will iniIially include PS3 games,
buI could poIenIially include PlaySIaIion 2
and original PlaySIaIion IiIles, along wiIh PSP
and PS ViIa mobile games lurIher down Ihe
line. Players won'I |usI be limiIed Io single-
player IiIles, eiIher, Sony has also conhrmed
IhaI mulIiplayer games will connecI Io oIher
players, so long as Ihey're using Ihe correcI
console and opIical disc.
PlaySIaIion Now will come Io Ihe PS3, PS4
and PS ViIa hrsI, wiIh Ihe ViIa using Ihe rear
Iouchpad Io make up lor Ihe lack ol exIra
buuons lound on a DualShock conIroller.
OIher Sony devices like smarIphones, IableIs
and Sony Bravia TVs will lollow, wiIh
non-Sony gadgeIs added aI a laIer daIe.
nlorIunaIely, K gamers will have Io waiI
Io puI PlaySIaIion Now Ihrough iIs paces,
while American players can look lorward Io a
beIa version laIer on Ihis monIh.
running, cycling, driving,
siuing and sleeping.
As well as moniIoring you
physically, Lilelog will record
which songs you lisIened Io and
Ihe phoIos you Iook. You can even
add a Lile Bookmark, leuing you Iag
a specihc evenI or locaIion, so you can
remember iI laIer.
Core is also Iied in Io your smarIphone
as boIh a conIrol and an exIension ol whaI
your mobile can do. So, il you geI a call on
your phone, your Core will sIarI Io vibraIe,
making you aware ol iI. Sony also showed
how you can use Core Io conIrol media
playback, using iIs buuons. Sony says IhaI
Core will lasI lor hve days beIween charges,
wiIh a Uicro SB porI used Io charge Ihe
inIegraIed bauery.
Razer is looking Io branch ouI lrom
gaming peripherals Io hIness wiIh iIs Nabu
SmartBand hIness Iracker. WiIh Iwo
separaIe screens, one ouIwardly lacing 32x32
OLFD lor noIihcaIion icons and a 128x32
display on Ihe inside ol your wrisI lor more
personal deIailed noIihcaIions, Ihe Nabu will
pair wiIh any Android or iOS smarIphone. lI
conIains an acceleromeIer and alIimeIer Io
keep Irack ol Ihe number ol sIeps Iaken and
calories burned, along wiIh a bauery IhaI
Razer says is good lor seven days ol use. The
ouIer skin, made lrom rubber, should make
each Nabu splash- and rain-prool, buI iI's
unclear il iI can be submersed in waIer.
Razer has pledged Io open up access Io
Ihe daIa collecIed Io hrsI and Ihird-parIy
developers looking Io pair Ihe device wiIh
exisIing or new smarIphone apps, and is
currenIly working on Nabu-Io-Nabu
connecIiviIy, which would make iI "Ihe hrsI
Iruly social wearable" according Io company
CFO Uin-Liang Tan. Previous Razer pro|ecIs
haven'I reached Ihe shops, buI we have
high hopes Ihe Nabu will laIer Ihis year.
lnIel Iook a diherenI approach wiIh
Edison, an x86-compaIible, SD
card-sized compuIer wiIh builI-in
Wi-Fi. The company hopes iI will bring
genuinely uselul wearable Iechnology
closer Io realiIy, wiIh CFO Brian Krzanich
sIressing lnIel's commiImenI Io bringing
wearables (sporIing and oIherwise)
Io Ihe mainsIream.
"Wearables are noI everywhere Ioday
because Ihey aren'I yeI solving real
+ Expect to see a lot of
smart wristbands in 2014,
including Razer's Nabu
and LC's LifeBand Touch
|t looks like an
SD memory card,
but this is actually
|ntel's Edison
micro Computer
g
l
P
s
e
IiI
- rega
I
re
Ihe end ol Ihe year. lIra HD video is lour
Iimes larger Ihan Full HD, so 4K Blu-ray discs
will likely use addiIional layers Io boosI
capaciIy. A swiIch Io a more emcienI
compression algoriIhm is also possible, buI
boIh opIions would almosI cerIainly require
users Io purchase a new Blu-ray player.
WEARABLE TECHNOLOGY
This year is going Io be big lor wearable
Iechnology, wiIh Coogle bringing iIs Class
headseI closer Io general release and many
oIher manulacIurers |umping on Ihe
bandwagon. LC and Sony were among Ihe
biggesI names, wiIh Ihe lormer inIroducing
Ihe Lifeband Touch. The wrisI-mounIed
sensor has a small Iouchscreen OLFD display,
allowing iI Io luncIion as boIh a hIness
Iracker and smarIwaIch.
Taps and swipes on Ihe Iouchscreen
conIrol Ihe device, which only has one
physical buuon. lnside is a Ihree-axis
acceleromeIer and alIimeIer which should
accuraIely Irack disIance, calories used and
your speed. lI will connecI Io a smarIphone
via BlueIooIh Io upload hIness daIa Io Ihe
new LC FiIness app or many oIher popular
hIness services, or can be used as a
smarIwaIch lor caller display, incoming
message alerIs and Ihe like.
The Lileband Touch will work wiIh LC's
HearI RaIe Farphones, which measure your
hearI raIe by deIecIing Ihe pulse in Ihe your
ears. lI's a clever idea as many people
wear headphones when exercising and
iI could save Ihem lrom having Io wear
a sizeable hearI raIe chesI moniIor.
Sony Iook a similar approach wiIh Core,
iIs lile-Iracking sensor. RaIher Ihan being
designed Io purely moniIor acIiviIy, Core
helps you log and Irack your enIire day, giving
you an auIomaIed |ournal ol whaI you goI up
Io. By iIsell, Ihe lash drive-sized sensor isn'I
sIricIly wearable Iechnology, buI Sony is also
working on a SmarIBand wrisI sIrap IhaI will
leI you wear iI wherever you go.
WiIh no LCD display, everyIhing has Io be
managed Ihrough Ihe brand-new Lilelog
Android app. Over Ihe course ol Ihe day, iI
can Iell you how many sIeps you Iook, how
many calories you
burned, plus how much
Iime you spenI walking,
22 PRIL 2014 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 314
SteamOS beta
Valve, le comary belird le lugely successul Seam game service, las released a
Lirux-based OS desigred urely or games. Ve see i i's le uure o FC gamirg
THERE'S BEEN PLENTY ol hype around
so-called SIeam Uachines, mini-PCs running
Valve's own SIeam operaIing sysIem,
designed exclusively Io play games
downloaded lrom Ihe SIeam service.
SIeamOS is based on Debian Linux, and
insIalling iI is relaIively simple. There are Iwo
insIallaIion meIhods - DelaulI and CusIom
- lisIed on Ihe hu.//stcre.steomcwered.ccm/
steomcs/bui|dycurcwn websiIe. BoIh require
you Io booI lrom a SB sIick and will
compleIely wipe your hard disk. The SIeamOS
websiIe says you need a S00CB hard disk, buI
lound we could insIall Io a 120CB SSD.
SUITED AND BOOTED
BoIh insIallaIion opIions require you Io use a
4CB SB drive lormaued as FAT32. You
simply have Io copy Ihe hles lrom Ihe
SIeamOS zip hle Io Ihe SB drive, Ihen booI
Ihe PC lrom Ihis disk. The PC you wanI Io
use as your SIeam Uachine will need Io
supporI booIing lrom FFl devices, so you
may need Io enable Ihis opIion in Ihe BlOS.
The DelaulI insIallaIion aims Io use Ihe
open-source ParIclone solware Io copy an
enIire ready-conhgured SIeamOS disk image
lrom Ihe SB drive Io your hard disk.
nlorIunaIely, we couldn'I geI Ihe
procedure Io work, and we couldn'I hnd a way
Io geI ParIclone Io display an error saying
whaI Ihe problem was. We swiIched Io Ihe
CusIom insIallaIion insIead which isn'I much
more complicaIed. SIeamOS insIalls
auIomaIically, buI you Ihen have Io booI inIo
Ihe Debian DeskIop, run SIeam (we could
only geI iI Io work by running iI lrom Ihe
Terminal), waiI lor SIeam Io insIall iIs updaIes,
Ihen log in as a diherenI user and run a logon
scripI. The sysIem will now booI inIo
SIeamOS, and you're ready Io go.
This all worked hne on a PC equipped wiIh
an Nvidia CeForce CTX 770 graphics card.
AUD and lnIel graphics are lisIed as 'coming
soon', and when we Iried Io insIall SIeamOS
using Ihe inIegraIed graphics on an lnIel
Haswell processor, we goI an "OpenCL CLX
exIension noI supporIed by display" error.
Once we'd booIed inIo SIeam, we ran inIo
anoIher problem, SIeamOS seems Io be
hard-wired Io use HDUl sound raIher Ihan
our PC's analogue ouIpuI. This would make
sense lor mosI people, as Ihey are likely Io
have Iheir SIeam Uachine plugged inIo a TV
or AV sysIem, buI iI would be good Io have
Ihe opIion ol using your PC's analogue
ouIpuI. Fven booIing inIo Ihe Linux deskIop,
(you can enable access in Ihe lnIerlace
secIion ol Ihe SIeamOS seuings) and
changing Ihe seuings Ihere makes no
diherence once you booI inIo SIeam.
We also had some gliIches seuing up a
gamepad. We used a wired Speedlink Xeox
pad, which can emulaIe boIh an Xbox 360
conIroller (using Ihe XlnpuI proIocol) and
older DirecIlnpuI gampads. ln XlnpuI mode,
SIeamOS picked up our gamepad as an Xbox
360 conIroller, buI Ihe lace buuons were all
mixed up, making iI hard Io navigaIe Ihe OS.
ForIunaIely, SIeamOS gives you many
cusIomisaIion opIions lor your gamepad,
leuing you easily map Ihe necessary buuons.
We lound Ihe conIroller cusIomisaIion
secIion slighIly laky, in IhaI iI would
someIimes reluse Io respond Io our inpuIs, so
we had Io leave a keyboard plugged in as a
backup unIil we had Ihe conIroller seI up.
THE BIG PICTURE
Once all our gamepad's buuons were Ihe righI
way around, navigaIing SIeamOS wiIh Ihe
gamepad was a breeze, Ihanks Io Ihe
onscreen buuon prompIs. The inIerlace is
idenIical Io SIeam's Big PicIure mode on a
normal deskIop insIallaIion. This is all big
easy-Io-undersIand buuons and icons, and iI's
designed lor navigaIing lrom your sola.
We did noIice a lew quirks wiIh Ihe SIeam
inIerlace on Linux, however. The SIore shows
all Ihe available games, buI Ihere's no conIenI
hlIer lor Linux IiIles, so you have Io click inIo
each one Io see wheIher iI'll work on your
SIeam box. AI leasI Ihere's an icon aI Ihe
bouom-righI ol each IiIle's Ihumbnail,
showing wheIher or noI iI'll work wiIh your
gamepad, buI, aI Ihe risk ol Ihings becoming
Ioo cluuered, we wish Ihere were also
operaIing sysIem compaIibiliIy icons.
Things are beuer in Ihe Library, where your
purchased games are sIored. The main
RecenIly Played secIion only shows conIroller
supporI, buI you can go inIo Ihe View All
Cames secIion and selecI Linux games lrom
Ihe drop-down menu aI Ihe Iop. You can also
use Ihis menu Io hlIer by gamepad-supporIed
IiIles, buI you can'I selecI boIh Linux and
conIroller-supporIed IiIles. Here's hoping lor
more lexible Library hlIers in Ihe luIure.
8 Rather than the standard Desktop client, SteamOS uses Steam's Big Picture mode, which is designed to
be controlled with a gamepad from the other side of the room - ideal for sofa-based gaming
8 The system requirements specify a 500CB hard
disk, but we were fine with a 120CB SSD
8 Our gamepad behaved strangely at first, but its
buttons were fairly easy to reconfigure
NEVS
PRIL 2014 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 314
This brings us Io anoIher poIenIial
drawback wiIh SIeamOS - Linux, as a
mainsIream gaming plaIlorm, is in iIs inlancy.
We lound |usI over 300 IiIles available lor
SIeamOS, buI Ihis is a lar cry lrom Ihe
Ihousands available lor Windows.
You'll also have Io be prepared Io be
eclecIic in your gaming IasIes. UosI ol Ihe
games available are indie IiIles, such as Trine
2, Fez, Amnesia, Legend ol Crimrock and FTL.
Uany ol Ihese IiIles are superb, |usI don'I
expecI Io play all Ihe laIesI blockbusIers.
We did hnd a lew ma|or IiIles, such as
UeIro LasI LighI, and Ihere is, ol course,
Valve's back caIalogue, wiIh classic, il ageing,
IiIles such as Lel 4 Dead 2 and Hall-Lile 2.
Lel 4 Dead 2 ran beauIilully on our SIeam
box wiIh maximum deIail, and worked well
wiIh our gamepad once we'd enabled supporI
in Ihe opIions. We lound one odd bug wiIh
plaIlormer Trine 2, where, il we Iurned on
maximum anIi-aliasing, our characIer wouldn'I
appear on screen, making iI impossible Io
play. This was easily hxed by Iurning AA down
Io Ihe High seuing.

SIeam Uachines are designed Io be used in
Ihe living room, and SIeamOS is well suiIed Io
sharing games wiIh your lamily. |usI like in Ihe
deskIop version ol SIeam, SIeamOS supporIs
Family Sharing. This leIs you share games
insIalled on your SIeam accounI wiIh up Io 10
oIhers. We lound iI worked well on our SIeam
box. When you log in Io a SIeamOS box wiIh
more Ihan one accounI on iI, Ihe oIher
person's games will be available Io download
and play. Also, when you selecI a game Io
download, a sharing requesI will be emailed Io
Ihe person who owns
Ihe IiIle so IhaI Ihey
can auIhorise Ihis acIion. The accounI owner
doesn'I need Io be logged in Io SIeam Io
approve a requesI eiIher, so Ihey'll be able Io
easily conhrm requesIs while on Ihe move,
using a smarIphone.
You can Ihen play Ihe shared game Io your
hearI's conIenI, as long as Ihe oIher person
doesn'I use Iheir SIeam accounI. As soon as
Ihey sign in, you have lour minuIes Io save
your game belore you're kicked ouI back Io
Ihe SIeam inIerlace. lI's a uselul sysIem which
seems Io work well, buI iI's sIill noI as lexible
as |usI passing around a console game disc.
SIeamOS is sIill in beIa, and Ihere are
some rough edges which need ironing ouI,
chiely, supporI lor more graphics chipseIs is
viIal, and we'd like Io
have Ihe abiliIy Io use
a PC's analogue sound
ouIpuIs raIher Ihan
relying on HDUl.
SIeamOS also
needs beuer ways Io
hlIer Ihe SIore by
operaIing sysIem, and
more Linux supporI
lor ma|or IiIles, buI
Ihis is likely Io come as
Ihe OS gains a larger
insIalled base.
ln Ihe meanIime,
whaI SIeamOS gives
you is a way Io play
hundreds ol diherenI indie IiIles wiIhouI
having Io buy a copy ol Windows or
download and insIall drivers. lI also gives PC
manulacIurers a chance Io show whaI Ihey
can really do, by building cusIom PCs
dedicaIed Io running SIeamOS, wiIhouI
having Io make Ihe usual compromises IhaI a
general-purpose PC is saddled wiIh. We're
exciIed Io see how Ihings develop. 8 You can share your games with other people's Steam accounts, and they can be played when you're offline
8 You can sort your library by gamepad-supported and Linux-compatible titles, |ust not both at the same time
+ SteamOS is locked to
HDN| sound, even if you
change the settings in
the Linux backend

''' '''''''
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PC & LPTOP REVIEVS

2C PRIL 2014 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 314
THE ORI6INAL YO6A 13 was one ol our
lavouriIe converIible hybrids ol 2013, buI
Lenovo's brand-new Yoga 2 Pro improves on
iIs predecessor in almosI every way. The Yoga
2 Pro's unique super-lexible hinge is back in
all iIs 360 degree glory, leuing you lold Ihe
keyboard behind Ihe screen so IhaI you can
use Ihe Yoga 2 Pro as a IableI. However, Ihe
Yoga 2 Pro's chassis is Ihinner and lighIer
Ihan Ihe older model, which means iI's much
more porIable and easier Io use as a IableI,
measuring a slim 1Smm Ihick when closed.
We're also happy Io reporI IhaI Ihe Yoga 2
Pro's build qualiIy has improved dramaIically
over IhaI ol Ihe original Yoga. The lex in Ihe
keyboard Iray IhaI spoiled Ihe Yoga isn'I
presenI, so Ihe Yoga 2 Pro leels much more
like a premium lapIop, and Ihe hinge remains
as sIurdy as ever. AI 1.4kg, iI's sIill a liule Ioo
heavy Io hold in IableI mode lor long, and we
lound ourselves resIing Ihe Yoga 2 Pro on our
lap or a work surlace. Fven so, we cerIainly
welcome Ihe 100g weighI reducIion.
ConnecIion porIs are scarce, buI Ihere are
Iwo SB porIs, one BS3, a Uicro HDUl
ouIpuI, SD and UUC card reader and a
3.Smm headphone and microphone |ack.
buI we were a liule disappoinIed Io see a black
level reading ol 0.47cd/m
2
. This is less black
Ihan we'd normally expecI Io see lrom a lapIop
ol Ihis price, and iI showed in our solid black
IesI images, which appeared noIiceably grey
compared Io Ihe lapIop's dark black bezel.
lI's a relaIively minor law, Ihough, and
Ihanklully Ihe screen's conIrasI levels were
more encouraging. We measured a greaI
conIrasI raIio ol 713.1 and all our high-
conIrasI IesI images looked greaI. Some
areas ol dark shadow only appeared as simple
areas ol solid black in a lew ol our nighI
shoIs, buI on Ihe whole, images looked crisp
and had plenIy ol deIail. Thanks Io iIs superb
viewing angles, we noIiced liule colour shil
when IilIing Ihe screen.
TIPPING THE SCALE
Having such a high resoluIion does cause a
lew problems, because Windows 8.1's deskIop
scaling Iechnology is nowhere near as
sophisIicaIed as IhaI ol Uac OS X. Samsung
managed Io counIer Ihis problem on Ihe AIiv
Book 9 Plus by including iIs own solware IhaI
rendered Ihe Windows deskIop aI Ihe same
size as iI would be in a lapIop display. Sadly,
Lenovo has included no such solware here,
so you can'I ad|usI Windows 8's overall
scaling. lnsIead, Ihe only way Io conIrol Ihe
size ol IexI is by ad|usIing Ihe Display seuings
LENOVO ldeaFadYoga 2 Fro

1,000 inc VAT

From www.|ohnlewis.com
VERDICT
Windows 8's poor reso|ution sca|ing and |ower-than-
expected banery |ife spoi| an otherwise exce||ent |aptop

YOUR TRUSTED GUIDE TO WHAT'S NEW

FIX UP, LOOK SHARP
nlike previous Yoga models, Ihe headline
leaIure ol Ihe Yoga 2 Pro isn'I iIs 360-degree
hinge, iI's Ihe sIunning 3,200x1,800 resoluIion
ol iIs 13.3in lPS Iouchscreen display. This is
Ihe same resoluIion as on Samsung's lIimaIe
award-winning AIiv Book 9 Plus (see Peviews,
Shcer 3!0), and iI means Ihe Yoga 2 Pro's
screen has a huge pixel densiIy ol 27S pixels
per inch (PPl). ThaI PPl is even higher Ihan
IhaI ol Apple's 13in Uacbook Pro ReIina
display. nsurprisingly, you can see a
Iremendous amounI ol deIail on Ihe Yoga 2
Pro's screen, and Ihis much higher resoluIion
is a greaI improvemenI
on Ihe old Yoga's
1,600x900 resoluIion.
The Yoga 2 Pro's
screen has Ihe image qualiIy
Io maIch, Ioo. WiIh an sRCB
colour gamuI reading ol 8S.3
per cenI in our IesIs, colours
were represenIed evenly across
all Ihe ma|or colour groups.
Reds and greens were a liule
lacking compared Io iIs sIrong
blues, buI Ihis didn'I ahecI our
sub|ecIive image IesIs.
ln IesIs, solid colours looked
brighI, vibranI and evenly liI
across Ihe screen. WhiIes were
very clean as well Ihanks Io Ihe
screen's high brighIness levels,
PC & LPTOP REVIEVS

ISSUE 314 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ PRIL 2014

in Ihe ConIrol Panel. You'll probably wanI Io
increase Ihe IexI size Io FxIra Large, which is
Iwice as big as normal, because IexI rendered
aI 100 per cenI was almosI illegible.
Windows 8's poor scaling ahecIed Ihe
Chrome web browser when we used iI in SIarI
screen mode, Ioo, wiIh IexI and icons looking
Iiny. They were so small IhaI we had dimculIy
clicking Ihe correcI Iabs and menu icons wiIh
our Iouchpad, leI alone when we used Ihe
Iouchscreen. Thanklully, IexI reIurned Io iIs
normal size when we re-launched Ihe browser
in DeskIop mode.
Scaling issues aside, we en|oyed using Ihe
Yoga 2 Pro lor day-Io-day Iasks such as word
processing and sending emails. The
keyboard's springy keys gave a greaI level ol
IacIile leedback and Ihe Yoga 2 Pro's lighIly
IexIured sol-Iouch wrisI resI was very
comlorIable and a real boon. The Yoga 2 Pro's
smooIh Iouchpad was also very quick and
responsive when browsing Ihrough our hles,
and we had no problem perlorming Windows
8 shorIcuIs and mulIi-Iouch gesIures.
FLEXIBLE PERFORMER
The Yoga 2 Pro didn'I disappoinI when iI came
Io processing perlormance eiIher, and iIs
1.6CHz lnIel Core iS-4200 processor and
4CB ol RAU powered Ihe lapIop Io an
admirable overall score ol 46 in our
p37 LG G Pad 8.3 p44 Samsung GaIaxy NX p90 PC Specialist NUC Lite p58 AMD 10-78S0K p63 Metal Gear: Revengeance
mulIimedia benchmarks. This is
exacIly Ihe score we expecI Io
see lrom Ihis Iype ol processor,
and Ihe benchmark resulIs show
IhaI Ihe Yoga 2 Pro's slim,
sealed chassis doesn'I suher
lrom overheaIing like oIher
lIrabooks such as Ihe Core
i7-based Sony Vaio Pro 13 (see
Crcu Test, Shcer 307), which also
scored 46 despiIe having a beuer processor.
The Yoga 2 Pro's lnIel HD Craphics 4400
graphics processor can |usI abouI play 3D
games, buI you'll have Io compromise on
graphics qualiIy seuings and Ihe laIesI, mosI
graphically challenging games will prove Ioo
much lor iI. The Yoga Pro 2 managed Io ouIpuI
an average lrame raIe ol 19.9lps in our DirI
Showdown benchmark wiIh graphics qualiIy
seI Io High and Ihe resoluIion seI Io 1,280x720.
However, Ihis increased Io a much smooIher
average lrame raIe ol 3S.1lps when we seI
graphics qualiIy Io Low. The Yoga 2 Pro also
produced a respecIable average lrame raIe ol
29.1lps wiIh graphics qualiIy seI Io Low and no
anIi-aliasing aI a resoluIion ol 1,920x1,080.
Sadly, 3D gaming is ouI ol Ihe quesIion aI Ihe
Yoga 2 Pro's naIive 3,200x1,800 resoluIion, as
iI lailed our DirI Showdown benchmark aI IhaI
resoluIion, even wiIh graphics qualiIy seI Io
Low and wiIh no anIi-aliasing.
For us, Ihe only real disappoinImenI, aparI
lrom Windows 8's poor resoluIion scaling, was
Ihe lapIop's average bauery lile. The Yoga 2 Pro
lasIed seven hours and 17 minuIes in our lighI
use IesI wiIh Ihe screen seI Io hall brighIness,
which is roughly Ihe same as Ihe original Yoga
13's bauery lile. This would be impressive lor a
lapIop released in 2013, buI we've seen oIher
recenIly released Haswell-based lIrabooks lasI
lor up Io 11 hours. This makes Ihe Yoga 2 Pro
seem less auracIive il you need Io an ulIra-
porIable lapIop Io Iake on Ihe road.
Like iIs predecessor, Ihe Lenovo ldeaPad
Yoga 2 Pro isn'I perlecI, buI iIs novel hinge
and impressive display cerIainly go a long way
Io make up lor iIs laws. AI |usI under 1,000,
iI's also roughly 2S0 less Ihan oIher
3,200x1,800 resoluIion lapIops such as Ihe
Samsung AIiv Book 9 Plus. The Yoga 2 Pro's
price also gives iI a huge edge over oIher,
similarly priced lIrabooks wiIh lower
1,920x1,080 resoluIions.
ll you wanI a lun Iwo-in-one device wiIh a
gorgeously deIailed screen, Ihe Yoga 2 Pro is
Ihe converIible lapIop lor you.
Kothorine Byrne
13.3in
220mm
15mm
Closed
1.4kg
330mm
SPECIFICATIONS
CPU 1.6CHz |ntel Core i5-4200U
PAN4CB
5TOPACE 256CB SSD
CPAPHIC5 |ntel HD Craphics 4400
OPTICAL DPIVE None
DI5PLAY 13.3in widescreen |PS (3,200x1,800)
OPEPATINC 5Y5TENWindows 8.1
DINEN5ION5 15x330x220mm, 1.4kg
POWEP CON5UNPTION 0W standby, 12W idle, 28W active
WAPPANTY One-year RTB
PAPT CODE 20266
DETAIL5 www.lenovo.co.uk
Windows overa||
Nu|titasking
Dirt 5howdown
Banery |ife
|e|e|e:e -'1 -l11 '1 1
See page 76 lor perlormance deIails
46
42
19.9fps
7h 17m
TIe InteI HD GrapIics 4400 cIip can ust about
pIay 3D ames, but you'II Iave to compromise
on rapIics quaIity settins
PC & LPTOP REVIEVS
28 PRIL 2014 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 314
WE CAN'T FAULT Sony lor Irying Io hnd
new and innovaIive ways Io make inIeresIing
lapIop-IableI hybrids, buI noI all ol iIs
experimenIs pay oh. We liked Ihe lawed buI
inIeresIing Vaio Duo 13, wiIh iIs novel hinge
and ouIsIanding bauery lile, buI Ihe Tap 11
lailed Io leave much ol an impression.
The Vaio FiI 14A UulIilip is Sony's laIesI
auempI Io bridge Ihe gap beIween lapIop and
IableI. The lapIop's screen can lip over so
you can lower iI over Ihe keyboard, Iurning
Ihe lapIop inIo a powerlul Windows 8 IableI.
The acIion is similar Io IhaI used by Ihe
Dell XPS 12. lI's a simple movemenI, and
one IhaI Ihe Dell accomplished eleganIly,
buI Ihe UulIilip manages Io make iI one ol
Ihe mosI awkward and hddly IransiIions
we've ever seen.
You need a decenI amounI ol space aI Ihe
back ol Ihe lapIop Io lip Ihe screen smooIhly,
and you have Io lock Ihe screen in place wiIh
a swiIch. Happily, Ihe 14A UulIilip's
Iouchscreen is very responsive. Windows 8
gesIures all worked perlecIly and we were
able Io open and close inIerneI Iabs
accuraIely, even aI Ihe 14A UulIilip's highesI
1,920x1,080 resoluIion.
The screen's image qualiIy was also
promising, as our colour calibraIor showed iI
was displaying an impressive 9S.2 per cenI ol
Ihe sRCB colour gamuI. This is Ihe highesI
reading we've ever seen lrom a lapIop, even
Apple's Uacbook Pro models, so you can be
sure you're geuing one ol Ihe mosI accuraIe
displays around. As a resulI, our solid colour
image IesIs looked lanIasIic, wiIh reds, greens
and blues almosI |umping ouI ol Ihe screen.
Sadly, iI's noI all good news, as whiIes
were surprisingly grey, which highlighIed
Ihe screen's poor viewing angles. We've
seen Ihis ehecI on
oIher Sony lapIops, such as Ihe
Vaio Duo 13 and Ihe Vaio Tap 11, and we
are disappoinIed IhaI Ihe 14A UulIilip is
Ihe same. lndeed, Ihere was a noIiceable shil
in conIrasI IhaI casI a grey shadow across
Ihe Iop ol Ihe screen when we IilIed Ihe
screen back.
nlorIunaIely, Ihe 14A UulIilip's conIrasI
levels weren'I much beuer. Fven Ihough we
measured a good conIrasI raIio ol 708.1 wiIh
our colour calibraIor, all Ihe nighI shoIs in our
high conIrasI IesI severely lacked deIail. This
is a real shame because iI spoils an oIherwise
beauIilul display.
We weren'I big lans ol Ihe keyboard or
Iouchpad, eiIher. The keyboard is Ioo lexible,
and Ihe keys lelI spongy. This made Ihem leel
laI while we were Iyping, and while Ihey were
well-spaced, we would have prelerred a loI
more IacIile leedback. However, Ihe large
all-in-one Iouchpad perlormed Windows 8
shorIcuIs accuraIely and responded quickly
Io our mulIi-Iouch gesIures.
Our biggesI concern is Ihe lexibiliIy ol Ihe
14A UulIilip's chassis, as wiggling Ihe bouom
corners ol Ihe lapIop produced a crunching
noise lrom Ihe keyboard. The keyboard Iray
also lelI limsy, and iI bounced when we
Iyped. We also noIiced Ihe Iouchscreen's
digiIiser was pressing againsI Ihe LCD display,
which creaIed a disIorIion ehecI in Ihe
screen's corners IhaI looked
as il we were pressing Ihe
screen Ioo hard wiIh our
hnger. This is unlorgivable on
a 900 lapIop.
lI's all Ihe more disappoinIing
as Ihe 14A UulIilip is oIherwise
preuy well specihced. Our review
sample had a 1.6CHz lnIel Core
iS-4200 processor and 8CB ol
RAU. lI perlormed a lracIion slower
in our PC benchmarks Ihan oIher
lapIops we've seen wiIh Ihis
processor, scoring 4S overall raIher
Ihan Ihe more common 47 scored
by lapIops such as Ihe Lenovo
ldeaPad Flex 1S. However, iI'd be
dimculI Io noIice Ihis slim
Iwo-poinI dehciI in everyday use.
sing Ihe 14A UulIilip Io browse Ihe web
and run omce producIiviIy solware is a
breeze. The lapIop can even handle lairly
modern 3D games, as long as you lower
graphics qualiIy seuings. AI a 1,280x720
resoluIion, no anIi-aliasing and wiIh graphics
qualiIy seI Io Low Ihe 14A UulIilip produced
a smooIh average lrame raIe ol 40.3lps.
We were disappoinIed wiIh Ihe 14A
UulIilip's bauery lile. The lapIop lasIed six
hours in our lighI use IesI wiIh Ihe screen seI
Io hall brighIness. We expecI mosI lapIops
aI Ihis price Io lasI around nine or
10 hours under Ihe same condiIions.
A porI scarciIy adds insulI Io in|ury wiIh
|usI Iwo SB3 porIs, an SD card reader, a
HDUl video ouIpuI and a combined |ack.
Like Ihe Sony Vaio Tap 11, Ihe headphone
and microphone 14A is an inIeresIing
experimenI in hybrid design, buI has Ioo
many laws Io |usIily iIs price. ll you wanI a
screen IhaI can roIaIe Io creaIe a Windows 8
IableI, we'd say pay more lor Ihe Dell XPS 12.
AlIernaIively, geI Ihe cheaper UulIi-lip.
Kothorine Byrne
SONY Vaio !i l4A Muli!li

900 inc VAT

From www.sony.co.uk
VERDICT
Nany minor aws ruin what cou|d easi|y
have been a great hybrid |aptop
SPECIFICATIONS
CPU 1.6CHz |ntel Core i5-4200U
PAN1TB
5TOPACE 500CB hard disk
CPAPHIC5 |ntel HD Craphics 4400
OPTICAL DPIVE None
DI5PLAY 14in widescreen LCD touchscreen (1,920x1,080)
OPEPATINC 5Y5TENWindows 8
DINEN5ION5 20x336x234mm, 1.9kg
POWEP CON5UNPTION 9W standby, 16W idle, 30W active
WAPPANTY Two-year RTB
PAPT CODE SVF14N1C5E
DETAIL5 www.sony.co.uk
Windows overa||
Nu|titasking
Dirt 5howdown
Banery |ife
|e|e|e.e -'1 -l11 '1 1
45
40
18.2fps
6h
See page 76 lor perlormance deIails
PC & LPTOP REVIEVS
30 PRIL 2014 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 314
THE C720 IS Acer's laIesI Chromebook and iI
improves on iIs predecessor in almosI every
way. The chassis is now Ihinner aI |usI 19mm
Ihick, and Ihe C720 looks all Ihe beuer lor iI.
Sadly, Ihere are lewer connecIion porIs,
and Ihe C720 has |usI Iwo SB porIs, one
ol which is SB3, an SD card reader, an
HDUl ouIpuI and a 3.Smm headseI |ack. The
C720's lack ol a VCA ouIpuI is no greaI loss
lor home users, buI iI's a shame Ihere's no
FIherneI porI, uselul lor connecIing Io hoIel
inIerneI. Fven so, Ihe C720's range ol
connecIions should be enough lor mosI users.
Perhaps Ihe mosI exciIing addiIion Io Ihe
C720 is a Haswell processor, which is a
dual-core lnIel Celeron 29SS wiIh a clock
speed ol 1.4CHz. Paired wiIh 2CB ol RAU, Ihis
processor helps make Ihe C720 one ol Ihe
quickesI Chromebooks we've ever IesIed. We
couldn'I run our usual mulIimedia
benchmarks in Chrome OS, buI iI compleIed
Ihe SunSpider |avaScripI benchmark IesI in a
lighIning lasI 3SS.6ms. This is more Ihan Iwice
as quick as Ihe HP Chromebook 11 (see
Peviews, Shcer 3!!), and Chrome OS leels a
loI snappier. Files loaded quickly in Ihe File
Uanager and we could open mulIiple Chrome
Iabs wiIhouI Ihe sysIem becoming sluggish.
AnoIher benehI ol Ihe Celeron 29SS
processor is iIs low energy consumpIion,
which resulIed in one ol Ihe longesI bauery
lives we've seen lrom a Chromebook. WiIh
Ihe screen seI Io hall brighIness, Ihe C720
lasIed an impressive seven hours and Iwo
minuIes in our video playback IesI.
The C720's inIegraIed lnIel HD Craphics
chip is also capable ol playing Ihe Chrome
Web SIore's selecIion ol games, handling
BasIion wiIhouI an issue, and even bisol's
From DusI ran smooIhly in our web browser.
Also Ihanks Io various improvemenIs, Ihe
C720 is greaI Io use lor
everyday Iasks. The redesigned
keyboard means you won'I hiI Ihe Pg p and
Pg Down keys when you use Ihe arrow keys.
The Caps Lock key has been replaced wiIh
Coogle's dedicaIed Search key, buI you can
sIill enable Caps Lock by pressing AlI and
Search. We preler Ihe Search key's new
locaIion as iI's easier Io reach when Iyping.
The keyboard lelI a liule cramped when
we were Iyping compared Io oIher
Chromebook models we've used, buI iI didn'I
seem Io ahecI our Iyping qualiIy. The
Iouchpad is a liule Ioo small, buI iI's perlecIly
responsive and mulIi-Iouch gesIures such as
Iwo-hnger scrolling worked beauIilully.
The C720's 11.6in display has a 1,366x768
resoluIion, buI now iI has a mau raIher Ihan
glossy hnish, which signihcanIly reduces Ihe
amounI ol relecIions IhaI appear onscreen
when you're ouIside or in a brighIly liI omce.
The display is sIill dim, buI we could see
Ihe screen clearly lrom a varieIy ol angles.
There's also a generous amounI ol screen IilI,
so you shouldn'I have any Irouble hnding a
comlorIable working angle.
We were pleased wiIh Ihe
C720's image qualiIy. ConIrasI
levels were superb, and we could
see a very high level ol deIail.
Ol course, Ihe C720's ma|or leaIure
is Chrome OS, Coogle's operaIing
sysIem based on Ihe Chrome web
browser. WiIh Chrome OS, you can
only insIall programs lrom Ihe Chrome
Web SIore. Chrome OS is ideal lor
Ihose who spend mosI ol Iheir Iime
browsing Ihe web and sending emails,
and use Coogle's online services Io
creaIe documenIs and spreadsheeIs.
Chrome OS is easy Io use, buI you
musI be online Io geI Ihe mosI ouI ol
Ihe C720 as mosI ol your documenIs
and media will be sIored in Ihe Cloud. The
C720 has a 16CB SSD, buI iI's Ioo small Io
sIore loIs ol hles and media locally.
ConvenienIly, an increasing number ol
Chrome apps work omine, so you won'I lose
access Io some hles when you can'I hnd a
Wi-Fi connecIion. Coogle Drive documenIs
are all synchronised Io your Chromebook and
you can creaIe and ediI exisIing word
processing documenIs omine. SpreadsheeIs
are less lexible and, aI Ihe Iime ol wriIing,
Ihey can only be viewed omine. Cmail is
available omine - |usI download Ihe Omine
Cmail app lrom Ihe Chrome Web SIore.
Admiuedly, Chrome OS's omine supporI
sIill needs work, buI iI's hard Io complain
when Ihe C720 is such a bargain. ll all you
need is a no-nonsense lapIop Io Iake wiIh you
on Ihe move, Ihe C720 could be lor you. lI
wins a BudgeI Buy award.
Kothorine Byrne
ACER C20 Clromebool

199 inc VAT From www.pcworld.co.uk

VERDICT
Cheap, powerfu| and extreme|y we|| made
this is Acer's best Chromebook yet
SPECIFICATIONS
CPU 1.4CHz |ntel Celeron 2955U
PAN2CB
5TOPACE 16CB SSD
CPAPHIC5 |ntel HD Craphics 4600
OPTICAL DPIVE None
DI5PLAY 11.6in widescreen LCD (1,366x768)
OPEPATINC 5Y5TENChrome OS
DINEN5ION5 19x288x204mm, 1.3kg
POWEP CON5UNPTION 0Wstandby, 8W idle, 17W active
WAPPANTY One-year RTB
PAPT CODE NX.SHEEK.001
DETAIL5 www.acer.co.uk
Banery |ife
|e|e|e.e -'1 -l11 '1 1
7h 2m
See page 76 lor perlormance deIails
TIe 11.6in dispIay Ias a 1,366x768 resoIution,
vitI a matt ratIer tIan a Iossy nisI vIicI
sinicantIy reduces onscreen redections
lvrilLcr ir llEcily
Lclrclcy
iLLECxr
1his 58.4 om (23") lull L model sets a new milestone in lP3 display teohnology. lt boasts a great design and offers extensive oonneotivity options, suoh as
L-3ub, two LMl oonneotors and a LisplayPort. lts praotioal ML interfaoe even allows you to direotly hook up your Android mobile devioes to the monitor. lP3
is known for vivid oolours as well as high viewing angle stability. until reoently mainly used by professionals and enthusiasts, the oompetitively prioed i2369vm
proves that this teohnology and high standard has beoome affordable to all. 1he display oomes with a 250 od/m brightness, a typioal oontrast of 1000:1
(dynamio oontrast: 50,000,000:1) and a 6 milliseoonds 010 response time for your ultimate viewing experienoe.
PR0bUC1 b1AlL5
L-3ub, 2x LMl, Lisplay port
6 ms 0t0
1920 x 1080 60 z
ML, -3-+21 1ilt, vL3A wallmount
250 od/m
www.cc-eurce.ccn
Multiple inputs for
enhanoed multimedia
oapabilities
3 year warranty
ultra-slim protle
PRIL 2014 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 314
loI ol advenIurous PC cases, buI
Ihe 1,600 Aria CladiaIor lnlerno looks parIicularly
impressive. The wide, heavily venIilaIed Corsair
Carbide Air S40 case looks like an indusIrial
mini-lreezer, an impression aided by iIs large, clear
side panel. There's noI much Io proIecI Ihe PC's
innards lrom dusI and luh, buI we were pleased
IhaI Ihe CladiaIor lnlerno runs wiIh |usI a low,
rushing hum when Ihe side panels are on. This is
largely Ihanks Io some quieI case lans and a
waIer-cooled processor.
nusually, boIh side panels conceal someIhing
uselul. The case is spliI inIo Iwo bays, wiIh Ihe
lel-hand bay housing Ihe moIherboard and Iwo
3in drive bays. The righI-hand bay ol Ihe case
conIains Iwo exIernally lacing verIical Sin bays
and a bank ol lour 2in drive bays, as well as an
8S0W power supply. On Ihe lronI, alongside Ihe
verIically mounIed DVD-RW drive, Ihere are Iwo
SB3 porIs, plus microphone and headphone |acks.
There's plenIy more connecIiviIy aI Ihe back ol
Ihe case Ihanks Io Ihe CladiaIor lnlerno's Asus
SabreIooIh 990FX R2.0 moIherboard. The board
has Iwo eSATA3 porIs and lour SB3 porIs on Ihe
backplaIe, as well as anoIher eighI SB2 porIs.
ConvenienIly, you can use one ol Ihe SB porIs Io
updaIe your BlOS easily lrom a SB lash drive.
There's also a CigabiI FIherneI porI, a PS/2 porI, six
3.Smm audio porIs lor up Io 7.1 analogue surround
sound and an opIical S/PDlF digiIal audio ouIpuI.
The moIherboard's inIernal leaIures are
impressive, Ioo. There are lour PCl-F x16 sloIs, Ihree
ol which change speed depending on how you use
Ihem. Fill Iwo ol Ihe sloIs, and Ihey'll boIh run aI
x16, hll all Ihree sloIs and Ihe IopmosI sloI will
operaIe aI x16 while Ihe oIher Iwo sIep down Io x8.
The lourIh x16 sloI acIually runs aI x4 speed. The
moIherboard also provides a legacy PCl sloI lor
connecIion porI and TV Iuner cards, and a PCl-F x1
sloI, alIhough Ihe x1 sloI's posiIion means iI is
obscured by Ihe dual-sloI graphics card.
The moIherboard has eighI SATA3 porIs, ol
which Ihree are in use, wiIh one used lor Ihe 2S0CB
SSD on which Windows is insIalled, one lor a 1TB
daIa disk and Ihe Ihird lor Ihe DVD-RW drive. Two
ol Ihe moIherboard's lour memory sloIs hold 8CB
modules ol 1,866UHz memory, while Ihe processor
is an eighI-core AUD FX-9S90 running aI iIs naIive
4.7CHz. The PC scored 97 overall in our mulIimedia
benchmarks, and alIhough we've seen lasIer scores
lrom some ol Ihe mosI powerlul lnIel processors,
Ihe exIra cores ol Ihe AUD FX-9S90 are worIh
having il you run solware opIimised Io use Ihem.
Civen IhaI CladiaIor lnlerno is blaIanIly a
gaming PC, noI many games can Iake advanIage ol
eighI CP cores. The CladiaIor lnlerno's graphics
card is made Io make Ihe mosI ol games, and is an
ARIA
Gladiaor lrerro

1,600 inc VAT

From www.aria.co.uk
SPECIFICATIONS
CPU 4.7CHz AND FX-9590
PAN16CB
5TOPACE 250CB SSD + 1TB hard disk
CPAPHIC5 CAPD 3072NB AND Radeon R9 280X
OPTICAL DPIVE DVD+/-RW +/-DL
OPEPATINC 5Y5TENWindows 8.1
DINEN5ION5 462x331x404mm
POWEP CON5UNPTION 15W standby, 100W idle, 316W active
WAPPANTY One-year RTB
PAPT CODE Cladiator |nferno
DETAIL5 www.aria.co.uk
Windows overa||
Nu|titasking
Dirt 5howdown
Crysis 3
|e|e|e.e -'1 -l11 '1 1
92
96
52.7fps
104.6fps
See page 76 lor perlormance deIails
overclocked version ol Ihe 3CB AUD Radeon R9
280X. The CladiaIor lnlerno produced a lrame raIe
ol 104.6lps in DirI Showdown aI 1,920x1,080 wiIh
graphics qualiIy seI Io lIra. Fven in our more
challenging Full HD Crysis 3 benchmark IesI, Ihe
graphics card managed an impressive S2.7lps aI
High qualiIy and 43.8lps aI Very High qualiIy.
This sysIem is a gaming monsIer wiIh loIs ol
upgrade poIenIial and connecIion porIs while Ihe
2S0CB SSD is large enough lor a lasI selecIion ol
games, so IhaI Ihey benehI lrom Ihe SSD's lasI
perlormance. The graphics card is well chosen and
Ihe processor is one ol Ihe mosI powerlul
mulIi-core AUD chips available. The CladiaIor
lnlerno's auracIive case is easily accessible and
Ihere's plenIy ol room Io work wiIhin iI. The
CladiaIor lnlerno is power hungry, Ihough,
demanding 316W lrom Ihe mains when running
processor or graphics card inIensive Iasks, 100W
when idle and 1SW even in sleep mode.
Bear in mind IhaI Ihe CladiaIor lnlerno is a
Iop-ol-Ihe-range build wiIh excellenI componenIs
IhaI's priced accordingly. The YoyoIech Warbird
RS1 (see Peviews, Shcer 3!2), priced aI 1,000,
puI in a beuer perlormance in our applicaIion
benchmarks, scoring 12S overall, and produced an
average 34lps in Crysis 3 aI maximum qualiIy.
However, il you wanI a highly auracIive gaming PC
Ihen Ihe CladiaIor lnlerno is worIh considering.
Kot Orphonides
VERDICT
The C|adiator Inferno is bui|t with top-notch
components, but it's remarkab|y expensive
he0est l88erv|ce[ust get hetter
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PC & LPTOP REVIEVS
34 PRIL 2014 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 314
ASUS'S ZENBOOK LAPTOPS have always
been desirable, buI Ihe X301LA is easily Ihe
mosI eleganI lIrabook we've ever seen. The
meIallic hnish on Ihe X301LA's crysIalline
glass lid looks remarkably beauIilul and iIs
super-slim chassis measures |usI 1S.Smm
when closed and weighs a mere 1.38kg.
ForIunaIely, Asus has Iaken greaI care
Io ensure Ihe X301LA's beauIy isn'I |usI
skin-deep, as iI's Ihe hrsI lapIop in Ihe world
Io use Corning Corilla Class 3 Io proIecI iIs lid.
Corilla Class 3 is Ihree Iimes more scraIch-
resisIanI Ihan Ihe Corilla Class 2 coaIings seen
on some oIher lapIops, giving Ihe X301LA
exIra proIecIion when you're mobile.
The X301LA has lew connecIion porIs,
buI iI has a good selecIion lor a lapIop so
Ihin. There are Iwo SB3 porIs, Uicro HDUl
and Uini DisplayPorI video ouIpuIs, an SD
card reader and a combined headphone and
microphone |ack. You also geI a VCA and
CigabiI FIherneI adapIor Io connecI Io an
exIernal moniIor or wired neIwork.
The X301LA model we reviewed is a
supremely capable lapIop, and iIs dual-core
1.8CHz lnIel Core i7-4S00 processor and
8CB ol RAU sped Ihrough our mulIimedia
benchmarks. lI scored S3 overall, which puIs iI
|usI Iwo poinIs behind Ihe similarly priced
Sony Vaio Duo 13. You cerIainly shouldn'I
have any problems running mulIiple programs
aI once or using processor-inIensive
applicaIions such as phoIo- and video-ediIors.
The X301LA also perlormed well in our
DirI Showdown IesI. WiIh graphics qualiIy seI
Io High and aI a 1,280x720 resoluIion, Ihe
X301LA produced a sIeady 23.6lps, which is
roughly whaI we'd expecI Io see lrom Ihis
ASUS Zerbool Frime UX30lLA

1,500 inc VAT

From www.saveonlaptops.co.uk
VERDICT
5ty|ish, s|eek and powerfu|, but for the
money we prefer App|e's 13in NacBook Pro
Iype ol processor. ThaI average
lrame raIe isn'I quiIe quick enough lor
lasI-paced racing games, buI you can geI
higher average lrame raIes il you reduce
graphics qualiIy. AI a resoluIion ol
1,920x1,080 and wiIh graphics qualiIy seI Io
Low and no anIi-aliasing, Ihe X301LA
produced an average lrame raIe ol 34.9lps.
This shows IhaI you should have no Irouble
playing casual games, buI Ihe X301LA will
sIruggle wiIh Ihe mosI challenging IiIles.
As you mighI expecI lrom such a high-end
lapIop, Ihe X301LA's 13.3in lPS Iouchscreen
display looks lanIasIic. WiIh an sRCB colour
gamuI coverage score ol 88.4 per cenI,
colours were brighI and vibranI and Ihe
display's glossy hnish helped Ihem Io leap ouI
ol Ihe screen. ConIrasI levels were good, Ioo.
We measured a conIrasI raIio ol 933.1, and
our high-conIrasI IesI phoIos showed plenIy
ol deIail. A lew darker areas lacked deIail,
buI on Ihe whole, we were pleased wiIh Ihe
X301LA's image qualiIy. Wide viewing angles
and a generous amounI ol screen IilI meanI
we could see Ihe display lrom a varieIy ol
angles wiIhouI any ma|or shil in conIrasI.
The X301LA's display isn'I as good as
IhaI ol Ihe laIesI Apple UacBook Pro, and we
noIiced a small amounI ol backlighI bleeding
along Ihe lower edge ol Ihe screen. You
wouldn'I noIice
Ihis in everyday
use unless you
were waIching a hlm
wiIh black bars along Ihe
bouom, buI iI's noI whaI
we'd expecI on an
expensive lapIop.
When using Ihe
Iouchscreen, we lound
closing and minimising
windows wiIh our hngers
Iricky due Io Ihe small size
ol Ihe icons, buI overall Ihe
Iouchscreen was responsive.
UulIiIouch gesIures worked
perlecIly and we didn'I have
Io Iap Ihe screen Ioo hard
when opening applicaIions
and hles.
These issues aside, Ihe X301LA was a |oy
Io use lor everyday Iasks. The well-spaced
keyboard showed no signs ol lex and iIs
bouncy backliI keys gave loIs ol IacIile
leedback. lI's easily one ol Ihe besI lIrabook
keyboards we've used, and iIs large all-in-one
Iouchpad was superb. The lower hall's
responsive surlace was greaI lor perlorming
mulIi-Iouch gesIures and shorIcuIs.
Bauery lile was also greaI, and Ihe
X301LA lasIed 10 hours in our lighI use
bauery IesI wiIh Ihe screen seI Io hall
brighIness. This is a huge improvemenI on Ihe
seven hour and 24-minuIe bauery lile ol Ihe
Zenbook Prime (see Peviews, Shcer 3!0), so
you should be able Io do a lull day's work on
Ihe X301LA wiIh |usI a single charge.
Our main concern wiIh Ihe X301LA is iIs
price. Zenbooks are expensive, buI aI 1,S00,
Ihe X301LA isn'I as good value as Apple's
more powerlul, similarly priced 13in Uacbook
Pro (see Peviews, Shcer 3!2). The X301LA
is a classy lapIop, buI we preler Ihe lIimaIe
award-winning 13in Uacbook.
Kothorine Byrne
SPECIFICATIONS
CPU 1.8CHz |ntel Core i7-4500U
PAN8CB
5TOPACE 256CB SSD
CPAPHIC5 |ntel HD Craphics 4400
OPTICAL DPIVE None
DI5PLAY 13.3in widescreen LCD touchscreen (1,920x1,080)
OPEPATINC 5Y5TENWindows 8
DINEN5ION5 15x325x226mm, 1.4kg
POWEP CON5UNPTION 0W standby, 11W idle, 30W active
WAPPANTY One-year RTB
PAPT CODE UX301LA-C4006H
DETAIL5 www.asus.com
Windows overa||
Nu|titasking
Dirt 5howdown
Banery |ife
|e|e|e.e -'1 -l11 '1 1
53
47
23.6fps
10h 1m
See page 76 lor perlormance deIails
HNDHELD REVIEVS
PRIL 2014 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 314
NOWTHAT WINDOWS RT has all buI been
puI ouI Io pasIure, manulacIurers are sIarIing
Io supply Ihe lull version ol Windows 8 wiIh
Iheir Windows IableIs. The 8in Toshiba
Fncore uses Ihe same Windows 8.1 operaIing
sysIem IhaI you'd see on a deskIop PC, and iI
runs Ihe laIesI lnIel AIom Bay Trail processor,
yeI Ihe Fncore is surprisingly compacI.
lI's noI as slim as Apple's iPad or Coogle's
Nexus 7, buI Ihe Fncore's rounded corners
and IexIured rear make iI comlorIable Io hold.
lI's also lighI enough Io slip in a bag wiIhouI
puuing undue sIrain on your shoulders.
Sadly, Ihe curves mean Ihere's nowhere lor
a lull-size SB porI. The Fncore does have a
microSD card sloI, a Uicro HDUl video
ouIpuI and a 3.Smm audio |ack, buI iIs single
Uicro SB porI will mainly be used lor
charging. There's supporI lor SB On-The-Co
(OTC), a sysIem IhaI leIs you use Ihe Fncore
wiIh SB peripherals such as a mouse or lash
drive, buI you can'I connecI peripherals and
charge Ihe IableI aI Ihe same Iime. No OTC
adapIor is supplied, so you'll have Io buy one
separaIely il you wanI Io connecI a mouse,
keyboard or SB lash drive.
FEEL THE NOISE
The Fncore has an 8-megapixel camera, buI iI
Iakes mediocre phoIos IhaI are noisy and
somewhaI muIed. lmages were dim even in
brighI ouIdoor scenes, alIhough Ihe IableI did
aI leasI capIure a reasonable amounI ol
deIail. Sadly, Ihe Fncore doesn'I have a lash.
The 8in lPS panel has wide viewing angles
and a 1,280x800 resoluIion, large enough Io
waIch naIive 720p video. However, Ihe
Windows deskIop looks raIher small on an
8in screen. We also lound IhaI Ihe glossy
screen hnish relecIed a loI ol lighI back aI us.
Toshiba has parInered wiIh Dolby Io
creaIe Ihe Fncore's sIereo speakers,
buI in pracIice Ihis doesn'I
mean a loI.
TOSHIBA

300 inc VAT

From www.toshiba.co.uk
VERDICT
Windows 8.1 in an 8in tab|et, but it's hdd|y to
use with a touchscreen and |acks a U5B port
The speakers are lairly loud lor a IableI,
buI audio is sIill a liule Iinny. You'll need
headphones lor hlms and music.
The Fncore's 1.33CHz lnIel AIom
Z3740 processor is a quad-core chip, buI
an underpowered one, Ihe IableI crawled
Ihrough our mulIimedia benchmarks Io
an overall score ol 19. Fven so, il you
manage your expecIaIions you may be
surprised how well iI handles programs
such as Uicrosol Omce and PainI.neI.
The 2CB ol RAU is enough lor basic
mulIiIasking, buI you'll quickly noIice
slowdown il you open loIs ol Chrome
Iabs. The IableI comes wiIh eiIher 32CB
or 64CB ol inIernal sIorage depending
on Ihe model, buI on our 64CB review
uniI only S2CB was accessible.
GAME'S UP
Sadly, Ihe Fncore isn'I suiIed Io playing
modern 3D games, as iI produced an
average lrame raIe ol only 13.9lps in our
DirI Showdown benchmark aI a resoluIion
ol 1,280x720 and wiIh graphics qualiIy seI
Io High. However, IhaI's a beuer score Ihan
we expecIed, and you should have no
problems playing casual games.
The Fncore is lrugal when iI comes Io
power consumpIion. lI lasIed lor 11 hours
and 22 minuIes in our lighI-use IesI, which
rivals some Android IableIs. ll you don'I
perlorm any Iasks IhaI are parIicularly
processor inIensive, you should manage a
lull day's use on a single charge.
Our main issue wiIh Ihe Fncore is usabiliIy.
Windows 8.1 is admiuedly an improvemenI
over previous versions ol Ihe operaIing
sysIem, buI iI sIill isn'I besI suiIed Io
Iouchscreens. The SIarI screen and lull-screen
apps are easy enough Io use, buI as soon as
you swiIch Io Ihe IradiIional Windows
deskIop you're meI wiIh small
icons and Iiny IexI.
ConnecIing a BlueIooIh mouse and keyboard
is Ihe besI way Io geI any serious work done
because Ihe onscreen keyboard isn'I suiIed Io
Iyping anyIhing longer Ihan an email.
As Ihe Fncore runs Ihe lull version ol
Windows 8.1, you can insIall whaIever apps
you'd like. nlike Windows RT IableIs, you
aren'I resIricIed Io apps downloaded lrom
Ihe Windows SIore. However, Ihe ma|oriIy ol
Windows apps will have been designed lor a
mouse and keyboard, and Iheir use could
prove Iricky wiIh a Iouchscreen.
The Fncore is a compacI means ol
en|oying Windows 8.1, and iI's also relaIively
cheap, buI unlike some Windows IableIs IhaI
are 10in or larger, we can'I see iI replacing
your lapIop. As iI has no lull-size SB porIs
you'll sIruggle Io connecI exisIing peripherals,
and il you |usI wanI a IableI lor web browsing
you're beuer oh wiIh an Android IableI such
as Ihe LC C Pad 8.3 (opposiIe).

SPECIFICATIONS
CPU 1.8CHz |ntel Atom Z3740
PAN2CB
5TOPACE 64CB SSD
CPAPHIC5 |ntel HD Craphics
DI5PLAY 8in widescreen |PS touchscreen (1,280x800)
OPEPATINC 5Y5TENWindows 8.1
DINEN5ION5 213x136x10.7mm, 450g
WAPPANTY One-year RTB
PAPT CODE 072063
DETAIL5 www.toshiba.co.uk
Banery |ife
|e|e|e.e -'1 -l11 '1 1
11h 22m
See page 76 lor perlormance deIails
Vindovs 8.1 is admittedIy an improvement over
previous versions oI MicrosoIt's operatin system, but
it stiII isn't best suited to toucIscreens
HNDHELD REVIEVS

ISSUE 314 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ PRIL 2014

EVEN THOU6H ITS screen is 40 per cenI
bigger by area, Ihe price ol Ihe LC C Pad
makes Ihe Coogle Nexus 7 (see 310)
iIs closesI compeIiIor. The C Pad 8.3's screen
has Ihe same 1,920x1,200 resoluIion as Ihe
Nexus 7, buI a lower pixel densiIy ol 273 pixels
per inch (ppi) as Ihose pixels are sIreIched
across an 8.3in panel raIher Ihan a 7in panel.
ln pracIice, Ihe S0ppi gap doesn'I make a
loI ol diherence, images sIill look sharp and
deIailed, while IexI is crisp and easy Io read.
The lPS panel has lanIasIic viewing angles and
produces vivid yeI accuraIe colours.
The IableI is comlorIable Io hold in one
hand. There are no physical buuons Io Iake
up space above or below iI, as LC has opIed
lor onscreen buuons. You can'I use iI wiIh
one hand, buI iI's less ol a sIreIch on your
hngers Ihan an iPad Uini, which uses a 4.3
aspecI raIio raIher Ihan Ihe 16.9 here.
LOOKING GOOD
WiIh a slim, plasIic and brushed meIal body
IhaI's |usI 8.3mm Ihick, Ihe C Pad 8.3 is a
beauIilully builI IableI. WheIher Ihe brushed
aluminium rear is superior Io Ihe Nexus 7's
rubberised plasIic will likely lall Io personal
prelerence, Ihe C Pad looks lanIasIic buI Ihe
Nexus has slighIly more grip.
There's liule in Ihe way ol connecIiviIy,
wiIh |usI a Uicro SB charging porI aI Ihe
bouom and a 3.Smm audio |ack on Ihe Iop,
alIhough Ihe C Pad does include a microSD
card sloI. WiIh iI, you'll be able Io add an
addiIional 64CB Io Ihe 16CB ol inIegraIed
sIorage. ThaI will be greaI news Io anyone
wiIh loIs ol apps, music or hlms, as well as
anyone IhaI has avoided buying a Nexus 7
because ol iIs limiIed sIorage capaciIy.
We like Ihe C Pad 8.3's sIereo rear-lacing
speakers, which sound loud and clear. The
speakers mean you can en|oy YouTube clips
wiIhouI reaching lor a pair ol headphones.
A S-megapixel camera is also on Ihe rear
ol Ihe IableI. The sensor isn'I paired wiIh a
LG

238 inc VAT

From www.cclonline.com
VERDICT
Cood performance and a great customskin
makes this the best 8in Android tab|et
lash, so Ihe C Pad 8.3 won'I rival a modern
smarIphone lor low-lighI phoIography, buI
Ihe camera manages Io capIure a reasonable
amounI ol deIail in brighIly liI ouIdoor scenes.
The sky was consisIenIly overexposed, buI
oIherwise Ihe camera capIured colours
accuraIely using auIo whiIe balance.
The LC C Pad 8.3 is powered by a
quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 600
processor running aI 1.7CHz. The
Snapdragon 600 mighI noI be quiIe as lasI
as Ihe lagship Snapdragon 800, buI iI's
powerlul enough Io run Android smooIhly.
lndeed, we couldn'I spoI any signs ol
slowdown or sIuuer when loading or
swiIching apps, swiping beIween Android
home screens or playing Full HD video hles.
The C Pad 8.3 compleIed Ihe SunSpider
|avaScripI benchmark in 1,1S3ms, which is
very similar Io Ihe BesI Buy-winning Nexus 7's
perlormance ol 1,132ms in Ihe same IesI.
GRAPHIC DETAIL
The Snapdragon 600 processor is paired wiIh
an Adreno 320 graphics chip, which had no
Irouble playing 3D games such as Real Racing.
We experienced very liule slowdown or
|erkiness in any ol Ihe games we IesIed,
including Ihe noIoriously demanding
Shadowgun, so iI should happily play
anyIhing currenIly available in Ihe Coogle
Play SIore. lI beaI Ihe Nexus 7 in Ihe basic 3D
Uark lce SIorm IesI, buI lell behind in Ihe
FxIreme and nlimiIed IesIs wiIh scores ol
6,211 and 9,4S9. The Nexus 7 managed 7,1S4
and 10,S92 in Ihe same IesIs respecIively.
Happily, Ihe C Pad 8.3's impressive
perlormance doesn'I impacI Ioo greaIly on
bauery lile. The 4,600mAh bauery lasIed lor
eighI hours and 26 minuIes in our video
rundown IesI, which is over 20 minuIes
longer Ihan Ihe Nexus 7. ThaI means you
should be able Io squeeze a lull day's use
lrom a single charge il you lower Ihe
brighIness and sIick Io web browsing.
The C Pad 8.3 uses LC's cusIom Android
skin, as seen on Ihe LC C2 smarIphone (see
311). lI's a versaIile skin wiIh a hosI ol
uselul Iweaks, including waking and locking
Ihe IableI wiIh a double Iap. OIhers, such as
Ihe gesIure-based Q Swipe mode, awkwardly
siI on Iop ol exisIing Android leaIures.
Pop-up Iips and IuIorials lood Ihe screen
aI hrsI, buI once you've dismissed Ihem iI's
easy Io sIarI cusIomising Ihings. Being able Io
hide specihc apps is a welcome inclusion,
especially because LC has added plenIy ol iIs
own. The Iwo mosI uselul are QPair, which
sends phone, IexI and oIher noIihcaIions
lrom your smarIphone Io Ihe IableI. QPair will
also leI you IeIher your C Pad Io your Android
phone so you can access Ihe inIerneI, buI we
were sadly unable Io IesI Ihis leaIure.
The Nexus 7 is cheaper, buI Ihe C Pad 8.3
has a larger display, a lasIer processor and a
microSD card sloI lor adding exIra sIorage.
There's no beuer 8in Android IableI available.

SPECIFICATIONS
CPU 1.7CHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 600
PAN2CB
5TOPACE 16CB
CPAPHIC5 Qualcomm Adreno 320
DI5PLAY 8.3in widescreen |PS touchscreen (1,920x1,200)
OPEPATINC 5Y5TENAndroid 4.2.2
DINEN5ION5 217x127x8.3mm, 338g
WAPPANTY One-year RTB
PAPT CODE LCV500.ACBRBK
DETAIL5 www.lg.co.uk
Banery |ife
|e|e|e.e -'1 -l11 '1 1
8h 26m
See page 76 lor perlormance deIails
VitI a sIim, pIastic and brusIed metaI body tIat's
ust 8.3mm tIick, tIe G Pad 8.3 is beautiIuIIy buiIt
HNDHELD REVIEVS
38 PRIL 2014 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 314
ANDROID PHONE AND IableI hybrids are
everywhere, so iI was only a mauer ol Iime
belore Nokia launched iIs own Windows Phone
version. The Lumia 1S20 is Ihe hrsI Windows
Phone wiIh a Full HD screen, and could be ideal
il you need a larger screen lor browsing on Ihe
move buI don'I wanI a separaIe IableI.
The 1S20 seems huge aI hrsI, buI you
quickly geI used Io iI. The main compromise
over a normal-sized handseI is IhaI iI's hard
Io use one-handed, buI we hnd Ihis is a
problem wiIh mosI smarIphones over 4.2in.
The Lumia 1S20 is a classy phone all round,
Ihough, and even Irumps Ihe meIal-bodied
HTC One Uax lor build qualiIy. The Lumia
1S20 has a unibody design wiIh a single piece
ol polycarbonaIe wrapping around Ihe back
and screen, and iI leels lovely Io hold.
SCREEN STAR
nlike oIher high-end Lumias such as Ihe
Lumia 1020 (see Peviews, Shcer 310), Ihe
1S20 has an lPS raIher Ihan AUOLFD screen.
lI's a 6in screen wiIh a 1,920x1,080 resoluIion,
and Ihere are signihcanI image qualiIy
diherences beIween Ihe Lumia 1S20 and
1020's displays. The 1020's AUOLFD panel
has more saIuraIed colours and blacker IexI
Ihan Ihe 1S20's lPS screen, buI Ihe 1020's
screen is much warmer, Io Ihe poinI ol
appearing slighIly yellow when side by side
wiIh Ihe 1S20. The 1S20's panel has purer
whiIes buI is Ioo cold, il anyIhing, giving
web page backgrounds a slighIly grey IinI.
lI's sIill a high-qualiIy
screen, Ihough, and
compares well Io Ihe besI
lPS panels, such as IhaI
on Ihe Coogle Nexus 7
IableI (see Shcer 310).
The 1S20 is also lasI.
lIs quad-core 2.2CHz
Snapdragon 800 processor
is Ihe lasIesI we've seen
in a Windows Phone 8
handseI, and Ihe operaIing
sysIem simply lies.
The phone compleIed
Ihe SunSpider |avaScripI
benchmark in an incredibly
lasI S36ms, which makes iI
almosI Iwice as quick as
Ihe Lumia 1020 and
Samsung Calaxy NoIe 3 in
Ihis IesI, and Ihe quickesI
phone we've seen in Ihis
benchmark bar Ihe iPhone
Ss wiIh iIs 416ms score.
NOKIALumia lS20

600 inc VAT S|N-free, free on 38-per-month contract

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

VERDICT
Nothing particu|ar|y ground-breaking, just a
very competent Windows Phone phab|et
Web browsing is a dream, Ihe phone
almosI never hesiIaIes as you zoom and pan
around even complicaIed, graphics-heavy
siIes. The screen is also large enough, in Ierms
ol size and resoluIion, Io read deskIop web
pages lairly comlorIably when lully zoomed
ouI. The only irriIaIion is Ihe way Ihe Back
buuon behaves, as you can'I go back Io pages
you've |usI visiIed il you visiI Ihe main app
screen and Ihen re-open Ihe web browser.
We couldn'I run our normal 3DUark
benchmark because iI's noI available lor
Windows Phone, buI challenging 3D games
such as Halo SparIan AssaulI run beauIilully.
3DUark isn'I Ihe only app IhaI isn'I
available lor Windows Phone. You'll miss ouI
on NaIional Rail and RighImove, buI Ihere are
Trainline and Zoopla apps Io compensaIe.
Also missing is Sky Co, buI NeIlix and 4oD
apps mean you'll sIill be able Io waIch decenI
conIenI. Fvery Iime we review a Windows
Phone handseI we hnd lewer gaps in Ihe
line-up, and we hope Ihis Irend conIinues.
INCREASINGLY APPY
Nokia's own apps go some way Io making up
lor Ihe lack ol choice in Ihe Uicrosol SIore.
Nokia Uusic, wiIh iIs lree Iracks, music mixes
and omine supporI, is as wonderlul as ever,
and we're parIicularly impressed wiIh Nokia
Screen Beamer and HFRF Uaps. The lormer is
an evoluIion ol Ihe PhoIo Beamer app we've
seen belore, buI insIead ol |usI displaying
phoIos lrom your phoIo gallery in anoIher
device's web browser, iI
now sends whaIever you
have on Ihe 1S20's screen
Io Ihe browser wirelessly.
We also like HFRF Uaps,
which leIs you download
omine mapping daIa lor as
many regions as sIorage
allows, which is handy il
you hnd yoursell
sIranded wiIhouI a signal.
However, iIs poinI ol
inIeresI inlormaIion isn'I
as comprehensive as IhaI
ol Coogle Uaps.
The Lumia 1S20 has a
20-megapixel sensor, and
Ihe phone comes wiIh
Nokia's Pro Cam app.
This makes iI easy Io ad|usI
seuings and preview Ihe
resulIs, as well as crop
images non-desIrucIively
aler you've Iaken Ihem.
Overall image qualiIy is greaI. The Lumia
1S20 produces daylighI picIures wiIh accuraIe
colours and, unlike many smarIphone
cameras we see, didn'I overexpose Ihe sky in
our IesI shoIs. lI's generally a hne camera, buI
when zooming in slighIly Io Ihe brickwork in
our IesI shoIs we noIiced Ihe 1S20's images
were signihcanIly less sharp Ihan Ihe 1020's,
and Ihe reduced resoluIion evidenIly reduces
Ihe amounI you can zoom in belore you sIarI
losing signihcanI amounIs ol deIail.
nlike Ihe Samsung Calaxy NoIe 3, wiIh iIs
sIylus and pen-lriendly solware Iweaks, Ihe
Lumia 1S20 is simply a Windows Phone 8
handseI wiIh a large, high-resoluIion screen.
lI's a combinaIion IhaI works, Ihough. The
1S20 is lasI, well made and has a good screen.
ll you lancy a super-lasI phone and IableI
hybrid, iI's Ihe handseI Io buy. However, Ihe
Samsung Calaxy NoIe 3 is a more versaIile
handseI and has a larger selecIion ol apps.
Chris Finnomore
SPECIFICATIONS
OPEPATINC 5Y5TENWindows Phone 8
PPOCE55OP 5PEED 2.2CHz
NUNBEP OF COPE5 4
PAN2CB
NOBILE DATA 4C
DI5PLAY 6in 1,920x1,080 LCD
CANEPA 20-megapixel
INTEPNAL 5TOPACE 32CB
NENOPY CAPD 5LOT NicroSD
CLAINED BATTEPY LIFE 27 hours' talktime, 32 days' standby
DINEN5ION5 163x85x9mm, 209g
PAPT CODE Lumia 1520
DETAIL5 www.nokia.co.uk
Banery |ife
|e|e|e.e -'1 -l11 '1 1
11h 30m
See page 76 lor perlormance deIails
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HowHonitoringSystems Reduce
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White Paper 103
Revision 0
by Uennis Bouley
Contents
~ecut|ve summary
V|s|t us
oata Centre
wor|dvent!
Boothf4O
HNDHELD REVIEVS
40 PRIL 2014 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 314
THE VENUE 11 PRO is a business-locused
IableI IhaI runs Ihe lull 32-biI version ol
Windows 8.1 and includes a lull-size SB porI
lor maximum convenience. lI even has a
removable bauery, which is a rare inclusion
lor any IableI buI one IhaI's handy il you'll
use iI consIanIly when mobile.
The sol-Iouch plasIic cover on Ihe rear
comes oh when you apply a biI ol lorce. The
Venue 11 Pro weighs a lairly hely 760g. Add
Ihe opIional keyboard dock and Ihe weighI
increases Io 1.4kg addiIion Io your bag, which
is close Io Ihe weighI ol many lIrabooks.
AparI lrom Ihe lull-size SB3 porI, Ihere's
also a Uicro SB porI lor charging and a
3.Smm audio |ack, as well as a Uini HDUl
porI, KensingIon lock sloI and microSD card
sloI on Ihe righI. You need a pin Io access Ihe
microSD card sloI, so iI's perhaps besI Io
insIall a microSD in iI lor exIra sIorage as iI
may prove hddly Io remove Ihe card regularly.
SENSOR MILIEU
The Venue 11 Pro has an 8-megapixel camera
sensor on Ihe rear, buI Ihere's no lash and
phoIos are average aI besI. Uicrosol's
camera app is slow, wiIh limiIed conIrol, and
Ihe sensor capIures dull, muIed images IhaI
exhibiI a loI ol noise. However, Ihe lronI-
lacing webcam is hne lor videoconlerencing.
lI's a shame Ihe camera module is only
mediocre because phoIos look greaI on Ihe
10.8in Full HD display. The IableI's high peak
brighIness ol S03cd/m
2
means you can en|oy
Ihe Venue 11 Pro ouIside in brighI lighI,
alIhough iIs glossy hnish makes lighI
relecIions a liule Iroublesome. WhaI's more,
colour accuracy is superb, making images
and video look realisIic and vibranI.
Viewing angles are excellenI, Ioo.
DELL Verue ll Fro

407 inc VAT

From www.dell.co.uk
VERDICT
A 10in Windows 8 tab|et that makes perfect
sense for business
The quad-core 2.4CHz lnIel AIom Z3770
CP is combined wiIh 2CB ol RAU. Windows
runs smooIhly, buI Ihe Venue 11 Pro sIruggled
wiIh our mulIimedia IesIs. An overall score ol
18 means perlormance is roughly on a par
wiIh an enIry-level lapIop, and is signihcanIly
below Ihe admiuedly more expensive Surlace
Pro 2's score ol 47. Fven so, we could use all
our usual apps, including Chrome, PainI.NeI
and Uicrosol Omce, wiIhouI any slowdown.
KEEPING IT SIMPLE
Sadly, Ihe AIom Z7330's builI-in graphics
processor can'I cope wiIh challenging 3D
games, and Ihe Venue 11 Pro produced a
|erky 16lps overall in our DirI Showdown
benchmark, alIhough older, simpler games
were playable. You cerIainly won'I have a
problem browsing Ihe web, running US Omce
applicaIions or playing casual games.
The Venue 11 Pro's AIom processor is, aI
leasI, energy emcienI, which helped Ihe
Venue 11 Pro manage an impressive 10 hours
and S3 minuIes in our lighI-use bauery IesI.
This means you'll geI a lull day's word
processing or web browsing per charge.
nlike 8in Windows IableIs, such as Ihe
Toshiba Fncore, we had no Irouble working on
Ihe Windows DeskIop. We could see icons
and IexI clearly because Dell has enabled 1S0
per cenI IexI scaling by delaulI. ll you connecI
a SB keyboard, Ihough, you'll quickly
bemoan Ihe lack ol a builI-in kicksIand.
The opIional docking sIaIion (139)
Iurns Ihe Venue 11 Pro inIo someIhing like a
deskIop PC. The dock has Ihree SB3 porIs,
DisplayPorI and HDUl video ouIpuIs, a
3.Smm headseI |ack and a CigabiI FIherneI
porI. The docking sIaIion holds Ihe Venue 11
Pro up aI an angle lor deskIop use.
You can also buy an opIional keyboard
dock (160) lor Ihe Venue 11 Pro, buI Dell
didn'I have one available lor us Io use in Ihis
review. However, iI looks a worIhwhile
purchase, as iI has ChicleI keys, a small
Iouchpad and an inIegraIed bauery. Dell
claims Ihe lauer can exIend bauery lile by
up Io S0 per cenI. WiIhouI IesIing Ihe
keyboard dock's bauery, we couldn'I
commenI, buI iI sounds reasonable
based on Ihe specs.
By locusing on Ihe business markeI wiIh
Ihe Venue 11 Pro, Dell has sensibly avoided
any comparisons wiIh Android, iOS and
even Windows RT IableIs. lnsIead, Ihe
Venue 11 Pro's main rival is Uicrosol's
Surlace Pro 2, alIhough IhaI cosIs almosI
Iwice as much as Ihe Venue 11 Pro.
ll you lancy Ihe Venue 11 Pro iI mighI be a
good idea Io invesI in Ihe keyboard dock, as
Ihe Iouchscreen is besI used lor Iyping quick
emails and web browsing. Fven so, lor sheer
lexibiliIy, Ihe Venue 11 Pro provides a hne
alIernaIive Io Ihe Uicrosol Surlace Pro 2.

SPECIFICATIONS
CPU 2.4CHz |ntel AtomZ3770
PAN2CB
5TOPACE 64CB
CPAPHIC5 |ntel HD Craphics
DI5PLAY 10.8in widescreen |PS touchscreen (1,920x1,080)
OPEPATINC 5Y5TENWindows 8.1
DINEN5ION5 177x298x10mm, 760g
WAPPANTY One- year RTB
PAPT CODE SN002TV11P9UKCORE
DETAIL5 www.dell.co.uk
Banery |ife
|e|e|e.e -'1 -l11 '1 1
10h 53m
See page 76 lor perlormance deIails

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PHOTOGRPHY REVIEVS
PRIL 2014 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 314
SPECIFICATIONS
Banery |ife
|e|e|e.e -'1 -l11 '1 1
350 shots
See page 76 lor perlormance deIails
5EN5OP 5IZE 16 megapixels (4,896x3,264)
ZOON3.1x optical (24-76mm)
LCD 3in (920,000 pixels)
5TOPACE (INTEPNAL) SDXC card (none)
BATTEPY Li-ion
DINEN5ION5 66x117x113mm, 530g
WAPPANTY One-year RTB
PAPT CODE P10NC11810A
DETAIL5 www.fu|ifilm.eu/uk
COMPACT SYSTEMCAMERAS (CSCs)
reached new heighIs ol sophisIicaIion and
rehnemenI in 2013. While iI's nice Io be spoiled
lor choice, iI also makes Ihe decision abouI
which CSC Io buy much harder. WiIh Ihe X-U1
(see Peviews, Shcer 311), Fu|ihlm raised Ihe
bar lor image qualiIy, wiIh Ihe camera delivering
excepIionally sharp deIails and low noise
lrom iIs innovaIive X-Trans sensor. The X-U1's
nippy perlormance, superb conIrols, Wi-Fi and
eleganI appearance wiIh a hinI ol reIro chic
also makes iI a good buy. However, wiIh a price
|usI shy ol 700, iI's more expensive Ihan
oIher cameras wiIh similar leaIures, such as
Ihe Sony NFX-ST (see Peviews, Shcer 303).
The Fu|ihlm X-A1 Iucks in below Ihe X-U1
Io lorm Ihe new enIry-level model in Ihe X
UounI line-up. Physically, Ihe Iwo cameras
are almosI indisIinguishable. OIher Ihan Ihe
inscripIion on Ihe lronI, Ihe only diherence
we can spoI is Ihe IexIure applied Io Ihe lronI
ol Ihe camera body. Wi-Fi is builI in Io Ihe
X-A1 lor wireless Iranslers Io Android and iOS
devices, buI Ihere's no remoIe conIrol luncIion.
BoIh cameras use Ihe same IilIing LCD
screen and conIrols. There's a dedicaIed mode
dial and dual command dials lor direcI access
Io shuuer speed, aperIure and exposure
FUjIFILM

399 inc VAT

From www.wexphotographic.com (with 16-50mm kit lens)

VERDICT
E|egant contro|s, but it doesn't share its
pricier sib|ings' outstanding image qua|ity
compensaIion,
depending on Ihe
selecIed mode. The Fn
buuon is cusIomisable
and makes lor a uselul
lSO speed conIrol. There
are labelled buuons on Ihe
back lor auIolocus area,
whiIe balance, macro locus
and drive mode. Pressing Ihe Q
buuon reveals 1S icons on Ihe screen
lor quick access Io everyIhing lrom auIolocus
mode Io hlm simulaIion preseIs and LCD
brighIness. lI's Ihe mosI eleganI and emcienI
conIrol sysIem we've seen on a CSC.
SENSOR SENSIBILITY
The crucial diherence beIween Ihe Iwo
cameras is Ihe sensor. BoIh cameras have
16-megapixel sensors, buI whereas Ihe X-U1
uses Fu|ihlm's laIesI X-Trans Iechnology, Ihe
X-A1 uses a more convenIional sensor design.
As a resulI, Ihe X-A1 couldn'I replicaIe Ihe
sIunning sharp deIails and low noise we saw
lrom Ihe X-U1. DeIails looked slighIly imprecise
noI |usI compared wiIh Ihe X-U1 buI also Ihe
Sony NFX-SR and Panasonic Lumix DUC-CX7.
The diherence was subIle, and in many
phoIos we were hard pressed Io noIice iI.
However, dense IexIures proved a Irickier
challenge. We wouldn'I describe deIail levels
as poor, buI Ihey weren'I quiIe up Io Ihe
sIandard we wanI lrom a 16-megapixel CSC.
Low-lighI IesIs gave less cause lor
concern, wiIh liule evidence ol noise aI lSO
3200. However, |PFCs exhibiIed Iell-Iale signs
ol heavy noise reducIion, wiIh even less
dehniIion Io subIle deIails such as skin, hair
and labric. lI's sIill a greaI resulI, and broadly
in line wiIh Ihe superb noise levels we've seen
lrom Sony NFX cameras. However, iI can'I live
up Io Ihe high sIandards seI by Ihe X-U1.
The new sensor hasn'I ahecIed
conIinuous perlormance, and
Ihe X-A1 maIches Ihe X-U1
wiIh a S.Slps Iop speed.
WiIh a lasI SDHC card,
iI kepI IhaI pace lor 44
shoIs belore slowing
slighIly Io 4.4lps, which is a
Iremendous resulI. SwiIching
Io Raw mode saw
perlormance lall Io 1.4lps
aler 11 shoIs. AuIolocus wasn'I
as responsive as on Ihe X-U1,
Ihough. We measured Iimes ol 0.S Io 0.9
seconds beIween lully pressing Ihe shuuer
buuon and capIuring a phoIo. The X-U1
managed 0.3 Io 0.4 seconds in Ihe same IesI.
This conIribuIed Io a disappoinIing 1.2 seconds
beIween shoIs in normal use. This is hardly a
poor resulI, buI wiIh iIs 0.4-second shoI-Io-
shoI Iime Ihe Panasonic Lumix DUC-CX7, lor
example, proves IhaI SLR-like perlormance is
possible lrom a CSC. WiIh Ihe X-A1, we also
lound IhaI auIolocus was a liule unreliable
when shooIing moving sub|ecIs in low lighI.
The video mode is lighI on leaIures, wiIh a
hxed 30lps lrame raIe, a 14-minuIe maximum
clip lengIh and no conIrol over exposure
seuings. DeIails in videos were sharper Ihan
we saw lrom Ihe X-U1, buI we spoued moir
inIerlerence on repeaIing pauerns. Video
auIolocus wasn'I up Io Ihe |ob, wiIh regular
locus hunIing when recording nearby sub|ecIs.
The prospecI ol a cheaper X-U1 is
appealing, buI wiIhouI Ihe X-U1's ouIsIanding
sensor Ihe X-A1 isn'I as enIicing. WiIh lewer
reasons Io love Ihe X-A1, Ihe reasons Io be
wary ol iI become more prominenI. The X-A1
is heavy and bulky lor a CSC, iIs video mode is
disappoinIing and X UounI lenses are
expensive and lew in number. The X-A1 is sIill
an impressive camera, buI by Ioday's loly
sIandards IhaI's noI enough Io sIand ouI.

TIe prospect oI a cIeaper X-M1 is appeaIin,
but vitIout tIe X-M1's outstandin sensor tIe
FuiIm X-1 is nearIy as enticin
PHOTOGRPHY REVIEVS

ISSUE 314 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ PRIL 2014

SPECIFICATIONS
Banery |ife
|e|e|e.e -'1 -l11 '1 1
460 shots
See page 76 lor perlormance deIails
5EN5OP 5IZE 20 megapixels (5,456x3,632)
ZOON3x optical (27-82.5mm)
LCD 3in (230,400 pixels)
5TOPACE (INTEPNAL) SDXC, Nemory Stick Pro HC
Duo card (none)
BATTEPY Li-ion
DINEN5ION5 91x129x134mm, 605g
WAPPANTY One-year RTB
PAPT CODE |LCE-3000K
DETAIL5 www.sony.co.uk
hubbub surrounding Sony's
lull-lrame Alpha 7 and 7R, Ihe sublime RX100
ll and Sony's high-concepI QX10 and QX100,
Ihere's a risk Ihe Alpha A3000 will go largely
unnoIiced. ThaI would be a shame, as in one
respecI Ihe Alpha A3000 is |usI as ground-
breaking as Ihe resI. iIs price.
The Alpha A3000 has Ihe lowesI price
we've ever seen lor a new camera wiIh an
APS-C sensor, Ihe same kind ol sensor used in
consumer SLRs. However, Ihe Alpha brand
and SLR-like appearance disguise Ihe lacI IhaI
Ihis camera uses F-UounI raIher Ihan Alpha
UounI lenses. ln essence, Ihis is a NFX
camera IhaI happens Io look more like an
SLR. lI even uses Ihe same conIrols and menu
sysIem as NFX cameras.
DIAL ANOTHER DAY
The Alpha A3000 has a rear wheel lor quickly
dialling in seuings, buI no command dial. We're
glad Sony has included a mode dial, buI iI's
hard Io imagine Ihis camera appealing Io keen
phoIographers who like Io Iinker wiIh conIrols.
On lacIory seuings, key luncIions such as
whiIe balance and auIolocus opIions are buried
in Ihe main menu. However, Ihe lSO buuon can
be reprogrammed Io show six user-dehned
luncIions across Ihe screen, which works well
lor a camera wiIh so lew physical conIrols.
The big handgrip makes Ihe Alpha A3000
Ihe mosI comlorIable F-UounI camera Io
daIe. lI leels secure in one hand, and wiIh Iwo
hands and Ihe viewhnder pressed Io an eye
iI's easier Io hold sIeady Ihan NFX models.
lI's greaI Io see an accessory shoe and
viewhnder. lI's an elecIronic raIher Ihan
opIical viewhnder, as Ihis isn'I a Irue SLR.
DisappoinIingly, buI perhaps ineviIably
considering Ihe price, Ihe elecIronic
SONY

250 inc VAT

From www.argos.co.uk (with 18-55mm kit lens)

VERDICT
The A3000 provides 5LP image qua|ity at
a breakthrough price
viewhnder (FVF) is
much smaller and
coarser Ihan Ihe
luxurious high-
resoluIion FVFs used
elsewhere. Sony doesn'I
publish iIs resoluIion,
buI iI looks abouI Ihe
same as Ihe Alpha A3000's 3in LCD screen,
which is also raIher coarse aI 230,400 doIs.
Long-sighIed people who sIruggle wiIh LCD
screens mighI appreciaIe Ihe FVF, buI iI won'I
impress anyone who's used Io an SLR.
AuIolocus is |usI as quick wheIher you're
using Ihe rear screen or Ihe viewhnder. We
measured Iimes beIween 0.4 and 1.S seconds
lor Ihe camera Io locus and shooI, depending
on Ihe lighI. ShoI-Io-shoI Iimes averaged 1.1
seconds lor |PFCs and Iwo seconds lor Raw. lI
doesn'I help IhaI Ihis camera insisIs on saving
|PFCs alongside Raw hles, Ihere should be a
Raw-only opIion. ConIinuous mode seI oh aI
3.Slps and slowed Io 1.8lps aler 12 lrames.
These resulIs are respecIable, parIicularly lor Ihe
price, buI Ihey're unlikely Io win over SLR users.
COME ON, FEEL THE NOISE
The Alpha A3000's 20-megapixel sensor is
probably Ihe same Iype we saw in Ihe Sony
AS8. However, noise levels were lower Ihan wiIh
Ihe AS8 because Ihe A3000 doesn'I use a
IranslucenI mirror IhaI reduces Ihe amounI ol
lighI reaching Ihe sensor. Noise in Raw hles was
on a par wiIh Ihe 16-megapixel Sony NFX-3N,
and noI Ioo lar behind Ihe besI consumer SLRs.
Noise reducIion was applied liberally in |PFCs,
and gave presenIable resulIs up Io lSO 6400.
AuIomaIic exposures were well |udged,
coping well in high-conIrasI scenes, Ihanks in
parI Io Sony's Dynamic Range OpIimisaIion,
which boosIs Ihe brighIness ol shadows. The
AuIo lSO mode has an upper limiI ol lSO
3200, and while we'd be IempIed Io swiIch
Io higher manual seuings, aI Ihis lSO Ihe
camera coped well in all buI Ihe
gloomiesI indoor lighI.
The high resoluIion
revealed Ihe limiIaIions ol
Ihe kiI lens, Ihough. We've
seen Ihis lens a lew Iimes
belore and, once again, Ihe
lens's locus Irailed oh
Iowards Ihe edges ol
lrames. lI's noI a criIical
law, and has liule bearing
on porIraiIs where we'd
only expecI Ihe main
sub|ecI Io be in locus.
The video mode perlormed well, wiIh
sharp, clean deIails and lauering colours.
Recordings are aI 1080i or 1080p aI 2Slps,
wiIh clip lengIhs up Io 30 minuIes. There's lull
manual exposure conIrol lor Ihose who like Io
geI creaIive wiIh Iheir video producIions.
Some people will be puI oh by Ihe low-
resoluIion screen and FVF, Ihe lack ol a
command dial and Ihe less-Ihan-blisIering
perlormance. There are cameras IhaI address
all Ihese issues, such as Ihe Panasonic Lumix
DUC-C6 (see Peviews, Shcer 308). SIill, Ihe
Alpha A3000 broadly maIches Ihe DUC-C6 lor
image qualiIy and cosIs less Ihan hall Ihe price.
The only direcI rival is Ihe Canon FOS 1100D
(see Peviews, Shcer 281), buI Ihis Ihree-year-
old SLR is showing iIs age wiIh noisier |PFC
ouIpuI, a smaller screen, slower conIinuous
perlormance and basic 720p video capIure.
lIimaIely, we don'I Ihink ol Ihe Alpha
A3000 as an alIernaIive Io an SLR or pricier
CSC. AI Ihis price, Ihe A3000 is a credible
alIernaIive Io a compacI camera, and iI may
IempI people who wouldn'I boIher wiIh a
camera and |usI sIick wiIh Iheir phone.
SmarIphone cameras are so good Ihese
days IhaI convenIional compacIs look less
and less IempIing, buI Ihe Alpha A3000's
superb low-lighI perlormance, inIerchangeable
lenses, viewhnder and big handgrip mean iI
really does oher someIhing diherenI.

PHOTOGRPHY REVIEVS
PRIL 2014 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 314
FROMTHE FRONT, Ihe Samsung Calaxy NX
is recognisably an NX camera, which means iI
benehIs lrom inIerchangeable lenses and an
APS-C sensor lor SLR-level image qualiIy.
View iI lrom behind, and iI could almosI be
misIaken lor a smarIphone.
This isn'I Ihe hrsI Samsung camera Io run
Ihe Android OS, buI iI's cerIainly Ihe mosI
audacious and expensive, compeIing wiIh
heavyweighI rivals such as Ihe Canon FOS
70D (see Peviews, Shcer 310) and Panasonic
Lumix DUC-CH3 (see Peviews, Shcer 303).
HANDLE WITH CARE
The Calaxy NX is a high-qualiIy camera. The
subsIanIial handgrip hued our hand perlecIly,
and a sculpIed Ihumb resI on Ihe rear makes
lor comlorIable one-handed operaIion. The
viewhnder comes on as Ihe camera is raised
Io Ihe eye, and iI's big and deIailed, wiIh a
1.4-million-doI resoluIion. Then Ihere's Ihe
4.7in main screen wiIh a 1,280x720 resoluIion.
Compared Io any oIher digiIal camera, iIs size
and sharpness are a revelaIion.
lI Iook us a while Io geI used Io Ihe conIrols,
Ihough. A command dial acIs as a mode dial by
delaulI, while pushing iI inwards cycles Ihrough
exposure-relaIed seuings. lI works well enough,
buI we'd have prelerred a dedicaIed, labelled
mode dial. The iFn buuon and locus ring on
Ihe lens provide access Io Ihe same exposure-
relaIed seuings, and are quicker Io ad|usI.
There's a physical buuon Io raise Ihe lash,
buI all oIher luncIions are accessed via Ihe
Iouchscreen. This is perlecI lor moving Ihe
auIolocus poinI, which involves Iouching
anywhere on Ihe screen. However, auIolocus
poinI selecIion isn'I possible while using Ihe
viewhnder. A couple ol Iimes, we seI Ihe poinI,
raised Ihe camera Io eye level and inadverIenIly
moved Ihe poinI again wiIh our nose.
SAMSUNG

1,250 inc VAT

From www.|ohnlewis.com
(with 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 ED O|S || kit lens)
VERDICT
Unusua|, expensive, yet strange|y compe||ing
For everyIhing else,
you musI use Ihe
menus. These are well
organised buI can'I
compeIe wiIh Ihe
physical buuons on
similarly priced cameras lor
speed ol operaIion. We had Io waiI
lor around hve seconds aler capIuring
a Raw image, and anyIhing up Io 40
seconds aler a bursI ol lrames, as Ihe cog
icon Io access Ihe menu is unavailable while
phoIos are being saved.
To Ihe Calaxy NX's crediI, conIinuous
perlormance is quick, delivering 8lps shooIing
lor 18 |PFCs or hve Raw lrames belore slowing.
Fven aler IhaI, iI managed 4.2lps lor |PFCs,
buI Raw perlormance was less impressive aI
0.7lps. ShoI-Io-shoI Iimes in normal use were
excellenI aI 0.7 seconds. AuIolocus was quick,
buI iI someIimes sIruggled Io lock on Io
vague or moving sub|ecIs in low lighI.
THINK OF THE QUALITY
1080p video capIure is aI 2S or 30lps, wiIh a
1,920x810 opIion aI 24lps IhaI mimics Ihe
CinemaScope lormaI widely used in cinemas.
There's lull conIrol over exposure seuings lor
creaIive videographers. Videos were sharp,
alIhough diagonal lines had a pixelaIed
appearance, and some videos suhered lrom
lrequenI locus hunIing, where Ihe auIolocus
sysIem sIruggled Io lock on Io iIs IargeI.
Our phoIo IesIs delivered some ol Ihe
sharpesI deIails we've seen lrom a compacI
sysIem camera. Focus lrom Ihe kiI lens was
crisp lrom corner Io corner IhroughouI Ihe
zoom range, and |PFCs made Ihe mosI ol Ihe
20-megapixel resoluIion. Dense loliage was
capIured laiIhlully, buI even aI lSO 100 we
spoued a lew occasions where subIle IexIures
such as grass looked noisy. This became more
noIiceable when shooIing in subdued ouIdoor
lighIing aI lSO 400 or 800. lI was lar lrom
inIrusive, Ihough, and processing Raw hles in
LighIroom produced greaI resulIs up Io lSO
3200. The camera sIruggled aI lSO 6400 and
above, especially lor |PFC ouIpuI, lalling shorI
ol Ihe sIandards ol Ihe besI CSCs and SLRs.
This may rule ouI making big prinIs ol
dimly liI phoIos, buI lor mosI pracIical
purposes phoIo qualiIy was good.
This is a lully leaIured Android
device. We're noI sure how many
keen phoIographers wanI Io
check emails on Iheir camera,
buI Ihere's greaI appeal in being
able Io ediI phoIos in apps such
as Snapseed or PhoIoshop Touch
belore uploading Io
Facebook or Flickr direcIly
lrom Ihe camera.
The Calaxy NX's quad-core 1.6CHz
processor, 2CB Ram, 12CB available sIorage
and Android 4.2 operaIing sysIem are Iypical
leaIures lor a high-end Android device, and
Ihere's a Uicro SDXC sloI lor addiIional
sIorage. We achieved idenIical perlormance
IesI resulIs lrom Ihe inIernal sIorage and wiIh
a Class 10 Sandisk lIra card. 3C and 4C are
supporIed lor mobile inIerneI access, buI bear
in mind you'll need Io pay monIhly lees on
Iop ol your exisIing phone conIracI Io use iI.
COMMUNICATION CHALLENGE
The camera can communicaIe wiIh anoIher
Android device over Wi-Fi lor remoIe
viewhnder duIies, wiIh one-megapixel copies
ol phoIos Iranslerred across. lI's noI possible
Io Iransler oIher phoIos lrom Ihe camera Io a
smarIphone, which would have allowed users
Io avoid having Io pay lor Iwo SlU cards.
Power managemenI is more ol an issue
Ihan wiIh convenIional cameras. A FasI
Power-On opIion leI us swiIch on and capIure
a shoI in 2.3 seconds, buI Ihe camera shuI
down aler 24 hours ol inacIiviIy and Iook 23
seconds Io shooI lrom a cold sIarI.
Serious phoIographers may be scepIical ol
Ihe Calaxy NX, buI iI's a good opIion il you
wanI SLR perlormance and wiIh Ihe abiliIy Io
ediI and share phoIos immediaIely.

SPECIFICATIONS
Banery |ife
|e|e|e.e -'1 -l11 '1 1
440 shots
See page 76 lor perlormance deIails
5EN5OP 5IZE 20 megapixels (5,472x3,648)
ZOON3x optical (27-82.5mm)
LCD 4.8in (2,764,800 pixels)
5TOPACE (INTEPNAL) Nicro SDXC card 16CB
(12CB accessible)
BATTEPY Li-ion
DINEN5ION5 103x144x123mm, 703g
WAPPANTY One-year RTB
PAPT CODE EK-CN120
DETAIL5 www.samsung.com/uk
APJAlR I23-R6 SAYS...
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DISPLY REVIEVS
4C PRIL 2014 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 314
THE HANNS6 HT231HPB is one ol Ihe
cheapesI 10-poinI Iouchscreen moniIors
we've ever IesIed. However, you'll need Io
calibraIe Ihe HT231HPB Io geI Ihe besI ouI
ol Ihe device, because iIs iniIial colour
accuracy was disappoinIing.
The 23in widescreen appeared blue
when we hrsI Iurned iI on, and our colour
calibraIor showed iI was displaying only
87.8 per cenI ol Ihe sRCB colour gamuI,
which is poor resulI. The HT231HPB's main
area ol weakness was iIs red and magenIa
6AMIN6 MONITORS CAN cosI more
because ol Iheir high relresh raIes, buI noI
Ihe liyama ProliIe CB2773HS. lI's cheaper Ihan
iIs nearesI rival, Ihe 120Hz BenQ XL2720T
(see Peviews, Shcer 30S), and has a large,
heighI-ad|usIable 27in TN panel wiIh a huge
relresh raIe ol 144Hz lor silky smooIh visuals.
The main advanIage ol a high relresh raIe
is a reducIion in Iearing (Iwo or more lrames
appearing onscreen simulIaneously), which
can occur when your graphics card ouIpuIs
more lrames Ihan your moniIor can display.
HANNSG HT23lHFB

184 inc VAT

From www.debenhamsplus.co.uk
IIYAMAFroLie GB23HS

260 inc VAT

From www.overclockers.co.uk
VERDICT
You'|| need to ca|ibrate it to get the best image qua|ity, but this
cheap touchscreen is easy to use and has exce||ent contrast |eve|s
VERDICT
Creat for games, but it needs co|our ca|ibration
to produce the best image qua|ity
coverage, which were boIh noIiceably weak
compared Io iIs sIrong blues and greens.
Happily, we increased coverage Io a more
impressive 97.7 per cenI aler calibraIion,
which made colours look more naIural.
Colours in our IesI phoIographs were sIill
a couple ol shades darker Ihan on our
relerence moniIor, buI all were unilormly liI
across Ihe screen. WhiIes appeared a liule
grey, buI we were very pleased wiIh Ihe
HT231HPB's deep blacks.
The moniIor's conIrasI levels are also
very promising. We recorded a conIrasI
raIio ol 946.1 posI-calibraIion and were
able Io see a greaI level ol deIail in our
high-conIrasI IesI phoIos.
The HT231HPB's angular 23in chassis is
large, so iI will occupy a lair amounI ol space
on your desk. PorIs are all locaIed on Ihe
lel-hand side ol Ihe moniIor, so Ihey're
easy Io reach. You'll hnd VCA, DVl and
HDUl inpuIs, 3.Smm audio |acks and a
SB porI Io enable Ihe Iouchscreen.
AparI lrom a high relresh
raIe, Ihe CB2773HS is an
ordinary moniIor. There's only
an i-SIyle Came mode, and
menu seuings don'I have any
special opIions. There are lew porIs, Ioo. |usI
VCA, dual-link DVl-D and HDUl inpuIs, as well
as headphone and microphone |acks.
The CB2773HS isn'I a bad moniIor, Ihough.
Once calibraIed, iIs picIure qualiIy was much
beuer Ihan Ihe BenQ XL2720T's. AI delaulI
seuings, Ihe CB2773HS's image qualiIy is
average. Our colour calibraIor showed iI was
displaying 89.1 per cenI ol Ihe sRCB colour
gamuI aI delaulI seuings, which is a lew per
cenI lower Ihan IhaI ol Ihe BenQ XL2720T
buI sIill in line wiIh Ihe average TN panel.
The CB2773HS's main areas ol weakness
are iIs red and magenIa coverage, which give
colours a slighIly cool appearance. CalibraIion
widened coverage ol Ihe sRCB colour gamuI
Io an ouIsIanding 97.6 per cenI. This beaIs
Ihe BenQ XL2720T's posI-calibraIion coverage
The HT231HPB's Iouchscreen is a |oy Io
use. UulIiIouch gesIures such as Iwo-hnger
scrolling and pinch zooming all work perlecIly,
and we had no problem displaying Ihe Charms
bar wiIh our hnger Ihanks Io iIs lrameless
bezel. We had Io Iap icons and hles hrmly
when navigaIing Ihe deskIop, buI on Ihe
whole we could open and close hles and
windows accuraIely wiIh no Irouble.
The only parI ol Ihe HT231HPB we didn'I
like was iIs hddly menu buuons. These are
locaIed on Ihe rear ol Ihe screen, so iI's
dimculI Io Iell which buuon you're pressing.
We lound Ihem parIicularly lrusIraIing Io use.
The HannsC HT231HPB isn'I Ihe greaIesI
moniIor aI iIs delaulI seuings, buI iI's easily
one ol Ihe besI 23in Iouchscreens we've
reviewed. lI's cheap and easy Io use, and we
preler iI Io Ihe similarly priced liyama ProliIe
T24S2UTS. lI wins a BudgeI Buy award.
Kothorine Byrne
ol 94.8 per cenI, which shows
an accuraIe moniIor doesn'I
mean an expensive moniIor.
Aler calibraIion, colours looked as
warm, brighI and vibranI on Ihe CB2773HS
as on our relerence moniIor. We noIiced a
slighI amounI ol backlighI bleeding across Ihe
bouom edge, buI iI wasn'I visible in everyday
use unless we were waIching a hlm wiIh black
bars eiIher side ol Ihe main image.
ConIrasI levels are also impressive. Areas
ol shadow are parIicularly well illuminaIed,
buI il you need even more deIail, you can
increase Ihe moniIor's conIrasI levels using
Ihe onboard menu seuings, as we had Ihem
seI Io |usI S0 per cenI during IesIing.
The liyama ProliIe CB2773HS is a greaI
gaming moniIor. lI doesn'I have any lancy
leaIures or 3D capabiliIies like Ihe more
expensive BenQ XL2720T, buI il you |usI wanI
a lasI moniIor lor smooIh visuals, Ihis is a
good buy. lI wins a BudgeI Buy award.
Kothorine Byrne
SPECIFICATIONS
SPECIFICATIONS
5CPEEN 5IZE 23in widescreen
PE5OLUTION 1,920x1,080
CONTPA5T PATIO1,000:1
BPICHTNE55 250cd/m
POPT5 VCA, HDN|, DV|
POWEP CON5UNPTION 1W standby, 26W on
WAPPANTY Three years RTB
PAPT CODE HT231HPB
DETAIL5 www.hannsg.co.uk
5CPEEN 5IZE 27in widescreen
PE5OLUTION 1,920x1,080
CONTPA5T PATIO1,000:1
BPICHTNE55 300cd/m
POPT5 VCA, HDN|, DV|
POWEP CON5UNPTION 35W standby, 0W on
WAPPANTY Three years onsite
PAPT CODE ProLite CB2773HS-CB1
DETAIL5 www.iiyama.co.uk
DISPLY REVIEVS

ISSUE 314 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ PRIL 2014

HOME CINEMA PROjECTORS don'I come
much smaller Ihan Ihe BenQ CP10. Ueasuring
a slim 62x220x177mm and weighing |usI 1.Skg,
Ihis porIable DLP pro|ecIor is easy Io carry.
lI comes wiIh a carry case, and iIs inIernal
power supply means you only need Io bring
a plug insIead ol a bulky power adapIor.
The CP10's small size means iI doesn'I
have as many inpuIs as a Iypical home cinema
pro|ecIor, buI BenQ has made greaI use ol
Ihe available space. There are HDUl, VCA and
composiIe inpuIs, an SDHC card reader, a SB
porI lor connecIing SB drives or a Wi-Fi
dongle, and a Uini SB porI lor pro|ecIing
over SB or Iranslerring hles Io Ihe inIernal
memory. There are also Iwo 3W sIereo
speakers il you don'I have a dedicaIed seI.
lI's easy Io swiIch beIween inpuI devices
Ihanks Io iIs easy-Io-use home menu. The
pro|ecIor auIomaIically delaulIs Io Ihe DVD
player opIion when you hrsI Iurn iI on, buI
you can eiIher use Ihe remoIe conIrol or Ihe
buuons on Iop ol Ihe pro|ecIor Io swiIch
beIween iIs diherenI pro|ecIor modes.
SHARP PRACTICE
The CP10's 1,280x800 resoluIion looked sharp
and brighI in our IesI room, and we could use
Ihe CP10 comlorIably wiIh Ihe lighIs on. Our
IesI PowerPoinI presenIaIion looked greaI.
Colours were vibranI and punchy, and even
our high conIrasI IesI phoIos showed loIs ol
clearly dehned shadow deIail. Ol course,
images looked beuer wiIh Ihe lighIs oh, buI
you won'I have Io shroud your room in
darkness when you wanI Io use iI.
The CP10 has a shorI Ihrow raIio, so you
won'I need Io posiIion iI Ioo lar away lrom a
wall or pro|ecIion screen Io see a large
picIure. We saw a screen size ol 82in lrom
|usI 7l away, so Ihe CP10 is perlecI lor
BENQ

388 inc VAT

From www.lambda-tek.com
VERDICT
The CP10 has good image qua|ity and a wide range
of connection ports, but 3D capabi|ity is |imited
placing on a small cohee Iable in lronI ol your
pro|ecIion surlace. There's also a heighI-
ad|usIable looI aI Ihe lronI ol Ihe pro|ecIor
Io help you geI Ihe correcI angle.
There are only a lew opIions lor ad|usIing
Ihe picIure. The hve picIure modes include
SIandard, Cinema, Came, BrighI and a
cusIomisable ser mode. ln ser mode, you
can change Ihe brighIness, conIrasI and
colour IemperaIure by using one ol Ihe oIher
lour modes as a relerence, buI make sure you
remember Io save your seuings because Ihe
CP10 won'I remember Ihem auIomaIically.
PRESET AND MATCH
This was irriIaIing, buI Ihe CP10's picIure
mode seuings make only a small diherence Io
Ihe image, so we'd recommend sIicking wiIh
one ol Ihe preseI modes. We lound BrighI
and SIandard modes produced Ihe mosI
naIural colours and had Ihe besI conIrasI
levels. Cinema and Came, on Ihe oIher hand,
made Ihe screen appear lar Ioo blue and Ihey
obscured almosI all Ihe deIail in dark nighI
scenes, even when we seI Ihe conIrasI Io iIs
highesI seuing. OIher image seuings include
wall colour, aspecI raIio, keysIone correcIion
and colour space conversion.
ln our IesI Blu-Ray looIage, images looked
beauIilully crisp, buI lasI-paced acIion
sequences and even mild camera pans
|uddered. This is Io be expecIed on a pro|ecIor
aI Ihis price, we normally only see lrame
inIerpolaIion and smooIhing leaIures on
high-end models. lI cerIainly didn'I deIracI
lrom our viewing experience, and you'd be
hard-pushed Io noIice iI in more sedaIe hlms.
ll you'd raIher noI plug anyIhing inIo Ihe
CP10, iI has 2CB ol onboard sIorage lor your
hles. Only around 1.SCB is available Io Ihe
user, buI once Iranslerred we could open our
hles wiIh ease. Files Iook a liule while Io load,
buI were Iypically ready Io go wiIhin hve
seconds. The pro|ecIor supporIs a good range
ol hles, including PDF, PPT, PPTX, XLS, XLSX,
DOC, DOCX omce hles, |PC and BUP image
hles, AVl, UKV, DVlX, UPFC video hles and
UP3, OCC, WAV and AAC audio hles.
You can connecI a Wi-Fi dongle Io Ihe
CP10 Io pro|ecI wirelessly lrom your PC or
iOS device, and connecIing our lapIop was
simple. You'll need Io download BenQ's FZ
QpresenIer program, buI once you've
connecIed your PC Io Ihe Wi-Fi neIwork and
opened QpresenIer, you can mirror or exIend
your deskIop on Io your pro|ecIion surlace.
EYE FOR AN I
To connecI Ihe CP10 Io an iOS device, you
musI download Ihe CP10 QPresenIer app. You
can Ihen pro|ecI PDF hles, phoIos, Uicrosol
Omce documenIs and Apple Pages, Numbers
and KeynoIe hles wirelessly and ehorIlessly.
The CP10's only minor disappoinImenI is
iIs limiIed 3D capabiliIies. lI is 3D-ready, buI
Ihere's a caIch. iI's only compaIible wiIh 3D
looIage ouIpuI lrom your PC. This means iI
will pro|ecI games IhaI use Nvidia's 3D Vision
Iechnology, lor example, buI iI won'I pro|ecI
3D Blu-ray videos lrom a consumer Blu-Ray
player or a games console such as Ihe PS3.
The CP10 doesn'I come wiIh any 3D glasses,
so you'll have Io buy Ihem separaIely.
The BenQ CP10 has iIs limiIaIions, buI 3D
issues aside iI's sIill a good choice. There's
scope lor connecIing mulIiple devices, and
Ihe CP10's picIure qualiIy is good considering
iIs price. lI wins a BudgeI Buy award.
Kothorine Byrne
SPECIFICATIONS
NATIVE PE5OLUTION 1,280x800
CONTPA5T PATIO10,000:1
PATED BPICHTNE55 500 ANS| lumens
DINEN5ION5 62x220x177mm, 1.5kg
POWEP CON5UNPTION 1W standby, 128W active
WAPPANTY Three years RTB
PAPT CODE CP10
DETAIL5 www.benq.co.uk
Ve sav a screen size oI 82in Irom ust 7It avay,
so tIe GP10 is perIect Ior pIacin on a smaII coIIee
tabIe in Iront oI your proection surIace
HOME CINEM REVIEVS
PRIL 2014 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 314
THE 65IN SONY 6SX900Sa lIra HD TV is
colossal, even lor a 6Sin TV, buI IhaI's
because Sony has added lronI-lacing speaker
drivers and separaIe IweeIers Io eiIher side
ol Ihe panel, which ehecIively Iakes up as
much horizonIal space as a 70in or larger TV
would do. Sadly, Ihere's no way Io remove Ihe
speakers should you wanI Io use home
cinema speakers and have a smaller TV.
They do aI leasI sound superb, Sony's
magneIic luid speaker drivers are able Io
pump ouI loud and clear audio IhaI does
|usIice Io music, sporIs and TV shows.
Speakers aside, Ihe TV iIsell is slim and
sIylish, wiIh a minimal silver sIand IhaI gives
Ihe impression IhaI Ihe panel is loaIing
above iI. A sheeI ol glass covers Ihe lronI ol
Ihe TV, so Ihere are no breaks when Ihe
screen is oh, buI iI does highlighI hngerprinIs.
nIil Sony releases a hrmware updaIe Io
enable Ihe X9's HDUl 2.0 chip, Ihe 6SX900SA
isn'I capable ol playing lIra HD looIage aI S0
or 60 lrames per second, buI all lour HDUl
inpuIs on Ihe back ol Ihe seI will happily play
24p or 30p video lrom a PC or compaIible
lIra HD media sIreamer. The X9 also has
componenI, composiIe and SCART video
inpuIs lor 1080p conIenI, along wiIh digiIal
opIical and analogue phono audio connecIion
porIs, an FIherneI porI, a Common lnIerlace
sloI and Ihree SB porIs, which can play
almosI any mulIimedia hle lrom a lash drive
or record live TV Io an exIernal hard disk.
You can also pair a smarIphone or IableI
Io Ihe TV lor screen mirroring or conIenI
sharing via Wi-Fi DirecI. You can easily pair
SONY

4,299 inc VAT

From www.sonystyle.co.uk
VERDICT
Produces stunning 4K images and unpara||e|ed
upsca|ing for |ower reso|utions it's superb
devices using Ihe NFC chip builI inIo Ihe X9's
lronI panel Ioo. Devices pair insIanIly when
Iapped againsI iI. iOS users will need Io pair
Iheir devices wiIh Ihe TV manually because
no Apple producI includes NFC. ConnecIing
your mobile device is a greaI way ol viewing
your high-resoluIion phoIos IhaI would be
compressed when viewed on a Full HD TV.
ll you run ouI ol your own conIenI you
can sIarI sIreaming on-demand video Ihrough
Sony's SFN SmarI TV inIerlace. lI's sensibly
laid ouI wiIh large icons and bold IexI, and
Ihere are more services here Ihan on
compeIing TVs wiIh NeIlix, LoveFilm, BBC
iPlayer and Demand S being Ihe highlighIs.
Samsung sIill has Ihe edge on Sony
because iI has a lull selecIion ol K caIch-up
TV, buI Sony's Uusic nlimiIed and Video
nlimiIed services help make up lor iI wiIh
exclusive conIenI you won'I hnd elsewhere.
SIMPLY THE BEST
To IesI Ihe X9 properly we used lIra HD
open-source hlm Tears ol SIeel and some
relerence clips supplied by Sony. We lound
Ihe level ol deIail Io be simply breaIhIaking.
You can clearly disIinguish laces in a crowd ol
looIball lans, read Ihe names on Ihe back ol
players' shirIs and noIice deIails in oIher
scenes IhaI would be impossible Io spoI in
1080p looIage. The IexIure deIail on cloIhing,
brickwork and wood, lacial leaIures and
incidenIal deIail all look superb in lIra HD.
The X-RealiIy Pro sharpens looIage subIly
and creaIes Ihe impression ol exIra deIail
wiIhouI inIroducing any noise. The Sony
6SX900SA produces Ihe besI-looking lIra
HD images we've ever seen on a home TV.
Colour accuracy is lanIasIic. Sony's Triluminos
Iechnology helps creaIe a more subIle blend
ol colours and enhances Ihe vibranI images
seen in Sony's lIra HD wildlile looIage.
Our only criIicism was a slighI Iendency Io
show deep blacks as slighIly oh-grey. This is
unnoIiceable when waIching anyIhing buI a
very dark scene, buI iI's unmisIakeable once
you've spoued iI. FxperimenIing wiIh Ihe
dynamic backlighI couldn'I eradicaIe Ihe
issue, so il you wanI Ihe deepesI blacks you'll
sIill need Io look Iowards plasma Iechnology.
The 6SX900SA also does a lanIasIic |ob ol
upscaling 1080p video Io lIra HD, mainly
Ihanks Io Ihe RealiIy CreaIion seuing. This
creaIes a greaIer sense ol resoluIion by
sharpening parIs ol an image, ensuring you
geI a picIure as good as a naIive 1080p TV.
SETTING THE STANDARD
AlIhough sIandard dehniIion picIures look
lairly average, IhaI in iIsell is an achievemenI
considering Ihe source maIerial and Ihe
number ol pixels iI's being sIreIched Io hll.
Sony's various noise reducIion and image
creaIion Iechniques work IogeIher excellenIly
Io clean Ihe picIure as much as possible,
alIhough very low biI raIe channels such as
Dave and BBC News sIill look preuy ropey
when you geI close Io Ihe screen.
nusually lor Sony, Ihe X9 uses passive
Iechnology Io produce 3D video raIher Ihan
acIive shuuer glasses. This makes a loI ol
sense. You lose hall Ihe verIical resoluIion
wiIh passive 3D, buI on a 4K panel you sIill
see Full HD picIure. FssenIially, you geI Ihe
resoluIion ol acIive 3D, buI Ihe benehIs ol
licker-lree viewing and almosI no cross-Ialk.
Combined wiIh Ihe vibranI Triluminos colours,
Ihe X9 is a superb way Io waIch 3D hlms.
The X9 is also available as a cheaper SSin
model, buI aI 3,299 iI's Ioo expensive lor
many people. ll you wanI a lIra HD TV we
wouldn'I hesiIaIe Io recommend Ihe Sony X9.
Superb 1080p upscaling, unparalleled lIra
HD deIail and an impending hrmware updaIe
IhaI will add 60 lrames per second playback
make iI Ihe besI lIra HD TV we've seen.

TV TYPE LCD
PE5OLUTION 3,840x2,160
CONTPA5T PATIONot disclosed (1,000,000:1 dynamic)
BPICHTNE55 Not disclosed
CONNECTION5 4x HDN|, 1x SCART, 1 component,
2x composite inputs
TUNEP Freeview HD
POWEP CON5UNPTION 0W standby, 186W on
WAPPANTY One-year RTB
PAPT CODE KD-65X9005A
DETAIL5 www.sony.co.uk
SPECIFICATIONS
HOME CINEM REVIEVS
4
ISSUE 314 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ PRIL 2014
EPSON'S LATEST THREELCD home cinema
pro|ecIor has |usI abouI everyIhing you could
wanI lrom a mid-range model, including a
high 1,920x1,080 resoluIion, acIive 3D
supporI, and verIical and horizonIal lens shil.
Fven beuer, iIs 2,000 lumens ol lighI ouIpuI
means you shouldn'I need Io draw Ihe
curIains every Iime you wanI Io waIch a hlm.
WiIh a subsIanIial 466x39Smm looIprinI,
Ihe FH-TW7200 is a large pro|ecIor, and
almosI Iwice Ihe size as some compeIing
models, so you may sIruggle Io hI iI on a
cohee Iable or bookshell. The large lens is
cenIrally mounIed, and exhausI hns on eiIher
side ol Ihe FH-TW7200 expel hoI air, which is
ideal il you'll be puuing iI on a shell or in a
cupboard, as you won'I have Io worry abouI
accidenIally obsIrucIing Ihe low ol air.
All Ihe inpuIs are locaIed aI Ihe back ol
Ihe pro|ecIor. The FH-TW200 has Iwo HDUl
inpuIs, as well as S-video, componenI and
composiIe video lor legacy equipmenI, a SB
service porI, remoIe Irigger and an RS-232
porI lor linking Ihe pro|ecIor Io a home
sysIem. Like many oIher home cinema
pro|ecIors, Ihe FH-TW7200 doesn'I have
inIegraIed speakers. ThaI means you'll need
Io wire iI Ihrough an AV ampliher in order Io
hear sound as Ihere are no audio ouIpuIs or
pass-Ihrough connecIions on Ihe main uniI.
AlIhough Ihe FH-TW7200 is a high-end
pro|ecIor, you have Io ad|usI zoom, locus and
lens shil using Ihe manual dials on Ihe
pro|ecIor iIsell. Thanks Io a 2.1x opIical zoom,
geuing Ihe FH-TW7200 Io hll our pro|ecIor
screen was easy. All Ihree sIayed in place, so
you won'I need Io consIanIly Iweak Ihem.
There's also a digiIal keysIone opIion in
Ihe seuings, buI you should avoid iI as Ihis
degrades picIure qualiIy compared Io placing
Ihe pro|ecIor perpendicular Io your screen.
AparI lrom lens conIrol, everyIhing can be
conIrolled using Fpson's raIher chunky
remoIe conIrol. lI's backliI, which is greaI lor
making ad|usImenIs once you've seuled down
Io waIch a hlm, and has buuons Io swiIch
beIween inpuIs or enable Ihe more advanced
EPSON LH-TV200

1,898 inc VAT

From www.pro|ectorpoint.co.uk
VERDICT
Exce||ent picture qua|ity, but an
awkward midd|e ground price-wise
image processing modes quickly. There are
also buuons Io navigaIe Ihe onscreen menu
on Ihe pro|ecIor il you misplace Ihe remoIe.
DAYLIGHT FRIENDLY
Fpson's Ihree-LCD pro|ecIion sysIem won'I
suher lrom Ihe rainbow ehecI IhaI plagues
DLP pro|ecIors, and iI also produces Ihe same
brighI images regardless ol conIenI, so
colours look |usI as brighI as whiIes. The
FH-TW7200 is raIed aI 2,000 lumens, which is
brighI enough Io use in moderaIe daylighI,
buI naIurally, you'll geI Ihe besI resulIs when
waIching in Ihe dark.
OuI ol Ihe box, Ihe FH-TW7200 produced
sIarIlingly good Full HD images IhaI were
excepIionally vibranI and brighI wiIh colours,
buI also looked naIural even belore we'd
sIarIed ad|usIing Ihe preseIs. Darker scenes
were a real highlighI, and showed an
abundance ol deIail noI normally presenI in
pro|ecIors aI Ihis price. We Iypically see
slighIly washed ouI images and a lack ol
shadow deIail, buI Ihere was none ol IhaI
here. Fven wiIh calibraIion, images will never
be as black as on a plasma TV, or even some
ol Ihe besI LFD models, buI almosI noIhing
geIs losI as long as you've dimmed Ihe lighIs.
The claimed conIrasI raIio ol 120,000.1 is
achieved wiIh a dynamic iris sysIem, which
you can Ioggle oh il you noIice iI ad|usIing
during darker scenes. We couldn'I spoI iI on
Ihe normal seuing and iI works silenIly, so we
lel iI enabled Io geI a slighI visual boosI.
There are only lour 2D picIure preseIs.
Dynamic, Living room, NaIural and Cinema.
Two more, 3D Dynamic and 3D Cinema, are
dedicaIed Io 3D conIenI, buI Ihere's no user
mode lor more advanced calibraIion. We
opIed Io use Ihe Cinema preseI as a baseline,
which Ihanklully doesn'I lock you ouI ol Ihe
more advanced image processing opIions
such as auIo iris, colour IemperaIure, gamma,
RCBCUY colour and skin Ione ad|usImenI.
There's also a noise reducIion slider and a
Super-resoluIion Ioggle which inIelligenIly
sharpens Ihe picIure. We didn'I need Io ad|usI
sharpness or enable noise reducIion as
images looked clean and precise, buI we did
appreciaIe Ihe illusion ol added deIail wiIh
Super-resoluIion enabled. lI works wiIhouI
creaIing arIelacIs or exaggeraIing hlm grain.
BLURRED LINES
3D video is |usI as impressive, Ihanks Io an
almosI compleIe absence ol crossIalk. Fven
once we'd donned Ihe acIive shuuer glasses
colours were rich and images were brighI,
albeiI slighIly dimmer Ihan when waIching in
2D mode. The only noIiceable downside was
Ihe handling ol lasI panning, which causes Ihe
image Io |udder. There's no lrame creaIion
mode Io smooIh Ihis over, alIhough iI's really
only presenI in cerIain scenes. One pair ol
acIive 3D glasses is included in Ihe box, buI
each new addiIional pair will cosI around 6S
(FLPCS03 lrom www.sovostcre.ccm).
ln iIs Fco mode, which is acIivaIed ouI ol
Ihe box, Ihe FH-TW7200 is very quieI.
However, we lound iI necessary Io disable Fco
mode Io squeeze every lasI biI ol lighI lor 3D
video, upon which Ihe noise level increased
signihcanIly Io become raIher irriIaIing.
AI around 1,800, Ihe FH-TW7200 is in an
inIeresIing posiIion beIween enIry-level DLP
pro|ecIors and more expensive high-end
models. You'd need Io spend almosI 1,000
more Io geI a model wiIh advanced leaIures
like lrame creaIion or elecIronic lens conIrol,
while Ihe cheaper DLP models can'I compeIe
in Ierms ol picIure qualiIy. ll your home
cinema budgeI is less Ihan 2,000, Ihis is one
ol Ihe besI pro|ecIors IhaI money will buy.

NATIVE PE5OLUTION 1,920x1,080
CONTPA5T PATIO120,000:1
PATED BPICHTNE55 2 ANS| lumens,
LANP CO5T (ECONONY) 0.02 (0.02) inc VAT
DINEN5ION5 466x140x395mm, 8.4kg
POWEP CON5UNPTION 0W standby, 331W active
WAPPANTY Two-year RTB (lamp three years)
PAPT CODE EH-TW7200
DETAIL5 www.epson.co.uk
SPECIFICATIONS
UDIO REVIEVS
S0 PRIL 2014 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 314
THE SONY MDR10RC headphones are a
lighIweighI, well-made and auracIive pair ol
lolding on-ear headphones. The headphones
are parI ol Sony's high-resoluIion audio range,
so Ihe UDR-10RC's 40mm neodymium drivers
are a cuI above whaI you're likely Io hnd in
oIher compacI headphones. They have a wide
lrequency response ol SHz Io 40KHz, abouI
Iwice IhaI ol mosI headphones, Io Iake
advanIage ol high-resoluIion audio hles.
While mosI people can'I acIually hear
lrequencies above around 20,000Hz, Ihere
are plenIy ol argumenIs lor reproducing high
lrequencies. Uany people simply wanI Iheir
headphones' audio Io be as close Io an
original recording as possible. lI's also worIh
noIing IhaI Ihe UDR-10RCs don'I cosI much
more Ihan comparable headphones wiIhouI
such a broad lrequency response.
Sony has opIed lor a neuIral and balanced
audio prohle. This laI sound means Ihere's no
exIra bass and no added brighIness Io Ireble
sounds. WhaI you hear is Ihe music's own
sound balance, as produced.
lI's a welcome change lrom bass-heavy
lashion headphones and Ihe excessive
brighIness ol some balanced-armaIure in-ear
headphones IhaI sell aI around Ihe same 1S0
price. All our music sounded lanIasIic, lrom
SONY MDR-l0RC

150 inc VAT

From www.|ohnlewis.com
NUTZ Fro

139 inc VAT

From www.nutzheadphones.com
VERDICT
These are great-sounding headphones, but
they tend to s|ip o when you move
VERDICT
They might be fashionab|e, but these headphones are
a|so overpriced and don't suit many forms of music
delicaIe recordings ol acousIic insIrumenIs in
Iracks such as Dowland's Lochrimoe Antiquoe
Io bass-heavy hardsIyle and busy exIreme
meIal Iracks IhaI blasI sound across a wide
lrequency range. We were also impressed by
Ihe spacious, open naIure ol Ihe sound and
greaI sense ol direcIion IhaI benehIed live
recordings in parIicular. Overall sound qualiIy
compares well wiIh our relerence Sennheiser
UomenIum On-Far headphones.
The UDR-10RC's lolding parIs are well made,
wiIh sIurdy meIal hinges. The headphones are
hardy, Ioo, and coped well wiIh being rauled
around in a backpack. Sadly, Ihe on-ear design
wiIh Ihe slick leaIher-ehecI headband and ear
pads meanI Ihey Iended Io slide oh.
This wasn'I resIricIed Io Ihose ol us wiIh
narrow skulls, eiIher. There's a good amounI
ol lex in Ihe headband, which is greaI, buI
Ihose wiIh larger heads are sIill likely Io hnd
Ihe UDR-10RCs sliding slowly Iowards Ihe
ground when Ihey look down, so Ihe
UDR-10RC's aren'I Ihe besI headphones Io
use when running. The replaceable headphone
cable, wiIh a single builI in pause/answer
buuon and microphone is a welcome Iouch,
buI iI doesn'I lock in place on Ihe headphones
and we lound IhaI iI Iended Io pull ouI il we
caughI Ihe cable when moving.
nsurprisingly, lor lighIweighI on-ear
headphones, Ihey don'I provide much sound
isolaIion. You'll have Io increase your player's
volume Io lull il you wanI Io lisIen on a loud
underground Irain, which is bad lor your ears.
AI leasI Ihey don'I leak Ioo badly aI normal
indoor lisIening volumes.
We'd love Io give Ihe UDR-10RC
headphones hve sIars as Ihey sound greaI,
buI Iheir poor grip and habiI ol slipping oh
are ma|or problems in a pair ol headphones
designed Io be used on Ihe move. We sIill
preler Sennheiser's UomenIum On-Fars.
Kot Orphonides
SPECIFICATIONS
SPECIFICATIONS
CONNECTION 3.5mm headset |ack plug
CABLE LENCTH 1.20m
INPEDENCE 40 ohms
WEICHT 165g
WAPPANTY One-year RTB
PAPT CODE NDR-10RC
DETAIL5 www.sony.co.uk
CONNECTION 3.5mm stereo |ack plug
CABLE LENCTH 3.50m
INPEDENCE 16 ohms
WEICHT 250g
WAPPANTY Two-year RTB
PAPT CODE Nutz Pro
DETAIL5 www.nutzheadphones.com
THE NUTZ PRO headphones siI somewhere
beIween lashion 'phones and high qualiIy hi-h
or home sIudio cans in price and markeIing. ln
pracIice, Ihey lean more Iowards lashion.
The headphones have a broad lrequency
response, buI are bass heavy. This isn'I
necessarily a problem il you en|oy bass-heavy
music, buI Ihe Ireble and midrange are olen
losI in Ihe resulIing mix. Fven music wiIh loIs
ol bass isn'I always all iI could be. The drums
ol lce-T and Slayer's Discrder sounded dull
and Ihudding, wiIhouI Ihe precise slap ol
skins audible Ihrough Sony's UDR-10RC
headphones. CuiIars were a luzzy mess -
Iypical ol Ihe mid-range sound reproducIion.
The NuIz Pros have a slighIly boxy sound
IhaI meanI Ihere wasn'I as much space as we
expecIed Io hear beIween
vocals and brass in Public
Fnemy's Horder Thon Ycu Think. The
synIhesized beaIs ol vocal Irance and happy
hardcore lared beuer, buI only il we kepI
Ihe volume up. AI lower volumes, Ihe bass
overwhelmed Ihe Ireble beaIs and mid-range
vocals in Bang!'s Shccting Stor.
Thanks Io Iheir very lighI weighI, Ihe NuIz
Pro headphones are remarkably comlorIable,
despiIe Iheir large size. They also lelI very
secure on our head. The closed drivers don'I
leak and provide greaI sound isolaIion, so
nobody will glare aI you when using Ihem on
Ihe bus or Irain. nlorIunaIely, Ihe NuIz Pro's
glossy plasIic hnish and headband expander
look and leel cheap and lragile. Surprisingly,
neiIher ol Ihe replaceable
headphone cables comes wiIh an
inline remoIe conIrol or microphone.
For around 140 you can do a loI beuer. ll
you wanI good headphones Io use on Ihe
move, Sennheiser's UomenIum On-Fars are
greaI all-rounders and a much beuer buy.
Kot Orphonides
UDIO REVIEVS
WHEN IT COMES Io home hi-h hardware,
Naim means serious business. The Naim
niIiLiIe is a high-end, high-resoluIion
sIreaming media player wiIh a builI-in CD
player, inIerneI radio sIreaming, exIernal SB
device supporI and 2.4CHz 802.11n Wi-Fi. lI
can also communicaIe wiIh oIher Naim
devices lor mulIi-room audio.
The niIiLiIe is well equipped wiIh digiIal
and analogue inpuIs. There are Iwo pairs ol
analogue RCA inpuIs and lour digiIal S/PDlF
inpuIs, Iwo ol which are coaxial and Iwo
opIical. There's also a SB porI aI Ihe lronI Io
which you can connecI an iOS device or SB
drive. A lronI 3.Smm auxiliary inpuI leIs you
connecI anyIhing else. Sadly, you can'I
connecI your PC Io Ihe uniI via SB and use
iI as a digiIal-Io-analogue converIor (DAC).
The niIiLiIe is designed Io be connecIed
Io speakers, so Ihe only audio ouIpuI is a
4-pin DlN connecIor Io connecI Naim's own
exIernal ampliher uniIs. The main speaker
ouIpuIs, designed Io power passive uniIs wiIh
an 8 or 4 ohm impedance, use Naim's own
righI-angled variaIion on a banana plug
connecIor, Io which you'll need Io solder your
speaker wire. The 3.Smm headphone porI aI
Ihe lronI has a dedicaIed headphone amp.
Naim makes iIs own DAC chips wiIh a
repuIaIion lor producing naIural, inIimaIe
audio and sol Ireble Iones. This solness
means IhaI low biIraIe UP3s sound
conspicuously luzzy, wiIh very liule Ireble
deIail, parIicularly on cymbals. There's no
such problem wiIh lossless Iracks or even
320kbiI/s UP3s, lorIunaIely.
Through boIh headphones and speakers,
Ihe niIiLiIe's sound qualiIy is impossible Io
laulI, and iI really makes Ihe mosI ol sensiIive,
high-end speakers. ThaI includes models wiIh
superIweeIers lor high-lrequency sound, such
as Sony's SS-HA1 speakers. Ol course, you'll
need Ihe high-resoluIion Iracks Io maIch. Our
high-resoluIion, high-biIraIe IesI Iracks,
including King Crimson's 2!st Century Schizcid
Mon and Fmmanuel Lazaridis's perlormance
ol LiszI's Crondes Ftudes de Pogonini, were
reproduced perlecIly.
NAIM

1,650 inc VAT

From www.petertyson.co.uk
VERDICT
5ounds great, but annoying|y |acks support
for services such as 5potify and Last.fm
The niIiLiIe and a pair ol good
speakers is unquesIionably a greaI way Io
lisIen Io music. We were parIicularly pleased
wiIh iIs rendering ol boIh clean and harsh
vocals, which were easy Io pick ouI in busy
Iracks such as AnaIhema's Ponic and in live
concerI recordings such as Dark TranquilliIy's
The Sun Fired B|onks. lI did |usI as well wiIh
Ihe deep and precise synIhesised bass Iones
and spacious soundscapes ol big elecIronic
Iracks, while orchesIral music sounded as
naIural as iI would in a concerI hall.
The disc player only handles sIandard CDs,
buI iI makes a greaI |ob ol Ihem. Oddly, Ihe
CD player lacks a dedicaIed F|ecI buuon. You
musI press and hold Ihe SIop buuon Io open
and close Ihe drive. Annoyingly, you can only
e|ecI discs in CD mode, you can'I swiIch Io a
diherenI inpuI and Ihen e|ecI Ihe disc.
Happily, Ihe niIiLiIe has a lull conIrol
panel nexI Io iIs monochrome screen, so you
won'I suher il you lose Ihe well-designed
remoIe conIrol. Once you've connecIed Ihe
uniI Io your neIwork, you can salely seI aside
Ihe remoIe conIrol il you have an iOS device.
The Naim n-SIream app immediaIely
deIecIed boIh Ihe niIiLiIe and Ihe PnP
server on our NAS. You can browse music
hles by lolder, genre, arIisI and arIisI/
album. There are lew oIher opIions Io
rehne Irack lisIs, buI Ihere is a search leaIure.
You can only search wiIhin Ihe currenI
direcIory level, buI iI's beuer
Ihan noIhing. As Ihe niIiLiIe
is aI iIs besI wiIh high-qualiIy
lossless Iracks, we'd have liked
Io see Ihe qualiIy ol hles belore we
played Ihem.
The Naim n-SIream app makes iI easy Io
swiIch beIween inpuIs, browse Iracks and seI
weekday and weekend alarms. We were
mighIily underwhelmed wiIh Ihe niIiliIe's
online sIreaming leaIures, Ihough.
The niIiLiIe's inIerneI radio Iuner leIs you
browse Ihrough a wide range ol podcasIs and
live sIaIions, so you can Iune in Io Radio 4,
subscribe Io a Dcctcr Whc podcasI and caIch
up wiIh CyprioI lolk music. This is all greaI,
buI Ihe niIiLiIe has no supporI lor popular
music sIreaming services such as SpoIily,
LasI.lm or Xbox Live Uusic - iI's a shocking
omission in an inIerneI-connecIed music
device IhaI cosIs so much.
Overall, iI's Ihis lack ol connecIiviIy IhaI
leIs Ihe niIiLiIe down Ihe mosI, as well as
Ihe absence ol an Android remoIe conIrol
app. ll you're inIeresIed in high-end audio
hardware Ihen Ihe niIiLiIe has Ihe sound
qualiIy and connecIiviIy Io make mosI music
enIhusiasIs very happy. However, we wanIed
|usI a biI more inIerneI sIreaming lrom Ihis
oIherwise excellenI all-in-one media player.
Kot Orphonides
SPECIFICATIONS
CONNECTION5 1x mini-|ack headphone output, stereo
passive speaker outputs, 2x coaxial S/PD|F in, 2x optical
S/PD|F in, 2x phono in, 3.5mm stereo in
AUDIO5UPPOPT WNA, AAC, OCC,
WAV, NP3, FLAC, ALAC, A|FF
POWEP CON5UNPTION 30W on
WAPPANTY Two-year RTB
PAPT CODE UnitiLite
DETAIL5 www.naimaudio.com
cc.cc.ol [ O8-- --- o2-2
8am-9pm Vkoays, 9am-6pm Saturoays, Cam-5pm Sunoays
TIrouI botI IeadpIones and speakers, tIe
UniteLite's sound quaIity is impossibIe to IauIt, and it
makes tIe most oI sensitive, IiI-end speakers
VIDEO REVIEVS
S2 PRIL 2014 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 314
PVR RockeI is a
compacI, porIable device IhaI leIs you record
videos ol you playing games on compuIers
and consoles. You can Ihen use a lree uIiliIy
Io ediI Ihose videos and upload Ihem Io
YouTube so your lriends and oIhers can
waIch Ihem. ll you've ever wished you'd
recorded a segmenI ol gameplay so IhaI
you could prove you'd compleIed someIhing,
Io show your skill in a game or explain
gameplay Iechniques Io help oIhers, Ihe
HD PVR RockeI could be lor you.
The HD PVR RockeI is very similar in
luncIion Io Ihe Hauppauge HD PVR 2 (see
Peviews, Shcer 304). However, Ihe HD PVR
RockeI is much preuier and beuer designed
Ihan Ihe HD PVR 2, as iI requires only SB
power Io work raIher Ihan a separaIe power
supply. You don'I have Io worry abouI hnding
anoIher mains sockeI Io power Ihe RockeI.
OIher design improvemenIs include Ihe
use ol a large, red buuon Io Irigger video
recording. The HD PVR 2 had a black
Iriangular buuon Io record video, which
wasn'I easy Io see as Ihe resI ol Ihe uniI was
also black. ln conIrasI, Ihe RockeI's red record
buuon conlers a signihcanI advanIage
because iI's easier Io see in your peripheral
vision. ll you're playing a game, Iaking your
eyes oh Ihe screen can inviIe disasIer, so
being able Io baI Ihe Record buuon wiIhouI
HAUPPAUGE
HD FVR Rocle

11S inc VAT

From www.dabs.com
VERDICT
A simp|e and portab|e way to record your
gaming exp|oits
having Io look aI Ihe HD PVR RockeI direcIly
is a uselul improvemenI.
As wiIh Ihe HD PVR 2, Ihe RockeI is
bordered on Ihree sides by an illuminaIed
sIrip IhaI uses diherenI colours Io denoIe Ihe
RockeI's sIaIus, so you can know aI a glance
wheIher or noI iI's recording. The lighIs are
brighI, so as wiIh Ihe Record buuon you can
see Ihem in your peripheral vision.
The HD PVR RockeI can be used wiIh PCs
and all Ihe ma|or consoles alIhough, like Ihe
HD PVR 2, Ihe RockeI can'I record HDCP-
proIecIed video sIreams, so you musI
connecI Ihe device Io your PS3 wiIh Ihe
componenI cable IhaI comes wiIh Ihe HD
PVR RockeI raIher Ihan an HDUl cable.
ConnecIing Ihe RockeI Io your compuIer
or console is sIraighIlorward. The uniI has an
HDUl inpuI and an HDUl ouIpuI. ConnecI
Ihe ouIpuI ol your graphics card or games
console Io Ihe RockeI's inpuI, Ihen connecI
Ihe rockeI Io your TV or moniIor wiIh Ihe
HDUl ouIpuI. From Ihere, you can record
video in one ol Iwo ways. The easiesI is Io
inserI a SB lash drive inIo Ihe RockeI's SB
porI and hiI Ihe Record buuon. The RockeI
will Ihen record video direcIly Io Ihe SB
lash drive unIil you hiI Ihe red buuon again
Io sIop recording.
There's no need Io lormaI Ihe SB drive,
so you can use whaIever drive you have Io
hand wiIhouI having Io back up iIs conIenIs
hrsI or waiI lor iI Io be iniIialised. This is
convenienI, and means you can geI going
wiIhouI Ioo much luss.
The second meIhod is Io use a compuIer
as a capIure device and record video Io iIs
hard disk. You can use Ihe lree Hauppauge
CapIure program Io capIure video and change
Ihe RockeI's seuings. AlIhough CapIure also
leIs you ediI videos, iIs ediIing Iools are basic
and amounI Io spliIs and cuIs, Ihere are no
IransiIions. CapIure leIs you upload video Io
YouTube lrom wiIhin Ihe program, buI due Io
iIs basic naIure we prelerred Io record Io a
SB lash drive and use oIher programs Io
ediI and share our videos.
You can record video aI resoluIions up Io
1,920x1,080. Video qualiIy is impressive, and
adequaIe lor demonsIraIing gaming
Iechniques or proving you've compleIed
someIhing. However, Ihere are signs ol
compression and a solness Io Ihe looIage.
Recorded videos can also be |erky on
occasion, buI mosIly Ihey're smooIh and
adequaIe lor Iheir inIended sharing purpose.
Video is recorded aI a biI raIe ol around
17,S00UbiI/s, which is Iypical lor high-qualiIy
videos recorded in Ihe H.264 lormaI.
WHAT A CARRY ON
The RockeI is a signihcanI improvemenI on
Ihe HD PVR 2. lIs user-lriendly design, builI-in
mic inpuI and audio peak meIer make iI a
more uselul and desirable device Ihan iIs
predecessor. ll you wanI Io record videos ol
your games or even il you wanI someIhing Io
capIure deskIop looIage Io show in
presenIaIions or Ihe classroom, Ihe
Hauppauge HD PVR RockeI is ideal.
Andrew Unsworth
CONNECTION POPT5 2x HDN|, component inputs,
USB type-A, USB type-B, 3.5mm mic input
PAPT CODE 1527
DETAIL5 www.hauppauge.co.uk
SPECIFICATIONS
After capturing
your videos, you
can edit and
upload them to
the YouTube with
Hauppauge Capture,
but it is basic
TIe HD PVR Rocket is mucI prettier and better
desined tIan tIe HD PVR 2, as it requires onIy USB
pover to vork ratIer tIan a pover suppIy
PRINTER & SCNNER REVIEVS
S4 PRIL 2014 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 314
CANONFixma MGC4S0

100 inc VAT

From www.currys.co.uk
CANON'S NEWPIXMA UC64S0 is a
mid-range mulIiluncIion prinIer (UFP) lor Ihe
home. lI replaces Ihe UC63S0 (see Crcu
Test, Shcer 302). Like iIs predecessor, Ihe
UC64S0 does wiIhouI a lax modem or
auIomaIic documenI leeder, buI Ihere is
supporI lor wireless neIworks.
The UC64S0 is preuy, buI iI leels like Ihe
good looks come aI Ihe expense ol pracIicaliIy.
Access Io Ihe prinI heads and ink carIridges is
Ihrough a narrow sloI accessed by liling up
Ihe enIire conIrol panel secIion, iI's neaI, buI
Ihere's limiIed access, so iI can be hard Io geI
carIridges lined up properly aI Ihe rear. nlike
Ihe UC63S0, which had a Iouchscreen inIerlace,
Ihe UC64S0 is conIrolled wiIh buuons.
There are worse problems wiIh Ihe
UC64S0 UFP's paper handling. lI has
auIomaIic duplex (double-sided) prinIing
and Ihere's now only a single paper Iray, which
appears Io be capIive in Ihe base ol Ihe prinIer.
The lronI panel has Io be kepI open when iI's
DELL'S C2665DNF IS a colour laser UFP
designed lor moderaIe use in a small business
or workgroup. lI has all Ihe essenIial small
business leaIures, such as prinIing, scanning,
copying, laxing and a neIwork inIerlace. WiIh
a S0,000-page maximum monIhly prinI
volume, iI's builI Io sIand up Io omce use, and
iI generally leels sIurdy and well made.
This UFP's main paper Iray is supplemenIed
wiIh a second mulIipurpose Iray, buI Ihe Iwo
IogeIher hold only 400 sheeIs. Paper handling
is more impressive, you can use Ihe prinIer and
scanner Io make double-sided copies ol double
or single-sided originals. The paper ouIpuI Iray
can handle a generous 2S0 pages.
The C266SDNF is conIrolled Ihrough a huge
colour Iouchscreen IhaI provides access Io
Dell's DocumenI Hub, a neaI arrangemenI
IhaI leIs you access a range ol online services
direcIly lrom Ihe prinIer, such as Dropbox and
Uicrosol SharePoinI, buI noI FvernoIe.
This is one ol Ihe hrsI prinIers we've seen
Io supporI near-held communicaIion (NFC),
alIhough Ihis serves only Io pair Ihe prinIer
DELL C2CCSDN!

366 inc VAT

From www.printerland.co.uk
VERDICT
A great inkjet NFP, spoi|ed by |imited paper
hand|ing and an awfu| output tray
VERDICT
Despite great print qua|ity and some promising
features, this NFP's high running costs are a |et down
loaded wiIh A4 paper, which could allow dusI
on Io Ihe sIack over Iime. The ouIpuI Iray is
inepI lor A4 prinIing, in our 2S-page leuer IesI,
we waIched as every page lell Io Ihe loor.
ForIunaIely, lI's noI all bad. TexI prinIing
was quick, reaching 13.3 pages per minuIe
(ppm), and Ihe prinIer managed 3.7ppm in
our challenging colour graphics IesI. Like
oIher Pixmas we've IesIed recenIly, scans
became slow over Wi-Fi aI higher qualiIy
seuings, a 600 doIs-per-inch phoIo scan
Iook more Ihan lour minuIes.
Scans and prinIs were unilormly excellenI,
wiIh accuraIe colours, sharp deIailing and
well-preserved deIail even in Ihe lighIesI and
darkesI regions. The UC64S0 also accepIs
high-capaciIy versions ol all hve ink Ianks,
using Ihese, mono running cosIs are a
reasonable 2.Sp per page, and colour cosIs are
low aI 4.8p. lI's a greaI UFP, spoiled by a basic
paper inpuI and an awlul paper ouIpuI.
5imon Hondby
wiIh compaIible devices running Windows 8.1.
You can'I use NFC Io prinI lrom smarIphones.
This seems like a missed opporIuniIy, buI Dell
Iold us iI plans Io broaden supporI in Ihe luIure.
Dell's solware insIaller leIs you choose
wheIher iI should prinI duplex by delaulI and
wheIher Io insIall a colour driver, Io help save
you money. You'll need all Ihe help you can geI,
as despiIe Ihe availabiliIy ol a 6,000-page black
Ioner and 4,000-page colour iIems, running
cosIs in Ioner alone work ouI aI 2.2p lor a black
page and 11.1p in colour. FacIor in long-Ierm
consumables such as Ihe drums (SS,000
pages), wasIe Ioner boule (30,000) and a
100,000-page mainIenance pack, and Ihese rise
Io 2.4p and 11.3p respecIively. The equivalenIs
lor Kyocera's FS-C2026UFP+ are 1.3p and 6.4p.
These cosIs overshadow Ihe C266SDNF's
sIrengIhs. PrinI qualiIy was high, wiIh sharp
ouIlines and sIrong colours. Scans were also
good, and perlormance was quick all-round.
The C266SDNF is a good UFP, buI iIs conIrols,
running cosIs and NFC supporI could be beuer.
5imon Hondby
SPECIFICATIONS
NAXINUNPPINT PE5OLUTION 600x600dpi
UOTED 5PEED5 27ppm mono, 27ppm colour
NAXINUN5CAN PE5OLUTION 1,200x1,200dpi
INTEPFACE5 USB, 10/100/1,000 Ethernet
DINEN5ION5 558x439x530mm
POWEP CON5UNPTION 14W standby, 17W idle, 1,177W active
WAPPANTY One-year onsite, next business day
PAPT CODE 210-ABWL
DETAIL5 www.dell.co.uk
Co|our costs
Norma| speed
Nono costs
Nixed co|our speed
5can speed
|e|e|e.e -'1 -l11 '1 1
2.4spm
2.4p
11.3p
23.4ppm
12.9ppm
See page 76 lor perlormance deIails
SPECIFICATIONS
NAXINUNPE5OLUTION 4,800x1,200dpi
UOTED 5PEED5 15ipm mono/9.7ipm colour
5CAN PE5OLUTION 1,200x2,400dpi
INTEPFACE5 USB, 802.11n wireless
DINEN5ION5 148x455x369mm
POWEP CON5UNPTION 3W standby, 5W idle, 19W active
WAPPANTY One-year RTB
PAPT CODE 8333B008AA
DETAIL5 www.canon.co.uk
Co|our costs
Drah speed
Nono costs
Norma| speed
Photo speed
5can speed
|e|e|e.e -'1 -l11 '1 1
1.3spm
4.8p
2.5p
13.3ppm
13.3ppm
0.5ppm
See page 76 lor perlormance deIails
STORGE REVIEVS
SC PRIL 2014 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 314
EVER WANTED TO add a signihcanI amounI
ol exIra sIorage Io your smarIphone or
IableI? The Uaxell PorIable Wireless Hard
Drive leIs you do |usI IhaI.
Files are copied Io Ihe drive lrom your
compuIer over a SB3 connecIion, aler
which Ihey can be accessed lrom your
THE WESTERN DI6ITAL Uy Cloud is a NAS
wiIh a single 2TB hard disk, designed lor
Ihose who simply wanI Io access hles over
Iheir neIwork or remoIely over Ihe inIerneI.
Seuing up Ihe Uy Cloud is easy. You Iype
iIs lP address inIo a web browser, creaIe a
username and password and Ihen access Ihe
MAXELL Forable Vireless Hard Drive S00GB

120 inc VAT

From www.box.co.uk
WESTERN DIGITAL My Cloud 2TB

114 inc VAT

From www.morecomputers.com
VERDICT
Not a bad wire|ess hard disk, but it's a |in|e
overpriced and not po|ished enough
VERDICT
This NA5 hasn't many features, but it's easy
to set up remote access to your h|es
smarIphone, IableI or lapIop over Wi-Fi. lIs
builI-in bauery is charged when plugged in via
SB. The PorIable Wireless Hard Drive isn'I
Ihe lasIesI SB3 porIable disk we've seen, buI
iI was lasI enough Io keep us happy. Large
hles were wriuen aI 6S.7UB/s and read aI
79.SUB/s, while small hles were boIh wriuen
and read aI 23UB/s.
The PorIable Wireless Hard Drive can
creaIe iIs own 72UbiI/s 802.11n Wi-Fi
hoIspoI. Uaxell claims IhaI up Io Ihree
devices can sIream video lrom Ihe Drive
simulIaneously, buI we lound IhaI sIreaming
Iwo video hles Io Iwo devices caused video Io
|udder. Wireless Iransler speeds lrom a
Windows 7 lapIop were slow aI 2UB/s lor
large hles and bauery lile when playing a
looped H.264 video was |usI under lour hours.
Windows lapIops can access Ihe PorIable
Wireless Hard Drive as a sIandard SUB share
or via PnP. Android and iOS devices have Io
use Ihe lree Air SIream app, which looks and
Uy Cloud's clear and logically
organised web inIerlace. You musI be
connecIed Io Ihe inIerneI Ihe hrsI
Iime you use iI Io be able Io seI iI up.
Once conhgured, you can use Ihe Uy
Cloud on your local neIwork wheIher
your inIerneI connecIion is working or noI.
lmpressively, Ihe remoIe access leaIure
didn'I need any conhguring and we didn'I
have Io hddle wiIh Ihe porI lorwarding or
Dynamic DNS seuings on our rouIer.
nlike oIher NAS devices, you won'I hnd
loIs ol exIra leaIures on Ihe Uy Cloud, such
as a BiITorrenI server, web server or even Ihe
opIion lor organising users inIo groups lor
easier adminisIraIion.
We had no problems sharing hles and Ihe
conIenIs ol a SB drive plugged inIo Ihe Uy
Cloud's sole SB3 porI, or sIreaming music
and high-dehniIion video over our local
neIwork. RemoIely accessing hles proved Io
be more problemaIic. AuempIing Io sIream
boIh high- and sIandard-dehniIion videos via
works almosI idenIically on boIh plaIlorms,
buI is clunky wiIh a garish appearance.
Playing videos on iOS was limiIed Io UP4
and H.264 hles. The Android app has slighIly
beuer hle lormaI compaIibiliIy, playing some
UKV and DivX hles. UosI ol Ihese videos had
muIed audio and we could only hear anyIhing
by downloading Ihe hle Io Ihe Android device
and opening Ihe hle in anoIher player app.
We had no problem viewing phoIos or
playing music. DisappoinIingly, Ihere's no way
Io upload hles Io Ihe Drive lrom Ihe iOS app,
while Ihe Android app is limiIed Io uploading
phoIos and videos Iaken using Ihe app.
The Uaxell PorIable Wireless Hard Drive is
a mediocre wireless hard drive wiIh apps IhaI
could be a loI beuer, and iI's noI cheap aI 24p
per gigabyIe. The 1TB model ol Ihe similar
SeagaIe Wireless Plus is available lor |usI 20
more or |usI 14p per gigabyIe and is Ihe beuer
wireless disk lor your smarIphone or IableI.

a home ADSL connecIion
wiIh a 1UbiI/s upload
speed resulIed in |uddering
video and long, lrequenI
pauses lor buhering. However, you
should have no problem remoIely
accessing less bandwidIh inIensive hles such
as documenIs, UP3s and phoIos.
Oddly, Ihere's no remoIe web inIerlace.
lnsIead you musI download an app, which is
available lor iOS, Android, Uac and Windows.
The apps work well, buI are basic. You can
only view hles in LisI view, none ol Ihem have
a search leaIure and only Ihe mobile apps can
connecI Io Dropbox, Coogle Drive and
Skydrive. You can copy hles sIored on Ihe Uy
Cloud Io Ihose services, buI noI vice versa.
The Uy Cloud's perlormance when
copying large hles wasn'I bad, buI iIs small hle
perlormance was very slow, even lor a NAS.
ll you |usI wanI a basic, cenIral locaIion
lor hles, Ihe easy-Io-use UyCloud is lor you.

5ma|| h|es
5ma|| h|es
Large h|es
Large h|es
|e|e|e.e
|e|e|e.e
-'1
-'1
-l11
-l11
'1
'1
1
1
72.6NB/s
23NB/s
8NB/s
51.4NB/s
See page 76 lor perlormance deIails
See page 76 lor perlormance deIails
CAPACITY 500CB
5PINDLE 5PEED 5,400rpm
INTEPFACE5 USB3
DINEN5ION5 127x93x21mm
WAPPANTY Two-year RTB
PAPT CODE 4902580759766
DETAIL5 http://uk.maxell.eu
5TOPACE 2TB hard disk
CONNECTION5 10/100/1000Nbit/s Ethernet, 1x USB3 ports,
EXTPA5 UPnP media, iTunes, print, USB disk, FTP servers
WAPPANTY Two-year RTB
DINEN5ION5 171x49x140mm
POWEP CON5UNPTION 4Wstandby, 10Wactive
PAPT CODE WDBCTL0020HWT
DETAIL5 www.wdc.com
SPECIFICATIONS
SPECIFICATIONS
NETVORK REVIEVS
S
ISSUE 314 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ PRIL 2014
SPECIFICATIONS
WIFI 5TANDAPD 802.11a/b/g/n
CONNECTION PORTS Nicro USB, 1x 10/100 Ethernet Port, 1x
10/100/1000 Ethernet Port,1x 3.5mmaudio output
PAPT CODE CV-7438nDN
DETAIL5 www.edimax.co.uk
THE EDIMAX CV7438NDM is a curiously
shaped device IhaI leIs you connecI up Io Iwo
FIherneI-only devices, such as smarI TVs,
older Sky+ HD boxes and Blu-ray players, Io
your wireless neIwork so IhaI Ihey can access
Ihe inIerneI. You can also use Ihe CV-
7438nDU Io sIream audio lrom Airplay-
compaIible devices Io a seI ol speakers.
The Fdimax CV-7438nDU is really easy Io
seI up, and you don'I even need a PC Io
conhgure iI, |usI a IableI or smarIphone. The
CV-7438nDU can draw power lrom a spare
SB porI on your compuIer, Blu-ray player or
some oIher device, or you can connecI iI Io
Ihe mains via wiIh a supplied plug adapIor.
However, we lound IhaI Ihe FIherneI
connecIion Io our IesI lapIop kepI cuuing ouI
when Ihe CV-7438nDU was powered by SB,
buI noI when iI was plugged inIo Ihe mains.
Once swiIched on, you can connecI Io Ihe
Cv-7438nDU via Wi-Fi wiIh your IableI,
compuIer or smarIphone and selecI Ihe
neIwork Io which you wanI Io connecI via Ihe
device's web inIerlace. The CV-7438nDU
scans Ihe airwaves and lisIs all Ihe wireless
access poinIs iI has deIecIed and displays
Ihem in Iwo lisIs. one lor Ihose on Ihe 2.4CHz
band and one lor Ihose on Ihe SCHz band.
You'll have Io rebooI once Ihe Fdimax has
connecIed Io your rouIer. Aler IhaI, you can
connecI Io a compuIer, Blu-ray player or any
oIher device wiIh an FIherneI porI, so IhaI iI
can access your neIwork and Ihe inIerneI.
You won'I be able Io connecI Io Ihe
CV-7438nDU wirelessly again aler Ihe iniIial
VERDICT
Creat Wi-Fi performance, and it |ets you stream
music fromAirp|ay-compatib|e devices
seIup because iI'll only work as a wireless
bridge, conveying daIa Io and lrom Ihe device
Io which iI's physically connecIed wiIh an
FIherneI cable. lI is possible Io access Ihe
CV-7438nDU's web inIerlace again so IhaI
you can make iI connecI Io a diherenI rouIer
or access poinI. However, we lound we could
only access Ihe CV-7438nDU's web inIerlace
using Ihe compuIer Io which iI's auached,
unless we enIered Ihe CV-7438nDU's lP
address inIo a compuIer's web browser raIher
Ihan Ihe conhguraIion web address.
WiIh Ihe CV-7438nDU you can Iurn any
speaker wiIh an auxiliary inpuI inIo an
Airplay-compaIible device. ConnecI Ihe
Fdimax Io your speakers via iIs 3.Smm audio
ouIpuI and lrom Ihere you can selecI Ihe
CV-7438nDU in iOS as Ihe device Io which
music should be sIreamed. Your iOS device
needs Io be connecIed Io Ihe same rouIer as
Ihe CV-7438nDU, buI il IhaI's your home
rouIer, Ihen iI's highly likely IhaI iI will be. You
can also selecI Ihe CV-7438nDU wiIhin
iTunes and sIream music lrom your PC or
Uac. We lound IhaI Ihere were a lew audio
drop-ouIs when sIreaming Io Ihe Fdimax,
buI our lab is heavily congesIed on boIh
Wi-Fi bands, so iI should perlorm near
perlecIly in a Iypical home environmenI.
EDIMAX CV-438rDM NC00
Dual-Bard Vi-!i Bridge

50 inc VAT

From www.scan.co.uk
lI's worIh noIing IhaI Fdimax recommends
IhaI Android users use Ihe Twonky Beam app
Io sIream music Io Ihe CV-7438nDU.
NOT jUST A QUIRKY FACE
As Ihe CV-7438nDU is essenIially a wireless
adapIor, we connecIed iI Io our IesI lapIop
and conhgured iI Io communicaIe wiIh our
IesI PC via a Linksys FA-4S00 wireless rouIer
on Ihe SCHz band. This IesI seIup Iranslerred
daIa aI 119.8UbiI/s aI one meIre, 114.8UbiI/s
aI 10 meIres and 28.9UbiI/s aI 2S meIres.
When we used our IesI lapIop's builI-in
Wi-Fi adapIor Io perlorm Ihe same IesI, Ihe
seIup achieved Iransler speeds ol 76.3UbiI/s
aI one and 10 meIres, and 21.7UbiI/s aI 2S
meIres. This shows IhaI Ihe CV-7438nDU is
capable ol preuy good wireless perlormance.
The CV-7438nDU's looks odd, buI iI's a
brillianI means ol connecIing FIherneI-only
devices Io your neIwork, and Ihe lacI you can
sIream music Io a pair ol speakers lrom
Airplay-compaIible devices is a real bonus.
ll you've no inIeresI in audio sIreaming,
you should consider buying Ihe NeIgear
WNCF2001 (see Whot's New, Shcer 293).
However, Ihe WNCF2001 only works on Ihe
2.4CHz band. We like boIh devices, buI would
be happy Io pay more lor Ihe exIra versaIiliIy
and convenience provided by Ihe Fdimax.
Andrew Unsworth
8 The CV-7438nDN is easy to configure, and there are few settings to worry about
COMPONENTS REVIEVS
cc.cc.ol [ O8-- --- o2-2
8am-9pm Vkoays, 9am-6pm Saturoays, Cam-5pm Sunoays
AMD'S NEWKAVERI processors are
designed Io allow solware developers Io
make Ihe mosI ol Ihe processors' compuIing
power. NoI only do Ihese Kaveri processors
have lour processor cores, buI Ihey also use
Iheir graphics cores in an innovaIive way.
The processors' graphics cores and cenIral
processing uniI (CP) cores have equal
access Io sysIem memory and equal lexibiliIy
Io creaIe and execuIe work. This means
developers can poIenIially use all Ihe cores ol
a Kaveri processor Io make lull use ol Ihe
chip's processing power. The promise is lasIer
deskIop processing and beuer perlormance in
games, buI how much diherence Ihe
archiIecIure makes remains Io be seen.
The quad-core AUD A10-78S0K is Ihe Iop
model in AUD's Kaveri line-up. lI runs aI a
Iypical clock speed ol 3.7CHz buI can boosI Io
4CHz when IemperaIures allow. The A10-
78S0K requires an FU2+ moIherboard, which
means you can'I use an exisIing FU2 board
and swap ouI your Richland or TriniIy
processor lor a Kaveri chip. The good news is
IhaI you can use a TriniIy or Richland
processor in an FU2+ board, so il you can'I
ahord boIh a moIherboard and CP upgrade
now you can always upgrade your
moIherboard hrsI and your processor laIer.
POINT SCORING
The A10-78S0K scored 73 overall in our
mulIimedia benchmarks, so you'll have no
problems running all Ihe common deskIop
applicaIions, such as phoIo ediIors and word
processors, and even dabble in video ediIing.
However, Ihe A10-78S0K scored only Iwo
more poinIs Ihan Ihe A10-6800K (see
Peviews, Shcer 307), which isn'I a signihcanI
increase considering iIs higher price. The
sIrengIh ol Ihe A10-78S0K is iIs new
archiIecIure, buI our mulIimedia benchmarks
don'I make use ol iI. Hopelully developers will
geI behind Ihe new archiIecIure and produce
applicaIions IhaI make Ihe mosI ol iIs power.
One immediaIe benehI ol Ihe A10-78S0K
is greaI graphics processing Ihanks Io iIs
builI-in 720UHz, S12-shader-core graphics
AMD

135 inc VAT

From www.scan.co.uk
VERDICT
A good processor with great graphics performance,
but it's not signihcant|y faster than the A10-6800K
chip. The A10-78S0K produced an
average lrame raIe ol S0lps in DirI
Showdown aI a resoluIion ol
1,280x720 and graphics qualiIy seI
Io High. We conducIed Ihis IesI
wiIh our relerence RAU running aI
1,600UHz. When we used AUD's 2,133UHz
Camer Series memory, Ihe lrame raIe
increased Io an impressive S7.6lps wiIh a
minimum lrame raIe ol 4Slps. ll you wanI Io
use Ihe A10-78S0K's on-die graphics
processor lor playing 3D games iI's cerIainly
benehcial Io use a higher-speed memory kiI.
The A10-78S0K's perlormance in Ihe DirI
Showdown benchmarks is excellenI lor an
on-die graphics processor. However, iI isn'I a
big improvemenI on Ihe A10-6800K, which
produced a lrame raIe ol 49.9lps in Ihe same
IesI wiIh our relerence 1,600UHz memory.
Fven so, iI is possible Io en|oy a spoI ol
1080p gaming wiIh Ihe A10-78S0K. AI a
resoluIion ol 1,920x1,080 and wiIh graphics
qualiIy seI Io High, Ihe A10-78S0K produced
an average lrame raIe ol 34.3lps in our DirI
Showdown benchmark.
PredicIably, more graphically challenging
games will prove Ioo much lor Ihe A10-78S0K's
graphics processor. ln Crysis 3 aI a resoluIion
ol 1,280x720 wiIh graphics qualiIy seI Io Low
Ihe A10-78S0K produced an average lrame
raIe ol 24lps, wiIh a peak lrame raIe ol 31lps.
ThaI isn'I a smooIhly playable ideal lrame raIe
and qualiIy level, buI iI really isn'I bad lor a
processor's builI-in graphics chipseI.
DUAL IN THE CROWN
One exciIing graphics-relaIed leaIure ol Ihe
new Kaveri processors is Dual Craphics, which
leIs games use Ihe processor's graphics
processor and Ihe DDR3 version ol an AUD
Radeon R7 graphics card aI Ihe same Iime Io
improve gaming perlormance. Sadly Ihis
leaIure hadn'I been enabled so we were
unable Io IesI iI, buI iI sounds a cheap and
emcienI means ol squeezing every lasI drop
ol graphics perlormance ouI ol your seIup,
and could be ideal lor Ihose who wanI Io
creaIe a small lorm lacIor or budgeI gaming
PC. We look lorward Io IesIing iI.
AnoIher novel leaIure ol Ihe A10-78S0K is
AUD's TrueAudio Iechnology. This Iakes Ihe
lorm ol a programmable on-die digiIal signal
processor IhaI allows audio engineers Io
develop realisIic and mulIidirecIional sound
IhaI's processed in real Iime in Iandem wiIh
Ihe graphics and ouIpuI over HDUl. We have
yeI Io experience a game or program IhaI
makes use ol TrueAudio, so we're unable Io
commenI on iIs perlormance, sadly.
Solware developers have yeI Io harness
Ihe power ol Ihe new Kaveri processors, buI
Ihere's no doubI IhaI Ihe new archiIecIure is
exciIing and we hope iI geIs Ihe developer
supporI iI deserves. ln currenI applicaIions,
Ihe A10-78S0K perlormed similarly Io Ihe
A10-6800K, which means iI will handle any
deskIop applicaIion you care Io Ihrow aI iI.
Civen Ihe price ol Ihe A10-78S0K, iI's hard
Io recommend over Ihe A10-6800K, and even
Ihe 100 A10-6790K (see Peviews, Shcer
313) righI now. The new archiIecIure is a
compelling enough reason Io make Ihe FU2+
plaIlorm and Ihis processor Ihe core ol a new
build, buI aI Ihe momenI Ihe A10-78S0K
doesn'I make a good enough case Io upgrade
lrom an exisIing A10-based sysIem.
Andrew Unsworth
SPECIFICATIONS
COPE5 4
CLOCK 5PEED 3.7CHz
5OCKET FN2+
CACHE 4NB L2
TDP 95W
WAPPANTY One year RTB
PAPT CODE A10-7850K
DETAIL5 www.amd.com
Windows overa||
Nu|titasking
Dirt 3
|e|e|e.e -'1 -l11 '1 1
73
72
58.8fps
See page 76 lor perlormance deIails
TIe nev arcIitecture is excitin and ve Iope it
ets tIe deveIoper support it deserves
COMPONENTS REVIEVS
S
ISSUE 314 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ PRIL 2014
IF YOU WANT Io buy AUD's brand-new
A10-78S0K Kaveri processor (opposiIe)
you'll need a moIherboard Io go wiIh iI,
and Ihe CigabyIe F2A88XU-D3H, wiIh iIs
budgeI price, is a good opIion.
WHEN IT COMES Io componenIs, lew Ihings
are as exciIing as a high-end graphics card.
UosI will never be seen again once hued in
your PC, buI il you have a lancy case wiIh a
clear side panel, you'll wanI a graphics card
you can show oh.
The Sapphire Toxic R9 270X is one such
card, resplendenI as iI is in a black and orange
casing Ihrough which can be seen a Ihin,
meIal heaIsink. One glance aI iI and you
know iI's going Io perlorm well. nlorIunaIely,
you'll need a deep case in which Io insIall iI
because Ihe card is a huge 308mm long.
Once insIalled, you'll need Iwo spare 6-pin
PCl-F connecIors Io power iI.
The Toxic R9 270X is an overclocked
version ol Ihe AUD Radeon R9 270X.
Whereas Ihe relerence R9 270X runs aI a
maximum clock speed ol 1.0SCHz, Ihe Toxic
R9 270X runs aI 1.1CHz, and will happily boosI
up Io 1.1SCHz. AI 1.SCHz, Ihe Toxic R9 270X's
memory speed is also higher Ihan Ihe
relerence card's 1.4CHz. These higher
GIGABYTE !2A88XM-D3H

53 inc VAT

From www.ebuyer.com
SAPPHIRE Toxic R 20X

185 inc VAT

From www.ebuyer.com
VERDICT
A bargain FN2+ board, but it has fewU5B3
ports and expansion s|ots
VERDICT
A quick and good-|ooking card, but it'|| be too
|ong for many PC cases
As iI's an FU2+ board, iI's compaIible wiIh
older TriniIy and Richland FU2 processors as
well as newer Kaveri ones. This means you can
upgrade Io Ihe F2A88XU-D3H now il you
already have an FU2-compaIible processor
and Ihen upgrade Io a Kaveri chip laIer.
The F2A88XU-D3H may be a microATX
board, buI iI has all Ihe leaIures mosI users
need. There are lour memory sloIs Io Iake up
Io 64CB. There's also supporI lor memory
speeds up Io 2,400UHz, which is comlorIing
given Ihe beuer inIegraIed graphics
perlormance lasIer memory can bring.
The F2A88XU-D3H also has a whopping
eighI SATA3 porIs, which is more Ihan enough
lor even Ihe mosI dedicaIed disk hoarder, and
you can be sure all your drives will be working
aI Ihe highesI poIenIial. There's liule room lor
expansion, buI Ihe board does have Iwo PCl
Fxpress x16 sloIs IhaI supporI CrossFire.
There's also a single PCl Fxpress x1 sloI,
which is ideal lor adding Wi-Fi cards, lor
example, and a single legacy PCl sloI lor
numbers should mean
higher speeds. We haven'I IesIed
Ihe relerence R9 270X, buI we can
compare Ihe Toxic R9 270X Io Ihe relerence
Radeon R9 270 and see il iI's worIh Ihe exIra
20 or so.
The Toxic R9 270X produced an average
lrame raIe ol 61lps in our DirI Showdown
benchmark, compared Io Ihe R9 270's S2.6lps,
aI a resoluIion ol 2,S60x1,440 wiIh graphics
qualiIy seI Io lIra. ln our Crysis 3 benchmark,
Ihe Toxic R9 270X produced an average lrame
raIe ol 19.3lps aI a resoluIion ol 2,S60x1,440
wiIh graphics qualiIy seI Io Very High.
ThaI isn'I smooIh enough Io play Crysis 3
comlorIably, buI iI's worIh noIing IhaI Ihe
sIandard R9 270 lailed Ihe benchmark.
We only had Io reduce graphics qualiIy Io
High Io produce a lairly smooIh average
lrame raIe ol 29.3lps aI Ihe same resoluIion.
The Toxic R9 270X also proved iIsell
lairly capable ol mulIi-moniIor gaming in
FyehniIy mode, wiIh a smooIh 40.1lps
insIalling older expansion cards.
nlorIunaIely, you won'I be able Io access Ihe
x1 sloI il you use a dual-sloI graphics card.
You may wanI Io save an expansion sloI
lor a SB3 card. There are only Iwo SB3
porIs on Ihe backplaIe, along wiIh lour SB
porIs, a single PS/2 porI, Ihree 3.Smm
analogue porIs and opIical S/PDlF and CigabiI
FIherneI porIs. The F2A88XU-D3H also has
Ihree graphics ouIpuIs, one ol which is an
HDUl ouIpuI IhaI supporIs a massive
resoluIion ol 4,096x2,160.
When hued wiIh a A10-78S0K processor,
Ihe F2A88XU-D3H scored 70 in our
mulIimedia benchmarks, which is whaI we'd
expecI Io see lrom Ihis processor.
The CigabyIe F2A88XU-D3H isn'I perlecI,
wiIh lew SB3 porIs and expansion sloIs.
Fven so, il you wanI a cheap and compacI
base Io build a new Kaveri processor-based
PC, iI's a decenI buy.
Andrew Unsworth
SPECIFICATIONS
PPOCE55OP 5OCKET FN2+
CHIP5ET A88X/A88X
NENOPY 5LOT5 4x DDR3
EXPAN5ION 2x PC| Express x16 slots, 1x PC| Express x1 slot,
1x PC| slot, 8x SATA3 ports
WAPPANTY One year RTB
PAPT CODE CA-F2A88XN-D3H
DETAIL5 www.gigabyte.com
|e|e|e.e -'1 -l11 '1 1
70
68
59.1fps
51.4fps
See page 76 lor perlormance deIails
average lrame raIe in DirI Showdown
aI a resoluIion ol S,760x1,080.
lI cosIs slighIly more Ihan a Radeon R9
270, buI il you can hI Ihe Toxic R9 270X in
your case we Ihink you'll appreciaIe Ihe
benehI ol iIs speed and quieI lans.
Andrew Unsworth
5hopper
mu|titasking
5hopper overa||
Dirt 5howdown
Dirt 5howdown
integrated
SPECIFICATIONS
CHIP5ET AND Radeon R9 270X
COPE 5PEED 1.15CHz
PAN2CB CDDR5 (1.50CHz)
WAPPANTY One year RTB
PAPT CODE 11217-02
DETAIL5 www.sapphiretech.com
Crysis 3
Dirt 5howdown
3DNark
|e|e|e.e -'1 -l11 '1 1
82.9fps
40.6fps
3,947
See page 76 lor perlormance deIails
SOFTVRE REVIEVS
PRIL 2014 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 314
an iPad app IhaI
leIs you run naIive Windows and Uac OS X
programs on your iPad over Ihe inIerneI. The
programs are running on your PC or Uac, and
your iPad accesses Ihose compuIers so you
can use Windows and Uac OS X programs.
As Ihese programs aren'I designed Io be used
on a small Iouchscreen device such as Ihe
iPad, Access "applihes" Ihem, which means iI
converIs Ihem inIo someIhing similar Io an
app. Access also provides a special keyboard
wiIh Windows and Uac OS X keys, which
should make inIeracIing wiIh your Windows
and Uac OS X programs much easier and
more naIural Ihan Ihe delaulI iOS keyboard.
lnsIalling Access on an iPad is simple, and
insIalling Ihe required AgenI uIiliIy on your
compuIer is equally sIraighIlorward. However,
Ihe Windows version ol AgenI is sIill in beIa.
Access AgenI musI be lel running in Ihe
background on your compuIer so Ihe Access
iPad app can connecI Io iI.
AI launch, Access shows all your compuIers
IhaI are running and have Ihe AgenI clienI
insIalled. Simply Iap a compuIer Io esIablish a
connecIion. No rouIer conhguraIion is required.
However, connecIions can'I be made wiIhouI
inIerneI access aI boIh ends, Parallels Access
won'I work over a local neIwork alone.
FsIablishing a connecIion Io a Uac also
has a lew disagreeable implicaIions. lnsIead
ol showing Ihe Uac deskIop aI iIs original
resoluIion, Access resizes Ihe deskIop Io
1,024x768 Io make iI more manageable on a
smaller screen, and Io make Ihe mosI ol Ihe
bandwidIh available. This resizes all open
Windows and reposiIions all DeskIop icons,
buI Ihese aren'I resIored when Ihe remoIe
session ends. This is a lailing ol OS X raIher
Ihan Access, buI iI's a good idea Io insIall
suiIable OS X uIiliIies Io compensaIe, such as
DeskIop lcon Uanager (hu.//tinyur|.ccm/
chtc|9g) and SIay (hu.//tinyur|.ccm/
PARALLELS

35 inc VAT

From www.parallels.com
VERDICT
Access has promise, and the App |auncher is
a nice touch, but it's too expensive
37y474w). DeskIop apps look luzzy on iPads
wiIh ReIina displays due Io Ihe low 1,024x768
resoluIion aI which Ihey're displayed, Ioo.
The Access App Launcher mimics Ihe OS X
Launchpad, buI sIarIs wiIh icons lor Ihe mosI
commonly used apps raIher Ihan everyIhing
in Ihe Uac's ApplicaIions lolder. SIill, oIher
applicaIions can be added, and Ihere's a search
Iool lor hnding anyIhing else. When you launch
an applicaIion, iI's opened as a maximised
window and Ihe menu bar is sIill visible. We'd
preler iI Io open our applicaIions in Ihe lull-screen
mode IhaI's been a leaIure ol OS X since 2010.
TOUCHING TIMES
Access has a varieIy ol mulIi-Iouch gesIures
Io compensaIe lor Ihe lack ol a mouse or
Iouchpad. However, you can use a virIual
mouse il you preler. Tapping Ihe screen wiIh
one hnger Iriggers a lel mouse buuon click,
Iwo hngers Iriggers Ihe righI buuon, and Ihe
lamiliar iOS Iap-and-hold Iechnique displays
an onscreen magniher so you can selecI IexI.
The same gesIure can be used Io selecI smaller
elemenIs, such as buuons Io close windows.
Access's onscreen keyboard is uselul il you
need Io use buuons such as Ihe Windows
key, which isn'I available on Ihe delaulI
iOS keyboard. TexI can also be copied
and pasIed beIween clienI and hosI, buI
Ihere's no builI-in means ol Iranslerring hles
beIween devices.
Annoyingly, Ihe currenI version ol Access
doesn'I leI you swiIch beIween running apps
in OS X Uavericks. The Iask-swiIch buuon on
Access's loaIing Ioolbar worked normally in
older versions ol OS X buI had no ehecI in
Uavericks. This is a known issue, and Parallels
says iI'll be hxed in Ihe nexI updaIe.
AlIhough Ihe Windows version ol Access
is in beIa, we were able Io access a Windows
7 lapIop successlully. However, our Windows
applicaIions did hang occasionally and Ihe
virIual mouse didn'I always work as iI should.
Access replaces an earlier Parallels app
called Uobile, which IreaIed any Parallels
DeskIop virIual machine as a remoIe compuIer.
Access lacks Ihis leaIure, so accessing virIual
machines isn'I so simple. One opIion is Io
launch Parallels DeskIop on Ihe Uac remoIely,
lollowed by Ihe appropriaIe virIual machine,
Ihe oIher is Io use Parallel's DeskIop opIion Io
add virIual Windows applicaIions Io Ihe OS X
Taskbar, Ihen Io Ihe Access Launch Pad.
Access is a slick app, buI iI doesn'I presenI
deskIop apps well enough on Ihe iPad's
screen, and does liule Io overcome Ihe
limiIaIions ol using Ihem on a small screen.
We also Ihink iI's expensive. You're charged
per year, and you musI buy a subscripIion lor
each compuIer Io which you connecI. This
makes Access poor value when compared
wiIh a lree app such as LogUeln lor iOS.
ju|ion Prokozo
5Y5TENPEUIPENENT5 Apple iPad 2 or later with iOS 6,
PC with Windows 7 or later, Nac OS X or later
DETAIL5 www.parallels.com
SPECIFICATIONS
8 Parallels Access presents programs running on a remote machine as a neat grid of icons
8 Forget Photoshop Touch, Access lets you access
the desktop version on your iPad
8 Access's onscreen keyboard conveniently
provides Windows- and Nac OS X-specihc keys
SOFTVRE REVIEVS
Cl
ISSUE 314 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ PRIL 2014
CUBASE IS OUR lavouriIe music-producIion
applicaIion as iI has a level ol sophisIicaIion
and auenIion Io deIail IhaI never dips below
excellenI. OIher packages provide more
experimenIal ediIing Iools or even beuer
collecIions ol virIual insIrumenIs, buI Cubase
is never lar behind Ihe leaders. Ueanwhile,
Cubase comes Iop lor everyday ediIing Iasks
and iIs handling ol mix auIomaIion.
We also appreciaIe SIeinberg's habiI ol
releasing 'doI hve' updaIes. You can upgrade
Io version 7.S ol Cubase ArIisI lrom version
7.0 lor |usI 41. Cubase ArIisI 7.S is Ihe
mid-price ediIion, lalling beIween Cubase 7.S,
which is SIeinberg's lagship applicaIion, and
Ihe enIry-level Cubase FlemenIs, which
remains aI version 7. Cubase ArIisI 7 was a
well-rounded producI, buI one noIable
weakness was Ihe qualiIy ol iIs RoomWorks
SF reverb ehecI, Ihe classier Reverence reverb
ehecI was available only in Cubase 7.
This has now been resolved wiIh Ihe arrival
ol a new ehecI called RevelaIion. While
Reverence is based on acousIic responses
IhaI are capIured in real spaces, RevelaIion
creaIes reverb lrom complex arrays ol echoes.
RevelaIion Iakes a more IradiIional approach
IhaI became popular in Ihe 1990s, buI iI
demonsIraIes IhaI Ihere's room lor boIh
Iypes ol ehecI in a recording engineer's
Ioolbox. Reverence Iends Io sound more
realisIic, whereas RevelaIion is more akin Io
cushioning sounds in a luhy blankeI ol
reverb. WhaI RevelaIion lacks in auIhenIiciIy
iI makes up lor in charisma. We'd like Io see
boIh in ArIisI, buI RevelaIion is cerIainly a
huge improvemenI over RoomWorks SF.
Also new is UagneIo ll, which is similar
Io Ihe exisIing Tape SaIuraIion ehecI buI
achieves new levels ol rehnemenI. This is
largely due Io UagneIo ll's abiliIy Io hlIer low
and high lrequencies lrom Ihe disIorIed
STEINBERG
Cubase Aris .S

244 inc VAT

From www.absolutemusic.co.uk
elemenI ol Ihe sound, mainIaining a punchy
bouom end and crisp high-lrequency deIail
while adding warmIh Io mid-range lrequencies.
UagneIo ll appears as a normal plug-in and
is also available in Ihe Channel SIrip IhaI's
inIegraIed inIo each mixer channel, which
encourages exIensive use IhroughouI a mix.
MASH APPEAL
LoopUash FX is more niche, delivering a range
ol piIch-bend and looping ehecIs IhaI resemble
D| scraIches. The emphasis is on immediacy
and live perlormance, wiIh Ihe abiliIy Io
Irigger each ehecI using a UlDl keyboard.
The new insIrumenI plug-ins are |usI as
impressive. Croove AgenI SF 4 is a drum
sampler IhaI's in a diherenI league Io Ihe
Croove AgenI SF1 module iI replaces. Fach
sample can be led Ihrough a sophisIicaIed
synIhesis engine IhaI includes 24 hlIer Iypes
and curved envelopes lor volume, piIch and
hlIer. Samples can be alIernaIed and piIch-
shiled, according Io UlDl noIe velociIy or
randomly, Io creaIe variaIion. The sampler can
also slice a sampled loop inIo individual drum
hiIs, allowing radical ediIing ol Ihe Ione and
rhyIhm ol samples.
HALion Sonic SF is Cubase's updaIed
sample-playback insIrumenI lor piIched
sounds. There are new preseIs lor you Io use,
many ol which draw on a new synIhesis
engine called Trip. As Trip doesn'I use
samples, we wonder why SIeinberg has
incorporaIed Trip inIo HALion Sonic SF.
Surely iI'd be beuer Io make Trip a sIandalone
insIrumenI? Trip specialises in complex
arpeggiaIed ripples, and cerIainly has enough
lair and sophisIicaIion Io sIand on iIs own.
This updaIe is rounded ouI wiIh a
collecIion ol worklow improvemenIs. A new
VisibiliIy Iab leIs Iracks on Ihe Arrange
window be hidden lrom view, individually, by
Irack Iype or by more complex criIeria such as
Tracks wiIh daIa beIween Ihe locaIors. lI's
even possible Io creaIe macros Io hide or
show Iracks wiIh a specihc word in Ihe IiIle.
VERSION TERRITORY
TrackVersions accommodaIes alIernaIive
versions ol a perlormance wiIhouI needing Io
duplicaIe mixer channels. Lanes provided a
similar leaIure, buI while Lanes is perlecI lor
capIuring mulIiple Iakes, TrackVersions works
beuer lor Irying ouI diherenI musical ideas.
Only one version is shown aI a Iime, and
versions across mulIiple Iracks can be
synchronised and swiIched IogeIher.
lnsIrumenI Tracks now supporIs mulIiple
UlDl inpuIs and audio ouIpuIs, someIhing
previously reserved lor Ihe more cumbersome
VST insIrumenIs panel. This panel has had a
redesign, Ioo, and shows all virIual insIrumenIs
used IhroughouI Ihe pro|ecI, including
shorIcuI conIrols Io access Iheir seuings.
Cubase ArIisI 7.S is Ihe mosI appropriaIe
version lor mosI users. However, we wish
ArIisI 7.S had Ihe VariAudio leaIure seen in
Ihe lagship Cubase producI, which correcIs
vocal piIch. Fven so, Cubase ArIisI 7.S is a
capable recording applicaIion aI a greaI price.

5Y5TENPEUIPENENT5 Windows 7/8 or Nac OS X
10.8/10.9, dual-core processor, 2CB RAN, 8CB disk space,
USB port for dongle
DETAIL5 www.steinberg.net
SPECIFICATIONS
8 Revelation marks a considerable upgrade to
Cubase Artist's reverb quality
8 LoopNash FX adds D|-style scratches and loops
to audio
VERDICT
Practica| workowimprovements and superb
newp|ug-ins keep Cubase Artist on top
8 The new Nagneto || plug-in adds some analogue warmth to digital mixes
GMES REVIEVS
C2 PRIL 2014 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 314
DAN KAPLAN HAS a problem. His new book
is going nowhere, he's driling aparI lrom his
wile Linda and his son Tommy is lalling behind
aI school. ln an auempI Io Iry and geI his
lamily back on Irack, he's renIed a haunIed
summer house in Ihe middle ol nowhere.
This would be a horror game in anoIher
developer's hands, buI lorIunaIely lor Dan,
Ihe residenI polIergeisI in KenI Hudson's
ahecIing sIudy ol lraughI lamily lile is a
lriendly specIre wiIh a knack lor making hard
decisions. By reading Iheir IhoughIs and
sneaking peeks aI Iheir memories and |ournal
enIries, you'll discover whaI each characIer
ORTHOGONAL GAMES
Tle Novelis

12 inc VAT

From store.steampowered.com
REVOLUTION SOFTWARE
Broler Svord S. Tle Serer's Curse

15 inc VAT

From www.gog.com
VERDICT
The stea|th mechanics fee| superhcia| at times, but this moving
exp|oration of fami|y |ife is decision-based gaming at its best
VERDICT
A sound p|ot, exce||ent voice acting and great dia|ogue a|| he|p
make this mystery one of our favourite recent adventure games
really wanIs during Iheir sIay and decide
wheIher Io make Ihose desires a realiIy.
lI all sounds simple enough, buI Ihere's
rarely an easy answer, as you can only saIisly
one characIer per chapIer. Someone's always
going Io be upseI, deIerioraIing Iheir
relaIionship wiIh Dan even lurIher, buI il you
hnd ouI whaI Ihey wanI, Ihere's a chance Io
aI leasI compromise wiIh Ihe remaining
characIers on Iheir desired ouIcome. lI's
lrequenIly hearI-breaking, buI hnding IhaI
delicaIe, IenIaIive balance makes lor an
enIrancing and engaging game.
The NovelisI isn'I alraid Io deal you a
rouen hand ol choices, eiIher. As lamily lile
deIerioraIes, Ihe Ione ol Ihe Kaplan's leuers
and diary enIries Iake a Iurn lor Ihe worse
and Ihe house begins Io shrink inIo iIsell, as
doors IhaI were once lriendly gaIeways
inIo lamily lile suddenly only open when
someone relucIanIly leaves Ihe room.
ConcenIraIing Ioo much on one characIer
aI Ihe expense ol oIhers can also yield some
Iruly unexpecIed insighIs inIo Iheir respecIive
personaliIies, which we won'I spoil here.
Sadly, Ihe sIealIh mechanics, where you
musI avoid being spoued by Ihe lamily or risk
lailing Ihe chapIer, are Ioo simplisIic. Rigid
movemenI pauerns make iI Ioo easy Io
ambush each characIer and you'll soon
memorise which rooms and lighIs are Ihe besI
combos lor disIracIing and possessing Ihem.
SIill, The NovelisI's ahecIing and
consIanIly adapIing sIory more Ihan makes
up lor any monoIony. lI's a much quieIer
ahair Ihan oIher narraIive-based games, buI
Ihere's sIill a real Iension when you seI looI in
Ihe Kaplan realm, and iI only increases wiIh
every decision you make.
WiIh so much replay value, The NovelisI is
a musI buy lor lans ol narraIive-based games.
Kothorine Byrne
SPECIFICATIONS
5Y5TENPEUIPENENT5 Windows XP SP2, 1.8CHz
processor, 2CB RAN, 256NB video card,
800NB storage
PPODUCT CODE The Novelist
DETAIL5 www.steampowered.com
SPECIFICATIONS
5Y5TENPEUIPENENT5 Windows XP/Vista/7/8, 1.6CHz
processor, 1CB RAN, 3CB disk space
DETAIL5 www.revolution.co.uk
THE FIFTH BROKEN Sword advenIure, like iIs
prequels, involves murder, occulI conspiracies
and plenIy ol poinI-and-click puzzles.
The series' reIurning proIagonisIs, French
invesIigaIive |ournalisI Nico Collard and
American-lawyer-Iurned-insurance-assessor
Ceorge SIobbarI run inIo each oIher aI a
French arI gallery. They've barely had a minuIe
Io Ialk when a man in a moIorcycle helmeI
bursIs inIo Ihe gallery, sIeals a painIing and
murders Ihe gallery owner.
Nico and Ceorge soon hnd Ihemselves
running up againsI arI lorgers, a Russian
oligarch, Ihe hnesI minds ol Ihe French
gendarmerie and a member ol an ancienI
CnosIic IradiIion who claims Io be Ihe
painIing's real owner. The IwisIs and
revelaIions can aI Iimes be predicIable, buI
Ihe song is IighIly ploued, consisIenIly
engaging and has believable dialogue wiIh
Iop-noIch voice-acIing Io maIch. You'll spend
mosI ol your Iime conIrolling Ceorge, buI
you'll periodically swiIch Io Nico as she makes
criIical discoveries in Ihe invesIigaIion.
The game's 2D environmenIs are a welcome
reIurn Io Ihe sIyle ol Ihe hrsI Iwo Broken
Sword games lollowing Ihe 3D graphics ol Ihe
second and Ihird enIries in Ihe series. The
backgrounds are beauIilul, wiIh boundless
deIail in ouIdoor scenes in parIicular.
The pace is measured and puzzles are
logical, calling lor more engagemenI Ihan Ihe
use-everyIhing-on-everyIhing-unIil-iI-works
approach lound in lesser advenIure games.
They aren'I parIicularly hard, Ihough. We
never had Io resorI Io Ihe builI-in hinI sysIem,
buI a lew puzzles will briely ouIwiI even Ihe
mosI experienced advenIurers.
SIill, Ihere are momenIs when Ihe game's
Iension doesn'I maIch iIs pace. You mighI be
Iold Io move quickly belore someone
re-enIers a room, buI Ihe game |usI waiIs lor
you Io solve Ihe puzzle in your own Iime.
This is Ihe hrsI ol a Iwo-parI sIory, which
remains compelling lor iIs seven-hour play
Iime. A liule more Iension would have been
welcome in places as would more dimculI
puzzles, buI Ihe ploI sIrengIh, dialogue and
voice acIing carry Ihe game all Ihe way Io a
BesI Buy award.
Only Ihe hrsI parI ol Ihe game is currenIly
available, on Windows, Uac, Linux and PS
ViIa wiIh Android and iOS versions Io lollow,
buI Ihe second parI will be disIribuIed lree Io
owners when iI launches laIer Ihis year. lI's a
musI-have lor advenIure game lans.
Kot Orphonides
There are plenty of
visual throwbacks
to the series' origins
The Kaplans might seem fairly happy, but you'll have to wait
until their backs are turned to hnd out their true feelings
GMES REVIEVS
C3
ISSUE 314 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ PRIL 2014
SPECIFICATIONS
5Y5TENPEUIPENENT5 2.4CHz dual-core processor or
higher, 2CB RAN, Nvidia CeForce CTS 450/AND Radeon
6750 or better, 5CB hard disk space
PPODUCT CODE 235460
DETAIL5 www.konami.|p/mgr
WE'RE BI6 FANS ol UeIal Cear Solid, Ihe
lranchise besI known lor iIs Iense sIealIh
gameplay, elaboraIe ploIlines and gruh-voiced
proIagonisI Solid Snake. UeIal Cear Rising
has none ol Ihese Ihings, iI's a violenI
hack-and-slash brawler unlike anyIhing else in
Ihe series so lar. lI's also Ihe hrsI UeIal Cear
game Io arrive on PC since 2003, so console-
less lans have some serious caIching up Io do.
Picking up lour years aler Ihe evenIs ol
Ihe PS3-only UeIal Cear Solid 4, Rising puIs
players in conIrol ol Raiden raIher Ihan Snake
as he auempIs Io sIop a privaIe miliIary
corporaIion (PUC) lrom sIarIing a miliIary
coup. RaIher Ihan Iry Io sneak pasI enemies
like his menIor, however, Raiden Iakes an
acIion-hrsI approach using his cyborg
enhancemenIs and a razor-sharp kaIana.
SLO-MO SWORDPLAY
WiIh series creaIor Hideo Ko|ima oIherwise
occupied on Ihe upcoming UeIal Cear Solid
S, developmenI duIies lor Rising lell Io
Bayoneua creaIor PlaIinum games. There's a
clear link beIween Ihe Iwo IiIles, wiIh plenIy
ol slow-moIion swordplay, gloriously violenI
combos and unlinchingly bruIal cuI-scenes.
Bodies geI cleaved in Iwo, limbs are senI
skywards and heads geI decapiIaIed all wiIhin
Ihe hrsI hve minuIes, and even Ihough your
enemies are all cyborgs raIher Ihan humans,
iI doesn'I deIracI lrom Ihe non-sIop violence.
especially once you sIarI Io use Ihe game's
lree-cuI mechanic.
KONAMI
Meal Gear Risirg.
Revergearce

20 inc VAT

From store.steampowered.com
VERDICT
One of the best hack-and-s|ash braw|ers
for years, Pevengeance oozes sty|e
Raiden's kaIana is leIhal aI Ihe besI ol
Iimes, buI can also be used Io chop almosI
any in-game ob|ecI Io pieces - cars, Irees and
people included. You conIrol Ihe angle ol each
cuI, leuing you sIraIegically auack weak
poinIs in enemy armour, Iopple supporI
columns Io collapse walls or ceilings on Io
your opponenIs or slice Ihrough ob|ecIs Io
remove enemy cover.
The signaIure ZandaIsu auack Iakes Ihis a
sIep lurIher. AcIivaIing iI briely slows down
Iime, giving you abouI a second Io line up a
cuI over a highlighIed poinI on weakened
cyborg enemies. CeI iI righI and you'll cuI
Ihem in Iwo, revealing Iheir inIernal power
core. Press Ihe onscreen command prompI in
Iime and you'll grab iI, rehlling your power
levels and leuing you use ZandaIsu insIanIly
on Ihe nexI seI ol enemies. lI requires quick
relexes, as misIiming a cuI can Ihrow you
oh-balance, buI becomes immensely
saIislying once you hiI a rhyIhm and sIarI
slicing Ihrough waves ol enemies aI a Iime.
You'll also need Io learn auack combos
and masIer Ihe parry mechanic Io avoid
Iaking damage. This is a parIicularly Iricky as
you have Io press Iowards your auacker in
order Io successlully delend, buI only a
perlecIly Iimed delence creaIes a window Io
counIer-auack. When mulIiple enemies gang
up on you iI can be parIicularly Iough Io see
where Ihe nexI wave is coming lrom.
lI wouldn'I be a UeIal Cear game wiIhouI
a lew sIealIh secIions, buI Ihese are lew and
lar beIween. You can use Ihe signaIure
cardboard box Io sneak up on some enemies
and score an insIanI kill, buI geI spoued and
every enemy in Ihe area will be alerIed.
BOSS RUSH MODE
To make up lor Ihe one year delay in |umping
lrom console Io PC, Revengeance includes
exIra DLC conIenI and a new Boss Rush
mode, which should only be auempIed once
you've hnished Ihe game Io avoid spoiling
some lanIasIic hghIs. AnIi-aliasing and
anisoIropic hlIering provide a visual boosI,
making an already preuy game look simply
gorgeous when in lull swing aI 60lps.
ParIicle ehecIs hll Ihe screen any Iime
your sword geIs unsheaIhed and ob|ecIs now
spliI inIo many more individual slices Ihan on
console. lI would have been nice Io be able Io
boosI Ihe resoluIion lurIher Ihan Full HD, buI
Ihe game is locked Io a maximum ol 1080p.
The only downside Io playing on a PC is
Ihe conIrol scheme. Revengeance isn'I
impossible Io compleIe wiIh a keyboard and
mouse, buI iI's very Iough indeed. We lared
much beuer using an Xbox 360 conIroller, buI
bear in mind IhaI some Ihird-parIy conIrollers
aren'I recognised by Ihe game wiIhouI using
addiIional solware like X360ce.
UeIal Cear lans wiIh PCs have had a
waiI lor Revengeance, buI iI's been worIh iI
as Ihe game is challenging, looks ace and is
hugely enIerIaining. Fven il you aren'I lamiliar
wiIh Ihe series, iI's worIh picking up
Revengeance purely on Ihe basis ol iIs
acIion-packed gameplay.

Zandatsu takes quick reexes,
but gives you the edge when
overwhelmed by enemies
The locations are varied and
gorgeous, especially in motion
BUSINESS REVIEVS
C4 PRIL 2014 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 314
WITH ITS ROUNDED corners and aluminium
chassis, Ihe HP FliIebook 840 C1 is one ol Ihe
mosI auracIive business lapIops we've ever
reviewed. AI 21mm Ihick and wiIh a 1.6kg
weighI, iI is boIh lighI and easy Io carry.
The FliIebook 840 C1 is abouI more Ihan
looks, Ihough. HP has sub|ecIed iIs FliIebook
range Io rigorous durabiliIy IesIs, including
drop IesIs lrom a heighI ol 60cm and IesIs
lor spill resisIance. The FliIebook 840 C1 has
Windows 7 Pro preinsIalled, buI iI also comes
wiIh a Windows 8 Pro licence, so you can use
IhaI OS insIead, should you preler.
PORT AUTHORITY
As Ihe FliIebook 840 C1 is Ihe mid-range
model in Ihe FliIebook range, iI has lour
SB3 porIs insIead ol Ihe hve SB3 porIs ol
Ihe larger 1Sin 8S0 FliIebook. Fven so, lour
SB3 porIs should be more Ihan enough lor
mosI users. The lapIop also has VCA and
DisplayPorI video ouIpuIs, which are ideal lor
connecIing Ihe lapIop Io pro|ecIors and
exIernal moniIors. However, we Ihink a HDUl
ouIpuI would've granIed wider compaIibiliIy
wiIh digiIal displays Ihan Ihe sIill-obscure
DisplayPorI connecIion. OIher connecIion
porIs include an SD card reader, a CigabiI
FIherneI porI, a SmarICard sloI and a
combined headphone and mic |ack, which
gives you plenIy ol opIions lor connecIing
exIernal devices and removable sIorage.
The FliIebook also has a docking connecIor
and a porI lor connecIing a second bauery,
buI you will need Io buy Ihe dock and
exIra bauery separaIely.
This lapIop is a |oy Io use lor everyday
Iasks, as iIs comlorIable and springy backliI
keyboard gives loIs ol IacIile leedback. The
FliIebook 840 C1 also has a IouchsIick, and
HP Lliebool 840 Gl

1,159 inc VAT

From www.debenhamsplus.com
VERDICT
It's not cheap, but it is powerfu|, with an
exce||ent disp|ay and banery |ife
you geI a choice ol Ihree
IouchsIick Iypes Io use. Be aware,
Ihough, IhaI iI can be liled clean oh Ihe
keyboard wiIh a rough brush ol a hnger, so
you'll need Io Iake care when using iI.
ConsequenIly, we much prelerred using
Ihe Iouchpad Io navigaIe Ihe deskIop. The
Iouchpad has separaIe buuons, which are
greaI lor clicking and dragging hles inIo place.
The buuons are lar more responsive Ihan Ihe
inIegraIed buuons in all-in-one Iouchpads.
HP has used Ihe laIesI componenIs lor Ihe
FliIebook 840 C1's underlying hardware. Our
review sample had a dual-core 2.1CHz lnIel
Core i7-4600 processor and 8CB ol memory
insIalled. This processor can Turbo BoosI Io
3.3CHz lor exIra perlormance, and iI helped
Ihe FliIebook score S3 in our mulIimedia
benchmarks. This is one ol Ihe besI scores
we've seen lrom a dual-core Core i7 processor,
and puIs Ihe FliIebook 840 C1 on par wiIh Ihe
Dell XPS 13 and Asus Zenbook Prime Touch
X31A. This lapIop cerIainly has Ihe speed and
power Io cope wiIh demanding omce Iasks.
The FliIebook 840 C1 even has a dedicaIed
graphics processor, Ihe 1CB AUD Radeon HD
87S0U. This is unusual lor a business lapIop
as many corporaIe prolessionals won'I require
Ihe exIra power ol a dedicaIed graphics
processor, buI we were pleased Io see iI.
We were pleased wiIh Ihe FliIebook 840
C1's screen, Ioo. The FliIebook 840 C1's
1,920x1,080 resoluIion looked
razor-sharp on iIs 14in
display and iIs mau hnish
dihused relecIions very
well. The screen's image qualiIy
was also excellenI. Our colour
calibraIor showed iI was displaying
89.4 per cenI ol Ihe sRCB colour
gamuI, which is high, and reds,
greens and blues all looked brighI
and crisp. Our black level reading ol
0.2Scd/m
2
was equally excellenI.
Solid blacks appeared deep and
inky onscreen, wiIh no signs ol
backlighI bleeding whaIsoever.
ConIrasI levels were superb. We
recorded a conIrasI raIio ol 1,2S3.1
and saw a very high level ol deIail in
our high-conIrasI IesI phoIos.
Areas ol dark shadow deIail were impressive
and Ihe surrounding colours rich and vibranI.
Thanks Io a long-lasIing bauery, Ihe
FliIebook 840 C1 will also geI you Ihrough Ihe
working day on a single charge. lI lasIed nine
hours and 21 minuIes in our lighI-usage IesI
wiIh Ihe screen seI Io hall brighIness. This is
good lor a business ulIraporIable, and Ihere's
poIenIial Io lengIhen your Iime away lrom
Ihe mains il you insIall a second bauery (HP
ST09, 127 including VAT lrom ).
You don'I need Io worry abouI securiIy,
eiIher, as Ihe lapIop comes wiIh a hngerprinI
reader, TPU and HP's securiIy managemenI
leaIures. The FliIebook 840 C1 even has a
Ihree-year warranIy lor exIra peace ol mind.
The FliIebook 840 C1 is expensive
compared wiIh consumer lapIops, buI Ihe
FliIebook's Ioughness, excellenI screen,
Iouchpad, securiIy leaIures and warranIy are
worIh paying lor il your business depends on
your access Io a lapIop. NoI only does Ihis
lapIop have powerlul hardware and loIs ol
porIs, iI also has greaI bauery lile and a
choice ol operaIing sysIems.
Kothorine Byrne
SPECIFICATIONS
CPU 2.1CHz |ntel Core i7-4600U
PAN8CB
5TOPACE 500CB hard disk
CPAPHIC5 AND Radeon HD 8750N
OPTICAL DPIVE None
DI5PLAY 14in widescreen LCD (1,920x1,080)
OPEPATINC 5Y5TENWINDOW5 7 Professional 64-bit
DINEN5ION5 21x339x237mm, 1.6kg
POWEP CON5UNPTION 0W standby, 11W idle, 35W active
WAPPANTY Three-year limited
PAPT CODE H5C26ET
DETAIL5 www.hp.co.uk
Windows overa||
Nu|titasking
Dirt 5howdown
Banery |ife
|e|e|e.e -'1 -l11 '1 1
53
47
9h 21m
N/A
See page 76 lor perlormance deIails
BUSINESS REVIEVS
CS
ISSUE 314 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ PRIL 2014
TEAMVIEWER 9 provides a varieIy ol Iools
lor conIrolling PCs remoIely and conducIing
virIual meeIings, boIh ol which are viIal il
your business and clienIs are spread across
mulIiple locaIions. You can even conIrol
compuIers remoIely wiIh an Android, iOS or
Windows Phone 8 device. TeamViewer 9 is
lree lor personal users, buI business users are
obliged Io pay lor Ihe service.
You musI insIall Ihe TeamViewer clienI on
every sysIem you wanI Io conIrol and Ihose
compuIers IhaI people will use lor online
meeIings. During insIallaIion, you're given Ihe
opIion ol enabling TeamViewer's VPN and
remoIe prinIing leaIures. The VPN is uselul
il you need access Io Ihe remoIe sysIem's
neIwork as well as Ihe PC iIsell.
The main inIerlace is a no-lrills ahair. The
CompuIers & ConIacIs window lisIs Ihe
compuIers associaIed wiIh your accounI. You
can also see Ihe conIacI inlormaIion ol oIher
TeamViewer users, alIhough you'll have Io
add Ihese conIacIs manually hrsI. ln boIh
cases, Ihis makes iI easy Io inviIe people Io
meeIings or requesI access Io Iheir PCs. ll
a compuIer has a permanenI password
conhgured, you'll be able Io access iI remoIely
aI any Iime, wheIher Ihe user is using Ihe PC
or noI. OIherwise, a shorIcuI opIion leIs you
requesI IhaI Ihe sysIem's user granIs you
access. You can also inviIe any sysIem on
your lisI Io auend a meeIing.
REMOTE LEARNING
TeamViewer's remoIe access inIerlace is
excellenI. Whereas web-based rivals such as
LogUeln display remoIe deskIop sessions
in a web browser, TeamViewer uses iIs own
deskIop applicaIion. You can change Ihe
resoluIion ol Ihe remoIe sysIem and ad|usI
how Ihe remoIe sysIem's deskIop is displayed
locally. You can show Ihe deskIop aI iIs
TEAMVIEWERTeamViever

439 ex VAT

From www.teamviewer.com
VERDICT
Expensive, but this is a neat and e|egant too| for
on|ine meetings and remote access to PCs
original resoluIion,
scale iI Io hI your
own, or expand iI
Io lull screen.
The TeamViewer
command bar,
which appears aI
Ihe Iop ol Ihe
remoIe deskIop window, is very well designed,
wiIh clearly labelled buuons IhaI provide
access Io commands and seuings relaIing Io
your remoIe session and Ihe compuIer you're
accessing. You can conhgure TeamViewer Io
accepI keyboard shorIcuIs as Ihough you
were siuing aI Ihe remoIe PC, open separaIe
windows lor each display ol a mulIi-moniIor
seIup, Iransler hles lrom your PC Io Ihe
remoIe sysIem and sIarI chaI or voice
sessions wiIh a user aI Ihe oIher end. lI's by
lar Ihe mosI eleganI remoIe deskIop inIerlace
we've used, and iIs supporI lor mulIiple
displays is parIicularly welcome.
A sIand-ouI leaIure is Ihe ease wiIh which
you can communicaIe wiIh Ihe user on Ihe
oIher end ol Ihe link. WheIher working
collaboraIively or guiding a colleague Ihrough
a Iechnical issue, Ihere are dehniIe
advanIages Io being able Io sIarI a VolP
session Io discuss whaI needs Io be done. Ol
course, Ihere's always Ihe opIion ol disabling
inpuI Io Ihe remoIe sysIem il Ihe person on
Ihe oIher end can'I keep Iheir hands oh Ihe
mouse while you're Irying Io hx Iheir problem.
CONFERENCE CALL
TeamViewer's builI-in communicaIion
leaIures also make iI an excellenI remoIe
conlerencing Iool. When you inviIe
parIicipanIs Io your presenIaIion, your acIive
screen will appear on Iheir display. They'll be
able Io see and hear whaIever conIenI you're
displaying, wheIher iI's a new applicaIion or a
PowerPoinI presenIaIion. You
can seI up a conlerence call
using TeamViewer's builI-in
VolP capabiliIies or a 7p per
minuIe dial-in number. OIher
handy leaIures include a
whiIeboard Iool IhaI leIs Ihe
presenIer Iemporarily draw
and highlighI ob|ecIs on Ihe
shared screen, a basic IexI
chaI box, a hle-sharing box Io
disIribuIe maIerials and Ihe
Uy Video Iool, which leIs you
display Ihe video leed lrom a
connecIed SB camera. You
can also record your session
lor luIure relerence. lI's a
shame oIher parIicipanIs can'I use Ihe
whiIeboard Iools, Ioo.
Uany web conlerencing and remoIe
deskIop providers sell monIhly subscripIions
lor each clienI PC, buI you pay only once lor
TeamViewer 9, wiIh Ihe number ol clienI
sysIems you can connecI Io deIermined by
which ol Ihree ediIions you buy. AlIhough a
new version ol TeamViewer is released every
year, your exisIing version will keep working
and you'll sIill be able Io download Ihe clienI
solware lrom TeamViewer. lI's also backward
compaIible, so TeamViewer 9 can conIrol
sysIems running version 3 or laIer.
The basic Business package, aI 439, leIs
you hold meeIings wiIh 1S parIicipanIs and
run meeIings and conIrol remoIe compuIers
lrom one PC. The more expensive Premium
and CorporaIe versions provide exIra
leaIures, such as more meeIing parIicipanIs,
opIional browser-based access Io sysIems on
your conIacIs lisI, and an USl package IhaI
you can roll ouI Io a Windows AcIive Domain.
ll you compare Ihe Business ediIion wiIh
a pay-monIhly service, TeamViewer looks
expensive as iI cosIs 37 per monIh. You can geI
1S LogUeln Pro licences lor 33 per compuIer
per year. You can also geI CoToUeeIing lor 29
per monIh, which leIs you hold meeIings ol up
Io 2S auendees. However, TeamViewer 9 leIs
you hold meeIings and access compuIers
remoIely. While you have Io keep paying lor
Ihose services il you wanI Io keep using Ihem,
you're under no obligaIion Io upgrade Io Ihe
laIesI version ol TeamViewer. ll you're happy
wiIh Ihe currenI version ol TeamViewer, you
can save money and conIinue using iI.
DO IT FOR THE TEAM
TeamViewer 9 is powerlul and lexible enough
Io be uselul well inIo Ihe luIure. TeamViewer
9 is a pracIical and eleganI Iool Io help make
Ihe mosI ol remoIe workers' and clienIs' Iime
and resources, despiIe iIs relaIively high cosI.
Kot Orphonides
5Y5TENPEUIPENENT5 Windows XP+/Nac OS X 10.6+/
Linux
DETAIL5 www.teamviewer.com
SPECIFICATIONS
8 TeamViewer 9 makes it easy to schedule online meetings, but you'll
need to install a client program on each participant's PC
8 TeamViewer 9's main screen is well organised and clutter-free, |ust how we like it
BEST BUYS
CC PRIL 2014 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 314 CC CC
LAPTOPS
C|J l.'/ '|' . .!!``M. |kH' \I|kC| '' C|k||C\ l' '..1.: '. / !:'M |I|Ck| |||\| ' ||\||k\ '.. ..1. '' ,',l`\',``) |||kI|4C \\\I|H
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||Ik||\ .....'''':|.m |J|| ||\||WM:. l`'
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|J|| ||\||WM:. l`'
CHILLBLAST Dear Miri

899 inc VAT

www.chillblast.com
WiIh iIs powerlul quad-core Core i7 CP and highly capable Nvidia
CeForce CTX 76SU graphics processor, Ihe ChillblasI DehanI Uini is a
superb gaming lapIop IhaI combines all Ihe speed and power ol larger
gaming sysIems inIo a sIylish 13in chassis.
ASUS Trarsormer Bool Tl00TA

350 inc VAT

www.currys.co.uk
The Asus Translormer T100TA has redehned Ihe perlormance and
versaIiliIy we should expecI lrom a 3S0 lapIop. WiIh iIs improved
AIom processor, greaI screen and long bauery lile, Ihe T100TA seIs a
new sIandard lor Ihe budgeI Iouchscreen hybrid.
APPLE l3-ircl MacBool Air

949 inc VAT

hup://store.apple.com/uk
The new UacBook Air is sIunning and uses one ol lnIel's new lourIh-generaIion
processors. lIs Core iS processor is slighIly slower Ihan Ihe chip in lasI year's
model, buI iIs ulIra-low power consumpIion makes a huge diherence Io
Ihe bauery lile. lI doesn'I have a ReIina display, sadly, buI Ihe 10-hour
bauery lile more Ihan makes up lor IhaI.
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|J|| ||\||W', l`'
PCs
YOYOTECH Varbird RSl

1,000 inc VAT

www.yoyotech.co.uk
WiIh a 3CB Nvidia CeForce CTX 780, powerlul Core iS-4670K processor, and 1TB
hybrid hard disk, Ihis is a gaming sysIem wiIh plenIy ol power. The processor is
overclocked Io 4.2CHz and iIs 8CB ol overclocked memory helped Ihe Warbird RS1
perlorm well in our PC benchmarks. This is a lanIasIic gaming PC.
PALICOMP Sriper Llie 2 Gamer

770 inc VAT

www.palicomp.co.uk
This powerlul PC is besI boughI wiIhouI a moniIor. lIs lnIel Core iS-4670K processor is
overclocked Io 4.2CHz, iI has loIs ol sIorage and can be hued wiIh an Nvidia CeForce
CTX 660 so IhaI you can play games. We'd upgrade Ihe graphics card il you're buying
Ihis PC primarily Io play games, buI oIherwise iI's an excellenI lamily PC.
C|J .l'/ '|' . .':!`' |kH' \I|kC| '' :.1 1.' C|k||C\ Ck|| ' '..1.: '. / !` |I|Ck| |||\| '\'|'W|'' |||kI|4C \\\I|HW.1. .'
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|J|| ||\||W'. l`'
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|J|| ||\||W': l`'
APPLE 2l.S-ircl iMac

1,149 inc VAT

hup://store.apple.com/uk
This laIesI version ol Apple's popular iUac all-in-one looks beauIilul,
wiIh an incredibly Ihin body and an excellenI display. lI's also immensely
powerlul, scoring 90 overall in our benchmarks. ll you wanI boIh sIyle and
subsIance, Ihe new iUac is Ihe compuIer Io buy.
01
A basic laptop costing around 350
will run everyday omce, multimedia
and education sohware, but you'll struggle
to play modern games on it. Nany laptops
at this price have a 15.4in case and weigh
around 2.4kg, so they're best used around
the house and for occasional |ourneys.
02
|f you want to play modern
games, you'll need a laptop with a
dedicated graphics chip, such as the AND
Radeon HD 7970N. Cood gaming laptops
tend to have large 17in screens and weigh
more than 3kg, so you can't carry them
everywhere with you.
03
|f you want a laptop that you can
take everywhere, look for a model
that weighs less than 2kg. For the best
portability, look for one with an 11in or 13in
screen. |n general, the smaller and lighter
the laptop, the more expensive it is. |ntel
Ultrabooks are highly portable, but expect
to pay upwards of 600 for a good one.
04
Bauery life is extremely important
for a laptop. We'd expect all but
the biggest and heaviest to last for at least
hve hours on a single charge, but for an
ultraportable that you carry everywhere,
eight-hours plus is more desirable.
0S
Laptops use the mobile versions
of processors to conserve power,
and these lag behind desktop chips for
performance. For a budget laptop, an |ntel
Core i3 processor will do the |ob, but if you
want beuer performance, look for an |ntel
Core i5 or Core i7 model instead. We
recommend a minimum of 4CB of RAN,
although 8CB is beuer for multitasking.
06
Nost budget and mid-range laptops
have a regular hard disk for storage.
Look for at least 500CB, but 1TB or more is
beuer. Some laptops can be supplied with
an optional SSD instead, and many |ntel
Ultrabooks have SSDs. These make your
computer much faster to boot and more
reliable, as there are no moving parts. The
trade-oh is that SSDs cost more and have
smaller capacities. Look for an SSD with at
least 128CB of storage, although 256CB is
beuer if you can ahord it.
07
Netbooks are a type of small,
low-cost ultra-portable laptop.
They're hne for light use, but avoid them if
you want to do more complicated tasks.
Laptop
computer
Ckaasing ...
BEST BUYS
C
ISSUE 314 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ PRIL 2014
SMARTPHONES
TABLETS
The Nexus S is incredible value. lI's a Iop-spec smarIphone wiIh a Full HD
screen, a super-lasI quad-core processor and Ihe laIesI version ol Android.
Apple has revamped Ihe design lor Ihis hlh version ol Ihe iPad, which is
slimmer buI reIains Ihe same sIunning 9.7in ReIina display. For anyone who
likes Ihe iOS operaIing sysIem, Ihis is Ihe besI IableI available Ioday.
Uicrosol's second-generaIion Surlace Pro impressed us wiIh iIs greaI
perlormance, improved bauery lile and new backliI keyboard covers. lI runs
Ihe lull version ol Windows 8.1 Ioo, making iI a superb IableI-lapIop hybrid.
GOOGLE Nexus S

299 S|N-free, free on 27-per-month contract

www.google.co.uk/nexus/5 (S|N-free), www.omio.com (contract)

APPLE iFad Air

399 inc VAT

hup://store.apple.com/uk
MICROSOFT Surace Fro 2

719 inc VAT

www.microsohstore.co.uk
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WiIh iIs quad-core processor and impressive 1,280x720-pixel display, Ihe
budgeI UoIo C blows away anyIhing else Ihis side ol 200.
Kobo's Arc 10HD is powerlul, wiIh a high-resoluIion screen and doesn'I use
a convoluIed cusIom user inIerlace. As Kobo hasn'I alIered Ihe Android OS
much, Ihis is Ihe besI-value 10in Android IableI currenIly on Ihe markeI.
MOTOROLAMoo G

130 S|N-free, free on 10.50-per-month contract

www.phones4u.co.uk (S|N-free), www.buymobiles.net (contract)

KOBO Arc l0HD

300 inc VAT

hup://store.kobobooks.com/en-gb
The Calaxy S4 was worIh waiIing lor. lI's a powerlul Android smarIphone
wiIh a greaI screen, camera and bauery lile and some innovaIive solware.
Coogle has improved on Ihe original Nexus 7 in almosI every way wiIh Ihis
updaIed model. The screen is sIunning and Ihe slimmer, more sIreamlined
design is gorgeous. The 2013 Nexus 7 is Ihe besI 7in Android IableI around.
SAMSUNG Galaxy S4

400 S|N-free, 30 on 28-per-month contract

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

GOOGLE Nexus (20l3)

199 inc VAT

hups://play.google.com/store/devices
The SS may noI look Ioo diherenI lrom Ihe S, buI iI's screamingly lasI and
Ihe new hngerprinI sensor makes iI easier Io unlock and more secure.
APPLE iFlore SS

549 S|N-free, 99 on a 37-per-month contract

hup://store.apple.com/uk (S|N-free), www.three.co.uk (contract)

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Huawei's hrsI Windows Phone mobile is a Iriumph, wiIh smooIh
perlormance, a good screen and an impressive camera lor Ihe price.
lIs bauery lile is superb, Ioo, pushing Ihe W1 ahead ol mosI Nokias.
WiIh iIs high-qualiIy screen, decenI bauery lile and slim, sIurdy
consIrucIion, Ihe UemoPad HD 7 is an absoluIe bargain lor 129.
No cheaper alIernaIive can maIch iI lor perlormance and leaIures.
HUAWEI Ascerd Vl

120 prepay, free on 14-per-month contract

www.o2.co.uk
ASUS MemoFad HD

129 inc VAT

www.pcworld.co.uk
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01
A smartphone's
operating system
(OS) dictates its basic
features and also which
third-party sohware you
can install. There are
three main contenders:
Apple's iOS, which is
found in the iPhone,
Coogle's Android, which
is used by various
handset manufacturers,
and Windows Phone 8,
which is becoming more
widespread and is a great alternative to
Apple's and Coogle's operating systems.
Apple iOS and Coogle Android have the
most apps available but Windows Phone
is slowly catching up.
02
All smartphones have colour
screens, but their resolutions vary.
Basic models are 800x480 pixels, but these
can make text look indistinct. Look for a
display with at least 1,280x720 pixels so
that it's easy to browse web pages on your
smartphone. Don't worry too much about
the built-in media players or Omce
document editors - you can always install
apps to replace these with beuer versions.
Cameras are common in smartphones, and
resolutions have increased to as much as
20 megapixels. The image quality of
smartphone cameras has increased
tremendously over the past few years.
03
Nearly all smartphones have
touchscreen interfaces, and some
have a physical keyboard for entering text
quickly and accurately. Although physical
keyboards are desirable for heavy emailing,
touchscreen keyboards also work well, and
Android smartphones let you install a
variety of custom onscreen keyboards so
you can hnd the one that suits you.
04
Be careful when choosing a mobile
contract. Look for one with a large
data allowance if you want to use the
internet regularly or you've set your phone
to synchronise your contacts, calendar and
email through online services such as
Coogle's. Built-in Wi-Fi can help you avoid
high data charges by connecting to the
internet through wireless hotspots when
you're out, or your router when you're at
home. Android and iPhone handsets enable
you to turn your phone into a wireless
hotspot and connect your laptop to the
internet over this connection. Bear in mind
that there may be an extra charge for this.
Ckaasing ...
Smartphone
BEST BUYS
C8 PRIL 2014 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 314
DISPLAYS
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lmages looked sIunning on Ihis 27in 2,S60x1,440 lPS panel, and iIs superb
colour accuracy and wide viewing angles were greaI sIraighI ouI ol Ihe box.
This is an excellenI moniIor.
IIYAMA Frolie XB2QS

440 inc VAT

www.overclockers.co.uk
The 2913WU has a super-wide 29in lPS panel wiIh a 2,S60x1,080
resoluIion. lIs image qualiIy is superb, iI has a wide range ol inpuIs and iIs
large 21.9 aspecI raIio makes iI perlecI boIh lor omce Iasks and media.
DELL U2l3VM

397 inc VAT

www.lambda-tek.com
This Iiny DLP pro|ecIor is in a class ol iIs own when iI comes Io porIabiliIy,
as iI's small enough Io hI in Ihe palm ol your hand, and iIs brighI S00 ANSl
lumen lamp can be used in all lighIing condiIions.
OPTOMA MLSS0

400 inc VAT

www.pro|ectorplanet.co.uk
This is one ol Ihe besI business moniIors we've IesIed. lI's noI parIicularly
eleganI buI Ihe 24in VA panel looks excellenI and Ihe highly ad|usIable
sIand has many porIs. You can also IwisI Ihe screen inIo porIraiI mode.
BENQ BL24l0FT

182 inc VAT

www.laptopsdirect.co.uk
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PHOTOGRAPHY
lmpeccable image qualiIy is Ihe highlighI ol Ihis superb ulIra-compacI
poinI-and-shooI camera. lI beaIs some Iough compeIiIion lor low-lighI
shoIs and produces sharp video looIage, making iI a BesI Buy.
CANON lxus 2SS HS

173 inc VAT

www.dabs.com
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The Nikon D7100 ohers class-leading image qualiIy, excepIional ergonomics
and a sophisIicaIed auIolocus sysIem. ll you're a phoIography enIhusiasI,
you'll love Ihe Nikon D7100. This kiI comes wiIh Ihe 18-10Smm VR lens.
NIKON Dl00

989 inc VAT

www.wexphotographic.com
The Lumix DUC-TZ40 is Ihe successor Io Ihe excellenI Lumix DUC-TZ30,
and improves on iI wiIh builI-in Wi-Fi and a higher-resoluIion sensor and
Iouchscreen. lI's Ihe besI ulIrazoom available aI Ihe momenI.
PANASONIC Lumix DMC-TZ40

230 inc VAT

www.|essops.com
A superb all-rounder IhaI avoids Ihe minor laws ol iIs predecessors. lI
produced consisIenIly beuer resulIs Ihan similarly priced cameras wiIh iIs
18-SSmm kiI lens, and Ihere are many ahordable exIra lenses available.
This is Ihe besI all-round CSC and a bargain aI Ihis price. lIs picIures live
up Io a DSLR's, and iI's quick and easy Io use. lI comes wiIh an arIiculaIed
Iouchscreen and Wi-Fi, and Ihere's a greaI range ol lenses available lor iI.
CANON LOS 00D

599 inc VAT

www.wexphotographic.com
PANASONIC DMC-G!C

339 inc VAT

hup://www.parkcameras.com
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This 27in lPS panel has a huge 2,S60x1,440 resoluIion and DVl, HDUl,
DisplayPorI and mini-DisplayPorI inpuIs, as well as a lour-porI SB3 hub.
lI has Ihe widesI colour gamuI we've ever seen and is packed wiIh leaIures.
DELL U2l3H

430 inc VAT

www.laptopsdirect.co.uk
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Ckaasing ...
01
A basic digital
camera will
suit those who want
to take pictures to
view on their
computer and create
7x5in prints. |t should cost
around 80, but there may be hidden
downsides such as slow performance and
very basic user controls.
02
Spend a liule more and you'll get a
higher resolution. A 16-megapixel
sensor has the potential to produce sharp
prints up to A3 size, but only if it and the
lens are of a suitably high quality. Very high
resolutions in compact cameras tend to
boost noise more than detail levels, so
many of the best models strike a sensible
balance by using a 12-megapixel sensor.
Back-illuminated CNOS sensors tend to
produce less noise than CCDs, but check
our reviews to hnd out how a particular
model performs.
03
A 3x zoom lens gives you
reasonable scope for framing your
shots, but a larger range can do wonders
for your photography. Nost compact
cameras can manage a 5x zoom, while
pocket-size ultra-zoom cameras can
provide 24x zoom ranges. Numbers such as
28-105mm tell you the wide-angle and
telephoto limits of the zoom range. Big
zooms require optical image stabilisation
to avoid blur due to camera shake when
zoomed right in.
04
Nost cameras now include a 3in
screen. Look out for 460,000-dot
or 921,000-dot resolutions for a sharper
picture. A touchscreen is useful for
moving the autofocus point.
0S
Budget for a memory card, as the
bundled memory is never enough.
A 16CB card costs less than 10. You may
also need to buy baueries.
06
Don't forget that a camera's
specihcation tells you liule about
its image quality. You'll need to read our
reviews for that. With a compact camera,
we believe the user shouldn't have to
grapple with complicated controls in
order to take great pictures in a range of
lighting conditions.
Compact
digital
camera
BEST BUYS
C
ISSUE 314 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ PRIL 2014
AUDIO
HOME CINEMA
These high-qualiIy BlueIooIh headphones have a rich, bassy sound.
AlIhough Ihere's loIs ol bass, Ihe headphones' sound is clear and deIailed.
The on-ear headphones' build qualiIy is lighI, comlorIable and sIurdy Ioo.
Samsung's FSSF8000 is one ol Ihe besI LCD TVs on Ihe markeI. lI
ohers an incredible array ol leaIures and iIs picIure qualiIy is lanIasIic.
lI's expensive buI worIh Ihe cosI.
ll you wanI Ihe besI possible image qualiIy lor less Ihan 1,000,
Panasonic's TX-P42CT60B plasma is Ihe TV Io buy. lI has incredibly dark
blacks and amazing conIrasI, making iI Ihe obvious choice lor hlm lans.
PHILIPS !idelio MlBT

157 inc VAT

www.amazon.co.uk
SAMSUNG ULSS!8000

1,795 inc VAT

hup://petertyson.co.uk
PANASONIC TX-F42GTC0B

999 inc VAT

www.superh.co.uk
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These earplug-sIyle headphones sound loud, clear and balanced, wiIh
rich bass Iones and plenIy ol naIural characIer. They're a greaI buy il
you add a 1S seI ol T-400 sound-isolaIing ear Iips.
Sony's Iop-end Blu-ray player lrom 2012 is so good IhaI iI remains Ihe
lagship model even now. lI has everyIhing you could need and even
ohers 4K upscaling. This is our lavouriIe Blu-ray player.
SOUNDMAGIC Ll0

30 inc VAT

www.advancedmp3players.com
SONY BDF-S0

170 inc VAT

hup://petertyson.co.uk
The Piccolo can play music sIored on your neIwork, sIream inIerneI radio
and play music lrom LasI.lm and SpoIily. You can even use iI wiIh a SB
drive or docked iOS device. lI's easy Io use and sounds greaI.
Philips has excelled iIsell wiIh Ihe HTLS120 sound bar. lI looks and sounds
greaI, ohers BlueIooIh connecIiviIy and even has mulIiple HDUl inpuIs lor
connecIing several Blu-ray players or games consoles.
DENON Ceol Ficcolo

315 inc VAT

www.homeavdirect.co.uk
PHILIPS HTLSl20

250 inc VAT

www.amazon.co.uk
The hlh iPod Touch is Ihe besI device ol iIs kind. lIs bauery lasIs lor Ihree
days ol conIinuous music playback or eighI hours ol video. lIs display is
greaI and iIs audio is as reliable as ever, alIhough lormaI supporI is limiIed.
Onkyo's 4K-ready ampliher has all Ihe leaIures and inpuIs you could
wanI lrom an A/V receiver, including builI-in Wi-Fi, mulIiple HDUl
ouIpuIs and SpoIily music sIreaming.
APPLE iFod Toucl

220 inc VAT

www.currys.co.uk
ONKYOTX-NRC2C

279 inc VAT

www.richersounds.co.uk
This SB audio processor may lack audio inpuIs, buI il you're aler
unparalleled sIereo sound lor Ihe besI possible reproducIion ol
high-qualiIy audio hles, iI's exacIly whaI you need.
ARCAMrFAC

149 inc VAT

www.superh.co.uk
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01
A 32in Full
HD TV will
cost around 290
and will suit smaller
living rooms. TVs tend
to look much smaller in the shop than they
do in your home, so make sure you
measure the space available before you
buy. Prices increase rapidly as screens go
beyond 47in.
02
A 1,920x1,080-resolution TV will be
able to display a 1080p image. You
can still buy TVs with a 720p (1,366x768)
resolution, but they're no cheaper and the
image won't be as sharp. Even so, it can
be dimcult to tell the diherence between
720p and 1080p on smaller screens. We
recommend at least a 37in model for 1080p.
03
Carefully consider the number of
inputs you need for connecting
your equipment. Two HDN| ports should
be the minimum, although many models
come with four. Don't forget other devices,
such as games consoles and PVRs. |f you
have any older equipment, make sure your
TV has enough SCART and component
sockets to accommodate it.
|f you want to plug your PC into your
TV, you'll need to use either HDN| or VCA
inputs. Be aware that some TVs only let
you use a PC on an analogue input, and
others won't display the Windows Desktop
at the TV's highest resolution.
04
The contrast ratio tells you the
diherence between the darkest and
the brightest shades the screen can display.
The higher the number, the darker the
blacks and the brighter the whites. A screen
with a high contrast ratio is also more likely
to show a wider range of detail. Plasma TVs
generally have much higher contrast ratios
than even the best LCD TVs can manage.
0S
There are several ways to receive
HD content. Sky HD has the widest
selection of channels but requires a Sky
HD box and a monthly subscription. Both
Freesat and Freeview HD bring you HD
channels from the BBC, |TV and Channel 4.
There are no monthly subscriptions,
all you need is a compatible receiver.
A Blu-ray player lets you watch HD movies
stored on optical discs.
06
Extra features, such as a network
port, can be worth having because
they may let you access online content, as
well as media from a DLNA or UPnP server
on your network.
Ckaasing n ...
HDTV
BEST BUYS
0 PRIL 2014 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 314
PRINTERS AND SCANNERS
The low-cosI UXS2S is ideal lor a home omce. lI has everyIhing excepI
duplex prinIing, and delivers greaI qualiIy scans, prinIs and copies. lI's
compacI, easy Io use and has very compeIiIive running cosIs.
CANONFixma MXS2S

99 inc VAT

www.tesco.com/direct
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,:. .| ,1.',. :1 1.1m|. ,:. . l``,```
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',.:11m|'1|..1 |J|| ||\||W': l`'
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This porIable A4 scanner is perlecI lor mobile workers who need Io
capIure mulIi-page documenIs. You can load a sIack ol paper, press Ihe
buuon and quickly Iurn a documenI inIo a PDF wiIh searchable IexI.
CANON lmage!ormula F-2lS

209 inc VAT

www.laptopsdirect.co.uk
This ink|eI UFP prinIs a page ol black IexI in less Ihan a second. Scans and
phoIocopies are also lasI, wiIh good resulIs. lI cosIs slighIly more Ihan some
equivalenI colour lasers Io buy buI is much lasIer and lar cheaper Io run.
HP Oce]e Fro XSCdv

636 inc VAT

www.printerland.co.uk
lI may be Canon's Iop single-luncIion A4 ink|eI prinIer buI Ihe iP72S0 isn'I
expensive Io buy or run. This versaIile all-rounder prinIs laser-like IexI and
sIunning phoIos. We can'I Ihink ol an A4 ink|eI IhaI gives beuer resulIs.
CANONFixma iF2S0

60 inc VAT

www.dabs.co.uk
This bulky UFP has a reasonable scanner and an impressive prinIer, which
IogeIher produce very good copies. You can make double-sided copies
lrom single- or double-sided originals, and iIs running cosIs are low.
KYOCERA Lcosys !S-C202CM!F+

447 inc VAT

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

325 inc VAT

www.dabs.com
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This camcorder uses Ihree .3in BSl UOS sensors Io record Full HD video
wiIh excellenI colour reproducIion and Iremendous deIail. lIs builI-in Wi-Fi
adapIor leIs you connecI a smarIphone or sIream video on your neIwork.
PANASONIC HC-X20

729 inc VAT

www.|ohnlewis.co.uk
This lanIasIic enIhusiasI camcorder has a capaciIive Iouchscreen moniIor,
a greaI elecIronic viewhnder and a sensible array ol luncIion buuons. lIs
image qualiIy is excellenI, making iI an lIimaIe award winner.
CANON Legria H! G30

1,035 inc VAT

www.wexphotographic.com
The YouView DTR-T1010 is basicially Ihe DTR-T1000 wiIh a lacelil, buI iI's
sIill a lanIasIic PVR. CaIch-up TV inIegraIes seamlessly wiIh iIs FPC, and iI
has a builI-in S00CB hard disk and a greaI price. lI's a dehniIe BesI Buy.
HUMAX YouViev DTR-Tl0l0

230 inc VAT

www.currys.co.uk
This media sIreamer supporIs a varieIy ol lormaIs and can ouIpuI video aI
up Io 1080p. lIs inIerlace is well designed, and you can even conIrol iI wiIh
an iOS or Android app. lI ohers a range ol services, including BBC iPlayer.
WESTERN DIGITAL VDTV Live

63 inc VAT

www.pixmania.co.uk
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01
A multifunction printer combines
a printer and scanner in a single
compact unit to provide printing, copying
and even fax facilities. Basic models cost
as liule as 30 including VAT. These are
acceptable if funds and space are tight, but
the quality and speed of prints and scans
will be basic, print costs will be expensive
and you won't get any fax capabilities.
02
|f you spend a liule more you
can get beuer speed and image
quality. The improvements aren't directly
proportional to the price of the unit,
though, so read our reviews to see how
each performs. Remember that running
costs can outweigh the price of the unit.
03
Sheet-fed scanners can handle
multiple pages but atbed scanners
tend to oher beuer image quality. Cheaper
models usually come with a atbed, while
pricier units combine both features.
04
|f you'll be printing hundreds of
pages every month, consider
buying a laser rather than an ink|et model.
These beneht from improved print speeds
and higher duty cycles, and cost from
around 80 including VAT. You'll need to
spend around 190 for a budget colour
laser-based device.
0S
To make the most of your
multifunction printer's features, it
should have decent front-panel controls.
These can vary from a single copy buuon
to something that resembles a dedicated
copier. |f fax is important, check that the
device has a built-in modem.
06
Other useful extras include memory
card slots, duplexing units for
printing on both sides of the paper, extra
paper trays and an Ethernet port or Wi-Fi
to connect the device to a network.
Ckaasing ...
Multi-
function
printer
BEST BUYS
l
ISSUE 314 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ PRIL 2014
STORAGE
NETWORKS
The 2S6CB Samsung 840 Pro provides lasI daIa Iranslers, a hve-year
warranIy and a sensible selecIion ol accessories. AI 169 - or |usI 66p
per gigabyIe - iI's also comparaIively good value.
SAMSUNG 840 Fro 2SCGB

167 inc VAT

www.pixmania.co.uk
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The Crucial US00 480CB is one ol Ihe lasIesI SSDs we've seen, scoring
437.4UB/s overall in our read IesI and a cracking 121.8UB/s in our wriIe
IesI. lI's noI cheap, buI iI's greaI value considering iIs capaciIy.
This HomePlug adapIor leIs you neIwork your PC using your home or
omce's elecIric cabling wiIhouI using up a mains sockeI. lI's raIed aI
S00UbiI/s, and we saw lasI Iransler raIes ol 139UbiI/s.
This 802.11ac rouIer has loIs ol leaIures, including a media and prinI
server. lI produced lasI daIa Iransler raIes ol 209UbiI/s aI 1m and 10m
and 126.SUbiI/s aI 2Sm. lI's noI Ihe lasIesI rouIer, buI iI's a greaI buy.
CRUCIAL MS00 480GB SSD

210 inc VAT

www.ebuyer.co.uk
SOLWISE Figgy HomeFlug adapor

23 inc VAT

www.solwise.co.uk
ASUS RT-ACCCU

155 inc VAT

www.morecomputers.com
This slim 240CB SSD is |usI 7.Smm Ihick, so iI will hI in ulIra-porIable
lapIops. lI produced excellenI overall Iransler speeds ol 4S1UB/s lor
large hles and 116UB/s lor small hles, and iI's greaI value, Ioo.
WiIh Ihis HomePlug kiI, you can sIream music Io speakers lrom
Airplay-compaIible devices or a PC connecIed Io your neIwork. You can
also auach a SB drive or a prinIer. lI's simple Io seI up and use.
SANDISK Lxreme ll 240GB

171 inc VAT

www.ebuyer.com
NETGEAR XAUB2Sll Foverlire Music Lxerder

89 inc VAT

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

150 inc VAT

www.currys.co.uk
This compacI S,400rpm SB3 exIernal hard disk delivered excellenI
perlormance in our small-hles IesI and comes wiIh excellenI backup
and encrypIion solware.
This dual-band ADSL rouIer has an excellenI and incredibly user-lriendly
web inIerlace IhaI makes iI easy Io seI up and adminisIer. lIs Wi-Fi
perlormance is greaI and iI also has Iwo SB porIs.
WESTERN DIGITAL My Fasspor Ulra lTB

66 inc VAT

www.ebuyer.co.uk
AVM!riz'Box 330

125 inc VAT

www.cclonline.com
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The Blue 1TB is |usI 7mm Ihick despiIe iIs 1TB capaciIy and has a low cosI
per gigabyIe. This makes iI a greaI choice il you have a slim lapIop and
need a vasI ol amounI ol sIorage space.
WESTERN DIGITAL Blue lTB

88 inc VAT

www.dabs.com
01
A basic 1TB internal hard disk
should cost around 45. |t will be
fast enough for general use and provide
enough storage space for most users.
Nake sure you choose a hard disk with
the appropriate interface type for your PC.
Some mechanical hard disks still come with
SATA2 interfaces, but newer models and
most solid-state drives (SSDs) have faster
SATA3 interfaces. You'll need a
motherboard with a SATA3 port if you want
to beneht from SATA3's faster speeds -
SATA3 disks will work with SATA2 ports but
will only transfer hles at SATA2 speeds.
02
Nechanical hard disks aren't fast
enough to take full advantage
of SATA3, but SSDs can use the extra
bandwidth for faster hle transfers. SSDs,
which use ash memory similar to that
found in USB ash drives, oher less
capacity than mechanical hard disks, but
they're signihcantly faster. SSDs were
prohibitively expensive until fairly recently
but are now much more ahordable.
03
Buy a hard disk that provides more
capacity than you think you need,
as your storage requirements are likely to
grow. A 2TB disk strikes the best balance
between capacity and low cost per
gigabyte, but in general you should aim
to buy the largest disk you can ahord.
04
|f you want more disk space or you
want to protect your data against
disk failure, think about buying several hard
disks to create a RA|D array. These use
multiple hard disks to create one large
logical disk with beuer performance, or to
duplicate your data for beuer protection.
RA|D arrays require hard disks of the same
size. |n theory, they can be from diherent
manufacturers, but it's beuer to buy
identical disks if you can.
0S
A hard disk's spindle speed
determines how quickly the disk
can transfer data. A spindle speed of
7,200rpm is common in desktop drives and
is fast enough for most purposes. Desktop
hard disks with 5,400rpm spindle speeds
are quite slow but they use less power and
generate less heat and noise, so they could
be a good choice for a small, quiet PC.
To strike the best balance between
speed and capacity, use an SSD as your
boot disk and store your hles on a larger,
less expensive mechanical disk.
Ckaasing n ...
Internal
hard disk
BEST BUYS
2 PRIL 2014 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 314
COMPONENTS
The Core iS-4670K is Ihe successor Io Ihe Core iS-3S70K and is |usI as
popular. lI can be overclocked Io high speeds and has a much improved
builI-in graphics processor. lI's also beuer value Ihan Ihe Core i7-4770K.
INTEL Core iS-4C0K

177 inc VAT

www.novatech.co.uk
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The A10-6790K is cheaper Ihan Ihe A10-6800K buI can be overclocked Io
maIch Ihe 6800K's clock speeds, making iI a bargain.
AMD Al0-C0K

95 inc VAT

www.ebuyer.com
The 260X is excellenI il you wanI Io en|oy Full HD games wiIhouI spending
a lorIune. You may need Io reduce seuings lor some games buI noI by
much. lI has a varieIy ol ouIpuIs and can cope wiIh mulIi-moniIor gaming.
AMD Radeor R 2C0X

103 inc VAT

www.scan.co.uk
This relaIively low-cosI Haswell moIherboard has loIs ol SATA3 and SB3
porIs, HDUl and DVl ouIpuIs, and lour RAU sloIs. lI's easy Io overclock,
and achieved high lrequencies wiIh an lnIel Core iS-4670K processor.
GIGABYTE Z8-D3HF

102 inc VAT

www.dabs.com
The CeForce CTX 780 Ti is asIonishingly powerlul and beaI even Ihe CTX
TiIan in our gaming benchmarks. This is Ihe besI gaming graphics card.
NVIDIA Ge!orce GTX 80 Tl

530 inc VAT

www.dabs.com
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SOFTWARE
WiIh a simple inIerlace IhaI's easy Io undersIand, responsive conIrols and
high-level leaIures such as Iimecode conIrol, looping and hoI-cues,
Uixvibes Cross 2.S is a bargain lor D|s.
MIXVIBES Cross 2.S

107 inc VAT

www.mixvibes.com
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.' / '`.:, l.l'/ '|' . l '1, l' '|M
|||JCI C|| . l.'
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The laIesI version ol Ihe lree operaIing sysIem is Ihe besI yeI. Canonical
has made bunIu easier Io use Ihan ever and a credible rival Io Windows.
nlike Uicrosol's operaIing sysIem, iI runs well on old compuIers, Ioo.
CANONICAL Uburu l3.l0

Free

www.ubuntu.com
This deskIop-publishing applicaIion gives you lull conIrol over Ihe layouI
and appearance ol all your prinIed documenIs. The laIesI version adds
supporI lor 64-biI processors, which improves perlormance.
SERIF FageFlus X

82 inc VAT

www.serif.com
AbleIon Live 9 builds on Ihe success ol iIs predecessors wiIh audio-Io-
UlDl conversion, which leIs you Iurn an audio clip inIo a series ol UlDl
noIes IhaI you can reuse as you wish. ll you make music, buy Live 9.
ABLETONLive Sardard

339 inc VAT

www.decks.co.uk
This laIesI verion ol 's lavouriIe backup solware ohers a wealIh ol
leaIures including sysIem migraIion Iools, supporI lor Windows' dynamic
disks and backup and resIoraIion lrom Ihe cloud.
ACRONIS True lmage 20l4 Fremium

60 inc VAT

www.acronis.co.uk
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01
|t's essential that you buy the right
type of
motherboard for
your processor.
|ntel's older
'|vy Bridge'
processors require a
motherboard with an LCA1155 socket, but
newer, fourth-generation 'Haswell' chips
require an LCA1150 socket. A board for an
|vy Bridge processor must also have an
H77 or a Z77 chipset, while Haswell
processors require the new Z87 chipset.
02
All current |ntel processors have
built-in graphics chipsets, so if you
want to use your chip's built-in graphics
you should make sure the motherboard
has the video outputs you need, such as
VCA, DV|, HDN| and DisplayPort. |f you
want to play modern games, you'll need to
use the motherboard's PC| Express x16 slot
to ht a dedicated graphics card, although
this may block one of your other slots.
03
Normal tower cases can
accommodate ATX motherboards,
which provide the most expansion slots.
You may, however, want a microATX
motherboard, as this will let you build your
PC in a smaller case. |f you opt for a
microATX board, make sure it has all the
features you need built in as there won't
be much room for expansion cards.
04
|f you want to install lots of
expansion cards, look for a
motherboard that has plenty of PC| and
PC|-E x1 slots. Some motherboards also
have PC| Express x4 slots and extra PC|
Express x16 slots. PC| Express x1 and x4
cards also work in PC| Express x16 slots.
|f you want a lot of storage in your PC,
a motherboard with plenty of SATA2 and
SATA3 ports is essential. SATA2 is hne for
optical drives and hard disks, but to make
the most of an SSD you need SATA3.
0S
All motherboards have built-in
audio chipsets, but some support
only 5.1 surround sound rather than 7.1. |f
you're connecting to older surround-sound
amplihers that don't have HDN|, look for
an optical or coaxial S/PD|F output. All
motherboards have Ethernet ports and
most have the faster Cigabit version. You
may also hnd it useful to buy a board with
built-in Wi-Fi to avoid using up a USB port
or PC| slot with an adaptor.
Ckaasing n ...
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4 PRIL 2014 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 314
!ree sovare guide
EASTTEC ERASER is a powerlul privacy Iool IhaI can
securely cover your Iracks by deleIing a whole hosI ol
Windows and applicaIion hisIories.
AI Ihe core ol Ihe program is Ihe Privacy Cuard, a
sIraighIlorward wizard IhaI makes iI easy Io selecI Ihe
hisIories you'd like Io wipe lrom a huge lisI ol opIions.
The lnIerneI Browsers Iab doesn'I |usI leI you clean
your lF and Firelox Iracks, iI also supporIs Chrome,
Opera, Salari, AOL, Flock, K-Ueleon, UaxIhon, NeIscape,
SeaUonkey and oIhers. There's widespread supporI lor
cleaning up your email clienIs, and Ihe program also
hunIs down hisIories lrom over 1S0 oIher applicaIions.
You may sIill hnd Ihe program doesn'I supporI an
applicaIion you've insIalled. However, you're also able Io
specily lolders Io wipe, so il you know \Program Files\
UyApp\HisIory conIains a deIailed record ol whaI
you've been doing in an applicaIion, poinI FasI-Tec
Fraser aI IhaI locaIion and iI'll wipe Ihe conIenIs.
East-Tec Eraser 2013
INSTALL NEWAPPLICATIONS on your PC and Ihey olen conhgure Ihemselves
Io launch auIomaIically, whenever Windows sIarIs. This consumes valuable sysIem
resources, exIends your PC's booI Iime and may cuI iIs overall perlormance. ll
your compuIer seems Io have slowed down recenIly, iI's wise Io check up on
your sIarIup programs. Windows provides a lew simple ways Io do Ihis, buI Io
Iake lull conIrol ol Ihe siIuaIion you need a copy ol Abelssol SIarIupSIar 2014.
Launch Ihe program and iI will display any programs conhgured Io launch when
Windows sIarIs. ll you see an enIry you don'I need, click Ihe Iickbox and choose
'DeleIe selecIed enIries', and Ihe applicaIion won'I be launched when you nexI rebooI.
ll you're noI cerIain wheIher you need a cerIain sIarIup program or noI, you
could Iry deacIivaIing iI hrsI. The applicaIion won'I appear when you nexI resIarI
your PC, buI iI will sIill remain in Ihe sIarIup lisI. ll Ihere are problems, reacIivaIe
Ihe program and rebooI, and your sysIem will be back Io normal.
You may have a sIarIup program you know is essenIial buI Iakes a long Iime
Io launch lully. You can use SIarIupSIar 2014 Io delay running Ihis program, so
Ihe applicaIion will sIarI Iwo minuIes aler Windows loads. The applicaIion will
sIill Iake a while Io load, buI Ihere will be less compeIiIion lor resources as your
sysIem booIs, which should mean your PC is ready Io use lar more quickly.
SIarIupSIar 2014 can also warn you whenever new applicaIions Iry Io add
Ihemselves Io your sIarIup lisI. ll you don'I wanI a program Io launch aI booI
Iime, reluse iIs sIarIup requesI. ll a program keeps Irying Io add iIsell Io your
sIarIup lisI, IhaI's noI a problem. Choose Io 'DeleIe and block' a sIarIup program
and iI'll be removed lrom Ihe currenI lisI, and won'I be allowed Io add iIsell again.
PEUIPENENT5 Windows XP, Vista, 7 or 8
32/64-bit, 30NB hard disk space
WEB5ITE www.abelssoft.net
PECI5TPATION Cet your registration code
from within the application
NOTE5 N/A
PEUIPENENT5 Windows XP, Vista, 7 or 8 32/64-bit, 75NB hard disk space
WEB5ITE www.east-tec.com
PECI5TPATION Cet your registration code at http://offers.east-tec.com/
computer-shopper-uk/2013/eraser
NOTE5 N/A
GETTING STARTED
The download insIrucIions on
Ihe lollowing page show you
how Io connecI Io Ihe download
siIe. Please make sure IhaI you
Iype in Ihe web address exacIly
as shown. You'll need your
coupon code Ihe hrsI Iime
you log on.
ANY PROBLEMS
ll you need help wiIh any ol
Ihe solware Ihis monIh, please
send an email Io |euers
ccmutershcer.cc.uk. We
check Ihis inbox regularly.
Please include Ihe issue number
ol Ihe magazine and your
coupon code.
WHY DOWNLOADS
Solware manulacIurers have
been requiring us Io use online
regisIraIion lor some Iime now,
buI increasingly we're being
asked Io provide Ihe program
as a download. ln order Io
conIinue bringing you Ihe besI
lree solware, we've revamped
our download siIe. You need
Io use Ihe unique code prinIed
in Ihe box on Ihe lacing page
Io regisIer and download Ihe
solware in Ihis issue.
The unique code means
we sIop Ihe deals leaking
online, so only Shcer readers
geI Ihe solware. You'll also
en|oy a smooIher regisIraIion,
where we handle Ihe
regisIraIion process.
NO CODE
ll you don'I have Ihe card inserI
wiIh Ihe unique code, you musI
buy Ihe 4.99 prinI version
ol Ihe magazine. ll you have
boughI Ihis, please conIacI
|euersccmutershcer.cc.uk
lor help and a new code.
Your ree gis are rov ever easier o er]oy. [us dovrload all le sovare
a uuu.sroppcruourouu.co.ur/l+ ard regiser vil your urique couor code
Working Ihrough all Ihis Io seI up your precise
wiping needs can Iake a while, buI use Ihe program's
scheduler and you only have Io do iI once. Then FasI-Tec
Fraser will clean up your browsing records, deleIe your
Windows acIiviIy hisIories and whaIever else you mighI
have specihed, wiIhouI you having Io worry again.
The program can also securely overwriIe hles, lolders,
even enIire hard disks, so you can be sure no-one will be
able Io undeleIe and recover any ol Iheir conIenIs.
AbeIssoft 5tartup5tar 2014

ISSUE 314 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ PRIL 2014

Digsby (Bui|d 92) Access all your insIanI
messaging services lrom one applicaIion,
Ihere's supporI lor Windows Live!, Yahoo!,
AlU, Coogle Talk, lCQ and |abber.
Evernote 5.1 SIore your noIes,
ideas and plans in Ihe cloud, and
synchronise Ihem beIween compuIers.
Nozi||a Thunderbird 24.2 FINAL
A powerlul email clienI lrom Ihe organisaIion
beuer known lor Ihe Firelox web browser.
Free 5tudio 6.2.4 This solware
provides an easy way Io converI your video
and audio hles inIo diherenI lormaIs.
Paragon Partition Nanager 2013 Free
CreaIe, lormaI, spliI, merge and reorganise
all your hard disk's parIiIions.
PeaZip 5.2.1 A Iremendously
powerlul archive-managemenI Iool.
CrossLoop Free 2.82 ConIrol anoIher
compuIer remoIely over Ihe inIerneI,
and even charge lor Ihe Iime you spend
hxing a problem.
Cyberduck 4.4.3 A very powerlul
buI easy-Io-use FTP clienI.
Easy WiFi 4 Find lree Wi-Fi hoIspoIs while
you're ouI and abouI wiIh Ihe help ol Ihis
lree Iool and iIs comprehensive daIabase.
CC|eaner 4.09 Remove
unwanIed inlormaIion, Iemporary
hles, browsing hisIory, huge log hles
and even Ihe seuings lel behind by
uninsIalled solware.
Defragg|er 2.16 Fnsure IhaI your sysIem is
delragmenIed and improve iIs perlormance.
Finestra Virtua| Desktops 2.5 SeI up lour
or more virIual DeskIops on your PC.
Chat and Communcaton
Resources
Postbox Express 1.01 An email clienI IhaI
provides a comprehensive array ol Iools Io
help you manage your messages more easily.
5kype for Windows 6.11 Uake inIerneI voice
and video calls lor lree, and buy crediI Io
make calls Io mobiles and landlines.
Tri||ian 5.1 se all your insIanI messaging
accounIs wiIh one applicaIion, Ihis program
has supporI lor Windows Live!, AlU, Yahoo!
and Coogle.
Painmeter 3.0.2 CusIomise Ihe
DeskIop wiIh your choice ol inlormaIion,
Iools and shorIcuIs.
Windows 8 Transformation Pack 7 FmulaIe
Ihe look ol Windows 8 on an earlier version
ol Ihe operaIing sysIem.
Windows 8 UX Pack 7 Cive Windows 7
an inIerlace upgrade so IhaI iI looks like
Windows 8.
5creenshot Captor 4.8 CreaIe and manage
screenshoIs Ihe easy way.
5UNo 3.1 Quickly scan your PC's
insIalled applicaIions and hnd any updaIes
available lor Ihem.
ZipCenius 6.3 A lexible hle-compression
Iool wiIh supporI lor a huge number ol
compressed hle lormaIs.
LogNeIn Free 4.1.3 ConIrol your compuIer
over Ihe inIerneI lor lree, wherever you
happen Io be.
NetBa|ancer 7.0.9 Uake Ihe mosI
ol your inIerneI connecIion by assigning
download and upload prioriIies Io your
web applicaIions.
Vuze 5.2 Powerlul BiITorrenI clienI Io help you
locaIe, share and download hles.
IObit Advanced 5ystemCare 7.1
A compleIe compuIer securiIy, mainIenance
and opIimisaIion suiIe.
Pevo Uninsta||er Free 1.95 Remove insIalled
applicaIions compleIely, including all Iheir
lolders, sysIem hles and RegisIry enIries.
5imp|e Performance Boost 1 Tweak
Ihe Windows RegisIry Io give your PC
a perlormance boosI.
Customsaton
CeneraI
Internet and Network
Tweakng and Performance
7 Taskbar Tweaker 4.4
CusIomise Ihe Windows 7 Iaskbar so IhaI
iI works exacIly Io your liking.
Netro UI Tweaker for Windows 8
Tweak Ihe new user inIerlace lor
Windows 8.
Nosaic Desktop Beta 1 Pefresh Add
Windows 8's mosaic-Iiled DeskIop Io your
compuIer wiIhouI having Io upgrade.
REVIEVS
C PRIL 2014 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 314
SUMMARY OF TESTS
PC SYSTEMS
Windows overall Average speed across numerous demanding Iasks
Nultitasking Speed when running simulIaneous applicaIions
Dirt Showdown Frames per second aI 1,920x1,080 4xAA,
lIra deIail
Crysis 3 Frames per second aI 1,920x1,080, High deIail
LAPTOPS
Windows overall Average speed across numerous demanding Iasks
Nultitasking Processor-inIensive mulIiIasking IesI
Dirt Showdown Frames per second aI 1,280x720 4xAA, High deIail
Bauery life Run Iime in minuIes lor web browser use
HANDHELDS/PORTABLE MEDIA PLAYERS/TABLETS
Bauery life Run Iime in minuIes lor conIinuous video playback
PRINTERS AND MFPs
Drahspeed Pages per minuIe lor dral-qualiIy ink|eI IexI
Normal speed Pages per minuIe lor correspondence-qualiIy IexI
Creyscale speed Pages per minuIe lor presenIable IexI and graphics
Nixed colour speed Pages per minuIe lor presenIable IexI and graphics
Photo speed 6x4in phoIos per minuIe aI Iop qualiIy seuing
Scan speed A4 scans per minuIe aI 300dpi
Nono costs Running cosIs expressed as pence per page
Colour costs Running cosIs expressed as pence per page
DIGITAL CAMERAS
Bauery life Number ol shoIs lromlull charge
CAMCORDERS
Bauery life Run Iime in minuIes lor recording
MP3 PLAYERS
Bauery life Run Iime in minuIes lor conIinuous playback
ROUTERS
Centrino 2 1m UbiI/s aI 1mwiIh CenIrino 2 adapIor
Own brand 1m UbiI/s aI 1mwiIh own-brand adapIor
Centrino 2 10m UbiI/s aI 10mwiIh CenIrino 2 adapIor
Own brand 10m UbiI/s aI 10mwiIh own-brand adapIor
Centrino 2 25m UbiI/s aI 2SmwiIh CenIrino 2 adapIor
Own brand 25m UbiI/s aI 2SmwiIh own-brand adapIor
NETWORK-ATTACHED STORAGE
Large hles Average UB/s lor read/wriIe ol 100UB large hles
Small hles Average UB/s lor read/wriIe ol 100UB small hles
HARD DISKS
Large hles Average UB/s lor read/wriIe ol 100UB large hles
Small hles Average UB/s lor read/wriIe ol 100UB small hles
PROCESSORS
Windows overall Average speed across numerous demanding Iasks
Nultitasking Speed when running simulIaneous applicaIions
MOTHERBOARDS
Windows overall Average speed across numerous demanding Iasks
Nultitasking Speed when running simulIaneous applicaIions
Dirt Showdown Frames per second aI 1,920x1,080 4xAA,
lIra deIail
GRAPHICS CARDS
3DNark Perlormance seuings, 1,920x1,080, 4xAA, 16xAF
Dirt Showdown Frames per second aI 1,920x1,080 4xAA,
lIra deIail
Crysis 3 Frames per second aI 1,920x1,080, High deIail
COMPUTER SHOPPER'S REVIEWS
use some of the most exhaustive testing
procedures you'll hnd in any PC magazine.
Every product is sub|ected to qualitative
and quantitative tests that show how it
performs in practical use. Craphs for
performance, bauery life scores and costs
are used in the Peviews section, as shown
on the right. Look in the 'Summary of tests'
box (below) for details on each test we run.
For PCs and laptops, we evaluate
performance using our own custom
benchmarking suite. See below for a brief
description of our benchmarking sohware
and game tests.
Howwe test
!ird ou lov vell roducs erorm vil le lel o Compucr Sroppcr's
comrelersive ess
RATINGS & AWARDS
Comuter 5hoer rates
products out of hve:
Avoid
Below average
Good
Very good
Excellent
BEST BUY Products with outstanding
quality and performance for the
money win our Best Buy award.
BUD6ET BUY The very best products
for those on a tight budget win our
Budget Buy award.
BUSINESS The very best products for
work win our Business Buy award.
ULTIMATE The very best products,
when money is no ob|ect, win our
Ultimate award.
The best products can win the
fo||owing awards:
A product hining the
+100 per cent mark
performed twice as we||
as our reference
This |ine represents the performance of a reference product in each test. A|| graphs for
components and systems are re|ative to our reference PC (see be|ow for specihcations)
The actua| scores in each
test are shown inside
each bar
Bigger is bener for a|| bars except the
red ones, which show running costs
Nono page
Co|our page
Drah speed
Norma| speed
|e|e|e:e -'1 -l11 '1 1
2.2p
6.7p
11ppm
12ppm
BENCHMARKS
CRYSIS 3
With full DirectX 11 support and
high-resolution textures, Crysis 3 will
push any PC to the limit. You'll need
at least 30fps for smooth gameplay.
DIRT SHOWDOWN
Dirt Showdown is a cracking racing game
that makes good use of DirectX 11's
fancy graphical ehects. You'll need at
least 30fps for smooth racing.
3DMARK
Futuremark's latest synthetic 3D
benchmark tests the latest DirectX 11
graphics features. |t's representative of
current and future titles.
SHOPPER BENCHMARKS
Our benchmark suite uses open-
source sohware that runs on
Windows, Nac OS X and Linux
systems. This lets us use ob|ective
results to compare PCs and laptops,
no mauer which operating system
they run. |t's designed to test each computer to its limit, using
a combination of intensive image-editing, video-encoding and
multitasking tests.
We ran the tests on our reference PC, which has an
|ntel Core i5-3570K processor and 4CB of DDR3 RAN. We
normalised our results so this PC had a score of 100. This
makes it easy to draw comparisons between test systems.
The resulting overall score is shown at the bouom of
every PC and laptop review. As we use the same tests in our
standalone and group test reviews, you can compare the
performance of any computer, whether it's a netbook, laptop
or desktop, from both sections of the magazine.
To see how your computer compares with those we've
tested, you can download the suite from hup.//bit.|y/
shopperbenchmorks. Versions are available for 32-bit and
64-bit operating systems.
3D BENCHMARKS
80 PRIL 2014 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 314
MINI PCS ARE designed Io occupy less
space and consume less power Ihan your
Iypical deskIop box, so are ideal il space is
aI a premium. These PCs are so small Ihey
Iake up less room Ihan a CD case on your
desk, and many can even be screwed Io
Ihe back ol a moniIor or TV. They also use
very liule power, consuming as liule as
7W when idle, so are kinder Io your walleI
and Ihe environmenI.
All Ihe mini PCs in Ihis IesI come
wiIhouI peripherals, so you'll need Io
provide your own mouse, keyboard and
display, and Ihere are many oIher lacIors
Io consider belore you buy. Our buying
guide will show you whaI Io look ouI lor.
All modern processors have aI leasI
Iwo cores. This boosIs perlormance when
you're running mulIiple applicaIions aI
once and in programs IhaI benehI lrom
mulIi-core processors, such as video-
ediIing solware. Some ol Ihe processors
in Ihe PCs we've IesIed Ihis monIh have
lour cores, which provide even beuer
perlormance when you're mulIiIasking
and using mulIi-Ihreaded programs.
CORE VALUES
NoI all mini PCs have deskIop-grade
processors. UosI ol Ihis monIh's sysIems
have mobile processors, which are more
commonly lound in lapIops. This makes
Ihem less powerlul Ihan IradiIional
deskIop processors, buI iI also allows
Ihem Io keep Ihe PC's overall size Io a
minimum, as well as using less power.
Three ol mobile processors in Ihis group
are Ihe currenI-generaIion lnIel Haswell

Small s oeau!lul
Tle laes miri FCs acl le over o a
deslo iro a classis le size o a blocl o
cleese. Ve es le laes miriaure marvels
o lel you rd your erec iry FC
CONTENT REVIEWS
Pae 82
CHILLBLAST !usior Brix
Pae 83
CHILLBLAST !usiorVacuumMiri 3
Pae 84
LENOVO ldeaCerre Ql0
Pae 87
LENOVO TlirlCerre M3
Pae 88
PC SPECIALIST NUC Lie
Pae 89
SAPPHIRE Ldge VS8
Pae 90
SCAN3XS NUC NlC
Pae 91
VERYPC Naro Slecl Core i
Pae 92
ZOTAC ZBox lQ0l Flus
Pae 94
ZOTAC ZBox Naro lDC4 Flus
MINI PCs

ISSUE 314 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ PRIL 2014

Iype, buI some mini PCs sIill ship wiIh older
lvy Bridge models. Haswell is quicker Ihan lvy
Bridge, buI even a low-end lvy Bridge
processor will sIill run Windows 8 smooIhly.
Only one PC in Ihis group has an AUD chip.
BATTERING RAM
The amounI ol memory in your PC can have a
large ehecI on perlormance. All Ihe PCs in
Ihis monIh's group IesI have aI leasI 4CB ol
RAU, which is enough Io run Windows and
perlorm some inIensive Iasks, buI il you're
planning Io ediI high-resoluIion video or use
virIual machines you should consider a
sysIem wiIh 8CB ol RAU.
The Iable on page 98 shows how much
RAU each sysIem has, as well as how many
lree memory sloIs are available in each
sysIem. ll no lree sloIs exisI, you'll have Io
replace your exisIing RAU when upgrading,
which makes Ihe process more expensive.
Some mini PCs are easy Io dismanIle and
upgrade, while oIhers aren'I, our reviews
discuss how hard iI is Io geI inIo each box.
GAME IS AFOOT
ll you wanI Io play Ihe laIesI games aI high
resoluIions and qualiIy seuings, you need a
lasI graphics card, buI mosI mini PCs aren'I
designed wiIh high-end gaming in mind. None
ol Ihe PCs we IesIed Ihis monIh have
dedicaIed graphics chipseIs, and rely on Ihe
graphics inIegraIed inIo Iheir processors.
lnIegraIed graphics didn'I used Io be able Io
run modern games, buI Ihings are improving.
We IesIed Ihe mini PCs' 3D perlormance
wiIh racer DirI Showdown and plaIlormer
Trine 2, which has sumpIuous 3D
backgrounds, and is Ihe kind ol game you
mighI play lrom your sola in your living room.
We played around wiIh various seuings in
each IiIle in order Io reach Ihe magic 30
lrames per second (lps) mark, where a game
can be considered smooIhly playable. We
noIed Ihe lrame raIes we saw in each review.
SPACED OUT
You'll need plenIy ol hard disk space il you
have a loI ol documenIs, phoIos, music and
videos. While we expecI Io see a 1TB hard disk
in mosI deskIop and all-in-one PCs, mini PCs
usually have less space. The models wiIh room
lor 2.Sin lapIop hard disks have more room,
wiIh 1TB or S00CB ol sIorage, buI some ol
Ihe IiniesI mini PCs only have room lor
mSATA drives, Iiny SSDs IhaI look more like a
sIick ol RAU Ihan a normal SSD or hard disk.
ll a mini PC only has a small mSATA SSD,
you can always add more sIorage wiIh an
exIernal disk. All Ihe mini PCs on IesI have
SB3 porIs, so you'll be able Io auach Ihe
laIesI super-lasI exIernal disks.
UosI mini PCs lack an opIical disc drive. ll
you need Io insIall solware only available on
DVD, you can Iry copying Ihe conIenIs ol Ihe
disc Io a SB lash drive, or invesI in a SB
opIical drive, such as a Buhalo 8x lIra-Slim
lor 21 lrom www.dobs.ccm. ll you need Io
insIall Windows lrom a SB drive, you can
use Ihe Windows 7 SB/DVD download Iool
lrom hu.//tinyur|.ccm/windcwsusbtcc| Io
copy a Windows 7 or 8 DVD Io a 4CB or
larger lash drive. You'll Ihen need Io seI Ihe
mini PC's BlOS Io booI lrom Ihe SB drive.
RISE AND SHINE
Uini PCs make greaI media cenIre PCs. By
insIalling applicaIions such as Ihe excellenI
XBUC lrom hu.//xbmc.crg, you can sIream
music and video across your neIwork Io your
TV, and even waIch caIch-up TV and YouTube.
You can also conIrol your media cenIre wiIh a
smarIphone or IableI app.
You don'I wanI Io be reaching around Ihe
back ol your TV Io wake your media cenIre
up, Ihough, which is why iI's uselul il you can
wake Ihe PC up over your neIwork wiIh Wake
on LAN. We've menIioned in each review
wheIher Ihis is possible, and wheIher you
have Io change anyIhing in Ihe BlOS Io enable
Wake on LAN. We also IesIed wheIher we
could Iurn each PC on by sending a wake-up
requesI lrom a smarIphone app.
OPERATING
LICENCE
Six ol Ihe PCs in Ihe group
come wiIh Windows 8 or 8.1
insIalled, one has Windows 7
and Ihree don'I come wiIh
Windows aI all. Our Iable on
page 96 shows you which
PCs come wiIh which
operaIing sysIem. BoIh
ZoIac PCs and Ihe
Sapphire Fdge VS8 don'I
come wiIh Windows, so,
in Ihose parIicular cases,
you'll need Io budgeI
around 67 lor a copy,
and have access Io a
PC wiIh an opIical drive
and a spare 4CB SB
lash drive Io insIall iI.
+ Nini PCs come in all
shapes and sizes. Our
in-depth reviews will
help you find the one
that's best for you
0mm 240mm 120mm
MINI PCs
82 PRIL 2014 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 314
THE CHILLBLAST FUSION Brix is quiIe
possibly Ihe smallesI PC we've ever IesIed. lI's
based on CigabyIe's miniscule barebones Brix
uniI, and measures |usI 30x107x114mm,
making iI even smaller Ihan PCs based on
lnIel's NC KiI chassis and moIherboard, such
as Ihe PC SpecialisI NC LiIe. lI's so small IhaI
you can hold iI in Ihe palm ol your hand and
sIill curve your hngers round Ihe edges.
Size isn'I Ihe only Ihing IhaI makes Ihe
Fusion Brix more convenienI Ihan Ihe PC
SpecialisI NC LiIe, as iIs lull-size raIher Ihan
Uini-HDUl ouIpuI makes iI easier Io connecI
Io your TV or moniIor, wiIhouI you having
Io buy an adapIor. OIher ouIpuIs include a
Uini DisplayPorI, a CigabiI FIherneI porI, a
combined headphone and S/PDlF opIical
audio ouIpuI and Iwo SB3 porIs on Ihe
lronI and rear. This is handy il you wanI Io
connecI addiIional sIorage devices Io Ihe
Fusion Brix, as iIs 120CB mSATA SSD doesn'I
leave much room lor large media collecIions.
pgrading Ihe Fusion Brix is simple. lI's
sold as a compleIe uniI, so only enIhusiasIs
will ever need Io open iI up, buI once you've
unscrewed Ihe base, iI's very easy Io work on.
Once inside Ihe case you've goI easy
access Io iIs Iwo lapIop memory sloIs, iIs
mSATA SSD and a mini PCle sloI, currenIly
hlled wiIh a Wi-Fi and BlueIooIh combinaIion
card, Iucked underneaIh Ihe SSD.
CHILLBLAST
!usior Brix

585 inc VAT

From www.chillblast.com
VERDICT
A tiny but mighty mini PC with good
graphics performance, but it's a bit
expensive compared to the competition
The Brix doesn'I sacrihce much power lor
iIs small size. As shown in our mulIimedia
benchmarks on page 9S, iIs 1.7CHz lnIel Core
i3-4010 processor packs a punch. lI'll
sIruggle wiIh heavy-duIy programs running aI
Ihe same Iime, buI an overall score ol 34 puIs
iI ahead ol larger mini PCs such as Ihe Lenovo
ldeaCenIre Q190, and a lew Core i3-based
all-in-ones such as Ihe HP Fnvy Rove 20.
The Brix has plenIy ol speed Io cope wiIh
everyday compuIing Iasks, and iIs inIegraIed
lnIel HD Craphics 4400 chip can even play
some 3D games. ln Ihe lapIop version ol our
DirI Showdown IesI, which we run aI
1,280x720 wiIh High deIail and 4x anIi-
aliasing, iI produced a sIeady 19.8lps, which is
whaI we'd expecI Io see lrom Ihis Iype ol
chip. Disabling Ihe anIi-aliasing will raise Ihis
lrame raIe lurIher, as we lound when we Iried
ouI Ihe less demanding plaIlormer, Trine 2.
Here we saw a silky smooIh 37.4lps on High
qualiIy wiIh no anIi-aliasing aI 1,280x720, buI
Ihis increased Io an even smooIher 46.2lps
when we seI Ihe qualiIy Io Low.
We even managed Io play games aI
1,920x1,080, Ihe naIive resoluIion ol Ihe
ma|oriIy ol moniIors available Ioday. We had
Io seI Ihe qualiIy Io Low and disable
anIi-aliasing Io geI anyIhing remoIely
playable, buI we sIill managed a |usI-abouI-
smooIh 29.1lps in DirI Showdown aI Ihis
resoluIion. The Fusion Brix can handle 4K
video playback, Ioo.
Sadly, Ihe Fusion Brix's limiIed BlOS
doesn'I provide any opIions lor waking Ihe PC
lrom LAN. This makes iI less suiIable lor
mounIing Io Ihe back ol your TV or moniIor,
as you'll have Io reach round Io hnd Ihe
power buuon every Iime you wanI Io use iI,
raIher Ihan using a Wake-on-LAN app on
your smarIphone or IableI. This is a shame
given Ihe PC's peIiIe size and included VFSA
mounI, and makes iI less suiIable lor use as a
media cenIre PC Ihan oIher mini PCs.
AI S8S, Ihe Brix is lar more expensive
Ihan oIher Core i3 mini PCs such as Ihe
Lenovo ldeaCenIre Q190. The more powerlul
ZoIac ZBox Nano lD64 Plus is also nearly 100
cheaper even aler you've added in Ihe exIra
cosI ol buying an operaIing sysIem, and Ihe
more powerlul Scan 3XS NC N16 is only 1S
more, leaving Ihe Brix looking a biI overpriced.
SPECIFICATIONS
CPU 1.7CHz |ntel Core i3-4010U
PAN8CB
5TOPACE 120CB SSD
CPAPHIC5 CAPD |ntel HD Craphics 4400
OPTICAL DPIVE None
OPEPATINC 5Y5TENWindows 8.1
DINEN5ION5 30x107x114mm
POWEP CON5UNPTION 1W standby, 7W idle, 27W active
WAPPANTY Two-year collect and return
PAPT CODE Fusion Brix
DETAIL5 www.chillblast.com
TIe Brix doesn't sacrice mucI pover Ior its size.
n overaII bencImark score oI 34 puts it aIead oI Iarer
mini PCs sucI as tIe Lenovo IdeaCentre Q190
MINI PCs
83
ISSUE 314 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ PRIL 2014
largesI mini PC on IesI, buI Ihe
Vacuum Uini 3's bigger case does give you
Ihe advanIage ol an opIical drive and Ions
more power. lIs quad-core lnIel Core i7-4770T
processor can increase iIs clock speed lrom
2.SCHz Io a huge 3.7CHz when Ihere's enough
Ihermal headroom, and iIs 16CB ol RAU
ensures Ihere's plenIy ol scope Io mulIiIask.
An excellenI score ol 98 in our mulIimedia
benchmarks puIs iI |usI Iwo poinIs behind our
relerence deskIop 3.4CHz Core iS-3S70K
processor lor raw perlormance.
lI's a very impressive resulI lor such a
compacI sysIem, and doubly so as Ihe PC is
very nearly silenI, Ihanks Io iIs SIreacom FC8
Fvo Fanless Home TheaIre chassis. This cools
Ihe processor using a pair ol heaIpipes
screwed Io Ihe chassis, while hns help
disperse Ihe processor's heaI. The PC has no
lans and is compleIely silenI.
The Vacuum Uini 3's wide range ol porIs
make iI very suiIable lor use as a media
cenIre. Video ouIpuIs include Iwo HDUl
porIs and a DVl porI, and boIh iIs HDUl porIs
are version 1.4, so supporI 4K resoluIions, we
had no problems playing 4K video looIage.
The Vacuum Uini 3 also has a builI-in dual
Freeview HD TV Iuner, which you'll be able Io
use wiIh Windows 7's Uedia CenIer
applicaIion Io record and play back TV.
The PC's media cenIer credenIials are
rounded ouI wiIh a Blu-ray drive, you can add
Ihe Cyberlink Blu-ray
Playback SoluIion
solware Io your order
(lor 23 including
VAT) Io enable
Blu-ray playback.
There's a healIhy
supply ol SB porIs as
well, wiIh Iwo SB2
porIs on Ihe lronI, and
Iwo SB2 and lour
SB3 porIs on Ihe
rear. There are also
Iwo PS/2 porIs lor
older mice and
keyboards, Iwo Wi-Fi
anIennas, Iwo CigabiI
CHILLBLAST
!usiorVacuumMiri 3

1,105 inc VAT

From www.chillblast.com
VERDICT
A powerfu| and quiet media PC with a usefu|
range of expansion ports, but it's a |ot bigger
than most mini PCs and very expensive
FIherneI porIs, an lR receiver porI, an opIical
S/PDlF audio ouIpuI and 7.1 surround sound.
ll you'd raIher operaIe Ihe PC lrom a
disIance, you have plenIy ol opIions. lIs
BlueIooIh supporI will be welcome news lor
Ihose hoping Io use a wireless mouse and
keyboard and Ihe BlOS also has opIions lor
waking Ihe PC lrom Sleep mode via LAN, so
you'll be able Io wake iI up wiIh a smarIphone
or IableI app. The PC also comes wiIh a Xebec
BlueIooIh Uicro Keyboard and Trackpad uniI
lor wireless conIrol.
The Vacuum Uini 3 has Io make do wiIh
iIs processor's inIegraIed lnIel HD Craphics
4600 lor playing games, buI Ihis chipseI is
more capable Ihan mosI inIegraIed graphics.
lI won'I be able Io play heavy-duIy games
such as Crysis 3, buI we were able Io run Ihe
lapIop version ol our DirI Showdown IesI,
which we run aI 1,280x720 wiIh High qualiIy
and 4x anIi-aliasing, wiIh no problem aI all,
producing a smooIh 30.1lps an impressive
resulI lor inIegraIed graphics.
We were also impressed wiIh Ihe lrame
raIes we saw aI 1,920x1,080. However, we had
Io seI Ihe qualiIy Io Low Io geI a playable
lrame raIe in DirI Showdown, buI aI
1,920x1,080 wiIh 4x anIi-aliasing we saw a
respecIable 32.9lps and 48.3lps when we
Iurned Ihe anIi-aliasing oh. Trine 2 looked
sIunning aI 1,920x1,080, as we were able Io
seI Ihe graphics Io High aI Ihis resoluIion and
sIill geI a smooIh lrame raIe ol 30.Slps, so
long as we swiIched oh anIi-aliasing. The
Vacuum Uini 3 is also perlecIly capable ol
handling 4K resoluIions, and iI was able Io
play our 4K video IesI looIage wiIh ease.
The Fusion Vacuum Uini 3 is a near-silenI,
powerlul and versaIile media PC. Our main
concern is iIs price aI 1,10S, iI's one ol Ihe
mosI expensive mini PCs we've IesIed. The
range ol porIs and games console-sized case
make iI a very auracIive sysIem il you wanI a
neaI PC you can Iuck away in your home AV
sysIem, buI il you don'I need Ihis much
power, you'd be beuer oh wiIh a cheaper
model such as Ihe ZoIac Zbox lQ01 Plus.
SPECIFICATIONS
CPU 2.5CHz |ntel Core i7-4770T
PAN16CB
5TOPACE 250CB SSD
CPAPHIC5 CAPD |ntel HD Craphics 4600
OPTICAL DPIVE BD-RON, DVD+/-RW +/-DL
OPEPATINC 5Y5TENWindows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
DINEN5ION5 100x240x220mm
POWEP CON5UNPTION 2W standby, 14W idle, 64W active
WAPPANTY Two-year collect and return
PAPT CODE Fusion Vacuum Nini 3
DETAIL5 www.chillblast.com
VitI an SSD Ior storae, tIe opticaI drive is tIe
onIy source oI noise
MINI PCs
84 PRIL 2014 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 314
save on space, making Ihem
perlecI companions lor messy desks. BuI
while Ihe Lenovo ldeaCenIre Q190 is
comparaIively Iall compared Io oIher mini PCs
we've IesIed, iI's sIill incredibly slighI.
Ueasuring |usI 1SSx22x193mm, iI's roughly
Ihe same size as an iPad Uini sIanding on iIs
end and comes wiIh a VFSA mounI Io screw
iI onIo Ihe back ol your moniIor il you don'I
wanI Io lay iI laI or use Ihe included sIand.
INTELLIGENT DESIGN
Lenovo has made good use ol Ihe available
space Io cram in plenIy ol porIs. UosI ol
Ihese are on Ihe rear, and include lour
SB2 porIs, a CigabiI FIherneI porI and an
opIical S/PDlF audio ouIpuI Io connecI Io
cerIain surround sound sysIems.
There's only a VCA and an HDUl ouIpuI Io
connecI Io a display, buI as you can plug an
HDUl porI inIo a DVl moniIor wiIh a 4
adapIor, Ihis isn'I Ioo much ol a problem. You
cerIainly won'I be shorI ol SB porIs, as Ihe
PC has anoIher Iwo SB3 porIs on Ihe lronI
ol Ihe PC along wiIh a mulIi-lormaI card
reader and separaIe headphone and
microphone |acks underneaIh Ihe eleganI, il
slighIly limsy, silver plasIic lap.
This gives you plenIy ol scope
lor adding exIra sIorage Io Ihe
Q190's 1TB hard disk, buI you'll
need Io save Iwo SB porIs lor a
keyboard and mouse, or one il
you use a wireless seI, Ihe Q190
doesn'I have builI-in BlueIooIh.
The Q190's main downside is
iIs lack ol upgrade opIions. The
plasIic chassis is compleIely
LENOVO
ldeaCerre Ql0

330 inc VAT

From www.ebuyer.com
VERDICT
This tiny PC has p|enty of ports and power for
the price, but its |ack of upgrade options make it
|ess versati|e than other u|tra-compact systems
sealed, so you'll have Io make do wiIh whaI's
already inside Ihe box lor Ihe duraIion ol Ihe
PC's lilespan. This will come as a
disappoinImenI Io some, buI lorIunaIely Ihe
Q190 is already considerably more powerlul
Ihan many PCs in Ihis price range.
The Q190 comes wiIh 4CB ol DDR3 RAU
and a 1.8CHz lnIel Core i3-3217 processor, a
model IhaI was common Io several Core i3
lapIops lasI year. lI sIruggled slighIly wiIh our
mulIi-Iasking IesI, buI an overall score ol 31 in
our mulIimedia benchmarks is sIill good lor a
sysIem ol Ihis size and price. This puIs Ihe
Q190 |usI behind a bang-up-Io-daIe Core i3
lapIop, so iI's more Ihan capable ol handling
everyday compuIing Iasks. The limiIed
amounI ol memory shouldn'I be a problem,
buI you may run inIo problems when
running virIual machines.
The processor's inIegraIed lnIel HD
Craphics 4000 chip is beginning Io show iIs
age, however, as iI isn'I powerlul enough Io
run Ihe laIesI 3D games. lI lailed Io produce
1Slps in Ihe lapIop version ol our DirI
Showdown IesI, which we run aI 1,280x720
wiIh 4x anIi-aliasing and High deIail, and even
less demanding 3D IiIles weren'I parIicularly
smooIh. We were |usI abouI able Io play
Trine 2 on Low qualiIy aI 1,280x720, Ihanks Io
an average lrame raIe ol 17.6lps, buI iI was
sIill Ioo |erky Io be much lun.
The PC's builI-in 802.11n Wi-Fi makes Ihe
Q190 easy Io connecI Io your home neIwork,
giving iI plenIy ol poIenIial as a home media
cenIre lor sIreaming services such as iPlayer
and NeIlix. You'll have Io sIick wiIh Full HD
video, Ihough, as Ihe PC sIruggled when we
Iried playing our 4K IesI looIage.
For Ihose willing Io brave Ihe Q190's basic
BlOS, Ihere's also Ihe possibiliIy Io wake Ihe
PC lrom LAN when iI's in Sleep mode. This is
parIicularly handy il you've mounIed Ihe PC
Io Ihe back ol your TV or moniIor, as you can
wake iI up lrom a IableI or smarIphone.
nlike oIher mini PCs, such as Ihose based on
lnIel's NC plaIlorm, Ihere isn'I an opIion Io
wake Ihe PC lrom LAN when swiIched oh.
The ldeaCenIre Q190 has a lew drawbacks,
and iIs 4CB RAU limiIs how many inIensive
Iasks you can perlorm aI once, buI aI |usI
330 iI's ideal lor Ihose who wanI a neaI and
Iidy mini PC and don'I wanI Io pay an exIra
1S0 lor Ihe equally powerlul PC SpecialisI
NC LiIe, so wins a BudgeI Buy award.
SPECIFICATIONS
CPU 1.8CHz |ntel Core i3-3217U
PAN4CB
5TOPACE 1TB hard disk
CPAPHIC5 CAPD |ntel HD Craphics 4000
OPTICAL DPIVE None
OPEPATINC 5Y5TENWindows 8
DINEN5ION5 155x22x193mm
POWEP CON5UNPTION 2Wstandby, 13Widle, 25Wactive
WAPPANTY One-year RTB
PAPT CODE 57321759
DETAIL5 www.lenovo.co.uk
8 \k||
8W|
\|Ck|! 8|W WkI\
! \!| !K| W|K Wk!CK|8 I
r1er ear prir| er 1ii|l HKee| | m|ee|t.tem
MINI PCs
8
ISSUE 314 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ PRIL 2014
some omce space? The
ThinkCenIre U93p is one ol Lenovo's laIesI
business-locused mini PCs, and Ihis high-
powered sysIem comes wiIh almosI
everyIhing you need Io geI sIarIed in Ihe box.
All you need is a moniIor, as Ihe U93p comes
wiIh iIs own wired mouse and keyboard.
Some models also come wiIh an exIernal DVD
rewriIer IhaI doubles up as a VFSA mounI,
buI aI Ihe Iime ol wriIing Ihis is only available
wiIh Ihe lower-specced Core iS model.
Our review sample came wiIh a quad-core
2CHz lnIel Core i7-476ST processor and 4CB
ol RAU. lI's noI Ihe lasIesI quad-core
processor we've seen in a mini PC, buI Ihe
overall score ol 74 in our mulIimedia
benchmarks shows Ihis PC is capable ol
handling demanding omce and media
solware. lI also coped parIicularly well wiIh
Ihe mulIiIasking secIion ol our benchmarks,
buI Ihe relaIively small amounI ol memory
means running a Windows-based virIual
machine may be a problem. You're sIuck wiIh
Ihis specihcaIion, as Ihe PC is sealed shuI.
The U93p's inIegraIed lnIel HD Craphics
4600 chip is reasonably capable in 3D games.
lI was able Io run Ihe
lapIop version ol our DirI
Showdown IesI, which we
run aI 1,280x720, High
deIail and 4x anIi-aliasing,
aI an average lrame raIe
ol 19.4lps, so you'll be
LENOVO
TlirlCerre M3

775 inc VAT

From www.cclonline.com
VERDICT
It's expensive, but this is a fast omce-oriented mini PC that comes
with p|enty of added extras to he|p it stand out fromthe crowd
able Io geI a playable 30lps in Ihis demanding
racing IiIle il you're prepared Io cuI deIail
down Io Low. The chip coped well wiIh less
demanding IiIles, Ioo. ln Trine 2 we were able
Io geI a beauIilully smooIh 40.4lps on High
qualiIy wiIh Ihe anIi-aliasing Iurned oh aI
1,280x720, buI Ihis dropped down Io 23.4lps
when we Iurned anIi-aliasing up Io High Io
smooIh oh Ihe |agged edges in Ihe graphics.
The PC isn'I quiIe lasI enough Io handle
games aI 1,920x1,080, as iI only |usI managed
18.8lps in DirI Showdown aI Low deIail wiIh
4x anIi-aliasing, and 19.3lps in Trine 2 wiIh
Low deIail and Ihe anIi-aliasing Iurned oh.
This was slower Ihan expecIed, as we saw
beuer resulIs lrom Ihe similar chip in Ihe
ChillblasI Fusion Vacuum Uini 3, buI we
suspecI Ihe chip is suhering lrom Ihe U93p's
small case and relaIive lack ol cooling.
Annoyingly, Ihe U93p isn'I very versaIile
when iI comes Io connecIing Io your moniIor,
as Ihe only video ouIpuIs available are Iwo
DisplayPorIs and a single VCA ouIpuI. We
would have prelerred Io see aI leasI one
HDUl porI IhaI leI you connecI Io a TV or
DVl moniIor wiIh a cheap adapIor, insIead ol
one ol Ihe DisplayPorIs. This makes Ihe U93p
unsuiIable lor use as a media PC.
Fxpansion is plenIilul wiIh hve SB3 porIs,
one ol which will charge smarIphones and
IableIs while Ihe PC is oh, a CigabiI FIherneI
porI, an anIenna connecIor lor Ihe builI-in
Wi-Fi and headphone and microphone |acks.
ll you'd raIher noI lose Iwo SB porIs lor Ihe
mouse and keyboard, Ihe U93p's Wi-Fi card
also has builI-in BlueIooIh, so you can use a
wireless mouse and keyboard insIead.
AnoIher bonus is down Io Ihe U93p's
BlOS which leIs you seI Ihe PC Io wake on
LAN, so you can hre iI up lrom sleep mode
wiIh a IableI or smarIphone app.
Overall, Ihe Lenovo ThinkCenIre U93p is
a highly capable mini-omce PC, buI aI |usI
under 800, we Ihink iI's a liule expensive lor
Ihe hardware inside. ll all you're looking lor is
a powerlul mini PC, Ihe ZoIac ZBox lQ01
Plus is boIh lasIer and around 2S0 cheaper.
The U93p is very convenienI and comes wiIh
several added exIras, including an addiIional
upgrade licence lor Windows 8 Pro (around
8S lrom www.omozcn.cc.uk) and a Ihree-year
onsiIe warranIy, buI iI's |usI noI quiIe as
good value as oIher mini PCs ouI Ihere.
SPECIFICATIONS
CPU 2CHz |ntel Core i7-4765T
PAN4CB
5TOPACE 500CB hard disk
CPAPHIC5 CAPD |ntel HD Craphics 4600
OPTICAL DPIVE none
OPEPATINC 5Y5TENWindows 7 Professional 64-bit /
Windows 8 Pro
DINEN5ION5 34x179x182mm
POWEP CON5UNPTION 1W standby, 12W idle, 38W active
WAPPANTY Three-year onsite
PAPT CODE 10AB000WUK
DETAIL5 www.lenovo.co.uk
Expansion options are pIentiIuI vitI ve
USB3 ports, one oI vIicI viII cIare smartpIones
and tabIets vIiIe/ tIe PC is svitcIed oII
MINI PCs
PRIL 2014 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 314
INTEL'S NUC KIT is generally sold as a
barebones uniI you build yoursell, buI il Ihe
IhoughI ol assembling your own mini PC is a
liule daunIing, Ihere are an increasing number
ol sysIem builders who'll do iI lor you, as well
as insIall Windows. PC SpecialisI's NC LiIe is
based on lnIel's Core i3 NC KiI barebones,
and comes in a sIandard NC chassis,
measuring |usI 3Sx117x112mm. lI's one ol
Ihe smallesI mini PCs ouI Ihere, beaIen
only by Ihe ChillblasI Fusion Brix.
WiIh a barebones NC, you'd have
Io add your own RAU, sIorage, wireless
card and OS, buI Ihese all come as
sIandard on Ihe NC LiIe. Alongside iIs
1.7CHz lnIel Core i3-4010 processor,
PC SpecialisI has included 8CB ol RAU,
a 120CB KingsIon SUS200S3120C
mSATA SSD and an lnIel CenIrino
Wireless-N 13S Wi-Fi and BlueIooIh
adapIor, and has insIalled Windows 8.1.
Ol course, a barebones NC gives
you greaIer lexibiliIy in adding or
removing your own componenIs, buI
when we priced up Ihe same
componenIs and operaIing sysIem
inside Ihe NC LiIe on Iop ol a Core i3
NC KiI (22S lrom www.dobs.ccm), iI
came ouI almosI 10 more expensive
doing iI ourselves. Building your own
would also mean insIalling Windows 8,
so you're dehniIely geuing a good value
sysIem wiIh Ihe NC LiIe.
The only Ihing we would have liked Io have
seen included is a Uini HDUl Io HDUl
adapIor, Io make iI easy Io plug inIo a TV or a
non-DisplayPorI moniIor. These are cheap and
easy Io come by - you can buy a Belkin model
PC SPECIALIST

449 inc VAT

From www.pcspecialist.co.uk
VERDICT
Its graphics performance cou|d be bener, but
this mini PC is fast and versati|e, making it a
great companion for both omce and home
lor as liule as 3.60 lrom www.ebuyer.ccm. ln
addiIion, Ihe NC has lour SB3 porIs, a
CigabiI FIherneI porI and a combined
headphone and microphone |ack.
lIs Core i3-4010 processor isn'I
blisIeringly lasI, buI sIill scored a reasonable
33 overall in our mulIimedia benchmarks,
abouI Ihe same as a mid-range lapIop. lI Iook
a while Io hnish Ihe mulIi-Iasking secIion ol
our IesI, buI handled image and video
encoding well, puuing iI on par wiIh Ihe more
expensive ChillblasI Fusion Brix.
Video ediIing may be sluggish and
encoding would Iake a while, buI mosI
deskIop Iasks will be hne. The 8CB ol RAU is
also enough lor preuy much anyIhing you
wanI Io Ihrow aI Windows 8.
The NC LiIe has Ihe same lnIel
HD Craphics 4400 chipseI as Ihe
ChillblasI Fusion Brix, buI oddly, iI didn'I
perlorm quiIe as well in our graphics
IesIs. However, iI's sIill perlecIly capable
ol handling 3D games il you're prepared
Io lower Ihe deIail seuings. DirI
Showdown produced |usI 17.4lps on
High qualiIy aI 1,280x720, buI Trine 2
was smooIher, as we regularly hiI 31.7lps
on High qualiIy seuings aI 1,280x720, as
long as we lel anIi-aliasing Iurned oh.
Sadly, Ihe NC LiIe isn'I quick
enough Io run games aI 1,920x1,080
and only managed 17lps in Trine 2
wiIh Low graphics and no anIi-aliasing
aI Ihis resoluIion.
As a media cenIre PC, Ihe NC LiIe is
an excellenI choice. lI comes wiIh a
VFSA mounI, and iIs easy-Io-use BlOS
seuings leI us wake Ihe PC via LAN lrom
Sleep mode wiIh a Wake-on-LAN
Android app on our phone. lI also
played our 4K IesI looIage smooIhly.
The NC LiIe's unspecIacular graphics
perlormance |usI nudges iI ouI ol BesI Buy
IerriIory, buI aI a pound under 4S0, iI's a loI
cheaper Ihan Ihe equally powerlul ChillblasI
Fusion Brix. The lasIer ZoIac Zbox Nano lD64
Plus makes a compelling case, buI iI also
requires you Io buy and insIall your own
operaIing sysIem. ll you lavour convenience
and wanI a good value Iiny sysIem lor under
S00, Ihe PC SpecialisI NC LiIe is lor you.
SPECIFICATIONS
CPU 1.7CHz |ntel Core i3-4010U
PAN8CB
5TOPACE 120CB SSD
CPAPHIC5 CAPD |ntel HD Craphics 4000
OPTICAL DPIVE None
OPEPATINC 5Y5TENWindows 8.1
DINEN5ION5 35x117x112mm
POWEP CON5UNPTION 1W standby, 6W idle, 23W active
WAPPANTY Three-year RTB (one month collect and return,
one year parts, three years labour)
PAPT CODE NUC Lite
DETAIL5 www.pcspecialist.co.uk
MINI PCs

ISSUE 314 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ PRIL 2014

WHILE ITS FUTURISTIC rubber chassis may
noI be quiIe as sleek and auracIive as oIher
mini PCs we've seen, Ihe Sapphire Fdge VS8
is sIill a svelIe liule number, measuring |usI
31x197x182mm. From Ihe side, iI's almosI Ihe
same size as an iPad Uini, buI as iIs uneven
wedge-shaped case doesn'I lie laI, you'll need
Io use iIs sIand or auach iI Io Ihe back ol a
TV or moniIor wiIh Ihe included VFSA mounI.
WHERE'S LINUXZ
FreeDOS is insIalled as sIandard, which is
near-useless lor mosI people. The Sapphire
Fdge works wiIh boIh Windows 7 and
Windows 8, buI unless you already have a
producI key or Windows license, Ihis Iakes
Ihe hnal cosI up Io nearly 400.
This wouldn'I be a big problem il Ihe VS8
had Ihe raw processing perlormance Io maIch
iIs price, buI Ihe AUD componenIs inside
were quiIe sluggish in our mulIimedia
benchmarks. lIs quad-core 1.6CHz AUD
A8-4SSSU AP and 4CB ol RAU led Io a
score ol |usI 26 overall, puuing iI hve poinIs
behind Ihe cheaper Lenovo ldeaCenIre Q190.
lI sIruggled wiIh mulIi-Iasking and video-
encoding, so is only suiIed Io basic Iasks such
as web surhng and word processing.
There's noI much scope Io upgrade as
Ihe chassis is Iricky Io open. There's a
barebones model ol Ihe VS8, which is
available ready-
unscrewed wiIh Ihe
screws in Ihe box,
so your lile will be
easier il you go Ihe
build-your-own rouIe.
lnside Ihere are Iwo
SO-DlUU lapIop
memory sloIs and a
SATA connecIor lor a
2.Sin hard disk or SSD.
SAPPHIRE

320 inc VAT

From www.pixmania.co.uk
VERDICT
This mini PC has a versati|e se|ection of ports, but
its s|uggish performance wi|| be a turn o for many
We've seen impressive perlormance lrom
Ihe graphics builI inIo AUD's processors in
Ihe pasI, buI we weren'I IhaI impressed wiIh
Ihe VS8's AUD Radeon HD 7600C graphics
chipseI. This perlormed only marginally beuer
Ihan Ihe lnIel-based mini PCs we've seen wiIh
lnIel HD Craphics 4000 chipseIs. The VS8
was only able Io produce 16.3lps in our DirI
Showdown IesI wiIh High qualiIy, 4x
anIi-aliasing and a 1,280x720 resoluIion. We
managed Io increase Ihis Io a sIeadier 24.8lps
by Iurning Ihe deIail down Io Low and
disabling Ihe anIi-aliasing, buI Ihis is sIill Ioo
|erky Io be comlorIably playable.
We managed Io geI beuer resulIs running
Ihe less demanding Trine 2 plaIlorm game,
wiIh 1,280x720 sIill Ihe opIimal resoluIion lor
smooIh gameplay. We saw a playable 29.Slps
aI High qualiIy seuings wiIh no anIi-aliasing aI
Ihis resoluIion. When we increased Ihe
resoluIion Io 1,920x1,080, even Low qualiIy
produced |usI 22.Slps. Like many modern
PCs, Ihe VS8 can handle video aI 1,920x1,080,
buI can'I play back 4K video smooIhly.
The VS8 has a good range ol porIs. On Ihe
lronI, Ihere's an SD card reader as well as Iwo
SB3 porIs, buI Ihe lauer are hidden behind a
hddly plasIic cap. We almosI broke our
hngernails Irying Io geI Ihis open, so we'd
recommend leaving Ihe cap in Ihe box once
you've hnally pried iI oh.
On Ihe back, Ihere are HDUl and Uini
DisplayPorI connecIors lor connecIing Ihe PC
Io your TV or moniIor, lour SB2 porIs, a
CigabiI FIherneI porI, an opIical S/PDlF audio
ouIpuI and separaIe headphone and
microphone |acks. The PC's 2.Sin S00CB hard
disk gives plenIy ol room Io sIore your hles.
The PC comes wiIh a Wi-Fi and BlueIooIh
card as sIandard, which will help you use a
wireless mouse and keyboard insIead ol
Iaking up Iwo SB porIs. Sadly, Ihe VS8 isn'I
suiIed Io lile as a living room PC, as Ihere
aren'I any opIions in Ihe BlOS Io wake Ihe PC
lrom LAN. This means you'll have Io Iurn Ihe
compuIer on using iIs power buuon raIher
Ihan Iurning iI on remoIely lrom Ihe comlorI
ol your sola wiIh a IableI or smarIphone app.
This shouldn'I puI you oh using Ihe
Sapphire Fdge VS8 as a mini deskIop PC, buI
our main concern is Ihe price. ll Windows
came pre-insIalled lor 320, Ihe VS8 would be
a worIhy rival Io Ihe similarly priced Lenovo
ldeaCenIre Q190, buI Ihe exIra cosI ol an OS
and Ihe ehorI ol insIalling iI will make Ihe
Q190 a beuer buy lor mosI people.
SPECIFICATIONS
CPU 1.6CHz AND A8-4555N
PAN4CB
5TOPACE 500CB hard disk
CPAPHIC5 CAPD AND Radeon HD 7600C
OPTICAL DPIVE None
OPEPATINC 5Y5TENFreeDos
DINEN5ION5 31x197x182mm
POWEP CON5UNPTION 2W standby, 18W idle, 31W active
WAPPANTY One-year RTB
PAPT CODE 4H000-10-40C
DETAIL5 www.sapphiretech.com
MINI PCs
0 PRIL 2014 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 314
iIs mini PC on one ol
lnIel's NC KiIs, which are used as Ihe base
lor some ol Ihe smallesI mini PCs. Scan's Iake
on Ihe NC mini PC makes lor a parIicularly
well-designed sysIem, however.
The 3XS NC N16's 49mm-high chassis is
14mm higher Ihan previous NC chassis we've
seen, such as IhaI used in Ihe PC SpecialisI
NC LiIe. The exIra heighI allows lor a
welcome new addiIion Io Ihe IradiIional NC
lormula. a 2.Sin hard disk. While oIher NCs
only have space lor an mSATA SSD, Ihe N16
has room lor a lapIop hard disk and an
mSATA drive, giving more sIorage lexibiliIy.
Our review sample came wiIh a 1TB
SeagaIe ST1000LU014-1F|164 SSD hybrid
disk, leaving Ihe mSATA connecIor empIy lor
luIure upgrades. This hybrid disk consisIs ol a
1TB lapIop disk lused wiIh 8CB ol cache, so
hopes Io bring you Ihe speed ol an SSD wiIh
Ihe capaciIy ol a sIandard hard disk.
To IesI Ihe disk's perlormance, we used
Ihe CrysIalDiskUark applicaIion. ln Ihis
benchmark we saw an average large hle read
and wriIe speed ol 4S.S9UB/s, compared Io
29.49UB/s lor a sIandard 7,200RPU hard
disk, showing Ihe cache Io make Ihe drive
signihcanIly quicker. This means applicaIions
open lasIer and Windows leels snappier, so
iI's cerIainly a worIhwhile addiIion. The hybrid
disk sIill pales in comparison Io Ihe speeds ol
an mSATA SSD, however, as we measured a
SCAN
3XS NUC NlC

599 inc VAT

From hup://3xs.scan.co.uk
VERDICT
With its powerfu| hardware and |arge hard disk, this
is a great-va|ue mini PC that gets everything right
huge average read/wriIe speed ol
200.6SUB/s lor large hles when we
ran Ihe applicaIion again on Ihe PC SpecialisI
NC LiIe.
Sadly, a Ialler chassis doesn'I mean Ihe
N16 comes wiIh any more porIs. There's sIill
|usI a Uini DisplayPorI and Uini HDUl ouIpuI
Io connecI Ihe N16 Io your moniIor, buI
Ihanklully Scan includes a Uini HDUl Io
HDUl adapIor in Ihe box, so you can sIarI
using Ihe PC sIraighI away il you don'I
already have Ihe righI adapIor. There are also
lour SB3 porIs, CigabiI FIherneI and a
combined headphone and microphone |ack.
The N16 is based on Ihe Core iS version ol
Ihe NC, wiIh a 1.3CHz lnIel Core iS-42S0
processor. Scan has also hued iIs PC wiIh 8CB
ol RAU. This conhguraIion helped iI Io an
excellenI 48 in our mulIimedia benchmarks.
lIs mulIi-Iasking score was parIicularly
impressive, showing Ihe PC is capable ol
handling several programs simulIaneously as
well as demanding media solware.
The PC's lnIel HD Craphics S000 chip is
also one ol Ihe mosI capable inIegraIed
graphics chips we've ever IesIed, as iI lar
ouIsIrips whaI we've seen lrom oIher mini
PCs wiIh HD Craphics
4600 chipseIs. The
NC N16 compleIed
our DirI Showdown
IesI wiIh ease,
producing a
smooIh 28.Slps aI
High qualiIy aI a
resoluIion ol
1,280x720 wiIh 4x
anIi-aliasing
swiIched on. We
even saw a smooIh
31lps aI 1,920x
1,080, buI Ihis
involved decreasing
deIail levels Io Low.
This is an ouIsIanding resulI lor an
inIegraIed chip, and less demanding 3D games
perlormed even beuer. We were able Io play
Ihe beauIilul plaIlorm game Trine 2 on
Uedium deIail aI 1,920x1,080 aI 30lps, so you
should be able Io play mosI games aI a
reasonable speed wiIhouI having Io
compromise Ioo much on graphical hdeliIy.
WiIh so much power aI iIs disposal, Ihe
N16 would make a greaI living-room PC. lI
comes wiIh a VFSA mounI, so you can auach
iI easily Io Ihe back ol your TV or moniIor,
and iI has all Ihe connecIiviIy and neIworking
opIions you'd need lor Ihis use. lI comes wiIh
a 802.11n Wi-Fi and BlueIooIh card, and iIs
inIernal anIennas mean you don'I have Io
auach any exIernal adapIors lor a good signal.
We didn'I even need Io press Ihe power
buuon Io geI Ihe PC going, eiIher, as Ihe N16's
user-lriendly BlOS leI us wake Ihe PC via LAN
lrom boIh Sleep mode and when swiIched oh.
You'll need Io enable Ihe Deep S4/SS opIions
in Ihe Power secIion ol Ihe BlOS inIerlace Io
Iake advanIage ol Ihis, buI iI's very easy Io do
and once we'd downloaded a Wake lrom LAN
app on our phone, we were able Io Iurn on
Ihe N16 on wiIh a single buuon in Ihe app.
The Scan 3XS NC N16 is a superb mini PC
lor S99. Thanks Io iIs Iall chassis, iI has more
sIorage Ihan many mini PCs, and iIs superb
processing power and graphics perlormance
make iI a greaI alIernaIive Io a lapIop or
budgeI PC. ll you don'I mind a bigger case
and aren'I inIeresIed in games, Ihe ZoIac
ZBox lQ01 Plus will save you some money, buI
lor Ihose who wanI everyIhing in a Iiny
chassis Ihe NC N16 is Ihe mini PC Io have.
ThaI's why iI wins a BesI Buy award.
SPECIFICATIONS
CPU 1.3CHz |ntel Core i5-4250U
PAN8CB
5TOPACE 1TB hard disk
CPAPHIC5 CAPD |ntel HD Craphics 5000
OPTICAL DPIVE None
OPEPATINC 5Y5TENWindows 8.1
DINEN5ION5 49x116x112mm
POWEP CON5UNPTION 3W standby, 8W idle, 24W active
WAPPANTY Three-year RTB (first year onsite)
PAPT CODE 3XS NUC N16
DETAIL5 http://3xs.scan.co.uk
VitI so mucI pover at its disposaI, tIe N16 vouId
make a reat Iivin-room PC. It comes vitI a VES
mount so you can easiIy attacI it to your TV
MINI PCs
l
ISSUE 314 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ PRIL 2014
THE LAST VERYPC Nano SkeIch we reviewed
was a modesI lnIel Core i3 sysIem, buI Ihis
small mini PC is also available in meaIier
specihcaIions, such as Ihe Core i7 model
reviewed here. lIs dual-core lnIel Core
i7-3S17 lvy Bridge processor is showing iIs
age compared Io newer Haswell chips, buI iI
sIill perlormed well in our mulIimedia
benchmarks, scoring S1 overall.
The Nano SkeIch handled Ihe mulIiIasking
secIion ol our IesI well, buI iIs overall
perlormance, even wiIh a huge 16CB ol RAU,
pales in comparison Io IhaI ol some ol Ihe
quad-core Core i7 mini PCs we've IesIed. The
similarly sized ZoIac Zbox lQ01 Plus, which is
almosI hall Ihe price ol Ihis model, scored 83,
Ihanks Io iIs deskIop Haswell processor. The
Nano SkeIch is sIill lasI enough lor everyday
compuIing, buI much lasIer mini PCs are
available lor Ihis price.
The Nano SkeIch's lnIel HD Craphics 4000
chip also lagged behind more modern
inIegraIed graphics chipseIs, as iI lailed Io
produce 1Slps in Ihe lapIop version ol our DirI
Showdown IesI, which we run aI 1,280x720
wiIh High qualiIy seuings and 4x anIi-aliasing.
Fven when we disabled Ihe AA and Iurned
deIail down Io Low, Ihe chip was sIill only able
Io produce a sIuuering average ol 19.4lps.
This wasn'I unexpecIed, buI iI's disappoinIing
considering Ihe Nano SkeIch's high price.
nsurprisingly, gaming aI Full HD
is ouI ol Ihe quesIion, buI even
less demanding 3D games were
relaIively |erky aI 1,280x720. We
only managed a mere 22.7lps in
Ihe plaIlorm game Trine 2 aI Low
qualiIy seuings wiIh Ihe
anIi-aliasing Iurned oh.
The Nano SkeIch does look
good, Ihough. lIs Foxconn
AT-7300 NanoPC chassis is by lar
VERYPC Naro Slecl Core i

1,079 inc VAT

From www.very-pc.co.uk
VERDICT
This Core i7 mini PC has p|enty of ports and a fair amount of
processing power, but it's too expensive for what's inside
one ol Ihe smarIer mini PC cases we've seen.
Ueasuring 13Sx38x190mm, iI's roughly Ihe
same size as a paperback novel. lI looks greaI
lying laI and comes wiIh a sIand and a VFSA
mounI Io auach Io Ihe back ol your moniIor.
On Ihe lronI, you'll hnd Iwo SB3 porIs, a
mulIi-lormaI card reader and separaIe
headphone and microphone |acks. There's
also an lR receiver so you can use a remoIe Io
Iurn Ihe PC on insIead ol Ihe power buuon,
buI you'll need Io enable Ihe ClR ConIroller
ConhguraIion opIion in Ihe PC's basic BlOS Io
Iake advanIage ol Ihis leaIure. This is
parIicularly handy, as Ihere isn'I an opIion Io
wake Ihe PC lrom LAN in Ihe BlOS, so you
can'I wake Ihe PC over your neIwork wiIh a
smarIphone or IableI app.
On Ihe back Ihere are anoIher Iwo SB3
and Iwo SB2 porIs, HDUl and DVl video
ouIpuIs and a CigabiI FIherneI porI. The
Nano SkeIch also has builI-in 802.11n Wi-Fi
adapIor, making iI easy Io geI on your home
neIwork, buI Ihere's no builI-in BlueIooIh.
The Nano SkeIch has a huge amounI ol
sIorage. lIs WesIern DigiIal WD1001X06X-
0SCSl hybrid drive conIains a 1TB hard disk
combined wiIh a 120CB SSD in Ihe same case,
giving you plenIy ol space lor your hles and a
lasI sysIem disk. The booI SSD helps
immensely wiIh booI Iimes, Ihe Nano SkeIch
booIs lrom cold inIo a usable deskIop in an
average ol |usI 12 seconds. This is almosI
Iwice as quick as Scan's 3XS NC N16, so you
can geI Io work quickly. However, unlike Ihe
NC N16, wiIh iIs SSD hybrid drive, you have
separaIe disks lor Ihe operaIing sysIem and
lor your hles, which means you can reinsIall
Windows wiIhouI wiping your hles buI have
slighIly more hddly hle managemenI.
Should you wanI Io cusIomise Ihe Nano
SkeIch, only Ihe memory and 2.Sin hard disk
are accessible. Few people will wanI Io
upgrade, Ihough, as Ihe Nano SkeIch already
has plenIy ol RAU and a large hard disk.
There is a spare mSATA connecIor, so you
could replace Ihe hard disk/SSD combo wiIh
a larger sIandard hard disk and sIill have
space lor a Iiny mSATA SSD lor your OS.
The VeryPC Nano SkeIch is a greaI-looking
mini PC wiIh lairly sIrong perlormance and
plenIy ol sIorage, buI aI 1,079, iI's |usI lar
Ioo expensive. AI Ihis price, you'd be beuer
oh geuing Ihe bulkier ChillblasI Fusion
Vacuum Uini 3, which is Iwice as lasI and has
vasIly superior graphics perlormance.
OIherwise you should consider Ihe BesI
Buy-winning Scan 3XS NC N16 which is |usI
as powerlul, hall Ihe price and hall Ihe size.
SPECIFICATIONS
CPU 1.9CHz |ntel Core i7-3517U
PAN16CB
5TOPACE 120CB SSD + 1TB hard disk
CPAPHIC5 CAPD |ntel HD Craphics 4000
OPTICAL DPIVE None
OPEPATINC 5Y5TENWindows 8.1
DINEN5ION5 135x38x190mm
POWEP CON5UNPTION 2W standby, 16W idle, 32W active
WAPPANTY Two-year collect and return
PAPT CODE Nano Sketch
DETAIL5 www.very-pc.co.uk
MINI PCs
2 PRIL 2014 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 314
THE ZOTAC ZBOX lQ01 Plus may look like a
wireless rouIer, buI Ihere's some serious
power hidden in iIs plasIic case. We've
reviewed Ihe Plus version here, which comes
wiIh 4CB RAU hued and a S00CB hard disk,
buI you can also buy a barebones model
(wiIhouI Ihe Plus sumx) lor 463 inc VAT
lrom www.|ombdo-tek.ccm, and hI your own
RAU and 2.Sin hard disk. From Ihe same siIe,
4CB ol Crucial SODlUU RAU will cosI you
30 inc VAT and a 2.Sin HCST S00CB hard
disk is |usI 3S inc VAT. This brings Ihe IoIal
cosI ol Ihe sysIem up Io S28 il you build iI
yoursell, which is comparable Io Ihe price ol
Ihe compleIe sysIem reviewed here.
FiIher way, you'll have Io add an operaIing
sysIem, so il you wanI Io go wiIh Windows
8.1, you'll need Io budgeI a lurIher 67 lor Ihe
DVD OFU version ol Windows 8.1 64-biI. As
Ihe lQ01 has no DVD drive, you'll also have Io
use Ihe Windows 7 SB/DVD download Iool
(hu.//tinyur|.ccm/windcwsusbtcc|) Io Iransler
Ihe DVD conIenIs Io a 4CB lash drive.
The lQ01 is very easy Io cusIomise. All you
need Io do Io open Ihe chassis is undo Iwo
small Ihumbscrews on Ihe base ol Ihe PC and
slide Ihe side away wiIh Ihe handy Ihumb
grip. lnside, Ihere are Iwo sloIs lor up Io 16CB
ol DDR3 lapIop memory, a 2.Sin hard disk bay,
a mini PCl Fxpress sloI and a hall-heighI mini
PCl Fxpress sloI. The hall-heighI Uini PCl
Fxpress sloI is hlled wiIh an 802.11ac wireless
adapIor, which also has
builI-in BlueIooIh.
Round Ihe back, Ihe
lQ01 has a raIher odd
selecIion ol porIs.
lnsIead ol Ihe usual
VCA and HDUl video
ouIpuIs, Ihere are Iwo
DisplayPorIs and a
single-link DVl porI.
ZOTAC ZBox lQ0l Flus

525 inc VAT

From www.morecomputers.com
VERDICT
This mini PC is powerfu| and easy to upgrade,
giving you desktop PC power in a tiny chassis
Thanklully, ZoIac has included DVl-Io-VCA
and DVl-Io-HDUl adapIors in Ihe box Io make
iI easier Io connecI Io your TV or moniIor.
The single-link DVl porI could be a problem,
as Ihis means you won'I be able Io use iI wiIh
a screen wiIh a resoluIion higher Ihan
1,920x1,200, buI you could always use a
DisplayPorI moniIor insIead.
There are also Iwo SB3 porIs, Iwo CigabiI
FIherneI porIs and an S/PDlF opIical audio
ouIpuI on Ihe rear ol Ihe chassis, along wiIh
Iwo more SB3 porIs on Ihe lronI and side, a
mulIi-lormaI card reader, an lR receiver and
separaIe headphone and microphone |acks, so
you're covered lor connecIions.
The lQ01 is slighIly larger Ihan many mini
PCs we've seen, buI Ihis means Ihere's room
lor a deskIop version ol one ol lnIel's Haswell
processors in a sIandard LCA11S0 sockeI.
UosI mini PCs have mobile chips, and Ihe
lQ01's Core i7-4770T gives iI a big
perlormance advanIage. Fven wiIh a relaIively
meagre 4CB ol RAU, Ihe lQ01 scored 83
overall in our mulIimedia benchmarks, puuing
iI on par wiIh many 900 gaming lapIops and
budgeI deskIop PCs. This is lanIasIic lor a
sysIem ol Ihis size and price, and you can be
sure iI will be able Io handle almosI any Iype
ol program you Ihrow aI iI. lI could also play
our 4K IesI looIage wiIhouI a problem.
The processor's inIegraIed HD Craphics
4600 chip showed a loI ol promise when iI
came Io playing games. lI's noI quiIe as
capable as Ihe Scan 3XS NC N16's HD
Craphics S000 chip, buI we sIill saw a
respecIable 21.Slps in our DirI Showdown IesI
when we ran iI aI 1,280x720 wiIh High deIail
and 4x anIi-aliasing, showing you'll geI a
playable lrame raIe wiIh some deIail Iweaks.
We also Iried ouI Ihe super-preuy
plaIlorm game Trine 2. We only saw 23.8lps
on Low graphics wiIh no anIi-aliasing aI
1,920x1,080, buI Ihe game was sIill playable
aI Ihis lrame raIe. Once we dropped Ihe
resoluIion Io 1,280x720, we lound Ihe lQ01
could produce a smooIh 46.3lps aI High
graphics deIail wiIh no anIi-aliasing.
lI may noI be well suiIed Io playing games
aI Full HD resoluIions, buI Ihe lQ01 is sIill a
good choice il you're looking lor a media
cenIre PC. You can download Ihe open-source
XBUC media cenIre applicaIion sIraighI lrom
ZoIac (hu.//tinyur|.ccm/xbmczctoc) and Ihe
PC comes wiIh a VFSA mounI so you can
auach iI Io Ihe back ol your TV or moniIor.
There aren'I any opIions Io wake Ihe PC lrom
Sleep mode via LAN in Ihe BlOS, Ihough.
The ZoIac ZBox lQ01 Plus is a superb mini
PC. lI may be slighIly bigger Ihan Ihe
compeIiIion, buI Ihere's no denying iIs power
or sheer value. ll you don'I mind insIalling an
operaIing sysIem yoursell, iI's a greaI buy.
SPECIFICATIONS
CPU 2.5CHz |ntel Core i7-4770T
PAN4CB
5TOPACE 500CB hard disk
CPAPHIC5 CAPD |ntel HD Craphics 4600
OPTICAL DPIVE None
OPEPATINC 5Y5TENNone
DINEN5ION5 51x188x188mm
POWEP CON5UNPTION 2Wstandby, 14Widle, 42Wactive
WAPPANTY One-year RTB
PAPT CODE ZBOX-|Q01-PLUS-BE
DETAIL5 www.zotac.com
MINI PCs
4 PRIL 2014 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 314
THE ZOTAC ZBOX Nano lD64 Plus is one ol
Ihe smallesI mini PCs we've seen. lIs black
and silver case is a liule larger Ihan lnIel
NC-based PCs such as Ihe PC SpecialisI NC
LiIe, buI iI's sIill measures |usI 4Sx127x127mm,
making iI roughly Ihe same size as lour
sIandard CD |ewel cases. The exIra size also
means Ihere's room inside lor a 2in lapIop
hard disk, so you'll be able Io hI much more
sIorage Ihan Io smaller mini PCs wiIh Iheir
Iiny mSATA SSD sloIs. nlike Ihe Scan 3XS
NC N16, Ihough, Ihere's no spare mSATA
sloI il you wanIed Io add an SSD laIer.
The Nano lD64 is also available as a
barebones PC lor around 34S, which comes
wiIhouI RAU or a hard disk, buI Ihe Plus
model reviewed here comes wiIh everyIhing
pre-builI. The only Ihing you need Io add is an
operaIing sysIem, Windows 8.1 is currenIly
67 lrom www.|ombdo-tek.ccm on DVD. As Ihe
lD64 doesn'I have an opIical drive, you'll need
Io use a separaIe PC and Ihe Windows 7 SB/
DVD download Iool lrom hu.//tinyur|.ccm/
windcwsusbtcc| Io Iransler Ihe conIenIs ol
Ihe DVD on Io a 4CB lash drive.
The Nano lD64 has a 1.8CHz lnIel Core
iS-3337 processor and 4CB ol RAU. The
processor is a lasI-generaIion model, buI sIill
has plenIy ol perlormance and speed Ihrough
our mulIimedia benchmarks wiIh an overall
score ol 41, which is roughly Ihe same
ZOTAC
ZBox Naro lDC4 Flus

417 inc VAT

From www.lambda-tek.com
VERDICT
You'|| need to insta|| your own operating
system, but this tiny PC is a great mid-range
option with reasonab|e performance
as a good mid-range lapIop and plenIy lor
everyday compuIing Iasks and some more
demanding applicaIions. However, Ihe PC
wasn'I powerlul enough Io play back 4K video
smooIhly. There's also only one memory sloI,
so you'll need Io geI rid ol Ihe currenI RAU il
you wanI Io upgrade.
The Nano lD64's HD Craphics 4000
chipseI can |usI abouI handle 3D games, buI
you'll have Io lower Ihe seuings Io geI a
playable lrame raIe. Playing games aI
1,920x1,080 is ouI ol Ihe quesIion, as even Ihe
lowesI-qualiIy seuings only produced a |erky
16lps while playing Trine 2, so you'll be beuer
oh sIicking wiIh a 1,280x720 resoluIion lor 3D
IiIles. AI Ihis lower resoluIion, Ihe PC
produced 28.6lps in Trine 2 wiIh High qualiIy
and no anIi-aliasing, which is perlecIly
playable. The PC sIruggled wiIh more
demanding games such as DirI Showdown as
we only saw 16.2lps in Ihis IesI aI 1,280x720
wiIh High deIail and 4x anIi-aliasing.
DespiIe Ihese shorIcomings, Ihe Nano
lD64 is sIill suiIed Io lile as a media cenIre PC.
lIs small size makes iI ideal lor mounIing on
Ihe back ol your TV or moniIor, especially
since a VFSA mounI comes bundled in Ihe
box, and iIs user-lriendly BlOS reveals plenIy
ol opIions lor waking Ihe PC lrom Sleep
mode. As well as Ihe usual SB mouse or
keyboard, you can wake Ihe PC lrom LAN
using an app on a smarIphone or IableI, or by
an inlrared device like a sIandard TV remoIe.
The Nano lD64 Plus is easy Io upgrade.
We were able Io open Ihe PC by simply
unscrewing Ihe lour leeI on Ihe underside ol
Ihe chassis and popping oh Ihe base. lnside,
you have access Io Ihe 2in hard disk and
Iwo SO-DlUU lapIop memory sloIs. RaIher
Ihan upgrading Io 8CB lor around 30, iI'll
cosI 60 lor an 8CB replacemenI sIick. The
Nano lD64 Plus also comes wiIh a Wi-Fi card
pre-insIalled and has builI-in BlueIooIh.
There's also a lree mSATA sloI lor an SSD.
The PC has a uselul range ol porIs. These
include six SB porIs (Iwo SB2 on Ihe lronI
and lour SB3 on Ihe rear), HDUl and
DisplayPorI video ouIpuIs, an eSATA porI,
a CigabiI FIherneI porI, a Wi-Fi anIenna
connecIor, a mulIi-lormaI card reader and
separaIe headphone and microphone |acks.
The Iwo SB2 porIs aI Ihe lronI are handy,
as you can use Ihem Io charge IableIs and
oIher SB devices when Ihe PC is Iurned oh
or in Sleep mode. This leaIure is disabled by
delaulI, so you'll need Io enable Ihe S3/S4/SS
Charge FuncIion in Ihe PowerUanage secIion
ol Ihe BlOS inIerlace Io acIivaIe iI.
WiIh so many uselul exIras, Ihe Nano
lD64 Plus is a hne mini PC. lI ohers a greaI
middle ground beIween more expensive Core
i7 models and less powerlul Core i3 mini PCs
il you're happy insIalling Windows yoursell.
SPECIFICATIONS
CPU 1.8CHz |ntel Core i5-3337U
PAN4CB
5TOPACE 500CB hard disk
CPAPHIC5 CAPD |ntel HD Craphics 4000
OPTICAL DPIVE None
OPEPATINC 5Y5TENNone
DINEN5ION5 45x127x127mm
POWEP CON5UNPTION 2Wstandby, 14Widle, 30Wactive
WAPPANTY Two-year RTB
PAPT CODE ZBOXNANO-|D64-PLUS-BE
DETAIL5 www.zotac.com
TIere's room inside Ior a 2in Iaptop Iard disk,
so you'II be abIe to t mucI more storae tIan to
smaIIer mini PCs
MINI PCs
S
ISSUE 314 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ PRIL 2014
We've seen mini PCs in all shapes and sizes this
month. Some are small enough to ht in the palm
of your hand while others are almost the same
size as a games console, but among all the
variety are three impressive systems which
particularly stand out.
|f you don't mind a bigger chassis or
installing Windows yourself, and are more
interested in outright power, you should look at
the Zotac ZBox |Q01 Plus. This is as quick as a
full-size desktop PC and is easy to upgrade.
However, our PC of choice is a much smaller
model. The Scan 3XS NUC N16 is incredibly
quick for its size, squeezing a large amount of
storage space into its tiny chassis. |t strikes the
perfect balance between price, performance and
features, and wins a Best Buy award.
|f your budget doesn't stretch quite that far,
you should take a serious look at the Lenovo
|deaCentre Q190. |t's quick enough for everyday
tasks and is a bargain at less than 350. As such,
it wins this month's Budget Buy award.
VERDICT
LENOVO
ldeaCerre Ql0

SCAN
3XS NUC NlC

BLNCHMARKS
1 I1 11 a1 1 l11 lI1
C||||||:| |a:|er H|r| J
le|t l|e\ |1I ||a:
|erere I||r\Cer|re HJ
\er{|C 4re Cere |I
\tr JI\ 4JC 4It
le|t l|e\ ||t1 ||a:
C||||||:| |a:|er |r|\
|C \et|||:| 4JC |||e
|erere |ieCer|re I1
\||re |ije \\
26
31
33
34
41
48
51
74
83
98
1 I1 11 a1 1 l11 lI1
le|t l|e\ |1I
C||||||:| |a:|er H|r| J
\tr JI\ 4JC 4It
\er{|C 4re Cere |I
|erere I||r\Cer|re HJ
C||||||:| |a:|er |r|\
|C \et|||:| 4JC |||e
le|t l|e\ ||t1 ||a:
|erere |ieCer|re I1
\||re |ije \\
35
38
38
44
45
60
67
68
106
106
1 l1 I1 1 11 '1 a1 |1 1 1
C||||||:| |a:|er H|r| J
le|t l|e\ |1I ||a:
|erere I||r\Cer|re HJ
\er{|C 4re Cere |I
\tr JI\ 4JC 4It
le|t l|e\ ||t1 ||a:
|C \et|||:| 4JC |||e
C||||||:| |a:|er |r|\
|erere |ieCer|re I1
\||re |ije \\ 24
31
32
33
42
45
47
67
71
83
1 l1 I1 1 11 '1 a1 |1 1 1
C||||||:| |a:|er H|r| J
le|t l|e\ |1I ||a:
|erere I||r\Cer|re HJ
\er{|C 4re Cere |I
\tr JI\ 4JC 4It
le|t l|e\ ||t1 ||a:
|C \et|||:| 4JC |||e
C||||||:| |a:|er |r|\
|erere |ieCer|re I1
\||re |ije \\ 24
31
32
33
42
45
47
67
71
83
2D performance 3D performance
ol DDR3 RAU. We normalised all iIs
resulIs Io 100, which makes iI easy Io
draw comparisons. We use Ihe same
IesIs in all our reviews.
You can download Ihe IesIs lor lree
lrom hu.//bit.|y/shcerbenchmorks.
5ETTINC5 We run our application tests at native
resolutions and in 32-bit colour
WEB http://bit.ly/shopperbenchmarks
Our benchmark suiIe allows us Io compare
Windows, Uac OS X and Linux PCs. The
IesIs use open-source applicaIions Io
gauge a PC's perlormance, and comprise
image-ediIing, video-ediIing and
mulIiIasking elemenIs. These scores are
added Io produce Ihe overall score.
Our relerence PC is hued wiIh an
lnIel Core iS-2S00K processor and 4CB

1 ' l1 l' I1 I' 1 '

C||||||:| |a:|er H|r| J
\tr JI\ 4JC 4It
le|t l|e\ |1I ||a:
C||||||:| |a:|er |r|\
|erere I||r\Cer|re HJ
|C \et|||:| 4JC |||e
\||re |ije \\
le|t l|e\ ||t1 ||a:
\er{|C 4re Cere |I
|erere |ieCer|re I1
16.2
Fail
Fail
16.3
17.4
19.4
19.8
21.5
28.5
30.2
OveraII
Image edtng Vdeo encodng
MuIttaskng
DirI 3 Showdown is a cracking racing
game IhaI's compaIible wiIh Windows 8.
lI also makes good use ol DirecIX 11.
You'll need aI leasI 30lps lor smooIh
racing. As all-in-one PCs Iypically have
low-powered graphics, we've run our
lapIop version ol Ihe IesI.
Drt 3 5howdown (fps)
5ETTINC5 1,280x720 resolution, 4x AA, High settings
MINI PCs
C PRIL 2014 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 314
P
r
i
c
e
s
c
o
r
r
e
c
I
a
I
I
i
m
e
o
l
g
o
i
n
g
I
o
p
r
e
s
s
BUDGET BUY
CHILLBLAST CHILLBLAST LENOVO LENOVO PC
SPECIALIST
!usior Brix !usiorVacuum
Miri 3
ldeaCerre Ql0 TlirlCerre
M3p
NUCLie
Rating

Processor lnIel Core i3-4010 lnIel Core i7-4770T lnIel Core i3-3217 lnIel Core i7-476ST lnIel Core i3-4010
Processor number
of cores
2 4 2 4 2
Processor multiplier x17 x2S x18 x20 x17
Processor speed 1.7CHz 2.SCHz 1.8CHz 2CHz 1.7CHz
Processor socket Processor inIegraIed Io
moIherboard
LCA11S0 Processor inIegraIed
Io moIherboard
LCA11S0 Processor inIegraIed Io
moIherboard
Nemory installed 8CB 16CB 4CB 4CB 8CB
Nemory type DDR3 DDR3 DDR3 DDR3 DDR3
Naximum memory 16CB 16CB 8CB 16CB 16CB
Notherboard CigabyIe UULP3AP CigabyIe Z87-N WiFi Lenovo Q190 Lenovo Sharkbay 0B98401
PRO
lnIel D34010WYB
Notherboard chipset lnIel lD0A04 lnIel Z87 lnIel HU76 lnIel Q87 Fxpress lnIel lD0A04
Power consumption
standby
1W 2W 2W 1W 1W
Power consumption idle 7W 14W 13W 12W 6W
Power consumption active 27W 64W 2SW 38W 23W
PORTS
USB ports (front/rear) 2/2 2/6 2/4 2/3 2/2
eSATA ports (front/rear) 0/0 0/0 0/0 0/0 0/0
Networking 1x 10/100/1,000, 802.11n 2x 10/100/1000, 802.11n 1x 10/100/1,000, 802.11n 1x 10/100/1,000, 802.11n 1x 10/100/1,000
INTERNAL EXPANSION
Case Uini PC Uini PC Uini PC Uini PC Uini PC
Case size HxWxD 30x107x114mm 100x240x220mm 1SSx22x193mm 34x179x182mm 3Sx117x112mm
Serial ATA (free) 1 (0) 2 (0) 1 (0) 1 (0) 1 (0)
Nemory (free) 1 (0) 2 (0) 1 (0) 2 (1) 2 (0)
HARD DISK
Hard disk model(s) lnIel SSDUCFAC120B3 Samsung 840 FVO 2S0CB WesIern DigiIal Caviar SeagaIe Barracuda
(STS00LU000-1F|162)
KingsIon SUS200S3120C
|nterface SATA3 SATA3 SATA3 SATA3 SATA3
Hard disk capacity 120CB 2S0CB 1TB S00CB 120CB
GRAPHICS
Craphics card lnIel HD Craphics 4400 lnIel HD Craphics 4600 lnIel HD Craphics 4000 lnIel HD Craphics 4600 lnIel HD Craphics 4400
Craphics/video ports HDUl, Uini DisplayPorI VCA, 2x HDUl, DVl-D VCA, HDUl VCA, 2x DisplayPorI HDUl
SOUND
Sound card RealIek HD Audio RealIek HD Audio RealIek HD Audio RealIek HD Audio lnIel HD Audio
Sound card outputs OpIical S/PDlF, headphone coaxial S/PDlF ouI, 7.1
line ouI
OpIical S/PDlF, headphone Headphone Headphone
REMOVABLE DRIVES
Nemory card reader None None SDXC, UUC, Uemory
SIick, Uemory SIick Pro
None None
Optical drive type None BD-ROU, DVD+/-RW
+/-DL
None None None
Extras BlueIooIh, Wi-Fi,
VFSA mounI
TV Iuner, 2x PS/2 porI, 2x
Wi-Fi anIenna, BlueIooIh
VFSA mounI BlueIooIh VFSA mounI
SOFTWARE
Operating system Windows 8.1 Windows 7 Home
Premium 64-biI
Windows 8 Windows 7 Prolessional
64-biI / Windows 8 Pro
Windows 8.1
Operating system
restore option
ResIore disc ResIore disc ResIore parIiIion ResIore disc ResIore disc
BUYING INFORMATION
Parts and labour warranty Two-year collecI
and reIurn
Two-year collecI
and reIurn
One-year RTB Three-year onsiIe Three-year RTB (one monIh
collecI and reIurn, one year
parIs, Ihree years labour)
Price inc VAT S8S 1,10S 330 77S 449
Supplier www.chillblasI.com www.chillblasI.com www.ebuyer.com www.cclonline.com www.pcspecialisI.co.uk
Details www.chillblasI.com www.chillblasI.com www.lenovo.co.uk www.lenovo.co.uk www.pcspecialisI.co.uk
Part Code Fusion Brix Fusion Vacuum Uini 3 S73217S9 10AB000WK NC LiIe
MINI PCs

ISSUE 314 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ PRIL 2014

BEST BUY
SAPPHIRE SCAN VERYPC ZOTAC ZOTAC
Ldge VS8 3XS NUCNlC Naro Slecl Core i ZBox lQ0l Flus ZBox Naro lDC4 Flus

AUD A8-4SSSU lnIel Core iS-42S0 lnIel Core i7-3S17 lnIel Core i7-4770T lnIel Core iS-3337
4 2 2 4 2
x16 x13 x19 x2S x18
1.6CHz 1.3CHz 1.9CHz 2.SCHz 1.8CHz
SockeI FP2 Processor inIegraIed Io
moIherboard
Processor inIegraIed Io
moIherboard
LCA11S0 Processor inIegraIed Io
moIherboard
4CB 8CB 16CB 4CB 4CB
DDR3 DDR3 DDR3 DDR3 DDR3
16CB 16CB 16CB 16CB 8CB
Sapphire Fdge VS series lnIel DS42S0WYB Foxconn AT-7000 ZoIac ZoIac
AUD ASS lnIel H87 lnIel lD1FS9 lnIel H87 lnIel HU77 Fxpress
2W 3W 2W 2W 2W
18W 8W 16W 14W 14W
31W 24W 32W 42W 30W
2/4 2/2 2/4 1/2 2/4
0/0 0/0 0/0 0/0 0/1
1x 10/100/1,000, 802.11n 1x 10/100/1,000, 802.11n 1x 10/100/1,000, 802.11n 1x 10/100/1,000, 802.11n 1x 10/100/1,000, 802.11n
Uini PC Uini PC Uini PC Uini PC Uini PC
31x197x182m 49x116x112mm 13Sx38x190mm S1x188x188mm 4Sx127x127mm
0 (0) 1 (0) 1 (0) 1 (0) 1 (0)
2 (0) 2 (0) 2 (0) 2 (1) 1 (0)
WesIern DigiIal Caviar
(WDC7S00BPVT-00HXZT3)
SeagaIe ST1000LU014-1F|164 WesIern DigiIal Caviar
(WD1001X06X-0SCSl)
WesIern DigiIal WDS000BCT Toshiba UQ01ABD0S0
SATA3 SATA3 SATA3 SATA3 SATA3
S00CB 1TB 120CB SSD + 1TB hard disk S00CB S00CB
AUD Radeon HD 7600C lnIel HD Craphics S000 lnIel HD Craphics 4000 lnIel HD Craphics 4600 lnIel HD Craphics 4000
HDUl, Uini DisplayPorI Uini HDUl, Uini DisplayPorI HDUl, DVl DVl, 2x DisplayPorI HDUl, DisplayPorI
RealIek HD Audio lnIel HD Audio RealIek HD Audio RealIek HD Audio RealIek HD Audio
OpIical S/PDlF, headphone Headphone Headphone OpIical S/PDlF, headphone OpIical S/PDlF, headphone
SDXC None SDXC, UUC, Uemory
SIick, Uemory SIick
Pro
SD, SDHC, SDXC, UUC SDXC, UUC, Uemory SIick
Pro, xD
None None None None None
HDUl Io DVl adapIor, HDUl
cable, S/PDlF cable, VFSA
mounI, BlueIooIh
Uini HDUl Io HDUl adapIor,
BlueIooIh, 2x Wi-Fi anIenna,
VFSA mounI
VFSA mounI, sIand BlueIooIh, Wi-Fi adapIor, DVl
Io VCA adapIor, DVl Io HDUl
adapIor, VFSA mounI
Wi-Fi anIenna, VFSA mounI,
BlueIooIh
FreeDos Windows 8.1 Windows 8.1 None None
None None None None None
One-year RTB Three-year RTB (hrsI year
onsiIe)
Two-year collecI and reIurn One-year RTB Two-year RTB
320 S99 1,079 S2S 417
www.pixmania.co.uk hup.//3xs.scan.co.uk www.very-pc.co.uk www.morecompuIers.com www.lambda-Iek.com
www.sapphireIech.com hup.//3xs.scan.co.uk www.very-pc.co.uk www.zoIac.com www.zoIac.com
4H000-10-40C 3XS NC N16 Nano SkeIch ZBOX-lQ01-PLS-BF ZBOXNANO-lD64-PLS-BF
8 PRIL 2014 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 314
ForIunaIely, Ihere's someIhing you can do
abouI iI. upgrade your rouIer. We've reviewed
13 ol Ihe laIesI wireless rouIers Io help you
hnd your perlecI model. Thanks Io Ihe laIesI
802.11ac Iechnology, we've seen IhroughpuIs
ol over 1S0UbiI/s using a SB adapIor, noI Io
menIion beuer range. As you can see, a new
rouIer can make a massive impacI.
STANDARD BEARER
The hrsI Ihing you need Io do when you buy
a new rouIer is Io work ouI which Iype you
need. ll you have an ADSL connecIion, you
need a rouIer wiIh builI-in ADSL capabiliIies.
This connecIs direcIly Io your Ielephone line,
giving you an inIerneI connecIion wiIhouI
Ihe need lor any addiIional boxes.
wlRELESS
RDUTERS
Moven!o!helas! lane
Tle vireless rouer sulied by your lSF is robably
old, slov ard urreliable. Tlese l3 models vill give
you a real seed boos ard ley sar a ]us L2l
CONTENT REVIEWS
Pae 100
ASUS RT-ACSCU
ASUS RT-ACC8U
Pae 101
BELKINAC l200 DB
BILLIONBiFac C300NXL
Pae 102
BT Home Hub S
BUFFALOTECHNOLOGY AirSaior Dual
Bard llACVZR-llCCDHF
Pae 103
D-LINK DSL-3S80L
LINKSYS LAC00
Pae 104
NETGEAR DC200
TENDAV300D
Pae 10S
TENDAVl800R
TRENDNETTLV-8l2DRU
Pae 106
VIRGIN MEDIASuer Hub 2
YOUR WIRELESS ROUTER isn'I Ihe mosI
exciIing biI ol kiI you own, buI il iI's slow and
unreliable iI can be one ol Ihe mosI annoying
biIs ol Iechnology. nlorIunaIely, a loI ol us
are likely Io be lumbered wiIh slow, unreliable
rouIers Ihanks Io Ihe olen poor rouIers IhaI
are bundled wiIh new broadband deals.
A BT HomeHub 4, released in 2013, lor
example, managed a maximum ol 46.7UbiI/s
in our IesIs, which is slower Ihan Ihe lasIesI
broadband Ihe company ohers. Likewise, Ihe
hrsI Virgin Uedia Super Hub managed |usI
42UbiI/s in our IesIs. BoIh companies
have since released newer rouIers, buI wiIh
many ol us sIuck on Ihese or older models,
slow IhroughpuI and a lack ol range are
problems we're all likely Io have.
VIRELESS ROUTERS

ISSUE 314 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ PRIL 2014

ll you're on a hbre service lrom anyone
oIher Ihan Virgin Uedia, such as BT lnhniIy,
Ihings are a liule more conlusing. These
services are 'hbre Io Ihe curb' (FTTC), which
means Ihere's a hbre cable Io Ihe green box in
Ihe sIreeI, buI Ihe lasI leg is run over your
copper Ielephone cables using a Iechnology
called VDSL. ln addiIion Io a wireless rouIer,
Ihis requires an addiIional box, which is Ihe
VDSL rouIer. When you replace your rouIer,
you'll need Io keep Ihe VDSL uniI and opI lor
a rouIer wiIh an FIherneI WAN porI.
ll you're wiIh Virgin Uedia, your exisIing
rouIer will have Ihe hbre modem builI-in. As
you can'I buy rouIers wiIh inIegraIed hbre
modems, you need Io leave Ihe old rouIer in
place, disable iIs wireless and auach a second
wireless rouIer, choosing a model wiIh an
FIherneI WAN porI. Our guide on upgrading
your rouIer (page 106) Iells you how Io swiIch
your lSP's rouIer, while our Iable (page 108)
Iells you Ihe Iype ol modem each rouIer has.
CHANNEL TUNNELS
Wireless signals are Iransmiued on one ol
Iwo bands, 2.4CHz or SCHz. All devices
supporI 2.4CHz, which is Ihe older sIandard.
This has beuer range, buI suhers lrom more
inIerlerence, as loIs ol devices - including
wireless door chimes and baby moniIors -
also use Ihis specIrum. WiIh SCHz, you geI
less range, buI less inIerlerence, which can
dramaIically improve perlormance. For Ihe
mosI lexibiliIy, a dual-band rouIer can run
neIworks on boIh bands simulIaneously, so
you can run old and new devices IogeIher,
using SCHz when you can. All 802.11ac rouIers
can use boIh bands simulIaneously, buI iI's
rare Io see Ihis opIion on 802.11n models.
Fach band is divided inIo slices called
channels. When seuing up your rouIer, you
have Io choose a channel you wanI Io operaIe
your neIwork on, alIhough many rouIers will
auIomaIically pick Ihe besI one. ll you're
having problems wiIh speed or reliabiliIy,
changing Ihe channel can improve Ihings.
lI's imporIanI Io undersIand how channels
work belore you change anyIhing. A channel
is a slice ol Ihe available specIrum. For
example, in a 2.4CHz neIwork channel 1 is a
slice lrom 2.4CHz Io 2.422CHz, while channel 2
goes lrom 2.40SCHz Io 2.427CHz. This means
neighbouring channels overlap, causing
inIerlerence, so iI's besI Io use only channels
1, 6 and 11, which don'I overlap. This has been
resolved lor SCHz, which has a larger range ol
non-overlapping channels, so you simply pick
Ihe one wiIh Ihe besI perlormance lor you.
UosI rouIers oher Ihe opIion ol channel
bonding, whereby Ihey send Ihe signal over
Iwo ad|acenI channels, Iaking up double Ihe
bandwidIh. For 2.4CHz, il Ihere are oIher
neIworks nearby, channel-bonding is bound Io
cause inIerlerence and can acIually degrade
perlormance, so rouIers are required Io have
Ihis Iurned oh by delaulI Io gain omcial Wi-Fi
cerIihcaIion. Some rouIers reler Io channel
bonding as Iurbo mode, while oIhers Ialk
abouI speed. lor example, 300UbiI/s mode.
There are lewer problems wiIh SCHz, so
channel bonding is a good Ihing. Typically,
802.11ac rouIers, which Iypically reler Io Ihe
Iechnology as 20/40/80Hz mode, handle
channel bonding auIomaIically.
I'MWITH THE BAND
UosI rouIers, including all ol Ihose we've
looked aI here, have mulIiple inpuI, mulIiple
ouIpuI (UlUO) Iechnology, which uses several
anIennas aI Ihe same Iime Io improve signal
recepIion and Iransmission speeds. To Iake
lull advanIage ol Ihis, you'll need a maIching
Wi-Fi adapIor lor your lapIop or oIher
connecIed devices. Because ol Ihe limiIaIions
ol SB adapIors, you won'I always be able Io
reach Ihe maximum poIenIial IhroughpuI ol
an 802.11ac rouIer using one. For Ihis reason,
we've IesIed all our 802.11ac rouIers wiIh a
Ihree-anIenna inIernal PCl-F wireless adapIor.
There are Iwo diherenI 802.11ac
sIandards, which are usually labelled as
AC1300 and AC17S0. Adding Io Ihe conlusion,
you'll someIimes encounIer AC1200 and
AC1900 devices. These hgures are arrived
aI by Iaking Ihe maximum 2.4CHz speed
(300UbiI/s, 4S0UbiI/s or 600UbiI/s) and
roughly adding iI Io Ihe maximum SCHz
speed Ihe rouIer supporIs (867UbiI/s or
1,300UbiI/s). ln our Iable, we've lisIed Ihe
maximum IheoreIical SCHz IhroughpuI
speed, alIhough Ihe acIual IesIed speeds are
a beuer indicaIion ol whaI you can expecI.
THE WIRE
ll you wanI Io connecI wired as well as
wireless devices Io your neIwork, you should
pay auenIion Io Ihe Iype ol neIwork porIs on
oher. UosI rouIers Ihis monIh have 10/100/
1,000UbiI/s (CigabiI) FIherneI porIs, buI many
cheaper rouIers use 10/100UbiI/s FIherneI
porIs. Fven a 10/100UbiI/s connecIion is
lasIer Ihan mosI wireless neIworks,
parIicularly over disIances above 10 meIres.
However, il you're planning Io use neIwork
sIorage and will be Iranslerring loIs ol large
hles beIween devices on a wired neIwork, make
sure your rouIer has CigabiI FIherneI porIs.
PROTECTION & PRIORITY
All wireless rouIers supporI Wi-Fi ProIecIed
Access 2 (WPA2) wireless neIwork securiIy
encrypIion. lI's imporIanI Io use Ihis, as
oIherwise anyone can access your neIwork,
piggy-backing on your inIerneI connecIion or
even accessing hles on your local neIwork.
RouIers wiIh a pre-seI wireless password are
secure lrom Ihe momenI you plug Ihem in.
All rouIers also have builI-in hrewalls Io
proIecI your neIwork lrom inIruders, and all
supporI niversal Plug and Play (PnP),
which auIomaIically opens porIs required by
devices such as media sIreamers. ll you
wanI Io run a service IhaI doesn'I use PnP,
such as your own web server, you need Io
conhgure porI lorwarding. This passes Iramc
on a given porI (such as porI 80 lor web
Iramc) Io a designaIed PC on your neIwork.
ll you use porI lorwarding a greaI deal buI
don'I have a sIaIic lP address assigned by
your lSP, many rouIers supporI Dynamic DNS.
This auIomaIically updaIes your RL so iI
direcIs visiIors Io your currenI home lP
address. ll your lSP changes your lP address,
as many ol Ihem do il you swiIch oh your
rouIer, Ihe RL updaIes Ihe new address.

We carry out 13 diherent tests on 802.11ac
routers. Our test environment includes
common problems encountered when using
Wi-Fi in an urban environment, such as lots
of potential interference on the 2.4CHz band
in particular. Our results are representative
of a challenging real-world environment,
rather than one designed for optimal
performance. A good performance in our
tests is a meaningful achievement.
To test throughput, we time how long it
takes to copy a 100NB hle over the
network, which gives us speed hgures in
megabits per second (Nbit/s).
Nost people connect to routers using
their laptop's integrated wireless adaptor.
|n keeping with this, we use a Centrino 2
laptop to connect to both the router's
2.4CHz and 5CHz wireless networks at
distances of 1m and 10m away within the
same room and 20m away in another room.
The same tests are repeated using the same
laptop, but with each manufacturer's own
USB wireless adaptor, if one is available.
All the 802.11ac adaptors are USB2, which
meant that, on our laptop, speeds peaked at
158.45Nbit/s. However, the routers may well
have a bit more headroom. Testing using
an 802.11ac bridge, which connects to a PC
via Ethernet, we've seen throughput of
279.6Nbit/s. This means plenty of these
routers have a lot more headroom than you
may see now, but as you upgrade and buy
a laptop with built-in 802.11ac aerials, or
vendors start selling USB3 802.11ac adaptors,
you'll see more speed in the future.
II you'II be transIerrin Iots oI Iare Ies, make sure
your router Ias Giabit EtIernet ports
VIRELESS ROUTERS
l00 PRIL 2014 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 314
AS ONE OF Ihe hrsI manulacIurers Io make
an 802.11ac device, we expecI quiIe a loI lrom
Asus. lIs RT-ACS6 is cerIainly oh Io a good
sIarI on paper. WiIh a lour-porI CigabiI
FIherneI hub, FIherneI WAN porI, SB and
SB3 porIs, iI's goI everyIhing we'd wanI.
The SB porIs mean you can connecI a
prinIer or exIernal hard disk Io share over a
neIwork. Uore impressively, you can connecI
a 3C dongle, so you can share a mobile
broadband connecIion, which could be uselul
il your regular inIerneI connecIion goes down.
The RT-ACS6 is raIher sIylish, sIanding
uprighI wiIh no exIernal anIennas Io spoil iIs
appearance. On Ihe lronI is a bank ol lighIs
IhaI keep you inlormed on Ihe sIaIus ol your
connecIion and Wi-Fi. On Ihe righI-hand side
are buuons lor WPS (il you wanI Io |oin a
device wiIh push-buuon securiIy) and lor
Wi-Fi, so you can quickly Iurn oh wireless.
UosI ol Ihe managemenI has Io be done
Ihrough Ihe web inIerlace. Asus's inIerlace is
clear and easy Io use, wiIh a seIup wizard IhaI
ASUS MEANS BUSINESS wiIh iIs 802.11ac
rouIer range. The RT-AC68 uses TurboQAU
Io Iake iIs 2.4CHz Wi-Fi connecIion up Io a
IheoreIical maximum speed ol 600UbiI/s,
while iIs SCHz wireless has a IheoreIical
IhroughpuI ol 1,300UbiI/s. The rouIer has a
CigabiI WAN porI so you can connecI iI Io a
cable or hbre modem supplied by your lSP.
For connecIing oIher devices, Ihe
RT-AC68 has lour CigabiI LAN porIs, a SB
porI and a SB3 porI, IhaI lauer Iwo ol which
you can use Io connecI an exIernal hard disk,
plug in a mobile broadband dongle Io provide
an in-case-ol-emergency 'neI connecIion, or
share a SB prinIer over your neIwork.
The rouIer's wireless neIworks are enabled
buI unsecured by delaulI, so your hrsI sIep
should be Io connecI Io Ihe rouIer's web
inIerlace and run Ihrough Ihe conhguraIion
wizard. This also esIablishes your inIerneI
connecIion and prompIs you Io secure your
rouIer wiIh a password. The web inIerlace
isn'I parIicularly auracIive, buI iI's easy
ASUS RT-ACSCU

112 inc VAT

From www.dabs.com
ASUS RT-ACC8U

177 inc VAT

From www.morecomputers.com
VERDICT
Exce||ent 5CHz performance and |ots of features,
but we'd have |iked bener 2.4CHz performance
VERDICT
This high-end router's price is justihed by its
astonishing|y fast wire|ess performance
helps you secure Ihe open-by-delaulI wireless
neIworks. There are plenIy ol leaIures, buI
some are hidden under non-sIandard names.
For example, Io enable QoS, you Io have Io
click on a Iab marked Tramc Uanager.
The rouIer isn'I happy in 2.4CHz mode,
parIicularly in areas wiIh loIs ol oIher signals
using Ihe same band. The worsI resulIs came
using our lapIop's inIegraIed wireless adapIor.
38.2UbiI/s aI 1m and 36.6UbiI/s aI 10m, boIh
ol which are accepIable, buI we couldn'I do
Ihe IesI aI 20m. This is disappoinIing, as mosI
people sIill use inIegraIed 2.4CHz lapIop or
mobile chipseIs wiIh Iheir wireless rouIers.
Asus's 60 SB-ACS3 SB wireless dongle
improved Ihings quiIe a biI. We managed a
connecIion aI 20m, alIhough Ihe S.3UbiI/s
IhroughpuI was poor, however, perlormance
aI 10m improved Io S6.7UbiI/s and
IhroughpuI aI 1m was a blisIering 90.1UbiI/s.
SomeIhing we couldn'I complain abouI
was Ihe rouIer's SCHz perlormance. Ceuing iI
Io work wiIh our lapIop's 802.11 CenIrino 2
Io navigaIe around and
includes some exIremely
uselul leaIures.
These include up Io six
wireless guesI neIworks. Ihree on
each band. These are ideal il you wanI Io
give visiIors access Io Ihe inIerneI, buI noI
your local neIwork, and you can even seI a
Iime aI which Ihey'll expire, which is
parIicularly uselul il you wanI Io leave Ihem
open raIher Ihan proIecIing Ihem wiIh a
password. There are also basic parenIal
conIrols. a Iime-managemenI screen leIs you
deIermine when specihc devices are allowed
on Ihe neIwork.
We IesIed Ihe AC68's wireless
capabiliIies wiIh our CenIrino 2 lapIop's
inIegraIed Wi-Fi adapIor, buI Ihis is relaIively
old hardware now and can'I maIch Ihe lull
speed ol an 802.11ac rouIer aI SCHz, nor does
iI supporI 2.4CHz TurboQAU. AI 2.4CHz, we
saw Iransler speeds ol 32.8UbiI/s aI 10m and
9.7UbiI/s aI 20m when using our lapIop's
wireless chipseI required no
Iweaking or ad|usImenI aI all, and produced
speeds ol 74.1UbiI/s aI 1m, 60.2UbiI/s aI
10m and 2S.6UbiI/s aI 20m. Perlormance was
even more impressive wiIh Asus's SB
adapIor. a consisIenI 1S8.SUbiI/s aI boIh 1m
and 10m, dropping Io 66.2UbiI/s aI 20m. We
goI Ihe besI perlormance aI 20m by using Ihe
70 Asus PCF-AC68 PCl-F wireless adapIor
insIalled in a deskIop PC. WiIh a Iransler
speed ol 81.6, Ihis was one ol Ihe lasIesI
IhroughpuIs we've ever seen aI IhaI disIance.
AlIhough Ihe RT-ACS6's perlormance aI
SCHz is excellenI, we were disappoinIed by iIs
2.4CHz perlormance in an area cluuered wiIh
rival 2.4CHz signals. The BT Home Hub S is
only a liule more expensive and has a similar
range ol leaIures, making iI a beuer buy.
Wi-Fi. The nexI sIep was IesIing
wiIh Asus's 60 SB-ACS3 Wi-Fi
adapIor, which achieved speeds
ol 64.8UbiI/s aI 10m and
23.6UbiI/s aI 20m.
ln our SCHz IesI, even our
lapIop's inIegraIed wireless chipseI
worked well wiIh Ihe rouIer Io produce
speeds ol 63UbiI/s aI 10m and 2S.SUbiI/s aI
20m. sing an 802.11ac wireless dongle again
more Ihan doubled perlormance, producing
speeds ol 1S8.S aI 10m, which slipped Io a sIill
lanIasIic 70.7UbiI/s aI 20m. Fven beuer was
Ihe rouIer's perlormance in con|uncIion wiIh
Ihe 70 PCF-AC68 PCl-F wireless adapIor,
which saw iI mainIain a Iransler speed ol
149.9UbiI/s aI a disIance ol 20m.
This is one ol Ihe mosI expensive rouIers
around, and lew people will be able Io |usIily
Ihe price ol boIh Ihis and Ihe PCl-F adapIor
required Io achieve iIs opIimal Iransler
speeds. However, il you need Ihe lasIesI
Wi-Fi, Ihe RT-AC68 is Ihe ulIimaIe rouIer.
VIRELESS ROUTERS
l0l
ISSUE 314 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ PRIL 2014
THOU6H IT'S DESI6NED lor use wiIh ADSL,
Ihe Belkin AC 1200 DB doesn'I acIually have a
builI-in modem. lnsIead, iI ships wiIh an ADSL
modem builI inIo Ihe power supply. This
makes Ihe power connecIor look like a bulky
HomePlug uniI, buI means you need only one
plug sockeI lor boIh modem and rouIer. The
plug sockeI has a builI-in R|-4S porI, buI Ihis
is acIually an ADSL inpuI and Iakes your R|-11
phone cable. lI's unusual, buI everyIhing works.
There are Iwo cables lrom Ihe modem/
plug. one supplies power and Ihe oIher
connecIs Io a yellow WAN porI marked
Uodem. You can'I use a sIandard FIherneI
WAN connecIion because Ihe currenI
hrmware doesn'I supporI Ihis. There also are
lour CigabiI FIherneI porIs and Iwo SB
porIs, lor connecIing exIernal hard disks and
sharing prinIers over your neIwork.
The AC 1200 DB sIands uprighI and looks
lairly snazzy, buI you can'I wall-mounI iI.
There aren'I many sIaIus lighIs, eiIher. |usI
one aI Ihe lronI, wiIh a WPS buuon below iI.
BELKINAC l200 DB

125 inc VAT

From www.argos.co.uk
VERDICT
This AD5L 802.11ac router is capab|e but a |in|e overpriced
compared to others with simi|ar features and performance
The AC 1200 DB's web inIerlace
doesn'I Iake Ihe glossy, simplihed
approach, buI iI's easy Io see
whaI's whaI. WorIh noIing is Ihe
conIenI-hlIering opIion, which allows
you Io use one ol Ihree block caIegories.
malicious siIes, malicious and adulI siIes, and
malicious, adulI and non-lamily-lriendly siIes.
CusIom conIenI hlIering is noI available,
Ihough. The rouIer's lnIellisIream QoS leaIure
doesn'I give such hne conIrol as some, buI iI's
easy Io use. Fnable iI, and auIomaIic prioriIy
will be given Io high-bandwidIh, low-laIency
services such as voice chaI, video sIreaming
and online games. WiIh Ihis enabled, Ihe
rouIer will also ploI a charI ol your inIerneI
Iramc by Iype.
SimulIaneous dual-band Wi-Fi neIworks
are secured by delaulI using Ihe supplied
securiIy key. A 2.4CHz guesI neIwork is also
enabled by delaulI, allowing you Io give
visiIors access Io Ihe inIerneI buI noI your
neIwork. We IesIed Ihe rouIer using boIh our
CenIrino 2 lapIop's inIegraIed
wireless chipseI and Belkin's 20
802.11ac F9L1106v1 SB wireless
adapIor. Our lapIop supporIs boIh 2.4CHz
and SCHz, buI only up Io 802.11n speeds. The
rouIer uses Ihe AC1200 sIandard, which has a
IheoreIical maximum speed ol 867UbiI/s.
sing our lapIop's wireless chipseI aI
2.4CHz, we saw Iransler speeds ol 34UbiI/s
aI 10m and 11.4UbiI/s aI 20m. This compares
Io Ihe Belkin adapIor's perlormance ol
S1.7UbiI/s aI 10m and a poor 4.9UbiI/s aI
20m. On Ihe SCHz band, our lapIop achieved
33UbiI/s aI 10m, buI lailed Io mainIain a
connecIion when we Iook iI inIo Ihe nexI
room lor Ihe 20m IesI. sing Ihe own-brand
adapIor, we saw 76.3UbiI/s aI 10m and
26.4UbiI/s aI 20m. These are decenI resulIs.
ll iI were cheaper, Ihis capable ADSL
rouIer would have earned lour sIars, despiIe
iIs unconvenIional non-inIegraIed modem.
However, BT's Home Hub S is lasIer, cosIs
roughly Ihe same and is a liule easier Io use.
BILLION'S CHUNKY ROUTERS aren'I much
Io look aI, buI Ihe company has lorged a
repuIaIion lor reliable hardware wiIh all Ihe
leaIures a home, small or medium-sized omce
needs. The BiPac 6300NXL is a CigabiI FIherneI
rouIer IhaI can also connecI Io Ihe 'neI via a
4C mobile broadband dongle. lI's described as
a hbre rouIer, buI iI doesn'I acIually have a
builI-in modem lor Ihis so you'll sIill have Io
connecI iI Io Ihe one supplied by your lSP.
AI Ihe back ol Ihe rouIer are connecIors
lor iIs Iwo deIachable wireless anIennas. The
porIs are also aI Ihe back. one CigabiI WAN
porI, lour CigabiI LAN porIs and Iwo SB3
porIs. There's also a power swiIch, a lacIory
reseI buuon and a WPS buuon.
The wireless neIwork isn'I proIecIed by a
password by delaulI, so your hrsI move is Io
lollow Ihe insIrucIions in Ihe supplied manual
Io secure your Wi-Fi. AlIhough Billion's web
inIerlace may look daunIing, iI's clearly laid
ouI and Ihe Quick SIarI wizard helps you
conhgure all Ihe criIical leaIures, including
BILLIONBiFac C300NXL

80 inc VAT

From www.ilgs.co.uk
VERDICT
This business-orientated router has |ots of features an 5NB might need
but is he|d back by poor wire|ess performance and a re|ative|y high price
connecIing Io mobile broadband. The rouIer
supporIs a wide range ol dongles, deIails lor
mosI ma|or K neIworks are in Ihe manual.
Wireless perlormance was disappoinIing.
Only Ihe 2.4CHz 802.11n sIandard is supporIed
buI, even so, Iranslers were unaccepIably slow.
Our IesI environmenI is admiuedly cluuered
by devices using Ihe same band, buI oIher
rouIers, including many lrom Billion, have
perlormed beuer in Ihe same circumsIances.
sing our CenIrino 2 lapIop's inIegraIed
wireless adapIor, we saw speeds ol 18.9UbiI/s
aI 1m, 19.SUbiI/s aI 10m and 7.9UbiI/s aI
20m. Billion's BiPac 3010ND adapIor lared
even worse. 18.7UbiI/s aI 1m, 14.9UbiI/s aI
10m and 7.1UbiI/s aI 20m. These were Ihe
besI resulIs we were able Io obIain aler
signihcanI Irial and error using diherenI
channels. The rouIer's inehecIive auIomaIic
channel deIecIion always delaulIed Io channel
11, which was cluuered and slow in our labs.
ll wireless isn'I IhaI imporIanI, Ihis rouIer
is oIherwise well equipped. You can seI up
your 3C
connecIion as
a backup opIion
should your main inIerneI
connecIion lail, isolaIe diherenI FIherneI
porIs Io creaIe separaIe virIual neIworks and
seI porI ranges or lP addresses lor QoS Iramc
prioriIisaIion. nlike oIher rouIers in Ihis IesI,
you have Io conhgure Ihis manually raIher
Ihan use menus IhaI leI you choose popular
programs or Iypes ol Iramc Io prioriIise, buI
Ihis also gives you a greaI deal more conIrol
over whaI geIs dibs on your 'neI connecIion.
No concessions are made Io Ihose who
aren'I comlorIable wiIh neIworking or
prepared Io read Ihrough Ihe documenIaIion,
even lor someIhing as simple as plugging in
an exIernal SB drive and making iI accessible
Io Ihe neIwork. Fven il you are a lan ol
Billion's no-nonsense inIerlace, 80 is a loI Io
pay given Ihis rouIer's lailings. We preler Ihe
similarly priced Tenda W1800R, which
supporIs Ihe laIesI 802.11ac Wi-Fi sIandard.
VIRELESS ROUTERS
l02 PRIL 2014 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 314
THE WZR1166DHP IS a simulIaneous
dual-band rouIer wiIh a 2.4CHz 802.11n and a
SCHz 802.11ac neIwork, Ihe lauer's IheoreIical
maximum IhroughpuI being 866UbiI/s.
The rouIer is lairly chunky, buI iIs mau
black hnish means iI can siI in a dark corner
wiIhouI being Ioo noIiceable. lI's a sIandard
FIherneI rouIer, wiIhouI an ADSL or VDSL
modem builI inIo iI, which makes iI ideal lor
use wiIh cable or hbre services where you're
given a modem and lel Io geI on wiIh iI.
AI Ihe back is a lour-porI CigabiI FIherneI
hub and a CigabiI FIherneI WAN porI. Above
Ihose is a SB3 porI Io connecI a prinIer or
exIernal hard disk. We were pleased Io hnd an
e|ecI buuon, so you can salely remove
connecIed disks wiIhouI having Io log inIo
Ihe web inIerlace Io unmounI Ihem.
ln a well-considered design Iouch, as well
as Ihe copy ol Ihe delaulI Wi-Fi password
being on Ihe bouom ol Ihe rouIer, iI's also on
BUFFALOTECHNOLOGY
AirSaior Dual Bard llACVZR-llCCDHF

92 inc VAT

From www.uk.insight.com
VERDICT
Powerfu|, capab|e and easy to use, this is
one of the best 802.11ac routers around
a removable plasIic slip IhaI you can Iake Io
Ihe compuIer you're Irying Io connecI. lI
would have been even more convenienI had
Buhalo labelled iIs SCHz and 2.4CHz neIworks
as such, raIher Ihan as A and C.
sing our lapIop's builI-in CenIrino 2
wireless chipseI, we saw 2.4CHz Iransler
speeds ol 46UbiI/s aI 1m, 36.1UbiI/s aI 10m
and 11.SUbiI/s aI 20m, all lairly respecIable.
We were pleased Io hnd our lapIop could
connecI Io Ihe rouIer in SCHz mode wiIhouI
our having change Ihe rouIer's seuings. lIs
perlormance was impressive. 69.1UbiI/s aI
1m, 87UbiI/s aI 10m and 42.6UbiI/s aI 20m.
sing Buhalo's own dongle didn'I boosI
2.4CHz perlormance, buI SCHz speeds were
remarkable. ln our 2.4CHz IesI, we saw speeds
ol 41.7UbiI/s aI 1m and 36.9UbiI/s aI 10m.
lI lailed Io connecI aI 20m. The SCHz Iransler
speeds, on Ihe oIher hand, were very quick.
1S8.SUbiI/s aI 1m, 109.7UbiI/s aI 10m and
47.7UbiI/s aI 20m.
The web inIerlace's
main page makes iI easy
Io ad|usI criIical leaIures, such
as your wireless seuings and
passwords, NorIon ConnecISale conIenI
hlIering and QoS Io deIermine whaI kind ol
conIenI geIs prioriIy access Io your inIerneI
connecIion. Advanced seuings include opIions
Io cusIomise a wireless guesI neIwork, run a
media server and download conIenI via an
inIegraIed BiITorrenI clienI, as well as Ihe
usual porI lorwarding and lP hlIering opIions
you'd expecI Io hnd in any decenI rouIer.
AI a liule under 100, Ihe WZR-1166DHP
is reasonably priced lor an 802.11ac rouIer,
while iIs very quick perlormance, excellenI
inIerlace and wide-ranging leaIures make
iI one ol Ihe besI we've reviewed Io daIe.
However, Ihe Tenda W1800R also perlorms
well and cosIs a lair biI less.
THE HOME HUB S is BT's hrsI 802.11ac
rouIer. lIs long, narrow shape makes iI one ol
Ihe smallesI AC rouIers we've seen, sadly, Ihis
design also makes iI unsIable when you have
FIherneI cables connecIed Io Ihe back ol iI,
despiIe iIs liule swivel-ouI leeI. We had Io
prop iI up Io keep iI lrom lalling on iIs lace.
The Home Hub S's modem supporIs ADSL
and VDSL connecIions, and Ihere's also a
CigabiI FIherneI WAN porI Io connecI Io a
cable modem, as you can use Ihis rouIer wiIh
any lSP. There's a SB porI lor hard disk or
prinIer sharing and lour CigabiI FIherneI porIs.
You access Ihe modem's web inIerlace by
visiIing hu.//bthcmehub.hcme, where a guided
conhguraIion process will help you geI online.
By delaulI, boIh Ihe 2.4CHz and SCHz bands
are secured using Ihe password prinIed on
Ihe device and use Ihe same SSlD. ll you wanI
Io be able Io choose which band you connecI
Io, you'll have Io rename one ol Ihem.
The Home Hub S's inIerlace is less dense
and cluuered Ihan mosI, and alIhough Ihe
BT Home Hub S

129 inc VAT

From www.shop.bt.com
VERDICT
This eminent|y capab|e and easy to use
router is one of the best money can buy
rouIer isn'I exacIly leaIure-packed, iI covers
Ihe essenIials. The hrewall's porI lorwarding
inIerlace includes a drop-down lisI ol popular
games and applicaIions, buI you can sIill
dehne porIs manually as you may require.
SmarI SeIup is enabled by delaulI and
deIecIs when new devices connecI. Provided
Ihe rouIer is connecIed Io BT Broadband, a
seIup wizard appears Ihe hrsI Iime Ihe device
connecIs Io reveal Ihe available BT services,
such as parenIal conIrols. The wizard is a liule
annoying, and sIopped our home auIomaIion
box working, so we recommend disabling iI in
Ihe seuings menu.
For many, iI's Ihe absence ol overwhelming
seuings, as well as Ihe clear, plain Fnglish
descripIions, IhaI will appeal. The oIher key
lacIor is perlormance. AlIhough our CenIrino
2 relerence lapIop and iIs inIernal wireless
adapIor are a biI old, Ihe 2.4CHz IhroughpuI
raIe iI produced in our IesIs was among Ihe
lasIesI we've seen, achieving 87UbiI/s aI 1m,
76.7UbiI/s aI 10m and a less ouIsIanding
11.9UbiI/s aI 20m.
AI SCHz, Ihe inIegraIed
adapIor achieved 83.9UbiI/s aI 1m,
78.9UbiI/s aI 10m and 14UbiI/s aI 20m.
BT couldn'I supply us wiIh an 802.11ac
wireless adapIor Io maIch Ihe rouIer, Ihough
iI does produce such an adapIor. lnsIead, we
used a Buhalo AC866, which perlormed well
in mosI ol our Iransler speed IesIs, as did Ihe
rouIer. ln our 2.4CHz IesI, we goI 1m and 10m
Iransler speeds ol 61.SUbiI/s and 64.6UbiI/s,
buI couldn'I geI a sIable connecIion aI 20m in
our inIerlerence-riddled IesI environmenI. AI
SCHz, we saw a lanIasIic 1S8.SUbiI/s aI 1m,
149.2UbiI/s aI 10m and S8.2UbiI/s aI 20m.
WiIh excellenI overall perlormance and a
greaI seI ol leaIures, Ihe BT Home Hub S is
one ol Ihe mosI capable 802.11ac rouIers
around. WhaIever you need Io connecI iI Io,
iI's up Io Ihe |ob, making iI well worIh iIs
price. lI wins our BesI Buy award.
VIRELESS ROUTERS
l03
ISSUE 314 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ PRIL 2014
MOST ROUTERS are happy lor you Io |usI
plug Ihem in, buI a large orange label slapped
over Ihe DSL-3S80L's porIs insisIs you use
Ihe seIup CD hrsI. While Ihis may be uselul
lor Ihose unlamiliar wiIh rouIer conhguraIion,
Ihe seIup disc's long-winded approach is likely
Io irriIaIe more experienced users, noI Io
menIion Ihose on opIical drive-lree lapIops.
You'll need Io seI Wi-Fi passwords lor
boIh Ihe 2.4CHz and SCHz connecIions, which
are noI secured by delaulI. The rouIer has a
builI-in ADSL modem, buI also supporIs
FIherneI WAN connecIions, such as Ihose
lrom a cable or VDSL modem, and even 4C
connecIions via a SB dongle. The SB3 porI
can also be used Io share a prinIer or connecI
an exIernal hard disk, which you can use as
Ihe IargeI lor Ihe rouIer's builI-in sIorage
server. a simple single-disk NAS.
D-Link hasn'I gone ouI ol iIs way Io
simplily iIs web inIerlace. You have easy
access Io a wealIh ol deIailed conhguraIion
opIions lor everyIhing lrom your ADSL
THE LINKSYS EA6900 is an AC1900 wireless
rouIer, so iI should be one ol Ihe lasIesI. lI
has a IheoreIical maximum IhroughpuI ol
1,300UbiI/s when using SCHz 802.11ac, and
iIs wireless chipseI also supporIs Ihe Turbo-
QAU sIandard, which can IheoreIically bring
2.4CHz 802.11n perlormance up Io 600UbiI/s.
There are Ihree replaceable anIennas, a
CigabiI WAN porI, lour CigabiI FIherneI porIs,
one SB3 and one SB porI. These are all aI
Ihe back, as are a power swiIch and a WPS
buuon. Like mosI AC rouIers, iI's a biI chunky.
The wireless neIwork comes wiIh a pre-seI
password, so Ihere's no chance ol anyone
accessing your neIwork while you're seuing
up Ihe rouIer. By delaulI, boIh Ihe 2.4CHz and
SCHz wireless neIworks have Ihe same SSlD.
il you wanI Io make iI clear which one you're
connecIing Io, you'll wanI Io rename one.
The web inIerlace's smarI seIup wizard
auIomaIically searches lor hrmware updaIes
and leIs you change Ihe delaulI passwords.
You can creaIe a Linksys SmarI Wi-Fi
D-LINK DSL-3S80L

100 inc VAT

From www.dabs.com
LINKSYS LAC00

125 inc VAT

From www.digital-fusion.co.uk
VERDICT
P|enty of options, but a s|ight|y unfriend|y interface and poor 2.4CHz
performance at distance means there are bener a|ternatives
VERDICT
P|enty of features and a good hardware specihcation
are |et down by poor performance in our speed tests
seuings Io QoS Io prioriIise
diherenI kinds ol Iramc and
business-orienIed leaIures such as supporI
lor SNUP remoIe managemenI Iools.
Like mosI 802.11ac rouIers, Ihe DSL-3S80L
is quiIe chunky. lI sIands uprighI, has a glossy
black hnish and a bank ol sIaIus lighIs. AI Ihe
back ol Ihe rouIer are Ihe ADSL, CigabiI
FIherneI WAN and SB3 porIs, along wiIh
lour CigabiI FIherneI LAN porIs. There's a
power swiIch lor Ihe rouIer and separaIe
buuons Io enable and disable Ihe 2.4CHz and
SCHz wireless neIworks. A WPS buuon is
locaIed on Ihe righI ol Ihe device.
We IesIed Ihe rouIer wiIh our lapIop's
inIegraIed CenIrino 2 wireless chipseI, which
supporIs 2.4CHz and SCHz 802.11n Wi-Fi, and
D-Link's own DWA-182 SB Wi-Fi dongle,
made Io supporI Ihe same AC1200 sIandard
as Ihe rouIer iIsell. Sadly, 2.4CHz perlormance
was poor, and no amounI ol Iweaking ol
seuings on our parI made lor any noIable
improvemenI. BoIh inIegraIed chipseI and
AccounI, which enables Ihe rouIer's opIional
remoIe adminisIraIion leaIures.
FeaIures include a wireless guesI neIwork
and basic parenIal conIrols IhaI leI you dehne
when a device is allowed online and add a
blacklisI ol undesirable siIes. A QoS media
prioriIisaIion Iool noI only leIs you assign
prioriIy Io selecIed applicaIions, buI also leIs
you selecI specihc machines, so Ihe living
room NeIlix connecIion need never be
slowed |usI because someone's playing online
games. ll you connecI a SB drive, you can
seI iI up as an FTP server, neIwork share or
DLNA media server, you can also use a SB
porI Io share a prinIer across your neIwork.
Sadly, perlormance was poor compared
Io mosI ol iIs AC rivals when we IesIed Ihe
FA6900 wiIh boIh our lapIop's inIegraIed
wireless chipseI and Ihe Linksys WSB6300
adapIor, which is expensive aI 40.
AI 2.4CHz, neiIher adapIor could mainIain
a connecIion Io Ihe rouIer in our 20m IesI,
which was disappoinIing, Ihough our IesI
dongle lailed Io mainIain a
2.4CHz connecIion aI 20m,
buI Ihe dongle perlormed
Ihe beuer ol Ihe Iwo,
achieving 74.1UbiI/s aI 1m and 62.3UbiI/s aI
10m, compared Io S0.4UbiI/s aI 1m and
4SUbiI/s aI 10m lrom Ihe CenIrino 2 lapIop.
The besI resulIs were on Ihe SCHz band
wiIh our lapIop's inIegraIed Wi-Fi, which
achieved a good IhroughpuI ol 83.9UbiI/s aI
1m, 74.6UbiI/s aI 10m and 43.4UbiI/s aI 20m.
sing Ihe D-Link dongle aI SCHz, we were
unable Io mainIain a connecIion aI 20m buI
saw 60.2UbiI/s aI 10m and 93.2UbiI/s aI 1m.
Perlormance wiIh our PCl-F Wi-Fi adapIor aI
SCHz over 20m was S4.SUbiI/s, which is
decenI buI noI parIicularly noIable.
The DSL-3S80L is cheaper Ihan mosI oIher
802.11ac ADSL rouIers and even compares
well Io some 802.11n dual-band rouIers.
However, iIs inIimidaIing inIerlace and poor
perlormance over long disIances means we'd
raIher spend more on Ihe BT Home Hub S.
environmenI suhers lrom a loI ol 2.4CHz
inIerlerence. Speeds aI 1m and 10m were
good, wiIh Ihe lapIop adapIor, we saw speeds
ol 37.3UbiI/s aI 1m and 33.6UbiI/s aI 10m,
while Ihe Linksys adapIor managed a superb
87UbiI/s aI 1m and 83.9UbiI/s aI 10m.
AI SCHz, our lapIop's 802.11n adapIor
lailed Io mainIain a connecIion aI 20m buI
managed speeds ol 61.SUbiI/s aI 1m and
S7.3UbiI/s aI 10m. nsurprisingly, we saw
Ihe besI resulIs using Ihe 802.11ac
WSB6300 aI SCHz, alIhough iIs Iransler
speeds ol 83.9UbiI/s aI 1m, 78.8UbiI/s aI
10m and |usI 8.4UbiI/s aI 20m were poor
compared Io oIher AC rouIers. lIs speed in
our 20m IesI using Ihe Asus PCF-AC68 PCl-F
adapIor was a decenI S4.SUbiI/s, Ihough.
The FA6900 has loIs ol leaIures, buI Ihe
cosI ol Ihe maIching wireless adapIor and iIs
poor perlormance means we'd raIher save
some money and buy Ihe BT Home Hub S.
PRIL 2014 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 314
VIRELESS ROUTERS
IF YOU WANT a small, inconspicuous rouIer
Io siI in Ihe corner ol your siuing room, Ihe
NeIgear D6200 isn'I lor you. lI's a recIangular
black wedge a liule larger Ihan a hardback
book and siIs uprighI on an inIegraIed sIand.
lI's also expensive, buI you geI a loI ol
leaIures. The D6200 supporIs 802.11ac SCHz
Wi-Fi wiIh a IheoreIical maximum IhroughpuI
ol 867UbiI/s, as well as Ihe 2.4CHz band sIill
used by many mobile devices and lapIops.
The rouIer has boIh an ADSL modem and
a CigabiI FIherneI WAN porI, so you won'I
have Io Ihrow iI away il you swiIch Io a cable
or VDSL service. There are also lour CigabiI
FIherneI LAN porIs and a SB porI, which
can be used Io auach an exIernal hard disk or
share a SB prinI server. A power buuon and
recessed reseI swiIch are aI Ihe back, while
buuons Io sIarI a WPS connecIion and enable
or disable Ihe Wi-Fi are on Ihe righI.
llluminaIed icons on Ihe glossy lronI
surlace show Ihe sIaIus ol various leaIures
and connecIions. The wireless connecIion is
THE TENDA W300D is one ol Ihe cheapesI
wireless ADSL modem rouIers around. lI has
Iwo non-replaceable anIennas and supporIs
UlUO lor a IheoreIical maximum wireless
IhroughpuI ol 300UbiI/s. lI also has lour
10/100 FIherneI porIs, one ol which can also
be used as an FIherneI WAN porI. This adds
Io Ihe rouIer's lexibiliIy il you swiIch lrom a
sIandard ADSL inIerneI connecIion, as you
can use iI wiIh an exIernal cable or hbre
modem provided by your lSP.
Also on Ihe rear is a power buuon and a
buuon IhaI doubles as a WPS connecIion
buuon and, il you press and hold iI, a lacIory
reseI swiIch. While Ihis combinaIion inviIes
mishaps, we didn'I have any problems during
IesIing. A bank ol lighIs aI Ihe lronI Iells you
which porIs are connecIed, wheIher Ihere's an
inIerneI connecIion and il iI's working properly.
The web inIerlace is clearly laid ouI, buI
Ihere aren'I a loI leaIures. ll you wanI Io use
your rouIer Io share SB hard disks or seI up
a guesI neIwork lor visiIors, you should look
NETGEAR

124 inc VAT

From www.ebuyer.com
TENDA

21 inc VAT

From www.ilgs.co.uk
VERDICT
A wide range of features and fast 5CHz performance appea|s,
but the web interface |eaves something to be desired
VERDICT
If you just need to get on|ine at |in|e cost, this budget
AD5L modemrouter cou|d be exact|y what you need
secured by delaulI, wiIh a sIrong buI easily
readable password. When you hrsI connecI Io
Ihe rouIer's lP address, iI helps you esIablish
an inIerneI connecIion. Like NeIgear's mobile
and deskIop apps, Ihe web inIerlace uses
NeIgear Cenie branding and icons.
However, we lound Ihe D6200 could be
slow in responding, parIicularly il iI lailed Io
deIecI an acIive inIerneI connecIion. We also
lound IhaI some aspecIs ol Ihe inIerlace lelI
dis|oinIed. For example, clicking on ParenIal
ConIrols Iakes you Io a download siIe where
Uac OS and Windows users can download an
OpenDNS conIenI hlIering plugin. Fven once
you've seI up hlIering, you can'I access iIs
conIrol screen direcIly lrom Ihe rouIer, buI
insIead have Io run an applicaIion on your PC.
The advanced opIions screen is beuer
and gives you access Io a wide range ol
leaIures, including wireless guesI neIworks,
blacklisIing lor specihc siIes, seuing up a VPN
and using a builI-in DLNA media server Io
share conIenI on an auached SB disk.
elsewhere. However, iI's easy Io
access viIal leaIures such as porI
lorwarding and wireless seuings.
Sadly, Ihe rouIer's Wi-Fi connecIion
isn'I encrypIed by delaulI. This means IhaI, as
soon as you connecI Io iIs wireless neIwork,
you should log inIo Ihe web inIerlace and seI
a password Io prevenI unwanIed guesIs using
your wireless neIwork. When you connecI Io
iI via your browser, iI opens a basic seuings
page IhaI prompIs you Io seI your locaIion.
Do Ihis accuraIely, as iI deIermines which
lrequency bands can be used, Furopean Wi-Fi
bands exIend lrom channels one Io 13, while
Ihe S is limiIed Io using channels one Io 11.
You're also asked Io enIer your inIerneI
connecIion Iype, username and password.
Finally, enIer an easily memorable passphrase
inIo Ihe SecuriIy Key box. This is your wireless
password, viIal in keeping your neIwork secure.
nusually, even in Ihe advanced seuings, we
were unable Io disable channel-bonding,
which we usually do while IesIing, as doing
We IesIed Wi-Fi using our
lapIop's inIegraIed wireless
chipseI and a NeIgear A6100 SB
Wi-Fi adapIor. ln our 2.4CHz IesI, Ihe resulIs
ol our IhroughpuI IesIs were lairly close, buI
Ihe lapIop's wireless chipseI did a liule beuer,
geuing 4S.8UbiI/s aI 1m, 4S.9UbiI/s aI 10m
and 11.8UbiI/s aI 20m. The A6100 adapIor
lailed Ihe 20m IesI. ln Ihe SCHz IesI, Ihe
diherence beIween Ihe Wi-Fi sIandards began
Io show. While our lapIop did lairly well,
geuing 76.3UbiI/s aI 1m, 74.2UbiI/s aI 10m
and 13.2UbiI/s aI 20m, Ihe 802.11ac SB
dongle gave us 139.8UbiI/s aI 1m, 13S.9UbiI/s
aI 10m and a speedy 48.4UbiI/s aI 20m.
The lexible WAN connecIion opIions and
good perlormance in our IesIs are boIh poinIs
in Ihe D6200's lavour, buI iIs inIerlace is a
liule dis|oinIed, parIicularly when iI comes Io
opIional elemenIs such as conIenI hlIering.
lI's a good rouIer, buI Ihe BT Home Hub S
has a beuer inIerlace, even Ihough iI doesn'I
have as many leaIures as Ihe D6200.
so Iypically improves
Iransler speeds.
Perlormance was
accepIable in our near and
lar IesIs using our lapIop's
CenIrino 2 wireless chipseI.
We saw Iransler speeds ol 31.3UbiI/s aI 1m
and 27.7UbiI/s aI 10m, buI we unable Io
compleIe Ihe IesI aI 20m. A 7 Tenda W311
SB Wi-Fi adapIor gave us similar resulIs ol
37.2 UbiI/s aI 1m and 23.6m aI 10m, so iI's
noI worIh buying Ihe adapIor, parIicularly as
ours was unable even Io see Ihe rouIer when
iI was seI Io channels 12 or 13.
This is a cheap rouIer wiIh a decenI
inIerlace, so we were prepared Io be lorgiving
when iI came Io perlormance. ll you need Io
shunI a loI ol daIa around on your neIwork or
play games using iI, Ihis isn'I Ihe rouIer lor
you. ll you primarily use a wired connecIion
and |usI need Io be able Io geI your phone or
IableI online, Ihen Ihis basic rouIer is a
bargain. lI wins our BudgeI Buy award.
l0S
ISSUE 314 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ PRIL 2014
VIRELESS ROUTERS
THE TENDA W1800R is one ol Ihe cheapesI
802.11ac wireless rouIers you can buy. This is
surprising as iI uses Ihe lasI AC17S0 sIandard,
wiIh a IheoreIical maximum IhroughpuI ol
1,300UbiI/s. Like mosI AC rouIers, iI's a biI
larger Ihan iIs 802.11n predecessors. lI siIs laI
and has Ihree replaceable anIennas.
There's a bank ol sIaIus lighIs on Ihe lronI,
while aI Ihe back you'll hnd a CigabiI FIherneI
WAN porI, Iwo SB porIs, lour CigabiI
FIherneI LAN porIs and a buuon IhaI serves
as boIh Ihe lacIory reseI and Ihe WPS buuon.
lI's noI an ideal combinaIion ol luncIions, buI
we had no problems wiIh iI during our IesIs.
The W1800R provides simulIaneous
dual-band Wi-Fi. a 2.4CHz 802.11n connecIion,
sIill required by many lapIops and mobile
devices, and a SCHz 802.11ac connecIion,
which is lasIer buI requires a compaIible
Wi-Fi adapIor lor Ihe lull benehI ol iIs lasIer
IhroughpuI. NeiIher channel is secured by
delaulI, so Ihe hrsI Ihing Io do is log inIo Ihe
rouIer and add a wireless password.
TRENDNET'S TEW812DRU IS a biI smaller
and lighIer Ihan mosI 802.11ac rouIers, buI
Ihis AC17S0 simulIaneous dual-band device is
sIill specihed wiIh a IheoreIical maximum
SCHz Iransler speed ol 1,300UbiI/s. lI has a
CigabiI WAN porI and lour CigabiI FIherneI
porIs buI, beyond IhaI, you're limiIed Io one
SB porI, a power swiIch and a WPS buuon.
Wireless neIworks have passwords seI by
delaulI, and Ihe web inIerlace's wizards help
you conhgure your inIerneI connecIion and
cusIomise your wireless securiIy.
The inIerlace is clear, wiIh Ihe advanced
seuings kepI separaIe lrom Ihose IhaI will
inIeresI mosI users. However, some leaIures
are obIuse. The QoS seuings, Io prioriIise Ihe
Iypes ol Iramc on your connecIion, are a case
in poinI. Where oIher rouIers leI you choose
specihc programs or Iypes ol Iramc, here you
have Io add rules based on lP address,
proIocol and porI. Fven Ihese seuings are
buried under conhgurable Iramc seuings IhaI
mosI will hnd virIually incomprehensible.
TENDAVl800R

76 inc VAT

From www.ilgs.co.uk
TRENDNETTLV-8l2DRU

85 inc VAT

From www.dabs.com
VERDICT
The cheapest 802.11ac router we've yet seen was a|so one of the
most consistent performers in our cha||enging test environment
VERDICT
This exce||ent 802.11ac wire|ess router doesn't cost too much, but you
can get more consistent performance for a |in|e |ess money e|sewhere
The web inIerlace prompIs you Io
add a securiIy key when you hrsI connecI
Io iI, buI as Ihe suggesIed opIion is 1234S678,
you should change iI. FnIer your chosen key,
click OK and you're almosI ready Io go. Click
on Ihe Advanced secIion ol Ihe web inIerlace,
selecI Ihe Wireless Iab and correcI Ihe
counIry enIry. The rouIer annoyingly delaulIs
Io America, which uses a slighIly diherenI seI
ol wireless channels. There's no K opIion,
buI France uses Ihe same ranges as us, so
pick IhaI. The SCHz seuings opIion is locked
Io America il you wanI Io use 802.11ac mode.
Once again, Ihe S and Furopean auIhorised
ranges diher, buI you've goI no choice here.
Luckily, Ihese quirks have liule impacI on
perlormance. We used Tenda's 20 W900
Wi-Fi adapIor, which supporIs 802.11ac, and
our lapIop's inIegraIed wireless chipseI, which
supporIs boIh Ihe 2.4CHz and SCHz bands
buI only uses Ihe older 802.11n sIandard.
AI 2.4CHz, we saw similar perlormance
lrom Ihe lapIop's inIegraIed Wi-Fi and Ihe
Wireless seuings are much
clearer, Ihough again iI's easy Io
sIumble across advanced seuings
IhaI mosI people will wanI Io sIeer
well clear ol. You can enable exIra
wireless guesI neIworks on boIh bands,
so you can give visiIors access Io Ihe
inIerneI wiIhouI leuing Ihem roam your local
neIwork aI will. ln Ihe advanced seuings
screens, you can conhgure hrewall rules IhaI
are only acIive aI specihed Iime, which is
good lor keeping Ihe kids omine aI nighI,
and seI up all Ihe usual porI-lorwarding rules
and sIaIic lP addresses. We've seen more
user-lriendly inIerlaces, buI aI leasI
everyIhing's clearly labelled.
The rouIer also has neIwork share (SUB)
and FTP server leaIures, which you'll hnd in
Ihe AdminisIraIor seuings and can use Io
share a SB hard disk connecIed Io Ihe
porI aI Ihe back, Iurning Ihe rouIer inIo a
simple NAS device. You can also share a SB
prinIer, buI will have Io insIall Ihe Windows-
adapIor. The lapIop managed
39.SUbiI/s aI 1m, 38.2UbiI/s aI
10m and 14UbiI/s aI 20m. ThaI lasI
hgure is parIicularly good. WiIh Ihe adapIor,
we saw a slighI improvemenI, Io 42.7UbiI/s aI
1m, 40.7UbiI/s aI 10m and 1S.3UbiI/s aI 20m.
Perlormance aI SCHz was good all round.
Transler speeds aI 20m were a liule slower
Ihan some, buI Ihe connecIion was sIrong.
sing inIegraIed wireless, we goI 87UbiI/s aI
1m, 80.6UbiI/s aI 10m and 12.6UbiI/s aI
20m. The adapIor Iook iI Io 119UbiI/s aI 1m,
1S8.SUbiI/s aI 10m and 2S.2UbiI/s aI 20m.
This is Ihe one ol Ihe cheapesI 802.11ac
rouIers we've reviewed, and proves you don'I
have Io sacrihce perlormance or leaIures Io
save money. You'll need a compaIible wireless
adapIor Io geI Ihe mosI ouI ol iIs 802.11ac
perlormance, buI iI worked well wiIh our
CenIrino 2 lapIop in all our IesIs. lI's a greaI
rouIer, buI iIs lack ol K seuings means iI
|usI misses ouI on an award. ll you can ahord
iI, Ihe BT Home Hub S is Ihe beuer choice.
only TrendneI conIrol uIiliIy on
every sysIem lrom which you wanI
Io access Ihe prinIer.
We IesIed wireless perlormance
wiIh our CenIrino 2 lapIop's inIegraIed
wireless chipseI and a 2S TrendneI TFW-
80SB SB Wi-Fi adapIor. sing our lapIop's
adapIor, which supporIs 802.11n SCHz buI noI
802.11ac, our SCHz IesI produced speeds ol
82.4UbiI/s aI 10m, buI Ihe connecIion was
unsIable aI 20m in our busy labs. Our 2.4CHz
IesI using Ihe same inIernal adapIor gave us
37.7UbiI/s aI 10m and 1S.9UbiI/s aI 20m.
When we IesIed wiIh Ihe Asus PCF-AC68
PCl-F wireless adapIor, we saw an amazing
Iransler speed ol 80.4UbiI/s aI 20m.
WiIh a clear inIerlace, ehecIive wireless
perlormance, loIs ol leaIures and a low price,
Ihe TFW-812DR is an excellenI choice il you
wanI Io enIer Ihe world ol high-speed Wi-Fi.
However, Ihe BT Home Hub S mainIained a
more sIable connecIion during iIs IesIing in
Ihe same inIerlerence-hlled environmenI.
l0C PRIL 2014 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 314
VIRELESS ROUTERS
VIR6IN MEDIA'S NEWSuper Hub, or Super
Hub 2 as we're calling iI, has simulIaneous
802.11n 2.4CHz and SCHz Wi-Fi, so you can
use one lor general compaIibiliIy and reserve
Ihe oIher lor imporIanI high-bandwidIh |obs
such as sIreaming HD video. There are hve
inIernal aerials, Iwo lor 2.4CHz and Ihree lor
SCHz. This gives Ihe lauer a IheoreIical
maximum Iransler speed ol 4S0UbiI/s.
On Ihe bouom ol Ihe rouIer is a sIicker
showing your rouIer's SSlDs (one lor each
band), password, WPS PlN, plus Ihe web
address and delaulI password lor Ihe rouIer's
seuing pages (more on which below). A new
addiIion is Ihe QR code on Ihe side, which leIs
you connecI a mobile device simply by
poinIing iIs camera aI Ihe sIicker, as long as
you have Ihe righI solware insIalled.
AI Ihe back is a lull seI ol lour CigabiI
FIherneI porIs, so Ihere should be no problem
connecIing mulIiple high-speed devices lor
lasI hle Iranslers. There's a SB porI here,
Ioo, buI iI's been sIickered over and Ihere's
no menIion ol iI in Ihe seuings menu.
VIRGIN MEDIASuer Hub 2

50 inc VAT

From www.virginmedia.com
VERDICT
A good upgrade if you want concurrent 2.4CHz and 5CHz
Wi-Fi, but it sti|| |acks many standard router features
ln our IesIs we lound Ihe 2.4CHz
Wi-Fi speed was respecIable aI 1m
and 10m disIances, scoring 4SUbiI/s
and 33UbiI/s respecIively, buI iI lell
oh sharply in our 20m IesI, lailing Io
compleIe Ihe IesI or regisIer a score.
We seI Ihe rouIer Io iIs maximum speed lor
Ihese IesIs, Ihough, and in anoIher locaIion we
did geI a clear signal aI Ihis range by reducing
Ihe IheoreIical maximum speed down Io
144UbiI/s. This will ahecI speeds ol closer
devices, buI lor 2.4CHz range and sIabiliIy are
Ihe key lacIors lor mosI users, and in Ihis
respecI Ihe Super Hub 2 worked hne.
AI SCHz Ihe rouIer was more impressive,
scoring 93.2UbiI/s aI 1m, 74.1UbiI/s aI 10m
and 13UbiI/s aI 20m. All Ihese IesIs are
conducIed Ihrough mulIiple walls in a place
wiIh higher-Ihan-normal elecIrical
inIerlerence. There are cerIainly lasIer rouIers
ouI Ihere, even discounIing 802.11ac devices,
buI Ihese are respecIable scores.
There aren'I many leaIures on Ihis device,
Ihere's no supporI lor sIorage devices or
prinIers and no media server.
There aren'I even any dynamic
DNS server seuings. lI's noI
surprising, Virgin Uedia is providing
sIraighIlorward inIerneI access here,
and anyIhing exIra would go unused by
mosI cusIomers and generaIe a loI ol supporI
calls. SIill, having prinI and sIorage servers
would have made Ihis a more rounded device.
The Super Hub 2 is provided lree Io new
XL, XXL and 100UbiI/s and 120UbiI/s
broadband cusIomers. Those already on Ihose
speeds, or upgrading Io Ihem, can requesI a
new Super Hub Io replace Iheir currenI model,
buI iI will cosI S0. The kiI is owned by Virgin
Uedia and you merely renI iI, which means iI
will be replaced il anyIhing goes wrong.
AI S0 Ihe Super Hub 2 is a good upgrade
il you wanI beuer speeds and increased range
over Ihe currenI model, wiIhouI losing Ihe
neaI all-in-one look. However, lor more
leaIures we recommend swiIching Ihe rouIer
inIo modem mode and hooking up a more
capable rouIer, such as Ihe BT Home Hub S.
Need for speed: upgradng to a faster router
|f you were supplied with a wireless router when you took out your
broadband connection but aren't happy with the speed you're
geuing from it, you can simply replace it using one of the routers
reviewed this month. The process dihers, depending on the |SP and
type of connection, but here's what to look out for.
ADSL
ADSL remains the most common type of internet connection in
the UK and, if you've been with the same |SP for a long time, you
could be running very old hardware. You'll need a router with an
ADSL modem built-in. Talk to your |SP and make sure you have
your broadband username and password, and any additional
seuings, such as the VC| number.
Plug your ADSL router into your phone line and conhgure it
using the information above and the manufacturer-provided details.
FIBRE
|n areas where BT has upgraded to hbre to the curb (FTTC),
replacing your |SP-provided router with your own is easy. First of
all, you need to disconnect your current router from the provided
VDSL modem, which will most likely be a BT Openreach modem.
Next, plug your new router into the modem, connecting its WAN
port to the Ethernet port on the modem.
You now need to conhgure your new router to work with
your internet connection. This should simply be a mauer of
seuing the router to PPoE, then entering the username and
password, as provided by your |SP. For BT |nhnity, the username
is bthomehub@btbroadband.com with a blank password.
SKY
Sky is very restrictive
with its routers, using
hidden usernames and
passwords, and the
uncommon NER
authentication protocol
to stop people using
other routers. There are
ways round this, but
not all routers support
the necessary features.
|nstead, you can use any router (cable or ADSL) in con|unction
with your Sky router. First, disable Wi-Fi on your Sky router. Next,
turn your new router on, and connect to it directly using a computer.
Using its web-based management, turn oh DHCP, set its |P address
to 192.168.0.254 (remember this address, as you'll need it to
conhgure your router), and set up its Wi-Fi. Save the seuings. Now
plug an Ethernet cable into one of the Ethernet ports (not the WAN
port) on your new router, and the other end into your Sky router.
VIRGIN MEDIA
Virgin Nedia's current router has the modem built-in, but you can
use any cable router with an Ethernet WAN port. On your Virgin
Super Hub, go to Advanced seuings and set the router to Nodem
mode. Connect your new router's WAN port to port 1 on the Super
Hub and it should work. Because of Virgin's broadband speeds, it's
best to buy a router with a Cigabit Ethernet WAN port.
8 No mauer what kind of router you use, you'll
need the connection information from your |SP
l0
ISSUE 314 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ PRIL 2014
VIRELESS ROUTERS
BLNCHMARKS
Performance (see box or age l0l)
2.4CHz Centrno 2
5CHz Centrno 2 5CHz U5B adaptor
2.4CHz U5B adaptor
1 l1 I1 1 11 '1 a1 |1 1 1
|I cne a| J
4e|je |tI11
|-|| |\|-JJ1|
Iei W11|
Ieie| I|W-I||J
ka |I-kCJtJ
|a||c Wl|-tt||
|e| kC I11 ||
||{ |kt11
\|j| Hei| \ae a| I
ka |I-kCtJ
Iei WJ11|
|||c |||t tJ114I|
19.5
27.7
32.8
33
33.6
34
36.1
36.6
37.7
38.2
45
45.9
76.7
7.9
9.7
11.4
11.5
15.9
14
11.8
11.9

1 l1 I1 1 11 '1 a1 |1 1 1 l11
|a||c Wl|-tt||
Ieie| I|W-I||J
Iei W11|
|I cne a| J
|-|| |\|-JJ1|
4e|je |tI11
\|j| Hei| \ae a| I
ka |I-kCtJ
ka |I-kCJtJ
||{ |kt11
|e| kC I11 ||
|||c |||t tJ114I|
Iei WJ11|
N/A
N/A
57.3
33
60.2
63
74.1
74.2
74.6
78.9
80.6
82.4
87
25.6
25.5
13
13.2
43.4
14
12.6
42.6
1 l1 I1 1 11 '1 a1 |1 1 1
||{ |kt11
ka |I-kCtJ
|I cne a| J
|-|| |\|-JJ1|
ka |I-kCJtJ
|e| kC I11 ||
4e|je |tI11
Iei W11|
Ieie| I|W-I||J
|a||c Wl|-tt||
Iei WJ11|
|||c |||t tJ114I|
\|j| Hei| \ae a| I
14.9
N/A
23.6
36.9
39.6
40.7
47.6
51.7
56.7
62.3
64.6
64.8
83.9
15.3
7
.
1
4
.
9
5
.
3
23.6

1 I1 11 a1 1 l11 lI1 l11 la1 l1

Ieie| I|W-I||J
ka |I-kCJtJ
ka |I-kCtJ
Iei W11|
|I cne a| J
4e|je |tI11
|a||c Wl|-tt||
||{ |kt11
|e| kC I11 ||
|-|| |\|-JJ1|
\|j| Hei| \ae a| I
|||c |||t tJ114I|
Iei WJ11|
60.2
N/A
N/A
N/A
76.3
78.8
109.7
135.9
149.2
158.5
158.5
158.5
158.5
26.4
8
.
4
47.7
48.4
58.2
25.2
70.7
66.2
46.7
|f you want to step into the world of
high-speed 802.11ac routers, you don't
necessarily have to spend a fortune.
This point is proved by the low-cost Cigabit
Ethernet router, the Tenda W1800R, which
you can buy for less than 80. However, its
slightly clunky interface and lack of UK
seuings means it |ust loses out on an award.
For excellent performance and support
for both ADSL and hbre broadband, the
BT Home Hub 5 is a great choice. |t has
Cigabit Ethernet, a clean, simple interface
and it's well priced. Best of all, you don't have
to have a BT internet connection to use it.
|t wins a Best Buy award.
Our hnal 802.11ac winner is the Asus
RT-AC68U. |t's expensive, but it produced
the fastest wireless transfer speeds we've
seen. |t nets our Ultimate award.
At the other end of the spectrum, if
you |ust need to replace a failing ADSL or
Ethernet router and get back online, you
can't go wrong with our Budget Buy winner,
the 21 Tenda W300D.
VERDICT
ASUS RT-ACC8U

BT Home Hub S

TENDAV300D

10 metres
20 metres
l08 PRIL 2014 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 314
VIRELESS ROUTERS
ULTIMATE BEST BUY
ASUS ASUS BELKIN BILLION BT BUFFALO
TECHNOLOGY
RT-ACSCU RT-ACC8U ACl200 DB BiFac C300NXL Home Hub S AirSaior
Dual Bard llAC
VZR-llCCDHF
Rating

Nodem type FIherneI FIherneI ADSL None ADSL, FIherneI None
Router standard 802.11ac 802.11ac 802.11ac 802.11n 802.11ac 802.11ac
N|NO Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Stated speed 867UbiI/s 1,300UbiI/s 867UbiI/s 300UbiI/s 1,300UbiI/s 866UbiI/s
SECURITY
Firewall Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
NAC address hltering Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
DNZ Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
PHYSICAL
Dimensions including
antenna (lying
horizontally, HxWxD)
20Sx147x66mm 160x220x83mm 220x220x7Smm 37x230x1SSmm 116x236x31mm 212x34x183mm
Antennas 4 3 NoI disclosed 2 NoI disclosed NoI disclosed
|nternal/external
antennas
lnIernal FxIernal lnIernal FxIernal lnIernal lnIernal
Upgradeable antennas No Yes No Yes No No
WAN ports 1 1 1 1 2 1
LAN ports 4x 10/100/
1,000UbiI/s
4x 10/100/
1,000UbiI/s
4x 10/100/
1,000UbiI/s
4x 10/100/
1,000UbiI/s
4x 10/100/
1,000UbiI/s
4x 10/100/
1,000UbiI/s
Other ports 1x SB, 1x SB3 1x SB, 1x SB3 2x SB 2x SB 1x SB 1x SB3
Wall mountable No No No Yes No No
Power consumption on 7W 9W 9W 3W 6W 7W
OTHER FEATURES
Dynamic DNS Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
UPnP Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
DHCP server Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
NAC spoohng Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Port forwarding Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
WDS support Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
USB device support Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
QoS Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes
BUYING INFORMATION
Price including VAT 112 177 120 80 129 92
Warranty Three-year RTB Three-year RTB One-year RTB Two-year RTB One-year RTB Three-year RTB
Supplier www.dabs.com www.more
compuIers.com
www.argos.co.uk www.ilgs.co.uk www.shop.bI.com www.uk.insighI.
com
Details www.asus.com www.asus.com www.belkin.com/uk www.billion.com www.bI.com www.buhalo-
Iechnology.com
Part code RT-ACS6 RT-AC68 F9|1106 6300NXL Home Hub S WZR-1166DHP
P
r
i
c
e
s
c
o
r
r
e
c
I
a
I
I
i
m
e
o
l
g
o
i
n
g
I
o
p
r
e
s
s
l0
ISSUE 314 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ PRIL 2014
VIRELESS ROUTERS
BUDGET BUY
D-LINK LINKSYS NETGEAR TENDA TENDA TRENDNET VIRGIN
MEDIA
DSL-3S80L LAC00 DC200 V300D Vl800R TLV-8l2DRU Super Hub 2

ADSL ADSL, FIherneI ADSL, FIherneI ADSL FIherneI FIherneI Cable
802.11ac 802.11ac 802.11ac 802.11n 802.11ac 802.11ac 802.11n
Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
867UbiI/s 1,300UbiI/s 867UbiI/s 300UbiI/s 1,300UbiI/s 1,300UbiI/s 4S0UbiI/s
Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
173x213xS2mm 18Sx2S7x41mm 20Sx2SSx77mm 31x172x119mm 34x219x1S7mm 180x48x1SSmm 21Sx69x19Smm
6 3 NoI disclosed 2 3 6 S
lnIernal FxIernal lnIernal FxIernal FxIernal lnIernal lnIernal
No Yes No Yes Yes No No
2 1 2 1 1 1 1
4x 10/100/
1,000UbiI/s
4x 10/100/
1,000UbiI/s
4x 10/100/
1,000UbiI/s
4x 10/100UbiI/s 4x 10/100/
1,000UbiI/s
4x 10/100/
1,000UbiI/s
4x 10/100/
1,000UbiI/s
2x SB 1x SB, 1x SB3 1x SB None 2x SB 1x SB None
No No No Yes Yes No No
SW 9W 7W 3W 8W 8W 8W
Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No
Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No
Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No
Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No
Yes Yes Yes No No Yes No
100 12S 124 21 76 8S S0
One-year RTB Two-year RTB One-year RTB One-year RTB One-year RTB Three-year RTB LileIime
www.dabs.com www.digiIal-
lusion.co.uk
www.ebuyer.com www.ilgs.co.uk www.ilgs.co.uk www.dabs.com www.virginmedia.
com
www.dlink.com www.linksys.com www.neIgear.co.uk hup.//Ienda.cn hup.//Ienda.cn www.IrendneI.
com
www.virginmedia.
com
DSL-3S80L FA6900 D6200 W300D W1800R TFW-812DR N/A

hen Coogle released its hrst Chromebook laptop in 2011, it

came with a brand new operating system that was unlike
anything else on the market. Aimed primarily at internet
users, Chrome OS put Coogle's online services, such as
Coogle Drive and Coogle Play apps, at the heart of its
simple design. The only features Chrome OS shares with
other operating systems are a hle manager and a media
player, everything else is done via the cloud using the Chrome web browser.
|t's a brilliant idea if you tend to use a computer only to check emails and
surf the web, and the minimalist approach mirrors the Chromebook's cut-price
cost, with most Chromebooks retailing at between 199 and 299.
There are some downsides. The only programs compatible with Chrome OS
are the extension apps available in the Chrome Web Store, and it's possible to
lose access to your hles if you're not connected to the internet. This can make
buying a Chromebook a liule unnerving compared to a more power-hungry and
expensive Windows laptop.
With a bit of guidance, though, Chrome OS is still a good choice for those
looking for a small, cheap and easy-to-use laptop with a great bauery life.
Having such a device will also concentrate your mind on moving your
computing to the cloud (both hles and applications), so you can stop worrying
about what's where and whether you've backed up, and start switching
ehortlessly between devices without a second thought.
|n this feature, we'll take you through everything you need to know about
the operating system, so by the time you've hnished reading you'll be able to
do almost everything in Chrome OS that you can do in Windows. We've used
Chrome OS 31.0, the latest version of Coogle's operating system, which is
available on all Chromebooks.

l's based or Google's oular veb brovser, bu car Clrome OS
oer le same exerierce as Virdovs, Lirux or Mac OS
As Katharne Byrne exlairs lere, Google's oerairg sysem
is surrisirgly versaile orce you discover is secres
1lc Ultwntc Oudc tc...
ll0 PRIL 2014 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 314
Cet started with Chrome O5 112
Choosing a Chromebook 113
The Chrome O5 desktop 114
Use keyboard shortcuts 116
Conhgure emai| 118
Nanage your h|es 120
Connecting externa| devices 121
Use Coog|e Drive 122
Work omine 124
Nanage photos 126
P|ay media 128
Use Coog|e C|oud Print 129

it
e
d
g
S
THE ULTIMTE GUIDE TO CHROME OS
ISSUE 314 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ PRIL 2014

ll2 PRIL 2014 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 314
THE ULTIMTE GUIDE TO CHROME OS
Cet started wth Chrome O5
A Google accour is esserial i you're lirlirg o usirg Clrome OS. Here's our
se-by-se guide o geirg sared vil your rev oerairg sysem
BEFORE YOU CAN start using Chrome OS, you need to create a
Coogle account. This links together all Coogle's online services,
such as YouTube and Coogle Docs, so you don't have to create
multiple log-in details for each one.
Before you start, you'll need to make sure that you're online.
Only the Samsung Series 3 Chromebook is currently available with 3C
capabilities, so other Chromebooks will need to be connected to a
Wi-Fi network in order to proceed. Your Chromebook should
automatically detect your nearest network, but you may need to
move closer to your router if it doesn't appear in the drop-down
menu on Chrome OS's initial setup page.
01
On Ihe iniIial screen, you'll see a login age. l you already have a
Cmail address, you can sign in using your normal email and
assword. l you don'I have a Cmail address, seuing one u is easy.
|usI selecI 'creaIe a Coogle AccounI' on Ihe righI hand side and you'll
be romIed Io hll in your deIails and ick a username and assword.
02
There's also an oIion here Io hll in your mobile hone number.
You can leave Ihis held blank i you reer, buI iI's arI o
Coogle's Iwo-sIe verihcaIion rocess Io hel roIecI your accounI i
you ever lose your assword or i someone else Iries Io hack iI, so we'd
recommend hlling iI in. By enIering your mobile number, Coogle will be
able Io send you a IexI message Io hel you access your accounI
whenever you log in Io Coogle rom a new device. This revenIs oIher
eole rom signing in Io your accounI on anoIher comuIer even i
Ihey have your assword, so you're sIill roIecIed i your login deIails
have been sIolen. You don'I need Io have your hone handy every Iime
you log on Io your home devices, as Coogle has included an oIion Io
Iurn oh verihcaIion requesIs or each comuIer you use aer you hrsI
seI iI u, leuing you log on quickly and simly while sIill being roIecIed.
03
Once you've signed u or a Coogle AccounI, you'll be asked Io
add a hoIo Io your new Coogle rohle. This hoIo will be used
across all your Coogle services, including Cmail, Coogle + and Coogle
Docs, making iI easy or riends Io idenIiy you. lI will also aear nexI
Io all your Coogle inIeracIions, such as YouTube and Coogle HangouI
commenIs. You can ski Ihis i you wanI Io, buI you'll be le wiIh
Coogle's nondescriI blue laceholder hoIo insIead.
04
You'll now be resenIed wiIh your new Cmail address, which
you can use Io log in Io your Chromebook as well as all o
Coogle's various services. You'll noIice you're currenIly using your
Chromebook as a CuesI raIher Ihan your own accounI, so we'd
recommend exiIing Ihe rocess here. To do Ihis, click on 'CuesI' in Ihe
bouom righI corner and Ihen 'FxiI CuesI' Io reIurn Io Ihe main login
screen. Now log inIo your accounI using your newly creaIed Cmail
address and assword and you'll be Iaken Io Ihe Chrome deskIo.
01 03
04 02

ll3
ISSUE 314 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ PRIL 2014
THE ULTIMTE GUIDE TO CHROME OS
Choosng a Chromebook
ACER'S LATEST CHROMEBOOK is a huge
improvemenI on iIs predecessor. NoI only is iI
one ol Ihe lasIesI Chromebooks we've ever IesIed
ouIside ol Coogle's own exIremely expensive
Chromebook Pixel, buI iIs bauery lile is also one
ol Ihe besI we've seen.
This is all made possible by one ol lnIel's
laIesI Haswell processors, Ihe lnIel Celeron 29SS.
This energy-emcienI powerhouse consumes very
liule power, yeI iI makes Chrome OS leel
incredibly snappy and responsive, and also helps
exIend Ihe Chromebook's bauery lile. We
managed a lull seven hours in our conIinuous
video playback IesI, so iI will easily keep you going
lor a lull working day on a single charge.
lIs range ol porIs gives you plenIy ol opIions
Io expand iIs 16CB ol inIernal sIorage. You geI a
SB3 and a SB2 porI, an SD card reader and an
HDUl ouIpuI, which is uselul il you wanI Io bring
Ihe Chrome OS experience Io a larger screen.
6OO6LE RECALLED THE hrsI baIch ol HP
Chromebook 11s because ol heaI issues wiIh iIs
power adapIor, buI Ihis bargain lapIop is seI Io
reIurn Io shop shelves in Ihe near luIure.
One ol our lavouriIe Chromebooks ol recenI
years, Ihe Chromebook 11's build qualiIy is
superb. lI may be plasIic, buI Ihe meIal-reinlorced
case means iI leels Iough, and Ihere's none ol
Ihe creakiness lound in oIher low-cosI
Chromebooks. lI also looks greaI, wiIh Ihe whiIe
gloss plasIic neaIly bevelled and curved, making
Ihe Chromebook 11 look a loI more expensive
Ihan iI acIually is.
lI uses Ihe same dual-core Samsung Fxynos S
Dual ARU-based SoC as Samsung's Series 3 as
well, so iI has Ihe speed Io maIch iIs good looks.
The bauery lasIs |usI over hve hours, and iIs
Uicro SB charge porI means you can also Iop up
Ihe bauery wiIh your phone charger il you lorgeI
Io bring Ihe dedicaIed charger wiIh you.
SAMSUN6'S SERIES 3 is one ol Ihe oldesI
Chromebooks sIill available, buI iI remains one ol
Ihe besI. lIs gorgeous slim chassis is reminiscenI
ol Apple's Uacbook Air, and aI |usI 1.1kg iI's lighI
enough Io be classihed as an lIrabook were iI
running lnIel hardware. lnsIead, iI has an ARU-
based CP, which provides enough power Io run
mulIiple apps and inIerneI Iabs simulIaneously.
DespiIe iIs dimensions, Ihere's room lor Iwo
SB porIs and an HDUl video ouIpuI aI Ihe back
ol Ihe lapIop, along wiIh an SD card reader and
3.Smm combinaIion audio |ack aI Ihe side. lI also
has 802.11n Wi-Fi and BlueIooIh connecIiviIy,
which is crucial lor geuing online and making Ihe
mosI ol Chrome OS.
The Series 3 also has a greaI bauery lile, lasIing
|usI over seven hours when looping an UP3 hle
and wiIh Ihe screen seI Io hall brighIness.
ACER C20 Clromebool
199 inc VAT

From www.pcworld.co.uk
HP Clromebool ll
229 inc VAT

From www.|ohnlewis.com
SAMSUNG Series 3 Clromebool
200 inc VAT

From www.currys.co.uk
No sure vlicl Clromebool o buy Here are lree o our avouries
eep you going
rge.
y ol opIions
e. You geI a
ader and an
wanI Io bring
r screen.
ung Fxynos S
Series 3 as
s good looks.
s, and iIs
can also Iop up
r il you lorgeI
you.
nnecIiviIy,
d making Ihe
uery lile, lasIing
an UP3 hle
hIness.
CPU 1.7CHz Samsung Exynos 5 Dual PAN2CB
5TOPACE 16CB hard disk CPAPHIC5 Samsung
Exynos 5 OPTICAL DPIVE None DI5PLAY 11.6in
widescreen LCD (1,366x768) BATTEPY LIFE 5h 12m
DINEN5ION5 17,6x297x192mm, 1kg WAPPANTY One year RTB
PAPT CODE 82716568 DETAIL5 www.hp.co.uk
CPU 1.7CHz Exynos 5250 PAN2CB
5TOPACE 16CB hard disk CPAPHIC5 Samsung
Exynos 5 OPTICAL DPIVE None DI5PLAY11.6in
widescreen LCD(1,366x768) BATTEPYLIFE 7h 19m
DINEN5ION5 18x289x205mm, 1.1kg WAPPANTY One year RTB
PAPT CODE 029693 DETAIL5 www.samsung.com/uk
CPU 1.4CHz |ntel Celeron 2955U PAN2CB
5TOPACE 16CB hard disk CPAPHIC5 |ntel HD Craphics
OPTICAL DPIVE None
DI5PLAY11.6in widescreen LCD(1,366x768) BATTEPYLIFE 7h 2m
DINEN5ION5 19x288x204mm, 1.3kg WAPPANTY One year RTB
PAPT CODE NX.SHEEK.001 DETAIL5 www.acer.co.uk
THE ULTIMTE GUIDE TO CHROME OS
ll4 PRIL 2014 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 314 PRIL 2014 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 314
The Chrome OS desktop
Clrome OS isr' all la dierer o Virdovs, vil slorcu icors or le
boom le, ard seirgs ard Vi-!i oiors oosie lese or le rigl.
Tlere are some imorar diererces, lougl, vlicl ve exlair lere
THE SEARCH BAR
The Search Bar is the key to your Chrome OS experience. |t not
only lets you pinpoint your favourite apps, but it also acts like an
ordinary Coogle search bar, so you can search websites and even
individual Coogle Docs provided you've opened them at least
once beforehand. You don't even have to click the Apps menu
buuon in the corner to use it, as there's a dedicated Search key
on the keyboard that opens it automatically.
THE LAUNCHER
The Launcher is very
similar to the Windows
8 taskbar. |t lets you 'pin'
all your favourite app
shortcuts to the bouom
of the screen so you
can access them quickly
without having to scroll
through the Apps menu
to hnd them. You can add
more shortcuts by clicking
the app with both hngers
on the touchpad (or right-
clicking with the mouse)
in the Apps menu and
selecting Pin to Launcher.
APPS MENU
You'll be using the
Apps menu a lot, as this
houses all your apps
and extensions. |t's the
Chrome OS equivalent
of the Start menu in
Windows, and you'll
hnd everything you've
downloaded from the
Chrome Web Store here.
You can also dictate
how each app opens,
whether it's as a standard
Chrome tab, a pinned tab
that opens automatically
whenever you log in, a
separate window or a
maximised window that
hlls the whole screen.
THE ULTIMTE GUIDE TO CHROME OS

ISSUE 314 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ PRIL 2014 ISSUE 314 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ PRIL 2014
CHROME BROWSER
Whether you're surhng the web, running
an app or playing a game, you'll be doing
it all within the Chrome browser. |t works
exactly the same as Chrome on Windows, so
anyone used to multi-tab browsing will be at
home here. |f you use another browser on
your PC, install Chrome on that computer
hrst and import your bookmarks there.
SETTINGS MENU
Clicking the clock pops up a basic but useful
seuings menu. Here you can change your
Wi-Fi and Bluetooth seuings, ad|ust the
volume, see your remaining bauery life,
switch to a diherent user account, lock the
screen or turn oh the Chromebook.
You can also access the main Seuings
menu here. This lets you manage your
Chromebook's appearance and wallpaper,
change user accounts, alter your keyboard,
touchpad and display seuings, and
customise privacy and security controls.
NOTIFICATION
AREA
A number will appear
in the notihcation area
that tots up how many
changes have taken
place within your various
apps, such as new emails,
updated Coogle Drive
hles, and new events in
your Coogle Calendar. |f
you prefer not to receive
any notihcations, you
can turn them oh for
each individual app.
llC PRIL 2014 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 314
THE ULTIMTE GUIDE TO CHROME OS
Use keyboard shortcuts
Google las sreamlired a yical lao leyboard ard added
slorcu leys o male Clrome OS ever easier o use
6OO6LE IS SEARCH, so it's not surprising to hnd a dedicated Search
key on the keyboard. There are also plenty of handy shortcuts at the
top of the keyboard that replace the usual function keys. Chrome OS
also has dozens of keyboard shortcuts to help make using your
Chromebook faster and more emcient. They can be used to perform
specihc actions that you wouldn't otherwise be able to do because of
the streamlined keyboard layout. Here are the most useful shortcuts
you need to know when using your Chromebook.
Top row keyboard buttons
Escape
Search
Tapping Ihe Search key will bring up Ihe Apps menu
and leI you do a quick Coogle search online.
Reduce
briItness
Back (in brovser
and Ie manaer}
Increase
briItness
Forvard (in
brovser and Ie
manaer}
Mute
ReIoad veb pae
VoIume dovn
FuII screen
VoIume up
SvitcI vindov
Pover
+
Lock screen
ll you need Io lock your screen quickly, hold down Ihe CIrl, Shil and L keys simulIaneously.
You can also lock Ihe screen by holding down Ihe power buuon lor a couple ol seconds,
buI don'I hold iI down Ioo long or you'll Iurn oh Ihe lapIop compleIely.
Focus on address bar
ll you wanI Io quickly selecI Ihe RL in Chrome's address bar Io copy inIo
anoIher window, CIrl and L (or AlI and D) will quickly highlighI iI lor you.
+
+
Howto...

ISSUE 314 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ PRIL 2014

THE ULTIMTE GUIDE TO CHROME OS
Caps Lock
Chromebooks don'I have a dedicaIed Caps Lock key
like oIher lapIops, so you'll need Io press AlI and
Search Io Iurn Ihe Caps Lock on and oh.
Forvards
Copy Cut Paste Undo
Backvards
+
+
Open File Manager
AlI, Shil and U will open Ihe File Uanager
so you can quickly browse Ihrough your
hles and Coogle Drive documenIs.
See hidden hles
ll you need Io hnd any hidden hles, holding down
CIrl and Ihe lull-sIop key will reveal Ihem.
Take a screenshot
Taking a screenshoI ol your display is easy Ihanks Io Ihis simple
shorIcuI. |usI hold down CIrl and Ihe SwiIch Window buuon
and a screenshoI will appear in your Downloads lolder.
Open Task Manager
Opening Ihe Task Uanager wiIh CIrl, AlI, DeleIe is one ol Ihe shorIcuIs
known by Windows users Ihe world over, buI Ihe keyboard shorIcuI
in Chrome OS is a liule diherenI, here iI's Shil and Fsc.
Cut, copy, paste
The classic CIrl + C, CIrl + X, CIrl + V and CIrl + Z shorIcuIs lrom Windows all work on Chrome OS, Ioo,
leuing you copy, cuI, pasIe and undo respecIively. You can also press CIrl + A Io selecI all.
Switching tabs
ll you have loIs ol Iabs open, iI can someIimes be a biI Iricky swiIching beIween Ihem wiIh Ihe Iouchpad.
Luckily, CIrl and Tab will cycle Ihrough Ihem one by one. To go backwards, press CIrl, Shil and Tab.
+
+
+
+ +
+ + + +
ll8 PRIL 2014 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 314
THE ULTIMTE GUIDE TO CHROME OS
Conhgure emaI
Tle buil-ir Gmail a is a overul mail-maragemer sysem la suors
mulile email addresses. Here's our se-by-se guide o seirg i u
YOU HAVE MAIL
Open Cmail lrom Ihe Launcher bar, and click Ihe cog buuon on Ihe lar
righI ol Ihe window. Now selecI Seuings lrom Ihe drop-down menu.
ll you wanI Io send emails lrom mulIiple addresses - such as
HoImail, Yahoo! or AOL - go Io Ihe AccounIs Iab and click 'Add
anoIher email address you own'. FnIer your email address, click on
NexI SIep and Ihen selecI 'Send Ihrough Cmail' on Ihe nexI screen.
You'll need Io check your oIher email accounI Io geI Ihe verihcaIion
code lrom Coogle, buI once Ihis is done you'll be able Io send emails
lrom a varieIy ol diherenI addresses all lrom Ihe same Cmail inbox.
Once you're back in Ihe AccounIs seuings Iab, a new opIion will
have appeared below your newly added email address. This relaIes Io
which email accounI you'll reply lrom when answering a message.
You can eiIher keep iI on iIs delaulI seuing, which auIomaIically
replies lrom your Cmail address, or you can check Ihe opIion above iI
so Ihe reply comes lrom Ihe accounI Io which Ihe email was originally
senI. We'd recommend checking Ihe hrsI box so you'll reply lrom Ihe
same address as Ihe message was senI Io as Ihis makes answering your
emails less Iime-consuming and less conlusing lor oIhers.
NOWTHAT YOU'VE created a Coogle account, Cmail will already
be set up with your new address. That doesn't mean you have to
stop using your old email address, however, as Cmail can be
conhgured to send and receive mail from other accounts, such as
Hotmail, Yahoo! and AOL. Here we'll explain how to set up the
Cmail app to make it your one-stop shop for all things email.
RECORD LABEL
A more uselul way ol separaIing your emails inIo diherenI caIegories
is by using Cmail's Label leaIure. This is |usI anoIher name lor Ihe
diherenI lolders IhaI appear on Ihe lel-hand side beneaIh your inbox,
buI you can cusIomise and creaIe new labels Io suiI your own needs
by going back Io Ihe Seuings menu and clicking Ihe 'Labels' Iab.
Here you can decide which ol Coogle's labels you wanI Io show or
hide lrom view, and il you scroll down Io Ihe bouom ol Ihe page you
can also creaIe new labels Io help make managing your emails easier.
8 Add another email address to your Cmail account by going to the
Accounts tab and selecting 'Add another email address you own'
8 Follow Coogle's onscreen prompts to add your new email address
and you'll be done in four simple steps
8 You can sort emails into separate folders so they're easier to find
Howto...

ISSUE 314 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ PRIL 2014

THE ULTIMTE GUIDE TO CHROME OS
FORWARD MARCH
ll you wanI Io lorward incoming emails lrom your various accounIs Io
your Cmail address, go Io Ihe AccounIs Iab again and click 'Add a POP3
mail accounI you own'. FnIer your email address, click NexI, Iype in
your password lor IhaI address and selecI 'Add AccounI'.
Do Ihis lor each email address you wanI Io add, all your emails will
Ihen arrive in your Cmail inbox. This will save you lrom having Io check
mulIiple addresses |usI so you can keep on Iop ol your messages.
Back in Ihe main inbox, you'll noIice IhaI Cmail is divided inIo
Ihree secIions. primary emails, social emails and promoIion emails.
These are auIomaIic caIegories IhaI help separaIe imporIanI emails
lrom Ihe endless shopping promoIions and social-neIworking
noIihcaIions, buI you can disable Ihem il you'd raIher have all your
emails in one place. You can do Ihis by clicking Ihe + icon nexI Io Ihe
PromoIions Iab and Ihen deselecIing Ihe caIegories you wanI Io hide.
FILTER THROUGH
Cmail also allows you Io creaIe specihc hlIers Io help you manage
your email more ehecIively. These can change how cerIain messages
appear in your inbox, so il you always wanI Io lag up an email lrom
your besI maIe or send every email wiIh Ihe words 'crediI card bill' Io
Ihe recycle bin, a hlIer can be very uselul, parIicularly when iI's
combined wiIh one ol your labels.
To creaIe a hlIer, go Io Ihe 'FilIers' Iab in Ihe Seuings menu and
click 'CreaIe a new hlIer'. Here you can hlIer emails by person, sub|ecI,
8 To forward incoming mail from another email address, you first
need to type in the address from which you want to receive mail
8 Filters can be as specific as you like. |ust fill in the relevant fields and Cmail will
create a new filter using those terms
8 Enter your password to complete the process and you'll now
be able to receive mail from multiple email addresses
8 Once the email's been caught by the filter, you'll need to tell Cmail what you
want to do with it. Check the relevant boxes to complete creating your filter
keyword or auachmenI. Once you've decided on your hlIer Ierms, click
'CreaIe hlIer wiIh Ihis search'. You can Ihen decide whaI happens Io
Ihe emails caughI by Ihe hlIer. They can eiIher go sIraighI Io your
Archive, geI sIarred, or marked as read auIomaIically. Uessages can
also have a parIicular label applied Io Ihem, be lorwarded Io anoIher
email address, deleIed or marked as imporIanI. You can also prevenI
messages going Io your Spam lolder. Once you've chosen whaI you
wanI your hlIer Io do, click 'CreaIe hlIer'.

l20 PRIL 2014 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 314

THE ULTIMTE GUIDE TO CHROME OS
Manage your hIes
Mos Clromebools lave very lile irerral sorage, so malirg le bes use o le
available sace is vial. Clrome OS's !ile Marager males everylirg simle
CHROME OS'S FILE Uanager divides everyIhing inIo Iwo lolders.
Coogle Drive and Downloads. The lauer sIores mosI ol your local hles
while Coogle Drive leIs you access hles uploaded Io Ihe cloud. There
are no C. drives Io be lound, and even exIernal sIorage devices such as
SB sIicks and SD card readers are simply lisIed as SB devices under
Ihe Downloads lolder raIher Ihan be assigned drive leuers.
This doesn'I mean Chrome OS is harder Io use Ihan Windows. You
can creaIe mulIiple windows Io help move hles and creaIe sublolders in
Ihe main Downloads and Drive lolders. You do Ihis by clicking Ihe cog in
Ihe Iop righI corner. The cog also Iells you how much sIorage space is
lel and gives you Ihe opIion Io view your hles as Ihumbnails or in a lisI.
Organising hles is simple. As well as using mulIiple windows, you can
use Ihe usual cuI, copy and pasIe shorIcuIs Io move hles around.
Dragging and dropping hles wiIhin a single window also works, buI
you'll need Io hover your cursor over your inIended desIinaIion in Ihe
lel-hand lolder menu and waiI lor Ihe lolder Io open in Ihe main
window, as Ihe File Uanager doesn'I lisI any sublolders on Ihe lel.
Uoving hles inIo your Coogle Drive lolder has Ihe added benehI ol
auIomaIically uploading Ihem Io Ihe cloud as well, and Ihey'll be waiIing
lor you in Coogle Drive when you nexI open Ihe app. The File Uanager
also makes browsing Ihrough your Coogle Drive hles a liule easier, you
can organise Ihem by name, hle Iype or daIe modihed, whereas Ihe
Coogle Drive app only sorIs hles by modihcaIion daIe.
The only downside Io organising your Coogle Drive hles wiIh Ihe File
Uanager is IhaI you can'I drag or copy hles and lolders inIo Ihe Omine
secIion ol your Coogle Drive lolder. lnsIead, you have Io make each hle
available omine individually by Iwo-hnger clicking Ihem and selecIing
Available Omine once Ihey're in your Coogle Drive lolder. The Omine
secIion doesn'I have any lolder sIrucIure eiIher, so you'll have Io make
do wiIh one big lisI ol hles il you wanI Io look aI anyIhing omine.
8 Browsing content on your Coogle Drive is very easy with File Nanager, and it
makes moving files between folders much more straightforward too
Howto...
|f you're not sure if Chrome OS is right for
you, you can test it out without installing
anything on your laptop. Chromium OS,
upon which Chrome OS is based, can be run
straight from a USB ash drive. You'll need
a ash drive with at least 4CB capacity, and
make sure there's nothing you need on it,
as this will be wiped during the process.
You'll also probably need a laptop, we found
Chrome OS worked hne on our test laptops,
but we had no luck with Desktop PCs at all.
To start, download the Chromium OS
build from hup.//chromeos.hexxeh.net. Click
the USB icon next to 'Build 4028' and, aher
you've read the terms, click Download.
Copy the contents of the Zip hle to your
desktop. You now need to download Win32
Try it out: running Chrome OS froma USB drive
Disk |mager from hup.//source[orge.net/
projects/win32diskimoger. Create a folder on
your desktop called Win32Disk|mager, open
the Zip hle and copy all the hles within to this
new folder. Plug in your USB ash drive, open
the Win32Disk|mager folder on your desktop
and run Win32Disk|mager.exe.
|n the program, click the folder icon on
the right of the white box at the top. |n the
'Select a disk image' window that appears,
browse to your desktop using the drop-down
menu. Select the ChromeOS-Vanilla img hle
you downloaded, and click Open.
Click the arrow next to Device and select
the drive leuer of your USB ash drive (if
you're not sure what the drive leuer is, look
at This PC or Ny Computer). Double-check
it's the right drive, as everything on it will be
lost. When you're sure, click Write to begin
the process. This will take a few minutes.
Once the image has been wriuen to the
drive, unplug it and plug it into your laptop.
Turn your laptop on. You need to go into the
laptop's B|OS setup to select the USB disk as
a boot device, this usually involves pressing
the Delete key or F2 on your keyboard as the
laptop starts up, but you may need to
consult your manual or search online to
hnd out how to enter the B|OS.
Nake sure the ash drive is selected as
a boot device or that the laptop is set to
boot from the ash drive before the hard
disk. Save your changes and exit, and you'll
boot into Chrome OS.

ISSUE 314 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ PRIL 2014

THE ULTIMTE GUIDE TO CHROME OS
IF YOU DON'T like using the touchpad to navigate Chrome OS,
you can always connect a mouse to your Chromebook via Bluetooth
or USB. To enable Bluetooth, go to the Seuings menu in your
Chrome browser and select Show Advanced Seuings. Scroll down
until you hnd the Bluetooth heading and check the box to enable it.
You'll have to pair your wireless mouse in order for your Chromebook
to hnd it, but once the mouse is registered you'll be able to use it
straight away. |ust be aware that any actions requiring a two-hnger
click on the touchpad can now be performed with a simple right click
when using the mouse.
Some Chromebooks also have HDN| outputs that let you connect
them to an external display, such as a monitor or TV. Like Windows,
you can either mirror your displays so they show the same thing, or
you can extend your desktop across the second screen once you've
connected it to your Chromebook. This is particularly useful if you
like to have lots of windows open simultaneously, as it gives you
much more space to read documents and manage your hles.
Sadly, viewing Chrome OS on your TV or monitor isn't as easy as it
is in Windows, as Chrome OS doesn't let you disable your Chromebook's
screen to make everything appear only on your second display. There
is the option of shuuing your Chromebook's lid, but this comes
with the obvious downside of taking away the keyboard and
touchpad, so you'll need to connect a mouse and keyboard via
Bluetooth or USB to continue using it. Otherwise, you'll |ust have
to make do with having both screens on at the same time.
To manage your displays, click the seuings menu at the bouom
right and select the 'Extending Screen To' option. This will bring up a
small window where you can alter your screen's resolution, orientation
and position in relation to your second monitor, as well as choose
which screen will be your primary display. |ust be aware that if you're
connecting your Chromebook to a TV, you may hnd the bouom edges
of your desktop disappear ohscreen. |n this case, check your TV
seuings for overscan ad|ustment, or use the TV alignment seuings in
Chrome OS for optimal image quality.
Connectng externaI devces
Nanage your displays
by clicking the Settings
menu on the desktop
and selecting the
Extending Screen option
k
k
t
it
k's
e
Some CIromebooks aIso
Iave HDMI outputs tIat Iet you
connect it to an externaI dispIay,
sucI as a monitor or TV
l22 PRIL 2014 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 314
THE ULTIMTE GUIDE TO CHROME OS
Use CoogIe Drve
Say goodbye o Microso Oce Google Drive
las everylirg you reed ir le cloud
IN CHROME OS, you don'I insIall a IradiIional omce suiIe as you
would wiIh Windows, insIead, Ihe besI way Io creaIe and ediI IexI
documenIs, spreadsheeIs and presenIaIions is Ihrough Coogle Drive.
This is a lree cloud-based service IhaI sIores all your documenIs,
Coogle+ phoIos and email auachmenIs online so iI doesn'I hll up your
Chromebook's small amounI ol inIernal sIorage.
AI presenI, everyone geIs 1SCB ol lree sIorage when Ihey creaIe a
Coogle accounI. Chromebook users, on Ihe oIher hand, geI 100CB ol
lree sIorage, buI only lor Iwo years. Aler Ihis, you'll have Io pay SS
per monIh (approximaIely 37 per year) Io keep Ihis amounI ol
sIorage available. ll you need more room, Ihere are numerous oIher
sIorage opIions priced lrom S10 per monIh lor 200CB up Io S800
per monIh lor 16TB.
STORAGE EATER
NoI all hles counI Ioward your sIorage limiI. Files in Coogle Drive IhaI
don'I ahecI your limiI include all your documenIs, presenIaIions,
spreadsheeIs and lorms, so you can creaIe as many ol Ihese as you
like wiIhouI worrying abouI using up your lree space. PhoIos you
upload, on Ihe oIher hand, do counI Ioward your sIorage limiI, buI only
il Iheir resoluIions are higher Ihan 2,048x2,048 pixels. When uploading
phoIos lrom Android devices or Io Coogle+, you have Ihe opIion ol
scaling Ihe phoIos Io Ihis resoluIion or uploading Ihem lull resoluIion,
which means Ihey will counI Iowards your Coogle Drive sIorage.
There are Iwo ways Io use Coogle Drive. You can eiIher use Ihe
dedicaIed Coogle Drive app, which opens in a Chrome window, or you
can use Ihe File Uanager. BoIh will Iake you Io Chrome il you wanI
Io view or ediI your documenIs, buI Ihe File Uanager is parIicularly
handy lor Iranslerring phoIos beIween your Downloads lolder and
your Coogle Drive lolders. lI's much quicker Ihan uploading Ihem in
Chrome, and iI's easier Io grab mulIiple hles aI once. OIherwise, we'd
recommend using Ihe Coogle Drive app.
CREATE EXPECTATIONS
Once you've opened Coogle Drive, creaIing a documenI is as simple as
clicking Ihe 'CreaIe' buuon on Ihe lel and selecIing eiIher DocumenI,
PresenIaIion, SpreadsheeI, Form or Drawing. You can sorI your hles by
name, how much sIorage Ihey use and when Ihey were lasI modihed,
opened or ediIed, and you can view Ihem in a lisI or an icon-based grid.
The search bar aI Ihe Iop also leIs you pin-poinI individual documenIs
il Ihey're hidden away under mulIiple lolders.
ploading exisIing documenIs Io Coogle Drive is easy, you simply
Iransler Ihem Io your Chromebook using a SB drive. Then click Ihe
arrow buuon nexI Io 'CreaIe', selecI your hle or lolder using Ihe File
Uanager, and Coogle Drive will upload iI sIraighI away.
You can upload Uicrosol Omce hles, buI you can only open Ihem
in Ihe Coogle Drive Viewer, Io ediI hles, you need Io open Ihem wiIh
Coogle Docs. You can do Ihis by Iwo-hnger clicking on each hle and
selecIing Open WiIh Coogle Docs. This creaIes a copy ol Ihe documenI
in Ihe appropriaIe Coogle Docs lormaI while leaving Ihe original
unIouched. This is uselul il you have heavily lormaued Omce
documenIs, as some lormauing may be losI in Coogle Docs.
However, Ihere's a quicker and more convenienI way Io ediI
non-naIive hles. by ad|usIing Ihe upload seuings. To do Ihis, click Ihe
cog icon on Ihe righI, selecI 'pload seuings' and Ihen 'ConverI
8 Photos will only count toward your Coogle Drive storage limit
if their resolution is greater than 2,048x2,048
8 Another way to browse through your Coogle Drive files is
by using Chrome OS's File Nanager app
8 Creating documents in Coogle Drive is simple. |ust click Create
and select the type of file you want to make
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8 You can also choose whether other people can add new editors
to your shared documents by changing the Sharing settings
8 Opening Office files in Coogle Docs will create a duplicate copy of the file,
which can be useful if the original file contains a lot of formatting
8 |f you want to upload and edit existing Nicrosoft Office documents,
make sure you open them with Coogle Docs
8 |f you want to share your document with several people quickly, change
the visibility settings from 'Private' to 'Anyone with the link'
8 |f you don't want outsiders making changes to your shared documents, you
can limit how much control they have by altering their editing privileges
uploaded hles Io Coogle Docs lormaI'. Files will now be opened
auIomaIically in Coogle Docs and, more imporIanIly, won'I creaIe
an addiIional copy Io clog up space on your Coogle Drive.

As Coogle Drive is based in Ihe cloud, you can inviIe oIher people Io
view and ediI your documenIs as well. This is parIicularly handy il you
and your lriends need Io collaboraIe on a single documenI lrom
separaIe locaIions, as everyone you've shared Ihe hle wiIh will be able
Io access iI lrom Iheir own Coogle Drive.
You don'I need Io worry abouI anyone deleIing all your hard work,
eiIher, as you can conIrol how oIhers inIeracI wiIh your documenIs as
well. SelecI Ihe documenI you wanI Io share and click Ihe 'Share'
buuon on Ihe Iop menu bar. You'll Ihen be presenIed wiIh Ihe
documenI's share seuings menu. You'll be lisIed as Ihe owner ol
Ihe documenI, which means you can commenI on, ediI and view
Ihe documenI in quesIion, while oIhers will be lisIed as ediIors.
You can give ediIors Ihe same privileges as you, buI you can also
limiI Iheir acIions by clicking Ihe 'Can ediI' buuon nexI Io where you
Iype in Iheir email address and selecI whaI Ihey'll be allowed Io do.
You can always change Ihis laIer il you change your mind.
lI's also possible Io leI ediIors add oIher people Io your documenI
and change Iheir own permissions. This is Ihe delaulI seuing lor all
ediIors, so il you wanI Io reIain compleIe conIrol over who can view
your hles, click Ihe 'Change' link in Ihe share seuings menu, selecI
'Only Ihe owner can change Ihe permissions' and click 'Save'.
ll you don'I wanI Ihe hassle ol enIering everyone's email addresses,
Ihere are Iwo oIher ways ol sharing your documenIs. Co back Io Ihe
share seuings menu and you'll see IhaI your documenI is currenIly
lisIed as PrivaIe. ll you click Change, you can selecI eiIher 'Public on Ihe
web' or 'Anyone wiIh Ihe link'. The lauer is by lar Ihe saler opIion as iI
means IhaI only people wiIh a direcI link Io Ihe documenI can view iI.
This opIion is available above Ihe lisI ol people who have access Io Ihe
documenI. 'Public on Ihe web', however, means IhaI anyone on Ihe
inIerneI can search lor and access Ihe hle.
The nexI Ihing Io do in Coogle Drive is Io enable Omine mode,
which we'll explain on Ihe lollowing page.
FiIes can be opened automaticaIIy
in GooIe Docs, so tIey von't create
an additionaI copy to cIo up space
on your GooIe Drive
l24 PRIL 2014 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 314
THE ULTIMTE GUIDE TO CHROME OS
Work ofne
Losirg your Vi-!i correcior car male a Clromebool almos urusable.
Here's lov o avoid losirg access o your les i your correcior dros
CHROMEBOOKS WERE CREATED wiIh one purpose in mind. Io
browse Ihe inIerneI. This becomes a problem when you can'I geI online,
as you lose access Io your apps, email and all your hles sIored in Ihe
cloud. ForIunaIely, Ihe laIesI version ol Chrome OS has improved iIs
omine leaIures subsIanIially. On Ihis page, we'll Iake you Ihrough how
Io make all your imporIanI hles available when you're omine.
GOOGLE DRIVE
Open Coogle Drive and go Io Ihe drop-down 'Uore' menu on Ihe
lel-hand side and Ihen selecI 'Omine'. Chromebooks already have
Ihe Drive Chrome web app insIalled, so all you need Io do is click
Ihe 'Fnable Omine' buuon and your enIire Coogle Drive will Ihen be
synchronised lor omine ediIing.
8Offline mode won't work straight away, so you'll need to enable it in the
Offline folder of your Coogle Docs beforehand
Once all your hles have been synced lor omine use, you'll be able Io
creaIe and ediI exisIing documenIs, presenIaIions and drawings on Ihe
move. SpreadsheeIs and lorms are less lexible aI Ihe momenI, as you
can only view exisIing hles raIher Ihan ediI or creaIe new ones.
A good way Io view your omine hles is Ihrough Ihe File Uanager,
where Ihere's a specihc 'Omine' secIion in your Coogle Drive lolder
(see page 122 lor more on using Coogle Drive).
GMAIL
Cmail is a liule diherenI Io oIher Coogle apps, as you need Io download
Ihe secondary omine app lrom Ihe Chrome Web SIore Io read,
compose and download emails on Ihe go. Luckily, iI's easy Io hnd, as
Ihe Chrome Web SIore now has a dedicaIed secIion lor omine apps.
8 Like Coogle Drive, you'll need to be online to enable offline mail
in Cmail before the app will sync your emails
When you open Ihe Cmail Omine app, you'll noIice IhaI iI looks a
liule diherenI Io Ihe ordinary Cmail inIerlace, buI iI's |usI as easy Io
use. Your inbox is spliI inIo Ihe same Primary, Social and PromoIions
caIegories, and you can bring up Ihe lauer Iwo by clicking Ihe menu
buuon. Fmail labels are also accessible lrom here.
On iIs delaulI seuings, Ihe app is seI up Io download only Ihe lasI
week's worIh ol messages, so il you wanI Io read someIhing IhaI's
older Ihan IhaI, you'll need Io click Ihe cog buuon in Ihe Iop righI-hand
corner and change Ihe app seuings.
The app also leIs you send new emails you've composed omine, buI
Ihey won'I acIually leave your ouIbox unIil you're back online.
8 Don't be put off by Offline Cmail's layout: it works in exactly the
same way as ordinary Cmail, and all your labels will be there too
GOOGLE CALENDAR
Like Coogle Drive, you have Io enable Coogle Calendar's omine mode
belore you can use iI. Co Io Ihe cog buuon on Ihe righI-hand side,
8 You can browse offline files in the File Nanager, but you won't be able to
drag other files into this folder unless they've been made available offline
Howto...

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THE ULTIMTE GUIDE TO CHROME OS
8 To make your Coogle Calendar available offline,
select the Offline option in the cog menu
8 |f you have multiple calendars associated with your account, you'll
need to choose which ones you want to make available offline
8 Remember to tick the 'Nake available offline' option in your Coogle Play Books library and you'll never be without your favourite eBook again
selecI Seuings and Ihen click on Ihe Omine Iab. Check which calendars
you wanI Io be available omine and click Save. You will also have Io
synchronise your calendar, which can be done by clicking Ihe cog
buuon again and selecIing 'Omine' lrom Ihe drop down menu.
Coogle Calendar is less lexible Ihan oIher omine apps, as you can
currenIly only view your calendar raIher Ihan add or amend exisIing
evenIs, buI iI's sIill handy Io be able Io see a monIhly overview ol your
schedule il you need Io check Ihe deIails ol an appoinImenI.
GOOGLE PLAY BOOKS
UosI ol Ihe Coogle Play apps don'I work omine, buI you can sIill read
your lavouriIe eBooks using Ihe Coogle Play Books app. When you
open Ihe app, hover Ihe cursor over a IiIle and Iick Ihe 'Uake available
omine' box in Ihe bouom corner. Once iI's downloaded, you'll be able Io
read Ihe book in iIs enIireIy wiIhouI connecIing Io Ihe inIerneI.
GooIe CaIendar is Iess dexibIe tIan otIer
oIdine apps, but it's stiII Iandy to be abIe to see a
montIIy overviev oI your scIeduIe
l2C PRIL 2014 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 314
THE ULTIMTE GUIDE TO CHROME OS
Manage photos
Allougl Clrome OS isr' bes-suied o sorirg or ediirg loos,
i's surrisirgly caable as lorg as you lave le rigl ools
MOST CHROMEBOOKS HAVE very liule inIernal sIorage. This means
IhaI Ihere's precious liule space lor big phoIos, so you'll wanI Io
move mosI ol Ihem Io Ihe cloud. boIh Io make Ihe besI use ol Ihe
available space and Io ensure you won'I lose Ihem. The easiesI way Io
geI your phoIos online is Ihrough Coogle Drive (see page 122 Io hnd
ouI how Io upload hles lrom exIernal sIorage devices, such as SB
sIicks or SD memory cards).
CREATE AND EDIT
FdiIing phoIos is a liule more dimculI. Chrome OS does have a builI-in
image ediIor, buI iI's incredibly limiIed. You can ad|usI Ihe brighIness
and conIrasI as well as crop and roIaIe an image, buI IhaI's iI, so you'll
need Io look elsewhere lor a more capable phoIo ediIor.
Coogle+'s phoIo ediIor (which was previously known as Picasa
Web Albums) is a good place Io sIarI. WiIh iIs wide range ol
cusIomisable hlIers and lrame Iools, iI's greaI lor applying lun
Iouches Io your phoIos quickly and easily. There are also simple
brighIness, conIrasI, saIuraIion, shadows and warmIh seuings, and
you can even ad|usI specihc areas ol an image wiIh Ihe selecIive
ad|usI Iool. |usI place a conIrol poinI on Ihe image and drag your
cursor righI and lel Io ad|usI Ihe brighIness, conIrasI and saIuraIion.
You can also change Ihe size ol Ihe ahecIed area quickly and easily.
FdiIing phoIos in Coogle+ is simple. When you open Ihe app,
hover your cursor over Ihe Home Iab on Ihe lel and selecI PhoIos.
This will Iake you Io all Ihe phoIos you've uploaded Io Coogle+,
including Ihose already in your Coogle Drive. SelecI Ihe phoIo you
wanI Io ediI and click FdiI in Ihe menu bar along Ihe Iop.
When you've hnished applying your ehecIs, simply click Finished
FdiIing and Coogle+ will save your changes. You don'I need Io worry
abouI losing your original image, as Coogle+ saves Ihis as well. |usI click
Ihe ReverI buuon and Coogle+ will remove all Ihe changes you've made
and reload your original phoIo.
Sharing phoIos wiIh Coogle+ is easy, Ioo. |usI click Share, add a
commenI and Ihe names ol your lriends you wanI Io share iI wiIh,
and Ihe phoIo will be uploaded insIanIly Io your Coogle+ prohle.
ploading phoIos Io Facebook or Twiuer is essenIially idenIical Io
how iI works on a Windows PC. You |usI use Ihe Chrome OS File
Uanager Io selecI Ihe phoIo(s) you wish Io upload (see page 122
lor more deIails on Ihe File Uanager).
SIZE MATTERS
ll you're looking lor a more advanced image ediIor, you'll need Io insIall
an app lrom Ihe Chrome Web SIore. Ol Ihe apps we IesIed, our
lavouriIe is Pixlr FdiIor. lIs layouI is similar Io PhoIoshop FlemenIs, so
Adobe lans should leel righI aI home wiIh iIs lel-hand Ioolbar and
layer window on Ihe righI. lI's incredibly comprehensive. alongside Ihe
usual crop, roIaIion and brighIness conIrols, you'll hnd resizing Iools,
advanced colour ad|usImenI seuings, hlIers and layers.
The Ioolbar has a lull seI ol conIrols, Ioo, including diherenI Iypes
ol brushes and pencils, gradienI Iools, blur, sharpen, smudge, burn,
dodge and sponge seuings, as well as red-eye reducIion, spoI heal,
bloaI and pinch Iools, a colour-picker and IexI opIions. You can also
use Ihe navigaIor window Io zoom in and ouI ol Ihe picIure.
OFFLINE EDITING
The only downside Io Pixlr FdiIor is you have Io be online Io use iI.
ForIunaIely, Pixlr has a cuI-down omine app called Pixlr Touch p.
8 |f you don't want to change the look of the entire photo, use the
Selective ad|ust tool to edit specific areas of the picture
8 Coogle+'s photo editor provides a wide range of tools and
filters to help you touch up your photos
8 |f Coogle+'s photo editor isn't sophisticated enough, Pixlr Editor is
one of the best apps currently available on the Chrome Web Store
Howto...
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8 Pixlr Touch Up's filters are particularly extensive, letting you
alter the colours of your image quickly and easily
8 Pixlr Touch Up isn't as advanced as the full version of Pixlr Editor,
but it still offers a decent range of photo-editing tools
8 Pixlr Editor also has an offline version called Pixlr Touch Up, but some
features, such as the Coogle Drive button, don't work when you're offline
lI's noI quiIe as leaIure-laden as Ihe lull Pixlr FdiIor, buI you sIill geI
brush, clone and crop Iools, as well as resize and roIaIe opIions and
basic brighIness, conIrasI, hue and saIuraIion seuings. FilIer users are
also well caIered lor in Ihe FhecIs Iab.
lI's a greaI app, buI opening up your images can be a biI Iricky.
When you load Ihe app, you'll be prompIed Io open an image sIraighI
lrom Coogle Drive or your compuIer. lI's a nice Iouch, buI Ihe Coogle
Drive buuon doesn'I acIually work when you're omine. We couldn'I
even open a Coogle Drive image using Ihe Uy CompuIer opIion eiIher,
regardless ol wheIher we'd made iI available omine or noI.
This would be an irriIaIing law il you always had Io make sure Ihe
phoIos you wanIed Io ediI were on your Chromebook's hard disk
belore you wanIed Io use Ihe app, buI luckily you can use your
Chromebook's File Uanager Io work round Ihis issue. You simply
drag Ihe Coogle Drive image you wanI Io ediI inIo your Downloads
lolder, and iI will be available lor you Io open wiIh Pixlr Touch p.
You'll also need Io ignore Touch p's requesI Io sign in Io your
Coogle AccounI, as Ihis doesn'I work when you're omine eiIher.
You can do Ihis by simply closing Ihe pop-up window. You'll Ihen
be able Io sIarI ediIing your phoIos.

ploading video Io popular sharing siIes is easy, you simply choose
pload and pick your hle using Ihe File Uanager (see page 120).
FdiIing video is a liule Irickier. There's no ediIor included, buI apps are
available on Ihe Chrome Web SIore IhaI provide mosI basic opIions,
such as Irimming and IransiIions, as well as some more advanced
leaIures. However, Ihese are online ediIors, so you need Io upload your
hles belore you can sIarI working on Ihem. UosI people should sIick
wiIh using Ihe builI-in Iools aI Iheir prelerred upload siIe insIead.
8 Video editors are still badly served on Chrome OS, although apps available on the Chrome Web Store
do provide some functionality. Basic cuts can be made within YouTube if necessary
l28 PRIL 2014 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 314
THE ULTIMTE GUIDE TO CHROME OS

Clrome OS's media layer car coe vil mos commor le yes.
Hovever, beyord lis your oiors are limied
media needs Ihese days come sIreamed Ihrough a
browser, and Chrome has no problem wiIh Ihe likes ol SpoIily, BBC
iPlayer or NeIlix. However, Ihere are some limiIaIions - compared Io,
say, a PC - when playing back local hles using Ihe Chrome OS media
player or sIreaming hles across your home neIwork.
PLAYBACK
Chrome OS supporIs only a limiIed number ol hle Iypes. The builI-in
media player will play 3CP, AVl, UOV, UP4, U4V, UP3, UKV, OCV,
OCU, OCC, OCA, WFBU and WAV hles, buI noIhing else. This will be
hne lor mosI users, buI il you have any FLAC, AAC or WUA hles, lor
example, you're ouI ol luck.
nlorIunaIely, Ihere aren'I any apps on Ihe Chrome Web SIore IhaI
oher a beuer alIernaIive, buI Ihere are a couple ol ways round Ihis
problem. Coogle Drive, lor insIance, supporIs a lew addiIional video
lormaIs, such as FLV and UPFCPS on Iop ol Ihe hles supporIed by
Chrome OS's media player, buI iI doesn'I supporI any Iype ol audio hle.
The oIher meIhod is Io move your hles inIo Ihe cloud and Iake
advanIage ol Chrome OS's online sIreaming capabiliIies.
ONLINE STREAMING
Civen IhaI Chrome OS comes lrom Coogle, you mighI expecI iI Io be
lully inIegraIed wiIh Coogle Play Uusic. nlorIunaIely Ihis isn'I Ihe
case, buI Ihe abiliIy Io upload up Io a massive 20,000 music Iracks
Io Coogle's servers and Ihen sIream Ihem back Io yoursell is sIill an
opporIuniIy Ioo good Io Iurn down.
Chrome OS doesn'I supporI uploads Io Ihe service aI presenI, as
Ihis requires you Io download and insIall Ihe Coogle Play Uusic
Uanager, which isn'I compaIible wiIh Chrome OS. You'll Iherelore
need anoIher PC or lapIop IhaI can run Coogle's music manager and
Ihen use IhaI device Io upload your music Io Ihe cloud.
You can upload songs lrom your iTunes library, Windows Uedia
Player library, Uy Uusic lolder or your own music lolders. Any songs
you buy lrom Ihe Coogle Play SIore will also be sIored in Coogle Play
Uusic, so you can access all your music lrom Ihe same place.
SpoIily lans are also well caIered lor, as Ihere's an omcial
SpoIily app on Ihe Chrome Web SIore. Once you've insIalled iI, Ihis
will open Ihe SpoIily Web Player, which gives you access Io all your
playlisIs, as well as Ihe usual radio, discovery and lollow opIions
lound in Ihe lull deskIop version.
Video-sIreaming apps are sadly in much shorIer supply on Ihe
Chrome Web SIore. However, you can use Ihe Chrome web browser
Io access mosI popular online sIreaming services, including Ihe BBC's
iPlayer, lTV Player, 4oD and NeIlix.
8 Chrome OS's built-in media player is easy to use, but it
supports only a limited number of file formats
8 |t's good to see a dedicated Spotify app on the Chrome Web Store,
but it's |ust the same as Spotify's current web player
8 Coogle Drive supports a few additional file formats to the
Chrome OS media player, but it won't play music files
8 |f you prefer to use a different music-streaming service,
Rdio and Deezer also have their own dedicated apps
Howto...
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Use CoogIe CIoud Prnt
Google Cloud Frir les you rir documers rom your Clromebool or le move,
ard you dor' ever reed a vireless rirer o use i. Here's lov o se i u
6OO6LE CLOUD PRINT connecIs your prinIer Io Ihe web so you can
access iI wherever you are. lI works wiIh your Chromebook, phone,
IableI and PC and, even beuer, iI works wiIh any kind ol prinIer,
wheIher iI's able Io connecI Io Ihe inIerneI or noI. Here we'll show
you how Io seI up Coogle Cloud PrinI lor any Iype ol prinIer.
ll you have a wireless prinIer IhaI can connecI direcIly Io Ihe
inIerneI and doesn'I require a PC Io be seI up, using Ihe Coogle Cloud
PrinI service is easy. There's a lull lisI ol compaIible prinIers available
on Coogle's Cloud PrinI websiIe (www.gccg|e.ccm/int|/en/c|cudrint/
|eorn/rinters.htm|), IogeIher wiIh sIep-by-sIep insIrucIions on how Io
insIall Cloud PrinI lor each individual model.
WIRED CONNECTION
Ordinary prinIers can Iake advanIage ol Coogle Cloud PrinI, Ioo.
You'll hrsI need Io make sure IhaI your prinIer is Iurned on and
connecIed Io a Windows, Uac or Linux compuIer IhaI has Ihe Chrome
web browser insIalled, buI once IhaI's done seuing iI up is simple.
On your PC, open Chrome, log in Io your Coogle AccounI and click
on Ihe menu buuon in Ihe Iop righI-hand corner. SelecI Ihe Seuings
opIion and Ihen click on 'Show advanced seuings' aI Ihe bouom ol
Ihe page. Scroll down Io Ihe Coogle Cloud PrinI opIions and click Ihe
Uanage buuon. SelecI Ihe 'Add prinIers' buuon and Coogle Cloud
PrinI will auIomaIically deIecI which prinIers are connecIed wiIh
your compuIer. SelecI your prinIer and Ihen click Ihe 'Add prinIer(s)'
buuon. Your prinIer will now be associaIed wiIh your Coogle accounI
and Coogle Cloud PrinI.
Back on your Chromebook, you should now be able Io prinI
wirelessly. Hold down CIrl and P Io sIarI Ihe prinIing process and
make sure Ihe desIinaIion in Ihe lel-hand menu is seI Io your prinIer.
You can swiIch desIinaIions by clicking Ihe Change buuon.
8 To print using Coogle Cloud, you'll need to make sure the
correct printer is listed in the Print Destination settings
8 To change the printer destination, click the Change button and select
the printer you want from the Coogle Cloud Print category
Chrome OS has iI shorIcomings, buI iIs browser-based approach Io
compuIing is perlecI lor day-Io-day Iasks. UosI ol us do a loI ol our
compuIing Ihis way already - Facebook, NeIlix, iPlayer, shopping on
Amazon and sending emails are all done Ihrough a browser.
ll you currenIly use Chrome as your web browser or are
lamiliar wiIh Coogle's online services, you're already
hallway Ihere. A Chromebook is almosI virus-prool, iI
auIomaIically backs up all your hles Io Ihe cloud and,
should Ihe worsI happen, you can replace Ihe device and
be righI back where you lel oh in minuIes.
Chromebooks are cheaper Ihan Windows lapIops, and
cheaper Ihan many IableIs. The operaIing sysIem runs
smooIhly on modesI hardware, and bauery lile is excellenI.
They Iurn on quicker Ihan a lapIop or PC Ioo, and Ihey're lighIer.
We wouldn'I recommend Ihrowing ouI your old Windows lapIop
|usI yeI, Ihough, as Chrome OS isn'I as lexible as oIher operaIing
sysIems. Omine supporI is weak, Ihough geuing beuer all Ihe Iime.
The lisI ol apps is growing and Ihe omine capabiliIies ol boIh Coogle
Drive and Cmail have come a long way since Chrome OS was released.
Uedia playback may be an issue, as Ihe media player supporIs only
a handlul ol hle lormaIs. However, many ol us now waIch all our
media sIreamed lrom Ihe web. A bigger sIumbling block is
Ihe lack ol a decenI omine phoIo or video ediIor, buI again
Ihis won'I boIher Ihose who compose, shooI and posI
media on Iheir smarIphone.
The real quesIion is wheIher Chrome OS needs such
IradiIional compuIing capabiliIies. Chromebooks provide
web-cenIric compuIing IhaI keeps Ihings nice and simple.
Chrome OS doesn'I need Io become more complex, more
Windows-like, insIead, Ihe resI ol compuIing will bend Io iIs
Iune, wiIh cloud-connecIed prinIers and online video-ediIing Iools.
ll you hre up a browser every Iime you Iurn on your PC, Ihen a
Chromebook could be |usI Ihe Ihing lor you. Fven il iI doesn'I meeI
your every need Ioday, Ihen iI's sIill a greaI second compuIer.
Is Chrome OS for youZ
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Howto...

QUNTUM COMPUTING
l30 PRIL 2014 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 314

n Ihe upper echelons ol academia,

a revoluIion has been Iaking place
which, iIs supporIers claim, will
Iranslorm compuIing. lI's called
quanIum compuIing, and iI won'I |usI
make compuIers a biI lasIer, nor will iI
even make Ihem a loI lasIer. iI will
lundamenIally change whaI compuIing
Iasks we consider possible.
Quarum comuers are oerially so overul la marlird could be able o
ale or reviously urimagirable asls. Vla's more, as Mke Bedford discovers,
la over is sarirg o be larressed by Google ard NASA
LRB BURBTUM
LBMPUTlBE LMRBE
TM JBPLB?
To daIe, Ihough, research has been
slow and scienIisIs have been able Io
demonsIraIe liule ol IhaI promise.
However, while quanIum physicisIs
were conducIing lundamenIal
research, a company called D-Wave
SysIems launched a pracIical quanIum
compuIer back in 2011. The experIs
were criIical, suggesIing IhaI, aI besI,
Ihe company was misguided and, aI
worsI, IhaI iI was employing some
sleighI ol hand when demonsIraIing
iIs S10 million compuIer.
However, recenI evenIs suggesI
Ihis criIicism mighI have been
unlounded. AI Ihe end ol lasI year
Coogle, in associaIion wiIh NASA and
Ihe niversiIies Space Research
QUNTUM COMPUTING

ISSUE 314 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ PRIL 2014

AssociaIion, ran a hrsI program on a
D-Wave Two quanIum compuIer IhaI
lorms Ihe hearI ol Iheir QuanIum
ArIihcial lnIelligence Lab.
Here we invesIigaIe how quanIum
compuIers really work and how Ihey
can achieve such a phenomenal
advanIage over convenIional designs.
We'll look aI Ihe D-Wave Two and aI
Ihe plans Coogle and NASA have lor iI,
and we'll even show you how you can
run your own programs using an
online quanIum compuIer.

Belore delving inIo NASA and Coogle's
announcemenI, iI's helplul Io
undersIand how quanIum compuIers
work and how Ihey can, poIenIially,
oher such a huge perlormance gain
compared Io convenIional compuIers.
This, however, gives us someIhing ol a
problem. ln describing convenIional
elecIronic circuiIs such as Ihose used
in Ioday's compuIers, we Ialk abouI
elecIrons lowing Ihrough silicon, and
we can Ihen sIarI Io see how Ihese
circuiIs mighI operaIe.
Aler all, even il we've never seen
an elecIron, because Iheir movemenI
en masse isn'I much diherenI lrom Ihe
movemenI ol much larger ob|ecIs IhaI
we can see, Ihey're noI Ioo hard Io
comprehend. ln Ihe world ol quanIum
physics, all Ihis changes. We're dealing
wiIh elecIrons, or oIher lundamenIal
parIicles, individually, and under Ihese
circumsIances Ihey behave in a IoIally
diherenI way Io anyIhing we've ever
seen wiIh our own eyes.
ln lacI, Ihe way Ihis behaviour is
described by scienIisIs is so downrighI
weird IhaI iI would be naIural Io say
IhaI iI's impossible. Fven scienIisIs
Ihemselves have Irouble geuing Iheir
heads round Ihe mosI peculiar
behaviour ol Ihings in Ihe aIomic
realm. As Ihe eminenI physicisI
Niels Bohr lamously said. "Anyone
who is noI shocked by quanIum
Iheory has noI undersIood iI".
To give you an idea ol Ihe sorI ol
shocking behaviour he meanI, and on
which Ihe whole sphere ol quanIum
compuIing relies, Ihink abouI a single
lundamenIal parIicle IhaI can be in
one ol Iwo sIaIes. lI really doesn'I
mauer whaI IhaI parIicle is, iI could be
an elecIron, buI Ihe same principle
applies lor oIher parIicles, Ioo. Nor
does iI mauer whaI we mean by Ihe
word 'sIaIe', because iI may reler Io
diherenI properIies lor diherenI
parIicles. For phoIons, iI may reler Io
polarisaIion, lor elecIrons, a properIy
called spin, even Ihough iI's noIhing
like Ihe sorI ol spinning behaviour
we're used Io lor larger ob|ecIs.
Spin can Iake Iwo values relerred
Io as up and down, and we can
imagine Ihis lorming Ihe basis ol a
convenIional digiIal circuiI wiIh one
value represenIing a binary 0 and
Ihe oIher a 1. However, in Ihe
quanIum realm, Ihings geI a loI more
inIeresIing. an elecIron can have boIh
spins aI Ihe same Iime. lndeed, oIher
parIicles can be in Iwo places aI once
(as we see in 'The sIrange Iale ol
superposiIion' on page 13S).
By in|ecIing energy inIo an elecIron
iI's possible Io cause iI Io lip iIs spin,
lrom up Io down or vice versa.
However, il you use insumcienI energy
8 This processor diagram may look like
those from other silicon chips, but a
quantum design has bits that can hold
both a zero and a one at the same time
8 A D-Wave
quantum
computer doesn't
look much like a
typical PC, so don't
expect to see a
desktop version
any time soon
QUNTUM COMPUTING
PRIL 2014 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 314
Io ensure Ihe elecIron changes iIs
spin, iI will enIer a sIaIe called
superposiIion, which means IhaI iI's in
boIh spin sIaIes aI Ihe same Iime.
LeI's Ihink abouI whaI Ihis mighI
mean il iI's applied Io compuIing.
ll Ihe spin ol Ihe elecIron represenIs
a biI ol inlormaIion, an elecIron in a
sIaIe ol superposiIion represenIs
boIh a 0 and a 1 aI Ihe same Iime.
WhaI's more, a regisIer ol eighI such
biIs (alIhough sIricIly speaking we
should Ialk abouI qubiIs, or 'quanIum
biIs') could hold all Ihe values lrom 0
(00000000) Io 2SS (11111111)
simulIaneously and, as Ihe size ol Ihe
regisIer increases, Ihe number ol
values increase exponenIially.
WhaI Ihis means is IhaI, il circuiIry
can be devised Io manipulaIe Ihese
regisIers ol qubiIs, any compuIaIion
would be carried ouI on all Ihe values
simulIaneously. This is massive parallel
compuIing on an unprecedenIed scale.
A lew years ago, 64-biI processors
appeared and Ihey have now all buI
replaced 32-biI chips lor mainsIream
compuIing. All oIher Ihings being
equal, a 64-biI processor would have
had Iwice Ihe compuIing power ol a
32-biI chip. ln Ihe world ol quanIum
compuIing, Ihough, because a 32-qubiI
regisIer can hold 4,294,967,296 values
simulIaneously and a 64-qubiI regisIer
can hold 18,446,744,073,709,SS1,616,
a 64-qubiI processor would be
more Ihan lour billion Iimes more
powerlul Ihan an oIherwise
idenIical 32-qubiI counIerparI.
nlorIunaIely, Ihere's a serious
problem, which aI hrsI sighI would
appear Io derail Ihe whole concepI ol
quanIum compuIing. ll you observe
anyIhing in a sIaIe ol superposiIion,
Ihe acI ol observing iI will cause Ihe
sIaIe ol superposiIion Io collapse.
nder Ihese circumsIances, a qubiI
will appear Io hold eiIher a 0 or a 1, Ihe
acIual value being IoIally random.
Similarly, il you Iry Io read a
32-qubiI regisIer you'll see |usI a single
random value in Ihe range 0 Io
4,294,967,29S. So alIhough counIless
compuIaIions mighI have been
carried ouI in an insIanI, all you end
up wiIh is Ihe answer Io one ol Ihose
compuIaIions selecIed aI random.
ln lacI, Ihis isn'I a show-sIopper, buI
iI does require a IoIally diherenI
approach Io programming.
Rlgori|mkigs
An algoriIhm is a sequence ol
operaIions IhaI can solve a parIicular
problem and, in convenIional
compuIing, lorms Ihe basis ol a
compuIer program. Uuch Ihe same
applies Io quanIum compuIing buI,
so lar, Ihis sub|ecI is in iIs inlancy.
Fven so, Io illusIraIe IhaI a quanIum
compuIer genuinely does have Ihe
poIenIial Io ouIperlorm an ordinary
compuIer by some margin, we'll look
aI Ihe besI-known quanIum algoriIhm.
Shor's AlgoriIhm uses a quanIum
compuIer Io deIermine Ihe prime
lacIors ol an inIeger. So, lor example,
il we Iake Ihe number 221, iIs prime
lacIors are 13 and 17, since Ihese Iwo
prime numbers, when mulIiplied
IogeIher, produce 221. For large
numbers, perlorming Ihis calculaIion
on a convenIional compuIer is a long
process, basically iI's a Irial and error
exercise. However, Ihis isn'I |usI a
conIrived applicaIion - some ol
Ioday's besI meIhods ol encrypIion
rely on Ihe lacI IhaI iI's so processor-
inIensive. The commonly used RSA
cipher uses a 2,048-biI key, and
lacIoring Ihis key would allow an
encrypIed message Io be read. YeI
lacIoring such a large number would
Iake years or decades, even on Ioday's
lasIesI compuIers, which is Ihe key Io
iIs securiIy. The quanIum approach
could be a very diherenI sIory, Ihough.
The lacI IhaI makes quanIum
lacIorising possible is IhaI we are only
looking lor a single resulI - one ol Ihe
prime lacIors ol a large number - even
Ihough a huge number ol calculaIions
are needed Io hnd IhaI number.
A blow-by-blow accounI ol how
Shor's AlgoriIhm acIually achieves
IhaI leaI is hard going, buI we spoke
Io Nick Russell ol Ihe CenIre lor
QuanIum PhoIonics aI Ihe niversiIy
ol BrisIol, who gave us an inkling
ol how iI accomplishes Ihis leaI.
"Any successlul quanIum algoriIhm
ulIimaIely has Io make use ol global
properIies ol Ihe sIaIe ol a regisIer,
raIher Ihan asking abouI specihc
values," he explained.
LeI's see whaI Ihis means in
pracIice. The algoriIhm involves
8 The outward
appearance of
D-Wave's quantum
computers belies
the wealth of
technology hidden
within the case
+ Esoteric cooling
and shielding
systems are
needed to ensure
correct quantum
operation of the
D-Wave Two
computer
QUNTUM COMPUTING

ISSUE 314 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ PRIL 2014

Te s|roge |ole
o| superposi|io
The extraordinary power of quantum computing results from the phenomenon of superposition,
which we described as being in two states at once. According to the theory, when an action
occurs in the quantum realm that could have several possible outcomes, so long as it isn't
observed, all those outcomes
occur. An electron could
therefore be in two states at
once, and even in two places at
the same time. Things like this
don't happen to everyday
ob|ects, which begs the question
of how we can know that such
strange things happen in the
peculiar world of quantum
physics. An experiment carried
out using an instrument called a
Nach-Zehnder interferometer
provides the evidence.
The diagram shows the
arrangement of this optical
instrument. A beam of light hits
a beam spliuer, with half the
beam passing through and half
being reected upwards. Each of
these beams is deected by a mirror so they meet at a second beam spliuer, which recombines
them following another reection or transmission, with one beam passing through and the other
reected upwards. The two combined beams then go to a pair of light detectors. Because a
reected beam is always out of phase with a transmiued wave, one of the two recombined beams
will contain photons that are out of phase with each other and will cancel each other out, while
the other has in-phase photons that will reinforce each other. This is called interference. As a
result, light will be seen at Detector 1 but not at Detector 2.
All this makes sense without resorting to quantum theory until the intensity of the light source
is reduced to the point that only one photon at once is passing through the interferometer. Light
is still detected only at Detector 1 yet there's surely no scope for interference if only one photon
can appear at the second spliuer at any one time? The explanation is that each photon takes both
paths at once from the hrst beam spliuer so it can interfere with itself at the second spliuer.
carrying ouI a calculaIion on a very
large number ol values, someIhing
IhaI can be carried ouI simulIaneously
by using a quanIum regisIer in a sIaIe
ol superposiIion. This resulIs in a
repeaIing sequence ol numbers and,
by measuring Ihe periodiciIy - IhaI's
Ihe gap beIween repeaIs, someIhing
IhaI will be very large lor any pracIical
encrypIion key - iI's possible Io work
ouI Ihe lacIors.
Trying Io read Ihe quanIum regisIer
would yield only a single value so iI
wouldn'I reveal Ihe periodiciIy buI, by
using a so-called QuanIum Fourier
TranslormaIion, Ihe repeaI period can
be deIermined. To cuI a long sIory
shorI, Ihis involves manipulaIing Ihe
regisIer in such a way IhaI, while
reading iI will sIill reveal only a single
value, IhaI resulI allows Ihe periodiciIy
Io be deduced wiIh a high level ol
probabiliIy. This repeaI period is an
example ol a global sIaIe ol a quanIum
regisIer IhaI Russell describes as being
key Io any quanIum algoriIhm.
B-Jove ello
WhaI we've described so lar is a
'classical quanIum compuIer', il IhaI
isn'I a conIradicIion in Ierms, given
IhaI physicisIs Iend Io reler Io
non-quanIum behaviour as classical.
However, as we're abouI Io see, Ihe
D-Wave Two quanIum compuIer, on
which Ihe whole ol Ihe NASA/Coogle
iniIiaIive depends, is somewhaI
diherenI Io Ihis model ol compuIing.
So belore looking aI Iheir QuanIum
ArIihcial lnIelligence Lab, leI's Iake Ihe
wraps oh Ihe D-Wave Two.
The bouom line is IhaI iI has a
S12-qubiI archiIecIure (iI has a S12-biI
regisIer) which is implemenIed as a
solid-sIaIe chip, in conIrasI Io many ol
Ihe experimenIal quanIum compuIers
IhaI have used phoIons, Iubes ol
liquid or oIher esoIeric lorms ol
hardware. However, while mosI ol
Ioday's chips rely on Ihe properIies ol
silicon, Ihe D-Wave processor uses
loops ol niobium Io creaIe so-called
SQlDs (SuperconducIing QanIum
lnIerlerence Devices), which are Ihe
quanIum equivalenI ol a IransisIor.
Niobium is an elemenI largely used
in sIeel-based alloys as iI hugely
increases Ihe IemperaIure sIabiliIy
ol Ihe alloy as a whole.
A SQlD can only be in a sIaIe ol
superposiIion il iI's cooled down Io a
really low IemperaIure. While liquid
hydrogen boils aI -2S3C or 20K (ie 20
degrees above absoluIe zero) and
liquid helium boils aI 4K, Ihe operaIion
ol a SQlD requires Ihis Io be reduced
Io 80mK (0.08K) and ideally 20mK.
This is approximaIely 100 Iimes colder
Ihan inIersIellar space.
The sysIem is also adversely
ahecIed by magneIic helds, apparenIly
Ihe FarIh's magneIic held is 10,000
Iimes Ioo sIrong Io allow a quanIum
compuIer Io operaIe. As a resulI,
Ihe processor is shielded by hve
concenIric cylindrical shields. ln
addiIion, magneIic sensors are
inIegraIed on Io Ihe processor so IhaI
any residual held can be measured
and a small held generaIed, in
response, Io cancel iI ouI.
Fven Ihis isn'I an end Io Ihe
measures Iaken Io prevenI all
inIeracIion beIween Ihe processor
and Ihe ouIside world. The whole
assembly, comprising Ihe elecIronics,
relrigeraIion and magneIic shielding, is
Ihen housed in a Ien-looI cube IhaI
shields all elecIromagneIic noise.
Since Ihe release ol iIs hrsI
commercial quanIum compuIer in
2011, D Wave SysIems and iIs producIs
have come under inIense scruIiny
lrom Ihe academic communiIy.
This isn'I parIicularly surprising, since
D-Wave was claiming IhaI iIs hrsI
machine - ol which Ioday's D-Wave
Two is a direcI successor - had 2S6
qubiIs. This was aI a Iime when mosI
researchers were happy achieving a
7-qubiI design, and Ihe mosI IhaI had
been done wiIh a silicon chip was Iwo
qubiIs. lndeed, many scienIisIs were
scepIical IhaI quanIum ehecIs were
involved aI all in Ihe operaIion ol
D-Wave compuIers. Today, mosI
scienIisIs accepI IhaI Ihe D-Wave Two
does, indeed, use quanIum ehecIs,
buI Ihe |ury's sIill ouI on wheIher iI
achieves Ihe claimed speed boosI
compared Io convenIional compuIers.
Te jurQ`s s|ill ou| o
me|er |e B-Jove Tmo
ocieves |e cloimed
speed boos| compored |o
cove|iool compu|ers
Detector 2
Detector 1
Light
source
Beam
spliuer
Beam
spliuer
Nirror
Nirror
8 The Nach-Zehnder interferometer provides experimental proof
that a photon can be in two places at once
QUNTUM COMPUTING
PRIL 2014 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 314
BlW quo|umcompu|ig
Quantum computers are rather thin on the ground right now, with no prospects of a desktop
model becoming available to the ordinary person any time soon. However, thanks to the
University of Bristol, this doesn't mean that you'll have to save up several million pounds to
buy a D-Wave computer to try your hand at programming a quantum computer.
The university's Quantum in the Cloud
(www.bristo|.oc.uk/quontum-computing)
provides an online simulator of a quantum
computer that will help you learn about
quantum ehects and put them to work to
solve real problems. Needless to say, because
the simulator runs on a conventional computer
it won't exhibit any of the speed advantages of
a real quantum computer. This is why, once
you've proved your application on the
simulator, Quantum in the Cloud allows you to
run your code on a real quantum processor,
specihcally one using photons to implement
two qubits. Full reference materials are
provided on the website and, while you have
to register to get your hands on the real
quantum computer, it's totally free to use.
Somewhat less heavy going, Coogle
has produced the qCrah add-on to the
popular Ninecrah game, which purports to
help you learn about the weird quantum
ehects of superposition and entanglement
in a light-hearted way.
8 The University of Bristol's Quantum in the Cloud
initiative enables anyone to run their own
programs on a two-qubit quantum computer
The D-Wave Two doesn'I use
quanIum equivalenIs ol Ihe logic gaIes
IhaI are lound in Ioday's compuIers,
buI insIead uses a process called
quanIum annealing, which some
experIs believe is a more naIural way
ol harnessing quanIum ehecIs.
According Io Nick Russell, Ihough,
Ihis means Ihe D-Wave compuIer isn'I
a universal quanIum compuIer, so
Ihere are problems IhaI could be
solved on a 'convenIional quanIum
compuIer' IhaI D-Wave cannoI
address. lncluded here is Ihe mosI
lamous ol all quanIum applicaIions.
"They can'I perlorm Shor's algoriIhm
on Iheir 2S6-qubiI sysIem," Russell
said, belore making iI clear IhaI he
didn'I wanI Io sound dismissive ol Ihe
archiIecIure because iI has undeniable
sIrengIhs in oIher areas.
So whaI is quanIum annealing and
how does iI work in a quanIum
compuIer? Russell explained by
asking us Io imagine being on a hilly
landscape somewhere high up and
wanIing Io hnd our way down Io Ihe
bouom while only being allowed Io
look aI Ihe ground beneaIh our leeI.
"The naive soluIion Io Ihis problem is
Io do whaI lowing waIer would do," he
explained. "|usI conIinue Io go in Ihe
direcIion IhaI is sIeepesI downhill."
The relevance ol Ihis picIure is
IhaI iI's a close analogy Io one
meIhod IhaI compuIers could use
Io solve opIimisaIion problems.
The alIiIude represenIs Ihe error, and
Ihe opIimum soluIion is lound aI Ihe
lowesI poinI. nlorIunaIely, Ihis
meIhod isn'I very ehecIive since iI
olen resulIs in a nearby dip being
lound, even Ihough a lar deeper valley
mighI be |usI over a small rise.
SimulaIed annealing - as opposed
Io quanIum annealing - improves on
Ihis meIhod by moving in random
direcIions on Ihe landscape. ll Ihe
move Iakes you lower, go Ihere. ll iI
Iakes you higher, Ihen a random
decision is made on wheIher Io go
Ihere, wiIh Ihe probabiliIy decreasing
Ihe more you've gone uphill and Ihe
longer Ihe process has gone on.
By repeaIing Ihis process over and
over, you sIand a good chance ol
ending up in a preuy deep valley.
So lar so good, buI whaI abouI Ihis
somewhaI conIrived rule IhaI you can
only look below your leeI? As Russell
puI iI. "Why noI |usI calculaIe Ihe
heighI lor every poinI in Ihe landscape
and see which is Ihe lowesI?" The
answer he gave was preuy compelling.
A 2D landscape is one in which |usI
Iwo variables are involved, buI
real-world opIimisaIion problems Iend
Io have lar more variables. "As you
increase Ihe number ol dimensions, iI
geIs harder," he explained. "ln Ihe 2D
case, il you divide Ihe landscape inIo
a 1,000x1,000 grid, you'd need Io look
aI a million poinIs. ln 3D, you'd need a
billion and in 4D you need Io inspecI a
Ihousand billion poinIs."
WiIh Ihis background in place,
Russell proceeded Io describe how
quanIum annealing builds on
simulaIed annealing. "We again Iake
sIeps in random direcIions, buI
now we can go sIraighI Ihrough a
mounIain il Ihere is a deeper valley
on Ihe oIher side. The probabiliIy ol
geuing Ihere is lower Ihe lurIher we
would have Io Iunnel Ihrough Ihe
mounIain," he Iold us. "The lacI IhaI
we can now Iake very long sIeps is
because we are using qubiIs," he
clarihed, because Ihe probabiliIies can
be represenIed in lar lewer qubiIs Ihan
in Ihe biIs ol a convenIional compuIer.
Te Buo|umRl Lob
lI will come as no surprise IhaI NASA's
inIeresI in quanIum compuIing isn'I
lar removed lrom iIs core acIiviIies.
According Io a NASA sIaIemenI, iI will
"dramaIically improve Ihe agency's
abiliIy Io solve dimculI opIimisaIion
problems lor missions in aeronauIics,
FarIh and space sciences, and space
exploraIion". BuI Ihe lacI IhaI
Coogle is involved suggesIs IhaI Ihe
QuanIum ArIihcial lnIelligence Lab
(QuAlL) also has iIs sighIs seI on
some raIher diherenI applicaIions.
lI's early days yeI, and we'll
undoubIedly learn more as scienIisIs
geI Io grips wiIh Ihis new model ol
compuIing, buI a recenI publiciIy
movie released by Coogle gave a
IanIalising glimpse ol Ihe luIure. "The
overwhelmingly obvious applicaIion
killer app lor quanIum compuIaIion is
opIimisaIion," a spokesperson said,
8 Scientists at
NASA and Coogle
are still trying to
hgure out what
problems are
best tackled by
their new D-Wave
Two quantum
computer
QUNTUM COMPUTING

ISSUE 314 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ PRIL 2014

belore suggesIing IhaI all ol Coogle's
server cenIres IogeIher will noI be
capable ol coming up wiIh Ihe besI
soluIion Io Ihese Iypes ol opIimisaIion
problems as Ihey geI larger. SomewhaI
paradoxically, Ihe spokesperson
admiued Ihey don'I know Ihe besI
quesIions Io ask IhaI compuIer, and
IhaI is exacIly whaI Ihey're Irying Io
undersIand now. DespiIe Ihis, Coogle
has spoken abouI iIs poIenIial lor
hnding cures Io diseases and even a
soluIion Io climaIe change.
Having sIarIed wiIh a look aI some
ol Ihe bizarre ehecIs IhaI occur in Ihe
quanIum realm, iI's perhaps a biI ol an
anIi-climax Io end Ihis invesIigaIion ol
quanIum compuIing wiIh a look aI
some very down-Io-earIh applicaIions.
So, il we haven'I already sIreIched
your creduliIy Io breaking poinI, we're
going Io end wiIh whaI mighI be Ihe
mosI surprising asserIion ol all.
We've seen IhaI Ihe power ol a
convenIional quanIum compuIer
increases exponenIially wiIh Ihe
number ol qubiIs, and IhaI a 64-qubiI
compuIer would ouIperlorm an
ordinary compuIer by a lacIor ol
18,446,744,073,709,SS1,616. And IhaI
number increases alarmingly. ll we
were Io Ihink abouI a 300-qubiI
compuIer, we'd be Ialking a lacIor ol
2F90 (IhaI is, 2 lollowed by 90 zeros),
which is greaIer Ihan mosI esIimaIes
ol Ihe number ol aIoms in Ihe
universe. This has led some scienIisIs
Io quesIion where such a compuIer
could obIain sumcienI resources Io
perlorm such amazing leaIs ol
compuIaIion. The answer, according Io
some experIs, is lrom oIher universes.
ln Ihe mulIiverse Iheory, whenever
a decision has Io be made in Ihe
quanIum realm, parallel universes
come inIo being. So, a single qubiI,
which we've described as being in Iwo
sIaIes aI once, is acIually in Iwo
alIernaIive universes, Ihe sIaIe being
diherenI in each. ln IhaI 300-qubiI
compuIer, on Ihe oIher hand, Ihe sIaIe
ol superposiIion exisIs in billions ol
parallel universes. Niels Bohr, you were
righI. IhaI Iruly is shocking.
8 According to some scientists, there |ust
isn't enough material in our universe to
explain the phenomenal processing power
ohered by quantum computing
8 Einstein was so troubled by
entanglement that he referred to it as
"spooky interaction at a distance"
Te eve
s|roger |ole
o| e|ogleme|
|f you though the concept of superposition was a
strange one (see 'The strange tale of superposition' on
page 135), things will seem a whole lot stranger still
when you learn about entanglement. Some scientists
believe it's essential for quantum computing, while
others aren't too sure. Even if it isn't, it could play a
vital role in providing a totally uncrackable cipher, and
it might even lead to -style teleporting.
By some quantum sleight of hand, which we're not
even going to try to describe, it's possible to prepare a
pair of particles, both in a state of superposition, that
are said to be entangled. So, for example, let's say
that both particles are electrons and they're placed
in a state of superposition but have opposite spins.
We know that the act of reading the spin of either
electron will cause the superposition to be lost and
we'd see either an up spin or a down spin at random.
However, the fact that the two electrons were
entangled means that reading the spin of one
will cause superposition to be lost in the other,
at which time it would adopt the opposite spin.
The fact that one electron can ahect its neighbour
isn't too surprising but what is, perhaps, rather more
unexpected is that entanglement is not ahected by
distance. Even if the two electrons are billions of
kilometres apart, as soon as superposition is lost in
one it's immediately lost in the other, too.
This ehect was predicted by Albert Einstein back in
the 1930s, but he found the idea so disturbing that he
referred to it as "spooky interaction at a distance".
|t appeared to contradict his Special Theory of
Relativity, which says the speed of light is a universal
speed limit. The fact that this interaction involves
faster-than-light interaction has been conhrmed
experimentally, and scientists continue to debate the
phenomenon. Of course it doesn't provide us with a
means of faster-than-light communication, because it
results only in random data being exchanged, and
some researchers say that because no useful
information is transmiued, it doesn't contradict the
Special Theory of Relativity aher all. Others say this is
|ust a cop-out because information is undoubtedly
exchanged between entangled particles, even though
the exact mechanism is unknown.
FLVLESS VIDESCREEN
l3C PRIL 2014 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 314
02
01
Download and insIall
Flawless Widescreen
rom www.ow|esswidescreen.
crg. You'll be asked i you
wanI Io conhgure Ihe
Flawless Widescreen
seuings, so click Yes. You
shouldn'I have Io change
anyIhing here, buI iI's worIh
having a look around. ln Ihe
SIarIu/Ceneral Seuings
secIion, you can seI wheIher
you wanI Ihe alicaIion Io
sIarI wiIh Windows, and can change where Ihe game looks or
SIeam and Origin games. l you have SIeam and Origin insIalled
somewhere unorIhodox, you can click Add PaIh Io browse Io Ihe
righI locaIion. You can also change Ihe hoIkeys used Io increase and
decrease your Field o View in Ihe HoIkey Seuings, by deaulI, Ihese
are '+' and '-' on Ihe numeric keyad, buI you may wanI Io change Ihis
i you have a laIo wiIhouI a numeric keyad. Click Save Changes
when you're done Iweaking.
0S
l you're laying a modern game on Ihree moniIors in FyehniIy
or Surround mode, you'll need Io see i Ihe game has a more
naIural held o view. l you hnd your view is sIill excessively zoomed
in, use Ihe '+' and '-' keys on Ihe numeric keyad Io ad|usI iI. ln some
games, Ihis may noI Iake ehecI sIraighI away, in Orcs UusI Die, or
examle, where by deaulI Ihe Field o View is so wrong you can barely
see your characIer, you need Io zoom in and ouI wiIh Ihe crossbow or
Ihe held o view Io reseI Io Ihe new value.
02
Flawless Widescreen is a cenIral managemenI alicaIion or
several lugins wriuen by diherenI auIhors or various games,
and Ihe lugins are downloaded as you need Ihem raIher Ihan being
insIalled wiIh Ihe alicaIion iIsel. For Ihis reason, make sure you're
online beore clicking on Ihe lugin you need. As soon as you click
on iI, Ihe lugin will download and insIall auIomaIically.
03
Fach lugin
has diherenI
seuings. There will
be an overall Iickbox
Io enable or disable
Ihe lugin in iIs
enIireIy, as well as
oIions Io enable or
disable diherenI
hxes. The hxes
Ihemselves are
deIailed in Ihe
descriIion or each lugin, so i Ihere are some hxes IhaI are causing
roblems or IhaI you simly don'I like, you can ad|usI Ihem here.
Make games work properIy n
uItra-wdescreen resoIutons
How to...
No all games are desigred o vorl roerly vil videscreer dislays, bu vil
Chrs Fnnamore's lel you car x lirgs so your gamirg exerierces eel leir bes
WE REVIEWPLENTY of powerful graphics cards that are designed
to play games in ultra-widescreen mode on three monitors, in either
AND's Eyehnity or Nvidia's Surround mode. Unfortunately, not all
games, even modern ones, will work properly in such high resolutions.
Heads-up displays and cutscenes end up stretched and distorted, and
the held of view (FOV) can be wrong, so you're too zoomed in to the
action and things don't look natural from your player's perspective.
Flawless Widescreen is designed to combat these problems. |t runs in
the background and automatically applies various hxes. |t even has a
hx to make Knights of the Old Republic, one of the greatest
games ever made, run properly at modern widescreen resolutions.
Here's how to get it working.
01
03
05
04
Leave Ihe
rogram
running, and launch
your game. You
should see IhaI Ihe
hxes are alied,
Ihe in-game HD
and cuIscenes
may no longer
be disIorIed, or
examle. ln KnighIs
o Ihe Old Reublic, you should now be able Io selecI widescreen
resoluIions in Ihe grahics seuings.
04
NDROID
l3
ISSUE 314 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ PRIL 2014
0S
l you really can'I hnd your device, iI's besI Io
wie iIs conIenIs comleIely raIher Ihan risk a
Ihie gaining access Io your ersonal daIa or Io Coogle
or oIher accounIs. To Iake Ihe nuclear oIion, click
Frase, and when romIed click Ihe red Frase buuon.
l you use Coogle alicaIions such as Calendar, Cmail
and Coogle ConIacIs your daIa is synchronised wiIh
Coogle's servers, so iI should be available or you Io
synchronise wiIh a relacemenI device. Personal and
Ihird-arIy a daIa may noI be, however, and will be
losI wiIh your hone unless you've backed iI u.
02
Some users running Android 4.1
or laIer will see IhaI Ihe hrsI
menu iIem rom SIe 1 is greyed ouI in
Ihe Android Device Uanager seuings.
Io Irack your hone, iI musI be able Io
send locaIion daIa Io Coogle, so you
need Io enable access Io Ihe device's
locaIion in Coogle Seuings or in your
device's LocaIion seuings (deending
on your device's version o Android). l
you're sensiIive abouI sharing daIa, you
can sIill lock, ring or wie Ihe hone
remoIely wiIhouI enabling Ihis, buI i
you also wanI Io locaIe iI you'll need Io
ermiI locaIion access. Once enabled,
you sIill needn'I enable LocaIion
ReorIing or LocaIion HisIory or any
accounIs on your hone. se Ihe back
buuon Io reIurn Io Ihe main Coogle Seuings menu, Ihen change Ihe
Android Device Uanager seuings as described in SIe 1.
03
WiIh Ihe device conhgured, iI's a good idea Io amiliarise
yoursel wiIh Ihe Android Device Uanager web inIerace
and check IhaI everyIhing works. VisiI www.gccg|e.ccm/ondrcid/
devicemonoger and log in Io your Coogle AccounI i romIed. You
should see a Ua screen wiIh a loaIing sIaIus window or your device,
i you have more Ihan
one, use Ihe dro-down
arrow Io Ihe righI o
Ihe device name Io
swiIch beIween Ihem.
You won'I see your
device's currenI sIaIus
i iI's swiIched oh or
has been laced in
aerolane mode, buI
any insIrucIions you
send in Ihe ollowing
sIes will be carried
ouI as soon as iI can
be conIacIed.
04
l Ihe device is
swiIched on and
has a wireless or mobile
daIa connecIion, iIs sIaIus
should aear wiIhin a ew
seconds. l Ihe device can
geI a locaIion, Ihe ma will
udaIe Io show iIs osiIion
and you'll see an esIimaIion
o how accuraIe Ihis is.
This will hel you work ouI
i your hone is lurking in Ihe house, aI work or in Ihe car or i somebody
else has iI. l iI's nearby buI you can'I see iI, click Ring Io make iI ring aI
ull volume while you Irack iI down. Android Device Uanager will reorI
i Ihe hone rang. l your hone's locaIion can'I be shown, or you're sure
iI's been losI in a ublic lace, click Lock. l someone's using your device,
Ihis will overwriIe any assword Ihey may have seI and deny Ihem access.
Fnd or wpe a Iost Androd phone
How to...
Losirg or lavirg your Ardroid lore soler doesr' mear le erd. 5mon Handby
slovs you lov o racl a device ard vie i remoely ir order o roec your daa
FOR A6ES, IPHONE and Windows Phone owners have had a built in
way to track their phones while Android users have had to rely on
third-party services, which haven't always been reliable or easy to set
up. |n August 2013, however, Coogle hnally announced Android Device
Nanager, which lets you locate your Android phone, lock it, make it
ring or even wipe it completely. Here's how to conhgure and use it.
01
Android Device Uanager works
on any device running Android
2.2 or laIer, which includes mosI o Ihe
Android roducIs sold. Beore you can
use iI, Ihough, you musI enable iI on
your device. Oen Ihe As menu and
Ia Coogle Seuings, Ihen Ia Android
Device Uanager. Tick Ihe oIions Io
enable remoIe locaIion o Ihe device
and allow remoIe locking and re-
seuing. l you're enabling re-seuing,
you'll be romIed Io allow Android
Device Uanager adminisIraIive
access Ihrough Coogle Play services.
Ta AcIivaIe Io do so, Ihen Ia Ihe
back buuon Io reIurn Io Ihe Android
Home Screen.
01 02
03
04
05
II you can't nd
your device, it's best
to vipe its contents
ratIer tIan risk a
tIieI ainin access to
your personaI data
DOBE LIGHTROOM S
l38 PRIL 2014 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 314
Manage and optmse photos
n Adobe Lghtroom 5
How to...
Adobe Liglroom S is a mus-lave alicaior or ary asirirg digial loograler.
Ben Ptt slovs you lov o marage, edi ard imrove your sras
WE'VE BEEN SIN6IN6 LighIroom's raises since iI hrsI aeared in
2007, so iI's abouI Iime we showed you whaI all Ihe uss is abouI.
LighIroom inIegraIes library managemenI, ediIing and sharing inIo a
seamless worklow. lIs ediIing aciliIies are secihcally designed Io make
hoIos look Iheir besI. Ihere are no hoIo-monIage or grahic design
aciliIies, |usI Iools or oIimising colours and deIails and minimising
noise. All ediIs are non-desIrucIive, which means Ihe original hle isn'I
alIered, so iI's easy Io Iweak or undo ad|usImenIs aI any Iime.
AI around 100 including VAT, iI's noI exacIly an imulse urchase,
buI iI's a shrewd invesImenI or anyone wiIh more Ihan a assing
inIeresI in hoIograhy. lI's also available as a 30-day ree Irial. Head Io
www.odcbe.ccm Io download and insIall iI, and we'll geI sIarIed.
01
LighIroom is divided inIo seven modules - Library, Develo,
Ua and so on - accessed via Ihe buuons aI Ihe Io-righI
o Ihe screen. The hrsI |ob is Io imorI your hoIos, so selecI Ihe
Library module and click Ihe lmorI buuon Iowards Ihe bouom-
righI o Ihe screen.
se Ihe hle browser on Ihe le Io locaIe your hoIos. To imorI
mulIile olders, selecI one, hold down Ihe Shi or CIrl key and Ihen
selecI oIhers. LighIroom can imorI direcIly rom cameras and card
readers, coying Io Ihe hard disk aI Ihe same Iime. Seciy where you
wanI Io coy Io using Ihe DesIinaIion anel on Ihe righI. AlIernaIively,
you can imorI hoIos IhaI are already on Ihe hard disk. You'll Ihen geI
oIions aI Ihe Io Io coy Ihem Io a new locaIion or simly Io add
Ihem Io Ihe library wiIhouI coying Ihem - IhaI's usually beuer, as iI
avoids needlessly dulicaIing hles.
Once you've selecIed your hoIos, click lmorI in Ihe bouom-righI
corner. As Ihe library hlls u wiIh Ihumbnails, double-click a Ihumbnail
Io show a larger view o a arIicular hoIo, click again Io zoom in and
ouI, and double-click Io reIurn Io Ihe Ihumbnail view.
02
By deaulI, LighIroom shows everyIhing in Ihe lasI imorI, buI
on Ihe le you'll hnd buuons Io show all hoIograhs or a
secihc older. A CollecIion is a virIual older where you can grou
hoIos, regardless o Ihe original hle locaIion. Click Ihe '+' symbol
beside CollecIions, selecI CreaIe CollecIion, give iI a name and click
CreaIe. Add hoIos Io Ihe CollecIion simly by dragging Ihumbnails on
Io Ihe CollecIion name, using Ihe Shi and CIrl keys Io selecI mulIile
hoIos. Click on Ihe CollecIion name Io view iIs conIenIs.
03
Keywords are useul or locaIing hoIos, arIicularly when
you've goI many Ihousands in your library. On Ihe righI, click Io
oen Ihe Keyword anel. SelecI a hoIo and Ihen Iye some relevanI
keywords inIo Ihe box - eole's names, an acIiviIy and so on. As you
roceed Io Ihe nexI hoIo, recenI keywords will aear as buuons,
saving you rom Iying Ihem reeaIedly. You can selecI mulIile hoIos
and add keywords Io Ihem as a grou.
To search by keyword, click Ihe TexI buuon |usI above Ihe
Ihumbnails and Iye in one or more keywords. AlIernaIively, exand Ihe
Keyword LisI anel on Ihe righI Io see all Ihe used keywords. Hover
over a keyword and click Ihe arrow IhaI aears Io Ihe righI Io see Ihe
maIching hoIos. This oens Ihe UeIadaIa anel, which also leIs you
hlIer Ihe library (or a arIicular older or collecIion) by a wide range o
criIeria such as daIe, camera, shuuer seed and hle Iye.
04
AnoIher way Io browse your library is Io view hoIos on a
world ma. PhoIos Iaken wiIh a CPS-enabled camera are
loued auIomaIically, buI iI's easy Io add Ihem manually, Ioo. Click
Ihe Ua buuon aI Ihe Io o Ihe screen, and Ihen Ihe arrow aI Ihe
bouom-cenIre Io reveal a sIri o hoIo Ihumbnails. se Ihe Search
aciliIy Io |um Io a ma locaIion, and zoom in and ouI wiIh Ihe mouse
wheel. Drag hoIos on Io Ihe ma, eiIher one by one or in baIches.
As you do so, you'll see a o-u message abouI reverse geocoding,
enabling Ihis noI only loIs Ihe hoIos on Ihe ma buI also adds lace
names Io Ihe hoIos' keywords. You can Ihen browse hoIo locaIions
using Ihe keyword search aciliIy, or by navigaIing Ihe ma and
clicking Ihe ins.
0S
lI's unlikely IhaI you'll wanI Io share every hoIo you Iake.
LighIroom's sIar-raIing sysIem makes iI easy Io whiule down
a large collecIion Io hnd Ihe besI hoIos. SelecI a hoIo and use Ihe
number keys 0 Io S Io aly a sIar raIing. Click Ihe AuribuIe buuon
above Ihe Ihumbnails and click on a sIar raIing Io show only Ihose
hoIos IhaI maIch or exceed IhaI raIing.
A useul Iechnique is Io aly one sIar Io any hal-decenI hoIos,
Ihen use Ihe AuribuIe conIrol Io show only Ihose hoIos. grade Ihe
besI o Ihese Io Iwo sIars, hide Ihe oIhers, and reeaI as necessary
unIil you have a small seI o Ihe very besI hoIos.
06
Once you've icked ouI your avouriIe shoIs, iI's Iime Io sruce
Ihem u. Choose a hoIo Io work on and click Ihe Develo
buuon aI Ihe Io o Ihe screen. The hoIo will hll Ihe work area and Ihe
anels on eiIher side will change. On Ihe le, you'll hnd a HisIory anel
- Ihis is Ihe undo hisIory - lus various ehecIs reseIs. On Ihe righI
are Ihe various Iools or ediIing Ihe image.
8 The Library view provides a convenient way to import and organise your
photos, so is the place to get started
DOBE LIGHTROOM S

ISSUE 314 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ PRIL 2014

You can aroach Ihese in any order, buI Ihe one we Iend Io use
hrsI is Ihe Cro Iool. Click Ihe le buuon |usI below Ihe hisIogram, or
Iye R. Drag Ihe corners o Ihe box Io hnd Ihe besI comosiIion or
your hoIo. Click Io lock Ihe adlock below Ihe hisIogram i you wanI
Io mainIain Ihe asecI raIio, and click on As ShoI Io view various oIher
asecI raIio oIions. Drag |usI ouIside Ihe corners Io roIaIe Ihe hoIo.
Click Ihe Cro Iool icon (or Iye R) again when you're done.
07
|usI below Ihe Cro Iool, Ihe conIrols lisIed under Ihe Basic
heading are or colour correcIion, and Ihey're ar more caable
Ihan Ihe heading suggesIs. The whiIe balance conIrols come hrsI, wiIh
Iwo sliders or IemeraIure and IinI. Ad|usI Ihese manually or choose
a reseI Io achieve a leasing colour aleue. AlIernaIively, selecI Ihe
eye-droer Iool and click on a arI o Ihe image IhaI should be grey.
Fxosure and ConIrasI conIrols will be amiliar Io mosI eole. The
our conIrols below Ihese leI you ad|usI Ihe brighIness o highlighIs,
shadows, whiIes and blacks. l your hoIos are in Raw ormaI, Ihe
WhiIes conIrol is useul or rescuing over-exosed highlighIs. The
ClariIy conIrol boosIs Ihe conIrasI relaIive Io nearby ixels, giving
unchy deIails wiIhouI cliing highlighIs and shadows. Vibrance and
SaIuraIion are Iwo diherenI aroaches Io ad|usIing Ihe richness o
colours. There's no righI or wrong way Io ad|usI Ihese seuings, iI's
simly a mauer o hnding someIhing IhaI works or Ihe hoIo.
08
SomeIimes blankeI seuings don'I work or Ihe enIire image,
in which case iI's Iime Io use Ihe local ediIing Iools. The
CraduaIed FilIer alies iIs seuings Io one side o Ihe image, wiIh a
gradual ade Io Ihe unahecIed colours on Ihe oIher side. The Radial
FilIer is Ihe same buI or circles and ellises, while Ihe Ad|usImenI
Brush is alied using brush sIrokes. You'll hnd all Ihree |usI below Ihe
hisIogram, beside Ihe Cro Iool. SelecI CraduaIed FilIer and click and
drag across Ihe image Io seI Ihe IransiIion rom rocessed Io clean.
Ad|usI Ihe sliders on Ihe righI Io seI Ihe Iye o ehecI you wanI. For
examle, on a icIure o a sky, you could Iweak Ihe whiIe balance, lower
Ihe exosure and boosI Ihe conIrasI and saIuraIion Io bring ouI Ihe
IexIure in Ihe clouds. Click Ihe Iool's icon again when you've hnished.
09
LighIroom can also zone in on secihc colours Io ad|usI. On
Ihe righI anel, scroll down Io locaIe Ihe HSL/Color/B&W
conIrols. HSL sIands or Hue, SaIuraIion, Luminance. We had a hoIo
where Ihe grass in Ihe oreground looked slighIly orange, so we used
Ihe Hue conIrol Io make orange Iones more yellow. We also dragged
Ihe Aqua conIrol Iowards green Io give Ihe sky some exIra o, and
used Ihe SaIuraIion conIrols Io make orange and yellow colours less
vivid. These conIrols can be ad|usIed direcIly using Ihe sliders, buI a
more inIuiIive meIhod is Io click Ihe small circle beside Ihese conIrols
and Ihen drag colours direcIly in Ihe image iIsel.
10
l you're working wiIh Raw hles, iI's worIh checking Ihe DeIails
seuings. Click Ihe image Io zoom in so you can see Ihe resulIs
o your ad|usImenIs. LighIroom's deaulI seuings do a decenI |ob o
alying digiIal sharening and noise reducIion, buI boosIing Ihe
Sharening AmounI rom iIs deaulI 2S Io around 60 Iends Io give
beuer resulIs wiIhouI Ihe deIails looking Ioo obviously rocessed.
Doing Ihis also increases noise levels, Ihough. Raising Ihe Luminance
seuing Io 20 hels Io smooIh over minor seckles, buI hoIos Iaken
aI asI lSO seeds may warranI higher seuings. The oIher sharening
and noise reducIion seuings should be aroached wiIh cauIion. lI's
someIimes ossible Io eke ouI small imrovemenIs, buI iI's also easy
Io mess Ihings u and end u wiIh weird halos and smeary IexIures.
11
The Lens CorrecIions conIrols Iackle roblems caused by
common lens deecIs. One is disIorIion, whereby hoIos have a
bulbous or inched aearance IhaI makes sIraighI lines aear curved.
Vigneuing is when Ihe edges o Ihe hoIo are darker Ihan Ihe cenIre.
ChromaIic aberraIions are when Ihe red, green and blue comonenIs o
Ihe image don'I line u erecIly, resulIing in coloured halos around
high-conIrasI lines.
LighIroom's disIorIion and vigneue correcIion is based on rohles
o Ihe lens's characIerisIics aI various ocal lengIhs and aerIures.
LighIroom comes wiIh almosI S00 rohles, alIhough mosI are or SLR
and comacI sysIem camera (CSC) lenses and are available only or
Raw hles. nder Lens CorrecIions, click Ihe Prohle Iab and Iick Ihe box
marked Fnable Prohle CorrecIions. l Ihere's a rohle or Ihe lens you
used, iI'll be alied auIomaIically.
ChromaIic aberraIion removal is auIomaIic, based on analysis o Ihe
image raIher Ihan a rohle. Click Ihe Color Iab and Iick Ihe box below.
For arIicularly sIubborn chromaIic aberraIions, click on Ihe eye-
droer and Ihen Ihe ohending area Io recalibraIe Ihe correcIion.
12
Once you've goI a grou o hoIos ediIed Io erecIion, iI's Iime
Io share Ihem. LighIroom has loIs o exorI oIions, including
rinIers, animaIed slideshows, book creaIion and web ublishing,
alIhough you musI make your own web-hosIing arrangemenIs.
A more oular oIion is Io uload hoIos Io Facebook and Flickr.
Click Ihe Library buuon and locaIe Publish Services on Ihe le. Click
Ihe SeI buuon beside Facebook or Flickr Io conhgure LighIroom or
uloads. nder DescriIion, enIer a meaningul name, such as your
Flickr name. Click AuIhorize and ollow Ihe insIrucIions Io give
LighIroom ermission Io uload direcIly Io Ihe service. There are
various oIher oIions, including one Io resize beore uload. The deaulI
960 ixels along Ihe long edge is a Iad small - we'd recommend going
or 1,200 or 1,600 ixels. Click Save when you're done. To uload
hoIos, drag Ihem on Io Ihe Publish Service you creaIed, righI-click iI
and selecI Publish Now.
8 Switch to Develop mode to begin the editing process, cropping the image will
most likely be the first step
8 The Lens Corrections section corrects for problems caused by common lens
defects, and has a database of almost 500 lens profiles
l40 PRIL 2014 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 314
Busiress Hel
Wenl more ous|ness edv|ce?
usness Expert
l you lave daabases, oce alicaiors ard macro issues, Kay Ewbank
car lel. Serd your roblems o busiresslel@comuersloer.co.ul
ExceI can't cope wth currency symboIs
Access ncorrectIy
dspIayng percentages

| am really puzzled over a problem

| am having with Excel 2007 and
wonder if you can help. | have a
spreadsheet (auached) that calculates values
in any one of four currencies. | need the
results to be displayed with the appropriate
currency symbol. The user selects the
currency to use by selecting from a drop-
down list. This is then used with the |NDEX
function to generate the correct symbol, and
the symbol is |oined with a numeric value
pulled from elsewhere on the sheet,
depending on which value is being calculated.
These values are used in later calculations.
What puzzles me is that if select or C as
the currency, all is hne. |f | select $ or Y,

|'m creating an Access report

that's actually a leuer to be sent to
customers. One of the entries is a
money-oh oher where the percentage we're
ohering varies depending on the customer's
track record in buying from us. When | have
the discount held displayed |ust within the
report it shows correctly, so a discount level of
10 shows as 10. However, when | view it in
the text box where | put together the text, | get
"|n recognition of your loyalty, we're giving you
.1 oh all orders placed in the next two weeks".
|'m creating this using a concatenated
text string: ="|n recognition of your loyalty,
however, | get #VALUE returned. Can you
explain why this is?
Simcn F|cwers

The sIrange Ihing here is noI IhaI you

geI #VALF lor S or Y, buI IhaI you
geI a correcI value lor and C. This is
down Io Fxcel Irying Io be helplul and causing
conlusion. When you use Ihe lNDFX luncIion,
iI reIurns a IexI value. You add on Ihe numeric
value lrom your daIa, and Fxcel works ouI you
wanI IhaI IreaIed as a IexI value and gives you
an overall IexI value, as in, =lNDFX(C29.C32,C2
8)&ROND(SU(C12.C33),1).
ll Ihe sum ol cells C12.C33 was 3S0, Ihis
would reIurn 3S0.0. This isn'I Ihe currency
amounI 3S0 wiIh Ihe symbol displayed,
buI Ihe IexI characIers ,3, S, 0, ., 0. This
should never be IreaIed as a number, buI
Fxcel IreaIs values in 'local' currencies
diherenIly lrom Ihose in oIher currencies,
so iI someIimes leIs you carry ouI ariIhmeIic
on IexI values.
Try Ihis experimenI. ln a new spreadsheeI,
enIer ""&100 inIo A1. Then enIer =A1/10 in
A2. ThaI should (wrongly) work. Change Ihe
Io S and iI'll sIop working. The hrsI parI
creaIes Ihe word 100, noI Ihe value 100,
so you shouldn'I be able Io do ariIhmeIic wiIh
iI. For some bizarre reason, Fxcel does do
ariIhmeIic in your local currency. To see Ihis
even more clearly, lrom Ihe ConIrol Panel
change your currency Io dollars. RepeaI,
and Ihe problem will go Ihe oIher way.
The sIraighIlorward soluIion is IhaI you'll
need Io converI Ihe numeric parI ol Ihe IexI
back Io a Irue number belore doing Ihe
ariIhmeIic. Cell C3S could read =lNDFX(C29.C
32,C28)&ROND(VALF(RlCHT(C3S,(LFN
(C3S)-1)))-VALF(RlCHT(F3S,LFN(F3S)-1)),1).
This uses Ihe VALF luncIion Io converI
Ihe IexI back Io a value. VALF can'I cope
wiIh Ihe currency symbol, so Ihe RlCHT
luncIion is used Io Iake Ihe righI-hand end ol
Ihe IexI aler Ihe currency symbol, wiIh LFN-1
used Io work ouI how much IexI Io grab.
8 Use the Format function to display numbers as a
percentage in Access
8 Convert text to values to be able to do arithmetic in Excel
we're giving you "& [Discount] & " oh all
orders placed in the next two weeks".
What am | doing wrong?
Mork Pcntcn

l suspecI your problem arises lrom

Ihe way you're sIoring Ihe DiscounI
value, as 0.1 is indeed 10 per cenI,
buI only il you Iell Access Io show iI as a
percenIage. Try changing your concaIenaIion
sIring Io read. ="ln recogniIion ol your loyalIy,
we're giving you "& FormaI([DiscounI],
"PercenI") & " oh all orders placed in Ihe
nexI Iwo weeks".
BUSINESS HELP

ISSUE 314 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ PRIL 2014

| use PowerPoint 2010, and struggle

when | need to edit or proofread
content on slides with animations
that run in front of the content |'m trying to
work with. Currently, | select the animated
content at the front and send it to the back. |
make the changes before bringing the content
from the back so it's at the front again. |s there
a quicker way to do this, or do | need a macro?
Pou| Summers

PowerPoinI has a Iool IhaI does whaI

you wanI iI Io do. From Ihe Home Iab
ol Ihe Omce Ribbon, look in Ihe
FdiIing panel aI Ihe righI-hand side ol Ihe
Ribbon. Click on SelecI and, in Ihe opIions,
choose SelecIion Pane.
You'll see iI conIains a lisI
ol all Ihe shapes on Ihe
currenI slide, wiIh an eye
icon nexI Io each. ll you
wanI Io hide an iIem, click
on Ihe eye nexI Io iI and iI
will be hidden. Click Ihe icon
again and Ihe shape will
reappear. See which iIems
are hidden by looking aI
which have an eye and which
have Ihe empIy square.
ProbIematc
anmatons
Automatc cc: emaIs
Word not storng comments properIy

Our company has a policy that all

emails should be copied to our legal
compliance email address so they
are saved for the future. |s there a way to
have Outlook automatically add that email
address to the cc: held? | know | could create
a message rule that would do it to all email
messages, but the problem arises if | sent a
personal email to a friend. | don't want those
sent to the company compliance email. |f
the cc: is automatically always hlled in,
| can remove that address for emails that
are personal.
F|izobeth Pcckwe||

We've a strange situation in our omce when using Nicrosoh

Word 2007. |f we're working on documents in a team, we
review each other's work and use track changes and comments
to insert notes about the material. For some documents, the user initials
that identify who made the track change or comment disappear when the
document is saved. So Fred B creates a document, Nickey N reviews it,
makes some changes and inserts a comment. His initials (NN) are shown
in the Comment at the start of the note in the comment bubble. When
Nickey N saves the document, the text remains but all the user initials
are changed to |ust A. This doesn't happen with all the people in the team.
Dovid Thcmscn

Someone may have used File, lnlo, Prepare lor Sharing, lnspecI
DocumenI. This leIs you remove personal inlormaIion,
including Ihe auIhor, lrom documenIs belore sharing Ihem.
However, il you use Ihis laciliIy, Word remembers lor IhaI documenI so
cleans Ihe personal inlormaIion ouI every Iime you save iI. ThaI would
accounI lor Ihe behaviour you describe. There's a more long-Ierm version
ol Ihis il you're saving Ihe documenI in Word's compaIibiliIy mode. This
ensures your documenIs are compaIible wiIh earlier versions ol Word.
One opIion you can choose wiIh Ihis seuing is enabled lrom File Uenu,
OpIions, TrusI CenIer, TrusI CenIer Seuings, Privacy OpIions dialog. ln
Ihis, Ihere's an opIion Io remove personal daIa lrom File ProperIies on
Save. ll Ihis is enabled, deIails such as who enIered commenIs is removed.
8 |f you've used document inspection in Word, details of who entered
comments will be removed
+ Use the Selection
Pane to hide and show
items in PowerPoint
8 Set up a rule in Outlook to choose whether to
automatically forward an email or not

There isn'I a way Io add Ihe cc. Io new

emails unless you wriIe some VBA
code. However, you could use Ihis
Iechnique. seI up a rule IhaI cc's Ihe message
Io Ihe correcI address excepI il you've
assigned Ihe email Io a parIicular caIegory. To
do Ihis, you'd seI up a rule saying, 'Apply Ihis
rule aler l send a message, CC Ihe message Io
emailaddress, FxcepI il Assigned Io Orange
CaIegory'. You could rename Ihe caIegory you
use as Personal Io make Ihe rule clearer.
ll you wanI Io send an email and noI
have iI copied, you'd need Io assign iI Io Ihe
Personal caIegory. To do Ihis, when creaIing
Ihe email, selecI OpIions, Uore OpIions, Ihen
choose a CaIegory lrom Ihe drop-down lisI.
As Ihis is a pain, you mighI preler Io use
one ol Ihe oIher opIions lor Ihe excepIion.
The one we'd use would include some IexI
IhaI would idenIily iI specihcally as personal.
You could use '''personal message''' aI Ihe
end ol your message, perhaps in a separaIe
signaIure IhaI you use lor personal messages.
Then seI up a rule saying, 'Apply Ihis rule
aler l send a message, CC Ihe message Io
emailaddress, FxcepI il Ihe body conIains
'''personal message'''.
You can seI up a signaIure in OuIlook lrom
a new email message. ln Ihe lnclude group on
Ihe Omce ribbon, click SignaIure, Ihen choose
SignaIures, New and enIer a name and Ihe
deIails ol whaI you wanI Io include. ll you seI
up a Personal signaIure including Ihe IexI
'''personal message''' (or whaIever makes
sense), Ihen you can |usI click iIs name in Ihe
drop-down lisI on Ihe SignaIure buuon.
l42 PRIL 2014 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 314
Helle

|'ve recently bought a new PC, running

Windows 8.1. | have an SSD to boot
from, but there are three internal hard
disks (D, E and F) for data and media storage.
These are permanent drives which | do not
need to disconnect. |'ve taught my family to
use the Safely Remove Hardware icon before
unplugging memory sticks or memory cards.
You've guessed it, | clicked the wrong item in
the device list and disconnected a drive. No
real damage has been done, but it's a pain to
manually reconnect the drives. |'ve tried editing
the removal policy for each drive through Device
Nanager, but | can see only the quick removal
and beuer performance options, which apply
to swappable devices. How do | designate
these drives as permanent, and stop them
appearing in the Safely Remove Hardware list?
Som Stevenscn, som.stevenscn!nt|wcr|d.ccm

Open Ihe Windows SIarI screen, Iype

regediI and run regediI.exe. NavigaIe
in Ihe RegisIry FdiIor Io HKey_Local_
Uachine, SysIem, CurrenIConIrolSeI, Services
and scroll down Io msahci. RighI-click Ihis enIry
(in Ihe lel-hand pane), selecI FxporI and save
Ihe .reg hle Io Ihe DeskIop. You may wanI Io
make a backup ol your Windows insIallaIion.
Fxpand Ihe msahci enIry in Ihe RegisIry,
click Fnum (in Ihe lel-hand pane), Ihen look
aI Ihe enIries. You should see one named 0,
and possibly a second named 1. These are Ihe
disk conIrollers wiIhin Ihe PC. ll you |usI have
one, Ihings should be simple. ln Iheory, il you
have Iwo, you will need Io idenIily which disks
are connecIed Io which conIroller, alIhough
Ihis wasn'I necessary on Ihe PC we IesIed,
which does have Iwo conIrollers insIalled. You
will need Io hnd ouI Ihe disk numbering. open
Windows Fxplorer, selecI one ol Ihe PC's disks,
righI-click iI, selecI ProperIies and pick Ihe
Hardware Iab. Now, selecI each ol your lour
disks and make a noIe ol Ihe channel number.
CreaIe new enIries wiIhin Ihe RegisIry.
Open Ihe Windows SIarI screen, Iype CUD
and, in Ihe resulIs, righI-click Command PrompI
and selecI Run as adminisIraIor. ln Ihe prompI,
Iype 'reg.exe add "HKLU\SysIem\CurrenI
ConIrolSeI\Services\msahci\ConIroller0\
Channel0" /l /v TreaIAslnIernalPorI /I
RFC_DWORD /d 0x00000001'. 'ConIroller0'
means we're creaIing a rule lor IhaI disk
conIroller, change Ihis Io ConIroller1 il needs
be. 'Channel0' means we're changing Ihe
Vlaever your ereral FC, lardvare ard sovare voes, 5mon Handby
is lere o lel. Serd your roblems o rcp@compucrsroppcr.co.ur
OutIook's troubIesome tme zones

| use the Calendar function in

Nicrosoh Outlook. Whenever |
travel abroad and into another time
zone, Outlook ad|usts all my appointment
times. |f | had a meeting arranged for 10am
next Tuesday and then | went to New York,
Outlook would show the appointment time
as 5am. | hnd this extremely annoying, is
there any way to disable this 'feature'?
Nei| Dun[crd, dun[crdgctods|.cc.uk

ln all versions, OuIlook delaulIs Io

enIering appoinImenIs in your home
Iime zone, which in your case is
presumably TC (Dublin, Fdinburgh, Lisbon,
London). As such, when Ihe compuIer
changes iIs Iime zone, Ihe
appoinImenI is sIill displayed
aI whaI would be Ihe correcI
Iime in Ihe original Iime zone.
There's no global opIion in
OuIlook Io sIop Ihis happening,
buI you can choose a Iime
zone when enIering a new
appoinImenI. ln Ihe Calendar
display, click New Io creaIe a
new appoinImenI, Ihen display
Ihe ribbon il iI's hidden and
click Time Zones. This should
reveal Iime zone drop-down lisIs nexI Io Ihe
appoinImenI sIarI and end Iimes. se Ihese Io
seI Ihe correcI Iime zone. ln your example, seI
I've mstakenIy dsconnected my drves
conhguraIion ol Ihe device on IhaI channel,
change Ihis as necessary Io relecI Ihe hrsI ol
Ihe channel numbers you wroIe down. Once
you're happy wiIh Ihe command, hiI FnIer.
RepeaI Ihe above lor each ol Ihe channel
numbers you wroIe down. ll you have a single
disk conIroller, Ihese are likely Io be 0, 1, 2 and
3, buI il your disks are divided beIween Iwo
conIrollers you mighI have Iwo disks on
channel 0 and Iwo on channel 1 (each on a
diherenI conIroller). We'd expecI Io need
enIries lor ConIroller0\Channel0, ConIroller0\
Channel1, ConIroller1\Channel0, and
ConIroller1\Channel1, buI in our IesI we only
needed Io enIer Ihe hrsI Iwo commands Io
remove all disks lrom Ihe Remove Hardware lisI.
Aler you've enIered Ihe new RegisIry
keys, you can view, deleIe or change Ihem by
re-opening Ihe RegisIry FdiIor as above. ll
you're happy wiIh Ihe enIries, close Ihe ediIor
and Ihe command prompI and rebooI your
compuIer. You should hnd IhaI Ihe disks
are no longer considered removable.
Adding this
Registry key forces
Windows to treat
the drive on the hrst
channel of the hrst
disk controller as
non-removable
8 Enter appointments in the relevant time zone to ensure correct
reminder times while abroad
Ihe Iime zone Io TC-0S.00 (FasIern Time) il
you're enIering an appoinImenI IhaI will
happen during your sIay in New York.
HELPFILE

ISSUE 314 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ PRIL 2014

ll Ihis is Ihe case, iI may be wise Io
conhgure Ihe IableI Io use Ihird-parIy DNS
servers. Bring up Ihe lisI ol wireless neIworks,
Iap Ihe name ol yours and Iap ForgeI. Tap Ihe
neIwork name in Ihe lisI ol discovered neIworks
and Iap 'Show advanced opIions', Ihen Iap lP
seuings, choose SIaIic and hll in Ihe lP address
your rouIer is allocaIing Io Ihe IableI. Cenerally
speaking, Ihe gaIeway is Ihe rouIer's lP address
and Ihe NeIwork prehx lengIh is 24. Try using
Coogle's DNS server addresses ol 8.8.8.8
and 8.8.4.4, and see il Ihe problem recurs.
ll Ihis doesn'I cure Ihe issue, or il you
hnd you can'I successlully ping 8.8.8.8 when
experiencing Ihe problem, iI will be harder Io
pin Ihe problem down. We have experienced
issues wiIh some devices noI reconnecIing
aler sleep and hibernaIion, so iI may be worIh
changing Ihe Android seuings Io prevenI Ihe
Tab's Wi-Fi inIerlace powering down. Bring up
Ihe lisI ol wireless neIworks, Iap Ihe menu icon,
Iap Advanced, Iap 'Keep Wi-Fi on during sleep'
and selecI Always. Scroll down Ihe Advanced
Wi-Fi opIions and unIick Wi-Fi opIimisaIion.
This may prevenI Ihe problem, alIhough iI will
mean Ihe bauery discharges more quickly.
lI's also worIh checking IhaI your rouIer
is on Ihe laIesI hrmware release. |udging by
your email address, you're wiIh PlusneI, who
can do Ihis lor you remoIely il you call Ihe
residenIial supporI number 0800 432 0200.
AlIernaIively, use Ihe insIrucIions aI hu.//
ccmmunity.|us.net/|ibrory/hordwore/
hcw-tc-ugrodedcwngrode-the-rmwore-cn-
the-thcmscn-585v7. Follow Ihe link under
Ihe Downloads heading Io hnd Ihe correcI
hrmware lor Ihe TCS82n, don'I use one ol
Ihe downloads lisIed on Ihe page above.

| have a Netgear FVS338 plugged

into my Virgin Super Hub. All eight
ports are in use, and everything is
working |ust great. All the computers are
networked, sharing hles with a Windows
Homegroup. Recently, Virgin has upped my
web speed to something dah like 120Nbit/s,
but the Netgear device seems to be stiing
that that to a 'mere' 69Nbit/s. A few years
ago, | would have killed to have that sort of
speed across so many devices, but |'m now
thinking that if | am paying for 120Nbit/s, |
should ensure | can make the most of it. |s
there a cheap way to change things so all my
computers can en|oy the higher speed?
Chris, thechrismurhymsn.ccm

The problem you have is IhaI Ihe

NeIgear FVS338 is a 100UbiI/s
device, and Ihe real-lile IhroughpuI
ol 100UbiI/s FIherneI is around 70UbiI/s.
ll you haven'I already, iI's worIh plugging a

| have a Samsung Calaxy Tab 2 10.1

running Android 4.2.2, which is the
most recent version available for the
tablet. |t has developed some issues with
wireless connectivity. On occasion, | can no
longer browse the web, and none of the
installed apps can connect to the internet. |
can, however, browse to the router's homepage,
and the wireless connection is still seemingly
active. |'ve tried clearing the Chrome browser
cache and all its data, and stopping in Android,
but neither this nor rebooting the tablet works.
| found that telling the tablet to forget the
wireless connection and then remake it seems
to cure it on most occasions, but not all. The
last time this happened, nothing | did cured it.
| even rebooted the router.
|t eventually came back,
loading some web pages,
but | couldn't access Coogle
until the following day.
The router is a Technicolor
TC582n supplied by my |SP.
When the problem happens,
everything else can access
web pages without a problem,
leading me to suspect that
the tablet is the problem. As
far as | can see, there are no
|P conicts on the network,
but | have set the router to
always give the tablet the
same |P address, although
it's still conhgured to
use DHCP. Can you oher
any advice?
Chris Hesketh,
chrishesketh!4.|us.ccm
100Mbt/s devce s stfIng my nternet
Why s CaIaxy Tab Iosng nternet access
compuIer direcIly inIo a porI on Ihe Super
Hub and IesIing IhaI you're acIually geuing a
higher download speed aI Ihe hub,
Ihere's no poinI upgrading
anyIhing il you aren'I.
Once you've checked IhaI Ihe
FVS338 is Ihe bouleneck, Ihe
cheapesI soluIion would be Io
simply replace iI wiIh a basic
gigabiI FIherneI swiIch, such
as Ihe NeIgear CS308-100KS,
which is around 2S. However,
il you're using Ihe WAN porI
and all eighI LAN porIs on Ihe
FVS338, you'll need Io replace iI
wiIh a swiIch IhaI has more Ihan
eighI porIs. AI 6S, Ihe 16-porI
TP-Link TL-SC1016 mighI be
suiIable. FiIher way, only
compuIers wiIh a gigabiI raIher
Ihan 100UbiI FIherneI adapIor
would benehI lrom Ihe change.

lI's hard Io be sure whaI Ihe problem

is, buI we can narrow iI down a biI.
You say IhaI everyIhing else can
access Ihe inIerneI, so we can probably rule
ouI an lSP issue. ll you have used Ihe IableI
exIensively wiIh oIher wireless neIworks,
wiIhouI experiencing similar problems, we can
probably assume IhaI Ihe issue lies wiIh Ihe
way Ihe IableI and your rouIer are inIeracIing.
We're assuming Ihe problem pre-daIes you
conhguring Ihe rouIer Io give Ihe IableI Ihe
same lP address in each session, and IhaI
Ihis was an auempI Io cure Ihe issue. An lP
address problem seems unlikely as you
probably wouldn'I be able Io browse Io Ihe
rouIer's conhg page il Ihere was a conlicI.
lI's more likely IhaI
Ihis is an issue wiIh name
resoluIion. Open Ihe App
sIore, search lor Ping and
insIall Ihe lree Ping & DNS
app. When you experience
Ihe connecIiviIy problem,
open Ihis app and ping Ihe
rouIer's lP address Io conhrm
you can see iI. Then ping
8.8.8.8 (Coogle's primary
DNS server) and see il you
geI a reply. ll you do, Iap Ihe
Ping drop-down lisI and
selecI DNS, Ihen search lor
www.exertreviews.cc.uk. ll
you see Ihe message 'Iype
A. Iimed ouI', your IableI is
lailing Io conIacI your lSP's
DNS server, which will
prevenI mosI apps accessing
Ihe inIerneI properly.
Things aren'I necessarily IhaI simple,
however, as Ihe FVS338 is acIually a hrewall.
You should only replace iI wiIh a
simple neIwork swiIch il Ihe
Virgin Super Hub is conhgured
Io proIecI your neIwork, iI
already should be, unless you've
disabled Ihe Hub's hrewall
yoursell. ll you need Io have Ihe
exIra hrewall raIher Ihan a
swiIch, you'd need Io replace
Ihe FVS338 wiIh a modern
equivalenI. Be carelul here.
IhroughpuI speed depends on
more Ihan Ihe porI speed, and
several 'gigabiI' hrewall devices
sIill on sale could acIually prove
slower Ihan your currenI
device. Check in Ihe Iechnical
specihcaIions lor Ihe
manulacIurer's quoIed
IhroughpuI speeds belore buying.
8 Virgin's Super Hub is a
basic wireless router, but it
includes an ehective hrewall
8 Conhguring a static |P address in
Android lets you specify DNS servers
DVNCED PRO}ECTS
l4C PRIL 2014 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 314
5et up a CCTV system
n your own home
Vil a Syrology NAS ard a coule o lF cameras, you car creae a video
surveillarce sysem or your lome or busiress. CIve Webster exlairs
ll you wanI Io use
more Ihan one camera in
your seIup, you need Io
check how many lP
camera licences your
Synology NAS supporIs,
and how many ol Ihose
licences are lree. ll your
NAS is relaIively new,
you should be able Io
hnd Ihis by searching
lor your model on
www.sync|cgy.ccm.
ll your NAS is older,
Ihe websiIe's search
luncIion will poinI you
Ioward Ihe Download
CenIre. Don'I boIher
going Ihere, Ihough, as even il you
download your NAS's 100-plus-page
manual you probably won'I hnd any
menIion ol lP camera licences. lnsIead,
|usI insIall Ihe lree Surveillance SIaIion
package on your NAS, which will leI you
know Ihe camera licence siIuaIion.
ON THE DOWNLOAD
We recommend updaIing your NAS Io run Ihe
laIesI version ol DSU Io make sure you have
all Ihe laIesI leaIures. These updaIes rarely go
wrong, buI you should sIill make sure you
have a backup ol your hard disk's conIenIs
belore perlorming any updaIes. Log in Io your
NAS via Synology AssisIanI, direcIly using iIs
lP address or by browsing Ihe neIwork secIion
ol Windows Fxplorer. Once you've logged inIo
your NAS, open Ihe ConIrol Panel and Ihen
DSU pdaIe, Ihe NAS will search Ihe inIerneI
lor Ihe laIesI version ol DSU and download
Ihe hle. lI will Ihen waiI lor you Io click
pdaIe belore iI insIalls anyIhing.
Once Ihe new operaIing sysIem was
insIalled, our Iwo-year-old DS211| Iook a
baming 10 minuIes Io rebooI. We used Ihis
Iime Io download our cameras' hrmware and
seI up solware, and had Ihem all updaIed
and connecIed Io our neIwork by Ihe Iime
Ihe NAS was ready Io use.
When seuing up your lP cameras, use Ihe
same login deIails lor every camera and
insIrucI your rouIer Io assign Ihem all sIaIic
lP addresses. ll your rouIer doesn'I allow Ihis,
you may be able Io give each camera a sIaIic
lP address Ihrough iIs inIerlace. lI's imporIanI
lor Ihe cameras Io have sIaIic lP addresses so
you always know where Io access Ihem on
Ihe neIwork. You should also ensure your web
browser is up Io daIe (Synology Surveillance
SIaIion requires Ihe laIesI version ol Chrome
or Firelox, or aI leasI lnIerneI Fxplorer 8). ll
you're using a Uac, you'll need OS X 10.6 or
laIer and Salari S.1 or newer.
WE'VE BEEN RECOMMENDIN6 Synology
neIwork-auached sIorage (NAS) enclosures
lor a long Iime because ol Iheir ease ol use
and exIensive leaIures. UosI decenI NAS
devices can Iypically run a lew exIra services,
such as media sIreaming, FTP hosIing and
backup, buI Synology also ohers a lully
luncIional surveillance camera suiIe. All you
need Io do is connecI an lP camera Io your
neIwork, and you'll be able Io conIrol iI and
record looIage using your NAS.
Belore ordering IhaI lP camera, hrsI check
IhaI your Synology NAS supporIs aI leasI
version 2.0-S90 ol Ihe DSU operaIing
sysIem, Ihis is a preuy old version, so even
older uniIs should be hne. Also check IhaI
Ihe camera you wanI Io use is compaIible
wiIh Surveillance SIaIion, a lull lisI is aI
hu.//tinyur|.ccm/icomsucrt. Our BesI
Buy-winning Compro lP70 is compaIible and a
greaI choice il you need Io buy a camera, as iI
has impressive image qualiIy and nighI vision,
and lasIs 103 lrom www.scon.cc.uk. However,
we had a couple ol Fdimax lC-7110W cameras
Io hand lor Ihis arIicle, so we used Ihose.
8 |f you're using
multiple cameras,
you'll need to add
new licences
8 Launch Surveillance Station from your NAS's main menu
4 Add new
cameras using the
search buuon
DVNCED PRO}ECTS

ISSUE 314 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ PRIL 2014

complain Ihe cameras haven'I
been auIhenIicaIed yeI, so Iell
Ihe dialog box IhaI yes, you
would like Ihe cameras you |usI
selecIed Io be auIhenIicaIed.
Fnsure your cameras are selecIed in Ihe
nexI dialog Io appear, IiIled FdiI BaIch, and
click NexI. You'll Ihen have Io enIer Ihe
username and password ol Ihe lP cameras
(Ihis is why you should use Ihe same lor each
uniI). lI's also worIh working ouI a naming
rule lor Ihe cameras, such as Fdimax 1,
Fdimax 2 or Omce 1, Omce 2 and so on. Once
all Ihe cameras are auIhenIicaIed, click Finish.
Conhgure your seuings by selecIing Ihe
cameras, clicking Ihe FdiI buuon, and Ihen
FdiI BaIch. You'll Ihen be able Io selecI
baIches ol cameras by manulacIurer and
model name, Ihe nexI screen allows you Io
diherenIiaIe beIween uniIs. Aler IhaI you can
seI Ihe qualiIy seuings ol Ihe recordings, we
used Ihe highesI seuings available as we'd
haIe Io capIure looIage ol an inIerloper only
Io be leI down by luzzy video or Ioo low a
lrame raIe Io capIure a decenI mugshoI.
The nexI screen seIs Ihe recording
parameIers, Ihe upper secIion applies Io
conIinuous recording, allowing you Io seI how
long each video hle capIured by conIinuous
video is, and Ihe overlap beIween recordings
(Ihe pre- and posI-recording Iime chunks).
When you hrsI log inIo Ihe
newly updaIed NAS, check IhaI
any seuings and packages
(whaI DSU calls applicaIions)
previously insIalled on iI are all
up Io daIe and working. On
opening Package CenIre, lor
example, six ol our apps needed Io be updaIed
Io work wiIh Ihe laIesI version ol DSU.
Once all your Synology apps are up Io
daIe, open Ihe SecuriIy secIion ol Ihe Package
CenIre lrom Ihe lel-hand pane ol Ihe
window and click Ihe lnsIall buuon nexI Io
Surveillance SIaIion. Once iI's insIalled,
launch Surveillance SIaIion lrom Ihe SIarI
buuon aI Ihe Iop-lel ol Ihe window - iI
looks like a Iwo-by-Iwo grid ol squares.
ll you're using only one lP camera, you
can |usI click Ihe Add hyperlink, buI we'll
walk you Ihrough how besI Io add mulIiple
cameras. You'll probably need Io add some lP
camera licences hrsI, so open Ihe License
secIion lrom Ihe lisI on Ihe lel. You'll see how
many lree delaulI licences your NAS has, and
you can add more by clicking Ihe Add buuon
near Ihe Iop ol Ihe window. To add more Ihan
your delaulI share ol licences, buy a Synology
Camera License Pack, Ihese range lrom 42
inc VAT lor one exIra licence Io 16S inc VAT
lor lour licences, boIh lrom www.kikotek.ccm.
Once you've marvelled aI a solware
agreemenI IhaI doesn'I span S0-odd pages,
agree Io Ihe Ierms, pasIe or Iype in your
licence codes and click Finish.
CAMERA SETUP
Now you have enough licences, click on lP
Camera aI Ihe Iop ol Ihe lel-hand pane ol
Surveillance SIaIion and click Ihe Add buuon,
Ihen choose eiIher Add Camera or Add BaIch,
we used Add BaIch Io seI up boIh our Fdimax
cameras aI Ihe same Iime. Aler clicking NexI
on Ihe iniIial screen, choose Quick SeIup Io
have Surveillance SIaIion hnd your cameras
(il iI can'I, you'll have Io use CompleIe SeIup
and inpuI some seuings manually.) Tick Ihe
boxes lor each camera you wanI Io add and
Ihen click Finish. Surveillance SIaIion will
8 Save time by adding cameras
in batches and using the same
login details for each unit
8 A fast NAS can handle detection zones, ignoring movement outside the shapes you draw
Ve recommend
updatin your NS
device to run tIe Iatest
version oI DSM to make
sure you Iave aII tIe
Iatest Ieatures
8 Set a weekly schedule for your surveillance cameras
DVNCED PRO}ECTS
PRIL 2014 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 314
NEXT MONTH
DIY SURVEILLANCE
We'll show you how you can use a
Raspberry Pi to monitor garden
wildlife or catch intruders.
We seI our archive Io deleIe hles older Ihan
30 days, and Io have a maximum archive size
ol S0CB, we lel Ihe delaulI seuing Io deleIe
hles should IhaI limiI be reached.
The lasI seIup screen allows you Io specily
wheIher Surveillance SIaIion or Ihe camera
should handle Live View (ie, sIreaming iIs
signal) and moIion deIecIion. ll your NAS is a
basic or older model we suggesI having Ihe
camera do boIh. ll your NAS hardware is
lasIer, have Surveillance SIaIion Iake on Ihe
processing as Ihis enables a lew exIra opIions.
To use Ihese, selecI Ihe cameras and click Ihe
Advanced buuon. You'll see hner sensiIiviIy
conIrol, as well as Ihe abiliIy Io draw
DeIecIion Areas on Io Ihe camera's picIure,
Ihese Iell Ihe camera Io ignore moIion unless
iI's wiIhin Ihe deIecIion area, which you could
draw over a door, lor example, or a window.
ll your camera supporIs panning and
IilIing, you can creaIe a paIrol Io have Ihe
camera look abouI lor inIruders. This can be
a liule hddly buI, Io Iry iI ouI, selecI a single
camera, click Ihe Advanced buuon and Ihen
PaIrol Seuings. You add PreseI posiIions via
Ihe Add buuon and Iie Ihese all IogeIher
under a single PaIrol paIh.
WiIh our Fdimax cameras, we lound we
had Io press Ihe Home buuon in Ihe preview
window belore seuing each posiIion, and il
someIhing wenI wrong while Irying Io seI a
new posiIion (such as Ihe camera |uddering),
IhaI error would appear in Ihe hnal posiIion
every Iime iI played. A lair biI ol paIience is
required. se Ihe Play buuon in Ihe preview
Io waIch Ihe paIrol, applying a higher inIerval
alerwards il you wanI Ihe camera Io remain
in each posiIion lor longer. PaIrol mode is
only lor use wiIh ConIinuous recording mode,
and remember IhaI Ihe whirring camera
moIor mighI give iIs posiIion away, so puI Ihe
camera somewhere ouI ol reach ol inIruders.
THE MANAGEMENT
ln Ihe NoIihcaIion secIion ol Surveillance
SIaIion you can seI up email alerIs lor
evenIs, such as when moIion is deIecIed.
SUS alerIs are powered via ClickaIell
(www.c|ickote||.cc.uk) so you'll need an
accounI. You can add oIher users Io
Surveillance SIaIion via Ihe ser opIion in
Ihe lel-hand pane, and give diherenI users
diherenI privilege levels. You can even imporI
loorplans via Ihe F-map opIion, and
Surveillance SIaIion will group cameras
according Io which F-map Ihey appear on.
ll you're adminisIering a large collecIion
ol cameras, click Advanced on Ihe lel-hand
pane, and Ihen Fnable cenIral managemenI
sysIem (CUS). This can Iurn one NAS inIo Ihe
hosI, able Io govern and collaIe video leeds
lrom disparaIe recording NAS devices, which
each conIrol mulIiple cameras. As Surveillance
SIaIion is web-based, you can also link NAS
devices IogeIher using Ihe web inIerlace, log
inIo a NAS remoIely or conIrol Ihem wiIh Ihe
DS Cam apps lor iOS and Android.
You can also use Ihe Live View laciliIy ol
Surveillance SIaIion Io keep an eye on Ihings,
open iI via Ihe large Iab in Ihe Iop lel ol Ihe
Surveillance SIaIion window. ll your camera
supporIs panning and IilIing, you can move
Ihe view around via Ihe ConIroller in Ihe
Iop-lel, and also zoom in and ouI. The
Timeline Iab leIs you view Ihe leed (live or
recorded) lrom mulIiple cameras, or Ihe view
lrom a single camera aI diherenI Iimes.
8 See what's happening right now with Surveillance Station's Live View
|t's hddly
to use, but
you can set
cameras to
sweep an area
by creating
a patrol
II your camera
supports pannin and
tiItin, you can create
a patroI to Iave tIe
camera Iook about
Ior intruders
VEB EXPERT
l4
ISSUE 314 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ PRIL 2014
Add forums to your
WordPress ste
A orum or your vebsie is a grea vay o build a loyal audierce ard irerac
vil lem. Nk RawInson reveals lov o ge eole allirg vil bbFress
WORDPRESS ISN'T jUST a blogging Iool any
more. You can use iI Io blog, ol course, buI
sIop aI IhaI and you'll only be using hall ol iIs
mosI compelling leaIures. Over Ihe pasI lew
years, AuIomauic - Ihe company IhaI guides
iIs developmenI - has Iranslormed iI inIo a
lully ledged conIenI-managemenI sysIem
IhaI could Iake anyIhing up Io and including
an enIerprise e-commerce websiIe in iIs sIride.
CommenIing and Irackbacks are builI in aI
Ihe core. BoIh are greaI lor encouraging visiIor
inIeracIiviIy, buI you can Iake Ihis lurIher
wiIhouI sIepping ouI ol Ihe AuIomauic corral
by inIegraIing bbPress, iIs allied lorum Iool.
lI's easy Io seI up and adminisIer and,
because iI uses a IemplaIe sysIem - like
WordPress - you can apply Ihe skills you have
learned in honing Ihe look ol your blog Io give
your lorum a personal look and leel. The resulI
is beuer inIegraIion and a smooIher IransiIion
as visiIors pass lrom blog Io lorum and back.
INSTALLING BBPRESS
bbPress is enIering iIs IenIh year, so alIhough
you may noI have heard ol iI, iI's a maIure
and sIable plaIlorm. lndeed, iI's Ihe solware
IhaI powers WordPress's own supporI
lorums, so iI's proved iIsell capable ol
handling high server Iramc many Iimes over.
lI runs on Ihe back ol WordPress 3.6 or
laIer, and uses your siIe's exisIing sIyling
wherever possible. You can eiIher download
iI direcIly lrom hu.//bbress.crg, unzip Ihe
compressed archive and copy iI Io Ihe
/wp-conIenI/plugins lolder on your
WordPress server, or insIall iI direcIly Ihrough
Ihe Dashboard il Ihe permissions on your
server allow (click Plugins, Ihen Add New, and
search Ihe reposiIory lor bbPress).
You don'I need Io do anyIhing else Io
compleIe Ihe insIallaIion. Older versions ol
bbPress were largely sIandalone apps IhaI
required Iheir own daIabases, or aI leasI
IhaI you seI up Iheir own Iables, buI Ihe
modern plug-in version inIegraIes wiIh
WordPress's exisIing UySQL seIup, creaIing
iIs own Iables when you acIivaIe iI Ihrough
Ihe Dashboard's lnsIalled Plugins screen.
SETTING UP YOUR FORUM
So lar, so good, buI il you Iake a look aI your
siIe you'll noIice IhaI even Ihough you've
acIivaIed Ihe bbPress plug-in, Ihere are no
lorums Io be seen. nless you're imporIing
an exisIing lorum lrom an alIernaIive
applicaIion, you'll need Io seI up some
Iopic areas belore you go any lurIher.
The solware leIs you organise Ihese inIo
groups, called caIegories. ll you were creaIing
a lorum Io siI behind www.exertreviews.cc.uk,
lor example, you may wanI parenI caIegories
handling Hardware, Solware, News and so
on, wiIh child lorums inside each one. The
Hardware caIegory would likely include
individual lorums lor IableIs, smarIphones,
compuIers, peripherals and suchlike.
8 bbPress was once a standalone product, but it's now installed as a plug-in
and uses the same database as your regular WordPress content
VEB EXPERT
PRIL 2014 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 314
You can dehne caIegories in whichever
order Ihey come Io you and Ihen go back Io
work on your sIrucIure laIer, buI in general
iI's easiesI Io sIarI wiIh Ihe parenI caIegories
and Ihen add Iheir ohspring in Iurn.
ReIurn Io Ihe WordPress Dashboard,
hover over Forums in Ihe sidebar and click
New Forum on Ihe menu. Cive Ihe new
enIry a name and add a shorI descripIion so
users are clear on whaI should be discussed
Ihere, Ihen dehne Ihe new enIry wiIhin Ihe
Forum AuribuIes panel Io Ihe righI. ll iI's a
parenI conIainer, selecI CaIegory lrom Ihe
Type menu, il iI's a lorum, selecI Forum.
The disIincIion may seen arbiIrary, buI will
become more imporIanI as your board grows
in populariIy. nless your users are going Io
navigaIe your lorum using Ihe search Iool, iI's
viIal Io keep everyIhing neaIly hled away in
secIions, and lor caIegories - Hardware,
Solware and so on - Io be used only as
dividers. You don'I wanI anyone posIing in a
parenI caIegory when Ihey should be using
Ihe more clearly dehned lorums wiIhin Ihem.
Dehning a new enIry as a caIegory
Iherelore locks iI oh, so IhaI nobody can posI
in iI, and IhaI clicking on iIs enIry on your
board simply lisIs Ihe child lorums inside iI.
PRIVACY MATTERS
The mosI popular lorums are olen Ihose IhaI
allow unleuered access Io all secIions wiIhouI
any user verihcaIion. However, Ihis can lead
Io abuse and spamming and, where sensiIive
Iopics are under discussion, can deIer some
posIers lrom conIribuIing Io Ihe discussion.
ln such insIances iI pays Io make a
lorum, or a whole caIegory, privaIe so IhaI
iI's visible only Io logged in users. Again, Ihis
is handled Ihrough Ihe Forum AuribuIes
panel, in Ihe VisibiliIy menu, where you can
also close lorums IhaI have eiIher run Iheir
course, by changing Ihe seuing in Ihe SIaIus
menu, or when Ihey are being inundaIed by
inappropriaIe posIings.
ADDING THE FORUMTOYOUR SITE
You can Iweak Ihe seIup ol your board over
Iime, olen iI's only when iI's up and running
IhaI Ihe mosI appropriaIe divisions will sIarI
Io become clear. ln Ihe example ouIlined here,
lor example, we mighI laIer decide IhaI iI's
necessary Io lurIher sub-divide Ihe IableI and
smarIphone lorums inIo Ihree separaIe
grandchild groups each Io Iake care ol
Android, iOS and Windows respecIively.
AlIernaIively, iI could be IhaI Ihe IableI/
smarIphone disIincIion becomes irrelevanI as
you can now buy devices aI preuy much any
size you wanI beIween 4in and 10in, each
relaIed Io Ihe oIher by virIue ol Iheir core OS
more Ihan wheIher Ihey are able Io make
calls. ln Ihis insIance you mighI choose Io
close oh Ihe IableI and smarIphone lorums Io
new posIs and insIead locus on OS-aligned
lorums IhaI cover devices ol all sizes in one.
Closing Ihe lorums raIher Ihan deleIing
Ihem means Ihey'll be lel in place Io provide
an archive, which will remain visible Io search
engines and Ihus draw Iramc Io your siIe.
On Ihe whole, Ihough, iI's beuer Io
sIrucIure your board belore making iI live
and Ihen only Iweak iI in response Io user
behaviour or requesIs aler carelul
consideraIion aI any laIer poinI.
OPENINGYOUR FORUM
You can preview your board as you work on iI
by appending /lorums Io Ihe end ol your blog
RL, including any Irailing direcIory address
(so, www.experIreviews.co.uk/lorums, lor
example, il your blog was running aI Ihe rooI
ol experIreviews.co.uk, or www.experIreviews.
co.uk/wordpress/lorums il you were hosIing
your blog in a wordpress subdirecIory). nIil
you link Io iI expliciIly, Ihough, your audience
will never know where Io hnd iI.
ll you are moving your lorum lrom one
plaIlorm Io anoIher and imporIing exisIing
posIs Io bbPress, you should Iherelore
idenIily when your Iramc
is aI iIs quieIesI and
designaIe IhaI as your
changeover Iime. Cive your
audience plenIy ol noIice
and Ihen close your old
board Io new posIs belore
perlorming Ihe imporI
operaIion. This will ensure IhaI Ihere are no
lurIher addiIions Io Ihe old daIabase IhaI
won'I be included as parI ol Ihe IransiIion.
WiIh Ihe imporI process compleIe, or il
you're sIarIing lrom scraIch and Iherelore
don'I need Io Iransler any daIa, you need Io
expose Ihe board on your siIe. The simplesI
way Io do Ihis is by adding bbPress widgeIs
Io your siIe sidebars and looIer areas. You'll
hnd Ihese by reIurning Io Ihe WordPress
Dashboard, expanding Ihe Appearance
secIion in Ihe sidebar and selecIing WidgeIs.
8 You can diherentiate between forums, to which your visitors can make posts, and categories,
which are like the dividers in a ring binder, which group together related forums. Nobody can
post content directly within a category
8 Our hrst category and forum are in place. Here we are at the category level and, as you can see,
there are no options for posting any content to the board
IIovin unIettered access to
aII sections vitIout user verication
can Iead to abuse and spammin

The mosI discreeI links are lound in Ihe
widgeIs IhaI simply lisI your various
caIegories, buI Ihese lack dynamism and
won'I change as visiIors conIribuIe Io Ihe
lorums. Over Iime, your audience will see Ihe
links as sIaIic conIenI and sIarI Io ignore
Ihem. You're likely Io creaIe a more
compelling reason lor Ihem Io click Ihrough
Io Ihe discussions by insIead opIing lor
widgeIs IhaI display recenI replies, Iopics or
even - aI a push - sIaIisIics IhaI show how
popular your lorums are as a place lor
inIeracIing wiIh like-minded individuals.
This kind ol IighI inIegraIion is one ol Ihe
primary benehIs ol using bbPress raIher Ihan
a Ihird-parIy lorum Iool, in IhaI iI simply
works. Fach hall ol Ihe plaIlorm knows abouI
NEXT MONTH
A NEW RESOLUTION
Find out how to make sure your site is
ready for visitors with ultra-high
resolution HiDP| displays.
cc.cc.ol [ O8-- --- o2-2
8am-9pm Vkoays, 9am-6pm Saturoays, Cam-5pm Sunoays
Ihe exisIence ol iIs parIner
and Ihey undersIand how Io
connecI wiIh one anoIher.
BBPRESS SETTINGS
You'll noIice IhaI iI's noI
only in Ihe WidgeIs library IhaI WordPress
and bbPress are inIerIwined. bbPress opIions
and leaIures are Ihreaded Ihrough much ol
Ihe WordPress admin screens.
The Dashboard Seuings area has a
dedicaIed Forums pane allowing you Io
decide whaI righIs regisIered users should
have, whaI should be logged, wheIher Iopics
can have Iags assigned Io Ihem and much
more. You can also change Ihe lorum rooI,
lrom Ihe 'lorums' subdirecIory menIioned
above Io someIhing more engaging such as
'Ialk', 'chaI' or 'yourview'.
Uuch ol your mainIenance work will be
conducIed Ihrough Ihe sidebar's Tools
secIion, which leIs you rebuild key parIs ol
Ihe underlying daIabase such as Ihe Iopic and
reply counIs, or Ihe relaIionship beIween
lorum posIs and BuddyPress, AuIomauic's
social-neIworking exIension lor WordPress.
As Ihe Iwo sysIems share Ihe same back
end, iI's hardly surprising IhaI bbPress can
be exIended in much Ihe same way as
WordPress. A good hrsI porI ol call is Ihe
bbPress Admin Bar AddiIion (hu.//tinyur|.
ccm/AdminBorAdditicn), which adds bbPress
links Io Ihe sIandard bar IhaI runs across Ihe
Iop ol your blog when you're logged in.
You can also link your blog posIs Io Ihe
lorum so IhaI anyone who adds a commenI
acIually posIs iI in Ihe lorum raIher Ihan
direcIly on Ihe bouom ol Ihe posI, ehecIively
giving you Ihe chance Io serve Iwice as many
ads as you would il Ihe commenIs were on
Ihe same page as your posI (Ihere are various
opIions lor doing Ihis, buI look aI hu.//
wcrdress.crg/|ugins/bbress-cst-tcics).
Fach plug-in is appropriaIely Iagged, so
searching lor 'bbpress' aI hu.//wcrdress.
crg/|ugins will Iurn up plenIy ol opIions.
Cross taIk: mgratng from other software
Of course, bbPress is far from your only
choice when it comes to running a forum.
Neither is it the longest-standing forum
sohware on the web. There's a good
chance, then, that unless you're seuing up
a forum for the hrst time, you'll already be
using a rival application to handle your
users and their postings.
Fortunately, however, bbPress supports
importers for common alternatives such as
Phorum, NyBB, |oomla, Drupal, among
others. This means you can import
categories, tags, users and posts - even
sticky posts - to replicate your existing
forum within the new sohware. You'll hnd
a full list of supported external platforms
at hup.//codex.bbpress.org/import-[orums.
You can even perform the import from
a separate server, so if you're conducting
the switch as part of a wider infrastructure
refresh you don't hrst have to import
the NySQL contents to your live server
before translating them into something
bbPress understands.
Clearly this is a boon, since users ohen
take umbrage when admins make changes
to a forum in which they've formed online
friendships and to which they've
post-transition, without relying on them
performing any actions themselves.
To import your old forum, click Tools in
the sidebar of the WordPress Dashboard,
select Forums, and then click the |mport
Forums tab at the top of the screen.
contributed a great deal of content. To a
large degree they have every right to do so,
too, since it's their postings that keep a
forum alive and ensure other visitors keep
returning. You owe it to your users,
therefore, to give them a beuer experience
8 The process of switching from a rival platform is made easier by the built-in import tools
that can draw in existing posts, users, tags and categories from an existing board
Sharing a common codebase
and underlying database,
WordPress and bbPress are
easy to integrate. |ndeed,
installing the bbPress plug-in
adds related widgets to the
WordPress Dashboard
MULTIMEDI EXPERT
lS2 PRIL 2014 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 314
Sicl o ravlirg lrougl lorg liss o dreary ors Ben Ptt reveals lov o
give lem a rev lease o lie, ard lov o creae your ovr rom scracl
CHOOSIN6 A FONT lor a pro|ecI can be a
chore. There's eiIher noI enough lonIs insIalled,
or Ioo many, and mosI are inappropriaIe lor
any conceivable pro|ecI. We've losI counI ol
Ihe Iimes we've Irawled Ihrough hundreds ol
lonIs, only Io come back Io plain old Arial.
ll you wanI a |ob done well, someIimes
you've goI Io do iI yoursell. CusIomising or
creaIing a lonI will ensure IhaI Ihe IexI lorms
an inIegral parI ol your design pro|ecI, boIh
in Ierms ol Ihe sIrucIure ol Ihe individual
characIers and Ihe aImosphere Ihey evoke.
There are several ways Io Iackle Ihis, and in
Ihis arIicle we'll show you whaI's possible.
WARPING AND BLENDING
ll you're designing wiIh image-ediIing
solware such as PhoIoshop FlemenIs, Ihere's
a loI you can do Io modily exisIing lonIs. lI's
usually besI Io sIarI wiIh a chunky, plain-
looking lonI, as Ihis gives someIhing
subsIanIial Io play wiIh buI doesn'I imbue
Ioo much ol iIs own characIer.
For a quick hx, click Ihe Layer menu, Type,
Warp TexI Io apply a varieIy ol arc, wave and
hsh eye-Iype ehecIs. These can be lun, buI
Ihey also risk looking a liule crude.
A more creaIive approach is Io use
PhoIoshop FlemenIs' Liquily ediIor (go Io Ihe
FilIer menu, DisIorI, Liquily). lI leIs you push
Ihe pixels around Ihe screen using a varieIy ol
brush Iypes. Warp has a smearing ehecI, buI
wiIh a large Brush Size and a low Brush Pressure
value iI's possible Io make subIle disIorIions
Io Ihe shapes ol characIers. The Twirl, Pucker
and BloaI brushes add lurIher ways Io disIorI
shapes, and while Ihe Shil Pixels and
RelecIion brushes are probably Ioo exIreme
lor IexI, Ihey're worIh experimenIing wiIh.
The Liquily ediIor is more powerlul Ihan
Ihe similar Smudge Iool, as Ihe edges remain
sharp no mauer how much you warp Ihe
image. Liquily also includes a ReconsIrucI
Tool, which pushes pixels back Iowards Iheir
original locaIion - |usI Ihe Ihing when Ihe
overall ehecI is on Ihe righI Irack buI looks
a biI exIreme. This is where Liquily excels,
adding subIle varieIy lor an appearance IhaI's
more organic and less compuIer-generaIed.
One Ihing Io noIe is IhaI - as wiIh all
PhoIoshop FlemenIs' ehecIs - Ihe Liquily Iool
works wiIh pixels raIher Ihan vecIor shapes,
so IexI musI be converIed inIo a biImap
belore Ihe Liquily Iool can be applied. This is
done auIomaIically as Ihe Liquily ediIor is
launched, buI iI means IhaI you can'I ediI Ihe
spelling ol Ihe IexI ob|ecI lrom Ihis poinI on.
Crisp edges aren'I always required, so iI
may be worIh Irying Ihe Smudge Tool, eiIher
in addiIion Io or insIead ol Ihe Liquily ediIor.
This Iool is locaIed in Ihe main Ioolbox, in a
group wiIh Ihe Blur and Sharpen Tools. Type R
Io cycle around Ihe Ihree. Ad|usIing Ihe Size
and SIrengIh values gives precise conIrol over
Ihe exIenI IhaI colours are smeared wiIh each
brush sIroke. Seuing a low SIrengIh value
makes iI possible Io make loIs ol subIle brush
sIrokes, building up Ihe ehecI incremenIally.
A loI can be done wiIh a sIandard round
brush shape, buI iI's also worIh checking ouI
some ol PhoIoshop FlemenIs' more complex
brushes. One ol our lavouriIes is Scauered
Uaple Leaves (hled under DelaulI Brush
Types). As iIs name suggesIs, Ihis sprinkles
leal-shaped shapes in Ihe rough viciniIy ol
Ihe cursor, and is greaI lor adding a complex
IexIure Io IexI. The delaulI Size lor Ihis brush
is likely Io compleIely obliIeraIe Ihe IexI, buI
Customsng and
creatng your own fonts
8 Photoshop Elements' Displace hlter is great for making the text's outline interact with a background image.
Using the text shape as a mask for an Ad|ustment Layer makes the colours interact with the background, too
8 A vector drawing program is the ideal place to draw text from basic building blocks, or to edit the lines and
curves of existing fonts

ISSUE 314 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ PRIL 2014

EDITING CURVES
UosI lonIs are based on vecIor shapes raIher
Ihan biImaps. This makes iI easy Io scale
Ihem up and down wiIhouI Ihem becoming
pixelaIed. PhoIoshop FlemenIs and oIher
image ediIors have loIs Io oher when iI comes
Io changing Ihe appearance ol IexI, buI in
mosI cases Ihe IexI musI be converIed lrom
vecIor Io biImap lormaI hrsI.
ll you wanI Io ediI Ihe shapes ol IexI
characIers direcIly, iI's besI Io use a vecIor
graphics ediIor such as Adobe lllusIraIor,
CorelDraw or Xara PhoIo & Craphic Designer.
Xara is Ihe mosI ahordable ol Ihe Ihree, and
also Ihe easiesI Io learn, so il you don'I
already own suiIable solware, we recommend
giving Ihe Irial version a go. This approach is
ideal lor logos, where you have only a lew
characIers Io work on and you wanI Io Iake
your Iime over each one.
You could design each characIer lrom
scraIch, sIarIing eiIher lrom lreehand
drawings or wiIh Ihe recIangle and ellipse
Iools. FiIher way, a key benehI ol vecIor
drawing solware is Ihe abiliIy Io ad|usI
shapes using Bzier curve handles. This
means you can creaIe smooIh parabolas,
sIraighI lines or complex shapes, and make
precise ad|usImenIs unIil Ihe design is righI.
The basic Iechnique in Xara is similar Io
mosI oIher vecIor graphics ediIors. CreaIe a
recIangle or ellipse, and Ihen click Ihe Arrange
menu, ConverI Io FdiIable Shapes. SelecI Ihe
Shape Iool and Ihe Bzier curve handles will
appear, ready lor ediIing. OIher uselul
commands are locaIed in Ihe Arrange menu,
Combine shapes. These opIions merge shapes
IogeIher in various ways. Add Shapes is Ihe
mosI obvious, buI Ihe SubIracI Shapes
command is uselul lor cuuing holes in shapes,
such as lor Ihe cenIre ol an 'O' characIer.
FdiIing exisIing lonIs works in Ihe same
way. Type some IexI and selecI a lonI IhaI's
close Io whaI you're aler, or one IhaI's lairly
plain-looking, ready lor you Io cusIomise wiIh
your own design ideas. se Ihe ConverI Io
FdiIable Shapes command and geI sIuck in.
There are loIs ol oIher Iricks available in
vecIor-drawing solware, lrom bevels and 3D
FxIrusions Io warp ehecIs. We'll have Io leave
you Io explore Ihem in your own Iime.
BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD
To cusIomise or creaIe a lonI IhaI can be
used again and again, you'll need Io save iI
in a sIandard lonI lormaI. The easiesI way Io
do Ihis is via Ihe lree online service aI www.
myscrit[cnt.ccm, which Iurns handwriIing inIo
a TrueType lonI. Download and prinI ouI Ihe
PDF IemplaIe and hll in Ihe boxes wiIh your
characIers, being carelul noI Io go beyond
Ihe lighI grey boxes. Scan iI and upload Ihe
resulIing |PFC Io www.myscrit[cnt.ccm. A lew
seconds laIer, you'll be issued wiIh a TrueType
.ul hle Io download. Double-click Io preview
Upload your
handwriting
to www.
myscript[ont.
com and it'll
send you back a
TrueType font,
ready to install
8 The |mpact font has been bundled with Windows for many years, but aher adding spaces between each
leuer, sending it through the Liquify editor to warp it, smearing it with the Smudge Tool and using the Smudge
Tool again with the Scauered Naple Leaves brush selected, it's hopefully a lot more interesting
selecIing a smaller size will allow you Io
rupIure and scauer Ihe edges inIo inIeresIing
shapes. Because iI's a brush raIher Ihan a
hlIer, iI's possible Io make Ihe ehecI inIeracI
sympaIheIically wiIh Ihe IexI.
AnoIher approach is Io make Ihe IexI
inIeracI wiIh a background image. There are
loIs ol ways Io achieve Ihis, buI one ol our
lavouriIes is wiIh Ihe Displace hlIer, which you'll
hnd in Ihe FilIer menu and DisIorI submenu.
This hlIer uses Ihe varying brighIness in a
biImap image Io displace Ihe pixels in Ihe
selecIed layer. Darker parIs ol Ihe background
image resulI in a bigger shil in Ihe posiIion ol
pixels. SIrangely, Ihe solware won'I leI you
use an exisIing layer in Ihe open documenI
as Ihe displacemenI map, insIead, you musI
poinI iI Io a PSD hle on Ihe hard disk.
However, iI isn'I Ioo much ol a chore Io save
Ihe hle you're working on in PSD lormaI wiIh
only Ihe background image visible, and Ihen
use Ihis lor Ihe displacemenI map.
The resulI is IhaI Ihe IexI ripples and
cracks according Io Ihe shapes and IexIures
presenI in Ihe underlying image. This can be
somewhaI hiI and miss, depending on Ihe
background image. lI works parIicularly
well lor IexIured surlaces such as walls,
giving Ihe impression IhaI Ihe IexI is painIed
direcIly on Io Ihe wall.
A solid colour lor Ihe IexI spoils Ihe
illusion, buI reducing Ihe OpaciIy ol Ihe IexI
layer or experimenIing wiIh blend modes can
give more convincing resulIs. An even beuer
Iechnique is Io use Ihe shape ol Ihe IexI as a
mask, and apply a colour correcIion hlIer Io
|usI IhaI area. ThaI way, Ihere's sIill plenIy ol
dehniIion Io Ihe IexIure inside Ihe IexI. To
do Ihis, hold down Ihe CIrl key and click Ihe
Ihumbnail ol Ihe IexI layer in Ihe Layers
panel. This creaIes a selecIion IhaI lollows Ihe
conIours ol Ihe IexI. Click Ihe Ad|usImenI
Layer buuon (a blue and whiIe circle icon aI
Ihe Iop ol Ihe Layers panel) and choose a
hlIer - Levels works well. An Ad|usImenI
Layer will be creaIed, wiIh a mask based on
Ihe currenI selecIion.
All IhaI remains is Io ad|usI Ihe seuings
ol Ihe Levels hlIer so IhaI Ihe IexI sIands ouI
lrom Ihe background.
MULTIMEDI EXPERT
Creatin sometIin yourseII ensures tIe text Iorms
an interaI part oI your desin, botI in tIe structure
oI cIaracters and tIe atmospIere tIey evoke
PRIL 2014 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 314
NEXT MONTH
CREATE SLOW-MOTIONVIDEOS
Use time as a exible parameter in your
video productions. We explore the
hardware, sohware and techniques to
make it happen.
iI, and hiI Ihe lnsIall buuon Io make iI
available in any solware on your PC. The scan
ol your handwriIing sIarIs oh as biImaps, buI
Ihese are converIed Io vecIor shapes, so Ihe
lonI will scale up and down wiIhouI problems.
We recommend a couple ol exIra sIeps Io
geI Ihe mosI ouI ol myscripIlonI.com. Aler
scanning, iI's worIh Iidying up any characIers
you're noI happy wiIh by using image-ediIing
solware. Some ol our characIers came ouI
looking sIrange, so we had anoIher sIab aI
Ihem in Ihe margin, and Ihen used PhoIoshop
FlemenIs Io deleIe Ihe hrsI auempI and move
Ihe second one inIo posiIion.
We also lound iI uselul Io make some
alIeraIions Io Ihe TrueType lonI hle using a
lreeware ediIor called Type LighI 3.2, available
lrom www.cr8scwore.net. The TrueType lonIs
generaIed by www.myscrit[cnt.ccm don'I
include a quoIaIion mark symbol. Uore
accuraIely, Ihey do, buI a lonI has Ihe
capaciIy lor Ihree such symbols. open
quoIaIion, close quoIaIion and a non-
specihc quoIaIion mark.
Opening a TrueType lonI hle generaIed
by www.myscrit[cnt.ccm in Type LighI 3.2
reveals IhaI CharacIer 147 is hlled, buI 148
and 34 are noI. To hx Ihis, double-click
CharacIer 147 Io selecI iI, and Ihen click Ihe
FdiI menu, Copy glyph (glyph is Ihe Iechnical
Ierm lor a lonI characIer). Double-click
CharacIer 148 and click Yes when iI asks il you
wanI Io creaIe a new glyph lor Ihis characIer.
VisiI Ihe FdiI menu again and selecI PasIe.
This should be a close quoIaIion glyph, so iI
makes sense Io roIaIe Ihe design by 180. To
do so, drag across Ihe glyph Io selecI all iIs
poinIs, click Ihe ConIour menu and selecI
HorizonIal lip, and repeaI, selecIing VerIical
lip. You'll probably need Io drag Ihe poinIs
back inIo place so Ihey siI beIween Ihe
magenIa and green lines. Do Ihe same lor
CharacIer 34 and you'll have Ihe lull seI
ol quoIaIion marks covered.
Those magenIa and green lines can be
uselul, Ioo, as Ihey dicIaIe how much space
each characIer is given when Ihey're sIrung
IogeIher Io lorm words. WiIh Ihe excepIion
ol a lew so-called monospace lonIs such as
Courier, lonIs give more widIh Io wider
characIers such as 'w' Ihan Ihey do Io
narrow ones such as 'i'. This is known as
kerning. The conversion engine aI www.
myscrit[cnt.ccm does a good |ob ol handling
Ihis auIomaIically, buI we lound IhaI a lew
needed slighI ad|usImenI Io avoid characIers
overlapping. This is done simply by
dragging Ihe handles aI Ihe Iop ol Ihe
magenIa and green lines.
lI's hard Io Iell whaI needs changing
belore you sIarI using Ihe lonI, buI we didn'I
have any problem ediIing lonIs aler insIalling
Ihem. Double-clicking Ihe .ul hle and hiuing
lnsIall a second Iime overwroIe Ihe original
insIallaIion raIher Ihan creaIing duplicaIes.
ll you wanI Io geI seriously sIuck inIo
lonI design, High-Logic FonICreaIor (www.
high-|cgic.ccm) is Ihe besI solware we've
lound. There are Ihree versions priced aI S79,
S149 and S199. All Ihree can imporI graphics
in vecIor or biImap lormaI, wiIh precise
conIrol over Ihe conversion ol biImaps inIo
vecIors. There's a sIrong collecIion ol design
Iools, buI we'd be more IempIed Io use a
dedicaIed vecIor-drawing package Io design
Ihe characIers. These can be saved in Adobe
lllusIraIor lormaI (wiIh an .ai exIension)
and imporIed one by one inIo FonICreaIor.
Fqually, you could apply some radical
alIeraIions Io an exisIing lonI in PhoIoshop
FlemenIs, and use FonICreaIor Io Iurn Ihe
biImaps back inIo a TrueType lonI, ready lor
use in any Windows applicaIion.
CREATIVE LICENCE
We've only really Iouched on Ihe mechanics
ol cusIomising and creaIing lonIs, and haven'I
begun Io geI inIo Ihe arIisIry. ThaI's where
Ihe lun is Io be had. lI's exIremely rewarding
Io have a lonI IhaI's unique and designed lor
a specihc purpose. WheIher you spend hve
minuIes wiIh www.myscrit[cnt.ccm or a lew
weeks wiIh Xara and High-Logic FonICreaIor,
we're sure Ihe resulIs will be worIhwhile.
8 For a full editing experience, including the ability to import vector and bitmap graphics, try
High-Logic FontCreator
8 Type Light 3.2 from Cre8 Sohware Solutions is a handy freeware editor that's perfect for tidying up fonts
MULTIMEDI EXPERT
BUSINESS EXPERT
lSS
ISSUE 314 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ PRIL 2014
Confgurng a free server
operatng system
To ge le mos ou o your Uburu server, you'll reed o se u eaures sucl
as le slarirg. lr le secord ar o our guide, 5mon Handby slovs you lov
libpam-smbpass' belore you can compleIe Ihe
oIher sIeps in Ihis IuIorial.
There are several ways Io conhgure
Samba depending on your requiremenIs. The
simplesI arrangemenI is Io simply share one
or more lolders on Ihe server Io all users on
Ihe neIwork. This is quick Io seI up buI
ohers no securiIy, so iI's usually besI Io also
conhgure users and permissions lor access Io
one or more shared direcIories. To begin wiIh
a simple share, sIarI Ihe bunIu deskIop wiIh
'sIarIx'. From Ihe Dash home, search lor and
sIarI Terminal, Ihen Iype 'sudo gediI /eIc/
samba/smb.conl' Io ediI Ihe conhg hle. Scroll
down Io Ihe Clobal heading or use CIrl-F Io
search lor iI. nder Ihe heading, change Ihe
value ol workgroup Io maIch Ihe name ol
your neIwork's workgroup, Ihen scroll Io or
search lor Ihe AuIhenIicaIion heading, and
hnd securiIy = user underneaIh iI. This line
begins wiIh a '#' characIer, which has Ihe
ehecI ol commenIing iI ouI so IhaI iI's
ignored by Ihe server. DeleIe Ihe '#' so
iI's no longer commenIed.
NexI, scroll or search lor Ihe Share
DehniIions heading, almosI aI Ihe end
ol Ihe hle. lmmediaIely under Ihe heading,
add Ihe lollowing lines.
opIion Io speed up inIerneI access, and how
Io conhgure remoIe access Io Ihe server.
SAMBA NECTAR
Linux insIallaIions don'I share neIwork
resources in Ihe same way as Windows PCs,
which uses Ihe Server Uessage Block (SUB)
ProIocol. You add Ihe leaIure Io Linux by
insIalling Ihe Samba package, buI il you've
lollowed our insIrucIions Ihis lar, iI should be
insIalled and up Io daIe. You can conhrm IhaI
Samba is working by browsing your neIwork
lrom a Windows PC. you should see your new
server, alIhough il you double-click iI you
won'I see any shared resources yeI. ll you
don'I see iI, open Windows Fxplorer, Iype
'\\servername' (where servername is Ihe
name ol your server) inIo Ihe address bar and
hiI FnIer. ll you sIill don'I see iI, reIurn Io Ihe
server and Iype 'sudo apI-geI insIall samba'
(wiIhouI Ihe quoIes) lrom Ihe command line
Io insIall Samba. ll Ihis proves necessary,
you'll also need Io Iype 'sudo apI-geI insIall
LAST MONTH, WE showed you how Io
insIall an bunIu Server as an alIernaIive Io
one running a Uicrosol operaIing sysIem. ll
you lollowed Ihe arIicle, you should now have
a server wiIh a graphical user inIerlace (Cl)
IhaI you can swiIch on and oh as needed, and
a knowledge ol how Io shuI down, resIarI or
updaIe Ihe server lrom Ihe command shell. ll
you haven'I used iI lor a couple ol weeks, iI's
noI a bad idea Io check lor and insIall any
recenI updaIes. se 'sudo apI-geI updaIe' and
'sudo apI-geI disI-upgrade' as we did lasI
monIh, Ihen resIarI lor good measure using
Ihe rebooI command.
WiIhouI conhguring addiIional solware,
all you have aI presenI is a nice new Linux
compuIer, iI's noI yeI providing any services
Io Ihe neIwork. This monIh, we'll look in deIail
aI conhguring and using Samba Io share hles
across Ihe neIwork Io Windows PCs, and aI
conhguring a domain name sysIem (DNS)
server Io handle inIerneI address resoluIion
lor your neIwork. We'll also explore anoIher
Remote controI: remote
server admnstraton
|t's not always convenient to administer a
server in person, but you can do it remotely
if you install secure shell (SSH). From a
Terminal window, type 'sudo apt-get
install openssh-server' and wait for the
installation to hnish. This should be all
that's necessary to enable your SSH server,
but if you're interested in changing any
seuings you can learn more at hup.//tinyur|.
com/CongureUbuntu55H.
With the SSH server up and running,
you'll need sohware to connect to it from
a Windows PC. Visit hup.//tinyur|.com/
Down|oodPuuy and download the Windows
version of the PuTTY executable. Save this
hle somewhere convenient, then run it
when you want to connect to the server.
Enter the host name of your server in the
relevant box, click Open to start a session
and click Yes at the initial host key security
alert, you'll only see this once. Type your
user name at the 'Login as:' prompt and
provide your password when asked: you
will then be logged into a command session
on the server, but note that the graphical
Ubuntu desktop isn't available.
8 |n PuTTY, simply enter your server's name, click
Open, then log in to the command session exactly
as you usually would
8 Edit smb.conf to create Windows-compatible
network shares. The top share is available to anyone
with an account on the server, the lower share is
restricted to the managers user group
BUSINESS EXPERT
PRIL 2014 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 314
jslae
connenl ~ slaed 1o!de
pall ~ 1sv1sanba1slae
bowsab!e ~ yes
uesl ok ~ yes
ead on!y ~ no
ceale nask ~ 0755
This will share Ihe lolder /srv/samba/share Io
all users on Ihe neIwork, all ol whom will be
able Io wriIe Io iI. ll you wanI, you can Iweak
your share's name by changing Ihe value in
Ihe brackeIed heading, alIer Ihe descripIion
by changing Ihe words aler Ihe equals sign
on Ihe commenI line, and Ihe paIh by
changing IhaI line. Close CediI and save Ihe
changes when prompIed. You now need Io
creaIe Ihe share direcIory. From Ihe Terminal
window, creaIe Ihe direcIory you're going Io
share by Iyping 'sudo mkdir -p /srv/samba/
share', seI iIs ownership wiIh 'sudo chown
nobody.nogroup /srv/samba/share/', Ihen
change iIs permissions wiIh 'sudo chmod
0777 /srv/samba/share'. Finally, resIarI Ihe
Samba services wiIh 'sudo resIarI smbd'
lollowed by 'sudo resIarI nmbd'. From a
Windows PC, you should now be able Io
browse and wriIe Io Ihe new share.
UNWELCOME GUESTS
As discussed, Ihis isn'I especially secure, buI a
quick way Io make iI more so is Io remove
guesI access. open Ihe smb.conl hle as above,
scroll down Io Ihe Share DehniIions heading,
change Ihe 'guesI ok' value Io 'no', add a new
line 'public = yes', Ihen save Ihe change and
resIarI Ihe Iwo Samba services as belore. sers
will now need Io provide user credenIials
belore Ihey can access Ihe share. Only user
accounIs creaIed on Ihe bunIu server will
work, and we've only creaIed one so lar.
You can add exIra accounIs lrom Ihe
command line wiIh 'sudo adduser username',
providing Ihe oIher inlormaIion as prompIed.
Once Ihe user has been creaIed, you need Io
add Ihem Io Ihe hle server users. To do Ihis,
as you creaIe each user in Ihe command-line
Ierminal, Iype 'sudo smbpasswd -a' lollowed
by Ihe new username. FnIer Ihe user's
password Iwice and you should see Ihe
message 'Added user SFRNAUF'.
So lar, we've looked aI allowing lull access
Io everyone, or resIricIing iI only Io users wiIh
an accounI on Ihe Linux server. ln pracIice,
however, iI's olen necessary Io cusIomise
permissions Io lurIher conIrol access Io a
lolder. You mighI need a share lolder IhaI
everyone can read and wriIe Io, and an
adminisIraIion lolder IhaI only you and oIher
senior sIah can see. The mosI manageable
approach is Io creaIe groups ol users and give
Ihese Ihe relevanI permissions lor each share.
We'll creaIe a share called managemenI
on Ihe server, creaIe and hll a managers user
group, and give Ihis access Io Ihe new share.
FirsI creaIe Ihe share by
ediIing Samba's smb.conl hle
as belore and inserIing Ihis
share dehniIion below Ihe
one you creaIed earlier.
jnanaenenl
connenl ~ Lonpany
nanaenenl 1o!de
pall ~ 1sv1sanba1
nanaenenl
bowsab!e ~ yes
uesl ok ~ no
ead on!y ~ no
ceale nask ~ 0755
w1leab!e ~ yes
va!1d uses ~ Gnanaes
Close and save Ihe hle, Ihen
creaIe Ihe managers user
group wiIh Ihe command 'sudo addgroup
managers' - lor relerence, you can deleIe a
group wiIh 'sudo delgroup CROPNAUF'.
WiIh Ihe group creaIed, add users wiIh 'sudo
adduser SFRNAUF managers'. CreaIe Ihe
managemenI lolder and ediI iIs ownership
lrom Ihe Terminal prompI as you previously
did lor Ihe share lolder, buI remember Io use
Ihe paIh /srv/samba/managemenI Ihis Iime.
When seuing Ihe permissions, use 'sudo
chmod 0770 /srv/samba/managemenI' (noI
0777 as belore). Finally, resIarI Ihe Samba
services, you should now hnd IhaI members
ol Ihe managers group can access Ihe
managemenI share, buI IhaI oIher users can'I.
WHAT'S MY NAMEZ
Your bunIu server can speed up inIerneI
access and reduce bandwidIh use in a couple
ol ways. The hrsI ol Ihese is Io conhgure iI as
a caching DNS nameserver, which looks up
inIerneI addresses on behall ol Ihe oIher
devices on your neIwork, remembering Ihe
resulIs in order Io speed up subsequenI
queries. This is simple Io conhgure. log in, sIarI
Ihe bunIu deskIop, sIarI a Terminal session
and Iype 'sudo gediI /eIc/bind/named.conl.
opIions'. Look lor Ihe commenIed 'lorwarders
(0.0.0.0)' block, replace Ihe zeros wiIh Ihe lP
address ol your lSP's primary DNS server
and add a new lP address lor Ihe secondary
DNS server il available. You can hnd Ihese
addresses in Ihe welcome leuer provided
by your lSP, or in your exisIing rouIer
conhguraIion (see below). The block should
look like Ihis (Ihe Xs represenI lP addresses).
!owades |
777.777.777.777,
777.777.777.777,
},
Close and save Ihe hle Ihen Iype 'ilconhg'
lrom Ihe Ierminal session and make a noIe
boIh ol Ihe lP address lisIed aler ineI addr,
and Ihe number aler HWaddr. FnIer your
rouIer's web-based adminisIraIion inIerlace,
Ihen navigaIe Io Ihe DHCP secIion. Uake a
noIe ol Ihe exisIing DNS server addresses,
Ihen change Ihe hrsI one Io be Ihe lP address
you noIed lrom your server, deleIe Ihe second
one il presenI and apply Ihe change. 8 Use 'sudo adduser' to create a new Linux user account
Create a user
group with
'sudo addgroup
CROUPNANE'.
Add users with
'sudo adduser
USERNANE
CROUPNANE'
VitIout conurin additionaI soItvare, aII you
Iave at present is a nice nev Linux computer; it's not
yet providin any services to tIe netvork
BUSINESS EXPERT

ISSUE 314 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ PRIL 2014

Belore you resIarI Ihe rouIer, iI's wise Io
add a reservaIion lor Ihe server's lP address
so iI never changes. Look wiIhin Ihe DHCP
menu lor 'address reservaIion', 'sIaIic lP' or
similar - Ihe HWaddr number you noIed
earlier is your server's UAC address, should
you need iI. Save all changes, and aler you
resIarI Ihe rouIer and any devices on Ihe
neIwork, Ihey should now be using your local
server lor DNS queries. Check Ihey can resolve
names by visiIing a couple ol websiIes. Once
you're sure Ihis is working, reIurn Io Ihe
rouIer's DHCP conhguraIion and add your
lSP's primary DNS server inIo Ihe secondary
DNS server held and save Ihe changes. your
devices will now lall back Io your lSP lor name
resoluIion il Ihere's a problem wiIh your server.
SQUIDS IN
While your devices will now be resolving
addresses such as www.dennis.cc.uk via your
server, Ihey'll sIill be downloading conIenI
direcIly lrom Ihe siIe iIsell - il many people
visiI Ihe same siIe, Ihe same inlormaIion will
be downloaded mulIiple Iimes. You can
prevenI Ihis by conhguring your server Io acI
as a caching web proxy, daIa requesIed by
one user is sIored locally and served Io oIher
users when Ihey requesI iI, increasing speed
and preserving inIerneI bandwidIh. To geI
sIarIed, Iype 'sudo apI-geI insIall squid'.
Once Squid is insIalled, make a backup ol
Ihe original conhguraIion wiIh 'sudo cp /eIc/
squid3/squid.conl /eIc/squid3/squid.conl.
original' and make iI read only wiIh 'sudo
chmod a-w /eIc/squid3/squid.conl.original',
Ihen open Ihe conhguraIion hle wiIh 'sudo
gediI /eIc/squid3/squid.conl'. This is a big hle,
so use CIrl-F Io search lor hup_porI and
scroll Ihrough Ihe resulIs unIil you hnd Ihe
commenIed block IhaI sIarIs wiIh Ihe line
'TAC. hup_porI'. On Ihe line below Ihis,
change 'hup_porI 3128' Io 'hup_porI 8080'.
Search lor 'localneI' and scroll Ihrough Ihe
resulIs unIil you hnd Ihe commenIed lines
reading 'acl localneI src XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX/X'
(where each has a diherenI lP address).
ncommenI one ol Ihese by deleIing Ihe #,
and ediI iI Io maIch your local neIwork, lor
example, 'acl localneI src 192.168.0.0/24' would
specily Ihe range 192.168.0.0 Io 192.168.0.2S4.
Finally, search lor '# lNSFRT' and you should
hnd Ihe commenIed line 'lNSFRT YOR OWN
RLF(S) HFRF TO ALLOW ACCFSS FROU
YOR CLlFNTS'. nder Ihis, hnd Ihe
commenIed line 'hup_access allow localneI'
and uncommenI iI, Ihen close Ihe hle and
save your changes when prompIed. AI Ihe
Terminal prompI, Iype 'sudo service squid3
resIarI' and hiI FnIer Io resIarI Ihe proxy.
You should now have an operaIional proxy,
buI you sIill need Io conhgure Ihe devices on
your neIwork Io use iI. On a Windows 7 or 8.1
compuIer, Ihe easiesI way is Io open Ihe SIarI
menu or SIarI screen and Iype inIerneI, Ihen
choose lnIerneI OpIions in Ihe lisI ol resulIs,
on Windows 8, apply Ihe Seuings hlIer hrsI.
ln Windows VisIa or XP, open ConIrol Panel,
click NeIwork and lnIerneI ConnecIions and
click lnIerneI OpIions. ln all versions, click Ihe
ConnecIions Iab, click Ihe LAN seuings buuon,
unIick Ihe 'AuIomaIically deIecI seuings' box,
Iick Ihe box under Proxy server, provide Ihe lP
address ol Ihe server, enIer 8080 in Ihe PorI box,
Iick Bypass proxy server lor local addresses
and click OK. You should now hnd IhaI Ihe
compuIer accesses Ihe inIerneI via Ihe proxy.
You now have a hle server, also acIing as a
DNS nameserver and proxy server on your
neIwork. Leave your server swiIched on, close
Ihe bunIu deskIop and log ouI when you
hnish making any changes, and creaIe and
mainIain regular and lull backups (see Ihe
box below). lI's besI pracIice Io connecI your
server Io an uninIerrupIable power supply
(PS) and conhgure iI so IhaI, in case ol
power lailure, Ihe sysIem can shuI iIsell down,
raIher Ihan risking corrupIion and daIa loss.
8 Enter your |SP's DNS server
addresses and un-comment the lines
in the named.conf.options hle to
create a caching DNS nameserver
8 For security, Squid blocks all clients by default. Here we're dehning
the |P range for the local network
8 Nobile devices can use a proxy
too, in Android, dehne it when you
hrst |oin to the wireless network
4 Once you've
tested your DNS
server works,
reconhgure your
PCs to use your
|SP's primary server
as a fallback. Don't
forget to reserve an
|P address for
your server
More information

Ubuntu Windows networking guide

hhp.//l|nyur|.com/UounluW|ndowsNelwork|ng

Ubuntu user management guide

hhp.//l|nyur|.com/UounluUserlenegemenl

Ubuntu BIND9 (DN5) guide

hhp.//l|nyur|.com/UounluBlND9

Insta|| and conhgure Dup|icity for backups

hhp.//l|nyur|.com/Dup||c|lyBeckup
LINUX EXPERT
lS8 PRIL 2014 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 314
5et up a prnt server
on your router
Your OerVRT rouer les you slare a rirer over your revorl.
Luclily, as NgeI WhtheId exlairs, seirg i u is simle
THIS MONTH, WE'RE going Io
look aI seuing up anoIher uselul
service on your OpenWRT-powered
rouIer. neIwork prinIing. UosI
people have only one prinIer, buI
mosI ol us also have mulIiple
compuIers, IableIs and phones.
By sharing a prinIer on your
neIwork, you can prinI lrom any
device aI any Iime, Iurning your
prinIer inIo a cenIral resource.
Uany rouIers oher some
neIwork prinIing luncIions sIraighI
ouI ol Ihe box, buI in replacing Ihe
hrmware wiIh someIhing like
OpenWRT you'll very likely lose
Ihose, and will insIead need Io
insIall a replacemenI.
ForIunaIely, as long as Ihere's a
spare SB porI on Ihe back ol Ihe rouIer, iI's
preuy simple Io seI Ihings up so IhaI you can
prinI lrom your PC or Uac Io any SB prinIer
IhaI's plugged inIo Ihe rouIer.
Our rouIer, TP-Link's TL-WDR3600, has
Iwo SB porIs, so you can
connecI sIorage and a prinIer
aI Ihe same Iime. This is
uselul, as Ihe exIra sIorage
space you gain by plugging in
a SB drive can be used Io
receive prinI |obs. ll you're
using a smaller device wiIh only
one SB porI, don'I panic, as
we'll show you how Io geI
prinIing working wiIhouI
requiring a loI ol sIorage.
The reason more sIorage can
be uselul comes down Io Ihe way
Ihings are prinIed. One ol Ihe
problems wiIh prinIing is IhaI Ihe
acIual amounI ol daIa IhaI has Io
be senI Io a prinIer is preuy large,
especially lor Ihings such as
phoIos or complicaIed page
layouIs. ll you share a
prinIer lrom one PC Io
anoIher, IhaI's noI usually
a problem, as Ihe PC wiIh
Ihe prinIer connecIed
can accepI all Ihe daIa
and spool iI Io disk.
WiIh a small device
such as a rouIer,
sIorage is limiIed, so
IhaI's noI really an opIion, unless you've
added exIra space by using a SB sIick, as
we did in our rouIer seIup. ln IhaI case, you
could go ahead and insIall CPS, Ihe more or
less sIandard Linux prinIing sysIem. There's a
package available lor OpenWRT, so il you
wanI Io go down IhaI rouIe, and you have
plenIy ol space available, give iI a go.
This Iime, however, we're going Io keep
space in mind and look insIead aI seuing up a
non-spooling prinIer server. ln essence, all iI
does is pass daIa received over Ihe neIwork
sIraighI ouI Io Ihe prinIer porI. ThaI means
IhaI il you can squeeze everyIhing inIo your
rouIer's builI-in memory, iI will be uselul
even on devices IhaI have only one SB
porI. lI means IhaI even on devices IhaI have
more Ihan one SB porI, you can simply
share Ihe exIra sIorage you connecI, raIher
Ihan saving some lor Ihe prinI server.

The prinI server we're going Io seI
up is called p910nd, you can insIall
iI manually, or Ihe simple way, using
Ihe Luci conhguraIion inIerlace,
which is whaI we'd recommend.
There's one prerequisiIe. Ihe
SB prinIer driver lor OpenWRT.
The name ol iIs package is
kmod-usb-prinIer. ConnecI Io Ihe
rouIer's web inIerlace in your
browser, sign in and click Ihe
SysIem Iab, Ihen Solware. Click
Ihe buuon Io updaIe Ihe lisI ol
packages, Ihen search lor kmod-
usb-prinIer and insIall iI in Ihe usual way.
AlIernaIively, lrom Ihe command line,
you can Iype Ihe commands 'opkg updaIe'
and 'opkg insIall kmod-usb-prinIer'.
Fven il you're noI using Ihe command line
Io insIall Ihe solware, now's
probably a good Iime Io
connecI and check IhaI Ihe
rouIer can see your prinIer.
Plug Ihe prinIer inIo a SB porI
on Ihe rouIer, make sure iI's
swiIched on, and Iype Ihe
command lsusb Io see which
devices are shown. Hopelully
you'll see Ihe prinIer lisIed, in our
case, iI's a Canon Pixma lP4000.
You also need Io hnd ouI which
device name has been allocaIed Io
Ihe prinIer, Ihis may vary beIween
versions ol OpenWRT. PrinIers will
have a device name IhaI ends in lp0
lor Ihe hrsI prinIer and lp1 lor Ihe
second, so Ihe command ls /dev/lp'
will leI you see il Ihe prinIer
is /dev/lp0 or /dev/lp1.
ll Ihere's noIhing lound,
Ihen iI may well have been
creaIed as /dev/usb/lp0.
lI Iurns ouI IhaI's
where iI was on our
TP-Link rouIer wiIh
OpenWRT 12.09.
You can search here
Io check by Iyping
ls /dev/usb/lp'.
Use the lsusb command to verify
that the router can see the
printer plugged in to it
4 Seuing up your router to share a printer over the
network lets you print from any device at any time
LINUX EXPERT

ISSUE 314 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ PRIL 2014

Back Io Ihe Luci lronI end. The simplesI
way Io geI going is Io search lor and insIall
luci-app-p910nd, which will auIomaIically
download Ihe p910nd package as well. ll you
don'I wanI Io do Ihe conhguraIion using Luci,
you'll hnd deIails on Ihe OpenWRT wiki aI
hu.//tinyur|.ccm/cenwrtwiki. Once iI's
insIalled, |usI like AsIerisk, you'll hnd an
exIra iIem on Ihe Services Iab ol Ihe web
inIerlace, labelled 'p910nd - PrinIer server'.
WhaI you'll now see is all preuy
sIraighIlorward Io work ouI. FirsI, Iick Ihe
Fnable box, Ihen, in Ihe Device secIion, enIer
Ihe correcI paIh lor Ihe SB prinIer, in our
case, /dev/usb/lp0 raIher Ihan Ihe delaulI.
The lnIerlace opIion allows you Io selecI
wheIher Ihe prinIer is available lrom Ihe
local neIwork (or 'lan'), Ihe inIerneI, or boIh
('unspecihed'). We sIrongly recommend IhaI
you click 'lan'. Finally, Iick 'bidirecIional mode'
Io allow Ihe prinIer Io reporI inlormaIion
back. Depending on Ihe drivers you use, Ihis
should allow proper error and sIaIus reporIs,
such as ink levels. Click Save and Apply.
CONNECTING TO THE PRINTER
You now have Io seI up your oIher
compuIers Io prinI via OpenWRT, lrankly,
Ihis is more involved Ihan seuing up Ihe
prinI server. NoIe IhaI on Windows, Ihings
will be a loI more painless il you have
previously connecIed Ihe prinIer Io Ihe PCs,
which is Ihe besI way ol making sure Ihe
necessary drivers are insIalled. ll Ihe prinIer
won'I insIall auIomaIically, download Ihe
laIesI prinIer drivers lrom Ihe manulacIurer
and lollow Ihe insIallaIion rouIine, physically
connecIing Ihe prinIer when prompIed.
LeI's sIarI wiIh Uac OS X clienIs, which
are preuy simple. All you have Io do is open
PrinI & Fax, click Ihe + buuon and selecI an lP
prinIer using Ihe '|eI DirecI. SockeI' proIocol.
FnIer Ihe address ol Ihe rouIer, lollowed by a
colon and Ihen Ihe porI number. ln our
example, Ihis was 192.168.1.1.9100, buI check
your rouIer's seuings Io make sure you've
goI Ihe correcI lP address.
Cive Ihe prinIer a name, Ihen click Ihe
'PrinI using' opIion and selecI Ihe correcI
Note tIat on
Vindovs, tIins viII
be a Iot more painIess
iI you Iave previousIy
connected tIe printer
to tIe PCs
8 |nstalling the luci front end will automatically add the p910nd print server to your router
8 Nake sure you set the correct device name in the print server conhg pages
8 |n Windows 7, you'll need to add the printer as a network device 8 Supply the |P address of the router, and give the port a name
LINUX EXPERT
PRIL 2014 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 314
NEXT MONTH
TAKING IT FURTHER
Not satished with turning a basic router
into a telphone switchboard with
integrated print server, next month
we'll show you even more uses for it.
driver. ll Ihere are various choices, and one
lashes up an error, Iry anoIher.
Windows is a liule more involved. ll you're
on XP, sIarI Ihe Add PrinIer wizard lrom Ihe
ConIrol Panel and, counIer-inIuiIively, choose
'Local prinIer auached Io Ihis compuIer'.
Click NexI and choose 'CreaIe a new Iype ol
porI', selecIing 'SIandard TCP/lP porI' lrom
Ihe drop-down, and clicking NexI again.
AnoIher wizard sIarIs Io help you conhgure
Ihe porI, and lrom here on Ihe process is Ihe
same as Windows 7 (see below).
ll you're using Windows 7 or 8, click on
Ihe Add PrinIer buuon in Devices and PrinIers
in Ihe ConIrol Panel and pick Ihe second
opIion, 'Add a neIwork, wireless or BlueIooIh
prinIer'. Click NexI and, on Ihe lollowing
screen, click 'The prinIer IhaI l wanI isn'I
lisIed'. On Ihe nexI screen, selecI 'Add a
prinIer using a TCP/lP address or hosIname'.
XP users can re|oin us here, you now
need Io enIer Ihe lP address (probably
192.168.1.1) and give Ihe porI a name, such
as OpenWRT. Windows 7 and 8 users have
Iwo exIra opIions on Ihis screen, leave Ihe
Iop opIion on 'TCP/lP device' and unIick Ihe
opIion Io query Ihe prinIer.
Windows now goes oh and has a snih
abouI Ihe neIwork, and evenIually you'll
be asked Io enIer more inlormaIion.
SelecI CusIom lor Ihe device Iype, and
click Seuings. On Ihe lollowing screen,
make sure Ihe proIocol is seI Io RAW and
Ihe porI number maIches IhaI on Ihe rouIer.
9100, unless you changed iI.
Click OK, selecI Ihe correcI prinIer driver,
give Ihe prinIer a name, and hnish Ihe wizard
by choosing noI Io share iI. You should now
be able Io prinI Io Ihe prinIer on Ihe rouIer,
lrom Windows or Uac.
MAKING IT SIMPLER
lI's possible Io use zeroconl, someIimes
known as Bon|our, Io help adverIise Ihe
shared prinIer on Ihe neIwork, which can
make seuing Ihings up a liule simpler.
The wiki page aI hu.//tinyur|.ccm/
cenwrtwiki has deIails, Ihough on a small
neIwork, iI's probably |usI as easy Io
work Ihrough Ihe wizard as iI is Io insIall
Bon|our lor Windows on each PC and seI
up Ihe rouIer.
Vindovs is a IittIe more invoIved.
II you're on XP, start tIe dd Printer
vizard Irom tIe ControI PaneI and,
counter-intuitiveIy, cIoose 'LocaI printer
attacIed to tIis computer'
8 Select the printer like any other to send your document to the router
8 |t's very simple to add a shared printer on Nac OS X
8 |n Windows XP, start by choosing to add a local printer
8 Nake sure the protocol is set to RAW and the port to 9100
PRODUCT INDEX
cc.cc.ol [ O8-- --- o2-2
8am-9pm Vkoays, 9am-6pm Saturoays, Cam-5pm Sunoays
Product ndex
Our guide o all le roducs revieved ir lis morl's
PCs and Laptops 26
Acer C720 Chromeoook
Ar|e C|ed|elor lnlerno
Asus Zenoook Pr|me UX?01LA
Lenovo ldeePed Yoge 2 Pro
Sony VAlO F|l 1^A lu|l|F||p
Ultra-Compact PCs
Group Test 80
Ch|||o|esl Fus|on Br|x
Ch|||o|esl Fus|on Vecuum l|n| ?
Lenovo ldeeCenlre Q190
Lenovo Th|nkCenlre l9?p
PC Spec|e||sl NUC L|le
Sepph|re Edge VS8
Scen ?XS NUC N16
VeryPC Neno Skelch Core |7
Zolec Zoox lQ01 P|us
Zolec ZBox Neno lD6^ P|us
Handhelds 36
De|| Venue 11 Pro
LC C Ped 8.?
Nok|e Lum|e 1S20
Tosh|oe Encore

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s
In
sId
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SUBSCRIBE
AND SAVE
CALL 0844 844 0031
OR SEE PAGE 144
0844 84 08844 884
Photography 42
Fuj|h|m X-A1
Semsung Ce|exy NX
Sony A|phe A?000
Displays 46
BenQ CP10
HennsC HT2?1HPB
l|yeme ProL|le CB277?HS
Home Cinema 48
Epson EH-TW7200
Sony lD 6SX900SA
Audio 50
Ne|m Un|l|L|le
Nulz Pro
Sony lDR-10RC
Video 52
Heuppeuge HD PVR Rockel
Printers & Scanners 54
Cenon PlXlA lC6^S0
De|| C266SDNF
Storage 56
lexe|| Porleo|e W|re|ess
Herd Dr|ve S00CB
Weslern D|g|le| ly C|oud 2TB
Networks 57
Ed|mex CV-7^?8nDl N600
Due|-Bend W|-F| Br|dge
Router Group Test 98
Asus RT-ACS6U
Asus RT-AC68U
Be|k|n AC 1200 DB
B||||on B|Pec 6?00NXL
BT Home Huo S
Buhe|o Techno|ogy A|rSlel|on
Exlreme WZR-1166DHP
D-L|nk DSL-?S80L
L|nksys EA6900
Nelgeer D6200
Tende W?00D
Tende W1800R
Trendnel TEW-812DRU
V|rg|n led|e Super Huo 2
Components 58
AlD A10-78S0l
C|geoyle F2A88Xl-D?H
Sepph|re Tox|c R9 270X
Software 60
Pere||e|s Access
Sle|noerg Cuoese Arl|sl 7.S
Games 62
Broken Sword S
lele| Ceer R|s|ng. Revengeence
The Nove||sl
Business 64
HP E||leoook 8^0 C1
TeemV|ewer 9
PRTING SHOTS
lC2 PRIL 2014 [ CONPUTEP 5HOPPEP [ ISSUE 314

l's ime or o ge lysical, as smarlores become learirg aids, irrovaiors ir 3D

ririrg are slovr o be rigl or le rose, ard bras romise o lel vomer ge er
online and geI Ihem on Ihe web.
The elecIronically disenlranchised
were mosIly unemployed,
disabled or elderly, which is
exacIly Ihe group IhaI needs Io
be online in order Io parIicipaIe
in Ihe governmenI's disasIrous
niversal CrediI sysIem. When
UarIha Lane-Fox handed in her
resignaIion a lew weeks ago, Ihe
PU declared IhaI her work "has
Iranslormed how governmenI
works and sIimulaIed a new
digiIal economy, improving
millions ol lives every day".
Really? The laIesI omcial
hgures show IhaI seven million
ciIizens have sIill never been
online. They are mosIly Ihe
unemployed, disabled or elderly,
Ihey are mosIly on benehIs, and
Ihey will be lorced Io claim online
using a sysIem Io which Ihey have
no access. ZygoIe would also like
Io congraIulaIe UarIha Lane-Fox
on her amazing achievemenI.
WINDS OF CHANGE
The San Uiguel CorporaIion has
been brewing beer since 1889,
buI hve years ago iI began Io
diversily and acquire hi-Iech
companies including LiberIy
Telecoms and Ihe Wi-Tribe brand.
The booze merchanI now has iIs
sighIs seI on Ihe Philippines,
which has Ihe lowesI smarIphone
peneIraIion ol any Asia Pacihc
counIry, aI a mere 1S per cenI.
Following Ihe sIrongesI winds
ever recorded during Typhoon
Haiyan, Ihe islands ol Ihe
Philippines have had swaIhes
ol Iheir Ielecoms inlrasIrucIure
wiped ouI, allowing San Uiguel
Io muscle in. Truly, iI's an ill wind
IhaI blows nobody any good.
PEOPLE POWER
ZygoIe noIes IhaI a special oher
lrom Apple Io replace unomcial
iPhone chargers lor 10 dollars
has now ended. ln case you were
wondering why Apple made Ihis
oher in Ihe hrsI place, iI could be
someIhing Io do wiIh Ihe lacI
IhaI iPhones using unauIhorised
chargers have been killing people.
Soon aler a 23-year-old lighI
auendanI was elecIrocuIed
Iaking a call while charging her
iPhone wiIh unbranded kiI, a
28-year-old Thai was lound dead
wiIh an unomcial charger plugged
inIo Ihe mains and his iPhone
lused Io his charred lel hand.
WiIh Ihe replacemenI oher
ended, ZygoIe advises iPhone users
Io wear rubber gloves in luIure.
FAT CHANCE
The Uicrosol lnsIiIuIe lor High
Perlormance CompuIing aI Ihe
niversiIy ol SouIhampIon is Ihe
only one ol iIs kind in Ihe K.
One signihcanI held ol research
is moniIoring Ihe link beIween
sIress and comlorI-eaIing, using
a Windows Phone 7 applicaIion.
A Ieam ol lemale IesI sub|ecIs
goI wired up Io hearI moniIors,
skin sensors, gyroscopes and
acceleromeIers, all embedded inIo
a pracIical harness, commonly
known as a bra. A sweaI moniIor
was also included in Ihe cleavage.
The bras had Io be removed and
recharged every Ihree hours,
buI Ihe resulIs were impressive,
sIress and emoIional arousal
was correcIly predicIed wiIh
7S per cenI accuracy.
Sadly, Ihe resulIs were
inconclusive when iI came Io
comlorI-eaIing. The smarI bra's
sensors had been programmed
Io emiI a signal only when Ihe
lridge door was opened, and
lailed Io accounI lor all Ihe
PoI Noodles and doughnuIs
consumed by Ihe IesI sub|ecIs.
SNOT FARE
AI lasI, a sensible use lor 3D
prinIers has been lound. Kevin
Shakesheh, prolessor ol Iissue
engineering aI Ihe niversiIy ol
Nouingham, has asIounded Ihe
surgical world by prinIing a
Ihree-dimensional nose, which he
passed around a lecIure IheaIre
audience lor examinaIion.
The arIihcial nose is cheap and
easy Io prinI, and uses Ihree prinI
heads, one lor bone polymers,
one lor carIilage and one lor sol
Iissue enhanced wiIh a gelling
agenI. The prolessor wenI on Io
declare IhaI 3D prinIed bones
would be commonly available in
K hospiIals wiIhin hve years -
a cracking idea, which is noI Io
be snihed aI.
HEAR, HEAR
UosI elecIronic hearing aids use
Ihe 2.4CHz waveband, which |usI
happens Io be Ihe same signal
used by Ihe iPhone. So iI comes
as liule surprise IhaI Apple has
been working wiIh audio specialisIs
Io Iurn Iheir smarIphones inIo
advanced hearing aids IhaI will
sIream voices and music direcIly
inIo Ihe ear. ZygoIe undersIands
IhaI Ihe solware will include
noise-cancelling rouIines, sell-
IesIing opIimisaIion lor audio
lrequencies, and a bauery lile
IhaI is several Iimes beuer Ihan
convenIional aids. As Ihe gizmo-
consuming populaIion grows
older, iI looks like Ihere will be an
ever-increasing markeI lor Ihis
sorI ol device, so brace yourselves
lor loIs ol accidenIal selhes ol
hairy ear lobes and colourlul wax.
CATH REGISTER
DocIor CaIh Uercer has been
explaining Ihe laIesI sex survey
carried ouI aI niversiIy College,
London. According Io research,
Ihe average number ol sexual
encounIers over Ihe pasI decade
has decreased lrom 6.3 Io 4.8
bonks per monIh lor women, and
lrom 6.2 Io 4.9 bonks lor men.
"We Ihink modern Iechnologies
are behind Ihe Irend," DocIor
CaIh revealed. "People have
IableIs and smarIphones and
Ihey are Iaking Ihem inIo Ihe
bedroom, using Twiuer and
Facebook, and answering emails."
ZygoIe ohers an alIernaIive
explanaIion. lI's noI so much IhaI
couples are being disIracIed by
social neIworks encroaching inIo
Ihe bedroom, iI's more Io do
wiIh individuals accessing porn
on Iheir own anywhere Ihey like.
FOR FOX SAKE
ln 2009, Prime UinisIer David
Cameron appoinIed UarIha
Lane-Fox as Ihe governmenI's
digiIal inclusion champion.
Having been ennobled as a
baroness, her mission was Io
IargeI over seven million BriIish
ciIizens who had never been