welcome note

colophon

In Just A Blink Of
An Eye!
T
ime sure passes by in a

the security side of things as almost day in and day out, we get

flash when youre having

reports of major leaks and hacks. And according to our cover story

fun and when youre

this month which is a report after the Black Hat and DEF Con event,

constantly busy. With that line it

things might just get even more serious as hackers have found

feels a little like dj vu as Im sure I said the same thing last year.

ways to infiltrate just about every device that surrounds us. Do

But yes, were almost at the end of 2014, how crazy is that? And for

read our cover story for some startling revelations.

us, things are really going to get busy as the year end usually

On top of that, we also have plenty of interesting feature stories

marks a busy time for the tech industry as most companies in the

once again and one of them is a tutorial that teaches you how to

industry will want to capitalise on the holiday season. So were in

lock down your data. We also have some very cool game reviews

for a barrage of new devices and games.

which include Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, a game set in the

There werent many overseas trips for the month of October but

Lord of the Rings universe and also Wasteland 2. Besides just

that is definitely a good thing as things were pretty busy back here

games, we also have plenty of reviews with some of the latest

locally. There were plenty of launches and of course the major one

devices including variants of NVIDIAs latest GeForce GTX 900

had to be the launch of Samsungs GALAXY Note 4. So the

series graphics cards, X99 motherboards and slew of mobile

question is, with the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus imminent arrival, which

devices.

will you be going for? Or are you waiting for other devices to hit
like maybe say the Google Nexus 6?

So on that note, I shall let you explore the pages of the

magazine. Enjoy and until next time, stay safe and live for the

Other than products, another thing that got our collective

moment.

attention had to be data security. Things have been a little crazy on

Jeremy Cheong

Managing Director Noor Azman

ONLINE

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Head of Department YK Cheah

@CHIPMY

EDITORIAL
Editor Jeremy Cheong
Writer Nazrin Zain, Nicolas See Tho
Contributors Edwin Lee, Tim Lee,
Anand Tuliani, Azril Malik, Brian Pereira,
Deepti Krishnan, Dushyant Khilnani,
Erick Rustomji, Fabian von, Keudell,
Francis DSa, Jamshed Avari, M. Biebel,
Manfred Flohr, Markus Hermannsdorfer,
Michael Eckstein, Monali Gaikwad,
Thomas Littschwager, Valentin Pletzer
Design & Layout Halijah Ismail
Cover Design Halijah Ismail

SALES & MARKETING

Senior Manager YK Cheah
Consultant Muffadzlee Dato Sufian

ADMINISTRATION
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contents
november 2014

063

The State Of Malware

As everything around us goes digital, we learn just how much our lives can be in
danger as hackers and malware are able to target just about every device in our
homes, offices and pockets

052

Put A Lock On
Your Data

Learn how you can easily protect your files and

communication against cybercriminals with a few free
tools and simple methods

056
Microsoft Makes
A Comeback
Over the last few years, Microsoft lost its footing and
slipped a little, however, the company now seems
poised for a return to the top of the mountain where
they once sat

contents
november 2014

008

114

106

042

046

110

FEATURES

042 LegalTech
Sex is a natural thing but when
it becomes pornographic in
nature, it can land you in some
trouble

046 Timeline
While it was deemed brainless
at first, computers have really
come a long way since its IBM
PC/AT days
NEWS & TRENDS

026 Security Reports

Monthly dose of security news

LITE & LEISURE

106 Read
TEST LAB

071 Test Lab: The Tools

Test Labs tools of the trade

072 Test Lab Contents

Take a pick and get
started!

080 Reviews
Professionally conducted
reviews following our stringent
tests and benchmarks

We take a look at some of our

favourite sci-fi and cyberpunk
mystery novels that will get
your minds twisting and hearts
racing

110 Play
Have you been waiting for a
role-playing game that comes
with a challenge? Then you
have to get Wasteland 2

008 Local News

Coverage of the latest news
and events right on our shores

023 World Wired Web

All the latest tech happenings
around the world

PRACTICE

REGULARS

114 Stylish Vintage Shots

001 Welcome Note

006 Letters
119 Tips and Tricks

Photos from the 50s were very

stylish and with Photoshop we
too can recreate that style

contents

chip downloads

CHIP Downloads
Were back with our monthly dose of interesting, free and handy tools for you to enhance your PC experience. If you want to know how
you can get these files, follow the instructions below:
1. Head on our website @ www.chip.com.my and right at the top, click on the Downloads tab
2. After that, click on the respective months post (eg. November 2014). You will then be prompted for a password. The password can
be found on this page monthly.
3. Navigate using the tabs and pick the categories you want to download the files from. Once you find the file you want, just click on it
and youre good to go!
And its as easy as that!
PASSWORD FOR NOVEMBER 2014 - debug

Featured Tools
Enigmail

Clipboard Master

Enigmail is a security
extension to Mozilla
Thunderbird and Seamonkey
whereby it enables you to
write and receive email
messages signed and/or
encrypted with the OpenPGP
standard. When using this
software for the first time, you will be guided through the basic
setup. It also features integrated OpenPGP key management user
interface and it automatically encrypts or sign attachments for
inline PGP messages.

Clipboard Master is a free

software that allows you to
copy, paste, collect and
organise not only text but
images, files and folders as
well. Unlike Windows default
clipboard, Clipboard master
allows you to store up to
10,000 entries which can be copied onto the multi-clipboard. This
software also offers a wide variety of predefined salutations for
emails, special characters and HTML code for programmers.

Boxcryptor

DiskCryptor

Boxcryptor protects your files

in the cloud by creating a
virtual drive on your computer
that allows you to encrypt your
files locally before uploading
them to your cloud or clouds
of choice. This encryption
applies to individual files and it
does not create any containers. The encryption used are the AES256 and RSA encryption algorithms. It works for most major cloud
services and also ones that use the WebDAV standard.

Diskcryptor is an encryption
software, that has the ability to
provide encryption for all disk
partitions including the system
partition. It supports
encryption algorithms such as
AES, Twofish, and Serpent
which has transparent
encryption of disk partitions, full support for dynamic disks and
support for disk devices with a large sector size. Additionally, it can
also create encrypted CDs, DVDs and USB flash drives.

Essentials

Our list of essentials consists of programs and software such as graphic drivers, browsers, compression software and even Cloud
storage software that will improve a PC users experience. The links on our website wont provide you with the files, instead it will lead
you to the developers official website, where you can find the right file for you.

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november 14

chip malaysia

contents

chip downloads

November 2014
The Monthly Ten
openSUSE 13.1 KDE-Live DVD

Vera Crypt 1.0d

Operating System: Linux

SUSE is a user- and beginner
friendly Linux variant which can also
be used as a live system, for
example: if Windows refuses to work
and doesnt boot, you can access
your files and take backups.
openSUSE also has other
advantages such as it comes with all
the software such as image editor and the Office package.

Operating System: Win XP / Vista / 7 / 8

The sleek tool VeraCrypt hides
important files folders or entire
partitions. Click Create Volume and
choose one of the three options. For
example, if you want to protect
individual files select the first option
and follow the wizard.

Photostage 2.52

Yosemite Transformation

Operating System: Win XP / Vista / 7 / 8

Photostage 2.52 gives you a way to
create a great slide show of your
photos easily. In addition to
numerous photo and transition
effects, the program also lets you
combine your photos with your
favourite music or voiceover.

Operating System: Win XP / Vista / 7 / 8

Turn your PC into a Mac without
having to jump through hoops with
the cool Yosemite Transformation
Pack which gives Windows the look
of the latest Mac system including
folders, buttons and docks.

Ultra VNC 1.2.0.1(32 Bit)

Pazera Free Audio Video Pack

Operating System: Win XP / Vista / 7 / 8

With Ultra VNC, you can maintain
your PC over long distances and all
you need is a server and a viewer
whereby both are provided within
the package. Install the server on to
your PC, set it up and then start the
viewer on another PC.

Operating System: Win XP / Vista / 7 / 8

Does your smartphone fail to play
certain multimedia formats? With
the Pazera Free Audio Pack, you are
ensured to get the right format in
just a few easy steps. This converter
comes with a slew of formats so
youre bound to find the right one.

OblyTile 0.0.9

WinUtilities Free 11.15

Operating system: Win 8

Windows 8 does not make it easy to
make your own tiles in ModernUI.
This is where the small tool called
OblyTile comes in handy. Simply
select a colour, specify a label and
then select the path to the desired
software. Click Create tile to create
a tile.

Operating system: Win XP / Vista / 7 / 8

Surfing on the Internet or installing
software leaves its tracks in every
Windows system and it is often hard
to get rid of these tracks. You can
maintain your Windows system
effectively with WinUtilities Free.
This software examines the hard
disk as well as the registry and
corrects the errors it finds.

GEGeek Toolkit 7.1

Zortam Mp3 Media Studio 11.10

Operating system: Win XP / Vista / 7 / 8

GEGeek Toolkit now includes more
than 300 portable programs which
prompted the developers to reduce
the download size. As a result, you
can immediately start the update
function in the GEGeek folder
once you download the tool kit.

Operating system: Win XP / Vista / 7 / 8

Zortam Mp3 Media Studio is the
perfect manager for your MP3
collection. To continue to be so, the
latest version 18 contains a link to
the music database Gracenote and
the tag function of the software has
been completely revised.

chip malaysia

november 14

005

letters
readers feedback

Letters
Letter of the Month
Best Router To Take?
Dear CHIP,
I have been a reader for almost 2 years now, recently my UniFi
router was damaged by lightning, and I have been searching
high and low for a replacement. Surprisingly there are quite a few
selections with prices that range between RM100 and RM600.
What is the difference between a cheap and an expensive
router? Are there any extra features other than wider range and
faster speed? There is not much to read on the box. Someone
might end up buying an expensive router, but not using the extra
features in it. Most of my friends have no idea what is the function
of USB port on a router and they use it to charge their phone
instead.
I would really appreciate it if CHIP could cover this topic
regarding routers, and choices that we have based on budget and
features we need (gamer, heavy downloader, movie streaming,
NAS) I believe a lot of broadband users are searching the right
router to replace the default one.
I am really looking forward to read this topic in near future,
and thank you for providing us with great useful articles every
month.
Winson Lee
Dear Winson,
Were sorry to hear about the loss of your router. Lightning
strikes can be quite the nuisance, and sometimes even a wellprotected router can get fried as well. We highly recommend
that you ask the shopkeeper if it supports UniFi connections as
there are special VLAN configurations that you need to set so
that it works in conjunction with HyppTV as well.
As far as differences in router go, the more expensive ones
generally are capable of handling more connections than
budget models, and have features things like dual-band, better
802.11 support and even faster local network speeds.
Also, we would like to thank you for giving us the
suggestion of creating an article
that compares routers For this great
suggestion and also continuous
support, we are happy to name this
letter our Letter of the Month and
with that you get a Kingston SDCA10
Class 10 UHS-I/16GB. We hope it comes
in handy!
Kingston SDCA10 Class 10 UHS-I/16GB

Thanks For The Intel On Intel

Dear CHIP,
I read with great interest your article about the Intel Developer
Forum that you attended last month. It is quite interesting to read
how Intel is slowly, but surely shifting their focus from desktop
processing to mobile and portable devices. Internet of Things also
looks like its finally taking shape after hearing about it for several
years now.
But the biggest news for me has got to be about how places like
Pakistan and India are fast adopting these brand new technologies
when the tech infrastructure in those places dont seem to be as
advanced as the ones in more advanced countries.
Kelvin Ng
Dear Kelvin,
Glad that you enjoyed reading our coverage of the Intel
Developer Forum. It was certainly an eye-opening experience,
to be able to see that Intels products and services traverse
beyond that of what you see on your desktop and your lap. Intels
commitment to the concept of IoT and bringing technological
advancements to places that need it most is extremely
commendable, and is what a lot of companies should aspire to do
as well.
The examples you mentioned with regards to the IoT projects
are certainly great, and the best part is that they all make use of a
single computing system that is no bigger than the size of a credit
card. Imagination is key here, and with the right idea, anyone can
create the next big Internet of Things concept.

A Perfectly Televised Article

Dear CHIP,
As a television junkie, I quite enjoyed reading one of your feature
articles last month about the evolution of the HD television. It is
really interesting to note how people used to consider broadcasting
televisions to be high definition, even way back in the 30s.
Even better was how quickly the ever-changing standards of
video broadcasting was adopted, paving way for companies to
create televisions that make full use of the technologies that are
available. Its a shame however to see that TV technology has
seemed to hit a wall now that were finally here at 4K resolution. The
adoption rate is extremely slow, and it would be pretty great to read
what you guys think about it.
Ranjit Singh
Dear Ranjit,
First of all, were happy that you enjoyed reading that particular
article and yes, we were as surprised as you are to find out the
term high definition has been used since all those years ago.
To answer your query, in short, adoption of 4K television is
mostly stagnant now due to pricing of said television, and the
overall lack of media that uses the 4K standard.

Write to us at letters@chip.com.my. Alternatively, log on to the forums at forum.chip.com.my and make yourself heard! The Letters page is an outlet for you to voice your
views and opinions towards the magazine as well as general tech trends. Feedback sent to us may be edited for suitability without altering the intended point-of-view. The
monthly winners for LoTM will be contacted for further details.

006

november 14

chip malaysia

news
local news

Supercharging
2-In-1s For Work &
Play
Intel Malaysia shows us how the new Core M
processors can change the 2-in-1 landscape

uring the recent IFA held in

Germany, Intel launched their
new Core M processors, which
will not only power new 2-in-1 devices
but also give them a makeover as the
new processor enables razor-thin and
fanless designs combined with impressive
performance and battery life. Early in
October, Intel held a little event in their
office to give members of the media a
closer glimpse of the capabilities of the
new processor and what it can do.
Weve been on a multi-year mission
to address end-user requirements
and transform mobile computing. The
introduction of Core M marks a significant
milestone in that journey, said Kirk
Skaugen, Senior Vice President and
General Manager of Personal Computing

at Intel Corporation. Core M is the first of

a new product family designed to deliver
the promise of one of the worlds thinnest
laptops and highest performance tablets in
a single 2-in-1 device.
The processor formerly codenamed as
Broadwell Y and also known as Llama
Mountain is truly an impressive feat of
manufacturing as it is currently the only
14nm processor that features 2nd Gen
Tri-Gate Transistors. Despite being smaller
compared to other CPUs, Core Ms are able
to deliver up to 50% faster compute and
40% better graphics performance versus
the previous 4th Generation Intel Core
processors.
Intel has noticed that the workforce is
moving towards mobility and require more
than just a simple tablet or laptop. They

need one that is able to do more and last

longer. Which is why the Core M has also
gone through power reductions to a power
sipping 4.5W which means it can last up to
20% (1.7 hours) longer on active workloads
and double the battery life compared to a
much older PC. This means you can create
and consumer more.
Speaking of business, the Intel Core
M processors also come with Intel vPro
technology and will support Intel Pro
Wireless Display which delivers a high
quality visual experience with enhanced
security for IT and data privacy for end
users. Select Intel Core M vPro platforms
will also support WiGig-based wireless
docking capabilities. Intel Core M vPro
platforms also have additional, hardwareassisted security enhancements like:
enhanced encryption and secure managed
containers with Intel SSD Pro 2500 series.
With all those features packed into
it, the Core M processor is 50% smaller
compared to 4th generation Intel Core
processors (Y series) and Intel has also
managed to achieve a 60% reduction in
thermal design power (TDP) versus the
Y series. This enables Intels partners like
Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP, Lenovo and Toshiba
to create devices that are sleek, silent
fanless systems less than 9mm thin.
www.intel.my

Cliord shows us that a device with Intels new Core M

processor can be thinner or as thin as a nger

Cliord Tan, Channel Plaorm Manager, Intel Malaysia (le) and Karen Chow, Head of MNC and Telco, Intel Malaysia and
Singapore (right) posing for a quick photo during the event

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chip malaysia

Heres the new and innovave game-changing CPU next to a

10 sen coin, which is truly impressive with the features and
performance it promises

news
local news

(From le): Mahew Ng, Sales Director, Mobile Division; Jusn Joo, Business Manager, Mobile Division; Lee Jui Siang, Vice President, Mobile, IT & Digital Imaging; Lee Dong Yong, President; Luke
Au, Head of Product Markeng; and Go Benn Lee, Manager, Product Markeng of Samsung Malaysia Electronics with the new GALAXY Note 4 and Gear S

Work And Play

Amped Up By Four
Samsung officially launches the fourth and very
impressive iteration of the GALAXY Note

he Samsung GALAXY Note 4

is finally here in Malaysia and
were sure many of you have
been waiting for it and to some it will
definitely be worth the wait as the latest
expansion to the GALAXY Note series
comes with a slew of improvements.
The GALAXY Note series signalled
extraordinary innovation within the
technology industry. Its larger screen
size and iconic S-Pen technology
launched a new standard in smartphone
culture, said Lee Dong Yong, President
of Samsung Malaysia Electronics.
With the introduction of the GALAXY
Note series, we brought the age-old
culture of the pen and notepad into the
digital world. The new GALAXY Note
4 introduces the most refined Note
experience to-date combining all the
latest technology that users expect from
the GALAXY series.

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chip malaysia

At a glance, the device looks

very similar to its predecessors but
Samsung went ahead and gave it a little
something different this time around.
Taking a page out of the design of the
GALAXY Alpha, the GALAXY Note 4
also features a premium metal frame
with fluid curvature that seamlessly
blends with its display. The new flagship
phablet also features a 2.5D glass
screen that offers extra protection, while
perfectly complementing the devices
rich viewing experience.
While its display size hasnt changed
from the GALAXY Note 3, the GALAXY
Note 4s 5.7-inch Super AMOLED display
is now Quad HD which means it has
more pixel thus being able to reproduce
clearer and more vivid images with deep
contrast and better viewing angles. The
response time of the screen is as fast
as a millionth of a second, which makes

The GALAXY Note 4 will be available in Charcoal Black, Frost

White and Bronze Gold. Seen here are the black and white
variants

watching HD and Full HD videos a truly

breathtaking experience.
Multi-tasking will definitely not be
a problem for the GALAXY Note 4
as it comes with some very serious
hardware. Under its elegant shell, the
GALAXY Note 4 comes with the 1.9GHz
Octa-Core Exynos CPU, accompanied
by 3GB worth of RAM and an internal
storage of 32GB. Storage can of course
be further expanded via a microSD
card up to 128GB. To ensure users
remain productive throughout the day,
the GALAXY Note 4 also comes with a
3,220mAh battery.
Retail pricing for the Samsung
GALAXY Note 4 is RM2,499.
www.samsung.com/my/

news
local news

Hatano Satoshi, Managing Director of Sony Malaysia; Hideyuki Wada, Markeng General Manager of Sony Malaysia and Chiw Yew Meng, Sales General Manager of Sony Malaysia ociang the
launch of Sony Malaysias new line of headphones

Sound Quality Is All

That Matters
Sony unveils latest gear for audiophiles everywhere

he Sony Xperia Z3 smartphone

and tablet werent the only things
Sony unveiled at IFA this year as the
Japanese electronics giant also showed
off a bevy of audio products that are set to
make audiophiles drool with anticipation.
Malaysians dont have to wait for long as
Sony Malaysia recently unveiled the same
audio products here in KL.
The Sony MDR-Z7 is Sonys high-end
audiophile headphones, packing a pair of
70mm drivers that reproduces both high
and low notes faithfully while providing an
excellent overall listening experience.
The Liquid Crystal Polymer diaphragms
minimise colouration, which means the
sound signature of the MDR-Z7 is neutral,
while bass-lines are reproduced without
being too obnoxiously loud, thanks to
Sonys Beat Response Control that vents
airflow to optimise diaphragm movement.
Designed for both home and mobile

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usage, the Sony MDR-1ADAC headphones

incorporate an integrated Digital-toAnalog Converter (DAC) thats capable of
accepting High Resolution audio signals
up to 192KHz/24 bit. Auto imput selection
allows easy connection with a wide3
variety of portable devices, including
Walkman and Xperia devices, PCs, iPod,
iPad and iPhones via a Lightning Digital
AV converter. There is also the S-Master
HX amp built-in that helps maintain signal
purity, and the battery on the DAC allow up
to 7.5 hours of music-listening.
If you lead an active lifestyle, and want
a pair of headphones that can withstand
some level of abuse, Sony also announced
its latest Walkman headphones with the
waterproof NWZ-WS615. Complete with its
own ring-type remote control, the WS615
makes a perfect companion for those who
enjoy uninterrupted music listening as you
run or swim. It also comes with 16GB of

The Sony MDR-1ADAC meanwhile feature a built-in DAC which

keeps your high resoluon audio crystal clean, while amping
the treble and bass to boost sound quality

storage which is plenty for hours and hours

of exercising.
The WS615 also doubles as a wearable
Bluetooth headset, which allows you to
wirelessly listen to your music right from
your smartphone while youre working out.
The ring-type remote control allows you to
control your music without having to fiddle
around with the headphones.
All of Sonys new headphones will be
available at Sony Stores nationwide by the
end of October. The Walkman NWZ-A15
will cost RM699, while the Sony MDR-Z7
headphones will cost RM2,349, the MDR1ADAC for RM1,299 and the Walkman
WS615 headphones RM699.
www.sony.com.my

news
local news

Sebasan Tan, CEO, Global Line Network Sdn. Bhd. and Julynn Yap, Markeng Director, APAC, Yota Devices ociang the launch of Yotaphone in Malaysia ociang the launch of the Yotaphone in
Malaysia

Something A Little
Different
The Russian made smartphone that made waves all
over the world is finally here as Yotaphone officially
makes it presence felt

ota Devices, a Russian-based

smartphone maker announced
earlier today the availability of
its much-talked about smartphone, the
Yotaphone here in Malaysia, the first
country in Asia to receive the phone. This
is the same YotaPhone that was launched
in Russia last year, but it does come with
a few upgrades that makes it a bit more
relevant for todays users.
The YotaPhone features two 4.3-inch
displays on both sides of the phone, with
the main display being a 4.3-inch IPS
display at 720p, and the rear display being
an E-Paper Display with 170ppi that runs
on very little battery power, which will last
for a whole 50 hours, and even after the
main phone is actually out of battery. It
also runs Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean, one of

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the latest Android operating systems out

there.
The original YotaPhone is powered by a
Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro processor,
but the version we will be receiving
is powered by a 1.7GHz Qualcomm
Snapdragon 400 instead, 2GB of RAM
and 32GB of on-board memory, which
unfortunately is not expandable.
The E-Paper Display essentially
functions as a screenshot display of sorts,
which allows you to transfer screenshots
of the main display, allowing you to check
on things like maps, lists and even e-books.
The YotaPhone also comes with a variety
of apps that make full use of the phones
E-Paper Display, such as displaying webbased notifications, listing down notes
and lists via a special notepad app, and

The YotaPhone is powered by a 1.7GHz Snapdragon 400

processor, 2GB of RAM and 32GB of built-in storage, featuring
a 4.3-inch 720p display

Bookmate, an e-book reader.

Not only that, the YotaPhone also
comes with LTE connectivity and a 13MP
camera is also fitted at the back of the
phone, underneath the E-Paper Display.
The YotaPhone will be made available
in Malaysia on the 24th of December this
year for RM1,699, but customers may
pre-order the phone now on the GlobalLine
website.
yota.globalline.my

news
local news

(From le): Simon Chan, Regional Manager, Intel APJ MNC Sales, Intel; Jimmy Lin, Country Manager, SYSTEM Group, ASUS Malaysia and Paul Tsai, Tablet Country Product Manager SYSTEM Group,
ASUS Malaysia posing with the two new tablets

Another Duo Of
Attractive Phablets
ASUS continues to offer consumers with more
choices of phablets that come with a slew of features

t a gathering held in their office,

ASUS unveiled two new phablets,
the Fonepad 8 (FE380CG), MeMO
Pad 8 (ME581CL) and also the newest
PadFone S. So without delaying any
further, here are the details of the new
devices.
First up is the Fonepad 8, which is
a 8-inch tablet that features 3G phone
functionality as it is powered by a 64-bit
Intel Atom Z3530 1.33GHz processor,
coupled with 1GB worth of RAM, has an
internal storage space of 8GB and supports
microSD cards of up to 64GB.
Besides the upgraded internals, the
Fonepad 8 also sports a new design that
is lighter and narrower compared to its
predecessor. One of the main changes
of the new Fonepad 8 is its super slim
5.06mm thin bezel which gives users
more display real-estate for better viewing
angles.
Next up, we took a look at a device that

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is a little more premium, the MeMO Pad

8 (ME581CL). This is also an 8-inch tablet
and ASUS claims that it is currently the
lightest 8-inch LTE tablet in the market
as it weighs just 299g. The device is also
super thin as it is only 7.45mm thin and
can easily be held with one hand without
any discomfort whatsoever. While it may
be just an 8-inch device, it actually boasts
a Full HD resolution IPS display. The added
ASUS Splendid and TrueVivid colour
enhancement technologies will of course
deliver even more accurate and stunning
lifelike images.
As for its hardware, the MeMO Pad 8
is powered by a 64-bit Intel Atom Z3560
1.8GHz quad-core processor and 2GB
worth of RAM and 16GB internal storage.
It of course supports microSD cards up
to 64GB. Designed for heavy users, the
MeMO Pad 8 comes with a 4,000mAh
battery.
Finally, as a surprise entrant to the

Seen here next to each other are the Fonepad 8 (le) and
MeMO Pad 8 (right) that caters to two dierent target
markets and yet come with plenty of niy features

event, ASUS also showed us the PadFone

S, which is a very impressive device in its
own right as it comes with features that
rivals other flagship devices.
This 5-inch Android smartphone boasts
a 5-inch Full HD IPS display and is 4G LTE
Cat4 ready. The device is powered by a
2.3GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon
801, has 2GB RAM and an internal storage
of 16GB with support for microSD cards of
up to 64GB. Other cool features packed into
the PadFone S is its a 13-megapixel rear
camera with Sony BSI Sensor, 5P Largan
Precise Light Control and f/2.0 aperture.
All three devices are already out in
the market and come with asking prices
of RM1,099, RM649 and RM899 for the
MeMO Pad 8, Fonepad 8 and PadFone S
respectively.
www.asus.com/my/

news
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The Dell R730xd rack server is capable of supporng up to

100TB of storage, perfect for Mail Exchange Servers and the
like

(From le): William Tan, head of Enterprise Soluons, Dell Malaysia; Sumir Bhaa, General Manager, Enterprise Soluons, South
Asia, Dell and Foo See Han, Server Product Soluons Manager, South Asia Product Soluons, Dell at the Dell PowerEdge 13th
generaon servers launch demo

Reinventing The
Server

Dell Unveils New PowerEdge 13G Servers in Malaysia

t the recently concluded South Asia

Dell Enterprise Forum (DEFSA),
Dell unveiled a series of 13th
Generation PowerEdge servers, designed
to help customers worldwide address
and optimise the evolving spectrum of
application and workload requirements.
These new generation of servers feature
customer-inspired engineering built to
optimise price-performance for the widest
range of web, enterprise and hyperscale
applications.
The new Dell PowerEdge servers
include the PowerEdge R730xd, the R730
and R630 rack servers, and completing
the lineup are the M630 blade server and
the T630 tower server, all of which are
built with the latest Intel Xeon processor
E5-2600 v3 processor family.
Dells new PowerEdge servers are
designed to leverage modern storage
technologies that enable customers to
accelerate applications by bringing data

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closer to the processor for increased

application performance.
As an example, the R630 is capable of
storing 1.8-inch SATA flash drives, and is
capable of delivering 2.4 times more I/O
operations per second in the same amount
of space as typical 2.5-inch SSDs. The
R730xd meanwhile is capable of providing
up to 100TB of storage for workloads such
as Microsoft Exchange, where it delivers up
to 50 percent increase in mailbox size over
previous generation servers.
The Dell PowerEdge servers were made
with the concept of Rack, Cable and Walk
Away, and theyve also made it so that
maintenance and updates can be done
quickly, with reduced risk of downtime.
Working with OpenManage, Dell has also
implemented the integrated Dell Remote
Access Controller (iDRAC) with Lifecycle
Controller Technology, which means that
server deployment, configuration and
updates are all streamlined across the

Simply tap your Android device to the iDRAC NFC panel and
all of the servers conguraon details will be uploaded to
the device

OpenManage portfolio.
Another noteworthy feature is the NFC
reader on the R730, R730xd and the R630.
This allows users to easily manage their
servers by simply tapping their Androidbased smartphones onto the NFC tag, and
with the OpenManage app, they are able
to easily get the servers configuration,
modify it on the spot, and upload the
changes back to the server all in one go.
The new PowerEdge servers also help
businesses improve their profit margins
by reducing cooling costs as the new
servers are now capable of operating
at much higher temperatures than their
predecessors. The R730xd, R730 and R630
in particular can all run at temperatures up
to 40 degrees Celcius.
With up to 10 times improvement in
deployment times with industry-leading
systems management capabilities and
zero-touch automation, Dells PowerEdge
G13 servers dont only make it easy for
companies to set up their own server
environment, but provides them with
enough compute powers to keep their
businesses up and running.
www.dell.com.my

news
local news

Jacky Zhang, CEO of ZTE Device (second from le, standing) with Alex Yee, Head of ZTE Malaysias Terminal Division (rst from right, standing) taking a group shot with the local distributors

A New Star Is Born

From ZTE
The new ZTE STAR 1 is one of the many smartphones
that ZTE launched into the market which comes in an
affordable package

he smartphone boom continues as

ZTE (Malaysia) Corporation Sdn.
Bhd., one of the global leaders in the
mobile handset manufacturing industry
unveiled their highly anticipated ZTE STAR
1 smartphone yesterday in Malaysia. This
launch was part of ZTEs goal in providing
all Malaysians with affordable yet high
quality smartphones while also being the
first STAR 1 launch out of China.
The STAR 1s unique selling point lies in
its powerful camera capabilities which can
be compared to a DSLR grade camera as
it is equipped with a 4cm macro shooting
capability, Clarity and imaging technology
capturing HD photos, and dual-colour
temperature flash which improves the
white balance and effects of pictures.
Malaysia is the first country in Asia
Pacific to receive the STAR 1. Besides the
flagship Star 1, ZTE used the launch as a
platform to also reveal four other devices,

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the Blade Vec Pro, Blade V5, Blade L2 and

Blade G Lux, whereby their goal is to prove
that quality should not be hindered by
price.
ZTE entered the mobile industry in 2010,
and has been slowly and steadily making
their brand known in the Malaysian market.
This evolution hopes to see ZTE answer
the growing and subtle consumer demands
within the industry. The launch of these
devices projects a total unit sale for 2014
and 2015 combined to be over 15 percent.
This has placed it well within its sale trends
with 6.2 million units sold in 2013.
Jacky Zhang, Ceo of ZTE Device, Asia
Pacific and Commonwealth Independent
states (CIS), spoke about ZTEs vision
and mission for the Malaysian Market:
Malaysia is one of the biggest potential
markets in the region. ZTE had focused
on B to B business sector in the past. But
now, we are ready to establish our brand

A sneak peek at the new ZTE STAR 1 shows the beauful

design coupled with its amazing performance

in the retail market, and we are confident

that our products will suit consumer
needs. It is also our goal to cement ZTE
as an innovative and leading smartphone
provider in Malaysia. We intend to increase
year-on-year sales by three percent by
continually adopting and incorporating new
technologies and releasing new state-of
-the-art devices that can meet consumer
demands on performance, before they
even realise they want it, added Jacky.
www.ztedevices.com

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The My Passport Wireless is available in 1- and 2TB variants.

Both are a bit thick but are sll very lightweight and highly
portable

(Starng from second from le): Kid Chan, Entrepreneur, Best-selling Author and Renowned Photographer; Margaret Koh, Sales
Director, Asia South, WD; Simon Whiord, Senior Regional Markeng Manager, Asia Pacic, WD and Susan Chong, Senior Sales
Manager of Branded Product, WD Malaysia with the new My Passport Wireless

Simply tap your Android device to the iDRAC NFC panel and
all of the servers conguraon details will be uploaded to
the device

Cutting The Cords

With WDs newest Wi-Fi enabled storage drive,
consumers wont have to worry about dealing with
messy wires when they travel

n 21 October, WD launched
their very first wireless external
hard drive, known as the My
Passport Wireless, which is an easy to
use Wi-Fi enabled storage drive that
allows consumers to save, access and
share stored content wirelessly with any
smartphone, tablet computer or other
device. This device is definitely a musthave for frequent business travellers,
creative professional working in the field,
jetsetters or family that loves their road
trips.
As we celebrate its 10th anniversary,
the success of WDs My Passport line of
portable hard drives is unprecedented,
explains Jim Welsh, Executive Vice
President, WD Content Solutions Business
and Worldwide Sales. Our new My
Passport Wireless drive continues the
evolution, resolving a common problem
for todays mobile consumer; too many
devices with limited storage and no way
to offload their content and free up space
on-the-go. Now, consumers will have one
drive to easily store content from all their

devices and enjoy that content anywhere

they go.
Besides just transferring and accessing
files wirelessly, the My Passport Wireless
also comes with a USB 3.0 port that
enables users to transfer large amounts
of data in a jiff. On top of that, it even
features an integrated SD card slot, which
means users arent just limited to their
smartphones and tablets but can also
use it to store photos from their DSLRs
or cameras. Additionally, the integrated
FTP enables users to connect to multiple
wireless cameras so that users can
automatically transfer photos from their
cameras to the drive as they are taking
them.
With features such as Wireless N
with MIMO technology for enhanced
wireless performance, users will be able
to access and transfer files quickly, as
well as stream up to four HD videos
simultaneously. The built-in 3,400mAh
rechargeable battery is also said to
be able to provide up to six hours of
continuous streaming and up to 20 hours

The USB 3.0 port enables users to transfer large les quickly.
The port can even be locked using the the WD My Cloud app

of standby power, which is great as you

wont have to constantly charge it when
youre travelling or when youre out of the
office or house.
To fully utilise the device, users will
have to download and install the WD My
Cloud mobile app on their iOS or Android
device. The app will then give users
intuitive navigation, sharing and playback
of the drives content. The app will also
help unify all of a users content under a
single app and user interface by allowing
access to content on the My Passport
Wireless drive, WDs My Cloud family of
personal cloud storage devices and on
major cloud services such as Dropbox,
OneDrive and Google Drive.
The WD My Passport Wireless is now
available at select retailers and comes
with a suggested retail price of RM599
and RM699 for the 1- and 2TB variants
respectively.
www.wdc.com/en/

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The Acer V Nitro on display showcasing its sleek design with

amazing gaming potenal

The Malaysian Invasion team tests out the new Acer V Nitro in
a gaming session
(From le): Jerey Lai, Product Manager; Johnson Seet, Head of Mobile Notebook & Smart Handheld and Alex Chu, Sales
Director, NVIDIA posing with the new Acer Aspire V Nitro Black Edion gaming notebook

Acer Ramps Up
Gaming With The
Nitro

Gamers nowadays want to play high quality games

while on the move, thus ASUS has answered that call
with the Acer Aspire V Nitro

ecently, gaming got a whole lot

more portable with the launch
of the Acer Aspire V Nitro Black
Edition gaming notebook, which boosts
the processing experience and provides
users with an immersive gaming
experience. It is designed with the latest
in graphics support and comes with a
rapid processing power, which gives this
notebook the power needed to satisfy
any multimedia demand.
The new Aspire V Nitro has a sleek
and stylish design that shows its sharp
angles, a slim outlook, and a patterned
cover made from soft touch NanoImprint Lithography (NIL) technology.

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It has a 15.6-inch display Full HD 1,920

x 1,080 pixel resolution screen with
IPS technology, which provides clarity
and sharp images for your viewing
pleasure. The notebook is also equipped
with a spacious red glow back-lit
keyboard which is suitable for low light
environments which provides a high
octane feeling.
The Aspire V Nitro also comes
equipped with the Acer DustDefender
technology which is an intelligent
dust removal design which uses the
notebooks, high speed fans to remove
the internal build-up of dust thus
prolonging the lifespan of the notebook

while enhancing the performance of

the device to keep the device cool. If
additional cooling is required during
heavy gaming sessions, the CoolBoost
technologys exclusive TurboMode
can be manually activated to provide
faster fan speed to lower the CPU/GPU
temperatures.
Gaming would not be complete
without a good set of audio support,
thus the notebook is equipped with
four built-in speakers, whereby the
Aspire V Nitro delivers premium audio
entertainment experience with its
powerful surround sound with full range
auditory experience from all angles
when listening to music, watching
movies or gaming. Additionally, the
Aspire V Nitro is also equipped with
Dolby Digital Plus Home Theater which
further provides maximum audio
stimulation to its users. This technology
reduces dialogue intelligibility and
interference from other background
noise.
The unique Acer Aspire V Nitro Black
Edition is priced at RM3,399 and is
available now at all major Authorised
Acer Resellers nationwide.
www.acer.com.my

news
local news

Securing The
Clouds

Internet security is scrutinised daily and F-Secure is

trying to alleviate your concerns with the Protection
for Business (PSB) security solution

echnology is massively integrated

with modern business, but many
of those businesses still lack a
modern security solution which helps
protect against vulnerabilities in each
layer of organisation. With the Protection
Service for Business (PSB), this changes
everything. It is a unique breakthrough
on technology which provides total
protection yet increased productivity within
businesses, and this revolutionary product
was introduced by the leading online
global security company F-Secure.
PSB Solutions comes with a variety
of features such as the Workstation
Security which provides protection for
all of the customers computers within
one subscription regardless of platform,
the Server Security which gives real time

protection for Windows and Linux servers,

e-mail and Server Security for users who
runs Microsoft Exchange and Mobile
Security which handles the security for
all mobile platforms with features such
as antivirus, anti-spyware, anti-theft, and
browsing protection.
PSB is a cloud based platform which
delivers to companies, small to medium
sized enterprises, the next step in
productivity as well as a complete overall
protection for the entire IT environment,
while reducing costs for businesses. IT can
also be described as a turn-key protection
suite for multi-device settings, which offers
the best security in the market bundled
with advanced value-added features such
as the Software Updater, which gives state
of the art security solutions.

The new PSB solution by F-Secure

allows businesses especially SMEs to
focus more on their businesses and leave
security to the experts. By choosing
security as a service, businesses no longer
have to worry about the IT security,
security settings or software updates
PSB protects all devices against the latest
security threats, and F-Secure maintains
the whole solution together with the local
IT security partner to monitor and manage
the customers devices. No additional
hardware investment is required, which
translates to direct costs savings to the
enterprise, and increased productivity for
the business, said Christian Fredrikson,
President and Chief Executive Officer of
F-Secure Corporation yesterday at the
launch of PSB in Kuala Lumpur, which
was also attended by Paul Palmer, Vice
President of F-Secure APAC.
Repeating Fredriksons comments,
Palmer explained that, with Malaysia being
Southeast Asias third largest economy
and ranking sixth in the list of world 20
emerging markets, PSB is expected to
propagate the SME security market and is
the most suitable fit for small and medium
businesses in Malaysia.
www.f-secure.com

Paul Palmer, Vice President, F-Secure APAC (le) and Chrisan Fredrikson, President and CEO, F-Secure Corporaon (right) handing o the launch of the new PSB soluon

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Setting A Trend For

Security
Trend Micro brings security to the next level with the
Trend Micro Maximum Security 2015 Cloud Edition

here are nearly 60 percent of

respondents in Malaysia who
are not prepared against attacks
against their mobile devices and
personal computers according to a
recent online poll conducted by Trend
Micro Incorporated, the global developer
of security software. This places them at
a high risk of falling prey to cybercrime
especially in a time where we are facing
3.5 new cyber threats every second.
The poll surveyed a population of 600
individuals in Malaysia which revealed
that 73 percent of Internet users are
concerned about sharing their private
information on social networking sites,
and 69 percent has deleted or hid their
previous posts on their timeline.
Recently, Trend Micro launched
one of the most comprehensive
security solution available which offers
protection from cyber threats for PC,
Mac, Android and now even the iOS
platforms to protect consumers from
the dangers of the Internet across all
platforms This product is called the

Trend Micro Maximum Security 2015

Cloud Edition which is an all rounded
consumer solution which handled
both security and privacy issues which
continues to harass Internet users today.
Solutions such as the Trend Micro
Maximum Security 2015 Cloud Edition
are more of a need than a want as it
is shown through the results of the
poll which reveals the risky behavior
by Internet users was gathering new
ways for cyber criminals to exploit your
system.
Trend Micro Maximum Security 2015
Cloud Edition helps secure Internet users
from eminent threat online. The solution
delivers industry-leading anti-virus and
Web-threat protection which identifies
and blocks dangerous links in websites,
social networks, emails and instant
messaging. It can also detect spam
emails containing phishing scams that
can trick users into revealing private
personal information. Additionally,
Trend Micro had also found that 46
percent of the surveyed respondents

The Trend Micro Mascot stands together with the models during the launch of the new Maximum Cloud Security Soluon

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lets their browser save their passwords

online which is a dangerous practice
which makes their systems exploitable
to being hacked, especially in this era of
security breaches.
In the effort to help fight against
passwords and identity theft, Trend
Micro Maximum Security 2015 Cloud
Edition includes a password manager
which encrypts all online passwords
without the fear of theft when logging
in to online websites. The password
manager also works across all platforms
and helps by providing a password
generator to stop the common but
unreliable habit of using the same
passwords for multiple accounts. In
an effort to provide online privacy and
security of Internet users, Trend Micro
Maximum Security 2015 Cloud Edition
has expanded its social network Privacy
Scanner to scan LinkedIn, in addition
to Facebook, Twitter and Google+.
Users can now rely on Trend Micros
technology to help maintain privacy,
security and positive online reputations.
Trend Micros Maximum Security
2015 along with the Trend Micro Internet
Security 2015 are now available at all IT
retailers and the prices for the products
can be viewed on our web coverage of
the story.
www.trendmicro.com.my

The Trend Micro Maximum Cloud Security in the esh in a

neatly packed casing

news
local news

A Gathering Of
Ideas
The AEC Symposium held recently highlights
the groundbreaking engineering and
technologies used in creating the Asia
Aerospace City (AAC)

arlier this month, the Asia

Aerospace City (AAC) gathered
an interdisciplinary blend of
architects, engineers and construction
industry players for the Architecture,
Engineering and Construction (AEC)
Symposium 2014 at Hotel Premiera in
Kuala Lumpur. The symposium is a
medium for discussions, exploration and
the exchange of the industrys insights
on technologies which can help change
and innovate our built environment.
AAC is an aerospace hub that serves
to combine the capabilities, assets
and aerospace players worldwide with
the opportunity for growth in Asia,
with Subang Nexus serving as the
foundations of its physical infrastructure.

Located at the wellA 3D demonstraon was held at the event allowing visitors to wear 3D glasses to
established Subang
take an in-depth tour of the future Asia Aerospace City
aerospace engineering
and MRO centre, the Asia
Aerospace Citys Subang
nexus development is paving
the way in the property
and construction industries
by adopting 3D modelling
technology or Building
Information Modelling (BIM)
for its Infrastructure planning,
design, construction and
management.
A full demonstraon table with a plasc model highlighng the design and
M-Aerotech oversees
architecture of the AAC.
the revenue generation
government agency for human capital
of AAC and it is also a subsidiary of
and entrepreneurship development
Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA), the key
that supports AAC whilst Permodalan
MARA Bhd. (PMB) as MARAs strategic
investment and Asset-management
Company serves as the master developer
in meeting AACs infrastructure needs,
and it also works closely with ATKINS
as the lead consultant and it is also the
master planner of Subang Nexus.
Subang Nexus assimilates work,
study, live and play in state-of-the-art
design that symbolises AACs vision.
There will be activity nodes which
provide a conducive environment for
the propagation of creative culture,
balanced work-life, and curated living
spaces all within a cosmopolitan
scheme. Its design is inspired by the
wing of an airplane, the Subang Nexus
is a true complete business ecosystem
which offers a high-end workplace
that sets a new benchmark in the
region for tomorrow, with academics,
research & technology, with custom
designed accommodation and modern
retail facilities within reach. With an
iconic industry & technology savvy
development, the whole area represents
a strong identity of the Asia Aerospace
City as the aerospace hub for Asia.
The main speakers for the AEC Symposium which is aimed at helping shape Malaysian building environment
www.asiaaerospacecity.com

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A look at how the small Jabra 65 headsets t snugly on your

heads is displayed in this demonstraon

(From le): Wayne Lee, Head of Product Management and Global Product Manager, Jabra; Ben Samman, Managing Director,
ASEAN, Jabra; Saurabh Singhal, Head of Markeng APAC, Jabra; and Gladys Kong, Sales Manager, Malaysia and Brunei, Jabra

Evolving One Step

At A Time

Jabra continues to provide innovative audio devices

and with the Jabra Evolve series, they are not slowing
down anytime soon

abra, the leading manufacturer

of innovative audio solutions
announced yesterday the
availability of their latest product
series, the Jabra Evolve. The Jabra
Evolve is the first in the industry of
professional headsets that caters to the
communication needs of knowledge
workers whereby in a recent survey
states that the disturbances in the open
office have a negative impact on their
performance. With their advance noise
cancellation technologies, Jabra aims to
improve work productivity by delivering
a personal concentration zone.
The Jabra Evolve headsets create
a complete personal concentration zone
that boosts focus and work satisfaction
for employees in increasingly open,

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loud and distracting workspaces,

said Ben Samman, Managing Director,
Jabra ASEAN. Studies show that
knowledge workers are interrupted
every 10 minutes. We have designed
the Jabra Evolve series with both the
employer and user in mind, delivering
a vital solution to improve return on
investment through increased workplace
productivity and accelerated user
adoption.
Their new series consists of five
headsets with all purpose built for
shutting out the hustle and bustle of
the open office, such as the features
that signal when a user is busy. The
Jabra Evolve also has a microphone
boom arm which discreetly integrates
into the headband to avoid any social

The agship Jabra 80 gives users producvity coupled with

high quality audio

awkwardness when using the device in

public. Each model in the Jabra Evolve
series is designed to meet the needs
of the mainstream audience while
giving employers the ability to promote
workplace productivity through a
personal device connectivity yet provide
a music- friendly experience.
We are excited to announce the
launch of the Jabra Evolve headsets in
Malaysia and we believe that this is truly
an innovative and unique offering to the
office workspace, said Samman.
Some of the features available on
the Jabra Evolve series are industry
leading noise cancellation from the large
ear cushions designed with a foam that
adapts to the users ears with full ear
coverage, Busy lights to show when the
user is busy signalling colleagues nearby
on the users availability and is mobility
ensured with its built-in Bluetooth
capability with plug and play options for
the PCs or mobile devices through USB
cable.
www.jabraevolve.com

news
local news

A Cure For
Sleepless
Nights
Spend Late-Nights Watching
Free Online Videos with U
Mobile

f youre a student, or a young adult

whos looking to spend late nights
away watching TV shows or online
videos, youre in luck as U Mobile has
recently announced a collaboration with
YouTube and Tonton to offer a gamechanging service: an add-on that allows
U Moible customers to watch videos and
shows on both YouTube and Tonton for
free.
This strategic partnership is in line
with U Mobiles commitment to provide
the best-in-class mobile experience to its
customers through innovative products
and services whilst delving deeper
into consumer insights and trends

(From le): Lam Swee Kim. Group General Manager, Media Prima Digital; Jasmine Lee, Chief Markeng Ocer of U
Mobile and Shylendra Nathan, Head of Telecommunicaons, Technology & Government of YouTube Malaysia during
the launch of U Mobiles Free Data for Non-Stop Streaming on YouTube and Tonton content

relevant to the industry.

This new add-on is available for all of
U Mobiles customers, be they prepaid,
postpaid or even mobile broadband
customers, all of them will be able to
enjoy watching videos for free from
2:00am to 10:00am from now till 31
December 2014.
As January 2015 comes around,
customers can also continue to enjoy
this special video streaming add-on by
paying an additional RM3.00 a month.

All U Mobile customers who subscribe

to the telcos internet plans will also be
notified about the promotion via SMS
throughout the promotion period.
The introduction of this free data plan
for non-stop video streaming is in-line
with the companys recently-announced
Vision 2 Million campaign, which is U
Mobiles aim to grow its subscriber base
with 2 million new customers by the end
of the year.
www.u.com.my

Lenovo Raids
The IBM Pantry
Again
Lenovo Acquires IBMs x86 Server Business

n 2005, Lenovo acquired IBMs

notebook and PC business and turned
itself into the worlds number one
PC maker, and with the acquisition of
Motorola Mobility from Google, the
company is poised to be the worlds
third largest smartphone maker. Now,
the company has gone back to IBM
to purchase its x86 server business
to bolster its PC and smart-connected
devices businesses.
The acquisition of IBMs x86 portfolio
includes the System x, BladeCenter and
Flex System blade servers and switches,
x86-based Flex integrated systems,

NeXtScale and iDataPlex

servers and associated
software, blade networking
Khoo Hung Chuan, Country General Manager, Lenovo Malaysia lling members of
the media in with details of the new servers
and maintenance
operations.
storage arrays and more.
Clients and customers who are
As for maintenance, IBM has also
currently using IBMs servers and
mentioned that they will continue to
services need not worry as the two
maintain their customers servers for
companies have established an alliance
the next five years, as IBM slowly hands
which will see Lenovo serving as an
over its server portfolio to Lenovo. The
OEM to IBM and resell selected products
transition began on the first of October
from IBMs storage and software
this year in countries that are part of
portfolio, including the entry and
the initial closing, which includes most
midrange Storewize storage product
major markets.
www.lenovo.com/my/en/
family, Linear Tape Open products, flash

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local news

A GALAXY of
Wonders
Samsung GALAXY Note 4 Goes On
Sale Nationwide

few days after the media launch,

Samsung Electronics (M) Sdn.
Bhd. finally made public the
long-awaited Samsung GALAXY Note
4 here in Malaysia. To commemorate
the occasion, Samsung Malaysia held
a three-day tour around the nation to
allow Malaysians from every state in
the country to purchase the brand new
phablet device.
The three day tour around the
nation was held from 17 October to
19 October, at the following locations;
Gurney Paragon Mall, Penang, Cnetre
Point Shopping Centre, Kota Kinabalu,
City Square, Johor Bahru and Kuantan
Parade, Pahang.
On top of that, the first 100 customers
who purchase a Samsung GALAXY Note
4 at participating Samsung Experience
Stores and authorised dealers also

received a
complementary
Samsung Gear
Circle Bluetooth
headset.
At the big
launch at the
Blue Atrium
Lee Dong Yong, President of Samsung Malaysia Electronics showing o the Samsung GALAXY Note 4
in Sunway
and Samsung Gear 2 at the consumer launch
Pyramid,
Samsung also
customers who lined up to buy a
collaborated with Celcom, DiGi, Maxis
GALAXY Note 4 at Sunway Pyramid
and Harvey Norman, as they set up
each receiving a Samsung Gear S as a
service booths throughout the three
token of appreciation.
days to allow customers to make
Available in two colours, Charcoal
purchases with ease. The three-day tour
Black and Frost White, the Samsung
features a series of activities which were
GALAXY Note 4 retails for RM2,499,
set up in several zones for consumers to
while the Gear S and Gear Circle each
have a go with the Samsung GALAXY
cost RM1,099 and RM209 respectively.
Note 4.
www.samsung.com/my
It also saw five of the earliest

Intel Appoints New

Country Manager
Exciting times are ahead for Intel Malaysia and
Singapore as Sumner Lemon is now Country
Manager

ate in the month of October,

Intel Malaysia announced the
appointment of Sumner Lemon
as the Country Manager of Intel
Malaysia and Singapore. Lemon is
now accountable for all of Intels sales
and marketing activities in Malaysia
and Singapore. He will also be
driving strategic partnerships with the
government and ecosystem partners in
order to accelerate technology adoption
in both countries.
2014 has been a very exciting year
for Intel in terms of innovation and
product offerings and I am very excited

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at the prospect of working with the

Malaysian and Singaporean teams to
bring these solutions to market. It is
a privilege to have been appointed to
this position and I am ready to build
on the firm foundations laid by my
predecessor, Lemon said.
Lemon has been with Intel for over
four years as he joined the company in
2010 as a corporate communications
manager based in Singapore. For the
last two and a half years, Lemon was
based in Hong Kong where he served
as technical assistant and chief of staff
to Gregory Bryant, General Manager for

Sumner Lemon, the new Country General Manager for Intel

Malaysia and Singapore

Intel Asia Pacific and Japan.

Prior to joining Intel, Sumner worked
as a journalist, covering the technology
industry in Taiwan, China and Southeast
Asia. Lemon earned an MBA with honors
from the University of Chicago Booth
School of Business and holds a BA in
East Asian Studies from Colby College.
Originally from the U.S., Lemon has
lived in Asia for 23 years and is fluent in
Mandarin.
www.intel.my

news
local news

Frag In Style
ASUS Announces Availability of ROG
G551 Gaming Notebook

SUS recently announced its latest

gaming laptop in the form of the
ROG G Series G551 notebook,
which represents a performance leap over
previous models. The gaming notebook
features the most powerful set of CPU and
GPU which allows gamers to play the latest
games smoothly at the highest settings
possible.
The ROG G551 notebook features a
matte-black aluminium finish with red
diamond-cut edges with an illuminated
ROG logo at the back. In keeping with the
ROG theme, the ROG G551 has a seamless
one-piece chiclet keyboard and speciallymarked WASD keys for easy navigation
and gameplay. The backlit keys glow red
to make it easy for gamers to read keys in
dim environments, and further adds to the
ROG mystique.
As mentioned earlier, the G551 features
the latest 4th generation Intel Core i7
processor, and this is coupled by the

very impressive
NVIDIA GTX 860M
discrete GPU, which
provides the gamers
with the firepower
necessary to make
the most out of the
notebooks 15.6-inch
Full HD IPS display. The ASUS ROG G551 gaming notebook is powered by an Intel Core i7 processor, an NVIDIA GTX
860M and features a 15.6 inch IPS display
It also features an
advanced cooling
system that efficiently removes heat with
ASUS Golden Ear team for an even more
minimal noise so as to not disrupt the
immersive experience.
users gaming experience.
As for availability, the ASUS ROG
For those who prefer to game with
G551JM-DM052H, which comes with 4GB
multiple displays, the G551 also comes
of RAM and an NVIDIA GeForce 860M
with the Trinity Display technology which
with 2GB of GDDR5 memory is available
allows users to hook up to three external
now for RM3,499, while the ASUS ROG
displays via HDMI or Mini DisplayPort.
G551JM-DM053H, with 4GB of RAM and
Audiophiles will also be happy to know
an NVIDIA GeForce 860M with 4GB of
that the G551 comes with a powerful
GDDR5 memory will be available at the
headphone amplifier that has been
end of October for RM4,099.
rog.asus.com/
fine-tuned by audio specialists in the

Fuelling The
Octane
Entry level gamers have another bundle
they should be looking out for as Cooler
Master has recently released their CM
Storm Octane combo

ooler Master, the leading creator,

innovator and manufacturer of
desktop components and gaming
peripherals recently announced the
immediate availability of CM Storm Octane
in Malaysia. The CM Storm Octane is a
gaming keyboard and mouse combination
which covers every area.
With the huge success from the
Devastator gaming keyboard and mouse
combo, Cooler Master has introduced a
new combo for those looking to enter the
world of gaming. The Octane comes with
seven different backlight colour options as
well as full backlighting and glow modes

that pulsate. These

colour changes are
customisable for
The ecient combinaon of the CM Storm Octane Combo allowing gamers to sele in to their
both mouse and
rigs faster
keyboard.
The mouse is built with an AVAGO 3050
media control keys, a windows key which
optical sensor with four DPI levels which
can be switched off, adjustable repeat
range from 500 DPI to 3500 DPI, the Octane
rates, and 19 anti-ghosting key technology
mouse is as accurate as you need it to be.
that allows for uninterrupted commands
This mouse is capable of handling up to 10
when using hotkey modifiers.
million clicks throughout its lifetime thus
The CM Storm Octane combo is
allowing worry-warts easy breathing space.
available immediately at a retail price of
The Octane keyboard however, gives
RM199.
apac.coolermaster.com/en/
gamers everything that they would need
in a gaming keyboard. It sports dedicated

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world wired web

USB 3.1: Its

My Way
U

SB 3.1 has been in the works for a substantial

amount of time and now the newest standard is
finally ready. While the version does not differ by
much, the new USB standard brings forth the biggest
change for its kind since its introduction 17 years ago, with
the latest innovation being the type C plugs can no longer
be inserted wrongly as they are now finally symmetrical.
However, the connections to the devices has to be changed.
This means that USB 3.1 plugs can only fit into USB 3.0
ports in one direction only. The new standard also gets a
speed upgrade as it can achieve up to 10Gbit/s or 1GByte/s
transfer rate which is twice that of USB 3.0.
As a result of this, an entire HD film can now be
transferred to an external SSD in under four to five
seconds. Additionally, the new connection delivers a higher
power output of up to 100 watt whereas USB 3.0 can only
achievable a maximum of 4.5 watts by default. In the
future, external devices such as smartphones and tablets can be charged much faster and external hard drives can consume
more power. Since the specification of the new standard has already been passed officially, manufacturers has already began
production for the corresponding products and we can expect the new external hard drives and mainboards to arrive in the near
future.

WikiLeaks
Surrenders?
A

fter two years of running, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange

allegedly wants to surrender himself to the authorities. Assange
could leave the Embassy of Ecuador in London where he had
taken refuge in for the last few years. The authorities are hunting down
Assange for not only the secretes that he leaked but he is also wanted in
Sweden where he is allegedly charged for sexual harassment and rape.

Capturing The
Trillions
J

apanese scientists have built the fastest video camera in the world which
can shoot up to 4.4 trillion frames per second. This would allow slow
motion to be played in very quick occurrences. During the tests, it was
possible to view heat conductions for the human eye, an occurrence which
takes place at a speed that is one-sixth that of the speed of light. The camera
can also capture chemical reactions and plasma movements. The only
drawback is that the camera only has a resolution of 450 x 450 pixels.

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Sweating
For
Power
C

alifornian researchers has recently developed

a stick-on tattoo that generates electricity
from lactate, which are the acids contained in
the sweat generated by strained muscles. With this
in mind, researchers are hoping that couch potatoes
are able to produce more electricity due to their
inactivity.

Heads Up
A

n American start-up company by the

brand of Skully has developed a
motorbike helmet that provides
information to the rider on a heads up display.
The information includes speed and navigation
because the helmet is linked to a smartphone
application that is connected via Bluetooth and it
also has a rear camera.

news

world wired web

Droning The Skies

T

he main problem with modern drones are that they are limited highly by their controls and you have to frequently switch
controllers when you switch vehicles, and thus you can forget about customisation. However, with the Open Source
Remote Control (OSRC) project, RC users might not need to worry about the multitude of controllers as this long term
project makes use of a mix of modular hardware and Linux-based software that allows you to steer any unmanned machine. It
has a programmable interface which you can swap in for a new wireless module and shoulder switches to either accommodate
new drones or improve existing controls. Additionally, one can also add-on a 4.8-inch touchscreen module for first person view,
use cellular networks or even share one vehicle between multiple operators, which is useful for those who are with a club or
shooting a movie.

Take It Back
B

lackberry has added a couple of new features to its BBN app that helps you
better control your messages. But they will only be free for a limited time
as the company has plans to make a subscription based version.
Announced earlier this month, the latest update to Blackberry Messenger
introduces a feature called Message Retraction, which allows you to remove a
message from the BBM chat screen after you have sent it. So if you had
accidentally said the wrong thing, you will have the chance to take it back before
you land yourself in trouble. Your message will be replaced with a note that says
message retracted. However, you still cant retract attachments or file transfers.
A second new feature, called Timed Messages, mimics vanishing message
apps such as Snapchat and allows you to control how long the message and
pictures you send to your contacts remain visible. Your message stays hidden
until your recipient touches and holds on the chat, according to Blackberry. After
the timer expires or the recipient is no longer touching the screen, the message
disappears and you will also be notified if your recipient tries to preserve the
message by taking a screenshot of it.
Blackberry has also added a few other features to the BBM such as if your
recipient gets a picture during a chat, that person can ask for a HD version to
view the image in greater detail. You can now easily browse BBM Stickers to add
them to a chat, and you can find new music by checking out what tunes are
popular among your BBM contacts.

Bitcoin
Testing
By eBay
e

Bay has apparently wanted to test the

virtual currency called Bitcoin as a
mode of payment and it has conducted
initial discussions with companies from the
Bitcoin economy. Tests are being conducted
at eBays daughter company Braintree,
which was bought by eBay last September.
It processes payments such as AirBnB and
the taxi service Uber. Braintree is a
department of PayPal. eBay chief Donahoe
feels that the integration of the crypto
currency is inevitable especially in countries
like USA, where Dell and Expedia have
already tested Bitcoins.

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Yondr
Kills The
Addiction
W

ith musicians fed up and audiences glued

to their mobile devices, Yondr has
arrived with a solution which operates
on a fundamental premise whereby smartphones
can be a distraction and a crutch that creates a
distance from our surroundings. Yondrs mission
statement is to show people how powerful a
moment is when we are not focused on just
broadcasting it. Yondr is among the first company
to cater to the unplugging movement. Thus, if you
have not been asked to stow away your gadgets,
you could soon be asked to do so.
A caf in Vermont made headlines in September
when it said sales has jumped after it banned laptops and cut the cord on public Wi-Fi, whereby the Motion Picture Association
has a zero tolerance policy for any recording device of any kind to be used while movies are being shown. Yondr expects interest
to pick up as more concert goers and venue owners get used to the idea, while Yondr is currently leasing its gears for places
wanting to set up phone-free zones.

The Currents Of The

Wind Powers Scotland
I

n between the Scottish mainland and the Orkny Island lied the Pentland Firth to which the loud crashing of the waves with
tides can reach a startling 18 miles per hour. According to researchers, that is a lot of untapped energy, and MeyGen is taking
advantage of that renewable energy with the installation of the worlds largest tidal power plant and if everything goes as
planned, it would be able to power one third of
Scotland.
Daily tides in Pentland Firth are averaging
around 11 miles per hour, which makes it perfect
for a tidal power plant, but it is with that same
powerful tidal activity which makes installing the
massive turbines extremely difficult. Nonetheless,
the new power station is projected to produce up to
398 megawatts of electricity a year, thus making it
the largest tidal power plant in comparison to
South Koreas Sihwa Lake which can generate 254
megawatts a year.
The building plans for the plant involves
dropping 61 turbines onto the floor of the sea
whereby each one will be weighed in place using
concrete legs. Each turbine has rotary blades like a
windmill thus any sea life and divers that would
come upon it would likely view it as a giant
undersea farm.

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world wired web

A Rentable
Windows?
Microsoft
Confirms
W

ith Windows 365, users can not only buy Microsofts

operating system in the future but you can also rent it out
on a payment of a monthly fee or annual fee similar to
Microsoft Office 365 whereby subscription is already introduced.
Several LinkedIn profiles of Microsoft employees has confirmed the
subscription plans for Windows 365 whereby it could also be
available as classic software, but with the monthly fee.

Falling Digital
Symphonies
T

he number of legal music downloads has gone down for the first
time in six months, with 2014 seeing a 7.1 percent decrease in the
first two quarters. Surprisingly, 18.6 percent of downloads are
making the second highest turnover which shares the major share of
65.6 percent of sales from CDs. The main cause of the decline can be
attributed to the boom in the music streaming industry which has
increased by 77 percent and has gained 7.7 percent in the turnover.

Samsung
Goes
Metal?
Not Quite
F

our aluminium-ribbed smartphones in rapid

launches are a common denominator that
sends a clue that Samsung is embarking on
a change in its smartphone design. The high-end,
metal-framed Galaxy Alpha and Galaxy Note 4
are just the tip of the iceberg, with the newly
revealed midrange Galaxy A3 and A5 stalking
Samsungs first claim in all-metal backings to
match the aluminium edging. But does this mean
that Samsung is going to be converting to metal
only phones? Not exactly.
Each product has its own design concept, a
Samsung representative explained at an early
hands-on briefing, citing that metal is the top
material that trendy young people -- who are
nevertheless on a budget -- want in a phone.
On another note, the design teams restriction
of metal elements to the Galaxy Note 4s
perimeter was intentional, as they has wanted to
keep the identity of the leather look and stitching
consistent.

Virtual Safety In F1
R

acers may find that safety vehicles are often as dangerous to racing drivers as they are actual competition, which was
evident when Formula 1 driver Jules Bianchi recently crashed into a recovery tractor that was sent out on an earlier
accident. These incidents may be less of an
unintentional threat if a virtual safety car (VSC) trial at
the US Grand Pric pans out whereby instead of using
a lead car to slow things down during yellow flags,
the system relies on dashboard displays to tell racers
to stay under a given speed limit whereby they would
face penalties if they go over the limit.
The technology is only being used in practice
sessions so far, but the FIA is working with teams to
determine when VSC would be viable to proper actual
races. Thus far, VSC has been a mixed success as
some drivers are complaining that it is too difficult as
they are spending a lot of their time staring at the
dashboard rather than the road ahead, and they have
to manage the speed very carefully if they want to
keep up when race organisers give the all clear. That
being said, the hassles might be worth the trouble of
avoiding collisions.
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3DPrinting
Just Got
Smaller
There are many types of 3D Printers but the iBox Nano
could be one of the smallest made yet. The creators claim
that the gadget is not only the most diminutive resin
printer, but it is also the most affordable in addition to
being the worlds quietest and lightest 3D printer to date.
It achieves these in a few ways such as using LEDs
instead of DLP bulbs for lights, and it uses acrylic parts for
the actual printer body. The final result is a box that measures 4 x 3 x 8 and weighs three pounds. The idea behind the small
design is that the people who buy the bigger designs end up printing only small objects thus it is all a matter of calculated
efficiency.
Additionally, you would be able to print without installing any software thus everything is handled using Wi-Fi and your web
browser, thus you can even print from Android and iOS devices.

Millions
Affected
By Hack
Attack
R

ecently, up to 12 million websites may have been

exploited by attackers who took advantage of a bug
in the widely used Drupal software as these sites
use Drupal to manage web content and images, text and video. Drupal had issued a security warning saying users who did not
apply for a patch recently should assume they had already been hacked. It was said that the automated attacks took advantage of
the bug and allows the attackers to take control of a site. It was estimated that up to 5.1 percent of the billion or so sites on the
web use Drupal 7 to manage their content, thus increasing the number of sites that requires patching up to 12 million.

The Smallest Details

Makes A Difference
S

ony claims that its A5100 is the tiniest cameras in the world and though it is very small, you should take a look at its
offerings. It snaps with a 24.3MP and has a hybrid auto focus which has 179 measuring points. With its continuous auto
focus, you can take six photos per second easily. Videos can be recorded in full HD whereas the 3-inch touch display has a
resolution of 912,000 pixels. Additionally, the camera can also be controlled via WLAN and a smartphone app and it is also NFC
capable. However, the tradeoff for the size would be its small battery life which only can last up to 400 photos and there are very
few photo editing options on the device itself.

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news
security report

Data Theft Of
The Month
DATA THEFT: PASSWORDS
STOLEN

It may sound silly, but one of the easiest things you can do to prevent someone from stealing your PIN number is by simply
covering the keypad

Keeping Your Bank

Details Safe And
Secure
Symantec has a few tips for bank customers to keep their
information secure

s Malaysians, we often hear

about bank accounts being
hacked and ATMs being rigged
overseas. Not too long ago, the country
was shocked by the revelation that
several foreigners entered Malaysia and
hacked into a number of ATMs around
the country, costing banks millions of
ringgit in cold hard cash. Symantec
has recently offered a list of preventive
measures when it comes to making
public transactions, both online and with
the ATM.
As customers, when making
transactions with ATMs, they must
always be on the look-out for suspicious
devices on the ATM that would be
capable of striping and read your
PIN number. If you are concerned
that someone is watching over your
shoulder, cover the PIN pad when keying
in your PIN number. Whenever possible,
you should also avoid using ATMs that
are located in isolated locations.
Banking institutions could also
help to improve the security of their
customers and ATMs by upgrading the
machines operating system such as
Windows 7 or 8 and ensure that they
are patched. CCTVs can also be installed

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at the ATM area so that security can

at least trace back the footage in case
anything untowards happens. The ATMs
are essentially computers that dispense
money, and so the BIOS of the ATMs
can also be locked down to prevent
booting from unauthorised media such
as CDs and thumbdrives.
For those who often do online
banking transactions, one of the most
key things to remember is to never
perform banking transactions over
open Wi-Fi connections as hackers will
be able to sniff packets that you send
over the connection and use that to
gain access to your bank account. You
should also always ensure that your
antivirus software and operating system
is updated, and check if the banking
site is genuine by double-checking the
web address to ensure that youre not
rerouted to a phishing site.
You should also never share your
phone number and sensitive information
online via email, IM or chat, especially
if there are e-mails that are supposedly
from your bank asking you for these
information.
www.symantec.com/en/my/

According to security experts at Hold

Security, Russian hackers have stolen
1.2 billion passwords, alongside their
usernames which included 500 million
email accounts. That being said, the
astronomical numbers of accounts
stolen is likely the result of several
hack attacks that were made recently.

HOSPITALS: PATIENT DATA

STOLEN
About 4.5 million patient data records
of American hospital operator
Community Health Systems were
seized by cyber criminals. According
to the security service provider
TrustedSec, the hospital chain was a
new victim of the Heartbleed SSL bug.
It was also discovered that the attack
likely happened as early as April or
June, and the culprit, likely a Chinese
hacker group were not able to get
their hands on credit card data and
medical files.

FLIGHT MH370: HACKER ATTACK

ON INVESTIGATION DATABASE
Months after the mysterious crash
of Malaysia Airlines MH370, it was
discovered that a hacker group
attempted to attack the investigations
database. A spokesperson from Kuala
Lumpur said that the data about the
investigation status of the case was
stolen. It was also mentioned that the
attacks appear to have originated from
China, and that the affected computers
of the investigators were infected with
malware.

news
security report

Taking Action
Against The Lynx

Danger Barometer
Researchers
presented a report
that proves over
14,000 routers
and networked
surveillance
cameras have
security loopholes

High risk

Medium risk

coordinated operation involving

Symantec and a number of other
security companies has delivered
a blow against Backdoor.Hikit and a
number of other malware tools used
by the Chinese-based cyberespionage
group Hidden Lynx.
A critical new vulnerability in
the Windows operating system, the
Microsoft Windows OLE Package
Manager Remote Code Execution

Low risk

Less data loss in

companies
According to the statistics website
breachlevelindex.com, data losses can
definitely be reversed. The exception
here is the month of May, where data
was stolen from several big companies
including eBay
No. of thefts in million data records
JANUARY

127,73

FEBRUARY
MARCH
APRIL

Kaspersky Builds
Stronger Ties

43,61
33,38
27,57

MAY

147,29
Source: Kaspersky

Cases of computer crime

on the rise
Cyber crime has gone up in the past few
years. In 2013 alone, there were about
89,000 cases of cyber crime in Germany.
Criminal prosecution authorities are
estimating a higher count this year
90.000
80.000
70.000
60.000
50.000
40.000
30.000
20.000
10.000

88722
cases

1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 20092011 2013

Source: Statista

Number of the Month:

50,000
WordPress pages were hacked due to
a security loophole in plug-in known
as MailPoet

Vulnerability allows attackers to

embed files from external locations.
The vulnerability can be exploited to
download and install malware on to the
targets computer. Symantec regards
this as critical since it allows attackers
to remotely run code on the targets
computer.
www.symantec.com/en/my/

aspersky Lab recently improved

its anti-cybercrime cooperation
with both the Interpol and
Europol to a new level with the signing
of key cooperation documents with
the two international law enforcement
bodies.
Under the new agreement with
Interpol, the company will provide
threat intelligence as well as both
hardware and software to establish

and run Interpols digital forensics

laboratory and other operations of the
newly-established center. Kaspersky
Lab will organize and run a series of
training sessions for Interpol officers to
transfer to them expertise in malware
analysis, digital forensics and financial
threat research. Kaspersky Lab has been
working with Interpol since April 2013.
www.kaspersky.com

Anything For
Internet

n a Europol-backed investigation, the

researchers have recently found out
that consumers dont mind giving
out their personal information via public
Wi-Fi as long as they are able to connect
to the Internet.
F-Secure, alongside the Europol and
the UKs Cyber Seurity Research Institute
and SySS, a German penetration
testing company set up a poisoned
Wi-Fi hotspot where users willingly
gave away their personal information,
whilst agreeing to ridiculous terms and

conditions such as giving away their

first-born child in exchange to use their
Wi-Fi.
In a 30 minute period, over 250
devices connected to the Wi-Fi
automatically and 33 of them actively
used the connection to send various data
such as emails. They later introduced
a terms and conditions page which
included outlandish clauses. In total, six
people agreed to the page before it was
disabled.
www.f-secure.ee

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nvidia mobile gpu 2014 launch

Brian Choi, Senior Product Manager provides an in-depth preview on the eciency of the NVIDIA Baery Boost

Gaming Notebooks Get A

Sweet Upgrade
After unveiling their latest desktop graphics cards, NVIDIA does a follow up for
notebooks as they invited us back to Bangkok with a showcase that put the
spotlight on the GeForce GTX 970M and 980M GPUs for the next-generation of
gaming laptops By Nicolas See Tho

hortly after their event that

highlighted the latest GeForce GTX
900 series of desktop PC graphics
cards, NVIDIA held yet another event in
Bangkok and this time the focus was set
on their new GeForce GTX 900M series
of mobile GPUs namely the GeForce GTX
97M and 980M GPUs. The launch of the
two new GPUs was followed by a sneak
preview of upcoming gaming laptops that
will be harnessing the power of these
GPUs.
Gaming notebooks evolved from
a niche audience into a strong home
grown audience with the advancements
in technology providing a much better
performance for mobile solutions and
portability. In a short span of three years,
gaming notebooks grew to over five

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times its market

value which marks
its staggering
demand by
gamers. In 2010,
NVIDIA released
the GTX 480M
which allowed
gamers to play
games in 1080p
high-resolution
graphics but not
at the highest
and best settings
possible, fast
forward to 2012,
the 680M was
released and
it allowed game

Brian provides members of the media a brief introducon to the latest technologies in the
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 900M series of graphic cards.

news
nvidia mobile gpu 2014 launch

The model holds up the the unique NVIDIA Shield and the
Shield controller which can stream games direct from your PC

our coverage will highlight each one in

detail.

Ushering In The Next

Generation
This presentaon slide shows the vast advancements in performance throughout the years since NVIDIA GTX 680 ll present day
NVIDIA GTX 980

setting to reach 1080p at Ultra settings

which was significantly better than
its predecessor thanks to its Kepler
architecture, and now with the Maxwell
architecture, the 900M series will
allow gamers to reach 4K resolution at
unprecedented levels of gaming image
fidelity. When the NVIDIA GeForce GTX
680Ms performance was compared to
the new 980M, the results are astounding
as they tabulate to over twice the
performance when playing games such
as Watch Dogs, Skyrim, Battlefield 4, and
GRID 2.
There are a few reasons according
to Brian Choi, Senior Product Manager,
on why gamers would want to spend
on these powerful mobile devices for
their gaming habits. He says that over
75 percent of gaming is done in multiple
locations, and with the current generation
of gamers in the market today, it was
evident that gamers are no longer the
same breed as those who just sit at
home, but rather they would like to meet
up with their friends for a LAN party or
travel to different places while retaining
the ability to play their favourite games.
One of the main drawbacks however to
mobile gaming, is that playing on the
battery dampens gaming performance
drastically. In order to solve this, NVIDIA
has come up with the new NVIDIA Battery
Boost technology for the new Maxwell
architecture which enables gamers to
enjoy high performance gaming on
longer battery life spans while keeping
the experience smooth and lag-free.
During the demonstration with the

new NVIDIA Battery Boost, the game that

was used to prove just how well this new
feature works was the new Tomb Raider
which clocked at a steady 65fps while on
battery which is a far cry from its early
predecessors which made the game
unplayable at 8fps on battery. This demo
also showed a big increase in battery
life with over 50% performance increase
from its predecessors. The new feature
is already available and can be found in
the latest version of the NVIDIA GeForce
Experience software.
The presentation came to a conclusion
with the reveal of the latest gaming
laptops from GIGABYTE, MSI, Clevo, and
ASUS which are all using the latest 900M
series graphics card and the next part of

First to make the scene is the ASUS ROG

G751 series gaming laptop. Within this
series, gamers can choose between the
G751JY, G751JT and G751JM with the
first of the series being the most powerful
and the last being the one that strikes a
good balance between affordability and
performance. However, the specifications
on the G571 series does not leave
anything wanting as it is powered by
the latest Intel Core i7 Processors and it
supports up to 32GB DDR3 SDRAM as
well as a choice between the GeForce
GTX 980M 4GB and the GeForce GTX
970M 3GB. It has a 17.3-inch display
with Full HD resolution and anti-glare
LED backlights and has up to 2TB of
hard drive storage or up to 512GB SSD
storage. Besides just the hardware, the
gaming laptop also features the ASUS
Turbomaster GPU technology which

Seen here is the very impressive ASUS G751 gaming notebook that is bound to make gamers go ga-ga over it

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039

news
nvidia mobile gpu 2014 launch

This super sleek and stylish gaming notebook is the MSI GS70 which has plenty of features under its sleek shell

allows users to overclock the integrated

video card to achieve desktop level
performance. Additionally, it also features
GameFirst III technology which optimises
networks to give gamers a delay free
game experience.
The next gaming laptop that was
revealed was the MSI GT72 2PE
Dominator Pro. This gaming beast comes
with the latest Intel Core i7 Processor
and will of course come equipped with
the NVIDIA GeForce GTX GeForce 980M
graphics setup and has a 17-inch Full HD
Anti-Reflective display. It runs on 32GB
RAM, has a 1TB HDD and 128GB SSD.
Playing games online would also be a
smooth experience with this laptops

Killer E2200 Game Networking system.

Additionally, it can support external
4K resolution with the HDMI cable for
glorious graphics to match the games
you play
Moving on to the next entry is the
MSI GS70 gaming laptop. This is another
thin and light gaming laptop from MSI
which packs the NVIDIA GeForce GTX
970M with 3GB GDDR5 worth of graphics
memory. It comes with a 15.6-inch 3K
wide-view LCD display and runs on
Windows 8.1. It comes with 1TB HDD with
512GB Super RAID and has up to 16GB
RAM. Much like MSIs range of gaming
laptop with this one is also equipped with
the SteelSeries Engine keyboard with LED

Weve seen the GIGABYTE AUROS X7 before during COMPUTEX Taipei in June and we it sll impresses us every me

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Back lights and solid feedback design

and it also has Dynaudio sound system
to give that extra kick for game audio. All
these new systems will arrive near the
end of this year and early next year.
When you want gaming power and
mobility, the GIGABYTE Aorus X7 is
the way to go. It comes equipped with
the latest Intel Core i7 Core Processor
with a powerful graphic setup using
two NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970M in SLI
mode giving users a whopping 6GB of
GDDR5 memory. Display-wise, it sports
a 17.3-inch Full HD Wide Viewing Angle
LCD with 8GB RAM and a max storage
of up to 2TB HDD or 512GB SSD. It
features highly customisable macro
keys which gives gamers the edge in
providing dominant gameplay and it
uses KILLER LAN networking for smooth
online gameplay. It also showcases its
exclusive AORUS Thermal+ technology
which substantially increases intake and
exhausts.
Last but not least was the rare Clevo
P650 Aftershock gaming laptop which
comes with either the NVIDIA GeForce
GTX 970M 6GB or NVIDIA GeForce GTX
980M 8GB. It also runs on the latest 4th
Generation Intel Core i7 Core Processors.
The device has 8GB RAM and up to 1TB
HDD with 128GB SSD and it also provides
a display with 17.3-inch Full HD Matte
LED display with 72 percent Wide Colour
Gamut. Some of its features include the
Soundblaster XIFI-3 Xtreme fidelity audio
speakers which boasts two speakers with
a single subwoofer for an immersive
gaming experience.
www.nvidia.com

While we dont get the Clevo here in Malaysia, we are sure

gamers would be looking for ways to get their hands on this
notebook

feature
legaltech

Merging Work And

Play In 2014
Computing devices these days are used more for just work as
consumers also use them for entertainment. With that in mind,
manufacturers have to produce devices that bridge the gap
between work and play and heres some of the upcoming device
trends By KT Ong
KT Ong is Dell Malaysias
current General Manager for
the Consumer and Commercial
Business.

ork and personal life used to be separate entities.

Today, however, it is not uncommon for people to
use their work devices to surf social sites or their
personal mobile phones to access work emails. 2014 is turning
out to be exciting with a host of new products and services
dedicated to merging work and life, pushing the boundaries of
the consumer experience. Users today have more choices on
hand; keeping them on the cutting edge of day-to-day
computing as well as enhancing their work and personal lives.
Here are three trends Dell envisions will continue to
contribute to the pervasive interchangeability of work and life:

Continued growth of tablets and rising

popularity of 2-in-1s
When tablets first hit the market, they were adopted mainly as
complementary gear for people to consume content on the go.
While tablet demands will continue to grow in the near future,
mobile professionals today are increasingly demanding to
work and play on devices with tablet-like form factors but
laptop-like performance.
As the workplace shifts to Bring-Your-Own-Device (BYOD)
or Choose-Your-Own-Device (CYOD) ecosystems, 2-in-1
devices are the answer to allowing consumers to enjoy the
mobility and slimness of tablets as well as the strong, stable
performance of laptops. Besides consuming content
conveniently while on-the-go, users can also employ these
2-in-1 devices for work as moreapplications and services are
moving to the cloud. Due to the rising popularity of 2-in-1s in
the market, Dell expects an increase in the variety of 2-in-1
devices developed to meet different users needs, working
habits and lifestyles.

Bridging the 4K frontier with end-user

devices
The undying quest for sharper images with higher clarity has
brought about the advent of high definition (HD), full HD and
even HD plus displays. Today, graphics have gone one step
further with the introduction of 4K resolution, which provides

more than four times the resolution of current HD displays.

Spoilt by increasingly sharper graphics on television and
movie screens, end-users are looking for the same level of
clarity on their personal devices. As such, monitor and laptop
displays are rising to the occasion, providing visuals that
previously can only be experienced on much larger screens.
This means increased benefits in graphic editing and text
reading, with sharper images and reduced screen glare. In
particular, people who are accustomed to using workstations
for graphics editing now have the added option of using more
convenient devices such as mobile workstations or notebooks
to work on-the-go.

Storage moves to the Cloud with devices

becoming a gateway to information
Todays workforce wants total mobility from any device,
anywhere, anytime. CIOs are increasingly moving corporate
data into the cloud. With more data moving to the cloud,
security and accessibility have never been more important.
Cloud storage allows people to store their data securely on
the Internet, providing safe and convenient access regardless
of location as long as there is an Internet connection. Several
laptops and tablets today also come bundled with free cloud
storage options, simplifying the user experience. Instead of
employees endangering the security of sensitive information
on personal devices which may be lost or stolen, they can now
choose to save their data on such free and secure cloud
storage options.
In line with the aims of a mobile workforce, devices will
evolve from being a storage bank to becoming a conduit to
information, regardless of where that information is stored.
CIOs will also want solutions that enable them to manage and
secure company devices as well as the personal devices that
their employees bring onto the network.
2014 has seen the increased blurring of the lines between
work and play. People will continue to be empowered with
corporate content on-the-move, as well as devices that merge
form and function. At the same time, this year promises a
whole new immersive experience for the modern end-user
with ultra-high definition graphics and faster performance. The
switch from work to play and vice-versa has never been easier
or more pleasant.

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feature
legaltech

Internet
Pornography
What is
Legal, What
is Not?
The World Wide Web is a double-edged sword. It can be a treasure
trove of useful information but it also houses a boatload of adultonly and smut material. Most of us take it for granted that since its
already there on the net, its fine to consume, but is it really or will it
land you in a hot sticky mess? By Edwin Lee Yong Cieh
A practicising lawyer specialising
in telecommunications, media
& technology law, Edwin is in a
constant effort to educate users
on the many legal happenings in
the IT world

slew of nude photos of various celebrities such as

Jennifer Lawrence, Kate Upton, Jessica Brown and
many other A-list celebrities, was recently leaked on
the Internet. The photos were obtained from the online file
storage offered by Apples iCloud platform. Apple later
reported that the victims iCloud account was hacked using a
very targeted attack on user names, passwords and security
questions, such as phishing and brute-force guessing, rather
than any specific vulnerability in the iCloud service itself. Many
have condemned such action as an act of invasion of privacy,
with Jennifer Lawrence calling the leak a sex crime and
saying that anybody who looked at those pictures, you are
perpetuating a sexual offence.
Many of you would recall that back in 2008, similar incident
also took place in Hong Kong where hundreds of intimate and
nude photos involving Hong Kong celebrities such as Edison
Chen, Gillian Chung, Cecilia Cheung and others were leaked
and circulated all over the Internet. In Malaysia, the most
famous nude photo shared incident is none other than the

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controversial couple, Alvin Tan and Vivian Lee, who had

deliberately uploaded nude photos and sex videos of
themselves onto the Internet, which landed them in hot soup.
This article sets out to examine the legality issues revolving
around pornography, nude photos as well as obscene
materials on the Internet. Is hacking and circulating nude
photos a sex crime, as described by Jennifer Lawrence?
Without a doubt, the act of hacking into someones computer
is a computer crime, but it may not necessarily amount to a
sex crime, which usually refers to sexual offences such as
rape, molest, sexual harassment, sexual assault etc.
The advent of the World Wide Web has led to the growth of
Internet pornography, and has made it so easy for any Internet
users to stumble upon, or accidentally or deliberately view
explicit images while surfing the Internet. Pornography
magazines and videos have always been banned from entering
into Malaysia. Now with the Internet, these materials are easily
accessible to anyone, without any form of restriction or
censorship. The phenomenon of revenge porn i.e. an act where
ex-partners post sexually explicit or indecent photos and
videos of their former partners, and sexting i.e. an act of
sending sexually explicit messages (which sometimes contain
photos and videos) between mobile phone users are also
getting popular worldwide.

feature
legaltech

It is no surprise when our former Prime Minister, Tun Dr.

Mahathir Mohamad, who was once an advocate of noncensorship of the Internet (as evident by the spirit under the
Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 and the MSC Bill of
Guarantees, which approved by him when he was the Prime
Minister), lamented that the easy access to sexually explicit
websites and pornographic on the Internet has corrupted the
minds of the young, and caused decline in morality. He had
called on the government to impose some form of censorship
or filtering mechanism to block access to pornographic and
obscene materials online, although such suggestion has been
turned down by the government, not because the government
is not serious about blocking access to pornographic materials,
but because the government knows that no form of censorship
can effectively wipe out all pornographic materials on the
Internet.

What about the existing laws?

For decades, the courts have been struggling with how the law
should treat pornographic, indecent and obscene materials. In
most of the western countries, porn is legal and is widely
distributed. In fact, it is a multi-billion dollar industry.
According to YouTube channel All Time 10s, every second,
30,000 people are watching porn, and a new porn video is
produced every 39 minutes to meet the growing demand. It is
legal for people to buy and own it, and consenting adults are
free to participate in the making of pornographic materials in
return for money. However, porn becomes illegal when it is
obscene or it involves children.
In this part of the world, the possession of any form of
pornographic material which is obscene or is otherwise
against public decency is illegal. Under Section 292 of the
Penal Code, it is a criminal offence for anyone who sells, lets,
distributes, publicly exhibits, makes, produces or has in his
possession any obscene book, pamphlet, paper, drawing,
painting, representation or figure or any other obscene object
whatsoever, and will be jailed up to 3 years and/or fined up to
RM10,000.
The court has confirmed that the word object is to be
construed widely and to include all manner and variety of
objects that are obscene, and that the words any object
whatsoever are sufficiently wide to include visual recordings
of any nature, such as VCD, DVD and even video clips on the
phones, laptops or the Internet. In one case, an accused person
was convicted under Section 292 for uploading pornographic
photos and disseminating them on several websites. Merely
visiting such websites or viewing pornographic materials is
not a crime. However, making, downloading or storing such
materials is a crime.
In addition to the above, Section 5 of the Film Censorship
Act 2002 states that it is illegal for anyone who:
(a) has in his possession, custody, control or ownership; or
(b) circulates, exhibits, distributes, displays, manufactures,
produces, sells or hires,
any film or film-publicity material which is obscene or is
otherwise against public decency. A person who commits any
of the offences above will be jailed up to 5 years and/or fined
up to RM50,000.

Pornographic material is one of the easiest to stumble upon as you can see a search completes
in less than 20 seconds with an impressive number of results

A recent example of this is the case involving three

members of the Datuk T Trio, who publicly screened a sex
video implicating the Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar
Ibrahim at Carcosa Seri Negara. The three Datuks have since
been charged in court under the Film Censorship Act 2002.
Alvin Tan and Vivian Lee have also been charged under the
same law for posting pornographic photos on their blogs.
The Government has called for self-regulation and selfcensorship by asking various stakeholders to take the
necessary measures to combat all forms of pornography on
the Internet. An example of this can be seen in the drafting of
the Content Code. The Content Code sets out guidelines on
approved and prohibited content in Malaysia, especially in
respect of broadcasting, online content as well as audiotext
hosting services. Compliance with the Content Code brings a
number of benefits, such as, it serves as a defence against any
prosecution or civil proceeding.
The Content Code states that any portrayal of sexual activity
that a reasonable adult considers explicit and pornographic is
prohibited. Child pornography is strictly prohibited.
Advertisements for products or services with pornographic
materials or sexually explicit scenes are also not allowed to be
displayed. It goes further to state that advertisements must not
project women as an object for sex or be shown to merely
satisfy mens desire and satisfaction. The Malaysian
Communications and Multimedia Commission also has the
power to block access to certain websites that contain
indecent and obscene content as such content is
prohibited under the Communications and Multimedia Act
1998.
Many companies nowadays have also installed porn image
filtering software on work computers, or put in place internal
policies or code of ethics to prevent employees from viewing
or downloading pornographic materials at work. As such,
please do not be too quick to share those materials with your
colleagues, as that may get you into trouble. Over-zealous
parents who post and share nude photos of their children must
also be careful that no moral lines are crossed.
The view expressed in this article is intended to provide a
general guide to the subject matter and does not constitute
professional legal advice. You are advised to seek proper legal
advice for your specific situation.

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feature
tech spelunk

Unmatched Performance
The GT72 is powered by a 4th Generation Intel Core i7
processor, coupled with up to 32GB of DDR3L RAM,
alongside an NVIDIA GeForce GTX880M discrete graphics
card which provides users with gaming performance that is
almost unheard of in a gaming notebook. As far as storage
is concerned, the GT72 comes with up to 512GB of Super
RAID 3 SSD and a 1TB HDD that spins at 7,200RPM, very
similar to performance levels that youll get from desktop
storage solutions.
It also features a 17.3-inch antiglare Full HD display, which is
gigantic by notebook display
standards, and is sure to provide
you with enough display real estate
for both work and play. Thanks to
Mini DisplayPort 1.2 and HDMI 1.4
ports, users can also hook up three
4K monitors to the GT72 for a truly mesmerising gaming experience.

Efficient Cooling
A common problem with gaming
PCs is the fact that they all more
often than not turn into a furnace
whenever you game on them for
long periods of time. MSIs Cooler
Boost 3 dual thermal system is
made to cool down the high-end
components that are inside the
GT72.
What MSI has done here is to
install a fan each for the CPU and
GPU, and whilst the standard
cooling speeds of the Cooler Booster 3 is already very good, you can
crank the fans up even further to decrease the temperature of the CPU
and GPU respectively. MSI also claims that with the boosted fan
speeds, it could decrease the CPU temperature around 8-10-degrees
Celsius and GPU temperature around 4-5-degrees Celsius.

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feature
tech spelunk

For the past few months, Tech Spelunk has been mostly about desktop PC components
(CPUs to be exact), and while its great to be able to build powerful desktop PC for
gaming purposes, for some people, it could be a tad bit too troublesome, or lack of
space may be a main cause as to why a desktop PC might not be a viable option. Fret
not however, as MSI has just the thing for your portable gaming needs in the form of the
MSI GT72 2PE Dominator Pro. By CHIP Team

Unmatched Sound Quality

MSI has also brought their Audio Boost 2 technology that is commonly seen in their gaming
motherboard line-up to the GT72, and this is great news for audiophiles. Audio Boost 2 features
dedicated amps for headsets, and uses an isolated audio board and gold flash audio jack to ensure
cleaner audio signals that gives gamers more sound detail to identify the positions of enemies and
minimise distortion.
Not only that, the GT72 also comes with Dynaudio 2.1 speakers, crafted specifically for the
gaming notebook, and provides users with an authentic listening experience. Regardless if youre
using headphones or using the on-board speakers, you can be sure that the audio quality on the
GT72 will be pretty amazing.

More Than Just A

Keyboard
The keyboard is easily the most used and abused
part of a gaming laptop, and it is why MSI has
stuck with Steel Series, purveyors
of gaming peripherals who are also
widely known for their long-lasting
keyboards. This time around, Steel
Series has provided the GT72s
keyboard with a lot of bling, allowing users to choose from more than 1,000
colours and five different scenario modes for the keyboard.
The SteelSeries Engine meanwhile combines all frequent functions for
gamers in order to easily customize every individual key and functions to
personalize every gamers play style, including KLM, multiple devices
management (for example, headset, mouse, and keyboard), keypress macros,
and text macros.

Modular By Nature
For enthusiasts, one of the best parts
about the GT72, besides the
components it comes with is the fact
that they are all modular. The GPU
deserves special mention here as MSI
chose to introduce their MXM modular
system in the GT72. The GTX880M can
be upgraded to the newer and more
powerful GTX970M or GTX980M,
depending on your needs. Users will
also be able to swap the RAM sticks
and SSD/HDD as well, making
upgrading a very straight-forward deal
with the GT72, which is a first for notebooks.

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feature
timeline

1985
Amiga 1000
With real multitasking, a
big competitor of the
IBMPC at about half the
price

1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989

Launch of sales:: 1984

Production end: 1987
Chip architecture: Intel 80286
CPU/RAM: 6MHz/up to 512KB
Price: starting from approx. US$4,000 (RM13,160)

"

CHIP TIMELINE
IBM PC/AT

IBM PC/AT
(5170)

Powered by Intels new

286-series CPU, the PC/
AT became a model for
future PCs

"

Mocked by Bill Gates as brainless, the PC/AT 1984 rang in a new PC era with a new
Intel chip, BIOS forerunner and multitasking

dvanced technology: thats what

AT in the name IBM PC/AT
stands for. In 1984 advanced
was made up of 6MHz of computing
power, 256KB worth of RAM and PC DOS
3.0 as the operating system. And even
the price for the first PC with Intels
80286er architecture clearly indicated:
dear PC enthusiast, you cant get more.
The base model cost US$4,000

046

october 14

chip malaysia

(RM13,160), while the variant with 512KB

RAM and a 20MB hard disk cost
US$5,795 (RM19,000).
With PC/AT, Intel went all out on the
young PC market. The first IBM PC that
was launched three years before that,
executed only BASIC programs with its
poor 16KB RAM. It was an experimental
move played by IBM to test its chances
against Apple, Commodore and Xerox. It

turned out to be a successful

experiment, which gave rise to the
technological wonder that is the 5170.
The revolutionary feature in Intels
286-series chip was the Protected Mode.
This operating mode made it possible to
restrict the memory access rights of
individual applications for the first time
Windows continues to use this memory
management to date. Furthermore, the

PHOTOS FROM TOP TO BOTTOM: INTEL; APPLE; WIKIPEDIA/RAINER KNPPER, FREE ART LICENSE (HTTP://ARTLIBRE.ORG/?PAGE_ID=65);
WIKIPEDIA/TULLIUS/CC BY-SA 3.0; WIKIPEDIA/KONSTANTIN LANZET/CC BY-SA 3.0; WIKIPEDIA/KAIIV/CC BY-SA 3.0; IBM

IBM PC/AT (5170)

feature
timeline

1999

2013

AMD Athlon

Intel Baytrail

The fastest x86 processor

in the world at that time

Intels latest multi-core

chip for all device classes

1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

2006
1993
Intel Pentium P5

Intel Pentium D
The first dual core CPU
for desktop systems

The first CPU with

parallel command
processing (superscalar)
and the start of the
Pentium era

Protected Mode made the most of the

equally new 16-bit system bus. However,
it still had a drawback: MS-DOS
programs could be executed only
sporadically since most of them
demanded full access to the system. This
is the reason Microsofs head Bill Gates
mocked the chip as brainless.
However, it was still a success for Intel
and the basis for all the subsequent
processors, for example, the ones from
the 80386 series. In addition to a new

CPU, PC/AT also had a CMOS RAM on

board for the first time. This batterybacked memory in an IBM PC contains
hard disk configurations; the memory in
the latest PCs contains BIOS
configurations. Even the 20MB hard disk
was a highlight with its access time of 40
milliseconds today we have access
times of about 8 milliseconds. The
keyboard of the IBM PC/AT too marked a
major development leap. The number
pad in this model was offset from the

2013
Apple MacPro
The high-end model
among Apple desktop
computers with a 6 core
Intel Xeon CPU

remaining keys. Moreover, IBM built in

LEDs for the Shift, Num and Scroll keys
for the first time.
The success of the AT platform
was evident from the different costeffective reproductions of the same
especially in Asia. They not only adopted
the Intel architecture but also the AT
label. In the end, IBM lost the price war
because even the follow-up model PS/2
could not attain the success achieved by
PC/AT.

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feature
technic lexicon

Router with
MU MIMO
ASUS RT-AC87 is the
first router that
communicates with
several WLAN
devices at the same
time

802.11ac Wave 2
Multi-user MIMO is an inherent part of
the 802.11ac standard. However,
so far there have been no
devices that supported this new
WLAN standard
type of multi-antenna
Maximum data rate per
stream (in MBit/s
technology. The present WLAN
Frequency band (in GHz
routers as per the 802.11ac
Channel range (in MHz)
standard are therefore called
Antenna technology
Wave-1 devices. MU MIMO was
Maximum no. of spatial
introduced with Wave 2 devices
streams
Supports beam forming
and ASUS RTAC87 leads this
second wave.
* IN THE PLANNING STAGE

802.11b

802.11g/a

802.11n

802.11ac

802.11ax*

11

54

150

866

Min. 3500

2,4
20
Single Input Single
Output (SISO)

2.4 / 5
20 / 20
Single Input Single
Output (SISO)

2.4 und 5
20 und 40
Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO)

5
20, 40, 80 or 160
MIMO/MU-MIMO

Between 1 and 6
Yet to be decided
MIMO/MU-MIMO

Yet to be decided

Q
Q YES Q NO

How MIMO variants transmit

Single User

Multi User

If four devices share a WLAN, a 4x4 single user MIMO router can
transmit four spatial streams but always only to the same device.
Notebook, tablet, mobile phone and TV are served alternately.

When it comes to multi-user MIMO, the devices need not be

alternated for connection with the WLAN router. Notebook, tablet,
mobile phone and TV are supplied with data simultaneously.

1 Notebook

Notebook
2 Tablet

Tablet

3 Mobile

Mobile
phone

phone

4 TV

TV

New data headers for MU MIMO

Since a MU MIMO transmits to several users at the same time, the
transmission protocol for the data header has been extended
accordingly: instead of providing the number of spatially separated
streams to one field, MU MIMO needs to define it separately for

every user the same holds true for the coding. Negotiating the
bandwidth and coding have remained the same. Checksums are sent
for error checking.

SU-MIMO

Bandwidth

ID

No. of
streams

Coding

Checksum

End

MU-MIMO

Bandwidth

ID

No. of
streams
User 1

No. of
streams
User 2

No. of
streams
User 3

No. of
streams
User 4

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chip malaysia

Coding
User 1

Coding
User 2

Coding
User 3

Coding
User 4

Checksum

End

feature
technic lexicon

Multi-User MIMO

So far, new WLAN standards were only able to accelerate individual connections. A clever
technology now tunes the WLAN throughput for everyone, which also means faster and
more stable connection for all By Jrg Geiger

LAN can be compared to a heavily trafficked

motorway: in addition to PCs and notebooks you
will find tablets, smartphones, TVs and gaming
consoles (depending on what time of day it is) connected to
the radio traffic. In an average household today, you will find a
total of 5.3 Internet enabled devices connected to the WLAN
and the numbers are constantly increasing. At a rate of 11MBit
per second that the primary WLAN standard 802.11b offers,
you need a lot of patience while surfing on the Internet or
uploading or downloading files because, strictly speaking, the
router is always only connected to one device. If three devices
use the radio communication, each client gets one third of the
connection time; two third of the time is lost in waiting.
WLANs as per the 802.11ac standard offer GBit bandwidths,
but their speed still slows down due to the waiting time. It is
the next device generation (802.11ac Wave 2) that promises
better performance for radio networks when it comes to
working with more than one device.
However for a better understanding of this technology, let
us take a quick look back: the previous WLAN standards have
already scooped out more performance from the radio
networks by employing various tuning measures. One of the
most effective accelerator since 802.11n is the so-called MIMO
technology (Multiple Input Multiple Output), where several
radio antennas transmit parallel data streams. For example, if
a video file is being sent via WLAN and if you use a MIMO
router with three antennas, each transmission unit transmits
one third of the file in an ideal case scenario (spatial
multiplex). Each of the three antennas uses a fingerprint of
sorts for transmission, which arises from the spatial
arrangement of the antennas. The recipient can thus
differentiate between the data streams. The WLAN client
works just like a download manager, which receives a file in
several parts from the server. The client must recognise what
it has already loaded and join the individual parts correctly.

PHOTO: ASUS INFOGRAPHICS: DOREEN HEIMANN

The cost increases with every antenna

In the 802.11n WLAN, each of the spatially separated data
streams (spatial streams) provides a gross speed, i.e.,
inclusive of control data, of 150MBit per second. Devices with
four antennas achieve 600MBit. On paper, the current WLAN
standard 802.11ac yields about 6,900MBit per second. Apart
from wider radio channels and improved modulation, new
additions to MIMO are responsible for the higher speed:
802.11ac allows up to eight MIMO streams.
However, there is no guarantee that the data transmission
speed will increase with the addition of every antenna. On the
contrary, after four antennas, the administration overheads
increase drastically and collision detection in radio signals

becomes costlier. The MIMO technology was developed so

that adding more antennas becomes worthwhile. For the sake
of clarity, let us correctly name the present MIMO as a single
user MIMO. It can transmit several spatial streams at the same
time as described in the beginning but only to one address.
Multi-user MIMO now resolves this bottleneck. Using this
technology, WLAN bases can transmit to up to four clients
simultaneously. A device with eight antennas for instance, can
use four for a notebook and simultaneously two others for a
tablet and a smartphone.

MIMO with an accurate directional radio

For the base station to send WLAN packets to different clients
simultaneously, it requires information about the location of
the clients. For this, test data packets are sent in all directions
first. The clients respond to these packets and the base station
stores information about the signal strengths. One of the most
important aids of MU MIMO is the so-called beam forming.
Although it was also present in 802.11n, it has been improved
for 802.11ac. During beam forming, bundled radio signals are
turned towards the client in the optimal direction. The base
station determines the optimal alignment of transmitting
antennas separately for every radio signal. The challenge
associated with multi-user operation is that the channel
information must be absolutely correct because a change in
location of even one single client can change the complete
transmission path and break down the WLAN throughput. This
is why channels are measured every 10milliseconds (ms). On
the other hand, a Single User MIMO measures only every
100ms. So that things dont get over complicated, a MU MIMO
can serve only four clients at the same time; each client can
receive up to four parallel streams, i.e., 16 streams need to be
managed at the topmost configuration level. The reamed
MIMO requires new WLAN routers for this because they need
more computing power. They negotiate the coding separately
for each client (see graphics on the left). An important fact is
that the clients too must be MU MIMO compatible because it
is their task to filter out the data packets intended for them
from the multi-user data stream.
One of the biggest problems of MU MIMO is the
interference between clients. Although channel assignment is
often measured, this is not enough. Moreover, individual
frames are prioritised if required, while others are withheld.
For this, 802.11ac uses different queues, which process these
with varying speeds depending on the data packet type and
prefer video packets. However, the ac standard does not solve
one problem: MU MIMO only functions from the base to the
clients. The confirmations about received data packets occupy
the entire channel.

chip malaysia

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049

feature
interview

Goh Su Gim, Security Advisor for F-Secure Labs

Understanding
The Ways Of
Cybercrime

In your opinion, what are the

main pitfalls and vulnerabilities
that the Malaysian cyber
infrastructure currently has and
what are some of the changes
needed for it to better defend
itself?
Well, firstly, I wouldnt say that Malaysian
Infrastructure has any pitfalls instead,
the more important aspect is actually
awareness. As we are in South East Asia,
we live in a society that believes that if
something isnt broken, dont fix it. We do
not have enough channels for awareness
especially from the government or private
sectors. The real danger lies with the small
to medium businesses that usually dont
have the capital for an IT department or IT
guy to help monitor these types of cases.
Another problem is the lack of expertise
in the IT security sector. We have many
university graduates in the IT field, but
many of them are not well versed in the
security field which makes for a lack in
manpower when it comes to cybersecurity.
So in retrospect, an increase in awareness
and education in IT security is an important
step to take when combating cyber threats.

Cyberthreats are no longer a unique problem but

rather a very common one, with many threats being
created day in and day out, security firms have
trouble keeping up with ways to solve all these
issues. But nevertheless, these security firms manage
to take down the worst of the threats and they
continue to combat cybercriminals on the cyber
frontline. At the recent launch of F-Secures latest
security solution, the Protection Service for Business,
we were given a chance to sit down and have a chat
with Goh Su Gim, Security Advisor for F-Secure Labs,
on some of the common problems faced by modern
society in terms of security and how, from their point
Most Malaysians these days
of view, they are trying to prevent and eliminate these are equipped with more than a
single device, and this means
threats. By Nicolas See Tho
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feature
interview

that hackers have additional

avenues of access to a users
personal data. Are Malaysians
finally wising up & learning
how to protect their devices or
are the vast majority remaining
unprotected?
The weak points are actually found in the
mobile space, because of the nature of
these devices. A common mistake made
by the general public is assuming that
smartphones are just a standard phone, and
this train of thought is extremely dangerous
because what most users dont know today
is that smartphones today contain more
information compared to PCs five years ago.
Another aspect that the public is not aware
of is the value of the data that is being
stored on their mobile devices. If I were to
give you an example, if you were to give me
your mobile device, I can tell you when you
got it, whom you have been chatting with,
whether you do mobile banking, which are
the restaurants you frequent most, if you
have any important pictures and much
more.

Following up on that question,

there are many applications
that we use on a daily basis
that instantly uploads our
location, however many users
arent aware of this. Is this
something a developer should
look into and is it ethical?
Unfortunately, this is actually the most
challenging factor for most users and
security companies, because this falls into
a grey area. As most users do not read
the terms and conditions, this becomes
harder for such enforcement to be applied
reasonably. This also brings us to the topic
on whether free applications are actually
better. Most application companies provide
free apps, but at the costs of privacy or
being used for profiling. In the end, this all
boils down to the user and their awareness
on these factors and conditions that these
applications impose on them.

In many cases, when the public

asks about how cyberthreats
are being managed, they
receive answers that points
towards being proactive and
learning how to react to these
threats. However, is it time
for the public to learn about
the mediums that cause these

problems such as new cases of

USB hacks and the recent ATM
bank heists?
Firstly, lets use an example in the form
of the Android platform since it has
been the most targeted platform for the
mobile. Many users would download free
applications from various websites but this
would place them in immediate danger of
malware, as such we would normally advise
them to use recognised application stores
such as Google Play. One example of a
dangerous website would be a third party
website like the many Chinese websites that
offers free (but malicious) apps. Secondly,
before we even think about USBs being
hacked, we need to show them how it has
been hacked and that is through malicious
software that has been downloaded
unknowingly because of a lack of antivirus.
Thus, the public audience should emphasise
on preparations before they can finally
answer the bigger question which is Why
are these attacks happening?

As you are well aware, the

recent leaks from the celebrity
cloud databases and the
recent mass public leak from
Snapchat has brought privacy
concerns to new heights. What
is F-Secures advice when it
comes to handling threats
from cloud breaches and
what methods does F-Secure
employ to curb the unwanted
attention?
The interesting thing about this issue is
that most of the breaches werent hacks
per say. They were mostly obtained from
leaked passwords. The main issue from this
case is actually password management.
An example of this issue was the same
with Dropbox in which passwords were
leaked and everyone became worried. The
key to solving this issue would be in two
factor authentication whereby you secure
your accounts with what you know, and
with what you have. This means that a
hacker will need both parts to access your
data, making it harder for hackers and
safer for you. Having very good password
management software is also another
good way to solve this issue, a password
manager helps users handles all your
passwords and encrypt it.

Will cloud technology ever

reach a point in which it can

transmit and receive data with

minimal worries and in your
opinion, what would be the
best way to achieve that goal?
First and foremost, the word cloud is
overrated. Whatever you dont keep in hand
or in your device is in the cloud. The most
important factor needed by cloud services
is trust. Users will only use a particular
cloud service because they trust it. Which
is why, the most critical criteria needed by
cloud companies is to earn trust from their
customers while bolstering their ability to
provide privacy.

Besides the cloud, the Internet

of Things also seems to be one
of the major topics within the
industry. With that in mind, do
you think its implementation
will open up new ways for
hackers to benefit from it?
What is your opinion on the
steps needed to ensure that
this does not happen?
A few years ago, I had a colleague who
joked saying Soon, we will have to
devise an antivirus for our fridge and TV.
Today, that notion is already happening
as technology has advanced beyond
comprehension. Nowadays, mobile
operating systems are found on many
everyday devices like in-car entertainment
system for cars, TVs and even home
appliances. Hackers are an opportunistic
bunch whereby if there is money to be
made, they will attack it. Thus we too see a
potential in creating security solutions for
these devices.

Lastly, it is not unheard of

for black hat hackers to join
security teams to help stop
other hackers from releasing
threats. Is there a chance for
these types of hackers to hop
over to the other side to protect
us from these mobile threats?
The situation is exactly the same as when
it comes to PC. Today, black hat hackers
are finding flaws in mobile platforms for
Google. As the saying goes, If you cant
beat them, you make them join you. It is
not just Google as there are many software
vendors out there who actually offer and
reward hackers with attractive incentives
to help them root out problems in their
products.
www.f-secure.com

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feature
lock down your data

Lock Down Your

Data The Easy Way
S

ince the NSA scandal, it is a known fact that in digital data

traffic, there is no guarantee for protecting ones privacy. It
is not just hackers who steal data; even government
organisations such as NSA are alarmingly effective in storing and
analysing every bit of information that passes via digital channels
partially in forced cooperation with device and software
manufacturers. Providers of mail and cloud services such as
Google make money by analysing your communication and
displaying relevant ads. The only solution for this is to store and
transfer files in an encrypted manner. The power encryption that is
possible today provides protection, which, as per the available
knowledge, cannot be cracked even by NSA.

Making access as difficult as possible

With the recommended software we will use, you can protect files
and drives on your computer as well as your email
communication. Once correctly encrypted, you can even upload

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the files on to the Cloud storage of Google & co. without having to
worry about snooping.
Security-conscious users were impacted severely when the
development of the widespread crypto software TrueCrypt was
discontinued in May. If you have used the software to encrypt your
files, you should move these to other open source solutions
recommended by us before people take advantage of the
security loopholes in the software.
You can reproduce the features of TrueCrypt containers that
can be integrated as drives with the Windows tool Virtual disk
and DiskCryptor. Only a few users with Windows Professional
versions can follow the recommendation of TrueCrypt developers
to switch to Microsofts Bitlocker. Furthermore, contrary to the
statements of Microsoft, one can never exclude the possibility that
the manufacturer and institutions, which can put pressure on the
manufacturer and gain access to the data when it comes to
proprietary software.

PHOTO: NIKOLAUS SCHFFLER SCREENSHOTS: PROVIDER

You can easily protect your files and communication against spies and hackers. You will
find all the necessary tools on our website By Christoph Schmidt

Encrypting
files

You can protect files and folders with Gpg4win. The software is
the Windows implementation of the popular pen source
encryption tool GNU Privacy Guard. It uses the asymmetrical
encryption standard RSA, which uses one public and one private
key. Files encrypted with your public key can be opened again
with your private key only. This is why Gpg4win is ideal for
encrypting files for recipients whom you dont know personally.
The email security solution that we offer (in page 52) also uses
Gpg4win.

1 Setting up Gpg4win
Install Gpg4win after downloading it from our site or directly
from gpg4win.org. For private use, install and use the software
with your usual user account. For enhanced security
requirements, you should minimise the possibility of attack by
using separate Windows accounts for instance an unprivileged
one for surfing, from which the profile data of the account
cannot be accessed and in which encrypted communication is
possible.

2 Generating the key

After installing Gpg4win, start the key management tool
Kleopatra and then start the relevant wizard by going to File |
New certificate.... Select Create a personal OpenPGP key pair
and enter your name and email address. Click Next and then
enter a minimum ten digit passphrase, which contains upper
case and lower case letters as well as numbers and symbols.
For example something like this = Ch!p1zk3wl! You can ignore
the last dialog window your will have your key pair once you
click Finish.

3 Managing keys
You can now see your key pair in Kleopatra this is enough for
encrypting files for yourself. If you want your acquaintances or
colleagues to be able to open a file, you need to add its public
OpenPGP key to Kleopatra via Import certificates. This is also
applicable to all email contacts, who need to decode the mails
encrypted by you. You will have to send your public key by rightclicking your key and selecting Export certificate. If someone
wants to encrypt the file for you, they must first import the
resulting .ascfile in their Kleopatra.

4 Encrypting files
To encrypt a file or folder, right-click it in the Explorer and in the
context menu, click Sign and encrypt. In the next dialog, select
the Sign and encrypt... option. Then look for the public keys
for encryption by clicking these in the top field and then clicking
Add. Add your own key and then the key of the recipient.
Select your own certificate as the OpenPGP signature certificate.
Then enter the passphrase you have created as mentioned in
point 2 and the encrypted .gpg gets generated.

feature
lock down your data

Protecting
your mail
traffic

You can also encrypt emails with the method set out on page 51.
Enigmail makes this possible. This add-on with the free mail
program Thunderbird uses the secure OpenPGP encryption
directly on texts and attachments of the mails that you exchange
with other Enigmail users.

1 Setting up Thunderbird
Install Thunderbird once youve downloaded it and set it up for
your email account. If you use one of the popular providers, you
just need to enter the email address and password in the setup
wizard that you would otherwise use for logging into the web
interface of the service.

2 Configuring Enigmail
Unzip Enigmail 1.7.2 to your desktop or folder of your choice. In
Thunderbird, press [Alt] to view the menu and then click Tools |
Add-ons. Pull the XPI file to the left section of the add-on
manager and confirm the installation. You will see the Enigmail
options after restarting Thunderbird. Select Convenient
encryption settings, Do not sign mails... by default and Edit
Rules: Yes. In the Key selection dialog, click the key that you
generated in step 2 on pg. 51.

3a

3 Sending encrypted mails

You can continue to send and receive unencrypted mails with
Thunderbird or the web interface of your provider. If you want to
send an encrypted mail, ask the recipient to send you his/her
public key and import this in Kleopatra. To encrypt a mail, write
it and add attachments if any. Then click the Enigmail in the
Compose window. Here, the first two entries indicate the
current encryption and signature status of the mail (see image
3a). You can send an encrypted or unencrypted mail by clicking
the adjacent arrow. You should also add your signature to
encrypted mails so that the recipient can verify whether the mail
has actually come from you. Enigmail then encrypts the mail text
and the attachments with Gpg4win before they are sent via
Thunderbird (Image 3b).

3b

4 Receiving crypto mails

If someone wants to send encrypted mails to you, they too
would need Enigmail (or another OpenPGP-compatible solution
such as Claws Mail) and your public key. You can send this in an
unencrypted mail to the sender to do so, click Enigmail |
Attach my public key in the mail. When you receive the
encrypted mail, Enigmail will ask you for your passphrase. You
can decode and save attachments by right-clicking and choosing
Decode and save under.

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Securing
drives
It is easy to lose USB flash drives or external hard disk drives.
When you encrypt a drive, the content can be read only after the
correct password has been entered.

1 Encrypting a USB stick

The open source tool DiskCryptor can encrypt complete drives. For
this, right-click the USB stick in DiskCryptor, select Encrypt and
assign a strong password the best option would be an entire
sentence with spaces, numbers and symbols.

2 Using secured disks

Ignore Windows suggestion to format the disk. Start DiskCryptor,
click the disk and then Mount. Now use the drive as usual.
Before pulling it out, dont forget to click on Unmount.

3 Reproducing TrueCrypt containers

Open the Windows Disk Management (press [Win] + [R] and enter
diskmgmt.msc, [Enter]) and click Action | Create VHD (Virtual
Hard Disk. Select the storage destination and size. In the disk
management, right-click the new disk and initialise it (MBR). Create
a new volume that you will code with DiskCryptor just like a USB
stick.

Secure use
of Cloud
Cloud providers such as Dropbox and Google can read all your
data. The tool BoxCryptor (available on our website) encrypts data
before it lands in Dropbox or Google Drive folders. This way, only
you can access that data.

1 Setting up BoxCryptor
At the time of installation, BoxCryptor creates a virtual drive for
encryption. Give your consent to install the drive. To access the
encrypted Cloud files from two computers (or from more than two
on paying some charges), you need to create an account with
BoxCryptor the local account provided works for one computer
only.

2 Working with BoxCryptor

The BoxCryptor drive contains links to your Cloud folders. The
BoxCryptor entry for encrypting files and folders is displayed in the
context menu only if you access the folders via this drive X: in
our example. Everything that an encrypted folder contains is
automatically encrypted. If you access the Cloud folder from the
usual file system, you will see the file names but they will be
encrypted in the .bc format and you will not be able to read them.

feature
microsofts comeback

Is Microsoft
Back On Track?
Opinions about Microsoft differ quite starkly: Some are forecasting an imminent collapse,
but many experts think the companys on the fast track back to being a global powerhouse

f you take a look at the Facebook fan pages for Microsoft,

Windows or Internet Explorer, you will inevitably conclude that
Microsoft is doomed. Such massive amounts of malice, ridicule
and rejection is really quite hard to come by and theres a lot of
hate festering in Facebook. Users around the world consider
Windows 8 to be vastly more irritating than delayed trains and
defective air-conditioning units, and thats really saying
something.
This emotional impression is countered by hard-headed
numbers: A profit of US$22 billion (RM72 billion) between June
2013 and June 2014; with 36 million Nokia smartphones sold,
more device sales than Apple per quarter. A stock price that
hasnt scaled such heights in a good 14 years. And a new CEO,
Satya Nadella, who is going all in with his focus on futuristic
themes such as the cloud and mobile domains. Thats really
saying something, too.
Nadella was right to remodel the company and point it in a new
direction. After all, quite a few of those billions that were taken in
came from the declining sales of Windows licences. However, the
traditional Windows PC is going to lose ground to tablets and
smartphones in the coming years. And the companys image has
taken a few hits, too: Microsofts totally late entry into the mobile
market, the touch-optimised Windows 8 that is hated by
customers and last but not least, the rumours that Microsoft is
helping the NSA. Is this the beginning of the end?

Business clients as cash cows

Experts such as Peter Burghardt from the market research

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company techconsult believe that such issues do not exert a real

influence on the situation: Neither Windows 8 nor the NSA affair
can exert a negative influence that would be powerful enough to
affect Microsofts most profitable domains, namely, the domains
associated with wholesale customers, servers and licences. The
numbers bear him out: In the second quarter of 2013, Microsoft
achieved a turnover of about US$14 billion (RM46 billion) on the
basis of its business clients. Peter Burghardt believes that this can
be attributed to the fact that customers make their decisions on the
basis of their own requirements and as far as the commercial
domain is concerned, Windows continues to be the only system
that can satisfy them.
Axel Oppermann, an analyst working for Avispador, believes
there are other factors that explain why Microsoft makes so much
money out of business clients: Thanks to clever and tricky
agreements, Microsoft has managed to directly and monetarily
involve customers in the pre-financing of new technologies and
products, he explains. And it gets better: Microsoft also
succeeds in binding the customers to the company.
Consequently, it wouldnt exactly be disastrous if all the customers
did not immediately upgrade to the newest software. Furthermore,
in recent years, the company has been able to use its products to
consistently penetrate new sectors. According to Oppermann,
Microsoft has significantly raised the prices of SQL servers and
client licences.
Despite the companys continuing success with business
clients, it has spotted the signs of the times. In an e-mail that was
sent to all of Microsofts employees at the beginning of July 2014,

PHOTO: MICROSOFT (U.L.) SCREENSHOTS: SUPPLIERS

By Uli Ries

feature

PC PLATFORM

Windows lives
the new CEO indicated that they were living in a world in which the
cloud and mobile devices have become all-important. Experts
believe that mobile applications, social media and the internet are
set to shape the next 20 years as intensely as the Microsoftdominated client-server infrastructures shaped the recent past.

The PC market might be shrinking, but thats having a surprisingly

minor effect on Microsofts economic success. According to the
experts, not even the disaster associated with Windows 8 could
tarnish the companys prospects to a significant degree.

Stock price is flying high

Getting into the mobile game
Consequently, the period of time during which mobile operating
systems such as Apples iOS and Googles Android were cutting
the ground from under the feet of the desktop PC is often called
Microsofts decade of pain. The sales figures for PCs and
Windows licences were sinking steadily. Smartphone, tablet & co.
were growing from quarter to quarter, and Microsoft was unable to
benefit from the mobile boom to any significant extent. In July
2014, a high-ranking representative of the company confirmed that
when mobile devices were factored into the calculations,
Microsofts market share in operating systems was found to have
decreased from 90 percent to 14 percent.
Lynn Thorenz, manager of the research & consulting
department at the market research company IDC, believes that this
can be attributed to the trend towards consumerisation. This is
the phenomenon in which mobile devices that are acquired
privately end up being used within the company itself. Private end
customers prefer Android and iOS, and almost completely ignore
Blackberry or the unlucky predecessor of the current Windows
Phone. To a certain extent, Microsoft was overrun by this
development. In the past, they simply had no products that could
compete with the iPhone or Android tablets. says Lynn Thorenz.
However, she says that the corporate sector is quite different
from the domain associated with private customers: The entities
responsible for IT must find a way to deal with the mishmash of
devices brought along by the employees. They have to find
software that can deal with all the varied tastes found in the world
of mobile operating systems in a manner similar to the manner in
which the monoculture of Windows desktop systems and server
systems is handled. And this is where Microsoft has plenty of
trump cards, as the Windows Phone does not place any major
obstacles in front of administrators. Apart from that, a smaller
diversification of the device pool represents a cost advantage. This
also explains why so many companies from various sectors are
replacing their Blackberry smartphones with Windows Phone
models.
When it comes to the mobile sector, there are a few more
factors that work against Apple and Google: Many companies are
of the opinion that iOS devices are too expensive to be handed out
to employees. And thanks to its various versions and its openness,
Googles Android is, unlike iOS and Windows Phone, not suitable
for large companies. The openness of the system becomes a
security risk, which can only be dealt with using a restrictive device
administration regime and fee-based anti-virus software.
Furthermore, the unclear situation associated with the firmware
updates in the Android world makes it impossible to carry out
reliable update processes.

Community of developers A success factor

Another factor working in Microsofts favour is the fact that
Windows Phone 8.1 is, from a technological point of view, keeping
pace with the times. The mobile system even features a speech-

The old business model associated with Windows and Office still
works. At about US$45 (RM148) per share, Microsofts stock price is
scaling heights that havent been seen since the boom times of
2001.
Values in US Dollar
45
40
35
30
25
20
2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

Effects of the PC crisis

Microsofts core business is still robust, but it has exhibited a gentle
deterioration in the last few years: The sales figures for PCs and
notebooks are in decline, but those for mobile end devices are
increasing steadily.
Segment
PCs
Tablets, mobile
computers
Mobile telephones
Total

2014 - 1st quarter 2013 - 1st quarter

Growth

70,054
64,372

73,249
52,841

- 4,4 %
21,8 %

445,878
580,303

425,067
551,157

4,9 %
5,3 %

Figures in millions

Source: Gartner, July 2014

Windows 8 and the

NSA affair hardly
bother Microsoft
Peter Burghardt,
General manager, techconsult

controlled assistant named Cortana, which is reminiscent of

Apples Siri. Furthermore, corporate clients and ambitious private
users can finally encrypt their e-mails using S/MIME certificates
and access the internet in a secure manner via a VPN tunnel.
Microsoft has also unveiled a version of its Office package
(which was optimised for tablets) for Apples iPad, thereby making
it clear that it was a question of the applications, rather than the
devices themselves. However, this doesnt mean that the company
is putting its own mobile platform in second place. For example,
Microsoft subsidises developers who want to port their mobile
apps to the Windows Phone platform, thereby reducing the
respective entry costs. After all, without attractive apps, even the
best operating system would remain an eternal failure.
In April, Microsoft unveiled tools that make it possible for
software developers to develop software for desktop PCs as well
as mobile end devices without having to exert a significant amount
of extra effort. According to Nadella, the upcoming version of

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057

microsofts comeback

Windows (Windows 10, codename Threshold) will combine the

three separate versions associated with desktops, mobile end
devices and Xbox consoles, thereby making it easier for
programmers to do their work. According to Lynn Thorenz, this is
certainly the right way to win over the community of developers.
A situation in which companies would be able to speedily transfer
their existing Windows applications to Windows-based mobile
devices would definitely be good for the Redmond-based
company.

New opportunities in the cloud

Satya Nadella, who takes the reins from founder Bill Gates and
Steve Balmer to become the third leader of Microsoft, came
straight to the point after assuming his new responsibilities: Our
industry doesnt respect tradition it only respects innovation.
With regard to the future of the IT industry, this means that mobile
computing and cloud computing are set to dovetail ever more
closely with each other. In recent years, the company has invested
billions in cloud infrastructure and cloud-based products. The
holistic approach that Microsoft is taking facilitates a seamless
range of products, with respect to the computer centre and the
user company. This involves everything from the services offered
by hosters to Microsofts own cloud-related services. According to
market mavens, Amazon, the second giant in the cloud-related
domain, is not pushing ahead with such an approach to the same
extent. Consequently, Microsoft has a time-based advantage over
the competition, which can be turned into a monetary advantage.
Mr. Oppermann believes that this is a huge opportunity for the
software company: Microsofts range of cloud-related products is
decisive in terms of the companys growth. In particular, the cloudbased Azure service will make it possible for the company to tap
new markets or segments. Microsoft can already be content with
the success that Office 365 (which is operated as a cloud service)
has had in the domain associated with private customers. 5.6
million users already have a subscription to the service. This
includes one million users who signed up in the second quarter of
2014. The iPad version of Office may have contributed to these
numbers. The Office apps offered within the framework of the
freemium model were downloaded about 30 million times in just a
few weeks.
However, many companies are particularly reluctant to switch
over to the cloud. The points of criticism (such as those associated
with data protection) cannot be sorted out that easily, especially
since Microsoft Azure still cannot offer its services from a local
computer centre. When it comes to cloud-related segments, the
strongest growth is taking place in the USA, where cloud
computing is increasingly considered to be the norm., explains
Peter Burghardt. According to him, the market volume that is
attained in this country using Microsoft cloud services carries very
little weight, when measured against the companys turnover.
However, the companys market share in other parts of the world
is increasing in a noticeable manner, with regard to the Azure
platform and the domain associated with Office 365. What is of
decisive importance in terms of strong growth in any other country
is the question of whether Microsofts local distribution partners
are going to get into the cloud game.
These partners are indispensable, thanks to the fact that there
are so many small and medium-sized companies in the country:

058

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chip malaysia

WEB PLATFORM

Mobile in the cloud

In terms of mobile systems, Microsoft was a late-comer, but when it
comes to the cloud market, the company is strong across all
systems. Beginning with Windows 10, Microsoft plans to offer a
core OS for all devices none of the other players can do that.

The cloud expands at a rapid pace

According to the experts, the cloud is also set to have a big future in
many parts of the world. Companies are expected to invest
particularly large sums of money in the new infrastructure good
news for Microsoft, which is the market leader.
20
18
16
14
12
18
10
8
6
4
2
0

Value in Billions of Euros

2010

2011

2012

2013

2013

2014

Source: Experten Group 2013

One system on all devices

Next year, Windows 10 will combine
the separate versions associated with
desktops and mobile devices like the
Surface tablet and the Xbox.

Mobile and available on all platforms

Windows Phone 8.1 features a language assistant called Cortana 1 .
Microsoft already offers central apps like OneDrive 2 for iOS and
Android, i.e. for the mobile systems of its competitors.

Rather than dealing directly with Microsoft, customers prefer to

deal with the respective expert on-site.
If the strategy works, all deals will eventually be made via and
in the cloud and Microsoft will have drawn in the masses once
again. Microsoft is only too aware of how interdependencies work,
so it may still be too early to write off the long-established
company. In fact, Amazon, Apple, Google and the others could
probably learn a lot from it.

PHOTO: MICROSOFT

feature

feature
find your lost phone

Dont Panic When

You Lose Your Phone
H

ave you ever lost your mobile phone or smartphone?

You are not the only one! Day in and day out, there are
many who make reports about losing their devices either
due to carelessness or because of theft. The number of phones
lost is quite high and usually, three out of the four stolen
devices never make it back to the owner. But this problem isnt
just isolated to Malaysia and a few different governments are
now demanding an immobiliser system of sorts for
smartphones and tablets to make the devices less attractive for
thieves. As it so often happens in politics, it is still not clear
how this demand can be implemented concretely. Among other
things, there were talks of a Kill-Switch app which enables
providers to render mobile devices unusable. Such technical
measures should prevent thieves from simply resetting stolen
smartphones or tablets to the factory settings and using them
again.
However, users need not wait for politicians to take action
because while they are still contemplating on the methods to
be used, smartphone manufacturers have provided a few
solutions quite a while back. Apple, Google and Microsoft

equip their mobile operating systems with appropriate

protective functions. On the following pages, we show you how
to locate, lock and erase your mobile phone with Android, iOS
or Windows Phone without using additional apps. You will also
learn about the measures you should take to locate your device
at a later point in time. If everything goes well, the location of
your device shall be displayed on a map. To do so, all three
providers use GPS data, which ideally gives the current location
of the device that is quite precise with a few metres give or
take. If the GPS is deactivated, you will still have some not-soaccurate location data from used WLANs or cellular towers.
However, the device cannot be located if it is switched off.
The location finding function also helps the police in case of
theft but one must be quick, before the thief switches off the
mobile phone. Whether a thief can actually be tracked down
also depends on spatial and temporal factors. Identification is
often quite difficult in the inner parts of a city. In sparsely
populated areas however, devices can be located very
effectively. The chances of locating a device are quite high at
night time.

chip malaysia

november 14

059

PHOTO: THINKSTOCK/ALEXYTRENER SCREENSHOTS: PROVIDER

Whether it is misplaced or stolen, if you lose your mobile phone, you also lose personal
data. We show you how to locate, lock and erase your smartphone after an unfortunate
incident By Jrg Geiger

feature
find your lost phone

Android

Google has installed a location finding feature in Android. All

mobile phones with Googles operating system with version 2.2 or
higher can be easily located via the Internet with the help of the
Android device manager.

1 Turn on Android device manager

You must first prepare your mobile phone so that it can be located
when required. First, go to the Google settings app in the device
and click Android device manager there. Now activate both
options Remotely locate this device and Allow remote lock and
erase.

2 Version 4.1 and higher: permit location

Another measure is required for all smartphones that have
Android version 4.1 or higher: you need to allow location access in
the phone settings so that your phone can be located. Move the
Access to my location slider to On and confirm the displayed
message with Agree.

3 Locating, locking and erasing your

Android device
Log on to android.com/devicemanager with your Google account.
In a few seconds, you will see active devices in a Google Maps
view. Next to the location details, you will also see other
commands such as Ring (functions even if the mobile phone is
on silent), Set up lock and Erase.

iOS
iOS devices are always on top on the hit list of mobile phone
thieves. To curb this Apple has equipped its devices with a function
that enables them be tracked, locked and erased via iCloud.

1 Setting up iCloud
iOS devices are located via iCloud. To use iCloud, you will need an
Apple ID, which iOS device users generally have. If not, get
yourself an Apple ID from https://appleid.apple.com/. On the
device, login with this ID under Settings and iCloud.

2 Turning on the location function

iCloud can locate much more than just the device. However, you
need to enable the location function. You can do this on your
iPhone or iPad under Settings and iCloud. Activate the Find
my iPhone/iPad function right at the bottom of the list.

3 Sending a message to the finder

If you lose your iOS device, turn on your computer and log on to
icloud.com with the used Apple ID. Then click My iPhone/iPad.
The service then opens a map. A green dot indicates that the
iPhone is currently online. Click i to see the various available
functions: you can play a signal tone or erase the device. With the
Lost mode, you can block access and show a message on the
devices display.

060

november 14

chip malaysia

Windows
Phone

If you lose your Windows Phone, you can track it down using some
tools that are already pre-installed. The basic functions are
available free of cost right out of the box.

1 Using the Windows account (Live ID)

You need a Windows account for locating Windows Phones. If you
dont have one, you can create it at https://signup.live.com. You
must then link the account with your phone. To do so, click Email
+ accounts under Settings on your phone and then click Add
an account | Microsoft account.

2 Turning on location services

To allow location search in Windows Phone, switch back to
Settings and then to the Location menu item. Activate
Location services there.

3 Locating, locking and erasing

If you have lost your Windows Phone, the website windowsphone.
com is the first place to go. Log in with your Windows account and
click Find my phone in the menu at the top right. You will then
see the current location of the phone. Similar to Google and Apple,
you can also lock or erase the phone or make it ring.

Extra apps
Locate, play the signal tone, lock and erase: mobile operating
systems offer excellent basic functions to find lost mobile phones.
The following apps can do even more.

1 Locating friends

1a

1b

Apple offers a free app called Find My Friends (1a). With this
app, you can invite friends and determine the location of their
device live on a map. There is a similar app called Find my
friends (1b) for Android. But be careful: you should limit the time
for which your location is displayed so that your friends cannot
locate you at all times.

2 Controlling an Android mobile

remotely
The free app AndroidLost allows you to remotely control your
mobile phone via an Internet connection. In addition to locating,
locking and erasing, the app can also take pictures using the builtin camera or intercept the microphone. If a thief deactivates the
GPS and WLAN, you can turn them on again with Android Lost.

3 Security apps
Functions for tracking a mobile are often a part of security apps.
Avira Antivirus Security (Android) or Avira Mobile Security (iOS)
has its own locating, locking and erasing functions.

chip malaysia

november 14

061

cover story
major security report

The Major

Security Report
At the Black Hat and Def Con hacker conferences, IT experts demonstrated how they can
destroy - or rescue - the worlds data systems By Fabian von Keudell

hen Jason E. Street came on stage in Las Vegas,

people cheered him on. He never dreamed hed be
on the receiving end of such a response by his
own admission, he was always teased when he was in school.
Today, hes one of the biggest names in the hacking
community. He and his family (which is what he called his
comrades-in-arms who were in attendance) could change the
world. If you take a look at the presentations that were made
at this years family reunion, you will admit that hes
probably right. At the Black Hat and Def Con events, which are
the biggest hacker conferences in the world, the domains best
IT security specialists showed everybody what can be
attacked. The sheer breadth of the security loopholes that
were introduced was larger than ever before. For example,
hackers Deviant Ollam and Howard Payne demonstrated the
manipulation of elevators you can obliterate all the
respective security systems with just a few manoeuvres.

Maggie Jauregui showed that radio signals can be used to

melt home fuses, while Charlie Miller can hack into just about
any car, take over the on-board computer and thus commit the
perfect murder. Others, like Cesar Cerrudo, can paralyse the
traffic-light systems of large cities. Karsten Nohl and Jakob
Lell, on the other hand, are aiming for the USB port. They can
use a manipulated USB flash drive to take over the entire
computer. Even mobile telephones are much more vulnerable
than everyone thought, as proven by Mathew Solnik and Marc
Blanchoud. The two hackers demonstrated an attack in which
they masqueraded as the mobile service provider vis--vis the
mobile OS. At the end of the event, the same thought was
running through the heads of the audience members, even
though none of them said it out loud: Nothing is safe! For
Jason Street, who was a nobody in school, one thing has
become crystal clear: People like him can destroy the world
or save it.

chip malaysia

november 14

063

PHOTOS: BLACK HAT USA 2014 (L.); BMW (2 ON THE RIGHT); INFOGRAPHICS: CHIP

According to a study, many new cars will

not have steering wheels from 2035
onwards for hackers, the times just
couldnt get any better
For Johann Jungwirth, CEO of Mercedes Benz Research &
Development in North America, terms like ABS, ASR, mbrace
and Distronic stand for safety in automobiles. However, carhackers like Charlie Miller consider the assistance systems to be
access cards that can be used to launch attacks. For years, Miller
and the members of his team have been exposing security
loopholes in automobiles, which hackers can use to take over the
vehicles on-board computers. Cyber-gangsters could then use the
internal auto network to take over the brakes, the steering and
other safety-relevant systems. However, the experts painted an
even bleaker picture at this years Black Hat conference in Las
Vegas. Modern cars are being networked to an ever-increasing
degree, and are therefore becoming easier to hack into.
In the near future, many cars will feature a pre-installed browser,
which will allow occupants to surf the internet. However, the fatal
flaw is that browsers are hacked on a daily basis. Attackers could
use hacking operations to access the internal control commands of
the vehicle. Miller evaluated the network details and hackability of
most of the auto brands that are currently available in the market,
including BMW and Chrysler. The result is quite frightening: No
vehicle offers adequate protection against hack attacks. Although
the vehicle manufacturers now protect the internal CAN (Controller
Area Network) network bus using gateways that are supposed to
filter out such hacking commands, these gateways often display
vulnerabilities. For example, one particular manufacturer protects
their vehicles using two separate networks one for the noncritical systems and one for the critical ones (such as the control
system for the brakes). Commands from the non-critical network
cannot be loaded in the critical network a gateway prevents this
from happening. However, the researchers found a bug in the
gateway, which made it possible for them to re-programme the
filter. They could then send commands to the critical network. In all
similar cases, a firmware update is the only thing that could rectify
the situation.

Manufacturers withhold updates

Most manufacturers currently offer no update procedures. Almost
all cars need to be taken to the workshop for an update. This is an
expensive procedure so many manufacturers prefer to leave the
bugs in the vehicle, in the hope that they will never be exploited.
Tesla is the only manufacturer that currently offers an over-the-air
update. Tesla basically had no choice, since the electric car is fully
loaded with hackable features. Consequently, attackers managed
to crack the cars on-board computer. As a result, the hackers
could, control many aspects of the car while it was running. Tesla
plans to inspect the vulnerabilities in its car and release a patch.
Owners of a Tesla S will receive this patch via a wireless over-theair update. Owners of cars produced by other manufacturers will
have to continue to make do with old software and run the risk of
being hacked at any time.
064

november 14

chip malaysia

More than half of all drivers know what parking assist systems
are, but only a few of them know that hackers can use this very
system to, for example, make turns when the car is at full speed
CRUISE CONTROL

63 %

PARKING ASSIST SYSTEM

52 %

AUTOMATIC LIGHT

48 %

ELECTRONIC STABILITY
SYSTEM
TRAFFIC-ORIENTED
NAVIGATION
ELECTRONIC DIFFERENTIAL
LOCK
EMERGENCY BRAKE
SYSTEM
START-UP WARNING
SYSTEM/INTERVAL
CONTROL SYSTEM

47 %
40 %
37 %
31 %
26 %

Source: Ernst & Young

Cars are the next

targets

Most drivers are already using assistance

systems all of which are hackable

Cars of the future will use well-known

operating systems and their loopholes
In the future, commercially available browsers will be available in
the entertainment systems of cars. The flipside is that theres no
shortage of browser-loopholes, but updates for the cars are few and
far between.
140,000
120,000
100,000
80,000
60,000

Number of loopholes
Linux
QNX
Microsoft
anderes OS

40,000
20,000
0

2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

More technology More targets

Cars such as the BMW i8 electric car represents a perfect
playground for hackers. According to car-hacker Charlie Miller, the
complex control technology that regulates just about every detail
is not adequately protected against attacks.

Source: IHS Automotive

cover story
major security report

INFO

The largest data thefts

Gateways that can be used by hackers are, from a practical point of

view, present wherever theres an interface. For example, the
security researchers from the Berlin-based security firm, Security
Research Labs, Karsten Nohl and Jakob Lell use the USB port. At
the Black Hat conference, they showed the world how USB flash
drives can be manipulated, after which the data storage devices
can sign in as USB keyboards and execute commands. All of this
takes place without the user doing anything, and it all happens
quietly in the background. But thats only the beginning: In
addition to being able to make keyboard-related inputs in a
stealthy manner, the USB devices can also install malware on the
computer. In a conversation with CHIP, Jakob Lell spoke about
how critical this particular loophole is: Anti-virus systems are
unable to detect such an attack. The malware cannot be removed,
because its stored in a protected part of the USB device
formatting it doesnt help, either. The ball is now in the
manufacturers court. They should install a hardware safeguard
that would make it impossible for the USB firmware to be
manipulated. From a technical point of view, it would be quite easy
to do this.
A situation in which the home computer stops working
altogether might be unfortunate, but at least its not lifethreatening. On the other hand, the attack launched by hacker
Cesar Cerrudo could very well lead to loss of life. At the
conference, he explained how automatic traffic light control
systems can be manipulated. Someone like Cerrudo could thus
paralyse entire sections of a city and cause traffic accidents. The
system that he examined is currently being used in countries like
the USA, the UK and France. There are about 200,000 usage sites
around the world. The systems are made up of three components:
A sensor that is embedded in the road, which is wirelessly
connected to a repeater, and an access point to which the repeater
forwards the data. The access point is connected to the traffic
system via an Ethernet cable, and this traffic system regulates the
switching operations of the traffic lights. The system normally
serves to ensure that the traffic lights are synchronised in a
different manner when traffic is heavy or guarantee that they only
become green when a car is waiting in front of them. Cerrudo
found out that although the radio communication between the
sensors uses a proprietary protocol, it doesnt make use of an
encryption system. Cerrudo obtained the components of the
system and decrypted the protocol. Consequently, he can now use
a transmitter to send commands to the control systems of the
traffic lights.

Datasets lost In millions

ADOBE 2013

152

EBAY 2014

145

HEARTLAND
2009
AOL
2005
T.J. MAXX
2007
SONY PSN
2011
US-MILITR
2009
TARGET
2014
EVERNOTE
2013
LIVING SOCIAL
2014

130
92
92
77
76
70
50

Source: informationisbeautiful.net, Medienberichte

These days, hackers can even use traffic

lights and home fuses to launch attacks

The largest data theft of all time is alleged to have taken place in the
month of August: Hackers allegedly made off with 1.2 billion profile
datasets. However, security experts are voicing doubts about the
accuracy of these claims. On the other hand, the following data
hacks have been confirmed by the respective companies.

50

Only a fraction of users surf securely

According to the results of a survey, only about a third of internet
users have installed anti-virus software on their systems. Only 23
percent of them use a fee-based solution, but theyre the only ones
who can use a heuristic approach to protect themselves against
attacks.
ADDITIONAL FIREWALL
INSTALLED

53 %

FREE
PROGRAMMES

42 %

ANTI-VIRUS SYSTEM &

FIREWALL FOR THE OS
SECURITY PACKAGE FROM
THE INTERNET SERVICE
PROVIDER
FEE-BASED
PROGRAMMES

38 %
36 %
23 %

Source: Ernst & Young

Malware is everywhere

Attack against the USB port

At the Black Hat conference, Karsten Nohl and Jakob Lell
demonstrated how USB devices can be manipulated and
malicious code can be implanted in the computer even anti-virus
systems are powerless to stop it.

If Cerrudo and Maggie Jauregui decided to team up, they could not
only trigger chaos in the streets, but also terrorise citizens who
decide to stay indoors. Jauregui has discovered how one can, at
least in the USA, wirelessly melt commercially-available home
fuses. Her attack makes use of a special frequency (in this case,
420MHz), which she aims in the direction of the fuse. The radio
signals make the fuses vibrate in a manner that is energetic
enough to ensure that they are rendered inoperable.

PHOTO: BLACK HAT USA 2014

Fuse: Blackouts at the push of a button

cover story

INFO

major security report

More than half of all banking customers use the mTAN procedure
to safeguard their online banking transactions (refer to the
statistics on the right). Up to now, this procedure was considered
to be secure, but hackers have found a way to breach the twofactor authentication method that is used to log into the online
banking system. This is what security researchers from Trend
Micro found out. The first stage of the attack involves the Retefe
Trojan, which is distributed through fraudulent e-mails bearing the
names of well-known online retailers. The malware changes the
DNS settings on the victims computer and installs an SSL
certificate. Now, if the victim tries to visit an online banking site,
they will be redirected to a forged banking website via the
manipulated DNS setting. Thanks to the installed certificate, this
fake site signals the presence of an encryption system, but it does
not display a warning similar to those that are usually displayed for
unknown certificates. Consequently, the user wont find out that
the site is fraudulent. After he uses his login data to log onto the
site, he is requested to install a smartphone app. The site informs
him that he will not be able to use online banking facilities unless
he complies. When the genuine banking site is accessed in the
future, this app intercepts the SMS message sent by the bank. The
attackers can then use this SMS message and the login data that
was entered into the fake site to access the victims account.
Another way of capturing the mTAN of the bank customer
involves making use of the connection between an infected mobile
phone and the computer. In such a case, the attackers could exploit
the USB-related security loophole that was discovered by Karsten
Nohl and Jakob Lell (see page 65). For example, if the telephone is
attached to a USB port of the computer to charge, a software
application on the mobile phone monitors the entire computer.
The attackers thus captures the login data such as the login name
and password for the online account by snooping on the PC. The
mTAN then reaches the mobile phone, where an installed software
programme intercepts the SMS.

Manipulated payment terminals

35 %
50 %
42 %
56 %
12 %
27 %
20 %
29 %
1%
8%
3%
11 %

SM@RT-TAN
PLUS
MOBILE TAN
HBCI
ITAN
PUSH TAN
NONE OF
THE ABOVE
Prominence

Source: Statista

Regardless of whether you use online

banking or your Electronic Cash (EC) card,
hackers always reach the money

Most customers make use of mobile TANs. According to the banks,

this is a secure system, but hackers have now found an attack route.

Usage

Many users misjudge the risk factors

associated with online banking
Only one-third of users believe that the home PC can be risky when
it comes to online banking, but its quite easy to hack into.
PUBLICLY
ACCESSIBLE PC

87 %

SMARTPHONE

75 %

MOBILE
TELEPHONE
TABLET

70 %
63 %

TELEPHONE
BANKING

53 %

CREDIT CARD

45 %

CASHPOINT
MACHINE
MONEY CARD

38 %

OWN PC

36 %

SERVICETERMINAL

36 %

GIROCARD

35 %

36 %

Source: Initiativa D21

Only cash is truly safe

The most widely-used security procedure for

online banking is vulnerable to hackers

Card-hack
The EMC chip in EC and
credit cards contains the
encrypted version of the
customers data. Hackers
have now cracked the
encryption, and can read out
the data.

Changed
Websites

066

november 14

chip malaysia

Keylogger

Insecure
connection

Source: Kaspersky

Those who refuse to use online banking can also be victimised. At

the Black Hat conference, Jon Butler revealed a bug in the software
Hackers pick off financial data at several
used by mobile payment terminals. Butler hides the attack code
locations on the internet
associated with this particular attack on the EMC chip of a credit
The phishing mails just keep on coming about 23 percent of all
card. If the manipulated card is read by the terminal, a malware
users have received such an e-mail. Hackers use these mails to get
programme is installed on the system. With that, Butler gains
their hands on things like account data.
complete control over the system. After that, the terminal could,
for example, be made to stop inspecting the card. Criminals could
then use a credit card that has actually been blocked.
Infected
Account
The EMC chips, which were originally considered to be secure, Phishing
mobile
Transaction
data for
phone
confirmation
banks or
are also quite sensitive. Lucas Zaichkowsky revealed a method that
websites
can be used to read out the contents of the chips the data is
Financial
DNSencrypted. To do this, he doesnt attack the encryption of the chips,
data, e.g. for
Data theft
Spoofing
transfers
but goes after the devices that read out the cards. Consequently,
he was able to use a RAM-scraper to read out the memory of the
Infected
devices, after which he captured the account data that was stored
OnlineChanged
on the encrypted chips.
Shops
websites

INFO

Increasing number of mobile viruses

Just like home computers, smartphones should also be equipped

with an anti-virus software application not that it always helps. At
the Black Hat hackers conference, IT security experts Mathew
Solnik and Marc Blanchoud demonstrated how the security
mechanisms of mobile devices can be circumvented in order to
execute malicious code on mobile phones or tablets that feature a
mobile communication facility. This attack can affect all devices
running iOS, Android or Windows Phone. Towards that end, the
experts use a software interface that is only supposed to be
available to the providers. Telcos can use this interface to change
the configuration of the devices in a manner that is independent of
the manufacturers, in order to, for example, install updates for
mobile telephone system profiles. The experts cracked the security
keys that the providers use to install code on the devices. This
password is made up of the combination of a device ID either the
IMEI (International Mobile Station Equipment Identity) or the MEID
(Mobile Equipment Identifier) and a manufacturer-key. Since the
latter is encrypted in a simple manner and identical for all devices,
the attackers can reach the data quite easily. The attackers can also
capture the IMEI or the MEID, since the device transmits these in
an unencrypted form over the mobile phone network. All the
hackers need to launch the attack is a mobile radio cell (a so-called
femtocell), so that the victims mobile phone can register itself
within this cell. Its not hard to build, either; all the parts that are
needed can be obtained over the internet. It is also possible to
acquire ready-made devices. Once the hackers get their hands on
the access data, they can redirect conversations associated with
the devices or install malicious software on the mobile
components. Not even a virus scanner can offer protection against
such an attack, since the access paths for the providers enjoy the
highest priority and are anchored deep in the system. Effective
protection can only be offered by the provider, who would have to
provide better protection for the mobile phones and the code keys.

150,000

Mobile malware detected

by Kaspersky Lab

120,000
80,000
90,000

Source: Kaspersky

Cyber-gangsters can get into your mobile

phone even if youve installed all the
security updates

60,000
30,000
0
Q.1/2013

Q.2/2013

Q.3/2013

Q.4/2013

Android users are the most popular targets

More than 98 percent of all malware targets the Google OS. In
many cases, anti-virus systems are unable to help.
Source: Kaspersky

Smartphones are at a
big risk

Kaspersky has documented about 150,000 mobile viruses, 100,000

of which were discovered last year. According to Kaspersky, the
tendency is obviously pointing in the direction of intensive growth.
The trend is expected to continue this year.

1.55 %
Android

0.27 %
0.13 %

J2ME
SymbOS

98.05 %

Andere

Mobile phone hack

At the Def Con security
conference, hackers managed
to deactivate the security
mechanisms of the
Blackphone. The telephone is
equipped with special security
software called Silent Circle,
which was supposed to
prevent just such a scenario.

Ever-expanding base for attacks by hackers

The number of smartphone users is increasing every year. Most devices are based on Android OS.
40 Persons (million)

30

20
Source: comScore

PHOTOS: MASTERCARD (L.); BLACKPHONE (R.)

Security-oriented mobile phones are also unsafe

The fact that normal smartphones can be hacked might be easily
comprehensible, but the Blackphone, which is touted to be
absolutely secure, was also taken apart at the conference. The
smartphone was designed to be secure and offers special
sandboxes for programmes that are currently running, in addition
to encryption software for conversations that is supposed to
prevent hacking attacks and eavesdropping operations. However,
the IT expert known as Justin Case cracked the device in just five
minutes. He found three points of vulnerability in the smartphones
operating system, and activated the so-called Android Debug
Bridge, thereby obtaining root-access. After that, he could execute
codes that had not been marked with a security certificate. In the
beginning, the manufacturer denied the validity of the hack.
However, the company eventually did an about-face and thanked
the hacker for the contribution that he had made to the security of
the Blackphone.

10

JULY
2012

OCT.
2012

DEC.
2012

FEB.
2013

JUNE
2013

OCT.
2013

FEB.
2014

test lab
test bed

TEST LAB: The Tools

Here at the CHIP Test Labs, we adhere to the high requirements set by the CHIP International
Testcenter standards. This means that everything here -- from our own personal knowledge and
to our trusted tools of the trade -- are meant to provide the most optimised, unbiased and
comprehensive review to every product that comes through our doors. As thus, our test bed
tools are specifically picked to get the most out of every test we perform

Intel Platform
Motherboards
Intel DZ77GA-70K
MSI Z87 MPower

Graphics
Processing Unit
MSI GeForce GTX
680 Lightning

Processors
Intel Core i7-3770K
Intel Core i7-4770K

Cooler Master X6

Power Supply

Memory

Cooler Master Silent Pro

Hybrid (1300W)

Kingston HyperX
KHX1600C9D3K4/16GX
Kingston HyperX FURY
HX318C10FWK2/8
Kingston HyperX
Predator
HX430C15PBK4/16

Western Digital Black

Dual Drive
Western Digital My Book
Live Duo

Motherboards
ASUS Sabertooth 990FX
MSI A75MA-G55

Graphics
Processing Unit
ASUS AMD Radeon HD
6970

Processors
CPU Cooler

PSU, Storage & RAM

Storage

AMD Platform

CPU Cooler

AMD FX-8150
AMD A8-3850

Cooler Master Hyper 212

EVO

Benchmark Software
Operating
System
Windows 7 Ultimate
(64-bit)

Futuremark
PCMark 7
PCMark 8
3DMark 11
3DMark

Industry
Standard
Benchmark
Tools
AIDA64
SiSoftware SANDRA
Speccy
Unigine Heaven

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TEST LAB
15

The
Technologica
Crux
October has been a relatively quiet
month, with a few exceptions, one of
which happens to be launch of
Samsungs much awaited GALAXY
Note 4 smartphone. Lenovo
completing their rout of IBMs
business also is a pretty big deal,
depending on which tech circles you
hang around in.
At the time of writing, Malaysia also
seems to be getting ready for Apples
iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, which, despite
many naysayers seem to be doing very
well in parts of the world that have
been having them on sale. Will you be
getting either phone? Or is the HTC
Butterfly 2 or the Sony Xperia Z3 more
to your liking considering the fact that
they have much more practical
features such as water and dust
resistance?

14

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

11
12
13
14
15
16
17

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24

12

10
And before I part, we managed to get
our hands on a couple of NVIDIA GTX
980 OEMs for review. These are
definitely a couple of our favourite
cards to have come out recently, and if
you read on, youll know why were so
excited about them.

10

Samsung GALAXY Alpha

ASUS STRIX GeForce GTX 980 OC Edition
Blackberry Passport
SonicGear Titan 5
Logitech G710+
MSI GTX 980 Gaming 4G
Yotaphone
Lenovo Y50-70
BenQ F5
MSI GAMING Nightblade Z97
Epson L1800
Kingston HyperX Savage
HTC Butterfly 2
MSI GT60 20KWS
Dell UltraSharp UP3214Q UHD Monitor
Cooler Master Nepton 120XL
Huawei Ascend P7 Arsenal Edition

078
079
080
081
082
083
084
085
086
087
088
089
090
091
092
093
094

test lab
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CONTENTS
22

18
5
6

16

4
23
2

11

18
19

20

20

17

ASUS X99-Deluxe
Philips A5-Pro Professional DJ
Headphones
ASUS Fonepad 8 (FE380CG)

13

095

21
22

096
097

Ratings
Each product review is rated on a scale
of 1 to 5 for different key parameters:

23
24

21

19

Nokia Lumia 830

ASRock Fatal1ty X99X Killer
Samsung Smartphone GamePad
ASUS Vivo PC VM62

098
099
100
101

CHIP Awards
CHIP Editors Choice Award
Awarded to products that receive unanimous
endorsement from all CHIP editors for its overall
brilliance

PERFORMANCE : Refers to the efficiency of execution

FEATURES : Rates the abilities and unique characteristics
available
DESIGN : Varies according to product. Finished products form factor and build quality. Hardware components layout, size and cooling solution. Software - user interface
VALUE : Calculated from the performance and features of
the product in relation to the price

CHIP Outstanding Award

Reserved for products that combine astute technical
performance with good quality and design

CHIP Recommended Award

Given to products that possess singular quality
worthy of a recommendation

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An Honourable Mention
Huawei continues their barrage of new devices with the Huawei Honor 6.
This new smartphone is touted as the first ever to use an octa-core LTE Cat
6 chipset. It is powered by Huaweis own Kirin 920 processor and runs on
Android 4.4.2 KitKat. On top of that, it has 3GB of RAM, and 16GB of internal
storage, which can be further expanded up to 64GB via a microSD card. The
Honor 6 also features a 5-inch Full HD display as well as a 13-megapixel
camera that has Huaweis IMAGESmart 2.0 processing engine. Finally, a
3,100mAh battery keeps the phone powered and is coupled with power-saving
technology that is able save energy up to 30%.
Huawei Honor 6
Price: RM999
Contact: Huawei Malaysia Mobile Hotline
Phone: 1 800 22 0086
Info: www.huawei.com/my

Speed Up Your Games

The gaming laptop competition is really heating up as Acer unveiled their very own
mobile gaming machine, Aspire V Nitro Black Edition. It has a 15.6-inch Full HD display
with IPS technology and high brightness LED Backlit TFT LCD. It is powered with Intels
Core i7-4710HQ processor while running a 64-bit Windows 8.1. Gamers will definitely
love the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 860M that comes with the package. Bundled within its
audio system is the Dolby Digital Plus Home Theater audio enhancement technology.
Additionally, it has a HD webcam with a 1,280 x 720 resolution, three USB ports,
HDMI support and SD card reader.
Acer Aspire V Nitro Black Edition
Price: RM3,399
Contact: Acer Sales and Services Sdn. Bhd.
Phone: 1 800 88 1288
Info: www.acer.com.my

Sony Walks The Talk

Who says that the Walkman is out of date? Sony recently brought back the golden days
of the Walkman into new the future with the Sony NWZ-A15. The device features Sonys
unique S-Master HX digital amplifier which accurately processes huge amounts of wide
bandwidth audio data while minimising noise and distortion. It is also packed with 30
hours of high resolution sourced battery life which can reach 50 hours if you are solely
listening to MP3 files. Not only does it play music beautifully, it also looks good as it
comes in an extremely rigid aluminium die-cast chassis that also reduces electrical noise
and stabilises sound reproduction.
Sony NWZ-A15
Price: RM699
Contact: Sony (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd.
Phone: 1 300 88 1233
Info: www.sony.com.my

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Mesmerising Memories
The tablet market shows no sign of slowing down especially since ASUS is
constantly releasing new devices like the ASUS MeMO Pad 8. The tablet comes
with an 8-inch LED Backlight WXGA (1,280 x 800) screen, IPS Panel with 10
finger multi touch. It is powered by a 64-bit Intel Atom Z3560 1.8GHz Quad Core
processor while running on the latest Android 4.4 operating system. In terms of
memory and storage it has 1GB RAM and 16GB worth of internal storage space
that is expandable up to 64GB. Camera-wise, it has a 5-megapixel rear camera
and a 2-megapixel front camera. Finally, the MeMO Pad 8 is also the lightest
LTE tablet in the market as it weighs just 299g and is only 745mm thin.
ASUS MeMO Pad 8 (ME581CL)
Price: RM1,099
Contact: Dynamics Distribution Sdn. Bhd., ECS Astar Sdn. Bhd.
Phone: 03 8024 2100, 03 6286 8222
Info: www.asus.com/my/

HTC Has An EYE On You

With a name like Desire EYE, were sure you can already tell what
HTCs recently revealed devices unique features are and if you
thought camera, youre spot on. This Android smartphone comes with
13-megapixel front and rear cameras. Both boasts dual LED flashes,
BSI sensors, HDR capability, 28mm (rear) and 22mm (front) wide angle
lenses. Besides just its impressive photography package, the Desire EYE
also comes with a 5.2-inch Full HD display and is powered by a 2.3GHz
quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor, has 2GB worth of
RAM and internal storage of 16GB and supports microSD cards up to
128GB.
HTC Desire EYE
Price: TBA
Contact: HTC Careline
Phone: 1 800 88 9855
Info:www.htc.com/sea

Keeping Charged
Tired of running out of battery when using your smartphone or tablet, then fret no
more with the Powerlogic SLIM 5000, this is a great powerbank for jetsetters
and roadwarriors and it is superbly portable due to its slimness and
lightweight. It comes with over current protection, low voltage safeguards,
short circuit prevention, over voltage protection, over-charge protection
and overload protection. With a battery that comes with 5,000mAh capacity,
it should be able to keep your mobile devices charged up with plenty of juice to
spare.
Powerlogic SLIM 5000
Price: RM129
Contact: Leapfrog Distributions Sdn. Bhd.
Phone: (03) 7803 6703
Info: leapfrogglobal.com/powerlogic/

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The Peak Of A Pro

Professional photographers will have something to look forward to once again with the
release of the successor of what had to be the fastest and powerful EOS 7D. The Canon
EOS 7D Mark II digital comes with a host of upgrades including a 20.2-megapixel
APS-C CMOS sensor and Dual DIGIC 6 Image Processors that enables photographers
to create the most impressive photos. On top of that it has a new 65-point all crosstype AF system, Dual Pixel CMOS AF and a maximum ISO of 16,000, which enables
the camera to capture images in all situations and environments. Other features that
photographers will definitely appreciate is a USB 3.0 terminal for faster file transfer
and also two memory card slots; one for CF and another for SD cards.
Canon EOS 7D Mark II
Price: RM6,999
Contact: Canon Marketing Malaysia Sdn. Bhd.
Phone: (03) 7884 6000
Info: www.canon.com.my

Taking A Different Look At Life

When packing for a holiday or business trip, sometimes it is just not feasible to bring along
a large DSLR and this is where a nice and small camera would come in handy. But if you
feel that a point-and-shoot is also still a bit too big, then HTCs recently unveiled RE would
solve your dilemma. This little device comes with a 16-megapixel 1/23-inch CMOS sensor,
ultra wide angle 146-degrees f/2.8 lens. It is also able to record 1080p 30fps videos, 720p
slow motion videos and time-lapse videos. The RE also comes with a microSD slots that
supports microSD cards up to 128GB. Connectivity options of the RE include Bluetooth 4.0,
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n and Wi-Fi Direct.
HTC RE
Price: TBA
Contact: HTC Careline
Phone: 1 800 88 9855
Info:www.htc.com/sea

No Wires, No Worries
With the magnitude of gadgets an average
person carries around with them throughout the day, one can imagine the horrors of
each cable getting entangled among themselves. With the Jabra Move Wireless, you can
now move around cable free while listening to your favourite music. Like most wireless
headsets, the Move Wireless connects to your device via Bluetooth but this one uses
Bluetooth 4.0 which means the data transfer is much more stable and uses less energy.
The speakers feature a Hifi frequency response to ensure the best in audio quality. Seeing
as this headphones is targeted at individuals that are constantly on the move, it is also
built with premium materials including a stainless steel arms and dirt resistant fabric
which is able to withstand the environment. Finally, it also comes with a talk time of up to
8 hours and a standby time that spans up to 288 hours.
Jabra Move Wireless
Price: RM369
Contact: Advance Digital Solutions Sdn. Bhd., Ingram Micro Sdn. Bhd.
Phone: 03 8076 4833, 03 7952 8084
Info: www.jabra.com

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Play Like A King

Gaming laptops are mostly a personalised affair, and ASUS aims to woo gamers with
the ASUS ROG G551 gaming notebook. This gaming powerhouse is powered by the
latest 4th generation Intel Core i7 processor combined with the graphic processing
prowess of NVIDIAs GTX 860M discrete GPU. It is built with a 15.6-inch Full HD IPS
display for the best picture quality even when youre playing multiplayer games with a
friend on the same laptop. The device also runs on 16GB RAM and has a storage space
of 1TB. Furthermore, the G551 also has an advanced cooling system which effectively
removes heat with minimal noise to provide uninterrupted gaming sessions.
ASUS ROG G551
Price: RM4,099
Contact: Build Technology Supply Sdn. Bhd., ECS Astar Sdn. Bhd.
Phone:(03) 7955 3699, (03) 6286 8222
Info: www.asus.com/my/

Keeping Data Wireless

Most storage devices nowadays require a cable to connect to your PC or laptop
via USB, and sometimes that can be a hassle. Western Digital has solution to
alleviate this problems and it is known as the My Passport Wireless. This device
comes in two variants and can hold up to 1- or 2TB worth of files. It also has a
built-in SD card slot to backup photos and videos from your SD card, which is a very
handy feature for photographers and videographers who are constantly out on
the field. It will also provide long term entertainment for frequent travellers
as it is able to continuously stream videos for 6 hours and has a 20 hours
standby time. Another neat feature is that it can also be used as a Wi-Fi hub for
connecting multiple devices.
WD My Passport Wireless
Price: RM599 (1TB), RM699 (2TB)
Contact: Amble Action Sdn. Bhd., Eternal Asia (M) Sdn. Bhd.
Phone: (03) 7955 1768, (03) 5613 5600
Info: www.wdc.com

Bringing Simple Back

For those on a budget yet want a smartphone that packs decent performance, look no
further than then second generation Motorola Moto G. This new and improved Moto G has
a 5-inch 720p IPS display protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3 and also dual front facing
speakers that ensures total immersion when it comes to gaming or watching videos. It runs
on Android 4.4.4 KitKat, is powered by the 1.2GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400
CPU, has 1GB RAM and 8GB storage that is expandable up to 32GB. Camera-wise, this
device has an 8MP rear camera and a 2 MP front camera. This device also supports DualSIM cards and retains the ability to interchange Motorola Shells to change the look of your
phones to suit your style.
Motorola Moto G (2014 Edition)
Price: RM688 (8GB)
Contact: Brightstar Distribution Sdn. Bhd., Lazada Malaysia
Phone: 1 300 88 2744, (03) 2027 4766
Info: www.motorola.com

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Reaching Stardom
The affordable Android smartphone market continuously expands, and this time
a new challenger comes in the form of the ZTE STAR 1. This 5-inch device is a
14 band smartphone with LTE capability and has a Full HD IPS LCD screen with
441ppi. It runs on Android 4.4 KitKat and is powered by a 1.6GHz quad-core
Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor. Other goodies hidden under the shell is
2GB worth of RAM and 16GB internal storage, which is expandable up to 64GB
with microSD. Camera-wise, it comes with an 8-megapixel rear camera with dual
LED flash and 5-megapixel front-facing camera. It also has a 2,300mAh battery
ZTE STAR 1
Price: RM1,088
Contact: INGENS Sdn. Bhd.
Phone: (03) 7688 9888
Info: www.ztedevices.com

Feeling The Euphoria

Sony is no stranger to high end audio devices and their latest headphone the
Sony MDR-Z7 is a testament to that. It has Liquid Crystal Polymer diaphragms
which minimises colouration while maintaining its bass-lines. It also features
Beat Response Control and also comes with dual layer cords of various
lengths. The headphones all metal design also supresses unwanted vibration
and keeps the sound stable. Additionally, it has an closed-back design which
seals in sound to reflect back acoustics allowing you to hear every beat.
Sony MDR-Z7
Price: RM2,349
Contact: Sony (Malaysia) Sdn bhd
Phone: 1 300 88 1233
Info: www.sony.com.my

A New Printing Experience

Printers of the modern age have to adapt to the environment in order to increase
productivity in the office or at home. As such the Canon PIXMA MG7570 fits that bill as it
is an all-in-one photo printer with NFC technology. This feature is supported
by both Android and iOS devices thus allowing users to connect their
mobile devices with the printer. It is also compatible with Mopria
and Apples Airprint apps allowing mobile users to print photos and
documents directly. In terms of performance, the MG7570 is able to
produce colour documents in 10.0ipm, black and white documents
in 15.0ipm and 4 x 6-inch photos in approximately 21 seconds.
Canon PIXMA MG7570
Price: RM618
Contact: Canon Marketing Malaysia Sdn Bhd
Phone: (03) 7884 6000
Info: www.canon.com.myu

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Gaming With Surround Sound

Gaming headphones are a dime a dozen these days making it harder for gamers to
choose which one suits their needs. For gamers looking for a good balance between
price and features, the Logitech G430 should be able to solve that problem as
it is an all-rounded gaming headset. It comes with Dolby 7.1 surround sound
with on-cable controls and a noise cancelling microphone for easy in-game
communication. It has washable ear pad covers as well as a lay flat earcups.
This makes it easier for gamers who are on-the-go or when resting the
device on your neck.
Logitech G430
Price: RM289
Contact: Ingram Micro Sdn. Bhd., MCL Sdn. Bhd., M-Link Sdn. Bhd., Kaira
Technologies Sdn. Bhd.
Phone: (03) 7955 8188, (03) 8023 3800, (03) 7728 9003, (03) 7955 3669
Info: www.logitech.com/en-my

Wear Your Daily Updates

The world moves at an increasingly fast pace and the Samsung Gear S is suitable for
individuals who are at the forefront of our high paced environment.
It comes with a 2-inch curved Super AMOLED display and is
powered by a dual-core 1.0GHz CPU. It runs on a Tizen based
wearable platform and has 512MB RAM with 4GB storage
space. This wearable device can support Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n,
Bluetooth 4.1 and USB 2.0. It also supports 3G connectivity,
which means you dont have to pair it to a smartphone to
receive messages and calls. Additional features such as
Accelerometer, gyroscope, Compass, heart rate monitor and
Barometer are also included.
Samsung Gear S
Price: RM1,099
Contact: Samsung Malaysia Electronics Sdn. Bhd.
Phone: 1 800 88 9999
Info: www.samsung.com.my

The Combo Is Back

The phone and tablet combo is back and has received a slew of upgrades making the
ASUS Padfone S better and faster. The phone comes with a 5-inch Full HD display
while the Tablet dock has 9-inches of display real estate. The Padfone S runs on
Android 4.4 KitKat and runs on a 2.3GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon
processor accompanied by 2GB RAM and 16GB internal storage expandable up
to 64GB via microSD card. It can also take high quality pictures with its 13 MP
rear camera and provide good self-portraits with its 2MP front camera. The
smartphone comes with a large 2,300mAh battery and when combined
with the tablet docking stations 4,990mAh battery, users will get a device
with a 7,290mAh battery.
ASUS PadFone S
Price: RM899
Contact: Dynamics Distribution Sdn. Bhd., ECS Astar Sdn. Bhd.
Phone: 03 8024 2100, 03 6286 8222
Info: www.asus.com/my
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Samsung
GALAXY Alpha
Price
Info
Phone
Contact

RM1,899
Samsung Malaysia Electronics
1 800 88 9999
www.samsung.com/my/

Specifications
Operating System: Android 4.4.4 KitKat
Processor: Octa-Core (1.3GHz quad-core +
1.8GHz quad-core) CPU
Frequency: GSM 850/900/1800/1900MHz,
HSPA 850/900/1900/2100MHz, 4G LTE
Screen: 4.7-inch HD (1,280 x 720) Super
AMOLED
Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/ac/b/g/n (2.4 &
5GHz) VHT80, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, USB 2.0
Memory: 2GB
Storage: 32GB (internal)
Others: 12-megapixel rear camera,
2.1-megapixel front camera. IP67 certified
Dimensions: 132.4 x 65.6 x 6.7mm
Weight: 115g
RATINGS

A Beautiful
Beginning
If the GALAXY Alpha marks the beginning of how the
next wave of Samsung devices will look like then it is
a great start By Jeremy Cheong

Performance

Features
Design
Value
Elegant and compact
design
Snappy performance
Great camera
No microSD support
Only HD display
Battery life
BENCHMARK RESULTS
Maxed out!
3DMark Ice Storm:
3DMark Ice Storm (Extreme): 9,600 points
3DMark Ice Storm (Unlimited): 9,010 points
50,358 points
AnTuTu:

The camera may only be 12-megapixel but

it takes really beautiful photos thanks to the
always-on HDR

078

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chip malaysia

hen it comes to their

smartphones, Samsung have
always given their customers
the best in terms of features and hardware.
However, the smartphone game took
a little turn in terms of design as many
smartphone manufacturers started using
more premium materials for the body
of their devices and while Samsungs
devices were still stylish and sleek, they
were getting a little stale. Until now that
is, as the GALAXY Alpha marks a dawn of
something new for Samsung.
The GALAXY Alpha bears many of
the same design elements that make
it a Samsung device and but the metal
design really makes the phone feel more
sturdy and its slimness and lightweight
makes it very comfortable to hold and
use. The device isnt entirely metal though
as Samsung have opted for a removable
plastic back panel, which has a nice
rubberised texture to it, giving users a little
extra grip. However, it is quite a shame that
Samsung didnt include a microSD slot to
the device.
In terms of display, the GALAXY Alpha
boasts a 4.7-inch 720p Super AMOLED
display, which is also our second gripe
with the device as there are devices with
that same screen size and yet boasts Full
HD resolution. With that being said though,
images and texts are still crisp and clear

and the display is very bright and produces

vivid colours.
The GALAXY Alpha comes with
high-end hardware and was able to blast
through our standard suite of benchmarks
and produce respectable scores. Day-to-day
use was also a breeze as the phone was
constantly snappy and multi-tasking proved
to be no problem for the phone. We could
even play games such as Dead Trigger 2
and Asphalt 8 with no lags whatsoever.
One final downside we found with the
GALAXY Alpha is its battery life. Equipped
with only a 1,860mAh battery, the device
was able to last us a whole day before
needing to charge but this was with light
to medium usage. When we were testing
it with benchmarks and games though,
the battery drained extremely quickly and
this is where the removable back panel
and spare battery come in handy for heavy
users.
CHIP CONCLUDE :
All in all, the Samsung GALAXY
Alpha is a stunning looking
smartphone with plenty of things
done right and a few niggles here and
there but at the end of the day it also
marks a new and exciting direction for
the company as the recently launched
GALAXY Note 4 also bears the same
metal design, which is stunning.

test lab
review

ASUS STRIX
GeForce GTX
980 OC Edition
RM2,199
Build Technology Supply Sdn.
Bhd., ECS Astar Sdn. Bhd.
(03) 7955 3699, (03) 6286 8222
www.asus.com/my/

Price
Contact
Phone
Info

Specifications
Core Clock: 1,178MHz
Boost Clock: 1,279 MHz
Memory Size: 4GB GDDR5
Ports: 1x DVI-I, 1x HDMI 2.0, 3x DisplayPort
RATINGS
Performance

Striking Games
At The Extreme

The next generation of PC gaming has arrived and

ASUS brings forth the new era with the STRIX
GeForce GTX 980 graphics card By Nicolas See Tho

ith NVIDIA just releasing their

latest slew of graphics cards,
it is a good time for NVIDIA
partners to put their twist on the NVIDIA
GeForce GTX 980 and ASUS has done
just that with this model which comes
overclocked for even more graphics
processing power.
ASUS gave this card its usual red
and black design, and one of the more
noticeable aspect of the graphic card is
the copper wiring entwined within the
device. It also has two cooling fans with
the usual variety of display ports on its
back which include a HDMI output, three
DisplayPorts and one DVI-I port. Other
than that it has a solid build that feels
durable and lasting.
As part of the new generation of
NVIDIA graphic cards, this device comes
with all the latest features from NVIDIA
such as Voxel Illumination and Dynamic
Super Resolution. It also features an
extremely quiet setup thanks to its
DirectCU II with 0dB Fan Technology
which provides minimal noise during
gaming and maintains temperatures
to an all-time low. Bundled with the

graphic card is the ASUS GPU Tweak

which allows users to easily stream their
games and view detailed specifications
on their system.
Moving on to the fun part, we took
the card for our benchmark test and also
played a few games on it. We tested
the device on Futuremarks 3DMark and
the results were predictably amazing
with the graphic card flying through
all the tests with little effort. When we
tested games such as Crysis 3, Thief and
Skyrim, we were able to bring out the
maximum settings in all of the above
with anti-aliasing and ultra-high settings
being activated on all these games. The
results were beautifully rendered games
that flow with minimal lag.
CHIP CONCLUDE :
So for those who are looking to
upgrade their rigs from the old
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti would
find the new ASUS Strix GeForce
GTX 980 to be a worthy successor as
it provides silent gaming at amazing
performances but only to those who
are willing to pay its premium price.

Features
Design
Value
Very quiet
Powerful Performance
Price
BENCHMARK RESULTS
3DMark (Fire Strike):
3DMark (Fire Strike Extreme):

6,210 points
5,918 points

The Strix allows gamers to choose their

display of choice with all the main display
ports avenues available such as DisplayPort
and HDMI

The latest graphic card by ASUS uses its

trademark Direct CU II technology to provide
a cool operating temperature coupled with a
silent gaming atmosphere

chip malaysia

november 14

079

test lab
review

Blackberry
Passport
RM2,399
Brightstar Corp Malaysia,
Brightpoint Malaysia
(03) 7960 4877, (03) 9274 6000
www.blackberry.com.my

Price
Contact
Phone
Info

Specifications
Operating system: Blackberry OS 10.3
Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 801
Frequency: 2G: GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G: HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 HSDPA 850
/ 900 / 1700 / 1900 / 2100
4G: LTE 850 / 900 / 1800 / 2100 / 2600 LTE 700/8
00/850/900/1700/1800/1900/2100/2600
Screen: 4.5-inch IPS LCD Touchscreen (1440 x
1440), Corning Gorilla Glass 3
Connectivity: nano SIM, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC,
microUSB, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
Memory: 3GB
Storage: 32GB expandable up to 128GB
Others: geo-tagging, face detection, HDR,
13MP Rear Camera, 2MP Front Camera
Dimensions: 128 x 90.3 x 9.3mm
Weight: 196g

RATINGS

Features
Design
Value
Seamless navigation
Has better app selection
Keyboard increases work
productivity
Beautiful display for reading
and watching movies
The square design makes
single handed usage
impossible
Keyboard keys spaced too
closely
Camera focus is slow

BENCHMARK RESULTS
Maxed Out
3DMark Ice Storm):
3DMark Ice Storm (Extreme): 9,278 points
3DMark Ice Storm (Unlimited): 12,289 points

november 14

Blackberry intends to make a comeback with the

Blackberry Passport which is a unique looking device
but is it be able to compete with the other
powerhouses in the market? By Nicolas See Tho

Performance

080

A Passport To
Productivity

chip malaysia

lackberry has definitely had it tough

over the years with its competition
from Android and Apple
smartphones dominating the headlines,
thus it has decided to stick at what it does
best with the Blackberry Passport, focusing
more on work productivity and keeping
professionals ever ready.
Following its namesake, the Blackberry
Passport design makes it look like you are
carrying a thick black square passport with
you which may seem to be awkward at
first but it grows on you. The square design
makes it hard for single hand usage on the
go but on the plus side, it makes typing
easier and more uniform without the need
to go into landscape mode. It has volume
controls on the side with the power button
on its top. It also has the additional button
for the Blackberry Assistant in between the
volume controls.
The device has packed some features
that helps power professionals throughout
their busy day while keeping the process
simple and seamless. When it comes to
security, the Blackberry is renowned for
it, and as such its new Blackberry Blend
feature allows you to integrate files from
the device to your PC through Wi-Fi or the
mobile network. The latest Blackberry Hub
also keeps the modern road warriors happy
with all their emails and social networks

organised in one place reducing the need

for multiple open applications,
The latest Blackberry device comes
with a performance that can withstand
its competition. During our benchmarks
using Futuremarks 3DMark, it passed all its
tests with flying colours. We tested it with
movies and high resolution games with
astounding results. The only downside is
that there is no option to zoom in due to
its even design. The return of Blackberrys
QWERTY keyboard could not come at a
better time as the keyboard makes typing
and sending out messages much more
comfortable. The downside however, is
that its keys are spaced too closely which
can cause typos easily. The camera also
provides beautiful images, but it takes time
for the device to focus. This device has an
amazing battery life which comes at the
cost of a non-removable battery.
CHIP CONCLUDE :
In overall, the Blackberry Passport
is a definite must for the business
professionals and the modern road
warriors, it packs performance
with easy to manage applications
while you can sort out most of your
work on the go. If you can get used
to its awkward design, then this
smartphone is a no brainer.

test lab
review

SonicGear Titan 5
Price
Contact
Phone
Info

RM129
Leapfrog Distributions Sdn. Bhd.
(03) 7803 6703
leapfrogglobal.com/amg

Specifications
Connectivity: USB 2.0, SD/MMC card reader,
Bluetooth (optional)
Stereo Configuration: 2x3-inch Satellite
driver, 5-inch subwoofer
Others: LED Display, FM radio, Time/Volume
Control

Another Titan To
Shake Your
Room
SonicGear released some interesting variety of
audio products these year and with the Titan 5, it
looks like it shows no signs of slowing down
anytime soon By Nicolas See Tho

here has been a wide variety of

audio products from SonicGear
this year and with the Titan 5, they
might have provided a smaller yet equally
powerful speaker for those looking for a
smaller speaker set which suits rooms or
table space perfectly. We took the Titan
5 for a test run and we came back with
varying results.
The speaker was simple enough to
setup with just the usual plug-ins and
arrangement of the satellite speakers. The
device came with a jet black theme.The
front panel is very straightforward with the
usual volume controls, auxiliary settings
and media playback settings. On the top
of the device is a USB port and a SD card
reader which is a plus for accessibility. On
its back, it has similar ports as the Titan
7 with the audio in and out ports and the
bass control dial being in place.
Feature-wise, this speaker does not
differ much from the Titan 7 as it still
provides the optional Bluetooth add-on to
increase your points of access, and it also
has FM radio capabilities for those who still
enjoy good old radio stations. Just like its
bigger counterpart, it has a bass dial which

allows you to set the level of bass at your

convenience.
Despite its small size, this device
manages to pack a punch when it comes
to delivering ear-shattering audio. During
our test we were able to feel the deep
bass from music genres such as electronic
music and studio soundtracks clearly and
the clarity of the sounds were astounding.
However, the audio quality suffers a bit
from videos and movies as the audio
tracks are barely audible even with the
bass turned down low. However, the
background audio provided a different
experience as each explosion was
impactful and the sounds were crisp and
clear.
CHIP CONCLUDE :
As we come to a close, the SonicGear
Titan 5 is an interesting choice for
those who would like a decent level
of audio immersion without the size
of a big stereo set. While movies and
videos may have certain downfalls
in terms of voice audio, this device is
definitely useful for parties and the
sort

RATINGS
Performance
Features
Design
Value
Good Clarity for music
Plenty of access points
Good Bassline
Voice audio in videos
have low audibility

The additional USB and SD ports allow users

to enjoy their music straight from a source of
their choosing directly on the Titan 5

The back panel of the Titan 5, showing the

bass dial to set your bass levels and also the
input for the FM antenna

chip malaysia

november 14

081

test lab
review

Logitech G710+
RM499
Ingram Micro Sdn. Bhd., MCL
Sdn. Bhd., M-Link Sdn. Bhd.,
Kaira Technologies Sdn. Bhd
(03) 7955 8188, (03) 8023 3800, (03)
7728 9003, (03) 7955 3669
www.logitech.com/en-my

Price
Contact

Phone
Info

Specifications
Switches: Mechanical
NKRO: USB 3.0
Interface: USB 2.0
Others: 2x USB ports

Game On With
Logitech

RATINGS
Performance
Features

Logitech offers up a gaming mechanical keyboard this

time around with the Logitech G710+, we take it for a
spin to see how well it does By Nicolas See Tho

Design
Value
Fast response rate
Multi-Function light
indicators
Variety of features
Awkward macro
placement

The G710+ provides up to six customisable

buttons for in-game advantage which can be
changed on-the-fly

The keyboard has 3 profile settings which can

be switched at anytime with a profile reset in
case you need to change the settings after all
three slots are full

082

november 14

chip malaysia

ogitech doesnt make many

mechanical keyboards but the
Logitech G710+ changes that as its
appearance marks the rise of Logitech
prominence in the gaming platform. But
how well does it perform compared to its
competition in the market, we help you
find out.
First off, the design of the keyboard
brings back the usual Logitech design
with its logo and product name visibly
seen all around the keyboard. This
keyboard has six macro keys located
on the left side with orange borders to
separate it from the standard keys, as well
as three memory profile buttons, separate
light indicators and media keys all located
on the top of the keyboard. It also has a
unique volume roller to easily change the
volume on the fly. Additionally, it also
houses an external USB port making it
easier to plug your headphones in without
searching for one on your PC.
Logitech keyboards are well known
for their variety of features that always
come with the package. It has dual zone
lighting functionality, which is useful for
gamers in their dark gaming dens as it
allows users the choice of illuminating
the usual gaming keys or the whole
keyboard. The sic G-keys located on the
keyboard also provides 18 additional
functions per game, all within a single
keystroke. Gamers are also be able to

play their games with increased accuracy

with the game mode button which turns
off your Windows key. Additionally, it has
a removable Palm rest support at your
convenience for long gaming sessions.
The gaming keyboard is not just
for show as it provides gamers with
an avenue for destruction with its
performance. We tested the keyboard
on three varied genres of modern
gaming, such as FPS, RTS and MOBA
styled games to test how well it does
in different scenarios. In games like
Company of Heroes 2 whereby its all
about the response, the keyboard does
exceptionally well as we were able to
send army commands while utilising
command shortcuts easily and quickly.
We had also tested the device on MOBAs
such as Dota 2 and LoL with the keyboard
26 key rollovers performing at satisfactory
levels with no lag in between actions. The
only downside thus far is the awkward
macro placement on the side makes it
hard to actually utilise on the fly.
CHIP CONCLUDE :
After all is said and done, the
Logitech G710+ is a gaming keyboard
worth mentioning but at its current
price, it might be too pricey for some,
but for those with cash to splash, this
keyboard should be on the top of your
wish list.

test lab
review

MSI GTX 980

Gaming 4G
Price
Contact

TBA
Media Forte (Malaysia) Sdn.
Bhd., JW Power Marketing Sdn.
Bhd., AMT PC Distributors Sdn.
Bhd.
(03) 2287 1177, (03) 2148 1307,
(03) 3344 1124
my.msi.com

Phone
Info

Specifications
Core clock: 1,216MHz
Boost clock: 1,317MHz
Memory size: 4GB GDDR5
Ports: 1x DVI-I, 1x HDMI, 3x DisplayPort 1.2

RATINGS

King of The Hill

Performance

MSI maxes out the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980s

potential capabilities By Nazrin Zain

Value

he launch of NVIDIAs new GTX900series cards has seen some superbly

marked improvements in terms of
GPU performance unlike anything weve
seen in quite some time. We reviewed the
stock GTX980 last month, and we were left
with nothing but nice things to say about
it. MSI sent us a unit of their take on the
GTX 980, and what a card it is.
With the launch of the MSI GTX 980
Gaming 4G, MSI is also introducing
the Twin Frozr V, the fifth generation
of its Twin Frozr cooler. While the fans
themselves appear to be smaller now,
they generate way more airflow than the
predecessor, and only runs when the GPU
core hits a certain temperature point.
While the stock GTX 980 impressed
us by only requiring two 6-pin PCIE plugs
to power it up, the MSI variant uses two
8-pin plugs, and for good reason. As far
as video output is concerned, the GTX
980 Gaming 4G comes with the standard
single DVI, HDMI and three DisplayPort
ports that allows users to hook up to four
displays on one single card.
The GPU core is overclocked from the
stock 1,126MHz to 1,216MHz in the MSI
variant, although everything else remains
the same. That being said, the GPU core
can still be overclocked to over 1,300MHz,
hence the need for two additional pins on

each plug to power the GPU.

Despite the overclocked settings, as
we mentioned earlier, the fans do not
kick in until a certain temperature level
is reached. When we ran our 3DMark
benchmark tests, it wasnt until halfway
through the Fire Strike Extreme test that
the fan started spinning.
As far as performance goes, we were
able to max out settings on new games
such as Shadow of Mordor, running
at 60FPS with relative ease. Even as
we pushed the card with games set at
high-end settings, the card remained
silent even while the fan is spinning. The
temperatures also lingered around the 70
degrees Celcius mark even during high
load times.
CHIP CONCLUDE :
The MSI GTX 980 Gaming 4G
graphics card is one of the best GPUs
weve tested that combines both
superb graphical performance with
low noise and power consumption.
The fact that the GPU is capable of
running above 60 degrees Celcius
without the fan running is also super
impressive, which makes this card
one of our most recommended one
if youre looking to build a high-end
gaming PC.

Features
Design

Excellent performance
Very quiet
May not fit some cases

BENCHMARK RESULTS
10,320 points
3DMark (Fire Strike):
3DMark (Fire Strike Extreme): 5,821 points

The MSI GTX 980 4G Gaming comes with a

bevy of video output ports that allows users to
have a multi-monitor setup

To fully utilise the Twin Frozr V cooler. MSI

bumped up the PCIe power plug count by two
pins on each plug

chip malaysia

november 14

083

test lab
review

Yotaphone
Price
Contact
Info

RM1,399
Global Line Network
www.yotagloballine.my

Specifications
Operating System: Android 4.2.2
Processor: 1.5GHz Dual Core processor
Frequency: 2G: GSM 900/1800/1900MHz, 3G:
900/1800/2100MHz, 4G: LTE CAT3
Display: 4.3-inches IPS LCD 1,280 x 720
4.3-inches Electronic Paper Display 640 x 360
Memory: 2GB
Storage: 32GB
Connectivity: Micro-SIM reader, 3.5 mm audio
connector, Micro-B USB connector, USB 2.0,
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n ,Bluetooth 4.0
Others: 13MP rear camera, 1MP front camera,
A-GPS, Glonass, compass

RATINGS

The unique Yotaphone has finally arrived on our

shores and its dual display setup is definitely a
feature many would play with By Nicolas See Tho

Performance
Features
Design
Value
Easy to read E-ink display
Second display screen
can be viewed even with
low power
E-Ink Screen is
insensitive
Awkward camera
placement

BENCHMARK RESULTS
3DMark Ice Storm:
9,952 points
3DMark Ice Storm (Extreme): 7,156 points
3DMark Ice Storm (Unlimited): 10,724 points

The E-Ink feature on this smartphone makes

reading text more enjoyable without the strain
at looking at LED screens

084

november 14

Two Sides Of A
Coin

chip malaysia

otaphone is a product of Yota

Devices which has a unique design
with its very own set of unique
features such as a dual display screen. The
device aims to become the go to device
when it comes to personal functions. We
took the device for a spin to see how it
fares.
At first glance, the design of the
smartphone reminds you of an oddly
shaped box with a slight curve near the
top. It has a microUSB port placed on its
bottom with volume controls placed on
its right side. If you were to continue to
observe the device, it seems that the rear
camera is placed at an odd angle on the
bottom right of the device which makes
it awkward for taking pictures. The back
panel display is monochrome in colour
yet pleasing to the eyes. On the top of the
device is the power button and a singular
audio jack.
One does not need to look far to see
the distinctive features on the Yotaphone
as the dual screen design stands out by
itself. The second display screen uses
the electronic paper technology which
is always on providing you with alerts,
amazing reading experience and show
schedules, even when your power is
completely drained. The e-ink display can

be controlled using a touch panel located

on the bottom of the screen to swipe either
left or right. The background picture can
also be changed by swiping two fingers
down to capture any graphics on your
home screen and imprint it to the back.
The devices performance can be
described as mixed at best, despite
having high benchmark scores, it tends to
freeze and slow down when using certain
applications. While the E-ink feature is
unique, the touch panel to control the
screen are insensitive to the swipe gestures
and it requires multiple attempts to execute
a command. Watching videos and movies
on the device however is rather enjoyable.
The same is true when reading with the
second display panel as it goes easy on
the eyes. The camera is also easy to use
with high quality shots consistently being
captured.

CHIP CONCLUDE :
In conclusion, the Yotaphone is
definitely for a niche audience as it
will appeal to those who enjoy the
quirks of its unique features. They
will however have to deal with the
awkward camera position as well as
the insensitive back panel display

test lab
review

Lenovo Y50-70
Price
Contact
Phone
Info

RM4,699
Lenovo Technologies Sdn. Bhd.
1 800 80 7148
www.lenovo.com/my/en

Specifications
CPU: Intel Core i7-4710HQ @ 2.5GHz
RAM: 16GB DDR3 RAM
Storage: 256GB
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 860M
OS: Windows 8.1 Professional
Display: 15.6-inches @ 3,840 x 2,160 pixels

RATINGS

A Gaming Laptop
That Doesnt
Cost An Arm And
A Leg
Lenovos new Y50-70 laptop is for the multimedia
junkie on the move By Nazrin Zain

hen it comes to Lenovos

laptops, they have always
been associated with business.
However, over the years, theyve managed
to successfully branch out to other
segements and the companys latest
multimedia/gaming notebook, the Lenovo
Y50-70 is proof that they can do more.
Being a multimedia and gaming
notebook, the Y50-70 is housed in a dark,
brushed aluminium chassis that exudes
classiness all around. The notebook itself is
powered by a 2.5GHz Intel Core i7-4710HQ
processor, coupled by up to 16GB of RAM
and a 1TB hybrid SSHD that combines
both the speed of an SSD and the storage
capacity of a HDD all in one component.
The Y50-70s display measures in at
about 15.6-inches, and you have the option
to either have go with a Full HD display, or
the UHD display. The one Lenovo sent to
us was the UHD model, and we must say,
it scales quite well to the 15-inch display,
and the icons arent as tiny as we feared it
to be.
Performance-wise, the Y50-70 is a

powerhorse. Playing back 1080p media

is not an issue, and running software
and games on it proved to not be an
issue either. What we do find to be very
impressive is the fact that when we run
CPU and GPU intensive tasks, only the rear
portion of the Y50-70, where the battery
is located heats up. While the laptops
underbelly can get a bit warm, its not
prohibitively hot, and its great if you plan
to have long periods of gaming.
Battery life is the only kink in an
otherwise excellent device. Depending on
configuration, Lenovo says users should
be able to get five hours of battery life on a
full charge, however, we only managed to
get about three hours.

CHIP CONCLUDE :
The Lenovo Y50-70 is an excellent
gaming notebook with top-notch
specs at mid-range prices. It also
comes in multiple configurations so
you can choose which model works
the best for your needs.

Performance
Features
Design
Value
Excellent performance
Multiple configurations
Battery life

BENCHMARK RESULTS
PCMark 8 (Home):
PCMark 8 (Creative):
PCMark 8 (Work):
3DMark (Fire Strike):
3DMark (Fire Strike Extreme):

1,995 points
2,292 points
2,413 points
4,388 points
1,757 points

The Lenovo Y-50-70 comes with a powerful

CPU and GPU which allows heavy duty users
to both work and play hard

The laptop also comes with a complementary

external CD/DVD drive, for your optical media
reading needs

chip malaysia

november 14

085

test lab
review

BenQ F5
RM799
BenQ Service & Marketing (M)
Sdn. Bhd.
(03) 7954 7800
www.benq.com.my

Price
Contact
Phone
Info

Specifications
Operating System: Android 4.4.2 (KitKat) with
Q Home UI
Processor: 1.2GHz Quad-Core Qualcomm
Snapdragon MSM8926
Frequency: GSM 850/900/1800/1900MHz,
HSPA 850/900/1900/2100MHz, LTE (Cat 4):
1800/2600MHz
Screen: 5-inch HD (1,280 x 720) IPS display
Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0,
USB 2.0
Memory: 2GB
Storage: 16GB (internal), support for microSD
cards up to 64GB
Others: 13-megapixel rear camera with BSI
sensor & f/2.2 aperture, 2-megapixel front
camera
Weight: 135g

RATINGS
Performance

Design
Value
LTE Ready
Affordable
Decent performance
Rear camera produces
great photo
Low Blue Light display
technology
Non-removable battery

BENCHMARK RESULTS
3DMark Ice Storm:
5,697 points
3DMark Ice Storm (Extreme): 2,885 points
3DMark Ice Storm (Unlimited): 4,690 points
AnTuTu:
17,451 points

If you love taking photos with your

smartphone, the F5 with its 13MP camera and
affordable price is quite a steal

november 14

BenQ makes a surprising return to the smartphone

game with a very compelling device that will no
doubt gain quite a bit of attention By Jeremy Cheong

Features

086

A Surprising
Comeback

chip malaysia

hile the name BenQ will always

be synonymous to monitors
and projectors, they are actually
no strangers to the smartphone game
as they have released multiple offerings
to the market in the past. These devices
unfortunately didnt make quite a big
splash here in Malaysia but that is set to
change with their recently released F5
smartphone that is a serious contender
when it comes to the affordable Android
device market.
Frankly speaking, the design of the F5 is
pretty plain and simple and isnt really that
eye-catching. It is however quite a sturdily
build device and while it may be made
out of polycarbonate, it felt solid. The F5
is also very nice and slim, which is always
a plus point. The removable back cover of
our black coloured review unit had a very
nice and rubbery feel to it which adds extra
grip to the device and that is always nice.
As for buttons layout, the volume rocker is
located on the right side of the device while
the power/lock button is placed on the top
right. The power/lock button isnt hard to
get to as this is just a 5-inch device but we
would still have preferred it to be on the
sides.
Speaking of its 5-inch display, the
F5 comes with just a HD display that
isnt too bad as colours were accurate,

text was crisp and the viewing angles

were wide enough. On top of that, BenQ
has incorporated the Low Blue Light
technology from their PC monitors into
the F5. What this does is it minimises the
light aggravation and adjusts the displays
brightness level depending on ambient
light to help protect the users eyes. This
works pretty well as we spent quite some
time using the F5 to browse the web and
reading articles.
For those of you who love smartphone
photography, the F5 will definitely be
a steal as it boasts a 13-megapixel rear
camera with a Back-illuminated sensor and
f/2.2 aperture. With this camera package,
photos taken were great as details were
sharp, colours were accurate and it even
manages to brighten up darker spots
in an environment. It even manages to
produce some very nice photos in low-light
environments.

CHIP CONCLUDE :
For its asking price of RM799, theres
really nothing we can complain about
when it comes to the BenQ F5. In fact,
we would say it is quite a steal as it is
pretty much an all-rounder in terms
of performance, camera quality and it
even supports LTE.

test lab
review

MSI GAMING
Nightblade Z97
Price
Contact
Phone
Info

RM1,699
MediaForte (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd.
(03) 7960 6868
game.msi.com

Specifications

A Sharper Blade
MSIs barebones gaming system, the GAMING
Nightblade gets the Intel 9-series chipset upgrade
and retains features that made it great in the first
place By Jeremy Cheong

bout seven months ago, MSI

loaned us what was easily one
of their most exciting and new
products then for a review. It was the
GAMING Nightblade barebones system
that was designed to provide gamers with
an easy solution when it comes to building
a portable gaming PC. The first Nightblade
utilised Intels Z87 chipset and since Intel
launched their new 9-series chipset awhile
back, MSI went ahead and refreshed the
GAMING Nightblade and it now comes
with a Z97 motherboard.
Design and looks wise, the Z97 version
of the GAMING Nightblade actually looks
exactly the same as the Z87 version, which
is not a big problem to us as we believe
that if it isnt broken, dont fix it. This
means that the Nightblade is still nice and
portable and yet has enough space on
the inside to fit some high-end hardware.
Seeing as this is a barebones system, it
only comes equipped with a Z97I GAMING
AC mini-ITX motherboard, a 600W 80
PLUS Gold PSU and optical drive. Like we
said before, this is quite a good foundation
for a mid-range to high-end gaming rig,
especially since it now supports Intels 5th
Generation Core i processors.
Much like before, users will have to
equip the Nightblade with the components
such as the RAMs, HDDs, SSDs and
graphics card of their choice. Seeing as the
chassis hasnt changed, it still comes with

enough room to easily fit either an AMD

Radeon R9 290X or NVIDIA GeForce GTX
780 Ti without a problem. Of course, dont
expect to get a system with a CrossFireX
or SLI multi GPU configuration. For even
better performance, theres also enough
space for multiple SSDs and mSATA
storage devices and if you have the cash
for it, you can always take advantage of
MSIs Super RAID technology.
One of the major changes this time
around however when it comes to the
overall package is the fact that MSI is
no longer bundling the custom size CPU
heatsink, this is quite unfortunate as the
CPU cooler made buying components less
of headache. But with that said, the chassis
still comes with the MSI Dragon case fan
that has maximum fan speed of 3,600RPM,
three air vents for maximum air flow and
an open bottom for the graphics card to
disperse heat.
CHIP CONCLUDE :
All in all, the refreshed MSI GAMING
Nightblade Z97 is just as attractive
as the previous version plus it is
also much cheaper compared to
the Z87 variant. However, the lower
price does come with a compromise,
namely the CPU heatsink. But with
what it offers, it is still a great option
for gamers who dont want a more
simple solution to rig building.

CPU: Supports Intel 4th & 5th Generation

Core i3/i5/i7
Chipset: Intel Z97
Motherboard: MSI Z97I GAMING AC
Storage: HDD: Support 1x 3.5-inch/ 2x 2.5inch, SSD: 2x m-SATA
RAM: Max 16GB (2x Long-DIMMs)
Graphics: Support dual-slot, max 290mm
length
Resolution: Support up to 4K (4,096 x 2,160
@ 24Hz)
Audio: 7.1 Channel HD Audio Realtek
ALC1150 Codec
Optical Drive: Slim Slot-in, Super-multi
(optional)
I/O (Front): 2x USB 2.0, 2x USB 3.0, 1x
Mic-In, 1x Audio Jack
I/O (Rear): 1x PS/2 keyboard/mouse combo,
1x LAN (RJ-45), 2x USB 2.0, 4x USB 3.0, 2x
eSATA, 1x Optical S/PDIF Out connector, 6x
OFC audio jacks, 2x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort
Connectivity: E2205 Killer Gigabit LAN,
802.11AC + Bluetooth 4.0
Mic-in / Headphone-out: 1 / 1
PSU: 600W 80 PLUS Gold
Dimensions: 345.8 x 277.33 x 175.7mm
Weight: 7.6kg

RATINGS
Features
Design
Value
Portable chassis
Easy assembly
Enough space to fit high-end
graphics cards
Z97I GAMING motherboard
Powerful PSU
More affordable compared
to previous Nightblade
Looks the same and comes
with same features
No CPU cooler

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Epson L1800
Price
Contact
Phone
Info

RM1,588
Epson Malaysia Sdn. Bhd.
(03) 5628 8288
www.epson.com.my

Specifications
Print Resolution: 5,760 x 1,440 dpi
Print Method: On-demand Ink Jet
Print Speed: 15 ppm (paper)
45 secs (Photo)
Feeder Capacity: 100

RATINGS
Performance
Features
Design
Value
High quality photo printing
Economic Ink Tank
technology
Allows A3 borderless
photo printing
Bulky
Slow printing speed

Photo Perfect On
Print

There are not many printers that provides high quality

photo printing yet reduce cost at the same time but
with the Epson L1800, the combination is easily
achieved By Nicolas See Tho

The high capacity ink tank on this printer

provides an economical edge as it can last up
to 4,000 black and white pages

The front panel shows the basic functions for

the printer including the power button and the
usual print settings

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pson has always been a household

name when it comes to printer
products and they have shown their
specialty once again with the Epson L1800
Ink Tank System Printer which provides
economical savings with high performance
printing.
Looking at the printer, once can see that
it stands out first with its size and secondly
its weight. Its width is a definite downer
when it comes to finding a perfect spot for
it. Its trademark Ink Tank system is located
on its right, and it has a choke valve which
is useful for transportation purposes. On
its back, it has a USB port to connect to
your PC and a power outlet. It has simple
controls located on its top with the bare
essentials.
One of the core features on this printer
is its Ink Tank technology which provides
immense savings that sustains ultra-high
paper yields of up to 4,000 black and
white pages all at a low running costs
when compared to other printers. This
printer also provides wireless printing via
the Epson iPrint app which allows you to
print web pages directly from your phone.
Another feature it has is the ability to print

A3+ size borderless photo prints which is

perfect for designers and those who work
with graphics design.
When it comes down to performance,
this printer has varied results. The photo
prints from this printer was superb with
the colour saturation and accuracy are on
point and the quality of the image was
sharp and clear. The same is true for black
and white prints, the ink does not show
heavy bleeding and the text was clear
and readable. The trade-off for the quality
comes in its printing speed, during our
printer speed test, it took nearly 17 minutes
to print 25 pages. Another aspect to note
is that the printer is highly technical and in
order to get the prints out with the quality
you require, you would need to heavily
tinker with its software.
CHIP CONCLUDE :
In conclusion, The Epson L1800 is a
high grade photo printer that has long
term savings built-in. While it is not
recommended for heavy office use,
those who needs high quality photo
prints should highly consider this
printer to do the job right

test lab
review

Kingston
HyperX Savage
Price
Contact

~RM709
Amble Action Sdn. Bhd.,
Convergent Distribution (M) Sdn.
Bhd., Ingram Micro Malaysia
Sdn. Bhd.
(03) 7665 3939, (03) 2144 1881,
(03) 7952 8188
www.kingston.com

Phone
Info

Specifications
Capacity: Up to 4GB single, 16GB kits
available
Compatibility: Intel X99
Frequency: 2,133MHz, 2,666MHz, 3,000MHz
CAS Latency: 13-13-13, 13-14-14, 15-16-16

Kingston Goes
Savage
New Kingston RAMs set to replace older generation
By Nazrin Zain

nthusiast-level PCs have seen a fair

bit of growth in recent times, and
while motherboards and graphics
cards appear to have the look and feel
down to a pat, but RAMs appear to have hit
stagnant waters. Kingston aims to change
all that with their latest DDR3 offering in
the form of the Kingston HyperX Savage
that offers both performance and style.
A thing to note is that these new
Kingston HyperX Savage DDR3 modules
are the replacements for the previous
generation Kingston HyperX Genesis line
of RAMs, which is one of the companys
popular enthusiast memory lines for quite
some time.
The new Kingston HyperX Savage
RAMs come in a variety of different
configurations, but the one Kingston sent
us is the two 8GB set, clocked at 2,400MHz.
The first things enthusiasts are likely
to notice is the fact that the low profile
heatsink that covers the DIMM chips are
asymmetrical. The design adds to the
coolness factor, but at the same time it still
helps cool down the DIMM chips, so users
need not worry about the heat dissipation
being affected by this design choice.
Thanks to the cool, low profile design
of the HyperX Savage, users can use them

together with large coolers that would

usually cover some of the DIMM slots
on the motherboard. There arent many
high-performance RAMs that come with
low-profile memory, so this is a good thing
if youre building a high performance,
low-profile PC.
Enthusiasts and overclockers will be
happy to know that the HyperX Savage
comes with two XMP profiles that have the
RAMs clocked at 2,133MHz and 2,400MHz
respectively, and with a bit of tuning can
go to 2,600MHz and above, perfect for
those who are looking to make the most
out of their memory setup.
As far as performance is concerned, the
HyperX Savage breezes through all our
benchmarks and tests with ease. Software
startup is electrifyingly fast, and there is
no lag when we have multiple instances
of Adobe software and other memoryintensive multimedia suites open.
CHIP CONCLUDE :
If youre looking for a set of lowprofile RAMs that have excellent
performane and great overclocking
capabilities, we highly recommend
the Kingston HyperX Savage RAMs as
they meet all of these criterias.

RATINGS
Performance
Features
Cooling
Value
Overclocks well
Low profile design

Price

BENCHMARK RESULTS
AIDA64 (Read):
AIDA64 (Write):

33,432 MB/s
32,109 MB/s

The asymmetrical heatsink design makes the

HyperX Savage look really cool, and adds a
touch of aggressiveness to custom-built PCs

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HTC Butterfly 2
RM2,299
SiS Distribution (M) Sdn. Bhd.,
Brightstar Distribution Sdn. Bhd.
(03) 5569 8878, 1 300 88 2744
www.htc.com

Price
Contact
Phone
Info

Specifications
Operating System: Android 4.4.2 Kit Kat
Processor: 2.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon
801
Frequency: GSM 850/900/1800/1900MHz,
HSPA 850/900/1900/2100MHz
Screen: 4.7-inch 720p IPS LCD
Connectivity: Wi-Fi 5GHz, Wi-Fi Direct,
Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, microUSB 2.0
Memory: 2GB
Storage: 16GB (expandable to 128GB via
microSD)
Others: 13.0-megapixel rear camera,
5.0-megapixel front camera
Dimensions: 145.4 x 70.2 x 10mm
Weight: 151g
RATINGS

The Butterfly
Takes Flight
Again

Performance

HTCs Butterfly 2 shows plastic can be sexy

Features

Cooling
Value
Superb performance
Long battery life
Price

BENCHMARK RESULTS
Maxed Out
3DMark Ice Storm:
Maxed Out
3DMark Ice Storm (Extreme):
3DMark Ice Storm (Unlimited): 18,629 points
41,724 points
ANTUTU Benchmark:

The Butterfly 2s 13.0MP Duo camera takes

some pretty excellent photos

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TCs stable of high-end

smartphones have been
impressive lately as the HTC
One M8 continued to wow critics
and consumer alike, thanks to its
all-aluminum build and excellent
performance courtesy of the
components it boasts. The HTC Butterfly
2 aims to do more of the same, but in
slightly different ways.
Much like previous iterations of
the Butterfly, the Butterfly 2 features
a polycarbonate body that houses a
5.0-inch Full HD display, and is powered
by a 2.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon 801
CPU, 2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage
which is expandable via microSD up to
128GB.
The Butterfly 2 runs Android 4.4.2 Kit
Kat out of the box, with the minimalist
HTC Sense 6.0 user interface overlaying
the operating system. With the recent
announcement of Android 5.0 Lollipop,
HTC has also stated that the Butterfly
2 will be receiving new OS updates
alongside the HTC One (M8) and One
(E8).
Similar to the One (E8), the Butterfly
2 features a 13.0MP Duo Camera at
the back, allowing users to not only
take sharper and brighter photos, but
allows them to refocus shots after taking
photos, thanks to the depth sensor used

By Nazrin Zain

in the Duo Camera system.

One of the biggest features HTC is
pushing with the Butterfly 2 is the fact
that it is IP67-certified for water and
dust resistance. As if thats not all, the
Butterfly 2 is capable of this without the
use of flaps like so many other brands
do. HTC uses a special substance to help
coat the insides of the ports to keep it
waterproofed.
The best part about this is that unlike
most phone and tablet displays, water
splashes do not affect the display, so
you can use it as you would normally
underwater.
Performance-wise, we have
absolutely no complaints about the
Butterfly 2. It performs any task that you
can throw at it with ease, and even with
so many apps running at the same time,
it hardly lags at all, and the 2,700mAh
battery ensures that no matter how
heavy your usage pattern is, the phone
will last you throughout the day.
CHIP CONCLUDE :
As far as performance goes, the HTC
Butterfly 2 is a great phone to look at
and use, and its waterproof feature
is a great selling point, if youre
looking to upgrade to an excellent
high-end phone that can withstand
the elements.

test lab
review

MSI GT60
20KWS
Price
Contact
Phone
Info

TBA
MSI Malaysia Office
1 300 22 1386
my.msi.com

Specifications
CPU: Intel Core i7-4810MQ, 2.80 GHz
Memory: 16GB DDR3 RAM
Storage: 1TB HDD, 128 GB SSD
Display: 15.6-inch (1,920 x 1,080), LED Backlit
Matte screen
Graphics: NVIDIA Quadro K3100M
Connectivity: Blu-Ray, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0,
USB 2.0/3.0, HDMI, Mini-DisplayPort

RATINGS
Performance

Working On The
Go

The MSI GT60 20KWS may deceptively look like the

top of the line gaming machine, it is actually a top of
the line workstation for the professionals By Nicolas See Tho

SI has a wide range of powerful

devices that provides powerful
results, and the same is true with
the MSI GT60 20KWS. MSI created this
device with professionals in mind and with
its hardware, it is not just for eye candy.
Its exterior may remind gamers of
MSIs trademark gaming laptop series but
the big emblem shows that this laptop is
vastly different as it is a workstation. It is
fitted with the same SteelSeries keyboard
that MSI usually uses. On its sides, it has
USB2.0 and 3.0 ports as well as the usual
array of audio ports. The back of the laptop
shows a wide variety of ports which are
HDMI, Ethernet and DisplayPorts as well as
the power port. The one thing you should
watch out for is its weight may prove to be
a hassle to carry around.
This workstation comes with many
powerful features such as compatibility
with Adobe Creative Suite 6, Autodesk,
and Solidworks which can all be featured
on its first ever 3K ultra High resolution
display screen. It is also able to support
up to three separate displays. Should you
want to relax, it has gaming potential with
KILLER Doubleshot network connectivity

and Cooler Boost 2 to keep its temperature

down during gaming. It also features
backlit keyboard perfect for both work and
gaming.
Performance-wise, the workstation
breezed through our benchmarks without
fail. It should be noted however that the
benchmarks for its graphics card could not
be used as we do not have the appropriate
software to test the NVIDIA Quadro series.
However, its 3K display really comes into
play when watching movies and videos.
We were even able to enjoy casual games
like LoL and Dota 2 which provided
amazing gameplay experience. It also
has a high quality camera which makes
Skyping a delight to play with as it portrays
your video clear and without delay.

CHIP CONCLUDE :
After all is said and done, the
MSI GT60 20KWS is definitely a
workstation for the professionals.
This would be a good pick for those
who needs the performance on the
road to run the most demanding of
software.

Features
Design

High performance
Durable keyboard
Heavy

BENCHMARK RESULTS
PCMark 8 (Home):
PCMark 8 (Creative):
PCMark 8 (Work):

4,003 points
3,720 points
3,669 points

The back of the laptop shows a wide variety

of display options such as DisplayPorts and
HDMI. It also has a singular Ethernet cable for
network connection

The workstation also has 4 audio ports which

handles the usual array of audio options.

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Dell UltraSharp
UP3214Q UHD
Monitor
Price
Contact
Phone
Info

RM8,199
Dell Asia Pacific Sdn. Bhd.
1 800 88 0301
www.dell.com.my

Specifications
Resolution: 3,840 x 2,160 @ 60Hz
Screen: 31.5-inches
Response time: 8ms (GTG)
Contrast Ratio: 1,000:1 (Native), 2.0M:1
(Dynamic Contrast Ratio)
Stand: Tilt, swivel
Connectivity: 1x DisplayPort 1.2, 1x Mini
DisplayPort, 1x HDMI

RATINGS
Performance

Truly Bigger
Than Big

Features

Dells new UHD display provides you with more

digital real estate than youll know what to do with

Cooling

By Nazrin Zain

Value

ore and more display

manufacturers have come out
with 4K UHD displays, and
having played around with a few before,
weve finally managed to get our hands on
Dells very own Dell UltraSharp UP32214Q
UHD monitor that came out earlier this
year. One things for sure, its big, heavy
and very colourful.
As far as look and feel are concerned,
the UP3214Q monitor looks just like any
UltraSharp monitor you may have seen for
some time now. Its a very professionallooking 31.5 display with sharp black
bezels and a touch panel at the side to
access the monitors on-screen display
options.
At the back, the UP3214Q monitor
features a wide variety of display outputs,
including HDMI, Mini DisplayPort and
DisplayPort 1.2. There are also four USB
3.0 downstream ports at the back, with
one USB 3.0 upstream port connecting the
downstream ports to the PC. The UP3214Q
also has a 6-in-1 card reader.
All of which are actually very useful,
however the problem comes in the fact that
all these ports are located directly at the
back of the display, which is very difficult to
reach to, especially the USB ports and the
card reader.
As the UP32214Q is a 4K monitor, it
needs to be noted that the only way for

Excellent display output

quality
Feature-packed
USB ports and card
reader difficult to acess

Dell did not skimp on video input ports here as

it has something for everyone

The Dell UltraSharp UP3214Q also comes with

a card reader for quick and easy access to
media files

092

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you to make the most out of it is hook up

the DisplayPort 1.2 port and cable to a
DisplayPort 1.2-compatible GPU, otherwise,
at the highest resolution, it will only output
the resolution at 30Hz, which can hurt the
eyes when you stare at the display for long
periods of time.
As far as colour quality is concerned, the
UP32214Q is simply superb, as expected
of a monitor from the Dell UltraSharp
line. Using an IGZO/IPS panel, the colour
standards is amazing, as the coverage
includes 99 percent of Adobe RGB and 100
percent of sRGB. This means crisp colours,
amazing reproduction and hues that would
usually be undiscernible when using
monitors that simply dont have the same
output capabilities.
Not only that, the monitor also has
excellent viewing angles, which is
important if youre doing collaborative
design work and the monitor isnt exactly
in a good position for other people to see.

CHIP CONCLUDE :
The Dell UltraSharp UP32214Q 4K
UHD monitor is a display that works
great for creatives, be they designers
or video editors who will require the
display real estate to edit some really
high end artworks, photos or videos

test lab
review

Cooler Master
Nepton 120X
RM369
Ban Leong Technologies Sdn.
Bhd.
(03) 7956 6300
www.coolermaster.com

Price
Contact
Phone
Info

Specifications
Cold Plate Material: Copper
Fan Size: 2x 120mm
Socket Support: AMD AM2, AM3, FM1, FM2,
Intel LGA 1155, 1156, 1366, 2011, 2011-v3
Radiator Material: Aluminium

The Silent Cooler

Makes A Return
Cooler Masters Nepton 120XL features new upgrades
that promises quieter cooling performance By Nazrin Zain

ooler Master, as it name implies first

made its name by making coolers
for CPUs and such. The brand may
have expanded to include power supplies
and gaming peripherals and such, but its
core businesses, the PC cooling solution, is
still going strong. The companys Nepton
watercooling setup has gotten an upgrade
in the form of the Cooler Master Nepton
120 XL, and were going to take a look at
what has changed.
The Nepton 120XL is an all-in-one
water-cooling solution that is fairly straight
forward to set up. It consists of a copper
water block, a pump and a radiator that
keeps the coolant flowing when activated.
Changes in the Nepton 120XL include
an even bigger copper base, which
provides even more surface area for the
processor to transfer heat onto, a new
pump design that promises lower noise
output, as well as brand new FEP tubing
that prevents kinks in the tubes, and new
Silencio fans that are also much quieter,
and last longer than its predecessors.
To reduce the cable clutter from
using two fans to dissipate heat from the
radiator, it is also recommended that you
use the coupling cable that is bundled
together with the Nepton 120XL, and this
way, you only use one fan power port to
power both fans.

The Nepton 120XL supports a wide

variety of CPU sockets, ranging from Intels
LGA775 to LGA2011- to AMDs FM2, all the
way to AM2+. There is a manual on how
to install the appropriate brackets for each
CPU type, and theyre all pretty straight
forward, although you will need a Philipshead screwdriver to install them.
Cooler Masters claims about the
Nepton 120 XL running silent are not
unfounded. As we tested it on our
motherboards, there was an initial murmur
of the motor inside the pump running, but
beyond that, it was pretty much silent all
the way.
As far as cooling is concerned, the
Nepton 120XL does an excellent job
at it as well, keeping the processor in
relatively cool temperatures even as we ran
benchmark tests.

CHIP CONCLUDE :
If youre looking for a quiet and
efficient water-cooling system thats
also easy to install and requires
almost no maintenance, the Cooler
Master Nepton 120XL is one you
should consider. It also helps a lot if
you have high profile RAM sticks as
the pump itself takes up very little
space on the motherboard.

RATINGS
Performance
Features
Design
Value
Cools well
Silent
Comes with a lot of
small parts

The Nepton 120XLs pump starts with a

slight whirring sound before running silently
throughout our tests

The Nepton 120XLs fan has also been

redesigned to improve airflow and be a lot
more silent

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test lab
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Huawei Ascend
P7 Arsenal
Edition
Price
Contact
Phone
Info

RM1,799
Huawei Malaysia Mobile Hotline
1 800 22 0086
www.huawei.com/my

Specifications
Processor: Kirin 910T 1.8GHz Quad-Core
Processor
Graphics: Mali 450 processor
Operating System: Android 4.4, Emotion UI
Display: 5-inch bright Full HD screen (1920x
1080)
Memory: 2GB
Storage: 16GB expandable with MicroSD up
to 32GB
Connectivity: 2G:GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G: HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100
4G: LTE 800 / 900 / 1800 / 2100 / 2600
Others: 13MP rear camera, 8MP front camera,
Full HD video and voice activated photo
taking.

Ascend With The

Gunners

Huawei flaunts its partnership with Arsenal FC with

the release of the Huawei Ascend P7 Arsenal Edition

RATINGS

By Nicolas See Tho

Performance

rsenal is not a name that many

can forget as it is one of the most
successful football clubs in the
world, winning numerous amounts of
achievements and trophies. As such,
Huawei as the partner company for Arsenal
has decided to reveal the new Huawei
Ascend P7 Arsenal Edition to show their
support for the team.
The device makes all the colours of
Arsenal visible in its theme on the phone
as well as displaying the Arsenal badge
on the back of the phone. It has a single
microUSB placed on its bottom and its
sides has the usual volume and power
buttons and last but not least, an audio
jack placed on its top. This smartphone
has dual SIM compatibility for the busy
individual and it has the latest Gorilla Glass
3 both front and back for durability yet style
on both sides.
An Arsenal smartphone device would
not be complete without features which
makes it stand out as an Arsenal fanboys
phone, such as the sounds of the Emirates
stadium chanting whenever you switch the
device on, or the full Arsenal theme within
the device itself with each application
having specific Arsenal related symbols
and graphics. Besides that, it also comes
pre-installed with football related apps such

Features
Design
Value
Good Camera
Slim design
Cant remove battery
Low volume threshold

BENCHMARK RESULTS
3DMArk Ice Storm:
7,307 points
3DMark Ice Storm (Extreme): 5,057 points
3DMark Ice Storm (Unlimited): 7,398 points
AnTuTu:
28,207 points

The back end of the Huawei Ascend P7

Arsenal edition will show the world your
allegiance to the Gunners

094

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chip malaysia

as Fifa 14 and Yakatak Soccer to keep the

football fever going. Additionally, it also
has the Panorama Selfie feature which
takes a wide panoramic background when
capturing the usual selfies to include more
details within a single photo.
When it comes down to performance,
this device performs at a slower pace
compared to its competition, but it is still
manages to score above average in some
of our benchmarks. It is still powerful
enough to play the most graphically
intense games available on the Android
market today albeit with certain delays on
certain game modes. It displays movies
and videos beautifully but it has a low
volume threshold even when cranked to
the maximum settings. Camera-wise, it has
the absolute advantage here with beautiful
shots taken from both the rear and front
camera, with many modes to play from.

CHIP CONCLUDE :
So for those Arsenal fans out there
looking for a device to swear their
allegiance to, now you can with the
Huawei Ascend P7 Arsenal Edition.
Its slim, yet beautiful design coupled
with its Arsenal theme will make this
a first choice for many fans.

test lab
review

ASUS X99-Deluxe
RM1,560
Build Technology Supply Sdn
Bhd., Servex (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd
(03) 7955 3699, (03) 8024 6688
www.asus.com/my/

Price
Contact
Phone
Info

Specifications
CPU Support: Intel Core Processors
CPU Socket: LGA 2011
Chipset: Intel X99
Memory Type: Quad Channel Memory
Architecture

Running On A
Gaming Premium
ASUS opens the doors to Christmas early with the
ASUS X99-Deluxe motherboard which satisfies
cravings from both gamers and professionals alike
By Nicolas See Tho

here are a new generation of

motherboards coming in the form
of the Intel X99 chipset series and
ASUS gives their customers the ultimate
bang for their buck with the ASUS X99Deluxe motherboard for the premium
users.
At first glance, the design cover for
the motherboard has changed from the
traditional gold to sleek futuristic white,
giving the motherboard a cutting edge
look. Its CPU socket allows for the latest
generation Intel Core Processors to be
used and there are six PCIe expansion slots
on the motherboard with five being a full
physical x16 slot. It also has eight DIMM
slots for up to 128GB DDR4 RAM allowing
power users to boost their rig. Ports-wise,
it has a wide variety of access points such
as 10 total USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 ports, two
LAN ports, Wi-Fi antenna ports and two
SATA Express ports with eight SATA 6gb/s
ports.
The motherboard comes with many
features such as a unique cache bus
voltage adjustment system that provides
faster sub-system performance, the
inclusion of the ASUS 5-Way Optimization
which dynamically optimises the essential
factors of your system and Fan Xpert 3
which scans each fans characteristic and

RATINGS
Performance
Features
Design
Value
Plenty of features
Easy to use BIOS
Good audio support
with Crystal Sound 2
Plastic design covers
Price

delivers customised settings to each fan.

The motherboard also highlights its Crystal
Sound 2 audio optimisation which provides
high quality audio for any purpose.
The motherboard shines best when it
comes down to performance, as during our
benchmarks using Futuremarks PCMark
8, the motherboard has scored decently
in overall. Gamers will be impressed with
the powerful networking provided by this
motherboard which provides seamless
online gaming and the ability to handle
NVIDIA SLI support for those who aim
to play games at the best quality. The
UEFI BIOS is also a trademark of ASUS
to which they make navigation painless
and overclocking easy with the EZ Tuning
Wizard.

CHIP CONCLUDE :
As far as premium motherboards go,
the ASUS X99-Deluxe are some of the
latest ones on the market now and is
a good choice for those who want to
play with the newest toys. However,
the price for premium goods is the
premium price which is rather steep
for those who does not need all the
power, nonetheless, it provides the
performance to back its value.

BENCHMARK RESULTS
PCMark 8 (Work):
PCMark 8 (Creative):
PCMark 8 (Home):

4,743 points
4,523 points
4,625 points

The motherboard provides a wide access to a

multitude of ports leaving plenty of room for
any device

A high end motherboard is not complete

without a premium audio optimisation system
such as Crystal Sound 2

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095

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Philips A5-Pro
Professional DJ
Headphones
Price
Contact

RM1,999
WOOX Innovations Malaysia Sdn.
Bhd.
1800 807 332
www.woox.com

Phone
Info

Specifications
Driver size: 2x 50mm
Frequency response: 10Hz 24kHz
Impedance: 16 ohm
Connector: 3.5mmm, 6.5mm audio jack
Cable length: 1.3-4.7 metres

Not Just For DJs

RATINGS
Performance
Features

Listen to some good music with these headphones

Design

By Nazrin Zain

Value

espite reviewing various types of

headphones every other month
here at CHIP, its not very often
that we get to play around with some of
the more premium models out there in
the market. Philips has been kind enough
to pass us the Philips A5-Pro Professional
DJ headphones, which was made in
collaboration with celebrated DJ Armin van
Buuren.
As expected from an expensive pair of
headphones, the A5-Pro looks and feels like
it was made to look good, and withstand
some degree of abuse. The chassis of
the headphone is made out of reinforced
aluminium, which is then wrapped in
leather to ensure comfort.
The A5-Pro uses 50mm drivers which
are engineered to be able to handle up to
3,500mW of power are used to ensure that
no matter what kind of set up used, the
headphones will be able to handle it all,
which is especially perfect for DJs who tour
often, and work with different audio setup
every time.
Swiveling earpieces on headphones are
pretty standard fare for DJ headphones,
but the collaboration with Armin van
Buuren has lead to several quality of life
improvements. For starters, there are
one 3.5mm audio ports on each side of
the earpiece, which allows users to use
either one depending on which is more
comfortable for them. The second is that

Great build, audio

quality
Foldable design
Price

The headband of the A5-Pro is made out of

aluminum, making it a very sturdy pair of
headphones

The cables on the A5-Pro are detachable,

and can be plugged into either side of the
headphones

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chip malaysia

the headphones can be folded up for easy

and compact packing, something that
many people would definitely love.
As far as audio quality is concerned,
the A5-Pro ranks as one of our favourites
for music-listening. Marketed as a pair
of monitoring headphones, the sound
signature for these headphones are quite
neutral, leaning towards the warm side
of things, which makes the headphones
great for listening to genres such as EDM,
rock and even live albums, as the details
pop out in such detail that its like a new
listening experience even if youve listened
to the same thing hundreds of times
before.
The audio separation of the A50-Pro
is excellent as well. Some music listeners
like to be able to listen to every single
instrument used in a song, and the
headphones provide that sort of listening
experience without compromising audio
quality.

CHIP CONCLUDE :
The Philips A5-Pro headphones
are engineered to look and sound
awesome. The pricetag may be a bit
too extravagant for most, but those
who truly appreciate the look, feel
and performance of a good pair of
headphones will definitely like what
the A5-Pro has to offer.

test lab
review

ASUS Fonepad
8 (FE380CG)
RM649
Dynamics Distribution Sdn. Bhd.,
ECS Astar Sdn. Bhd.
(03) 8024 2100, (03) 6286 8222
www.asus.com/my/

Price
Contact
Phone
Info

Specifications

An Inch Larger
ASUS Fonepad grows an inch larger in size but does
it come with things that matter the most to users?
By Jeremy Cheong

hroughout this year, weve reviewed

about three different devices in
ASUS Fonepad family and it doesnt
seem like the expansion of this family is
going to slow down as the Taiwanese tech
powerhouse recently unveiled the Fonepad
8 (FE380CG), which we got to review this
month. Much like the previous devices in
the series, this one comes with its own
set of charms that will definitely attract
consumers to it.
As always, well take a look at its
design first. For an 8-inch device, we were
surprised at how slim and light it actually
is. Holding it with one hand is comfortable
enough but theres no way youll be able
to operate it one-handed. Our review unit
came in black and we really liked it as it
comes with a nice rubberised textured
back which not only gives you better grip
but also doesnt attract smudges easily.
Much like previous Fonepads, this one also
supports dual SIM cards.
Another great thing about its design is
how ASUS managed to slim down its bezel
to a mere 5.06mm, which means users get
more screen real-estate and better viewing
angles. The 8-inch display has a 1,280 x 800
resolution and brightness of 400nits that
makes it usable in any lighting condition,
even under direct sunlight. Combine
its brilliant display with front-facing
MaxxAudio tuned speakers, this makes the
device great for consuming multimedia

such as music, videos and games.

ASUS have also equipped the
Fonepad 8 with a camera albeit it is only
a 5-megapixel one. However, it does
come with plenty of features thanks to the
PixelMaster technology. It produces decent
photos in bright environments but falls flat
in darker ones as it doesnt come with an
LED flash.
When it comes to overall performance,
the Fonepad 8s Intel Atom processor
does a great job at keeping up with the
pace of users. It produced solid scores in
our suite of benchmarks and was snappy
and smooth throughout our time with it
even when we were multi-tasking. Playing
games such as Dead Trigger 2 and Asphalt
8 was also great as there was no lag
whatsoever. As for battery life, the device
managed to last us about two days with
light to medium usage, for heavy users
it should be able to last a full day before
needing a recharge.

Operating System: Android 4.4 KitKat

Processor: Intel Atom Z3530 Quad-Core, up
to 1.33GHz, 64-bit
Frequency: GSM 850/900/1800/1900MHz,
HSPA 850/900/1900/2100MHz
Screen: 8-inch LED Backlight WXGA (1,280 x
800) screen with IPS Panel
Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth
4.0, NFC, USB 2.0
Memory: 1GB
Storage: 8GB (internal), support for microSD
cards up to 64GB, 5GB Life Time ASUS
Webstorage space; with an additional 11GB
for the first year
Others: 5-megapixel rear camera,
2-megapixel front camera
Dimensions: 120 x 214 x 8.9mm
Weight: 310g
RATINGS
Performance
Features
Design
Value
Good overall performance
Dual SIM
Affordable
Lightweight and slim
Rear camera is only 5MP
& has no flash
Only 1GB RAM & 8GB
internal storage

BENCHMARK RESULTS
3DMark Ice Storm:
Maxed Out!
3DMark Ice Storm (Extreme):
Maxed out!
3DMark Ice Storm (Unlimited): 13,817 points
AnTuTu:
33,004 points

CHIP CONCLUDE :
All in all, ASUS have once again
created a device that offers
consumers a good balance between
price and features. The Fonepad 8
may not come with the highest-end
hardware or fancy features but it
comes with all the right stuff that
most users look for in a phablet and
thats what really matters.

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097

test lab
review

Nokia Lumia 830

Price
Contact
Phone
Info

RM1,399
Nokia (M) Sdn. Bhd.
1 300 88 1600
www.nokia.com.my

Specifications
Operating System: Windows Phone 8.1
Processor: 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 400
processor
Frequency: HSDPA 2100/900, EDGE/GPRS/
GSM 850/900/1800/1900, LTE 800/900/1800/
2100/2600
Screen: 5.0-inch 1080p ClearBlack LCD
Connectivity: Bluetooth, USB, Wi-Fi, NFC
Dimensions: 139.4 x 70.7 x 8.5mm
Weight: 150g

RATINGS
Performance
Features
Design

The Lumia 830 provides performance at a price that

doesnt break your bank By Nazrin Zain

Value

Great build quality

Good performance

Battery life

The Lumia 830 features a 10MP PureView

camera that does an excellent job at taking
great-looking shots

The removable back cover unveils a nanoSIM slot and a microSD card slot for storage
expansion

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okia, or Microsoft Devices as

it is now known, continues to
announce and launch more midranged phones for the local market, and
this time, weve got the relatively high end
Lumia 830, which Nokia claims provides
the perfect mix of price and performance.
Much like many of the Lumia devices,
the 830 features a stellar build quality, as
it features a 5.0-inch 720p IPS display in a
polycarbonate chassis that is reinforced by
an aluminum bezel that catches the eye.
The Lumia 830 is powered by a 1.2GHz
Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor
with 1GB of RAM and 16GB of storage
space which is expandable up to 128GB via
microSD.
Cameras have also always been a
strong point of many a high-end Lumia
phone, and the Lumia 830 is no different
here. It features a 10MP PureView camera
with LED flash, which allows users to take
some really excellent photos, regardless
of the lighting conditions. For video
enthusiasts, the Lumia 830 is capable of
recording at 1080p, and with 3 mic Rich
Recording, records crystal clear audio as
well.
As the Lumia 830 runs Windows Phone
8.1, it also has a wide variety of apps that it
is able to utilise to make the most out of its
exceptional hardware. First party apps such

as OneDrive help store your photos, videos

and documents on the Cloud so that you
dont have to worry about losing important
data in case the phone goes missing.
Where performance is concerned,
the Lumia 830 proves that you dont
necessarily need a powerful quad-core
processor to have a smartphone that
performs without any lag. For the most
part, the phone performs like a charm
when performing daily tasks such as
checking emails, social media accounts and
the like. That said, it does tend to lag a bit
when you play graphics intensive games,
and heats up a fair bit whenever you use
the phone for a bit too long.
Having said that, data junkies will
also love the fact that the phone comes
equipped with LTE connectivity, which
means blazing fast data transfer speeds,
but this unfortunately comes at the
expense of battery life, which roughly lasts
from morning to early evening on a single
full charge.
CHIP CONCLUDE :
If youre a casual social media user
who occasionally checks his/her
emails two or three times a day, the
Nokia Lumia 830 is a great affordable
mid-range smartphone that comes
with a lot of cool features.

test lab
review

ASRock Fatal1ty
X99X Killer
Price
Contact

RM1,149
AMT PC Distributors Sdn. Bhd.,
Cudo Technologies (M) Sdn.
Bhd., Ingens Sdn. Bhd.
(03) 3344 1124, (03) 2148 1177,
(03) 7688 9888
www.asrock.com

Phone
Info

Specifications
CPU Support: Intel Core Processor
CPU Socket: LGA 2011
Chipset: Intel X99 Chipset
Memory Type: Quad Channel Memory

A Killer
Motherboard For
A Killer PC
ASRocks new X99 offering is an excellent option for
enthusiast builders By Nazrin Zain

he X99 bandwagon continues to

grow, with many motherboard
manufacturers now taking advantage
of the new Haswell-Es many features.
ASRock reently sent us one of their X99
gaming boards, in the form of the ASRock
Fatal1ty X99X Killer.
The X99X Killer motherboards features
eight DDR4 DIMMs that are capable of
supporting up to 128GB of RAM with
speeds of up to 3000+MHz. ASRock is also
generous enough to provide users with
up to ten SATA III ports, alongside an M.2
SATA port that can support up to M.2
devices that are 110mm in length.
Unlike the other X99 motherboards that
weve reviewed however, the X99X Killer is
only capable of supporting up to triple-way
NVIDIA SLI and AMD CrossFireX multiGPU configurations.
At the back, ASRock has fitted the X99X
Killer with eight USB port, six of which
are USB 3.0, two LAN ports, one Intel
Gigabit Ethernet, and a Killer Ethernet port,
together with an e-SATA port and surround
sound audio ports.
Following in the footsteps of other
OEMs as well, ASRock has donned the
X99X Killer in what it calls the Gaming

Armor, which includes components such

as high-density power connectors, gold
contacts in DIMM and PCIe slots, Nichicon
12K platinum capacitors, as well as using
2oz copper PCB in the manufacturing of
the board itself. These components help
the board to efficiently transfer and utilize
electricity, while reducing heat output and
improving overall performance.
As far as computing performance is
concerned, the X99X Killer works great
regardless if youre a PC overclocking
enthusiast, gamer or even a professional
who works in the multimedia line and
is looking for a build that the average
enthusiast-grade PC wouldnt be able to
provide. We managed to overclock our
Haswell-E PC to about 3.5 to 3.6GHz on air
without too many problems.
CHIP CONCLUDE :
The ASRock X99X is another great
X99 motherboard to consider if
youre looking for an upgrade to the
Haswell-E platform. The fact that it
only does three-way SLI and CFX
should not bother you all too much
because everything else it has to offer
is pretty much spot-on.

RATINGS
Performance
Features
Design
Value
Great performance
Supports up to 128GB
of RAM
Only does up to 3-way
SLI and CrossFireX

BENCHMARK RESULTS
PCMark 8 (Home):
PCMark 8 (Creative):
PCMark 8 (Work):

3,862 points
3,609 points
3,340 points

ASRock is also very generous with the

I/O ports on the X99X, even featuring two
different LAN ports from Intel and Killer LAN

The X99X Killer supports three-way SLI and

CrossFireX multi-GPU configuration

chip malaysia

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099

test lab
review

Samsung
Smartphone
GamePad
Price
Contact
Phone
Info

RM399
Samsung Malaysia Electronics
1 800 88 9999
www.samsung.com/my/

Specifications
Connectivity: MicroUSB, Bluetooth 3.0 + HID
Battery Type: Rechargeable 160mAh
Buttons: 1x 8-way Directional Pad, 4x Action,
2x Analogue Stick, 2x Trigger, 1x Play, 1x
Select, 1x Start, 1x PLAY button
Adjustable Holder Range: 4~6.3-inch Display
NFC Support: Yes
Auto Connection: Yes
Dimensions: 137.78 (W) x 31.80 (H) x 86.47
(D) mm
Weight: 195g

RATINGS

Get Your Game

On!

Samsung releases its very first and very own mobile

gaming controller to give gamers a more tactile and
tangible controls By Jeremy Cheong

Performance

Features
Design
Value
Supports a good range of device
sizes
Nice and responsive action
buttons
Comfortable & compact design
Easy to pair and setup
Limited game compatibility
Limited support for non-Samsung
devices
Analogue sticks not raised
enough

The button layout of the GamePad mimics the

Xbox controller and is very easy to get used to

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obile gaming has grown

extremely fast and is now one
of the most lucrative markets
for game developers. These days, mobile
games no longer just rely on swipes and
simple gestures to play, in fact, mobile
games now come in the same genres as
PC and console games. For those who
prefer more tangible and tactile controls,
this is where accessories like the Samsung
Smartphone GamePad comes in.
To cater to mobile gamers, Samsung
have done quite a good job at making the
GamePad quite portable. It may not be
the slimmest controller compared to the
many third-party ones but it wont add too
much heft to your laptop bag or backpack.
Samsung also have placed two rubber
grips on the sides that gives it that little
extra grip.
One of the neatest things about this
GamePad though is how you attach your
smartphone to it. Samsung have found a
way to retain the GamePads portability
and yet support smartphones with displays
ranging from 4- to 6.3-inch and this is with
the adjustable holder situated between the
two trigger buttons which slides in and
out from the top of the device. The holder
holds on to devices pretty snuggly.
The button layout of the GamePad
draws inspiration from Microsofts
Xbox controller where the Direction pad
(D-pad) is placed on the bottom left next

to the right analogue stick instead of two

analogue sticks side-by-side. We found the
action buttons to be nice and responsive,
however, we felt that the analogues were
a little unresponsive as they felt a little stiff
and since it isnt raised it feels as though
movement was a little limited.
Pairing the GamePad with your
smartphone is also pretty straightforward
as it can be done via NFC or Bluetooth.
Both provide a quick and easy way to
connect to the device. You can use the
GamePad with just about any Android
device but it is definitely better with a
Samsung branded smartphone as it
requires the S Console app and this is
where a disappointing bit comes in as at
time of writing the GamePad only supports
about 50 games and while you do have
some great titles here, they are a bit old. So
if you do use a non-Samsung device, you
may have to play a little guessing game
first to find a game that works.

CHIP CONCLUDE :
At the end of the day, we have to say
we like the Samsung Smartphone
GamePad for its portability and also
the fact that it gives gamers more
tactile controls. But with that said
there are a few niggles such as the
analogue sticks and limited game
support.

test lab
review

ASUS Vivo
PC VM62
RM1,249
Build Technology Supply Sdn.
Bhd.
(03) 7955 3699
www.asus.com/my

Price
Contact
Phone
Info

Specifications

A Compact PC
For Work and
Play
The ASUS Vivo PC does not look out of place either
on an office desk or a TV cabinet By Nazrin Zain

he launch of Intels 4th generation

of computer processors have truly
given a lot of people reasons to
celebrate. PC manufacturers have also
become a lot more creative when it comes
to design, and companies like ASUS has
decided to go ultra-small with the Vivo PC
VM62.
The Vivo PC VM62 looks very
reminiscent of Intels very own NUC mini
computer unit. But what ASUS has done
is to elevate it to a much more chic and
stylish machine, incorporating a brushed
aluminium chassis that house components
that dont look out of place in a mid-tier
desktop-sized computer.
Inside, the Vivo PC VM62 is powered
by an Intel Core i3-4030U processor, 4GB
of RAM and a 2.5-inch 500GB HDD,all of
which can be hotswapped with other parts,
if you so desire. Out of the box, it runs
Microsofts Windows 8.1 operating system.
The Vivo PC VM62 features the Vivo
DualBay, a flexible dual-storage design that
allows users to store two 2.5-inch drives
or one 3.5-inch drive inside the enclosure,
and all you need to access these parts is a
Philips-head screwdriver.
As far as I/O ports are concerned,
ASUS have been very generous with the
Vivo PC VM62 as it comes with one HDMI

port, one DisplayPort, six USB ports, four

of which are USB 3.0. Also included are
3.5mm audio and microphone ports, an S/
PDIF port, a LAN port as well as an SD card
reader.
The Vivo PC VM62 also supports
802.11ac WiFi and Bluetooth 2.0, for those
who prefer to have less cables connected
to the machine. This ensures that your
office space or living room is kept clean
from cables, while ensuring that you still
get to use the PC to its fullest.
As far as performance goes, the Vivo PC
VM62 actually works great. ASUS claims
that it is capable of playing back up to 4K
media, and from our tests, theyre not far
from wrong. 720p and 1080p playback is
as smooth as butter, although 4K media
still lags a fair bit, but that can be fixed if
you decide to go for the Intel Core i5 model
instead.

CHIP CONCLUDE :
The ASUS Vivo PC VM62 is a compact
computer that performs great for
many general tasks. Use it as a small
office PC or change up the storage
configuration a bit to have it function
as a HTPC. Whatever your choice, this
machine does not disappoint.

CPU: Intel Core i3-4030U

RAM: 4GB DDR3 RAM
Storage: 256GB
Graphics: Intel HD4000
OS: Windows 8.1 Professional
RATINGS
Performance
Features
Design
Value
Great performance
Modular parts
Lags when playing
back 4K content

For a mini PC, the Vivo PC VM62 omess

packed with a lot of I/O options

This dual-bay drive storage solution is capable

of storing two 2.5 inch storage drives or one
3.5 inch storage drive

chip malaysia

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101

lite & leisure

think

THINK

the thoughts of our uncertified tech junkie

Everything To Fear
Its a typical weekend and Im lounging on the couch, phablet in hand, surfing my usual mix of news
websites, forums and catching up on whatevers hot By Tim Lee

f you had a packet sniffer running on my home network or

on my router, you could find out the most important things
about me my interests, philosophical and political leanings
and what I spend my money on.
This isnt news. Until recently, Internet users implicitly
trusted everyone in the chain not to eavesdrop, but thats like
leaving a bowl of sugar outside and telling ants not to help
themselves to it. Google has a monstrous database of
individual behaviour culled from each
interaction you have with Google
search and Gmail; Amazon knows all
about your online purchasing habits;
Facebook and WhatsApp know about
your daily moods, your friends and
family; and government agencies like
the NSA and GCHQ have a
panopticon-like view of everyone by
sniffing on main cables and combining
data from all these commercial
sources. They probably know more
about me than I know myself.
You could switch from Google or
Bing to DuckDuckGo as a secure
search alternative. Its harder to stop
using Facebook, Twitter and
WhatsApp, at least if you dont want to
be branded a digital-age hermit. Even
Whisper, supposedly a secure and
anonymous messaging service, keeps
messages for years, allows staffers to
track individual users and hands over
data to government agencies.
Its a lot more difficult to dump free
email providers like Gmail and
Hotmail for secure encrypted
alternatives because services like
Lavabit have been shut down. Secure
cloud alternatives are few and far
between; the recent iCloud leaks
showed that its not smart to trust a
third party provider to keep your most
private data secure, especially when a single password unlocks
the keys to all your data and linked devices.
Theres not much you can do to secure mobile devices
either. iOS dumps all your contacts, images, videos,
documents and now payment information on Apples cloud
without giving you the choice to opt out. Google does the
same for Android, with the added creepiness of them tracking
your location and usage data throughout the day. Theres not
much you can do to stop data leaking unless youve rooted or

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jailbroken your device and disabled those chatty system

frameworks.
Silent Circles Blackphone aims to be the first of the NSAproof (or at least NSA-deterrent) mobile devices. It runs
PrivatOS, a locked-down Android fork that gives you fine
control over what each app exposes to the world, to stop the
OS and apps from phoning home without permission. Phone
calls and messages are encrypted so only recipients can
decrypt them and routed through
Silent Circles servers. What I find
funny is that Silent Circle moved its
headquarters to Switzerland so it
wouldnt be hassled by the US
government, at the same time its
pitching its devices to the US
government.
What can the privacy-conscious
person do? Other than join the tinfoilhat brigade and burn all your gadgets,
I would start by using a VPN to
encrypt your Web traffic and using the
Tor Browser Bundle for anonymous
surfing. Thats mainly for PCs though.
The key to real privacy and security
is to own the hardware and software
youre using having the freedom to
use and tinker with it so youre not
beholden to a proprietary
manufacturer who may not have your
best interests at heart. You could run
your own open-source Owncloud
server so you can sync files over
WebDAV, contacts over CardDAV and
calendar entries over CalDAV. Its not
as convenient as the Google or Apple
equivalent and you have to keep it
secure, but the software and data are
yours.
Now having free and secure social
networking is a lot harder. Ive been a
Diaspora* user for a while but Ive had
zero luck getting family and friends to use it. In fact, most of
them give me a funny look when I gently suggest that
Facebook makes a ton of money off their postings without
giving them a single cent in return.
That old adage of having nothing to fear if youve done
nothing wrong rings false nowadays, when the definition of
something wrong ends up being so flexible and fluid.
Someones always listening and watching, ready to monetize
you or monitor you, and the only solution is to keep vigilant.

lite & leisure

touch

TOUCH
Launch Your Android
the best apps to spice up your day

The best part about owning an Android device is the fact that you can modify the way the User Interface
looks to your hearts content. While phone makers have their own ideas about the UI, nothings stopping
you from choosing what you think is the best looking launcher out there. Here are some of our picks on
which ones you can consider By Nazrin Zain

Smart Launcher 2
Developer: GinLemon
Price: Free, RM4.99 (Pro)
For a minimalist look and feel for your Android device, you definitely cant go wrong with Smart
Launcher 2. Its simple and clean design is optimised for various screen sizes, with the home screen
featuring your most-used apps in a circular flower-shaped pattern that gives you access to your
most-used apps. There is also a double-tap feature that allows you to immediately access certain
functions on the phone, or you can double-tap the app icon to activate a secondary activity.
The app can be downloaded for free, but paying for the premium version unlocks more features,
which will provide you with even more customisation options, as will the extra Smart Launcher 2
add-ons which can be downloaded from the Play Store.

Google Now Launcher

Developer: Google
Price: Free
If a stock Android experience is what youre looking for, Google
themselves have recently launched a stock Android launcher that
combines the convenience of Google Now right to the home
screen. This means that voice features such as OK Google can
be accessed right away from the home screen without having to
fiddle with any buttons beforehand.
The status and navigation bars of the Google Now Launcher,
as well as the app drawer are also translucent, which means that
you can see your wallpaper in its entirety. It doesnt feature as
many customised features as other launchers, but if you want to
have a UI where most of the important Google experience can be accessed at a glance, this is what youre looking for.

Apex Launcher
Developer: Android Does
Price: Free, RM12.99 (Pro)
The aptly-named Apex Launcher is quite possibly the most featurepacked launcher weve played around with so far. The launcher takes
customisation to a whole new level by allowing users to modify even
the home screen grid size, icons, app drawer animation and more.
Much like Smart Launcher 2, Apex Launcher comes in a free and paid
variant (Pro). The Pro version gives you additional features such as
unread count notifications, more gesture options, additional
transitioning effects, enhanced folder options and more.

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lite & leisure

touch

Tweet It Like You

Mean It

Twitters rise as a social media platform has been astronomical over the past several years, growing from
a simple messaging-like platform to a service where its users can also get the latest news quickly and in
bite-sized pieces. The official Twitter app has seen many changes over the course of several years, and
while it indeed is a lot better than its predecessors, these third-party apps provide users with far more
functionality for users who want more out of their apps By Nazrin Zain

Tweetcaster For Twitter

Developer: OneLouder Apps
Platform: Android
Price: Free, RM16.65 (Pro)
Tweetcaster is THE app to use for Twitter power users. This apps primary
features are its Smart List and Search Party, which allows you to categorise
users and topics into lists, and search for tweets based on your own tweets,
mentions, DMs and more.
Not only that, if youre a social media manager, the app also provides
statistics of your accounts tweets and the people that you follow. On top of
that, the app als.o features a wide selection of themes for you to use, which
is great if you want an app thats both powerful and pretty to look at.

Fenix For Android

Developer: mvilla
Platform: Android
Price: RM14.58
Fenix For Android is fast becoming the Twitter app of choice for many
Android users thanks to the fact that it is a minimalist app, even when
compared to the vanilla Twitter app. Quality of life functionalities such as
clicking on links and Twitter handles right from your timeline is also highly
appreciated, with features such as inline image previews and support for
multiple accounts being a big boon for those who handle more than just
one Twitter account on their phones.

Talon For Twitter

Developer: Klinker Apps
Platform: Android
Price: RM13.07
The big appeal for users as far as Talon For Android is concerned is the fact that users can actually
tweak a lot of the apps visual effects, such as the theme and even the fonts. It also has a built-in
YouTube player, web browser, and a widget for unread mentions and DMs.
The app has also been redesigned to follow the new Android 5.0 Material Design rules, and if you
happen to have an Android Wear device, the app can also push tweets via said device, removing the
need to take your phone out every time you receive a mention or a DM.

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lite & leisure

read

READ

the books that shape our world of stories

Rainy Reads For The

Rainy Nights
IThe rainy months are upon us and with the days of rain outnumbering the sunshine, what do we tech
aficionados do with our time spent indoors. Our first choice is to light up our devices, but sometimes our
eyes are strained from the lights and we feel that we need something more traditional. In this instance,
traditional means books, graphic novels and the genres that suits the rainy theme such as Sci-fi and
cyberpunk with a dab of mystery. This month, we bring you some reading options to occupy your rainy
nights with By Nicolas See Tho

Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?

Author: Phillip K. Dick
Publisher: Doubleday
Published: 1968
There are not many out there who remember the original title
and inspiration for the cult favourite Blade Runner movie. This
novel was the first of the few Blade Runner series which
highlights the adventures of Rick Deckard and his journey
through the dystopian Earth of the year 1992 whereby Deckard,
who is a bounty hunter is tasked with tracking and eliminating
rogue androids. The following sequence of events will place
him on a journey through understanding humanity, morality
and empathy
as he attempts
to complete his
duties. This
novel gives us
a glimpse of
the world that
would have
been if the
World War had
continued as
well as the
musings on the
philosophical
impact when it
comes to using
androids. This
is a deep read
for the long
nights and
those who
have not
traversed the
Blade Runner
landscape on
paper would

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find this to be an all-star read.

Altered Carbon
Author: Richard K. Morgan
Publisher: Victor Gollancz Ltd
Published: 2002
In this universe, technology has advanced far enough to grant
optional
immortality
to humans by
downloading
their
personalities
into new
bodies called
Sleeves.
These
personalities
can be stored
digitally for
years until
they get resleeved into
a new body
granting
pseudo
immortality.
The story
begins when
a wealthy
individual
named
Laurens
Banscroft is
killed by an unknown individual. As he is reborn into a new
body, he decides to search for his killer by hiring and enslaving
an ex-soldier and convict, Takeshi Kovacs, in an attempt to find
the murderer. It is only through trials of violence and trauma

lite & leisure

read

that the main character is able to solve the mystery. This novel
highlights the tale of immortality and its consequences in the
form of a mystery narrative as well as a sneak view into a
dystopian society whereby everyone can live forever.

A Philosophical Investigation
Author: Phillip Kerr
Publisher: Chatto and Windus
Published: 1992(UK), 1993 (US)
In a twist for variety, this novel takes a look at Britain in an
alternate but near future where a British neuroscientist has
found a portion of the male brain the VMN to be twice the size
of the females. While the case only happens in 1 out of 100,000
individuals, the abnormality was found to be an accurate
indicator for violent sociopathic tendencies. The story revolves
around a serial murderer who was tested to be VMN negative,
killing all the other VMN negatives, and on another narrative
the detective who was assigned to catch him, Isadora Jake
Jakowicz. The themes in this novel presents themselves in
certain ways such as the punitive coma punishment which is
dubbed more humane when in actual fact it hides the more
serious implications. This novel will leave you pondering with
questions thus giving you an incentive to have multiple
reading sessions with this book.

Psycho Pass
Author: Makoto Funami
Publisher: Mag Garden
Published: 2013
Fans of the anime would come to know this title well, as it
brings forth the technology of
Ghost in the Shell, Blade
Runner and Minority Report all
in one to create a diverse and
vivid cyberpunk universe. In
the future, there are
psychological scanners being
placed in each part of the city
where every person has their
psychological status scanned
and presented in numbers
called Crime Coefficients.
Should ones numbers go too
high, they would be made into
a suspect for latent crimes in
which the crime has not yet
been committed but the
suspect is in that state of mind.
In order to regulate high Crime
Coefficients numbers,
Inspectors and Enforcers work hand in hand to deal with the
various situations. This novel takes us into a dysfunctional
utopian society where crime can be prevented through

constant monitoring and it also touches on the fragile state of

mind and how it can be misread as evil.

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lite & leisure

watch

WATCH

the movie that becomes us

Knowledge Is Power
We watch countless amounts of science fiction movies, and we dream of the future that is to come. But
many of us hardly know anything about the basis of these fantastic ideas and how they are relevant in
society today. This month, we are sharing with you a list of scientific documentaries for your viewing
pleasure, whereby they educate us on the miracles of science, roots of our origins and mostly about how
some of these technological aspects in the movies are being implemented in real life. As a plus, some of
these documentaries are hosted by familiar faces By Nicolas See Tho

Through the Wormhole

Host: Morgan Freeman
Original Channel: Science Channel
Episodes: 48
Production Company:
Revelations
Entertainment
As promised, the first
on our list already has
Morgan Freeman,
known for his prolific
voice on movies like
Wanted and Bruce
Almighty, now lends
his voice to educate us
on the more abstract
parts of science. This
documentary takes its
viewers on a journey
of discovery, with lingering questions such as how were we created, and if time travel is possible, this documentary attempts to answer
all of the above with help from respective scientist from their relative fields explaining what is known but more importantly highlighting
the unknown.

Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey

Host: Neil deGrasse Tyson
Original Channel: Fox, National Geographic Channel
Episodes: 13
Production Company: Cosmos Studios
In another take, with a familiar voice is Cosmos: A
Spacetime Odyssey hosted by Neil deGrasse Tyson.
In this documentary, he takes the viewers on an
imaginative journey using state of the art CGI to
explore the deep unknown of our Solar System and
beyond. The topics from this documentary also
covers topics like evolution, philosophy, the
supernatural occurrences, and even the theoretical
aspects of physics. Through his engaging narrative,
viewers will be entranced with knowledge that would
have been too boring to sit through in class but
engaging in this documentary.

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lite & leisure

watch

Star Wars: The Legacy Revealed

Host: Robert Clotworthy
Original Channel: History Channel
Episodes: 1
Production Company: Prometheus Entertainment
There are very few individuals in modern society that
has not heard of Star Wars and the legacy that it gave us.
This documentary breaks down the small details from
Star Wars and shows how through the sage, how
elements of religion, philosophy and politics are heavily
indented into creating the one of the greatest space
opera of our time. Viewers should take a good look at
how the journey of Luke Skywalker can be compared to
literary heroes like Odysseus and Hercules, while Darth
Vader can be seen as a symbolic reference to Hitler and
the Nazi Empire. For Star Wars fans who want to take a peek at the core elements of the series, they should watch this documentary.

Michio Kaku: The Universe In A

Nutshell
Host: Michio Kaku
Original Channel : Youtube
Episodes: 1
Michio Kaku is a regular face on Science Channels
such as Discovery and History, whereby he explains
the various aspects of physics. But in this video, he
gives viewers an easy to understand lecture on the
theory of everything. He brings forth all the scientific
values that was studied and used to explain the
creation of our universe, the physics that are
intertwined with the changes in our history and the
secrets to existence. The documentary is aided with
simple graphics and interesting narrative to help aid
our watching process in the storm of knowledge that he pushes onto the viewers.

Mythbusters
Hosts: Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman
Original Channel: Discovery
Episodes: 257
Production Company: Beyond Television Productions
One of the more well-known documentary of our time is
Mythbusters. This documentary is conducted by the hosts
Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman together with their team
to recreate myths that has been spread throughout the
internet as well as folklore of old by using scientific
methods to determine of the myths can come true. Viewers
will find that most of the episodes are entertaining as you
see plenty of explosion, myths that our parents once told
us, with many being debunked while still being surprised at
those that prove to be true. This is a long running series of
documentaries that is bound to entertain yet provide a
learning experience.

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lite & leisure

play

WASTELAND 2

Storming Into The Deadly

Wasteland

counting our AP to move into cover and

attack enemies. Battles are challenging

By Jeremy Cheong

especially in the start as your skills and

equipment arent the best and you will be
easily overwhelmed by enemies. This is
why we said that having a medic is handy
as characters can bleed out and the game
practices permadeath, which means if you
cant save that character in time, he or she
is lost forever and youll be one squad
member short and that is never a good
thing.
The storyline of the game is really
interesting and drew us in easily. However,
quests can be a little confusing as there are
no proper markers to tell you where to go
or what to do. It really leaves you to find it
out yourself, which can be very frustrating
at times. Another great thing about

Your ragtag team of rangers will traverse the wasteland and visit some very interesngly design areas rife with dangerous
creatures and individuals

Wasteland 2 is a real thinking man (or woman)s game as not

only do you have to keep an eye on your acon points but also
cover and range of your weapons

just your party but sometimes everything

just playing a single character, Wasteland

and everyone around. At a few instances,

2 puts you in control of a squad of

some of your recruited party members will

rangers. Initially, you start off with four

even leave your party or try to kill you if

characters but along the way you will

you make the wrong choices.

recruit more characters and have a party

All in all, Wasteland 2 is a true labour

of seven. The initial four characters you

of love and if you love tactical role-playing

have can either be picked from a set of

games that is challenging and engaging,

pre-made characters or you can custom

then you will definitely have to pick up

make each one. If you love stats and

Wasteland 2.

skills customisation, Wasteland 2 will not

ustomary to most games set in a

disappoint as there are no class limitations

post-apocalyptic setting, Wasteland

and plenty of skills to pick from. However,

2 is set in an alternate timeline, in

it is best to build a balanced team and

which a nuclear holocaust takes places

have a good range of characters such as

in 1998 and the world is pretty much

a medic (very important), a charismatic

left in ruins. Countries are left without

leader, a sneaky sniper and so on. Theres

governments and the lands are lawless,

really no limit to your imagination and

where you either kill or be killed or are

this also opens up replayability as you can

forced into servitude. However, there are

try out different builds during your next

those who do their best to uphold the law

playthrough.

and bring some peace into the desolate

Wasteland 2 is its choices which impact not

ROLE-PLAYING

Wasteland 2
DEVELOPER

inXile Entertainment

INFO

wasteland.inxile-entertainment.com/

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
PLATFORM : Windows, Mac OS X, Linux

RATINGS
Gameplay

Once youre done with creating

lands, this band of self-appointed lawmen

your squad, youre then thrust into the

Graphics

are the Desert Rangers and you are part of

Wasteland and set on your quest. The

Sound

them.

game is played out from a top down view

Replayability

The game is actually set fifteen years

and moving out of battle is in real time.

after the events of the original Wasteland,

Unlike Fallout 1 and 2 where each step and

where an experienced ranger is found

action costs action points (AP), Wasteland 2

brutally murder and your squad of rookies

only uses AP in battle and this element will

are tasked to investigate and solve the

keep you on your toes as there is no undo

murder of said ranger. Yes, instead of

feature and we found ourselves carefully

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Great storyline & theme, Challenging

and fun tactical combat, Plenty of
character customisation options,
Choices that matter
Objectives can be confusing, Not
the best looking game, Optimisation
issues in some areas

lite & leisure

game review

MIDDLE-EARTH: SHADOW OF MORDOR

An Unexpected Return To
Middle Earth

regardless if theyre a normal or Captainclass Uruk, you will revive back at the

By Nazrin Zain

previous checkpoint you were from, but

the enemy that killed you will have gained
infamy, levelling himself up and attaining
new abilities.
As you progress through the story,
Talion will eventually gain an ability called
Brand, which will allow you to brainwash
the Uruk youre currently fighting into
joining your cause. This works for Uruks
of all levels, however, you will need to
damage them enough before you can
actually do this.
The end goal of Shadow of Mordor
is to seek revenge on the Black Hand
of Sauron, but the game is so much
more than that. The Nemesis System
in particular makes the game a very

Shadow of Mordor's bale system is highly reminiscent of that of the Batman: Arkham series games, where combos and
counteraacks are key in taking down the enemy

The story revolves around Talions

The Black Hand's army of Uruks will be out to get you, and
every me they kill you, they will level up and gain new
abilies

you will remember you, and the dialogue

is varied enough that it doesnt sound

quest to take revenge on the Black

repetitive. The Brand ability meanwhile

Hand, as well as to regain Celebrimbors

lets you infiltrate the Uruks ranks without

memory, which was lost due to him

you having to dirty your own hands, and

reviving as a wraith. Along the way, Talion

you can watch how a few well-placed

will come across iconic characters such

Uruks in the hierarchy can make for

as Gollum and Saruman, as they too have

some pretty gruesome, yet entertaining

their own agendas that revolve around the

backstabbing take place.

One Ring and Sauron.

The games graphics are pretty

he story behind J.R.R. Tolkiens

good, however, in order for you to truly

Lord of the Rings spans way

maximise your gaming experience, you

more than what the trilogy of

will be required to download a free HD

novels suggest. With novels such as The

texture patch that can only be properly

Silmarillion and The Hobbit featuring

taken advantage of by a GPU with at least

as lengthy prequels to the story of the

6GB of VRAM.

Fellowship of The Ring, it may be in your

immersive one as the enemies that kill

Gameplay is where Shadow of Mordor

ACTION ROLE-PLAYING

Middle-earth:
Shadow of Mordor
DEVELOPER

Monolith Productions /
Behaviour Interactive (PS3/
X360)

INFO

www.shadowofmordor.
com

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
PLATFORM : PC, PlayStation 3,
PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One

best interests to at least read up on a bit

truly shines. The fight mechanics are a

of the lore behind the series before you

lot similar to the Batman: Arkham series

pick up Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor,

of games, where grappling and counter-

RATINGS

so that you wouldnt be too lost when the

attacking moves are key to staying alive.

Gameplay

references to the tale come hitting fast

Talion fights with a sword, a dagger and a

and hard.

bow, and they level up in a similar fashion

Graphics

as you do, as you clear main and side-

Sound

of Talion, a Ranger of Gondor whose

missions to gain new abilities and unlock

Replayability

family was murdered, and he himself is

weapon upgrades.

Shadow of Mordor tells the tale

sacrificed by the Black Hand of Sauron, in

The developers of the game also

order to revive Celebrimbor, the one who

introduced a new system in the game

was responsible for forging The One Ring

called the Nemesis System. Any time

and The Rings of Power.

you are killed by an enemy in the game,

Excellent gameplay, Nemesis

System adds a breath of fresh air to
an otherwise cookie-cutter genre
Insanely large install size, Requires
a very powerful GPU to max out
graphics

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practice
hdd instead
xxx of odd

Hard Disk Instead

Of Optical Drive
ptical drives are no longer a necessity these days as
music and movies can be sourced from streaming
services such as Spotify and Maxdome or they can be
purchased as downloads in iTunes, etc. Even software today is
downloaded directly from the Internet - and no longer installed
from optical disks. So it is obvious that the optical drive
should be replaced by a large hard disk or a fast SSD. This is
relatively easy when it comes to a Desktop PCs, however, for
notebooks; you have to take note of some special features.

fast SSD, then install it in the HDD slot and mount the old hard
disk in the new frame in the ODD slot. Although these frames
are also provided for SSDs as per the manufacturers
information, there may be loss of speed or booting problems
in future. Before you begin, you must load the data from the
HDD to the SSD. This is most easily done using the Samsung
Data Migration Software. In our case, we removed the DVD
drive and placed the already existing HDD in the adapter and
the SSD in the hard disk slot.

Special HDD frame required

How to proceed

When it comes to notebooks, the hard disk cannot be placed in

the frame of the DVD drive just like that. You will need a
special slot with the necessary connections. For this tutorial,
we used the Icy Box IB-AC642 adapter that can be bought from
online retailers for approx. 30 Euro (~RM125). Important note:
In most of cases, the height of the DVD drive is 12.7mm. But
this may vary in some notebooks. Do not forget to measure
the drive before you buy the adapter. Also note whether your
notebook uses a SATA or IDE connection.
In addition to the adapter, if you have to buy a hard disk
then pay attention to its size. Only 2.5-inch hard disks fit in the
frame. The 3.5-inch hard disks usually found in Desktop PCs
are too big for most notebooks. If you want to splurge on a

1 Remove the back cover

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You will need a small Phillips screwdriver to remove the back

cover. Loosen the screws on the back of the notebook using
the same screwdriver. Important: Before you delve into the
notebook, make sure that the battery has been removed and
the notebook is disconnected from the power supply. You
should also earth yourself. For this, touch something made of
metal like a door knob or stair railing. There are so-called
grounding straps for approx. 10 Euro (~RM40) available online.
Clamp the banana plug on the cable of the strap at a suitable
position.

PHOTOS: NIKOLAUS SCHFFLER

Optical disk drives are old-school. You can replace the ODD in a Notebook with a large hard
disk or SSD in a few simple steps By Dominik Zientek und Carlos Heiller

7
3
2 Remove the DVD drive
In most cases, the DVD drive is held by a few screws. In our
unit, they were relatively in the center next to the hard disk
slot. Turn these screws outwards. Then insert a pointed object
in the hole that is present on the faceplate. You can now
remove the faceplate since your drive is now open. To do this,
the best option is to use a slotted screwdriver.

3 Remove the hard disk

Now carefully remove the HDD from your notebook. Pull it out
of the terminals and lift out the hard drive. If your HDD has a
plastic frame then remove this frame.

4 Place the HDD in the adapter

Take the purchased adapter and place your hard disk in it.
Make sure that the terminals of the HDD are correctly
connected with the plugs in the adapter. Subsequently rotate
the adapter and fix the hard disk in it.

5 Install the hard disk in the DVD slot

Now install the adapter with the set hard disk in place of the
removed DVD drive. Use the screws that you had removed
while removing the DVD drive, to fix the frame.

6 Install new SSD

Now expand the plastic frame (removed earlier for the HDD)
around the SSD and place it in the HDD slot.

7 Activate hard disk in Windows

To use the hard disk, it has to be activated in the Disk
Management. For this, click on Start under Windows 7 and
then on Run (for Windows 8: Right-click on the Start button
and then select Run). Type the command diskmgmt.msc.
Select Action and then Rescan Disks.

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practice
stylishly
xxx
vintage

Create Stylish Vintage

Style Portraits
Using simple tricks in Photoshop, you can convert a portrait into an artwork from a different
time period By Markus Hermannsdorfer

Do not follow instructions to the T

You need to add a personal touch if you want the picture to
turn out really good. In this tutorial, we will demonstrate the
necessary technique but you can be creative with our
instructions but be sure to do a little experiment yourself.

How to proceed

layer and
paint over the model using a large hard black brush. Set the
opacity of the layer to 21% and Blend mode to Overlay.

2 Add a few circles

Select the Mould tool via the [U] key in a new layer and select
the Ellipse. Paint a black circle using the Ellipse. Then drag the
layer under the model and change the opacity to 73%. Copy
the layer several times to add a few more circles, possibly with
different opacity and sizes, as per your liking.

3 Fill circles using Grunge brushes

Now search for Grunge Brushes on the website www.
deviantart.com. Download a brush set that you like, unzip the
ZIP file and copy the ABR file included in it, to the folder
Programs\Adobe\Photoshop\Presets\Brushes. Subsequently,
create a layer mask on every layer of circle and paint the
circles carefully using the Grunge brush. If the brushes cannot
be used, then you have to reload them first via the Brushes
panel. Specify the folder with the ABR files there.

1 Prepare the portrait and background

To achieve the perfect result, start with a new document and
fill the area with grey colour (Value: #9A9A9A). Then place the
model on to the picture, cut out the main subject and copy it
as a new layer over the background. Now create another new

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4 Insert Triangles
Go back to the Mould tool again with [U] and select a triangle
in the menu bar with Form. Paint several triangles and
arrange them into various patterns as per your liking. Mirror a

PHOTO: THINKSTOCK/WAVEBREAKMEDIA

he 50s was considered as the golden era of advertising.

A whole new picture language emerged mainly in the
United States during this time and this language today
is looked upon as the Vintage Look. You need only one proper
portrait photo to convert it to this classic look in Photoshop. If
you do not wish to take the photo yourself, look for popular
Microstock sites such as Istock and Fotolia and search for a
suitable model using search terms as Vintage Lady. If you
wish to pose for the photo yourself, then you should wear
clothes from the 50s i.e. a petticoat or a pencil dress. Using
small accessories will ensure that the entire composition is
finally harmonious.

few triangles, change the opacity and try to generate some

beautiful patterns with the shapes. You may also add other
forms if you wish.

5 Edit the background

Create a new layer and select a brush in your Grunge brush set
with which you can paint graffiti. Set the opacity of the brush
to 70% and set 3D322F as the paint colour. Then move the
layer under the model and paint a few blobs and smears in the
picture.

6 Even more smearing

Press [I] and select the hair of the model. Using the above
colour and a rough water colour brush, draw strokes from the
head of the model towards the outside. Then insert black and
white brush strokes to it and blur the entire aspect at some
places. Try to get an interesting background using contrast.
You may also like to mirror the brush strokes or change their
opacity. Let your creativity flow freely.

7 Trim the image to old

Create a new layer over the model and fill this layer with the
colour EDE3DC. Now add a layer mask to it and paint with a
random Grunge brush (Colour: Black, opacity: 20%) over the
picture. Then select Saturation as the overlay mode. You
may have to readjust the colours a bit using a setting layer
Curves.

8 Final fine-tuning
In the last step we have added two more triangles and
softened them with the mode Overlay and an opacity of
50%. The model was sharpened a bit using the filter Unsharp
mask

6
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practice
automating social networks

Automate Your
Social Networks
The free service Zapier automates web services, interlinks them and relieves you of a lot of
tedious routine tasks By Markus Hermannsdorfer

ans and friends on Facebook, Twitter or Google Plus hope

they are kept permanently up to date - mainly when you
support one of the social networks in a professional or semiprofessional environment, either at work or in a community with
many members. If you do not comply with this obligation, then
you are going to lose fans very quickly. But who has enough time
to support several social networks more than once every day? The
automation service Zapier (https://zapier.com) is a great solution
as it relieves you of a major part of this work and keeps your fans
happy while you find more time for other things.

original and human.

How to proceed
1 Register with Zapier
Go to the website https://zapier.com in your browser and click on
Sign up. Enter your Email address, your first and last name and
also a password and click again on Sign up. You need not
respond to the dialog Get personalised recommendations to
start using Zapier.

Create a task in Zapier and name it as Zap. There is a trigger in

the task that starts an action. For example, if you publish an article
in your blog (trigger), Zapier will automatically announce it to your
Facebook friends that there are new items that could be of interest
to them (Event). We will show you exactly how it works, in steps 1
to 8 below. Similarly, mail accounts, Evernote, Microsoft OneDrive
and hundreds of other services can be linked.
Despite the euphoria, you should not overdo the automation.
People on Facebook and Twitter do like to speak to people and not
to robots. Use Zapier sparingly and upload posts every now and
then in social networks so that it is clear that you are personally
active. Ensure that your presence in social networks remains

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After installation, Zapier offers a 14-day trial period with all the
functions. Thereafter, if you do not switch to a paid plan you are
downgraded to a limited free version. We recommend using the
Free Plan so that you do not have to set up your automation again
after fourteen days. To do this, click on Choose the best plan for
you and select Free in the next window via Switch to this
plan. The Free Plan is absolutely sufficient for private users. You
can always switch to higher tariffs in future.

3 Set up a new task

In our example we are hoping that a new blog article published on
WordPress is automatically announced on a Facebook fan page. In
this case, click on Make a Zap!, select the software WordPress

SCREENSHOTS: ANBIETER

2 Select free tariff

The ingredients: Zaps, Trigger and Action

under Choose a trigger app and then click on New Post in the
list under it.

4 Determine the result

After setting the trigger (new post in the blog), now determine
what should happen as soon as the event has occurred. Under
Choose an action app select the icon Facebook Pages and the
option Create page post in the list Choose an action. Then
click on Continue..

5 Establish link to the trigger

Now Zapier will ask for the address and the login data of the
WordPress blog. This requires a strong trust in the services by
default. The best option is to setup Zapier for a guest access in
WordPress and enter the login data of a guest. Your WordPress
admin account remains protected in this way.

6 Establish link to the target page

Connecting to Facebook is done in a very classic way via an app

that will require various access rights. Zapier can post on your
Facebook fan page only when you grant access to it.

7 Fine-tuning
You can now precisely specify - under what conditions should a
blog post be published on the fan page. All the information in this
step is optional.

8 Write message, test link

Add your personal comments so that the message sent by Zapier

does not seem as it was composed by a robot. Then click on Test
WordPress Trigger and follow the instructions. When you receive
a success message, Zapier will immediately take care of your
Facebook fan page.

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tips & tricks

windows, applications & hardware

Tips
Tricks
NOVEMBER 2014

WINDOWS
WINDOWS 7
Expand the clipboard and add
additional functions

01

A larger clipboard is extremely helpful

for copying texts, images and files
frequently, especially if it offers new
functions that significantly ease your
work life.
Download the free program
Clipboard Master from our website and
install it. Clipboard Master saves the
last 10,000 actions on the clipboard.
The latest copy, in this case, is always
placed on top of the list. You will also
receive other interesting functions: You
can define the frequently required text
modules and copy them permanently in
the clipboard so that they are available
at all times. The Clipboard Master also
includes a URL reducer to fit links for
Twitter. For this, simply copy the URL
on to the clipboard and press [Alt] +
[U].

01
The advanced Clipboard converts long Internet
addresses into Twitter-compatible short links

02

WINDOWS
Display the forgotten password
for WLAN connection

02
Enable Show Characters in this dialogue to
view the password in clear text

If you have forgotten your WLAN

password then you can retrieve it
with just a few steps in Windows
7. Click on the Start button on the
bottom left and select the Control
Panel. Click on Network and Sharing
Center in the Network and Internet
category and then select the entry
Change adapter settings in the left
column. Subsequently double-click on
Wireless network connection and
then on Wireless properties. Select
Properties for wireless network and
then switch to the tab Security in the
new window. Enable the option Show
characters and the WLAN password
will be displayed in clear text.

03

WINDOWS 8
Avoid slow startup due to
automatically starting programs

Programs in the Autostart folder start

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03
Starting Autostart programs and thereby
Windows is clearly faster if the starting delay
is disabled in the Registry

automatically when the PC starts up.

Unfortunately the loading of Windows
is delayed by Autostart. You can solve
this problem with a slight intervention
in the registry.
Simultaneously press [Windows] +
[R] to call the Run input. Type "regedit"
in the text field and start the registry
editor. Now navigate to HKEY_
CURRENT_USER\ Software\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer in
the registry editor. Then right-click on
Explorer. In the context menu, select
New | Key. You should name this
new key as Serialize.
Now right-click on the new key
Serialize and navigate to New |
DWORD-value (32-Bit) in the context
menu. Name the new value as
StartupDelayinMSec. In the next
step, double click on the new value
StartupDelayinMSec and ensure that
there is a 0 for the Value in the
dialogue window. Confirm the changes
with OK. The programs in the
Autostart folder should now start faster
when the PC is restarted.

04

WINDOWS 8
Start the operating system
without entering login data

Logging in with your username and

password protects your computer
against unauthorised access. But if you
are the only one using the PC at home,
then you can also start Windows 8
without logging in.
Simultaneously press [Windows]
+ [R] on the keyboard. The Run
window opens where you type the
command netplwiz and confirm

tips & tricks

windows, applications & hardware

04

05

06

After disabling the question, Windows 8 starts

without the Login screen

Here you can set the frequency of

synchronization of your personal data using
Windows 8

You can prevent the display of thumbs.db

in the network drive with the help of a new
Registry key

under Add network address. Confirm

with OK. Click on Exclude folders
on the left if you do not wish to
synchronise specific directories. This
can be useful if, for example, a folder
would need too much memory space
on the external hard disk or if the data
in it is not at all important.
In the Advanced Settings, you can
set the frequency of synchronisation
or remove older versions of individual
files. If required, click on Enable on
the home page of the File History to
start the synchronisation. You will also
find the option Restore personal files
in the menu on the home page of the
File History. Here, you can view the
stored file versions on the external
hard disk and restore them if you want.
It is even easier when it comes to
individual files: In Explorer, look for the
file from which you wish to restore an
older version. Select this file by clicking
on it and select the option History.
Now all the existing older versions of
the file will be displayed to you. You
can restore the displayed version at the
original storage location by clicking on
the green arrow below. You can switch
versions using the arrows.

search field of the Start menu or

open the dialog Run in the Desktop
view of Windows 8 by pressing
[Windows] + [R]. In the registry editor,
first go to the key HKEY_LOCAL_
MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\
Explorer. Generate a new entry
DisableThumbsDBOnNetworkFolders
via the command Edit | New |
DWORD-value and open the entry by
double-clicking for editing. Change the
Value to 1 and confirm with OK.
Add this new value in the HKEY_
LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\
Microsoft\Windows\Explorer key as
well. You may also have to create the
last subkey Explorer with the help of
the command Edit | New | Key. Close
the registry and restart it.
Note: The preview databases of the
local folder are retained during this
procedure and are used further. Even
the thumbs.db files already present
on the network drives are not deleted.
This must be done manually if needed.

this with the [Enter] key. Disable the

check mark right on top against the
option User must enter a user name
and password to use this computer.
Subsequently click on the Apply
button and another window will open.
Enter the name of the account in
this window and confirm the relevant
password twice. Then click on OK
which will close the window. Now
again click on OK and your settings
will be saved. Entering the password
will not be necessary when the
computer is restarted.

05

WINDOWS 8
Synchronise important personal
data directly via the system

You can directly synchronise files via

the operating system in Windows 8. All
personal data, for example, is mirrored
on an external hard disk and can also
be restored from there using this
function. If the saved files are changed,
then the backup is also changed
accordingly. Open the Control Panel
and go to the tab Save backup copies
of your files with the File History
in the tab System and Security.
Alternatively, look for something
where you can enter Backup copies
while you are on the screen and click
on Settings on the left. A standard
configuration will be displayed. If you
are happy with the current settings,
then just press Turn On and do not
pay attention to the following steps.
Otherwise go to Select Drive on the
left side and search for the external
hard disk that you wish to use for
backup. If you wish to use a hard disk
on your home network, then select it

06

WINDOWS 8
Stop the Thumbs.db file
from being created on network
drives

Windows 7 and 8 generate the preview

file thumbs.db for every individual
picture. This consumes bandwidth
in the network. You can prevent this
via a registry entry. In order to go
to the registry, type "regedit" in the

07

WINDOWS 8.1
Display the Desktop
background even on the Start
page

Finally, the background image of

the Desktop can be displayed on
the Start screen in Windows 8.1. To
do this, right-click on the Taskbar
(in the Desktop mode) so that the
context menu opens. Select the option
Properties there. A small window
will open where you have to go to the
Navigation tab. Now a check mark
must be set for the option Show

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tips & tricks

windows, applications & hardware

on Accept and you already have a

new cursor. It is much easier and faster
with the CursorFX program and this
program can be found on our website.
This program gives you a multitude of
different mouse pointers. Just search
and select the cursor you like and you
are set. If you click on More Cursors,
there are additional mouse pointers
available for download from the
developer.

OFFICE

10

POWERPOINT
Create a personal photo album
with your vacation pictures

07

10

Select Show my desktop background on

Start and Windows 8.1 will replace the bluetiled background

You can quickly create a slide show of your

holiday pictures in PowerPoint

09

my desktop background on the Start

under Start screen. After clicking
OK, your Desktop wallpaper will now
be displayed on the Start screen.

08

WINDOWS
Replace the cursor arrow with a
more beautiful one

The default cursor in the form of an

arrow in Windows is a matter of taste.
If you do not like it, you can simply
replace it. You will find many templates
on the website www.devianart.
com. Search for "Cursor Windows",
download the cursor pack you want
and unzip the file.
Right-click on the Desktop and select
Personalize in the context menu.
You will find the entry Change mouse
pointer on the left side. Then open
the Mouse properties. Click on the
tab Pointer. You will see a field with
the name Customize here. Click the
mouse pointers one after the other
and then select the new mouse pointer
from the downloaded cursor pack. Click

08
Double-click here on the Cursor icons to
replace them by new ones

120

WINDOWS
Convert units at lightning speed
with the help of the integrated
calculator

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09
In the extended view, the Windows Calculator
can convert units too

If you wish to convert one unit into

another, then this can be easily done
using the Windows calculator. In this
regard, there is a whole range of
unit types available and the result is
displayed clearly
Click on Start and search for
Calculator. Select the first result.
Select View upon starting the
calculator and click on the option
Unit conversion. The functions of
the calculator will then be extended
accordingly.
Now click on the topmost Dropdown
menu and select a unit type, for
example, Power. Open the middle
Dropdown menu and select the unit
which, for example, has the initial
value Foot-Pound/minute. Enter this
value in the field Enter Value. In the
last Dropdown menu, set the unit to
which you wish to convert the initial
value, for example, in Kilowatt. The
result will be directly displayed. Note
that the calculator can only compute
units up to a length of 16 digits

Presentations need not be boring all

the time. You can create a photo album
in Microsoft PowerPoint using pictures
from your last vacation with just a few
clicks.
Start PowerPoint and go to the tab
Insert. Click on Photo Album and
then on New photo album. Press
the button File/Disk to select the
pictures you want to use. You can
also edit the pictures on the right
side, if needed. You can adjust the
brightness and contrast or rotate the
picture. If you wish to add text, then
click on the button New text box. In
the section Album layout, select the
thumbnail for the album. You can also
select among different layouts and the
relevant windows. A new presentation
of your photo album will open by
clicking on Create.

HARDWARE
KEYBOARD
What to do when you spill
liquids on your keyboard

11

If you have spilled coffee or water on

the keyboard, then you should act fast.
Immediately disconnect the cable from
the computer so that the power to the
keyboard is cut off. If you have spilled
a lot of liquid on the keyboard, then
hold it upside down so that most of
it flows out. If you have spilt only a
bit of liquid then move the keyboard
as little as possible. Now remove all
keys from the keyboard. This can be
done using a knife or a screwdriver.
The keys need to be lifted up slightly
so they can be removed. Clean the
keys from inside as well as the outside.
Cotton swabs or paper towels are

tips & tricks

windows, applications & hardware

perfectly!! Plug
the defective
flash drive into
a free USB port
and click on
Computer.
The connected
device should
be seen in the
list of devices.
Right-click on
it and select
11
Properties.
When you spill liquids on your keyboard, do not panic but act fast - then the
Now look for
mishap will not be so bad
the tab Tools
the best tools for this. After cleaning
and select it. You should see Error
is complete, leave the keyboard in a
Checking in the list. Click on the
well-ventilated area for several hours.
Check now button. Set a check mark
You may have to wait for a minimum
before the listed options by clicking
of 24 hours if water has penetrated
the box. Lastly, click on Start to start
deep into the keyboard. You can
the check and repair procedure. This
somewhat speed up the process using
procedure can last for a few minutes
a hair dryer but do not hold the dryer
depending on the capacity of the flash
too close to the keyboard. If you spill
drive. The USB flash drive should work
liquid on a laptop, then immediately
again when the procedure is complete.
shut down the laptop and disconnect
The Windows tool removes all files and
any electrical connections. Wipe the
sector fields that were found on the
water from the surface of the keyboard.
USB flash drive.
If possible, remove the battery. Do not
move the laptop if possible. Remove
GRAPHICS CARD
the keyboard if you can and wipe the
Check the installed graphics
insides of the laptop. Leave the laptop
card for hardware errors
to dry in a ventilated area for at least
three days so that all components are
If your computer is crashing when
completely dry.
graphic-intense applications are
running, then you should get your
MEMORY
graphics card tested. This can be done
Repairing a faulty USB flash
using Windows on-board resources
drive
and a free tool. The most frequent
sources of error are overheating or
Is it possible to repair a USB flash
a non-working driver. If you have
drive when it can no longer be
recently changed the settings of your
read? With a little luck, it will work
graphics card, then this may lead to
heating problems. A defective fan will
also guarantee that your GPU gets
overheated. If there is an error in the
driver, then you must replace it with
a newer version. You can download
the latest version of the driver from
the website of the graphics card
manufacturer. Then open up the
Device Manager via the Search in the
Start menu and uninstall the defective
driver. Now replace it with the latest
version downloaded and restart the
12
computer.
If Windows detects a defective flash drive then
If the problem persists, then let
you can check it for errors like a hard disk and
Windows
check the graphics card for
get it repaired

13

12

13
The free tool FurMark heavily loads the
graphics card and thus helps detect errors

errors. For this press [Windows] + [R],

type dxdiag and confirm with OK.
When the program loads, go to the
Display tab. You will find an area
for notes below. If the errors are listed
there, then you can take further steps
to rectify the error. If not, then your
graphics card does not have any errors.
As some errors occur only at
higher loads, you have to subject the
graphics card to a stress test. To do
this, download the free tool Furmark
from our website. After starting the
program click on Burn-in benchmark
1920 x 1080 15 min. This will start a
15-minute long load test. Subsequently,
a text file will be displayed, in which
all the errors will be listed.

14

USB Flash Drive

Maximise the speed of the
computer using a USB flash
drive

You can speed up older PCs running

on Windows 7 and 8 with the help of
a USB flash drive by forcing Windows
to starts frequently used programs

14
Here, select the memory size you wish to
release to speed up the PC

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tips & tricks

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from the flash drive instead of the hard

disk. Connect the USB stick to your
PC and select Accelerate System in
the Autostart menu. Important: This
function is displayed only when your
USB stick has a minimum read speed
of 3MB/s and minimum write speed
of 5MB/s! In the next window, click
on the option Use this device - thus
the so-called ReadyBoost feature will
be activated. Using the slider, select
the memory that you wish to use
for the extension on your USB stick.
Subsequently click on Apply and
then OK.

GALAXY TAB
Taking a screenshot of the
Tablets interface

15

PlayStation 3 to the smartphone. Then

by connecting the smartphone to a TV,
you have a full-fledged gaming console
is ready for you.
First, go to the settings menu of
the smartphone and click on Xperia
Connectivity. Now go to the Setup
Assistant by tapping on Connect a
Controller. You will be requested to
connect the controller to your Xperia
device using a USB cable. When the
device is paired with the controller,
you must disconnect the cable so that
you can use the controller wirelessly.
Bluetooth will be automatically
enabled on your smartphone and
you can stop the coupling by tapping
on Terminate. To continue playing
wirelessly using the Controller, you
just have to enable Bluetooth on your
Xperia phone and press the PS button
on the controller.
As for connecting to your TV, you
will need only one MHLAdapter that
will transmit all screen contents in
Full HD to your TV. There are a lot of
games available in Full HD. You just
have to be sure while buying that they
are indeed in this resolution.

Pressing a key combination creates a

screenshot of the GALAXY Tabs interface

The Samsung GALAXY Tab does not

have a Printscreen button. But you can
still capture screenshots of the user
interface or of running apps. Press the
Power/Lock button and the Volume
Down button simultaneously and hold
these buttons pressed for some time.
You will hear a sound that resembles a
camera shutter button. The screenshot
will be stored in the same folder as
your other pictures.

MOBILE

16

SONY XPERIA
Turn your smartphone into a
gaming console

Since the release of the Xperia SP

(June 2013), all Sony smartphones from
the Xperia series are equipped with a
software, by which, you can wirelessly
connect the Dualshock Controller of the

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17
Updating to a newer version of iOS will
probably help if a SIM card is not recognised

If your iPhone shows the error

message No SIM, Invalid SIM
Card or No SIM installed then this
problem could have several causes.
The following tips will help you the
most: Go to Settings and then enter
Flight Mode. Wait for a moment and
disable it again. If this does not help,
then select Software Update in the
Settings under General. If a new
version of iOS is available then install
it. You will also see the option Info
under General. If there is an update
available for the network provider
settings, then download as well.
If the iPhone does not recognise
the card at all, then remove the SIM
card from the device and clean it. A
microfibre cloth is the best tool for this
procedure. Also blow strongly into the
SIM slot of your iPhone to remove the
dust. While inserting the card back into
the phone, make sure that the card is
inserted properly into the phone.
If all this has not helped, then the only
option remains is to restore the iPhone.
In this case, all data will be deleted
and the system will be reinstalled.
You can subsequently restore all your
data and apps from a backup. A PC
or Apple Mac with iTunes installed
is strictly necessary to carry out this
action.

16
Connect the smartphone to a PS3 Controller
via the option Connectivity

IPHONE
What to do if the phone reports
a missing or invalid SIM

18

WINDOWS PHONE
Export contacts to Android
phones or iPhone

The built-in features of Windows Phone

tips & tricks

windows, applications & hardware

in the row above and the new number

in the row below and confirm these
entries. Payment status, profile,
contacts and chats will be transferred
to the new number. The account will
be deleted for the old number.

21
18

19

Windows phone does not offer any export of

contacts - Take a diversion via your Microsoft
account

Go to Settings to stop annoying messages

from Farmville & etc from appearing on your
wall & spamming your friends.

are of no use when you want to export

your contacts to other smartphones.
The easiest way to deal with this
problem is to synchronise contacts with
your Microsoft account.
As Microsoft also uses Cloud
technology, your contacts are, by
default, stored in your Microsoft
account. To export them, log in to
people.live.com or select People next
to Outlook.com (in the top left corner)
in your Live Mail account. Click on
Manage in the bar above and select
Export for Outlook.com and other
services. Your contact will now be
downloaded as a CSV file. Thus, you
can back up your contacts or transfer
them to your new smartphone. Android
as well iOS devices support the
importing of CSV files.

you can block people, event invitations

and queries by apps.
If you play these games yourself
and do not wish to annoy anyone with
status updates, then click on the tab
Notifications, Open the Drop-down
menu for App requests and activities
and remove the check mark for the
corresponding games.

20

FACEBOOK
Transfer account data to a new
smartphone with a new phone
number

SOCIAL NETWORKS
FACEBOOK
Stop messages from Farmville,
etc. on your wall

19

Besides just connecting with friends,

Facebook also has a lot of fun games.
Unfortunately, games like Farmville
access your friends' list and bombard
each and everyone in the list with
spam messages. If you too have been
a victim, then you can now block the
messages from these games on your
wall.
Click on the arrow on the top right
corner of the Facebook page and select
Settings. Now click on Blocking.
Type the name of the game sending
the spam, in the Block Apps area.
Facebook will now prevent the display
of messages on your wall. Similarly,

TWITTER
Reach more people by using the
correct hashtags

The correct hashtag on Twitter

ensures that your tweets are found
and viewed by the right people. If you
tweet regularly regarding a specific
topic, then a hashtag search can be
very helpful. Search for all possible
keywords that can be associated with
your topic, directly on Twitter. Such
a hashtag search is simplified by the
Hootsuite app which is available on
www.hootsuite.com. Make a list and
arrange the hashtags according to
different priorities. Only use appropriate
hashtags for your tweets. A hashtag is
nothing more than a keyword which,
for example, would also be used for
Google Search. With an extensive list,
you will always have the appropriate
hashtag ready for your tweet. However,
this requires some efforts as you need
to search and analyse every keyword
That suits your topic. Creating a
suitable hashtag is often difficult. It is
best used with the help of a marketing
campaign or a large community in the
background. For example, if you are
planning a large event then a suitable
hashtag, will increase your visitor
count.

20
Easily transfer your WhatsApp data to the
new smartphone via correct settings in your
account

When you get a new smartphone and

a new number, you have to reinstall
and setup WhatsApp. You actually can
easily transfer your account with your
previous number. Open WhatsApp
on your new device and tap on the
options menu on the top right. Now
select Settings | Account and tap
on Change Number. Tap on the top
right on Next in the information
window. Then enter your old number

21
If you search for specific topics on Twitter, you
will get hashtags that you yourself can use to
reach the right audience

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picture perfect
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in the next issue

december 2014

Next Issue
Technic
Lexicon:
Satellite
Over IP
For the longest time now, households have
been connecting to cable TV via a very
complicated network setup process that
requires extensive planning. With the Internet
being faster than ever before, there are new
ways for users to get their cable fix without
having to go through such a process. Sat-IP
removes the need of complicated networking,
and has everything delivered to you with the
use of a box and a simple network solution.

Combining Man
and Machine
Exoskeletons and motorised prosthetics used to be
commonplace only in science-fiction movies and novels. The
advancement in engineering and technology in recent years
have turned fiction into reality, and thanks to that, we may be
on our way to the first cyborgs sooner rather than later.

Ten Ingenuous
Kickstarter
Products
Kickstarter is a treasure-trove of innovative products and
services if you know where and what to look for. In this article,
we take a look at ten products that would have never seen
manufacturing daylight if not for the power of crowd-funding.

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