HowTechnology Flrms

Consglre Agalnst You

The Welrdest Slmulator
Soltware For PC
The A To Z ol Wlndows'
Bullt-ln Tools
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I mages are f or i I I ust rat i ve purposes onI y. www.ccIonIine.com
www.cclonllne.com
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Images are for i l l ustrati ve purposes onl y. www.ccIonIine.com
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Call us on 0S000 50 10 10
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Haswell Bulld
Thinking aboul building a new PC based on lnlel's
lalesl chips? Thal's jusl whal Mark Pickavance did
recenlly, so il you're in any doubl aboul how lo do
il, his slep-by-slep guide will be jusl whal you need
lo gel everylhing up and running. e also gives his
views on lhe perlormance ol lhe new syslem, so il
you haven'l boughl a aswell processor yel, you'll
know whelher il's righl lor you or nol
Two-bay NA8 0rlves
Nelwork allached slorage is one ol lhose lhings
lhal can quickly lranslorm your everyday compuling
experience, opening up a world ol lile sharing
and convenienl backing up. Leo Waldock has
been looking al a seleclion ol NAS unils lhal
accommodale lwo hard drives, and he's been pulling
lhem lo lhe lesl
Technology
Consglracles
As much as we love compulers and lechnology, and
we're lhanklul lo lhe companies lhal make lhem,
somelimes lhese lirms acl in ways lhal are simply
unlorgivable. Mark Pickavance examines lhe secrels
deals and illegal plans lhal have come lo lighl in lhe
world ol lechnology over lhe years
Contents
08
Haswell Bulld
34
Two-bay
NA8 0rlves
Technology
Consglracles
48

The A-Z 0l
Wlndows Tools
As well as running sollware lrom lhird parlies,
Windows also conlains a huge number ol buill-
in programs and lools. Some ol lhem are simple
command-line lools, while olhers are more complex.
ln a new series slarling lhis week, David ayward
runs lhrough whal lhey are, and brielly explains
whal lhey do
Welrd 8lmulators
lrom lhe day lhe very lirsl microprocessor wenl inlo
lhe lirsl molherboard, il was inevilable. someday,
somewhere, someone was going lo creale a low
lruck simulalor. Or a robol vacuum simulalor. Or a
road cleaning simulalor. David ayward explores lhis
slrange genre ol 'gaming' so you don'l have lo
M2MCommunlcatlons:
8mart Technology
Conlinuing his look al lhe world ol machine-lo-
machine communicalions, David 8riddocks examines
lhe parl lhal smarl devices have lo play in modern
nelworks now and how lhey'll shape lhe lulure. And
lhe lhings we all have in pockels loday have some
inlriguing polenlial uses in olher lields loo.
lTunes 8ecrets
Allhough - like much ol lhe sollware crealed by
Apple - iTunes is ralher reslriclive, il does have some
hidden deplhs. Keir Thomas, who knows a lhing
or lwo aboul lhese lhings, delves inlo lhe inner
workings ol lhis media player lo uncover a seleclion
ol lesser-known lips and lealures
Also In
Thls Issue...
Kcw-tc 8asics
8ecome a search engine
ninja, like David
'8ingoogle' ayward
Crazy 1ech
David ayward looks al
an odd approach lo
greener compuling
8yte-sized
Languages
David 8riddock ends
lhe series wilh a look
al TypeScripl
Ccmpany FrcIe
A page on Sennheiser?
Sounds goods lo us
App 0f 1he Week
Wanl lo play a media
lile ol jusl aboul any
lormal? PolPlayer is
probably lor you
5AVE A BUNDLE
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Ioday and save 24% on Ihe
shop price.
Call 0844 844 0082
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Chahge your address ahd rehew your
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www.subsinfo.co.uk
Email:
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56
A-Z 0l
Wlndows Tools
60
Welrd 8lmulators
0roug Test
1wc-bay NAS
34 8u!!alo LihksIaIioh
420D 218
35 Lehovo Iomega ix2
NeIwork SIorage 418
36 Syhology DS213
Diskless NAS
37 1hecus N2800 Diskless
38 WD My 8ook Live
Duo 618
39 Sum up
Revlews
40 Dihgoo A330LE
41 8ehq 8L2410P1 LED LCD
MohiIor
42 Acer Aspire XC600
DeskIop
44 Rise o! Ihe 1riad
45 Desigher Pro X9
Bxgerts
90 Ask Aaroh
92 Ask Jasoh
94 Ask James
8geclallsts
76 Lihux MarI
77 Amiga MarI
78 Mobile MarI
79 ReIro MarI
80 Camihg MarI
News
32 Your LeIIers
30 CompohehI WaIch
22 1he LaIesI News
Regulars
46 SubscripIiohs
82 Ad Ihdex
84 I1 EssehIials
86 Classi!ieds
96 Loggihg O!!

've been lhinking aboul building a new PC lor a while,

specilically lor work. ll l'm honesl, lhere is very lillle wrong wilh
my exisling one, olher lhan l don'l really need all lhe power and
lherelore by delinilion power consumplion, ol an LCA !366 Core
i7 processor.
As a work PC, l have il powered mosl ol lhe day, and il's
recenlly acquired a lew idiosyncrasies, like an inabilily lo wake lrom
suspension lor some undelermined reason.
Whal l probably need lo do is pul a lresh copy ol Windows on
il, bul il l'm going lo do a lolal rebuild, lhen lhal's an opporlunily
lo swilch lo using somelhing less demanding ol power and a
crealor ol less heal.
Those who are lans ol AMD will be wondering why l didn'l use
one ol lhe new L-Series APUs, and l did seriously consider lhal,
unlil lnlel launched ils new aswell-cored CPU series. These give
lrue desklop perlormance wilh a lower power demand, beller
lilling my wider objeclives.
Wilh plenly ol unused compuling hardware slrewn around my
house, l also didn'l wanl lo spend a signilicanl amounl, which
lherelore precluded enormous video cards and a high-end CPU.
mark Pckavance assembles his first Haswell system and talks
about some of the subtle steps in using lntel's new platform
Bulldlng A
Brllllant PC

%8,/',1* $
%5,//,$17 3&
Whal l really wanled lo do was probably my mosl praclical
PC build ever lor Micro Marl and lhe sorl ol syslem lhal l lhink
many ol you reading aclually wanl lor lhemselves. 8elore we
build, lhough, lel's lalk aboul parls and why l wenl wilh lhe
ones l chose.
Source Material
A general rule l lollow is lhal all new compuler builds slarl
eilher wilh lhe molherboard or lhe processor, because
lhey're going lo diclale many olher aspecls ol lhe design,
including how much cooling is needed and whal sorl ol PSU
you mighl require.
Video cards can also have a huge impacl, occasionally even
more lhan any olher componenl il you have a very high-end
one or wanl a mulli-CPU experience.
ln lhis build l'm nol including a video card, because lhis isn'l
inlrinsically a gaming rig. Thal's nol lo say il won'l have one
evenlually il will bul il's nol a priorily righl now and can be
added laler.
The reason l gel lhal llexibilily is lhal lhe lalesl lnlel aswell
Core i5 chips all have inlegraled video and l'm using one ol
lhose. ll's much beller buill-in video lhan lnlel usually ollers,
bul l'm nol convinced yel lo do away wilh a discrele card lor
gaming enlirely.
To run a aswell-cored CPU, l'll need lnlel's lalesl chipsel
lor LCA !!50, lhe Z87, which comes in a number ol llavours,
lhe leasl expensive ol which is lhe Z87 C43. 'Lynx Poinl' as
il's also known, is lhe basis lor lhe 885, Q85, Q87, 8!, 87
and Z87 chipsels, so we'll be seeing plenly ol syslems using il
in lhe nexl year. ll you look al lhe associaled chipsel diagram
l've included, you'll nolice lhal lhe Z87 archileclure has a
number ol curious lealures, nol leasl lhal il ollers PCl Lxpress
3.0, lhough nol lhrough lhe chipsel, bul inslead direclly lrom
lhe CPU. Depending how il's used you can end up wilh a
single x!6 slol or lwo x8 or even one x8 and lwo x4. PCl
Lxpress 2.0 supporl does come lrom lhe X87 chipsel and
anolher eighl lanes are polenlially available lrom lhere. l'm
only looking lor a single x!6 slol, so l'm covered here, and lhe
greal supporl lor US8 3.0, gigabil LAN and mandalory 6Cb/s
SATA are all welcome.
The enlry-level Z87 board l wenl wilh was lhe MSl Z87-C43,
which has mosl ol lhe nice new lealures bul doesn'l dig a
bollomless hole in my pockel.
To exploil lhal, l need a aswell CPU, which is where some
people will undoubledly be lruslraled wilh my choice, lhe lnlel
Core i5 4430. ln a perlecl world l'd have been able lo allord
a 'K' class device, leveraging lhe overclocking polenlial in
lhe Z87 chipsel, bul l couldn'l juslily lhe addilional expense.
8ecause ol lhal limilalion, l'd accepl lhere's a slrong argumenl
lhal a less llexible 87 molherboard would have sulliced,
saving me aboul 20. owever, in lhe conlexl ol lhe lolal cosl,
lhal's probably nol signilicanl.
Wilh my molherboard and CPU chosen, lhe resl ol lhe
package lalls neally inlo place. l need a classy bul spacious
enclosure, an oplical drive, power supply and some RAM.
Thal lasl ilem wasn'l really a choice, because l had il lrom a
previous projecl. Thal said, lhe new chipsel is very good lor
exploiling higher-clocked memory lhan lhose lhal came belore
il, so il was worlh pulling somelhing a lillle special in lhere,
like lhe 8allislix Sporl XT l've used.
Anyway, wilh lhe main guesls named and shamed, il's lime
lor lhe aswell build lo progress.
Our Guest Motherboard: The MSl Z87-G43
1he moIherboard I chose !or Ihis sysIem was Ihe Z87-C43
by MSI, which combihes Ihe very laIesI IhIel chipseI
Iechhology wiIh miliIary class compohehIs. Cohsiderihg
IhaI heiIher o! Ihose Ihihgs usually equaIe Io cheap, I
was pleasahIly surprised Io discover IhaI you cah !ihd Ihis
hardware !or less Ihah 100 aI mahy ohlihe reIailers.
As ah added bohus, I've hoIiced IhaI some reIailers are
sellihg Ihis board wiIh a !ree high-ehd cooler, which makes
Ihe deal IhaI biI sweeIer.
For IhaI you geI Ihe hecessary hardware Io ruh a
Haswell-cored processor, plus ehough PCI lahes IhaI you
cah ruh dual CPUs ih CrossFire mode. Ahd iI also has
plehIy o! US8 3.0, SA1A 6Cbps porIs ahd ah eighI-chahhel
HD audio sub-sysIem.
Here are Ihe highlighIs o! Ihe MSI Z87-C43:
CPU support: FourIh-geh IhIel Core / PehIium /
Celeroh processors
CPU socket: LCA1150
Chipset: IhIel Z87 Express ChipseI
Graphics interface: 1 x PCI-E 3.0 x16 sloI wiIh
!ourIh-geh IhIel Core processors
Display interface: HDMI, DVI, D-Sub - requires
CPU graphics
Nemory support: 4 DIMMs, dual-chahhel DDR3-
3000(OC)
Expansion slots: 1 x PCI-E 2.0 x16 sloI, 2 x PCI-E
x1 sloIs, 3 x PCI sloIs
5AIA / m5AIA: 6 x SA1A 6Cbps
5AIA RAlD: RAID 0, 1, 5, 10 - Available aI SA1A1
Io SA1A6 porIs
U5B port / lEEE1394: 4 x US8 3.0, 10 x US8 2.0
LAN: 10/100/1000 Mbps LAN
Audio: EighI-chahhel HD audio wiIh Souhd
8lasIer Cihema

Socket Set
To open lhe sockel lor use, you need lo pull lhe lillle lever lo one
side, and lhal will allow lhe square relaining plale lo swing hinge
up. ll lhose pins gel benl, lhis molherboard is loasl, so l wouldn'l
leave lhe syslem like lhis lor any lenglh ol lime belore covering
lhem up wilh lhe CPU.
CPUlnsertion
Wilh lhe CPU in hand, you can open lhe melal clasp and genlly drop
lhe CPU inlo place, which can only go in one way because ol lwo
polarising nolches. Wilh lhal silling snug, you can close lhe sockel
cover and unpack lhe CPU cooler, ready lo allach lhal. l didn'l like
LCA sockels when lhey lirsl appeared, bul lhey rarely go wrong.
Stock Cooler
l'll be direcl. lhe currenl cooler lhal lnlel supplies wilh lhese expensive
parls is junk. l don'l like lhe exposed lan and l don'l care lor lhe
qualily ol conslruclion.
l've used lhis one lo reduce cosl, bul l can say wilh a high degree
ol cerlainly lhal wilhin a monlh lhis cooler won'l be in lhis syslem.
Lockdown
The only upside lo using il, aside lrom cosl, is lhal il comes precoaled
in lhermal compound, so you can jusl lake il oul ol lhe plaslic lray
and press lhe easy-lo-break plunger lugs lo locale il over lhe CPU.
Work corner lo corner, and make sure lhal on lhe olher side ol lhe
molherboard lhe anchors are all righl lhrough lhe board.
Socket 1150
l always like lo pul as much on lhe molherboard as possible belore l
pul il in lhe case, because il's much easier lo work wilh oulside lhose
conlines. l like lo slarl wilh lhe board.
Unpacking lhe molherboard, you'll lind lhere's a plaslic cover over
lhe sockel lo prolecl lhe pins, which can be easily pulled oll.
The Haswell CPU
Nolice lhal l'm nol louching lhe underside ol lhe chip, because
l don'l wanl lo conlaminale lhe poinl where lhe molherboard
makes conlacl. Technically speaking, l should be wearing an anli-
slalic slrap, bul l losl mine al some poinl in lhe early 90s and l've
learned lo be carelul inslead.

Sport XT
l had lwo slicks ol Crucial 8allislix Sporl XT lo add and, anlicipaling
a bigger cooler laler, l placed lhem in slols lwo and lour, away lrom
lhe CPU.
8ecause ol lhe nalure ol DDR3, il's dillicull lo gel lhis bil wrong.
Jusl make sure lhe locking rockers al eilher end are lully engaged,
indicaling lhey are correclly sealed.
Lian Li Case
l like aluminium cases, il only because lhey're much lighler lhan SLC
sleel ones, even il lhey're much easier lo denl. Aller removing lhe
Lian Li PC-A05lN8 case lrom ils packaging, l always lirsl remove
bolh sides and any olher parls lhal easily come oll, reducing lhe
case lo a slruclural shell. You wanl as much access as possible.
Unusual Layout
This is a slrange case design l haven'l previously encounlered.
The Lian Li PC-A05lN8 is a small, moslly aluminium enclosure
lhal mainlains lhe popular lrend ol having lhe power supply al
lhe bollom. owever, lhe PSU posilion is nol remolely how mosl
syslem builders mighl expecl, so be warned.
Open Enclosure
lor me, lhis is a small case, as usually l have some monslrous lhing
lhal could be converled inlo a mulli-slorey car-park al a pinch.
owever, lhey usually end up jusl as places lor dusl lo collecl, ralher
lhan being packed lull ol lechnology. This one has enough room lor
a good ATX syslem, and lhal's all l'm looking lor.
Fan Header
The linal parl ol lhe cooler inslallalion is lo allach lhe lan lo lhe
correcl power header on lhe molherboard. On lhis molherboard
lhere are al leasl lhree headers near lhe CPU, so il's worlh relerring
lo lhe manual lor lhe righl one. lgnoring lhis will cause lhe
molherboard lo error, complaining lhe CPU lan is missing.
Plastic Wrap
l was so unimpressed wilh lhe enlirely unprolecled lan cable righl
nexl lo an exposed lan lhal l used a shorl lenglh ol plaslic wrap lo
prolecl il. aving lhe wires being cul by lhe cooling lan and lhen
having lhe syslem cook ilsell isn'l a greal oulcome and yel anolher
reason lor buying somelhing beller lhan lhe slock ilem.

Mounting Frame
Once l'd removed lhe lrame, il was easy lo screw in lhe XlX Pro
power supply lhal l'd decided lo use in lhis projecl. ll's possible lo
mounl lhe supply eilher way up, bul logically lhere's a venl and
liller in lhe lloor ol lhe case, so lhe obvious direclion lo go is lan
down, allowing warmed air lo venl belore il can heal lhe case air.
Back-stop
Wilh lhe mounling plale allached, l passed lhe PSU assembly lhrough
lhe hole al lhe lronl ol lhe case bul ran inlo a snag. Lian Li has buill
a back-slop lhal's screwed lo lhe underside ol lhe case, which needs
adjuslmenl. To move lhis brackel you need remove lhe screws and
lhen shill il lo lhe adjacenl slols lo gel lhe perlecl localion.
Power OnjOff
l have only one reservalion aboul lhis layoul, and il's lhal lhe PSU
power swilch musl be lo 'on' permanenlly, as Lian Li hasn'l pul a
corresponding one on lhe back ol lhe case and you have no easy
access lo lhe swilch on lhe lronl. l guess lime will lell il lhis is a real
issue or il jusl doesn'l maller lor mosl compulers.
Stand-offs
Wilh lhe PSU inslalled, il was lime lo add lhe molherboard.
This is mounled on lhese melal sland-olls, which Lian Li kindly
placed in posilion lor me previously. They all malched up wilh lhe
corresponding nine holes on lhe MSl Z87-C43, so l didn'l need lo
make any more adjuslmenls. They can be moved lor an allernalive
layoul il required.
Power Puzzle
My lirsl look al lhe back revealed a conundrum. ll lhal's where lhe
power goes in, lhen where does lhe PSU go? The answer, curiously,
is al lhe lronl. To inslall a PSU, you need lo remove lhe case lascia.
Thanklully, lhis is easy lo remove, as il comes away wilh a genlle lug
al lhe lop-lronl edge, ralher lhan needing screws removed.
About-face
Once lhal's oll, you can see a black cable lhal will deliver lhe
power lo lhe PSU and a removable lrame lo which lhe PSU can be
screwed. Access lrom lhe olher side is good wilhoul a molherboard
in place, bul il looked easier lo use lhe lhumbscrews and remove
lhe mounling plale, which is exaclly whal l did.

ATXZ4-pin
There are lwo power cables lhal go lrom lhe PSU direclly lo lhe
molherboard lhis being lhe ATX 24 variely. Al lhis slage, l jusl
wanl lo connecl lhem, ralher lhan worrying massively aboul how
lidy lhe roule is. Cable lies and olher nicelies can be added when
you're conlidenl lhal everylhing is working correclly.
XFXPSU
The XlX Pro 750w has a lew cables lhal aren'l managed, including
lhe ATX ones and lhis PCle video card line. l'm nol inslalling a video
card in lhis build, so lhis can be lied neally oul ol lhe way, ready lor
lhe lime lhal lhey'll be needed.
Cable managemenl power supplies are a necessily in smaller
cases, l lhink.
Front Panel
lor lhe syslem lo work, il's necessary lo connecl lhese liny headers
lo lhe lronl panel pins. l hale lhis job, because il's super-liddly and
you can'l do il oulside lhe case where you have gol access and
good lighling. l wish MSl used lhe same gizmo lhal Asus uses on
ils boards, which allow you lo gel lhe righl pins lirsl lime.
Nexus Support
A new use lor my Nexus! ere, l've loaded lhe PDl ol lhe manual
so l can quickly reler lo lhe pin arrangemenl and zoom in easily
il lhe prinl is small. l highly recommend lhis approach il you have
a lablel, because lrying lo read a paper manual and work on lhe
compuler can be exceplionally annoying wilh only lwo hands.
Magnetic Screwdriver
The case includes a sel ol appropriale screws, so il's jusl a maller
ol placing lhem in using my magnelic screwdriver and making sure
lhey're lighl enough. Never over-lighlen lhese screws, because you
could damage lhe molherboard. 8eing magnelic doesn'l help lhe
screwdriver pul lhem in, bul il sure helps il l drop any in lhe case.
Missing Shield
ere's a minor problem caused by lhe lack ol an l/O shield in lhe
molherboard sample box lrom MSl. ll probably doesn'l make much
dillerence, bul l'd like lo see lhal space lilled al some poinl. l did
wonder aboul making my own and lhen realised il wasn'l crilical
and slopped worrying aboul il.

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Ready To Run
The syslem is nearly ready lo run. l've added an oplical drive lo lhe
lop bay, which is secured wilh a neal lool-less lever syslem lhal Lian
Li uses. Al some poinl in lhe lulure, l'll add a 8lue-ray burner lo lhe
second bay. The linal job is lo add all lhe SATA cables lo each drive,
lor which lhe molherboard has more lhan enough porls.
Cable Management
l can make lhe inside nealer lhan lhis, bul nol belore l'm conlidenl
il all doesn'l need lo come aparl again. Considering lhe size ol lhe
case lhere seems lo be plenly ol room lor a decenl video card and
any olher PCl Lxpress hardware l lancy. ll all looks good, bul does il
aclually run?
First Run
All lhe lans rolale and il doesn'l make lols ol beeping sounds
or bursl inlo llames! Those are all licks on my check lisl, bul lo
really conlirm ils running l need lo allach a monilor, mouse and
keyboard. ll lhis doesn'l slarl up on your build, l'd check lhe power
swilch header lirsl and lhen work backwards lrom lhere.
First Message
Yep, il's a runner! ll appears lhal lhe previous recipienl ol lhe
molherboard (lhe one who slill has lhe l/O shield, manual and
cables) used a dillerenl CPU and/or memory. The besl oplion here is
lo simply press l! and go inlo lhe 8lOS. l could also press l2, bul il
would jusl complain lhal il couldn'l lind an OS lo launch.
Drive Mountings
The way drives go inlo lhis case is odd and involves lhese rubber
wheels. Once you've allached lour ol lhem lo a slandard 3.5"
mechanism, lhe drive can be slid inlo a bay behind lhe lronl case
lan. Once lhere, you can lock il inlo posilion wilh a sliding lock and
lhumbwheel. You gel lhree sels ol wheels and screws.
SSDPlacement
The 2.5" drive uses similar rubber llanges lo connecl lo holes on lhe
case lloor. l didn'l care lor lhis, because lhe drives are lhe wrong way
up lor 'L' end SATA cables and slraighl ones bend excessively. The
power cable also runs over lhe dala lines, so l rejecled lhis idea and
mounled lhe SSD in a 3.5" bay wilh a space drive adapler.

%8,/',1* $
%5,//,$17 3&
UEFl Moment
The new ULll MSl Click 8lOS 4 is very impressive looking and
has lons ol inleresling oplions lor lhose who like lo linker. This
isn'l a 'K' class processor l've used, so il isn'l unlocked lor ralio
modilicalions. owever, lhere are some lweaks we can slill make lo
lhe syslem lor improved perlormance wilhoul a 'K' CPU.
Memory Speeds
l'm enabling lhe X.M.P. memory prolile, which lells lhe syslem lo
gel lhal specilic speed selling lrom lhe SPD lable in 8allislix Sporl
XT RAM and use il. lmmedialely lhe syslem runs lhe memory al
!866Mz wilh !0-!0-!0-30 limings a big improvemenl over lhe
delaull mode, and lhis all helps syslem bandwidlh.
Boot Device
Pressing l!! al bool allows you lo selecl a bool device. l did lhis lo
selecl lhe US8 llash memory key lhal l slore my Windows inslall .iso
on. ll's an old Corsair Survivor !!00, which is big enough lo lake
lhe conlenls ol a dual-layer DVD. l could have used an oplical disc,
bul lhis melhod ol OS inslallalion is usually quicker.
Windows lnstall
To lesl everylhing is good, lhe only concrele melhod is lo pul an
operaling syslem on il, really. ll lhe syslem is slable, lhen lhere can'l
be loo much wrong wilh lhe compuler. ere is Windows running
on lhe aswell syslem. ls lhal Windows 8 on lhis compuler? Surely
lhal's some sorl ol lerrible mislake lrom Pickavance here?
Reality Check
No, jusl joking. As shown here, il's aclually running Windows 7,
because lhal's whal l preler lo work on. lor lhose who are lans
ol 8, you use lhal, bul l'll slick lo lhe one l'm happy lo use on my
work syslem. l can always run a virlual version ol W8 il l need lo
review somelhing lhal's specilic lo lhal unpopular OS.
Finished System
My aswell syslem is linished and ready lor work. lor lhose curious
aboul lhe screen, il's a VA panel swivel design lrom 8enQ, lhe
8L24!0PT. l've slill gol lo pul Ollice and my olher chosen sollware
in place, bul l can do lhal al my leisure. When lhal's done, l can do
away wilh my LCA !366 syslem and lransler lo lhis PC.

What Does A SystemLike This Cost?
l'm sure lhal many ol you are looking al lhis and wondering whal
happened lo lhe nolion ol lhis being an inexpensive syslem? l'm a
lillle like lhal mysell, bul lhen l did lhrow in a lew special goodies
lhal came lrom olher previous projecls. Mosl nolable was lhe Crucial
M500 480C8 an expensive ilem compared wilh a convenlional hard
drive, and l've also included a !T8 one ol lhose.
ll you exclude lhal ilem and also have a more modesl amounl
ol RAM, you could easily knock oll 50 lrom lhis lolal. The power
supply could be smaller and lherelore cheaper, il l didn'l inlend lo
pul a video card in here loo al some poinl.
Where you can'l really cul loo many corners is wilh lhe CPU and
case. The Core i5 4430 is lhe cheapesl Core series aswell chip al
lhis lime, and il needs a Z87 or 87 board, ol which lhis is one ol
lhe leasl expensive. A possible saving ol 20 could be made using
lhe MSl 87-C43, bringing us closer lo a 500 overall cosl. owever,
lhal doesn'l include a screen, mouse or keyboard.
The aswell-cored Core i3 and Penlium models are due in lale
Seplember. Therelore, il you wanl lhis lech marginally cheaper, lhen
il mighl be worlh a shorl wail.
lor lhose working lo a lighler budgel, lhe normal process
would be lo drop an older and cheaper CPU on lhis board, wilh
lhe inlenlion lo go lo lnlel's lalesl generalion al a laler dale.
Unlorlunalely, lhe move lo LCA !!50 lrom LCA !!55 means lhal
lvy 8ridge processors won'l lil on lhis board a prelly cynical
move, lrom lhis wriler's perspeclive. l guess il's marginally beller
lhan having lhe processors physically lil bul nol lunclion, which is
lnlel's usually MO.
8ecause ol lhis, il's an all-or-nolhing deal wilh aswell, where
you need lhe molherboard and an LCA !!50 molherboard lo
experience any joy.
Whal's also nol represenled here are delivery cosls, which you can
massively reduce il you gel all lhe bils lrom a single source.
Anyway, here's lhe damage.
Bill Of Naterials
IhIel Core i5 4430 146.93
MSI Z87-C43 moIherboard 99.99
16C8 (8C8x2) o! Crucial 8allisIix SporI X1
(8LS2C8C3D18ADS3CEU)
115.19
Liah Li PC-A05FN8 alumihiummidi Iower case 63.60
Crucial 480C8 M500 SSD 275.00
LC CH24NS95.AUAA opIical drive 14.99
XFX Pro 750WCore '80 Plus 8rohze' PSU 79.99
118 WesIerh DigiIal Caviar 8lack SA1A drive 76.99
1oIal 872.68
What Does A SystemLike This Cost?
Final Thoughts
8ased purely on lhe exlra perlormance over lhe lvy 8ridge CPU
generalion, lhe exlra cosl ol lhe lnlel Core i5 4430 over lhe
older 3330 model and Z77 chipsel probably isn'l worlh il, il
l'm honesl. 8enchmarks have lhe new chip delivering a 7-!0
boosl al besl lor lhe same clock speed, which means lhal lhis
syslem runs like a 3.3Cz lvy 8ridge, which isn'l exaclly lhe
peak ol polenlial perlormance.
The chip l've used is allordable, bul il's nol going lo break
any speed records, allhough il does deliver beller inlegraled
video lhan any previous lnlel syslem l've buill.
lor lhose lhal wanl lo avoid using a discrele video card,
lhere's some juslilicalion, bul lhe CPU perlormance is slill way
below whal anyone playing games would wanl. Neverlheless,
il's nice lo know l have a lall-back solulion, should l need lo
use my video card elsewhere or il unexpecledly lails.
Whal l'm more inleresled in is lhe lower power prolile
and how lhis can make lhe syslem bolh less eleclrically
demanding and also generale less heal. ll my syslem is going
lo be powered lor lhe majorily ol lhe day, lhen l need il lo be
eleclricily bill lriendly.
Unlil lnlel releases lhe Penlium class lourlh generalion chips,
lhis was always going lo be a slighlly expensive diversion, even
il l'm relalively happy lo lake il.
Thal said, lhis syslem will be more lhan powerlul enough
lor gaming once l gel a hall-decenl video card in il. And when
l'm nol shooling lhings, il should be quiel enough lor me lo
concenlrale on my nexl Micro Marl projecl.
lor me, il represenls slepping back lrom lhe lasler/bigger/
holler direclion lhal l've laken in lhe pasl lew years, and
perhaps lhal's ullimalely a good lhing.

QkLlII
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LTY 0AT6a 8IIp PaIch 0ab|a
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ata transfer speeds of up to 1000MB/s.
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Backwards compatible with Cat5
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ach wire individually shielded to
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V|s|l ou| p|oducl pages lo| lu|| dela||s. Adve|l|sed p|oducl p||ce |uc|udes VAT & e/c|udes de||ve|y. E&0E. Te|ms & coud|l|ous app|y. lo| lu|| dela||s v|s|l www.m|sco.co.u|/le|ms. P||ces a|e co||ecl al l|me ol pub||cal|ou bul a|e
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$
uslralia publisher
Auslogics has
released a lully-
redesigned
version ol ils oplimisalion
suile 8ooslSpeed 6.
The package comes
wilh a range ol compuler
mainlenance and
oplimisalion lealures
designed lor use by anyone
novice or advanced level.
Wilh nearly 20 lools al
your disposal lo perlorm
disk/regislry clean-up and
delragmenlalion, inlernel
conneclion oplimisalion,
uninslallalion and slarlup
managemenl, lile recovery,
dala privacy proleclion and
olher lasks designed lo solve
your common PC problems,
lhis is lhe usual, calch-all
kind ol oplimisalion solulion
you'll lind on lhe markel.
The suile now comes
wilh an overhauled inlerlace
and a new 8rowser
Manager lool, as well as
a couple ol new lools lor
oplimising memory and
processor use in real lime
which could prove hand
lor older syslems. ll also
has a redeveloped one-click
scanner.
You can buy il direclly
lrom vvv.ausIogics.com
WiII nct be stccked in stcres frcm ncw cn
0fccm research suggests users are far
frcm interested
$XVORJLFV
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New versicn cf fIagship cptimisaticn tccI
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,
n whal could very
likely signal
somelhing ol a real,
developing problem
lor lhe lulure ol Ninlendo's
lalesl nexl-gen console, lhe
Wii U has lound ilsell laken
oul ol Asda slores.
Yes, lhe supermarkel
chain lhal likes a good jeans
pockel has announced lhal
il's no longer going lo sell
lhe console. ll you do wanl
lo buy lhe model lrom lhe
chain, you'll have lo order il
online lor home delivery or
colleclion in-slore.
The Xbox 360 and PS3 can
surely only benelil lrom lhis
move, as will Asda's rivals,
no doubl. The problem lor
Ninlendo, ol course, is lhal
lhe Wii U has only been
on sale since November,
lhough lhe company ilsell
has admilled recenlly lhal
il sold jusl !60,000 Wii U
consoles around lhe world
in lhe second quarler, which
represenls a drop ol over
50 on lhe previous period.
Apparenlly lhe shell space is
loo valuable lor lhis lrend lo
be allowed lo go on.
So, is Ninlendo's newesl
console already on ils
way oul? Chrislmas, as
il so ollen does in lhese
silualions, will likely provide
us wilh some answers.

3
oor old Microsoll
has been bullied by
anolher big lish,
lorcing il lo drop
lhe name on one ol ils
producls, no less.
Yes, lhe SkyDrive cloud
slorage service is no more,
lhanks lo a legal challenge by
8Sky8. lollowing on lrom a
igh Courl ruling back in June,
which claimed lhal lhe name
inlringed lhe broadcasler's
own lrademark, Microsoll had
originally claimed lhal il would
be appealing lhe judge's ruling.
owever, aller some
consideralion, Microsoll has now
backed down and agreed lo
change lhe service's name around
lhe world aller a "lransilion
period" (which 8Sky8 agreed
lo) belore lhe name is dropped
enlirely. ln a joinl slalemenl,
lhe companies said. "The
selllemenl ol lhis case rellecls
lhe desire ol bolh companies
lo locus on joinl projecls lo
benelil lheir cuslomers."
ln anolher complelely made-
up maller, Microsoll shed a lear,
and wiped il away wilh one ol
lhe $!00 bills il has lying around.
j SkyDrive is no more...
As !ahs o! Iechhology, iI's
pracIically impossible Io
avoid big compahies wheh
you buy or build compuIers
ahd oIher devices. II's
di!!culI hoI Io cohsider IhaI
wheh you hear abouI some
o! Ihe uhscrupulous or eveh
dowhrighI illegal Ihihgs IhaI
Iechhology compahies geI
up Io.
1his week's look aI
Iechhology cohspiracies
illusIraIes Ihe lehgIhs IhaI
some !rms will go Io ih order
Io geI Ihe edge over Iheir
compeIiIors or boosI Iheir
boIIomlihe. Names like
Apple, Microso!I ahd IhIel
pop up, ahd Iales o! secreI
deals ahd coverI meeIihgs
make iI souhd like someIhihg
!roma Hollywood Ihriller, buI
Ihis is real. Ahd wheh iI
ihcludes Ihihgs like price-
!xihg, iI's crysIal clear IhaI Ihe
cusIomer comes lasI.
You cah, o! course, |usI
avoid Ihese compahies buI,
leI's !ace iI, IhaI's preIIy hard
Io do i! you wahI Io keep up
wiIh Ihe laIesI advahces ih
Iechhology.
Every how ahd Iheh,
Ihough, Ihese !rms geI
caughI ahd !hed, buI as Mark
explaihs, someIimes Ihose
!hes do liIIle Io o!!seI Ihe
exIra pro!Is Ihey make !rom
Iheir wrohgdoihg.
UhIil hexI Iime,

k`Yjaf_ kal] Kem_Em_

$
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LegaI battIe swings 8Sky8's way
&
an you believe lhal jusl under a quarler
ol UK smarlphone users have no desire
al all lo sign up lo 4C services?
We lind il hard lo subscribe lo,
loo, allhough il is lhe lrulh ol lhe maller il UK
regulalor Olcom is lo be believed. Wilh lhis
number ol users reporledly have no inlenlion ol
ever signing up lo 4C, according lo ils reporl,
in spile ol lhem being aware ol ils exislence.
The reasons behind lhe lack ol inleresl appear
lo revolve around consumers being unsure ol
lhe lechnology's benelils, plus lhey mighl also
have been pul righl oll by lhe jargon, or so say
analysls anyhow.
Mobile conlracls also represenl somelhing
ol a slicking issue lor users, wilh lhree in len
consumers slaling lhal lhey would aclually
like lo upgrade lo 4C, bul lhal lhey are inlenl
on wailing unlil lheir currenl conlracl expires
and are nol going lo jump ship lor lhe sake
ol an upgrade. Once lhey head over lo lhe lasl
side, lhough, lhere will be no going back.

0HDQZKLOH
:
hen we slarled Meanwhile... a lillle while ago,
lhe inlenlion was lo cover inlernel-relaled
slories, siles and memes in a lighlhearled way.
There's nol been a lol ol lighlhearledness around
lalely, lhough, and you may have noliced lhe column laking a lurn
lowards lhe serious. Unlorlunalely, anyone looking lor a lighlening
ol lone lhis week is oul ol luck, we guess il's a sign ol how lhe
inlernel has malured as a medium and encroached on more
aspecls ol our lives lhal, as sociely goes lhrough dillicull limes, lhe
world ol lhe inlernel rellecls lhal.
lollowing lhe slorm surrounding lhe aclions ol cerlain
Twiller users lowards Caroline Criado-Perez lhal we covered lasl
week, lhe issue ol cyber-bullying and how we should deal and
reacl lo il has been very much in lhe locus ol lhe wider media.
This locus was only sharpened lhis week by lhe news ol lhe
suspecled suicide ol annah Smilh, a !4-year-old girl lrom
Leiceslershire, seemingly aller she was lhe viclim ol bullying
lhrough Ask.lm (IinyurI.comlMoII1273a), a sile lhal news
sources have said has been implicaled in lhree similar incidenls.
ll's a silualion lhal was lhen compounded, il lhal's even
possible, when people decided lo liller lhe lacebook pages ol lhe
girl's older sisler and one sel up as a lribule lo lhe leenager wilh
more abuse (IinyurI.comlMoII1273c). ll has led lo lhe girl's
lalher calling lor lhe likes ol Ask.lm lo do away wilh lhe
anonymily il currenlly allords users and lor a more coordinaled
slralegy lo deal wilh lhe aclions ol such people across a range ol
social media plallorms.
There are, ol course, mulliple layers lo lhis. lhe exlenl lo which
responsibilily lor such lragic evenls can be laid al lhe door ol lhe
sile ilsell, or lhose irresponsible people who choose lo use il lo
insull and inlimidale olher users, being one ol lhem. While lhal's
a very emolive argumenl, cerlainly lor lhose who are on lhe
receiving end ol ollen-vicious online allacks, il's slill a live debale
wilh no clear conclusion, as lhe speclrum ol people's reaclion lo
such inleraclions online is very wide.
ll you leel so inclined, lhough, you can lake a look al a
pelilion crealed in response lo annah's dealh. 8acked by her
lalher and lhe group 8eal8ullying (vvv.beaIbuIIying.org), il
asks visilors lo "please sign il you would like lhe governmenl lo
slep in and insisl lhal Ask.lm and similar siles help us prolecl
our young people", essenlially looking lo lrigger a governmenl
debale on lhe subjecl ol cyber-bullying (submissions.
epeIiIions.direcI.gov.uklpeIiIionsl48886). Lxaclly whal lhe
governmenl could do aboul a Lalvia-based websile like Ask.lm
is unclear, and a blankel rule banning anonymily could be more
problemalic lhan one would inilially imagine nol leasl when
cerlain mallers, such as sexual heallh, are areas where leenagers
crave anonymily when asking queslions and where denying il
would signilicanlly ellecl lhe use ol lhe online services which
are increasingly ollered. ll's shaky ground, where people should
perhaps be carelul whal lhey wish lor. Al lhe end ol lhe day,
one suspecl lhal siles will be pay more allenlion il lhey slarl
losing adverlisers like Ask.lm has (IinyurI.comlMoII1273d).
One minor poinl we'd like lo make aboul all ol lhis is lhe
exlensive use ol 'lroll' in lhis debale. While lhe phrase has
become a calch-all in lhe mainslream press a cypher lor a range
ol aclivilies ranging lrom nol liking somelhing lo oulrighl slalking
and assaull. Anyone
remember when lhe
concepl ol lrolling had lhe idea ol
an anarchic sense ol humour lo il? When il was mischiel?
Ollensive mischiel? Ollen, bul rarely oulrighl nas|y... ll was more
lhe equivalenl ol chucking an online walerbomb. Or are we
remembering il wrong?
While any subjeclive lerm is up lor debale, lrolling in lhe sense
we've hislorically known il could never be conlused wilh bullying
or lhrealening behaviour. Take ronnyjohnson6!8, whose NSlW
commenls on YouTube may seem odious individually, bul when
analysed as a body ol work, are possessed ol a comedic
lesselalion lhal can only be admired (IinyurI.comlMoII1273e).
Lel's jusl call nasliness and bullying whal il is, and reclaim lroll
belore il's loo lale, eh?
ln olher news il seems lhal lhe lalloul ol lhe Ldward Snowden
silualion is conlinuing, as reporls have begin lo come in lhal lhe
email service he used lo communicale wilh journalisls and
orcheslrale lhe leaking ol lhe inlormalion lhal has embarrassed lhe
US Nalional Securily Agency so much has been lorced lo shul
down lhe sile. A message lell on lhe Lavabil.com homepage by ils
owner Ladar Lawson slaled lhal he wished he "could legally share
wilh you lhe evenls lhal led lo my decision", belore adding lhal "l
cannol". e lhen added, "You deserve lo know whal's going on
lhe lirsl amendmenl is supposed lo guaranlee me lhe lreedom lo
speak oul in silualions like lhis. Unlorlunalely, Congress has passed
laws lhal say olherwise."
This, added lo lhe arresl ol Lric Marques, lhe lounder ol
lreedom osling (IinyurI.comlMoII1273i) one ol lhe Tor
Nelwork's biggesl hosling providers (IinyurI.comlMoII1273f)
as well as some olher incidenls (IinyurI.comlMoII1273g and
IinyurI.comlMoII1273j) have hinled lhe spollighl is now very
much on lhe so-called 'Deep Web' (IinyurI.comlMoII1273h),
whalever you may lhink ol il and il's amoral/nel neulral (again,
depending on your poinl ol view) slance, is very much under
scruliny nowadays.
ll you really wanl lo depress yoursell aboul whal lhe world
may be like down lhe line, lake a look al lhe scarily plausible
dyslopian lulure (al leasl lor lhe hoi-polloi) ol Neill 8lomkamp's
nexl lilm, ||ys|um. You can see il al IinyurI.comlIk8ckov.
Aaaaand linally. |uppe|s |os| Wan|ed lrailer, anyone? Oh, go
on... Lile's a happy song... Lalalala (IinyurI.comlMoII1273k).
Q0ICKBIT8... Ea[jgkg^lk PZgp Gf] `Yk Z]]f \]ka_f]\ lg c]]h l`] [gfkgd] gf ^gj alk ]flaj] l]f%q]Yj da^] [q[d]$ Y[[gj\af_ lg j]hgjlk
$9:+<"
Videos for you eyes...
The besl lhing lo come oul ol YouTube's Ceek Week was
nol as specilic video, lhough lhere were some good ones. ll
was lhe easler eggs. Well, aclually, one easler egg lhe one
lhal allowed you lo
lurn any video inlo
a game ol Missile
Command. Co lo any
video, lype '!980'
and delend lhe
world. 8ooyah!
2Q 7KH ,QWHUQHW
d lhe idea ol
y


W
hen Twiller's
iOS app was
handed a
'Reporl Abuse'
bullon, lollowing a dedicaled
campaign lo pul an end lo lhe
lorrenl ol abusive messages
wilnessed on lhe social media
messaging service, il was only a
maller ol lime belore lhe
Android app, plus lhe web-
based version, would lollow suil.
And lollow suil lhey have.
lrom nexl monlh, lhal same
'Reporl Abuse' bullon will
be a lealure ol lhe service
across all ol lhose plallorms,
allowing users lo reporl lhe
ollending lweel and accounl
lo Twiller direclly lrom wilhin
lhe service, ralher lhan liling
oul an online lorm on ils
supporl pages.
The idea ol lhe bullon has
been geslaling lor a while,
bul appears lo have been lasl-
lracked somewhal by lhe high-
prolile lurore surrounding aclivisl
Caroline Criado-Perez, who had
campaigned lor beller reporling
aller she was lhe recipienl ol
a horrendous level ol abuse via
lhe service. Well done Twiller lor
reacling, allhough some would
argue lhal il shouldn'l have
been quicker lo implemenl lhe
syslem in lhe lirsl place.
Twitter Adds
'Report Abuse`
Button
CcmpIaints Iead tc Andrcid and web-based buttcn
LSB .1 Brings
Speeds Lp To
1oGbps
Standard finaIised. It's quick...
W
e are happy lo
reporl lhal a
new version ol
lhe US8
slandard has been linalised and
lhe upshol ol lhis is lhal we can
lell you lhal US8 3.! will boasl
lransler speeds ol up lo
!0Cbps.
The US8 3 Promoler Croup
has released an upgrade lo
Welcome, dear readers, lo lhe caplion compelilion.
Two weeks ago, we lell you wilh lhe image above and
asked you lor caplions. ere's a seleclion ol lavouriles.
1ohn Davies. "The 'Lego A Trip Through islory'
ouling lell shorl ol expeclalions."
1ohn Davies. "Don'l give me all lhal 8lue Peler,
'ere's one l made earlier' lark, you slill look nolhing
like me!"
ricedg. "Cee, Dad, you really are a square."
ricedg. "Shul up 8lockhead."
gfmoore. "Dad, how did l gel here?"
freak5hov!. "Whal do you mean 'round' lhe corner?
l jusl wanl direclions lo lhe pub! Whal's lhis round
lhing? l'm nol lhal drunk yel!"
WiIf 1ames. "The Leader ol lhe campaign Cive Us
More Pixels and his son."
Thomas TurnbuII. "Carelul, il's a minelield
oul lhere."
Thomas TurnbuII. "You're jusl a pixel ol lhe
old JPLC."
Thanks lor all your enlries, and congralulalions lo our
winner ricedg, lrom lhe lorum, who came up wilh "Cee,
Dad, you really are a square."
ll you've gol somelhing lunny lo say aboul lhe piclure
below, gel yoursell lo lhe 'Olher' seclion ol our lorum
(forum.micromarI.co.uk), where you can always see
lhe currenl caplion piclure, or email us al capIion
micromarI.co.uk.
"Gee, Dad, you reaIIy
are a square"
US8 3.0, and il's going lo
double conneclion speeds
and be backwards compalible
wilh bolh US8 3.0 and US8 2
conneclions. The lirsl developer
sessions on lhis new version will
begin al lhe end ol lhe monlh,
bul il's worlh noling lhal lhere
isn'l any schedule lor when lhe
lirsl devices using US8 3.! will
aclually be beslowed upon us.
Q0ICKBIT8... @]Y\ lg l`] FYlmjYd @aklgjq Emk]me gf */l` K]hl ^gj l`] YffmYd Y^l]j%`gmjk ]n]fl$ K[a]f[] Mf[gn]j]\& Alk ^j]]

Th perfect guide or
anyon - rom 8 to 88 - on
larning to program with
th Raspbrry Pi
O
N
L
Y

6
.
9
9
OH SALE HOW
To order direct caII 0S44 S44 00SS or visit www.magbooks.com
MagBooks cover a range of topics, from lT to Motoring and Pitness to Gardening
Ik
PP
0kAll 0k
0Ik0 0k0k8

S
n
lg
g
etsl
Virgin 5heds 3,000
Broadband Customers
The number ol sludenls quilling
Virgin's broadband services al
lhe end ol lhe academic year,
has impacled on lhe company,
wilh il losing over 3,000
cuslomers during Q2. This was
coupled lo il reporling relalively
poor revenues ol !bn lor same
periond, and news lhal mobile
revenue has sullered, loo
lalling around 6year-on-
year. Cable revenue rose by 4
over lhe same period, lhough.
Virgin probably won'l be loo
worried, given lhal lhere is very
lillle you can do aboul sludenls
ending lheir annual sludies
5quare Enix 5cupper
Final Fantasy Kickstarter
ll you're jusl dying lo see a live-
aclion web series based on lhe
||na| |an|asy v|| game... you're
going lo have a wail a lillle
longer. A Kickslarler-lunded
projecl was aiming lo provide
you wilh jusl lhal, bul il's now
been suspended because ol a
copyrighl inlringemenl issue
ciled by lhe lille's developer,
Square Lnix. 8elore lhe game
developer's inlervenlion, lhe lan
projecl requesled $400,000 lo
linance around six episodes ol
lhe series.
As lor Square Lnix, il slaled
"The projecl ilsell is in
inlringemenl ol our copyrighls
and should be removed in ils
enlirely lromKickslarler."
Xerox Nixes lt Up
You'd expecl a Xerox scanner lo
make an exacl copy, righl? Well,
lar lromperlorming ils inlended
lask, one Cerman man has been
complaining lhal his
WorkCenlre has been mixing up
numbers al random. A
compuler scienlisl, he has been
blogging aboul lhe anomolies
(lloorplans being resized and
lables conlaining ncorrecl
ligures), suggesling il's a resull
ol lhe compression used in lhe
scanning, wilh lhe machines
mixing up symbols and
conlusing some characlers. You
can see his lull posl al IinyurI.
comlkv6Iavg. Chosl in lhe
machine, eh? Crazy.
130 is the price
Isn't the Icc suppcsed tc be a pIace cf caIm?
,
nlel's developers have been busy as
lhey always are, lo be lair and lhe
upshol is lhal lhe company has now
launched ils lirsl 'open source' PC.
Cosling around !30, lhe Alom-powered
Minnow8oard PC has been developed in
parlnership wilh CircuilCo. As lor lhe specilics
ol lhe PC, lhe Minnow8oard lealures a
molherboard lilled wilh a !Cz Alom L640
processor wilh inlegraled graphics. ll will also
come wilh !C8 DDR2 RAM, 4M8 llash
memory, supporl DMl, US8, microSD lor
addilional slorage and Llhernel lo bool.
Wilh an oplion lo add in expansion boards
lo boosl conneclivily oplions, il's worlh noling
lhal lhis has nalurally drawn a lew comparisons
wilh lhe lar, lar cheaper Raspberry Pi. ll is loo
pilched al hobbyisls, and lhe company believes
il could also prove uselul lo developers looking
lo make "memory-inlensive" applicalions
involving dalabases and lhe like.
Could be worlh a look.
:
e don'l gel many chances lo
reporl on slories like lhis, so
please allow us lo air our
excilemenl over a cracking
slory lo come lrom Japan.
The luxury loilel, selling lor lhe besl parl ol
4,000, is a loo conlrolled by a smarlphone
app designed lo deliver more lunclionalily
lhan your average porcelain pal. Yes, lhis loilel
will llush aulomalically, has a bidel spray, will
play music and release a lresh-smelling
lragrance aller you're done.
Conlrolled by Android applicalion My Salis,
lhe loilel is also enlirely open lo allack
according lo lhose in lhe know. Securily
experls have warned lhal a llaw in lhe
hardware means lhal any phone armed wilh
lhe app could aclivale lhe loilel as lhe
8lueloolh used lo speak wilh il is lrighleningly
simple lo gel lo grips wilh, lhanks lo lhe Pin
code lor every model ol lhe loo being
hardwired lo 0000. This can'l be resel so can
be nalurally aclivaled really ralher easily.
Repealed llushing and bidel spraying could
cause lhe loilel owner all manner ol problems,
nalurally, bul imagine whal could happen were
lhal aulomalic loo lid lo close al lhe worsl
possible lime...
A hackable loilel... you really couldn'l make
il up, could you?
,QWHO /DXQFKHV
2SHQ6RXUFH 3&
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9XOQHUDEOH
7R $WWDFN
Q0ICKBITS... 9hhd] `Yk kdYk`]\ l`] hja[] g^ alk g^^a[aYd MK: hgo]j Y\Yhl]jk Zq -( ^gddgoaf_ j]hgjlk g^

7
his is lhe parl ol lhe magazine lhal belongs lo you.
Wanl lo show us your messy compuler desk or send
us a piclure ol Windows crashing in a public place?
Perhaps you've gol a piclure ol yoursell holding Micro
Marl while on holiday? ll you have any news you'd like lo share
wilh lhe resl ol lhe Micro Marl readership, please gel in louch
via email (IeIIersmicromarI.co.uk) or one ol lhe lollowing.
MM Forum: ead lo forum.micromarI.co.uk lor discussions
aboul all lhings PC, nelworking, OS, mobile, and lech relaled.
MM Foldihg 1eam: Wilh a home on lhe lorum, lhe Micro
Marl lolding leam is a produclive parl ol Slanlord Universily's
dislribuled compuling projecl. To lind oul more aboul lolding,
and lo pul your spare CPU or CPU cycles lo good use, head lo
IinyurI.comlMMfoIds, say hi and help us lold!
&RPPXQLW\
&RUQHU
Anncuncements and cther stuff
The Micro Mart community forums are powered by lnstantIorum.NT the
leading ASP.NT discussion forum platform from lnstantASP. Learn more at
www.instantasp.co.uk
0
olorola has
ralher pul lhe
cal among lhe
pigeons by
launching a phone lhal is, by
all accounls, 'always lislening'
lor your voice commands.
Didn'l il lollow lhe Xbox One
coverage? Apparenlly nol.
Saying somelhing like "okay,
Coogle now" will bring lhe
Molo X Touchless Conlrol
syslem inlo lile, allowing il lo
lislen lo inslruclions. The Molo
X mobile ilsell will be developed
over in lhe Slales and cuslomers
should be able lo cuslomise il
lo varying degrees.
Nol everyone will like lhe
concepl, bul we expecl lhe
phone lo shake lhings up in
lhe Android phone markel.
6DPVXQJ 'HQLHV
&KLS)L[LQJ
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:LQGRZV
2YHUWDNHV
9LVWD $W /DVW
0RWRURODV
$OZD\V
/LVWHQLQJ 3KRQH
Ferfcrmance dcubts
8rcwser market witnesses shake-up, tcc
MctcrcIa anncunces a mcbiIe reIiant cn
vcice ccmmands
6
amsung has ralher
embarrassingly had lo
deny claims lhal il
has deliberalely
designed ils Calaxy S4 chip lo
perlorm beller in reviewers'
lesls lhan in real-lile silualions.
The company was lorced lo
make a slalemenl on lhe maller
aller researchers showed lhal
lhe handsel did aclually achieve
a higher graphics processing
clock speed when benchmarked
by specialisl sollware, compared
lo when il ran on aclual
games. The lwo silualions did
indeed give up dillering scores,
bul Samsung also backed up
lhal lacl by slaling lhal il's
inlenlion had been lo prevenl
users' syslems lrom
experiencing a laull.
The lesls on lhe new
Lxynos 5 Ocla chip were used
in Soulh Korea and
inlernalional versions ol lhe
S4 handsel il couldn'l
concern our versions ol lhe
mobile as we, and our
neighbours in lhe Slales, are
privy lo a handsel killed wilh
a Qualcomm chip inslead.
,
l's laken some lime, bul
Windows 8 has aclually
overlaken Windows Visla
lo become lhe lhird mosl
widely-used operaling syslem.
As il happens, il's lhe same
monlh lhal saw lL!0's own
growlh rale slow down
somewhal, while lhe gap
belween lirelox and Chrome
closed. So, il looks like Chrome
could soon overlake lirelox as
lhe world's number lwo
browser, while lnlernel Lxplorer's
dominance is ralher being
checked somewhal.
]d][ljg[mlagfk [Ymk]\ Zq l`aj\%hYjlq [gmfl]j^]alk gn]j af ;`afY
Windows 8 has finally overtaken vista

/
asl week we looked al lhe besl 22" monilor deals you
could hope lo lake home (or have delivered) lor less
lhan !00. Jusl lo expand lhings oul a lillle, lhis week
we're going lo look al lhe besl 22" monilor deals
we've lound lhal excede lhal nominal !00 ceiling. 'Cimmicks'
are nol allowed, so lhal means no 3D or louchscreen models,
bul anylhing else goes as long as ils quoled size is eilher 2!.5"
or 22". So, il you don'l wanl a huge monilor, bul do wanl lhe
besl qualily hardware you can lind, lhis week's Componenl
Walch should have lhe deal lor you!
Deal 1: LG 22EA63V 22" Nonitor
RRP: 135.97 / Deal Price: 114.36
Unlike mosl monilors
Componenl Walch lealured
lasl week, lhe LC 22LA63V
doesn'l have a cheap TN
panel, bul a ralher cosllier
lPS panel inslead. Thal
gives il a grealer viewing
angle and superior colour
reproduclion al lhe cosl ol
a lew millisecond's worlh
ol updale lime. Thal lrade-
oll mighl worry gamers or
movie-lans, bul designers
and home workers can luxuriale in ils superior piclure qualily.
Wilh lhe !920 x !080 resolulion and DMl porl, a buill-in US8
hub merely compleles lhe package.
Where to get it: Dabs (biI.Iyl18Y1fZU)
Deal 1: AOC i2267FWh 21.5" Nonitor
RRP: 139.00 / Deal Price: 122.53
AOC's 67 series monilors
have a near-borderless
appearance, lhanks lo lheir
ullra-narrow bezel. They also
have lPS panels, which means
lhey're equipped lo oller
you lhe high qualily visuals
and colour reproduclion
you'd expecl lrom a qualily
unil. owever, unlike lhe LC
22LA63V lhal we looked al
above, you also gel buill-in
speakers, making lhis a greal choice lor enlerlainmenl purposes
in silualions or spaces where a sel ol dedicaled speakers simply
isn'l praclical. Also, lhis price, il should appeal lo someone
wilhoul lhe budgel lo slrelch lo bolh.
Where to get it: CCL Online (biI.Iyl15zVKM)
Deal 3: Dell Ultra5harp U2212HN 21.5" Nonitor
RRP: 159.99 / Deal Price: 140.00
Dell's monilors are known lor
lheir qualily, and allhough lhe
U22!2M isn'l as large as lhe
majorily ol Dell's UllraSharp
range, il is jusl as good. Anolher
lPS panel, lhis one is more
expensive lhan lhe lasl lwo, bul
il's jusl as good - and you gel
a 4-porl US8 hub and DMl
porl lor your money. You could
argue lhal you're paying lor lhe
name, bul Dell's monilors are
popular lor a reason. ll you can
allord il, gel il.
Where to get it: Lbuyer (biI.Iyl17IRgTq)
Deal 4: Ben GW2260HN 22" Nonitor
RRP: 117.99 / Deal Price: 109.74
Designed as a low-end
enlerlainmenl monilor, lhe
lull D CW2260M has greal
conlrasl, vivid colour and a
lrue 8-bil panel lor low lighl
leakage. Unlike many monilors
al lhis price, il has ils own DMl
conneclor as well as speakers and
a low-lighl Reading Mode wilh
adjusled conlrasl lo minimise eye
slrain. ll's perlecl lor work or play,
and you'll slruggle lo lind a beller
TN panel monilor.
Where to get it: Lbuyer (biI.Iyl18Y15I)
Deal 5: NEC Nulti5ync EA223WN 22" Nonitor
RRP: 199.00 / Deal Price: 177.00
The MulliSync LA223WM is
as expensive as 22" monilors
gel. The ullra-lhin design has
lealures such as an ambienl lighl
sensor, molion-aclivalion and a
generous heighl/lill adjuslmenl
range. lnpuls are DisplayPorl,
DVlD and D-Sub only, bul you
also gel inlegraled speakers, a
headphone jack and a US8 hub.
There's even a carbon loolprinl
meler. Only lhe panel - a !680 x !050 TN model - lels il down al all.
Where to get it: Debenhams Plus (biI.Iyl16oIKGc)
&RPSRQHQW :DWFK
Looking for the best 22" monitor you can buy? 5tep right up!
Com
gonent
W
atch


Eye Spy
Despile whal James has lound
oul aboul how lhe cloud can
help us save lime and money,
he lell oul one very imporlanl
aspecl. No US-based inlernel
company can be lrusled wilh
our dala or our privacy. Coogle,
Yahoo, lacebook, Amazon,
Yahoo and Microsoll are now
in lacl inlegral componenls
ol lhe US cyber-surveillance
syslem, and absolulely nolhing
lhal is slored in lheir cloud
services is sale lrom surveillance
by lhe NSA or lhe consullancies
il employs (unless you
encrypl and decrypl al source,
ol course).
1im
HighCalibre
ln reply lo Dave Shaw (Your Lellers, issue !27!), he
mighl like lo lry a lree program lrom calibre-ebook.com.
This can allow conversion ol various lormals ol ebook.
Mighl be worlh your reviewers having a look, as l'm sure
lhal a lol ol people have similar problems as lhey shill
lrom one ebook supplier lo anolher.
David Cooper
NFC
A lew monlhs ago, l was given a Calaxy S3 by my son, who recenlly
upgraded lo lhe Nole 2. One ol lhe lealures lhal inleresled me
and which l've read aboul was lhe NlC (near lield communicalion),
which can apparenlly be used lor lile lranslers and even lor making
paymenls in shops.
l managed lo gel lhe lirsl ol lhese working okay, sending a pholo
lrom lhe S3 lo my son's Nole 2. ll worked reasonably well, bul l can'l
imagine using il very ollen.
owever, il's lhe paymenl lhing lhal bolhers me. Allhough il's
a prelly good idea, lhere don'l really seem lo be many places lhal
use il. The only one l've encounlered is McDonalds, and l don'l
really lrequenl lhal parlicular 'reslauranl' chain (my CP would nol
be pleased il l did), unless my grandchildren drag me lhere, so lhal's
nol much use lo me. Lven il l did go in lhere, l don'l lhink my phone
even has an app lhal l use lo pay lor lhings, because my bank hasn'l
aclually issued one.
l have heard lhal Nalwesl cuslomers now gel conlaclless debil
cards, so maybe be l'll open an accounl wilh lhem, should l ever
happen lo lind any shops lhal accepl il.
Alan Coombes
Sambamobile
ln your arlicle concerning mobile inlernel,
l was surprised lhere was no menlion
ol Sambamobile. lor lhose readers nol
aware ol lhis lree service, il's worlh
invesligaling. 8asically, lor lime spenl running
adverlisemenls on a hosl compuler, you're
crediled wilh lree mobile broadband access.
l've lound il painless lo rack up over 500M8
ol credil lo use in an emergency lrom my iPad
or lhrough a US8 dongle. The only oullay is
5 lor a Samba SlM card, and lhe cosl ol a
Three US8 dongle il you need one. ln lolal, il
cosl me jusl over !0 lo sel mysell up wilh
unlimiled broadband access. The limilalion
is obviously on lhe amounl ol dala you can
download. YouTube maybe a no-no, bul il's
okay lor docs, emails and Twiller.
8ob Dingle
Andrew Redding
O'clock
Sirs,
l am pulling Windows
XP on a laplop, bul l
couldn'l gel lnlernel
Lxplorer lo upgrade as
lhere were Windows
updales lo do. owever,
l could nol do lhe
Windows updale as
lnlernel Lxplorer was oul
ol dale.
Damned il l do, and
damned il l don'l. even
il i could!
Andrew kedding
By email
letters@micromart.co.uk
By post
Micro Mart
30 Cleveland Street
London
W1T 4JD
Online
forum.micromart.co.uk
GETlN
TOUCH...
HighCalibreZ
Dave Shaw's problem is irrilaling bul nol insoluble.
l'm lairly cerlain lhal Calibre, which is lree, is
available lor Windows as well as Linux. Simply use
Calibre lo converl lhe liles lrom .azw lo .ePub or
whalever else a Nook likes, lhus raising lhe double digil
lo DRM.
Andy Grenyer


0BTAIL8
Frice: 260
Manufacturer: 8uffaIc
Website:
www.buffaIctech.ccm
kequired spec:
Windcws XF cnwards,
Mac 0SX 10.6 cnwards
T
he 8ullalo Linkslalion
420D sels lhe lone lor
lhis group, because il's
a compacl black plaslic
unil lhal barely looks large
enough lo house lwo desklop
hard drives. ll uses a lool-
lree design wilh a lronl cover
lhal simply clips on and oll
lo reveal lhe lwo drive bays
in lheir plaslic caddies. These
caddies have a llexible handle,
and you simply give lhem a
lug lo remove lhe drive lrom
lhe NAS. My 2T8 sample was
delivered wilh lwo !T8 Toshiba
desklop hard drives wilh SATA
6Cbps inlerlaces.
Al lirsl glance l was
unable lo lind a hard drive
compalibilily lisl on 8ullalo's
websile, bul l evenlually lurned
up a lisl lor lhe Linkslalion
42!D lhal was appropriale and
which lisls a modesl number
ol currenl drives lrom WD,
Seagale, ilachi and Toshiba
lhal range lrom !T8 lo 4T8.
8ullalo lisls lour lully
populaled models ol 420D
lhal cosl 260 lor 2T8, 320
lor 4T8, 380 lor 6T8 and
5!0 lor 8T8. A spol ol malhs
suggesls lhe diskless chassis is
priced around lhe !60 mark
and al each capacily poinl
lhe 8ullalo is 40-60 more
expensive lhan a comparable
Lenovo lomega ix2.
This isn'l enlirely whal l
would have expecled, as lhe
conslruclion ol lhe 8ullalo
leels cheap and plaslic,
allhough lhal is only a cosmelic
judgemenl. The hardware
ollers some promise, since
8ullalo has chosen a dual-core
Marvell 300 Armada ARM
processor, albeil running al a
lowly !.2Cz, and lhal is allied
lo 5!2M8 ol DDR3 memory.
Selling up lhe 8ullalo is a
bil ol a lrial, as lhe assumplion
seems lo be lhal you have a
range ol nelworked devices
and lhal mosl ol lhem are
8ullalo. Clearly lhe main
concern is lhal you're able lo
decide which 8ullalo device is
which, so you can be sure lhal
you're conliguring lhe correcl
8ullalo. Well, okay, lhal may
be one scenario, bul l lound
lhe incredibly rudimenlary
managemenl ulilily was prelly
much irrelevanl. Aller all, l
only had one 8ullalo in lhe
building, lel alone connecled
lo lhe nelwork.
The LS420D was supplied
wilh lirmware v!.00, and lhe
NAS Navigalor ulilily gave
no indicalion lhal lhere was
an updale available, bul a
search ol 8ullalo's websile
came up wilh an updale lor
NAS Navigalor lrom V2.58 lo
v2.63 lhal looked considerably
slicker as well as a lirmware
updale lo V!.0!. Thal updale
sounds like lhe liniesl ol poinl
releases, bul il appeared lo
increase lile lransler speed
lrom 47M8/s lo 54M8/s.
Overall, lhe 8ullalo 420D
ollers decenl perlormance,
bul lhe sollware and usabilily
do nol oller much comlorl lo
lhe uninilialed, and while lhe
price seems very lair, lhis is a
NAS lhal is beller suiled lo lhe
prolessional user.
0R00P
TB8T
Adding netwcrk
attacbed stcrage tc
ycur bcme cr cfce
netwcrk is a superb
idea, and tbis week
Lec WaIdcck bas
ve NA5 units tbat
deIiver as mucb as
8TB cf space
Two-bay NA8
T
w
o
-b
a
y
N
A
8
8affa|o l|akstat|oa 4100 1I8
NAS N i l lilil

uaIity
VaIue

DveraII

0R00P
TBST
Two-bay NAS
nol appear lo be on sale in
lhe UK.
The lisl ol qualilied 2T8, 4T8
and 6T8 drives is very shorl and
only consisls ol Seagale 7200.!4
8arracuda and ilachi 5400
CoolSpin 5Kx000 models wilh
no sign ol, lor inslance, lhe WD
Red. To add lo lhis hassle, lhe
ix2 uses drive caddies lhal lorm a
lrame lhal goes around lhe drive,
so lhere's no way you could use
a 2.5" laplop drive or SSD in lhis
NAS. l really didn'l like lhe drive
caddies, as lhey're a lool-lree
design lhal clips inlo place wilh
a noliceable clonk. No doubl
Lenovo lomega has done ils
homework, bul l like lo lreal hard
drives as genlly as possible, and
lhe noise lhe caddies made was
somewhal unnerving.
My 4T8 review unil came wilh
lwo 2T8 Seagale 8arracudas, and
judging by lhe warning nolices
in lhe user manual and inside lhe
chassis, you're unlikely lo swap
lhe drives in a hurry.
The lile inlormalion is slored
on lhe drives, so il you pull oul
bolh drives simullaneously lo
upgrade lhe NAS, you'll lind lhe
syslem lails complelely. lnslead,
you have lo swap one drive,
lel lhe array rebuild and lhen
looks lhe business. Unlorlunalely,
lhe lronl panel, which is lhe parl
lhal you see lhe mosl, is made
lrom mall-black plaslic. The rear
ol lhe chassis is also plaslic bul
ol course lhal is oul ol sighl. The
resl ol lhe chassis is made lrom
brushed aluminium wilh eleganl
rounded edges and lhe whole
lhing weighs a helly amounl.
The lronl panel slides up
and oll ils mounling clips and
lills away lo reveal lhe innards
ol lhe chassis, which are
dominaled by lhe drive caddies.
The ix2 is available as a diskless
model lor aboul !20 or as
a 2T8 model lor !90, which
sounds like a beller deal. The
4T8 model l received lor lhis
group lesl is on sale al 260,
which makes sense, because
lhal's !20 lor lhe chassis and
70 each lor lhe 2T8 drives,
and il's a similar slory wilh lhe
6T8 model lhal sells lor 320.
Lenovo lomega lisls an 8T8
model, bul il doesn'l currenlly
have any qualilied 4T8, so
lhal poses somelhing ol an
obvious problem.
There is lhe oulside chance
lhal you will come across a
model lhal is parlially populaled
wilh a single drive, bul lhey do
0BTAILS
Frice: 260
Manufacturer:
Lencvc Icmega
Website:
gc.icmega.ccm
kequired spec:
Windcws XF cnwards,
Mac 0SX 10.5 cnwards,
Linux

arlier lhis yearm

Lenovo and LMC gol
logelher in one ol lhose
corporale deals lo launch
LenovoLMC Lld. Considering
lhal LMC boughl lomega back in
2008, lhis means lhal lomega is
now parl ol lhe Lenovo empire,
and lhal is lhe reason lhis NAS
is named lhe Lenovo lomega ix2
Nelwork Slorage.
ln addilion lo lhe change ol
company name, l couldn'l shake
lhe idea lhal l had previously
seen a NAS called ix2-200 lhal
came in a chassis lhal had a
lovely curved lronl wilh loads
ol cooling holes lo add some
cosmelic spice.
8y conlrasl, lhe ix2 Nelwork
Slorage is a solid boxy device
wilh lols ol llal surlaces, bul il's
a slylish piece ol hardware lhal
swap lhe second drive, lel lhe
array build again and lhen
you're linished.
My lirsl impressions were less
lhan ideal, as lhe 60mm cooling
lan made a buzzing noise, bul
lhis only seemed lo be a laclor
during lhe inilial slarl-up and il
quielened down aller lhal.
Once lhe NAS was connecled
lo my nelwork, l opened a
browser and visiled vvv.
myiomega.com, where l could
conligure lhe NAS. l headed lo
All lealures and lhen Sollware
Updales and was lold lhe
Lileline lirmware was version
3.3.2.29823 and lhal lhe
sollware was up lo dale. A click
ol lhe relresh bullon revealed
lhal aclually version 4.0.4.!4600
was available, bul Lenovo lomega
doesn'l make lile easy. The link
simply look me lo a supporl
websile where l had lo lind lhe
correcl model ol NAS, download
lhe 202M8 lirmware lile, use lhe
browser conliguralion screen lo
browse lo lhe lile and lhen click
lhe Upload bullon. Aller a delay
ol a lew minules while lhe blue
aclivily LLD llashed away, l was
able lo click lhe Apply bullon on
lhe conliguralion screen.
Once lhal was linished, l was
able lo download LenovoLMC
Slorage Manager sollware and
Twonky Media server.
While lhis all worked well
enough, il was a lillle daunling
and nol lhe sorl ol lhing you
should inllicl on a NAS novice.
Lenovo lomega has used a
single-core Marvell 300 Armada
processor lhal is clocked al
!.6Cz and lhe perlormance
ol lhis NAS is perleclly
acceplable, bul lhe sollware
and usabilily requires a cerlain
amounl ol work.
leaoro lomega |x1 Network 5torage 4I8

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DveraII

calculaled lhal lhe bare

8ullalo chassis cosls aboul
!60 and lhe Lenovo
lomega goes lor !20 in
diskless lorm, so Synology
DS2!3 looks ralher expensive
al 235, since il only comes
as a diskless chassis. This
means you'll need lo budgel
!50 or 200 lor 4T8 or 6T8
ol slorage, which lakes lhe
lolal price lo 385 or 435.
ll you're going lhe whole hog
and aiming lor 8T8 ol slorage
lhen you'll be pushing lowards
600, and ol course lhose
ligures only apply il you span
lhe drives in J8OD. ll you use
RAlD ! lo mirror lhe drives
and prolecl your dala, you'll
be paying aboul 400 lor 3T8
ol dala.
This DS2!3 model is aimed
al lhe small business markel,
so il comes wilh a mall-
black chassis, ralher lhan lhe
shiny-while linish lhal is used
lor lhe relail and domeslic
producls.
Wilh lhe DS2!3 slanding
on lhe desk, l could see lhal
while lhe DS2!3 mighl look
like an emply plaslic box,
il's a very posh plaslic box
lhal is moulded lo perleclion
wilh lhe power and resel
bullons sel in one corner and
a column ol aclivily LLDS jusl
wailing lo blink inlo lile.
lnslalling lhe drives is an
easier process lhan in lhe
pasl, wilhoul any need lo slide
aparl lhe lwo halves ol lhe
chassis lo gain access. lnslead,
lhe lronl cover pops oll lour
Selling up drive volumes and
RAlD is a simple maller. When
you creale a shared lolder on
lhe NAS, lhe sollware displays
oplions aboul read and wrile
righls lor admin and guesls,
which is handy, since il means
you won'l lorgel lo sorl oul
lhe sellings al a laler dale.
The OS parl ol DSM 4.2
allows you lo manage lhe NAS
lealures ol lhe DS2!3 wilh lhe
minimum ol hassle, bul lhe
key lealure ol a Synology NAS
is lhe Package Cenlre.
This is lhe Synology app
slore where you can download
sollware lo manage prelly
much any aspecl ol your
nelwork lrallic such as anli-
virus, DNS server, backup,
iTunes and Logilech servers
and all manner ol dala, media
and lile managemenl.
ll is ullerly brillianl and
complelely answers lhe
queslion aboul lhe inilial cosl
ol a Synology NAS.
ll you wanl a simple
hard drive wilh a nelwork
conneclion, lhen lhe WD My
8ook Live Duo will suil you
very nicely, bul anyone who's
prepared lo pay more lor lheir
NAS should really be looking
al Synology.
0BTAILS
Frice: 235
Manufacturer: SyncIcgy
Website:
www.syncIcgy.ccm
kequired spec:
Windcws, Mac 0S X,
Linux
5ao|og 05111 0|sk|ess N5
Two-bay NAS
rubber grommels and lhe lwo
drive caddies are exposed.
These simply unclip and slide
oul, and you mounl each drive
using lhe supplied screws.
2.5" DDs and SSDs mounl
on lhe base ol lhe caddy,
while 3.5" desklop drives use
sleeved screws lhal suspend
lhe drives on rubber mounls.
Selecling lhe drives is
simple, because Synology
mainlains a huge lisl ol
supporled drives lhal currenlly
go up lo 4T8 wilh 3.5"
drives, !T8 wilh 2.5" drives
or 500M8 wilh SSD. Jusl as
imporlanlly, Synology lisls a
handlul ol drives lhal are nol
recommended lor lhis NAS.
Wilh lhe drives inslalled and
lhe power connecled, you'll
doublless wonder whelher lhe
NAS is working correclly, as
lhe 92mm cooling lan is very
quiel indeed and makes lar
less noise lhan lhe hard drives
lhemselves. Al lhis slage in
lhe game, lhere's no sollware
on lhe hard drives or slored
inside lhe Synology.
Once lhe DS2!3 had spun
inlo lile, l used a PC on lhe
same nelwork as lhe NAS and
simply lyped 'lind.synology.
com' inlo a browser. Aller
a lew momenls lhe DS2!3
popped up on screen along
wilh ils lP address and a
nole lhal il didn'l have
lhe DiskSlalion Manager
sollware inslalled. l clicked
lhe indicaled bullon and a
message appeared saying lhal
"Your DiskSlalion will be ready
in approximalely len minules.
Please have a cup ol lea."
You don'l need lo use lhe
inslallalion disc or neilher
do you download any liles
manually, bul inslead you
simply leave lhe syslem lo
inslall lhe DSM sollware,
creale lhe lile syslem and lhen
check parily consislency on
your drives.
8y my reckoning lhis process
aclually look aboul hall an
hour including parily checking,
so you probably have lime lor
bolh lea and cake.
Once lhe DS2!3 is ready,
you'll be able lo gel lo grips
wilh lhe DSM 4.2 sollware,
which looks somelhing like a
junior version ol Mac OS X.

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0R00P
TBST
Two-bay NAS

hy do you need
a NAS when you
could simply inslall
a couple ol large
hard drives in a small, cheap PC
lhal is connecled lo your home
or ollice nelwork? mm, good
queslion. Well, a PC lakes up
more space lhan a NAS, and you
have all lhe associaled cluller ol
mouse, keyboard and screen and
a cerlain amounl ol noise lhal is
associaled wilh lhe cooling. You
mighl nol wanl lo use Windows
lo run a lile server, and lhen
lhere's lhe cosl ol lhe whole
lhing and lhe need lo keep lhe
server PC running 24/seven.
8y conlrasl, a NAS is small,
compacl, quiel and designed lor
lhe lask in hand.
Thecus has laken lhese lwo
schools ol lhoughl and melded
lhem logelher lo creale lhe
N2800, which is a Diskless NAS.
lrom lhe oulside, lhe N2800
lan al lhe rear ol lhe chassis
makes a clearly audible noise, ll
is quiel when compared lo a PC,
bul il's noisier lhan lhe olher
NAS devices.
The sollware on lhe N2800
is based on Linux and does
a decenl job. You'll have no
lrouble conliguring lhe Thecus
using lhe basic packages
lhal are supplied, and il you
need lo perlorm lasks such as
downloading lorrenls lhen you'll
need lo inslall exlra sollware.
The perlormance ol lhe
N2800 is blazing lasl, bul l
cannol gel away lrom lhe
lhoughl lhal il is overly
complicaled and aboul !50
more lhan l care lo pay lor a
NAS device.
0BTAILS
Frice: 310
Manufacturer: 1hecus
Website:
www.thecus.ccm
kequired spec:
Windcws, Mac 0S X,
Linux
Ibecas N1800 0|sk|ess
looks like a regular lwin-bay
NAS, bul il runs on a 2.!3Cz
dual-core Alom processor wilh
yper-Threading and no less
lhan 2C8 ol DDR3 memory.
ln shorl, lhis is a lull-blooded
small-lorm-laclor PC, and we
see lhe prool on lhe rear ol
lhe chassis, where we lind dual
gigabil Llhernel porls, lwo US8
2.0 porls, an eSATA conneclor,
a VCA conneclor and an DMl
oulpul. The idea is lhal once
lhe NAS is conligured, you can
connecl lhe Thecus lo a mouse,
keyboard and display in order
lhal you can carry oul lurlher
conliguralions wilhoul lhe need
lor anolher laplop or PC.
This is where l slruggle wilh
lhe concepl ol lhe N2800,
because l have never lhoughl
lo use a NAS in a silualion
where l wasn'l posilively
swamped wilh PCs, Macs and
laplops. These compulers are
lined up lo swap liles wilh lhe
NAS and my leeling is lhal one
ol lhese would do nicely lor
lhe lask ol conliguralion.
This mighl demonslrale
my lack ol imaginalion (lor
inslance, il you have a NAS lhal
is slreaming liles lo a number
ol smarlphones or some similar
scenario), bul clearly il you
disagree wilh me, you should
pul lhe N2800 on your shopping
lisl al once.
On lhe lronl ol lhe Thecus we
lind a handlul ol lealures in lhe
lorm ol a US8 3.0 porl, an SD
card slol and a bullon labelled
Copy lhal allows you lo imporl
pholos lrom your camera card
wilh lhe minimum ol luss.
The lwo drive bays are hidden
behind a shiny black plaslic
cover on lhe lronl, and each bay
is prolecled by a locking melal
lalch wilh a dillerenl key lor
each lalch.
Once lhe Thecus lires inlo lile,
you'll lind lhe 60mm cooling
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he WD My 8ook Live
Duo is quile possibly lhe
mosl simple NAS you
will ever see. ll slrongly
resembles an exlernal US8 drive
lhal has had lhe US8 cable
replaced wilh gigabil Llhernel.
lrom a cosmelic poinl ol view,
WD has sluck wilh ils lamiliar
8ook curved plaslic casing lhal
is linished in dark grey. As lhe
Duo houses lwo 3.5" desklop
drives, il would need lo be a
parlicularly squal and lhick book
lhal we were lalking aboul.
WD has kepl lhe lorm laclor
impressively small by using
passive cooling. You mighl lhink
lhis would require a casing lhal
was perloraled like a piece ol
Swiss cheese, bul in lacl lhe lop
and bollom are venlilaled while
lhe sides and back are solid.
The dashboard lold me lhere
was an updale available lor
lhe SmarlWare lirmware, so l
clicked lhe bullon, wailed a lew
minules and lel lhe NAS gel on
wilh lhe job. All lold, il look
aboul len minules.
The My 8ook Live Duo is
markeled as a Personal Cloud,
bul lhis doesn'l necessarily mean
whal you mighl expecl. You
cannol use lhe WD as a personal
server and give access lo your
liles lo lriends and lamily so you'll
slill need lhe likes ol Dropbox.
You can, bul use lhe WD wilh
mobile access il you aclivale lhe
WD Pholos Mobile App and lhe
WD 2go Mobile App, which are
available lor Apple and Android.
On lhe downside, lhe
perlormance ol lhe WD is ralher
slack wilh a lile lransler speed ol
29M8/s. The moral ol lhe slory is,
il you wanl a simple device lhal
ollers oodles ol slorage al a low
price, lhen you should be looking
al lhe My 8ook Live Duo.
0BTAILS
Frice: 300
Manufacturer: WD
Website:
www.wdc.ccm
kequired spec:
Windcws XF cnwards,
Mac 0SX 10.5 cnwards
N0 M 8ook l|re 0ao 6I8
This means lhal WD has
been able lo make lhe casing
slighlly smaller, and lhe absence
ol a lan means lhal lhe NAS
is elleclively silenl. So why,
you may wonder, don'l all
manulaclurers simply dilch
lhose noisy, lroublesome lans?
The answer, ol course, is lhal
WD is a hard drive manulaclurer
and has been able lo specily a
hard drive lhal uses very lillle
power and lhal produces lhe
minimum ol heal.
The drive in queslion is WD
CreenPower, which is available
in capacilies lhal go up lo 4T8,
so il you need lo perlorm an
upgrade or replacemenl, you
won'l lind yoursell limiled by lhe
low power requiremenl.
On lhe plus side, using passive
cooling musl reduce lhe cosl ol
lhe NAS by a lew pennies, and
lhere are lurlher signs ol cosl
culling when you look around
lhe My 8ook Live Duo. The
chassis has a pop-up lop cover
lhal conceals an inner melal
cover lhal is held down wilh
a single lhumbscrew. The lwo
CreenPower drives live under
lhal cover and slide direclly inlo
lhe chassis wilhoul caddies or
olher hardware.
ln a similar vein, lhere's no
power swilch, so you simply
plug in lhe power cord or
llick lhe mains swilch. The
Llhernel cable is ralher shorl al
!.2melres, and lhe US8 2.0 porl
on lhe rear ol lhe chassis can
only be used lo add slorage and
nol as a prinl server.
Once lhe WD My 8ook
Live Duo is connecled lo lhe
nelwork, and lhe aclivily LLD
has cycled lrom blue lo amber
lo green, lhe syslem is ready lor
aclion. This NAS is a Universal
Plug and Play device, so you
can simply open lhe nelworking
seclion in Windows lo gain
access lo all ils lealures.
l look lhe slighlly more
lenglhy course ol inslalling WD
Quick View which, lhen sils
in lhe Syslem Tray and gives
delails ol lhe My 8ook Live Duo,
including lhe all-imporlanl lP
address. You can eilher key lhe
address inlo a browser or click
on 'dashboard' in Quick View,
which does exaclly lhe same
lhing and opens a glilzy browser
view ol lhe WD NAS.

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Two-bay NAS

0R00P
TBST
Two-bay NAS
Synology 0S2I3 0lskless NAS
A sophislicaled and compacl chassis lhal is backed
up by DSM 4.2 and lhe Synology Package Cenlre.
W0 My Book Llve 0uo 6TB
A simple and elleclive NAS lhal ollers 6T8 ol
slorage al a low price.
Make And McdeI
8uffaIc LinkStaticn
420D 218
Lencvc Icmega ix2
Netwcrk Stcrage 418
SyncIcgy DS213 1hecus N2800
WD My 8cck Live
Duc
Website www.bualolech.cou go.iouega.cou www.syuology.cou www.lhecus.cou www.wdc.cou
Frice DiskIess (inc VA1) u/a u/a 23S 310 u/a
Frice 218 (inc VA1) 260 148 u/a 4S3 u/a
Frice 418 (inc VA1) 320 260 u/a 496 2S6
Frice 618 (inc VA1) 380 320 u/a S38 300
Frice 818 (inc VA1) S10 u/a u/a 684 482
SuppIied Stcrage 2JB 4JB Noue Noue 6JB
Maximum Stcrage 8JB 8JB 8JB 8JB 8JB
1ype 0f Kard Drives 3.S" or 2.S" 3.S" 3.S" or 2.S" 3.S" or 2.S" 3.S"
Number 0f Drive 8ays Jwo Jwo Jwo Jwo Jwo
kAID Suppcrt RA|0 0, RA|0 1, B00 RA|0 1, B00 RA|0 0, RA|0 1, B00 RA|0 0, RA|0 1, B00 RA|0 1, B00
Frccesscr
Marvell 1.20hz dual
core
Marvell 1.60hz siugle
core
Marvell 2.00hz siugle
core
|ulel Alou 2.130hz
dualcore
800Mhz siuglecore
Memcry S12MB 00R3 2S6MB 00R3 S12MB 00R3 20B 00R3 2S6MB
Netwcrking 0igabil 0igabil 0igabil 0ual gigabil 0igabil
CccIing 0ue 60uu au 0ue 60uu au 0ue 92uu au 0ue 60uu au Passive
0ther Ccnnectcrs 0ue uSB 2.0 0ue uSB 2.0
Jwo uSB 3.0, oue uSB
2.0, S0 slol
0ue uSB 3.0, lwo uSB
2.0, oue eSAJA, h0M|,
v0A, S0 slol
0ue uSB 2.0
Fcwer SuppIy Exlerual PSu Exlerual PSu Exlerual PSu Exlerual PSu Exlerual PSu
Warranty Jwo years Jwo years Jwo years Jwo years
Scftware NAS Navigalor 2.63
LeuovoEMC Slorage
Mauager
Syuology 0SM 4.2 Acrouis Jrue |uage w0 Suarlware
Scftware
LeuovoEMC Persoual
Cloud
Cloud Slaliou Jhecus Backup ulilily w0 0uick view
Scftware
Acrouis Jrue |uage Lile
2013
0ala Replicalor 3
1ime 1c Ccpy 9.2468
0f FiIes 1c NAS
2 uiuules S1 secouds 3 uiuules 40 secouds 3 uiuules S7 secouds 2 uiuules 31 secouds S uiuules 23 secouds
quates tc S4MB/s 42MB/s 39MB/s 61MB/s 29MB/s
+
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0lngoo A330LB

he Chinese designed
handheld scene is prelly
speclacular al lhe
momenl. ardly a week
goes by wilhoul lhe release ol a
unil lhal is considerably beller
lhan lhe previous, does a lol
more and lealures some
wonderlul exlra or lwo.
One ol lhe more appealing
lealures lhese Chinese made
unils lend lo lean lowards is
lhal ol emulalion. Lmulaling
lhe compulers and consoles ol
lhe pasl musl be a big lhing al
lhe momenl in China, as lhe
slew ol imporled devices which
lavour emulalion currenlly have
various gadgel siles bursling al
lhe seams.
The Dingoo A330, lrom
Dingoo Digilal Technologies is
one such machine, and goes
some dislance in order lo bring
you an all-round, lovable relro
leel. ll's a lairly impressive unil,
resembling a PSP (bul roughly
lhe size ol Ninlendo DS) il has a
D-Pad, lour bullon arrangemenl,
wilh an addilional lwo shoulder
bullons, slarl and selecl. The
screen is a 2.8", !6Mcolour LCD
wilh a maximum resolulion ol
320 x 240, and a sel ol slereo
speakers on lhe unil's underside.
There is a US8 miniUS8 porl
available lor charging and lile
lranslers, along wilh a TV-OUT
jack and headphone sockel.
Disappoinlingly, lhere isn'l a
hardware volume conlrol, lhe
volume being handled using a
combinalion ol lhe lell shoulder
bullon and down on lhe D-Pad.
0BTAIL8
Frice: 84.99
Manufacturer: Dingcc
DigitaI
Website: http:llgcc.gIl
A2fnDr
kequired Spec: NlA
slock players already inslalled
on lhe syslem. owever,
lhe real benelil ol lhe A330
is lhe lacl lhal homebrew
communily-developed exlras
and applicalions can be added
relalively easily lo lhe delaull
Dingoo OS.
lrom lhe many communily
pages you will lind a weallh
ol emulalors, exlra media
players and even a Linux dislro
lhal can be inslalled and run
lhrough lhe main OS layer
(wilh lhe exceplion ol lhe
Dingux, lhe Linux dislro). Once
inslalled, lhe emulalor will work
aulomalically providing you
poinl il lo a valid game lile.
In Ihe mood !or a spoI o! reIro, handheId gaming7 took no !urIher.
As wilh some emulalors, only
specilic game liles will work,
bul il's nol loo dillicull lo locale
and converl exisling backup
game liles inlo lhe lype lhal lhe
A330 emulalor will work wilh.
The emulalion ol lhe slock
console is as near perlecl as
you would expecl. The Sega
Mega Drive emulalor we lesled
was excellenl, and perlormed
wilhoul any losses in graphics,
sound or gameplay. The bullons
were mapped dillerenlly
depending on lhe game, bul il's
easy lo work oul which bullon
does whal.
This is a lairly robusl unil,
slurdy, bul lighl enough lo
slip inlo lhe pockel wilhoul
il becoming annoying. The
emulalion is lanlaslic, and
is worlh il jusl lor lhe Mega
Drive handheld gaming alone,
bul some ol lhe homebrew
emulalors work in dillerenl
ways, and may require a lair bil
ol work lo gel lhem going.
The polenlial lor lhis lillle
unil is lanlaslic, bul al ils core,
as a handheld relro gaming
device, il's raled well above
some ol lhe olher examples
we've seen in lhe pasl.
mm David Hayvard
A superb example of
open source handheld
gaming technology
The CPU is an lngenics
JZ4740 MlPS al 336Mz wilh
64M8 RAM, wilh 4C8 ol
inlernal NAND slorage device.
There is a MiniSD expansion
slol, which can house up lo
!6C8 cards and lhe 3.7V
ballery lasls up lo roughly seven
hours under normal condilions.
Oul ol lhe box, lhe Dingoo
A330 is capable ol emulaling
a NLS, SNLS, Sega Mega Drive,
Came8oy Advance, Neo Ceo
and lhe CPS! and 2 arcade
syslem boards. ll can also, via
lhe Playslalion-esque XM8,
playback a variely ol video liles,
as well as audio, pholo, lexl
and browse liles lhrough lhe
RBVIBW8

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Revlews
Beng BL24I0PTLB0LC0M
onltor

aving owned a couple

ol 8enQ screens, we
can conlirm lhal lhis
company is good al
ollering plenly ol lealures
wilhoul hilling your pockel loo
hard. The new PL24!0PT is
aclually al lhe high end ol
pricing lor a 24" LCD panel, bul
lhe company has worked hard
lo make il worlh every penny.
Ol lhese lhe lirsl very
obvious one is lhe eighl
Adjuslmenl Syslem (AS), or
supporl arm lo lhe resl ol us.
This can lill, lwisl and also
gives lhe display jusl enough
verlical adjuslmenl lo swivel
lor porlrail mode. ll's easy lo
operale, and allhough you
musl manually perlorm screen
rolalion on lhe PC yoursell,
lhe greal viewing angles ol
lhis VA (Verlical Alignmenl)
panel makes lor a good user
experience in porlrail mode.
lor lhose unlamiliar
wilh VA panels, lhey're
posilioned belween TN and
lPS lechnology, ollering lhe
viewing angle ol lPS bul
0BTAILS
Frice: 193 (buyer)
Manufacturer: 8en
Website: benq.cc.uk
kequired Spec:
Ccmputer cr device
that can cutput V6A,
DVI cr DispIayFcrt in
up tc 1080p
inlrared lo delermine il lhey
should enler power save
mode. This design lakes lhal
idea a slage lurlher, lhough,
reminding users lo lake a break
aller a pre-delined period.
Thal's a good idea, bul l can
see some companies haling lhe
nolion lhal lheir hardware is
recommending lheir workers
slop lor any reason.
Whal everyone will like is lhe
lwo-porl US8 hub lhal 8enQ
included. ll's only US8 2.0,
and lhe porls are somewhal
liddly lo access, bul lhey're
perlecl lor allaching a mouse
or charging your phone. The
weakesl aspecl, lhough, musl
be lhe liny !w speakers lhal
generale lhe sorl ol noise
lhal sends people oul lo buy
speakers even il lhey can'l
allord lhem.
The 8L designalion ol lhis
monilor puls il in 8enQ's
'business' range, lhough l lhink
il's gol much wider appeal.
The sland is well buill and
lhe panel seems made lo lake
plenly ol abuse over ils lile.
en nds uncharIed IerriIory beIveen Ihe IP5 and TN paneI IechnoIogies
Craphics prolessionals will
probably pass il up because
il's nol lPS, lhough lhe colour
conlrols on lhis screen are greal
il you wish lo lully calibrale
il. Lqually, gamers mighl sleer
away looking lor lhe super-high
relresh ol a TN design. owever,
lhose who don'l check oul
lhis screen could be missing
a signilicanl developmenl in
budgel priced displays, because
lhe 8L24!0PT is a greal all-
round monilor.
mm Mark Pickavance
A great 24" monitor
built speciHcally for
business users
wilhoul lhe same colour
accuracy over lhose exlreme
angles. The lrade-oll is
exceplional conlrasl, which
makes lhe colours ralher
punchy and vibranl, and a
slighlly lower relresh speed.
Thal could be an issue lor
lhose who game, bul we didn'l
nolice il had a poor relresh, and
8enQ quoles a very respeclable
4ms. l know early VA panels
had horrible relresh rales, bul
lhis recenl MVA design appears
lo have addressed many ol
lhose issues. ln lesling we also
came lo lhe conclusion lhal
lhe 8L24!0PT ollers a very
desirable lrue conlrasl ralio
and excellenl black levels.
Conneclion lo lhe screen
is by D-Sub VCA, DVl or
DisplayPorl. Why lhey didn'l
include DMl we're unsure,
bul il could pul some polenlial
punlers oll. ll's also a single
DP porl, so you can'l chain lhis
panel, unless il's lhe very lasl
one connecled.
l've seen user-aware
monilors belore, lhal use
Key Points
Panel: 24" MVA tCD tED
Resolution: 1920 x 1080
Brightness: 250 cdlm2
Contrast Ratio: 5000.1
Response Iime: 4 ms
lnterfaces: VGA, DVI-D,
DispIayPorI, 2 x U5

uaIity
VaIue

DveraII

Acer Asglre XC600 0esktog

ol everyone is a
gamer or designer
and needs
workslalion
perlormance. lor lhose a
relalively simple PC lhal won'l
break lhe bank is much more
appropriale. And, lhe Aspire
XC600 lrom Acer is designed
lo snugly lil lhal precise niche.
Acer's XC600 concepl
comes in a large range ol
specilicalion oplions, bul lhe
review model cosls jusl 350
inclusive, lor which you gel
a complele syslem minus lhe
monilor. Thal's a compuler,
mouse and keyboard, wilh
Windows 8 ome 64-bil pre-
inslalled. When you consider
lhal lhe OLM license lor lhal
OS cosls aboul 75, you gel a
hinl ol whal good value Acer
are ollering here.
The syslem is buill inlo one
ol lhose popular microATX
mini lower cases. ll's a SLC
sleel shell wilh a plaslic lacia,
lhough Acer has slyled il quile
0BTAILS
Frice: 350
Manufacturer: Acer
Website:
www.acer.cc.uk
kequired Spec: V6A cr
KDMI input mcnitcr
nicely. Al lhe lronl you've gol
a memory card reader, lronl
panel US8 and audio porls. ln
lhe rear lhere are more US8,
gigabil LAN and even space
lor lwo low proliles slols. One
ol lhese was occupied wilh
lhe lwo anlenna conneclors
lor lhe included wi-li, wilh
anolher available lor more
expansion. The provided
mouse and keyboard are bolh
wired, and neilher looks like
il's been designed lor much
long-lerm abuse.
So much lor lhe oulside,
bul whal aboul lhe inside? The
review model uses lnlel Core
i3-3220, a dual core CPU wilh
hyper-lhreading. Thal's a 3.3Cz
lvy 8ridge generalion chip, and
il's paired wilh lhe 6! 'Cougar
Poinl' Lxpress chipsel in lhis
conliguralion. Nol culling edge,
bul hardly ancienl lech eilher.
ll's a balance lhal suils lhe
inlended niche well.
Lxlending lhe basic
plallorm, Acer has added 4C8
ol Kingslon DDR3, a 500C8
hard drive and a DVD-Super
Mulli drive. Onboard video
is lhe lnlel inlegraled D
3000 variely, which is line lor
inlernel and general ollice
use, lhough nol somelhing
you'd wanl lo play games on.
Opening up lhe XC600 case
revealed a lew inleresling
lacls, nol all ol which were
good. Wi-li is provided by a
PCle x! card, and alongside
lhal is a physical x!6 PCle
What do you get for
350?
CPU: IhIel Core i3-3220
O5: Wihdows 8
RAN: 4C8
HDD: 500C8
Optical drive: DVD RW
Wireless LAN
lntegrated Graphic
2 Nemory 5lots
Warranty: 1YR R18
Wired Keyboard &
Nouse
Acer aims Io grab a sIice o! Ihe smaII !orm !acIor PC saIes, viIh Ihe Aspire XC600.

0N
TBST
Revlews
slol. Don'l gel loo exciled, l
said 'physical'. 8ecause lhe
lnlel 6! Lxpress chipsel only
provides six PCl lanes, so lhal
x!6 slol musl be al besl x4
and possibly x2 eleclronically.
Thal lacl makes lhe slol's
inclusion somewhal mool,
because a low-prolile video card
connecled wilh so lew lanes
isn'l going lo be much beller
lhan lhe inlegraled video. The
220 wall PSU Acer included
is also an obslruclion lo lhose
wilh expansion ambilions.
l also noliced lhal Acer
inslalled a single 4C8 slick
in one ol lhe lwo 240 pin
memory slols. Thal's greal lor
expansion possibililies, bul
reduces lhe syslem lo single
channel mode operalions,
making il slower lhan il really
needs lo be. Accessibilily also
isn'l good lo lhe memory slols,
as you need lo remove lhe
oplical drive lo gel lo bolh
ol lhem. To gel lhal oul you
need lo lake lhe lacia oll, loo.
The single posilive nuggel ol
inlormalion l gol lrom lhe
inlernal review is lhal Acer
included a decenl shrouded
cooler lrom CoolerMasler,
which ejecls mosl ol lhe
syslems heal very ellicienlly.
l was lempled lo give lhis
syslem a good kicking lor
only having VCA and DMl
oulpuls, bul no DVl - and
nol including US8 3.0 porls
on lhis model, or space lor
any addilional hard drives.
None ol lhese are necessilies,
lhough, and you could add
lhose missing porls using lhal
olherwise redundanl PCle slol
we discussed earlier.
`
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A small, cost effective PC
with many potential uses
but as many limitations
The biggesl mislake lhal
Acer made here was lo pul
Windows 8 on il, which
does nolhing posilive lor lhis
minimalisl solulion. The sorl ol
person who'd buy lhis syslem
won'l wanl Windows 8,
irrespeclive ol whal Microsoll
mighl have lold Acer.
Operaling syslem choices
aside, lhe Aspire X600 has
a more lhan acceplable
specilicalion lor lhe money
Acer is asking. ll's nol
somelhing lhal you could
easily expand il your demands
increase, bul il's much cheaper
lhan a lypical desklop PC wilh
lhese oplions. Those who wanl
an even sharper deal mighl
consider lhe Celeron or AMD
L-Series versions ol lhe XC600,
which can be had lor below
250. Or, conversely il you
pay a bil more you can have a
Core-i5 powered one.
The Aspire XC600 isn'l
wilhoul ils laulls, bul lor a
small business or anyone wilh
modesl requiremenls il's gol
mosl needs covered. Jusl don'l
assume you'll lurn il inlo a
gaming monsler al any poinl.
mm Mark Pickavance

uaIity
VaIue

DveraII

Rlse 0l The Trlad

hen Apogee
released ||se O| 1he
1r|ad back in !994,
originally as lhe
second parl ol Wollenslein 3D, il
was hailed as being an amazing
game wilh superb graphics and
longue-in-cheek, over lhe lop
gameplay. lasl lorward nineleen
years, and we now have lhe
remake courlesy ol lnlerceplor
Lnlerlainmenl. 8ul does il hold
up lo lhe lesl ol lime?
The ludicrous dial had been
lurned up lo laclor nine lor lhe
original |O11, lhe remake in lhis
respecl doesn'l disappoinl and
has possibly laken lhe dial and
added a lew more digils. The big
guns are back, lhe gore-
splallered ullra-violence is back,
lhe abilily lo change people inlo
a dog is back, and ol course lhe
insane leaping aboul is back.
The relro aspecl alone is
enough lor a lan ol lhe original
lo grab lheir wallel and lake lo
lhe Sleam Slore. owever,
despile lhis being a remake,
lhere's somelhing missing, which
you'll soon discover aller playing
lor a lew levels. soul.
Yes, lhe overall cheesy leel ol
lhe game is as presenl as il ever
was bul, ralher lhan being a
respecllul salule lo a game wilh
a noble herilage, lhis remake
plays like someone's allempl al
recrealing lhe pasl lhrough a
design-your-own-lPS lemplale.
There are plenly ol good poinls
lo lhe remake, bul lhere are also
many negalives, which seem lo
0BTAILS
Frice: 11.99
Manufacturer:
Interceptcr ntertainment
Website:
gcc.gIlc00c8W
kequired Spec: XF+,
2.46Kz CFu+, 268 kAM,
KD 3870l8800 61
mar lhe gameplay lo a poinl
which leaves you leeling a lillle
loo disappoinled.
There are elemenls where lhe
developers have laken lhe
original lormal and done a
decenl job. The gore level, lor
example, is lar more comical lhan
ever belore wilh exploding
enemies, severed limbs squirling
blood and lhe occasional eyeball
hilling lhe screen - il sounds
grim, bul aclually comes across as
being quile hilarious. The same
double pislol aclion is back,
somelhing lhal many an older
gamer can appreciale, as are lhe
hundreds ol secrel localions,
deslruclible scenery and hidden
noles/messages lrom lhe
programming leam. 8ul, lhe
aloremenlioned negalives lend lo
lake precedence aller only a lew
minules ol play.
Lel's slarl wilh lhe conlrols.
you zip around lhe map al
somelhing approaching Mach 5,
even lhe slighlesl press ol lhe 'W'
key will hurlle you lorward al a
rale ol knols inlo lhe enemy.
Aller a minule or so ol lhis, lwo
lhings become apparenl. The lirsl
OId schooI gaming geIs a !ace Ii!I
is lhe lruslralion ol lrying lo line
up a jump, or hide behind a
corner lrom gunlire, and lhe
second is an awlul leeling ol
seasickness and nausea.
The second problem comes
when you realise lhal lhis is
nolhing more lhan a seleclion ol
jumping puzzles. You have lo
jump lo avoid lhe lava, you have
lo jump lo gel pasl lhe lraps, you
have lo jump lo reach lhe
enemies on lhe upper levels.
There's jusl loo much jumping,
and when combined wilh lhe
erralic movemenl, you'll soon
bury your head in your hands.
linally, lhe mulliplayer
elemenl leels more like a lasl
minule addilion as opposed lo a
long-slanding lradilion in lhe
|O11 communily. Wilh only live
maps available, all ol which
seem a lillle loo small lor a lull
!6-player mash up, dealh comes
lasl and unlorgivingly.
This game has so much
polenlial, bul il's plagued wilh
bugs, perlormance issues and
odd choices lhal add up lo a
poor allempl al rekindling lhe
noslalgic leel ol lhe classic. ll's a
budgel game, wilh lons ol cheap
Sleam achievemenls and gags. A
high cheese laclor and
lhoroughly absurd lone made lhe
original, bul lhe remake lacks lhe
soul. mm David Hayvard
`
a
6RPHWKLQJV PLVVLQJ
ZKLFK
\RXOO GLVFRYHU DIWHU
SOD\LQJ
D IHZ OHYHOV VRXO
Far too many problems
mar this attempt to
reanimate a cult classic
i The enemies come thick and fast.
i Too many problems spoil the ROTT pot.

uaIity
VaIue

DveraII

0N
TBST
Revlews
0eslgner Pro X9

ver lhe pasl lew weeks

l've reviewed a number
ol Xara producls, as il
syslemalically updales
lhem all lo version X9. Now we
come lo ils llagship producl,
Designer Pro, which has also had
lhe X9 lag added lo ils lille,
bringing il in line wilh lhe resl ol
lhe company's graphic producls.
Designer Pro (lor lhose lhal
may nol know), combines lhree
ol Xara's graphic programs inlo
a single inlerlace. You gel Xara
Pholo and Craphic Designer,
Page and Layoul Designer and
Web Designer Premium all in
one combined package. This
ollers you lhe lools lo creale
jusl aboul anylhing graphics-
relaled you can dream up -
lrom image ediling, page layoul
and publishing, lo lhe crealion
ol a websile design complele
wilh aulomaled shopping carl
lacililies. This inlegralion won'l
save you much money
compared lo individual
purchases, bul il cerlainly makes
lor a more ellicienl workllow.
Designer Pro lakes less memory
lhan having mulliple programs
running, and ol course you
don'l need lo swilch belween
lhem anymore.
So whal's new here? Well like
lhe resl ol ils producl range
DPX9 has been updaled lo
64-bil. Taking advanlage ol lhe
exlra speed and more ellicienl
use ol mulli-core processors. ln
addilion, 64-bil syslems can
0BTAILS
Frice: 249.00
Manufacturer: Xara
Website:
www.xara.ccm
kequired Spec: InteI
CeIercn cr newer, cr
AMD Semprcn cr newerl
300 M8 KD Spacel 500
M8 kAMl Windcws XF,
Vista, 7 cr 8
makes lull use ol syslems wilh
more lhan 4C8 ol RAM. The
upshol ol lhis is lhal you can
handle much bigger liles,
wilhoul lhe hard drive bealing
il's brains oul swapping dala in
and oul. lncidenlally lhe
package includes bolh 32- and
64-bil versions, il you're syslem
isn'l up-lo-dale.
The individual elemenls wilhin
DPX9 have all been updaled,
making lhis one ol lhe mosl
versalile producls on lhe markel.
Allhough lhe inlerlace is
designed so lhal associaled lools
are presenled in lhe inlo bar,
lhey have now been
re-organised lo group lhem
more inluilively in lhe lly-oul
menus as well.
New lealures include a
8ackground Lraser lor images
lhal is easier lo use lhan mosl
olhers l've lried. As long as
lhere's a clear demarcalion
belween lhe background and
lhe objecl lo be erased, il works
very well. ll nol, il will remove
enough dala lo make lhe clean
up process much quicker.
Similarly lhe Pholo eal lool will
erase an objecl lrom an image
by simply painling over il. The
program analyses lhe area
around lhe objecl and has a slab
al replacing il wilh dala drawn
lrom lhe background. Once
again lhis works beller when lhe
objecl slands oul clearly lrom
lhe background.
ll you're working on a
documenl wilh lols ol lexl, lhe
new aulo column lealure will
aulomalically creale new
columns and allows lexl lo llow
belween lhem. ln lhe same way
once you reach lhe end ol a
page, a new one will be crealed
using lhe same layoul and
slruclure as lhe lasl. This version
also includes a direcl link lo over
1oe Lavery Iooks aI Xara's agship program, Designer Pro X9, Io see vhaI's nev
600 lree Coogle lonls, so you
can enhance documenls wilhoul
buying commercial lonls. The
package comes wilh a massive
seleclion ol lemplales, clip arl
and whole web sile lemplales
you can use wilhoul reslriclion.
These are prolessional qualily
and easily adapled lo your own
requiremenls using lhe new
drag and drop oplions lor
colour schemes, navigalion bars
and images.
The program also provides
supporl lor lhe lalesl TML5
and CSS3 lealures, which will
improve lhe download speed ol
your web pages. To round oll,
lhe package Xara has included a
lree Magix Online World web
hosling accounl, (lor one year),
plus a lree domain name, and
live e-mailboxes.
mm 1oe tavery
Xara Design Pro is the
complete package
for anything graphic
related
i Removing objects from their background works better when they're clearly defined
i Plenty of professional quality templates to get you started

uaIity
VaIue

DveraII



The Great Tech
Conspiracies
ln the wake of
Apple's most recent
legal setback, mark
Pckavance examines
some of the most
infamous technology
conspiracies

7(&+ &2163,5$&,(6

here are many conspiracy lheories. Many people aren'l

really happy wilh lhe ollicial view lhal John l Kennedy
was shol by Lee arvey Oswald and lhal Area 5! doesn'l
house crashed inlerslellar crall.
owever, some conspiracies aren'l cloaked in lhal level ol
myslery, and many ol lhem involve lechnology companies.
ln conlrasl lo lhe marvellously convoluled lheories aboul
conspiracies lhal ollen occupy space in lhe labloids, lhe ones
l've included have ollen been proven in a courl ol law.
Microsoft And lE
No good conspiracy colleclion would be complele wilhoul an
appearance or lwo by Microsoll. 8eing dominanl in any markel
does open a company lo accusalions ol running a monopoly.
And lhal's exaclly where Microsoll was when lhe US Deparlmenl
ol Juslice wenl aller il in !998, lor running a monopoly and
engaging in abusive praclices lo mainlain lhal posilion.
ll's worlh noling lhal lhe company had been in lhe spollighl
lor various dubious praclices going back lo !99!, and even
belore lhal.
Whal was conlended here was lhal Microsoll had included
lnlernel Lxplorer in Windows wilh lhe inlenlion ol deslroying
lhe business models ol olher browser makers.
Microsoll's counler-argumenl was lhal il had buill lL inlo
Windows in such a way lhal il could nol uncouple il, by way ol
remedy. owever, lhis was proven lo be rubbish in courl, and
il also revealed lhe lenglhs lo which Microsoll was prepared lo
go lo conlrol access lo lhe inlernel lhrough Windows.
lamously, Microsoll provided lwo video lapes lor lhe courl
lo view, one ol which purporled lo show how aller removing
lL, Windows wenl slower, and anolher lhal demonslraled
how easy il was lo inslall Nelscape inslead ol lL. The lirsl
lape Microsoll was lorced lo concede wasn'l "a seamless
segmenl", which il presenled il lo be. The second had
been ediled lo remove a long and complicaled parl ol lhe
Nelscape inslallalion procedure, and Microsoll laler admilled
was 'lalsilied'.
Microsoll losl lhe case, and in July 2000, lhe courl decided
lhal lhe besl remedy was lo break up Microsoll, separaling lhe
OS and applicalion divisions. owever, lhis never happened,
aller Microsoll vigorously appealed.
Whal did happen was lhal Microsoll was made lo include
a choice ol browsers wilh all Windows releases somelhing il
lorgol lo do in lhe LU, causing il lo incur a 56! million line
lor lailing lo comply wilh lhe anlilrusl selllemenl agreemenl.
When Microsoll launched Windows RT on lhe Surlace,
many wondered il lhis lrouble mighl relurn, because lhal OS
can only have lL as lhe Melro browser. owever, aller looking
al lhe limiled number ol devices sold, LU anlilrusl ollicials
have decided lhal lhey're nol going lo pursue Microsoll on
lhis poinl.
Microsoft Lock-in
Since il became a major player in lhe world ol compuling,
Microsoll, in ils own words, has operaled a syslem ol "embrace,
exlend and exlinguish" in respecl ol compeling producls. Whal
lhal means in realily is lhal once a slandard has been delined by
anolher company, Microsoll incorporales lhal inlo ils producls,
lhen add ils own lwisl lo il, belore banishing lhe originalor lrom
lhe markel.
ll mosl lamously did lhis wilh Slac Lleclronics, which developed
a real-lime compression lechnology called Slacker. Microsoll
copied lhe idea and aclually used some ol Slac's code when il
produced DoubleSpace, which il included wilh MS-DOS 6.0.
To avoid lhe subsequenl courl case, Microsoll evenlually
boughl Slac, aller sellling lhe case by making a 39.9m
inveslmenl and paying $43m in royallies.
Since lhis lime, and aller being convicled as a monopolisl,
Microsoll is generally more sublle when wanling lo oblain
olher companies' inlelleclual properly. Slill, some ol ils old ways
ol doing lhings emerged when il decided il wanled lo grasp
conlrol ol lhe open documenl lormal OpenOllice.org XML.
This was a reaclion lo lhe spread ol open documenl lormals,
wilh many privale seclor operalions relusing lo use proprielary
lormals, like lhose prelerred by Microsoll in Ollice.
OpenOllice.org XML crealed a slandard, approved by lSO,
and many cuslomers demanded lhal Microsoll use il. lnslead, il
crealed lhe slrangely similar sounding Ollice Open XML, which
wasn'l enlirely 'open', and lhen il lried lo ram il down lhe
lhroals ol lhe lSO slandards organisalion.
8y way ol lasl-lracking Ollice Open XML (OOXML) lhrough
lSO, lhe numbers ol lSO represenlalives in various geographic
localions mysleriously swelled, who lhen all voled lo make il
a slandard, even il il wasn'l aclually a compleled delinilion al
lhe lime. There was oulrage in lhe lSO communily, as many ol
lhose invesled in lhe slandards body lell lhe way Microsoll had
gone aboul allempling lo manipulale il ullerly undermined lhe
repulalion lor imparlialily lhe organisalion had worked so hard
lo cullivale.
Aller been rejecled in 2008, Microsoll has since had lSO
29500 approved, bul lhe damage lo lhe approval syslem and
Microsoll's slanding among olher members has been severe.
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lntel And Rambus
When lnlel lirsl inlroduced lhe Penlium 4, il was a radically
dillerenl design lrom all ils previous processors, using lhe
revolulionary concepl ol Nel8ursl archileclure.
Along wilh new inlernal organisalion, lhe new P4 syslems
also had enlirely new molherboards, supporl chips and
an enlirely new lype ol memory (Direcl Rambus DRAM
or DRDRAM).
The new chips weren'l cheap, bul lhe exclusively licensed
memory lechnology cosl a small lorlune. So much, in lacl, lhal
in lhe early syslems lnlel gave away some DRDRAM modules
wilh each syslem, as a way ol cushioning lhe blow.
lnlel argued lhal lhe new chips needed grealer bandwidlh,
and lhe only way lo provide lhis was wilh special DRDRAM, and
nol lhe DDR2 lhal AMD chose.
This proved lo be spurious inlormalion, because soon
allernalive chipsels lrom lhe likes ol SiS and VlA proved lhal
Penlium 4 and DDR2 were good bedlellows, and lhe cosl ol
lhal memory was musl less prohibilive.
Long belore lhis, lhough, lhose large companies involved
in RAM manulacluring had begun lo smell a ral, and lhal
aroma appeared lo be coming lrom lhe crealor ol DRDRAM,
Rambus lnc.
The inilial source ol lhese misgivings was when lnlel
announced lhal Rambus had enlered inlo a developmenl and
license conlracl and lhal il would only supporl lhe Rambus
memory inlerlace lor ils microprocessors in lhe lulure. As parl
ol lhis deal, lnlel also gol a million Rambus shares, al $!0 per
share. lnlel lhen bankrolled Micro Technology lo lhe lune ol
$500 million lor il lo make DRDRAM and gave anolher $!00m
lo Samsung Lleclronics lor il lo do lhe same.
Whal coloured lhis enlire exercise was lhal Rambus was a
member ol lhe JLDLC, lhe semiconduclor induslry organisalion
lhal sels slandards, so il was privy lo lhe inlormalion lhal llows
in slandards meelings.
To join JLDLC, a company musl sign nondisclosure
agreemenls, because once presenled lo lhe organisalion lor
'slandards', lhe inlelleclual properly ol lhal parly becomes
public domain. Very soon, lhese basic requiremenls lor enlry
caused problems, because JLDLC wouldn'l allow Rambus
lo presenl DRDRAM lechnology lor slandards, and Rambus
wouldn'l release ils designs lrom lhe palenls il had crealed.
Civen lhal Rambus knew whal lhe price ol enlry was, many
began lo wonder whal ils lrue inlenlions were.
This all came lo a head when Rambus was accused ol
modilying ils palenls lo include inlormalion il had gained in lhe
JLDLC circle aller il lell, and memory makers lnlineon, Micron,
and ynix conspired by selling SDRAM cheaply lo knock Rambus
oul ol lhe PC memory markel.
Rambus was charged wilh anlilrusl violalions lhrough ils
use ol palenls, and il sued seven memory manulaclurers lor
royallies on SDRAM and DDR lechnologies. A case delermined
lhal Rambus had lraudulenlly claimed il owned SDRAM and
DDR lechnology, allhough lhis was inilially reversed on appeal.
The lirsl lawsuils llew in 2000, and some are slill ongoing. ln
20!!, Rambus losl lhe anlilrusl case againsl Micron Technology
and ynix Semiconduclor, and a couple ol monlhs laler, one
ol lhe key palenls al lhe hearl ol lhis was declared invalid,
i Alfred P Censullo pleads guilty to obstructing the grand jury in their
attempts to investigate the price-fixing of DRAM
i AUO president Paul Peng explaining that it's business as usual for the LCD
panel maker, after a $500M fine and three former senior execs went to jail

7(&+ &2163,5$&,(6
aller lhe lwo olhers key palenls involved had already been
invalidaled. Rambus had previously won inlringemenl cases
againsl NVidia and P using lhese palenls, so l guess lhey'll
wanl lheir money back.
Whal's mosl amazing aboul lhis slory is how lnlel, one ol
lhe crilical elemenls in lhe inilially slrong posilion ol Rambus,
rapidly dislanced ilsell lrom lhe lechnology once il had decided
lhal il wasn'l helping lo sell compulers.
The penelralion ol DRDRAM never exceeded 5 ol lhe PC
markel, and lhere are probably very lew syslems using il slill in
use loday.
Rambus, lor ils ellorls, has become a company ol noloriely,
a symbol lor lhose more inleresled in legally lrolling lheir
compelilors lhan genuinely innovaling.
Thal said, Rambus has since developed XDR RAM lechnology,
which lound ils way inlo lhe PS3, bul ils ambilions lo rule lhe
PC memory markel appear lo be lar behind il.
DRAM Fixing
As a sideline lo lhe Rambus scheming, il's now apparenl lhal
some ol olhers involved in memory lechnology are capable ol
conspiring againsl each olher and lhe DRAM markel.
ln 2002, The Uniled Slales Deparlmenl ol Juslice, acling
lhrough lhe Sherman Anlilrusl Acl, slarled an invesligalion
inlo lhe lixing ol 'spol' DRAM pricing belween manulaclurers.
ll was a series ol complainls lrom lhe likes ol Dell and
Caleway lhal caused lhem lo become inleresled, and once
locused on lheir lask, il wasn'l long belore lhe DOJ uncovered
lhe unpleasanl lrulh.
ll appears lhal lor a very long lime lhe price ol DRAM was
decided on lhe goll course by lhe senior people in lhis seclor,
who wilhheld slock lo hold lhe price high while manulacluring
enough RAM lo make lhe cosl dive.
The problem lor lhe memory companies was lhal lhe quoled
prices ol lheir producls showed a wholly unrealislic synchronism
lhal could only be managed by collusion.
Those who have since admilled lhal lhey operaled a DRAM
pricing carlel include ynix, lnlineon, Micron Technology,
Samsung and Llpida.
Some companies wenl lurlher lhan olhers in allempling lo
obscure lheir involvemenl. Allred P Censullo, a regional sales
manager lor Micron Technology lnc. ended up being charged
wilh obslruclion ol juslice, aller he wilhheld and allered
documenls in responsive lo a grand jury subpoena.
Some very large lines were handed oul, wilh lnlineon and
ynix being lined $!60m and $!85m respeclively.
ll you lhoughl lhal mighl cure lhis malady, you could be
wrong. Larlier lhis year, new accusalions aboul DRAM price
lixing emerged, aller lhe demand lor memory wenl down (less
PCs being sold), yel lhe spol prices wenl higher.
Wilh only lhree major companies lell operaling in lhis seclor
(Samsung Lleclronics, SK ynix Semiconduclor and Micron
Technology), lhe DOJ doesn'l need lo look loo lar lor lhose
polenlially involved.
LCD lnflation
When llal panel displays lirsl hil lhe markel, lhey were
oulrageously expensive. l recall seeing horrilic lailure levels lor
i One of the many smoking guns in the Apple e8ook conspiracy
i 1ames Murdoch, who Steve 1obs invited to fix ebook prices, before he appeared to
explain about phone hacking in the News of the World

lhese producls, wilh some quoling a less lhan 5 success rale
lor early produclion.
Soon lhose slories wenl away, lhough, bul lhe prices ol even
small panels remained slubbornly high lhrough 200! lo 2006,
belore a dramalic lall.
An l8l invesligalion revealed how lhal worked, aller lhey
discovered lhal lhe lop-level execulives lrom a number ol
Asian manulaclurers ol LCD panels all mel in a Taiwan holel
jusl aller lhe 9/!! allack in 200! and agreed lo lix lhe price
ol LCD panels on a global basis. lor lhe lollowing lour years,
lhe conspiralors mel each monlh lo exchange produclion,
shipping, supply, demand and pricing inlormalion, unlil a
problem arose in mid-2005.
The issue was lhal olher LCD panel makers, oulside lhe
price-lixing group had become aware ol lhese laclics, so lhe
meelings were moved lo less easily bugged ouldoor localions
and lewer senior people allended. The level ol paranoia
ramped up lurlher when lhe DOJ DRAM invesligalion began
lo bile, and al lhis poinl only pairs ol conspiralors would meel
in public places. Lven lhese laclics weren'l enough lo obscure
lhe manipulaled pricing, and evenlually lhe l8l caughl up wilh
lhose involved.
AU Oplronics Corporalion, lhe largesl Taiwanese producer
and seller ol LCD panels, received a $500m line, and lwo ol ils
lormer lop execulives were senlenced lo lhree years in a lederal
penilenliary lor lheir roles in lhis conspiracy.
Ullimalely, lhough, lor lhe company lhe line was probably
worlh il. The l8l eslimaled lhal worldwide lhe conspiralors
sold $7!.9 billion in price-lixed panels, and AU Oplronics Corp.
alone shilled $2.34 billion in price-lixed panels lo jusl lhe
Uniled Slales.
Up lo lhis poinl, none ol lhose who paid lor lhese arlilicially
inllaled prices has been recompensed in any way lor lheir losses.
Apple And The Ebook
lor a really good conspiracy, you need some vilal componenls.
mosl nolably olher conspiralors and a liendishly cunning plan.
Apple's allempl lo wreslle lhe ebook markel lrom Amazon has
bolh lhose and lashings ol hubris on lhe parl ol lhe lech gianl
lor good measure.
Apple's plan was lo hike up lhe price ol ebooks so lhal
il wouldn'l compele on price wilh Amazon, because on
price il was always going lo lose. To do lhis, il would need
lhe complicily ol lhe big publishers, namely arperCollins,
Macmillan Publishers, Penguin 8ooks, Simon & Schusler, and
achelle 8ook Croup, lnc.
lrom lhe case evidence, we now know il crealed a pricing
carlel agreemenl, presenled il lo lhese publishers and gained
lheir collusion.
Whal parlly caughl oul Apple was lhe ego ol il deceased
CLO, who bragged aboul how he'd broughl Amazon lo heel by
bringing pressure lo bear on lhe book publishers. ln an inlerview
where when a reporler asked aboul Amazon's $9.99 price lor
ebooks, Jobs lold him lhal soon all prices would "be lhe same".
ow did he know lhal? Simple. he was conslrucling a series ol
'agency agreemenls' lhal would lorce lhe price ol ebooks up,
againsl prevailing markel lorces.
e also wrole an email lo James Murdoch asking him lo
"Throw in wilh Apple", so lhey could make $!2.99 or $!4.99
a book, and nol lhe $9.99 Amazon was ollering. ln lhe same
mail, he also asked Murdoch lo hold back his books lrom
Amazon, as a means lo lighl piracy, bizarrely.
Apple delended il aclions, saying lhal il was possible lhal il
acled in a way lhal was lawlul, because il wasn'l a conspiracy,
jusl accidenlally coincidenlal. ll also said lhal wilhoul Apple's
involvemenl, many books would never have come inlo lhe
ebook markel, al any price.
Thal lasl pilch lell very llal, because hislorically only 37
ebook lilles were wilhheld, and Apple didn'l produce any
evidence lo suggesl lhal lhis number would have rapidly
grown. Publishers and wrilers in general preler selling lheir
books over nol selling lhem.
Aller a very long case where Dislricl Judge Denise Cole ol
New York was lorced lo conclude lhal, indeed, "compelling
evidence" ol Apple's wrongdoing in lhis case did exisl, and il
was guilly ol a violalion ol lederal anlilrusl law.
Al lhis poinl, all ils co-conspiralors had already admilled
lheir parl in lhis and paid lines accordingly, so Apple's
insislence lhal il did no wrong appears lrom a layman's
perspeclive lo be mildly bonkers. Al leasl il seems lhal way
when you consider lhal il's already admilled in guill in lhe LU
version ol lhe same case!
lor whalever slralegic reasons, Apple has decided lo appeal
lhis decision, so lhe case is heading lo lhe second circuil
level, and given il's legal lenacily, probably lhe Supreme Courl
aller lhal.
The new lhrusl lhal Apple's legal leam is allegedly pursuing
is lhal il was Amazon's monopolislic conlrol ol lhe markel (lhe
one il crealed) lhal should have been an anli-lrusl case, and
Apple was only balancing lhings up by conspiring againsl il.
Cood luck wilh lhal argumenl, Apple.
g 1ame R Clapper,
director of the NSA,
who probably saw 'A
Iew Good Men' and
wondered why 1ack
Nicholson didn't just
shoot Tom Cruise and
end the conversation
right there. "ou can't
handle the truth!"
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7(&+ &2163,5$&,(6
Prism
There have long been slories aboul a ClA super-compuler syslem
codenamed Lchelon lhal could spy on all lorms ol eleclronic
communicalions lo idenlily crilical keywords and lhose ol
inleresl lo lhe securily services.
owever, whenever anyone lrom lhal communily was
inlerviewed lhey'd always suggesl lhal lhis was lanlasy,
8ond-esque junk and lhal il's nol lhe job ol lhese securily
organisalions lo spy on lheir own cilizens. Really?
Whal gave some credence lo lhese asserlions was lhe way
lhal lhose involved in lhe 9/!! allacks kepl coming up on
various securily service radars, yel nobody reacled lo lhe very
obvious lhreal.
Then along comes Ldward Snowden, ex-NSA operalive,
who lolally spilled lhe beans on PRlSM, which does prelly
much whal Lchelon was supposed lo do, bul il's nol made
up by ollywood.
Whal was lascinaling aboul lhese revelalions was lhal
while lhe Obama adminislralion generally acknowledged lhe
program's exislence, lhe lech companies also involved in lhe
global snooping have been quick lo deny lhal lhey had given
lhe NSA any sorl ol direcl access lo lheir servers. Well, lhey
did inilially, and lhen lhey basically said, lhrough very carelully
phrased words, lhal lhe NSA does have access.
ln lhe meanlime, Snowdon, who slill isn'l under lock and key,
as lhe USA would like, has revealed lhe deplh ol lheir deceil,
specilically calling oul Microsoll lor how il has gone oul ol ils
way lo help lhe NSA in whalever way il can.
According lo documenls oblained by lhe Cuardian, Microsoll
provided lhe NSA wilh a means lo decrypl secured emails,
lap web chals lhrough Oullook.com and lislen lo encrypled
Skype calls. Wilh ils help, lhe NSA has lripled lhe number ol
inlercepled Skype calls in lhe pasl year, and wilh new help
il recenlly gained access lo lhe Sky Drives ol Microsoll's 250
million users.
aving been caughl being lrugal wilh lhe lrulh, Microsoll
issued a slalemenl. "When we upgrade or updale producls,
we aren'l absolved lrom lhe need lo comply wilh exisling or
lulure lawlul demands." ll claimed lhal any access is only
provided "in response lo governmenl demands, and we only
ever comply wilh orders lor requesls aboul specilic accounls
or idenliliers".
Microsoll isn'l special in lhis respecl according lo Snowden
and The Cuardian, who claim lhey also have unlellered access
lo lhe syslems ol Apple, Coogle, lacebook and Yahoo.
owever, whal all good conspiracies need is some solid
misinlormalion, which is whal lhe Obama adminislralion and
lhe NSA has been providing lor a while on lhis subjecl.
ln an inlerview lhal Obama gave on P8S's Char||e |ose 5how
in June 20!3, he said, "Whal l can say unequivocally is lhal il
you are a US person, lhe NSA cannol lislen lo your lelephone
calls and lhe NSA cannol largel your emails."
Well, plausible deniabilily aside, lhal's jusl nol lrue, is il Mr
Presidenl?
owever, lhe besl liar lhal Ldward Snowdon has llushed
oul so lar musl be James Clapper, Direclor ol lhe NSA. e was
called belore lhe US Congress lo explain lhe exlenl ol NSA
operalions and was queslioned by Senalor Ron Wyden lhree
monlhs ago. ere's whal was said.
Wyden. Does lhe NSA collecl any lype ol dala al all on millions
or hundreds ol millions ol Americans?
CIapper. No sir.
Wyden. ll does nol?
CIapper. Nol willingly. There are cases where lhey could,
inadverlenlly perhaps, collecl bul nol willingly.
Well, we now know lhal was a blalanl lie. Clappers delence
was lo say he had "responded in whal l lhoughl was lhe mosl
lrulhlul, or leasl unlrulhlul manner by saying no." Lh?
e lhen apologised lo Congress lor lying lo lhem, claiming
lhal he had lorgollen aboul lhe Palriol Acl, which makes
lying lo lhem a crime, and lherelore had given an "clearly
erroneous" answer.
To clarily. Clapper was lollowing a secrel rule sel, laws lhal
even Congress aren'l allowed lo know aboul, which allowed
him lo misinlorm lhem, because lelling lhe lrulh lo lhose who
make American law would damage nalional securily.
You couldn'l make lhis slull up, even il you were John
le Carre.
The US seems very inlenl on painling Snowdon as lhe bad
guy in all lhis, despile him jusl being lhe messenger, and quickly
lorgelling lhal nolhing he's lold us so lar has proven lo be
unlrue. The conspiracy aspecl ol lhis slory seems lo run lrom
lhe lowesl NSA operalives lo lhe very lop, lew ol whom wanl
lo be coloured as unpalriolic.
The One That Got Away
While researchihg Ihis piece, I've seeh plehIy o! cohspiracy
Iheories IhaI haveh'I beeh proveh, some o! which are
more compellihg Ihah oIhers.
Ohe IhaI keeps croppihg up is Ihe uhproveh Iheory
IhaI Apple mighI have ihIehIiohally losI ah iPhohe 4 ih a
bar hoI lohg be!ore lauhch Io obIaih a hews big sIory oh
Ihe producI. MisIakes happeh, buI iI does seem surprisihg
IhaI Apple ehgiheers were able Io Iake a highly sehsiIive
proIoIype o!! campus ahd Iheh misplace iI ih a public
place, be!ore iI magically made iIs way ihIo Ihe hahds o!
a Iech blogger aI Cizmodo.
CrisI ih Ihis parIicular rumour mill was boosIed wheh
a year laIer ah almosI verbaIim pre-reveal o! Ihe iPhohe
5 Irahspired Ihrough ah idehIical loss scehario, sIreIchihg
credibiliIy o! Apple's dehials somewhaI.
Nohe o! us cah khow !or sure whaI happehed, buI
iI seems Io come dowh Io a choice o! Iwo possibiliIies.
EiIher Apple employs some o! Ihe clumsiesI ehgiheers
available ahd has Ihe worsI developmehI securiIy oh Ihe
plaheI or iI cohspired Io geI iIs phohe's big hews sIories
Iwo years ruhhihg wiIh Ihe same ruse.

M
osl ol us were around when lhe TML-driven world
wide web kicked oll, so we have a cerlain allinily wilh il
and how il operales. We have a good idea, lor example,
which siles lhal are likely lo conlain lo somelhing dodgy,
and which conlain valid resources or lruslworlhy opinions or reviews.
We know lhal we aren'l lhe one millionlh cuslomer, and lo nol click
lhe banner. owever, above all, we know how lo use a search engine
elleclively. Don'l we?
A search engine is more lhan likely lo be your lirsl porl ol call when
you lire up your browser. Regardless ol your weapon ol choice, il's
where prelly much every ilem ol inlernel conlenl can be lound, bul il
can eilher be your lriend in lhe vasl digilal universe or your enemy.
Whal amazes us, and probably some ol you loo, is how inelleclive
some people are al searching lhe inlernel. Lven wilh lhe some ol mosl
powerlul algorilhmic search lools lhis side ol CCQ al lheir lingerlips,
cerlain people jusl can'l seem lo gel whal lhey wanl.
So, il you're one ol lhem (or you know someone who would benelil
lrom lhis arlicle being lacllully lell lying around where lhey'll see il),
we'll nol slarl wilh some search basics and see where il lakes us. We're
using lhe mosl popular search engines, Coogle, seeing as lhal's whal
lhe majorily ol basic users will be using. Olher search engines are
available, lhough. see lhe boxoul lor delails (or search Coogle).
RTFM: ReadTheFriendlyManual
Mosl search engines come wilh some kind ol help, or a basic
lulorial. Though lhe 'ow lo search wilh Coogle' link has long since
disappeared, lhe world's mosl popular is no exceplion. You can slill gel
some much needed advice on lhe besl melhods ol searching by visiling
goo.gIlWuORdA and working lhrough lhe page.
Likewise, many ol lhe olher popular search engines, such as
DuckDuckCo, Wollram and Dogpile also have a similar help syslem.
BePrecise
8eing prepared lo aclually is one ol lhe mosl undervalued skills
when laced wilh lhe search engine. Whal are you looking lor? Jusl
opening up Coogle and slaring al il lor inspiralion isn'l going lo gel
you very lar, so lhink aboul whal il is you wanl lo look lor and when
you do, lry and be as precise as possible aboul il.
lor example searching lor 'walch' will yield millions ol resulls, bul
adding 'walch ballery' will locus lhe search. More so, searching lor
'changing a walch ballery' will be even more precise and lo cap il
oll searching lor 'change lhe ballery ol a men's Sekonda walch' will
narrow down lhe possibililies lo lhe page you aclually need.
ll's simple slull, bul can help save you a lol ol lime in lronl ol lhe
PC silling lhrough unnecessary page hils.
EliminateUnnecessaryWords
ln addilion lo lhe above lip, also consider gelling rid ol words lhal
would conluse or add lo lhe hils unnecessarily. lollowing lhe example
above, il you were lo add 'how lo change lhe ballery ol a men's
Sekonda walch', lhe 'how lo' parl will more lhan likely add relerences
lo siles relaling lo lhose words. So as well as lhe walch sile you're
inleresled in you'll also gel a lol ol needless enlries added lo lhe mix.
SearchOperators
Using quolalions can help lo make a more specilic search. Consider lhe
lollowing. you're looking lor a song lille, and you only know a lew ol
lhe lyrics. ln lhis case you could use a sel ol quoles lo help lhe search.
ecome a search engine ninja, vith
a IittIe heIp !rom David Hayward
How-to Baslcs
Bllectlve Internet
8earchlng
i The Google search help information can help the absolute beginner i Using operators to target your search

+2:72 %$6,&6
Typing "here I sIand head in hand" (nole quoles in bold are enlered
loo) will bring up lhe ||de Your |ove Away by The 8ealles, wilh lyrics
and a link lo an audio clip.
Addilionally, using a colon can lell lhe search engine lo look only
wilhin a sile or a domain lor you query. lor example.
Micro MarI siIe.Wikipedia.org will nalurally search Wikipedia lor all
inslances ol ||cro |ar|.
Similar lo lhe above, you can also search lor pages lhal link lo a URL
by including lhe 'link.' operalor. lor example.
Iink.bbc.co.uk will lisl all siles ullimalely linking lo vvv.bbc.co.uk.
And, il's also worlh knowing lhal you add a 'relaled.' operalor lo lind
siles lhal are similar lo a cerlain URL. lor example.
reIaIed.bbc.co.uk will lisl siles lhal are similar in conlenl lo lhe 88C.
KnowWhenToGiveUp
Searching lhrough lhree hundred million hils on walch balleries would
require a lol ol palience, and be a lolal wasle ol lime. The basic rule is
simple. il lhe specilic ilem you're searching lor hasn'l appeared in lhe
lirsl 50 siles, lhen give up and lry a dillerenl varialion lo lhe search.
While lhe inlernel is super massive and conlains virlually everylhing,
lhere are some lhings which won'l appear. The address ol lhe girl you
wenl oul wilh when you were sixleen, lor example. So be prepared
lo be brulal, precise and ellicienl when you search and il il's nol lhere
lhen lry anolher angle.
UseDifferent SearchEngines
Coogle may well be lhe world's mosl popular search engine, bul il's lar
lrom being perlecl. ll you're researching somelhing specilic, lhen open
up a lew olher nolable search engines in new browser labs and make
use ol whal lhey have lo oller. Lach search engine does lhings slighlly
dillerenlly or uses a dillerenl algorilhm lo work oul lhe resulls, so be
dillerenl yoursell and ulilise lhe slrenglhs and weaknesses ol lhe lop
live search engines lo lurlher narrow your search.
BeWebFriendly
Search engines only malch lhe words you use lo lhe words lhal
aclually appear on lhe web pages lhey have analysed. So, as Coogle
so eloquenlly pul il, ralher lhan searching lor 'my head hurls' use
'headache' inslead. To expand lhis lurlher, and wilhoul using Coogle's
pililul example, spend a momenl or lwo lo learn lhe basic lingo ol
lhe ilems you're searching lor. So ralher lhan 'old compuler games',
inslead learn lhe web vocabulary via numerous idenlical siles lo narrow
lhe search lo 'relro DOS games'.
SearchEngineMagic
lew people realise lhal lhe search engine lhese days is capable
ol a lol more lhan simply searching. You can lind oul all sorls
ol up lo lhe second inlormalion wilh a very simple search and
you're likely lo gel a resull lhal's inleraclive as well. As an
example, lry lhis.
Typing WeaIher tovesIofI will display lhe currenl wealher in
Lowesloll, along wilh a weekly lorecasl and oplions lo change
lhe graph and read oul. Providing you live in Lowesloll lhal's
quile handy. Olher lown names can be used. Cilies loo.
There are also olher ilems ol inleresl available, such as.
45 x 80 will reveal a search engine based calculalor (il can be any
calculalion, by lhe way).
Currency, will bring up a currency converler.
Define ubiquiIous, will display lhe diclionary delinilion ol
'ubiquilous'
Lnlering a llighl number will bring up lhe limes, airporls and so on.
Think Before You Leap
linally, consider lhe words you use when searching. Whal may
seem innocenl lo you, may mean somelhing else enlirely in
inlernel speak. Many a lime we've looked up somelhing and
lound il has a double meaning and poinls lo an unsavoury sile.
Thal's our excuse, anyway.
Other SearchEngines
NoI everyohe likes Coogle, iI is a!Ier all Ihe all-seeihg search
ehgihe. So why hoI give some o! Ihese a Iry:
DuckDuckGo: Per!ecI !or ahohymous searchihg ahd preIIy
quick Ioo.
Wolfram|Alpha: A more academic ihspired search ehgihe,
good !or sIaIs ahd well worIh a look
5tartPage: Uses Coogle, buI keeps you ahohymous.
Blekko: A spamsa!e search ehgihe.
DogPile: Doesh'I souhd parIicularly hice, buI iI searches
Coogle, Yahoo ahd 8ihg Io brihg you combihed resulIs
i DuckDuckGo, ideal for anonymity i DogPile is quite an impressive search engine by all accounts

ow many ol us aclually know whal programs are

available in a slandard build ol Windows? Sure, we
know all aboul Nolepad, Wordpad, MSConlig and so
on, bul whal aboul localor.exe, MigAuloPlay or Selx.exe?
Whal on earlh do lhey do?
We look lhe lime lo go lhrough lhe lisl ol delaull inslalled
programs and applicalions, lo see whal each one does and lo
queslion whelher lhey aclually have any use or nol. As il lurns
oul, il was quile a lask, as many ol lhese programs are barley
documenled, never mind linding oul how lhey lunclion.
Now, aller plenly ol collee and chocolale biscuils, we bring
you lhis lisl ol buill-in Windows programs, lisling as many ol lhe
programs you're likely lo lind in a slandard inslall ol Windows 7
and 8 (minus lhe newer Melro-esque slull).

AdapterIroubleshooter: Adapler Troubleshooler is an MS

lool lhal's used alongside lhe graphics subsyslem ol Windows.
As ils name suggesls, il's parl ol lhe wizard lhal launches when
you have lrouble wilh lhe display.
Aitagent: The Ailagenl or Applicalion lmpacl Telemelry-
agenl has somelhing lo do wilh lhe .NLT lramework and
lhe Windows CardSpace User lnlerlace Agenl, apparenlly.
According lo inlernel law, il's lhe scheduled lask parl ol
Applicalion lmpacl Telemelry (AlT), which runs nighlly lo
consume lhe evenls logged lo Lvenl Tracing lor Windows
(LTW) by lhe AlT Runlime syslem and send lhem back lo
Microsoll using SQM. Sounds ominous.
Alg: The Applicalion Layer Caleway is a service lhal's used il
you have a lhird-parly lirewall or use lCS (inlernel conneclion
sharing) lo connecl lo lhe inlernel.
Appidcertstorecheck: Aside lrom being a bil ol moulhlul,
il's a parl ol lhe secure cerlilicale lunclions wilhin Windows.
Whenever you creale or use a cerlilicale, lhis program lires up
and checks lor aulhenlicily. ll's also used when you log inlo
Windows and can be aulo-run when lhe UAC appears.
ARP: ARP is a command-line program lhal displays and modilies
enlries in lhe Address Resolulion Prolocol, which is where
resolved lP addresses are slored. You can use il as arp a lo
display lhe conlenls.
At: lhe Al command, anolher command line program,
schedules commands lo run on lhe local or a remole compuler
al a specilied lime and dale. Type al /? lor more inlo.
AtBroker: Al8roker is a parl ol lhe Windows Assislive
Technology Manager colleclion ol programs. ll's primarily used
lo check credenlials and conneclions when you log inlo anolher
Windows compuler via RDP (Remole Desklop). ll's usually lhe
program lhal causes login problems remolely, il you kill il, lhen
log in, you should gel a lresh inslance and success.
Attrib: Allrib is an old DOS program lhal's slill wilh us. ll
displays or allers lhe allribules ol liles and lolders wilhin lhe
OS. lor example, allrib. r will clear lhe Read Only llag on a lile.
Ol Puilt-in
Windows
Programs

%8,/7,1 :,1'2:6
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Audiodg: Audiodg, Windows Audio Device Craph lsolalion,
is a program lhal's run aulomalically in conjunclion wilh your
audio drivers. lls basic use is lo slop malicious conlenl lrom
modilying audio plug-ins or conlenl.
Auditpol: Audilpol is used lo display and edil audil policies lor
each compuler or lhe lrom lhe server via lhe command line. To
use, lry audilpol /gel, bul only il you're allached lo a nelwork
wilh a server running group policies.
Autochk: Aulochk is a version ol Chkdsk lhal will only run
on NTlS drives. ll will auloslarl and check lhe inlegrily ol
lhe lile syslem and drive il a user lries lo run Chkdsk on lhe
bool volume.
Autoconv: Auloconv is lhe slarlup-run program lhal's
inilialed by Converl.exe. ll will converl a lile syslem lrom lAT
and lAT32 lo NTlS, leaving lhe exisling liles and direclory
slruclure inlacl.
Autofmt: Aulolml will lormal a drive or parlilion, bul only il's
called lrom lhe Recovery Console.
AxlnstUl: AxlnslUl is a parl ol lhe AcliveX lnslaller Syslem. ll's
also quile well known lo be inlecled by viruses, especially lhe
Trojan downloader Win32/Camec.C.
B
Baaupdate: Nolhing lo do wilh sheep, il's aclually lhe
8ilLocker Access Agenl Updale Ulilily, which updales access
lo 8ilLocked drives and areas lrom a cenlral server or lhe
command program.
Bcdboot: 8cdbool allows you lo sel up a syslem parlilion or
lo repair lhe currenl bool environmenl in lhe syslem parlilion.
ll works by copying a sel ol 8ool Conliguralion Dala liles lo lhe
parlilion in queslion. lor example, bcdbool c.\windows /l en-gb
/s d. will copy lhe 8CD liles lrom Windows lo a second DD (d.)
wilh Lnglish C8 language as lhe delaull.
Bcdedit: More 8CD slull. 8cdedil is a command-line program
lor managing lhe 8CD liles and changing lheir paramelers.
Using bcdedil /? will bring up a lisl ol available commands.
BdeHdCfg: 8dedClg is used lo prepare a drive or parlilions
lor 8ilLocker encryplion. Nol ollen used, il can be sel as a
remole execule when a work/nelwork PC is powered up and
logged on.
BdeUl5rv: 8deUlSrv is lhe user inlerlace and launcher lor
8ilLocker, which is run in conjunclion wilh.
BitLockerWizard: Which is ol course, lhe wizard Ul lor
8ilLocker encryplion.
Bitsadmin: 8ilsadmin is a command line program lhal can
be used lo creale download or upload jobs and monilor lheir
progress. ll's worlh a play around wilh, as 8lTS now supporls
TTP/TTPS, UNC palhs and lile.// palhs.
Bootcfg: 8oolclg conligures and changes lhe 8ool.ini syslem
lile sellings.
Bridgeunattended: According lo Microsoll,
8ridgeunallended is used lo supporl 'bridgeres' and programs
lhal link lo olher lhird-parly programs. elplul lhal.
BrowserChoice: Due lo a legal selllemenl wilh lhe Luropean
Commission, poor old Microsoll was required lo oller ils users
a choice ol which browser lo use. This is lhe program lhal runs
lhe choice. You can almosl hear MS growl whenever il's run.
CertiHcate Enrolment Control:
The Boring Stuff
JusI Io prove we do acIually read sIu!! !rom Iime Io Iime,
here's Ihe !ull explahaIioh o! whaI CerIi!icaIe EhrolmehI
CohIrol does, courIesy o! Microso!I:
"Certificate Lnrolment Control can be used by an
application that must request that a certificate be
issued to a named subject. lt is designed to accept
data in the form of a binary string (BSTR). The data
can come from a webpage or from the user interface
of the Visual Basic or Visual C++ development system.
The output from the Certificate Lnrolment Control is
a PKCS #10 certificate request that can be sent on to a
certification authority (CA).
Ahd.
"Necessary information about the user, the
certificate subject, is collected by the User lnterface.
This information is provided as a BSTR input to
the Certificate Lnrolment Control. The Certificate
Lnrolment Control generates the appropriate signature
key, key exchange key or both key pairs. The control
then generates and signs a PKCS #10 certificate request
by using the generated private key. The Certificate
Lnrolment Control then links the key pair to a
temporary dummy certificate which is stored in the
request store until the issued certificate is returned
from a certification authority. Finally, the application
sends the PKCS #10 certificate request to a CA.
i Poor old Microsoft, eh7

Cacls: pronounced 'Cackles', like a wilch. Cacls, apparenlly,

displays or modilies, Discrelionary Access Conlrol Lisls (DACL)
on specilic lile. Whal a DACL does reads somelhing like a
legal documenl and several ol us lell asleep aller lhe lirsl
lew words. Mr Lnlicknap managed a whole line belore linally
dozing oll.
Calc: The buill-in windows calculalor ol course! Used by wrilers
who can'l add up lheir invoices and expenses.
CertEnrollCtrl: Cerlilicale Lnrolmenl Conlrol. According lo
MS lhis means, "Cerlilicale Lnrollmenl Conlrol can be used by
an applicalion lhal musl requesl lhal a cerlilicale be issued lo
a named subjecl. ll is designed lo accepl dala in lhe lorm ol a
binary slring." Zzzzzz.
Certreq: Used lo requesl lhe above cerlilicales lrom lhe
Cerlilicalion Aulhorily, which can be a web server, domain
conlroller and so on.
Certutil: A command line program used lo dump and display
Cerlilicalion Aulhorily inlormalion, as well as backup and
reslore CA componenls.
Change: Changes Remole Desklop Session osl server sellings,
like logins, COM porls and lhe user inslall mode.
Charmap: Command-line program lhal displays lhe Characler
Map, where you can gel access lo all sorls ol lunny looking
symbols.
Chglogon: This command enables or disables logins lrom
clienls on a Remole Desklop Server and displays lhe currenl
login slalus.
Chgport: Lisls or changes lhe COM Porl mappings so lhal lhey
are compalible wilh MS-DOS programs.
Chguser: Changes lhe user paramelers or inslall mode, lor a
Remole Desklop server session.
Chkdsk: A classic command is Chkdsk. ll checks lhe lile syslem
ol a drive, volume or parlilion lor logical and physical errors.
Run chkdsk /? lor more inlo.
Chkntfs: This command displays or modilies lhe aulomalic disk
checking lhal occurs when lhe compuler is slarled. Use chknlls
/? lor more inlo.
Choice: Prompls a user, when used in a balch lile, lo choose
somelhing lrom a lisl ol single characlers, A lo Z, 0 lo 9, in a
menu. Use choice /? lor more inlo.
Cipher: Displays or allers lhe encryplion slale ol lhe currenl
direclory and any ol lhe liles wilh in il. Use cypher /? lor more inlo.
Cleanmgr: The disk clean-up program used when you
righl-click a drive in Lxplorer and gel lhe properlies. Uselul il
you wanl lo run il on a remole syslem and lhe user doesn'l
undersland how lo gel lhere.
Cliconfg: Launches lhe SQL Server Clienl Nelwork Ulilily,
which allows you lo do all sorls ol weird and wonderlul SQL and
dalabase conneclion lhings.
Clip: This is a cool command-line program. ll copies lhe oulpul
lrom a command inlo lhe clipboard, so il you lype dir l clip, lhe
enlire direclory lisling is in lhe clipboard.
Cls: ll clears lhe screen.
Cmd: Launches lhe Command Line lrom wilhin Windows. A
place where wonderlul lhings can happen.
Cmdkey: Quile a cool program, il can creale, delele and lisl
slored usernames and passwords on lhe syslem or across a
domain. Use cmdkey /? lor more inlo.
Cmdl32: This is a parl ol lhe Microsoll Conneclion Manager
Aulo-Download sel ol programs, which maps and mainlains
nelwork addresses lo conneclion deslinalions.
Cmmon32: This is lhe Microsoll Conneclion Manager Monilor
program, which keeps lrack ol VPNs, RDs and olher inslances
where you are connecled lo anolher nelwork.
Cmstp: As above, is connecled lo lhe MSCMM. ln lhis
case, Cmslp inslalls or removes a Conneclion Manager
Service Prolile.
i .including the Micro Mart cat i Guaranteed to send anyone to sleep.

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Cofire: This is lhe Corrupled lile Recovery Clienl. ow il
aclually works is a complele myslery, bul we suspecl il has
somelhing lo do wilh lhe recovery console.
Color: Color (American spelling), changes lhe colours ol lhe
loreground and background colours in lhe Command Prompl
window. andy lor adding some pizazz lo lhose balch
lile games!
Colorcpl: This program launches lhe Color Managemenl
(excuse lhe Americanised spelling again) Ul lor Windows.
Comp: A prelly uselul command-line program. ll compares
lhe conlenls ol lwo liles or sels ol liles, byle by byle and lhen
displays lhe dillerences. Use comp /? lor more inlo.
Compact: Displays and allers lhe compression sellings ol liles
or direclories on NTlS parlilions and drives. Use compacl /? lor
more inlo.
CompNgmtLauncher: When run, launches lhe Compuler
Managemenl console.
ComputerDefaults: When run, launches lhe Sel Programs
and Compuler Delaulls console, usually lound deep wilhin lhe
Conlrol Panel.
Conhost: lixes a problem wilh previous versions ol Windows,
where drag and drop belween open windows or consoles didn'l
work due lo lhe Clienl Server Runlime Process Service.
Consent: Works when dillerenl programs are run requiring
dillerenl levels ol access privileges. ll's launched aulomalically,
bul il can end up chewing loads ol resources il run when il's nol
needed.
Control: Opens Conlrol Panel ilems or consoles. lor example,
conlrol userpasswords2 opens up lhe User Accounls console.
Convert: Used as Auloconv is, which is lo converl a lAT syslem
lo an NTlS syslem.
Copy: Quile an amazing program lhis. ll's complicaled, bul
essenlially il copies slull lrom one place lo anolher or as
somelhing else. lncredible, really.
Credwiz: Credwiz launches lhe Slored User Names and
Passwords Console, where you can back up your slored
usernames and passwords or reslore lhem.
Cscript: This command slarls a scripl lhal will run in lhe
Command Prompl.
Csrss: You mighl have seen lhis running in lhe Task Manager
and laking up huge amounls ol resources. Whal il does is
basically handle console windows, process and lhread crealion
wilhoul compromising lhe kernel, so il you have a lol ol
windows open, lhen ralher lhan lhe kernel doing lhe work,
Csrss does and as a resull eals lhe syslem resources.
Ctfmon: Anolher lamiliar Task Manager enlry. Cllmon aclivales
lhe Allernalive User lnpul Texl lnpul Processor (we're nol
making lhis up) and lhe Microsoll Ollice Language 8ar.
Cttune: This is lhe ClearType Texl Tuner, which launches lhe
ClearType wizard lhal is supposed lo help your eyes on lhese
new-langled LCD monilors.
Next Week
Thal'll do lor now. Our eyes are beginning lo bleed and mosl ol
us have gone lo hide in a darkened room, where you can hear
lhe whimpering lhrough lhe door.
Nexl week, we'll slarl lrom 'D', which is a good place lo slarl
as il's aller 'C'. Or al leasl we lhink il is, we're nol aclually sure
al lhis poinl in lime.
Discretionary Access Control Lists: That
ThingThat Sent Us All To Sleep
Agaih, Ihahks Io Ihose wide awake people aI Microso!I,
here's Ihe !ull explahaIioh o! DiscreIiohary Access
CohIrol LisIs:
"An access control list (ACL) is a list of access control
entries (ACL). Lach ACL in an ACL identifies a trustee
and specifies the access rights allowed, denied or
audited for that trustee. The security descriptor for a
securable object can contain two types of ACLs: a DACL
and a SACL.
"A discretionary access control list (DACL) identifies
the trustees that are allowed or denied access to a
securable object. When a process tries to access a
securable object, the system checks the ACLs in the
objects DACL to determine whether to grant access
to it. lf the object does not have a DACL, the system
grants full access to everyone. lf the objects DACL has
no ACLs, the system denies all attempts to access the
object because the DACL does not allow any access
rights. The system checks the ACLs in sequence until
it finds one or more ACLs that allow all the requested
access rights or until any of the requested access rights
are denied
Ahyohe sIill awake?
i The wonderful Character Map!

he simulalor is quile a complex beasl. Wilhin a well-

programmed example can lie lhe minuliae ol delails lhal diclale
a universe ol physical dala, lrom Newlonian laws ol molion
lhrough lo lhe amounl ol sall in a hol dog. ll's polenlially a powerlul
lool, while allowing normal people lo experience lhe lhrill ol llying
al supersonic speeds inlo lerrible war zones or lo navigale lhe deep
recesses ol space, lhey can also allord prolessionals in various lields
invaluable insighl inlo lheir disparale disciplines.
owever, despile lhe wonderlul and magnilicenl simulalors we've
all come lo admire and appreciale over lhe years, be lhey lhose
mapping lhe wealher or allowing us lo experience driving a lormula
One car, lhere are some nolable exceplions lhal really queslion lhe
sanily ol lhose who programmed and play lhem.
Robot VacuumSimulator Z013
Nol everyone likes a simulalor lhal enables you lo lly a jel lighler,
nor do lhey lancy gelling lo grips wilh running a zoo or an
amusemenl park. lndeed, some people aclually preler a more
Davd Hagward takes a look at
some of the oddest of the odd in
the simulation world
Welrd 8lmulators
Now THAT is a nice toilet block

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realislic and down lo earlh simulalor. Perhaps lhey preler lo conlrol
somelhing like a Robol Vacuum?
The |ooo| vacuum 5|mu|a|or 201 is cerlainly as slrange as
slrange can be. Adverlised as a "ground breaking simulalor laking
place in lhe incredible world ol Robol Vacuum Cleaners", lhis open
world simulalion puls you in charge ol lhe aloremenlioned robol,
where you musl scour lhe a house cleaning up lhe rubbish lell
behind lrom one ol lhe mosl unlidy people in exislence.
Well, we say 'unlidy', bul lheir slovenliness lakes a very specilic
lorm. leaving behind lols ol scrunched up pieces ol paper lhal
wouldn'l be loo dillicull lo drop inlo lhe bin. These bils ol paper can
be lound under lhe bed and kilchen lable, around lhe back ol lhe
sola and even in lhe balhroom. Clearly lhe house belongs lo a very
unsuccesslul wriler - and one wilhoul a compuler al hand.
ailed as being "lhe mosl realislic robol vacuum simulalor ever",
lhis oddily has a number ol lealures lo lurlher lhe experience
ol conlrolling a robol vacuum. lor slarlers, lhere is a lwo player
mode, where you are lasked wilh clearing up more paper lhan
your opponenl. Then ol course, lhere's lhe open world, which is
conlained wilhin lhe boundaries ol lhe house. linally, we have some
'lanlaslic music', which sounds like a progressive 8elgian Jazz band
and, believe il or nol, a 'main menu', because lhal's cerlainly a
lealure which is missing lrom olher simulalors.
Wilhoul a shadow ol doubl, |ooo| vacuum 5|mu|a|or is unique.
Whelher il's aclually any good or nol depends on your view ol
robol vacuum cleaners, bul il you wanl lo learn more, lhen drop
on by lheir homepage al goo.gIlAmYYcm.
Street Cleaning Simulator Z013
20!3 appears lo be lhe year ol lhe odd simulalor. To add lo our robolic
cleaning lriend, we now have a more human example. 5|ree| C|ean|n
5|mu|a|or 201, by Aslragon Cames and published by Lxcalibur.
5|ree| C|ean|n 5|mu|a|or 201 or, as il's known in ils nalive
Cermany, rehrmasch|nen-5|mu|a|or, is a modern remake ol lhe
original lhal was released back in 20!! lor lhe Cerman games
markel. This game aclually direclly lranslales as 'Sweepers
Simulalor', bul eilher way you can enjoy lhe subllelies ol laking a
seal behind lhe wheel ol one ol lhe mosl advanced slreel cleaning
machines we've ever seen. This lhing is amazing, il has several
dillerenl lypes ol sweepy/brushy lhings poking oul lrom il, al leasl
a hall dozen powerlul jels ol hol waler, al leasl we assume il's hol,
as sleam appears lo rise lrom lhe lloor aller using il - or maybe
lhal's jusl dusl? Ooh, and il also has a rear comparlmenl lhal lills
lo emply lhe conlenls.
Wilhin lhe slreels ol lhis open world simulalion are a number
ol missions in which you have clean up lhe area wilhin a cerlain
amounl ol lime or belore lhe morning rush hour lrallic. There's
even dillerenl kinds ol 'pollulion' which require dillerenl cleaning
lechniques in order lo permanenlly remove lrom lhe slreels ol
8erlin (or wherever il is you're supposed lo be).
i Clean up the bits of paper
i And more paper.
i Street Cleaner. lt's a dirty job, but someone's got to do it
i We clean every street. verywhere!
i We may have caused that accident in the background

There are some dillicullies when roaming lhe slreels lhough.
Pedeslrians have lhe lendency lo leap oul in lronl ol you
and lhe olher road lrallic has lillle regard lor lhese knighls
ol lhe lonely road. Thanklully, lhough, lhe slreel carl has
quile a lurning circle and appears lo accelerale lo somelhing
approaching Mach 5 al limes, so all is nol losl.
Slreel cleaning may be big in Cermany, which may explain
lhe cleanliness ol ils cilies, bul over here il jusl doesn'l appear
lo work quile as well. This is cerlainly one ol lhe oddesl lhings
we've ever played, however, we did go oul onlo lhe slreel
allerward and nolice several areas lhal could wilh a good spray
and clean. Perhaps il we add a lillle bil ol bleach lhal slain
could be removed.
Woodcutter Simulator Z013
Needless lo say, lhe ||cro |ar| shed was in lull song aller
wilnessing lhe amazing Woodcu||er 5|mu|a|or 201. Monly
Pylhon's ode lo lumberjacks could be heard clear across lhe cily,
as we look on lhe role ol a limber worker who hopes lo work
lheir way up lhe ladder ol success.
As you become more enlerprising in your woodculling business,
your orders lrom lhe cuslomer will grow considerably unlil you
are lasked wilh such jobs as land clearance lor gardens and parks,
lhen you'll be called in lor lhe preparalion ol building siles and lhe
produclion ol lirebreaks. ll's all go in lhe lumber induslry.
ll's nol jusl aboul chopping down lrees, lhough. lndeed, lhere
are lols ol aspecls lo consider. lhe lype ol lree you're lelling,
lhe direclion in which il will lall and ils age. Then, lhere's lhe
processing ol lhe wood ilsell, lhe debarking, sawing lo size,
chipping and lhe lransporl. Nol lo menlion lhe various wealher
pallerns lhal allecls such work.
Woodcu||er 5|mu|a|or 201s lealures include a delailed and
realislic 3D environmenl, an inlriguing and on-going slory,
complex wealher pallerns, day and nighl shill working, loads ol
lasks and an exlensive background inlormalion dalabase on lhe
world ol limber. You can lell lrees wilh a chainsaw and lag lhem
lor pickup, lhen you can work your way up lhe lree ol success lo
allord more complicaled machinery lhal can clear enlire loresls,
lhe lungs ol lhe earlh.
Carelul allenlion is needed when embarking on a boul ol manly
bearded, red checked-shirled, lree lelling. lor slarlers, you have
make sure you're culling down lhe righl lree, lhere's no poinl in
going all gung-ho and wiping oul lrees like lhere's no lomorrow,
you'll lose valuable poinls and cash. The lrees marked wilh lhe red
X are lhe ones lhal need lelling, allhough we couldn'l undersland
why, when lasked wilh clearing a wood lor a building sile, we
were only supposed lo cul down a single lree in lhe middle ol
many? Then again, who are lo queslion lhe lile ol a woodculler?
The vehicles you gel lo command and drive are, wilhoul a doubl
crealed by some warped individual who wanls nolhing bul lhe
driver lo experience pain and lhe developers have done an admiral
job ol conveying lhal lacl lhrough lhis game. Trying lo slay in a
slraighl line is dillicull enough, lrying lo aim lor lhe lrunk ol lhe
lree is nigh on impossible.
Sullice lo say, Woodcu||er 5|mu|a|or 201 is somelhing ol a
niche producl. Allhough running around wilh lhe chainsaw was
lun and made us consider whal lhe main characler lrom |oom
mighl do when lhe war belween hell and earlh is linally over.
TowTruck Simulator
1ow 1ruc| 5|mu|a|or is really quile amazing. lrom lhe slarl, you
are in conlrol ol a llal-bed low lruck, equipped wilh a large crane
lhing and gel lo drive around lhe cily slreels ol lhis game world in
glorious 3D while wailing lor jobs lo come in on lhe radio. lrom
lhere you lollow a green arrow lo lhe localion ol lhe vehicle lhal
i l'm a lumberjack and l'm okay.
i lt's not as easy as it looks, cutting down trees
i However, with the tractor saw thing things get simpler
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requires lowing away, which could be a car accidenl where lwo
vehicles need lowing or a bus or lorry breaking down. lollowing
lhe green arrow is all well and line, however lrallic laws musl be
obeyed. There's none ol lhis CTA running red lighls or laking oul
lhe lampposls, road signs or olher lrallic users (allhough you're
kind ol crealing work lor yoursell). Doing so will bring on a helly
line and you'll lose lhe killy ol Luros lhal's permanenlly displayed in
lhe upper righl ol lhe screen.
When you gel lo lhe scene ol lhe incidenl, you aclually have lo
park your lruck in a convenienl localion, lhen move lhe crane inlo
posilion so lhal il picks lhe correcl vehicle up, wilhoul damaging
anylhing else around il and plops il onlo lhe back ol lhe lruck - and
don'l lorgel lo aclivale your llashy lighls on lhe lop ol lhe cab. This
is a lol more dillicull lhan il sounds, especially when lhe vehicle in
queslion is broken down in a car park and is surrounded by olher
cars. Plus, you aclually have lo make sure you pick up lhe correcl
car. We only wish we could have seen lhe expression on lhe lace ol
lhe shopper who relurned lo lind lheir car had been removed by Mr.
Lnlicknap and his low lruck.
Once you have lhe vehicle salely slored on lhe back ol lhe
lruck you have lo relurn lo lhe depol, while avoiding irale Audi
drivers and drop (genlly) lhe car inlo ils allolled spol al lhe
garage. Then, you gel paid and you sel oll lor more lowing
shenanigans. Oddly enough, il you're picking up more lhan
one car, when you relurn wilh lhe second vehicle, lhe lirsl has
mysleriously disappeared. We lhink il mighl be in lor repair, in lhe
workshop, bul since lhere appear lo be no humans in lhis game
we're considering alien abduclion.
Thal's prelly much all lhere is lo il, really. We ralher liked il,
despile il being, quile possibly, lhe mosl boring game in exislence.
ll kind ol reminded us ol playing on lhe car mal wilh lhe kids
when lhey were younger, noises included. Anyway, lhe lile ol a
low lrucker is lilled wilh excilemenl as well we know, so we're
nol really sure lhis game lruly rellecls lhe highs and lows ol such a
noble occupalion.
Chemical Spillage Simulation
Chemical spills are no laughing maller, so we lackled lhis simulalor
wilh grave laces. On lhe lighler side ol lhings, lhough, we did gel
lo dress up as liremen and pul oul some lires!
You are a parl ol lhe Special Chemical Disasler Prevenlion Unil
and you are lasked wilh handling some ol lhe mosl dangerous
subslances and malerials in lhe world. You gel lo, as we've said,
lighl lires, clean up spillages, check places lor radioaclive malerials,
i lrate Audi drivers are the cause of most accidents in this game
i lt's a big open world out there to tow away with
i The vehicle mysteriously vanishes after touchdown
i Get off the burning ledge you moron!
i The robot analyser pokes the chemicals

help lhe environmenl by cleaning up lakes and ponds lrom
induslrial wasle and generally be very heroic.
The many missions you are senl on are quile realislic. Once
lhe alarm goes oll, you don your proleclive gear, which musl be
lhe correcl suil lor lhe silualion and be in perlecl working order.
Then you gel in lhe big red lire engine (sorry) and speed lo lhe
scene ol lhe incidenl. Once lhere, you musl use lhe correcl means
ol dealing wilh lhe silualion al hand. lor example, a lire al a
chemical warehouse needs pulling oul belore lhe chemicals can be
removed, lhen you musl separale lhe chemicals, so no lwo mix or
do somelhing nasly on conlacl, secure lhe area and make sure lhal
il's sale lor lhe civilian populalion again.
There's a lol lo consider here. The lools al hand, lhe vehicles
required, even lhe special analyser robol gels a couple ol missions
lo ilsell. owever, il's nol so much lhe seriousness ol lhe missions
or lhe lacl lhal you're dealing wilh deadly malerials lhal causes you,
lhe game player, lo curl up inlo a ball in lhe corner, il's lhe almosl
comedy approach lo lhe olher characlers you have lo deal wilh.
Take lor inslance your leam. Never have you seen such a bunch
ol slrange individuals. The way lhey walk, which is bizarre lo say
lhe leasl. The way lhey sland on a burning ledge on lhe side ol
building and jusl wail. And, lhe way lhey lry and walk lhrough a
radioaclive drum ol somelhing or olher while you're lrying lo deal
wilh lhe conlenls. Then, lhere's lhe lacl lhal an emergency has
cropped up and you appear lo be lhe only person aclually running
lo your vehicle. We gol lhe alarm and darled down lhe slairs
(no pole lo slide down) and inlo lhe supporl vehicle, meanwhile,
lhe resl ol lhe leam saunlered down lhe slairs, pasl lhe vending
machines (which lhey may have slopped lo use) and oul inlo lhe
vehicle bay, where lhey slood, lor a whole live minules belore
gelling inlo lhe lire engine and driving oll.
Anyway, lhe game issues aside (clipping, annoying sirens, cows
lhal appear lo have lhe abilily lo hover several leel oll lhe ground),
lhis is aclually quile an inleresling simulalion. Well, lel's lace il, il
can'l be any worse lhan lhe |ooo| vacuum, can il?
Camping Manager Z01Z
There are many pleasures lo be had in camping oul. slarry
nighls, lhe llullering ol canvas, lhe wind in your hair, greals
gusls ol lresh air lilling your lungs, walching lhe sun dancing
lhrough lhe lrees, galhering dried wood lor a good old camplire
and birdsong swelling al dawn lo lill lhe ears. Camping is man
in harmony wilh lhe greal Arcadian spirils ol lhe elder Larlh,
il's lhe smell ol mossy peal and pine needles, morning dew and
wind-blown jasmine... Unlorlunalely, almosl none ol lhis has
made lhe lransilion across lo Camp|n |anaer 2012, as we
lound oul.
ln lhis game, you have lhe opporlunily lo lake conlrol ol
and manage your very own camping paradise - lhink Carry On
Camp|n, wilhoul 8arbara Windsor. Aclually, il's more like 1heme
|ar| lhan anylhing else, bul il kind ol works.
Operaling under a similar mechanic lo lhe 5|m C||y games,
you slarl wilh a plol ol land nexl lo an idyllic lake selling,
whereby, wilh lhe lund you slarl wilh, you have lo build lhe
many lealures lhal make up a perlecl campsile. lealures such
as lood and drink slalls, enlerlainmenl buildings, a loilel block,
pilches lor lenls and caravans, some picluresque llora dolled
aboul and a picnic lable or lwo. Aller selling il all up and
spending all your available cash, you can lhen open up lhe camp
sile, slarl gelling people in and charging lhem lor slaying wilh
you. Nalurally, people being people, lhings slarl lo deleriorale,
ralher rapidly as il happens and lhe happy campers no longer
slay happy nor slay al your camp sile.
ln order lo slrike a line balance belween lhe happy camper
and your bank balance, carelul allenlion is needed. lor example,
don'l place lhe loilel block loo lar away lrom lhe pilches, bul
lhen again, nol loo close lor obvious reasons. Also, don'l overprice
everylhing, lrom lhe enlrance lee lo lhe lood and drink, bul lhen
don'l do yoursell oul ol pockel.
ll's lhe old simulalor balance lhing, bul il does come across
as being very unlair in lhis silualion. The campers, lhe miserable
bunch lhey are, never cease lo complain. ll il's nol aboul lhe
loilels il's aboul lhe lack ol lrees. ll nol lhe lack ol lress il's lhe
abundance ol waler lealures or lhe lack ol lighling or lhere's nol
enough picnic lables despile lhere being plenly ol grass lo sil down
on. Aller a while you soon regrel opening lhe camp sile and would
happily employ lhe chemicals lrom lhe aloremenlioned simulalion
lo gel rid ol lhe whinging clienlele.
Sullice lo say, Camp|n |anaer is somelhing only budding
camping enlrepreneurs could possibly enjoy. Or maybe lhose who
revel in olher people's gloom and love being complained lo?
Underground Mining Simulator
To be honesl, we weren'l aware ol any olher kind ol mining
olher lhan being underground. owever, aller a quick Coogle we
discovered lhal you can have overground mining, which sounds a
lol saler lhan delving several miles inlo a darkened lunnel under
lhe earlh's crusl. owever, lhe missions lhal make up Underround
||n|n 5|mu|a|or are lairly slandard, lo say lhe leasl. mine coal,
iron, sall and gold in a variely ol dillerenl silualions using a variely
ol dillerenl machines and melhods.
You have several underground drilling machines and various
lace lunnelling equipmenl al your disposal, as well as explosives,
bulldozers, lrucks and olher means wilh which lo bring lhe spoils
i A rare sight is a happy camp site
i There's nothing like a disco to liven things up

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ol lhe excavalion back lo lhe surlace lor lransporl lo wherever il
goes aller lhal.
There are many elemenls lo lake inlo consideralion when drilling
away under a billion lons ol rock. lor slarlers, you have lo make sure
lhe lunnel you are making is slruclurally sound and surveyed, lhen
you have lo erecl lhe correcl signage lor heallh and salely reasons.
You have lo make sure lhe drill bils and olher culling equipmenl is
in good working order and nol likely lo lail al any given momenl.
linally, you have lo lake special care when loading a wall wilh
enough explosive lo lake oul an alien molhership.
ll's cerlainly an inleresling simulalion, lhis. We aclually managed
lo slay awake lor a lull hour while playing il. owever, lhis was
only because we decided lo blasl away a beller parl ol lhe planel's
resources. The conlrolling ol lhe machines is ralher ledious, as is
having lo drive lhe drilling machine (lhe one used lo drill holes lor
lhe explosives) lhe equivalenl ol several miles lhrough a nelwork ol
lunnels, lhen drill oul a dozen or so holes, very accuralely.
Clearly we are nol very good al underground mining. We didn'l
gel much in lhe way ol resources, which may have had somelhing
lo do wilh us drilling in lhe wrong place, and we losl conlrol ol lhe
lunneling syslem and subsequenlly losl all sense ol direclion. We'd
slill be down lhere il il wasn'l lor lhe huge amounl ol explosives
we were carrying al lhe lime.
Working underground is a long slanding lradilion in lhis counlry,
lhe coal miners ol lhe pasl have our respecl. owever, we have
lo admil, lhis is one ol lhe mosl boring, yel unusual games we've
ever played.
And OnThat Note...
There are clearly openings lor lhose wilh an idea lor crealing
an obscure and weird simulalor - lrom lhe 'highs' ol 5|| |e|on
5|mu|a|or or lhe 'lows' ol |ondon Underround 5|mu|a|or, lhere's
somelhing lor everyone nowadays. Despile lhe mickey laking we've
done over lhe lasl lew pages, lhere is quile a bil ol lun lo be had
wilh some ol lhese odd simulalors. Thal may only be working oul
how somelhing so bad could ever be produced or marvelling al lhe
incredible allenlion lo delail and lhe lenglhs developer musl have
gone lo in order lo achieve il. Whalever, lhese simulalors no doubl
appeal lo someone oul lhere, we're jusl don'l know lhem.
i An here's the bloke with the explosives
Tip Of The lceberg
1he examples we've ihIroduced you Io ih Ihe maih arIicle
are, uhbelievably, |usI Ihe Iip o! Ihe iceberg wheh iI
comes Io hiche simulaIioh experiehces, mere glimpses o!
whaI's oh o!!er. 1here are mahy more - some eveh more
weird ahd wohder!ul - simulaIors ouI Ihere.
Here are some o! Ihe greaIs IhaI missed ouI oh a
criIical baIIerihg ih Ihe maih arIicle, buI are cerIaihly well
worIh mehIiohihg:
Rescue 2013: 8ecome a member o! Ihe rescue services
City Bus 5imulator New York: Drivihg arouhd Ihe big
apple 'aihI ho bus ride.
Zoo Park: Make a zoo!
Iransport 5imulator: 8ecome Ihe masIer o! Ihe roads
Police Force 2: A secohd bash a beihg a copper
City Builder: We imagihe you have Io build a ciIy
Irain 5imulator: Mr EhIickhap's !avouriIe game ever
River Naster: MasIer Ihe rivers wiIhouI David Essex
Ihe Bridge Project: 8ridge buildihg ahd 'geIIihg over iI'
gags aplehIy
Airport Control Iower: Eh|oy ohe o! Ihe mosI sIress!ul
|obs ih exisIehce
Iruck 5imulator: Drive a Iruck arouhd Europe
5tone uarry 5imulator: Mihe sIohe, ih a quarry
5ki Region 5imulator: Mahage Ihe alpihe slopes
Bus And Cable Car 5imulator: Please make iI ehd
Ports!: Yay, porIs!
Dive to the Iitanic: WaIery grave robbihg aI iIs besI
Gardening 5imulator: II's goI Io ehd someIime sooh.
German Iruck 5imulator: A sim !or Cermah Irucks. Or,
raIher, Irucks ih Cermahy
Forklift Iruck 5imulator: I'm losI !or words.
Crane 5imulator: RighI, IhaI's iI. I'm dohe.
i Going underground, well the brass bands play.
i This thing can take your stuff to the surface

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W
e are conlinually bombarded wilh producls lhal claim lo
be lile-allering pieces ol smarl lechnology, yel so many
lail lo live up lhe hype or provide any real and lasling
benelils. owever, as devices begin lo lap more and more inlo lhe
vasl reposilory ol web-hosled dala and inlelligence, such claims have
more veracily.
Take a smarlphone. whal makes il 'smarl' is ils abilily lo access
and inleracl wilh a rich colleclion ol communicalion and inlormalion
services. Apps such as Coogle's Maps and Apple's Siri (goo.gIlsj0Kn)
need a mobile lnlernel conneclion lo work, bul only respond lo
human queries enlered via a CUl. Whal happens when devices slarl
asking queslions relevanl lo lheir lasks, responding accordingly lo lhe
answer and sending inlormalion aboul lheir slalus', lhough? Such
machine lo machine (M2M) communicalions lechnology promises
lo deliver an abundance ol inlelligenl, nelwork-connecled, sensor-
enabled devices, and lay lhe loundalion lor a much smarler world.
Smart Business
8usinesses are always keen lo make elliciency savings and lower
overall cosls. M2M lechnology is going lo help. As lorresler
Research analysl Dan 8ieler said, "M2M can supporl and enhance
business processes."
So how does lhis work in praclice? A car's engine managemenl
compuler provides a good analogy. il balances perlormance againsl
economy lhrough a conlinuous slream ol minor adjuslmenls, each
one made in response lo dala received lrom an array ol in-car
sensors. Lxpanding lhe idea, il doesn'l cosl much lo scaller smarl,
inlerconnecled M2M devices lhroughoul a manulacluring planl, a
malerial supply chain or along dislribulion channels. The resulling
dala can lhen be collecled and analysed lo oplimise laclory
lhroughpuls, invenlory levels and lransporlalion logislics.
M2M lechnology operales 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
in a wide variely ol localions and condilions. The allernalive,
manual recording, is slow, expensive, error prone and occasionally
dangerous. lor example, M2M devices are used lo monilor oil
pipelines in lhe remole areas like Siberia, where allached sensors
idenlily llow rale anomalies due lo joinl lailures, criminal siphoning
aclivily or even lerrorism.
Smart Buildings
Survey a lypical cilyscape in lhe lale evening and you'll be conlronled
wilh vision ol unoccupied yel brighlly lil, lully healed and air
condilioned ollice buildings. The polenlial lor energy saving is
obvious. As such, new ollice developmenls are slarling lo make
judicious use ol smarl devices and inlelligenl conlrol syslems. Lighls
slay on only when sensors delecl lhe room is occupied. ealing and
air condilioning syslems operale on limelables based around ollice
hours and lake accounl ol weekends and bank holidays.
Similar syslems relrolilled lo exisling premises would deliver
equally subslanlial energy savings. ln many cases implemenlalion
cosls could be recovered in jusl a lew years. Applied lo lhousands ol
ollice premises in major cilies around lhe globe il would impacl lhe
world's overall energy consumplion.
ome-based smarl energy lechnology cosls are also dropping down
lasl - especially il lhe you're willing lo underlake lhe DlY roule.
Smart Meters
Ulilily companies in lhe UK are currenlly involved an ambilious
M2M lechnology rolloul. The UK Covernmenl has asked
lhe Deparlmenl ol Lnergy and Climale Change (DLCC) lo
orcheslrale lhe counlry-wide availabilily ol slandardised smarl
melers by 2020. The plan involves lhe inslallalion ol around 53
million nexl-generalion smarl melers in homes and businesses.
These melers communicale direclly wilh lhe energy supplier and
provide near-reallime energy inlormalion lo lhe consumer. The
linal specilicalion is slill lo be linalised, wilh dala access and
securily high on lhe lisl.
Cuslomer benelils include an end lo eslimaled billing and
door-lo-door meler reading, easier supplier swilching, beller
inlormalion on energy usage in monelary lerms, hislorical dala
access and individual household appliance elliciency lesling.
The downside is lhe larger ulilily bills lo linance smarl meler
developmenl, lesling and inslallalion.
ll's nol a unique inilialive. Canada's Quebec province ydro
energy syslem already aggregales dala lrom 3.8 million smarl
melers and similar lechnology already exisls in Sweden, lrance
and llaly.
Davd Brddock identifies the 5mart
Iechnology enabled by N2N Communications
Mochlne
To Mochlne
Communlcotlons
Smcrl Technclcgy

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Smart Grid
owever, smarl melers are jusl parl ol a much bigger energy
plan. DLCC is also lasked wilh reducing lhe UK's greenhouse
gas emissions by 80, relalive lo !990 levels, by 2050. DLCC's
solulion is lo creale a Smarl Crid.
The 2050 Palhways projecl (goo.gIlx7hrm) aims lo meel lhe
aggressive emission and carbon loolprinl largels, as delined in a
Carbon Plan documenl (goo.gIlHaIZ). Any plan musl also secure
adequale levels ol UK power generalion capabilily, and deliver
energy al a price lhal doesn'l adversely allecl manulacluring,
businesses and household budgels.
Smarl Crid lopology encompasses wires, subslalions,
lranslormers, swilches and much more. Lach elemenl incorporales
smarl devices, dala-galhering sensors and reliable bi-direclional
digilal communicalion channels. This enables operalional cenlres
lo monilor and conlrol individual devices or large groups ol devices
across lhe lenglh and breadlh ol lhe counlry in real-lime as lhe
energy demand llucluales.
Smart Vehicles
New road vehicles already brislle wilh M2Mdevices and inlelligenl
sollware, and lhe scope ol lunclionalily goes lar beyond CPS
navigalion or enlerlainmenl equipmenl. Mulliple eleclronic conlrol
unils (LCUs) dolled in and around lhe vehicle are an inlrinsic parl ol
lhe advanced managemenl and salely syslems ol many vehicles.
Lngine managemenl syslems (LMCs), which oplimise perlormance
and elliciency, are growing in sophislicalion. Lngines can be
inslrucled lo operale wilh hall lhe number ol cylinders or swilch
oll complelely when lhe car is slalionary. lor hybrid pelrol/diesel
and eleclric vehicles LMCs ensure smoolh aulonomous swilching
belween lhe power sources.
ln 20!4 new LU e-call regulalions come inlo ellecl, mandaling
syslems lhal aulomalically send oul delails ol lheir localion in lhe
evenl ol a crash. Soon we'll also see lhe inlroduclion ol aulomaled
braking syslems designed lo avoid low speed accidenls and reduce
lhe lalalilies or injuries al higher speeds.
Securily is anolher big area, vehicles can be lilled wilh buill-in
lracking devices and remolely aclivaled immobilisers lo alerl owners
and 24x7 conlrol cenlres in lhe evenl ol a lhell. These syslems are
parlicularly imporlanl lor commercial and larm vehicles, which can
cosl hundreds ol lhousands ol pounds each. lndeed, in 8razil lhe
governmenl already mandales securily syslems lor virlually every
commercial vehicle.
lnlelligenl syslems require large and complex sollware
programs, bul how large? Well, modern 8oeing and Airbus
planes are llown wilh lhe help ol around !0 million lines ol code.
owever, lhe Mercedes S class and CM's Voll already have nearly
as many LCUs as an Airbus A380 and already rely on around 20
million lines ol code. ln a lew years cars wilh !00 million lines ol
code won'l be considered exceplional.
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Smart Meter lnformation
British Gas: goo.gl/8aJDh
E.ON: goo.gl/2VChd
EDF Energy: goo.gl/LgazQ
NPower: goo.gl/VkdMm
5cottish Power: goo.gl/oL2d8
5outhern Electric: goo.gl/hWdhE
First Utility: goo.gl/F6sgb
Utilita: goo.gl/Cg8wg
i Mercedes 8enz Smart Systems
g G lndustrial lnternet Applications
i DCC lnfographic

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Smart Environment
The rise ol M2M lechnology is deslined lo have a benelicial ellecl
on lhe environmenl by reducing pollulion and greenhouse gas levels
due lo improved elliciency and energy conservalion. Smarl buildings,
smarl melers, smarl grids and ellicienl vehicles all have a parl lo play in
meeling emission largels over lhe nexl lew decades.
Transporlalion logislics is anolher promising area. When
delailed supply chain analysis is applied lo lleel managemenl il
reduces lhe number ol miles lravelled. ln lhe UK Orange 8usiness
Services (orange-business.com) has leamed up wilh Openmalics
(openmaIics.co.uk) lo deliver jusl such a solulion. There's also lalk ol
lechnology lo make lhe highways smarler. One idea is lo use sensor-
embedded roads in conjunclion wilh inlelligenl, nelworked lrallic
lighls and signs lo conlrol lhe lrallic llow based around minule-by-
minule dala colleclion. Reducing congeslion will save hundreds ol
million ol pounds a year, lower accidenl ligures and ease lruslralion.
The counlryside could benelil loo. larmers will be able lo collecl
and analyse dala on agricullural yields, waler usage, waslage
slalislics and pesl levels, while scienlisls could use lhe same dala
lo monilor environmenlal changes and evaluale new growing
lechniques and crop slrain yields.
Smart Health
The heallh world is one ol lhe biggesl proponenls ol smarl
lechnology. Telemedicine promises radically new ways lo lreal
common diseases and remolely monilor palienls. Widespread
adoplion would ease lhe load on NS services and consequenlly save
huge sums ol money. Lquipping palienls wilh porlable, remolely
monilored devices can help idenlily problems belore lhey become
crilical. The dala can also provide a lar more accurale piclure ol a
palienl's progress and response lo lrealmenl and lhe consequenlial
reduclion in local surgery and hospilal visils would lree up resources.
Palienl empowermenl is a key lealure ol lelemedicine. This means
personal devices such as smarl hearl monilors lhal oller assurance
and, in some cases, even supply correclive shocks and aulomaled
blood sugar devices lor diabelic sullerers lhal deliver inslanl spol
checks and early warning alarms.
Smart Homes
The imminenl arrival ol lhe smarl home has been lorecasl lor decades.
lnlelligenl lridges, collee makers and loaslers could, lhey said, appear
al any lime. ll hasn'l really happened, yel - bul all lhal lalk is linally
being lurned inlo aclion. Today, a sizeable percenlage ol homes have
a wi-li nelwork lo deliver lnlernel conneclivily lor a growing colleclion
ol PCs, games consoles, lablels and smarlphones. This means lhal
incorporaling liny, low-cosl, wi-li-enabled modules inlo a wide variely
ol household devices suddenly makes much more sense.
Lricsson's Slockholm Research Lab employee, and prominenl
lnlernel Lngineering Task lorce (lLTl) member, Jari Arkko (arkko.
com) has big ideas. The 'connecled home' showcase (goo.gIl2cpV2)
is Arkko's personal vision ol a smarl, sensor-slrewn house.
There's bedside clocks lhal dynamically aller lhe alarm call based
on lhe day's planned journey and lnlernel-oblained lrallic condilions
or airporl delays. Collee machines and loaslers lhal ensure breaklasl
is ready lo eal slraighl aller lhe shower. lnlelligenl healing syslems
lhal are conlrolled using your smarlphone lrom lhe ollice or car.
And yes, lhere's a smarl lridge. One lhal can idenlily shopping lisl
ilems remolely lhrough an lnlernel-connecled camera and shelves
lhal weigh carlons ol milk. 8uill-in odour sensors conlinually monilor
lreshness and generale lexl message or email warnings.
Nexl lime we'll see how lo gel involved wilh M2M devices,
sollware and dala.
Telenor
1he producIs ahd services o!!ered by Norway's 1elehor
provide a use!ul illusIraIioh o! M2M scope.
1raxioh provides real-Iime ih!ormaIioh !or Ihe
Europeah rail ahd !reighI ihdusIry.
1elespor o!!ers elecIrohic livesIock mohiIorihg !or
!armers.
1elCage delivers remoIe operaIioh mahagemehI ahd
mohiIorihg !or Ihe aquaculIure ihdusIry.
Cohhexioh services ihclude vehicle !leeI mahagemehI,
e-healIh, securiIy, busihess e!!iciehcies ahd ehvirohmehI
mohiIorihg.
i 1ari Arkko
h Telenor TelCage
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e are all a lillle more 'green'
lhese days. Our cenlral healing
is handled by a super ellicienl
syslem, our washing machines have
lunclions lo save waler and energy, and
our PCs have had lheir power consuming
lrails lessened wilh lhe modern PSU.
owever, Dell has laken lhe green
lechnology concepl a slep lurlher, wilh
ils O Projecl.
The Carbon Trade-off
A lew years ago, Dell commissioned a
compelilion lor designers and engineers
lo come up wilh revolulionary concepls
lor more green compuling lechnology.
ll was developed lo help molivale lhe
academic and lechnology induslry
inlo considering ellicienl and elleclive
compuling lor an environmenlally
responsible sociely. As a resull, Mexican
induslrial designer Luis Luna, crealed lhe
O Projecl.
The concepl is lairly simple. lo help
counleracl lhe CO2 emissions crealed
when building and using a PC, Luis Luna's
design will incorporale a planl pol inlo
lhe base unil ol lhe aclual PC in a variely
ol visually appealing slyles and aeslhelics.
The PC base unil ilsell is very nice, wilh
lwo main designs coming lhrough lhe
inilial process. The lirsl is a llal, round
design wilh a hollowed-oul cenlre piece
in a pleasing bamboo-wood and recycled
aluminium ellecl, mixed wilh a lew low-
powered LLDs. The aclual eleclronics
are housed wilhin lhe ouler shell ol lhe
design, and a hollowed oul seclion in lhe
cenlre is lilled wilh soil and is where lhe
planl will live, nalurally.
The second design lealures an uprighl
model whereby lhe bamboo-wood ellecl
is encompassed by a halo ol recycled
aluminium, wilh lhe planl-growing parl ol
lhe PC localed in lhe cenlre ol lhe ring.
As you can clearly see lrom lhe
screenshols, bolh designs are very nice
indeed. We were quile laken by bolh
versions and admilledly wouldn'l mind
eilher as our home lhealre media PC.
According lo lhe design specilicalion,
you can happily waler lhe planl in
lhe cenlre ol lhe unil wilhoul lear
ol eleclroculing yoursell or burning
lhe house down. And allhough lhe
environmenlal impacl ol growing a single
planl isn'l anywhere near close enough
lo cover lhe resources laken in lhe aclual
building ol lhe PC, lhe design is lhere lo
help spark lhe lhoughl ol a more green
and balanced approach lo mass induslry.
What's lnside?
According lo lhose people in lhe know,
lhe inlernals ol lhe O Projecl will house
lhe same kil as lhe Dell Sludio ybrid,
which in ilsell isn'l a bad PC. ln lacl, lhe
overall design was originally a mix ol lhe
ybrid Aluminium and lhe Dell 8amboo
Syslem Sleeve lor lhe Sludio ybrid.
Needless lo say, Dell's greenesl and
mosl power ellicienl consumer desklop
PC has cerlainly received somelhing ol
makeover. We can easily imagine lhis
adorning lhe desklops ol some lrendy
cily PR company, surrounded by beaulilul
people and nalural lighl as opposed lo
lhe dingy, dungeon-like and cobwebbed
overcrowded ollices ol Micro Marl.
When Can We Buy lt?
We know you're all now chomping al lhe
bil lo gel hold ol lhis ullra-slylish green
PC, bul you may have lo wail lor quile
some lime.
Allhough lhe compelilion has come
and gone, Dell doesn'l appear lo be
selling lhe O Projecl via any ol ils porlals,
which is a bil ol a shame. Slill, don'l be
dishearlened, you could always make your
very own green planl pol PC jusl look
al our chosen design as an example.
Time to pIant the concept o! a greener computer
Crazy Technologies
Dll 'O' Pro|ct
i very stylish indeed iWe can see this housed in Mr nticknap's Tuscany villa
TheMicroMart GreenPC
We IhoughI lohg ahd hard abouI ah
amusihg way o! geIIihg a plahI poI
ihIo a PC case, buI ih Ihe ehd we
simply decided Io cohverI Ihe Micro
MarI Forum server ihIo someIhihg
more use!ul.
j The Micro Mart feline dozing in our
newly converted forum server

ove il or hale il, il's hard lo ignore iTunes il you have an

iPod, iPhone or iPad. Wilhoul il, synchronising lunes on
your device becomes very lricky indeed, and buying new
music digilally is also a pain. 8ul while only more masochislic
individuals also use iTunes as a general media player, lhe lrulh is
lhal il's a surprisingly capable piece ol sollware wilh a lew lricks
packed up ils sleeves lhal you mighl nol know aboul. ln lacl,
wilh lhe !5 lricks presenled below, you mighl jusl lind iTunes
aclually slarls lo earn ils keep on your hard disk.
Rearranging App lcons
One ol lhe mosl irrilaling lasks on lhe iPhone, iPad or iPod
Touch is rearranging app icons on lhe Springboard. You need lo
lap and hold, lhen drag around lrom screen lo screen, lhen drop
wherever you wanl. Somelimes il works. Somelimes you wanl
lo lhrow your iDevice across lhe room. And lel's nol gel slarled
lalking aboul how lo creale lolders.
iTunes ollers a solulion. Allach your iOS device via US8 (lhis
doesn'l work so well il syncing over wi-li), lhen selecl il lrom
lhe drop-down lisl al lhe lop righl ol lhe iTunes inlerlace.
Nexl, click lhe Apps lab. This will show a virlual display ol your
Springboard pages. To rearrange icons, all you need do is drag
and drop lhem using lhe mouse, as you would on lhe phone,
by lapping and dragging. New lolders can be crealed in lhe
same way as usual, by dragging and dropping one icon on lop
ol anolher.
Once you've linished rearranging, click lhe Apply bullon al
lhe bollom righl lo wrile lhe changes lo lhe phone as parl ol a
slandard sync.
Get The lMEl
Somelimes you mighl be asked lo quole lhe lMLl number ol
your iPhone, especially il you're lilling in insurance lorms. While
you can discover lhis on lhe iPhone ilsell using lhe usual keypad
combinalion ol *#06#, which works wilh mosl phones lrom any
manulaclurer, you can also discover il using iTunes. Allach lhe
phone, lhen selecl lhe device lrom lhe drop-down lisl al lhe lop
righl. On lhe main Summary screen, click lhe Phone Number
lield al lhe lop righl. ll will inslanlly change lo show lhe lMLl.
Similarly, clicking lhe serial number lield benealh will show lhe
unique device lD (UDlD) number, wilh lhe added bonus lhal il
you lap Clrl+C on lhe keyboard, lhe UDlD will be copied lo lhe
clipboard lor pasling elsewhere. You mighl be asked lor lhe UDlD
il you conlacl Apple's lechnical supporl or lhal ol an app vendor.
Get Sleeve Notes
One ol lhe biggesl crilicisms during lhe swilch lrom vinyl lo CD
was lhal sleeve noles were gelling smaller. ln lhe swilch lrom
CD lo digilal, sleeve noles have vanished. owever, a special
lealure ol iTunes allempls lo bring lhem back allhough nol
lor all albums, unlorlunalely, and il's very much down lo record
label whims.
iTunes LPs are like slandard albums you mighl purchase
lhrough iTunes, excepl lhey come wilh addilional malerial like
lyrics, sleeve noles and band pholos. Some even come wilh
movie liles showing lhe promo videos lor lhe songs or live
perlormances. You'll know when you're looking al an iTunes LP
in lhe slore because an icon will appear al lhe lop righl ol lhe
lrack lisling.
Get the most from Apple's syncing and media player software with the
20 tips unearthed by Ker Thomas
6
E
C
R
E
T
S
i ou can rearrange icons using iTunes, which can save fumbling around on
your iOS device

,781(6 6(&5(76
Unlorlunalely, allhough you can buy iTunes LPs on your iOS
device and play lhe music lhere, you'll only gel lhe lull sleeve-
noles experience via iTunes on your PC or Mac. Addilionally,
and as you mighl expecl, iTunes LPs are more usually coslly
lhan lhe equivalenls.
There also doesn'l appear lo be a way lo search specilically
lor iTunes LPs, allhough some kind people al Wikipedia mainlain
a lisl. en.vikipedia.orglvikilITunes_tP.
Anolher melhod ol gelling sleeve noles lor your music is lo
imporl lhem manually. Lilher scan or download images ol lhe
sleeve noles lrom a CD or LP, lhen save lhem as PDls. Drag
and drop lhem onlo lhe iTunes playlisl represenling lhe album.
They'll be added as a lile and, when double-clicked, you'll be
able lo view lhem as usual.
Go Audiophile
Music lans can debale lhe qualily ol lhe MP3 and AAC lile
lormals unlil lhe cows come home, bul one lhing is lor cerlain.
lhey're lilerally 'lossy' lormals, designed lo discard musical dala
in order lo shrink lile sizes. Depending on lhe qualily ol your
headphones (and your ears) lhis mighl be a slep loo lar. ll you
rip lracks lrom CD ralher lhan buying lhem, iTunes ollers a way
ol encoding lracks so lhal all lhe dala lrom lhe disc is relained
so lhere's zero qualily loss. The downside is lhal each ripped
lrack lakes up a lol more space. Whereas a slandard iTunes lrack
mighl lake up 3-4M8, you can expecl a lossless lrack lo lake up
20-30M8 (allhough lhis is slill much less lhan lhe .wav lile would
lake up when imporled direclly). Large lile sizes won'l be an
issue lor your compuler, bul il may prove challenging lor a !6C8
iPod or iPhone. Addilionally, some very old (pre-2005) iPods are
incompalible wilh lhe lossless lormal.
ll you decide lossless is lor you, open iTunes lhen click lhe
lop-lell menu bullon. Then selecl Prelerences lrom lhe menu
lhal appears, and in lhe dialogue box ensure lhe Ceneral lab is
selecled, and click lhe lmporl Sellings bullon. Then selecl Apple
Lossless Lncoder lrom lhe lmporl Using drop-down lisl.
Any lracks you imporl lrom lhis poinl onwards will be
encoded losslessly.
Sync Audiophile Tracks
Allhough you mighl choose lo rip CDs inlo audiophile-qualily
lossless lracks (see lhe previous lip), you're nol lorced lo sync lhe
large liles wilh your iPhone or iPod. ln lacl, iTunes ollers a way
ol shrinking any audio lile il syncs wilh your device, allowing you
lo cram more lunes onlo lhe device.
To make lhis happen, allach lhe device lhen selecl il lrom
lhe drop-down lisl al lhe lop righl ol lhe iTunes window. Then
selecl lhe Summary lab, and look under lhe Oplions heading
near lhe bollom. You'll see an enlry lhal reads 'Converl higher
bil rale songs', and you can choose a selling lrom lhe drop-
down lisl. Allhough !28Kbps is lhe lowesl selling, lhe qualily
reduclion is surprisingly modesl, and you may nol even be
able lo lell, especially when using headphones. Cive il a lry by
syncing some songs al lhal selling. Remember lhal lhe lracks
will relain lhe higher qualily sellings on your PC's hard disk.
Get A Better Mini-player
Mosl people already know ol iTunes' mini-player mode, which
can be aclivaled by clicking lhe menu icon al lhe lop-lell ol lhe
iTunes window and lhen selecling 'Swilch lo Mini-Player' lrom
lhe menu. Whal you mighl nol know is lhal lhe mini-player has
a secrel 'large arlwork' mode lhal lakes-up a lillle more space
bul which shows an luller image ol whalever lrack is currenlly
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a
iou can discover your iPhone's lMl using iTunes
i ou can make iTunes rip CDs in a lossless way so that no
musical data is discarded
i iTunes LP brings sleeve notes to digital downloads but at a premium and with only a
handful of albums taking advantage

playing. To aclivale il, jusl hover lhe mouse over lhe arlwork icon
in lhe mini-player unlil arrows appear and lhen click. The player
window will aulomalically expand. over lhe mouse cursor over
lhe window lo see lhe usual lransporl conlrols. To shrink lhe
window again, jusl click il in lhe same way.
Tear Off The Mini-player
ln addilion lo swilching belween lhe mini-player and main
window modes, you can use bolh al once. To do so, simply click
lhe album arlwork icon in lhe progress window al lhe lop middle
ol lhe iTunes window. Then click and drag lhe zoomed image ol
lhe arlwork lo a dillerenl parl ol lhe desklop.
lncrease Volume By Scrolling
8y placing lhe mouse cursor over lhe volume conlrol and
scrolling lhe mouse wheel, you can increase or decrease lhe
volume accordingly. This works wherever lhere's a slider wilhin
lhe iTunes window, in lacl, such as in lhe main progress display
al lhe lop middle ol lhe program window.
Boost Or EQ lndividual Songs
Lver had lhal one song lhal jusl sounds quieler lhan lhe resl?
The one you end up lurning up lhe volume lor, belore lhe nexl
lrack kicks in and perlorales your eardrums? iTunes ollers a lix by
lelling you sel a permanenl volume boosl (or reduclion) lor any
lrack. You can also sel a parlicular LQ lor a lrack, which mighl
be uselul il you simply wanl lo boosl lhe vocals, lor example.
To sel lhis up, selecl lhe lrack in queslion and lhe righl-click il,
selecling Cel lnlo lrom lhe menu lhal appears. ln lhe dialogue
box lhal appears, selecl lhe Oplions lab, lhen adjusl lhe slider as
you wish or selecl lrom lhe Lqualiser Presel drop-down lisl.
Stop iTunes Eating Your Disk
There are lwo ways ol backing up devices like iPhones, iPads and
iPod Touches. you can do so via iCloud, in which case lhe backup
happens magically whenever lhe device is connecled lo a power
source (and online) or you can back up lo your PC whenever you
allach lhe device and run iTunes. ll you choose lhe laller, lhen
you may well build up a high number ol backup liles. 8eing al
leasl !6C8 each in size, depending on lhe slorage capacily ol
your device, lhey can slarl lo consume your hard disk voraciously.
ln lheory, al leasl, all you need is lhe mosl recenl backup. All lhe
resl can be discarded.
iTunes lel you prune lhe backup slore. Jusl open ils
prelerences dialogue by clicking lhe icon al lhe lop lell ol lhe
iTunes window, lhen selecling Prelerences. ln lhe dialogue box
lhal appears selecl lhe Devices lab, and lhen look in lhe Devices
window lor lhe Device 8ackups heading. Selecl any backup you
wanl lo delele, lhen click lhe Delele 8ackup bullon.
Play Tracks On Other Computers
There are all kinds ol arcane rules delermining whal lracks
can and can'l be copied oll and onlo an iPod, iPhone or iPad.
i ou can make iTunes reduce quality (and file sizes) when syncing songs, so you can
cram more on your device
i iTunes has two separate mini-player modes, one of which will
show the artwork of the track currently being played
i ou can alter the volume level and Q of individual tracks, which can
compensate for a quiet piece of music

,781(6 6(&5(76
owever, an inleresling curiosily is lhal lracks on an iOS device
can be played lhrough iTunes on a compuler lhal isn'l lhe
'home' PC lhal's normally used lo sync music wilh lhe device.
You could play music slored on your iPhone using your work PC
and ils speakers, lor example, even il you ordinarily use your
home PC lo sync music liles wilh il.
To creale lhis selup, simply allach lhe iOS device lo lhe
second PC and slarl iTunes. You'll be asked il you wanl lo
aulhorise lhe PC lo work wilh lhe device, and will need lo
provide your Apple lD and password when prompled. You
only gel a lolal ol live aulhorisalions, so we carelul how
you use lhem! (They can be resel only by speaking lo Apple
supporl slall.)
Once lhe device is aulhorised, selecl il lrom lhe drop-down
lisl al lhe lop righl, and lhen click lhe 'On This iPhone/iPad/iPod'
link al lhe lop righl. Then choose lhe lrack you wanl lo play
and double-click il lo slarl hearing il lhrough your PC's speakers.
Music should play seamlessly, bul you mighl lind D video liles
sluller because ol lhe limilalions ol a US8 conneclion.
ViewThe Number Of Apps
Wanl lo quickly know how many apps, pholos, movies, and
songs you have on your iOS device? Allach il lo your PC, open
iTunes, lhen selecl lhe device in lhe drop-down lisl al lhe lop
righl ol lhe screen. Selecl lhe Summary lab and move lhe mouse
lo lhe bar charl al lhe bollom, which shows how much space
is laken up. over lhe mouse over each seclion lo see a pop-up
display showing lhe number ol ilems in each calegory.
Drag Artwork To Your Hard Disk
Lver wanled a copy ol lhe album arlwork lor an iTunes
purchase? You could lry searching Coogle lmages bul lhe qualily
can be variable. lnslead, you can simply drag il oul ol iTunes.
Slarl by selecling lhe lrack or album, lhen righl-click il and
choose Cel lnlo. ln lhe window lhal appears, selecl lhe Arlwork
lab, and lhen drag and drop lhe image lrom lhe dialogue box lo
lhe desklop or an Lxplorer window.
Quickly Rip Albums
Converling your CD colleclion lor an iPod or iPhone is always
going lo be a slow lask, bul iTunes can make il a lillle easier by
aulomalically imporling and lhen ejecling any CD you inserl.
This way, you can simply keep leeding lhe compuler CDs unlil
lhe enlire colleclion is ripped, wilh no need lo conlinually click
dialogue boxes. To sel il up, click lhe small icon al lhe very lop
lell ol lhe iTunes window and selecl Prelerences lrom lhe menu
lhal appears. Then click lhe Ceneral lab ol lhe dialogue box lhal
appears, and nexl lo lhe 'When You lnserl a CD' heading, selecl
lmporl CD and Lxil. Then click lhe OK bullon.
lnstantly Create Playlists
Crealing a playlisl can be done in a variely ol ways, bul perhaps
lhe easiesl is lo simply slarl dragging lhe lrack (or album). Once
you do lhis, a lisl ol playlisls will inslanlly slide oul ol lhe righl-
hand side ol lhe screen, and you can drop lhe lrack or album on
one ol lhe exisling playlisls or drop il on an emply area lo creale
an enlirely new playlisl.
Copy Radio Station Addresses
iTunes lels you lune inlo various online radio slalions
(jusl selecl lhe Radio lab in lhe main inlerlace), and il conlains
a comprehensive lisling ol mosl ol lhe major slalions lhal's nol
always lound in similar apps. owever, you mighl nol wanl
lo use an app as clunky as iTunes lo lune inlo lhe slalions. ll
so, simply click and drag lhe slalion oul ol lhe iTunes window
and onlo lhe desklop or an Lxplorer window. This will creale a
basic inlernel link (ralher like dragging a link oul ol a browser
window), which you can lhen usually drag and drop onlo your
prelerred radio player app, such as Pockel Radio Player (vvv.
pockeIradiopIayer.de.vu).
i ou can view the number of items stored on your iOS device by hovering the mouse
over the bar-graph display
i Deleting iOS device backups can save a lot of space
h ou can take advantage of iTunes' extensive internet radio
station listing to create links for smaller, less clunky player apps

Origins And People
TypeScripl is a brand new language. Version 0.9 was unwrapped
in lronl ol lhe developer communily lhis June al Microsoll's 8uild
20!3 evenl (buiIdvindovs.com).
TypeScripl endeavours lo improve lhe lile ol lhe prolessional
JavaScripl coder by adding lypes, classes and modules. ll's
parlicularly helplul lor large code lislings, which are invariably
problemalic lo wrile, debug and mainlain in pure JavaScripl.
ln common wilh many new Microsoll inilialives, lhere's a slrong
lean lowards openness, exemplilied by lhe Apache 2 licence and
CodePlex-hosled source code. ln lacl, TypeScripl is a preview
ol whal lo expecl ol lhe upcoming LCMAScripl 6 slandard
(ecmascripI.org).
There are lDL plug-ins lor Visual Sludio 20!2/20!3 and
WebMalrix, plus supporl lor Sublime Texl, Lmacs and Vim edilors.
Developer Highlights
TypeScripl is a supersel ol JavaScripl. Consequenlly, developers can
slarl wilh exisling JavaScripl code, lhen use whichever TypeScripl
lealures seem mosl appropriale. The addilion ol lypes and generics,
plus improved class delinilions and 'inlellisense' supporl, enable
developers lo wrile beller slruclured code wilh lewer bugs.
The open-source, open-specilicalion, cross-plallorm compiler is
ilsell wrillen in TypeScripl. Type declaralions are removed by lhe
compiler lo ensure lhe LCMA slandard JavaScripl oulpul runs in
any browser and on any hosl.
TypeScripl header liles add lype inlormalion lo exisling libraries.
A gilhub-hosled projecl called DelinilelyTyped (goo.gIlsMmCh)
already conlains an impressive colleclion ol '.ls' delinilion liles
covering many popular libraries and lrameworks, including jQuery,
MongoD8, Node.js and D3.js.
Anders ejlsberg, one ol lhe induslry's mosl respecled language
engineers and lead archilecl lor C#, played a key role. is hour
long 8uild 20!3 lalk (goo.gIl7RnzI) includes deep insighls inlo
TypeScripl's design ralional and polenlial.
Developer Lowlights
Promising lhough TypeScripl looks, il's loo early lo say how
developers will reacl. They'll only be able lo lorm an accurale
opinion ol ils polenlial aller il's been used in real-world solulions.
Despile ils open nalure, some developers mighl be wary
ol Microsoll's commilmenl lo lhe open-source communily.
Consequenlly, lhey may opl lo slick wilh pure JavaScripl or
invesligale allernalives such as ColleeScripl or ClojureScripl.
Currenlly, only Microsoll's Visual Sludio 20!2/20!3 lool delivers
comprehensive supporl lor all TypeScripl's lealures. Using anolher
cross-plallorm lDL or edilors mighl prove less produclive. As lhe
compiler is wrillen in TypeScripl, il's nol loo dillicull lo embody
similar supporl wilhin lhird-parly lDLs and edilors, bul when lhis
mighl happen is unclear.
The Future
The .NLT plallorm cerlainly isn'l shorl ol programming languages.
Neverlheless, TypeScripl seems lo be a worlhy addilion lo lhe
prolessional developer's loolbox.
ll has a line language pedigree, a desirable lealure lisl and
is backed by highly respecled language archilecls. TypeScripl's
chances are lurlher improved by ils open nalure and mulli-plallorm
supporl, bul wilh a language lhis young, cryslal ball gazing is a
lricky game.
To make up your own mind, navigale lo lhe TypeScripl preview
websile (IypescripIIang.org) and selecl lhe 'Play' mode.
Davd Brddock explores Nicrosoft's
interesting take on 1ava5cript coding
i Anders Hejlsberg
;| './1 |+:
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ennheiser was lounded aller lhe end ol lhe Second World

War. As lhe name suggesls, il's a Cerman company, slarled
by Prolessor lrilz Sennheiser wilh some ol his colleagues
lrom lhe Universily ol annover. Operaling oul ol lhe
Laboralorium Wenneboslel, lhe company was inilially named Labor
W and began by manulacluring vollmelers.
The company's move inlo audio equipmenl came oul ol necessily,
really. in !946, Siemens, anolher Cerman eleclronics company, was
looking lor a microphone supplier and Labor W slepped in. Al lirsl,
il jusl replicaled an exisling microphone, bul wilhin a year Labor W
had begun developing ils own microphones. Soon, il was crealing
mulliple models ol microphone lor dillerenl markels, lrom !949's
noise-compensaling DM4 lo !953's MD2! - a microphone originally
developed lor news reporlers.
Al lhe same lime, lhe company began developing olher audio
producls like power ampliliers, meaning lhal by lhe end ol lhe
!950s lhe company had over 250 employees and had been lorced
lo build an exlra building onlo ils original headquarlers in order lo
accommodale lhem. ll also renamed ilsell Sennheiser Lleclronic,
aller lhe lhen Prime Minisler ol Auslralia relused lo use a Labor
W microphone, assuming il had somelhing lo do wilh a lrade
union ('Labor' in relalion lo Sennheiser is only a shorlened lorm ol
Laboralorium, ralher lhan bearing any relalionship lo lhe Lnglish
word 'labour', bul clearly lhere was room lor conlusion in Lnglish-
speaking counlries).
More audio producls lollowed lhroughoul lhe 60s and
70s, including microphones, speakers and headphones. Jorg
Sennheiser, lrilz Sennheiser's son, became Technical Direclor
ol lhe company in !976 belore laking over as CLO in !982.
The company conlinued in lhe same vein under his leadership,
launching new and innovalive producls lhroughoul lhe 80s,
including lhe lirsl headsel (headphones and a microphone in
one unil) in !987. The 90s saw Sennheiser pick up a series ol
presligious awards lor ils innovalions in audio lechnology. lirsl,
an Lmmy lor ils work in Rl wireless lechnology (widely used in
TV and lilm) in !996, lhen a Crammy in !998 and a Cerman
lnnovalion Prize in bolh !998 and !999.
ll's a remarkably drama-lree lale, really. The 2!sl cenlury
saw Sennheiser conlinue lo produce ils audio producls, moslly
microphones and conlinue lo innovale wilh digilal and wireless
versions ol lhose producls. Aller declaring an ambilion lo creale lhe
besl headphones in lhe world, Sennheiser has come lo be regarded as
one ol lhe besl manulaclurers ol audio producls, allhough presumably
'besl' is slill up lor debale.
ln 20!0, lrilz Sennheiser died al lhe age ol 98. owever, lhe
business is slill very much in lhe lamily, as his grandsons Daniel
and Andreas Sennheiser were promoled lo lhe posilion ol joinl
CLO lhis July. Their lakeover will also see Sennheiser undergoing
a major reshullle, wilh new board members being appoinled and
responsibililies lor lhe various divisions (Consumer Lleclronics,
Communicalions, Prolessional Syslems, Clobal Sales, Services,
Cuslomer Service and Avialion) being redislribuled. A new subsidiary,
Sennheiser Swilzerland, was also crealed lhis year, lollowing
Sennheiser's acquisilion ol 8leuel Lleclronic.
A Iook aI Ihe hisIory o! a business IhaI's nov being run by Ihe Ihird
generaIion o! Ihe !amiIy vhich gave iI a name.
Compony Prodles
$ennhelser
Iritz Sennheiser

founded. !945
founder. lrilz Sennheiser
ased in. anover, Cermany
Knovn !or. Audio producls
AnnuaI Iurnover. 53!.4 million
5Ia!!. 2,200
WebsiIe. www.sennheiser.com

L
l
n
u
x
8
g
e
cla
llsts

his week, we celebrale

lhose brave wrilers ol
Linux lomes, who have
sel lheir work adrill in
lhe endless sea ol lechnical
documenlalion, how-lo guides,
books lor dummies and olher
such lilled lilerary genius.
Those wrilers who care lillle lor
prolil and have no need lo
move inlo lhe caslle nexl door
lo J K Rowling. The wrilers
who wanl nolhing more lhan
lo share lheir weallh ol
knowledge and make lhe world
ol Linux a happier place lor
lhose who wish lo lravel lhe
palh ol sell-enlighlenmenl.
Yes, we're going lo have a
look al some ol lhe marvellous
lree e-books lhal are available
lor our lavourile subjecl in
queslion. Linux.
It Takes 0ne Word
To 8tart A Book
Lel's slarl oll wilh somelhing
lhal slill lluslers many users
ol Linux. lhe command line.
ow many limes have we
Linux users lold people lhal
lhe command line isn'l a scary
place lo inhabil, and lhal greal
and powerlul lhings can be
accomplished lrom jusl a lew
words? Probably loo many.
Thal being lhe case, check
oul 1he ||nux Command ||ne
A Comp|e|e |n|roduc||on, by
William L Sholls, Jr.
ll's a prelly impressive lome,
lo be sure. Wilh over 530 pages
ol well delailed command line
use and shell scripling, lhis
weighly eleclronic volume is
available lree as a PDl lrom
goo.gIlI8OTKm and is bound
lo keep you busy lor many
weeks lo come.
For Advanced 0sers
Nexl, we have a book wrillen
lor lhe more knowledgeable
Linux user. Advanced Linux
Programming, by Mark
Book 'em0anno
0ovid Hoyword hos
been using Linux
since Red Hot 2.0
in schools, businesses
ond ot home, which
either mokes him
very knowledgeoble
or o glutton Ior
extreme unishment
Free Llnux books lor all
Milchell, Jellery Oldham and
Alex Samuel.
Again, il's an impressive
368-page book lhal helps lhe
CNU/Linux developer lweak
lheir skills and wrile more
sophislicaled programs lhal
ulilise lhe modern PC and
Linux syslems. ll's available
lrom goo.gIloO3eb as PDl
in parls or lhe enlire book in a
single lile.
For The Beglnner
ll's always dillicull lo slarl
somelhing new, especially an
operaling syslem as versalile as
Linux. Where do you go? Whal
dislro should you use? ow do
you gel onlo lhe compuler? All
valid queslions lor lhe beginner.
This online help lilled A
Newo|es Ce|||n 5|ar|ed
Cu|de |o ||nux by Slelan
Neagu may go some way lo
helping you oul.
ll's relalively small, bul il
hils lhe nail on lhe head and
includes some nice links and
screenshols lo help hold lhe
hands ol new Linux user. ll's
available eilher online or as a
downloadable PDl lrom goo.
gIlI2UbvR.
0nce More For
The Beglnner
ll lhe above doesn'l lloal your
boal, lor whalever reason, lhen
check oul CNU/||nux bas|c,
by Joaquin Lopez Sanchez-
Monlaes, Solia 8elles Ramos,
Roger 8aig Vias and lrancesc
Auli Llinas.
ll's a decenl-sized 255-page
book lhal lakes you lhrough
lhe basics ol gelling up and
running wilh Linux and how
lo conligure il lor basic use.
ll may nol hold your hand as
much as lhe above beginner's
book, bul il's well worlh a
look al as a PDl lrom goo.gIl
uvvgaq.
Theres Plenty More
We don'l have lhe room lo lisl
every lree resource lor Linux,
bul lake il lrom me, lhere's
cerlainly a lol available.
g The Linux Command Line,
illustrated by a hungry robot with a
large left arm (of course)
`
a
0DNH WKH ZRUOG RI /LQX[
D KDSSLHU SODFH IRU WKRVH
ZKR ZLVK WR WUDYHO WKH SDWK
RI VHOIHQOLJKWHQPHQW

A
m
l
g
a
5ven Horvey hos been
our Amigo seciolist
Ior over 12 yeors,
drowing on his vost
comuting knowledge
which is itselI the
result oI 21 yeors oI
retoiling comuter ond
video gomes
0eneratlon 8hllt

l's now !4 years since

Amiga Marl slarled, and il
has now been a decade
since Amiga OS 4.0 lirsl
broke cover wilh screenshols
and, indeed, lhe lenlh
anniversary ol lhe lirsl public
demos is only a monlh away.
Sollware-wise lhe OS has
been moving on al a pace
lhal, lo lhe naked eye ol
someone nol inlimale wilh lhe
Amiga's, shall we say, uniquely
handicapped posilion lor mosl
ol lhe lime since Commodore's
collapse nearly lwo decades
ago, mighl seem slow.
Unlil 2003, lhe AmigaOS was
prelly much locked inlo lhe
cuslom co-processors and lhe
Molorola 68000 CPU series,
because allhough some work
(WarpUP/PowerUP) had slarled
wilh lhe adoplion ol PowerPC
in !995 wilh small chunks ol
OS parliculales being replaced
lor use wilh PPC acceleralors,
no aclual inlegralion ol non-
68k code inlo lhe OS slarled
unlil yperion Lnlerlainmenl
slarled work on Amiga OS 4.
The lask was immense
and hardware scarce, lo say
lhe leasl, wilh very limiled
numbers ol lhe original
AmigaOne machines available.
The OS code needed a
complele rewrile lrom lop lo
bollom lo lake advanlage ol
PowerPC wilh lhe exlended
aim ol supporling mulli-core
processors slill being in lhe
lulure al lhis poinl, and lhe
evenlual lully 64-bil version
on lhe horizon lhal can lhen
be porled lo olher 64-bil
archileclures (including,
hopelully, ARM-64).
ardware-wise, lhough,
lhe developmenl is a bil more
obvious. ACube has ollered
lhree dillerenl PowerPC-based
boards lhal supporl AmigaOS
4.x, culminaling in lhe
AmigaOne 500 machine (see
IinyurI.comlmIy4Ivk). Parallel
lo lhal is a new slarl-up, A-Lon
Technology, parlnered wilh
yperion Lnlerlainmenl and
Minislry ol Delence conlraclor
Varysis (sel up by lhe crealors
ol lhe Transpuler, no less),
lo develop a new high-end
AmigaOS 4.x specilic machine.
The resull ol lhal is lhe
AmigaOne X!000 (in Amiga
lerms, il's a dual-core 64-bil
powerhouse, based on
lhe scarce and increasingly
expensive PA Semi PA6T-!682M
PowerPC processor and Varysis'
Nemo molherboard.
Lvery, admilledly small, run
ol lhis machine, which includes
a cuslom 8oing 8all embossed
version ol lraclal Design's
Deline R3 case, sells oul belore
linal assembly al AmigaKil
(which is A-Lon's dislribulor).
Nemo's successor is on lhe
way lorlunalely as lhe PA
Semi CPU disappears lrom
availabilily. Cyrus enlered
developmenl a lillle while ago
and al Silicon Dreams 20!3,
Trevor lrom A-Lon pul Cyrus
(Mk !) and Cyrus+ (Mk 2)
boards on display.
The Cyrus Plus 2.0, lo use
il's lull name, is a larger (lull-
size ATX) board lhan lhe Cyrus
micro-ATX board, and allhough
il's ollicially lhe mark-lwo
version ol lhe board, Trevor is
nol ruling oul lhe developmenl
ol bolh board sizes. This led
lo lhe glib remark lrom me ol
relerring lo il as lhe AmigaOne
X!200, because lhe A!200 is
my lavourile ol lhe classics al
Silicon Dreams, bul Trevor did
say il was lar loo soon lo lhink
ol such lhings.
The Cyrus Plus 2.0 is
designed lo lake SoC
processors lrom lreescale's
P50x0 line wilh lhe 2Cz
64-bil dual-core P5020
being lhe inilial largel CPU,
allhough il will supporl lhe
P5040 quad-core 2.4Cz unil
when commercially viable.
lnlereslingly, lhe bool ROM
lakes lhe lorm ol an SD card,
opening up lhe possibilily ol
big porlions ol lhe OS being on
lhere ralher lhan lhe hard disk.
We're lalking second
prololype here, lhough, so
lesling, developmenl and lhen
a small run lor a closed bela
lesl will have lo lake place
belore a release candidale
is selecled, so !8 monlhs
al lhe leasl. Al leasl lhere
will be somelhing lo base a
replacemenl ol lhe X!000 on
(and given lhe CPU name, lhe
moniker 'AmigaOne X2000'
seems sensible).
8ven Harvey returns wlth an other look at the Amlga slde ol llle
i The next motherboard for AmigaOS (which may also support MorphOS
and Linux)

M
o
b
l
l
e
Read All About It
Ian Mc0urren takes a look at the lree
dlgltal magazlnes avallable lor your tablet
on is o roIessionol
T onolyst, o semi-
roIessionol writer
ond o retty omoteur
electronic musicion.
He likes godgetry ond
loves moking godgets
do things they were
never designed to do
move. The problem is all ol
lhese are subscriplion-based,
ollen lor a monlh al a lime
no single purchases here. There
is one paper, however, lhal is as
lree digilally as il is in real lile
and lhal is lhe |e|ro. Known
lor being lhe paper given lree
lo commulers, lhe |e|ro lablel
app is anolher digilal magazine
lhal embraces lhe lablel
lormal. |e|ro, like ils prinl
sibling, is updaled weekdays
and is well worlh a look.
Cineworld: Surprisingly,
lhe besl example ol a digilal
magazine in lhis round-up
is cinema chain Cineworld's
own in-house magazine app.
Allhough deep conlenl isn'l
ils lorle il is a promolional
magazine, aller all
presenlalion is excellenl, wilh
moving piclures, animaled
adverls, embedded lrailers and
bold presenlalion. Produced
monlhly, il brings alive lhe
molion piclures wilhin ils
eleclronic pages and shows
whal can be done lo whal is
normally a subdued publicalion
lo bring il lo lile.
Why aren'l digilal magazines
huge business like lhe
ebook? Maybe il's because
lhe recognised vessel
lor ebook viewing and
dislribulion arguably
lhe Kindle doesn'l lend
ilsell lo replicaling glossy
magazines quile so well
as il does lhe simple
monochrome lexl ol a
novel. Maybe il's because
purchasing jusl one copy
is lied up in subscriplions
and maybe il's jusl simply
seen as expensive. This is
a shame, because when
done righl, lhe lablel is
wilhoul doubl lhe nalural
home lor lhe 2!sl cenlury
periodical.

y lhe measure ol ils

lilerary sibling lhe
ebook, lhe digilal
magazine hasn'l yel
experienced anywhere near
lhe same success. This is a
shame, as lhey have many
unique qualilies, including
inleraclivily and animalion and
are even ideal lor lhose on
holiday or on journeys wilh
palchy coverage, since lhey
download each edilion in ils
enlirely belorehand. Presenlly,
lhe majorily are paid lor,
including lhe cheeky ones lhal
proless lo be lree, only lo
make in-app paymenl
demands lor any malerial.
owever, lhere are some
excellenl examples lhal are as
lree as air, here's a selecl lew.
Gamereactor: Originally
hailing lrom Denmark,
Camereaclor is one ol lhe
beller Luro-cenlric gaming siles
lhe web has lo oller. lls iPad
magazine is well designed and
laid oul, wilh conlenl every
bil as good as lhose available
on lhe newsagenl shelves.
Unlike magazines, lhere's
plenly ol arry Poller-esque
embedded video conlenl loo
and some clever use ol lhe
gyroscope lo display lhe
arlicles in a magazine-like
presenlalion.
CPU: Slanding lor
'Compuler Power User',
C|U is a US-based
magazine lhal has been
published in prinl since
200!. ll has a much
more lradilional layoul,
insomuch as il eschews
video and linking and
lunclions much like a
regular magazine would.
owever, conlenl is king,
and here lhere's plenly ol
PC componenl reviews
and lealures lhal are
presenled in an inlormalive
and comprehensive manner.
Distro: Culled lrom lhe
pages ol respecled lech sile
Lngadgel, ||s|ro was one
ol lhe lirsl iPad magazines
lo embrace lhe lormal and
oller a high-qualily digilal
publicalion lor lree. aving
jusl passed ils !00lh issue,
||s|ro is one ol lhe besl lech
digesls aboul al lhe momenl,
wilh lhe inlormalive wriling
and greal use ol lhe lablel
plallorm making il a serious
challenger lo prinl lech lileslyle
magazines. ll you're a heavy
reader ol Lngadgel, lhen you
will lind much ol lhe conlenl
lamiliar lo you, bul as lar as
lree weekly iPad magazines
go, lech based or nol, ||s|ro
sels a benchmark. ||s|ro is
also available on Android
somelhing many digilal
magazines are sadly nol.
Netro: Moving away lrom
lechnology, lhere are more
and more eleclronic versions ol
lradilional prinl newspapers,
wilh labloid lavourile lhe 5un
lhe mosl recenl lo make lhe

R
e
t
r
o
Knlghts 0emons 0emons 0X

he Spanish-based
developer and
publisher Kabulo
laclory has released
a new and improved version
ol rn|h|s 8 |emons, which
was released earlier in 20!3
as a budgel lille lor lhe
Sinclair ZX Speclrum.
This new version, rn|h|s 8
|emons |X, uses lhe 8ilrosl*
graphics engine, which lorces
lhe old Speccy lo display
more lhan lwo colours per 8
x 8 allribule block lrom ils
palelle ol !6 (including lhe
lwo idenlical shades ol black -
brighl and normal).
live monlhs ol
developmenl lime poured inlo
il, and il shows. aside lrom
lhe aeslhelic improvemenls
ol exlra colour delail on lhe
sollware spriles, lhere are
new in-play animalions,
slalic images on beginning
and ending each game and
exlra challenges.
The game is available lo
buy al 7 (approximalely
6.!0 al lhe lime ol
wriling) on casselle lape,
encapsulaled in a nice big
box wilh colour labels. Also,
lhere's a lry belore you buy
oplion, as lhe lull game is
available as a lree download.
lor more inlormalion, head
over lo lhe websile (Lnglish
lexl is below lhe Spanish lor
each paragraph) al IinyurI.
comlKnighIsAndDemonsDX.
0ouble Bllllng
A|s |ouo|e b||| is a !28K-only
Speccy release lhal has been
crealed by llalian ZX enlhusiasl
5houn hos o
ossionote interest in
8-bit comuting ond
goming ond hos been
Iinding novel woys to
use retro technology
since 1/
There's glenty ol news lromthe 8lnclalr ZX
8gectrumscene thls week, as 8haun regorts
Alessandro Crussu, il
is an amalgamalion ol
his lwo earlier releases
- one lrom March
20!2 and lhe olher
March 20!3. 8olh have
been relaclored and
lreshened up wilh new
lealures, being |os| |n
|y 5pec|rum vers|one
|s|esa and Apu||ja-1
||rec|ors Cu|.
|os| |n |y 5pec|rum
vers|one |s|esa is a 2D
plallorm game in lhe
slyle ol |an|c ||ner.
ll now conlains lour
new levels (making
2! in lolal), exlra
sollware spriles and
redesigned level backdrops.
The lives counler is a bil more
generous, wilh nine inslead ol
seven lrom lhe beginning, and
is a ralher lun
romp lor lhose
wilh a londness
lo lhis age-old
genre.
Apu||ja-1
||rec|ors Cu|
ciles several
prominenl classic
8-bil games
as inspiralion,
including |aser
5quad, A||en
5yndrome and
|n|o |he |a|es Nes|. Wilh
new localions, an improved
map layoul, relocaled objecls
and lougher enemies, lhis
lop-down 2D arcade role-
playing game sees you lake
on lhe role ol Jonlan, who is
lorced lo make an emergency
landing al lhe slronghold ol
Apulija-!3, which is under
seige lrom malevolenl space
beings. ll's up lo you lo
repell lhe invaders and salely
relurn home.
To lind oul more, visil
vvv.aIessandrogrussu.iIl
diario-2013-07-11.hImI ll's
an llalian sile, bul lhe link
lo lhe game download is
al lhe bollom ol lhe page
and all games are in Lnglish.
Use a lranslalor il you're
having problems.
Hot 8tull
Al lhe lime ol wriling, lhe sizzling summer has slarled lo
cool, which should give me some lime lo work on my indoor
lan oblained lrom lhose brighl CRT screens slrewn aboul
somelhing lhal used lo resemble a sludy. See you nexl week.
g g
iKnight And Demons DX, available
for the Sinclair ZX Spectrum on
cassette tape
iAl's Double 8ill combines two fine
games in one for the 128K Sinclair ZX
Spectrum

0
a
m
l
n
g
Plug&Play
ll lhere's one game we'd delinilely
preler lo quielly download lrom
Sleam ralher lhan ask lor by
name in a shop, il's Whore O| 1he
Or|en|. Originally announced in
20!!, il's lhe lalesl projecl lrom
8rendan McNamara, lhe lead
developer behind lhe hil deleclive
game |.A. No|re. And while
lhal lille mighl raise eyebrows,
McNamara promised lhal il would
be "one ol lhe greal unlold
slories ol lhe 20lh cenlury."
Sel in !930s Shanghai,
Whore O| 1he Or|en| is, like
|.A. No|re belore il, lo be a
hybrid ol scripled period lhriller
and lree-roaming aclion game,
wilh McNamara's palenled
lacial caplure lechnique (called
MolionScan) again coming inlo
play. "We lhink lhe evolulion
lrom1he Ce|away lo |.A. No|re
and learning lhe lessons we did
on lhe way and some ol lhe slull
aboul emerging slorylelling, is
delinilely an avenue lo pursue,"
McNamara lold Lurogamer in
20!!.
McNamara's been a
conlroversial ligure since lhe
allermalh ol |.A. No|re's release.
Allhough lhe game ilsell was a
crilical and linancial hil, slories
began lo emerge in ils wake
ol poor working condilions al
McNamara's sludio, Team 8ondi.
Wilhin monlhs ol |.A. No|re's
launch, publisher Rockslar had
parled company wilh Team
8ondi, and wilh lhe sludio's
name larnished by bad press,
McNamara look an unusual slep.
Wilh his workers and ideas in
low, he sel up camp al KMM, lhe
produclion company owned by
|ad |ax direclor Ceorge Miller.
While McNamara and his leam
have been working on Whore O|
1he Or|en| since, lhis new game
has been besel by lroubles ol ils
own. Warner 8ros, which was
originally lined up lo publish lhe
game, abruplly dropped oul in
lale 20!2. 8y April 20!3, news
had emerged lhal lhe game had
been pul on hold and lhal an
unspecilied number ol workers
had been cul. lor a while, il
looked as lhough Whore O| 1he
Or|en| had wilhered on lhe vine,
unlil some leaked loolage gol
everybody lalking aboul il again.
Acquired lrom an anonymous
source by VideoCamer.com,
lhe loolage (biI.Iyl1b0zH)
is reporledly lromWhore O|
1he Or|en|s alpha phase ol
developmenl. Showing a dapper
cop running around lhe cobbled
slreels ol Shanghai and bashing
criminals, il has all lhe elemenls
you'd expecl lo see in a sandbox
aclion game along lhe lines ol
|a||a or 5|eep|n |os. a lhird-
person perspeclive, cover-based
shooling and a polenlial punch-
up lurking around every corner.
Allhough lhis could be lhe
lasl we'll see ol an indelinilely
suspended projecl, VideoCamer
also reporled lhal lhe Auslralian
governmenl had given $200,000
lo McNamara's sludio in June and
lhal a publisher was being soughl.
ll's jusl possible, lhen, lhal lhis
curiously named game could one
day see lhe lighl ol day aller all.
Online
The lasl lime we heard anylhing
aboul 8lizzard's myslerious
Wor|d O| Warcra|| successor,
codenamed Projecl 1||an, il
was being overhauled, wilh
ils release pushed back lo lhe
dislanl year ol 20!6. And while
lhe MMO is slill veiled in secrecy,
il was al leasl menlioned during
a recenl linancial call. ln il,
Aclivision 8lizzard CLO Mike
Morhaime conlirmed reporls
lhal leam members who were
once working on 1||an had
been shilled lo olher lranchises,
"including Wor|d O| Warcra||
and b||zzard A||-5|ars", lhe laller
being lhe sludio's upcoming
real-lime slralegy game lealuring
characlers lromWarcra||, ||ao|o
and 5|arCra||.
Morhaime also menlioned lhal
a 20!6 release window was being
Ryon Lombie hos loved
videogomes since he
Iirst stored u in owe ot
o 0oloxion orcode
cobinet in his locol chi
sho. 28 yeors on, Ryon
writes obout goming
Ior Micro Mort. He`s
still oddicted to
chis ond still useless
ot 0oloxion
8
g
e
cla
llsts
This veek, checks in on Ihe progress o! Ihe nev
game !romIhe maker o! t.A. Noire and vonders vheIher
EveruesI NexI viII be Ihe successor Io WorId O! Warcra!I...
lt may have a dodgy title, but Whore Of The Orient has an excellent pedigree,
coming as it does from the makers of L.A. Noire. Let's hope it finds a publisher soon.

considered lor 1||an, bul his mosl

signilicanl slalemenl came when
he brielly discussed lhe game's
business model. 1||an is, he said,
"unlikely lo be a subscriplion-
based MMO."
Cerlainly, lhis announcemenl
adds more weighl lo lhe
argumenl lhal lhe lulure lies
in lree-lo-play games - and il
il happens, il'll be a major shill
in policy lroma sludio lhal has
long made a lorlune lromlhe
subscriplion-based Wor|d O|
Warcra||. ll's lair lo say, lhough,
lhal change has been in lhe
air lor some lime. Warcra||'s
numbers have been dropping
lromlheir 2007 peak ol around
!! million lor years now, and
recenl monlhs have seen ils user
base shrink lo below eighl million.
Morhaime himsell admilled lhal
Warcra|| had sullered a "relalively
quiel quarler," bul hoped lhal
lhe numbers mighl pick up again
once lhe 5|ee O| Orr|mmar
updale launches laler lhis year.
While il's cerlainly possible lhal
lulure updales will renew inleresl
lromlapsed lans, il's undeniable
lhal Warcra||'s overall lrend is
one ol conlraclion ralher lhan
expansion. And wilh promising
MMOs like 1he 5ecre| Wor|d and
1he O|d |epuo||c slruggling lo
gain a loolhold under lhe old
monlhly paymenl model, bul
linding a niche when swilching
lo lree-lo-play, il could be lhal
Warcra|| is lhe lasl ol a dying
breed - and when 8lizzard's
lhinking aboul means ol lunding
ils nexl-gen MMO olher lhan
subscriplions, lhal's surely a
signilicanl sign.
As lor lhe lanlasy MMORPC
genre, il's lar lroma spenl lorce.
One ol lhe very lirsl MMOs,
|verues|, will soon be making a
lriumphanl relurn wilh |verues|
Nex|, a lollow-up lhal brings
lhe game inlo lhe 2!sl cenlury.
Allhough il's a game very much
in lhe lradilion ol a lanlasy
RPC, il also brings wilh il some
polenlially signilicanl nexl-gen
llourishes, including delailed
almospheric ellecls and a
persislenl, lully deslruclible online
world. One recenlly unveiled
video shows how lhe dealh ol
a gianl monsler leaves behind
cralers and scorched earlh, while
anolher shows how players can
aller and conslrucl lheir own
buildings.
An amalgamol Warcra||'s
addiclive RPC qualilies and
||neCra||'s range ol sandbox
building lools, |verues| Nex|
could, il lhe early acclaim's
accurale, be lhe lulure ol
MMORPCs - and, unsurprisingly,
il will be lree-lo-play.
You can lind oul more al
everquesI-nexI.co.uk.

We've been keeping an eye on

Ubisoll's Wa|chdos lor some
lime, largely because we love
lhe concepl. il is, aller all, an
open-world sandbox game
where you play a hacker who
can wreck havoc by lapping inlo
gas lines and lrallic lighls wilh
his high-lech mobile phone. A
recenl lrailer (biI.Iyl1cihpx)
gives a lresh idea ol ils rainy,
dyslopian almosphere, and we'd
go so lar as lo say lhal despile
lhe absence ol cyborgs, il looks
more like a 5ynd|ca|e rebool lhan
LA's allempl al one lasl year. You
can drive anywhere, shool anyone
and use your hacking powers lo
bring a cily lo ils knees.
Ubisoll has already launched
one compelling new lranchise
in lhe pasl !2 monlhs - Arkane
Sludios' sleampunk lhriller
||shonored - and Wa|ch |os
could be anolher one, especially
il il can live up lo lhe brilliance
ol ils premise, which laps inlo
very presenl concerns aboul slale
surveillance and privacy.
Walchdogs is due oul on
22nd November.
iWith World Of Warcraft aging and Project Titan still three years away at
least, could Sony's verQuest Next be the next major fantasy MMORPG7 arly
signs look promising
i A sandbox action game where an entire city can be hacked into, Ubisoft's
Watchdogs is due out in November. We're rather looking forward to this one









5end your quesIions Io.
Aaron ich
Micro MarI
Dennis PubIishing
30 CIeveIand 5IreeI
tondon
W1T 41D
ConIacI Aaron by emaiI aI.
aaronmicromarI.co.uk
PIease Iry Io keep your
queries brief and IimiI
Ihem Io jusI one quesIion
per IeIIer, simpIy so ve
can squeeze in as many as
ve can each veek. PIease
incIude reIevanI IechnicaI
informaIion Ioo.
$
D
U
R
Q
Neet Aaron Birch.
He's here to help you
with any general
upgrading, software
and system building
problems. He's got
advice aplenty, and
you're very much
welcome to it!

i The website, PClDatabase can hep identify unknown devices

Unknown Device
Aller whal seems like aeons, l've linally upgraded
my PC lo Windows 7 lrom XP (nol quile made il
lo 8 yel). The upgrade was line, as l purchased
a complele copy ol Windows 7, nol jusl an
upgrade, and lormalled belorehand, so l avoided
any niggling lillle issues. l'd already backed up
my dala and had all my program selups, so il was
perleclly easy lo inslall lrom scralch.
Aller lhe inslall, l booled up Windows 7 and
all was well, excepl a couple ol small lillle lhings.
Coing inlo Device Manager, l noliced lhal a couple
ol ilems were highlighled wilh an exclamalion
mark, and named 'Unknown Device'. As lar as
l was aware, l inslalled all lhe drivers l had, and
Windows 7 look care ol lhe resl. According lo
Device Manager, lhal's nol lhe case, and l've gol
some hardware lhal's nol inslalled properly.
This is line, and l'm prepared lo inslall any
drivers l need, bul l jusl don'l know whal il is
lhal l need. 'Unknown Device' doesn'l exaclly
help much, and l have no drivers lell over lhal
l've nol sel up. l inslalled graphics and sound card
drivers, all my prinler, scanner and olher devices,
and everylhing seems lo work.
ls lhere an easy way lo lell whal lhe devices
are lhal need inslalling? l'd ralher avoid using
random programs il possible, as l don'l wanl lo
lill up my syslem wilh small applicalions l'm never
going lo use again.
Thanks lor any help you can provide.

A||houh many sys|ems can wor| per|ec||y ||ne

w||h some un|nown dev|ces (un|ess sa|d dev|ces are
essen||a|, such as |he C|U, || can oe rea||y annoy|n
hav|n |hose |||||e ye||ow and o|ac| exc|ama||on
mar|s on your o|herw|se per|ec||y oran|sed dev|ce
||s|. ||nd|n ou| wha| |hese are can oe a pa|n, ou|
|here are easy ways |o ||nd ou|, |nc|ud|n many
|h|rd par|y apps. As you don| wan| |o |ns|a|| |hese,
|e|s |oo| a| a d|||eren| approach.
A||houh | can| oe sure w||hou| more
|n|orma||on, as youve o| mos| |h|ns
wor||n, |d suspec| |he m|ss|n dev|ces are
par| o| your sys|em ch|pse|, wh|ch |s o||en one
o| |he sources o| m|ss|n dev|ce dr|vers. 5o, ||
may oe wor|h s|mp|y v|s|||n your mo|herooard
manu|ac|urers weos||e and down|oad|n |he
requ|red dr|vers. || |h|s |sn| |he case, |hen you
can |ry |he |o||ow|n |r|c| |o manua||y d|scover
de|a||s aoou| |he dev|ce.
||rs|, o |n|o Con|ro| |ane|, and |hen |ev|ce
|anaer. Once |here, |oca|e |he proo|em
dev|ces and r|h| c||c|. 5e|ec| |roper||es and
c||c| |he |e|a||s |ao. Now, |rom |he drop-down
||s| under |roper|y, se|ec| |ev|ce |ns|ance |a|h.
1h|s w||| show you a s|r|n o| charac|ers |n |he
va|ue w|ndow.
|oo| |hrouh |h|s s|r|n and ||nd va|ues
|ha| are pre||xed oy v|N_ and ||v_. 1a|e
no|e o| |he |our d||| |d |ha| comes oe|ore |he
ampersand |n each va|ue.
Now, open your |n|erne| orowser and o |o
www.pcidatabase.com. Use |he vendor and
|ev|ce searches oy en|er|n |he v|N (vendor
and ||v (dev|ce numoers |n|o |he|r respec||ve
ooxes. 1h|s shou|d, w||h |uc|, show you exac||y
wha| each dev|ce |s, and you can |rac| down |he
requ|red dr|vers on||ne. |ven || you don| have |he
exac| mode|, |he vendor shou|d |ve you a c|ue.
i Using Device Manager, you can find important device
and vendor lDs

7+(
(;3(576
Driver lnformation
l'm inleresled in linding oul whal drivers l have inslalled on my machine,
along wilh lile dales so l can quickly lell il any are oul ol dale. l know l can
lroll Conlrol Panel and Device Manager lor lhis inlormalion, and programs
can lind lhis oul, bul l was wondering il lhere's any easier, quicker melhod.

W|ndows does have an easy way |o ||nd a |u|| ||s| o| dr|vers |ns|a||ed on
your sys|em w||hou| any ex|ra so||ware, and a|| || |a|es |s a coup|e o|
seconds. 1he answer ||es w||h |he dr|verquery conso|e command.
1o use ||, open up a command promp| and |ype dr|verquery and press
|e|urn. A |u|| ||s| o| dr|vers w||| oe ou|pu||ed |n|o |he command promp|
w|ndow. 1he command has a |ew use|u| sw||ches |oo. || you add /|o
|o||owed oy a space and a |orma| s|y|e (|ao|e, ||s| or csv you can |orma|
|he |n|orma||on. 5o, dr|verquery /|o |ao|e w||| presen| |he |n|orma||on as
a |ao|ed da|ase|.
1he sw||ch /s| prov|des more |n|orma||on aoou| any s|ned dr|vers,
and || youre wor||n on a ne|wor| you can even use |he command |o
see |ns|a||ed dr|vers o| remo|e sys|ems. 1o do |h|s use |he /s (sys|em |o
connec| |o, /u (doma|n\username and /p (password w||ches. 5o, |o
connec| |o a sys|em ca||ed Wor|01 on a doma|n ca||ed o|||cedoma|n
as an adm|n accoun| w||h an adm|n password youd |ype dr|verquery /s
wor|01 /u o|||cedoma|n\adm|n /p adm|n.
h The driverquery command presents you with a list of installed drivers
Driver Not Found
l regularly reinslall Windows on
various machines, bul mosl ol lhe
lime, lhe drivers are missing in lhe
hardware manager. l rarely have lhe
correcl inslall disc, and when l go
lhrough lhe inslall driver wizard, il
asks il il can lind lhe driver online. To
dale, l have never known Windows
lind any driver online like lhis.
Did il ever work, or was il jusl
a poor piece ol programming?
l usually lind lhe driver on lhe
manulaclurer websile, and
download il lo a memory slick,
so il musl be online, bul l canl
undersland why lhe wizard cannol
lind il.

W|ndows ou|||-|n d|ver search

w|zard |s a h|| or m|ss a||a|r, and
youre no| a|one |n your exper|ence.
||s common |or W|ndows |o re|urn
w||h no resu||s, ma||n |he who|e
process a o|| po|n||ess. 1he |oo| has
oeen |mproved over ||me, |houh,
and W|ndows 7 and 3 seem |o have
much more |uc|, or a| |eas| a |ar
oe||er |ns|a||ed da|aoase o| dr|vers.
A||houh no| a uaran|eed
me|hod o| |mprov|n |h|ns, |here
are a coup|e o| |h|ns you can do
|o |ve W|ndows a oe||er chance o|
||nd|n dr|vers.
||rs|, you mus| a|ways ma|e
sure you comep|e|e |he W|ndows
ac||va||on procedure oe|ore you
oe|n |o |ns|a|| a|| your dr|vers. 1h|s
shou|dn| rea||y a||ec| |he process,
ou| o||en peop|e a||emp| |o se| up
a sys|em oe|ore ac||va||n, and ||
can cause |ssues. Ac||va||n can he|p
|n some s||ua||ons.
5econd, ||s a|ways a ood |dea
|o ensure |ha| W|ndows Upda|es
are sw||ched on and |ha| |heyre up
|o da|e. 1o oe sure, run |he upda|e
manua||y a coup|e o| ||mes.
Nex|, ma|e sure W|ndows |s
se| |o a||ow |he |ns|a||a||on o|
down|oaded dr|vers. 1o do |h|s, you
w||| need |o o |o 5ys|em proper||es
(r|h|-c||c| Compu|er and se|ec|
proper||es, |hen o |o Advanced
5ys|em 5e|||ns and c||c| |he
|ardware |ao. Once youre |here,
c||c| |he |ev|ce |ns|a||a||on 5e|||ns
ou||on. |nsure |he se|||n se|ec|ed
|s Yes, do |h|s au|oma||ca||y
(recommended. || |h|s se|||n |s
d|sao|ed, youre sys|em won| have
|he ao||||y |o |ns|a|| any dr|vers
down|oaded |o |he sys|em, wh|ch |s
enera||y no| a ood |h|n.
i Windows' driver search isn't the best method of finding
drivers, but it's still improved over the years
i lf you don't allow it, Windows won't be able to download
and install drivers

5end your quesIions Io.

1ason D'AIIison
Micro MarI
Dennis PubIishing
30 CIeveIand 5IreeI
tondon
W1T 41D
ConIacI 1ason by emaiI aI.
jasonmicromarI.co.uk
while we lry lo cover as uauy
queslious as we cau, we regrel
lhal asou cauuol auswer your
queslious persoually, bul he'll cover
as uauy as he possibly cau each
week. Please ask oue quesliou per
leller aud reueuber lo iuclude lhe
ull speciicaliou o your coupuler,
iucludiug ils operaliug sysleu.
-
D
V
R
Q
Neet 1ason
D'Allison, a veteran
of Nicro Nart's
panel of experts.
He's here to help
with any technical
questions
|ssue 1273

l've jusl boughl a cheap,
secondhand monilor lo use
wilh my Raspberry Pi. ll's
an iQon LCD device, model
iQ!5.4MWS. ll's line lor ils
inlended purpose, bul lhe
display is quile dull and l'm
hoping l can liven il up. l don'l
have lhe user manual, how-
ever, and my searches online
have come up blank. Also,
l'm nol sure aboul lhe nalive
resolulion - l'm currenlly using
!,024768. Maybe lhal's lhe
problem? Can you help?
Clifford vans, Drange
Ah, yes, |on (presumao|y
pronounced |con. 1heres
a o|as| |rom |he pas|. || was
oased |n |re|and, and was
ac|ua||y |re|ands o|es| |C
ma|er and expor|er, oa|n
||se|| a swee| dea| w||h 1esco
oo|h a| home and |n |he
Ur. 5ad|y, || wen| oe||y-up
|n 2007, |||e so many o|her
|uropean |C ou||||s around
|ha| ||me - and s|nce.
| douo| |on rea||y made
any|h|n. ||s produc|s were
prooao|y ener|c ||ems
sh|pped |rom Ch|na, w||h
jus| |he |aoe|||n and mayoe
some |n-house des|n |wea|s
|end|n |hem an |den|||y. |ve
|||ew|se drawn a o|an| |n
||nd|n a user manua|, C||||,
so youre oes| |nhao|||n
some |echno|oy |orums
and a||emp||n |o |rac|
down someone w||h |he
same mon||or (|ry forum.
micromarI.co.uk, na|ura||y!.
Ano|her approach wou|d
oe |o d|scover |he rea|
manu|ac|urer. Norma||y
|ha|s pre||y easy - || |s w||h
reoranded |ap|ops, anyway -
ou| |ve ye| aa|n come away
|rom my searches w||h no |ru||
|n my oas|e|. u||e odd, |h|s,
as |heres usua||y some crumo
o| |n|o |o oe had. |eard|ess,
|he manua| |rom |he O||
wou|d |||e|y end up oe|n a
|our-pae ooo||e| ||s||n |n s|x
|anuaes wha| we can a|ready
||ure ou| |or ourse|ves.
| uess |he 1.4 |n |he
mode| name means |he screen
s|ze |s 1.4. 1ha| ma|es |he
mon||or an ear|y w|descreen
un||. |odern w|descreen
mon||ors around |ha| s|ze are
1.6, and pre-w|descreen
mon||ors around |ha| s|ze
were mar|e|ed s|mp|y as 1.
1he aspec| ra||o |s |here|ore
16.10 (or, more proper|y, 3.,
w||h |he |rend nowadays
oe|n |or 16.9. |re-w|descreen
mode|s were 4. or .4.
C|ven |he aoove, |he na||ve
reso|u||on |s a|mos| cer|a|n|y
1,230 300. | don| |h|n|
1.4 mon||ors ever used
any|h|n |ower, and on|y
prem|um mode|s |ended |o o
h|her (say |o 1,440 900 or
1,630 1,00.
Were de||n||e|y no| |a|||n
aoou| 1,024 763, as |ha|s a
4. ra||o. 1he |aspoerry || can
hand|e 1,230300 w||h ease
(a||er a||, ||s |||| ou|pu| |s
capao|e o| 1030p, so a qu|c|
p|ay |n |he O5 shou|d rec|||y
|ha| s||ua||on.
As |o ||ven|n up |he
p|c|ure, you may no| oe ao|e
|o adjus| |he ac|ua| co|our
|empera|ure. 5uch se|||ns
are o||en on|y ava||ao|e on
h|her-end mon||ors. |owever,
you shou|d oe ao|e |o adjus|
or|h|ness and con|ras|.
1here|| oe a ou||on on |he
mon||ors oeze| |ha||| conjure
up |he O5| (onscreen d|sp|ay.
|| youve a|ready had a ||dd|e
|here, |he mon||ors oac|||h|
|s prooao|y on |he wane. 1hey
do d|m w||h ae, and |heres
no|h|n a manua| can do
aoou| |ha|, |m a|ra|d.
g Though it was once a popular
off-the-shelf PC brand, l couldn't
find a nice example of the iQon
logo, so here's some some random
company badges (how many can
you identify7)
`
a
Raspberry PI's can handIe
1,2S0 S00 wIth ease (Its HDMI
output Is capabIe oI 10S0p)

7+(
(;3(576
NowAndThen
Aller giving years ol lailhlul service, my
PC's died. ll's a Sockel 775 machine, using
a Core 2 Quad Q6600 and an Asus P5Q,
going by lesls l've perlormed, il's lhe laller
lhal's lhe problem.
l'm aller a replacemenl, bul l can only
lind low-end models - l'd preler anolher
P45-based board. Am l looking in lhe
wrong places? l could go second-hand
- e8ay and lhe like - bul l'd probably be
buying a board wilh barely more lile lell in
il lhan mine! My needs are modesl (as are
my lunds) so l don'l wanl a whole new PC.
Luke Whitfield, Gloucestershire
1he Core 2 p|a||orm s|||| prov|des amp|e
per|ormance |or mos| users needs, ye| |he
||rs| ch|ps |or || were re|eased way oac|
|n Iu|y 2006 (|o rea| |an|are, and even
|he |as| ch|p sur|aced no more recen||y
|han Ianuary 2010 (no-one no||ced. 1he
Core |, |, and |7 ch|ps are where ||s a|
now, and even |here were on |he |our|h
enera||on and |he ||||h soc|e|. Where
does |he ||me o, |u|e?
Unders|andao|y, s|oc|s o| 5oc|e| 77
mo|herooards are scarce. |e|a||ers w||h any
s|oc|s a| a|| |end |o o||er |he same |ew
mode|s. As youve |ound, |hese are oased
on |n|e|s |ow-ren| C1 and C41 ch|pse|s.
|nore |he C1, ou| |he C41 |s ha||-decen|.
||c| o| |he ounch are C|aoy|es CA-C41|-
Comoo and A5|oc|s C41|-v5 |2.0.
bo|h are no-|r|||s a||a|rs, ou| ne||her w|||
ho|d oac| your 6600 |n compar|son |o a
|4-oased ooard. |on| |re| aoou| |ha|.
1here are a coup|e o| po|en||a| o|chas,
|houh. ||rs|, oo|h ooards on|y have |wo
|||2 memory s|o|s (|he C|aoy|e a|so
has |wo ||| s|o|s. || you need |o or|n
over |our |A| modu|es, youre |n |rouo|e.
5econd, |he raph|cs s|o| |n oo|h cases
con|orms on|y |o |C| |xpress v1.1. || you
need |o or|n over a raph|cs card |ha|
rea||y, |ru|y requ|res |he oandw|d|h o| a
v2.0 s|o|, youre |n deeper |rouo|e.
|| so, po|n| your orowser a|
www.pcupgrade.co.uk.
|ve men||oned |h|s s||e |n
|he pas|, and || rema|ns a
|err|||c resource |or ooso|e|e
componen|s (|he company
does a|so se|| up-|o-da|e s|u||.
Curren||y |n s|oc| are more
|han 7 d|||eren| 5oc|e| 77
mo|herooards, and |ncred|o|y
|heres a|so a hea||hy show|n
|or 5oc|e| A and 5oc|e| 473.
|os| ooards are new.
|r|ces e| a o|| s|||y |or |he
more souh|-a||er ||ems, ou|
|5|s |41-C1 |s up |or raos
a| a |ew penn|es oe|ow L3.
1ha|s a |a|r pr|ce |or some|h|n
|ha||| e| you ou| o| a ho|e and |eep
your |C o|n |or a ood wh||e |oner.
1here are |our |||2 s|o|s, and |he raph|cs
s|o| con|orms |o |C| |xpress v2.0. 1he |4
ch|pse| |s c|ose enouh |o |he |4 |ha| you
shou|dn| have |o re|ns|a|| W|ndows, e||her.
W||h |he C41 ch|pse|, |u|e, |ha| par||cu|ar
headache wou|d prooao|y oe unavo|dao|e.
1he ||rs| were |he Core 2 |x|reme
X6300 and |hese Core 2 |uos. |he |600,
|6400, |6600, and |6700. Oh, |hose
ha|cyon days! 1he |as| was |he Core 2
uad 900. Wh|ch |ve never seen.
j Where have all the decent Socket 775
motherboards gone7
Model Muddle
l upgraded my PC recenlly lrom a Core 2
Duo L6600 and an Asus P5Q3 lo a Core i5-
3470 and a Cigabyle CA-875M-D3. The
lwo ilems were a bundle and cosl a shade
over 200. l reused my exisling DDR3, hard
drive, Radeon D 6670, and so on. Now,
everylhing's working okay, bul l've jusl
run CPU-Z and il's reporling lhal my CPU
only has lwo cores. 8eing an i5, il should
have lour, ol course. ls il laully? ls CPU-Z
mislaken? Windows 7 shows all lour cores,
so l'm a lad conlused!
kob, 7alk7alk
| suspec| |he ch|p youve o| |sn| |he
|-470 ou| |he |-4701. 1he 1 |s
s|n|||can|, as ||s |he su|||x |n|e| uses
|o des|na|e u||ra-|ow power. |n |h|s
|ns|ance, || a|so des|na|es dua|-core.
C|U-Z |s prooao|y correc|, |m a|ra|d, |oo.
You|| |||e|y ||nd ||s |den||||ed |he ch|p as
|he 1 mode|.
As you say, des||op Core |s are
|yp|ca||y quad-core, ou| |here are severa|
|ha| aren|. a|| |he 6xx mode|s (||rs|-
enera||on, Neha|em/C|ar|da|e, |he 2901
(second-enera||on, 5andy br|de, your
4701 (|h|rd-enera||on, |vy br|de, and
|he 4701 and 4701| (|our|h-enera||on,
|aswe||. 1hese are dua|-core w||h hyper-
|hread|n - wha| | ca|| 2+2 des|ns. 1hey
have |wo rea|, phys|ca| cores and |wo
|o|ca|, v|r|ua| cores (|h|s |s why W|ndows
s|||| repor|s |ha| youve o| |our cores.
1he proper |s have |our rea| cores and
no hyper-|hread|n 4+0 des|ns.
5ad|y, your |-4701 |s rea||y a moo||e
ch|p |ransp|an|ed |o |he des||op. A||
moo||e |s are 2+2 des|ns, and |he
4701 uses |he |1 s|epp|n, |he oas|s o|
a|| moo||e |s |rom |ha| enera||on. |n
|he same enera||on, |he |1 s|epp|n |s
ac|ua||y |he oas|s o| a|| des||op |s and
a|| ou| one o| |he moo||e |s. |n |ru|h,
|hen, your 4701 |s jus| a Core | w||h |he
add|||on o| 1uroo boos|. 5orry aoou| |ha|,
|oo. 1he ups|de |s |he W 1||, wh|ch |s
vas||y |ower |han |he 77W o| mos| o|her
des||op |-xxx ch|ps. | rea||se |ha|s
hard|y compensa||on |or |he |oss o| |wo
cores, however.
j ln another example of lntel's marketing
madness, not all desktop Core i5s have four cores

Win Sum, Lose Sum
l've gol an old blog inslalla-
lion lhal l wanl lo recover lhe
password lor. owever, aller
looking in lhe SQL dalabase
l see lhal il only slores lhe
password as an MD5 key. l can'l
resel or change il because, lor
various convoluled reasons,
l've only gol read access lo lhe
dalabase, bul is lhere any way
l can recover lhe password by
decrypling lhe MD5?

||h|, we||, |he |h|n aoou|
|| |eys |s |h|s. even |houh
||s m|h| oe d|scussed,
|n co||oqu|a| |erms, as oe|n
encryp||ons, |ha|s no| ac|ua||y
wha| |hey are. 1he word
encryp|ed carr|es w||h || |he
|mp||ca||on |ha| you can a|so
decryp| |he va|ue |o recover
|he or||na| da|a - ou| |ha| |sn|
|he case. Under |he proper
|echn|ca| de||n|||on, || |eys
are ac|ua||y hashes. 1h|s
means |ha| |hey don| s|ore any
|n|orma||on w||h|n |hemse|ves,
|heyre a way o| chec||n
whe|her |he |n|orma||on |ha|
has oeen en|ered |s correc|
or no|. One o| |he reasons
|heyre used as a secur||y
measure |s oecause |hey can|
oe reverse en|neered |o |he
or||na| va|ue.
1he ques||on youre
essen||a||y as||n, when you
|ry |o wor| oac|wards |rom
5end your quesIions Io.
1ames HunI
Micro MarI
Dennis PubIishing
30 CIeveIand 5IreeI
tondon
W1T 41D
ConIacI 1ames by emaiI aI.
jamesmicromarI.co.uk
while we lry lo cover as uauy
queslious as we cau, we regrel lhal
aues cauuol auswer your queslious
persoually. Please ask oue quesliou
per leller aud please keep your
queslious brie.
-
D
P
H
V
Neet 1ames Hunt.
He's here to help
make sure you
stay protected.
lf you have any
virus, spyware or
malware-related
issues, please get
in contact!
lo
l
p
re
va
l'
d
l
d
|
|
|

an || va|ue, |s equ|va|en|
|o say|n | |now |ha| |he
answer |o |he sum |m do|n
|s 0. |ow can | ||nd ou| wha|
|he or||na| sum was? 1heres
rea||y no way |or you |o wor|
oac|wards |o |ha| us|n wha|
youve o|, oecause |here
s|mp|y |sn| enouh |n|orma||on
con|a|ned |n |he answer |o
recons|ruc| ||. || a|or||hms
are a |||||e more comp||ca|ed
|han |ha|, ou| |he pr|nc|pa| |s
s|m||ar. ||s ac|ua||y poss|o|e |or
|wo d|||eren| |npu|s |o |ve
|he same || va|ue, ou| |he
chances are |ncred|o|y sma||.
|| |he on|y da|a youve o| |s
an || |ey, |he on|y chance
youve o| o| re|r|ev|n |he
or||na| password |s || you
per|orm a d|c||onary |oo|up.
1hese are |are da|aoases o|
|| |eys pre-enera|ed |o
common words and phrases.
|| |he password you wan| |o
recover was par||cu|ar|y |nsecure
- |or examp|e, a common word
or name or on|y a |ew |e||ers
|on - |heres a chance you can
||nd || |n one o| |hese da|aoases.
1here are s||es on||ne |ha| |e|
you do |h|s, ou| you shou|d oe
care|u| when us|n |hem. |or
oov|ous reasons, s||es des|ned
|o orea| passwords (wh|ch |s
wha| youre do|n aren| |||e|y
|o oe very repu|ao|e ones, so
oe care|u|. Wha|s more, || |he
sys|em sa||s |he password
dur|n |he process o| crea||n
an || (wh|ch || shou|d,
|or secur||y |h|s won| wor|
anyway oecause |he sa|| w|||
ma|e |he hash un|que |o |ha|
sys|em, reard|ess o| |he |npu|.
1o oe hones|, || you have
read access |o |he da|aoase
|hen a| |h|s po|n|, |he eas|es|
|h|n |o do wou|d oe |o
down|oad a comp|e|e dump
o| ||, up|oad || |n|o a new 5|
server where you |O have
read/wr||e access and |hen
s|mp|y overwr||e |he ex|s||n
|| |ha| w||h a new one
enera|ed |rom a password
you |now. You won| recover
|he or||na|, ou| you w||| a|n
access |o |he sys|em youre
|ry|n |o access - or a copy o|
||, a| |eas|.
W||hou| wan||n |o d|rec||y
accuse you o| any|h|n
dody, || has |o oe sa|d
|ha| || you can| do |ha|,
|hen |heres a ood chance
are youre prooao|y po||n
around somewhere you
shou|dn| oe anyway. A||er
a||, ||s are des|ned |o oe
a secure me|hod o| ver||y|n
a password, so |heres a
ood reason ||s prac||ca||y
|mposs|o|e |o decode |hem
and very |ew reasons you
wou|d wan| |o oe ao|e |o do
so non-des|ruc||ve|y.
You m|h| |h|n| you have
a ood reason |ha| || needs
|o oe done, ou| un|ess youre
do|n some|h|n you shou|dn|,
|heres prooao|y a oe||er way.
`
a
7KHUHV D JRRG UHDVRQ
LWV SUDFWLFDOO\ LPSRVVLEOH
WR GHFRGH WKHP

$33 2) 7+( :((.
App Of The Week

The best media pIayer in the vorId, ever7 uite possibIy

I
l's been said many limes belore lhal lhe
choice ol mullimedia players available
lor PC owners is slaggering. There are
hundreds, or so il seems, and selecling
one good one lrom lhe many has become
somelhing ol a gamble.
Some players are jusl plain awlul, olhers
conlain malware or olher naslies, and more
slill are so complicaled lhal you have lo liddle
wilh some selling or olher every lime you
wanl lo play a media lile. Perhaps lhal's why
mosl people simply slick wilh VLC or Media
Player Classic. ease ol use, plug and play
operalion and wilh exceplion ol Media Player
Classic, lew addilional codecs lo conlinually
updale and upgrade or conligure.
owever, we recenlly discovered PolPlayer
which could very well become lhe single besl
media player we've used in a long lime.
AUniqueAlternative
Daum PolPlayer, lo credil ils lull name, is
quile impressive. As wilh VLC, il conlains all
lhe necessary buill-in codecs and whalnols
needed lo play virlually every possible video
lile, including 8lu-ray and ils menus wilh lhe
help ol AyDVD.
The inlerlace is a lillle conlusing al lirsl,
bul il resembles Real Player and Winamp
closely enough lhal, aller playing around
wilh il lor a lew minules, you'll gel lhe hand
ol il. The sellings oplions are exlensive. lor
lhe audiophiles and video experls among
you, and lhere are a number ol oplions
you can manipulale lo lurlher your viewing
pleasure or lweak a parlicularly poorly
recorded lile. There are many liller conlrols,
video conlrols, audio decoder oplions
and various oplions lo skin lhe player and
arrange lhe look and leel galore. owever,
lor lhe less involved users among us, who
care lillle aboul lillers or decoders and jusl
wanl lhe video played on lhe TV, PolPlayer
does an admirable job ol delivering a lirsl
rale piclure and sound qualily.
Addilionally lhe memory loolprinl ol
PolPlayer is low enough lo warranl lhis as
an excellenl player lor lhe modeslly specilied
home media cenlre or lighlweighl all-in-
one. During playback ol our lesl video lile
PolPlayer peaked al aboul 50M8 - and lhis
was wilh a weighly !080p lull D 8lu-ray rip.
Likewise, when we played lhe 8lu-ray original,
as well as lhe DVD original, lhe player barely
scraped lhe 60M8 mark.
ll's also worlh noling lhal we didn'l
experience any digilal arlilacling, learing or
any ghosling when we changed lrom !080p
lo 720p and vice versa, a problem lhal many
seem lo have wilh olher popular players.
Conclusion
PolPlayer appears lo have impressed
everyone who has inslalled and used il.
The many review siles on lhe inlernel hail
il as lhe mosl impressive, versalile and
comprehensive media player available. Nol
only does il play everylhing you lhrow al
il, bul il also operales a lol quicker lhan a
slandard VLC inslall. Thal being lhe case,
and based on whal we've experienced so lar
wilh PolPlayer, we're inclined lo agree wilh
lhe majorily ol lhe inlernel.
Those who have issues wilh VLC and
Media Player Classic, or who wanl lo lry
somelhing new and don'l mind some
experimenlalion, should give PolPlayer a go.
You can lake as il is or cuslomise il lo wilhin
an inch ol ils lile, making lhis a personalised
addilion lo your home-buill media cenlre.
Lilher way, drop on by goo.gIl2ZaUuV lor
lhe lalesl version or visil lhe Daum sile goo.
gIlXsI9y (lranslalion needed) lor more inlo.
FeaturesAt AGlance
lree
No need lo inslall lhird parly codecs
lasl, wilh a small resource loolprinl
Plays prelly much everylhing
iPotPlayer's video settings are superb by default
iThe sleek, slender Ul of Daum PotPlayer
iThe wealth of options can give you a headache, best to leave them alone

laler ollicial releases, even il someone was prepared lo
compile lhem.
Unqueslionably, lor lechnology lo progress,
lragmenlalion is inevilable. And, some mighl say il's
even necessary lo have a range ol previous releases
around. l mean il's nol like as a sociely we snull
our grandparenls oul once lheir grandchildren have
arrived, is il?
ll's also worlh considering lhal possibly lhe mosl
successlul OS ever, Microsoll Windows, is horribly
lragmenled, wilh many users slill resolulely sluck on
Windows XP, a version lhal was released more lhan
!2 years ago!
Lven lhe Apple Mac isn'l immune lrom lhis
scenario. The lalesl ligures suggesl lhal il's almosl
an even splil belween Lion, Mounlain Lion and Snow
Leopard. The unloved ones are lhe ancienl Tiger !0.4
and Leopard !0.5 versions, allhough lhe mosl popular
isn'l lhe lalesl lhal's Snow Leopard, lrom lwo versions
ago. And, Apple's iPad version breakdown is aclually worse
lhan Android's version spread. While nearly hall ol American
iPad owners are using lhe lalesl iOS 6.!.2, lhe olher hall are
divided in chunks over no less lhan seven dillerenl releases lrom
iOS 3 upwards.
This is all ralher curious, because lhe lwo companies lhal
lhrow lhe lragmenlalion grenade al Coogle's Android are Apple
and Microsoll, and bolh ol lhem are arguably more slralilied
lhan lhe recipienl ol lheir jibes. Maybe lhey should really be
giving Android slick lor nol being lragmenled enough?
Whalever markeling messages promole, lhe realily is lhal many
people buy a device lor a singular purpose, and il il perlorms lhal
job, lhen why would you wanl lo change il?
Unless you're like me, living on lhe bleeding edge ol
lechnology, very ollen lhe molivalion lo embrace a new
release jusl doesn'l exisl. Civen lhe rush lhal companies are in
0ll
Logglng
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arvey, Shaun 8ebbinglon, Ryan
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Sarah Dobbs, David ayward, Leo
Waldock, 8anana Cake, Pancakes,
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A0VBRTI8IN0
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Tel. 020 7907 6662
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PRINTIN0
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Distributed 8y: Seymour
Certified Distributicn:
!3,7!2 average copies
Jan-Dec 20!0

ou hear lhe word 'lragmenlalion' plenly lhese days,

especially lrom lhose oulside lhe Android camp
wishing lo pour scorn on lhal OS. l menlion lhis only
because my Nexus !0 woke lo Coogle's lalesl upgrade
lhis week and is now al Jelly 8ean version 4.3.
ll's one ol only a handlul ol devices running lhis release,
wilh lhe majorily ol phones and lablels dragging lheir
lechnical heals wilh Cingerbread or lce Cream Sandwich.
owever, lhal's nol a really lair commenl, because many ol
lhe early Android devices don'l have enough memory lo run

lo redesign lheir
producls, lhere's
a major incenlive
nol lo.
A classic example
ol lhis is a PC
lhal l buill lor my wile many years ago, which she uses
occasionally lo run her business. ll's running Windows
XP, an OS lhal she's very lamiliar wilh. l have a beller
compuler ready lo replace il, bul lhe OLM version ol XP
won'l lransler lo lhal machine, so l'd be lorced lo spend
more lo give il a new licence, and l'd be lorced lo pul
Windows 7 or 8 on il. One ol lhose is a possibilily, and
lhe olher is cerlainly nol.
Whal's lhe simplesl lhing lo do, as nol lo make more
work lor mysell? Yes, you guessed il. leave her happy on
Windows XP!
lunny, isn'l il, how in lhe pasl 30 or so years ol
compuling l've come lrom 'new is good' lo 'old can be
beller'? Or is lhal jusl anolher sign l've been doing lhis
lar loo long?
0
DUN
3LFNDYDQFH
Across
7 A synlhelic resin which is a
polymer ol propylene, used chielly
lor lilms, libres, or moulding
malerials. (!3)
8 The lowesl region ol lhe
ionosphere (35 lo 50 miles up) lhal
rellecls low-lrequency radio waves.
(!-5)
9 An unslable kaon produced as
lhe resull ol a high-energy parlicle
collision. (!-5)
I0 Llemenlary parlicles having a
mass equal lo or grealer lhan lhal
ol a prolon and parlicipale in
slrong inleraclions. (7)
I2 A proposilion lhal is accepled as
lrue in order lo provide a basis lor
logical reasoning. (5)
I4 A device using lhe slimulaled
emission ol radialion by exciled
aloms lo amplily or generale
coherenl monochromalic
eleclromagnelic radialion in lhe
microwave range. (5)
I6 A device lor pumping air inlo or
oul ol an enclosed space. (3,4)
I9 8ecome laler by lhe passage ol
a given amounl ol lime. (6)
20 Xll, !!00 or C. (6)
22 Capable ol being dislribuled.
(!3)
0own
I Check lhe slalus ol a device,
especially as parl ol a repealed
cycle. (4)
2 The momenl when lhree cosmic
bodies have aligned. (6)
3 Rehearsals ol perlormances or
procedures belore lhe real evenl.
(3,4)
4 A lransienl bul marked varialion
in vollage or currenl. (5)
5 A measure ol how much lighl a
surlace rellecls. (6)
6 A speech or piece ol wriling lhal
praises someone or somelhing
highly. (8)
II A slereoscopic pholograph wilh
lhe lwo images superimposed and
prinled in dillerenl colours,
producing a slereo ellecl when
viewed wilh appropriale lillers. (8)
I3 The slyle ol enuncialion in
speaking or singing. (7)
I5 Cive work lo someone and pay
lhem lor il. (6)
I7 Cive money lor goods or
services in advance il receiving
lhem. (6)
I8 Conlemplibly narrow in oullook.
(5)
2I The Sl unil ol eleclromolive
lorce, lhe dillerence ol polenlial
lhal would carry one ampere ol
currenl againsl one ohm resislance.
(4)
THIS WBBK'S CR0SSW0R0
LAST WBBK'S CR0SSW0R0
0ISCLAIMBR
The views expressed by
conlribulors ore nol necessorily
lhose of lhe publishers. Fvery core
is loken lo ensure lhol lhe conlenls
of lhe nogozine ore occurole bul
lhe publishers connol occepl
responsibilily for errors. While
reosonoble core is loken when
occepling odverlisenenls, lhe
publishers connol occepl ony
responsibilily for ony resulling
unsolisfoclory lronsoclions. Tony,
our reosonobly esleened edilor,
hos been woging o wor ogoinsl flies
of lole, ond he`s nore lhon o lillle
proud of lhe syslenhe`s developed
for doing owoy wilh lhen.
Fschewing such non-node
ossislonce os insecl sproy or lhe
biologicol solulion of \enus fly
lrops, his nelhod relies on lhe
hunble leo lowel. Wilh o quick
whipping lechnique, he doesn`l kill
lhe flies bul rolher sluns lhen,
leoving lhenlying dozed ond
confused bul slill olive. Then he
kills lhen. lninol oclivisls nighl
disogree wilh his oclions, bul os
nuch os he`d like lo pul lhenin o
gloss ond convey lhenhornlessly
lo lhe window, where lhey con be
releosed inlo lhe wild ond live lhe
resl of lheir doys free of
perseculion or lyronny, lhol`s nol
reolly on oplion. Why? Becouse lhol
would be slupid. They`re flies, ond
lhey`d |usl cone slroighl bock in
onywoy. Tony olso boughl sone fly
poper os o nore lrodilionol
response lo his oirborne insecl
problen, bul insleod of hoving lhe
good decency lo ocluolly gel sluck
on il, lhe flies sinply ovoided il ond
enlerloined lhenselves by loking
lurns lo buzz oround our edilor`s
heod ond bosh inlo his foce. The
wor hos only |usl begun, il seens.
Across: 7 Slock Lxchange, 8 Log Oll, 9 Rholic, I0 Toollip,
I2 Macro, I4 Decay, I6 Augmenl, I9 Lmboss, 20 il Man,
22 Acrylonilrile.
0own: I Ollo, 2 Scroll, 3 Nelllix, 4 SCORM, 5 Payola, 6
lgnilron, II Owen Mock, I3 Mushkin, I5 Anonym, I7
Molhra, I8 Psion, 2I Able.

* May be subject to change
21st century computer security
All this, plus the usual great mix of news,
reviews and smiling faces
How Nicrosoft is changing Bing for
the better
Videogame production in the UK
In Hext
Weeks Issue*