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Welcome!
CONTACT US
Editor David Ludlow [email protected]
Reviews Editor Chris Finnamore [email protected]
Online Editor Seth Barton [email protected]
Labs Manager Andrew Unsworth [email protected]

PRODUCTION
Production Editor Janey Goulding
Art Editor Colin Mackleworth
THIS MONTH, WE’VE got We’ve still got all your old favourites, but
SHOPPER LABS
a new-look Shopper for you. the columns are now all at the front, except Senior Staff Writer Kat Orphanides [email protected]
We’ve taken stock of the for the ever-brilliant Zygote, which still takes Senior Staff Writer Barry de la Rosa [email protected]
Senior Staff Writer Tom Morgan [email protected]
criticisms and advice from pride of place on the back page.
CONTRIBUTORS
all our readers, and come up Finally, we’re making a big change to the [email protected]
with something that hopefully way we give away free software. In recent Bill Bagnall, Gareth Beach, Mike Bedford, Matt Chapman, Mel Croucher,
Kay Ewbank, Steve Haines, Simon Handby, Gordon Holmes, Robert
addresses all the issues. years, we’ve been pushed down the route of Jaques, Mike Jennings, Rene Millman, David Neal, Ben Pitt, Julian
For starters, we’ve made the magazine having to provide online registration for the Prokaza, Nik Rawlinson, Heather Reeves, David Robinson
cleaner and easier to read. We’ve worked hard software we give you. In addition, registration ADVERTISING
to ensure that all the detail we print in graphs sites are time-limited, which makes old DVDs Email [email protected]
Group Advertising Manager Andrea Mason 020 7907 6662
and screenshots is bigger and easier to see. of limited use. This month, we’ve revamped Account Manager Charlotte Milligan 020 7907 6642
That said, we’ve been at great pains not to our download website. Using the unique COVER CD/DVD CONTACT
slice into our word counts and deprive you coupon code provided in our Cover Gift Guide Chris Wiles [email protected]

of meaningful content, so we’ve re-arranged section (which starts on page 74), you can SUBSCRIPTIONS
Tel 0844 844 0031 Web www.subsinfo.co.uk
the page carefully, enabling you to enjoy all download and register all the software featured DVD edition: UK £44.99, Europe £70, Rest of world £90
the same in-depth analysis and expertise. in this month’s issue. I hope that you find this PHOTOGRAPHY
However, we also thought it was time system easier and more convenient to use. Danny Bird, Jan Cihak, Darren Brooke, Henry Carter, Julian Velasquez

to change the balance of content, so we’ve There’s no guarantee we’ve got everything MARKETING
Marketing and Editorial Executive Paul Goodhead 020 7907 6393
introduced new columns (see the box below), right, of course. We make the magazine for
the new Business Expert section to help you, and it’s important that we’re providing LICENSING AND SYNDICATION
Anj Dosaj-Halai 020 7907 6132 [email protected]
you run your own company, and a monthly the right mix and coverage. Please write in
MANAGEMENT
Top 10. On top of this, we’ve also revamped to [email protected] and let me Tel 020 7907 6000
our in-depth coverage, giving you longer know what you think, and if there’s anything Group Managing Director Ian Westwood
Managing Director John Garewal
features on topical subjects. we can do to make Shopper a better read. For Group Advertising Director Julian Lloyd-Evans
To give our reviews more space, we’ve now, I hope you enjoy the magazine. Circulation Director Martin Belson
Finance Director Brett Reynolds
moved our Best Buys to their own dedicated Group Finance Director Ian Leggett
section (see page 66). That way, you can refer Chief Executive James Tye

back to all the kit we’re still recommending, David Ludlow, Editor Chairman Felix Dennis
PRINTING
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Distributors Seymour 020 7396 4000
LIABILITY

MEET While every care was taken preparing this magazine, the publishers
cannot be held responsible for the accuracy of the information or

QUESTION OF THE MONTH any consequence arising from it. All judgements are based on

What’s the worst bit of kit

THE equipment available to Computer Shopper at the time of review.
‘Value for money’ comments are based on UK prices at time of

TEAM
review. Computer Shopper takes no responsibilty for the content of
external websites whose addresses are published in the magazine.

you’ve ever bought? COMPUTER SHOPPER INCORPORATES UPGRADE SHOPPER,

GAMES SHOPPER, INTERNET SHOPPER, MOBILE SHOPPER, PC
SHOPPER, PORTABLE SHOPPER AND SOFTWARE SHOPPER
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A DENNIS PUBLICATION
David Ludlow Tom Morgan Computer Shopper is published by Dennis Publishing Ltd, 30
I decided to get a laser-disc A Sega Dreamcast with a light Cleveland Street, London W1T 4JD. Company registered in England.
All material © Dennis Publishing Limited licensed by Felden 2011, and
player – just a few months before gun. Last year. Shame it doesn’t may not be reproduced in whole or part without the consent of the
the arrival of DVD work with LCD TVs publishers. ISSN 0955-8578

Chris Finnamore Barry de la Rosa

An iPhone 4, which stopped A CD jukebox for £300 – turned
charging after 13 months, with 11 out to be for storage, and gave no
months of my contract still to go way of connecting to a PC

Seth Barton
Nokia 7600 – I thought I’d get THIS MONTH’S COLUMNS
used to the odd shape, but a year
David Robinson
later I still couldn’t text on it
He’s got a mountain to climb this month,
and we’re not just talking about the one
Andrew Unsworth situated in Washington, North America
A no-name belt-drive DJ turntable;
Gordon Holmes
it was so light and plasticky, the needle Our retired cybercop tells you how
would bounce across your vinyl to spot a scam and the importance of
reporting it to the police

Kat Orphanides David Neal

The Barcode Battler, a console Our intrepid technology lover worries
about whether his brain can cope with
that let you swipe barcodes – as much any more technological instructions
fun as a self-service checkout

WorldMags.net
ISSUE 295 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | SEPTEMBER 2012 5
Contents
Issue 295 September 2012

074 120

098
p86

110

086
Learn
How To...
134 Print your own passport photo
137 Play any media format
138 Synchronise your files
with SugarSync
Regulars Features
140 Business Help
008 Letters 120 The HDMI con Our resident expert answers those persistent
Your monthly missives of wit and wisdom We’ve always suspected that expensive cables software queries
weren’t worth it – and now we can prove it!
011 Under Development Tom Morgan puts them through a barrage of 142 Helpfile
David Robinson is off to the US to see the tests to prove you don’t need to pay more Step this way for help with all your hardware
sights, but will he be able to tell the missus? and Windows problems
126 Are you breaking the law?
012 Byte Back If you’ve recently clicked ‘I agree’ on some 146 Advanced Projects
David Neal wonders what will happen when T&Cs, only to find yourself wondering what Chris Finnamore takes you back to the golden
his brain gets too full of IT gubbins you just agreed to, then it’s time to get smart. years of home computing with his guide to
Julian Prokaza lays down the law by explaining BBC and Spectrum emulators
013 Cybercop what user licence agreements really involve
Gordon Holmes explains how to identify 149 Web Expert
two common scams – and what you can do What’s your type? Nik Rawlinson shows you
agreement only gives you some rights to use

Are you breaking the Limited agreement

the features included in the software edition
you licensed.” Since software is IP licensed
for consumer use, this disclaimer is called the

LAW?
End User Licence Agreement.
There can’t be a single computer user who EULAs can be slippery pseudo-legal documents, since most
hasn’t encountered an EULA at some point, contain a clause that allows their terms to be changed at will
but few are likely to have ever read one. by the licensor. Apple isn’t alone in stating that it “reserves

how to choose your fonts with care so your

EULAs used to be (and some still are) printed the right to modify the Usage Rules at any time” for its iTunes
on paper inside a retail box, but it’s long since Store. It also states that it “reserves the right to enforce
been the norm to present a EULA in the early the Usage Rules without notice to you”, but we’re not Ï Amazon overstepped the
stages of a software installation. In theory, a aware of any high-profile instances of this happening. bounds of its Kindle EULA by
EULA should be read before proceeding with The same can’t be said about Amazon. In 2009, Amazon deleting purchased copies of
the installation, since installing the software is in the US remotely deleted eBooks from Kindle owners’ Nineteen Eighty-Four after the
only possible by accepting the EULA and devices after it apparently offered them at sale prices copyright owner objected

14 Rants & Raves

forming a contract with the licensor. In without the publisher’s permission to do so, despite its

website looks great in any browser

practice, the prospect of ploughing through a EULA not explicitly granting Amazon the right to take such a step. Although Amazon is
If you want to stay on the right side of the law, few thousand words of dense legalese (a undoubtedly to blame here, it’s worth noting that the retailer appeared to be acting in
typical EULA can be as long as this feature) in response to complaints from the eBooks’ publishers, who were wielding their IP rights to
you’ll need to read the small print on your computer a dialog box that shows just a dozen lines at a prevent Amazon selling the books at reduced prices. You may well have noticed the
time is scant temptation for most, which is words, ‘This price was set by the publisher’ on many Kindle eBook listings.
software. Julian Prokaza has a licence to explain why the ‘I agree’ button usually gets clicked Amazon subsequently apologised for overstepping the mark, but only after
without a second thought. widespread negative publicity about the act - publicity no doubt field by the fact that one

C
of the books was, appropriately enough, George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four.

This month, Mel Croucher will mostly be

lick the ‘buy’ button on intangible idea over which it claims PASSING THE BUCK
almost any website that sells ownership) to Sony Pictures so that it can Most EULAs aren’t particularly contentious,
digital content such as MP3s make films about him, but Marvel still and the terms usually make little practical
or eBooks and you may think retains ownership of Spider-Man. The films difference to the way software is used. Even recovered from Microsoft is the cost of the although the position is not clear on contracts
you’re simply providing that Sony make are then IP themselves, so, it’s still worth reading the EULAs for key software, since its EULA states (much like between consumers within the EU and traders
money in return for goods, just like owned by Sony. applications to see what kind of conditions most others): “You can recover from outside of it.”
transactions that have taken place since A licence seldom gives free rein to the they impose, as they include stipulations such Microsoft and its suppliers only direct Sanders also makes another key point: an
the dawn of commerce. In reality, however, licensee. The IP owner (the

152 Multimedia Expert

as about how many computers you can install damages up to the amount you paid for the EULA can only grant additional rights to the

emailing Theresa May

nothing could be further from the truth. licensor) sets out the way in the software on. Rather than attempting to do software. You cannot recover any other user, not take away any that are conferred by
Most digital content sold online isn’t which the property can be this in the software installation dialog box in damages, including consequential, lost profits, the laws of the country in which they reside.
actually sold at all, but licensed to you for used in an agreement the which the EULA appears, copy the text and special, indirect or incidental damages… even Most software publishers recognise this.
use only in the ways prescribed by its licensee must agree to. In this paste it into a word processor for easier if… Microsoft knew or should have known Here’s the relevant clause from Microsoft’s
owners and retailers. While this may make case Sony can make films viewing or, better still, try the free EULAlyzer about the possibility of the damages.” EULA for Windows 7: “You may have
little difference when listening to an MP3 about Spider-Man and sell program, which is available from www. additional consumer rights under your local
or reading an eBook, it has serious spin-off merchandise, but javacoolsoftware.com/eulalyzer.html. KNOW YOUR RIGHTS laws, which this agreement cannot change.”
implications should you wish to do wouldn’t be able to launch a competing One thing you’ll immediately spot is that a Some EULAs also attempt to place limits on The degree of consumer protection differs

If you want to make your digital photos to look

anything else, such as move it to another comic book. When you buy a DVD of said EULA is primarily a disclaimer. There are what users can say about software. The EULA from country to country, which is why EU
device, and things become even more movie, you then also enter into an owner from using their IP rights to hinder usually lots of clauses that state how the for VMware Workstation, for instance, residents don’t need to worry about the
complex if you want to sell or give the agreement with Sony. You’ve only bought a the free movement of the goods they sell software is provided ‘as is’ and how the includes a clause that doesn’t bode well for US-specific clause in Electronic Arts’ EULA
content to someone else. single copy of the film on disc, though; it (however indirectly). In the US, the First licensor is not liable for any data or financial anyone wanting to review or comment on it: that states: “By accepting these terms, you
This model isn’t limited to digital doesn’t mean you now own the IP rights Sale Doctrine provides something similar. loss that may arise from its use, even if it is “You may use the software to conduct internal and EA expressly waive the right to a trial by
downloads; software sold on discs and CDs over the film as a whole. the fault of the software. Should a bug in performance testing and benchmarking jury or to participate in a class action.”
and DVDs are governed by a myriad of In the same way, the rights to the words PERSONAL SERVICES Excel 2010 create a serious discrepancy in last studies, the results of which you… may
confusing rules and regulations on what printed in a book belong to the publisher or Although software sold on a DVD is also an year’s accounts and lead to a fine from publish or publicly disseminate; provided that PASSING IT ON

016 Top 10
you can and can’t do with them. author, as the ‘All rights reserved’ legal intangible idea delivered on a physical HMRC, for example, the most that can be VMware has reviewed and approved of the Unfortunately, the problems that arise from

like faded analogue snaps, it couldn’t be easier.

Many of these regulations are laid out statement that appears at the front of the medium, like a Spider-Man movie, it isn’t methodology, assumptions and licensing, rather than owning, software hit
in a document called the End User Licence book makes clear. The printed paper that legally the same. As software is essentially other parameters of the study.” home when it comes to disposing of it. In
Agreement, or EULA. These can run to makes up the book itself, on the other IP provided to perform a particular task, it The key point with any EULA, principle, a software CD-ROM is a tangible
thousands of words, and they have serious hand, belongs to the person that bought it. blurs the line between goods and services, however, is that if it’s to act as a item that’s covered by the aforementioned
implications for the notion of content This is because although licences are a and the law for services is very different contract, there’s a legal Exhaustion of Free Rights Doctrine in the UK
ownership. Here we’ll be looking at the useful way to control IP, they can’t usually from that for goods. presumption that its terms and and the First Sale Doctrine in the US. That
legal position of such agreements, and be used to control the physical media itself. Services are usually provided according conditions have been mutually means selling the CD-ROM should be legal, as
what rights you have in regards to them. The ownership of goods – any physical to terms set out in a contract to which agreed, which isn’t the case when long as the software isn’t inadvertently

We consider the UK’s most influential Ben Pitt goes vintage with a photo editor
copy of an IP – brings with it a few rights of both parties agree. Entering into a the end user’s only option is an ‘I duplicated by leaving it installed on the
PROPERTY LADDER its own, not least that the owner can do prolonged negotiation process each time agree’ button before they can use original buyer’s computer. This would be an
Intellectual property (IP) is defined as an more or less what they like with it as long someone wants to install a new web it. This creates some legal room for infringement of copyright.
intangible idea or creation over which as the IP owner’s rights aren’t infringed. So, browser is hardly practical, though, so manoeuvre, as David Sanders, civil Some software publishers allow this,
someone claims ownership (bear with us while duplicating an audio CD and selling software publishers instead use an law lead officer with the Trading however. Surprisingly, Microsoft is one, as the
on that for now). For copyright-protected the copies would infringe the IP owner’s elaborate up-front disclaimer that attempts Standards Institute, explains: EULA for Windows 7 illustrates: “The first
IP, a licence is a way for the owner to allow copyright, selling the original CD to to limit their liability as a service provider “Where parties are not of equal user of the software may make a one-time
their property to be used by a third party someone else would not. In the European and affirm their rights as an IP owner. bargaining power, the law transfer of the software and this agreement,

contributions to technology
without giving up any ownership rights. Union, these rights are granted by a law Microsoft gets straight to the point sometimes gives the weaker party by transferring the genuine proof of licence
For example, Marvel Comics licenses its called the Exhaustion of Free Rights with Windows 7, for example: “The added protection. For example, directly to a third party.”
Spider-Man character (which itself is an Doctrine, which essentially prevents an IP software is licensed, not sold. This Ï The free EULAlyzer program will analyse the content of a EULA consumers have statutory rights Unfortunately, most EULAs take the
and highlight any clauses that it deems ‘interesting’, which is that cannot be taken away, and opposite stance and, by insisting that
much quicker than trying to read the whole thing any terms to that effect are void, software is licensed rather than sold, claim

136 137

155 Business Expert

SEPTEMBER 2012 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 295 ISSUE 295 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | SEPTEMBER 2012

162 Zygote A network can make all the difference to your

Zygote gets ready for the end of the world 130 The Digital Games small business. Simon Handby shows you how
London 2012 will see the world’s best to choose and set up the kit you’ll need
athletes compete in the capital, so
News David Ludlow finds out how 158 Linux Expert
this year’s big event will There are times when only the real thing will
018 Newsfile be embracing TV, internet do. David Ludlow shows you how to get
Our round-up of the latest technological events and mobile technologies Windows applications working on Ubuntu

WorldMags.net
6 SEPTEMBER 2012 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 295
 CONTENTS

p98

p120

p110

Reviews
Group Tests
026 PCs & Laptops 056 Networks
Find out why we’re blown away Versatile powerline 086 Ivy Bridge PCs
by the new MacBook Pro, with networking with Devolo’s Why pay more for a computer, when you
its high-resolution Retina display dLAN 500 AVtriple+ can get the latest Intel Ivy Bridge processor,
a stunning monitor and the ability to play
034 Handhelds 057 Storage games, all for £650? With 10 PCs to choose
Samsung’s Galaxy S3: the best We see if LaCie’s SSD-equipped from, there’s something here for everyone
Android handset yet. We also review Thunderbolt drive can possibly
Nokia’s new Windows Phones live up to the hype 098 Online Backup
Thanks to falling prices and faster broadband
040 Photography 058 Components speeds, online backup is the best way to
Take a look at these pocket Find out if the £32 Raspberry protect your important files from fire, theft,
digital cameras with huge Pi really could be a bedroom failure and flood. We test 12 services to
zooms from Sony and Canon programmer’s dream help you find the best one for your needs

046 Displays 060 Software 110 SSDs

Asus’s professional-grade Enjoy cut-price beats with Reason Essentials A new solid state drive is a great way to
IPS monitor and a palm-sized and give your digital snaps a fancy makeover give your PC a performance boost – you
LED projector with Snapseed can cut your boot times to 10 seconds and
make applications load quicker. We test 16
048 Home Cinema 062 Games to help you find the perfect time-saver
Sony’s incredible top-of- Max Payne descends deeper into
the-range TV and Yamaha’s the abyss in the incredible third
bargain new AV amp installment of the hit game

050 Audio 064 Business 074 Your software

Sony’s new Walkman is the best Feature-packed network-
Android media player yet – could attached storage kicks off our Find out how to
it be an iPod Touch beater? new Business section get your hands
on a copy of
052 Video 066 Best Buys this industrious
Exquisite image quality Looking for all the best kit we’ve reviewed archive utility,
could be yours, with Sony’s recently? It’s all in one place in our new enabling you to
HDR-CX730E camcorder Best Buys section open, edit, create
and manage all
054 Printers & Scanners 076 How We Test kinds of files
Kodak is back in the headlines Our comprehensive tests, ratings and with ease
with its ESP 3.2 MFP awards explained

WorldMags.net
ISSUE 295 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | SEPTEMBER 2012 7
Letters
Nothing lasts for ever, whether it’s a mobile phone battery or a laptop –
although it may feel as though mice and keyboards have been around since
the dawn of time, and they’re not going away any time soon, either

CONTACT
LETTERS
[email protected] The range of
RECYCLE MY PC
London W1T 4JD interface devices has
I’ve just bought a new
changed over the
years, but how you
laptop, as my old laptop was in
PUNCH-DRUNK physically use your a poor state. Only one of its
SHOPPER computer is roughly USB ports worked, the internal
David Ludlow made an amazing the same as it was keyboard had failed (cup of tea
statement in his introduction to 20 years ago accident), there are cracks in
Shopper 264. If he thinks that the case, it no longer recharged,
“the way we interact with our In terms of the personal that to the computer, which won’t do wireless and the screen
computers hasn’t really changed computer, we’d argue that how performs a corresponding action, had started to lose its backlight.
since they were invented”, then we interact with them hasn’t such as moving a cursor or your Naturally, I’ve transferred all data
I guess he’s still using punch particularly changed. Since the character across the screen. from it and have been using my
cards and hasn’t heard of mice, advent of the graphical user Voice control is starting to new laptop happily for a while.
keyboards, touchscreens, interface (GUI), PCs have been make inroads but, let’s face it, I’d like to dispose of my old
voice recognition, trackpads, used via a combination of mouse the technology is pretty flaky laptop in an environmentally
motion-sensing devices such as and keyboard, using windows, at the moment and doesn’t friendly way. Is the local council
Kinect, gamepads and so on. icons, menus, pointer (WIMP). understand the context of recycling facility the best place?
Stephen Naylor Even touchscreen devices still what you’re saying, or more I also thought I could take out
have the same interface, albeit complicated forms of speech. the hard disk, find a case for
■ It’s certainly true to say initial with a finger physically tapping That’s what we meant, and until it and maybe make some use
computers were used with punch the screen as a pointer. we can completely ditch the of it as an external drive. If I
cards or, in the case of Colossus, Other input devices, such as current GUI and interact with our decide that’s not worth the
by physical plugs and switches; the touchpad, gamepad and even computer using entirely natural hassle, what’s the best
however, it’s fair to say that Microsoft’s Kinect, are just speech, just like in Star Trek, software to wipe all my data
people wouldn’t have had one of variations on the mouse: they things are going to stay much from the hard disk securely?
these machines at home. take a control input and send the same for most people. Stephen

★ Star letter
BATTERY FARM I have a Fujifilm HS30 bridge Digital cameras have calls on a fully charged phone
I’ve read a few reviews camera that has a rechargeable replaceable batteries, so you can until it was half empty, for
of phones recently and found battery and can be replaced carry a spare around with you example, then recharged it fully
out that the battery is often if it’s faulty. Surely mobile so you don’t miss a shot. With at the end of the day, and then
inaccessible so it can’t be manufacturers should give mobile phones, the battery did the same thing the next day,
user-replaced. I would like to users the same ability to replace should last at least a day, so that would count as a single
know how many times a battery phone batteries if necessary? there’s less need for a spare. charge cycle, not two. Each time
can be charged, as if it breaks Tom Green As to how many times you you complete a cycle, your
outside the warranty period the can charge a battery, it depends. battery loses a bit of capacity,
phone won’t work. ■ It can be annoying if you Modern batteries have improved but it will take a long time to
For example, if the battery can’t access your phone’s greatly in recent years, as has get to the stage where it’s
needs recharging every seven battery, but we understand why battery-charging technology. completely useless.
hours or so, it could need two phone manufacturers do this. Lithium-ion rechargeable Lithium-ion batteries need
recharges a day. In three By integrating the battery inside batteries, which all phones to be used in order to maintain
months, it would have been the case, they have more control use, should last for up to 1,000 maximum performance. Laptop
recharged about 60 times. over the shape and size of their charge cycles. A charge cycle users should regularly use their
I don’t understand why phones. With style counting is using the battery’s entire computer away from the mains
manufacturers make phones for so much, it’s an important capacity, but this includes socket, but for phone users this
with user-inaccessible batteries. reason for companies to do this. multiple charges. So if you made is less of an issue. After all, your

WorldMags.net
8 SEPTEMBER 2012 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 295
 LETTERS

Say “No”

Darik’s Boot and Nuke will securely wipe all the data from your hard disk

Slow
so you can dispose of it securely

■ The council recycling site is

definitely the best place for your
useful, you’ll need to wipe it
securely as you stated.
to
old laptop. You’ll find a dedicated Darik’s Boot and Nuke (www.
place for electronics, and maybe a dban.org/download) is a good
section for old computers. These choice to do this. Download the
are then sent to a larger recycling ISO file and burn it to a CD.
facility to be broken down into Boot from this disc on your old
their constituent parts. computer and, when prompted,
Using your hard disk should type autonuke and hit Enter.
be easy, but you need to find out
what type it is. All laptops use a
2½in hard disk, but there’s a
This will wipe any hard disks
connected to the computer
automatically. You can then
Switch to VIPRE –
choice of SATA or PATA. We’d
guess you have a PATA hard
safely dispose of your old laptop.

CALLS FOR
the antivirus
that doesn’t slow
disk, which uses a single ribbon
connector; newer SATA hard CONCERN
disks use the same connector as I have been receiving calls from

down your PC
desktop hard disks, with two a company telling me that
L-shaped connectors: one for they’ve received information
power and one for data. that something’s not right with
PC World (www.pcworld.co.uk) my computer. I was informed
sells USB caddies for hard disks, that every time I used it, other
with a 2½in IDE model costing types of corruption could creep VIPRE protects against:
£7. All you have to do is put your on to my PC. I was told that
old hard disk in the caddy and these problems might be carried
you can use it as an external disk. on the backs of emails to other » Malware & viruses » Spam emails
If you decide it’s not worth the people’s computers and also
hassle, or your old disk doesn’t affect the smooth running of
» Identity theft » PC hackers
have sufficient capacity to be Microsoft Windows. » Malicious websites » Cybercrime

Try VIPRE for free at

Modern technology
vipreantivirus.com/cs
mobile will be on
means phone batteries
battery power more
will last for hundreds
than mains power. of charges before they
Finally, charging need to be replaced
technology is
designed to
prolong the life of charged, the charger
your device. Most is then cut off.
phones use smart All this should
charging, where mean that your
they fast charge phone’s battery
up to around 80 lasts for longer than
per cent capacity, before you have the mobile
switching to trickle charging phone, although that can’t be
for the remainder of the time. guaranteed. Manufacturers
This prevents overcharging also provide battery replacement Available at
the batteries, which can cause services, although you’ll have Scan me with your
QR code app
permanent damage. When the to pay for this outside the
battery has finally been fully warranty period.

Amazon, Amazon.co.uk and the Amazon.co.uk logo are trademarks

or registered trademarks of Amazon EU S.à.r.l. or its affiliates.
WorldMags.net Copyright © 2012 GFI Software. All products and company names
ISSUE 295 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | SEPTEMBER 2012 herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.
9
 LETTERS
WRITE IN
They informed me that they and be irreparable, with a Microsoft does not authorise e AND WIN
were authorised by Microsoft to degree of damage caused to people to contact customers on Do you wish your computer
approach clients and offer to the motherboard. I was also its behalf, nor can anyone detect
ect was faster? Thanks to Crucial,
repair such faults over the told that Microsoft would errors across the internet. Our your wish can be granted, with
phone for a fee, which had to arrange for me to be deprived new columnist Gordon Holmes, the help of the m4 solid-state
be paid as £99.99 per annum. of all its services and I would no a retired policeman, explains storage device. The writer of
I was told that thousands of longer be able to go online. Can how to deal with this kind of our Star Letter will be awarded
computers could have these this be genuine? crime on page 13. The importantt one of these super-fast SSDs,
self-generated faults, which Chris Cattanach thing is to follow his advice and which can be installed in a
were an irritation to Microsoft report this to the police. laptop or desktop PC.
and not all could be dealt with, ■ This kind of contact really If any readers have paid for With a capacity of 128GB,
but they aimed to cure as many makes us angry, as these lying any services or let these people there’s plenty of space for
as possible when they came companies are trying to con access their computers, we Windows, applications and a
across them. people out of money. There are recommend following Gordon’s decent number of files. Using
They offered to show me the plenty of logs in Windows that advice to report this as fraud. the latest SSD technology, this
faults in question, and got me to look as though they’re full of You should also change your lightning-fast storage will make
run Event Viewer from the Start errors, but it’s just a record of internet passwords and a real impact on any computer.
menu. One of the logs they your entire computer and thoroughly scan your computer
showed me had thousands of useful for diagnostics by for viruses. Your local computerer
entries. I was told that if I qualified system engineers, shop will be happy to help out if
allowed this to go on, my PC not something to worry about you’re not sure how to do this
would eventually cease to work on a day-to-day basis. yourself. A clean install may be
the best bet to ensure you’ve
wiped out any malware.

BUILD IT
YOURSELF ■ We’re glad you’ve built your
I recently completed my first own computer and managed to
self-build PC using your get yourself a bargain. Building
instructions and managed to your own PC lets you choose
get a base unit for just £442. exactly which components you
Looking back at Shopper 292, want in it. It’s having exactly
I noticed that the cheapest what you want at the end
one you’d reviewed was £523. without any compromises that
I can understand that not makes it such a worthwhile
everyone would be willing or endeavour. Then there’s the fact
able to build a computer from that you’ve learnt a brand-new
scratch, but doing it this way skill, so you’ll have more
cuts costs and gives you exactly knowledge about the inside of
Scammers will often use common Windows components as ‘proof’ of a fault. what you want. your computer should anything
Don’t believe them – they can’t detect errors over the internet S Bannon go wrong.

NEXT MONTH
❱ LAPTOP MEGATEST ❱ THE ULTIMATE LAPTOP ❱ COOKIE MONSTER
Intel’s Ivy Bridge processors mean there’s The technology that goes into manufacturing New EU laws mean that if website owners
never been a better time to buy a new laptops is becoming increasingly complex. We don’t tell visitors how they use cookies,
laptop. Find out which one meets your find out how modern laptops are built with a they’re liable to pay a fine, even if it’s a
needs in our huge megatest. visit to the Samsung factory in Korea. private site. Find out how to stay ahead of
the law.
❱ HOME CINEMA SYSTEMS ❱ ALWAYS TAKE THE WEATHER
Get stunning sound and amazing HD The UK weather is notoriously unpredictable, ❱ RECHARGEABLE BATTERIES
pictures in your living room for less cash so how are forecasts made? We look at the AA batteries are still surprisingly popular,
with one of these incredible all-in-one technology behind the weathermen and find but which are the best? We put the top
Blu-ray home cinema systems. out if more accurate predictions are possible. brands through their paces to find out.

WorldMags.net
10 SEPTEMBER 2012 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 295
 UNDER DEVELOPMENT

Call of the wild

While planning the perilous ascent of a stratovolcano, David Robinson has little time
to get daunted. The real nightmare is getting his mobile phone to work in America

I FIRST TOOK a mobile on a US +44 code in front of the number a safety helmet, a head torch, a
trip in 1996. It was a walloping when calling home, and only harness, four days of high-calorie
great Motorola handset that needed the local number to talk nosh and water filled my 70-litre
weighed half a ton, and the to local people. As the meerkats rucksack to busting and weighed
charger weighed another half a would say, “Simples!” over two-and-a-half stone. Room
ton. They swallowed a significant In the end, I sent Lee a quick for the Kindle? Afraid not. My
proportion of my luggage weight email while connected to the free one luxury was my MP3 player.
allowance and doubled up as an (I hoped) airport Wi-Fi. In theory, I must be getting old. One
exercise aid. Finding a connection even emailing over the T-Mobile member of our eight- strong
to use the thing took ages (we’re connection should only have cost party toted a Canon EOS 5D,
talking pre-3G here) and was very 12-thousandths of a penny at £6 weighing 1.1kg in its case, plus
hit and miss. You needed a tri- per megabyte but, hey, you’ve three lenses, an iPhone, an iPad
band phone, as the yanks used an got to save where you can. and a Freeloader solar charger to
inferior analogue communication While working in Red Stick, I power it all from. He even had a
standard to us sophisticated used Skype to chat with Mrs R. GoPro HD Hero camera to strap
Brits – something to do with the The Lenovo has a webcam and, to his climbing helmet to record
CIA needing to listen in on your as she’s just acquired a similar high-definition movies; it had a
DAVID ROBINSON calls, I seem to remember. model, we could also use video surface area of six square inches,
Software and systems developer On this month’s trip to Baton to help shrink the miles. Ahh. and the manufacturers had used
[email protected] Rouge and Seattle, I “de-planed” Again, using Wi-Fi, it cost nowt. most of that for this message:
in Newark. I turned on the This was fine, until it was time “For best sound in high wind use:
BlackBerry and found I was to fly to Seattle to climb Mount < 100 mph: non-waterproof
connected to T-Mobile. I was Rainier. I didn’t want to take the skeleton door > 100 mph:
then greeted by a text from O2 laptop, partly to save weight and waterproof standard door.” It was
announcing that calls to the UK partly because I didn’t want to clearly designed for the clinically
would cost 90 pence per minute leave it in a hire car for a week insane. I hoped I was coming down
and texts would be 25p each. while we were schlepping up the the mountain without having to
Anything involving data would slopes. So, it was back to the consider the second setting.
cost £6 per megabyte. I’d need to BlackBerry, which is OK if you Still, as a Verizon user, he got
start the trip with a bank robbery can find a Wi-Fi connection and a perfect phone service signal at
if I wanted to contact anybody. stick to emails or Google Chat. 10,000 feet up, and spent hours
I looked at installing Skype, on the iPhone chatting to his
STATE OF EMERGENCY which you can do easily – but wife, kids and friends. Grrr.
My mountain-climbing buddy, only with a Verizon account. Got
Lee, was collecting me at Red an Android phone? Skype works SNOW WAY OUT
Stick airport, so I tried calling him fine. An iPhone? That’s fine, too. Sadly, all the planning and training
to say the connecting flight was Skype used to be available for didn’t get us to the top of the
leaving on time. I dialled 830 557 general use on a BlackBerry, but mountain. At the start of the
it’s been withdrawn. No wonder summit attempt (1am on Sunday
RIM is losing market share. morning), the wind increased to
The wind increased to 60mph, and In Ashford (Washington State, 60mph, and there was a foot of
there was a foot of snow in a few hours – population 210), I had free Wi-Fi extra snow in just a few hours –
at the bunkhouse so I could send whiteout conditions. So much for
so much for supercomputers! and receive emails, but the phone supercomputers and short-term
connection worked only for the weather forecasts! A couple of
7891 only to be told it was “out chosen few with Verizon accounts. guys got within 500 vertical feet
of service”. I got the customer to T-Mobile? “No chance,” said the of the top, but had to turn back.
call Lee for me, but they were out locals at the grocery store, built My own efforts came to an end
of service, too. I then dialled 001 in 1905 and last painted in 1906. long before that, thwarted by a
830 557 7891 and got an engaged So which electronics, if any, mountain feature aptly known as
tone (Lee spends half his life on should I take up the mountain? the Disappointment Cleaver.
the phone). So, to make a call to Rainier would involve technical Am I disappointed? Not at
somebody in the USA when I’m climbing with ropes, ice axes and all. To quote the late Steve Jobs,
in the USA, I must pretend I’m in crampons. And if you wanted to “The journey is the reward”. My
the UK and pay international call wear it, use it or eat it on Rainier, experience was still well worth
rates to contact somebody who’s you had to carry it up there the time, expense and effort.
in the same country as me? It yourself; there was no handing it However, to call home, I did the
didn’t used to be like this. A few over to some poor Sherpa. Five only thing I could do: “Lee, can I
years ago, you just added the UK layers of clothes, a sleeping bag, borrow your iPhone, please?”

WorldMags.net
ISSUE 295 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | SEPTEMBER 2012 11
 BYTE BACK

Dangerous curves ahead

Instructions are important, but what happens when we reach the limit of what we
can learn? David Neal worries that there’s a confusing technological future ahead

I LEARNED AN important lesson a lot more undisturbed sleep. But “Why did I buy that really cheap
the other day: always read the has it lead to another problem? Android tablet?”
specifications before buying a PC Maybe, now I’ve learned this, Worse, I’ve forgotten how
game. It’s something that I should I will have forgotten something to create a spreadsheet, and
have learned a lot sooner, I know. else – something even more Apple’s iTunes has become a
I can’t think of a time when I important. Perhaps I am sitting strange and confusing land.
have bought any PC game that writing this on an old typewriter, These abilities and understandings
worked out of the box on my and wondering what that ribbon have gone – deleted and replaced
home computer, yet I keep falling thing is, and what happened to its with facts such as what kind of
into the same incompatibility trap, DVD drive. Maybe my fiancée will SD card I need, and how many
taking those games home only to find me standing in the street USB slots my laptops has.
find that they won’t work. with no trousers on, trying to I’m just about coping with
Even Doom, which I played make a phone call. Perhaps I’ll new technology at the moment,
when I was still in touch with my drive the wrong car home from but I’m standing on the edge of a
hair, required a boot disk to get the supermarket, or maybe I’ll just technological cliff, one where the
enough memory out of the PC forget to buy any more games. next gust of innovation could
just to load. Since then, games knock me off the edge.
DAVID NEAL have either not worked or worked LEARNING SWERVE
Freelance journalist very badly on whichever home This situation, which has annoyed APEING THE APE
[email protected] machine I’ve had at the time. me more than is reasonable, has Obviously, I’m glad to have
This time around, it was made me realise just how poor used Microsoft Kinect and the
Diablo 3 that caused me to slap my learning curve is. Right now, Nintendo Wii, because it means I
my ever-increasing forehead at the tender age of 37, I am will never be the person in the
and curse myself for not paying pretty good with technology. It old people’s home who thinks
closer – or, for that matter, any has taken me a while, but I am everyone else is trying to swat
– attention to the requirements. doing OK. But what if this is my invisible bees, and I won’t be the
I spent hours downloading lot? What if I am done learning? only one on the ward who thinks
and updating the game, which It bothers me that I may have tablets are what keep me regular.
requires a painful online reached the limit of what I can do. I’ve done my time with
technology. I’ve swiped things,
pinched things and grabbed
Maybe, now I have learned to read the manual, I will forget others; I’ve connected to a
hotspot while having a latte, I’ve
something else… Maybe my fiancée will find me standing in streamed a movie to a games
the street with no trousers on, trying to make a phone call console, I’ve had a four-way chat
with people that I don’t know
over video, and I’ve accidentally
activation process, then mere Sure, I can pretty much find Bluetoothed the wrong photo to
milliseconds being told that it my way around my smartphone, the wrong person in a pub. Hell,
would not work with my video and I can generally fix the sort I’ve done it all. So far.
card, and finally tens of minutes of problems my home PC throws But I dread to think what’s
stomping around the garden in up, such as forgetting it has a coming. If mobile phones turn
anger as a result. soundcard, for example. I’ve fixed into implants that slide into your
up my home entertainment ear and cheeks, I’ll probably have
REPETITIVE STRAIN system – we’ll call that a telly to pass, and if buying a ticket at
Now, thanks to all this repetition, for shorthand – and my car has a train station involves pressing
and stomping, I have learned the never run out of oil. Hell, I can your palm or eyeball against a
lesson that I should have learned even put up a shelf. scanner, I’ll be the chap fumbling
all that time ago. I’ve decided that Other things have gone along with change at the retro counter-
from this moment forward, I must the way, though. Pop into my with-real-man combo. Taking on
read the manual, specifications, brain, and ask it what happened the alternative will definitely put
and system requirements before to the ability to Mail Merge, me at risk of forgetting my
doing anything. From now on, which is something I think I used trousers. And no-one wants that.
wherever there are peripherals, to do a lot of once upon a time, There is hope, though. I’ve
mice or PC games, there you will and your question will bounce seen footage of an ape enjoying
find me reading the paperwork. around like an echo, before a tablet computer. If a simian can
And liking it. It’s a fine lesson, and falling into a corner next to do it, I’m sure I’ll always get some
one that I am sure will give me a questions such as “Where is the enjoyment from technology,
lot of pleasure, and my neighbours charger for my camera?” and whether I understand it or not.

WorldMags.net
12 SEPTEMBER 2012 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 295
 CYBERCOP

The wrong kind of support

Anti-virus and Microsoft Support scams are everywhere. Gordon Holmes explains
what they are, how to spot them, and how you can help the police stamp them out

IN MARCH 2010, an officer of This type of malicious Your first reaction may be, “I’d
the Metropolitan Police, who was software evolves constantly, and never fall for that”. But trust me,
engaged in the investigation of a relatively new incarnation uses people do. I have spoken with a
cybercrime, accessed a popular the reputation of the police as a number of savvy, cynical types
online music-streaming service. means of tricking victims. Action who have been defrauded into
He expected the site to provide Fraud, a government-run service giving up control of their PC and
access to delightful tunes, but the that monitors all types of scams, who have paid for the privilege.
result was anything but pleasant. is warning of malicious software This type of behaviour is
Seconds after loading the that locks the computer and an offence under the Fraud
web page, his machine appeared delivers a message purporting to Act 2006, Section 2: Fraud by
to perform an anti-virus scan. It originate from the Metropolitan false representation. The caller
then screamed that it had found Police or from the National Fraud knowingly made a false
265 separate virus infections. Intelligence Bureau. The fake representation with the intent to
Its recommendation? To call a message states that your IP make a financial gain for himself
prominently displayed telephone address has been connected with or another. According to the
number and speak with an expert pornography, child abuse or Crown Prosecution Service, the
to get the machine cleaned up. All terrorism. It demands a fee to offence is complete as soon as
for an appropriate fee, naturally. unlock the machine. This ‘fine’ is the caller makes the false
GORDON HOLMES That officer was yours truly. paid via Ukash or Paysafecard. representation, provided it is
With more than 30 years of Although I was well aware of Even in these days of made with the appropriate
experience in law enforcement, fake anti-virus threats at the time, austerity, UK law enforcement dishonest intent.
our retired cybercop gives a this knowledge was not enough will never ask you for an online You might not fall foul of this
police officer’s perspective on to prevent my machine being payment in this way. scam, but you may know others
the sticky subject of cybercrime infected. On the day I accessed who have. As they have been a
[email protected] Spotify, this legitimate site was WHERE’S TUFTY? victim of a criminal offence, you
displaying an advertisement Many of us are old enough to should advise them to report it.
containing a malicious program. remember the highly effective Action Fraud has both a website
Many other users accessing the road safety campaigns of the and telephone reporting service
service were also infected. I spent 1970s featuring Tufty, a squirrel for fraud, and will take such
reports (www.actionfraud.org.uk).
The data gathered by Action
Your first reaction may be, “I’d never do that”. But trust me, Fraud is passed to the National
Fraud Intelligence Bureau, where
people do. I know a number of savvy, cynical types who have it is analysed. This makes it
possible to launch a pro-active
been defrauded into giving up control of their PC law enforcement operation to
prosecute those involved.

the next few hours removing the who educated a generation on SUPPORT RELIEF
fake anti-virus program and crossing the road safely. His core There is no doubt both scams
cleaning my machine. message of ‘Stop, Look, Listen’ will keep occurring, due to the
still applies today, and not just staggering amounts of cash being
ACT TO GRIND when trying to avoid road traffic. duped from the unsuspecting.
This type of attack isn’t just There’s a popular trick still Globally, law enforcement is just
an annoyance – it’s a criminal doing the rounds known as the starting to identify how prevalent
offence. As such, it should not ‘Microsoft Support’ scam. The the problem is. However, Trading
just be fixed and forgotten. It falls phone rings, and when the Standards is in the process of
under the Computer Misuse Act potential victim picks up, the setting up a ‘cybercrime’ unit,
1990, Section 3: Unauthorised caller falsely declares himself to which could be a massive step
acts with intent to impair. The be an employee of Microsoft. in the right direction.
impairment, which in this case The victim is directed to access a Meanwhile, an aggressive
is causing the computer to stop relatively obscure area of the PC, programme of awareness and
operating normally, only has to be such as the Event Viewer logs, prevention is required. It’s a pity
temporary to count as an offence. and told that the multitude of the Central Information Office,
Even if you reboot the system alerts (which normally appear which used to run government
and the fake anti-virus disappears, here) indicates a serious problem. marketing schemes, closed its
or your own anti-virus software Predictably, they are asked for doors in March this year, just
ejects the threat, an offence has payment to ‘clean’ the machine when we could have done with
been committed under UK law. of non-existent infections. a ‘CyberTufty’.

WorldMags.net
ISSUE 295 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | SEPTEMBER 2012 13
 Rants & Raves
What’s rattled our cages or made us giddy with delight this month? Our resident
technological gurus wax lyrical and vent spleen on what’s hot – or not – at the moment

Mel Croucher

RAVES
Perhaps the fact that Theresa May wants to
check all his mail is no cause for concern. Still,
just in case it doesn’t give her enough to worry
about, Mel has a cunning plan of his own…

SIR TIM BERNERS LEE, is not only the founding father of the to speed and post regular comments on her Facebook page. Just
World Wide Web (see Top 10, page 16) but he’s also Open Data go to http://on.fb.me/TheresaMayMP.
Adviser to the government, and the second-greatest living But hurry! We only have a very short window of opportunity,
Englishman. The greatest living Englishman is, of course, Jeff Beck. because I am planning to topple the government on 12th August
I cheered when the government announced the go-ahead for by an act of creative terrorism…
legislation to monitor all our internet activity, and I thanked our
Home Secretary, Theresa May, for her kind offer to read my emails. OLYMPIAN EFFORT
I hope when she gets to know me and understands my funny little I will bypass government monitoring systems and send messages
ways, she can check my Ocado orders and monitor my winnings at as Sinclair Basic audio signals via pay-as-you-go mobile phones. I’ll
Betfred. Oh, and I’ll soon be posting stuff online about our new Irish use this mechanism to coordinate my terrorist attack during the
Setter puppy, so maybe she can remind me when it needs worming. Olympic Games’ closing ceremony, whereby I present Boris Johnson
Unfortunately, Sir Tim Berners-Lee thinks Theresa May’s with an inflatable Lithuanian synchronised-swimmer doll, cunningly
legislation will be “a destruction of human rights”. He’s worried infected with bubonic plague.
that our personal data will get mislaid by incompetent operators Twenty-eight days later, after Boris has done his thing, and the
or stolen by corrupt officials, then used to blackmail the vulnerable entire Tory High Command has succumbed to terminal pustules –
and defraud the stupid. Personally, I think he should chill. After all, and Theresa May is still wading through all our emails – me and
there’s never been a single case of sensitive private files going astray George Galloway (and probably the Liberal Democrats) will set up
from any government department, has there? Besides, if we have our Slightly Disrespectful Provisional Government in The Blue Boar
nothing to hide, we have nothing to fear. Inn, Bradford. My first act as People’s Tribune will be to appoint Sir
Tim Berners-Lee as Home Secretary. And Jeff Beck as Supreme Ruler.
PATRIOT GAMES
I realise it will cost loads of money to monitor everybody’s data –
money that the government needs for bankers and nuclear weapons The Home Secretary
– and I want to play my part in The Big Society, as I’m sure you do, could be in for a large
too. Seeing as how Theresa May believes all our data belongs to her, email backlog if
I can save her the cost of collecting mine and automatically cc her Mel gets his way
everything I send out by email. Many other patriots are doing this,
and I invite you to join our campaign.
Her email address is [email protected]. Just to make sure
she doesn’t miss anything, it’s best to send another copy to her
constituency address, which is offi[email protected].
In fact, to be absolutely certain she knows everything about you in
order to help keep the nation safe, you should probably keep her up

I hope when Theresa May

understands my funny little ways,
she can check my Ocado orders and
monitor my winnings at Betfred

WorldMags.net
14 SEPTEMBER 2012 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 295
 RANTS & RAVES

no denying Apple knows a thing or two

Dave Ludlow about build quality and smooth graphical

RAVES interfaces. The fake merchants don’t. I had a

chance to play with a fake iPad, which sort
of looks like the real thing – if you squint at
it in a dark room, and try hard to convince
yourself that it really is an Apple product.
Being surrounded by dodgy But even strenuously believing that won’t
street traders is hell for some, be able to stop you noticing that the tablet
is running a really old version of Android,
but it gives Dave a heightened it’s incredibly jerky, and the touchscreen is
appreciation for the real deal less sensitive than a Jan Moir column.
It’s the fake iPhones that really got me.
One shop offered me a choice of iPhone 4S
CHINA MAKES PRETTY much everything manufacturers, though, the rip-off stuff is handsets. As each one was a different size, it
electronic in the world. It does this mostly for a brilliant advert for the real thing. seemed unlikely that either was the genuine
big multi-national corporations. However, it Personally, I think Dr Dre’s Beats Audio article. Any illusions that the phones might
has a nifty side-line in rip-offs. Far from being line is over-rated, the kind of thing hipsters be decent were shattered the moment
an underground thing, sold by a few dodgy buy when they want to show off. Still, a pair they were turned on. The low-resolution
street traders, the rip-off market has an of real Beats Audio headphones sounds a displays and touchscreens that refused to
official area underneath Shanghai’s Science hell of a lot better than the fake £15 Beats acknowledge even the firmest finger prods
and Technology museum. Here, seemingly Audio set. To look at, they just about pass were a sorry sight to behold.
endless corridors contain shop after shop as the real thing, but slip them on, and the However, far from posing a threat to the
peddling its own knock-off merchandise. appalling drivers and tinny sound made me manufacturers responsible for the original
The clothing stores look pretty good, wish I had absolutely anything else, merchandise, I see these rip-offs as positive
and you’d easily get away with pretending including Apple’s tinny in-ear headphones. marketing. If I was given a product like those
you’d spent a fortune on a pair of ‘Prada’ This is just one of many terrible products I saw in China, it would last three minutes
sunglasses; you can see why the real on sale, and things are even worse in the before it got dumped in the recycling, and I
manufacturers get a bit upset. For the tech fake Apple section. Love it or hate it, there’s went down to the shops for the real thing.

could answer, for at least four reasons, some

Kat Orphanides of which are more perverse than others.

RANTS “Where were you on January 1, 2000?” If

I could remember, which I can’t, it’d be safe
to assume that I wasn’t anywhere of note.
Apple also expected me to know in which
city my parents met (OK, my family is more
Could it be the work of motor migratory than most) and asked me where
fanatic Jeremy Clarkson? The – but not what – my least favourite job was.
What happened to my cat’s name, and the
Apple ID security questions are fact that I’m into the musical stylings of
driving Kat round the bend Necrosadistic Goat Torture?
With questions like this, I can guarantee
that I’ll have to reset my security passwords
WHEN LOGGING INTO the App Store via the memory of my childhood nicknames. every time I use the App Store, because
my antique iPod Touch, Apple informed me At least I was on safer territory with the first several of them require surprisingly long
that I wasn’t quite secure enough for its album I owned (well, let’s compromise on answers with variable punctuation and, in
liking, and that it wanted me to set up three the first one I bought, just to spare me from some cases, information I’ve had to fudge
questions to prove my identity in future. embarrassment). That took longer than I a bit. Of course, I could always write them
This seemed a bit excessive, especially given expected. Oh well, on to question two. down. This really isn’t the kind of thing that
that I was typing on a touchscreen, but I “Which of the cars you’ve owned has encourages real security on the internet.
needed a new app, so off I went. been your favourite?” Wait. What? Another It took a while, but I eventually finished
For each of the questions, I was given car question? Fine. What else is there? My working out what I wanted these almost-
five options to choose from. Unfortunately, favourite teacher? Who on Earth has a made-up answers to be and submitted
very few were those for which I could give preference about this that extends beyond them for my fruity overlords’ approval.
an answer. Here’s what I had to deal with. each individual school year? I went with “Security info: Your session has timed
“What was the first car you ever owned?” ‘My first concert’. So, question three. out. Try again.” Thanks, Apple. Oh, and
Um, I live in London. I have a travel-card and “Which of the cars you’ve owned has because it timed out, the damnable thing
a bicycle. Yes, I may be some kind of leftist been your least favourite?” Was this thing refused to install my app. If anyone needs
hippy, but that surely shouldn’t disqualify composed by a deranged automobile me, I’ll be testing the Android version. My
me from using the App Store, right? fetishist? Moving swiftly onwards… Google passwords, while long, improbable
I similarly had no idea what the name of “Where did you and your partner go on and slightly hard to type in accurately, are
my first teacher was, and had blotted out your first trip together?” Not a question I at least of my own choosing.

WorldMags.net
ISSUE 295 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | SEPTEMBER 2012 15
 The UK has been a
hotbed of innovation
over the years, with
its inventions and
input helping to create
and define the IT
industry as we know
it. Here’s our list of its
biggest IT contributions

UK innovations in IT
ALTHOUGH IT’S FAIR to say that UK companies don’t dominate designers and entrepreneurs. Our bolt isn’t completely shot yet, either,
the tech industry in the same way as American, Japanese and as we continue to contribute and evolve the tech world. Here is our
Korean companies, our island nation has still played a big part in list of the people and companies that we think have made the biggest
creating and shaping the world as we know it. In fact, a large part impact. If you don’t agree, write in to [email protected]
of life today wouldn’t be the same if it weren’t for British inventors, and let us know who you think should be given an honorary mention.

Boolean logic (George Boole) Colossus: the first computer

Computers use the base-2 binary numeral system, where all Although Charles Babbage designed the
component data is composed of individual bits of 0s and 1s. s. Difference Engine in 1822, it was never built in
This system allows very complicated applications and algorithms his life time. The plaudits for the first actual
to be created, but, underneath it all, the engineers and low-level computer go to Tommy Flowers. While
programmers must understand the logic that controls it. Step working at Bletchley Park during World War
forwards George Boole, who came up with the idea of Boolean 2, he designed Colossus, the world’s first
logic in the 1840s. This system is defined as a “logical calculus of programmable electronic computer, to break
truth values”. In other words, Boolean logic defines statements as the German Lorenz cipher. Colossus was incredibly fast, and could
either true (1) or false (0). So, a hundred years before the first break the first part of the cipher in less than 30 minutes. It was later
digital computer, the logic system was created. discovered that the computer could be used for wheel breaking,
Boolean logic is evident in every aspect of which was the second part of breaking the code.
technology. Logic gate diagrams and truth Sadly, after the war, Colossus was broken down and kept a secret,
maps are all used to plan circuits, and Boolean so details of how it worked were not widely known. As such, modern
expressions are a key part of any programming computers have evolved from subsequent projects. Still, Colossus
language. Put simply, George Boole devised the proved a high-speed electronic computer could be made reliably, so
language of computers long before any one else. its importance on the modern world should not be overlooked.

The early home Raspberry Pi

computer market The downside of computers becoming easier to use in recent cent
years is that kids are no longer exposed to programming as
It took until the early 1980s they were in the early days of computing. Education has moved
for computers to be ready for away from teaching kids how to program and towards teaching
mass-market home use, but the them how to use applications such as Excel. The result is that the
UK grabbed the opportunity by UK isn’t providing the IT industry with the skills it desperately
the horns. In a short period of needs, which is where the Raspberry Pi Foundation steps in. The
time, we saw the launch of the BBC goal of this foundation, which was set up by Eben Upton and
Micro, the ZX Spectrum and the Amstrad CPC 464, colleagues at the University of Cambridge’s computer laboratory,
all of which were massively popular in their own right. was to create a low-cost computer that would boot
These computers saw limited success outside of the UK, with into a programming environment. The Raspberry Pi
the US favouring its own brands, but the impact these computers was born, and is now available for just £32 including
made cannot be denied. As well as giving UK consumers their very VAT (see Reviews, page XX). Based around a mobile
first taste of home computing, they also gave many people their processor, this cheap computer boots from an SD
first platform on which to program, paving the way for significant card into a Linux operating system that kids (and
successes in a broad range of technological fields. anyone, really) can use to learn how to program.

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 TOP 10

The digital audio player Palmtop computers

It’s hard to imagine a world without digital music players, It would be tempting to think of smartphones and tablets
but it was a British inventor that got there first. In 1979, as recent inventions, but in fact portable computing began
n
Kane Kramer came up with the idea of a digital audio player known in 1989, thanks to a British computer company. Distributed
as the IXI. This player was the size of a credit card with a small Information Processing (DIP) created the Pocket PC – a tiny
mono LCD screen and navigation and control buttons. It was computer powered by AA batteries, complete with a keyboard.
designed to use bubble memory, although its 8MB capacity was This carry-everywhere computer
capable of storing only around three-and-a-half minutes of audio. attracted the attention of Atari,
However, Kramer correctly postulated that storage capacities which released the product as the
would massively increase. In addition to the player, Kramer also Portfolio, the world’s first palmtop.
proposed a digital download service over telephone lines to let Fact fans should note that it’s
people get the music they wanted, when they wanted it. the Portfolio John Conner uses
A patent was awarded in 1985 in the UK and to hack the ATM machine in
1987 in the US. Sadly, the product wasn’t to be a Terminator 2: Judgment Day.
success. After failing to raise £60,000 to renew the From the initial days of
patent, the design entered the public domain, and the palmtop computer
other companies were free to do their own thing. In came the first PDAs,
2008, Apple called Kramer as a witness to defend and this in turn lead to
itself against charges of patent infringement for the development of the
the iPod, citing the IXI as prior art. ubiquitous smartphone.

Modern computer games The resurgence of Apple

The UK has played a big part in influencing the development As hard as it is to believe now, Apple was once a company
of computer games. Bletchley Park codebreaker Alan Turing in massive financial trouble. The turnaround of the
first created a chess game in 1947, although the resulting program company is largely down to Steve Jobs, of course, and one of his
was only capable of computing ‘mate-in-two’ games. In 1951, key decisions was to make design a key part of all new products.
Alexander S Douglas, a British professor of computer science, created He wanted to make products that weren’t only functional, as
OXO (Noughts and Crosses), the world’s first graphical computer were the beige PCs of the time, but also beautiful and, ultimately,
game. Later, in 1984, David Braben and Ian Bell created the first 3D desirable. For Jobs to make this happen, he needed a designer of
game with Elite. The explosion of UK home computers resulted in considerable talent. Jonathan Ive, who was born in Chingford,
the emergence of many London, has been the conceptual mind behind most of Apple’s
UK-based games iconic products, including the iMac, the MacBook Air,
developers who would the iPod, the iPod Touch, the iPhone and the iPad.
create some iconic titles. Just one of these products would be an
Some big studios are impressive achievement on any designer’s
still based in the UK, CV; to do them all is incredible.
including Rockstar North, By creating desirable products, Apple
developer of the Grand has managed to turn itself into one of the
Theft Auto titles, and – world’s most valuable companies. It’s also
under its old name of gone from the underdog to the company
DMA Design – Lemmings. that everyone else wants to emulate.

ARM The World Wide Web

British IT company ARM Holdings plc is a Cambridge-based ed Although the internet – an interconnected network of
company that designs the processors used in the majority of computers – came out of the US military, the graphical
mobile phones and tablets. It’s so important, even Microsoft is World Wide Web, which we access through our web
writing a version of Windows 8 that will run on ARM architecture. browsers, was created by English scientist and inventorr Sir
What’s particularly clever about the company is that it doesn’t Tim Berners-Lee. Working at the European Organisation for
manufacture processors but licenses its intellectual property to Nuclear Research (CERN) in 1980, he built a system called ENQUIRE,
other companies such as Intel, Samsung, Nvidia, Qualcomm and which was a personal database of people and software models.
Texas Instruments, which build their own CPUs. ARM CPUs are also Each page in ENQUIRE was linked to another page via hypertext. In
noted for their low power consumption. Given the ever-growing 1984, he wrote a proposal for “a large hypertext database with
number of smartphone and tablet computers, this feature is crucial, typed links”, which generated little interest.
and one that should see ARM Holdings plc grow even more. Undeterred, he came up with the World Wide
The company started life as Acorn Computers Web, developing HyperText Transfer Protocol
Ltd, which manufactured the popular BBC Micro (HTTP), HyperText Markup Language (HTML)
and the Archimedes range of computers. Just the first web browser, the first web server and
as it helped to kick-start the home computer web server software, and the first web pages.
revolution, so it continues to drive On 6th August 1991, he posted a short
innovation and new products, making it the summary of the World Wide Web project
most important British computer company online, and the web was officially made public.
in operation today. The rest, as they say, is history.

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 NEWS

Windows 8
Release Preview
MICROSOFT WINDOWS 8 is edging ever
closer, with the Release Preview now available.
This is likely to be the final version we see
before the Beta Release, and is the last chance
for Microsoft to get feedback before making
final changes. Once that happens, there will
only be minor tweaks and bug fixes before the
new operating system goes on sale.
Microsoft made a raft of improvements in
the Consumer Preview (see News, Shopper
292), many of which were designed to make it
work better on a desktop PC with a mouse
and keyboard. However, the changes didn’t
quite go far enough, so we were eager to try
the new release to see what had changed.

MULTI-MONITORS
Microsoft has decided to use two different
user interfaces in Windows 8: the Metro
interface, with its colourful live tiles, and the Improved multi-monitor support means the Metro interface can now be viewed on more than one screen
standard Windows Desktop interface. Getting
the interaction right between them is one of on a single monitor, but at least you now have menu; in Metro mode, the same movement
the biggest issues Microsoft faces, and it the flexibility to put it where you want. takes you to the previously used application.
didn’t get it quite right in Consumer Preview. With the Consumer Preview, hotspots
Metro, for example, worked only on the main SMART TASKBAR were available only on the main monitor, but
monitor. Multi-monitor support has been We’re pleased to see the new Taskbar is still they work on any display. On a single monitor
overhauled in the Release Preview, tightening there. This appears on every display, with the using corners is easy, as the mouse stops
up integration between the Desktop and default option showing shortcuts for every when it hits an edge. With multiple monitors,
Metro modes and making the use of the dual running application. You can override these however, the default behaviour in previous
interfaces far more flexible. settings and choose to display icons for the versions of the OS was to let the mouse move
You can now use the bottom-left hotspot applications that are running on that display seamlessly between monitors, so hovering
from any screen to make Metro appear on it. only if you wish, although the main monitor the mouse cursor in a corner was a feat of
Windows remembers your choice, so when still has the fully loaded Taskbar. absolute pixel-perfect precision.
you’re on the desktop and hit the Windows We also like the wallpaper management, Microsoft has introduced real corners in
key, Metro appears on the monitor on which which lets you choose different wallpaper for the Release Preview, so where two monitors
you last used it. It’s certainly an improvement different monitors or stretch a panoramic have a shared edge, the cursor will stop when
over the Consumer Preview, but as Windows shot over multiple screens. It makes the OS it hits the corner. It makes accessing hotspots
knows which screen your cursor is on, it feel that bit more polished than Windows 7. much easier. However, the corners are ignored
would be nice to have an option to open for certain operations, such as dragging a
Metro on the display you’re currently using, TIGHT CORNERING window from one display to another.
even if this wasn’t the default behaviour. To get around the fact that Windows 8 is
Full-screen Metro applications were largely a touchscreen interface, Microsoft METRO APPS
similarly locked to the main display, but you has introduced hotspot corners for mouse Although the Windows Store launched with
can now drag them to any other display users. Move the mouse to the bottom-left in the Consumer Preview, it has recently been
connected to your PC. Metro will still only run Desktop mode and you can launch the Start updated to include more software, making it
easier to get hold of Metro apps. Annoyingly,
there’s no permanent search bar; instead, you
have to select Search from the Charms bar.
The range of software is growing all the
time, and now includes apps from big names
such as Amazon Kindle and Sky News.
They’re mostly well designed, with large,
bright interfaces that will make the most of
the displays on touchscreen devices.
However, not all the apps we tried work
properly yet. For example, the Kindle app has
Annoyingly, the Metro and Desktop versions of The new Calendar app is clean and easy to use, a status bar to show how far through a book
IE10 don’t share Favorites or pinned sites and pulls in information from your email accounts you are. It looks as though you can grab the

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 NEWS

current position indicator to flick through a

book, but clicking and dragging it merely
highlights text instead.
We like the Metro email app, and can
imagine using it regularly on a tablet. The
simple interface – with a panel for folders,
one for messages and another for the main
message – makes it easy to flick through
your email. It has built-in Exchange support,
although there’s no way of accessing public
or shared folders using this interface, so it’s
not an Outlook replacement.
Adding an email account that also has
a calendar and appointments (such as
Exchange, Google and Hotmail) pulls this
information into the Metro Calendar and
People apps. These are also well designed,
with big, bold, simple interfaces that work
just as well with a keyboard and mouse as
they do on a touchscreen system. Searching for files is easy, but you can’t choose which application will open them

DISCONNECTED TIMES version. Again, there’s a disconnect between right-click a file and choose to open its folder
Despite these changes, there remains some the Desktop and Metro versions of the or choose an application with which to open
divergence between Metro and the Desktop. application: in effect, each version is a it. The only thing you can do is open the file in
Take Internet Explorer 10, for example, which separate application. its default application. Want to edit a photo in
comes as both Desktop and Metro versions. Photoshop rather than view it in the Metro
In the Desktop version, you can create SEARCHING QUESTION Photos app? You’ll either need to open
Favorites in the normal way; switch to Metro The search in Metro remains the same as it Photoshop manually or switch to the Desktop,
and you can’t access Favorites at all. Instead, did in the Consumer Preview: simply run open Explorer and find the file you want to
you have to pin websites to the Metro Metro and start typing. The default search edit manually. It’s strange that the system is
interface. It’s bizarre not to allow users to looks for Apps, but you can select Settings, so locked down in this regard.
access the same information.
Microsoft isn’t the only company MULTI-TOUCH SUPPORT
that’s at it, either. The latest Dev What’s frustrating about Windows Multi-touch support is likely to be
version of Google Chrome has a 8’s search is its inconsistency. It’s strange one of the areas where Windows
Metro mode, which is activated by 8 excels, as Metro is largely a
setting the browser as the default. that the system is so locked down touchscreen interface. Sadly, there’s
From that point, you can have only no easy way to test this properly at
one version of the browser running at a time, Files or a supported application to narrow the moment; as yet, there are no drivers for
so, to launch the Metro version, you have to your search criteria. We prefer Windows 7’s the hardware we used to test it. We installed
shut down the Desktop version, then launch search, which brings up results for both touchpad drivers on an Asus ZenBook UX31
Chrome through Metro. Failure to do so takes applications and documents together. laptop, which let us scroll through Metro
you back to the Desktop when you click on What’s frustrating about Windows 8’s using two fingers. This was very smooth, as
the Chrome icon in Metro. search is its inconsistency. Perform a search in was scrolling through lists in Explorer.
When you launch the Metro version for Apps, and you can right-click a program and
the first time, Chrome asks you to provide choose to open a new window for that CLOSER TO SUCCESS?
your username and password for the application or open the Apps location, which Our main concern with the Consumer
synchronisation options, even if you’ve takes you to its containing folder in Explorer. Preview version of Windows 8 was the lack
entered this information in the Desktop Search for Files, however, and you can’t of integration between the Metro and
Desktop user interfaces. Unfortunately, that
disconnection still exists in the Release
Preview version. It’s almost as if there are
two operating systems at work, bundled
together to work on touchscreen devices. In
a way, this is what Windows 8 is, particularly
as the ARM version of the OS, Windows RT,
will be even more reliant on Metro, with only
a cut-down desktop, if any.
Although we can understand the reasons
for Metro – and in fact, we actually like it – it
would make more sense if applications were
able to share data and settings between the
two interfaces. Where Microsoft has made
a lot of progress is with multiple monitor
setups. In Consumer Preview, running more
than one display was too restrictive but,
now you can use Metro wherever you want
it, the OS feel a lot more finished. Windows 8
is certainly edging towards completion – but
Desktop wallpaper can be set independently on each screen you use it’s not quite there just yet.

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 NEWS

Microsoft springs surprise

with iPad rival
WINDOWS 8’s TOUCHSCREEN Metro The Surface’s Type Cover
interface was a clear indication of how vital comes with a traditional
Microsoft sees the tablet market to its QWERTY keyboard
future. What no-one was expecting,
however, was for the company to launch its
own tablet computer to rival the iPad.
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer unveiled two
Surface tablets at the launch in Los Angeles.
The Surface RT, running Windows 8 RT, is for
use with ARM processors and runs the Metro
interface, and is designed to go head-to-head
with the iPad and Android-based tablets. The
Surface Pro, meanwhile, for Intel architecture,
will run the full version of Windows 8 Pro.
Both versions look very similar, with a
10.6in touchscreen. The Surface RT will have
a resolution of 720p, while the Surface Pro
will have a Full HD resolution. These compare They will be available in a
unfavourably with the new iPad’s resolution choice of Touch or Type covers, model. Again,
of 2,048x1,536. The other main differences which attach magnetically to the side of though, until we’ve
between the two models are size and weight; the Surface, similar to Apple’s Smart Cover. actually had the chance
the Surface RT is 9.3mm thick and weighs The Touch Cover is made from microfibre to try it, it’s hard to make
676g, while the Pro is 13.5mm and 903g. and is the same size as a regular tablet cover; any judgements about its quality.
Both models are designed to combine the however, it has a full QWERTY keyboard and Both types of cover are relatively thin and
best features of a tablet and a full computer. touchpad printed on the inside of the cover. have no built-in support to hold up the tablet,
It’s designed to be sensitive to pressure, so so using them comfortably could be problem.
you won’t accidentally hit keys by resting your Microsoft has therefore built a clever feature
hands on the cover, and supports multitouch into the Surface – a kickstand. Flick this out of
The Surface has a built-in
gestures. Microsoft claims that typing is the back of the screen, and the tablet can
kickstand, so it can stand
twice as efficient on the Touch Cover as it is stand upright on a desk, so you can fold the
upright on a desk, making it
on glass. We have yet to test the cover to covers down flat and type as if you were
easier to type on the covers
validate this claim, however. using a regular keyboard.
The Type Cover is a thicker plastic Storage options will be 32GB or 64GB for
protective sleeve, and houses a plastic the Surface RT and 64GB, and 128GB for the
keyboard and touchpad. The keys have travel, Surface Pro, and both models will have USB
so typing on this should be more like using a ports and Micro SDXC card slots. There’s a
real keyboard rather than a touch-sensitive slight difference between the models with the
graphics output, with the Surface RT having a
Micro HDMI port and the Surface Pro using a
Mini DisplayPort output.
Initial reaction to the tablets has been

Microsoft’s hardware failures positive, and from our experiences with

Windows 8 (see News, page 18), it should be
slick and smooth as a touchscreen operating
Apart from the Xbox, Microsoft doesn’t have a very good system. Microsoft also seems to be working
record with making its own hardware. Its biggest
est failure hard on the branding, pushing the Surface
was the Kin Phone, which first appeared at the same
ame as something completely new. In fact, the
time as the iPhone 4 prototype was taken from Microsoft logo isn’t visible at all on the
a bar, causing headlines all around the world. images we’ve seen, and there’s just a small
The joke was that a Microsoft employee left Windows icon printed on the front. The
the Kin in the same bar, but nobody wanted it. product’s official name is Surface by
After just 48 days on sale, it was discontinued. Microsoft. It could be a good move, as
The Zune music player fared little better. Microsoft’s most popular hardware product,
Launched as a competitor to Apple’s iPod, the Xbox, has barely any branding on it at all.
the general consensus was that the Zune Microsoft has said that the Surface RT will
was technically a better product. However, be priced in line with ARM-based tablets, so
it was also larger, and the initial models expect it to cost about the same as the
came in a rather horrid shade of brown. Apple iPad. For the Surface Pro, pricing is
Zune was never sold in the UK and the Microsoft’s Zune player didn’t make a dent in expected to be similar to that of an Ultrabook.
product was recently discontinued. Apple’s sales and never made it to the UK The Surface will be available at the same time
as Windows 8 later this year.

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 Want to know more about it?
See Reviews, page 26 NEWS

In-depth:
MacBook Retina display is
a resolution revolution
THE NEW MACBOOK Pro’s 15.4in Retina 2,880x1,800
display has a staggering resolution of
2,880x1,800 pixels, making it the highest-
resolution screen on a laptop ever. Even the
highest-resolution desktop displays have a
lower resolution of 2,560x1,440. Our full
review (see page 26) tells you how good
the display is, but what does the Retina
display actually mean for you?
First, it’s worth defining what Apple means
by the word ‘Retina’. You can’t distinguish
between individual pixels at normal viewing
distances, so the pixel density – measured in
pixels per inch (ppi) – is the important factor
in distinguishing a Retina display from a
regular one. As the viewing distance changes,
so does the required pixel density for Retina.
The Apple iPhone 4s, which has a 3½in,
640x960 screen, has a pixel density of 326ppi.
This high density is necessary because you
hold the phone so close to your face when
1,920x1,080
using it. The new iPad has a 10.1in, 2,048x1,536 Run at full resolution, the Retina display has a lot more space to work with, as you can see by the small
screen, and a lower pixel density of 264ppi, as amount of space a Full HD image (bottom left) takes up
it’s designed to be used from further away.
The MacBook Pro with Retina display has a and those simply increased in size from a At full resolution, the Retina screen has
pixel density of 220ppi, as it’s designed to be MacBook Air with a 1,366x768 display. more than double the resolution of a Full HD
used from further away again. By comparison, High resolutions also offer other benefits. display. This means, for example, that when
a standard 15.4in display with a resolution of The 16:10 aspect ratio provides more space at you’re editing a photo you can fit a lot more
1,920x1,080 has a pixel density of just 147ppi. the top and bottom of the image compared of the image on the screen working at a 1:1
In practice, this makes text and photos look with a Full HD screen’s 16:9 aspect ratio, as pixel ratio. The extra resolution could also be
much sharper. Since you can’t see individual you can see in the close-up shots of New York, extremely useful when editing Full HD videos,
pixels, you can’t see jagged lines as you would below. On the Retina display, the Free Wi-Fi as there’s plenty of room around the side of
on lower pixel-density displays. For the best sign is clearly readable when displayed at a 1:1 the movie for toolbars, making it easier to
results, applications have to be designed for pixel ratio; with a Full HD display, it becomes control what’s going on.
high pixel-density displays, with high-resolution murky and the text is a lot harder to read. In short, the Retina display provides
graphics and icons; simply blowing up existing greater clarity and sharpness and more
graphics loses detail. screen space. For those working with videos
In our examples here, A higher resolution means or photos, it’s a big step up from a regular
more detail, as you can see
you can see the differences laptop display. It’s time for PC manufacturers
from this close-up, where
between text and icons to play catch-up.
the sign is readable on
viewed on a Retina display
the Retina display

HD SCREEN RETINA SCREEN

Here you can see the difference in the aspect ratios of a Full HD and the Retina screens, where Retina has slightly more detail in the top and bottom of the image

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 NEWS

Apple drops Google Maps from iOS 6

APPLE HAS UNVEILED the latest versions
of its iPhone and iPad operating system, and
announced that Google Maps is to be
replaced by Apple’s own mapping application.
Due to be launched with the new iPhone Apple’s new operating
later this year, iOS 6 will be the first time system sees a raft of
Apple mobile products don’t use the Google improvements, and the
dropping of Google Maps
Maps mapping application. The new Maps
in favour of Apple’s own
app will offer everything that Google Maps
alternative app
currently does, with the addition of turn-by-
turn directions, which Android already has.
Apple has also built its own alternative to
Google’s friend-finding Latitude service. Called
Find My Friends, this lets you locate your
friends and family on the map.
By taking control of its own mapping app,
Apple can ensure it keeps up with the latest
developments. It also opens up the possibility
of integration with other apps, which can tap
into Maps and use it to display information.
The real test will be the quality of the app
itself. Google has had years to perfect its app,
while Apple is completely new to the field.
Some Google Maps features, such as Photo Streams already lets you save your The final big addition is Passbook, an app
Streetview, simply won’t be available. pictures to iCloud, and iOS 6 adds the ability to store tickets and coupons in one place and
Google may have been ditched, but Apple to share streams with others. Shared streams use your iPhone in place of paper. Apple says
is happy with its Facebook relationship. The can be accessed by iOS devices, Mac OS and the data will be smart and time-sensitive, so
social network will be integrated across the Apple TV, and via the web. your airline ticket will be displayed on the lock
entire iOS 6 platform. Users can share photos The cloud also makes an appearance on page as your flight nears its departure time.
and videos from the camera app, post scores the updated Safari web browser, which will The app will require companies to develop for
from Game Center, ask Siri – which makes its have iCloud tabs. These will store your open Passbook, and there’s no information about if
debut on the new iPad – to make posts and tabs on any iCloud-connected device, so you and how this will work in the UK.
view events and birthdays in your calendar. can pick up where you left off from any As with all major versions of iOS, the
Contact details will be automatically updated device. The mobile version of Safari has also software will be launched with a new
in your address book, and you’ll be able to been updated, so you can access the camera handset, with owners of older iPhones able
‘Like’ songs, albums, shows, movies and apps directly from it. This is useful if you want to to upgrade on the same day. It will be
right from your iPhone or iPad. upload a photo to an eBay listing, for example. available later this year.

Mac OS X gets closer to mobile devices

THE LATEST VERSION of Apple’s Mac OS X to communicate with iPhone users from your Unlike MacBooks, Windows-based
operating system, Mountain Lion, is to be laptop or desktop computer. Ultrabooks have the ability to wake
integrated more closely with Apple’s iOS Notification Center is also ripped straight periodically and check for new information,
mobile operating system. from iOS. It tells you what’s going on with such as emails and instant messages. With
New OS X features include a Reminders your computer, and includes information on Power Nap, Apple redresses the balance and
app, which lets you set up to-do lists. You can new emails, updates from the App Store, adds the feature to its armoury.
set a location, and your iPhone or iPad will calendar appointments and more. The layout Macs are increasingly coming under
display the Reminder when you get there. The is exactly the same as the iOS version. threat from malware attacks, and Apple
Notes program has also been improved, and has therefore introduced a new security
is now a standalone app rather than being feature called Gatekeeper to help protect
integrated into Mail. Both Notes and its users. This enables you to install only
Reminders are synchronised automatically applications that have come from the Mac
across your devices using iCloud. App Store or from identified developers.
Apple’s instant messaging service, The feature can be disabled, however,
iMessage, was introduced with iOS 5 on should you not wish to use it.
mobile devices as an alternative to SMS Tighter integration between iOS and Mac
messaging. Now available with OS X devices provides a compelling reason
OS X Mountain Lion, the to buy Apple-only products, and piles further
iMessage client will enable you pressure on Windows and Android. OS X
Mountain Lion should be available by the
Mountain Lion promises better time you read this; we’ll bring you a full review
integration with iOS devices in next month’s issue.

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WorldMags.net
 NEWS

Microsoft puts Xbox on mobile screens

MICROSOFT HAS UNVEILED a new way to play games on the Xbox
360 using your smartphone or tablet. Dubbed SmartGlass, the app
uses your mobile device as a secondary display for an Xbox 360
console. It will support iOS, Android and Windows Phone devices.
The extra screen can be used for a variety of purposes in compatible
games. For example, you could view interactive maps and in-game
inventories or check your status information at a glance, without having
to pause the game and enter a menu on the main display.
SmartGlass-compatible games have already been demonstrated.
Ascend: New Gods, an RPG, uses the secondary display as an interactive
map, while in the American football game Madden, the second screen is
used to help plan tactics and plays.
The technology can also be used to provide additional information
about the television programmes and films you’re watching. In a recent
demonstration, the US TV series Game of Thrones used SmartGlass
to display extra information about episodes and show maps of the
programme’s fictional world. Microsoft is hoping to release the Ascend: New Gods uses Microsoft’s SmartGlass technology to display game
SmartGlass app this autumn. information on your smartphone or tablet screen

Full Windows OS comes to phones

THANKS TO THE Metro interface, the Near-field communication (NFC) support maps, which is handy if you’re abroad and
Windows 8, Xbox and Windows Phone 7 will be built into the OS, with a mobile wallet don’t want to run up huge roaming charges.
operating systems already look the same. providing a central place to store credit-card Microsoft will also open up Nokia Apps to
Now Microsoft has revealed that Windows details and membership cards. It goes head developers, so they will be able to use its
Phone 8 will use the same core as its to head with Apple’s new Passbook (see News, features within their apps.
desktop operating systems, meaning the page 22). While this all sounds like good news, with
mobile OS will share the same kernel, file Windows Phone 8 has also been given an Microsoft pushing its mobile operating
system, device drivers and media features improved Start Screen. There are now three system in a direction that could dramatically
as its big brother, as well as many of its sizes of Live Tiles: small, medium and large. improve the range and number of apps,
security features. The new small tiles mean you can fit more there’s one set of people that aren’t going to
Called ‘Shared Windows Core’, it means information on the Start screen. These will be be happy: Windows Phone 7.5 owners.
there will be practically no difference between particularly useful when you don’t need much Windows Phone 8 will not run on existing
the OS on your phone and your computer. space to show information, such as for the handsets, and there will be no upgrades
This may sound like overkill for a mobile number of new SMS messages you have. available. Instead, Windows Phone 7.5 users
phone, but it could be a shrewd move by Microsoft now owns Skype, so it makes will receive a separate Windows Phone 7.8
Microsoft. While Windows Phone 7 is a slick sense that the VoIP service has been update, which will bring some of the interface
operating system, its big problem is that integrated into its handsets. The Windows changes, but little else. This will undoubtedly
there aren’t as many apps for it when compared Phone 8 phone app will let you make regular put many people off buying a Windows Phone
with Apple’s iOS or Google’s Android. or Skype calls, all from one place. 7.5 handset now, as they will prefer to wait for
By moving Windows Phone 8 to the same Perhaps more surprisingly, Bing Maps the new OS to arrive. However, it shouldn’t be
code as Windows 8, it will make it possible for is going in favour of Nokia Maps. The too long a wait; Windows Phone 8 is expected
developers to create apps for the handset at Finnish company’s mapping data has better to be released this autumn at around the
the same time as developing the standard worldwide coverage and supports offline same time as Windows 8.
Windows version of a program. With more
than one billion people worldwide running
Windows, there’s no shortage of developers
for the platform. All existing 100,000 apps
in the Windows Phone Store will work on
Windows 8 natively, too.
Windows Phone 7.5 has suffered from
limited hardware support, but Windows
Phone 8 will open the door for multicore
processors. Given Microsoft’s experience
with this technology in desktop Windows,
Windows
multicore processors in Windows Phone 8
Phone 8 will
handsets should be incredibly fast.
use the same
The only screen resolution supported in code base
Windows Phone 7 was 800x480, but this will as Windows
be increased to include support for 1,280x768 8, making
and 1,280x720 resolutions. This is a big it easier for
improvement and puts Windows Phone 8 on developers to
a par with high-end Android smartphones. write apps

WorldMags.net
24 SEPTEMBER 2012 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 295
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 REVIEWS

REVIEWS
YOUR TRUSTED GUIDE TO WHAT’S NEW

APPLE MacBook Pro with Retina Display

★★★★★
£1,799 inc VAT • From www.apple.com/uk

VERDICT
Gorgeous design and an absolutely stunning screen, with
an equally breathtaking price

THE MACBOOK PRO was once the domain

of graphics professionals, video editors and
engineers who needed a huge amount of
power in a portable package, but when Apple
retired the standard MacBook it became
the de facto standard for every would-be
screenwriter in coffee shops up and down the
country. That all looks set to change with the
new-generation MacBook Pro and its
stunning Retina display, which promises to
return the MacBook Pro to the professionals.
Looking beyond Apple’s jargon (the
definition of Retina changes from one
device to another – see our News story for
details) the 15.4in, 2,880x1,800 display is
still a world first, squeezing more pixels into
a laptop than ever before.
OS X has been completely overhauled
to make the most of the extra pixels, with Unfortunately, this
higher-resolution icons and text and updated also means that any
applications. OS X scales up its icons and text programs that have yet to be updated
to suit the higher resolution, so you don’t to make the most of the higher resolution set resolution, but the
end up with tiny icons that are hard to use, as won’t render text correctly, leaving it blurred product images are uploaded at
you do when running Windows on a small and hard to read. For example, Safari displays 800x640 and then downsized to fit a smaller
high-resolution screen. This also means you beautiful high-resolution text, but text in the space in the web page. The Retina-ready
don’t get any more desktop space than you current version of Chrome is jagged. Google is browsers can load more pixels from the
did with last year’s 1,440x900 MacBook Pro. in the middle of updating its browser, and the original image and so show more detail.
However, it’s when running applications latest Canary developer version renders text The MacBook’s IPS panel has near-limitless
written to take advantage of the Retina correctly for the Retina display. viewing angles and more than enough screen
display that the screen really impresses. In Web pages look better or worse depending tilt to combat the few reflections from the
Final Cut Pro, the screen can display a full HD on how they’ve been put together. On www. glossy display finish. We’ve never seen
video with its native number of pixels while expertreviews.co.uk, the logo looks slightly anything like this screen before; it’s sublime.
leaving plenty of room for a time line and jagged, but the product images in reviews are Of course, Apple hasn’t only upgraded
playback controls. Photos show much more lovely and crisp and have more detail than the screen. The entire laptop has been
detail in Aperture without the need to zoom when the same page is viewed on a normal redesigned, and the aluminium chassis has
in, making it the ideal tool for image editing. 1080p display. This is because the logo has a been slimmed down to an incredible 18mm.
Despite this, it offers two USB3 ports, two
Thunderbolt ports, an HDMI video output, SD
card reader and a 3.5mm headset audio jack,
so there’s no compromise for connectivity.
The internals are all cutting edge, too, with
an Intel Ivy Bridge processor, 8GB of RAM, a
256GB SATA3 SSD and dedicated Nvidia
graphics. The quad-core i3-3610QM processor
runs at 2.3GHz but can also use Turbo Boost
to hit 3.3GHz when thermal limits allow.

WorldMags.net
26 SEPTEMBER 2012 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 295
 REVIEWS

p34 Samsung Galaxy S3 p48 Sony KDL-46Hx853 p58 AMD Radeon HD 7970 p86 Ivy Bridge PC group test p110 SSD group test

OS X has been
completely overhauled
to make the most of the
extra pixels

Unsurprisingly, its performance was

spectacular. It produced an overall score of 111
in our multimedia benchmarks, making this
one of the quickest laptops we’ve ever seen.
The dedicated GT 650M graphics chipset
helps when dealing with HD video, and is
capable of playing modern games. There’s 1GB
of dedicated RAM, which helped lessen the
impact of the anti-aliasing in our Call of Duty
4 test. With an average frame rate of 30.8,
very few games will struggle to play smoothly
– as long as you stick to 720p resolutions. Call
of Duty 4 is still playable at 2,880x1,800, but
only with anti-aliasing disabled. More
graphically intensive titles will require you to
drop detail settings to maintain a solid frame
rate. It’s also up to developers to add support oversized touchpad, so current Apple Mac more memory or storage might be useful in
for the Retina display to their games – Diablo users should feel at home. The Chiclet-style the future, you’ll have to pay for the upgrade
3 runs at a playable frame rate of 2,880x1,800. keyboard is comfortable and responsive, with when you buy it rather than later.
Despite these powerful components, the a white LED backlight to help you work in There’s simply nothing that can compete
MacBook Pro has fantastic battery life. Apple low light. The touchpad is still the best we’ve with the new MacBook Pro’s gorgeous screen.
has used several battery cells of different sizes ever had the pleasure of using, thanks to its It has the highest resolution of any laptop
to squeeze as much capacity into the slim pinpoint precision. The laptop’s multi-touch display ever, and it probably produces a level
chassis as possible, and the effort has paid off. gestures work perfectly, even if Apple’s of detail that must be seen to be believed.
Our light-use test ran for an unheard-of 12 strange decision to reverse the scroll direction It’s almost overkill for most people, as few
hours away from the mains, so you’ll be able in OS X Lion can seem counter-intuitive to applications currently take advantage of the
to use it all day if you disable Wi-Fi and Windows users, but you can reverse the scroll extra pixels. If you edit photos or video for a
stick to light tasks. In most cases, you’ll direction in Settings. living, the new MacBook Pro is one of the best
get between seven and nine hours of web The few faults we could find are minor. laptops you could possibly buy. For everyone
browsing, which is incredible for a 15in laptop. Laptops are notoriously difficult to upgrade at else, the older MacBook Pro is still more than
In general use, this latest MacBook Pro is the best of times, but the MacBook Pro is capable of doing everything you’d want a
every bit as easy to use as its predecessor. impossible to upgrade yourself. Everything is laptop to do. It’s an Ultimate laptop.
It has the same Chiclet-style keyboard and soldered to the motherboard, so if you think Tom Morgan

SPECIFICATIONS
359mm
CPU 2.3GHz Intel Core i7-3610QM
RAM 8GB
STORAGE 256GB SSD 111
Windows overall
GRAPHICS Nvidia GeForce GT 650M
109
OPTICAL DRIVE None Multitasking
247mm 15.4in
DISPLAY 15.4in widescreen LED (2,880x1,800) N/A
OPERATING SYSTEM Mac OS X 10.7 Dirt 3
2kg
POWER CONSUMPTION 0W standby, 56W idle, 72W active 12h 9m
Battery life
WARRANTY One-year RTB
PART CODE N/A 18mm 0% -50 Reference +50 +100
DETAILS www.apple.com Closed See page 76 for performance details

WorldMags.net
ISSUE 295 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | SEPTEMBER 2012 27
 REVIEWS

SONY Vaio T13

★★★★★
£680 inc VAT • From www.sony.co.uk

VERDICT
A well-rounded entry-level Ultrabook,
although not without its faults

ULTRABOOKS WERE AN expensive luxury

when they first appeared last year, but they’re
gradually coming down in price. Now that
more people are willing to buy one, Sony has
finally decided to enter the ring with its first
Ultrabook, the Vaio T13. It’s a mid-range
machine with a mechanical hard disk and
previous-generation Sandy Bridge processor,
but don’t let that put you off; you can pick
one up for a very reasonable £680.
First impressions are very positive – Sony’s
signature Vaio styling looks sleek, and with its
18mm-thick chassis you’d be hard pushed to
separate it from the much more expensive
Vaio Z series. It’s built from plastic rather The touchpad is more than large
than metal, the only exception being the enough to span the entire desktop in a
brushed aluminium lid. The main body shows single swipe, thanks to the widescreen layout,
few signs of flex, although there’s much which matches the laptop’s display.
more give in the screen. The laptop’s application performance was the battery running out – in our light-use test,
The display is a 13.3in panel with a fairly distinctly average due to its entry-level Intel the T13 lasted for seven and a half hours.
standard 1,366x768 resolution. Brightness can Core i3-2367M processor. This runs at 1.4GHz The T13 isn’t perfect. It’s connectivity is
be set to a very high level, and the glossy but doesn’t support Turbo Boost for extra rather limited, with only two USB ports
display makes colours appear bright and performance when required, although it has (although one is a USB3 version), a 3.5mm
vibrant, but we still found reflections quite the benefit of Hyper-Threading. The laptop headset audio jack and a multiformat card
reader. VGA and HDMI video outputs are a
welcome inclusion, as is the full-size Ethernet
You’d be hard pushed to separate the sleek T13 port, but if you’re using the T13 at a desk you
from Sony’s much more expensive Z series may need to buy a USB hub.
As one of the cheapest Ultrabooks around,
the T13 looks like great value. It may lack the
troublesome. Thankfully, there’s a large still struggled in our multimedia benchmarks, power of a similarly priced 15in model, but if
amount of screen tilt, although the viewing managing just 29 overall, although you should you require greater portability, you get plenty
angles from the TN panel are average at best. still be able to use most desktop applications, for your money here. The processor can even
Once we’d found a workable viewing angle, including image editors and word processors, be upgraded to a newer Ivy Bridge model,
we had no trouble working on the T13 thanks smoothly. Multitasking shouldn’t slow the improving battery life and performance, for an
to its spacious Chiclet-style keyboard. There’s system down either, as it has 4GB of RAM. extra £100. Its screen isn’t the best and its
not much travel in the keys, but they spring As we’ve come to expect from Intel’s HD connectivity could be better, but the Vaio T13
back instantly, giving you plenty of feedback 3000 integrated graphics, gaming is mostly is still a very attractive laptop.
when typing. You don’t get a numeric keypad, out of the question unless you lower all the Tom Morgan
and there’s no backlight, but the full-size keys detail settings and resolution. Our Dirt 3 test
are still a pleasure to use. managed only 12.3fps, which suggests that SPECIFICATIONS
trying to play newer games will result in a CPU 1.4GHz Intel Core i3-2367M
A TOUCH OF CLASS jerky slideshow. HD video playback is RAM 4GB
STORAGE 320GB hard disk
Sony has also done a great job with the perfectly smooth, however, whether you play
GRAPHICS Intel HD 3000
all-in-one touchpad – we don’t usually like it directly on the laptop at 720p or on an OPTICAL DRIVE None
these designs, as we prefer physical buttons, external display at Full HD resolution. DISPLAY 13.3in LCD (1,366x768)
but the multi-touch gestures make it much One major benefit of using integrated OPERATING SYSTEM Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
DIMENSIONS 18x323x216mm, 1.6kg
easier to use than similar touchpads from graphics is improved battery life, and the T13 POWER CONSUMPTION 0W standby, 10W idle, 25W active
other manufacturers. A two-finger tap will doesn’t disappoint. If you stick to basic tasks WARRANTY One-year RTB
right-click, so you don’t even need to press such as word processing and web browsing, PART CODE SVT1311M1E
DETAILS www.sony.co.uk
down on the pad to access context menus. you’ll be able to work for a full day without

Windows overall 29

Multitasking 27

Dirt 3 12.3fps

Battery life 7h 27m

0% -50 Reference +50 +100

See page 76 for performance details

WorldMags.net
28 SEPTEMBER 2012 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 295
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The screen comes equipped with stereo
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 REVIEWS

APPLE MacBook Air 11in (2012)

★★★★★
£929 inc VAT • From www.apple.com/uk

VERDICT
The original and still the best – if you’re after
ultra-portable perfection, look no further

AS ONE OF the thinnest laptops ever made,

the original MacBook Air was a revelation.
Competition heated up with the launch of
Intel’s Ultrabook specification, but Apple
hasn’t been resting on its laurels. This latest
version may be more of an evolution than a
revolution, but it’s the best MacBook Air yet.
The 2012 Air has the same aluminium
chassis as last year’s model, and looks
almost identical. The only clue is the
slightly thinner MagSafe power connector,
which has been redesigned for a more secure
hold. Otherwise, the two USB ports, single
Thunderbolt port and 3.5mm audio jack look
identical to those of the old system. courtesy of Intel’s HD 4000 GPU. It’s a major
Apple has made some major changes improvement over the GPU found in Sandy
internally, starting with an upgrade to the Bridge processors, so you can now play MacBook Pro, we can’t help but feel a little
USB ports. They both support the faster games without a separate graphics chipset. disappointed with the Air’s 1,366x768 screen,
USB3 standard, although unlike the USB3 Our normal Dirt 3 graphics benchmark isn’t although it has exceptional viewing angles and
ports on most Windows PCs and laptops, compatible with OS X, so we fell back to our vibrant colours.
they’re not blue. The Air’s SSD storage has old Call of Duty 4 test to put it through its The glass touchpad feels slightly less
been upgraded to support SATA3, improving paces. An average frame rate of 20.6 with 4x grainy than last year’s model, which is a
data transfer speeds by as much as 40 per anti-aliasing is reasonable for such a compact welcome improvement. As we’ve come to
cent in certain applications. laptop. You should be able to play classics expect from OS X, Apple’s multi-touch
implementation is unparalleled, although OS X
Lion’s reversed scrolling motion can take
Apple has made some major changes internally, some getting used to. It’s meant to mimic the
starting with an upgrade to the USB ports way its mobile iOS behaves, but you can turn
it off. The keyboard is backlit to make working
in low light easier, and although there’s not a
The major upgrade is the processor, which such as Half-Life 2 and less-demanding newer huge amount of travel in each key we had no
has leapt from a second-generation Core i5 to games at Medium detail settings. trouble typing.
the latest third-generation Ivy Bridge models. Despite this improved performance, Apple At £929, this 11in model is very reasonably
Despite the usual secrecy over Apple’s has managed to keep the new Air’s battery life priced. It’s a superb ultra-portable laptop, but
component choices, the specifications match at the same level as that of last year’s model. there’s one model that beats it – the 13in
those of a low-voltage Intel Core i5-3317U Apple quotes five hours with Wi-Fi enabled, MacBook Air, which is only slightly larger but
running at 1.7GHz. The processor can Turbo but in our offline light-usage test the battery has a 1,440 x 900 display. Look out for our full
Boost to 2.6GHz when operating below its managed a significantly higher eight hours. review in the next issue.
thermal ceiling for extra performance. In almost every other respect, this latest Tom Morgan
MacBook Air plays it safe by replicating last
AIR FORCE year’s Chiclet-style keyboard, glass touchpad SPECIFICATIONS
This certainly showed in our multimedia and 11.6in screen. With so much fuss being CPU 1.7GHz Intel Core i5-3317U
benchmarks, where the Air scored a very made over the Retina display in the new RAM 4GB
STORAGE 120GB SSD
respectable 60 overall. It has enough power GRAPHICS Intel HD 4000
to run almost any everyday application, and OPTICAL DRIVE None
is quicker than any Ultrabook we’ve seen, DISPLAY 11.6in widescreen LCD (1,366x768)
OPERATING SYSTEM Mac OS X 10.7
although we’ll have to wait for our first Ivy
DIMENSIONS 17x300x192mm, 1.1kg
Bridge Ultrabook to make a real comparison. POWER CONSUMPTION 1W standby, 6W idle, 33W active
The new processor also includes WARRANTY One-year RTB
PART CODE N/A
upgraded integrated graphics,
DETAILS www.apple.com

Windows overall 60
Multitasking 48

Dirt 3 N/A

Battery Life 8h

0% -50 Reference +50 +100

See page 76 for performance details

WorldMags.net
30 SEPTEMBER 2012 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 295
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 REVIEWS

CMS COMPUTERS
Zoostorm Home Media Desktop
★★★★★
£395 inc VAT • From CMS Computers (Zoostorm) 0844 800 6100

VERDICT
This budget PC performs well enough but
we’d welcome better build quality

WHILE MANY PEOPLE are excited about

Intel’s powerful new Ivy Bridge processors,
not everyone needs a powerful processor or
the latest in 3D graphics. Most people still use
their PCs mainly for social networking and the
web, email, chatting and writing the odd letter.
If the nearest you regularly come to 3D
gaming is the odd game of Bejewelled Blitz,
you don’t need to spend a fortune on a PC.
At £395 including VAT, the Zoostorm
Home Media Desktop is a modestly priced
mini desktop system. It’s not much to look at
and is surprisingly noisy but it doesn’t take up There are six SATA ports (none of them
much space. The case’s interior is bare metal SATA3), two of which are used by a DVD drive
– there are no unfinished edges to cut and a 500GB hard disk. The hard disk is
yourself on but it looks stark and has wide surprisingly small by modern standards.
mesh vents that do little to stop fluff getting There’s one empty 5¼in drive and three
into the case. There are no fans to keep it unused 3½in bays, one of which is external
cool, but with a minimum of components and so can be fitted with accessories such as
this PC runs little risk of overheating. a memory card reader.
Just two USB ports, a headphone port and
ALL WORK AND NO PLAY a microphone input sit beneath a flap at the
The processor is a 2.8GHz AMD FX-4170, front of the PC. There’s not much at the back
plugged into a Gigabyte GA-78LMT-S2P either, with just four USB2 ports, two PS/2
motherboard. The processor’s integrated ports for a keyboard and mouse, Gigabit
AMD Radeon HD 3000 graphics couldn’t Ethernet, 5.1 analogue audio outputs and DVI
handle any of our 3D gaming tests, although and VGA graphics outputs.
it should be able to cope with casual 2D This is a reasonable PC, but its £395 price
games such as Plants vs Zombies. In our is a little high given its limited upgradability,
application benchmarks, the system scored 52 poor graphics and surprising noise levels. If
overall. It’s nothing to write home about, but you want a basic PC, you’re better off with
should be sufficient for undemanding use. the Overclockers Primo 6100i, which costs
The no-frills motherboard has just one around £350 and has a more powerful Intel
PCI, one PCI-E x1 and one PCI-E x16 slot. This Core i3-2100 processor and a quieter and
allows a modest amount of upgrade potential, more attractive case, or the £440 Palicomp
but if you want to add a powerful graphics Hyper Flame, which is well made and has
card, you’ll have to upgrade the 350W power outstanding integrated graphics performance.
supply and add some fans, too. Both of its Kat Orphanides
memory slots are occupied by 4GB modules
– 8GB is the maximum the motherboard can SPECIFICATIONS
handle, but you’re unlikely to need more. CPU 2.8GHz AMD FX-4170
RAM 8GB
STORAGE 500GB hard disk
GRAPHICS CARD AMD Radeon HD 3000
OPTICAL DRIVE DVD+/-RW +/-DL
OPERATING SYSTEM Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
DIMENSIONS 360x180x394mm
POWER CONSUMPTION 2W standby, 59W idle, 104W active
WARRANTY One-year RTB
PART CODE 7873-0501
DETAILS www.zoostorm.com

Windows overall 52

Multitasking 52

Dirt 3 FAIL

Crysis 2 FAIL
0% -50 Reference +50 +100
See page 76 for performance details

WorldMags.net
32 SEPTEMBER 2012 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 295
 REVIEWS

CHILLBLAST Nautilus
★★★★★
£1,599 inc VAT • From Chillblast 0845 45678 30

VERDICT
Monstrous both in power and price, this
media PC is nothing short of stunning

THANKS TO ITS Lian Li Snail case, the gain access to the

Chillblast Nautilus is the most distinctive motherboard you simply slide
media centre PC we’ve ever reviewed. It looks away a mounting with a pair
stunning and runs very quietly, with only the of intake fans on it. There’s
faintest rush of air to be heard even when we also a rear outflow fan,
pressed our ear to the case. This is particularly which you can adjust to
impressive given that the case has little find your own optimal
soundproofing. Instead, its sides are made balance between cooling
entirely of a fine but sturdy mesh, which does and quietness. The massive
a good job of keeping fluff out of the guts of processor cooler and
the PC. Our review system became a glowing graphics card almost
apparition thanks to some unusually entirely obscure the Asus
impressive lighting, but this is optional, and P8Z77-M Pro microATX
you can order the system without it if you’d motherboard, leaving only
find it distracting. The case has fans on its one PCI slot accessible. This
sides, so placing it on its side under your TV limits the Nautilus’s upgrade
will mess up the cooling. potential, but you could install a
Inside, the components, cages and fan sound card or TV tuner if you
mountings slot into place like a 3D jigsaw. The don’t want to occupy the PC’s
internal edges are smoothly finished, and to external USB ports.
The PC has an Intel Core
i7-3770K processor, which has
been overclocked to 4.2GHz, making this
The system became the most powerful media centre system we’ve
a glowing apparition ever seen. With this processor, a 2GB Nvidia is provided by an optical S/PDIF output
GeForce GTX 680 graphics card and 16GB and 3.5mm analogue audio outputs, which
thanks to some unusually of RAM. It’s ready for anything, from gaming allow the on-board Realtek audio to output
impressive lighting to graphics. The graphics card has two DVI up to 7.1 surround sound. There are also
ports as well as HDMI and DisplayPort, and 3.5mm mic and headphone ports on the front
you can connect monitors to all of them of the PC. A removable mesh panel covers
simultaneously. The system showed its the system’s rear ports, helping to keep
speed in our tests, achieving a huge your cables tidy.
overall score of 129 in our application This is a brilliant PC, both in looks and
benchmarks, 124fps in Dirt 3 and functionality, although its relatively large size
40.7fps in Crysis 2 at Ultra quality. means that it’s arguably less a media centre
system than a pretty desktop PC. At £1,599,
SNAIL’S PACE it’s very expensive, too. However, if you want
A 120GB SSD serves as the Nautilus’s a massively powerful system that’s not simply
boot disk, which means you get fast unobtrusive but genuinely attractive as well as
performance in disk-intensive tasks very quiet, this is a classy choice.
and very quick boot times. There’s Kat Orphanides
also a 1TB hard disk, which gives
SPECIFICATIONS
you plenty of room to store
CPU 4.2GHz Intel Core i7-3770K
multimedia content. As you’d RAM 16GB
expect from a media centre PC, STORAGE 120GB SSD + 1TB hard disk
there’s also a Blu-ray re-writer. GRAPHICS CARD 2GB Nvidia GeForce GTX 680
OPTICAL DRIVE BD-RE + DVD+/-RW +/-DL
Inside, it has six SATA
OPERATING SYSTEM Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
ports, but only two are SATA3 DIMENSIONS 495x192x412mm
and both are in use. If you POWER CONSUMPTION 2W standby, 81W idle, 240W active
want to connect external WARRANTY Two-year collect and return
DETAILS www.chillblast.com
storage, though, you’re in luck,
with one eSATA2 port and two
USB3 ports at the front of the Windows overall 129
case and two eSATA3 ports, Multitasking 137
four USB3 and two USB2 ports
Dirt 3 124fps
on the back. There’s also a PS/2
port and a Gigabit Ethernet port. Crysis 2 49.7fps
There’s no built-in Wi-Fi, but Ethernet 0% -50 Reference +50 +100
or powerline networking is better for See page 76 for performance details

HD media streaming anyway. Audio

WorldMags.net
ISSUE 295 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | SEPTEMBER 2012 33
 REVIEWS

SAMSUNG Galaxy S3
★★★★★
£500 inc VAT SIM-free,
£89 on £31-per-month 24-month contract •
From www.play.com (SIM-free), www.vodafone.co.uk (contract)

VERDICT
Fast, with an amazing screen and great battery life.
Android handsets don’t get much better than this

THE GALAXY S3 was unquestionably In contrast to the HTC sometimes worked and
Samsung’s big launch for 2012; the company One X’s IPS LCD display, sometimes didn’t. The phone
even hired Earl’s Court for the day under the the Galaxy S3 has an also has Samsung’s S Voice
grandiose title ‘Samsung Mobile Unpacked AMOLED screen, which control, which is meant to
2012’, just to launch one phone. gives better contrast than perform functions such as
This is no ordinary Android handset, though. the HTC One X’s display. sending people messages or
The Galaxy S3 is an Android 4.0 phone that The Galaxy S3’s display dialling them, Siri-style. We
has a huge 4.8in AMOLED screen with a is a PenTile screen with found it barely understood
720x1,280 resolution, a 1.4GHz quad-core two rather than three the simplest voice commands.
processor and an 8-megapixel camera, so it’s coloured pixels per The well-designed camera
going head-to-head with HTC’s 4.7in One X. It’s sub-pixel, but there’s app makes it simple to get
available in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB versions, and none of the colour cast we the best out of the phone’s
has a microSD card slot for further expansion. sometimes see with PenTile 8-megapixel camera. There
The S3 is a big phone, but it couldn’t have displays, such as the slight are a few different ways to take
been smaller and still crammed in the 4.8in yellow tint on Motorola’s RAZR a photo, including a 20-shot burst
screen. There are only a couple of millimetres MAXX. We found it hard to find fault with the mode, HDR and the fun Panorama feature.
of space either side of the screen, and around Galaxy S3’s screen; if you look really closely The phone takes pictures almost
a centimetre on the top and bottom to house the text isn’t quite as sharp as on the iPhone instantly, but the thin screen bezel meant we
the front-facing camera and home button. The 4S’s display, but it’s really splitting hairs. would sometimes nudge the touchscreen and
handset is also just 9mm thick. However, while Samsung claims the Galaxy S3 is “designed activate an option when lining up a shot. The
its slim body is comfortable to hold, we weren’t for humans”, and to this end the handset has resulting images are up there with the best
so sure about the all-gloss-plastic back. several motion controls designed to make it we’ve seen, with natural colours and plenty of
The quad-core 1.4GHz processor runs intuitive to use. When you launch an app for detail in bright light. They can’t quite match
Android 4.0 beautifully, and the web browser which a motion control is available, a help the compact camera-bothering HTC One X,
has near-desktop performance. It took four screen pops up telling you about it and asking though.
seconds to render the BBC News homepage, if you want to enable the feature. All the Samsung’s Galaxy S3 is a superb Android
compared with five seconds on a Motorola motion controls are grouped together in handset, with a beautiful screen and super
RAZR MAXX and seven seconds on Nokia’s Settings, so you can tweak them later. fast processor. If you’re after an Android
Lumia 800. A score of 1,459 in the Sunspider handset, it’s really a choice between this and
benchmark shows this to be the quickest FUTILE GESTURES the HTC One X. We think the HTC One X feels
Android phone we’ve seen, and around 15 per We had varying degrees of success with the slightly classier and has the edge when it
cent faster than the HTC One X. Despite its gesture controls. You can turn the phone over comes to camera quality, but the Galaxy S3
speed and fast processor, battery life is also to mute a call, and when you pick it back up is faster and has around 30 per cent better
impressive; we saw just shy of 10 hours of the Smart alert feature will make the phone battery life. We don’t think Samsung’s
video playback in our tests, compared with six vibrate to let you know that you’ve missed motion and voice controls are enough to
hours and 21 minutes from the HTC One X. something, such as a call or a text message. swing the argument over to the Galaxy S3,
The screen’s high resolution makes it You can double-tap the top of the phone to so the phone you choose will depend on
simple to browse web pages in full desktop go to the top of a list, such as your contacts, your priorities; both are equally excellent
mode, with little need for zooming and but we couldn’t get the tilt-to-zoom function Android 4.0 phones.
scrolling; you won’t really need a tablet as well on web pages and the gallery to work at all. Chris Finnamore
as this phone. There’s one problem with a One feature we did like was that if a contact
handset this big, though: it’s hard to use is on your screen or you’re in the middle of SPECIFICATIONS
one-handed. With one hand holding an writing a text message to that contact, PROCESSOR SPEED 1.4GHz
umbrella, it’s a real stretch to reach the app bringing the phone up to your ear will NUMBER OF CORES 4
RAM 1GB
tray icon and the home button, and we never automatically call that person.
MOBILE DATA GPRS, EDGE, 3G, HSDPA
felt particularly confident about not dropping A particularly interesting addition is Smart
DISPLAY 4.8in, 720x1,280 LCD
the phone. This is the only problem we had stay, which is meant to use the front-facing CAMERA 8-megapixel
with the phone’s size; the handset’s slimness camera to stop the screen turning itself off INTERNAL STORAGE 16GB
means it still fits fine in jeans pockets. when you’re looking at it. We found it MEMORY CARD SLOT microSD
CLAIMED BATTERY LIFE 22 hours’ talktime,
37.5 days’ standby
DIMENSIONS 137x71x9mm, 133g
PART CODE GT-i9300RWDBTU
DETAILS www.samsung.co.uk

Battery life 9hr 57m

0% -50 Reference +50 +100

See page 76 for performance details

WorldMags.net
34 SEPTEMBER 2012 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 295
 REVIEWS

NOKIA Lumia 900 BYTE SIZE

★★★★★
£446 inc VAT SIM-free, free on £31-per-month
BOOQ Mamba Shift
24-month contract • From www.ebuyer.com ★★★★★
(SIM-free), www.mobiles.co.uk (contract) £113 inc VAT • From www.comeuro.net

VERDICT Booq’s Mamba Shift

Superb build quality and a bigger screen, but laptop backpack is built
the smaller Lumia 800 is better value to hold a 17in laptop,, as
well as everything else
se
you might need when n
WHILE MANY MANUFACTURERS release working on the
their high-end products first before bringing move, and even has
out the cheaper models in the range, Nokia extra peace of mind
went straight for the middle ground with its sewn into its lining.
Windows Phone Lumia 800 and 710. It then A unique identifier can be registered with
topped and tailed the range with the budget Booq’s Terralinq service, so if your bag
610 and this, the high-end Lumia 900. goes missing they can help you find
Microsoft has avoided the interface it through the Terralinq register. This
disparities suffered by Android phones by service is included in the price of the bag,
making sure manufacturers barely change so you won’t have to pay a subscription
Windows Phone 7. This provides consistency, fee, although it can’t prevent your
but also means there’s little difference belongings being stolen and does mean
between handsets, and that includes those choice when it comes to apps, but things are the bag costs a whopping £113.
within Nokia’s Lumia range. All the handsets improving; there are a couple of good travel With several pockets for a tablet,
have single-core processors and screen apps, but you still miss out on big-name apps power supplies and other gadgets, you
resolutions of 480x800 pixels. They also have such as Rightmove, Sky+ and BBC iPlayer. The should have no trouble filling it up, but if
access to Nokia’s Music, Maps and Drive Mix Radio part of Nokia Music is a fantastic you would prefer to keep a closer eye on
apps, which let you listen to music mixes for free music resource and Nokia Drive is a your belongings, there are less expensive
free and have turn-by-turn navigation. competent turn-by-turn navigation app with bags to be found elsewhere.
Apart from the bottom-of-the-range Lumia offline map support, but neither Nokia Maps Tom Morgan
610, which has an 800MHz rather than 1.4GHz nor Bing Maps supports offline mapping. PART CODE 68677 DETAILS www.booq.com

processor, the only differences between the The Lumia 900’s 8-megapixel camera is far
phones are in screen sizes, screen technology better than the 710’s and 610’s 5-megapixel
and cameras. In these respects, the Lumia 900 models, but still fairly disappointing, especially CM STORM
is top dog thanks to its 4.3in AMOLED display,
8-megapixel camera and additional front-
compared with recent HTC cameras. As with
the Lumia 800’s photos, the 900’s show
Quickfire Rapid
facing camera for video calls. It’s a beautifully significant noise, even in bright daylight. The ★★★★★
built phone, with a matt polycarbonate body Lumia 900’s camera also seems to produce £63 inc VAT • From www.aria.co.uk
that makes it easy to hold. overly saturated colours, leading to the blue
The AMOLED screen certainly looks great, sky in one of our test photos looking almost This compact
with incredibly deep black levels giving turquoise. Unlike the rest of the Lumia range, mechanical
colours a huge amount of punch. Images look there’s also a front-facing camera. We found keyboard is aimed
just as good as on the Lumia 800, which has a it worked fine in Skype video calls. at gamers with
smaller 3.7in AMOLED display, and the larger Nokia’s Lumia 900 is a good-looking and limited desk space.
screen size makes viewing photos a joy. well-made Windows Phone 7 handset. We You gain about 3in of desk
However, the fact that the Lumia 900 has don’t think it offers enough over the Lumia space over a regular keyboard, as CM
the same number of pixels as the Lumia 800 800 to justify its price of £100 SIM-free and Storm has removed the numeric keypad.
spread over a larger area makes text look less around £5-per-month on contract premium, This frees up room for a larger mouse
sharp. The Lumia 900’s screen, unlike the though. If you’re after a Windows Phone 7 mat, making it easier to use lower-
Lumia 800’s, doesn’t curve out from the handset, the Lumia 800 is still the one to get. sensitivity mouse settings without
body, so seems less vulnerable to damage. Chris Finnamore bashing into the keyboard.
Windows Phone 7 mostly runs just as well The removable braided USB cable is a
on the Lumia 900 as it does on all Windows SPECIFICATIONS nice touch, as is the row of multimedia
Phone handsets: transitions are smooth and PROCESSOR SPEED 1.4GHz controls assigned as secondary functions
NUMBER OF CORES 1
quick, the onscreen keyboard is responsive to the F keys, but otherwise it’s
RAM 512MB
and there are rarely any slowdowns. The only MOBILE DATA GPRS, EDGE, 3G, HSDPA
refreshingly devoid of the superfluous
area we felt let the Lumia 900 down was that DISPLAY 4.3in, 480x800 LCD features usually found on gaming kit.
the scrolling seems to have slowed down, so CAMERA 8-megapixel It’s incredibly well built, with
you can’t flick up and down the menus with INTERNAL STORAGE 16GB responsive mechanical keys that have
your finger as quickly as you can on the other MEMORY CARD SLOT None precise actions and satisfyingly loud
CLAIMED BATTERY LIFE 7 hours’ talktime, 12.5 days’ standby
phones in the Lumia range. click noises. Because it uses fewer keys
DIMENSIONS 128x69x12mm, 160g
Everything else about Windows Phone is than other mechanical keyboards, it’s
PART CODE Lumia 900
intact, so you have a capable web browser, DETAILS www.nokia.co.uk
also one of the cheaper models we’ve
Facebook integration, support for editing seen and is great value.
Office files, built-in cloud storage, an excellent Tom Morgan
Battery life 9hr 6m
email client and a calendar that, to our PART CODE SGK-4000-GKCC1-UK
0% -50 Reference +50 +100 DETAILS www.cmstorm.com
increasing annoyance, still doesn’t have a
See page 76 for performance details
week view. You also have significantly less

WorldMags.net
ISSUE 295 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | SEPTEMBER 2012 35
 REVIEWS

NOKIA Lumia 610 BYTE SIZE

★★★★★
TREEGREEN
£180 inc VAT SIM-free, free
on £13.50-per-month 24-month contract • energyEGG
From www.clove.co.uk (SIM-free), ★★★★★
www.buymobilephones.net (contract) £40 inc VAT
From www.uswitch.com
VERDICT
Compromised, but beautifully made and The energyEGG is
stylish for the price designed to save power
by switching off devices at the socket
when you’re not in the room. It consists
AFTER THE MID RANGE Lumia 710 and 800, of an infrared motion sensor and wireless
closely followed by the big-screen Lumia 900 control plug. You can set the sensor to
(see page 35), we finally have Nokia’s budget wait for between five minutes and half an
Windows Phone 7 handset: the cheap-as- hour before turning off the power, so you
chips Lumia 610. This is just £180 SIM-free or have time to leave the room and come
free on a £13.50-per-month contract, which back in again without everything being
makes it £40 cheaper SIM-free than the next turned off. One sensor can control up to
phone up in the range, Nokia’s Lumia 710, and 12 plugs at distances up to 20m; extra
about £7 cheaper per month with a contract. plugs cost £7 from www.uswitch.com.
The Lumia 610 is still a Nokia, though, We plugged our TV and home cinema
which means its build quality is anything but amp into the control plug and set it to
budget. The phone feels beautifully made, switch off after five minutes. We left the
with no flex in the body and a textured rubber room and came back over five minutes
back that makes it a delight to hold. It’s later, and our kit was switched off. When
definitely got the edge in looks over the The phone’s basic functions still work we sat in front of the TV for 10 minutes,
Lumia 710, and is on the verge of being the beautifully; pages may take longer to load in keeping as still as possible, the sensor
best-looking Lumia in the entire range. the Lumia 610’s browser, but scrolling around picked up our presence and left the kit
The Lumia 610’s back, home and search them and zooming in and out is smooth. switched on. It works well but, even if you
buttons are touch-sensitive, which we prefer There’s nothing wrong with core apps such as leave your TV and amplifier on standby
to the 710’s physical buttons. The camera is the email client and calendar, even if there is a for 20 hours a day, the energyEGG will
the same five-megapixel model as the 710 very slight hesitation when closing them to go only save you around £25 a year.
and takes fairly average photos; there’s not a back to the home screen. The problem is that Chris Finnamore
great deal of detail, and noise speckles are Windows Phone 7 devices are meant to give PART CODE energyEGG DETAILS www.treegreen.net

present even in bright daylight shots. a consistent experience, and it’s a shame to
The handset’s low price has led to some have that experience stymied by your phone’s
compromises. The phone’s 3.7in display has lack of resources. However, we didn’t find any LEXAR Professional
the standard Windows Phone 7 resolution of
480x800 pixels, but according to Nokia lacks
non-game apps that wouldn’t install.
The Lumia 610 is a gorgeous phone which,
600x SDHC UHS-I Card
the Lumia 710’s ClearBlack technology. It’s still while slower than other Windows Phone 7 ★★★★★
a bright, clear screen with vibrant colours, but handsets, is still faster and slicker than any £90 inc VAT
blacks aren’t as deep as on the Lumia 710, so budget Android handsets we’ve come across. From www.picstop.co.uk
colours don’t pack the same punch. It has the worst screen in the Lumia range,
There’s also the question of the processor. but it’s still better than most budget Android Lexar’s 32GB SDHC card
Unlike the Lumia 710, 800 and 900, which all phones’ displays, and even the camera isn’t is a Class 10 UHS-1 model,
have 1.4GHz single-core processors and bad for the price. If you want to be sure to making it one of the
512MB RAM, the Lumia 610 makes do with an have the full Windows Phone experience you fastest-rated memory cards you can buy.
800MHz single-core chip and 256MB RAM. should save up for the Lumia 710, but as long In our file transfer test, it wrote JPEG
This makes it the slowest Windows Phone 7 as you’re aware of its compromises the Lumia images at 32.8MB/s and read them at
handset we’ve seen. You don’t notice the 610 is still a great handset. It’s a Budget Buy. 58.3MB/s. This makes it even quicker
slowdown when you’re flicking through Chris Finnamore than the Class 10 Sony SF-16UX.
Windows 7’s Live Tiles or the menu system, One reason to buy a high-speed SD
which is still the smooth Windows Phone 7 SPECIFICATIONS card is for shooting in continuous mode; a
PROCESSOR SPEED 800MHz
experience we’ve come to expect, but slow card will slow down your shots. With
NUMBER OF CORES 1
application performance takes a hit. our Nikon D40 and the Lexar card, we
RAM 256MB
On the Lumia 710, rendering the BBC MOBILE DATA GPRS, EDGE, 3G, HSDPA
shot seven frames in Raw mode before
News homepage took just under seven DISPLAY 3.7in 480x800 LCD the camera slowed down. With Sony’s
seconds, but this almost doubled to 14 CAMERA 5-megapixel card we could shoot only five frames
seconds on the slower Lumia 610. Likewise, INTERNAL STORAGE 8GB before the card became a bottleneck.
loading Nokia Drive from startup to the main MEMORY CARD SLOT None Lexar’s Professional 600x SDHC UHS-I
CLAIMED BATTERY LIFE 9.5 hours’ talktime, 30 days’ standby
map view took seven seconds on the Lumia is a very quick SDHC card. It’s expensive,
DIMENSIONS 119x62x12mm, 132g
710 but a huge 17 seconds on the Lumia 610. PART CODE Lumia 610
though, so unless you’re serious about
The RAM is also a problem with some games; DETAILS www.nokia.co.uk using your SLR in continuous mode
trying to install Sid Meier’s Pirates! from the you’re better off with Sony’s SF-16UX,
Marketplace, for example, pops up a message which costs £66 for the 32GB version.
Battery life 8hr 15m
saying, “This application requires a phone Chris Finnamore
0% -50 Reference +50 +100
with more RAM than the Nokia Lumia 610”. PART CODE LSD32GCTBNA600 DETAILS www.lexar.com
See page 76 for performance details
Angry Birds is also a no-no.

WorldMags.net
36 SEPTEMBER 2012 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 295
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 REVIEWS

BOOKEEN Cybook Odyssey

★★★★★
£125 inc VAT • From www.pixmania.co.uk

VERDICT
Despite some unusual features, this eReader is too
expensive to recommend over its very competent rivals

THE CYBOOK ODYSSEY is Bookeen’s first There’s no dedicated software for the
touchscreen eBook reader. It looks similar to reader, but it’s compatible with Adobe’s
the Cybook Opus, but it has fewer buttons Digital Editions. You’ll need to either
and is slightly more compact. The reader register the reader with an existing Digital
feels sturdy, with a black, brushed metal back Editions account or create a new one to
that easily stood up to rattling around in use books that rely on this DRM system.
our backpack. Your Adobe authorisation is set up
Although the Odyssey is largely dependent automatically when you create a Bookeen
on its touchscreen controls, it’s not been account either on Bookeen’s website or by
entirely stripped of traditional buttons. connecting the reader to the internet over
There’s an on switch at the bottom and Wi-Fi and logging into the Bookeen store.
buttons set into the left and right edges of the You can also transfer non-DRM files to
reader that allow you to turn the page if you the eBook reader using your computer’s
would rather not touch the screen with wet or file manager or a third-party eBook
greasy hands. A single button below the management tool such as Calibre. The
screen brings up a range of touch shortcuts. reader can also handle EPUB, PDF, HTML,
Bookeen claims that the Odyssey’s High FB2 and TXT document formats, plus
Speed Ink System (HSIS) makes it the fastest JPEG, PNG, GIF, BMP, ICO, TIF and PSD
eBook reader around. However, in our slightly image formats.
unscientific side-by-side page turn swipe test, The reader can’t reflow PDF files as
the Odyssey loaded new pages fractionally you zoom into them, so you may find
slower than our reference Sony Reader. yourself scrolling around the page if you need
Despite this, page turns were smooth and fast to zoom in to read a PDF comfortably. This search terms, but the default font size is too
enough to ensure a comfortable reading situation can be improved slightly by turning large for the screen. It’s easy to avoid a lot of
experience. The 600x800 display is the usual the Odyssey to read in landscape mode. unnecessary page turning simply by adjusting
E Ink Pearl V220 that you’ll find on most Unlike most eBook readers, the Odyssey the font size in the reader’s settings menu,
eBook readers, but rather than the Neonode has an accelerometer which lets it rotate the though. You can even change the font family,
zForce infrared touchscreen system used page depending on whether you’re holding it which is helpful for those who find it easier to
by rivals from Kobo, Sony read serif fonts. Like most eBook readers, you
and Amazon, the Odyssey can add and edit highlights, bookmarks and
instead has a capacitive Page turns were smooth and notes. You can also jump between pages and
touchscreen. This makes little pull up your eBook’s contents in a separate
difference, except you can’t fast enough to ensure a comfortable menu, instead of having to go back to the
turn pages using a stylus or reading experience main contents page.
when wearing gloves.
The Odyssey has just 2GB JOURNEY’S END
of built-in storage – that’s enough to hold in portrait or landscape mode. Unfortunately, At around £130, the Odyssey is surprisingly
around 666 eBooks at a typical size of 3MB. the reader sometimes rotated its display at expensive for a touchscreen eBook reader. It
You might eventually need extra capacity if random during our tests, rather than in costs more than both Sony’s outstanding
you also want the Odyssey’s built-in MP3 response to how we were holding it. On one PRS-T1 and Kobo’s budget £80 Touch reader.
player to listen to your audiobook collection or occasion, the page-turning function also got Bookeen has incorporated some unique
to store the ancillary audio files that go along stuck on, causing the reader to turn page features, most notably the capacitive
with some language and reference books. The after page without any interaction from us. touchscreen and the accelerometer. However,
reader has a microSDHC slot for this purpose, Both these issues occurred in slightly damp during our testing the capacitive touchscreen
so you can add up to 32GB of additional space. conditions, so they may have been caused by made the reader more vulnerable to poor
Between the memory card slot and the 3.5mm moisture interfering with the touchscreen on weather conditions and you can’t use it
headphone output is a Micro USB port that a damp train platform. while wearing gloves. At this price, we prefer
allows you to connect the reader to your The onscreen keyboard is a good size, Sony’s Reader.
PC for transferring books. making it easy to enter Wi-Fi passwords and Kat Orphanides

SPECIFICATIONS
DISPLAY 6in mono touchscreen
STORAGE 2GB
MEMORY CARD SUPPORT MicroSD
EBOOK FORMATS ePub, PDF, HTML, TXT
IMAGE FORMATS BMP, TIFF, JPEG
DIMENSIONS 166x9x120mm, 195g
CLAIMED BATTERY LIFE 25,000 page turns
WARRANTY One-year RTB
PART CODE 11538276
DETAILS www.bookeen.com
You can store 666 books on the internal 2GB storage, or use a microSD card for an inexpensive upgrade

WorldMags.net
ISSUE 295 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | SEPTEMBER 2012 39
 REVIEWS

NIKON CoolPix L810

★★★★★
£171 inc VAT • From www.morecomputers.com

VERDICT
A noisy sensor and unreliable autofocus
undermine some impressive specifications

SOME PEOPLE BUY a digital camera based

purely on brand, specs and price. Nikon has
these people in its sights with the L810. With a
26x zoom, 16-megapixel sensor, 3in 921,000-
dot screen, HDMI out, a choice of four colours
and a price well below £200, this camera is
bound to stand out on the shelves.
Although the similarly priced Olympus
SP-810UZ has a 36x zoom, the L810’s zoom although it appears in a couple of telephoto zoom positions. About
range starts at an unusually wide 22.5mm Portrait scene presets. Zooming in 30 per cent of our test shots at the full
equivalent focal length. It’s not a huge gain with an ultra-zoom camera gives a narrow zoom extension were a little soft, and a
over the 24mm focal length commonly depth of field, so it’s more of a problem when further 30 per cent were completely out of
offered elsewhere, but it’s still welcome for the camera focuses on the wrong thing. focus. At least the worst offenders were easy
landscape and architectural photography. The self-timer is stuck at 10 seconds, to spot on the screen so we could have
The chunky lens barrel and rubber-coated whereas virtually every other camera includes another go at capturing the scene, but on
handgrip give it the air of an enthusiasts’ a two-second option to prevent camera shake some occasions the camera was persistently
camera, but in truth this is a point-and-shoot when shooting with a tripod. This function is unable to focus.
with a big zoom. There’s no electronic especially useful on ultra-zoom cameras The 720p video mode has little to
viewfinder, manual exposure or focus controls, because they’re far more susceptible to shake, commend it, either, with a weedy soundtrack
and the screen isn’t articulated. There are so it’s a shame not to find it here. that picked up lens motor noises, ineffective
no rechargeable batteries included, and no optical stabilisation and jittery autofocus.
orientation sensor, either, so portrait-shaped NOISE ANNOYS Lots of pocket ultra-zoom cameras suffer
photos have to be rotated manually. Most of these criticisms also apply to last less from image noise, and while none
The menu options are stripped right back, year’s Nikon CoolPix L120, but while that matches the L810’s 26x zoom, various models
with ISO speed and white balance but no camera made up some ground with its come close and deliver far more reliable focus.
control over the metering or autofocus. Even dependable image quality, that sadly isn’t the The L810 may have the specs to impress, but
face detection isn’t available in Auto mode, case with the L810. The move from a 14- to a it doesn’t back it up with results.
16-megapixel sensor boosts noise levels more Ben Pitt
than detail. In fact, because of the stronger
noise reduction required in the L810, SPECIFICATIONS
the L120’s photos also displayed SENSOR SIZE 16 megapixels (4,608x3,456)
sharper details in subtle textures ZOOM 26x optical (22.5-585mm)
LCD 3in (921,000 pixels)
such as hair and fabric, even in
STORAGE SDXC (50MB internal)
brightly lit shots. Comparisons
BATTERY 4x AA
with the L120 were even more DIMENSIONS 77x111x89mm, 430g
damning in low light; neither WARRANTY Two-year RTB
model excelled, but the L810 PART CODE VMA972E1
suffered particularly badly for DETAILS www.nikon.co.uk

noise, with grubby shadows,

blotchy highlights and barely 450 shots
Battery life
any definition to fine details.
0% -50 Reference +50 +100
Our biggest concern is that See page 76 for performance details
the autofocus was unreliable at

BYTE SIZE
RETRAK Retractable The pack also contains an HDMI-to-DVI
HDMI Adaptor Cable adaptor, an HDMI-to-mini-HDMI adaptor
and a micro-HDMI adaptor, which means
★★★★★ you’ll be able to plug your laptop into
£20 inc VAT • From www.currys.co.uk most digital displays.
The Retractable HDMI Adaptor Cable
The ReTrak Retractable HDMI Adaptor Cable is a useful and versatile bit of kit to take
consists of a 1.5-metre HDMI cable wound around a around with you. However, at £20 including VAT
plastic wheel. You simply pull the cable to extend it it’s fairly expensive.
and press a button on the wheel to retract it. We Andrew Unsworth
had no problem with either. PART CODE EUCABLEHDM DETAILS www.retrak.co

WorldMags.net
40 SEPTEMBER 2012 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 295
 REVIEWS

CANON Powershot A4000 IS

★★★★★
£127 inc VAT • From www.amazon.co.uk

VERDICT
A mixed bag, but it may be worth living with image
quality concerns and slow performance to get an 8x
zoom in such a slim, low-cost camera

CAMERA MANUFACTURERS HAVE started

to come to their senses and called a truce on
the megapixel race – something that has been
fairly disastrous for compact cameras’ image
quality. However, a new battlefront is being and shooting settings.” If you want to know
drawn over zoom ranges. the difference between centre-weighted and
Our natural inclination is to roll our eyes, evaluative light metering, you’re on your own. and focus were locked for the duration of
but this could be a good thing. There’s still a Fortunately, we had little reason to venture clips, except for a digital zoom function that
chance of screwing up a camera by pushing away from fully automatic settings. Details made a mess of image quality.
its design beyond sensible limits, but unlike a were extremely crisp in the centre of frames
pointlessly huge resolution, a big zoom in a but edges exhibited chromatic aberrations, SHOT IN THE DARK
slim camera is a good idea. The Canon A4000 where the red, green and blue parts of the The A4000 promises a lot at a low price, but
IS’s 8x zoom isn’t groundbreaking, but other image didn’t line up. This gave slightly vague it’s slow, its controls are fiddly, its video mode
similarly equipped cameras are either chunkier focus towards the edges of shots and lacks features and image quality doesn’t stand
or more expensive. discoloured halos around high-contrast lines, up to scrutiny. That’s a sizeable list of flaws,
It’s closer in appearance to Canon’s stylish and it got worse as we zoomed in. yet we’re still hesitant to write it off. Few
Ixus cameras than its more utilitarian cameras at this price excel for image quality,
Powershot range. The buttons are a little BLOTCH JOB and none can match the A4000’s slim
cramped, though, and the navigation pad was The Auto ISO mode maxed out at 800 and proportions and its generous zoom range.
quite fiddly for our thumbs. Unlike the pricier worked fine in most conditions, although we If you can rustle up £200, Canon’s Ixus 230
Powershot models, there are no dials for had to raise it to 1600 manually to avoid blur HS is a much better implementation of the
changing modes or adjusting settings. There is under high zoom in low light. This brought same idea. If that’s beyond your budget, we’d
a Help button – a new feature from Canon – the 16-megapixel sensor’s noisy output to recommend Canon’s Ixus 115 HS, which is
but, bafflingly, pressing it while browsing the the fore, with multicoloured blotches across end-of-line but still widely available for £100.
menu options simply quits the menu. Pressing darker areas of photos. ISO 400 and 800 However, if a big zoom is essential and your
it again revealed various help topics, but it’s shots weren’t too pretty when viewed up budget is tight, the A4000 is a solid option.
lightweight stuff. One entry reads: “Use the close, either, but they looked decent enough Ben Pitt
menus to set functions like the date, sounds, after resizing to fit the screen.
The A4000 is slow to take SPECIFICATIONS
photos, managing three seconds SENSOR SIZE 16 megapixels (4,608x3,456)
on average between shots. ZOOM 8x optical (28-224mm)
Using the flash at full power, it LCD 3in (230,000 pixels)

took eight seconds. Continuous STORAGE SDXC card

BATTERY Li-ion
mode ran at just 0.7fps without
DIMENSIONS 58x96x24mm, 145g
live view, which made it tricky to WARRANTY One-year RTB
keep up with the action. The PART CODE 6150B012AA
175-shot battery life is also poor. DETAILS www.canon.co.uk
Videos are recorded at 720p
with stereo sound. Image and
Battery life 175 shots
sound quality were both
0% -50 Reference +50 +100
excellent and clips ran for up
See page 76 for performance details
to 30 minutes. However, zoom

BYTE SIZE
RETRAK Retractable USB 2.0 You connect the adaptor to the cable via a type A
Adaptor Cable USB connector. The other connections, which consist
of type B, mini five-pin, mini four-pin and micro
★★★★★ five-pin USB connectors, are then available for use.
£10 inc VAT • From www.pcworld.co.uk The cable became tangled a couple of times and
sometimes wouldn’t fully retract, but fully extending
Consisting of a USB extension cable and an adaptor with it solved the problem. For £10, this is the ideal
five different types of USB connector, the Retractable device to keep in your laptop bag or home just in
USB 2.0 Adaptor Cable has a plastic wheel at its centre, case you need it.
around which the 1m cable is wound when it’s retracted. rth
Andrew Unsworth
The cable feels tough enough to withstand regular use. PART CODE 473101 DETAILS www.retrak.co

WorldMags.net
ISSUE 295 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | SEPTEMBER 2012 41
 REVIEWS

SONY Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V

★★★★★
£280 inc VAT • From www.amazon.co.uk

VERDICT
A fantastic array of innovative and genuinely useful
features, but image quality has its ups and downs

POCKET ULTRA ZOOM CAMERAS combine long list, which is

point-and-shoot simplicity with a big zoom to easy to get lost in.
help frame shots more creatively, and are a The mode dial
worthwhile upgrade to a smartphone’s includes manual
camera that can’t zoom at all. The DSC- exposure but not
HX20V is the pricier of two such models in aperture- or shutter-priority
Sony’s current range. Its specifications are modes. A sweep panorama mode captures
similar to models such as Canon’s PowerShot and stitches as the camera is turned. A We also found that out-of-focus areas in a
SX260 HS, Fujifilm’s FinePix F770EXR and high-resolution option captures panoramas scene tended to look quite scruffy, suggesting
Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ30: 20x zoom lens, with the camera in portrait orientation for a that the noise-reduction processing didn’t
3in screen, 10fps continuous shooting, manual taller view, and generates huge 43-megapixel know how to deal with blurry images. The fact
exposure control, 1080p videos and GPS for images. The camera has to be moved fairly that this was common across the entire image
geotagging photos. It’s pricier than its rivals, quickly to capture the panorama before the in telephoto shots suggests slightly soft focus
though, which cost from around £250 to £290. memory is full, so there’s a small amount of in these shots. Whatever the underlying
One justification for the price is the motion blur except in very bright conditions. reason, the HX20V was a little disappointing
HX20V’s ability to capture 1080p videos and for telephoto shots.
13-megapixel photos at the same time. There BAD MANAGEMENT These issues with noise didn’t bode well
are so many times when we wished we’d File management leaves a lot to be desired. As for image quality in low light, but in fact the
captured a photo rather than a video, or vice with all the other Sony cameras we’ve seen HX20V coped surprisingly well in such
versa; this camera removes any such worries. recently, the HX20V doesn’t like being given a conditions. By ISO 800, the turbulent noise
There’s no need to select a special mode in blank SDHC card, and took 12 seconds writing artefacts were only a little worse, and there
advance; as long as videos are recorded at folders to it before any photos could be taken. was still a reasonable amount of detail in
25fps rather than the top 50fps frame rate, Photos and videos are stored in separate dense textures. It couldn’t match Canon’s
the shutter button keeps on working. locations on the card – an inevitable result SX260 HS in low light but it wasn’t too far
Olympus offers the same feature on the of using the AVCHD format, which uses a behind, and it narrowly surpassed Panasonic’s
SZ-31MR, but it’s limited to 24 photos per convoluted file structure – but there’s a third TZ30. Its ability to capture, align and combine
video clip. The HX20V can take photos every folder for MP4 video recording. At least Sony six frames to reduce noise levels in low light
couple of seconds for the duration of its no longer expects you to switch manually gave it a further boost.
30-minute video clips. between different folders when playing back The Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V is a tricky one
It helps that this camera excels at video photos and videos on the camera. to weigh up. We can’t fault it for features, and
capture. The picture was clean and detailed, The HX20V also gathers photos and its high-resolution panorama mode and ability
displaying remarkably little noise in low light. videos into one virtual folder when connected to capture photos and videos simultaneously
Autofocus was smooth and responsive, and to a computer via USB. The USB socket’s are two of the best features we’ve seen for
the optical stabilisation did a fantastic job location on the base of the camera isn’t ideal, a long time. It’s fast and reasonably
in telephoto shots, delivering smooth pans though, as it meant we had to rest the camera straightforward to use, and we could bring
while eliminating wobbles. Our only grumble on its screen or its lens. More worryingly, we ourselves to live with its awkward file
is that manual settings are ignored for couldn’t retrieve photos saved to the internal management. It’s an outstanding video
videos, even down to the white balance memory using the USB cable. The camera camera, but photo quality is the sticking point.
setting. That will put creative videographers offered us a link to register online and an Photos are consistently respectable, but never
off but, for everyone else, there’s little point installer for its PlayMemories Home software, really much better. It’s also quite expensive at
in buying a dedicated camcorder. but after installing this we still couldn’t access current prices. If you’re tempted, we’d
It’s a rewarding camera to take photos the internal memory. We eventually solved recommend holding out for our forthcoming
with, too. Performance is fast, with just one the problem by switching from MTP to Mass review of the HX10V, which is very similar
second between shots in normal use. Storage mode in the camera’s setup menu. except for a 16x zoom and a much lower price.
Continuous shooting is at either Inspecting photos on a computer Ben Pitt
10fps or 2fps, although only for 10 revealed a complex set of strengths
frames per burst. There’s a mode and weaknesses. Wide-angle shots SPECIFICATIONS
dial on top, a wheel on the back exhibited sharp focus and were SENSOR SIZE 18 megapixels (4,896x3,672)
for adjusting settings and a packed with detail, thanks to the ZOOM 20x optical (25-500mm)
Custom button that can be set to 18-megapixel resolution, but noise LCD 3in (921,600 pixels)
exposure compensation, ISO reduction glossed over subtle STORAGE SDXC, Memory Stick Pro HG Duo (105MB internal)
BATTERY Li-ion
speed, white balance, metering textures such as grass and hair. It
DIMENSIONS 63x107x35mm, 254g
or smile detect. We’d have liked struggled to disguise noise in
WARRANTY One-year RTB
quick access to more than just skin textures – arguably the PART CODE DSCHX20VB.CEH
one of these functions, though. most important part of a photo. DETAILS www.sony.co.uk
Accessing the others involves
delving into the menu;
Battery life 320 shots
this presents
0% -50 Reference +50 +100
photographic
See page 76 for performance details
functions in one

WorldMags.net
42 SEPTEMBER 2012 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 295
WorldMags.net
THE BEST OF
BOTH WORLDS
Two Leading Technology Award
Winning Monitors!

In
Plane
Switching
i2353Fh i2352Vh

HOME OFFICE: BIG OFFICE:

ULTRA-THIN BEAUTY OUTSTANDING FEATURES
The stylish 58.4 cm/23” Full HD flatscreen i2353Fh with its The slim Full HD model with a black finish comes with
super-slim 9.6 mm profile fascinates business and home an IPS panel and LED backlights. Its IPS-typical wide
users alike. But it is more than just a design-statement: viewing angles, high brightness and contrast values as
The innovative IPS panel and a high dynamic contrast ratio well 5 ms response time provide an excellent image
(50,000,000:1) ensure a realistic colour reproduction and quality making the display perfect for action games
crisp images with finest details. Two HDMI ports offer a mul- and thrilling movies at home. For clearer, more vivid
titude of options for connecting high-definition sources. Enjoy colours the Clear Vision function converts images from
this pretty package full of great inner values! Standard Definition (SD) to High Definition (HD).

Features: VGA/Dual HDMI, Speakers, 5ms response time, 20 Mio.:1 DCR, VESA wallmount Features: VGA/DVI/HDMI, Speakers, 5ms response time, 20 Mio.:1 DCR, VESA wallmount

www.aoc-europe.com
WorldMags.net
 REVIEWS

SONY Cyber-shot DSC-HX200V

★★★★★
£339 inc VAT • From www.morecomputers.com

VERDICT
Packed with features and excels for video,
but photo quality isn’t in line with the price

THE HX200V IS a beast of a camera. It’s and though its rivals

bristling with big numbers and impressive are catching up, it
features, including an 18-megapixel sensor, still leads the way.
30x zoom, articulated 3in screen, electronic Its Anti Motion Blur
viewfinder and GPS. Even the cardboard box mode combines
is a force to reckoned with, with serrated exposures to reduce
edges that can slice through human flesh. noise but uses clever
Thankfully, the camera itself is much processing to avoid ghosting in moving more visible, they weren’t terrible. Skin
gentler on the hands. The substantial subjects. It’s used automatically in low light textures were handled less successfully at
handgrip and contoured back plate are a snug when Superior Auto is selected. faster ISO speeds, though.
fit, and the shutter button and command dial Priority and manual exposure are available The HX200V’s videos are more impressive.
fall neatly under the thumb and forefinger. too, and cycling through the controls is a They’re recorded at up to 1080p, 50fps and 30
The sharp, bright screen tilts up and down simple matter of pushing and turning the minutes in AVCHD format. Picture quality was
rather than sideways, but it’s satisfying to use. command dial. A dedicated button makes it crisp and detailed, and exhibited remarkably
The viewfinder is a let-down, though. Its quick to reposition the autofocus point. little noise in low light. The optical
201,600-dot resolution is considerably coarser There’s a custom button that’s set to AE lock stabilisation did a fantastic job of keeping
than the LCD screen’s 921,600 dots, and the by default, but can be reconfigured to one of handheld shots steady at the full zoom
view is quite small. We’d have preferred for four other functions. Autofocus is responsive, extension, autofocus was responsive and
Sony to bump up the price to include the and 1.2 seconds on average between shots is smooth, and the zoom motor had a minimal
fantastic 2.4-million dot viewfinder that graces a fine achievement. Continuous shooting is at impact on the high-quality stereo soundtrack.
Sony’s NEX-7, or do without one altogether. 10fps or 2fps, but lasts for only 10 frames It’s disappointing that there’s no manual
We’d also have liked an accessory shoe for before taking a seven-second breather. control over video exposures, but Sony
flashguns and off-camera flash systems. makes up for it with the ability to capture
Some cameras’ GPS functions can be MINOR DETAILS 13-megapixel photos while recording videos.
undermined by the time it takes to get a lock The 30x zoom and 18-megapixel sensor This isn’t available when recording at 50fps,
after switching on. Sony gets around this with means this camera should be pretty good at but that’s a fair compromise. Using this
a log function, which keeps a constant record capturing details in faraway subjects. Sadly, function in low light, the videos exhibited
of the camera’s position, even when the though, such a high resolution in a 1/2.3in significantly lower noise than the photos of
camera is switched off. It’s limited to 24 hours sensor boosted noise levels more than details. the same scene, even when the photos were
to avoid draining the battery, and also creates Even in bright light at ISO 100, subtle details resized to the same dimensions.
a log file to show the route you travelled. This were obscured by noise reduction. A The HX200V is similar to the Panasonic
generates a huge amount of data, recording combination of heavy noise reduction and FZ150. They both excel at video, and while the
its coordinates every few seconds, whereas sharpening plus slightly soft focus gave bolder FZ150’s manual exposure control gives it a
other cameras do so only every couple of details a spidery quality. Slight chromatic distinct edge for creative video projects, the
minutes. However, accuracy was often out aberrations and heavy purple fringing around HX200V’s ability to capture photos and
by around 100 feet, so the plotted route at highlights didn’t help, either. Panasonic’s videos simultaneously will be more popular
www.gpsvisualizer.com looked as if it was for a Lumix DMC-FZ150 resolves more fine detail, with casual users. The FZ150 is the faster of
hyperactive dog. The same route as recorded despite its smaller zoom and megapixel count. the two for photos, but the HX200V’s GPS
by Fujifilm’s FinePix F770EXR was less detailed It’s also disappointing that a Clear Image function will be more appealing for some.
but ultimately more accurate. Zoom function is available separately from its Then there’s the FZ150’s superior image
There’s no shortage of advanced digital zoom. It looks like digital zoom to us, quality. The HX200V doesn’t have any
photographic functions, with the camera doubling the zoom range to 60x but adding other aces to pull out of its sleeve, so the
capturing multiple exposures to reduce noise, no discernible extra detail. In fact, it mostly Panasonic’s Lumix DMC-FZ150 remains
create panoramas and capture scenes in 3D. exaggerated the turbulence in fine details our top recommendation.
Sony has provided these functions for years, caused by image noise, even in bright light Ben Pitt
at ISO 100. At least you can turn Clear Image
Zoom and Digital Zoom off in the menu. SPECIFICATIONS
When lower light demanded higher ISO SENSOR SIZE 18 megapixels (4,896x3,672)
speeds, image quality held up well. By ISO ZOOM 30x optical (27-810mm)
1600, shadows were a little grainy but LCD 3in (921,600 pixels)
overall image quality was good enough for STORAGE SDXC, Memory Stick Pro HG Duo (105MB internal)
BATTERY Li-ion
viewing onscreen on small prints. This is
DIMENSIONS 87x122x105mm, 583g
important not just for indoor photography
WARRANTY One-year RTB
but also for telephoto shooting in anything PART CODE DSCHX200VB.CEH
but direct sunlight, as fast shutter and DETAILS www.sony.co.uk
ISO speeds are needed to avoid blur.
The camera frequently raised the
Battery life 450 shots
ISO speed to 800 in these
0% -50 Reference +50 +100
situations, and while smudged,
See page 76 for performance details
spidery details were all the

WorldMags.net
ISSUE 295 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | SEPTEMBER 2012 45
 REVIEWS

VIEWSONIC PLED-W200
★★★★★
£389 inc VAT • From www.projectorpoint.co.uk

VERDICT
A hugely versatile portable projector

AS WITH THE Best Buy-winning Asus P1, the

PLED-W200 is a miniature, lightweight LED
DLP projector designed to be carried around
with you. This projector is particularly versatile,
as it can receive video from a PC over VGA or
USB, it has composite and component video and use Windows, but it’s a bit of a strain on pages, zoom in on text and scroll around
connections, and it can display video, photo the eyes. It’s fine in low light, though, which is documents. The SD card functions mean you
and office document files from an SD card. impressive for such a small unit. Colours are can be confident of taking the projector with
It’s a tiny projector, which is slightly vibrant enough for presentations and photos, you without a PC to give a presentation.
smaller than a stack of three CD cases and and films are definitely watchable. Whites have The final connection option is to plug the
weighs just 400g. You’ll need to carry the a slightly grey appearance and reds are a bit projector into your PC over USB. The PLED-
laptop-style power supply with you, as there’s orange. However, we had few complaints W200 has a Mini USB port for this purpose,
no battery. Rather than a normal bulb, the about colour quality during normal use. We but you’ll need to supply your own Mini USB
projector uses LEDs as a light source. This did struggle to get consistent focus across cable. When you plug the projector into your
means it uses just 35W when active, and has the entire projection surface; either the top or PC, you’re prompted to install the USB driver
the added benefit of 20,000 hours of lamp life bottom of the display was slightly blurred, no from the projector’s internal storage, and the
– enough to have the projector switched on matter how we positioned the projector and PLED-W200 then acts as an external display.
for eight hours a day for seven years. with keystone correction enabled or disabled. Resolutions are limited over USB to 1,024x768,
The projector has a proprietary video We found the SD card functions useful. 1,280x720 and 1,280x768, but this is fine for
input, which goes to a breakout cable with You control the simple onscreen file browser presentations. However, pointer movement
a VGA plug, a composite video input and a with the remote control, and can browse wasn’t quite as responsive as using a normal
3.5mm audio input for the projector’s twin through an SD card’s videos, photos and external display, and films, while mainly
2W speakers. You can also plug the projector office documents. The unit could play all our smooth, exhibited slight tearing as the USB
into component video connections, but you’ll test videos smoothly; we had no problems bus struggled to supply enough bandwidth.
need a component-to-VGA adaptor and a with MKV, XviD, AVI, MOV, WMV, H.264 and ViewSonic’s PLED-W200 is a superb
male-to-female VGA adaptor to do so. MPEG4 videos, but the projector only supports portable projector. It has a huge range of
The projector can display up to 1,280x800 16:9, 16:10, 4:3 and aspect ratios when playing connections and can play back a range of files
pixels at its native resolution, and with a short from SD, so films are slightly stretched no from an SD card so you don’t even have to
throw ratio of 1.16:1 you can create a 40in screen matter which ratio you select. Films were fine bring a PC with you. Image quality is also
at a metre away from your projection surface. when played from a Windows laptop, though. reasonable for such a small projector, and the
The projector isn’t bright enough to cope well The built-in speakers are tinny, but at least LED light source will last the life of the unit,
with office lighting, though. You can read text louder than those of most laptops. We so you don’t have to worry about running
enjoyed playing back photo slideshows from costs. Its versatility makes it our new
the SD card, but the experience was spoilt favourite pocket projector, and a Best Buy.
slightly by the loading animation Chris Finnamore
popping up in the middle of
each photo as we swapped SPECIFICATIONS
between them. NATIVE RESOLUTION 1,280x800
CONTRAST RATIO 2000:1
The office file viewer works
RATED BRIGHTNESS 250 ANSI lumens
well. It was fine displaying DIMENSIONS 32x130x126mm, 400g
PDFs and all Office and Office POWER CONSUMPTION 1W standby, 35W active
2007 (docx, xlsx and so on) files, WARRANTY One-year collect and return, three-year RTB
PART CODE PLED-W200
and you can use the remote DETAILS www.viewsonic.com
control’s direction keys to move between

BYTE SIZE
MUC-OFF Antibacterial Screen Cleaning Rescue Kit
★★★★★
£6 inc VAT • www.muc-off.com/store

Muc-Off’s products are better known for the cloth and wipe it across your screen,
keeping your bike clean and lubricated than and be amazed to discover that the default
for PC maintenance, but the company has colour of a blank page in Word isn’t grey. biodegradable and eco-friendly, too. It’s a
now turned to keeping your PC clean. This Once we’d tightened the pump enough bit expensive at £6, but it’s more effective
pocket-sized cleaning pack comes with a to avoid leakage, the Rescue Kit proved than many cheaper cleaners we’ve tried.
black microfibre cloth and a 35ml bottle of highly effective on a range of displays, from Kat Orphanides
cleaning spray. Just spray the cleaner over our desktop LCD to our mobile phone. It’s PART CODE 990 DETAILS www.muc-off.com

WorldMags.net
46 SEPTEMBER 2012 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 295
 REVIEWS

ASUS PA248Q
★★★★★
£382 inc VAT • From uk.insight.com

VERDICT
A feature-packed high-quality IPS monitor
with some clever designer-focused features

ASUS’S PA248Q IS an IPS monitor aimed

at professionals. Asus claims that the screen
“guarantees industry-leading colour accuracy”
and “delivers 100 per cent sRGB colour
accuracy”. To test this, we calibrated the screen
with our Spyder4Express screen calibrator.
After this, the screen’s colour was noticeably
warmer, and the Spyder4Express software
claimed the screen’s colour gamut was within
93 per cent of the sRGB standard.
The display has a matt finish, so it doesn’t
suffer from overhead reflections like a
reflective-surface monitor. This does mean
that colours are more accurate than punchy The PA248Q has some useful extra QuickFit. This generates various onscreen
and vibrant; this is a screen more for photo features. The screen tilts and rotates on its overlays, each of which can help you line up
editing than gaming or watching films. We stand, and the screen height adjusts between objects and judge their sizes. Clicking the
had no real complaints about image quality. 45 and 135mm, so it’s simple to find the right joystick button cycles through a 0.5cm grid, a
Colours were accurate and consistent across viewing angle. This is the only screen we’ve ¼in grid, A4 and Letter overlays, and a photo
the display, and we couldn’t discern any ever seen with a built-in powered USB3 hub, print overlay for various print sizes. You can
bleed-through from the backlight. The panel so it’s perfect for attaching fast external also use the joystick to move the overlays
does have a slight grainy texture, which storage. There are DVI, VGA, HDMI and onscreen, so you don’t have to rearrange your
we were aware of at first but soon got used DisplayPort inputs, and the monitor can application windows to fit.
to. Horizontal viewing angles are wide, but display a picture-in-picture view from a Asus’s PA248Q is an expensive screen, but
the screen’s colours become second display input, either in you get an impressive specification for your
darker fairly quickly when you a window or with the display money, including a top-quality, fully adjustable
view it from higher up. from both inputs side by side IPS screen with even colours across its surface,
The monitor’s menus are on one screen. The picture-in- a built-in USB3 hub and the QuickFit mode,
simple and make it easy to picture display is always on which will be handy for print designers. This
adjust settings. You navigate top of whatever is on the all comes at a price, and if you’re a home user
and select the options with a main display, which is useful we’d recommend a consumer-oriented display
joystick, which is easier than if you don’t want what you’re such as Samsung’s 3D-capable S27A950D. Still,
the up and down buttons you referring to – such as a for professionals, the PA248Q’s extra features
have to use to change the reference picture – to keep make a lot of sense.
options on most displays. disappearing behind your Chris Finnamore
Selecting one of the User active application.
modes frees up all the screen’s There are other extras to SPECIFICATIONS
picture tweak options, such as help with photography and RESOLUTION 1,920x1,200
Brightness, Contrast, print layout. The insides of CONTRAST RATIO Not disclosed (8,000,000:1 dynamic)
BRIGHTNESS 300cd/m
Saturation, Hue, Colour the horizontal and vertical PORTS VGA, DVI, DisplayPort, HDMI,
Temperature and Gamma, and bezels have half-centre POWER CONSUMPTION 1W standby, 32W on
going into the Advanced menu measurement marks to help WARRANTY three years RTB
PART CODE PA248Q
even lets you adjust Hue by you judge the size of objects
DETAILS www.asus.com
RGB and CMY. onscreen, and there’s also

BYTE SIZE
PNY Attaché Evolutive small that we lost track of expect for a USB drive.
★★★★★ it on our desk more than Read speeds of 8.88MB/s
£16 inc VAT • From www.amazon.co.uk once. Fortunately, there’s for small files and 15.95MB/s
a tiny hook you can use to for large files are around
PNY’s Attaché Evolutive is a clever miniature attach a thin lanyard, so you can half what we’d expect, too.
USB drive that conceals a microSD card. put it on your keyring for added security. However, what you’re paying for
You can take the card out to use it in a The drive’s cover fits securely, but we’d have is convenience and the versatility of a tiny
compatible mobile phone, and use the USB preferred a clip to help hold it fast. flash drive that doubles as a microSD card,
adaptor with any other microSD that you With a large file write speed of 3.87MB/s rather than performance.
might want to copy data from. The flash and a small file write speed of 1.42MB/s, the Kat Orphanides
drive measures just 20x14x5mm; it’s so disk is two to three times slower than we’d PART CODE SDU16GBBABY-EF DETAILS www.pny-europe.com

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ISSUE 295 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | SEPTEMBER 2012 47
 REVIEWS

SONY KDL-46HX853
★★★★★
£1,449 inc VAT • From www.johnlewis.com

VERDICT
A fantastic high-end TV, with plenty of
features and excellent image quality

THINGS MAY LOOK gloomy for Sony right

now, but that doesn’t mean the company has
lost the ability to produce stunning televisions.
Its flagship model for 2012 is the KDL-46HX853,
an LED-backlit 3D TV that takes Sony’s
monolithic design concept to another level.
Unlike last year’s monolithic TVs, which had
an optional stand that doubled as a speaker
bar, the KDL-46HX853 has one as standard. It’s
far more curved and stylish than 2011’s blocky
stand, although it has only three speakers as
opposed to last year’s six. It’s still a major services. It’s reminiscent of the Windows 8 exception is Impulse, which produced too much
improvement on the tiny speakers in the TV. Metro interface, with large icons and bold flicker to be watchable. A range of noise-
Placed on the stand, the thin panel looks text, but it works very well. We especially liked cancelling and image-sharpening features,
gorgeous, whether the TV is on or off. A slim the picture-in-picture mode, which lets you colour enhancers and LED auto-adjust settings
silver metal screen bezel surrounds the single browse the portal without missing out on the can be turned on and off as required, so you
sheet of Gorilla Glass, designed to protect the current program. There’s a huge amount of should always get your TV looking its best.
TV from scratches or accidental damage. If you content to choose from, too, with catch-up
keep fingerprints off it, the rich black panel has TV from BBC iPlayer and Demand Five, THREE RANGE
a near-mirror finish when switched off. YouTube, DailyMotion and Sony’s 3D channel, Sony doesn’t include 3D glasses with the set,
Despite the TV’s compact dimensions, on-demand video from Netflix and social so you must buy them separately (part code
there’s still plenty of connectivity around networking from Facebook and Twitter. TDGBR250, £39 from www.amazon.co.uk), but
the back. As well as four HDMI inputs, VGA, it’s worth the investment – 3D content looks
SCART, composite and component video, you HOW LOW CAN YOU GO? fantastic. The images had a believable sense
get one 3.5mm and two analogue audio inputs, Moving from streaming content to standard- of depth in every 3D test, without sacrificing
3.5mm and digital optical outputs, a Common definition television, it’s clear that Sony’s colour clarity or brightness. Our only complaint
Interface port, Ethernet and two USB ports. X-Reality Pro image processing engine can was a bit of crosstalk, but it was barely visible
If you plug in two USB flash drives, you can work wonders with low-quality video. It cleans and a big improvement over previous Sony TVs.
use one to record TV and the other to play back up even muddy images, sharpening edges Sound quality was a step above the
files locally. PVR functionality is rudimentary, without generating noise or visible motion competition, thanks to the compact sound
just like all the other TVs we’ve used it on, but artefacts, even during fast-moving scenes or bar. It produced louder and punchier audio
file format support is excellent if you have a when watching sport. High-definition content than the integrated speakers we’ve seen in
hard disk full of video files. We managed to play looks even better, with vibrant colours, accurate other TVs, and even produced audible bass
all our test files, including DivX and MKV. contrast and pixel-sharp edges. In films, the thanks to the front-firing speakers, which
You can also stream content from a left- and right-edge LED lighting comes into preserve frequencies that are often lost with
networked PC or NAS device using DLNA, or its own. Blacks look deep, even when sharing the more common down-firing speakers.
get it straight from the internet. What used the screen with bright colours or white light. Sony has thrown everything at the
to be Bravia Internet Video is now the Sony X-Reality Pro is just one of the many KDL-46HX853. It’s a superb-looking TV with
Entertainment Online portal. It’s a massive options available for tweaking picture quality. plenty of high-end features, and both picture
improvement on last year’s interface, and MotionFlow handles motion smoothing, and sound quality are excellent. It still can’t
makes it easy to pick out channels and with almost every pre-set working well. The beat Panasonic’s ST50 plasma set for rich
colour and black level accuracy, but it’s up
there with the best LCD TVs we’ve seen. It’s
much cheaper than the equivalent models
from Samsung and LG, and has better styling
and more features than Panasonic’s line-up. If
you want your TV to be a design statement,
but also look good during films, this is ideal.
Tom Morgan

SPECIFICATIONS
TV TYPE LED
RESOLUTION 1,920x1,080
CONTRAST RATIO 1,000,000:1 dynamic
BRIGHTNESS
CONNECTIONS 4x HDMI, 1x SCART, 1x VGA, 1 component,
1x composite inputs
TUNER Analogue, Freeview HD
POWER CONSUMPTION 0W standby, 74W on
WARRANTY One-year RTB
PART CODE KDL-46HX853
DETAILS www.sony.co.uk

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48 SEPTEMBER 2012 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 295
 REVIEWS

YAMAHA RX-V373
★★★★★
£250 inc VAT • From www.superfi.co.uk

VERDICT
A great entry-level amplifier, with all the
inputs and features you’d need for a
basic home cinema setup

YAMAHA HAS STARTED 2012 from the

bottom up, releasing its entry-level A/V
receivers before unleashing the high-end kit
in the summer. First to arrive is the RX-V373, Audio Return Channel
which costs just £250, but is packed with (ARC), they can also act as
features designed to simplify your home 4K pass-through, future-proofing
cinema setup. your amplifier for when super high- resolution
From the front, the RX-V373 has clean video content appears. With two component
styling, with an oversized volume dial, four inputs and one output, plus four composite
quick input select buttons, controls for the inputs and one output, you should have no control has a huge array of buttons, so you
integrated radio and buttons to adjust tone. trouble connecting all your devices at once. can activate most settings with a single press.
Hidden beneath a pop-out cover are audio Two digital optical and two coaxial inputs, four There are plenty of options for calibrating
and video auxiliary inputs, as well as a USB analogue inputs and two outputs, a subwoofer and tweaking your speakers, including the
port that supports iPod playback. You can’t output and a ¼in headphone jack cover almost option to use the bundled mic to measure the
use it to play back photos or video, but every conceivable audio connection. acoustics of your room accurately for the best
it works well for playing MP3 audio sound quality. This straightforward
from a USB flash drive or external process takes less than five minutes,
hard disk. The two-line LCD display The RX-V373’s menus are sensibly and is well worth doing if you aren’t
is a simple affair, although we found sure where to set your levels.
the always present volume and input laid out, so we had no problem getting The RX-V373 supports the full
labels helpful when setting up our into the more advanced features complement of high-definition audio
A/V equipment for the first time. standards, including DTS HD Master
Audio and Dolby TrueHD, so films
BACKWARD GLANCE Setup is much easier than last year’s get the explosive bass and clear soundtracks
There’s a lot more around the back. Although entry-level model, thanks to the inclusion they deserve. With our reference speakers and
the RX-V373 is a budget amplifier, and Yamaha of an onscreen display. It’s easy to read even subwoofer connected and calibrated, we were
has omitted any networking features for if you’re watching 3D content, taking up a impressed with the enveloping sound that
services such as Spotify and DLNA streaming, corner of the screen rather than obscuring greeted us during Casino Royale’s opening
the company certainly hasn’t skimped on the entire image. The menus are sensibly laid scene. Bass crossover felt spot on thanks to
inputs. Not only do the four HDMI inputs and out, so we had no problem getting into the the calibration microphone, but we could still
single HDMI output support 3D video and more advanced features. However, the remote tweak individual speakers to our taste.
Music was equally impressive for a budget
amplifier, with both rock and acoustic tracks
filling our room with clear sound. Your results
will vary depending on your choice of speakers,
but you can be sure that the amplifier won’t
lose quality between the source and speaker.

LEVEL BEST
Thanks to its integrated onscreen display, the
RX-V373 is a welcome step up in ease of use
from last year’s entry-level model. Features
such as 4K pass-through make the amplifier
ready for the next generation of video, and
the huge number of inputs should be more
than enough for most home cinema setups. It
lacks the networking features of some more
expensive amplifiers, but this is an excellent
starter amp for a surround-sound system.
Tom Morgan

SPECIFICATIONS
INPUTS 4x HDMI, 2x component, 1x composite, 3x stereo
phono, 2x coaxial S/PDIF, 2x optical S/PDIF
OUTPUTS 1x HDMI, 1x component, 1x composite, 2x
stereo phono,
POWER CONSUMPTION 73W on, 0W standby
WARRANTY One-year RTB
PART CODE RX-V373
DETAILS www.yamaha-uk.com

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ISSUE 295 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | SEPTEMBER 2012 49
 REVIEWS

SONY Walkman NWZ-Z1060

★★★★★
£275 inc VAT • From www.play.com

VERDICT
This is the best Android MP3 player we’ve seen
yet, but it’s shockingly expensive

SONY’S NEW WALKMAN is a chunky player’s screen, it will jump Adding a third-party app
Android-based MP3 player with 32GB internal straight to the Sony music such as MX Player meant
storage and a 4.3in QVGA (800x480) screen. player app; waking the that we could even play
It has similar battery life to most Android Walkman with the power even unusual formats
phones, playing audio for 22 hours and video button at the top of the device such as MKV, although the
for almost six-and-a-half hours in our tests. takes you straight to whichever challenge of decoding our
The Walkman is big enough to use for app you’re currently using. high-resolution MKV videos
comfortable mini-tablet style gaming and The supplied earplug-style lead to jerky playback.
movie watching, but it’s a squeeze if you want headphones are among the
to stuff it into your jeans pocket. It has a best you’ll get with an MP3 OUT OF TOUCH
snazzy coloured back, although this was prone player, but we found them a Regardless of which application
to scratching. Tinny (but loud) speakers on touch boomy and bass-heavy for you use, the Walkman is an
the rear allow you to share your impeccable our taste. This made it harder to excellent video player. The screen can’t rival
musical taste with fellow bus commuters, too. pick out detail in the mid and the high-resolution ‘retina’ displays of recent
For some unknown reason, Sony has treble ranges. Fans of more Apple devices, but it’s still an excellent display.
used a proprietary USB cable. This means balanced audio are advised to upgrade to Our photos and videos looked great, with
you’ll have to buy extras or cart your cable headphones such as Soundmagic’s E10 even lighting and intense colours that made
everywhere with you. We’d have been happier earplug style set (see Best Buys, page 69). them easy to watch at this relatively small
with the standard Micro USB port found on size. The glossy screen does pick up some
other Android devices. The Walkman also has PLAY FOR TODAY smears and fingerprints, but no more than
a Mini HDMI port, so you can connect it to a Not everyone’s interested in gaming on their other touchscreen devices.
TV to watch videos on a bigger screen. mobile device, but Android’s developers have The Walkman costs £70 more than a
The MP3 player is installed with Android packed the Google Play store with plenty of 32GB 4th Generation iPod Touch, which has
2.3.4 (Gingerbread), rather than Android 4 (Ice top-notch casual games. The large 4.3in a 960x460 display and a massive battery
Cream Sandwich), which is disappointing, but screen really lends itself to cult construction capable of over 48 hours’ audio playback and
the 1GHz Nvidia Tegra 2 processor is powerful title Minecraft, Sentinel III – our favourite almost eight hours of video. However, the iPod
enough to make Sony’s launcher interface run tower defence strategy game – and board is limited by being tied to iTunes and its store.
smoothly. The music app is easy to use and has game conversions such as Catan, making it You can get third-party video and audio player
some cool features such as a mood analyser. easy to see and control your games. The software that allows you to escape the iPod’s
You can’t search through track names, but its Z1060 is also powerful enough to play very limited range of supported formats, but
format support is decent. It can handle AAC, processor-intensive 3D action games such as the iPod doesn’t make your life easy.
MP3, Wav and WMA files, but we had to install Captain America, making this a good buy for If you want to be able to play as much of
Winamp to play our Ogg files and AndLess for those who want their MP3 player to serve your media collection as possible on a single
FLAC content. Similarly, if you want to play double duty as a handheld games console. device and access online content that requires
Audible’s proprietary AU format audiobooks, There’s a huge 1GB of internal storage for apps. Flash then this is the high-end media player
you’ll have to download a dedicated app. The The Walkman is also good for films, with for you, despite its proprietary connector.
joy of Android, of course, is that installing these support for a wide variety of video formats However, most users will prefer the lower
apps is easy to do. including H.264 MP4 files, WMV, QuickTime price and higher display resolution of its iOS
The Walkman’s sound quality is excellent. MOV, XviD and more. Not all test files worked, rival or an Android phone with a large screen
The default settings of Sony’s own music app and some of the non-standard resolutions and battery, such as Motorola’s RAZR MAXX.
are flat and well balanced, with a slight bass didn’t adjust properly to the screen size, but Kat Orphanides
emphasis. There are also plenty of other most played without a hitch. Sony’s own
settings you can apply to normalise track video player app didn’t work with all our test SPECIFICATIONS
STORAGE 32GB flash memory
volumes, change the EQ balance and files, but the Walkman still has Android’s
DISPLAY 4.3in 800x480 resolution LCD
compensate for the effect of dynamic range integrated video player, so when we added a
EXPANSION None
compression during the music production file manager app and browsed to our video AUDIO SUPPORT WMA, WMA-DRM, AAC, Ogg,
process. However, we slightly preferred the directory, we could play almost everything. Wav, Audible, MP3
audio characteristics and settings built into VIDEO SUPPORT WMV, WMV-HD, MPEG4 AVI,
MPEG4 MP4
the free Winamp player. The choice is up to
IMAGE SUPPORT BMP, JPEG
you, as you can install any Android audio
INTERFACES USB
app you want. If you use the Walkman DIMENSIONS 71x11x134mm
button on the side of the WARRANTY One-year RTB
player to wake up the PART CODE NWZ-Z1060
DETAILS www.sony.co.uk

Audio battery life 22h 10m

Video battery life 6h 25m

0% -50 Reference +50 +100
See page 76 for performance details

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50 SEPTEMBER 2012 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 295
 REVIEWS

VIEW QUEST Retro WiFi Radio

★★★★★
£144 inc VAT • From www.micom.co.uk

VERDICT
It’s got some great features and supports DAB+, but this multi-functional
radio is let down by its lack of support for Variable Bit Rate MP3 files

THE RETRO WIFI Radio’s stylish chassis content from an iPod or the radio’s
contains a combination DAB+/FM/internet auxiliary input.
radio and UPnP media streamer. You can There was already a list of stations were pleasantly surprised by the sense of
power it from the mains or from four C-cell present, but we had to re-scan for DAB space, especially in electronic dance tracks.
batteries, and the radio has a claimed 15-hour stations before we could correctly tune them You can get plenty of volume out of the radio,
battery life. A physical power switch at the in. We encountered a different problem with but above three-quarters volume, high notes
back means there’s no risk of running them the radio’s ability to deal with files on our started to become harsh and brittle, although
down by leaving the radio in standby mode. DLNA share. It was easy to connect to our the bass sounded a lot more powerful.
There’s even an iPod dock, so you can play share and – although we were annoyed by the If you’re after an attractive and easy-to-use
content from an iOS device. It’s neatly concealed way in which files are listed alphabetically radio with a few streaming features, this is a
behind the View Quest logo; just push it in and rather than in track order – it was also easy good choice, although the lack of support for
a sturdy plastic dock shelf pops out. A mono to navigate through our audio collection. VBR MP3s is a pity. Still, if you listen to the
LCD display allows you to navigate through the However, although all the files in our collection radio on the move, the combination of battery
radio’s menus, while text entry – which is only were shown, the radio couldn’t play them all. power and DAB+, which is increasingly popular
called for when you have to enter your wireless Files in Wav format were shown in the list but across Europe, will definitely appeal.
password – is handled by using the dial or wouldn’t play, and the same was true of our Kat Orphanides
buttons to cycle through letters of the alphabet. Variable Bit Rate (VBR) encoded MP3s.
SPECIFICATIONS
When you first power it up, the radio This is a pity, because the radio looks and
CONNECTIONS 3.5mm line in
scans for wireless networks and prompts you sounds great. A pair of 10W speakers put out AUDIO SUPPORT WMA, OGG, MP3
to select yours and enter the password. You clear, powerful sound. High notes are crisp POWER CONSUMPTION 4W standby, 5W on
can then choose to tune in to internet, digital while mid-tones are powerful and well defined. WARRANTY One-year RTB
PART CODE RETROWF-BK/C
or FM radio stations, connect to your network There’s a bit of bass, but not much; this is a DETAILS www.viewquest.co.uk
to search for UPnP media streams, or listen to traditional radio after all. Despite this, we

AFTERSHOKZ Mobile AS301

★★★★★
£70 inc VAT • From www.aftershokz.co.uk

VERDICT
They’re not exactly high fidelity, but these bone conduction
headphones make it possible to hear the traffic while you run

THE AFTERSHOKZ BONE conduction Sound quality isn’t amazing, but it’s clear
headphones are designed to let runners, enough and even has some bass. It’s just
cyclists and other active types listen to music unfortunate that the headphones sound than waterproof, but
while still being able to hear everything going their best if you block your ears. We also got we had no problems
on around them. They also have a built-in mic better sound conduction when we wore them when we took them out in the rain.
and double as a hands-free headset. under a helmet. We were very pleased to be The Aftershokz headphones are a great
While standard headphones work by able to hear the sound of traffic as we ran – idea if you’re seriously into your sport, want
making the air vibrate to carry sound, bone having that awareness of your surroundings to listen to music and want to be safe while
conduction headphones use the bones of can be a real lifesaver. The only downside doing it. They could be better at preventing
your skull to transmit sound to your inner ear. was that the headphones slipped back a little sound from being carried through the air,
The bone conduction transducers rest against during our run. but currently they have few rivals that aren’t
your cheekbones just in front of the ear. A The Aftershokz headphones weigh just rebadging the same hardware. They are the
plastic band joins the transducers, hooks over 22g. The battery and control box weighs the best option for anyone who wants to listen to
your ears and rests behind your neck. same and can be securely clipped to your music but needs to keep their ears open and
Each transducer has an 18mm rubber pad clothes. In addition to a power button, the their wits about them on the road.
that clings to your face. They’re designed to control box houses a mic and a call-end Kat Orphanides
shake your bones, but you can hear sound button, which doubles as a pause button for
SPECIFICATIONS
coming from them through the air as well as audio tracks. We’d have preferred a track
CONNECTION 3.5mm headset jack plug
through your skull. The air-conducted sound skipping button, though. We’re not convinced
CABLE LENGTH 1.3m
overlaying the more resonant bone-conduction the target audience will get much use out of IMPEDENCE 10 ohms
makes the headphones sound tinnier than they the headset capabilities; we’re not inclined to WEIGHT 44g
WARRANTY Two-year RTB
should. It also means that these headphones chat on the phone while we’re out for a run,
PART CODE AS301
are unsuitable for public transport, as you and it’s not a good idea while you’re cycling. DETAILS www.aftershokz.co.uk
would seriously annoy those around you. The headphones are water-resistant rather

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 REVIEWS

SONY HDR-CX730E
★★★★★
£799 inc VAT • From www.pixmania.co.uk

VERDICT
Excellent image quality with natural colour
reproduction and an incredible display – a
real enthusiast’s camcorder

APART FROM THE HDR-TD20VE, which is

designed specifically for 3D, the HDR-730XE is
the top of Sony’s current camcorder range.
It’s a Full HD camcorder with a 10x optical
zoom, 17x zoom, a back-illuminated Exmor R
CMOS sensor and plenty of I/O ports, as well
as a powered accessory shoe and an electronic
viewfinder, all of which puts it up against
Panasonic’s range-topping HC-X900. There’s
one big difference, though –the Panasonic
camcorder has separate /4.1in sensors for It’s fair to say the HDR-CX730E isn’t the optical zoom; instead, you must use one
red, green and blue light, whereas the Sony perfect. Its autofocus sometimes struggled of the other modes, such as the balanced
camcorder has a single, large /2.88in sensor. while shooting indoors in relatively enclosed SteadyShot mode, which is designed for
Sony’s decision to use a single, large sensor spaces, such as stairwells and our lift, which zooming. When Active Stabilisation is enabled,
has paid off, as the video quality is incredible. is something its closest rival – the Panasonic the camera defaults to a digitally enhanced 17x
Footage looks natural, as though you’re in the HC-X900 – didn’t do. As with all camcorders, zoom, which doesn’t affect image quality too
scene, and the colours are astoundingly well there’s also some noise in footage shot in much until the end of its extension, at which
reproduced, not only with objects in immediate very low light but, here again, Sony’s model point you get a slight halo effect on some
focus but also the yellow of a distant van, the trumps the HC-X900 for low-light footage. objects and a softening of focus. The effect is
blues, whites and greys of the clouds, and the so slight that you only notice it if you pause
greens of faraway trees. The detail is exquisite, TOUCHING CONCERN the footage and look for examples.
too; the HDR-CX730E captures footage that’s The HDR-CX730E’s high-resolution As befits a high-end camcorder, the
truly worthy of the label Full HD. There are 921,600-pixel touchscreen display looks HDR-CX730E has a wealth of connections,
few signs of compression and the clarity with fantastic. Its icons and menu items are including a 3.5mm microphone input, a 3.5mm
which scenes are rendered is breathtaking. refreshingly legible and attractive, and are headphone output, A/V and HDMI outputs, a
The little details impressed us even more, good enough to shame certain smartphones. Mini USB port to connect to your PC, and a
such as the clean, smooth edges of shadows The menus, which you access the menus, are powered accessory shoe. It also records 5.1
dancing across the roof of a moving taxi and well organised and easy to navigate. digital surround sound, and the touchscreen
the brickwork of an adjacent building. The touchscreen is responsive for a displays a level meter for each of the five
resistive screen, but it’s easy to select the sound inputs so you can avoid clipping.
STABLE TURNER wrong option accidentally – an example being The HDR-CX730E’s excellent image quality,
A prime reason for the HDR-CX730E’s excellent the ease with which the record button is image stabilisation and touchscreen monitor,
image quality is its image stabilisation system, pressed instead of the telephoto button. The plus its multiple I/O connections, great image
which is set to Active by default. As soon as HDR-CX730E also has an electronic viewfinder, stabilisation and terrific colour reproduction
you open the touchscreen monitor, you can which displays information such the zoom earn it an Ultimate award. It’s an enthusiast’s
see the image stabiliser working its magic, meter and battery meter, but the display door camcorder that’s as much of a pleasure to
keeping the camcorder as steady as possible must be closed in order to use it. use as its footage is to watch. The Panasonic
and giving footage smooth, fluid motion. This The camcorder’s 10x optical zoom lens HC-X900’s autofocus sometimes works better
is one of the best image stabilisers we’ve maintains the HDR-CX730E’s high image and it comes close for image quality, but the
seen. When filming as we walked around, we quality even at full zoom. Active stabilisation, HDR-CX730E’s footage has a vibrancy and
found it even better than Panasonic’s image which minimises vertical and horizontal shake, realism that you can’t help but love.
stabilisation at avoiding shakes. must be switched off in order to use only Andrew Unsworth

SPECIFICATIONS
SENSOR /2.88in CMOS
STORAGE SD/SDHC/SDXC
ZOOM 10x optical
DISPLAY 6,650,000-pixel, 3in LCD
PC CONNECTIONS Mini HDMI out, Mini USB
A/V INTERFACES A/V out, 3.5mm microphone input,
3.5mm audio output
DIMENSIONS 74x68x138mm, 645g
WARRANTY One-year RTB
PART CODE HDR-CX730E/B
DETAILS www.sony.co.uk

Battery Life 2hr 15m

0% -50 Reference +50 +100
See page 76 for performance details

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52 SEPTEMBER 2012 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 295
 REVIEWS

CANON Legria HF R36

★★★★★
£359 inc VAT • From uk.insight.com

VERDICT
It may only have average image quality, but its
built-in Wi-Fi and Story Creator function make
it an ideal family camcorder

CANON’S HF R36 is a Full HD compact

camcorder with a ¼.85in CMOS sensor,
32x optical zoom, 51x intelligent zoom, a 3in
colour touchscreen monitor and 8GB of
internal storage space. That specification is
already pretty good for a camcorder at this
price, but Canon has gone even further by
adding Wi-Fi connectivity, which means you
can transfer recorded videos to your PC hybrid optical and digital zoom giving a zoom for streaming HD video. The ability to transfer
without a USB cable, and stream videos to boost without degrading quality too much. videos to your PC wirelessly sounds like a
DLNA-enabled TVs and games consoles. The There are also several image stabilisation good idea, but you have to install a video on
Legria range also includes the HF R306, which options, including Dynamic IS and Powered IS. your PC and the transfer process is slow. The
is identical but has no built-in storage. Dynamic IS aids stability when walking with process of transferring a one-minute video
The HF R36 has many built-in features that the camcorder and Powered IS adds stability took three-and-a-half minutes, while attaching
are perfect for families who want to have fun when using the zoom, although you can have a USB cable, plugging it in to your computer
with video, but don’t necessarily want to use a both activated at the same time. The image and transferring a video took just 55 seconds.
computer. Story Creator lets you create video stabilisation is reasonable for a camera of The real benefit of the Wi-Fi adaptor is the
stories using pre-designed patterns, various this price, but we do recommend using a ability to watch your videos on DLNA-enabled
digital filters make your videos look like old tripod where possible. devices such as smart TVs, games consoles
movies or a 1970s show, and Memory Save The HF R36 has a 3in touchscreen monitor and computers. Within minutes of activating
lets you back up your images and videos to an instead of a viewfinder. Sadly, its horizontal the DLNA services, we were watching our
attached hard disk from the USB host port. and vertical viewing angles are poor, which videos on a PlayStation 3. When both devices
Image quality is the key feature of any can make it difficult to film at interesting were connected via Wi-Fi, footage stuttered
camcorder. When shooting from our because the PS3 couldn’t buffer
rooftop in bright daylight, the HF R36 enough data in time, but when we
captured sufficient detail to make a The HF R36 has many built-in connected the PS3 to our router via
satisfying family movie. It adequately features that are perfect for families Ethernet, footage played flawlessly.
captured the texture and staining The HF R36’s may not have the
of paving stones, pebbles and walls who want to have fun with video best image quality and stabilisation
within five metres of the lens; that said, we’ve seen, but both are acceptable
from around 15 metres the camcorder angles. The touchscreen is also used for for the price and the camcorder has plenty of
captured less detail, so individual bricks adjusting options, although the menu you extra features. It’s fairly slow, but streaming
were no longer apparent, although individual see depends on the mode to which the HF videos to your PC wirelessly is convenient,
patches of colour were. Overall quality isn’t R36 is set. The menu icons are clear and menu and the Story Creator function makes it an
bad for a camera of this price, although the options easy to read, but they could be better ideal gift for a budding cinematographer. Just
automatic focus is a little too soft and there’s organised. Even after some time with the HF bear in mind that the standard battery lasts
some noise, even in daylight. R36, we still struggled to remember where less than hour in use, so it isn’t a camcorder
The camera’s CMOS sensor is supported certain menu options were located. for taking on your travels. If image quality is
by a 32x optical zoom lens, which works well most important, the Panasonic HC-V500
up until half of its full extension. After that, BAND ON THE RUN edges it. However, if you want a fun, good-
objects have a pronounced halo effect and The HF R36 has a built-in 802.11n Wi-Fi quality camcorder, the Canon HF R36 is ideal.
more noise is introduced. You can further adaptor. It uses the 2.4GHz band rather than Andrew Unsworth
extend the zoom digitally to 51x and 1020x. the less congested 5GHz band, which is a
The former is Advanced Zoom, which is a shame because the 5GHz band is better suited SPECIFICATIONS
SENSOR /4.85in CMOS
STORAGE SD/SDHC/SDXC
ZOOM 32x optical
DISPLAY 3,280,000-pixel, 3in LCD
PC CONNECTIONS Mini HDMI out, Mini USB
A/V INTERFACES Combined A/V out and 3.5mm
headphone output
DIMENSIONS 55x54x115mm, 273g
WARRANTY One-year RTB
PART CODE 5976B015AA
DETAILS www.canon.co.uk

Battery Life 47m

0% -50 Reference +50 +100
See page XX for performance details

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ISSUE 295 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | SEPTEMBER 2012 53
 REVIEWS

BROTHER DS-700D
★★★★★
£192 inc VAT • From www.lambda-tek.com

VERDICT
An inexpensive portable scanner, but the
competition is worth the extra cash

DESPITE FITTING MFPs with scanners for

years, Brother has only recently launched its the competition it comes with a case.
first standalone devices. The range of three Although this is a simple, cheap-looking bag,
business-oriented models includes an A3 it’s enough to protect the scanner from dust transport had come to a standstill after
document scanner and two USB-powered and scratches. The scanner itself is made from ejecting the previous sheet before adding
portable document scanners, of which the strong-feeling plastic and feels impervious to another; otherwise, it would be pulled through
DS-700D is the more highly specified. This is a bending or twisting, apart from a flexible area quickly without being included in the scan.
tricky market to enter, as it already includes just above the paper output slot. While the scanner’s hardware isn’t the
high-quality devices from competitors such as Unfortunately, things start to go downhill best, it’s the included software that really
HP, Fujitsu and Canon, so we were interested from there. This is a simple device with a single disappoints. The best competitors have
to see how Brother’s model would hold up. function button and a status light. There’s no excellent one-touch scanning modes that
First impressions were good. The DS-700D input tray, so sheets must be fed individually automatically deal with a varied stack of paper,
is keenly priced, undercutting Canon’s by hand, and there isn’t even a sliding but Brother’s DSmobileSCAN II software
excellent ImageFormula P-215 (see Best Buys, width guide to help keep paper straight. leaves it up to the user to decide whether to
page 70) by around £35, and unlike most of Its specification is underwhelming, too. There’s scan in colour or greyscale, and whether to
nothing wrong with a 600dpi optical resolution capture one or both sides of the originals. The
in this class, but the quoted 10 images per supplied Presto! PageManager 9 can use OCR
minute (ipm) maximum speed is unimpressive, to produce a searchable PDF file, but it can’t
particularly as it only applies to mono scans. suppress blank pages, or automatically rotate
In our tests, the DS-700D proved even pages that were upside down.
slower than we expected, taking almost six The DS-700D may seem like a bargain,
minutes to capture both sides of 10 sheets but in practice it’s comfortably outclassed by
of A4 paper at 150 dots per inch (dpi). In several competitors. We’d gladly pay more for
comparison, Canon’s P-215 completed the Fujitsu’s ScanSnap S1300 or Canon’s P-215.
same test in 91 seconds with optical character Simon Handby
recognition (OCR) enabled. The DS-700D
took 18 seconds to scan a single side at SPECIFICATIONS
150dpi, and 32 seconds to scan it at 300dpi. SCANNER TYPE CIS
While the image quality of the results was OPTICAL RESOLUTION 600dpi
acceptable for office work, a couple of fine COLOUR OUTPUT 24-bit
INTERFACES USB
vertical lines spoiled our 600dpi photo test.
DIMENSIONS 319x76x54mm
POWER CONSUMPTION N/A
FEEDING TIME WARRANTY One-year RTB
PART CODE DS700DZ1
Manual paper feeding is common in this type
DETAILS www.brother.co.uk
of scanner, but we found that it wasn’t always
easy to offer sheets to the DS-700D, and
some seemed to snag on the right-hand side A4 scan 300dpi 32spm
of the paper entry area. Thin magazine pages
35mm negative Fail
tended to take a slightly crooked path through
0% -50 Reference +50 +100
Thin magazine pages don’t always feed straight the scanner, producing subtly curved results. See page 76 for performance details
through the scanner, producing some wonky results We also learned to wait until the paper

BYTE SIZE
ROCCAT Savu larger hands might feel a bit cramped, and you don’t
get a horizontal scroll wheel, but it does support the
★★★★★ EasyShift system, which doubles the number of
£50 inc VAT • From www.scan.co.uk available buttons using a macro key.
Unless you’ve always wanted to know
PC gamers haven’t jumped on the achievement how many times you’ve clicked the mouse,
bandwagon in the same way as Xbox owners, but that achievements alone aren’t enough to
hasn’t stopped Roccat adding an achievement system convince us that the Savu is worth £45.
to its latest mouse. When you click, scroll or adjust We like the design, but if you can find
sensitivity, you’re working towards a series of trophies. another £10 the Kone+ is a better choice.
The Savu is otherwise a relatively plain five-button Tom Morgan
mouse, with just a thin LED strip to indicate it’s aimed
at gamers. It’s smaller than the flagship Kone+, so PART CODE ROC-11-600 • DETAILS www.roccat.org

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54 SEPTEMBER 2012 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 295
 REVIEWS

KODAK ESP 3.2

★★★★★
£79 inc VAT • From www.kodak.co.uk

VERDICT
Cheap running costs, but this printer gives
average scanning and printing quality

IN JANUARY THIS year, Kodak filed for

bankruptcy protection and announced that
it would no longer be making digital cameras.
Happily, the company is still making printers,
and recently launched two new inkjet
multifunction peripherals (MFPs): the ESP 1.2
and the ESP 3.2. Both are reasonably basic
devices for home users, with the chief
difference between them being that the ESP 3.2
has a colour touchscreen and the cheaper ESP
1.2 makes do with more basic touch controls. cases, using higher quality settings slows SPECIFICATIONS
The ESP 3.2 looks subtly better than the things down and reduces the volume. MAXIMUM RESOLUTION 9,600dpi
ESP C310 that it replaces, but it’s still a basic In our tests, the printer produced QUOTED SPEEDS 8ipm mono/5.5ipm colour
design, built from uninspiring black plastic reasonably good-quality black text, but it was SCAN RESOLUTION 1,200dpi
INTERFACES USB, 802.11b wireless
with a splash of Kodak yellow. There’s a let down slightly by a subtle horizontal tearing
DIMENSIONS 178x419x315mm
sloped paper tray at the rear and a chunky on one line. In general, it was faster than the POWER CONSUMPTION 2W standby, 3W idle, 18W active
fold-down tray at the front. The scanner lid is ESP C310, but it still wasn’t a particularly WARRANTY One-year RTB
PART CODE ESP 3.2
on sturdy hinges, but these don’t allow it to quick printer, delivering its default quality
DETAILS www.kodak.co.uk

Mono costs 1.8p

Kodak’s ESP 3.2 supports printing from the
Colour costs 3.3p
cloud and from iOS and Android smartphones or Draft speed Fail
tablets via the free Pic Flick app Normal speed 7.7ppm

Photo speed 1.5ppm

close flat on thick originals such as a book or prints at 7.7 pages per minute (ppm). Draft Scan speed 3spm
magazine. There are slots for three memory printing seemed rapid, but we experienced
0% -50 Reference +50 +100
card types, but the printer wouldn’t recognise repeated paper jams and mis-feeds when See page 76 for performance details
either a FAT-formatted 512MB SD or a trying to complete our 25-page timed test.
FAT32-formatted 16GB SDHC card. After four failed attempts, we gave up.
In colour, the printer was quick to deliver
DON’T LOSE YOUR HEAD
The printer’s heads and ink tanks need to
photos, taking just four minutes to print six
borderless postcard-sized shots, but slow
FAQ
be slotted in place before you can begin
printing, at which point we discovered that
the ESP 3.2 is quite noisy by inkjet standards,
when printing graphics on plain paper,
completing our 24-page test at just 3ppm.
Photo quality was unremarkable, but plain
Q How would you suggest I go about
calculating printer costs?

especially when printing at draft quality.

Similarly, the scanner head makes a racket as
it moves across the platen, particularly during
paper prints were more impressive, let
down only by some banding in areas of solid
colour. The results from the scanner were
A We list all of a printer’s
consumables and search the
internet for the cheapest price for each
low-resolution scans and previews. In both average, with decent colour accuracy and one, then divide the cost by the number
sharpness, but the printer wasn’t so good at of pages that the consumable will print; we
preserving detail among the darkest shades use manufacturer figures calculated using
of an original. the ISO/IEC 19752 and ISO/IEC 19798
The ESP 3.2 supports printing via the cloud standards for laser printers, or the ISO/
and from smartphones or tablets, but there’s IEC 24711 standard for inkjets. Where
no AirPrint support, so iPad and Android users there’s a choice, we always use the
must download the free Pic Flick app. This works highest capacity consumable.
well but is focused on photos. Printing other We add together the relevant costs per
documents requires Document Print which page to give separate values for black and
isn’t as slick and is available only for Android. colour printing, which means there is ease
of comparison between colour and mono
SMOOTH RUNNINGS devices. Just bear in mind that our figures
Kodak is keen to stress its printers’ low don’t include carriage costs, and that
running costs, and the ESP 3.2 is one of the real-life printing may consume inks and
cheapest home inkjets we’ve seen to run. toners more quickly than their rated life
However, unless cheap ink is critical, we’d might suggest, particularly when you are
recommend Canon’s similar but better Pixma printing photos or graphics.
A colour touchscreen lets you use the printer MG4150, which is now available for just £70. Simon Handby
without a computer Simon Handby

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ISSUE 295 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | SEPTEMBER 2012 55
 REVIEWS

DEVOLO dLAN 500AVtriple+

★★★★★
£118 inc VAT • From www.amazon.co.uk

VERDICT
An expensive HomePlug kit, but useful for connecting
your home cinema system to your network

THE DEVOLO DLAN 500 AVtriple+ kit consists single-plug HomePlug adaptor to your router,
of two 500Mbit/s HomePlug adaptors that are media PC or NAS drive and the triple-port AVtriple+ kit should cope well: testing in
quick enough to stream high-definition video HomePlug adaptor to your smart TV, Blu-ray our lab, which has a lot of data sockets and
over your home network’s cabling. The player and Sky HD box, for example, without kit plugged in, we managed 27Mbit/s when
500AVtriple+ is different to most HomePlug having to buy an Ethernet switch. It’s a neat the adaptors were 10m apart. At home,
kits, though, in that one adaptor has a single and tidy way of connecting all of your AV you should see better performance. At this
Gigabit Ethernet connector and the other kit to your network. The plugs also have worst-case speed, there’s still plenty of
has three. This means you can attach the pass-through plug sockets so you can use bandwidth to stream 1080p video smoothly.
them without taking up a plug socket. The dLAN 500 AVtriple+ has transfer
SPECIFICATIONS Setting up the adaptors is easy, as there’s speeds that compare favourably with those
NUMBER OF ADAPTORS 2 POWER SOCKETS 2 push-button security to encrypt your network of other 500Mbit/s HomePlug kits we’ve
HOMEPLUG STANDARD DIMENSIONS 143x72x42mm
traffic. Alternatively, there’s a software seen, and its three Ethernet ports help to
(SPEED) Homeplug AV POWER CONSUMPTION
(500Mbit/s) 4W on utility that lets you set the encryption cut down on clutter. However, the kit i0s
PORTS 4x WARRANTY Three-year RTB password manually. relatively expensive. If you only need a
10/100/1000Mbit/s PART CODE 1721
The dLAN 500AVtriple+ kit performed single-port, two Solwise NET-PL-500AV-
Ethernet ports DETAILS www.devolo.co.uk
well in our network speed tests, with a Piggy adaptors are around £50 cheaper.
transfer rate of 139.8Mbit/s. While not For multiple network ports, there are
Battery Life 140Mbit/s
Gigabit Ethernet speed, it’s faster than most definitely cheaper four-port HomePlug AV
0% -50 Reference +50 +100
See page 76 for performance details
wireless routers. Actual speed will depend on 500MBit/s available.
the wiring in your home, but the dLAN 500 Andrew Unsworth

TP-LINK TL-WR2543ND
★★★★★
£50 inc VAT • From www.amazon.co.uk

VERDICT
Average Wi-Fi performance and flaky USB
device support spoil this budget cable router

THE TP LINK WR2543ND seems like a bargain. Sadly, during testing, the WR2543ND’s
It is a dual-band router and it also has a USB shortcomings become apparent. When using the
port to which you can attach USB storage and 2.4GHz band and our Centrino laptop’s built-in 2.4GHz, so you must choose between fast
printers, four Gigabit Ethernet ports and Wi-Fi adaptor, we saw speeds of 44.1Mbit/s at transfer rates with your PC or laptop and
dynamic DNS support, all for £50. There’s no one metre and 26.6Mbit/s at 10 metres. The being able to get your phone on Wi-Fi.
ADSL modem, so you must plug an ADSL or router couldn’t maintain a stable connection at We were also disappointed with the
cable modem into the router’s WAN port. 25m. The speeds increased dramatically when laptop’s print server utility, which wouldn’t
we switched to TP-Link’s TL-WDN3200 Wi-Fi install on our 64-bit Windows 7 machines.
adaptor (£20 from www.dabs.com). We saw It installed on a 32-bit laptop but it couldn’t
SPECIFICATIONS transfer rates of 69.9Mbit/s at one metre and find the router, regardless of whether we
WIRELESS STANDARD DIMENSIONS 53.6Mbit/s at 10 metres, though we still couldn’t were connected over Wi-Fi or Ethernet. As
802.11n dual band 36x155x234mm get a stable wireless connection at 25 metres. a consequence, we couldn’t print anything.
(450Mbit/s) POWER CONSUMPTION
CONNECTIONS 4x 4W on
There was another slight performance We had better luck using the router to
10/100/1000Mbit/s LAN WARRANTY Three-year RTB increase when we switched to the 5GHz band. share a storage device, although it wasn’t
ports, 1x WAN port PART CODE TL-WR2543ND Over 5GHz and using our laptop’s built-in always reliable. It should work with all DLNA-
FEATURES UPnP DETAILS uk.tp-link.com
Wi-Fi adaptor, we saw data transfer speeds of enabled devices, but sometimes it wouldn’t
64.5Mbit/s at one metre and 53.6Mbit/s at 10 appear as a server in Windows Media Player.
Centrino 2 1m 44.2Mbit/s metres. Once again, the test failed at 25 When it did work, it worked brilliantly, and we
Centrino 2 10m 26.6Mbit/s
metres. When using the TL-WDN3200 USB could stream movies and music up to 10
adaptor, we saw transfer speeds of 63Mbit/s metres away when using the 2.4GHz band, and
Centrino 2 25m fail
Fail
at one metre, an impressive 74.1Mbit/s at 10 further than that when using the 5GHz band.
Own-brand 1m 69.9Mbit/s metres and 8.25Mbit/s at 25 metres. This isn’t a bad router, but its performance
Own-brand 10m 53.6Mbit/s
You must use the 5GHz band to get the is far from spectacular and its media and print
best from the TL-WR2543ND, but this is serving functions aren’t entirely reliable.
Fail
Own-brand 25m fail
impractical as the router can’t broadcast on You’re better off spending £50 on D-Link’s
0% -50 Reference +50 +100
See page 76 for performance details
the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands simultaneously. DIR-645 (see What’s New, Shopper 289).
Most smartphones and tablets can use only Andrew Unsworth

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56 SEPTEMBER 2012 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 295
 REVIEWS

LACIE Little Big Disk Thunderbolt

★★★★★
£573 inc VAT • From www.misco.co.uk

VERDICT
Hideously expensive, but the combination of Thunderbolt and two
SSDs makes for some of the fastest file transfer speeds we’ve ever seen

THUNDERBOLT COULD BE the next big The Little Big Disk is the first of
thing in storage technology, but so far its LaCie’s range to include Thunderbolt formatted space is available
adoption has been restricted to Apple’s latest- and, with two 120GB SSDs installed in across the two Intel SSDs. The
generation MacBook and iMac products. Now, its tough-feeling aluminium frame, it’s LaCie drive also supports RAID 1 mode,
motherboard manufacturers such as Asus and well-placed to exploit the 10GB/s theoretical which mirrors the contents of one drive across
MSI are releasing boards with Thunderbolt ports speed that Thunderbolt offers. The SSDs in the other; there’s only 111GB to play with, but
and more firms, such as LaCie, are unveiling question are mainstream Intel 320-series your data will survive the failure of one disk.
accessories that work on both Macs and PCs. drives, and the Little Big Disk itself has two Thunderbolt is a new technology, though,
Thunderbolt ports on its rear, so multiple and that comes at a price. The 240GB version
devices can be daisy-chained SCSI-style. of the Little Big Disk, with its two Intel SSDs,
SPECIFICATIONS The drive didn’t disappoint in our costs £573. That’s more than you’d pay for a
CAPACITY 120GB+120GB SSD benchmarks. In the large file write benchmark 6TB NAS device and over three times the
INTERFACES Thunderbolt
it scored 212MB/s, following this up with price of a 2TB USB3 disk such as the Western
DIMENSIONS 85x40x140mm
POWER CONSUMPTION 7W idle, 11W active a mammoth 564MB/s in the large file read Digital My Passport 2TB; that said, the
WARRANTY Three years test – the best indicator we’ve yet seen of Western Digital disk only has a tenth of the
PART CODE 9000243 Thunderbolt’s potential speed. The LaCie also Thunderbolt LaCie’s file transfer speeds.
DETAILS www.lacie.com
performed well in our small file tests, although If you regularly work with large files such
it didn’t match its large file performance. A as Raw high-definition video and you need
Large files 388MB/s result of 132MB/s in the small file write test is lightning-quick transfer speeds, the Little Big
97MB/s
impressive, but this figure drops to 61MB/s in Disk is a luxury that will pay off. For the rest
Small files
the small file read benchmark. of us, though, it’s worth waiting until the price
0% -50 Reference +50 +100
See page XX for performance details
Those figures were recorded in RAID 0 of Thunderbolt devices begins to fall.
mode, which stripes the data so 222GB of Mike Jennings

SEAGATE Backup Plus 1TB

★★★★★
£101 inc VAT • From www.broadbandbuyer.co.uk

VERDICT
Not particularly quick, but it’s an easy way to
back up both local and social networking data

EXTERNAL HARD DISKS are usually used to download powerful free backup suite
back up local data, from pictures and videos and back up such as EaseUS Todo Backup
to game saves and important documents. pictures and Free to back up your local data.
However, with its latest drive, Seagate has videos from Facebook The Backup Plus 1TB is a USB3
addressed the fact that more people are and Flickr, ensuring they’re kept disk, but we weren’t blown away by its
storing important information on social safe from any problems in the cloud. The performance. The disk scored 88MB/s in our
networks such as Facebook and Flickr. disk does this with a simple software suite. large file write test, rising to 104MB/s in the
The Backup Plus 1TB takes care of that One module requires only a couple of clicks to large file read benchmark. By comparison, the
particular information by promising to save certain types of data from social networks, Iomega Prestige Mobile was slightly slower
and it’s just as easy to back up local data. The when writing large files, with 73MB/s, but its
first module allows you to select which drive 115MB/s large file read result is quicker.
SPECIFICATIONS to use to store the backup, and whether to In the small file write test the Backup Plus
CAPACITY 1TB perform the social network backup immediately 1TB wrote at 28MB/s, and it read small files at
SPINDLE SPEED 5,400rpm
INTERFACES USB3
or schedule it for when you’re not busy. 40MB/s. Iomega’s drive was faster in both tests;
DIMENSIONS 15x81x123mm The second option can be used to choose the Iomega Prestige Mobile could write small
WARRANTY Two-year RTB particular types of files to back up, from files at 62MB/s and read them at 48MB/s.
PART CODE STBU1000200
pictures and documents to music and video The Seagate Backup Plus’s average speed
DETAILS www.maplin.co.uk
files, and a third module allows you to enter means it’s not for those looking for ultra-fast
your details for Facebook, Flickr and YouTube, file transfers, but the social networking
Large files 96MB/s and upload pictures or videos directly from features are a neat addition that make it easy
34MB/s the device to these social networks. The to look after important data from Facebook
Small files
software is basic, so it’s ideal for beginners, and Flickr. It’s a decent drive that provides
0% -50 Reference +50 +100
but it’s limited as a backup package. However, backup with as little hassle as possible.
See page 76 for performance details
you could use it in combination with a more Mike Jennings

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ISSUE 295 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | SEPTEMBER 2012 57
 REVIEWS

AMD Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition

★★★★★
£370 inc VAT • From www.dabs.com

VERDICT
More than the sum of its parts, and the
best enthusiast graphics card there is

AMD HAS MADE a big deal about its latest

graphics card and, at first, it’s hard to see why.
It looks identical to the Radeon HD 7970 and
has the same 2,048 stream processors and
3GB of GDDR5 memory running at 1.5GHz.
The card still has one dual-link DVI port, an
HDMI output and two mini DisplayPort
outputs. It also needs one six-pin and one
eight-pin PCI Express power connector,
although it is a reasonable 277mm long.
There are a couple of big differences, per cent and 18 per although the beta drivers were stable during all
though. The new HD 7970 GHz Edition has cent quicker than the old our game tests, we saw some odd results in
an increased clock speed, up from 925MHz HD 7970, which, considering Crysis 2 when running in Eyefinity mode at
to 1GHz, and can boost dynamically up to that its clock speed is around eight 5,760x1,080. In one test, the benchmark ran at a
1.05GHz when the thermal envelope allows it. per cent higher, is pretty impressive. smooth 35.4fps, which is a big increase over the
The card can also vary the GPU’s voltage to We also tested the card in Eyefinity mode 21fps we saw from the standard HD 7970.
help it manage boost speeds more effectively. with three monitors, for a total resolution of However, running the test after a reboot, the
This isn’t the first card we’ve seen to 5,760x1,080. To do this, you’ll need to use at frame rate dropped to 15fps. We also saw no
dynamically boost its clock speed; the Nvidia least one of the mini DisplayPort outputs. more than 15fps from the standard HD 7970
GeForce GTX 680 can boost from 1.01GHz to We had no problems getting it to work with using the beta 12.7 drivers. We’ll have to wait for
1.58GHz if there’s enough power and thermal one DVI, one HDMI and one DisplayPort the next driver release to see how well the new
capacity. However, we were surprised by how monitor, but if you don’t have a DisplayPort card can cope with Crysis 2 on three monitors.
much of a difference the tweaks made to the monitor you can buy Startech’s active mini The Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition is a
AMD card’s performance. DisplayPort-to-DVI adaptor for £25 (part code card with better performance than its
340944, from www.ebuyer.com). specifications would suggest, suggesting that
TESTING TIMES
We first tested the card with AMD’s current
release driver, which, at the time of writing, We were surprised by how much of a difference the
was version 12.4. In our Dirt 3 test, which we
ran at 1,920x1,080 with 4x anti-aliasing and small changes to the core and memory clock speeds
Ultra detail, the HD 7970 GHz Edition made to the AMD card’s performance
managed 104.3fps, up from 88fps with the
standard HD 7970. In Crysis 2 at 1,920x1,080
and Ultra detail, the new 1GHz card managed In Dirt 3 at this resolution and with 4x the fairly modest clock speed increase and
46.6fps, compared with 42.9fps from the anti-aliasing and Ultra detail, which is a dynamic overclocking produce some serious
original 925MHz HD 7970. These figures level of detail far beyond the capabilities of benefits. Problems with Crysis 2 in Eyefinity
indicate that the new card runs between nine most mid-range cards, the HD 7970 GHz mode aside, the combination of this card
Edition managed 45.9fps, compared with with AMD’s latest beta drivers is enough to
41.5fps for the standard HD 7970, which is a challenge Nvidia’s GeForce GTX 680 for the
10 per cent speed increase. high-end graphics card crown. The Radeon
HD 7970 GHz Edition is also set to be a similar
CATALYTIC CONVERTERS price to the standard HD 7970, at £370. This
These results are impressive enough on their makes it around £50 cheaper than Nvidia’s
own, but there’s more. The beta Catalyst 12.7 card, and a new Ultimate award winner.
drivers promise significant performance gains Chris Finnamore
across all AMD’s graphics cards, and this was
certainly the case in our testing. With Catalyst SPECIFICATIONS
12.7 installed, the standard 925MHz HD 7970 CHIPSET AMD Radeon HD 7970
jumped up to 100fps in Dirt 3 at 1,920x1,080, CORE SPEED 1GHz
RAM 3GB GDDR5 (1.5GHz)
while the HD 7970 GHz Edition managed a WARRANTY One-year RTB
huge 113fps. In Crysis 2, the new drivers saw PART CODE HD 7970 GHz Edition
the standard HD 7970 increase its frame rate to DETAILS www.amd.com

44.3fps, while the GHz Edition managed 48.7fps.

With the new drivers, Dirt 3 in Eyefinity Dirt 3 113fps
mode saw increases to 46.2fps and 50.6fps
Crysis 2 48.7fps
for the standard HD 7970 and GHz Edition.
The new, faster HD 7970, coupled with the 3DMark 11 3,197
new drivers, is a match for the Nvidia GeForce 0% -50 Reference +50 +100
The card’s standard clock speed is 1GHz, but GTX 680, with near-identical frame rates in all See page 76 for performance details

GPU-Z shows the maximum 1.05GHz boost speed our game tests. There’s only one problem;

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58 SEPTEMBER 2012 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 295
 REVIEWS

THE RASPBERRY PI FOUNDATION

Raspberry Pi Model B
★★★★★
£32 inc VAT • From http://uk.rs-online.com

VERDICT
The RasPi is an excellent platform for hands-
on technology use, but the learning process
starts from the minute it finally arrives

THE RASPBERRY PI, or RasPi, was conceived

as an affordable, community-supported
computer that would encourage children to
take up coding (see our Top 10, page 16), much
in the same way that the Sinclair, Commodore
and BBC computers of the early 1980s spawned preparation, it’s worth
a generation of enthusiasts and programmers. familiarising yourself with the
At its core is a Broadcom ‘System on Chip’, Win32DiskImager if you have an SD card
which contains a 700MHz ARM processor and reader for your PC; this provides an easy way window system GUI required ‘modprobe
a graphics core capable of displaying HD video to make and restore backup images. snd_bcm2835’ after each reboot.
at 30 frames per second. For those used to smartphones, game Such troubleshooting is a challenge, but
There’s room for little else other than some consoles and Windows computing, the RasPi it’s also a learning process. Experienced Linux
input/output headers on the RasPi’s circuit presents a steep learning curve. For a start, users will quickly find their way around these
board, but various connectors crowd the there’s a need to learn basic Linux commands hitches, but novices will need to learn the
perimeter, including HDMI, a 3.5mm audio jack and concepts, such as ‘sudo’ to obtain elevated answers from resources such as the Wiki
and composite video; on the model B reviewed privileges and ‘apt-get’ to install software and the excellent community forum at www.
here, there are also two USB ports and an packages. We encountered other hurdles, raspberrypi.org. This forum includes sections
Ethernet socket. There’s a Micro USB connector not least of which is that the data partition dedicated to the various programming,
for power and, on the underside, a single slot occupies 1.6GB of the SD card, of which 1.3GB automation or robotics projects for which the
for the SD card that must be used to boot the is full. After installing GIMP, we ran out of RasPi is intended, and it’s here that the real
computer. The basic device comes without space when trying to install OpenOffice. challenges are likely to be found.
a power adaptor or suitable SD card, but it’s To fully utilise our 8GB card, we had to
possible to buy them in a bundle. boot a laptop into the GParted partition editor CREATIVE JUICES
The RasPi can’t run Windows, but there and use this to stretch the partition to fill the This all raises the question of whether the
are three Pi-optimised Linux distributions disk’s 5.5GB of empty space. In the 19th April RasPi will achieve its goal of stimulating and
available from the Raspberry Pi Foundation’s distribution we used, enabling elevated access enabling a new generation of coding talent.
website. Some bundled SD cards come required the one-time use of ‘gconftool-2 It’s already easy enough to boot a cheap or
pre-loaded with the recommended Debian --type bool --set /apps/gksu/sudo-mode old PC into Ubuntu and install various free
Squeeze, but while this will save you the initial true’, while getting the sound to work in the X coding tools. In most cases, the results are
likely to run more quickly than on the RasPi,
particularly until its GPU is used to speed up
the sluggish X window performance – an
improvement slated for a future Debian
release. It is possible to surf the web on the
RasPi using its Ethernet port and the included
Midori web browser, but it’s incredibly slow.
Still, the availability of limited or flawed
resources can stimulate creativity – just ask any
Spectrum programmer. Though unsophisticated
by mainstream standards, the RasPi is powerful
enough for HD multimedia and even gaming
projects. With a growing community of users
offering support, it will reward those who
have the will, aptitude and patience to learn.
Simon Handby

SPECIFICATIONS
PROCESSOR Broadcom BCM2835 system-on-a-chip
(ARM1176JZFS CPU)
RAM 256MB
STORAGE SD card slot
GRAPHICS CARD Videocore 4
PORTS 2x USB2, 10/100 Ethernet, composite video,
HDMI, 3.5mm line out
OPERATING SYSTEM Debian Squeeze recommended
DIMENSIONS 15x85x55mm
WARRANTY One-year RTB
PART CODE Raspberry Pi model B
DETAILS www.raspberrypi.org
The Raspberry Pi is pre-loaded with coding tools, such as the Scratch scripting environment

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ISSUE 295 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | SEPTEMBER 2012 59
 REVIEWS

PROPELLERHEAD Reason Essentials

★★★★★
£85 inc VAT • From www.amazon.co.uk

VERDICT
A novice-friendly audio production suite
that’s powerful and easy to use

PROPELLERHEAD’S REASON IS among the

best-known Digital Audio Workstation (DAW)
suites around, providing a full audio production
environment on your PC. However, as with
many professional audio packages, its near-
£300 price is rather high for many enthusiastic
amateurs and bedroom producers. With that
in mind, Propellerhead has released Reason
Essentials, a cut-down but capable alternative.
The most immediately visible difference
between Reason Essentials and its more
expensive sibling is the range of included
synthesisers, samplers and effects. There are
also some relative limitations to the power
of Reason Essentials’ mixer functions and
production environment; Essentials has a
two- rather than four-band equaliser, for
instance. It only supports its own file format,
so you can’t edit projects that were created
using other versions of Reason.
If you’re used to the full power of Reason,
this program might feel like a step backwards,
but if you primarily treat Reason as a
recording environment for live instruments
or you’re new to Propellerhead’s software, Tracks at the bottom, virtual mixers and instruments at the top – the beauty of Reason is in its simplicity
there’s plenty to like.
The effects rack bank towards the top of the and choose from Reason Essentials’ supplied
JUST THE ESSENTIALS screen allows you to add and configure a variety synths, samplers and drum machines.
Many DAWs can overwhelm you with a of effects to each audio input, or apply effects Propellerhead’s legendary Thor synth isn’t
wealth of powerful options, few of which are to multiple inputs at once. Available effects included in Reason Essentials, but the range
immediately clear, so the intuitive simplicity of include classic guitar pedals such as flangers of synthesisers, samplers and patch banks
Reason Essentials’ interface is a very welcome and distortion boxes, plus reverb, delays, included should keep most musicians going for
pleasure. You can configure the program to compressors and a wide range of vocal effects. a long time before they’ll need more advanced
display the features you need, but we were It’s easy to select these using Reason’s options. Reason Essentials lacks support for
soon comfortable with the default setup of file-manager-style Patch Browser interface. VST plug-ins, which limits your ability to add
a track display at the bottom of the screen You’ll need a decent sound card to get third-party sound patches and effects, but it
and space to load virtual effects racks and the most out of Reason Essentials, particularly does support Propellerhead’s ReFill sound
synthesisers above it. Each of your virtual if you plan on recording live instruments. At libraries. ReFill is a proprietary closed system,
effect and synth units is depicted by an image the very least, you should install a generic low- but there are plenty of interesting sounds
of a rack unit, with knobs and buttons you latency ASIO driver such as ASIO4ALL, which available, some of which are free.
can use to adjust it. This makes it obvious will minimise lag when recording and will work It may be limited in comparison with the
how to adjust and control your sound, and with the most generic on-board or budget full version of Reason 6, and it lacks VST
invites easy experimentation. USB audio devices. Like the recording and patch support, but Reason Essentials is a
To add a new track for an analogue audio input interfaces, Reason Essential’s settings brilliant introductory DAW. Its clear layout,
line input or a synth-based MIDI instrument, are clearly designed and easy to use, from comprehensive help files and handy mouse-
just select the relevant option from a right- selecting your sound card driver to detecting over tooltips make it genuinely easy for a
click menu. Once created, you can choose MIDI input devices such as keyboards and beginner, and it’s competitively priced, too.
which input it records (if you’re recording drum pads. If you don’t have a MIDI keyboard, At £85 including VAT, it’s both cheaper and
with a multi-input audio device) and enable you can even set up your computer keyboard easier to dive straight into than Steinberg’s
or disable options such as recording – which to work as a MIDI control surface instead, Cubase Artist, so it’s our Budget Buy for
determines whether it records sound when although it’s very much a compromise option. audio production.
you click Reason’s main record button – and Kat Orphanides
monitoring, which determines whether the ALL THE MORE REASON
track is played as you record. There are also Whichever control surface you use, choosing SPECIFICATIONS
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS Windows XP/Vista/7, Intel
mute and solo options, which allow you to an instrument for it is simple. You set up an Pentium 4 or better (multiple cores recommended),
silence it during playback or make it the only instrument track from Reason’s main right- 3GB disk space, monitor with 1,024x768 resolution or
track played. These options work in concert click menu in much the same way as you’d higher, 16-bit audio device, internet connection, USB port
for authentication dongle
with Reason’s main controls at the bottom of create an audio track or add an effect. You
PRODUCT CODE 99-101-0025
the screen, which allow you to play, record, can select instruments using the Patch DETAILS www.propellerheads.se
pause and scrub through any active tracks. Browser, or go to the Instruments submenu

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60 SEPTEMBER 2012 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 295
 REVIEWS

NIK SOFTWARE Snapseed

★★★★★
£13 inc VAT • From www.snapseed.com

VERDICT
Precise colour correction, attractive creative effects and a smart, friendly
interface. Small teething troubles keep this image editor from an award

SNAPSEED IS ONE of our favourite iPad for you, but you can refine them further
apps, and the cut-price image editor is now without having to re-process the photo.
available for Windows and Mac. One feature we’re not so pleased to see
The interface will be familiar to anyone carried over is the restricted undo facility. It’s Selective Adjust is useful for applying colour
who’s used the iOS version, with a large easy to undo and redo while making changes correction to certain elements within a frame
preview and icons for the various processes to a particular process, but after clicking Apply,
on the left. They’re better organised here, with the only option is to revert to the original and applies subtle scratches. Grunge takes
a clear subdivision between Basic Adjustments state. This was a nuisance when we’d spent a this concept further, creating photos like
and Creative Adjustments. Crop and Straighten while perfecting colours and then applied a those you’d find in your grandma’s sideboard.
have been rolled into a single process, as frame that we decided we didn’t want. Despite The Drama effect boosts contrast to
have the three colour-correction processes: several export options such as Print and Flickr, resemble high dynamic range photography,
Automatic, Tune Image and Selective Adjust there’s no control over the export resolution. and Black & White includes the ability to
(which applies brightness, contrast and It’s the quality of the effects that stand pick a source colour to convert. Center Focus
saturation adjustments to a limited area of a out, though. Each one comes with six presets, applies a circular area of sharp focus, blurring
photo). Clicking Automatic adjusts the sliders which often give superb results, and there’s at the edges, while Tilt-Shift produces a band
plenty of scope to fine-tune settings. Colour or ellipse of focus.
correction is effective, and Selective Adjust’s There’s room for improvement in the undo
SPECIFICATIONS
system for singling out areas to adjust – using and export functions, and we’d love to see
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS Windows XP (SP3)/Vista
(SP2)/7 (SP1), AMD or Intel processor, 2GB RAM (dual-core
a combination of a user-definable radius and photo management and non-destructive
processor, 4GB RAM recommended), 256MB graphics, matching areas by colour – works brilliantly. editing in the style of Picasa included, too.
OpenGL 3 recommended The Creative Adjustments specialise in Still, Snapseed couldn’t be much easier to use,
PRODUCT CODE Snapseed
DETAILS www.snapseed.com
retro film treatments. Vintage applies a colour and the quality of the results is first rate.
tint, manipulates contrast, darkens the edges Ben Pitt

XARA Web Designer MX

★★★★★
£40 inc VAT • From www.xara.com

VERDICT
This DTP-style web design package has its limitations, but
it’s still a friendly and capable introduction to web design

XARA WEB DESIGNER MX is a web design Images are similarly straightforward to

application for novices interested in building a work with and can be dragged straight on to Drag and drop elements help you make even
traditional static site rather than a WordPress- the page from an Explorer window. Wrapping complicated web pages, with no coding required
style blog. Its DTP-like approach hides the text is only an option away and basic image-
underlying code unless you need to edit it. editing can be performed directly on the page colours can also be edited manually. Separate
Web Designer MX makes it easy for with simple tools. Web Designer MX can also page elements are also supplied, so it’s easy
novices to flex their design muscles. The optimise images for web use by resampling to drop in a consistently styled button or
interface is free from the floating palettes and them at their current size to 96dpi and saving sidebar, for example, without having to copy
toolbars that crowd similar applications. The them as a PNG or compressed JPEG. it from another page.
demo site that loads when the application is Deploying such web features as mouse Although Web Designer MX’s DTP
first run explains the tools used in building a rollovers and pop-up images means working metaphor is a welcoming way for novices to
site, and can be edited directly to try them out. with layers, and these behave much the same put together a web page, it’s less successful at
It works in much the same way as a DTP as in an image-editing application. Layers are designing an entire site. Pages appear in a flat
application. Text can go anywhere on the page, also useful for simplifying the creation of list in a ‘gallery’ at the far right of the window.
and can be resized or reflowed by dragging more sophisticated page designs that This gives no clue to the site hierarchy, which
its frame handle with the appropriate tool. incorporate background images and other means the user must remember how one
User-definable text styles make it easy to common elements, but at this point a web page relates to another, or use the navbar
apply a consistent style across several pages. novice would do well to investigate Web ‘properties’ view to see their relationship
Designer MX’s range of templates. — assuming a navbar is used, of course.
SPECIFICATIONS There are only 33 templates to choose Xara Web Designer MX isn’t as capable as
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS Windows XP/Vista/7, 500MB from, but there’s plenty of variation in style the similar Serif WebPlus X5. That said, its
RAM, 600MB hard disk space and all have a clean, modern design. Each also learning curve isn’t as steep, nor its interface
PRODUCT CODE Web Designer MX
DETAILS www.xara.com
comes with a dozen page designs for different as imposing for someone new to web design.
purposes, plus a handful of colour schemes; Julian Prokaza

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ISSUE 295 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | SEPTEMBER 2012 61
 REVIEWS

ROCKSTAR GAMES
Max Payne 3
★★★★★
£28 inc VAT • From www.amazon.co.uk

VERDICT
Brutal yet beautiful, Max Payne 3 is a gritty
action shooter that’s great fun to play

EMBITTERED NEW YORK detective Max

Payne first introduced PC gamers to the
slow-motion gun ballet known as Bullet Time
back in 2001. Having spent the best part of a
decade at the bottom of a whiskey bottle, he
finally makes his long-awaited return as he
relocates to São Paulo for a new life as a
private security guard. This may sound like
the ideal retirement, but kidnappers, ransoms
and double-crossing former allies make it
more like a recipe for the perfect hangover.
Despite shifting from New York to sunny Each perfectly timed bullet dodge makes you feel as if you’ve leapt straight into a Matrix film
Brazil, Max Payne 3 will feel instantly familiar
to anyone who has played the original games. on his downwardly spiralling life with a series much more visceral than in previous outings.
Partly told in flashback, with comic book-style of film noir clichés, in a gravelly voice that Hold down the trigger when downing the last
sequences and in-game cut-scenes filling in embodies manliness. enemy in a given area, and Max will continue
the gaps, the story is every bit as dark and to pump bullets into their corpse as it falls to
twisted as Max’s first two outings. As before, TWIST AND SHOUT the floor in slow motion. The cut-scenes are
it’s Max’s own narration that gives the game Development has passed from series just as graphic.
its unique feel. Between unloading bullets into creator Remedy Entertainment to Rockstar, If you can look past the violence, which
his enemies and necking fistfuls of painkillers the studio famous for the controversial but made even the Shopper team wince a few
to regain health, Max constantly comments slick Grand Theft Auto games. The transition times, there’s an absorbing 10-hour campaign
brings with it a significantly upgraded to finish, with plenty of twists and turns that
animation model. Every bullet is modelled should keep you guessing right up to the end.
accurately, and Max has complete freedom of Admittedly, the gameplay isn’t that varied, but
Never movement when aiming, moving in a lifelike reliving your Matrix fantasies as an angry bald
question the way that’s rather startling the first time you New Yorker in a string vest is brilliant fun.
actions of a man swing round to target an enemy directly Also, for the first time in the series, there is
in a Hawaiian shirt behind you. He’s as gymnastic as ever, despite a competitive multiplayer mode for when
and aviators having gained a few pounds, so you’ll you’ve completed the story.
frequently be diving to the floor in glorious
slow motion. TIME SQUARE
This new level of interaction also brings Rather than placing you in control of Max,
new dangers. Misjudge a bullet-time dodge, the multiplayer game lets you choose
and Max will crumple as he collides with the between various Favela gangs, tasking you
wall, throwing your crosshair off target, with a series of evolving objectives that vary
bringing you out of slow motion and leaving depending on how well your team performs.
you vulnerable to enemy attacks. Max can It’s a welcome change from the standard
take cover to keep out of the crossfire for as deathmatch, especially as you can still use
long as possible, but it doesn’t significantly Bullet Time – when activated, everyone within
affect gameplay as you have to break into the your line of sight is affected, but the rest of
open before activating bullet time. the match carries on in real time. Choosing
In a rare turnaround for a multi-platform the right moment to activate and cause
game, the PC release of Max Payne 3 is by the most damage creates a more tactical
far the best version. Rockstar has worked approach than the run-and-gun methods
hard to create an exceptional level of detail, used throughout the campaign.
both in characters and locations, with Yes, it can be brutal, and gameplay hasn’t
high-resolution textures taking up a evolved much from previous encounters, but
considerable portion of the massive 30GB Max Payne 3 is the best kind of adventure –
installation. DirectX 11 effects such as explosive, action-packed and memorable, if
tessellation look stunning, even if the just a little too brief.
difference is less striking during a frenzied Tom Morgan
gun battle. You’ll need a hefty PC to run SPECIFICATIONS
everything at the highest settings, but SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS Dual-core 2.5GHz processor or
even older PCs should run Max Payne 3 better, 2GB RAM, Nvidia GeForce 8800GT / AMD Radeon
smoothly in DirectX 9. HD3400 or better, 34GB hard disk space
PRODUCT CODE B00200LTTE
With such incredible detail, the DETAILS www.rockstargames.com
level of violence in the game seems

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62 SEPTEMBER 2012 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 295
 REVIEWS

CAPCOM
Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City
★★★★★
£26 inc VAT • From www.amazon.co.uk

VERDICT
A different spin on the classic survival horror
franchise that ends up missing the mark
Boss fights are the only times teamwork is actually useful

WHILE GAMERS WAIT patiently for the next the action but with little variety, making Competitive multiplayer modes add replay
game in the core Resident Evil franchise, they progress feel like a bit of a grind. value, including one that puts a player from
can still get their zombie-bothering fix with The campaign wasn’t much fun to play. each team in control of an iconic character
Operation Raccoon City, a squad-based The controls were clearly intended for a from the Resident Evil series. These modes
spin-off that puts you in the shoes of an elite console controller rather than a mouse and are fun for a while, but when gameplay as a
Umbrella Corporation mercenary. Umbrella is keyboard, and the abysmal AI often thwarted whole is lacklustre there’s little incentive to
the evil company responsible for the T Virus, our progress. Many doors require your entire stick with it.
a lethal serum that turns people into the team to be present before they open, but Even die-hard Resident Evil fans will be
walking dead. This is the first game to put squad-mates often stopped short, leaving you disappointed with Operation Racoon City. It
players in control of Umbrella operatives, so to push them forward an inch at a time. makes too big a leap from the original games,
you can see the story from a new perspective. The PC version feels like an afterthought. It copying gameplay mechanics from other,
The team has six members, from explosive retains the auto-aim system from its console more successful titles but not implementing
and reconnaissance experts to medics and counterparts, even though a mouse and them as effectively.
snipers. Each has three unique abilities, keyboard are more accurate, and onscreen Tom Morgan
although you can use any weapon regardless prompts show console controller buttons.
of your class. You unlock more abilities as you The graphics are reasonable once you look SPECIFICATIONS
progress, and it’s only towards the end of the past the gloom. Each level is little more than a SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS Dual-core 2.4GHz processor or
game that characters show any individuality. series of dark tunnel and corridors, with rare better, 2GB RAM, Nvidia GeForce 8800GTS/AMD Radeon
3850 or better, 8GB hard disk space
Each of the six single-player campaigns opportunities to notice the character models PRODUCT CODE B005APTHJK
can be finished in less than an hour. The or scenery. Your PC won’t strain to play it on DETAILS www.capcom.com
occasional boss fight or set piece breaks up maximum, but you’ll gain little from it.

RED WASP DESIGN

Call of Cthulhu: The Wasted Land
★★★★★
£3 inc VAT • From www.appup.com

VERDICT
Despite an awkward control conversion, the quality atmosphere and
gameplay make this a must-have bargain for strategy and horror fans
It looks cutesy, but the gothic plot is surprisingly dark

BASED ON THE fiction of HP Lovecraft, Call The isometric graphics are functional where we had to click, but selecting units,
of Cthulhu: The Wasted Land explores the and reasonably attractive – characters and particularly wounded characters, could still
trenches of an alternative First World War, enemies are easy to distinguish and the be quite fiddly.
where cultists threaten to turn the conflict environment is well rendered. Sound is Despite this, The Wasted Land provides a
into mankind’s final battle for survival. effective, if limited to ominous background deep and engaging strategic challenge. Even
You control a small band of soldiers effects and echoing gunfire. We spotted some the early levels require you to examine your
who’ve been given the task of preventing typos and grammatical errors in the narrative surroundings and objectives rather than
disaster by fighting off supernatural enemies. and dialogue panels, but these storytelling simply throwing everything you’ve got at
Each of your units is an individual character elements get the atmosphere spot on. enemies. The Lovecraftian storyline also adds
with their own skills and stats – they receive a The Wasted Land’s greatest weakness is to the appeal for fans of the genre.
certain number of action points to invest in its controls, which are unchanged from its If you’re not a particular fan of Lovecraft
either movement or combat. Victory often iOS touchscreen incarnation. Everything is or turn-based strategy, The Wasted Land isn’t
calls for lateral thinking over brute force: controlled by clicking, or clicking and the best introduction to either. Still, fans who
when in doubt, the best course of action is dragging. This is fine if you’re playing on a like their pan-dimensional horror should
often to make a tactical escape rather than touchscreen PC, but we’d have appreciated definitely put it on their wish list.
attempting to outgun more powerful enemies. some options for mouse and keyboard. Kat Orphanides
Every time you complete a mission with We also found some of the onscreen
your entire team intact, you’re rewarded with buttons rather insensitive. The clickable areas SPECIFICATIONS
a bonus that can be spent on equipment such of objects were often too small and oddly SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
Windows XP/Vista/7, 1.8GHz processor, 1GB RAM
as first aid kits and vitality boosts, armour or located, perhaps because they’ve been scaled
PRODUCT CODE Call of Cthulhu
increasingly powerful weapons. You’ll also get up from tablet size. We managed to get to DETAILS http://redwaspdesign.wordpress.com
experience points to invest in the team’s skills. grips with the controls once we’d worked out

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ISSUE 295 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | SEPTEMBER 2012 63
 REVIEWS

SYNOLOGY RackStation RS812RP+

★★★★★
£1,400 inc VAT (£1,120 ex VAT) • From www.morecomputers.com

VERDICT
It’s expensive, but with fast transfer speeds and a massive range
of features, it could be the only NAS device your business needs

THE SYNOLOGY RACKSTATION RS812RP+

is a rack-mount NAS device, which means
that if you have a rack cabinet, you can save
desk space and cut out cable spaghetti.
The option to lock the NAS device into a
secure rack unit also means you can feel
safer about your data than you would
with a free-standing NAS enclosure.
Synology’s range of rack-mount NAS units
includes everything from two-bay enclosures
to 22-disk monsters. The RS812RP+ is an RAID 1, RAID 5 + hot spare, RAID 6 or RAID 10
intermediate model, with four hot-swappable array. In our tests, the NAS device achieved RS812RP+ has an IP camera control centre
SATA2 bays, each capable of taking a 3½in or excellent transfer speeds between its SMB for up to 20 cameras; you’ll need to buy a
2½in hard disk of 4TB capacity, so you can shared folder and PC, with an average score separate add-on licence for each (£44 per
stock the NAS device with 16TB of storage. If of 49.3MB/s in our large file transfer test and camera, or £128 for four, including VAT).
you need to add more drives, you can do so 15.5MB/s in our small file test, using two disks
by connecting Synology’s four-bay RX410 configured as a RAID 1 array via SHR. Speeds SERVICE WITH A SMILE
hard disk array (£447 including VAT), but were even faster when we set up an iSCSI target In addition to its range of bolt-on packages,
you’ll need space in your rack to house it; the with thin provisioning, averaging 62.2MB/s in the RS812RP+ excels in the core function of a
array connects to the NAS device over eSATA. our large file test and 28.4MB/s for small files. NAS device – serving files. It’s easy to set up
The RackStation’s processor power is SMB shared folders and configure a range of
DOUBLE TIME put to good use by Synology’s outstanding permissions, user accounts and groups so
The RS812RP+ has a Dual Core 2.13GHz Atom graphical user interface, which also allows you your users have access only to the folders they
D2700 processor and 1GB of DDR3 RAM, to install and run a massive range of optional need. You can set up iSCSI targets, which client
which can be expanded to 3GB. There are two add-on packages. There’s a range of streaming PCs on your network will be able to mount as
power supply units, either of which can be media servers and a web-based download though they were local drives – for example,
easily replaced. Normally, both PSUs are in application, which you can set up to download by using Windows’ iSCSI Initiator tool. There’s
use, but either one can keep the NAS device files via BitTorrent, NZD, FTP and HTTP; this is also a VPN server package, which means that
running if the other fails. The system also handy if you need to download large update if your staff work remotely, you can create up
has redundant fans and an easily replaceable files that you’ll subsequently want to distribute to 20 VPN accounts using PPTP or OpenVPN
motherboard that won’t affect the integrity to users. There’s also a range of DiskStation to give your remote workers access to files
or recoverability of stored data if you have to packages made with business in mind, from and services on your local network.
change it. Two Gigabit Ethernet ports and virus protection to allowing your NAS device With fast transfer speeds to RAID arrays,
support for Wi-Fi via a USB wireless dongle to act as a DHCP server instead of your router. plenty of power, a vast number of features,
provide plenty of options for connecting the Synology’s DiskStation Manager OS makes the ability to scale as your business grows and
RackStation to your network. At the back it easy to use the RackStatation as your web, one of the best NAS operating systems around,
of the NAS, there’s an eSATA port and two FTP and mail server. It doesn’t have the the RackStation RS812RP+ is a comprehensive
USB ports for connecting external storage or scalability or added security of an externally business NAS device. At £1,400 including VAT
printers you wish to share across the network. hosted service, but if your requirements are without disks, this four-bay enclosure may be
The popularity of Synology’s NAS devices modest or you want a development server on beyond the means of the smallest firms, but if
is partly due to their ease of configuration. which to build websites before they go live, you can afford a device that can fulfil multiple
The Synology Assistant setup tool is available it’s a valuable option. The web server has full server functions with the minimum of fuss,
for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux. It locates PHP & MySQL support and the phpMyAdmin this is a brilliant Business Buy.
the NAS device on your network. Once found, database front end is available as a package, Kat Orphanides
you just have tell the Assistant where your making the NAS device ideal as a local
copy of Synology’s DiskStation Manager OS database server. SPECIFICATIONS
is located, and it will proceed with installing The NAS device has backup tools, CONNECTIONS 10/100/1000Mbit/s Ethernet,
the OS and configuring your NAS device. including support for multiple versions, which 2x USB2, 1x eSATA ports
EXTRAS UPnP media, iTunes, print, USB disk, web,
By default, the configuration software are useful if your staff works predominantly
FTP servers
uses Synology Hybrid RAID (SHR) to optimise on its local PCs rather than saving directly WARRANTY Three-year RTB
storage capacity when using disks of different to the server. It’s also worth investing in an DIMENSIONS 44x430.5x507.5mm
sizes and to protect your data to the greatest online backup service (see our group test on POWER CONSUMPTION 8W standby, 77W active
PART CODE RS812RP+
possible extent. You can manually configure page 98), which can back up from network file DETAILS www.synology.com
the NAS device to create a JBOD, RAID 0, shares. If physical security is a concern, the

Large files 49.4MB/s

Small files 15.5MB/s

0% -50 Reference +50 +100
See page 76 for performance details

WorldMags.net
64 SEPTEMBER 2012 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 295
 REVIEWS

QNAP TS-469 Pro

★★★★★
£632 inc VAT (£506 ex VAT) • From www.kikatek.co.uk

VERDICT
This four-bay business NAS device is powerful
and versatile, if not the fastest around

THE QNAP TS 469 Pro NAS device doesn’t network. There are also
look too different to the TS-412 home NAS HDMI and VGA ports; we
device that recently won our coveted Best expected to be able to
Buy award. The enclosure’s sturdy metal connect a monitor and a
chassis and sliding drive caddies are similar in USB mouse and keyboard
appearance, although the TS-469 adds simple to control the NAS device,
drive locks to help prevent anyone fiddling but the graphics ports
with your disks. There’s also a K-lock security currently don’t do anything.
slot, which can be used to tether it to a desk The process of configuring the
or wall. A mono LCD status screen lets you NAS device, installing its OS and setting up
check on the device’s IP address and firmware its disk volumes is painless. QNAP’s Finder There’s also an excellent range of backup
version, and even access a control menu. Once program locates the device on your network, features, including the ability to back up all or
you’ve set up the NAS device, the control menu checks its status and sends you to its web- selected data stored on the device to cloud
lets you view the status of your drives and even based configuration interface if it hasn’t yet storage services, including Amazon’s S3
reboot, shut down and change the admin been set up. As well as allowing you to name servers. This provides a useful additional layer
password, but it’s difficult to navigate and the device and set it up to use a NTP server, of protection if you plan to use your device
select items using just two buttons, and far you’re prompted to select which services you as a backup target. QNAP provides its own
too easy to select an option you didn’t want. wish to enable from a list. Microsoft (SMB) NetBack Replicator software to make it easy
Networking, a web-based file manager and to back up and restore content from the PCs
PORT AUTHORITY FTP are enabled by default, but you can also on your network, either on demand or on a
The TS-469 has an impressive specification, activate Apple networking, NFS share, web fixed schedule. The NAS device also supports
with four hot-swappable SATA3 bays, a 2.13GHz server and MySQL Server, as well as more Apple’s Time Machine backup system. Several
dual-core Intel Atom D2700 processor and 1GB typically consumer-oriented services such as a third-party packages allow you to use the
RAM, which can be upgraded to a maximum UPnP and iTunes media server, a Multimedia NAS device as a proxy server or Asterisk VoIP
of 3GB. Located on the front panel is a USB Station to provide a web interface to media server or add a Joomla CMS for your website.
port; this ties into the TS-496’s one-touch copy stored on the device, and a Download Station See Business Expert on page 155 for more on
feature, which you can set up to immediately that lets you configure the device to download the role of a NAS device on your network.
copy data from any USB drive you connect to files via BitTorrent, HTTP, FTP or via the The TS-469 Pro’s interface is rather plain
a designated directory on the NAS device. RapidShare file-sharing service. when compared with the glossy windowed
At the rear of the device are two Gigabit GUI of rivals such as Synology, but it’s easy to
Ethernet ports, four USB ports, two USB3 CONFIGURATION NOW use. A tree view helps you to locate different
ports and a couple of eSATA ports. While this You’re then prompted to set up your disks. feature categories, from disk management
desktop NAS device can’t be expanded with The NAS device supports RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, 10 or to network services and application servers.
disk modules in the way as some rack-mount JBOD disk configurations and will default to Clicking into any of these opens an icon-based
NAS hardware, there’s plenty of room for an appropriate RAID configuration to ensure menu pane where everything’s clearly laid out.
expansion, as long as you don’t mind plugging that you have at least one redundant disk. In The TS-469 is well specified, with SATA3
in lots of external drives to the device’s ports. our transfer speed tests, we used a pair of connections for internal drives and plenty of
The USB ports can be used to connect up to disks configured in a RAID 1 array. Transfer scope to expand your storage. Transfer speeds
three printers you wish to share across your speeds were disappointing, with a large file via SMB could have been better; iSCSI speeds
average of 29.8MB/s and an average transfer were faster, but we had problems getting our
speed of 13.2MB/s. Its performance in our transfer to copy during a couple of iterations.
iSCSI transfer test was much faster, but we Still, this is a good-value NAS device with a
experienced inconsistent transfer speeds well laid-out interface and plenty of features.
on the initial couple of runs through the Kat Orphanides
test before we achieved a fast and stable
result of 61.9MB/s in our large file test SPECIFICATIONS
and 31.1MB/s in our small file transfer test. CONNECTIONS 2x 10/100/1000Mbit/s Ethernet,
The NAS device has plenty of extra 7x USB ports
EXTRAS UPnP media, iTunes, print, USB disk, web,
features beyond acting as a file server.
FTP servers
These include web and mail servers, WARRANTY Two-year RTB
which are respectively useful for web DIMENSIONS 177x180x235mm
POWER CONSUMPTION 2W standby, 32W active
development and very small enterprises,
PART CODE TS-469 Pro
but we’d recommend dedicated external DETAILS www.qnap.com
hosting for added security. If you employ
remote workers, the device can act as a
VPN server to allow them to access your Large files 29.8MB/s
network as though they were connected
Small files 13.2MB/s
locally. The NAS device supports MySQL
0% -50 Reference +50 +100
and phpMyAdmin, so it’s also ideal for See page 76 for performance details
use as a local database server.

WorldMags.net
ISSUE 295 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | SEPTEMBER 2012 65
 REVIEWS

Choosing a ...
PCs
PALICOMP Alpha Detonator
★★★★★
£1,250 inc VAT • www.palicomp.co.uk

PC system
This Intel Ivy Bridge powerhouse has a Core i5-3570K processor, which earned the
highest benchmark score we’ve seen at 153 overall. It also has an Nvidia GeForce
GTX 680 graphics card that ran Crysis 2 at 51fps, 16GB of memory, a 2TB hard disk,
Blu-ray reader/DVD re-writer drive and plenty of room for additional storage and

01 A basic PC costing around £350 will cards. It’s unashamedly expensive but it does plenty to justify its price.
be capable of running everyday CPU 4.7GHz Intel Core i5-3570K • RAM 16GB • STORAGE 120GB SSD+2TB hard disk • GRAPHICS CARD 2GB Nvidia GeForce GTX680 • OPTICAL DRIVE DVD+/-RW +/-DL BD-ROM • DISPLAY None •
office, multimedia or education software, as OPERATING SYSTEM Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit • DIMENSIONS 495x210x525mm • POWER CONSUMPTION 3W standby, 109W idle, 270W active • WARRANTY Three-year RTB •
PART CODE IVY1 • DETAILS www.palicomp.co.uk • FULL REVIEW Jul 2012
well as anything on the internet. It won’t
cope with modern games, though. Many
PCs are available with or without monitors; ECLIPSE Matrix i5238r777
if you don’t like the display that the ★★★★★
£550 inc VAT • www.eclipsecomputers.com
manufacturer is offering, use an old one or
choose one from our Displays section. With an AMD Radeon HD 7770 graphics card, 8GB RAM and Intel Core i5-2380P
processor, this mid-priced mini-tower makes an effective gaming PC. Its score of 102
overall in our application tests and 40fps in Dirt 3 shows that it’s a great all-rounder

02 If you’re interested in playing

games, upgrade to a decent
graphics card. Mid-range cards such as the
that won’t leave you feeling out of pocket. All we’d change is the 500GB hard disk.
CPU 3.1GHz Intel Core i5-2380P • RAM 8GB • STORAGE 500GB hard disk • GRAPHICS CARD 1GB AMD Radeon HD 7770 • OPTICAL DRIVE DVD+/-RW +/-DL • DISPLAY None • OPERATING SYSTEM
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit • DIMENSIONS 415x179x435mm • POWER CONSUMPTION 4W standby, 51W idle, 184W active • WARRANTY One-year RTB • PART CODE Matrix i5238r777 •
AMD Radeon HD 7770 will cope with this DETAILS www.eclipse-computers.com • FULL REVIEW Jun 2012
year’s games, but to play next year’s just as
smoothly (and enjoy gorgeous graphics ORANGE Amplification OPC
today) it’s worth upgrading to a more ★★★★★
powerful card such as a Radeon HD 6790. £945 inc VAT • www.orangeopc.com
Iconic stage amp maker Orange has turned its hand to audio production PCs with

03 All modern PCs come with at least a

dual-core processor, so they’re
capable of taking on most tasks. Anyone
great success. With a built-in guitar amp, dedicated sound card, 6GB of RAM, a Core
i5-2500K processor that scored 101 overall in our tests and a wealth of music
production software, it’s ideal for guitarists and songwriters. There’s even room for
a dedicated graphics card if you fancy playing games between recording sessions.
who regularly undertakes demanding tasks
such as video editing and encoding should CPU 3.3GHz Intel Core i5-2500K • RAM 6GB • STORAGE 500GB hard disk • GRAPHICS CARD Intel HD Graphics 3000 • OPTICAL DRIVE DVD+/-RW +/-DL • DISPLAY None • OPERATING SYSTEM
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit • DIMENSIONS 320x350x240mm • POWER CONSUMPTION 2W standby, 40W idle, 82W active • WARRANTY One-year RTB (free extension to 18 months RTB
seriously consider a quad-core processor. with registration) • PART CODE OPC • DETAILS www.orangeamps.com • FULL REVIEW Apr 2012

04 There are plenty of reasons to

upgrade the memory or hard disk.
If you’ll be using your PC for gaming, LAPTOPS
video-editing or other demanding tasks,
you’ll want 8GB of RAM and a large hard
SAMSUNG Series 9
★★★★★
disk – 1TB should suffice. Many new PCs £1,026 inc VAT • www.laptopsdirect.co.uk
come with SSDs, some of which work
The Series 9 might just be the best Windows-based Ultrabook you can buy. It’s
alongside a standard hard disk as the boot elegant and powerful, with a high-resolution screen that elevates it above the
disk. These are smaller than normal hard competition. With a brushed metal finish and lots of connectivity for such a
disks but make your PC boot and load small, slim laptop, the Series 9 is both portable and practical. Its eight-hour
programs incredibly quickly. battery life means you won’t fall short when on the move, either.

CPU 1.6GHz Intel Core i5-2467M • RAM 4GB • STORAGE 128GB SSD • GRAPHICS Intel HD Graphics 3000 • OPTICAL DRIVE None • DISPLAY 13.3in widescreen LCD (1,600x900) • OPERATING

05 The standard connectors can be

improved with extra USB ports, to
which most PC gadgets attach. Some newer
SYSTEM Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit • DIMENSIONS 17x328x227mm, 1.2kg • POWER CONSUMPTION 0W standby, 11W idle, 39W active • WARRANTY Two-year RTB • PART CODE 900X3B •
DETAILS www.samsung.co.uk • FULL REVIEW Jun 2012

PCs have USB3 ports, which provide faster ALIENWARE M17x

data transfers with supported devices. Look ★★★★★
for a memory card reader if you have a £1,839 inc VAT • http://configure.euro.dell.com

digital camera, and make sure your The Alienware’s M17x gaming laptop has recently been upgraded with an Intel Ivy
Bridge processor and your choice of AMD or Nvidia graphics. The addition of
camera’s memory card is supported.
solid state storage speeds up start up times and the Full HD screen lets you
enjoy 1080p video in all its glory. This is the next best thing to a desktop PC.

06 Most new PCs come with Windows

7 Home Premium installed. Don’t be
too easily swayed by the inclusion of other
CPU 2.3GHz Intel Core i7-3610QM • RAM 8GB • STORAGE 60GB SSD + 500GB hard disk • GRAPHICS AMD Radeon HD 7970M • OPTICAL DRIVE BD-ROM + DVD+/-RW +/-DL • DISPLAY 17.3in widescreen
LCD (1,920x1,080) • OPERATING SYSTEM Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit • DIMENSIONS 45x410x304mm, 4.3kg • POWER CONSUMPTION 1W standby, 38W idle, 186W active • WARRANTY One-
year onsite • PART CODE M17x • DETAILS www.dell.co.uk • FULL REVIEW Aug 2012
software with your PC. It may be that you’ll
never use it, but if you find a PC that
HP PAVILION DV6-6C05ea
includes software you’d otherwise pay for,
★★★★★
you’ll save money by having it preloaded. £484 inc VAT• www.ebuyer.com
HP’s Pavilion DV6 may cost less than £500 including VAT but it can play the latest

07 While most PCs come in cases of a

fairly similar size, some have more
compact mini tower or mini-PC cases.
games and handle all your desktop tasks thanks to its dedicated graphics card,
quad-core AMD processor and 6GB of RAM. The 15.6in, 1,366x768 screen,
full-size keyboard, 1TB hard disk and DVD drive make it an excellent budget
These smaller PCs are more compact so will replacement for a desktop PC.
fit under your TV or on your desk, but bear CPU 1.7 GHz AMD A6-3430MX • RAM 6GB • STORAGE 1TB hard disk • GRAPHICS AMD Radeon 7470M • OPTICAL DRIVE DVD+/-RW +/-DL • DISPLAY 15.6in widescreen LCD (1,366x768) • OPERATING
in mind that they are significantly harder to SYSTEM Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit • DIMENSIONS 35x378x247mm, 3kg • POWER CONSUMPTION 0W standby, 26W idle, 62W active • WARRANTY One-year RTB • PART CODE DV6-6c05ea
• DETAILS www.hp.co.uk • FULL REVIEW Jul 2012
upgrade than full-size machines.

WorldMags.net
66 SEPTEMBER 2012 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 295
 REVIEWS

Choosing a ...
HANDHELDS
HTC One X PROCESSOR SPEED 1.5GHz • NUMBER OF CORES 4 •
RAM 1GB • MOBILE DATA Edge, HSPA, WCDMA •
★★★★★ DISPLAY 4.7in 720x1,280 LCD • CAMERA
Free on £21-per-month 24-month contract • www.buymobilephones.net 8-megapixel • INTERNAL STORAGE 32GB • MEMORY
CARD SLOT None • CLAIMED BATTERY LIFE 8.9 hours

Smartphone
The first HTC handset with Android 4.0 has a super-fast processor and a
talktime, 24.8 days standby • DIMENSIONS
gorgeous screen. Couple this with a gorgeous curved body and photos 134x70x9mm, 130g • PART CODE 99HRL031-00 •
worthy of a compact digital camera and you have an Ultimate phone. DETAILS www.htc.com • FULL REVIEW Jul 2012

01
PROCESSOR SPEED 600MHz • NUMBER OF CORES 1 •
MOTOROLA Defy Mini XT320 RAM 512MB • MOBILE DATA EDGE, HSDPA • DISPLAY A smartphone’s
★★★★★ 3.2in 320x480 LCD • CAMERA 3-megapixel • operating
INTERNAL STORAGE 120MB • MEMORY CARD SLOT
£79 inc VAT • www.amazon.co.uk microSDHC • CLAIMED BATTERY LIFE Nine hours system (OS) dictates
An incredibly cheap Android 2.3 handset with long battery life, the Defy talktime, 15 days standby • DIMENSIONS its basic features and
Mini is also dust-proof and water-resistant, with a snappy interface and 109x59x13mm, 107g • PART CODE SM3254AA2B1 •
DETAILS www.motorola.com also which third-party
front-facing camera for video. FULL REVIEW Aug 2012 software you can
install. There are three
ASUS Transformer Prime CPU 1.3GHz Nvidia Tegra 3 • RAM 1GB • STORAGE
32GB • GRAPHICS Nvidia Tegra 3 • DISPLAY 10.1in main contenders:
★★★★★ 1,280x800 widescreen LCD (IPS) • OPERATING Apple’s iOS, which is
£484 inc VAT • www.amazon.co.uk SYSTEM Android 4.0 • DIMENSIONS 180x263x
8.3mm, 586g • WARRANTY One-year RTB • PART found in the iPhone,
Asus’s top-of-the-range Android 4.0 tablet has a detachable keyboard CODE TF201-1B002A • DETAILS www.asus.com •
dock that adds six hours to the battery life. It has incredible graphics Google’s Android,
FULL REVIEW Apr 2012
and processing power, and the Super IPS screen is a delight to use. which is used by
various handset
APPLE iPad CPU 1GHz Apple A5X • RAM 1GB • STORAGE 16GB •
DISPLAY 9.7in IPS • OPERATING SYSTEM iOS 5.1
manufacturers, and
★★★★★ 1,536x2,048 LCD (IPS) • DIMENSIONS 241x186x9mm, Windows Phone 7, which is becoming more
£399 inc VAT • www.apple.com/uk 652g • WARRANTY One-year RTB widespread and has replaced Symbian as
PART CODE iPad
The latest iPad’s 1,536x2,048 screen resolution makes it impossible to DETAILS www.apple.com/uk Nokia’s smartphone operating system.
see individual pixels, and the display’s IPS technology leads to saturated FULL REVIEW Jun 2012 Apple iOS and Google Android have the
colours and great contrast. The iPad still has great battery life, too. most apps available, although Windows
DISPLAY 6in mono touchscreen • STORAGE Phone is slowly catching up.
AMAZON Kindle Touch 4,096MB • MEMORY CARD SUPPORT None • EBOOK

02
★★★★★ FORMATS PDF, HTML, Microsoft Word, MOBI,
All smartphones have a colour
Amazon AZW, TXT • IMAGE FORMATS BMP, JPEG •
£109 inc VAT • www.amazon.co.uk
DIMENSIONS 172x120x10.1mm, 213g • CLAIMED screen, but resolutions vary. Budget
The Kindle Touch was a long time coming to the UK, but the touchscreen BATTERY LIFE Two months (wireless off) •
WARRANTY One-year RTB • PART CODE models have 240x320 pixels, but these can
was worth the wait. It makes it much easier to buy books and organise your
collection than the standard model’s buttons.
B005890FUI • DETAILS www.amazon.co.uk make text look indistinct. Look for a display
FULL REVIEW Aug 2012
with at least 480x800 pixels to make it
easy to browse web pages on your
smartphone. Don’t worry too much about
PHOTOGRAPHY the built-in media players or Office
document editors – you can always install
PANASONIC Lumix DMC-GX1 SENSOR SIZE 16 megapixels (4,592x3,448) • ZOOM
3x optical (28-84mm) • LCD 3in (460,000 pixels) • apps to replace these with better versions.
★★★★★ STORAGE (INTERNAL) SDXC card (none) • BATTERY
£604 inc VAT • www.amazon.co.uk Li-ion • DIMENSIONS 71x116x65mm, 413g • Cameras are common in smartphones, and
Compact system cameras (CSCs) deliver SLR-quality photos and SLR-
WARRANTY One-year RTB • PART CODE DMC- resolutions have increased to as much as
GX1XEB-K • DETAILS www.panasonic.co.uk •
beating videos in pocket-size dimensions. The GX1’s fast performance, FULL REVIEW Apr 2012 eight megapixels. However, the sensors and
elegant controls and wide choice of lenses make it our top pick. lenses can’t compete with those of even
budget digital cameras.
CANON Ixus 230 HS SENSOR SIZE 12 megapixels (4,000x3,000) • ZOOM

03
8x optical (28-224mm) • LCD 3in (461,000 pixels) •
★★★★★ STORAGE (INTERNAL) SDXC card (none) • BATTERY Nearly all smartphones have
£135 inc VAT • www.ebuyer.com Li-ion • DIMENSIONS 57x95x22mm, 140g • touchscreen interfaces, and some
WARRANTY One-year RTB • PART CODE
It’s not bursting with extras, but this little point-and-shoot camera takes 5270B006AA • DETAILS www.canon.co.uk • have a physical keyboard for entering text
attractive photos and videos with the minimum of fuss. It copes admirably FULL REVIEW Jan 2012 quickly and accurately. Although physical
in low light, and the 8x zoom helps to frame shots creatively.
keyboards are desirable for heavy emailing,
touchscreen keyboards also work well, and
PANASONIC DMC-TZ25 SENSOR SIZE 12 megapixels (4,000x3,000) • ZOOM
16x optical (24-384mm) • LCD 3in (460,000 pixels) • Android smartphones let you install a
★★★★★ STORAGE (INTERNAL) SDXC card (70MB) •
£209 inc VAT • www.amazon.co.uk BATTERY Li-ion • DIMENSIONS 61x105x34mm, 208g variety of custom onscreen keyboards so
A pocket-sized camera with a big zoom is ideal for travelling, and the TZ25
WARRANTY One-year RTB • PART CODE DMC- you can find the one that suits you.
TZ25EB-K • DETAILS www.panasonic.co.uk •
is an excellent example at a competitive price. It excels for video and for FULL REVIEW Jul 2012
continuous shooting, where it can shoot and refocus five times a second.
04 Be careful when choosing a mobile
contract. Look for one with a large
FUJIFILM X-S1 SENSOR SIZE 12 megapixels (4,000x3,000) • ZOOM
26x optical (24-624mm) • LCD 3in (460,000 pixels)
data allowance if you want to use the
★★★★★ STORAGE (INTERNAL) SDXC card (26MB) internet regularly or you’ve set your phone
£520 inc VAT • www.play.com BATTERY Li-ion • DIMENSIONS 107x136x155mm, to synchronise your contacts, calendar and
945g • WARRANTY One-year RTB
This ultra-zoom camera has lots of controls for quick access to manual PART CODE P10NC06400A email with online services such as Google’s.
settings, an outstanding electronic viewfinder, fast performance and the DETAILS www.fujifilm.co.uk Built-in Wi-Fi can help you avoid high data
best image quality in its class. Video capture is the only let-down. FULL REVIEW Jul 2012
charges by allowing you to connect to the
internet using wireless hotspots, or your
NIKON Nikon D3100 18-55VR Kit SENSOR SIZE 14.1 megapixels (4,608x3,072) • ZOOM
3x optical (27-82.5mm) • LCD 3in (230,000 pixels) • router when you’re at home. The iPhone
★★★★★ STORAGE (INTERNAL) SDXC card (none) • BATTERY
and Android handsets enable you to turn
£365 inc VAT • www.amazon.co.uk Li-ion • DIMENSIONS 96x124x75mm, 505g •
WARRANTY Two-year RTB your phone into a wireless hotspot and
Image quality doesn’t vary much among sub-£1,000 SLRs, which makes PART CODE VBA280SU01
connect your laptop to the internet over
Nikon’s entry-level model a bargain, especially as it also records 1080p DETAILS www.nikon.co.uk
video. Slightly awkward access to manual controls is our only reservation. FULL REVIEW Apr 2012 this connection. Bear in mind that there
may be an extra charge for this.

WorldMags.net
ISSUE 295 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | SEPTEMBER 2012 67
 REVIEWS
BEST BUYS

Choosing a ...
DISPLAYS
AOC i2352Vh RESOLUTION 1,920x1,080 • CONTRAST RATIO 1,000:1
(20,000,000:1 dynamic) • BRIGHTNESS 250cd/m2 •
★★★★★ PORTS VGA, DVI, HDMI • POWER CONSUMPTION 0W
£127 inc VAT • www.scan.co.uk standby, 31W on • WARRANTY Three-year collect
and return • PART CODE i2352Vh

Monitor
This IPS monitor has a full HD resolution and VGA, DVI and HDMI inputs. DETAILS www.aoc-europe.com
It displays deep blacks and has very little colour cast, while its wide viewing FULL REVIEW Jul 2012
angles and natural colour reproduction add up to impressive image quality.

01 A basic 22in
LCD monitor
will cost around £90.
SAMSUNG S27A950D
★★★★★
£619 inc VAT • www.play.com
RESOLUTION 1,920x1,080 • CONTRAST RATIO 1,000:1
• BRIGHTNESS 300cd/m2 • PORTS DVI, HDMI •
POWER CONSUMPTION 1W standby, 39W on •
WARRANTY Two-year collect and return
PART CODE LS27A950DS/EN
It will be fine for Samsung’s high-end display supports 3D through active shutter glasses
DETAILS www.samsung.com/uk
typical Windows and the included TriDef software. It’s a TN panel, but it could pass for an FULL REVIEW Jul 2012
work but is likely to IPS model thanks to its rich colours and wide viewing angles.
have poor viewing
angles, so you’ll needd to
HANNSG HL272HPB RESOLUTION 1,920x1,080 • CONTRAST RATIO 1,000:1
(30,000,000:1 dynamic) • BRIGHTNESS 300cd/m2 •
★★★★★ PORTS VGA, DVI, HDMI, POWER CONSUMPTION 36W
e the
sit straight on to see
£200 inc VAT • www.amazon.co.uk standby, 1W on •WARRANTY Three-year onsite •
best quality picture. Colour accuracy may PART CODE HL272HPB
The HL272HPB is a 27in monitor at a bargain price. Its controls are easy to DETAILS www.hannsg.co.uk
not be very good, so it isn’t ideal for use and it has VGA, HDMI and DVI inputs. Its contrast isn’t the best we’ve FULL REVIEW Jul 2012
colour-sensitive work. seen, but colours are accurate.

02 A VGA input enables you to use the ASUS P1 Portable LED Projector NATIVE RESOLUTION 1,280x800 • CONTRAST RATIO
2,000:1 • RATED BRIGHTNESS 200 ANSI lumens •
monitor with any PC, but the quality ★★★★★ DIMENSIONS 34x126x130mm, 415g • POWER
may not be quite as good as with a DVI or £353 inc VAT • www.play.com CONSUMPTION • 1W standby, 29W active •
WARRANTY One-year RTB • PART CODE
HDMI input. Both are digital connections The P1 is a tiny LED projector that can output 200 lumens, so it’s bright 90LJ0010-B0002 • DETAILS www.asus.com •
and require a compatible graphics card but enough for presentations in office lighting. It has a 1,280x800 resolution FULL REVIEW Jun 2012
avoid the need for digital-to-analogue or and produces deep, natural colours.
analogue-to-digital conversions, which can
reduce image quality. A digital connection EPSON EB-X11 NATIVE RESOLUTION 1,024x768 • CONTRAST RATIO
3,000:1 • RATED BRIGHTNESS 2,600 ANSI lumens •
automatically gets the best picture – you ★★★★★ LAMP COST (ECONOMY) £0.03 (£0.03) inc VAT •
£354 inc VAT • www.lambda-tek.com DIMENSIONS 77x295x228mm, 2.3kg • POWER
won’t have to adjust clock or phase settings CONSUMPTION 1W standby, 231W active •
This office projector has a bright 2,600-lumens lamp, so it’s well-suited to
as you do with an analogue connection. WARRANTY Three-year onsite (lamp one year) •
projecting high-contrast images, charts and graphs under office lighting. PART CODE V11H435041 • DETAILS www.epson.co.uk
Many DVI and all HDMI connections It can also accept video from a PC’s USB ports. FULL REVIEW May 2012
support HDCP, which lets you watch
protected video content such as Blu-ray
movies on your monitor. DisplayPort is
becoming more popular, but you’ll either HOME CINEMA
need a graphics card with a matching TV TYPE 3D Plasma • RESOLUTION 1,920x1,080 •
output or a DVI-to-DisplayPort adaptor.
PANASONIC Viera TX-P50VT50 CONTRAST RATIO 6,000,000:1 native • BRIGHTNESS
★★★★★ CONNECTIONS 4x HDMI, 1x SCART, 1 component, 1x
composite inputs • TUNER Analogue, Freeview HD,
£1,899 inc VAT • www.johnlewis.com

03
Freesat HD • POWER CONSUMPTION • 1W standby,
A larger monitor will be easier on The best TV of 2011 only gets better in 2012. Panasonic upgraded its 317W on • WARRANTY One-year RTB
the eye and will have a larger flagship TV with superb 2D and 3D image quality, internet connectivity and PART CODE P50VT50
DETAILS www.panasonic.co.uk
resolution. Monitors with 22in, 23in and more adjustment options than you could ever hope to need. FULL REVIEW Aug 2012
24in screens typically have resolutions of
1,920x1,080 (1080p), which provides lots PANASONIC DMP-BDT220 BLU-RAY PROFILE 2.0 • CONNECTIONS 1x HDMI,
1x composite, 1x stereo phono • POWER
of room for working with multiple windows ★★★★★ CONSUMPTION 0W standby, 9W on • WARRANTY
at the same time. For even higher £160 inc VAT • www.dixons.co.uk One-year RTB • PART CODE DMP-BDT220EB •
DETAILS www.panasonic.co.uk
resolutions, you’ll need a larger display. A This Blu-ray player is packed with features, including 2D and 3D Blu-ray FULL REVIEW Aug 2012
30in screen or higher will have a massive support, local and network video playback and internet connectivity. If you
don’t have a smart TV, this is the next best thing.
resolution of 2,560x1,600. You’ll need a
graphics card with a dual-link DVI output
and a dual-link DVI cable to use a monitor
TANOY TFX 5.1 SPEAKER CONFIGURATION 5.1• POWER RATING
600W RMS • CONNECTIONS SATELLITES: binding
★★★★★ posts, subwoofer: stereo phono, stereo binding
at this resolution.
£200 inc VAT • www.richersounds.com posts • POWER CONSUMPTION • 1W standby,
62W active • WARRANTY Five-year RTB
For £200 the TFX 5.1 speaker set packs an unbelievable amount of sound

04
PART CODE TFX
If you want better picture quality, power. Paired with an amplifier and turned up to full, you’ll soon be DETAILS www.tannoy.com
look for a monitor with a high hearing complaints from the neighbours. FULL REVIEW Jul 2012
contrast ratio. The higher the ratio, the
NATIVE RESOLUTION 1,920x1,080 • CONTRAST RATIO
whiter the whites and the blacker the BENQ W1060 5,000:1• RATED BRIGHTNESS 2 ANSI lumens•
blacks. You’ll also be able to see more ★★★★★ LAMP COST (ECONOMY) £0.03 (£0.02) inc VAT•
DIMENSIONS 150x330x247mm, 3.6kg• POWER
fine detail in images with high contrast £700 inc VAT • www.amazon.co.uk
CONSUMPTION • 1W standby, 225W active•
levels. Viewing angles are important, as This is one of the cheapest DLP projectors we’ve used that can still project WARRANTY One-year collect and return, two-
1080p images without significant rainbow artefacts. If you’re on a budget, year RTB (lamp 12 months or 2,000 hours) • PART
wider angles mean you don’t have to CODE 9H.J5777.27E • DETAILS www.benq.co.uk •
sit directly in front of the monitor to it’s one of the best ways of bringing the big screen home.
FULL REVIEW Mar 2012
get the best picture. Wider angles also
allow more people to watch the screen CAMBRIDGE Audio NP30 CONNECTIONS 1x stereo phono output, 1x coaxial
S/PDIF output, 1x optical S/PDIF output, none •
at the same time. ★★★★★ AUDIO SUPPORT WMA, AAC, Ogg, Wav, MP3, FLAC •
£400 inc VAT • www.richersounds.com VIDEO SUPPORT None • POWER CONSUMPTION 1W
Fast response times cut down on standby, 7W on • WARRANTY One-year RTB •
Once you’ve tried multi-room streaming audio, there’s no going back. The PART CODE NP30 • DETAILS www.cambridgeaudio.
ghosting, but don’t be dazzled by the
Cambridge Audio NP30’s interface is easy to use, and with its huge range com • FULL REVIEW Jun 2012
numbers. A response time of 25ms or of features, you’ll soon be looking to add more speakers to your setup.
quicker is fine for all applications.

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68 SEPTEMBER 2012 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 295
 BEST
REVIEWS
BUYS

Choosing an ...
AUDIO
STORAGE 32GB flash memory • DISPLAY 3.5in
APPLE iPod Touch 32GB (4th Generation) 640x960 resolution LCD • AUDIO SUPPORT AAC,
★★★★★ Protected AAC, Wav, MP3 • VIDEO SUPPORT MPEG4
£212 inc VAT • www.amazon.co.uk MP4 • IMAGE SUPPORT BMP, TIFF, JPEG •
INTERFACES USB • DIMENSIONS 58.9x7.2x111mm,

MP3 player
Two cameras, a 640x960 touchscreen and a mic for video and VoIP calling 101g • WARRANTY One-year RTB
supplement top-notch audio and video playback in Apple’s flagship MP3 PART CODE A1367
DETAILS www.apple.com
player, while the interface and app support are second to none. FULL REVIEW Dec 2010

SOUNDMAGIC E10
01 ayers
Basic MP3 players
CONNECTION 3.5mm stereo jack plug
CABLE LENGTH 1.20m
★★★★★ IMPEDENCE 16 ohms ies
with capacities
£35 inc VAT • www.iheadphones.co.uk WEIGHT 11g lable
below 1GB are available
WARRANTY One-year RTB
These reasonably priced earplug style headphones sound loud, clear and PART CODE E10-BKRD from as little as £10,
balanced, with rich bass tones and plenty of natural character. They’re a DETAILS www.soundmagic.com.cn layer
but a 1GB or 2GB player
great buy if you add a £10 set of T-400 sound-isolating ear tips. FULL REVIEW Apr 2012
costs around £30 and nd
provides enough space ace
PHILIPS Fidelio DS3020 SPEAKER CONFIGURATION 2.0 • POWER RATING 8W
RMS • CONNECTIONS 3.5mm stereo, USB inputs, undred
to store several hundred
★★★★★ iPod dock • POWER CONSUMPTION 2W standby, MP3s encoded at
£70 inc VAT • www.argos.co.uk 3W active • WARRANTY One-year RTB
PART CODE DS3020 192Kbit/s. Most
Despite its compact size, this mid-priced iPod dock’s clear and balanced DETAILS www.philips.co.uk
sound makes it a pleasure to listen to. You can also run it off batteries, small MP3 players
FULL REVIEW Sep 2011
connect it to your PC and use an app to stream radio. use solid-state
flash memory for
CRESYN CS-HP600 SPEAKER CONFIGURATION 2.0 • POWER RATING 8W
RMS • CONNECTIONS 3.5mm stereo, USB inputs,
storage, and this is
★★★★★ iPod dock • POWER CONSUMPTION 2W standby, immune to shocks, knocks and bumps.
£30 inc VAT • www.iheadphones.co.uk 3W active Flash-based players are ideal if you want to
WARRANTY One-year RTB
These folding headphones produce a big, powerful sound with plenty PART CODE DS3020 use them while jogging, for example.
of bass and a great sense of space. They’re a bit leaky, but the quality DETAILS www.philips.co.uk

02
of their sound really sets them apart from similarly priced rivals. FULL REVIEW Sep 2011
If you want to carry your entire
music collection around with you,
ION Quick Play LP CONNECTIONS USB port, RCA phono output •
REQUIRES Windows XP/2000/Vista/7 look for a hard disk player. These use
★★★★★ DETAILS www.ionaudio.com • compact 1in or 1.8in drives, and the highest
£42 inc VAT • www.amazon.co.uk FULL REVIEW Aug 2011
capacity models can hold up to 160GB of
Ion’s stylish turntable is the ideal budget option for playing and ripping
media. Hard disk players are bulkier than
your favourite vinyl. It’s easy to use, produces accurate recordings and
doesn’t bind you to using one particular piece of software.
flash-based devices and can be damaged
if they are dropped, so you need to take
care of them.

VIDEO
PANASONIC HC-X900 SENSOR 3x 1/4.1in CMOS • STORAGE SDXC ZOOM 12x
optical • DISPLAY 3,050,000-pixel, 3.5in LCD •
03 It’s unusual to find an MP3
player with a battery life of less
than 10 hours. Ideally, you should look
★★★★★ PC CONNECTIONS • Mini HDMI out, Mini USB AV •
£710 inc VAT • www.amazon.co.uk INTERFACES A/V out • DIMENSIONS 67x72x150mm, for something that lasts at least 15
This camcorder feels well balanced and delivers fantastic image quality and
482g • WARRANTY One-year RTB hours. Flash-based players tend to be
PART CODE HC-X900EB-K
colour reproduction thanks to its 3MOS sensor, Hybrid OIS image stabiliser DETAILS www.panasonic.co.uk less power-hungry than hard disk players,
and Full HD resolution. Its touchscreen is clear, informative and responsive. FULL REVIEW May 2012 but hard disk players usually have
larger batteries. Few modern MP3
SENSOR 1/2.88 CMOS • STORAGE SD/SDHC/SDXC
SONY CX730E ZOOM 10x optical • DISPLAY 6,650,000-pixel, 3in players use disposable batteries, but
★★★★★ LCD • PC CONNECTIONS Mini HDMI out, Mini USB AV • they’re worth looking out for if you
INTERFACES AV out, 3.5mm microphone input,
£799 inc VAT • www.pixmania.co.uk will be away from a power supply for
3.5mm audio output • DIMENSIONS 74x68x138mm,
This camcorder’s high-resolution touchscreen monitor is clear and 645g • WARRANTY One-year RTB long periods.
responsive, and it also has a digital viewfinder should you prefer to use it. PART CODE HDR-CX730E/B
DETAILS www.sony.co.uk

04
Its SteadyShot optical stabilisation makes footage extremely smooth. FULL REVIEW Sep 2012 If you download tracks from online
music stores then you need to make
PANASONIC HC-X800 SENSOR 3x 1/4.1in CMOS • STORAGE SDXC • ZOOM 12x
optical • DISPLAY 3,050,000-pixel, 3in LCD • sure your player supports those formats.
★★★★★ PC CONNECTIONS Mini HDMI out, Mini USB AV •
£599 inc VAT • www.amazon.co.uk INTERFACES A/V out • DIMENSIONS 26x52x86.3mm,
Apple’s iTunes store sells tracks only in
This camcorder doesn’t have a viewfinder or microphone output, but it has
460g • WARRANTY One-year RTB AAC format, while some other online stores
PART CODE HC-X800EB-K
the same high-quality 3MOS sensor as the more expensive HC-X900 and DETAILS www.panasonic.co.uk
use Microsoft’s WMA-DRM format. Not
the same ultra-smooth Hybrid OIS image stabilisation system. FULL REVIEW Jun 2012 all players support a wide range of formats.
If you want to listen to music in unusual
CONNECTIONS 1x stereo RCA output, 1x optical S/PDIF
D-LINK Boxee Box output, 1x HDMI output • AUDIO SUPPORT • WMA, formats such as Ogg or FLAC, for example,
★★★★★ AAC, Ogg, Wav, MP3, AIF, AIFF, AC3, FLAC • VIDEO then you need to make sure they’re
SUPPORT MPEG1, MPEG2, MPEG4, H.264, WMV9, XVID,
£130 inc VAT • www.amazon.co.uk supported by your player.
DIVX, VC-1, FLV, F4V, M4V, TS, AVI, MKV, MOV, M2TS,
This media streamer has an attractive interface that is easy to use. You can MP4, DAT, MPG, MPEG, VOB, TP, ISO, IFO, ASF, DVR-MS •

05
view BBC iPlayer or Channel 4’s 4oD catch-up TV service, among others. POWER CONSUMPTION 1W standby, 12W on •
WARRANTY Two-year RTB • PART CODE DSM-380 • Many of the most popular MP3
Its remote control makes it easy to browse the interface. DETAILS www.dlink.co.uk • FULL REVIEW Apr 2012 players can also play video.
CONNECTIONS 1x optical S/PDIF output, 1x HDMI Although they come with software
WESTERN DIGITAL WD TV Live output, 1x composite output • AUDIO SUPPORT to convert video into their preferred
★★★★★ WMA, AAC, Ogg, Wav, MP3, FLAC, MKA, AIF • VIDEO
format, some players are more flexible
SUPPORT MPEG1, MPEG2, MPEG4, APC, H.264, x.264,
£73 inc VAT • www.amazon.co.uk
AVC, VC-1, XVID, AVI, MPG, MPEG, VOB, MKV, TS, TP, than others when it comes to playing a
This media streamer supports a variety of media formats and it can output M2T, MP4, MOV, M2TS, WMV9, FLV • POWER
CONSUMPTION 6W standby, 6W on • WARRANTY wide range of video files, so you’ll need to
video at resolutions up to 1080p. Its interface is intuitive, and you can even
control it with an iOS and Android app.
One-year RTB • PART CODE WDBGXT0000NBK • check the manufacturer’s specifications
DETAILS www.wdc.com • FULL REVIEW Apr 2012
before you buy.

WorldMags.net
ISSUE 295 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | SEPTEMBER 2012 69
 REVIEWS
BEST BUYS

Choosing an ...
PRINTERS AND SCANNERS
SAMSUNG ML-3710ND MAXIMUM RESOLUTION 1,200dpi • MAXIMUM SPEED
35ppm • INTERFACES USB, 10/100/1000 Ethernet •
★★★★★ DIMENSIONS 253x366x368mm • POWER
£156 inc VAT • www.printerbase.co.uk CONSUMPTION 3W standby, 3W idle, 980W active •

Inkjet
WARRANTY One-year RTB
The ML-3710ND is rated to print up to 80,000 pages each month and has PART CODE ML-3710ND/SEE
low running costs, so should be ideal for even a busy office. We also DETAILS www.samsung.co.uk
couldn’t fault its text prints, although graphics aren’t its forte. FULL REVIEW Dec 2011

printer CANON ImageFormula P-215

★★★★★
SCANNER TYPE CIS • OPTICAL RESOLUTION 600dpi •
COLOUR OUTPUT 24-bit • INTERFACES USB •
DIMENSIONS 40x285x95mm

01 You should
be able to
buy a decent
£226 inc VAT • www.lambda-tek.com
This portable A4 scanner is perfect for mobile workers who need to
capture multi-page documents. You can load a stack of paper, press the
WARRANTY One-year RTB
PART CODE 5608B003
DETAILS www.canon.co.uk
FULL REVIEW Jun 2012
inkjet printer for button and quickly turn a document into a PDF with searchable text.
under £40.
High-quality
EPSON WorkForce Pro WP-4535 DWF MAXIMUM RESOLUTION 4,800x1,200dpi • QUOTED
SPEEDS 16ppm mono/11ppm colour • SCAN
★★★★★ RESOLUTION 1,200x1,200dpi • INTERFACES USB,
printing is possible,
£173 inc VAT • www.printerland.co.uk 10/100 Ethernet, 801.11n wireless • DIMENSIONS
but slow. The actualal 341x460x420mm • POWER CONSUMPTION 3W
This inkjet MFP has a full set of business-friendly features, including a fax. standby, 3W idle, 22W active • WARRANTY One-
print speed of inkjets can be half It’s fast and produces great plain-paper prints, and its copies and scans are year onsite • PART CODE C11CB30301BY • DETAILS
the quoted (maximum) speed for text excellent. It also has lower running costs than a laser. www.epson-europe.com • FULL REVIEW Dec 2011
documents, and even slower when printing
graphics. Budget inkjets such as these are EPSON AcuLaser C1750N MAXIMUM RESOLUTION 4,800x1,200dpi • QUOTED
SPEEDS 16ppm mono/11ppm colour • SCAN
designed only for light use and can be ★★★★★ RESOLUTION 1,200x1,200dpi • INTERFACES USB,
expensive to run. £108 inc VAT • www.oyyy.co.uk 10/100 Ethernet, 801.11n wireless • DIMENSIONS
341x460x420mm • POWER CONSUMPTION 3W
The AcuLaser C1750N is designed for light personal use, and is cheap to standby, 3W idle, 22W active • WARRANTY One-

02 Spending £60 will get you a run. Printing 67 mono and 33 colour pages a month for three years will year onsite • PART CODE C11CB30301BY • DETAILS
cost you just £325, and the print quality is great. www.epson-europe.com • FULL REVIEW Jun 2012
much more capable printer that’s
either faster and better built or better at
reproducing photos. If documents are your EPSON Stylus Photo PX730WD MAXIMUM RESOLUTION 5,760x1,440dpi • QUOTED
SPEEDS 40ppm mono/40ppm colour • SCAN
priority, you’ll want double the minimum ★★★★★ RESOLUTION 2,400x4,800dpi • INTERFACES USB,
£137 inc VAT • www.amazon.co.uk 10/100 Ethernet, 802.11b/g/n wireless • DIMENSIONS
speed and half the print costs of the 150x445x458mm • POWER CONSUMPTION 3W
This inkjet MFP is aimed at creative users. Its six-ink print engine excels
sub-£40 printer. Look for inkjets that can standby, 5W idle, 34W active • WARRANTY One-
at printing photos and it has a quick scanner, which captures brilliantly year RTB • PART CODE C11CB18301 • DETAILS www.
handle all your office media, including detailed images and helps to make good-quality copies. epson.co.uk • FULL REVIEW Mar 2012
envelopes and labels.

03 If photos are your priority, speed

is less important. Choose a
printer that reproduces subtle tones well.
NETWORKS

Only hands-on testing will tell you this

AVM Fritz!Box 3970 ADSL WIRELESS ROUTER 802.11n dual band
(300Mbit/s), 4x 10/100/1000Mbit/s LAN ports,
★★★★★ 1x WAN port (ADSL2+ modem), UPnP, QoS
(specifications won’t cut it), so you’ll need £190 inc VAT • www.amazon.co.uk PART CODE 20002484
to check our reviews. Borderless printing The Fritz!Box 7390 ADSL2 router combines wireless internet access with
POWER CONSUMPTION 9W on
DETAILS www.fritzbox.eu
(up to the edge of the paper) should also NAS storage and USB printer support. It broadcasts on the 2.4GHz and FULL REVIEW Jun 2011
be possible. Pay particular attention to 5GHz bands simultaneously, and has a brilliant built-in web interface.
running costs: photos use three times as
WIRELESS STANDARD 802.11n dual band (450Mbit/s)
much ink as regular colour documents. NETGEAR WNDR4000 CONNECTIONS 4x 10/100/1000Mbit/s LAN ports,
★★★★★ 1x WAN port • FEATURES UPnP, QoS

04
DIMENSIONS 31x223x153
Heavy-duty office inkjets can £97 inc VAT • www.pixmamia.co.uk
POWER CONSUMPTION 6W on
cost up to £1,000 and their build This dual-band router broadcasts on the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands WARRANTY Two-year RTB •
simultaneously. It lets you use connected USB devices as NAS storage PART CODE WNDR4000-100UKS
quality is improving. They use large, DETAILS www.netgear.co.uk
so they can be used over your network, too.
individually replaceable ink tanks, which FULL REVIEW Aug 2011
can cut running costs. Printers with
automatic duplex (double-sided) printing
DRAYTEK Vigor 2850n WIRELESS STANDARD 802.11n dual band
(300Mbit/s) • CONNECTIONS 4x 10/100/1000Mbit/s
★★★★★ LAN ports, 2x WAN ports (ADSL/VDSL/3G modem) •
or A3 capability are steadily becoming £203 inc VAT • www.dabs.com FEATURES UPnP, QoS • DIMENSIONS 44x165x241 •
more affordable. Combined with the Draytek N65 Wi-Fi adaptor, the Vigor 2850n can
POWER CONSUMPTION 7W on • WARRANTY Two-
year RTB • PART CODE Vigor2850n
transfer data very quickly. It also lets you configure two backup internet DETAILS www.draytek.co.uk

05 Pricier photo printers allow you to

print digital photos by plugging
access options, including 3G, in case your main internet service goes down. FULL REVIEW Jul 2012

NUMBER OF ADAPTORS 1 Homeplug Standard

memory cards straight into the printer; SOLWISE Piggy HomePlug adaptor (Speed) HomePlug AV (500Mbit/s) • PORTS 1x
no PC is required. An LCD preview screen ★★★★★ 10/100/1000Mbit/s Ethernet ports • POWER
£34 inc VAT • www.solwise.co.uk SOCKETS 2 • DIMENSIONS 62x42x116mm
gives you greater control over this. Many POWER CONSUMPTION 3W on
inkjet printers now have a PictBridge USB This adaptor lets you network your PC using your home or office’s electric WARRANTY One-year RTB
cabling without consuming a mains socket. It’s rated at 500Mbit/s, and PART CODE NET-PL-500AV-PIGGY
port, which can be used to print images DETAILS www.solwise.co.uk
directly from most digital cameras. we achieved transfer rates of 139Mbit/s at close range.
FULL REVIEW Nov 2011

NETGEAR WNCE2001 PART CODE WNCE2001

06 If you’re really serious about

photography, consider buying an
inkjet that can print up to A3+ without
★★★★★
£34 inc VAT • www.pixmania.co.uk
DETAILS www.netgear.co.uk
FULL REVIEW Jul 2012

The WNCE2001 provides Wi-Fi connectivity to smart TVs, Sky boxes and
borders. The best produce prints that
other devices with an Ethernet port. It only works on the 2.4GHz band, but
are nearly as good as those supplied by we got brilliant data rates that let us enjoy HD movies and other media.
professional labs.

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70 SEPTEMBER 2012 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 295
 BEST
REVIEWS
BUYS

Choosing a ...
STORAGE
CRUCIAL Adrenaline CAPACITY 50GB • FORMATTED CAPACITY (NTFS)
46GB • INTERFACE SATA3 • SPINDLE SPEED • NOISE
★★★★★ WHEN IDLE None • WARRANTY Three-year RTB
£73 inc VAT • www.amazon.co.uk PART CODE CT050M4SSC2BDA
DETAILS www.crucial.co.uk

NAS device
This clever cache works alongside your existing hard disk, so you get the FULL REVIEW Jul 2012
speed boost of an SSD with the full capacity of a mechanical hard disk.
It’s a brilliant upgrade for any PC.

SYNOLOGY DiskStation DS212J STORAGE Not included • CONNECTIONS

10/100/1000Mbit/s Ethernet, 3x USB2 ports •
★★★★★ EXTRAS UPnP media, iTunes, print, USB disk, web,
£160 inc VAT • www.amazon.co.uk FTP servers • WARRANTY Two-year RTB •
DIMENSIONS 165x100x225mm • POWER
With its Linux GUI-style interface and wide-range of features, this is CONSUMPTION 11W standby, 24W active • PART
one of the easiest and most fully featured NAS devices you can buy. CODE DS212j • DETAILS www.synology.com
All you need to do is add your own hard disks, and you’re ready to go. FULL REVIEW Apr 2012

WESTERN DIGITAL My Book Live Duo 4TB STORAGE 2x 2TB hard disk • CONNECTIONS
10/100/1000Mbit/s Ethernet, 1x USB2 ports •
★★★★★ EXTRAS UPnP media, iTunes, USB disk, FTP servers
£265 inc VAT • www.amazon.co.uk • WARRANTY Three-year RTB • DIMENSIONS
165x157x99mm • POWER CONSUMPTION 15W active
If you’re looking for a lot of network storage for central backup and • PART CODE WDBVHT0040JCH
storage, you can’t go wrong with this incredible NAS device. With DETAILS www.wdc.com
4TB of storage built in, it’s excellent value and very easy to use. FULL REVIEW Jun 2012
01 A basic network-attached storage
(NAS) device will cost around £100.
BUFFALO DriveStation Velocity 2TB CAPACITY 1TB+1TB • SPINDLE SPEED 7,200rpm •
INTERFACES USB3 • DIMENSIONS 127x86x204mm •
It has only a single hard disk, so you’ll need
★★★★★ POWER CONSUMPTION 11W idle, 16W active • to make backups to protect your data, and
£121 inc VAT • www.ebuyer.com WARRANTY One-year RTB you can’t upgrade its storage capacity.
PART CODE HD-WLU3
External storage is a handy way to boost your hard disk’s storage, and DETAILS www.buffalo-technology.com Its Gigabit Ethernet interface means
this drive is one of the best. With 2TB of capacity and a super-fast FULL REVIEW Jun 2011 that it transfers data quickly although, to
USB3 connection, the DriveStation Velocity is a great all-rounder. use it at this speed, you’ll need computers
with Gigabit Ethernet network adaptors
SAMSUNG SpinPoint F3 1TB CAPACITY 1TB • FORMATTED CAPACITY (NTFS) 931GB
• INTERFACE SATA2 • SPINDLE SPEED 7,200rpm • and a Gigabit Ethernet switch or router.
★★★★★ CACHE 32MB • SEEK TIME 8.9ms • NOISE WHEN IDLE Computers with 10/100 adaptors will still
£65 inc VAT • www.amazon.co.uk 25dB(A) • WARRANTY Three-year RTB
PART CODE HD103SJ be able to access the NAS device, but at
It may be relatively old, but this is still the best-value hard disk you can buy, DETAILS www.samsung.co.uk just 100Mbit/s.
and 1TB of storage is plenty for all but the biggest file hoarders. If you want FULL REVIEW Oct 2009
the capacity of a mechanical disk at a good price, the SpinPoint F3 is ideal.

02 The amount of network storage

you need depends on the types of
files you use. If you want to store Word
SOFTWARE and Excel documents, for example, then a
250GB device will be more than enough.
ADOBE Photoshop Elements 10 SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS Windows XP (SP2)/Vista/7,
1.6GHz processor, 1GB RAM, 3GB disk space If you intend to store DVD-quality video,
★★★★★ PRODUCT CODE Photoshop Elements 10
£58 inc VAT • www.amazon.co.uk DETAILS www.adobe.com/uk however, you’ll need much more. A single
The best-known consumer photo-editing package, and also the best.
FULL REVIEW Dec 2011 uncompressed DVD image can take up to
Whether you want to give your photos a simple tweak or perform some 8.5GB of data, which means that even a
advanced editing, Photoshop Elements 10 is the package for you. modest media collection will require around
500GB of storage space.
CANONICAL Ubuntu 12.04 SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS 700MHz processor, 385MB

03
RAM, 5GB hard disk space
★★★★★ PART CODE 12.04
If you can see no end to your
FREE • www.ubuntu.com DETAILS www.ubuntu.com storage needs, consider buying an
FULL REVIEW Aug 2012
This free operating system is the best version yet. Canonical has made upgradable NAS device. Many have a USB
Ubuntu easier to use than ever, making it a creditable rival to Windows. port so you can add a second, external disk.
Unlike Microsoft’s operating system, it’ll run well on old computers.
Devices such as Synology’s barebones NAS
kits with spare disk trays allow for cheaper
SERIF PagePlus X6 SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS Windows XP or later,
512MB RAM, 566MB hard disk space and faster upgrades.
★★★★★ PRODUCT CODE PagePlus X6
£50 inc VAT • www.ebuyer.com DETAILS www.serif.com
This desktop publishing application gives you full control over the layout
and appearance of all your documents. Its a great-value DTP package, and
FULL REVIEW Apr 2012
04 If you want extra protection for
your data, look for a device that
supports RAID. A RAID 1 or RAID 5 array
a big improvement over the previous version.
reduces the available capacity, but if one
ACRONIS TrueImage Home 2012 SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS Windows XP/Vista/7/
Home Server 2011, 1GB RAM, 120MB hard disk space,
disk fails then your data remains safe.
★★★★★ 1 GHz processor

05
£24 inc VAT • www.amazon.co.uk PRODUCT CODE True Image Home 2012 If you need access to your files
DETAILS www.acronis.co.uk
The Windows backup is a good entry-level product, but this full suite FULL REVIEW Mar 2012 while you’re away from home or
provides image-based backup for a complete copy of your PC, including the office, look for a NAS device with an
the OS, programs and files, and incremental backups for daily use. FTP server. Some NAS devices can share a
USB printer across your network, saving
BITDEFENDER Internet Security 2012 SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS Microsoft Windows XP/
Vista/7, 800MHz processor, 1GB RAM, 1.8GB disk you the expense of a buying an Ethernet
★★★★★ space, internet connection printer. A NAS device with a Universal Plug
£23 inc VAT • www.amazon.co.uk PART CODE PB11031001-EN
DETAILS www.bitdefender.co.uk and Play (UPnP) media server can stream
With perfect scores in our anti-virus testing, BitDefender is our favourite FULL REVIEW Feb 2012 your music, photos and videos to a network
internet security suite. It’s also excellent value for a three-use licence,
letting you protect all your computers for one low price. media player, so you can enjoy your media
collection in another room.

WorldMags.net
ISSUE 295 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | SEPTEMBER 2012 71
 BEST BUYS
REVIEWS

Choosing an ...
COMPONENTS
INTEL Core i7-3770K CORES Four • CLOCK SPEED 3.5GHz • SOCKET LGA1155
• CACHE 4x 256KB L2, 8128KB L3 • TDP 77W •
★★★★★ WARRANTY One-year RTB • PART CODE i7-3770K •
£258 inc VAT • www.amazon.co.uk DETAILS www.intel.com • FULL REVIEW Jul 2012

AMD
The new Ivy Bridge processors have a smaller 22nm process and improved
graphics. They can apply Turbo Boost for longer than previous Sandy
Bridge processors, so have incredible performance in intensive applications.

motherboard AMD A8-3850

★★★★★
CORES Four • CLOCK SPEED 2.9GHz • SOCKET FM1 •
CACHE 4x 1024KB L2 • TDP 100W • WARRANTY One-
year RTB • PART CODE A8-3850 • DETAILS www.
£72 inc VAT • www.pixmania.co.uk amd.com • FULL REVIEW Sep 2011
The top of AMD’s range of ‘Llano’ desktop processors isn’t as quick as the
Intel competition, but it can play modern games at medium-detail settings
without requiring a separate graphics card, and it is very well priced.

ASUS P8Z77-V Pro PROCESSOR SOCKET LGA1155 • CHIPSET Intel Z77

Express • MEMORY SLOTS 4x DDR3 1066/1333/1600 •
★★★★★ EXPANSION 3x PCI Express x16 slots, 1x PCI Express
£151 inc VAT • www.aria.co.uk 1x slots, 1x PCI slots,4x SATA2 ports, 4x SATA3 ports
WARRANTY Three-year RTB warranty
The P8Z77-V is designed to work with Intel’s latest ‘Ivy Bridge’ processors. PART CODE P8Z77-V Pro
It’s loaded with expansion options and has a full complement of video DETAILS www.asus.com

01 AMD motherboards come in two

socket types: FM1 and AM3+.
outputs on the rear. The motherboard’s performance is impressive, too. FULL REVIEW Aug 2012

PROCESSOR SOCKET FM1 • CHIPSET AMD A75 •

The FM1 socket only works with ‘Llano’ ASUS F1A75-V Pro MEMORY SLOTS 4x DDR3 800/1066/1333/1600(OC)/18
processors such as the A8-3850, which ★★★★★ 66(OC)/2250(OC) • EXPANSION 2x PCI Express x16
slots, 2x PCI Express x1 slots, 3x PCI slots, 6x SATA3
have integrated graphics, while AM3+ £82 inc VAT • www.ebuyer.com
ports • WARRANTY Three-year RTB warranty
motherboards are intended for the This socket FM1 motherboard is designed to work with AMD’s ‘Llano’ PART CODE F1A75-V PRO
processors. It has all the features and expansion options you could need, DETAILS www.asus.com
‘Bulldozer’ chips in AMD’s FX range. FULL REVIEW May 2012
as well as comprehensive overclocking options and excellent performance.

02 If you want to play games at

anything other than the lowest
resolutions and lowest detail settings, a
AMD Radeon HD 7870
★★★★★
CHIPSET AMD Radeon HD 7870 • CORE SPEED 1GHz •
RAM 2GB GDDR5 (1.2GHz) • WARRANTY One-year RTB
PART CODE HD 7870
DETAILS www.amd.com
£256 inc VAT • www.ebuyer.com
PCI-E x16 slot will let you install a dedicated FULL REVIEW Jun 2012
AMD’s mid-range card is a compact 242mm and needs only a single six-pin
graphics card. Some motherboards let you
power connector, so it’s a simple upgrade. It gives smooth frame rates in
install a second graphics card in a second all modern games and is nearly as quick as more expensive graphics cards.
PCI Express slot to use in AMD’s CrossFire
or Nvidia’s SLI modes. These modes can
increase 3D performance, but can also be
glitchy. We’d recommend a single, more GAMES
powerful graphics card instead.
BLIZZARD ENTERTAINMENT Diablo III SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS 2.8GHz processor or higher,
1GB RAM, Nvidia 7800GT/AMD Radeon X1950 or
★★★★★
03
higher, 12GB hard disk space
If you want to use a processor’s £38 inc VAT • www.zavvi.com PRODUCT CODE B0030DH9R6
integrated graphics, your Just like the digital equivalent of crack cocaine (or so we’re led to believe),
DETAILS www.diablo3.com
FULL REVIEW Aug 2012
motherboard will need the right graphics Diablo III is incredibly addictive, whether you plan on playing alone or
outputs for your monitor. These will be a online with friends.
mix of VGA, DVI, HDMI and DisplayPort;
remember that HDMI, DVI and DisplayPort EIDOS Batman: Arkham City SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS Windows XP/Vista/7,
2.5GHz dual-core processor, 4GB RAM, 17.5GB hard
outputs can be used with different kinds of ★★★★★ disk space, Nvidia GeForce GTX 460 or ATI Radeon
monitors that have inexpensive adaptors. £23 inc VAT • www.amazon.co.uk HD 6850 with 768MB+ RAM
PRODUCT CODE B0030T12BE
Arkham City is the evolution of possibly the best Batman game ever made. DETAILS http://community.batmanarkhamcity.com

04 Make sure the motherboard is Letting the caped crusader loose in an open-world Gotham was an inspired FULL REVIEW Mar 2012
decision, ensuring that every minute of gameplay is an absolute riot.
the right size for your case. Most
cases take full-size ATX motherboards,
but smaller cases take microATX or even
MOJANG MineCraft SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS 1GHz processor, 1GB RAM,
Intel HD graphics or better
★★★★★ PRODUCT CODE Minecraft
even Mini-ITX models. £17 inc VAT • www.minecraft.net DETAILS www.minecraft.net
FULL REVIEW Apr 2012
An unbelievably simple concept, well executed and incredibly popular,

05 Make sure your motherboard has

enough slots for the amount of
RAM you want to have. Having just two
Minecraft is the definition of a gaming phenomenon – you absolutely have
to try it if you’ve missed out so far.

slots may restrict you to 16GB of RAM. SQUARE ENIX Deus Ex: Human Revolution SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS WIndows XP/Vista/7, 2GHz
dual-core processor, 2GB RAM, Nvidia GeForce 8000
★★★★★ series/ATi Radeon HD 2000 series or better,

06 If you’re installing lots of expansion £7 inc VAT • www.amazon.co.uk 8.5GB disk space
PRODUCT CODE 28050
cards, look for a motherboard with The original Deus Ex is arguably one of the best games ever made, so DETAILS www.deusex.com
plenty of PCI and PCI-E x1 slots. If you’re it’s a huge compliment to say Human Revolution is a worthy sequel. FULL REVIEW Nov 2011

going to install a lot of storage in your PC, a It’s an excellent blend of action, stealth and story.
motherboard with plenty of SATA ports is
essential. SATA2 is fine for mechanical hard BETHESDA SOFTWORKS Elder Scrolls V SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS Windows XP/Vista/7,
dual-core 2GHz processor, 2GB RAM, 6GB disk
disks and optical drives, but to take full ★★★★★ space, DirectX 9 graphics card with 512MB RAM,
£29 inc VAT • www.amazon.co.uk internet connection
advantage of a fast SSD you’ll need SATA3 PRODUCT CODE 0093155141506
The fifth instalment of Elder Scrolls (or Skyrim) is an absorbing tale of DETAILS www.elderscrolls.com/skyrim
ports. If a motherboard supports RAID, it
adventure and exploration, open to a world of possibilities. Every player FULL REVIEW Feb 2012
will give you a simple way of improving experiences Skyrim in a different way – what will your story be?
performance or protecting your data.

WorldMags.net
72 SEPTEMBER 2012 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 295
WorldMags.net
 COVER GIFT GUIDE

Cover disc guide

Your free gifts are now even easier to enjoy. Just download all the software at
www.computershopperdisc.co.uk/september and register with your unique coupon code

NovaBackup Professional 12.5

NOVABACKUP PROFESSIONAL IS a feature-packed NovaStor partner. This costs extra, but comes with end-
backup tool that makes it easy to protect your most to-end encryption to keep valuable data safe, version
valuable files. It backs up your system drive by default, management so you can restore old versions of files, and
but you can add folders and files of your choice – such bandwidth optimisation to speed up backups by ensuring
as your documents, email, music or pictures – with just that only the changed parts of a file are transferred.
one click. Alternatively, you can choose specific files and Restoring files is just as straightforward. Choose the
folders to protect. Support for incremental and differential ‘latest backup’ from a slider, and you can restore some
backup types will save only new or changed files, thereby or all backed-up files without having to choose a backup
improving performance and cutting down on the time it source device. A versatile scheduler runs unattended
takes to preserve your most precious files. backups at the time of your choosing, and the bootable
Your data can then be saved to recovery disc means you can restore
local or network files, CDs, DVDs or SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS Windows XP, Vista or 7 your backups even if Windows no
Blu-ray discs. There’s support for 32/64-bit, 3GB hard disk space longer starts. It’s all very easy to set
backing up to an FTP server or an INFORMATION www.novastor.com up, but experienced PC users will love
REGISTRATION Get your registration code at
Amazon S3 account, or you can www.novastor.com/en/download/shopper
NovaBackup’s settings dialog, which
open an account with a certified is packed with essential extras.

GETTING STARTED
UPGRADE OFFER
Insert the disc into your optical NovaBackup Professional 13 offers support for full, and folders in an image, as well as the entire backup.
drive. If the Computer Shopper
incremental and differential imaging for much faster You also get improvements to the interface, scheduling,
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automatically, double-click recovery backups. The backup environment is Windows NAS destination support, file restoration and more.
the icon. To install a program PE-based and can recover entire systems to different After registering version 12.5, NovaStor will offer
from the browser, follow the
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hardware. You can access and restore selected files users an exclusive discount to version 13.

ANY PROBLEMS?
If you need help with your
cover disc, please visit
www.computershopper.co.uk
and check the Cover Disc
forum in the IT forums section.

DEFECTIVE DISCS
Diskeeper 2011 Home
If your disc is physically
FRAGMENTATION MAKES MECHANICAL disks work
defective, please return it
to the following address, harder, impeding performance and ultimately shortening UPGRADE OFFER
enclosing your name and the life of the hardware. Unfortunately, the Windows Diskeeper 12 is a major update and ships with a host
address: Dovetail Services,
800 Guillat Avenue, Kent defragmentation tool leaves quite a bit to be desired. If of new features, including a brand-new Disk Health
Science Park, Sittingbourne, you want to push the performance envelope and extend module, which will keep an eye on your hard disks
Kent ME9 8GU. Please enclose your drive’s lifespan, you’ll need a third-party solution. to determine whether they are likely to fail soon,
stamps to the value of 38p to
cover postage and packing. Diskeeper 2011 aims to make fragmentation a thing enabling you to safeguard your data before system
of the past with its new IntelliWrite feature, which failure. Diskeeper 12 Home, which costs around £19,
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
These discs have been
prevents up to 85 per cent of fragmentation occurring can help you enhance your hard disk performance
thoroughly tested at all stages by forcing files to be written in contiguous blocks when even further. For more details, view the Diskeeper
of their production. Dennis they’re created or edited. This feature is married to homepage at www.condusiv.com/products/diskeeper.
Publishing Limited cannot
accept any responsibility for
new technologies such as Instant
any loss, disruption or damage Defrag, which eliminates the need
to your data or your computer for scheduled defragmentation, SSDs. More advanced versions of the software are
system that may occur while
using either the discs or
and a new Performance also available, with two extra key new features. There’s
the programs and data on Report feature to highlight Efficient Mode, which aims to cut overheads and
them. Due to restrictions on the performance gains the speed up the defrag process by prioritising problematic
the distribution of certain
software and selected offers program is delivering. fragmentation, and an engine for consolidating free
undertaken by Computer This free Home edition is space to help boost performance further.
Shopper or Dennis Publishing, perfect for the typical desktop
please also note that readers
outside the UK will only user and includes HyperFast SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS Windows XP, Vista or 7 32/64-bit, 60MB hard disk
receive selected cover gifts. technology, which can even space INFORMATION Diskeeper www.diskeeper.com REGISTRATION Get
your registration code at http://diskeeper.disc.expertreviews.co.uk
speed up performance from

WorldMags.net
74 SEPTEMBER 2012 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 295
 COVER GIFT GUIDE

Resources
Chat and Communication
Digsby Access all your instant messaging Postbox Express 1 An email client that
services from a single application, with provides a comprehensive array of tools to
support for Windows Live!, Yahoo!, AIM, help you manage your messages more easily.
Google Talk, ICQ and Jabber. Skype for Windows 5.9 Make internet voice
UPDATED Evernote 4.5 Store your notes, and video calls for free. You can also buy
ideas, plans and interesting snippets from credit to make calls to mobile phones and
the web in the cloud and synchronise them landlines, too.
between computers. UPDATED Trillian 5.1 Use all your instant
UPDATED Mozilla Thunderbird 12 FINAL A messaging accounts with one application,
powerful email client from the organisation with support for Windows Live!, AIM, Yahoo!
better known for the Firefox web browser. and Google.

Customisation
7 Taskbar Tweaker 3 Customise the UPDATED Rainmeter 2.2 Cover the desktop
Windows 7 taskbar so that it works to with your choice of information, tools
your liking. and shortcuts.
Metro UI Tweaker for Windows 8 This Windows 8 Transformation Pack Essential
software lets you customise the new user software if you’d like to emulate the look of
interface for the Windows 8 beta. Windows 8 on an earlier version of the OS.
Mosaic Desktop Beta 1 Refresh Add Windows 8 UX Pack Give Windows 7 an
Windows 8’s mosaic-tiled desktop to your interface upgrade so that it looks like
computer without having to upgrade. Windows 8.

General
EaseUS Partition Master Home 9.1 Divide UPDATED Screenshot Captor 3.05 Create
your hard disk into different partitions and manage screenshots the easy way.
with this powerful tool. UPDATED SUMo 3.1 Quickly scan your PC’s
UPDATED Free Studio 5.5 This software installed applications and find any updates
provides an easy way to convert your video that are available for them.
and audio files into different formats. ZipGenius 6.3 A flexible file-compression
UPDATED PeaZip 4.5 A powerful archive- tool with support for a huge number of
management tool. compressed file formats.

Internet and Network

CrossLoop Free 2.82 Control another LogMeIn Free 4.1 Control your computer
computer remotely over the internet, and over the internet for free, wherever you are.
even charge for the time you spend fixing UPDATED NetBalancer 5.1 Make the most
a problem. of your internet connection by assigning
Cyberduck 4.1 A powerful but easy-to-use download and upload priorities to your
FTP client. web applications.
Easy WiFi 4 Find free Wi-Fi hotspots while Vuze 4.7 A powerful BitTorrent client that
you’re out and about with the help of this makes it very easy to locate, share and
free tool and its comprehensive database. download files.

Tweaking and Performance

UPDATED CCleaner 3.19 Remove unwanted IObit Advanced SystemCare 5 A complete
information, temporary files, browsing computer security, maintenance and
history, huge log files and even the settings optimisation suite.
left behind by uninstalled software. UPDATED Revo Uninstaller Free 1.94 Remove
UPDATED Defraggler 2.10 Keep a system installed applications completely, including all
defragmented and improve its performance. their folders, system files and Registry entries.
UPDATED Finestra Virtual Desktops 2.5 Simple Performance Boost 0.9 Tweak
Set up four or more virtual desktops on the Windows Registry to give your PC a
your PC and organise the way you work. performance boost.

WorldMags.net
ISSUE 295 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | SEPTEMBER 2012 75
 REVIEWS

How we test
Find out how well products perform with the help of Computer Shopper’s
comprehensive tests
COMPUTER SHOPPER’S REVIEWS Bigger is better for all bars except the
use some of the most exhaustive testing red ones, which show running costs

procedures you’ll find in any PC magazine.

Every product is subjected to qualitative
and quantitative tests that show how it Mono page 2.2p
performs in practical use. Graphs for The actual scores in each
Colour page 6.7p test are shown inside
performance, battery life scores and costs each bar
are used in the Reviews section, as shown Draft speed 11ppm
on the right. Look in the ‘Summary of tests’
box (below) for details on each test we run. Normal speed 12ppm A product hitting the
For PCs and laptops, we evaluate +100 per cent mark
0% -50 Reference +50 +100 performed twice as well
performance using our own custom
as our reference
benchmarking suite. See below for a brief
description of our benchmarking software This line represents the performance of a reference product in each test. All graphs for
and game tests. components and systems are relative to our reference PC (see below for specifications)

Summary of tests BENCHMARKS RATINGS & AWARDS

PC SYSTEMS
SHOPPER BENCHMARKS Computer Shopper rates
Windows overall Average speed across numerous demanding tasks Our benchmark suite uses open- products out of five:
Multitasking Speed when running simultaneous applications source software that runs on
Dirt 3 Frames per second at 1,920x1,080 4xAA, Windows, Mac OS X and Linux Avoid ★★★★★
Ultra detail
systems. This lets us use objective
Crysis 2 Frames per second at 1,920x1,080, Ultra detail Below average ★★★★★
LAPTOPS results to compare PCs and laptops,
Windows overall Average speed across numerous demanding tasks no matter which operating system Good ★★★★★
Multitasking Processor-intensive multitasking test they run. It’s designed to test each computer to its limit, using
Dirt 3 Frames per second at 1,280x720 4xAA, High detail Very good ★★★★★
Battery life Run time in minutes for web browser use
a combination of intensive image-editing, video-encoding and
HANDHELDS/PORTABLE MEDIA PLAYERS/TABLETS multitasking tests. Excellent ★★★★★
Battery life Run time in minutes for continuous video playback We ran the tests on our reference PC, which has an
PRINTERS AND MFPS Intel Core i5-2500K processor and 4GB of DDR3 RAM. We
Draft speed Pages per minute for draft-quality inkjet text The best products can win the
normalised our results so this PC had a score of 100. This
Normal speed Pages per minute for correspondence-quality text following awards:
Greyscale speed Pages per minute for presentable text and graphics makes it easy to draw comparisons between test systems.
Mixed colour speed Pages per minute for presentable text and graphics The resulting overall score is shown at the bottom of BEST BUY Products with outstand-
Photo speed 6x4in photos per minute at top quality setting every PC and laptop review. As we use the same tests in our ing quality and performance for the
Scan speed A4 scans per minute at 300dpi money win our Best Buy award.
Mono costs Running costs expressed as pence per page
standalone and group test reviews, you can compare the
Colour costs Running costs expressed as pence per page performance of any computer, whether it’s a netbook, laptop
DIGITAL CAMERAS or desktop, from both sections of the magazine.
Battery life Number of shots from full charge To see how your computer compares with those we’ve
CAMCORDERS
Battery life Run time in minutes for recording
tested, you can download the suite from http://bit.ly/
MP3 PLAYERS shopperbenchmarks. They’re available for 32-bit and 64-bit
BUDGET BUY The very best products
Battery life Run time in minutes for continuous playback operating systems. for those on a tight budget win our
ROUTERS
Budget Buy award.
Centrino 2 1m Mbit/s at 1m with Centrino 2 adaptor
Own brand 1m Mbit/s at 1m with own-brand adaptor
3D BENCHMARKS
Centrino 2 10m Mbit/s at 10m with Centrino 2 adaptor
Own brand 10m Mbit/s at 10m with own-brand adaptor CRYSIS 2
Centrino 2 25m Mbit/s at 25m with Centrino 2 adaptor With full DirectX 11 support and
Own brand 25m Mbit/s at 25m with own-brand adaptor high-resolution textures, Crysis 2 will
NETWORK-ATTACHED STORAGE
push any PC to the limit. You’ll need
Large files Average MB/s for read/write of 100MB large files Business Buy The very best products
Small files Average MB/s for read/write of 100MB small files
at least 30fps for smooth gameplay. for work win our Business Buy award.
HARD DISKS
Large files Average MB/s for read/write of 100MB large files DIRT 3
Small files Average MB/s for read/write of 100MB small files Dirt 3 is the latest racing and rally title
PROCESSORS
from Codemasters, and a true DirectX 11
Windows overall Average speed across numerous demanding tasks
Multitasking Speed when running simultaneous applications game. You’ll need at least 30fps for
MOTHERBOARDS smooth racing.
ULTIMATE The very best products,
Windows overall Average speed across numerous demanding tasks
when money is no object, win our
Multitasking Speed when running simultaneous applications
3DMARK 11 Ultimate award.
Dirt 3 Frames per second at 1,920x1,080 4xAA,
Ultra detail Futuremark’s latest synthetic 3D
GRAPHICS CARDS benchmark tests the latest DirectX 11
3DMark 11 Performance settings, 1,920x1,080, 4xAA, 8xAF graphics features. It’s representative of
Crysis 2 Frames per second at 1,920x1,080, Ultra detail
current and future titles.
Dirt 3 Frames per second at 1,920x1,080 4xAA,
Ultra detail

WorldMags.net
76 SEPTEMBER 2012 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 295
British award winning PCs for 25 years utilising the latest in AMD and
Intel technologies producing the ideal systems for another generation.
m sh
award winning PCs • 1987

Latest Technologies
The Elite 3450 Plus utilises
mesh Elite 3450 Plus the very latest technologies

Intel® 3rd Gen Ivy Bridge Core i5 3450 Processor from the leading component
- 3.1GHz, 6MB Cache, 4x Cores manufacturers in the world
Featuring the New Intel® 3rd
ASUS® P8Z77-V LX Motherboard today
Generation Ivy Bridge Processor
1GB AMD RADEON™ HD 6570 GPU
- Your productivity is ready to
8GB DDR3 1600MHz Memory FREE Delivery
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1TB SATA III - 6GB/s 7200rpm HDD The Elite 3450 Plus comes

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Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium (UK mainland only)
Plus many additional features - full spec online
3 Year Warranty
only £699 inc. Vat The Elite 3450 Plus comes with
a 3 Year Hardware Warranty

For the latest Mesh offers on new technology call or go online

020 8955 0731WorldMags.net
| www.meshcomputers.com
Pictures shown for illustration purposes only - colours may vary. Prices and specification correct at time of going to press (27/6/12). E&OE.
 British award winning PCs for 25 years utilising the latest in AMD and Intel
technologies producing the ideal systems for another generation.

InteGl en
3rd ridge
Ivy B 0
i5 345

A superior performance PC competitively Delivers a powerful entertainment experience Powerful gaming system with
priced with AMD FX unlocked processor. with high performance processing. leading graphics performance.
mesh Matrix 4100 Gaming PC mesh Elite 3450 Gaming PC mesh Matrix 8120 Gaming PC

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- 3.8GHz Turbo, 12MB Cache, 4x Cores - 3.1GHz, 6MB Cache, 4x Cores - 4.0GHz Turbo, 16MB Cache, 8x Cores
- CPU Overclocking available
ASUS® P8B75-M LE/USB3 Motherboard - CPU Overclocking available

ASUS® M5A99X EVO Motherboard
1GB nVIDIA GEFORCE™ GT620
ASUS® M5A99X EVO Motherboard

1GB nVIDIA GEFORCE™ GT620
4GB DDR3 1600MHz Memory
2GB nVIDIA GEFORCE™ GT640

8GB DDR3 1600MHz Memory
1TB SATA III - 6GB/s 7200rpm HDD
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1TB SATA III - 6GB/s 7200rpm HDD Plus many additional features - full spec online
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InteGl en InteGl en
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Use the leading technology to power all A superior PC system utilising the best Accomplish all the tasks you throw at this Elite
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mesh Elite 3570K Gaming PC mesh Matrix 8150 Gaming PC mesh Elite 3770K Gaming PC

Intel® 3rd Gen Ivy Bridge Core i5 3570K Processor
AMD FX 8150 Processor
Intel® 3rd Gen Ivy Bridge Core i7 3770K Processor
- 3.4GHz, 6MB Cache, 4x Cores, Unlocked - 4.2GHz Turbo, 16MB Cache, 8x Cores - 3.5GHz, 8MB Cache, 4x Cores/8x Threads, Unlocked
- CPU Overclocking available - CPU Overclocking available - CPU Overclocking available

ASUS® P8Z77-V LX Motherboard
ASUS® M5A99X EVO Motherboard
ASUS® P8Z77-V LX Motherboard

2GB nVIDIA GEFORCE™ GT640
2GB AMD RADEON™ HD 7850 GPU
2GB AMD RADEON™ HD 7850 GPU

8GB DDR3 1600MHz Memory
8GB DDR3 1600MHz Memory
8GB DDR3 1600MHz Memory

1TB SATA III - 6GB/s 7200rpm HDD
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For the latest Mesh offers on new technology call or go online 020 8955 0731 | www.meshcomputers.com
WorldMags.net
Please Read: Sales subject to terms & conditions (copy available on our website). Advert does not form part of a contract. Pictures shown for illustration purposes only - colours may vary. PC 3 Year Warranty - 1 Year hardware only, parts & labour - return to base
(UK Mainland only) Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other countries. All trademarks are acknowledged. Finance options available on request. Sales line open Monday - Friday 9am - 6pm. Online
ordering 24x7. Prices and specification correct at time of going to press (27/6/12). E&OE.
 m sh
award winning PCs • 1987

InteGl en
3rd ridge
Ivy B 0K
i7 377
Windows 7
All Mesh desktops are pre-installed
InteGl en with Microsoft Windows® 7
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i7 377

Experience ultimate multi-screen gaming High-end power and performance

with the addition of 2x 24” LED monitors. to upstage all other PC platforms.
mesh Elite Pro Eyefinity mesh Elite 3770K Pro Gaming PC Latest Technologies

Intel® 3rd Gen Ivy Bridge Core i7 3770K Processor
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- CPU Overclocking available - CPU Overclocking available manufacturers in the world today

ASUS® P8Z77-V LX Motherboard
ASUS® P8Z77-V Motherboard

2GB AMD RADEON™ HD 7850 GPU
2GB nVIDIA GEFORCE™ GTX680

2x 24” Full HD LED Monitors + Dual Monitor Eyefinity Setup
16GB DDR3 1600MHz Memory

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Blu-Ray Writer Optical Drive
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3 Year Warranty
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mesh Slayer 3820 Gaming PC mesh Slayer 3930K Gaming PC

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WorldMags.net
WorldMags.net
 The Power of RadeonTM
Push graphics and gaming performance to the extreme
with the power of two – AMD Radeon™ Dual Graphics

CCL Elite Harrier II Gaming PC System

Amazing Value Gaming PC Powered by AMD RadeonTM Dual Graphics!

This is one amazing all-round PC powered

by the AMD A6-3670K APU
• Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium
• AMD Quad-Core Accelerated Processor
A6-3670K with AMD Radeon™
HD 6530D + 6570 Dual Graphics
• 8GB of 1333MHz DDR3 Memory
• 500GB Hard Drive, DVD Writer
• Built-in Wireless, Keyboard & Mouse
• 22” Acer 1080p TFT LED Monitor
• 1 Year Warranty

ONLY £509.99
CODE: CCL-CS-050 Save:£250

2.8GHz 4GB 500GB Wi-Fi 1 Year

What is AMD RadeonTM Dual Graphics?

Get the power of two when you purchase an AMD A-Series Accelerated Processor (APU) based PC with an
AMD Radeon™ DirectX® 11 capable discrete graphics card. Only AMD Radeon™ Dual Graphics combines
two powerful Radeon™ DirectX 11-enabled graphics processors to provide the ultimate gaming
performance boost when you need it. Experience gaming at higher resolutions with greater image quality
and boost visual performance when you combine a Quad-Core AMD APU for desktops with the AMD
Radeon™ HD graphics card

WE’RE
AWARD
WINNERS!
Highly Commended in the 2011
PC Pro Awards for Desktop PCs
and Best Online Retailer Awards
by PC Pro Magazine Readers
www.cclonline.com

www.cclonline.com/amdapuvga
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A PC System for Everyone
Home, Business, Media Centre, Gaming and Enthusiast

HOME & ALL ROUNDERS

CCL Alpha Advantage System CCL Alpha Champion III System
With the AMD FX-6100 six core processor and AMD Radeon 6450 Excellent all round system powered by AMD A-Series APU making it
graphics card this is an amazing all round machine! great for Full HD media!
• Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium • Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium
• AMD Six-Core Processor FX-6100 • AMD Dual-Core Accelerated Processor
• AMD Radeon™ HD 6450 Graphics Card A4-3300 with AMD Radeon™ HD 6530D
• 8GB of 1333MHz DDR3 Memory Graphics
• 500GB Hard Drive • 4GB of 1333MHz DDR3 Memory
• Built-in Wireless • 500GB Hard Drive
• DVD Writer • DVD Writer, Built-in Wireless
• 1 Year Warranty • 1 Year Warranty

£
•
479.89 £
•
319.89
RRP: £599.99, Save:£120 RRP: £424.99, Save:£105
CODE: CCL-CS-051 CODE: CCL-CS-052

MEDIA CENTRE & HOME THEATRE

CCL Alpha Vision Media PC CCL Alpha Scope Media PC
Raise your performance expectations for energy-efficient computing Powered by the AMD E-450 APU Platform with AMD Radeon HD 6320
with the digital media friendly Alpha Vision Media-PC Discrete-Class Graphics making this PC ideal for HD Video Playback
• Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium • Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium
• AMD Dual-Core Accelerated Processor • AMD Dual-Core Accelerated Processor E-450
E-350 with AMD Radeon™ HD 6310 with AMD Radeon™ HD 6320
• 2GB of 1333MHz DDR3 Memory • 8GB of 1333MHz DDR3 Memory
• 160GB Hard Drive • 500GB Hard Drive
• Multi Format Card Reader • Built-in Wireless
• Built-in Wireless • Blu-Ray Drive
• 1 Year Warranty • 1 Year Warranty

£ 349.90 £ 579.90
RRP:£449.99, Save:£100 RRP: £724.99, Save:£146
CODE: CCL-CS-053 CODE: CCL-CS-054

GAMING & ENTHUSIAST

CCL Elite Hawk II Gaming PC CCL Elite Buzzard II Gaming PC
Our best selling gaming PC evolved now with Featuring AMD's latest APU technology this is our best ever
Better Graphics - Bigger Hard Drive for a Better Deal! gaming PC for the price!
• Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium • Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium
• AMD Quad-Core Processor FX-4100 • AMD Quad-Core Accelerated Processor A6-3670K
• AMD Radeon™ HD 6850 Graphics Card with AMD Radeon™ HD 6530D Graphics
• 8GB of 1333MHz DDR3 Memory • 4GB of 1333MHz DDR3 Memory
• 1TB Hard Drive • 500GB Hard Drive
• Built-in Wireless • DVD Writer
• DVD Writer, Built-in Wireless • Built-in Wireless
• 1 Year Warranty • 1 Year Warranty

£
•
499.90 £
•
349.90
RRP: £629.99, Save:£130 RRP: £449.99, Save:£100
CODE: CCL-CS-055 CODE: CCL-CS-056

Built with genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium

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 IVY BRIDGE PCs

IVY BRIDGE PCs

The future is now
Intel’s latest processors bring new levels of performance to desktop PCs, and
they don’t cost as much as you might think. We test 10 next-generation PCs

CONTENT REVIEWS INTEL’S THIRD GENERATION Core about buying a new desktop computer, now is
Page 88
processors, previously known as Ivy Bridge, the time to do it.
ARBICO Elite 3575 CS have finally arrived, and they push When buying a new PC, there are plenty of
performance further than ever before. With things to consider beyond how much you
CHILLBLAST Fusion Diablo
improved thermal performance, higher clock want to pay. We take you through the most
Page 89 speeds and better Turbo Boost technology, Ivy important decisions here.
DINOPC Velociraptor 3450 Package Bridge PCs are the quickest we’ve seen.
ECLIPSE Discovery Z77i345R777 We asked 10 PC manufacturers to create PROBABLE CORES
systems for us that would challenge Ivy Most processors have at least two cores.
Page 90
Bridge, and they didn’t disappoint. Not only This boosts performance in applications
GINGER 6 G6 Vision
do the PCs have Ivy Bridge processors, but that support multicore processors, such as
MESH Elite i3570K CS many have also been overclocked to deliver video-editing software, and when running
Page 93 extra performance. They also come with multiple applications simultaneously. All the
PALICOMP Alpha Excite dedicated graphics, Blu-ray optical drives and Ivy Bridge processors in the PCs we review
plenty of storage for your cash. here have four cores, which provide even
PC SPECIALIST Vanquish Elite 560
Each of the PCs on test this month can be greater performance than a dual-core chip.
Page 94 bought separately as a base unit or bundled Intel’s range of processors can be
WIRED2FIRE Hellspawn Ultima with a monitor, so they’re perfect for anyone confusing. Some of its models have two
YOYOTECH Warbird 3570XTI who wants to buy an entire system or just physical cores and two virtual cores that are
upgrade an existing one. If you’re thinking created using the company’s Hyper-Threading

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86 SEPTEMBER 2012 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 295
 IVY BRIDGE PCS

technology. Our reviews tell you how many GENERAL STORAGE

cores a processor has, and our benchmarks If you have lots of documents, photos, music
on page 95 tell you how fast each one is in and videos, you need plenty of hard disk
practice. Some PC manufacturers also boost a space. Disk prices are slowly recovering from
processor’s performance by overclocking it. the record highs experienced after the tragic
Overclocking is a way of improving a PC’s flooding in Thailand, which disrupted
performance by increasing the bus speed, production in key component factories, so
processor multiplier or voltage, or a 1TB disks should be the norm for most
combination of all three. It’s a common mid-range PCs. If this isn’t enough, you could
practice among system builders, but even PCs buy an inexpensive external USB disk.
that haven’t been overclocked may have a Most PCs have at least two spare SATA
motherboard and processor combination that ports. These are used to connect hard disks,
makes it easy to do manually. optical drives and additional eSATA ports. Two
This is almost never the case with types of SATA port are commonly in use,
big-name systems, which tend to be shipped although both use the same connectors.
with motherboards that lack the required SATA3 is the latest standard and can transfer
options. It’s a definite point in favour of data at up to 6GB/s. This is impressive, but
smaller PC manufacturers if you like to tinker only the latest solid-state drives (SSDs) have
with your system, although you should always sufficiently fast read and write speeds to
check that an overclocked PC has enough make the most of the interface. SATA2 ports
cooling to cope with the extra heat generated. are still common, though. They have a
Our reviews mention any unexpected heat maximum data transfer rate of 3GB/s and are
issues or poor cooling. commonly used for optical disc drives and
traditional magnetic hard disks. Any available
JOG YOUR MEMORY SATA3 ports are best saved for SSDs.
The amount of memory in your PC determines If you want to add a solid-state drive or
how much data it can handle. For light use, eSATA port later, you’ll need a PC with free
such as working on office files or browsing SATA3 ports, but there’s little practical
the internet, 2GB is plenty, but most systems difference when it comes to connecting most
ship with at least 4GB of RAM. The table on storage devices. If you don’t have enough The ports on a PC determine the number
pages 96-97 tells you how many free memory ports to fit all the drives you want, you’ll need and type of peripherals you can connect
slots are available. If there are no free slots, to add a PCI-Express SATA card.
you’ll have to replace your existing RAM when Drive bays are essential if you want to faster USB3 standard, so look for this if fast
you upgrade. add more storage. You need spare 3½in bays external storage is important to you. Others
To use more than 4GB of RAM, you need a for extra hard disks, while 5¼in bays can have FireWire ports, which can be used to
64-bit version of Windows, as the 32-bit accommodate optical drives such as DVD or connect older video cameras, and eSATA
version can only use around 3.5GB. You can’t Blu-ray drives. Look for external bays if you ports, which let you connect external disks
upgrade to the 64-bit edition of Windows want to fit a memory card reader or an extra that can transfer data as fast as internal disks.
without buying a new licence key, so make optical drive. The table lists how many bays
sure the PC you want comes with 64-bit and SATA ports each PC has. GRAPHIC SCENES
Windows. All the PCs we’ve looked at this Also check the number of external ports. If you want to play the latest games at high
month have 64-bit operating systems. All PCs support USB, but some support the resolutions and settings, you need a fast
graphics card. The PCs we’ve tested aren’t
heavy-duty gaming machines, but the latest
GPUs found in Intel’s Core i5 and AMD’s
Fusion processors can run most 3D games if
you reduce the resolution and quality settings.
Even some relatively low-budget PCs
contain a dedicated graphics card. However,
make sure that other important components
haven’t been sacrificed for decent games
performance and that any graphics card
supplied provides enough of an advantage
over integrated graphics to make it
worthwhile. Our benchmarks show you how
each PC performed in our gaming tests.

COVER ME
Warranties can vary greatly between
manufacturers. Most last only a year and are
return to base, which means you pay to return
the PC to the supplier. Some are longer or
have a collect-and-return service, where the
manufacturer covers the cost of shipping.
Beware of long ‘labour only’ warranties.
These cover only labour costs of labour, so
you’ll have to pay for replacement parts to fix
any breakdowns. You also have the option of
fitting parts yourself if they fail outside a PC’s
Spare drive bays are essential for adding internal storage warranty period.

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ISSUE 295 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | SEPTEMBER 2012 87
 IVY BRIDGE PCs

ARBICO Elite 3575 CS

★★★★★
£893 inc VAT • From Arbico 08456 252627

VERDICT
An overclocked CPU and SSD make it a fast
desktop PC, but gamers should look elsewhere

ARBICO HAS MADE a huge effort to cool the the processor cool even when
overclocked Core i5-3570K inside its Elite 3575 overclocked and under load.
CS, installing five 120mm fans around the Annoyingly, you can’t use the top side-panel reference PC, and it means you’ll be able to
midi-tower case. With a solid-state boot disk mount as the CPU cooler gets in the way. tackle almost any desktop application,
and dedicated Nvidia graphics, it’s no slouch. The system felt responsive thanks to an including multithreaded ones.
It has two USB ports at the top of the case incredibly fast 128GB OCZ Vertex 4 SSD. The graphics card managed a frame rate of
and two 3.5mm audio jacks – one for a mic Arbico has supplemented this with a 1TB just 35.2fps in our Dirt 3 test and 15.4fps in
and the other for a pair of headphones. Below mechanical hard disk. There’s plenty of room Crysis 2. You’ll have to reduce the detail to
this is an optical DVD drive, two empty 5¼in for expansion, too, with four spare 3½in drive play the latest games in DirectX 11 mode.
drive bays and an external 3½in bay. bays and three free SATA ports. The dual-slot Arbico bundles an Asus VS247H monitor
Its back-panel ports include four USB graphics card blocks access to one of the two with the Elite 3575 CS. The LED-backlit Full
ports, two faster USB3 ports, one PS/2 port PCI-Express x1 slots, but three PCI slots and a HD panel is a good one, with DVI, VGA and
and Gigabit Ethernet, along with three 3.5mm second PCI-E x16 slot are available for add-in HDMI inputs for plenty of flexibility. Its 24in
audio jacks and a digital optical output. If you cards. Two of the four memory banks are widescreen display is great for watching films
want to use the integrated GPU, there are empty, too, so you can add more RAM and playing games at your desk. A Logitech
DVI, VGA and HDMI outputs, although the without discarding your current modules. keyboard and mouse complete the system.
installed Nvidia GeForce 550Ti is much faster. Considering the massive heatsink, we think The overclocked processor and SSD make
The spacious interior is dominated by a the i5-3570K’s overclock to 4.2GHz is a little the Elite 3575 CS very quick in desktop
huge Xigmatec CPU cooler. This tower-style conservative. We’ve seen the same chip reach applications but the Nvidia graphics card isn’t
design has 120mm fans at both ends to create 4.4GHz and 4.5GHz. However, this modest quite fast enough to cope with today’s most
a push-pull configuration for superior cooling. increase still had an impact in our multimedia demanding games. As similarly overclocked
Blue 120mm LED fans have been fitted to the benchmarks, where the Elite 3575 CS scored systems are available for almost £100 less,
front intake, rear exhaust and roof, keeping 136 overall. This is significantly faster than our however, this PC is hard to recommend.

CHILLBLAST Fusion Diablo

★★★★★
£799 inc VAT • From Chillblast 0845 4567830

VERDICT
Fantastic performance in desktop applications
and games from a well-rounded PC

WITH AN OVERCLOCKED third-generation has three 3.5mm analogue and

Core i5-3570K processor on board, the an optical digital audio output for
Chillblast Fusion Diablo really is a beast of a a 5.1 surround-sound system. processor cores, even heavily multithreaded
PC. It also has 8GB of memory, a dedicated Inside, Chillblast has kept the cabling tidy applications shouldn’t prove a problem. Its
AMD Radeon graphics card and a 2TB hard to prevent the obstruction of airflow. You’ll graphics performance was equally magnificent,
disk, so it should be able to handle anything. have to remove the Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 thanks to its 1GB AMD Radeon HD 6870 GPU.
The system is housed in a CIT Vantage X11 Pro CPU cooler’s fan if you want to install It sped through Dirt 3 at 55fps, and even ran
case. Chillblast has subtly enhanced its fairly additional memory, but the other expansion Crysis 2 at 23.8fps. Reduce the anti-aliasing
generic looks with sparing use of blue LEDs. ports are easy to access. One free SATA3 port and most games should be playable.
It’s also well equipped for cooling. One 120mm and three empty SATA2 ports provide Chillblast bundles an Asus VS247H 24in
front intake, one 120mm exhaust and two potential for additional storage or optical Full HD monitor with the Fusion Diablo, as
120mm side-panel fans kept the components drives, but you must screw them in to the well as a Logitech KM260 wireless mouse
cool and quiet, even after several hours of three empty 5¼in and three 3½in drive bays. and keyboard set. The matt display helps to
benchmarking, although you can turn off the Sadly, there’s no tool-free installation here. reduce light reflections and gives colours a
side panel fans if you prefer even less noise. The Asus P8Z77-V LX has three empty PCI muted yet lifelike quality. HDMI, VGA and DVI
The sparse front panel contains just two USB slots, as well as two PCI-Express x1 slots, inputs provide plenty of flexibility, as do the
ports, 3.5mm audio jacks and an SD card although the double-width HD 6870 obscures internal speakers.
reader, but there are more ports at the back. the second slot. There’s a second PCI-Express The Fusion Diablo is definitely powerful,
Its four USB ports, two faster USB3 ports, x16 slot, but this runs only in x4 mode if you with good graphics performance, lots of ports
one PS/2 port and a Gigabit Ethernet port install a second graphics card. Its 700W PSU for your peripherals and one of the highest
should be all you need to get up and running. should easily power more expansion cards. Ivy Bridge overclocks we’ve seen so far. We
The Diablo also has DVI, HDMI and VGA In terms of performance, the Fusion Diablo think the Palicomp Alpha Excite is the better
connectors should you wish to use the blitzed our multimedia benchmarks, scoring a buy because of its superior graphics card, but
integrated Intel HD 4000 graphics. Finally, it whopping 144 overall. With four physical the Chillblast Diablo is still a cracking option.

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88 SEPTEMBER 2012 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 295
 IVY BRIDGE PCs

DINOPC Velociraptor 3450 Package

★★★★★
£749 inc VAT • From Dino PC 0844 999 4123

VERDICT
Limited upgrade potential tames this raptor
before it shows its claws

DINOPC HAS BUILT the Velociraptor 3450 ample room for cable
inside an attractive Xigmatek Asgard Pro case. management. Three holes make
This has a USB3 port on its front panel, routing the wires easier, and DinoPC has done using Turbo Boost to reach 3.5GHz at times,
making it easy to connect super-fast storage. a good job of hiding the 400W PSU’s cables. it scored 103 overall in our multimedia
With its Ivy Bridge Core i5-3450 and SSD boot With a smaller motherboard, there’s less benchmarks, making it marginally faster
disk, it’s as nippy as a raptor, too. scope for expansion than with other PCs. It than our reference processor – a previous-
The PC has one external 3½in drive bay has three spare SATA ports, a PCI slot and a generation i5-2500K. Its four cores can
and three 5¼in bays. Only one 5¼in bay is second PCI-Express x16 port, but the dual-slot easily handle multithreaded applications.
fitted with an optical drive, so there’s room graphics card obstructs the second slot. It has The AMD Radeon HD 7770 graphics card
for expansion. The front panel is made almost 8GB of RAM, but both memory slots are full, managed a decent average of 41fps in Dirt 3
entirely of wire mesh to increase airflow, so so you’d have to remove these to upgrade. but just 20.9fps in Crysis 2, so you may need
the ports are located on the roof. As well as a This limitation is disappointing, as the case to lower the settings to maintain smooth
USB3 port, it has two regular USB ports and a has room for six more 3½in hard disks. frame rates in DirectX 11 games.
standard 3.5mm audio input and output. A single 120mm front intake and 120mm The Velociraptor 3450 is supplied with an
The back panel provides two more USB3 rear exhaust fan help the Intel CPU cooler to AOC i2352Vh display, which has a superb 23in
ports and four standard USB ports, as well as dissipate excess heat. This is plenty as the IPS panel with fantastic viewing angles. The
Gigabit Ethernet and two PS/2 ports for older i5-3450 isn’t overclocked, but if you add a bundled Logitech keyboard and mouse are
peripherals. Audio is limited to three 3.5mm second graphics card or lots of hard disks, basic, however.
audio jacks, with no digital connection. you may want to install extra fans. There’s a The Velociraptor 3450 is a great package
Removing the side panel simply involves spare 120mm fan mount in the floor, two in but its lack of upgrade potential is
undoing two thumbscrews. The microATX the roof and two more on the side panel. disappointing. Even taking into account its
Asus P8B75-M LE motherboard occupies Performance was as we’d expect from an excellent monitor and SSD boot disk, we’d
barely half of the motherboard tray, leaving Ivy Bridge i5-3540. Running at 3.1GHz, but recommend Palicomp’s Alpha Excite first.

ECLIPSE Discovery Z77i345R777

★★★★★
£674 inc VAT • From Eclipse Computers 08444 723723

VERDICT
If you’re not interested in overclocking, this
computer is a bargain

THE ECLIPSE DISCOVERY Z77i345R777 has a front panel provides four USB
multiplier-locked Intel Core i5-3450 processor. ports, as well as 3.5mm audio
This means it can’t be overclocked, but its jacks for a microphone and headphones. One
dedicated AMD graphics and ample room for of the 5¼in bays houses a DVD optical drive, has fitted only one 120mm intake fan. It’s
upgrades mean it’s a strong contender to be with two 5¼in and one 3½in drive bay fitted to the side panel rather than the front,
your next PC. available for future upgrades. and there’s no exhaust fan at the back. This
The quad-core i5-3450 runs at 3.1GHz, The Asus P8Z77-V LX’s back panel has leaves the Intel CPU cooler, PSU and graphics
with Turbo Boost pushing it to 3.5GHz when four USB ports, two USB3 ports, Gigabit cards fans to dissipate the heat from within
required, but it doesn’t support Hyper- Ethernet and one PS/2 port. It also has three the case. We didn’t notice any serious
Threading, so the four cores aren’t doubled 3.5mm audio jacks for a 5.1 surround-sound overheating, but there are five empty 120mm
in Windows. Paired with 8GB of RAM, it system and a digital optical output. Finally, fan mounts in the front, rear, roof and side
completed our multimedia benchmarks with there are DVI, HDMI and VGA outputs. panel that we’d seriously consider using.
an overall score of 110, which is fast enough There’s lots of room for expansion. Five of Eclipse has bundled a no-brand keyboard
for almost every desktop application. the six internal 3½in drive bays are free for and mouse, but also a high-quality BenQ 22in
Its AMD Radeon HD 7770 graphics card extra hard disks. Even though the processor LCD monitor. The GL2240 is a little smaller
is great for light gaming. It managed a fairly is multiplier-locked, Eclipse has installed an than others but has a Full HD panel and a
smooth 40.6fps in Dirt 3, but only 20.6fps in enthusiast motherboard with four spare SATA matt display that helps avoid reflections.
Crysis 2, so you’ll have to lower detail settings ports, as well as three PCI slots, two PCI-E x1 At £596 for the base unit, the Discovery
to play the latest games at high frame rates. and two PCI-E x16 slots. The dual-slot graphics Z77i345R777 costs around £50 less than
Eclipse builds the Discovery Z77i345R777 card occupies one of the PCI-E x16 slots and the competition. You can’t overclock the Ivy
in an EZ Cool chassis, which is made from a obscures the second x1 slot, so you’ll have to Bridge processor, but it’s still fast enough for
combination of steel and plastic. The mesh remove it to add additional expansion cards. almost every task and the graphics card is
front helps increase airflow, and a transparent Although the processor hasn’t been decent, too. If you need a low-cost PC, this is
side panel lets you see the components. The overclocked, we were surprised that Eclipse an excellent choice.

WorldMags.net
ISSUE 295 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | SEPTEMBER 2012 89
 IVY BRIDGE PCs

GINGER 6 G6 Vision
★★★★★
£800 inc VAT • From Ginger 6 0871 230 7170

VERDICT
Not bad, but it needs more RAM to make the
most of its components

GINGER 6 HAS paired a 1TB hard disk with plastic, steel and wire mesh for
a super-fast 128GB SSD to give the G6 added ventilation. The blue LED
Vision a speed boost. Indeed, the G6 Vision lights glowing from inside may not be to dual-slot graphics card obscures one of the
reaches the Windows Desktop in just under everyone’s taste, but they’re relatively PCI-E x1 slots.
30 seconds. Once you’re there, the Intel Ivy unobtrusive. A panel in the roof of the case Cooling is well covered, with four 120mm
Bridge processor and 4GB of RAM should provides two USB ports, a pair of 3.5mm fans installed throughout the case. The single
be able to handle all your applications. audio jacks and a multiformat card reader. front intake and single rear exhaust fans
Our multimedia benchmarks are a prime The back panel adds four USB ports, two create a constant flow of air, while the two
example. Scoring 113 overall, the G6 Vision is faster USB3 ports and a PS/2 port, as well as side-panel fans push cold air on to the CPU
around 10 per cent faster than our reference DVI, VGA and HDMI outputs for the cooler and graphics card. Ginger 6 has used
PC. It won’t outpace an overclocked system, integrated graphics. A digital optical and three the default Intel heatsink, but you shouldn’t
though, so you may need to look for a 3.5mm audio outputs complete the selection. have to worry about heat unless you add a lot
multiplier-unlocked processor if you plan on There are plenty of expansion options of extra hard disks or expansion cards.
running intensive multithreaded applications. inside the midi tower chassis, too. It has three The included AOC 2436Vwa monitor has a
You’ll also be able to play the latest games, vacant 5¼in external drive bays, one external very useful USB hub. It’s a 1080p panel, but
thanks to the Nvidia GeForce GTX 560 SE with 3½in drive bay and four internal 3½in bays, we thought its image quality was distinctly
1GB of video memory. It completed our Dirt 3 which should provide ample room for average. The Microsoft keyboard and mouse
benchmark with an average of 41.5fps, additional storage, although there are no set is basic but reasonably well built.
although it managed just 18.2fps in our Crysis tool-free mounting mechanisms. The G6 Vision may have a fast SSD, but
2 test, so you’ll have to turn down settings in The motherboard is also well equipped, Ginger 6 has had to compromise in other
more graphically demanding games. with three empty RAM slots, three unused areas to keep costs down. For a similar price,
The G6 Vision is built in a basic midi tower SATA ports, three PCI slots, two PCI-E x1 slots you can find an overclocked system with
case that’s made from a combination of and two PCI-E x16 slots. However, the more memory and a faster graphics card.

MESH Elite i3570K CS

★★★★★
£779 inc VAT • From Mesh 020 8955 0731

VERDICT
Overclocked and well equipped for games,
but there’s not a lot of storage

THE ELITE I3570K CS has a heavily Another welcome inclusion is the

overclocked Intel Core i5-3570K processor 120GB SSD, which handles both Windows and configuration, but if you plan to add a lot
running at 4.4GHz. This is a big increase over storage. This is great if you have a large of expansion cards or extra hard disks, we
the stock speed, but Mesh has opted to use external hard disk or NAS device for your recommend upgrading the CPU cooler to
the basic Intel CPU cooler rather than a larger multimedia files, but less so if you want to better balance system cooling.
heatsink to more effectively dissipate the heat play a lot of modern games, as their large The front panel provides two USB ports
caused by overclocking. install sizes could soon fill the SSD. and two 3.5mm audio jacks. On the back there
Sensibly, Mesh has installed an additional Thankfully, the Cooler Master case offers are four USB ports, two USB3 ports, three
120mm fan to keep the PC cool. The Elite ample room for expansion. A DVD rewriter 3.5mm audio jacks and a digital optical
completed our multimedia benchmarks with occupies one of the 5¼in drive bays, leaving output, Gigabit Ethernet and a single PS/2
an overall score of 130. The multitasking score three empty, along with one external 3½in port, as well as DVI, HDMI and VGA
was slightly lower than expected, as the bay. The motherboard has three PCI slots, one connections for the integrated GPU.
system has only 4GB of RAM. PCI-Express x1 and one PCI-E x16 slot free, but The Hanns.G 23.6in monitor that comes
Impressively, the Elite i3570K CS has a the dual-slot graphics card uses one PCI-E x16 with the system is an LED model, with a Full
Sapphire Radeon HD7850 GPU graphics and blocks the other PCI-E x1 slot. With three HD resolution and integrated stereo speakers.
card. It’s powerful, has 2GB of dedicated empty RAM slots, you can upgrade your It supports HDCP for playing protected
video memory and can play the latest games memory without removing the existing 4GB. content and its image quality is above average
at Full HD resolutions, as our graphics Beyond the CPU cooler setup, the system With its stock CPU cooling and limited
benchmarks show. In Dirt 3 it produced a cooling is basic. One 120mm front intake and memory, the Elite i3570K CS isn’t as balanced
stellar 57.1fps, and even in Crysis 2 it one 120mm rear exhaust fan are installed, as we’d like. The huge overclock, powerful
managed a perfectly playable 28.9fps. Very leaving one 120mm fan mount in the bottom dedicated graphics and large SSD are great,
few games should pose a problem for this of the case and a second 120mm mount but stability can’t be overlooked. Unless you
machine, even with DirectX 11 and anti- next to the side-panel fan. This level of don’t mind upgrading the CPU cooler yourself,
aliasing enabled. cooling was adequate for the current the Palicomp Alpha Excite is a better choice.

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90 SEPTEMBER 2012 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 295
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 IVY BRIDGE PCs

PALICOMP Alpha Excite

★★★★★
£830 inc VAT • From Palicomp 01270 898104

VERDICT
With great graphics, ample storage and bags of
upgrade potential, this is a fantastic PC

PALICOMP’S ALPHA EXCITE was built for drive bays use tool-free mounting
playing the latest games. Its overclocked Ivy brackets, so you won’t need a
Bridge Core i5-3570K processor and 2GB screwdriver to add more storage. Palicomp has overclocked for even greater
AMD Radeon HD 7850 graphics card won’t The Gigabyte Z77-D3H motherboard is performance. It completed our Dirt 3 test with
break into a sweat even if you try to play the dominated by a huge Thermaltake CPU cooler, an average frame rate of 60.6fps and Crysis 2
latest titles at 1080p with maximum detail. but it still has plenty of expansion options. with an average 25.9fps, so you’ll be able to
A Cooler Master Elite 330 midi tower Two of the three PCI-E x1 slots are free while play pretty much anything without having to
forms the basis of the system. Its subtle looks the third is obscured by the dual-slot graphics reduce detail settings. Desktop performance
should appeal to those who don’t want a PC card, but both PCI slots are available. There’s was equally impressive, scoring 142 overall in
to be the focus of the room. Its minimal front also another PCI-E x16 slot for a second our multimedia benchmarks.
panel has two USB ports and two 3.5mm graphics card. An mSATA port lets you add a The Full HD Asus VS247H display included
audio jacks, but the rear panel of the Gigabyte small SSD to speed up the system even more. with the Alpha Excite has a matt screen that
Z77-D3H motherboard has plenty of ports. Sadly, all four RAM slots are full, so you’ll minimises light reflections. Its viewing angles
With four USB and four USB3 ports, you’re have to discard some modules if you upgrade. aren’t the best, but the LED backlight looked
unlikely to need a USB hub. There’s also PS/2, The Thermaltake CPU cooler keeps even. A basic Cherry Keyboard and mouse set
Gigabit Ethernet and five 3.5mm audio jacks temperatures low, but cooling is basic. There’s completes the bundle.
for 7.1 surround sound, plus a digital optical only one 120mm front intake and one 120mm Palicomp has done well to include a
audio out, VGA, DVI and HDMI. exhaust fan, while the 80mm fan mount on high-end graphics card in this Ivy Bridge
Two thumbscrews keep the side panel in the side panel is obstructed by the huge CPU PC considering the price. The three-year
place. It’s very tidy inside, thanks to the cooler. The system is quiet when idling, but return-to-base warranty is another welcome
modular 750W power supply, which allows long gaming sessions could see fan noise rise. inclusion, as is the massive overclock. It might
you to add only the cables you need. The Our gaming benchmarks were no match not have an SSD boot disk, but in all other
three empty 5¼in drive bays and six free 3½in for the AMD Radeon HD 7850 GPU, which respects it’s an excellent PC.

PC SPECIALIST Vanquish Elite 560

★★★★★
£799 inc VAT • From PC Specialist 0844 499 4000

VERDICT
A slightly underwhelming graphics card
holds back this otherwise well-rounded PC

THE VANQUISH ELITE 560 is built inside a located at the bottom of the case, which
minimalist Cooler Master Elite 310 case, which could make it difficult to reach if you stand it Titan CPU cooler is, ironically, rather compact,
should blend in wherever you put it. The PC on the floor. Only two USB ports and two but it managed to stay quiet even when the
may not look particularly powerful from the 3.5mm audio jacks are included, although PC processor was under heavy load. You can use
outside, but it contains an overclocked Ivy Specialist has fitted a multiformat card reader the mounting point on the side panel to fit
Bridge Core i5 and dedicated Nvidia graphics. in one of the external 3½in drive bays. This an additional 80mm, 90mm or 120mm fan.
Its Core i5-3570K processor runs at 4.4GHz has an extra USB port, too, which should be Cables are secured away from sources of
and is paired with 8GB of RAM, which helped easier to reach than those on the front panel. airflow, but you must cut the plastic ties if
it finish our multimedia benchmarks with an One of the four external 5¼in bays contains a you want to rearrange them.
overall score of 143. Four physical cores make Blu-ray optical drive, leaving three more PC Specialist offers the Vanquish Elite 560
it ideal for heavily multithreaded applications. empty for additional upgrades. with an AOC E2450SWDA monitor. It’s a Full
Graphics performance was impressive. The Internally, the Asus P8Z77-V LX HD panel with an LED backlight that helps
Nvidia GeForce GTX 500 Ti graphics card may motherboard has plenty of room for produce natural colours. There’s little in the
be a generation old, but it coped well in our upgrades, including three PCI slots, a spare way of adjustment, and it provides only VGA
Dirt 3 test, reaching a fast 60.6fps, although PCI-Express x16 slot and two PCI-E x1 slots, and DVI inputs, but it’s still a welcome
Crysis 2 was a tougher challenge. An average although one PCI-E x1 slot is obscured by the inclusion. The base unit also comes with a
of 24.9fps in Crysis is still respectable, and dual-slot graphics card. Two unused memory Logitech wireless mouse and keyboard, which
only a little way off the 30fps needed for slots let you add more RAM, and there are are a welcome step up from the basic desktop
smooth gameplay. Turning down detail four SATA ports for connecting hard disks. sets we’ve seen from other system builders.
settings slightly will let you play any The top 3½in bay contains a 1TB hard disk, The Vanquish Elite 560 is a well-built
modern game smoothly. and there are five more empty bays, so you machine with a hefty overclock and decent
From the outside, the Vanquish Elite 560 won’t run out of space for storage. gaming performance. It just loses out to
looks basic, with a glossy plastic front fascia Cooling is fairly basic, with just one 120mm the Palicomp Alpha Excite, which has a
that attracts fingerprints. The front panel is front intake and one 120mm exhaust fan. The 2TB hard disk.

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 IVY BRIDGE PCs

WIRED2FIRE Hellspawn Ultima

★★★★★
£800 inc VAT • From Wired2Fire 0845 388 9051

VERDICT
The Hellspawn Ultima’s SSD and overclocked CPU
are hard to beat and make it a great system

WIRED2FIRE HAS GIVEN the Intel Core The Asus P8Z77-V LX motherboard’s
i5-3570K inside its Hellspawn Ultima a hefty back panel has four USB ports, two faster The AMD Radeon HD 7770 graphics card
overclock to produce a 4.6GHz clock speed. USB3 ports, Gigabit Ethernet and a PS/2 port. is an overclocked Asus model, so it should be
Combined with dedicated Nvidia graphics and The audio ports include three 3.5mm analogue slightly faster than a standard one. This was
OCZ SSD, it’s an incredibly fast mid-range PC. jacks for 5.1 surround sound and a digital borne out in our gaming benchmarks. In Dirt 3
To achieve this overclock, Wired2Fire has optical output. VGA, DVI and HDMI ports let it produced an average frame rate of 41.7fps.
replaced the standard Intel heatsink with a you use the integrated graphics that are built Crysis 2 proved more of a challenge, and it
Xigmatek tower cooler, which is far more into the Intel processor, but the dedicated reached only 21.2fps. If you want to play the
capable. A Xigmatek Asgard case forms the graphics card is significantly faster. latest games, you’ll have to reduce the detail
basis of the system. One 120mm front intake Inside, there are five free 3½in bays. Two settings or disable anti-aliasing.
and one 120mm rear exhaust fan provide are taken up by the OCZ 64GB SSD and 1TB Wired2Fire sells the Hellspawn Ultima with
ample airflow, but there are two additional hard disk. The drive cages use tool-free a 24in Full HD Asus VS247H monitor. It’s a
120mm fan mounts on the side panel, too. retention mechanisms, so you shouldn’t need matt display, so reflections shouldn’t be a
The case looks fairly generic from the a screwdriver to fit a hard disk. The dual-slot problem, and has an even LED backlight and
outside, and has one 3½in and four 5¼in drive graphics card takes up one PCI-E x16 slot and DVI, VGA and HDMI inputs. The Keysonic
bays. A DVD optical drive occupies one bay, obscures a PCI-E x1 slot, but there are three keyboard is fairly generic, as is the Gigabyte
but the rest are free. The ports are positioned PCI ports and one PCI-E x16 slot free. mouse, but they’re better than some
in the centre of the front panel, which should In performance terms, the overclocked bargain-basement peripherals.
be easy to reach even if you place the case on processor is more than fast enough for With an SSD and a heavily overclocked
the floor. This has just two USB ports and the everyday tasks. It has four cores, so heavily processor, the Hellspawn Ultima is fast. If
usual 3.5mm audio jacks, though, so you’ll multithreaded applications will run smoothly. frame rates are your main concern, the
need to connect most of your peripherals to This includes our multimedia benchmarks, in similarly priced Palicomp Alpha Excite may be
the back of the case. which the Hellspawn Ultima scored 141 overall. a better choice, but there’s little to fault here.

YOYOTECH Warbird 3570XTI

★★★★★
£799 inc VAT • From Yoyotech 0871 855 3380

VERDICT
The Warbird is a great PC, but you get better
graphics for your money elsewhere

WHEN WE OPENED the Yoyotech Warbird an Nvidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti

3570XTI, we had to double-check that the graphics card installed. It isn’t a
case wasn’t upside down, because the current-generation card, but it’s a proven faster USB3 standard. There are more ports
motherboard tray is mounted on the left side performer and completed our Dirt 3 test at the back too, such as four USB ports, two
rather than the right. This may not be typical with an average 61.7fps. Newer games will USB3 ports, one PS/2 port, three 3.5mm audio
but it certainly works well. The Warbird trouble it slightly, as our Crysis 2 test showed. jacks and a digital optical output. There’s also
3570XTI was one of the quietest overclocked A frame rate of 26.3fps in Crysis 2 means VGA, DVI and HDMI video outputs for the
Ivy Bridge PCs we’ve seen, despite having four you’ll have to reduce detail settings for the integrated GPU, although these are
120mm case fans and a tower-style third-party latest titles. superfluous if you use the graphics card.
CPU cooler to help keep temperatures down. Once you’ve got your head around the Yoyotech sells the Warbird 3570XTI as a
These are all required as Yoyotech has reversed design, there’s a reasonable amount base unit or with an Asus VS247H monitor.
overclocked the Intel Core i5-3570k processor of room for expansion inside the midi tower It’s a 23.6in LED-backlit panel with a 1080p
to 4.5GHz, providing a huge performance case. Three empty 5¼in external drive bays let resolution, making it the ideal upgrade for an
boost over stock-clocked machines. With 8GB you add extra optical drives if the included older display. VGA, DVI and HDMI inputs
of RAM it blitzed our multimedia benchmarks DVD rewriter proves insufficient, although the provide plenty of flexibility in case you want
with an overall score of 143, which suggests two empty 3½in internal bays may be a little to connect additional hardware to the screen.
that very few applications will slow it down. restrictive if you need extra storage. Only two There’s little to dislike about the Warbird
The 64GB SSD boot disk certainly helped, of the four RAM slots are occupied, and there 3570XTI. The SSD boot disk speeds up
speeding up file access and transfer times. are three empty PCI slots, one PCI-Express x1 Windows and the processor is easily fast
There’s also a secondary 1TB hard disk on and a PCI-E x16 slot for expansion cards. enough for demanding applications. However,
which you can store your multimedia files, On the outside, the front panel contains Palicomp’s Alpha Excite has a faster graphics
so you won’t run out of space in a hurry. two USB ports and two 3.5mm audio jacks. card and a Blu-ray optical drive for £10 less. If
If you’re looking for a gaming PC, you’ll be That may seem basic, but we were happy to gaming is more important to you than boot
happy to know that the Warbird 3570XTI has see that one of the USB ports supports the times, the Palicomp is a better choice.

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94 SEPTEMBER 2012 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 295
 IVY BRIDGE PCs

BENCHMARKS
2D performance 3D performance
Overall Multitasking Dirt 3 (fps)
144 153
61.7
143 150
60.6

143 149
60.6

142 149 57.1

141 146 55

136 144 41.7

130 132 41.5

41
113 123
40.6
110 114
35.2
103 97

This DirectX 11 benchmark shows

Image editing Video encoding
how well a PC will cope with less-
146 140 demanding games.
SETTINGS 1,920x1,080 resolution, 4xAA, Ultra settings
140 137

133 136 Crysis 2 (fps)

133 136
28.9
125 135
26.3
120 132
25.9
118 131
24.9

118 109 23.8

113 105 21.2

103 98 20.9

20.6

18.2
Our new benchmark suite allows us to of DDR3 RAM. We normalised all its
compare Windows, Mac OS X and Linux results to 100, which makes it easy to draw 15.4
PCs. The tests use open-source applications comparisons. We use the same tests in all
to gauge a PC’s performance, and comprise our reviews.
image-editing, video-editing and You can download the tests for free With its stunning effects and explosions,
multitasking elements. These scores are from http://bit.ly/shopperbenchmarks. plus some of the most realistic character
added to produce the overall score. animation available, Crysis 2 pushes a PC
SETTINGS We run our application tests at native resolution
Our reference PC is fitted with an and in 32-bit colour to its limits.
Intel Core i5-2500K processor and 4GB WEB http://bit.ly/shopperbenchmarks SETTINGS 1,920x1,080 resolution, 4x AA, Ultra settings

VERDICT
Wired2Fire managed to squeeze an SSD boot multimedia. The overclocked processor makes ECLIPSE Discovery
disk, an overclocked processor, 8GB of RAM it incredibly fast in desktop applications, too. Z77i345R777
and a 1TB hard disk into its Hellspawn Ultima. It’s a Best Buy award winner.
★★★★★
Its performance was excellent, as was its If you’re on a tighter budget, you can still
cooling and upgrade potential, making it an get fantastic performance as long as you don’t
obvious choice for a five-star rating. However, mind a multiplier-locked processor. You won’t
its graphics card wasn’t quite as powerful as be able to overclock it, but Eclipse’s Discovery
the one in Palicomp’s Alpha Excite. Z77i345R777 is still well equipped to play the PALICOMP Alpha Excite
Although the Alpha Excite doesn’t have an latest games, run demanding desktop ★★★★★
SSD, the larger 2TB hard disk, Blu-ray optical applications and hold all your multimedia files
drive and AMD Radeon 7850 graphics card on its 1TB hard disk. For £674, it definitely
make it a superb PC for gaming and deserves our Budget Buy award.

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ISSUE 295 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | SEPTEMBER 2012 95
 IVY BRIDGE PCs

BUDGET BUY
DINOPC
ARBICO CHILLBLAST Velociraptor 3450 ECLIPSE
Elite 3575 CS Fusion Diablo Package Discovery Z77i345R777
Rating ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★
Processor Intel Core i5-3570K Intel Core i5-3570K Intel Core i5-3450 Intel Core i5-3450
Processor number of cores Four Four Four Four
Processor external bus 100MHz 100MHz 100MHz 100MHz
Processor multiplier X42 X46 X31 X31
Processor speed 4.2GHz 4.6GHz 3.1GHz 3.1GHz
Processor socket LGA2011 LGA2011 LGA2011 LGA2011
Memory installed 8GB 8GB 8GB 8GB
Memory type (speed) DDR3 DDR3 DDR3 DDR3
Maximum memory 32GB 32GB 32GB 32GB
Motherboard Asus P8Z77-V LX Asus P8Z77-V LX Asus P8B75-M LE Asus P8Z77-V LX
Motherboard chipset Intel Z77 Intel Z77 Intel B75 Intel Z77
Power consumption standby 1W 2W 2W 1W
Power consumption idle 59W 64W 48W 62W
Power consumption active 129W 141W 126W 135W
PORTS
USB ports (front/rear) 2/6 2/6 3/6 4/6
FireWire ports (front/rear) 0/0 0/0 0/0 0/0
eSATA ports (front/rear) 0/0 0/0 0/0 0/0
Networking 1x 10/100/1,000 1x 10/100/1,000 1x 10/100/1,000 1x 10/100/1,000
INTERNAL EXPANSION
Case Midi tower Midi tower Midi tower Midi tower
Case size HxWxD 190x435x478mm 455x180x420mm 200x445x470mm 198x439x503mm
PCI (free) 3 (3) 3 (3) 2 (1) 3 (3)
PCIe x1 (free) 2 (1) 2 (1) 0 (0) 2 (1)
PCIe x16 (free) 2 (1) 2 (1) 2 (1) 2 (1)
Serial ATA (free) 6 (3) 6 (4) 6 (3) 6 (4)
Memory (free) 4 (2) 4 (2) 2 (0) 4 (2)
Drive bays 3½in (free) 5 (3) 4 (3) 8 (7) 6 (5)
Drive bays 5¼in (free) 3 (2) 4 (3) 3 (2) 3 (2)
HARD DISK
Hard disk model OCZ Vertex 4 SSD and Seagate Seagate Barracuda Corsair Force 3 60GB and Seagate Seagate Barracuda (ST31000524AS)
ST1000DM003-9YN162 (ST2000DM001-9YN164) ST1000DM003-9YN162
Interface SATA3 SATA3 SATA3 SATA3
Total storage capacity 1,128GB 2,000GB 1,064GB 1,000GB
GRAPHICS
Graphics card Nvidia GeForce GTX 550 Ti 1GB AMD Radeon HD 6870 AMD Radeon HD 7770 AMD Radeon HD 7770
Graphics/video ports VGA, DVI, HDMI DVI, HDMI, 2x Mini DisplayPort DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort DVI, HDMI, 2x Mini DisplayPort
SOUND
Sound card Realtek HD Audio Realtek HD Audio VIA HD Audio Realtek HD Audio
Sound card outputs 7.1 line out, optical S/PDIF out 7.1 line out, optical S/PDIF out 5.1 line out 7.1 line out, optical S/PDIF out
Speakers None None None None
REMOVABLE DRIVES
Memory card reader None SDXC, MMC None None

Optical drive type DVD+/-RW +/-DL BD-RE + DVD+/-RW +/-DL, DVD+/-RW DVD+/-RW +/-DL, DVD-ROM DVD+/-RW +/-DL
+/-DL
DISPLAY
Size and technology 24in widescreen LED 24in widescreen LCD 23in widescreen IPS 22in widescreen LED
Model Asus VS247H Asus VS247H AOC i2352Vh BenQ GL2240M
Native resolution 1,920x1,080 1,920x1,080 1,920x1,080 1,920x1,080
Inputs VGA, DVI, HDMI VGA, DVI, HDMI DVI, VGA, HDMI DVI, VGA
OTHER HARDWARE
Keyboard Logitech K120 Logitech MK250 Logitech K120 Yes
Mouse Logitech M120 Logitech M210 Logitech B110 Yes

Extras None None None None

SOFTWARE
Operating system Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Operating system restore option Restore disc Restore disc Restore disc Restore disc
Extras None None None None
BUYING INFORMATION
Parts and labour warranty Two-year RTB Two-year collect and return Three-year RTB (three-year labour, One-year RTB
two-year parts)
Price including VAT and delivery £893 £799 £749 £674
Price excluding monitor £733 £650 £630 £596
(including VAT and delivery)
Supplier Arbico 08456 252627 Chillblast 0845 4567830 Dino PC 0844 999 4123 Eclipse Computers 08444 723723
Details www.arbico.co.uk www.chillblast.com www.dinopc.com www.eclipse-computers.com
Part code ELITE 3575 CS FUSION DIABLO VELOCIRAPTOR3450P DISCOVERY Z77I345R777

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96 SEPTEMBER 2012 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 295
 IVY BRIDGE PCs

BEST BUY

GINGER 6 MESH PALICOMP PC SPECIALIST WIRED2FIRE YOYOTECH

G6 Vision Elite i3570K CS Alpha Excite Vanquish Elite 560 Hellspawn Ultima Warbird 3570XTI
★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★
Intel Core i5-3450 Intel Core i5-3570K Intel Core i5-3570K Intel Core i5-3570K Intel Core i5-3570K Intel Core i5-3570K
Four Four Four Four Four Four
100MHz 100MHz 100MHz 100MHz 100MHz 100MHz
X31 X44 X45 X44 X46 X45
3.1GHz 4.4GHz 4.5GHz 4.4GHz 4.6GHz 4.5GHz
LGA1155 LGA1155 LGA2011 LGA2011 LGA2011 LGA1155
4GB 4GB 8GB 8GB 8GB 8GB
DDR3 DDR3 DDR3 DDR3 DDR3 DDR3
32GB 32GB 32GB 32GB 32GB 32GB
Asus P8Z77-V LX Asus P8Z77-V LX Gigabyte Z77-D3H Asus P8Z77-V LX Asus P8Z77-V LX Asus P8Z77-V LX
Intel Z77 Intel Z77 Intel Z77 Intel Z77 Intel Z77 Intel Z77
1W 1W 2W 1W 1W 1W
57W 53W 67W 63W 68W 67W
159W 163W 138W 137W 136W 171W

2/6 2/6 2/8 3/6 2/6 2/6

0/0 0/0 0/0 0/0 0/0 0/0
0/0 0/0 0/0 0/0 0/0 0/0
1x 10/100/1,000 1x 10/100/1,000 1x 10/100/1,000 1x 10/100/1,000 1x 10/100/1,000 1x 10/100/1,000

Midi tower Midi tower Midi tower Midi tower Midi tower Midi tower
189x450x410mm 190x483x420mm 410x185x480mm 189x433x465 185x475x408mm 180x470x430mm
3 (3) 3 (3) 2 (2) 3 (3) 3 (3) 3 (3)
2 (1) 2 (1) 3 (2) 2 (1) 2 (1) 2 (1)
2 (1) 2 (1) 2 (1) 2 (1) 2 (1) 2 (1)
6 (3) 6 (4) 6 (4) 6 (4) 6 (3) 6 (3)
4 (3) 4 (3) 4 (0) 4 (2) 4 (2) 4 (2)
4 (2) 6 (5) 7 (6) 8 (5) 7 (5) 4 (2)
4 (3) 4 (3) 4 (1) 4 (3) 4 (3) 4 (3)

Crucial CT128M4SSD2 and Corsair Force GT 120GB Seagate Barracuda Seagate Barracuda OCZ Agility 3 64GB and Corsair Force 3 60GB and
Seagate ST1000DM003-9YN162 (ST2000DL003-9VT166) (ST1000DM003-9YN162) Samsung HD103SJ Seagate ST1000DM003-9YN162
SATA3 SATA3 SATA3 SATA3 SATA3 SATA3
1,144GB 120GB 2,000GB 1,000GB 1,064GB 1,060GB

Nvidia GeForce GTX 560 SE 2GB ATI Radeon HD 7850 2GB ATI Radeon HD 7850 Nvidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti AMD Radeon HD 7770 Nvidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti
HDMI, DVI, VGA DVI, HDMI, 2x Mini DisplayPort DVI, HDMI, 2x Mini DisplayPort VGA, DVI, HDMI DVI, HDMI, 2x Mini DisplayPort 2x DVI, 1x mini HDMI

Realtek HD Audio Realtek HD Audio VIA HD Audio Realtek HD Audio Realtek HD Audio Realtek HD Audio
7.1 line out, optical S/PDIF out 7.1 line out, optical S/PDIF out 7.1 line out, optical S/PDIF out 7.1 line out, optical S/PDIF out 7.1 line out, optical S/PDIF out 7.1 line out, optical S/PDIF out
None None None None None None

None None None SD, SDHC, CF, Memory Stick PRO, None None
MMC, xD
DVD+/-RW +/-DL DVD+/-RW +/-DL BD-ROM + DVD+/-RW +/-DL, BD-ROM + DVD+/-RW +/-DL, DVD+/-RW +/-DL, DVD-ROM DVD+/-RW +/-DL
DVD+/-RW +/-DL DVD+/-RW +/-DL

23.6in widescreen LCD 23.6in widescreen LED 24in widescreen LCD 23.6in widescreen LED 24in widescreen LCD 23.6in widescreen LCD
AOC 2436Vwa Hanns.G HL249 Asus VS247H AOC E2450SWDA Asus VS247H Asus VS247H
1,920x1,080 1,920x1,080 1,920x1,080 1,920x1,080 1,920x1,080 1,920x1,080
VGA, DVI VGA, DVI DVI, VGA, HDMI DVI, VGA VGA, DVI, HDMI HDMI, DVI, VGA

Microsoft Wired Keyboard 600 Logitech K120 Cherry KU-0556 Logitech MK250 Keysonic KSH Microsoft Wired Keyboard 400
Microsoft Wheel Mouse Optical Logitech RX 250 Cherry M-5400 Logitech M210 Gigabyte M5050 Microsoft Wheel Mouse Optical
1.1A 1.1A
None None None None None None

Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Restore disc Restore disc Restore disc Restore disc Restore disc Restore disc
None BullGuard Internet Security AVG Antivirus, OpenOffice CyberLink Blu-ray suite None None
Prices correct at time of going to press

One-year collect and return Three-year RTB (three-year labour, Three-year RTB One-year collect and return, one- Two-year parts and labour One-year RTB
two-year parts) year parts, three-year labour
£800 £779 £830 £799 £800 £799
£670 £650 £650 £699 £665 £660

Ginger6 0871 230 7170 Mesh 020 8955 0731 Palicomp 01270 898104 PC Specialist 0844 499 4000 Wired2Fire 0845 388 9051 Yoyotech 0871 855 3380
www.ginger6.com www.meshcomputers.com www.palicomp.co.uk www.pcspecialist.co.uk www.wired2fire.co.uk www.yoyotech.co.uk
G6 VISION ELITE I3570K CS IVY5 VANQUISH ELITE 560 HELLSPAWN ULTIMA 20167

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ISSUE 295 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | SEPTEMBER 2012 97
 ONLINE BACKUP SERVICES

ONLINE STORAGE
Back up to perfection
Fed up with losing BACKING UP IMPORTANT files or your backing up and synchronising your most
entire disk is a task that no-one relishes, and important files so that you can easily recover
backup tapes? Tired of few people enjoy synchronising files among and access them. Some of the services are
their many PCs with a notepad and USB drive. free and some charge you for specific storage
syncing PCs with a USB Wouldn’t it be great if there were online tools sizes, but all of them are worth a look.
drive? Take the tedium to assist you? Luckily, there are, and very few
of them are absolutely terrible. NO WORRIES
out of peace of mind This month, we’ve reviewed eight online We all know that backing up is essential, but
backup services and four synchronisation how many of us actually do it? It seems
with these 12 services services that take the stress and strife out of there’s always something more pressing or
interesting to do. Thankfully, online backup
services can put an end to the worry of losing
all those precious files.
CONTENT REVIEWS
Managing a local backup routine can be a
Page 100 Page 105 chore that often gets postponed, but online
CARBONITE Home PRO SOFTNET iDrive Pro Personal backup is usually a set-and-forget affair. It’s
DATABARRACKS Buddy Backup SOS ONLINE BACKUP Home Edition 5.0 also more secure than local backup. Data is
Page 103 Page 106
taken off-site, which means you’ll be able to
DECHO MozyHome GOOGLE Drive recover it in the event of fire, flood or theft,
and now that broadband is so fast and cheap,
LIVEDRIVE Pro Suite MICROSOFT SkyDrive
it’s realistic to back up all your data online.
Page 104 Page 107 You can also use synchronisation services
MEMSET SquirrelSave SUGARSYNC 30GB to make sure the work you want to take home
MYPCBACKUP Home/Pro 75GB TREND MICRO SafeSync gets there long before you do, letting you
access your data wherever you are. Plenty of

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98 SEPTEMBER 2012 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 295
 ONLINE BACKUP SERVICES

Often, the limiting factor isn’t how much space

you have available to you online, but the length of
time it takes to upload your data

of continuous uploads, and much longer if SOS Online Backup, can provide version
you wanted to switch your PC off at night storage over an unlimited period, which is
or if your broadband supplier throttled the worth having if you need extra peace of mind.
connection due to excessive use. There are Our table tells you how long each service
no performance scores for individual services retains deleted copies, and how it handles
in this group test because it depends on the version retention.
speed of your broadband connection, the time
of day and various other contributing factors. SHARE AND SHARE ALIKE
If you have a lot of data to back up or Online backup and file-sharing services are
restore at once, it may be worth choosing a closely related, and many of the companies
company that lets you post a DVD or hard reviewed here provide both in one convenient
disk to them instead of shifting gigabytes of package. The most limited only let you email
data over the internet. There’s an option built links to individual files; others provide a full
into SOS Online Backup’s client interface that multimedia browser that lets you not only
makes it easy to burn a backup to DVD and share entire directories but also incorporate
post it to the service, which could be a real photo galleries or a streaming facility for your
time-saver if you want to back up your home audio and video files.
movie archive, for example. Its 50GB or 150GB Many services also let you access and
capacity limit means you can’t get too carried even upload files directly from your mobile
away, though. Meanwhile, Mozy will send phone or tablet. Our table lists those services
DVDs or USB drives to you when you need that provide online or mobile access to your
to restore, and Carbonite will do the same at backups, and you can find more details in the
an additional cost. This could prove critical individual reviews.
if you need to restore more data than your A backup service is no use if you can’t
broadband service’s monthly download be sure it’s copying new versions of your
companies promise fast and secure online allowance will allow, or you simply wish to files as they change. It’s handy if the service
backups and synchronisation, but what do carry out a full restore without delay. you choose provides some form of logging or
you need to know when choosing a service? Most services offer throttling, which can email you to confirm that your backup
involves deliberately slowing uploads and has completed successfully. Most services
SIZING UP YOUR OPTIONS downloads to minimise the impact of backups have some form of logging or email alert; see
Obviously, you need to know how much on your other broadband activities. Most let the table for details.
storage you get for your money. This can vary you pause a backup, too. If you have multiple
widely, with some providers offering just 20GB PCs, choose a service that doesn’t restrict FREE FOR ALL
of space, while other, similarly priced services you to backups from only one computer. Online backup and synchronisation is a
provide hundreds of gigabytes or even You’ll find this information below each review highly competitive market that includes
unlimited storage. However, some companies and in the table on pages 108-109. dozens of companies, large and small.
that offer unlimited storage impose other Because of this, and because of the need
limits on the amount of data you upload. THAT SYNCING FEELING to impress prospective customers, many
They might not support external drives or As well as online backups, we’ve also looked providers offer free as well as paid-for
certain file types, for example. at synchronisation services. There’s some services. You’ll find them listed at the
Services with fixed-capacity allowances blurring of boundaries, however. Some online bottom of our table, along with the time-
tend to be more relaxed about how you use backup providers, such as Memset’s limited trials offered by other providers.
them, and let you use multiple computers for SquirrelSave, let you back up data from You can get free versions of Mozy, iDrive,
a single account. Most users have only a multiple PCs, while a few synchronisation Dropbox and SugarSync, all of which are fully
couple of gigabytes of important personal services also have basic backup functions. functional, while Microsoft’s SkyDrive and
files, but you’ll need more space if you want However, if a service’s key feature is to Google’s Drive are free in the first place.
to back up lots of photos, videos or audio synchronise data between two or more PCs, A number of services, including Dropbox,
files. Often, the limiting factor isn’t how much we’ve classed it as a synchronisation service. SugarSync and iDrive, even let you earn
space you have available to you online, but Most synchronisation and backup services extra free storage space by referring other
the length of time it takes to upload data. will retain old or deleted versions of files. users to the service, up to a maximum of
Version retention can be a lifesaver if you’ve 16GB for Dropbox free accounts, 15GB for
TAKING THE BROAD VIEW accidentally deleted or mangled a section in iDrive and 32GB for free SugarSync accounts.
Most home broadband connections have an important document, whether it’s your Previous free versions limited backup
an upload speed of between 448Kbit/s and financial records or the first draft of your features, but we’ve found no such restrictions
1.5Mbit/s. It might take around 14 minutes to novel. Some services keep only a few versions, in the latest free software clients.
upload 30MB of data over a basic home ADSL such as the last five saved copies. However, There’s never been a better time to
connection, while a Virgin cable connection as most of us are in the habit of saving discover online backup services and develop a
with an upload speed of 1Mbit/s can manage frequently, this might not be enough before new backup and synchronisation regimen,
the same task in around seven minutes. At you notice your mistake. A few services, especially when so many services are free and
these speeds, 100GB would take 16 to 32 days including SquirrelSave, Dropbox Pro 50 and come with fully usable storage capacities.

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CARBONITE Home
★★★★★
£42 inc VAT per year • From www.carbonite.co.uk

VERDICT
It’s great if you need a simple online backup service for one PC, but it
doesn’t provide many extra features beyond mobile access

CARBONITE, ONE OF the most established responsible for safeguarding it, you won’t be structure, and lets you restore them to their
online backup providers, gives you unlimited able to retrieve your data if you forget it, and original location or a new directory through a
backup storage for £42 per year. There’s no you won’t be able to access services such as right-click menu option. You can also search
monthly plan and you can only associate one Carbonite’s mobile applications and optional for files by name and restore all your files at
PC with the account, so you need multiple Courier Recovery service. once. Although a standard Carbonite Home
accounts if you have multiple computers. With that done, Carbonite completes its subscription lets you back up only one
When you install the application, you’re configuration and opens its main InfoCenter computer, you can also restore your files to a
asked to name your PC. You can then either interface, through which you can adjust its new PC, which makes it easy to get your data
let Carbonite automatically select the files it settings and restore backup files, but you back if your original PC stops working.
thinks you want to back up (typically, the don’t use it to select folders or files you want It also has multiple data centres that use
contents of your desktop, document and to back up. Instead, Carbonite adds an option 1,024-bit Blowfish encryption to keep your
media directories) and then define its own to Windows Explorer’s right-click menu. precious files safe.
backup schedule, or set it up yourself. You can Carbonite’s standard configuration means If you require a long-term online backup
start with Carbonite’s default folders and edit that some file types won’t be backed up, plan, you can get a two-year plan for £76
its selections or start with nothing selected including video files, executables and anything and a three-year plan for £102. This makes
and manually add files later. over 4GB in size. You can’t change this file Carbonite a good-value choice.
You’re also given the option of creating a exclusion list, but you can select such files Unlike many of its rivals, Carbonite hasn’t
backup schedule. The default option instructs directly and add them to your backups. More adopted any synchronisation or file-sharing
Carbonite to update your online backup expensive Carbonite plans have automatic features. This is a straight backup service for
automatically every time it detects a change backup functions that include default video one PC only. There are mobile apps for iOS,
to your backed-up folders, but you can also backups and the ability to add a single, locally Android and BlackBerry devices that let you
back up once a day or halt monitoring and attached external drive to your backups. access your files and listen to your stored
backups during certain hours. The easiest way of retrieving a single file music, however. With unlimited storage, an
Finally, you’ll be prompted to set up an or folder is to browse your backups using the easy-to-use backup and restoration interface
encryption key. By default, Carbonite manages Carbonite Backup Drive, accessible from the and its low price, Carbonite’s a great option,
your key, but you can also set your own key. ‘Browse your backup’ option in the InfoCenter although we prefer SquirrelSave’s unlimited
If you create your own key, you’ll be entirely software. This replicates your PC’s directory plan, which can be used with multiple PCs.

DATABARRACKS Buddy Backup

★★★★★
Free • From www.buddybackup.com

VERDICT
This free, easy-to-use service turns your network of friends
and contacts into a secure off-site backup resource

MOST ONLINE BACKUP and synchronisation your Notification Area that tells you if your you remove versions older than a specified
services provide you with a certain amount files have been backed up or if they still need number of days. Backups are made in real
of online storage on their own servers, but to be securely stored. An option is also added time as you change files, or when your
Buddy Backup lets you store data on your to Windows Explorer’s right-click menu that buddies’ computers come online if no backup
friends’, family and colleagues’ computers lets you easily select any file or directory to be target is online. You can also use Buddy
instead. However, they can’t look at your added to your backup. Backup to back up your data locally to an
precious (or incriminating) data because the Before you can secure your data, you have external hard disk or network share.
information is encrypted before it’s sent to to add a buddy. All you need to do is enter You can also recover an unlimited number
their computer – just be aware that they can their email address, and they’ll be sent an of deleted files, as well as an unlimited
also store their data on your PC. invitation either to join Buddy Backup or, if number of previous file versions, making it a
If you’d rather not get your friends they’re already a member, let you back up to safe storage option.
involved, you can simply set up an account their PC. The client software shows you the Although Buddy Backup lacks features
for several of your own computers, such status of your backups and lets you change such as web access and synchronisation, it’s
as your work and home PCs, for example. the amount of space you share with your free and – assuming you have even slightly
Although each computer must have its own buddies. Other options let you chat with your reliable friends or your own PCs in multiple
account, you can have multiple accounts buddies and restore backed-up files or folders places – it provides you with convenient
associated with the same email address. to the location of your choice. offsite backups. Combine it with a free
Each requires a unique username, however. Buddy Backup stores every altered version syncing service such as Google Drive, and
You can then select the files and folders you of all the files you’ve backed up by default, you have a powerful, convenient and entirely
wish to back up. An icon is then placed in but an option in the client’s Tools menu lets free data storage and sharing setup.

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DECHO MozyHome
★★★★★
£4.99 inc VAT per month • From www.mozy.co.uk

VERDICT
As far as online backup goes, this is a good
choice, but it isn’t the best-value option around

MOZY SELECTS A few common directories even create a local backup location on a backup part of Mozy’s service on each. Stash
to back up and defaults to its own key using connected hard disk or network share. creates a folder, the contents of which are
secure 448-bit Blowfish encryption. You can You can view the progress of the backup in automatically mirrored with both your online
also configure it to use your own key, but you the status window. An icon in the Notification storage and any other PCs on which you’ve
won’t be able to restore your files if you lose Area provides quick access to backup settings, installed Stash. If you use Mozy backup, you’ll
it. If you don’t want to back up all the a tool to search files you’ve backed up and a also notice a MozyHome folder that appears
suggested files and directories, you can link to your online storage. You also access under your Computer folder. This lets you
change them in the Settings menu, which the file restoration interface here. A browser browse your backed-up files.
takes you straight to the MozyHome client. makes it easy to search for backups by Mozy’s free plan provides 2GB of backup
Once there, you can select from default version, select files and restore them. space. The £4.99-per-month account we
backup sets such as music, photos and Mozy’s website lets you browse and reviewed offers 50GB of storage for a single
documents, edit them, and create your own. If restore files directly via a hierarchical computer. If you need more space, you can
you opt to do the latter, a neatly designed file sequence of directories. You can also browse get a 125GB plan, which can handle three
browser appears, from which you can select them by backup set. Mozy lets you sort by computers for £7.99. Beyond that, each
directories and view files. You can back up type, date and version, but it can’t open them. additional PC costs £1.75 per month, as does
anything on your local PC, but network and It has no audio player or photo viewer. an additional 20GB of space.
external storage drives aren’t accessible. The latest addition to Mozy’s service is a Mozy’s backup client is effective and easy
Other options in the MozyHome client let synchronisation folder called Stash. This to use, although its web interface is rather
it warn you if you exceed your backup quota, shares space with your MozyHome backups, clunky. The addition of the Stash sync folder
set backups to be carried out automatically but you have to install it separately, which is a provides further functionality missing from
when your PC is idle or on a fixed schedule, tad annoying. However, it does mean you can many rivals. If you need a pure backup service,
restrict bandwidth to prevent your backups install Stash on as many computers as you though, Mozy’s 50GB of storage isn’t as good
monopolising your internet connection and like without having to configure the online a deal as SquirrelSave’s unlimited plan.

LIVEDRIVE Pro Suite

★★★★★
£15 inc VAT per month • From www.livedrive.com

VERDICT
Livedrive’s combined backup and sync service is expensive,
but it provides an immense amount of storage space

LIVEDRIVE IS ONE of our long-standing synchronisation services’ shared folders, restore backup folders from the web interface,
favourites when it comes to online backup, Livedrive maps its briefcase to a drive letter. and the backup utility is just that: a backup
with its unlimited storage and, unusually, You select directories to back up from the utility. Instead, you have to download
the ability to back up content from network file system browser. You can switch between Livedrive Restore. It isn’t very well signposted
shares as well as local drives. The former is a scheduled backup mode, which scans your on the website, but restoring individual files or
really useful if you have a NAS device or shared files for changes once an hour, and real-time entire directories is simple once it’s installed.
folders and want to make a secure backup of backup mode, which uploads modified files We’re not sure why it isn’t part of the main
your networked data. We found the software instantly. The same screen lets you add file Livedrive client application.
very easy to set up thanks to a simple wizard. type exceptions that won’t be backed up. Livedrive Pro Suite lets you back up and
Initially, you’re prompted to name the PC Only .log files are exempt by default. synchronise up to five computers, and has
you’re backing up and select a few folders The web interface is clean and business-like, Android and iOS apps. You get unlimited
from a list, such as your documents, videos, if a little less approachable than SugarSync’s. backup space and 5TB of sync space, but its
Outlook contacts and Firefox bookmarks. A web-based audio player lets you browse, many functions come at a cost: it costs £15 a
You can set up your PC with a Livedrive cue and stream audio files, although it didn’t month or £150 per year, making it one of the
Briefcase folder, the contents of which are recognise our Ogg and FLAC test files. There most expensive online storage services around.
automatically synced between every PC on are also integrated image viewing, editing and It’s worth noting that if you don’t need
which you’ve set it up. You’re asked to select slideshow utilities, and tools that let you view synchronisation, Livedrive’s backup-only
the hard disk partitions on which you wish to the contents of Microsoft Word and Excel service still provides unlimited space and
store the local copy of files. An advanced files. You can also share files in your Livedrive costs just £4.95 per month, although you
menu lets you choose between automatically Briefcase with others, either making them can use it on only one PC. If you work with
downloading all files to every briefcase, accessible to anyone who has the link or large amounts of data, however, and require
automatically downloading files of a certain requiring a password to access them. secure storage and synchronisation, Livedrive
size only, or only pulling down Briefcase files It’s less obvious how to restore files once Pro Suite gives you all the space you’ll ever
when they’re accessed locally. Unlike many you’ve backed them up. You can’t directly need, earning it our Ultimate award.

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MEMSET SquirrelSave
★★★★★
£5.05 inc VAT per month • From www.squirrelsave.co.uk

VERDICT
Unlimited storage, a low monthly price and support for multiple
computers all make this our favourite backup service

MEMSET’S SQUIRRELSAVE IS a simple versions, it keeps one from six hours, 12 hours, another, but you couldn’t have a path with
online backup service that doesn’t have and then one day, two days and so on, on a the same name backed up on both.
the web-based sharing and synchronisation doubling time scale. It’s a clever system that SquirrelSave isn’t available on longer and
features of many of its rivals, but it does have provides ample scope for recovery without lower-cost packages. Whereas other services
a cute logo. It provides unlimited storage for filling Memset’s servers with pointless may reduce the cost if you buy two or more
just £5.05 per month, making it a bargain. multiple copies. Deleted files are recoverable years, SquirrelSave is only available for £5.05
By default, SquirrelSave backs up all for 32 days and all files included in the first- per month, or £61 per year. However, this is
the non-system files in the Windows User ever backup are kept forever. This is a sensible still a bit of a bargain.
directory, but that can be changed during system that we’re glad to see is provided, There’s no skimping on safety measures,
setup or via the Windows Explorer right-click considering it’s such an inexpensive service. either, because SquirrelSave uses multiple
menu at a later time. You can also exclude Unfortunately, SquirrelSave is limited in data centres and 256-bit AES encryption
specific files or folders, but we’d have liked other areas. It won’t back up external drives to keep your important business files or
to exclude files by type or extension, too. or network locations, and there’s no web treasured family documents safe.
That, however, is a minor omission from an access to files, let alone any way of sharing Because of its unlimited storage, its
otherwise excellent system. them with others. Using the service with ability to handle backups from multiple PCs
Its interface displays lots of useful multiple PCs is a bit complicated, too. and its retention of old versions of files,
information and includes a handy pause Although the service is sold as only for use SquirrelSave is an excellent choice if you
button and the ability to throttle the with one computer, SquirrelSave’s own FAQ simply want to back up loads of data. Livedrive
maximum bandwidth. The default schedule tells you how to use it with multiple systems. Pro Suite is more flexible, particularly when
for new files is every eight hours, but backups To do so, you must make sure that the path accessing and sharing content online, but it’s
of changed files are made continuously. you’re backing up on each PC is unique. significantly more expensive. SquirrelSave is
Sadly, the ability to recover old versions of You could, for example, back up C:\Users\Kat the best backup service around if you don’t
files is a little complex. Instead of keeping all on one computer and C:\Users\Dave on need synchronisation.

MYPCBACKUP Home/Pro 75GB

★★★★★
£6.95 inc VAT per month • From www.mypcbackup.com

VERDICT
It’s a decent backup service, but its pricing structure
and features are unnecessarily complicated

MYPCBACKUP PROVIDES ONLINE backup, compared with similar services that are often modify the service’s file type blacklist, too,
storage and sharing, along with optional included for free by other backup providers. which prevents you backing up a huge range
synchronisation, mobile access, seven days’ You can buy a ‘supercharged backups’ option, of multimedia files, including MP3 audio files,
version retention and unlimited retention of for example, which offers faster backup AVI videos and EXE files by default.
deleted files. When you log in to the website speeds for an extra £24. MyPCBackup is available in various
for the first time, you’re prompted to We tested a standard account, so had no versions. The free version provides 5GB of
download the desktop client. Irritatingly, a access to these special features, but that backup and synchronisation space, and
video presentation starts telling you how to didn’t seem to affect the performance of paid-for accounts are available in 75GB,
install the program shortly after you start our backups. Other bolt-ons include extra 250GB and Unlimited versions. We tested the
downloading it, but it’s easily muted. The synchronisation space, priority support, 75GB option, which costs £6.95 per month or
installer suggests you back up your pictures, unlimited version retention, the option of £59 per year. Should you need more storage,
documents and desktop folders, but it also scheduling hourly rather than daily backups you can buy 250GB of space for £7.95 per
gives you the option of selecting folders to and licences for additional PCs at £40 each. month or £71 per year, while a two-year plan
back up and provides you with a file browser Sadly, MyPCBackup doesn’t provide a facility costs £119. The Unlimited plan costs £9.95 per
to help you navigate the contents of your to transfer your existing licence from one month or £95 per year. The two-year
hard disk. You can back up directories from computer to another without contacting its Unlimited plan costs £167.
your hard disk and external storage, such as support team to do it for you. Unfortunately, the service as a whole is
USB disks, but not mapped network shares. MyPCBackup has a comprehensive range let down by a confusing system of upgrades
MyPCBackup has a wealth of additional of settings that enable you to optimise your and feature restrictions. We prefer Memset’s
bolt-on features, but many of them are backups. Most users will want to increase SquirrelSave, which is cheaper, gives you
surprisingly expensive. The company is offering the file size limit from the default 2MB to unlimited storage space and lets you back up
20 per cent off until the end of 2012, but the something a little more flexible. You can set a multiple computers. If you need online access
premium features still seem expensive, even maximum size of 5GB, which is enough for all to your files, Pro Softnet’s iDrive costs less
at this discounted rate, particularly when but the largest video clips. You may want to and has a much clearer pricing structure.

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PRO SOFTNET iDrive Pro Personal

★★★★★
£3.24 inc VAT per month • From www.idrive.com

VERDICT
This long-standing favourite continues to prove its
worth as one of the best online backup services

IDRIVE USUALLY DOES well in our tests, groups of files, adding passwords, expiration you may want to deselect these if, for
thanks to its user-friendly and reasonably dates and download limits. You can also let example, you have a lot of media in your
priced service. Unlike many of its rivals, iDrive your sharing associates upload or edit shared video folder. Below are buttons that let you
lets you back up files from any number of content. The web interface is functional, but immediately back up the selected folders,
PCs, Macs, iOS and Android devices. Space it’s not very pretty and lacks the advanced set a backup schedule or restore selected
is limited, but 150GB for a little over £3 per features of some of its rivals, although there content from your online backup drive to
month will be enough for most people. is an image gallery that lets you easily view the location of your choice on your local PC.
Once you’ve registered for an account – and share your photo collection. When a backup is running, you’re presented
either the free 5GB version or a paid-for The web interface may be limited, but the with a progress bar and options for pausing
account – you need to configure its meat of iDrive is in its desktop backup utility. and throttling the backup in order to free
encryption. iDrive can either generate a key Once installed, a pop-up lets you edit the bandwidth for other purposes.
itself, which it will then manage and use folders that are to be backed up and set Should you need more space in which to
automatically, or you can set your own. up a backup schedule. Sadly, the pop-up store your important files or precious family
The latter option means you won’t be able to disappears as soon as you select any of the photos and memoirs, you can pay an extra
share files with others or retrieve your data if options, leaving you face to face with a rather $15 (around £9.60) per month or $150
you forget your key phrase. With that done, cluttered interface. We’d have preferred a (around £96) per year for 500GB.
all that’s left to do is download the desktop friendly step-by-step setup wizard. iDrive has better features for online
application so you can set up your backups. The main interface gives you side-by-side content sharing than the Best Buy award-
Like most online backup services, iDrive panes showing tree views of your local hard winning SquirrelSave, and it’s very reasonably
also lets you create folders and upload disk and remote storage. Below, it lists the priced. Its 150GB of storage is plenty for most
content directly via the web interface, which directories included in your backup set. Your users, but those with large amounts of data
you can also use to share your uploaded files Documents, Desktop, Pictures, Music and to back up should check out SquirrelSave’s
with others. You can share folders, files and Video folders are all included by default, but unlimited service instead.

SOS ONLINE BACKUP Home Edition 5.0

★★★★★
£52 inc VAT per year • From www.sosonlinebackup.com

VERDICT
Needs a more polished web interface for navigating stored
files, but the basic service is reliable and feature-packed

WHILE MANY ONLINE backup providers see SOS client to store backups on your local browser-based music player such as those
little need to add bells and whistles to what is network, PC or a connected external storage you’ll find in SugarSync and Livedrive.
fundamentally a simple service, others offers device. These are easy to set up, and you SOS retains every backed-up version of
smart features such as synchronisation, file can make either full or incremental backups. each file, so there’s no chance of losing the
sharing and support for a wide range of However, this part of the client feels less iteration you need. It lets you back up from
devices. SOS Online Backup Home Edition 5.0 polished than the online backup features. as many computers or compatible mobile
is packed with genuinely useful extras. The SOS client also lets you restore your devices as you like, as well as content from
The Windows backup client has been online and local backups. You can locate network shares and external drives, so the
revamped and it also has clients for Mac OS them using the date, size or filename, or a only limit is the amount of space you have left
X, iOS and Android, as well as a Facebook app combination of the three. Content backed up in your account. Prices start at $80 (around
and extra Windows utilities. After installation, online is shown within a directory tree, with £52) for 50GB storage for one year, with
the core backup utility can scan your hard separate trees for each PC from which the discounts for multi-year subscriptions. You
disk to help you choose appropriate files to backup is taken. It can be restored to the local can get 50GB of storage space for $156 (£99)
be backed up. By default, it offers to store all directory of your choice. for three years. You can also get more space,
document, image, music and video files, but You access your stored files via the SOS but there’s currently no pay-monthly option.
you can select specific files and folders, web interface, which doesn’t look as polished SOS is a good backup service with a
include or exclude a custom list of file types as some rivals but is easy to use. You can search decent range of features, but £52 per year for
and deselect any particular category of files. through them by type or name, download 50GB isn’t as competitive as SquirrelSave’s
Once your files have been selected, you them, share them with others via email or massive unlimited storage. Its ability to play
can configure backup schedules at hourly, Facebook and even view some files. This and preview files via the web interface is
daily, weekly or monthly intervals at the time means you can preview Excel spreadsheets great, but we were less impressed when
of your choice. You can choose to receive and Word documents and also play some navigating through our stored directories.
email reports once your scheduled backup music and video files via your browser, but iDrive remains our favourite option for online
has been completed. You can also use the SOS has limited format support and lacks a backup with web access functions.

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GOOGLE Drive
★★★★★
Free • From http://drive.google.com

VERDICT
Expanding its scope from Docs to general online storage and
synchronisation has made Google the best free sync service

IT’S BEEN POSSIBLE to store, share and synchronise them to the Google Drive folder but can be exported. Google Docs files you
create a wide range of files via Google Docs on any computer on which you’ve installed it. create aren’t automatically synchronised with
for ages, but Google Drive takes the service to When you download and install the Drive your local Google Drive directories, but you
the next level by providing a downloadable software, it creates your synchronisation can download them to your computer in the
synchronisation client that you can install folder. By default, all the files you’ve ever format of your choice or make them available
on Windows and Mac OS X. There are also created or uploaded to Google Docs will be for offline viewing using the Docs Offline app
Android and iOS apps that let you create, downloaded to it automatically. If you prefer, for Chrome browsers.
access and upload content. you can choose only to synchronise files You can also view images, but we were
Drive replaces your existing Docs web stored in specific folders on Google Docs. disappointed to find they aren’t automatically
interface with its own. It’s virtually identical When your Google Docs have been opened using the Google+ slideshow interface.
and behaves in much the same way as Google synchronised, you can edit them offline so There’s also no facility to stream audio or
Docs, but it makes a few key changes. The they will be updated when you next connect video files, which rival services such as
main difference is that your files and to the internet, which is an incredibly SugarSync and Livedrive provide.
documents are divided between My Drive, useful additional benefit for regular users Google Drive is free to use and you get
which contains files you created, and Shared of Google Docs. 5GB of space, which is also shared with your
With Me, which holds the files to which Because Drive is built on top of Google online photo storage. This alone makes it
others have granted you access. Docs, you get significantly more features worth using, especially when you consider
Files in Shared With Me are sorted by the when editing and viewing your files than you’ll Google’s convenience and ubiquity.
date on which they were shared rather than find in most synchronisation services. This Google Drive is definitely among the best
when they were edited, but the Recent tab applies to office documents such as word of the free synchronisation services, despite
makes it easy to see which files have recently processor files, spreadsheets and slide its lack of music streaming, but if you require
been changed. All you need to do is drag the presentations especially. You can preview greater multimedia support then SugarSync’s
files on which you’re working to the My Drive Microsoft Word and Excel files, but you have more established service is a better bet, while
tab and they will appear among your own to export them in the Google Docs format to Livedrive is the best option for those who
files when you access your Drive online and edit them. Oddly, RTF files can’t be previewed, need both synchronisation and backup.

MICROSOFT SkyDrive
★★★★★
Free • From www.skydrive.com

VERDICT
Its free service isn’t as good as Google Drive,
but its capacity upgrades are great value

MICROSOFT’S INVOLVEMENT WITH online You can also view and edit Office mobile apps for iOS and Windows Phone.
backup and synchronisation has always documents that you upload, but we had to Android users can access content stored on
seemed rather half-hearted. Although we wait a couple of minutes for the WebApp SkyDrive using OneNote.
appreciated the 5GB storage provided by to open some of our more complicated and Although its features are cutting-edge,
previous versions of SkyDrive, its limited graph-heavy Excel documents. All the SkyDrive’s appearance isn’t. Its small icons
features and lack of upgradability meant it elements appeared exactly as we’d created and cluttered screen make it feel slightly
was never a serious contender against rivals them, which isn’t always the case when dated, but we like its versatile right-click
such as SugarSync and Livedrive. Although working with Google Docs. It’s worth noting menu, which makes it easy to download,
the old Live Mesh and SkyDrive service is still that some common document formats, share and even generate HTML code to
online, Microsoft has relaunched the latter including RTF, aren’t supported for viewing embed your content in another web page.
with more space, many more features and the or editing; files in these formats are simply Every SkyDrive user gets 7GB of online
option of buying extra capacity. downloaded to your PC if you click on them. storage for free, and if you used the previous
The most immediate improvement is that SkyDrive creates a special folder that version of SkyDrive you can currently get a
SkyDrive’s online storage has gone from synchronises anything you save or copy in free upgrade to 25GB of storage. If you need
being a simple dumb file list to a Google to it with your SkyDrive online storage. This more, you can buy it relatively cheaply. An
Docs-style affair that lets you create, share content is also synchronised with any other extra 20GB costs £6 a year, 50GB costs £16
and edit Word, Excel and PowerPoint files PC on which you’ve installed SkyDrive. per year and 100GB is £32 per year. You can’t
online. The tools you’re given feel like a SkyDrive also provides a photo gallery, pay monthly for packages, but even the
cut-down version of Office 2010, although which you can use to share your favourite 100GB bundle, which adds up to 107GB if
some key features are conspicuous by their snaps with friends and family. There’s no you add it to the standard free space you’re
absence: the Excel WebApp lacks the ability audio player, but the service has a great given, works out at just £1.34 per month.
to sort data, for example. range of features and is also supported by That’s a bargain by any standard.

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106 SEPTEMBER 2012 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 295
 Want to use SugarSync?
Full guide on page 138 ONLINE BACKUP SERVICES

SUGARSYNC 30GB
★★★★★
£3.29 inc VAT per month • From www.sugarsync.com

VERDICT
Our favourite synchronisation service thanks to its great
value and outstanding web and local interfaces

SUGARSYNC IS ONE of our favourite provides access to the rest of the hard disk. Photos, including those uploaded using
synchronisation services thanks to its Although any folder from a local (rather than SugarSync’s mobile apps, are automatically
competitive pricing, ease of use and feature- network or removable) drive can be added, added to a photo browser. You can let others
packed web interface. The core feature is the individual files can’t be selected in this way. access and share them on Facebook.
Magic Briefcase, a folder on your computer Backups are sent to SugarSync’s online If you delete a file, it’s kept online
that automatically duplicates any files within storage, but not copied to other PCs. Only indefinitely in the Deleted Files folder, but
it on the service’s online storage and the PCs the Magic Briefcase folder is automatically if you accidentally save over a file, you can
on which you’ve installed the application. synchronised, but the Sync Manager control only go back five versions. This isn’t ideal,
There’s support for most smartphones and panel lets you easily change a backed-up especially if your software auto-saves.
tablets, including Android, iOS, BlackBerry, folder so that it’s also a synchronised folder. Like Dropbox, SugarSync gives you extra
Windows Phone and even Symbian devices. You can even do this to backed-up folders storage when you successfully refer new
You can also use SugarSync as a located on computers other than the one users. Specifically, it gives you 500MB per
rudimentary online backup service by adding you’re currently using. Similarly, backed-up user, with no cap. The free version of
folders to be synchronised. You can do this files can be restored to any PC. SugarSync gives you 5GB of storage (plus as
with any folder, and a right-click menu option Unlike Trend Micro’s SafeSync (below), much referral space as you can get). It’s fully
that SugarSync adds to Windows Explorer which lets you add files directly from Windows functional, but we reviewed the 30GB bundle,
makes it particularly easy. You can’t schedule Explorer’s right-click menu, SugarSync’s which costs around £3.26 per month. That’s
or pause backups, though; everything is right-click option opens the service’s software about 10.9p per GB, making it the cheapest
backed up in real time, and entire partitions interface. The main window shows all the of the commercial synchronisation services
or external storage can’t be included. folders currently being backed up from all the we’ve reviewed. Higher-capacity accounts are
When you install the SugarSync client PCs linked to your account. It also displays also available, and are progressively better
on a new PC, it offers to synchronise a few your Magic Briefcase. Files and folders can value. As well as being great value, SugarSync
common folders with your online storage, be shared with other people, and it’s even has the slickest interface, with fantastic
including the Desktop, Pictures and Music. possible to let them add and edit content if features and great looks, making it a worthy
There’s also an Add More Folders button that they have a SugarSync account. Best Buy award winner.

TREND MICRO SafeSync

★★★★★
£6 inc VAT per month • From www.trendmicro.co.uk

VERDICT
SafeSync’s easy to use and has some great features such
as music streaming, but other services are better value

TREND MICRO’S SAFESYNC has been the program’s free mobile apps, and the to add new files via the web. You can also
updated since it won five stars in Shopper 284. SafeSync folder is then opened. share links to files and protect them using
There’s a new interface, which is a welcome If you want to configure or examine your either an expiry date or a password.
improvement to the slightly dated appearance settings, you’ll have to use the right-click Should you need more storage space in
of the last version. Other new and updated menu on SafeSync’s Notification Area icon. which to synchronise your business files,
features include the SafeSync folder – a The settings menu shows you how much family photos or media collection, £100 buys
directory that’s automatically synchronised storage you’ve used, allows you to add extra you 50GB of storage for two years, while
with your cloud storage and the SafeSync folders to be synchronised and lets you set 100GB will set you back £10 per month, £100
folders on your other PCs – plus the ability to speed limits to control how much bandwidth for a year or £150 for two years.
configure other folders to be synchronised, SafeSync takes up. You can also add any Unlike most synchronisation services,
and upgrades to Trend Micro’s data centres folder to SafeSync via an option that’s added SafeSync hangs on to unlimited versions of
and encryption standards. to Window Explorer’s right-click menu. your files, and deleted files are stored online
Although SafeSync has some backup- All your SafeSync folders are automatically until you manually remove them. There are
friendly features, the emphasis in this copied to your online storage space, where mobile apps for Android and iOS, and you
product is on synchronisation. You have to you can download individual files, open them can post photos and documents directly to
register with Trend Micro’s website before using a program on your PC or play a stream Facebook and Twitter. It’s easy to use and
you can install the program, which allows it of the audio files in a given online folder. fairly cheap. For example, £6 per month gets
to configure itself cleverly and automatically Our MP3 and Ogg files both played directly you 50GB of space, which works out at 12p
to use your account. This means there’s no from the web interface, but our test FLAC per GB. However, SugarSync’s most basic
real initial configuration; you simply run file wouldn’t play, even though it appeared package is both cheaper and better value,
the installer, read a couple of information in the audio player interface. There’s also a while its web interface and local client are
screens about the SafeSync folder and click-and-drag upload box to make it easy also a little more polished.

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ISSUE 295 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | SEPTEMBER 2012 107
 ONLINE BACKUP SERVICES

BUDGET BUY ULTIMATE BUY BEST BUY

ONLINE BACKUP SERVICES

CARBONITE DATA DECHO LIVEDRIVE MEMSET MYPC BACKUP

Home BARRACKS MozyHome Pro Suite SquirrelSave Home/Pro 75GB
Buddy Backup
Rating ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★
Price inc VAT per month N/A Free £4.99 £15 £5.05 £6.95
Price inc VAT per year £42 Free £55 £150 £61 £59
ACCOUNT SPECIFICATIONS
Operating system support Windows XP/Vista/7 Windows XP/Vista/7 Windows XP/Vista/7, Windows XP/Vista/7, Windows XP/Vista/7 Windows XP/Vista/7,
Mac OS X 10.4+ Mac OS X 10.6+, other Mac OS X
operating systems with FTP,
SFTP or WebDAV
Storage space Unlimited Unlimited 50GB Unlimited backup, 5TB sync Unlimited 75GB
Number of computers 1 Unlimited 1 5 Unlimited (with 1
unique paths)
Folder & file restrictions Operating system files, None None None None 5GB maximum file size limit
video files must be selected
manually (upgrade available)
Other price plans £42 for one year, £76 for two None 125GB, £7.99 per month; Backup, £4.95 per None Premium 250GB, £7.95 per
years, £102 for three years each additional PC, £1.75 month/£50 per year; month/£71 per year/£119
per month; each additional Briefcase, £9.95 per per two years; Unlimited,
20GB, £1.75 per month month/£100 per year £9.95 per month/£95 per
year/£167 per two years

BACKUP
Redundancy/data centres Multiple data centres N/A Multiple data centres Multiple data centres Multiple data centres Amazon S3

Encryption 1,024-bit Blowfish SSL, 256-bit AES 256-bit AES or 448-bit 256-bit AES 256-bit AES SSL, 256-bit AES
Blowfish
Schedule options Continuous, daily, weekly Continuous Continuous, daily, weekly, Continuous Automatic, every 1-24 hours Daily, weekly, monthly
monthly
Pause/throttle Pause, throttle Pause Pause, throttle Pause, throttle Pause, throttle Pause
Back up open files No Not disclosed Yes Yes Yes Not disclosed
Back up entire disk Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes
partitions
Back up external disks No (upgrade available) Yes Fixed local drives only Yes No Fixed local drives only
(eSATA, USB) (eSATA, USB)
Save backups to local media No Yes Yes, but not network shares No No No
Send backups by post No (upgrade available) N/A No No No No
RESTORE
Recover previous versions 30 days Unlimited 30 days 30 versions Unlimited Seven days
of files

Recover deleted files 30 days Unlimited 30 days 30 days 32 days; initial backup Unlimited
kept permanently
Restore from DVD/USB No (upgrade available) N/A Yes No No No
drive sent in the post
Web access to backups Yes No Yes Yes No Yes
Share selected backup No (upgrade available) No Yes Yes No Yes
contents
Media browser None None Photos Photos, music None None
Mobile device support Android, BlackBerry, iOS No Android, iOS Android, iOS None Mobile site

BUYING INFORMATION
Demo available 15-day trial Free 2GB free account 14-day trial None 1GB free account
Contact website www.carbonite.co.uk www.buddybackup.com www.mozy.co.uk www.livedrive.com www.squirrelsave.co.uk www.mypcbackup.com

How we test
Online backup and synchronisation services
The key to testing any service is to use it in which is how we confirm the format
as realistic a way as possible. We start by support lists provided by each service.
letting each program set up backups using We test the web interfaces, including
its default configuration to find out which picture gallery and media-streaming
files they recommend we protect. We also capabilities, as well as the ability to share
test the ability of each program to back up files and download backups to other
an entire drive and content from external computers. In the case of backup
disks and network shares. Our backups services that have dedicated mobile sites
include a range of file types, from JPEG or apps, we test their functionality using
pictures and MP3 audio to CD ISO images, compatible handsets.

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108 SEPTEMBER 2012 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 295
 ONLINE BACKUP SERVICES

BUDGET BUY BEST BUY

SYNCHRONISATION SERVICES

PRO SOFTNET SOS ONLINE GOOGLE MICROSOFT SUGARSYNC TREND MICRO

iDrive Pro BACKUP Drive SkyDrive Sugarsync 30GB SafeSync
Personal Use Home Edition 5.0
★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★
$4.95 (£3.24) N/A Free Free $4.99 (£3.29) £6
$50 (£33) $80 (£52) Free Free $50 (£33) £60

Windows XP/Vista/7, Mac OS X Windows XP/Vista/7, Mac OS X Windows XP/Vista/7, Windows XP/Vista/7, Windows XP/Vista/7, Mac OS X Windows XP/Vista/7,
Mac OS 10.6+ Mac OS X 10.5+ Mac OS X 10.5.8+

150GB 50GB 5GB 7GB 30GB 50GB

Unlimited 5 Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited

Continuous protection of files None Only syncs Google Drive folder Only syncs SkyDrive folder None Windows system files
under 500MB

500GB, $15 per month/$150 50GB, $130 per two years/$156 25GB, $2.49 per month; 100GB, 20GB, $10 (around £6) per year; 60GB, $10 per month/£100 per 20GB, £25 per year/£40 per two
per year per three years; 100GB, $100 per $4.99 per month; 200GB, $10 per 50GB, $25 (around £16) per year; year; 100GB $15 per month/ years; 50GB, £100 for two years;
year/$150 per two years/$200 month; 400GB, $20 per month; 100GB, $50 (around £32) per year $150 per year; 250GB, $25 per 100GB, £10 per month/£100 per
per three years; 150GB, $150 per 1TB, $50 per month; larger month/$250 per year; 500GB, year/£150 per two years
year/$200 per two years/$250 packages available $40 per month/$400 per year
per three years

Multiple data centres Secure data centre with off-site Not disclosed Not disclosed Amazon S3 EU Data Centre with ISO 27001
redundant array Certification
SSL, 256-bit AES SSL, 256-bit AES, 1,024-bit AES SSL, no storage encryption TLS, SSL, 128-bit AES SSL, 128-bit AES 256-bit AES
at the data centre
Continuous, daily, weekly, monthly Hourly, daily, weekly, monthly None None Automatic None

Pause, throttle Pause, throttle No No Throttle Throttle

Yes Yes, with exceptions No No No No
Yes Yes No No No No

Yes Yes No No No Yes, except system drive

No Yes No No No Yes
No Yes No No No No

30 versions Unlimited 100 versions for 30 days by None Five versions Unlimited
default, optional permanent
storage of all versions
30 days Unlimited Deleted files are stored online No Deleted files are stored online Deleted files are stored online
permanently until deleted permanently until deleted permanently until deleted
No No No No No No

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Prices correct at time of going to press

None Photos, music, videos Documents Documents, photos Photos, music Photos, music
Android, iOS Android, iOS Android 2.2+, mobile site Android (via Microsoft OneNote), Android, BlackBerry, iOS, Android 2.2+, iOS 3.1.3+
iOS, Windows Phone, mobile site Symbian, Windows Phone,
mobile site

5GB free account 14-day free trial 5GB free account Free 5GB free account, 30-day trial 30-day trial
www.idrive.com www.sosonlinebackup.com https://drive.google.com www.skydrive.com www.sugarsync.com www.trendmicro.
co.uk

VERDICT
For pure synchronisation, SugarSync holds its crown as our Best Buy, It’s our Budget Buy. If you don’t mind paying, Memset’s unlimited-
thanks to its low price and feature-packed web interface. Google’s capacity SquirrelSave is fantastic value and wins our Best Buy award.
free 5GB Drive is a brilliant addition to the company’s already vast Sadly, it lacks web access to your files. If you need that, Pro Softnet’s
range of online tools and wins our Budget Buy. iDrive has all the online features you’ll need.
If you don’t have cash to spare, Databarracks’ free Buddy Backup Finally, LiveDrive’s Pro Suite incorporates both online backup
service lets you back up encrypted content to your friends’ and and synchronisation services with unlimited storage for up to five
family’s computers securely, as well as remote PCs of your own. computers. It’s our Ultimate award winner.

DATABARRACKS MEMSET LIVEDRIVE GOOGLE SUGARSYNC

Buddy Backup SquirrelSave Pro Suite Drive 30GB
★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★

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ISSUE 295 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | SEPTEMBER 2012 109
 SOLID-STATE DRIVES

SOLID STATE DRIVES

High speed, low cost
Solid-state drives are THE PRICE OF mechanical hard disks providing considerably less storage space
has been high for nearly a year now, and than mechanical hard disks. For example, a
cheaper than they’ve although their prices have come down from typical SSD might offer 128GB or 240GB of
the incredible highs they reached after the storage, whereas a typical mechanical hard
ever been. Whether you floods in Thailand disrupted production, disk might provide a capacity of 1TB or 2TB.
want a fast boot disk or they still don’t represent the same great value
they once did. In contrast, solid-state drives
Even so, many people use SSDs as fast
system disks because the high data-transfer
a replacement for your (SSDs) have dropped in price over the same speeds they offer make for fast boot times
period and are now a viable alternative to and a more responsive system, even if your
ageing hard disk, check their mechanical counterparts. PC only has a modest processor.
Of course, there’s still a large discrepancy This month, we’ve reviewed 16 SSDs of
out these 16 SSDs in the capacities available, with SSDs various capacities and prices to help you find
a model that meets your needs and budget.
Whichever SSD you buy, we’re sure you’ll
CONTENT REVIEWS enjoy the speed boost it gives your computer.
Page 112 Page 114 Before you choose a solid-state disk from our
ADATA S511 120GB OCZ Vertex 4 256GB group test, however, there are a few factors
CORSAIR Force GT 240GB PATRIOT Pyro SE 120GB that you need to consider.
CORSAIR Performance Series Pro 256GB PATRIOT Wildfire 240GB
CRUCIAL M4 128GB PLEXTOR M3 Pro 128GB DRIVING RANGE
Are you buying a solid-state drive for a new PC
page 113 Page 115
INTEL 520 Series 60GB PNY Professional SSD 120GB build or as an additional disk for your current
PC? If you’re buying an SSD for a new build
INTEL 520 Series 240GB SAMSUNG 830 Series 256GB
you should buy as much storage as you can
KINGSTON HyperX 240GB SANDISK Extreme 120GB afford, particularly if you plan to install lots of
OCZ Agility 3 240GB VERBATIM SSD 240GB applications or you want to store lots of media
on it, such as music, videos and photos.

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 SOLID-STATE DRIVES

Solid-state drives have much smaller If you haven’t already done so, it’s worth motherboards made in the past few years
capacities than mechanical hard disks, and upgrading to Windows 7 when switching to support SATA2 and all the latest
some older SATA2 SSDs offer as little as an SSD, as this is the only version of the motherboards – and certainly those produced
30GB of unformatted storage, which is just operating system that supports the TRIM within the past year – support the latest
enough for a Windows installation. The most command. Without TRIM, the performance SATA3 standard. The newer interface is
expensive SSDs have capacities of 512GB, of an SSD can deteriorate over time. This is backwards compatible, too, so you can always
which is probably enough storage for a typical because files on an SSD are written in 4Kbit upgrade to a SATA3 disk now and buy an
family PC. If you have enough money, you can pages but can only be deleted in 512KB SATA3 motherboard later.
even buy a 1TB SSD – the OCZ Octane costs blocks. When a file smaller than 512Kbit is SATA3 is twice as fast as SATA2 on
£1,963 including VAT. If your solid-state drive deleted, its page entries are simply removed paper, but although we’ve found that SATA3
will be your PC’s sole storage device, we from the allocation table. The contents remain mechanical hard disks are indeed faster
than their SATA2 counterparts, they’re
certainly not twice as fast. The same
Many people use SSDs as fast system disks because isn’t true of SSDs – SATA3 SSDs make
excellent use of the faster interface and
the high data-transfer speeds they offer make for fast can be noticeably faster than their SATA2
boot times and a more responsive system counterparts, so it’s worth upgrading your
motherboard or adding a SATA3 PCI Express
card if you want to make the most of your
recommend buying a capacity of at least on the disk, but Windows recognises it as SSD’s capabilities. SATA3 SSDs used to
240GB. That’s enough for your operating empty space. However, before the operating cost a lot more than SATA2 devices, but
system, office applications, some games and system can write new data to these parts of this is no longer the case now that SATA3
some media files. the disk, it has to cache the remaining valid is the dominant interface.
Solid-state drives also make great laptop pages of the 512Kbit block, erase it completely
system drives. This is because they weigh less and then write both the new and the existing ACCESSORIES
than mechanical disks, use less power and are data back to the SSD. Installing a mechanical hard disk is usually a
far less likely to fail if you accidentally bang Using the TRIM command, Windows can straightforward task, but installing an SSD
your laptop. tell the SSD memory controller to erase the can be slightly more difficult. As they have
If you want to enjoy the fast boot speeds deleted files in advance. When the SSD is idle, the same 2½in width as laptop hard disks,
and responsiveness of an SSD without it reads valid data from a 512Kbit block into SSDs won’t fit in a 3½in drive cage without
sacrificing your media library or game the cache, erases the entire block and rewrites the use of an adaptor. Some disks come
collection, you could always use a solid-state the content to leave empty 4kbit pages ready with adaptor kits that make installation
drive as a system disk and a mechanical hard for new data. This significantly reduces the easier, and some even include cloning
disk as a secondary storage device. This gives time it takes to write new data. software and external enclosures to help
you the best of both worlds, especially as you transfer data from your old disks. These
SSDs cost considerably more per gigabyte MAKING A CONNECTION accessories aren’t expensive to buy separately,
than mechanical hard disks. It’s also a good Now that the ageing IDE interface is all but but they’re useful inclusions if you don’t have
solution if you want to speed up an old forgotten, almost every hard disk and SSD them already. Our reviews tell you which
PC but you don’t want to throw away your available today uses the SATA interface. All drives come with bundled accessories.
old hard disk.
To make it easier to compare the cost of
different disks, we’ve included the price per
gigabyte in our reviews and the table on page
117. We calculate this by dividing each disk’s
How we test…
price (including VAT) by its unformatted
capacity. The price per gigabyte of solid-state
storage has halved since our last hard disk
Solid-state drives
group test (see Labs, Shopper 281) from To test the read and write speeds of each rather than by our test PC. In our large file
around £2 per gigabyte to less than £1 per SSD, we use a script that copies files to tests, we copy a 100MB file to and from
gigabyte. This is still more per gigabyte than a and from the drive and measures the time each disk 100 times to see how each disk
mechanical hard disk, but the speed increase taken. We copy the files to the disk from copes with big files such as videos. We
is more than worth the extra cost. memory rather than from another hard repeat this test using a 100MB selection
disk because RAM is faster than any hard of smaller files, which shows how each
FAST AND FURIOUS disk or SSD. This ensures that the transfer disk copes when used to store a system
They might be more expensive per gigabyte speeds are limited by the disk on test backup or office files.
than mechanical hard disks, but SSDs are
significantly faster. This has its benefits,
particularly if you use one to store and run
your operating system. Our tests have shown
that an SSD can halve the time a PC takes to
boot to the Windows 7 desktop compared
with booting from a hard disk. You can
examine the full results of our performance
benchmarks on page 116.
When choosing an SSD, look for one
that uses Multi Level Cell (MLC) memory
technology. These are much faster than
models equipped with Single Level Cell (SLC)
memory technology, so we’ve only included
MLC models in our reviews this month.

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 SOLID-STATE DRIVES

ADATA S511 120GB CORSAIR Force GT 240GB

★★★★★ ★★★★★
£120 inc VAT • From www.morecomputers.com £180 inc VAT • From www.scan.co.uk

VERDICT VERDICT
Uninspiring design and a high price make it a disappointing drive A fine budget effort from Corsair

SANDFORCE HAS LONG been a THE FORCE GT is Corsair’s mainstream

popular SSD controller, and Adata’s SSD, and this fact is reflected in its
S511 is one of many SSDs this price. The 240GB model we review
month that rely on the popular here costs £180, which works
SF-2281 chip. The 120GB out at around 75p per
capacity translates to 111GB gigabyte, making it one of the
of formatted space, and the best-value drives on the
memory chips themselves are market today.
25nm NAND modules, which are used in The Force GT excelled in our small-file
quite a few SSDs. benchmarks. It scored 83.5MB/s in our small-file
This unremarkable specification delivered a variable performance write test and 60.6MB/s in our small-file read test, which is a decent
in our benchmarks. The Adata S511 managed a poor 184.9MB/s in turn of speed. Its results in our large-file tests were mixed, however.
our large-file write test and 385.1MB/s in our large-file read test. In The Force GT ran at 381MB/s when reading large files, which is a good
comparison, the 128GB Crucial M4 scored 277.5MB/s in the large write rate, but scored only 254.4MB/s in our write test.
test, which beats the Adata’s score and 378MB/s in the large read This middle-of-the-road performance can be explained by the
test, which isn’t far behind. hardware used to power the Force GT – the perennially popular
The Adata was as variable in our small-file tests, managing 81.9MB/s SandForce SF-2281 is partnered here with 25nm NAND chips.
in our write test and 61MB/s in our read test. The drive isn’t terribly The box contains little in the way of extras, too, with only a standard
good value at £120 for 120GB of space, which is exactly £1 per 2½in to 3½in drive bracket and no sign of any data migration or
gigabyte, as all of this month’s award winners are cheaper. backup software.
At a time when SSDs are offering more exciting specifications The Force GT is good value, but its reasonable performance is
and prices that regularly dip below £1 per gigabyte, the Adata’s high bettered by that of the Crucial M4, which also offers a better price per
price and relatively archaic design see it being left behind. The Crucial gigabyte. It’s for these reasons that the Force GT can’t quite topple the
M4 is much better value Crucial M4 as our favourite budget SSD.

CORSAIR Performance CRUCIAL M4 128GB

Series Pro 256GB ★★★★★
£88 inc VAT • From www.amazon.co.uk
★★★★★
£240 inc VAT • From www.overclockers.co.uk
VERDICT
A middling performer that’s made into a tempting buy thanks to an
VERDICT extremely low price and good value throughout
Lightning-quick and relatively affordable for a high-end SSD. If you
want to give your PC a speed boost, this is the drive to buy
CRUCIAL HAS BEEN selling SSDs to
consumers for longer than almost any
CORSAIR’S PERFORMANCE SERIES Pro company, and has evidently honed
has a good pedigree. Its Marvell the art of producing good-value
88SS9174 controller is also drives. The M4 128GB costs
used in the Crucial M4 and just £88, which works out at
Plextor’s M3 Pro, both of 68p per gigabyte. That’s only
which deliver good, if not marginally behind the OCZ
stunning, performance. Agility 3, which costs 58p per gigabyte.
To lift the Performance The M4 uses the Marvell 88SS9174 controller
Series Pro above its rivals, Corsair has found in the Ultimate-award-winning Corsair Performance Series Pro.
kitted out its 256GB drive with Toshiba’s Toggle Without the Corsair’s Toggle Mode NAND, though, the M4 didn’t
Mode NAND, which can process more data transfers per second. perform as well in our benchmarks. Its 277.5MB/s score in our large-file
In our large-file write test, the Performance Series Pro scored write test is slower than the Corsair’s, although its large-file read result
406MB/s, which is second only to the OCZ Vertex 4, but in our of 378.4MB/s is quicker. Sadly, the M4 proved mediocre in the small
large-file read test it scored only 367.2MB/s. file tests. Its writing score of 80.8MB/s is slower than the Corsair
The Performance Series Pro really excelled when handling small Performance Pro’s and the OCZ Vertex 4’s. It read small files at
files, writing them at 85MB/s and reading them at 63MB/s; the 60.6MB/s, which is a little better, but is still behind five other drives.
Crucial M4 reads small files at 60.6MB/s. At £240 – or just 93p per No accessories are included, but its five-year warranty is two years
gigabyte – it isn’t expensive, either. longer than those of most SSDs. The chief attraction here is value.
Excellent performance coupled with a keen price per gigabyte make At 68p per gigabyte it’s a great budget performer. It can’t match the
the Performance Series Pro an Ultimate award winner. If you need a performance of the best drives, but as a budget choice the Crucial
high-speed SSD to boost your system, this is the one to buy. M4 is the one to buy.

WorldMags.net
112 SEPTEMBER 2012 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 295
 SOLID-STATE DRIVES

INTEL 520 Series 60GB INTEL 520 Series 240GB

★★★★★ ★★★★★
£81 inc VAT • From www.scan.co.uk £260 inc VAT • From www.scan.co.uk

VERDICT VERDICT
Despite its relatively low price, we can’t recommend the 60GB Intel 520 This impressive SSD is fast and reasonable value for its size

INTEL’S LATEST BATCH of SSDs, the 520 DESPITE BEING PART of the same series,
Series, offers a range of capacities, but the 240GB version of the Intel 520 has
the 60GB is the smallest. This may higher quoted write speeds than the
not sound like much, but it’s 60GB model – 60,000 input/
plenty for an installation of output operations per second
Windows and some key (IOPS) rather than the 60GB
applications. A smaller drive is model’s 23,000 IOPS.
a route to the speed of an SSD In our tests, the Intel 520
without spending too much. Series 240GB read large files at a
At £81, the 60GB Intel 520 is relatively hugely quick 380MB/s. It also wrote large
inexpensive, but at £1.35 per gigabyte it isn’t good value. This leaves it files at a brisk 319MB/s, but that’s still much
competing with higher-capacity drives, such as the Crucial M4, which slower than the cheaper Ultimate-award-winning Corsair Performance
has 120GB capacity for £88. Series Pro, which wrote large files at 406MB/s. The Intel 520 Series
It doesn’t provide the best performance, either. In our large-file write 240GB’s small file reading and writing speeds of 56MB/s and 75MB/s
test, it scored 284.2MB/s, which is fairly average. The situation didn’t respectively are just below average and a little disappointing; again, the
improve in the large-file read benchmark, where the 520 Series scored Corsair Performance Series Pro beats it. The disk is relatively expensive
319.1MB/s, which is below average. at £1.08 per gigabyte, but it’s a solid performer and its five-year
The 520 Series’ small file performance wasn’t particularly good, warranty provides two more years than you get with many SSDs.
either. It scored 79.4MB/s in our small-file write test and read small Intel’s 240GB 520 Series SSD performs well overall and has just
files at a rate of just 59.4MB/s. about enough capacity to act as your PC’s sole storage device. You can
This combination of poor performance and middling value makes get better performance for less money from the Corsair Performance
Intel’s drive unappealing. The Crucial M4 costs only £7 more but offers Series Pro, making that drive the better choice by far. If the five-year
more than twice the capacity and is quicker. If you’re looking for a warranty is important, the Intel 520 Series is a good choice, but we’d
budget SSD, the M4 is a better option. choose better performance and a lower price.

KINGSTON HyperX 240GB OCZ Agility 3 240GB

★★★★★ ★★★★★
£282 inc VAT • From www.amazon.co.uk £139 inc VAT • From www.overclockers.co.uk

VERDICT VERDICT
A decent mid-range performer that’s outclassed by other drives that Cheap, but poor performance makes you question its value
are quicker and more affordable

IN TERMS OF price per gigabyte, OCZ’s

KINGSTON’S HIGH END HyperX drive is Agility 3 is an inexpensive SSD at just
designed for gamers and enthusiasts, 57p per gigabyte. That’s less than
and is priced accordingly. The 240GB half the price-per-gigabyte of the
model here costs £282 including Patriot Wildfire, and means
VAT, or £1.18 per gigabyte. you can purchase 240GB of
Kingston includes a good SSD storage for just £139.
selection of accessories. As The SandForce SF-2281
well as a 2½in-to-3½in controller is pressed into action once
adaptor, it comes with an enclosure that again for the Agility 3, and the 240GB of
lets you use the HyperX as an external drive, capacity on offer is divided into 16 25nm NAND chips, each offering
SATA and USB cables and even a screwdriver. 15GB of space. The drive comes without any accessories, though, and
Inside is the SandForce SF-2281 controller and 25nm NAND. Sadly the three-year warranty is nothing special; many other SSDs offer this,
the HyperX didn’t justify its price in our tests. Its large-file write result and some come with a five-year warranty.
of 265.4MB/s is less than that of the OCZ Vertex 4, which scored The OCZ Agility 3 didn’t perform as well as we hoped in our
423.2MB/s. It redeemed itself slightly in the small-file write test, but its benchmarks, either. It wrote large files at 273.2MB/s and small files at
83.2MB/s write speed isn’t the fastest we’ve seen. 83.3MB/s, both of which are slightly above average. When reading
Kingston’s drive performed better when reading. It read large files at small files, though, the OCZ managed just 54MB/s, which is one
380MB/s, which is good but not the fastest we’ve seen. Its small-file of the lowest scores we’ve seen, as is its large-file read test score
reading score of 61.8MB/s is excellent, though. Only other hardcore of 194.9MB/s.
SSDs such as the Corsair Performance Series Pro 256GB scored higher. The Agility 3 may be cheap, but that doesn’t make it a good buy.
Overall, the HyperX isn’t quick enough to justify its price. If you’re If you’re searching for a budget SSD, the Crucial M4 is much better.
looking for performance, choose the Corsair Performance Series Pro, It costs just £88 for 128GB, which works out at 68p per gigabyte,
while for value, the Crucial M4 is cheaper and offers similar speeds. and is also a much more consistent performer.

WorldMags.net
ISSUE 295 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | SEPTEMBER 2012 113
 SOLID-STATE DRIVES

OCZ Vertex 4 256GB PATRIOT Pyro SE 120GB

★★★★★ ★★★★★
£200 inc VAT • From www.scan.co.uk £129 inc VAT • From www.play.com

VERDICT VERDICT
Lightning speed when writing files and a fine price. Only a couple of Poor performance and an ageing specification means the Pyro SE is
benchmark results let the Vertex 4 down best avoided

OCZ’S VERTEX 4 has a specification that PATRIOT WAS AN early pioneer of fast,
puts most of its rivals to shame. The low-cost SSDs. Their once-impressive
controller comes from newcomer performance was delivered by the
Indilinx, which OCZ acquired just familiar SandForce SF-2281
over a year ago. It’s called the controller, but now this older
Everest 2, and OCZ is component is falling behind
confident that it’ll compete newer competition from the
with the best the competition likes of Marvell and Indilinx.
has to offer. The memory chips are the The entire specification is
familiar 25nm NAND type. getting long in the tooth, as our
The Vertex 4 achieved mixed results in our tests. Its large-file write benchmark results demonstrate. The Pyro SE’s
score of 423.2MB/s beats even the Corsair Performance Pro’s 405MB/s, large-file write test result of 168MB/s is much less than we expect
but its large-file read result of 327MB/s is slower than we expected. of a modern SSD, although its large-file read test score of 360MB/s
This pattern was repeated in our small-file tests. It wrote small files is respectable. It didn’t set the world alight with its small file
at 85MB/s, which is on a par with other high-performance drives such benchmarks, either. Its small-file write test score of 75MB/s is much
as the Samsung 830 Series and the Corsair Performance Series Pro, but less than we expect to see from a modern SSD, as is its small-file read
scored a mediocre 56.2MB/s when reading large files. test of 58MB/s.
To OCZ’s credit, the Vertex 4 is inexpensive. Its £200 price provides The Pyro SE comes without any accessories or software, and its
256GB of space, which works out at an impressive pence-per-gigabyte three-year warranty is nothing special, either, with some SSDs providing
cost of just 78p. That makes the OCZ Vertex 4 terrific value. five-year warranties. Unfortunately, the Patriot doesn’t offset its weak
The Ultimate award-winning Corsair Performance Series Pro performance and lack of extras with a low price. At £1.19 per gigabyte,
provides even better performance, but the OCZ Vertex 4’s great value it’s one of the most expensive SSDs, in this month’s group test, so it’s
and high benchmark scores make it a Best Buy. impossible to recommend.

PATRIOT Wildfire 240GB PLEXTOR M3 Pro 128GB

★★★★★ ★★★★★
£258 inc VAT • From www.pixmania.co.uk £140 inc VAT • From www.scan.co.uk

VERDICT VERDICT
The Wildfire can deliver impressive performance, but it’s too expensive Impressive performance throughout makes this an excellent buy
compared with its rivals

SSDS WERE ONCE considered an

PATRIOT’S 240GB WILDFIRE costs £258, expensive option, but this is changing as
or £1.07 per gigabyte, which is relatively more and more SSDs fall below the
high when a lot of SSDs now cost £1 per gigabyte mark. At £1.09
less than £1 per gigabyte. An per gigabyte, Plextor’s M3 Pro
SSD will have to perform well isn’t one of them.
to convince us to spend that Its results go some way
kind of money. Sadly, the to justifying the price. Its
Wildfire’s performance is score of 353.2MB/s in the large-file write
mixed. Its result of 198MB/s in the test is faster than that of many SSDs, and it read
large-file write test is a lot less than we expect to large files at an impressive 380.3MB/s; the Ultimate-award-winning
see, although its small-file write score of 83MB/s is average. Corsair Performance Series Pro scored 367MB/s in the read test. The
Thankfully, its file-reading performance is better. The Wildfire’s small-file results were mixed, however. It wrote small files at 83.8MB/s,
large-file read test score of 386MB/s is outstanding, and its small-file which is fast, but read them at 58MB/s, which is bettered by many
read result of 62MB/s is also good, and very close to that of the recent SSDs such as the similarly priced Adata S511.
Ultimate-award-winning Corsair Performance Series Pro. This mixed result could be explained by the specification. Marvell’s
Sadly, it doesn’t come with a 2½in-to-3½in bracket or data 88SS9174 controller has been used in top-end SSDs for two years,
migration software, so you’ll have to buy these separately if you need which is a long time in the world of technology. To compensate for its
them. The three-year warranty is standard, but some other SSDs offer ageing controller, Plextor has used 24nm Toggle Mode NAND chips,
five-year warranties for greater peace of mind. which are faster than the 25nm chips in most of this month’s drives.
With inconsistent performance and a high price, the Patriot Wildfire Great results in the majority of our tests make the Plextor a good buy,
is a drive that we can’t recommend wholeheartedly, despite its good and its extras include a 2½in-to-3½in bracket and data migration software.
read results. The Corsair Performance Series Pro is cheaper and There are faster, cheaper drives, such as the Corsair Performance Pro and
provides better performance. OCZ Vertex 4, but the Plextor M3 Pro is still a decent SSD.

WorldMags.net
114 SEPTEMBER 2012 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 295
 SOLID-STATE DRIVES

PNY Professional SSD 120GB SAMSUNG 830 Series 256GB

★★★★★ ★★★★★
£95 inc VAT • From www.scan.co.uk £219 inc VAT • From www.scan.co.uk

VERDICT VERDICT
Great value, but certain benchmark results are lower than we expect Impressive performance at an attractive price makes this a great buy

PNY ISN’T KNOWN for its SSDs, so it’s no SAMSUNG MAKES MANY of the memory
surprise that the company has stuck to a chips used in the world’s most popular
tried-and-tested recipe for its smartphones and tablets, so it’s no
Professional SSD: a SandForce surprise that the firm has used
SF-2281 controller and 25nm its manufacturing clout to
NAND chips. produce a fantastic-value
This typical specification drive. At £219 for 256GB, it
resulted in poor benchmark costs a relatively affordable
results. In our large-file write test, the 85p per gigabyte.
SSD scored a sluggish 188.9MB/s, which pales Samsung has developed its own controller
in comparison to the OCZ Vertex 4’s 423.2MB/s. The based on a triple-core ARM9 processor. It also uses 20nm Samsung
situation didn’t improve in our large-file read test, with the PNY’s NAND memory rather than the 25nm chips used by most of its rivals.
350.6MB/s result falling behind all but four of its rivals. Its small-file write Its performance was good, although Samsung can’t quite deliver the
result of 81.9MB/s is average compared with a lot of the solid-state highest results of its fastest rivals. Its 346MB/s result in our large-file
drives tested, and its 61.2MB/s small-file result is a little above average. write test is faster than those of many SSDs we’ve tested, but while its
Sadly, the PNY professional SSD doesn’t come with any accessories, large-file read test score of 371.5MB/s is also good, it’s not outstanding.
such as a 2½in to 3½in adaptor, and its three-year warranty period is The 830 Series wrote small files at 85MB/s, which is one of the
typical of a lot of SSDs. fastest speeds we’ve seen and is on a par with that of the Corsair
The PNY does, at least, have value on its side. It costs just £95 Performance Series Pro. It faltered when reading small files, however –
for 120GB of space, and that translates to a great value 79p per its 56MB/s score is slightly below average, which is disappointing.
gigabyte. Unfortunately for this drive, the Crucial M4 costs just 68p Overall, though, its results are good and its 85p per gigabyte price
per gigabyte and it is considerably quicker, too. If you want a great makes it better value than the Ultimate-award-winning Corsair
value solid-state disk, think about the Crucial M4 first rather than the Performance Series Pro. If the Corsair is a little too expensive for your
PNY Professional SSD. tastes, this is an impressive alternative.

SANDISK Extreme 120GB VERBATIM SSD 240GB

★★★★★ ★★★★★
£80 inc VAT • From www.amazon.co.uk £232 inc VAT • From www.morecomputers.com

VERDICT VERDICT
A decent price, but it’s not fast enough compared with budget rivals A decent drive that’s marred by its comparatively high price

WITH A NAME like Extreme, SanDisk’s VERBATIM ISN’T KNOWN for its SSDs and
SSD sounds as if it’s designed to doesn’t have a whole range of drives to
compete with the fastest, most choose from. Its consumer drive
expensive drives, but its price doesn’t even have a proper
suggests otherwise. At £80, name. The Verbatim SSD
it costs 66p per gigabyte for has a 240GB capacity and
120GB of storage, making it provides 222GB of formatted
one of the most affordable space, which is plenty for
SSDs you can buy. Windows and a host of applications.
This low price is easy to understand when The drive is powered by the SandForce
you consider its specification. It uses the popular SandForce SF-2281 SF-2281 controller and, like many of this month’s contenders, comes
controller, although, instead of the 25nm hardware we’re used to with a 2½in-to-3½in adaptor and a data backup and migration utility. It
seeing, SanDisk has opted for Toshiba’s 24nm Toggle Mode memory, also comes with a three-year warranty, which is typical for SSDs.
which, it argues, offers improved performance. The SF-2281 controller has delivered mixed results this month, but
Sadly, the SanDisk’s older hardware is left behind by newer and it performed well here. The Verbatim’s large-file write test score of
more adventurous solid-state drives. Its large-file write test score of 308.3MB/s is respectable, and its large-file read test result of 384.4MB/s
179.8MB/s is poor compared with the 423.2MB/s of the OCZ Vertex 4, is even better, beating the Ultimate-award-winning Corsair Performance
and its large-file read test score of 351.3MB/s is average. Its small file Series Pro. The Verbatim SSD was good at handling small files, too. Its
performance is slightly better than average, although neither its write write speed of 83MB/s is acceptable, and its small-file read test score of
test result of 81.5MB/s or its read test score of 59.9MB/s is very exciting. 61.4MB/s is fast compared with other drives we’ve tested recently.
The SanDisk Extreme can only really compete on price. If you Our main qualm is with the price. This 240GB model costs £232, or
pay a little more (68p per gigabyte), however, you can have the 95p per gigabyte, which is a little expensive. If you’re spending that
Crucial M4, which is our favourite budget choice and provides amount, you may as well buy the Corsair Performance Series Pro, which
consistently better performance. is even faster and no more expensive per gigabyte.

WorldMags.net
ISSUE 295 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | SEPTEMBER 2012 115
 SOLID-STATE DRIVES

BENCHMARKS
Performance Data transfer rates
Large Write (MB/s) Large Read (MB/s) Large Overall (MB/s)
423.2 386.3 386.9
405.9 385.1 375.2

353.2 384.4 366.8

346.4 381 359

319 380 349.4

308.3 380 346.4

284.2 379.8 328

277.5 378.5 322.6

273.2 371.6 317.7

265.4 367.2 292

254.4 360 285.03

197.9 351.3 269.8

188.9 350.6 265.6

184.9 327.2 264

179.8 319.1 234

168 194.9 217.6

Small Write (MB/s) Small Read (MB/s) Small Overall (MB/s)

85 63.04 74
84.99 62 72.7
84.95 61.8 72.6
83.86 61.48 72.5
83.51 61.23 72.2
83.44 61.04 71.6
83.37 60.6 71.5
83.29 60.6 70.7
82.99 59.93 70.7
81.97 59.42 70.7
81.9 58 70.6
81.54 57.5 70.6
80.88 56.28 69.4
79.42 56.27 68.7
75 56 66.5
75 54.04 65.4

VERDICT
Of the 16 SSDs tested, only three have won boosting your PC’s performance, and unless CORSAIR
awards. We were impressed by the Crucial you’re an enthusiastic media hoarder, you can Performance Series Pro
M4. For just £88 including VAT, you get a use it as your sole drive.
★★★★★
fantastic SSD that costs just 68p per gigabyte We were also impressed by the speedy
and delivers great performance. It’s not OCZ Vertex 4. This offers fantastic read and
outstandingly fast compared with pricier write performance, a five-year warranty and
models, but it’s good enough and its 128GB fantastic value at just 78p per gigabyte.
capacity is sufficient for Windows and a What’s more, its 256GB capacity is large OCZ Vertex 4
couple of games or a decent amount of media enough that it can act as the sole drive in your ★★★★★
files. Alternatively, you could combine it with a family PC. It wins our Best Buy award.
mechanical hard disk and use it as a fast boot Finally, we were well and truly smitten by
disk. It’s our Budget Buy award winner. the Corsair Performance Series Pro. This SSD
If you need greater capacity, consider also provides a 256GB capacity, as well as a
the 240GB Corsair Force GT. This provided phenomenally quick read and write speeds. Its
CRUCIAL M4 128GB
consistently good performance, although its cost of 93p per gigabyte is relatively high, but ★★★★★
large-file write test result let it down slightly. we feel that its performance is worth the extra
Even so, it’s a relatively inexpensive means of money. It wins our Ultimate award.

WorldMags.net
116 SEPTEMBER 2012 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 295
 ULTIMATE BUDGET BUY

ADATA CORSAIR CORSAIR CRUCIAL INTEL INTEL KINGSTON OCZ

S511 120GB Force GT 240GB Performance M4 128GB 520 Series 60GB 520 Series 240GB HyperX 240GB Agility 3 240GB
Series Pro 256GB
Rating ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★
STORAGE

Physical size 2½in 2½in 2½in 2½in 2½in 2½in 2½in 2½in

ISSUE 295 | COMPUTER SHOPPER

Capacity 120GB 240GB 256GB 128GB 60GB 240GB 240GB 240GB

Formatted capacity (NTFS) 111 223 238 119 55 223GB 223 223

Price per gigabyte £1 £0.75 £0.93 £0.68 £1.35 £1.08 £1.18 £0.57

Interface SATA3 SATA3 SATA3 SATA3 SATA3 SATA3 SATA3 SATA3

Power connector SATA SATA SATA SATA SATA SATA SATA SATA

| SEPTEMBER 2012
BUYING INFORMATION

Price including VAT £120 £180 £240 £88 £81 £260 £282 £139

Warranty Three-year RTB Three-year RTB Three-year RTB Five-year RTB Five-year RTB Five-year RTB Three-year RTB Three-year RTB

Supplier www.morecomputers.com www.scan.co.uk www.overclockers.co.uk www.amazon.co.uk www.scan.co.uk www.scan.co.uk www.amazon.co.uk www.overclockers.co.uk

Details www.adata-group.com www.corsair.com www.corsair.com www.crucial.com www.intel.com www.intel.co.uk www.kingston.com www.ocztechnology.com

Part code AS511S3-120GM-C CSSD-F240GBGT-BK CSSD-P256GBP-BK CT128M4SSD1 SSDSC2CW060A3K5 SSDSC2CW240A3K SH100S3/240G AGT3-25SAT3-240G

BEST BUY

OCZ PATRIOT PATRIOT PLEXTOR PNY SAMSUNG SANDISK VERBATIM

Vertex 4 256GB Pyro SE 120GB Wildfire 240GB M3 Pro 128GB Professional 830 Series 256GB Extreme 120GB SSD 240GB
SSD 120GB
Rating ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★
STORAGE

WorldMags.net
Physical size 2½in 2½in 2½in 2½in 2½in 2½in 2½in 2½in

Capacity 256GB 120GB 240GB 128GB 120GB 256GB 120GB 240GB

Formatted capacity (NTFS) 238 111 223 119 111 238 111 223

Price per gigabyte £0.78 £1.19 £1.07 £1.09 £0.66 £0.85 £0.66 £0.96

Interface SATA3 SATA3 SATA3 SATA3 SATA3 SATA3 SATA3 SATA3

Power connector SATA SATA SATA SATA SATA SATA SATA SATA

BUYING INFORMATION

Price including VAT £200 £129 £258 £140 £95 £219 £80 £232

Warranty Five-year RTB Three-year RTB Three-year RTB Five-year RTB Three-year RTB Three-year RTB Three-year RTB Three-year RTB

Supplier www.scan.co.uk www.play.com www.pixmania.co.uk www.scan.co.uk www.scan.co.uk www.scan.co.uk www.amazon.co.uk www.morecomputers.com

Details www.ocztechnology.com www.patriotmemory.com www.patriotmemory.com www.plextor-digital.com www.pny.com www.samsung.co.uk www.sandisk.com www.verbatim-europe.co.uk

Part code VTX4-25SAT3-256G PPSE120GS25SSDR PW240GS255SSDR PX-128M3P P-SSD2S120G3-BLK MZ-7PC256D SDSSDX-120G-G25 47379
SOLID-STATE DRIVES

Prices correct at time of going to press

117
 SOLID-STATE DRIVES

Setting up an SSD
A solid-state drive can make your computer boot much faster
than a traditional hard disk, but you need to configure it in
Windows first. Here we show you what to do
A SOLID STATE DRIVE (SSD) has many
advantages over a traditional mechanical hard
disk. SSDs use fast memory chips, so your
computer will boot more quickly and
Windows and your other applications will load
faster. In our tests, we’ve seen the boot time
of Windows 7 fall to 10 seconds on a Core
i5-750 PC simply by switching from a hard
disk to an SSD.
What’s more, SSDs have no moving parts,
which makes them immune to many of the
problems from which mechanical disks suffer,
such as damage from being knocked.
However, SSDs are limited in the number of
times data can be written to them, so you’ll
need to configure Windows to get the best
performance out of them. Over the next few
pages, we’ll take you through all the settings
you need to adjust.
There are other downsides to using SSDs.
You have to pay more per gigabyte when
If possible, move the paging file for virtual You should also move the system index to a
buying an SSD, and the largest models still memory to a regular hard disk regular hard disk if you have one
have much smaller capacities than typical
hard disks. For this reason, it’s worth having total of 512KB). Each page can be written to around 10,000 writes. After this, a cell can’t be
an SSD for booting and running applications, individually, but only if it’s empty. If a page written to or erased, although the data can be
and a mechanical hard disk for storing all is considered to contain data, such as the read, so a worn-out SSD can still be read. To
your data. We recommend a minimum remnants of deleted files, this must be erased erase data securely, the disk must be
capacity of 64GB for an SSD, although 128GB first. However, data can only be erased in physically destroyed. Information about cells
is preferable. If you plan to use an SSD on its entire 512KB blocks. wearing out has led to a lot of panic about the
own as a single drive, 128GB should be the In this situation, overwriting a file means quality and usability of SSDs, but most of this
absolute minimum. wiping the original data first. The SSD has is unfounded.
Another problem with SSDs arises from to read the existing block, wipe the storage Research has discovered that MLC drives
the technology they use. Most consumer space and write the valid data back to the last a lot longer than you might think.
SSDs use multi-level cell (MLC) memory SSD. This can cause performance problems, According to a test performed by Toshiba, a
chips. A cell is a storage area that’s split as there’s more of an overhead involved in typical user will write up to 2.4GB per day and
into pages (typically around 4KB each) and writing data. It can also affect the longevity of a heavy user will write up to 9.2GB per day,
grouped into blocks (usually 128 pages for a your SSD, as MLC cells have a lifespan of only including autosave and hibernate features
in the operating system. Taking this into
account, SSDs are rated to last at least three
years when writing up to 20GB of data per
day. For a typical user who writes 2.4GB per
day, that’s a lifespan of 25 years.
This long lifespan is achieved in several
ways. First, if you use an operating system
that supports it, such as Windows 7, there’s
the TRIM command. This allows the operating
system to tell the SSD which blocks are
considered free in the file system, so that the
disk’s controller can take care of overwrites.
Second, wear levelling ensures that data is
spread evenly over a disk so that one cell
doesn’t wear out before the others.
However, you’ll need to perform some
extra configuration to make your SSD last
as long as possible. This includes disabling
systems that constantly write to a disk, such
as virtual memory – we’ll show you how using
When using an SSD, you need to have AHCI enabled in the BIOS Windows 7. We’ve split the guide into two

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 SOLID-STATE DRIVES

parts: one for systems that have more than ‘Automatically manage paging file size for all
one disk (an SSD and a hard disk), and one drives’ option. Click C:, select ‘No paging file’
for systems with just an SSD. and click Set. You should see a warning telling
you that your computer could run out of
INSTALLING WINDOWS memory – ignore this and click OK. Repeat the
An SSD will probably be smaller than your procedure for any partitions on your SSD.
existing hard disk, so you need to decide how Next, you need to turn on virtual memory
to transfer your operating system. Most SSDs for your hard disk. Select an internal hard
come with cloning software that does the job disk, such as D: and click System managed
for you, but the amount of data on your hard size. Then click Set, and click OK for each of
disk must be equal to or less than the the open dialog boxes.
capacity of the SSD. If it isn’t, you’ll need to The next task is to sort out Indexing. This
move some files off the hard disk until there’s is the service that indexes all your files so
enough room. For this reason, the best option that you can find them quickly, and it can be
is a fresh installation of Windows 7. responsible for quite a few file writes. Click
Before you install Windows 7, make sure on the Start menu and type Index. Click on
the advanced host controller interface (AHCI) Advanced, Indexing options and ‘Select new’
is turned on in the BIOS. This is the SATA under ‘Index location’. Browse to a mechanical
native mode and supports all the advanced hard disk and click OK. The index can only be
features that SSDs require. It’s usually found moved to the root of a drive, and the changes
in the menu with storage options. Make sure won’t stick if you select a folder.
your BIOS is set so that the SSD is the It’s also worth moving your Documents,
primary boot hard disk after the optical drive. Pictures, Music and Videos folders to a hard Windows 7 makes it easy to move your user files
Windows should detect that you’re using disk to save space on your SSD. Windows 7 to another hard disk
an SSD and disable defragmentation (which
can damage it), but you should check this.
Open Computer, right-click on your SSD You’ll need to perform some extra configuration to
and select Properties, then click Tools. Click
Defragment now, then click Configure make your SSD last as long as possible. This includes
schedule and Select disks. Make sure your disabling systems that constantly write to a disk
SSD isn’t selected. Windows should remove
your SSD from this list automatically, so don’t
worry if you can’t see it. makes this easy using Libraries. To move the hunting for a way to move the Windows Temp
Documents folder, go to your physical hard folder and Program files. You may want to
USING AN SSD WITH A disk and make a folder such as d:\documents move the default download directory of your
MECHANICAL DISK or d:\<yourname>\documents. To change the web browser, though, so that it saves files to
The chances are that you’ll be adding an SSD location of your Documents folder, type your hard disk rather than the SSD.
to a PC that already has a hard disk. This Libraries into the Start menu and click
arrangement provides both speed and plenty Libraries. Right-click Documents and select USING AN SSD ON ITS OWN
of storage. Once Windows is working, you can Properties. Click the option to include a folder, If you’ve decided to build your computer with
start making the appropriate system changes. navigate to your new folder and click the only an SSD, your configuration options are
First, make sure virtual memory is switched Include folder option. Select the existing more limited, as you can’t move files to a
off on the SSD. Virtual memory copies data entries in the Library locations window, then larger mechanical disk. This means you have
from RAM to the hard disk to free up memory choose Remove and click OK. to disable some services. It’s worth disabling
for other applications, but it can damage an Repeat the process for your Music, virtual memory, as this can harm an SSD.
SSD. Right-click Computer in the Start menu Pictures and Videos Libraries. Once you’ve Before you do this, you’ll need 4GB of RAM or
and select Properties. Click the System done that, every time you access one of these else Windows could run out of memory. You
protection link, select Advance and then Libraries you’ll be diverted to the new folder can leave it enabled if you have less RAM, but
click Setting under Performance. Click the on your mechanical hard disk. There’s little you could wear out your SSD more quickly.
Advanced tab, then click Change. Untick the point in changing other user settings or Right-click Computer in the Start menu
and select Properties. Click System protection,
select Advanced and click Setting under
Performance. Click the Advanced tab and then
click Change. Untick the ‘Automatically
manage paging file size for all drives’ option.
You’ll be prompted to restart. In Windows,
follow the instructions above to get back to
the Virtual Memory dialog box. Click C:, select
‘No paging file’ and then click Set.
You can’t move the Indexing service on a
laptop, but you can disable it. However, we
don’t recommend this, as it will be hard to
find programs and files. If this doesn’t bother
you and you want to disable the service, click
on the Start menu and type in Services. Click
Services from the list and double-click
Windows Search in the list. Select Disabled
from the Startup type drop-down box. Then
Disable virtual memory on a laptop to prolong You can disable Windows Search, but we don’t click the Stop button and OK to continue.
the life of your SSD recommend it There’s no need to make any other changes.

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 HDMI CABLES

Manufacturers may prefer you to believe that expensive

HDMI cables bring improvements in image quality, but is
this really true? Tom Morgan finds out once and for all

W
e’ve long been sceptical for their lack of “colour variety, reduced would be false advertising. An HDMI cable
of claims that expensive punch and less depth”. What Hi-Fi magazine performs no processing. As far as the cable is
HDMI cables offer has several pages of HDMI cable reviews on concerned, electrical signals pass through it,
improved image quality its website, with prices reaching a dizzying but it has no idea what the data it contains
over cheaper cables. After £300 – apparently this is enough to buy you a is. In other words, if you read that an HDMI
all, it’s a digital connection “clear, detailed, realistic picture” that cheaper cable has boosted flesh tones, it’s either
and digital is designed to ensure that what cables simply can’t match. misguided belief or simply wrong.
you transmit is what you receive. Despite this, It’s not a view that’s directly supported by
there are plenty of people who argue that the manufacturers of premium HDMI cables, DIGITAL LOVE
expensive cables make a difference and can though. The claims on many manufacturers’ That’s not to say all the arguments regarding
even dramatically improve the picture quality websites focus on superior components and HDMI cables are technically incorrect.
of your home cinema setup. We decided that construction rather than the potential for a However, you can only argue that a cable
it was time to settle this argument once and better image or improved sound quality. Try might deliver a signal that’s closer to the
for all, with in-depth testing to prove beyond as we might, we couldn’t find a claim on any original, not one that’s better. This is an
all doubt whether or not there is a case for manufacturer’s website that said its cables important distinction, and to get a better
expensive cables. would improve the image or audio of your understanding of the argument we need to
Before we get into the testing, though, we home cinema setup. look at how the technology works. First, it’s
need to look at how HDMI cables are made, The reason manufacturers don’t make important to distinguish between HDMI
how data is transmitted and what happens outrageous claims about better image quality cables, which are used for digital data, and
once the signal reaches the TV. We’ll also look or audio fidelity is that it simply isn’t true and older cables designed for analogue data.
at the different arguments and find out if In theory, an analogue system has an
there’s any truth to them. infinite number of values, and tiny variations
in the signal are significant and meaningful.
HIGH FIDELITY The world we live in is technically
There are plenty of advocates for expensive analogue, with an infinite variety of
HDMI cables, most notably among high-end colours, sounds and everything else
home cinema enthusiasts. Reviews in that you perceive. As a result, an
home cinema magazines often analogue signal can be represented
comment on the difference a cable as a smooth, continuous waveform.
made on motion handling, picture However, the downside of an
noise, image sharpness and skin analogue signal is that interference
tones. Reviews even go so far as to affects the output and changes what’s
recommend specific cables for their being received. As analogue has infinite
“detailed and punchy delivery of variety, there’s no way to tell if what you’re
picture and sound,” and slate others receiving is what was originally transmitted.

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 HDMI CABLES

Analogue versus digital

An analogue signal A digital signal

1.5 1.5

1 1

0.5 0.5

0 0
2 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 2 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

0.5 0.5

1 1

1.5 1.5

The original analogue signal (left) is a smooth waveform, but the digital version is a representation of this taken at specific steps. The number of samples and
number of bits used defines how close the digital version (right) is to the original. In our example, the digital version has few samples, so is heavily stepped.
Doubling the number of samples would create smoother steps, and so on

In digital systems, the analogue data is first As binary uses only zeroes and ones, in the red channel. An error of this magnitude
converted to a digital format consisting of numbers with a value greater than one are would be all but indistinguishable to the eye,
zeroes and ones. This is done by sampling, represented in a different way to those in the but an error in another part of the binary
where the analogue waveform is sampled at decimal system. In binary, the number of bits number could have a more noticeable impact.
regular intervals and the value at each sample and their position is important. With an eight- For example, if the final binary digit were
point is recorded. The result is a waveform bit number, eight binary digits are used to incorrect, the pixel could be a different colour
with square steps. create a number. Reading from right to left, altogether, as it changes the value by 128:
The quality of the digital version is based the first digit has a value of one, and the value
on two things: the number of samples taken of each place doubles for each digit as you Binary number 10001010; decimal number 138 (128+8+2)
per second and the number of bits used to move to the left. The final number is calculated 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 0
store the value. The more samples you by adding up all the digits assigned a value of
(128) (64) (32) (16) (8) (4) (2) (1)
take, the smaller the steps in the one. In a binary system, the maximum number
digital waveform, which allows you that can be represented is (2n)-1, where n is
to recreate the original form more the number of bits. So an eight-bit binary has ERROR CORRECTION
accurately. Using more bits a maximum value of 255 (or 28–1). With every HDMI includes a mechanism for error
increases the accuracy of the number between 0 and 255, this gives us a detection but not error correction. In other
value recorded. total of 256 different values. To represent the words, the receiving device knows if there’s
The true advantage of digital decimal number 10 in binary, we’d use: an error in the signal but doesn’t know what
comes when transmitting the that error is or how to correct it. The way
data again, as the sender and a display handles the error differs from
the receiver only need to look Binary number 00001010; decimal number 10 (8+2) manufacturer to manufacturer, but in general
out for zeroes and ones. Binary 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 it will guess the correct value by looking at
With just two values, it’s the values of the surrounding pixels and
Decimal value (128) (64) (32) (16) (8) (4) (2) (1)
comparatively easy to tell if estimating the value of the incorrect pixel.
what you’re receiving is a zero This is similar to using the Spot Healing
or a one. In this way, digital We can see what effect an error might have by brush in Photoshop.
systems are designed so that looking at how an HDMI signal transmits RGB To show how this could work, we captured
what is transmitted is the same colour data. RGB uses three eight-bit binary a test image with an incorrect pixel and
as what is received. numbers, one each for the red, green and blue applied the Spot Healing brush to it. We then
channels, making a total of 24 bits for colour compared the value of the fixed pixel with the
ERROR ERROR information. With 256 colour values per value of the original pixel. Our corrected pixel
That’s not to say digital is channel, this allows for 16.7 million colours. was a slightly different shade.
flawless, as errors can and do If the eight-bit number above represented
occur. The fact that digital a value in the red channel, an error of one
errors occur is the basis for bit would alter the number and change the
many of the arguments for colour. For example, an error in the first digit 10 11
more expensive cables, so this would result in a difference of one: Depending
needs some explanation. In a on where in a
binary number
digital system, an error occurs Binary number 00001011; decimal number 11 (8+2+1) an error occurs,
when a zero is received as a one 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 the difference
or a one is received as a zero. could either be
(128) (64) (32) (16) (8) (4) (2) (1)
This may seem insignificant, but a very subtly
the effect it has depends on different shade
whereabouts in a binary This mistake would change the final displayed or a completely
number the error occurs. pixel, making it a single shade lighter or darker 10 138 different colour

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 HDMI CABLES

Error correction

Although a TV can try to correct the

colour of a pixel, it simply guesses
what it should be, and the results
aren’t completely accurate
ORIGINAL SHADE ERROR-CORRECTED SHADE

This is the crux of the argument for buying transmitted. In theory, a digital signal should This could mean that cable certified at a
more expensive cables. Adherents claim that appear as a square wave as the voltage jumps 1m length will fail when sold as a 10m cable if
pricier cables produce fewer errors, so the from the maximum to nothing to represent the manufacturing process doesn’t account
picture they transmit is closer to the source the digital zeroes and ones being transmitted, for an increase in interference. However,
material. Note that this isn’t a better picture although this is rarely the case. Limitations unless you specifically need to buy an
– HDMI cables can’t do any processing – but of the cable and other components cause extra-long cable, it’s a safe bet that an HDMI
simply one that’s closer to the original. the verticals to become sloped, resulting in cable will work without any trouble.
an eye-shaped pattern (see image below). Even the best manufacturing processes
WOULD YOU NOTICE? As interference increases, the pattern haven’t found a way to perfect HDMI
So technically a more expensive HDMI cable becomes distorted to the point that the cables at increased lengths. According to
may produce a picture that’s closer to the shape – and the signal – is lost completely. manufacturer AudioQuest, errors increase
original, but would you really notice the When empty space appears in the centre sharply beyond 15m; a cable of this length
difference? The HDMI standard allows for of the oscilloscope, the signal will transmit might produce one error over the course of
a single bit error to occur in every billion bits successfully, but if it closes – either vertically an entire day’s viewing, but a 17m cable might
of data sent – known as the Bit Error Rate due to lack of signal amplitude, or horizontally produce one every hour. An 18m cable could
(BER). This doesn’t sound like many errors, due to timing jitter – then errors will occur. see an error every minute compared with one
but for a Blu-ray disc encoded at 24p (the every second at 22m. At 23m, errors can be
cinema standard of 24 frames per second), counted in the tens of thousands per second.
roughly 1.2billion bits of data are transmitted
per second. This means that an HDMI-
certified cable should only send an incorrect
bit for a single pixel of a single frame of video
each second. Remember that this is the
maximum allowed, so in practice you’re likely
to get fewer errors. Even so, one slightly wrong Rather than
pixel per second in a moving 1,920x1,080 square lines, a
image is pretty much impossible to detect digital signal
with the human eye. forms an eye-
shaped pattern
SHORT CIRCUIT
It’s only at longer cable lengths that binary
errors become a major issue. This is due to
interference from the individual pairs of wires
inside the cable. We can visualise this using an
oscilloscope. An eye-pattern test, commonly
used by manufacturers to test cables before
they’re sent for certification, examines the
amplitude and timing of a signal as it is

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 HDMI CABLES

Prices of HDMI cables we tested

MANUFACTURER PRODUCT NAME LENGTH PRICE
QED Profile high speed with Ethernet 1m £23
QED Performance 1m £32
QED Reference 1m £70
It’s important to note
Lindy Premium standard 10m £45
that many of the extra
Lindy High speed 2m £5 options available on
Atlas Equator 1m £75 your Blu-ray player are
Cambridge Audio 300 1.5m £30 actually pointless
Cambridge Audio 514 1.5m £50
Cambridge Audio 714 3m £80
Cambridge Audio 914 5m £130

COMPLETE FAILURE it requires a lot more bandwidth. So while 3D video runs at 48fps, while games consoles
While the number of errors a cable introduces there might be one error per second in our run at up to 60fps. Using the default HDMI
affects quality, there is a limit to the number RGB colour example, Deep Colour could standard, you’d get a maximum of three
that can be tolerated. HDMI doesn’t only increase the error rate to two or three per incorrect pixels per second when playing a
carry picture information but also sound and second. Throw in 3D video, which doubles the game at maximum speed. However, as each
HDCP copy-protection data. An error is as frame rate, and you could be looking at four frame is onscreen for less time than a frame
likely to occur in the audio soundtrack or the or five errors per second. of a film ( ⁄ th of a second rather than ½ th
HDCP part of the signal as in the video part. Before we get too excited, it’s important to of a second), it’s hard – if not impossible – to
HDCP includes error correction, but if there note that many of the extra options available spot these single-pixel errors.
are too many errors there won’t be enough on your Blu-ray player are actually pointless.
information to correct them and the system Deep Colour, for example, is not a colour ERRORS YOU CAN SEE
will break down. When HDCP fails, the picture space that’s encoded on Blu-ray discs. In fact, While single-pixel errors are hard to see, there
and audio cut out completely, so a cable that all Blu-ray discs use the YCbCr colour space are some circumstances when enough errors
produces too many errors is useless. with a 4:2:0 ratio. This colour space is derived occur to cause a visual problem but not
from the RGB original and is designed to save enough to disrupt the HDCP signal. These
MORE BANDWIDTH on bandwidth by separating the luminance, errors, often called sparkles, appear as snow
Not surprisingly, cable manufacturers use which the eye is more sensitive to, from the or static on the screen and are caused when
expensive equipment to test their chroma (colour) values. When a Blu-ray player the TV receives insufficient data to turn
products before they submit them outputs the picture, it has to take the YCbCr them into pixels. Noticeable errors such as
for certification. BER tests send a 4:2:0 data and re-encode it as YCbCr 4:2:2, this are not a sign that you need to buy a
generated signal over an HDMI YCbCr 4:4:4 or RGB. This conversion more expensive cable but rather that your
cable, which is connected in a preserves the original colours represented
loop back to the test machine. on the disc but increases the
By comparing the data sent bandwidth required. Turning on Deep
with the data received, it can Colour increases the bandwidth
calculate the number of errors required further, but adds no more
(if any). Any more than one colour information.
error per billion bits will prevent At the moment, an increase in
the cable from meeting the bandwidth is useful only when
HDMI standard specifications. dealing with higher frame rates.
One of the main
arguments for expensive
cables is that superior
manufacturing and testing
processes result in cables that
transmit fewer errors (have a
lower BER than the HDMI
standard), whereas cheaper
cables don’t go through the
same testing procedures.
While we’ve established that
one error per second is
unlikely to be noticeable,
advocates for higher-quality
cables argue that they’re better
when it comes to features that
require greater bandwidth, such
as Deep Colour.
Deep Colour is an HDMI
standard that allows for
billions of colours. As a result, It’s possible to see some errors on very bad HDMI cables, where the image is ruined by sparkles

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 HDMI CABLES

current cable has failed and it’s time to each device first, a blind test can’t produce

HDMI facts buy a new one.

Taken together, the length, construction
reliable results. Instead, we needed to perform
objective tests to determine how much of a
and error rate of any given cable support difference, if any, HDMI cables can make.

& FIction the argument for expensive cables from a

technical point of view. It’s true that a cable DEFINITIVE TESTING
with a lower BER produces a picture that’s To test HDMI cables objectively, we first
“More expensive HDMI closer to the original source. However, as bought a Digital Foundry TrueHD capture
bog-standard HDMI-certified cables produce card. This high-quality card allowed us to
cables improve colour a maximum of one error in one pixel per capture the HDMI output from a device
tone” FALSE second, and this error is easily corrected to in an uncompressed Raw format without
the extent that you won’t notice it, the error correction, using 24-bit RGB. This
When we compared the performance of argument falls a bit flat. eliminates any colour cast or error correction
each cable using captured frames from It’s also important to remember that this from the equation, as we’re dealing with
our reference Blu-ray, we found that they argument is based on specifications rather Raw frames captured.
outputted an identical image. Comparing than physical testing of cables. We’re not Next, we used a PC to output the Blu-ray
them using ImageMagick revealed no interested in what can technically make a version of Sintel, an open-source film
difference in colour. An HDMI cable difference but in what actually makes a produced by the Blender Foundation. The
simply transmits data from the source difference, and whether or not HDMI choice of a PC may seem a little strange, and
to a display, so it can’t improve image cables can improve image quality. With some people would argue that we should have
quality, and unless your cable is broken, this in mind, we set about testing the used a Blu-ray player instead. However, we’re
it can’t degrade picture quality, either. quality of different HDMI cables. not interested in which device produces the
best-quality video, but rather if HDMI cables
TESTING produce different results. To this end, the PC
Even after establishing that most HDMI gave us an important advantage: we could
“Expensive HDMI cables cables either work or they don’t, we still have capture a frame from the film on the PC and
the question of whether they can affect compare this with a frame captured on the
are less likely to fail than
picture quality. The only way to answer this TrueHD card. If the two were the same, the
cheaper cables” FALSE question is to test image quality objectively. cable had made no difference; if they differed,
Performing an objective test is important, the cable was affecting quality.
Cheaper cables may not go through the as subjectively testing HDMI cables by asking To ensure that we managed to capture the
same rigorous tests as their pricier volunteers to examine the picture as it’s same frames at the PC and TrueHD ends, we
counterparts, so they could be more played can lead to misleading results. paused the film and jumped to chapter two. It
susceptible to signal errors, but the Comparing anything objectively is incredibly may seem strange to pause the film, but as far
HDMI certification process means a cable difficult, as the average person will almost as the PC’s graphics card, cable and TrueHD
will only ever produce a maximum of one always pick a side when given two options to card are concerned, pausing has no effect.
error in every million bits – roughly one choose from. This is what we discovered when The PC still has to output at the same rate,
pixel of one frame of video every second. we last tried to test HDMI cables subjectively. but rather than outputting 24 different frames
The error correction algorithms of There are other problems, too. Using per second to produce a moving image, it
modern TVs mean that even if a identical TVs, Blu-ray players and discs still outputs 24 identical frames per second.
significant error occurs, it will most likely can’t create a level playing field because of As an HDMI-certified cable allows for a
be corrected to the point that the human minor differences between the colour casts single one-bit error in a billion (one incorrect
eye simply wouldn’t notice. of each set. Even identical devices have the pixel per second), we captured 24 frames of
potential for affecting the results of a blind the paused Sintel video and saved them as
test. When we compared the output of two uncompressed bitmap files that we could
PlayStation 3 consoles, we noticed a distinct then compare with the original frame we’d
“It doesn’t matter which difference in the colour reproduction of a screen-grabbed on the PC. As the TrueHD
Blu-ray disc, no matter which TV or HDMI doesn’t apply any correction to the source, a
way round you plug in an cable we used. Unless you colour-calibrate single pixel’s difference would be visible.
HDMI cable” FALSE
Although some HDMI cables (known as
passive cables) can be connected either
way, active cables are uni-directional.
These have different modules at the
transmit and receive ends of the cable,
which in effect doubles the range of a
standard twisted-copper cable. These
signal-enhancement electronics are
found in the connector housings, which
are usually labelled to indicate the
direction in which they should be used.
Connecting a uni-directional cable the
wrong way may result in errors, as we
saw in our tests. These may not be visible
during regular viewing, as the error
correction in most TVs can adjust for
them, but using them in the correct way
will produce a more accurate picture.
We used Sintel, an open-source Blu-ray film, in our tests to find out if HDMI cables make any difference

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 HDMI CABLES
original image
Once we’d captured our frames, we
needed an objective way of comparing them
with the original. We decided to use two
methods for this. First, we used the
ImageMagick Compare command. This takes
two images and creates a third image that
highlights any pixels that are different in red.
Next, we created an MD5 hash of each file we
captured, as well as the ImageMagick output
files. An MD5 hash is a unique fingerprint of
a file: if two files have the same MD5 hash,
there can be no argument – they’re
scientifically identical.

COMPARE AND CONTRAST

Our tests compared the captured frames
edited image
with the original. If they had the same MD5
hash, they were identical. We also created an
MD5 hash of the comparison file output from
ImageMagick, which would enable us to prove
that these files were identical with each other
too, as they had the same MD5 hash. In other
words, we could show that our captured
frames were identical and that our
comparison frames were also identical.
In both verification tests, the change of a
single shade of colour in one pixel would be
enough to trigger a difference. To ensure that
our tests could respond to this level of
accuracy, we edited a screenshot in
Photoshop, changing the red colour value of a COMPARE image
single pixel by one point before running our
comparison tools. The red highlight in the
comparison image and the difference in MD5
hashes indicated that there was a difference
between the two images.
This method of testing not only
determines the number of errors
transmitted by a particular cable but
also indicates whether colours have
changed at all between cables
– a claim that’s frequently used
to explain why certain cables
are better than others in
high-end home cinema reviews.
We looked at a range of
cables, from the bargain-
basement cables that come ImageMagick’s Compare command can detect a single pixel error and highlight it
with Blu-ray players and TVs
to incredibly expensive
high-end cables with huge The MD5 hash values backed up our on colour reproduction. As each capture
lists of features advertised on findings – the captured frames were identical was identical, with no differentiation between
the packaging. Prices ranged to the originals. As verification, the MD5 hash the colours of individual pixels, we have to
from £5 to an eye-watering of the ImageMagick comparison files were conclude that the picture displayed on a TV
£150, which could easily confuse also identical with each other. For reference, is not affected by your choice of HDMI cable.
anyone who needs a new cable. here are the MD5 hash values generated: With no active circuitry inside them, HDMI
cables don’t know what format the data it
CABLE MANNERS File MD5 Hash transmits will be encoded in when it reaches
After methodically Original screenshot on PC 292243CAE2FB14F76145E0C32A6A8CE6 its destination, so there’s no way it could
testing each cable, our adjust colour values, improve skin tones or
Frame capture over HDMI 292243CAE2FB14F76145E0C32A6A8CE6
comprehensive results create better black response.
All comparison files 3492B407D028028C15FB53192EABA36E
revealed the truth. We Pricier cables may have been engineered to
couldn’t find a single error in eliminate timing jitter or reduce binary errors,
any of the frames of video we We had to force an error by reversing a but we didn’t experience any errors with our
captured, no matter which cable uni-directional cable (see ‘Facts & Fiction’ box, Lindy 10m cable, which costs less than Atlas’s
we used. Even allowing for a opposite), which generated several incorrect 1m cable. Our tests revealed no errors from
single error per billion bits, pixels. As our capture card doesn’t apply error any of the cables, and more expensive cables
none of our captured frames correction, these pixels simply failed to render. didn’t improve image quality at all. Given
contained as much as a pixel Comparing our captured images also these results, we’d definitely buy cheaper
out of order by a single shade. proves that individual cables have no impact certified cables and save money.

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 LICENSING LAWS

Are you breaking the

LAW?
If you want to stay on the right side of the law,
you’ll need to read the small print on your computer
software. Julian Prokaza has a licence to explain

C
lick the ‘buy’ button on intangible idea over which it claims
almost any website that sells ownership) to Sony Pictures so that it can
digital content such as MP3s make films about him, but Marvel still
or eBooks and you may think retains ownership of Spider-Man. The films
you’re simply providing that Sony make are then IP themselves,
money in return for goods, just like owned by Sony.
transactions that have taken place since A licence seldom gives free rein to
the dawn of commerce. In reality, however, the licensee. The IP owner
nothing could be further from the truth. (the licensor) sets out the
Most digital content sold online isn’t way in which the property
actually sold at all, but licensed to you for can be used in an agreement
use only in the ways prescribed by its to which the licensee must
owners and retailers. While this may make agree. In this case Sony can
little difference when listening to an MP3 make films about Spider-Man
or reading an eBook, it has serious and sell spin-off merchandise,
implications should you wish to do but wouldn’t be able to launch a competing
anything else, such as move it to another comic book. When you buy a DVD of said
device, and things become even more movie, you then also enter into an owner from using their IP rights to hinder
complex if you want to sell or give the agreement with Sony. You’ve only bought a the free movement of the goods they sell
content to someone else. single copy of the film on disc, though; it (however indirectly). In the US, the First
This model isn’t limited to digital doesn’t mean you now own the IP rights Sale Doctrine provides something similar.
downloads; software sold on discs and CDs over the film as a whole.
and DVDs are governed by a myriad of In the same way, the rights to the words PERSONAL SERVICES
confusing rules and regulations on what printed in a book belong to the publisher Although software sold on a DVD is also
you can and can’t do with them. or author, as the ‘All rights reserved’ legal an intangible idea delivered on a physical
Many of these regulations are laid out statement that appears at the front of the medium, like a Spider-Man movie, it isn’t
in a document called the End User Licence book makes clear. The printed paper that legally the same. As software is essentially
Agreement. These regulations can run to makes up the book itself, however, belongs IP provided to perform a particular task, it
thousands of words, and they have serious to the person that bought it. This is blurs the line between goods and services,
implications for the notion of content because although licences are a useful way and the law for services is very different
ownership. Here we’ll be looking at the to control IP, they can’t usually be used to from that for goods.
legal position of such agreements, and control the physical media itself. Services are usually provided according
what rights you have in regards to them. The ownership of goods – any physical to terms set out in a contract to which
copy of an IP – brings with it a few rights of both parties agree. Entering into a
PROPERTY LADDER its own, not least that the owner can do prolonged negotiation process each time
Intellectual property (IP) is defined as an more or less what they like with it as long someone wants to install a new web
intangible idea or creation over which as the IP owner’s rights aren’t infringed. So, browser is hardly practical, though, so
someone claims ownership (bear with us while duplicating an audio CD and selling software publishers instead use an
on that for now). For copyright-protected the copies would infringe the IP owner’s elaborate up-front disclaimer that attempts
IP, a licence is a way for the owner to allow copyright, selling the original CD to to limit their liability as a service provider
their property to be used by a third party someone else would not. In the European and affirm their rights as an IP owner.
without giving up any ownership rights. Union, these rights are granted by a law Microsoft gets straight to the point
For example, Marvel Comics licenses its called the Exhaustion of Free Rights with Windows 7, for example: “The
Spider-Man character (which itself is an Doctrine, which essentially prevents an IP software is licensed, not sold. This

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 LICENSING LAWS

agreement only gives you some rights to use

the features included in the software edition
you licensed.” Since software is IP licensed Limited agreement
for consumer use, this disclaimer is called the
End User Licence Agreement, or EULA.
There can’t be a single computer user who EULAs can be slippery pseudo-legal documents, since most
hasn’t encountered an EULA at some point, contain a clause that allows their terms to be changed at will
but few are likely to have ever read one. by the licensor. Apple isn’t alone in stating that it “reserves
EULAs used to be (and some still are) printed the right to modify the Usage Rules at any time” for its iTunes
on paper inside a retail box, but it’s long since Store. It also states that it “reserves the right to enforce
been the norm to present a EULA in the early the Usage Rules without notice to you”, but we’re not Amazon overstepped the
stages of a software installation. In theory, a aware of any high-profile instances of this happening. bounds of its Kindle EULA by
EULA should be read before proceeding with The same can’t be said about Amazon. In 2009, Amazon deleting purchased copies of
the installation, since installing the software in the US remotely deleted eBooks from Kindle owners’ Nineteen Eighty-Four after the
is only possible by accepting the EULA and devices after it apparently offered them at sale prices copyright owner objected
forming a contract with the licensor. In without the publisher’s permission to do so, despite its
practice, the prospect of ploughing through EULA not explicitly granting Amazon the right to take such a step. Although Amazon is
a few thousand words of dense legalese (a undoubtedly to blame here, it’s worth noting that the retailer appeared to be acting in
typical EULA can be as long as this feature) response to complaints from the eBooks’ publishers, who were wielding their IP rights to
in a dialog box that shows just a dozen lines prevent Amazon selling the books at reduced prices. You may well have noticed the
at a time is scant temptation for most, which words, ‘This price was set by the publisher’ on many Kindle eBook listings.
is why the ‘I agree’ button usually gets clicked Amazon subsequently apologised for overstepping the mark, but only after
without a second thought. widespread negative publicity about the act – publicity no doubt fuelled by the fact that
one of the books was, appropriately enough, George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four.
PASSING THE BUCK
Most EULAs aren’t particularly contentious,
and the terms usually make little practical
difference to the way software is used. Even recovered from Microsoft is the cost of the although the position is not clear on contracts
so, it’s still worth reading the EULAs for key software, since its EULA states (much like between consumers within the EU and traders
applications to see what kind of conditions most others): “You can recover from outside of it.”
they impose, as they include stipulations such Microsoft and its suppliers only direct Sanders also makes another key point: an
as how many computers you can install the damages up to the amount you paid for the EULA can only grant additional rights to the
software on. Rather than attempting to do software. You cannot recover any other user, not take away any that are conferred by
this in the software installation dialog box in damages, including consequential, lost profits, the laws of the country in which they reside.
which the EULA appears, copy the text and special, indirect or incidental damages… even Most software publishers recognise this.
paste it into a word processor for easier if… Microsoft knew or should have known Here’s the relevant clause from Microsoft’s
viewing or, better still, try the free EULAlyzer about the possibility of the damages.” EULA for Windows 7: “You may have
program, which is available from www. additional consumer rights under your local
javacoolsoftware.com/eulalyzer.html. KNOW YOUR RIGHTS laws, which this agreement cannot change.”
One thing you’ll immediately spot is that Some EULAs also attempt to place limits on The degree of consumer protection differs
a EULA is primarily a disclaimer. There are what users can say about software. The EULA from country to country, which is why EU
usually lots of clauses that state how the for VMware Workstation, for instance, residents don’t need to worry about the
software is provided ‘as is’ and how the includes a clause that doesn’t bode well for US-specific clause in Electronic Arts’ EULA
licensor is not liable for any data or financial anyone wanting to review or comment on it: that states, “By accepting these terms, you
loss that may arise from its use, even if it is “You may use the software to conduct internal and EA expressly waive the right to a trial by
the fault of the software. Should a bug in performance testing and benchmarking jury or to participate in a class action”.
Excel 2010 create a serious discrepancy in studies, the results of which you… may
last year’s accounts and lead to a fine from publish or publicly disseminate; provided that PASSING IT ON
HMRC, for example, the most that can be VMware has reviewed and approved of the Unfortunately, the problems that arise from
methodology, assumptions and licensing, rather than owning, software hit
other parameters of the study.” home when it comes to disposing of it. In
The key point with any EULA, principle, a software CD-ROM is a tangible
however, is that if it’s to act as item that’s covered by the aforementioned
a contract, there’s a legal Exhaustion of Free Rights Doctrine in the UK
presumption that its terms and and the First Sale Doctrine in the US. That
conditions have been mutually means selling the CD-ROM should be legal,
agreed, which isn’t the case when as long as the software isn’t inadvertently
the end user’s only option is an ‘I duplicated by leaving it installed on the
agree’ button before they can use original buyer’s computer. This would be an
it. This creates some legal room for infringement of copyright.
manoeuvre, as David Sanders, civil Some software publishers allow this,
law lead officer with the Trading however. Surprisingly, Microsoft is one, as the
Standards Institute, explains: EULA for Windows 7 illustrates: “The first
“Where parties are not of equal user of the software may make a one-time
bargaining power, the law transfer of the software and this agreement,
sometimes gives the weaker party by transferring the genuine proof of licence
added protection. For example, directly to a third party.”
The free EULAlyzer program will analyse the content of a EULA consumers have statutory rights Unfortunately, most EULAs take the
and highlight any clauses that it deems ‘interesting’, which is that cannot be taken away, and opposite stance and, by insisting that
much quicker than trying to read the whole thing any terms to that effect are void, software is licensed rather than sold, claim

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 LICENSING LAWS

Most software displays a EULA when you first install it, usually
as a lengthy block of text in a small window through which users MP3 resale site ReDigi has so far resisted attempts from record labels to close it down. The
have to scroll if they want to read it – and most don’t bother company claims to be trading legally under the US First Sale Doctrine

exemption from any such doctrines. Here’s owner nor he had agreed to its EULA, and so to the storage media it’s supplied on (even if
the relevant clause from Blizzard’s EULA for each buyer was free to resell it. with modern ripping software that’s rarely the
Diablo 3: “The game is licensed, not sold. The Autodesk, however, argued that since the case). Unfortunately, the same can’t be said
licence… may not be sublicensed or transferred EULA stated the software was licensed and when that IP is supplied without storage
to any other person or entity, and any attempt not sold, it was exempt from the US First Sale media, such as when it’s downloaded.
to do so shall be null and void.” That rules out Doctrine and so Vernor was infringing its Copyrighted digital content that’s made
finding any boxed copies of Diablo 3 on eBay copyright. Court cases ensued and, to cut a available for download is always licensed
in the foreseeable future, then. long and complex legal story short, the courts and never sold, which has some serious
Serif is a little more flexible with its EULA found in Autodesk’s favour – a EULA did implications for end users. The EULA for an
(picked at random from a pile of software), indeed qualify as a licence and Vernon was MP3 download, for example, only grants the
which states: “[The] licensee shall not… assign therefore infringing Autodesk’s copyright by non-transferable right for the end user to use
rent, transfer, sell, disclose, deal in, make selling its (now unlicensed) software. In short, an MP3 in various ways, and while this may
available or grant any rights in the software this now means the terms of a EULA are include copying to multiple devices and
product in any form to any person without
the prior written consent of Serif.” Even so,
that still makes it difficult to sell an unwanted If the licence for use can’t be transferred at the
copy of PagePlus X5 on a whim.
In effect, this means a software licensor is same time as the media on which it was supplied, then
exerting ownership rights over the software’s technically speaking the software is useless
storage medium, in addition to IP rights over
the software itself. The only way to transfer
ownership of packaged software without binding in the US and software is effectively burning to disc, it doesn’t include the right to
infringing copyright is to transfer ownership borrowed, not bought. transfer the licence to someone else.
of the media it was originally supplied on, but Thankfully, the situation isn’t the same in The obvious justification is that this
if the licence for use can’t be transferred at the EU, but that’s not for want of software prevents piracy since, unlike reselling a book,
the same time, then technically speaking the publishers trying. Last April, the Luxembourg- reselling an MP3 doesn’t deprive the original
software is useless. based European Court of Justice ruled that buyer of their copy, and IP owners obviously
reselling software is not illegal under EU don’t trust end users to delete a file once
ALTERED STATES copyright law and the Exhaustion of Free it’s been resold. This is also the case when
The terms of a heavily restrictive EULA only Rights Doctrine, after US company Oracle reselling an audio CD that has already been
become a serious issue when the licensor attempted to prevent a German second-hand ripped by its original owner, of course.
chooses to enforce them, but there is some shop reselling ‘non-transferable’ licences for That said, there’s little to prevent someone
precedent here. In 2005, Autodesk attempted its software. Although the ruling is not yet reselling the odd download to someone else
to stop Timothy Vernor from selling second- legally binding, it is expected to form the basis and keeping their conscience clear by deleting
hand copies of its of future judgments by the the original copy, but doing it on the same
AutoCAD application European Court of Justice
Eur scale as a second-hand CD shop risks
by pointing out that and Federal Supreme Court. incurring the legal wrath of IP owners. EBay
only its original forbids the sale of download content for that
purchaser was licensed LICENCE
LI reason (see its terms and conditions at
to use it. Since the TO LISTEN http://bit.ly/Jot09f), but ‘second-hand’ MP3
software was still Audio CDs and DVD
Aud site ReDigi (www.redigi.com) has so far
sealed and unused, movies are so far
mov resisted legal attempts from record labels
Vernor argued that unaffected by overly
una to close it down.
neither the original restrictive licence
res ReDigi’s legal justification for its business
agreements, and their sale
agr model is based on our old friend, the US First
is still protected by the Sale Doctrine, but its applicability to music
EBay prohibits the
resale of songs downloaded
Exhaustion of Free Rights
Exh downloads is still to be properly tested in
from iTunes, along with Doctrine. However, that’s the courts. Its legal documents shed some
other kinds digital content only because, unlike light on the intricacies of this issue, though,
where the seller is not the software, the IP is and make for genuinely amusing reading
copyright holder considered to be bound (see http://bit.ly/KyCfJp).

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 LICENSING LAWS

INFRINGEMENT NOTES
Whatever the law regarding downloaded
digital content and the loopholes end users
can exploit to distribute it legally, there’s one
Rip a CD, break the law
more way for IP owners to assert their rights
more strongly: Digital Rights Management. Few people think twice about buying an audio CD and ripping its content
Digital Rights Management (DRM) ties for use with an MP3 player, but anyone who does it in the UK is breaking
digital content to its original buyer in some the law. Current UK copyright law makes it illegal to make a copy of
way and usually renders it unusable without digital media for personal use, whether it’s for backup purposes or
access to that buyer’s online store account or ‘format shifting’. The law applies to audio CDs, DVD movies and eBooks,
credit card details. DRM can also be used to which means you should theoretically buy multiple copies of
control how an authorised licensee gets to use the same content if you wish to use it on different devices. Consumer watchdog
tchdog
that content, such as limiting the number of No-one in the UK has yet been prosecuted for copying Consumer Focus has
recommended legalising
computers to which a music track can be copied. digital media for personal use, but DRM on many kinds of
MP3 ripping for personal use
In reality, DRM poses almost no technical digital media can result in an anti-competitive lock-in for
barrier to pirates and instead simply hinders online services. Until Apple switched to DRM-free downloads
the legitimate uses of content for honest on its iTunes Music Store, for example, its customers had to listen to their music using
buyers, which is why DRM-free downloads only iTunes or an iPod, unless they degraded the quality by first burning the AAC files to
are seen to be a feather in the cap of online audio CD and then re-ripping them to MP3.
providers. Apple famously dropped DRM from The need to update UK copyright law to reflect the different ways in which digital
its iTunes Music Store downloads in 2009, for media can be used has long been known, but the last attempt in 2006 didn’t get very far.
example, and Amazon has only ever offered The current Hargreaves Review looks more likely to lead to a change in the law, though.
DRM-free MP3s, although it does still use If its recommendations are passed, it should streamline a whole host of licensing issues,
DRM for its Kindle eBooks. and make it legal to copy digital content for your own personal use.
DRM doesn’t have to be a force for user
frustration, though, as Jim Killock, executive
director of the UK Open Rights Group,
explains: “If DRM is employed, then really
there is no excuse for not enabling resale or treat the user’s agreement as tacit offer less Thankfully, plans are afoot to reform UK
transfer. DRM supplies control of devices and scope for rejection, but then they also stand and EU law to reflect the fresh needs of end
behaviours to copyright owners, who could on shakier legal ground, since it’s difficult for users of digital content. Consumer Focus
therefore easily enable these exchanges.” someone to know what terms they’re agreeing has published a detailed response to the
In other words, an IP holder-approved to if they’re not presented upfront. government’s proposed review of copyright
licence-trading site along similar lines to Boxed software, however, poses a bigger law that suggests sweeping changes to the
ReDigi is technically feasible and would at problem. A 2008 report from the statutory way in which digital content can be treated,
least offer IP holders the chance to make consumer watchdog (then the National to the benefit of end users. Similarly, EU
money from such ‘sales’ – money they don’t Consumer Council, now called Consumer proposals for a Common European Sales Law
currently make from the second-hand sale of Focus) criticised software publishers for should harmonise consumer’s rights for
physical media. A cynic might suggest that failing to state on the packaging that use of digital content by treating it as a tangible
the reason such a service has yet to exist is to the software required accepting the EULA, good, irrespective of whether it’s a download
do with the shortsighted financial self-interest but now most include a perfunctory mention or stored on physical media.
of IP holders, who would rather complain in minuscule text and the requisite web
about problems than propose creative address for those who want to read it in full. OFF LICENCE
solutions, but it’s still the customer that ends This is just as well, since while physical Hopefully, we’ve highlighted some of the
up being short-changed. media is covered by the UK Sales of Goods issues surrounding licensed software, and the
Jim Killock agrees: “Most consumers are Act and Distance Selling Regulations, its problems faced by everyone now that similar
honest and they are disadvantaged by digital content is not. Few stores will issue a refund agreements are being applied to other digital
distribution. They can’t resell, transfer or even for software that has been opened and its content and services. We apologise that we
leave digital goods in their will. The question EULA subsequently rejected; the original can’t be crystal clear over all consumer rights
about ease of copying is beside the point. If manufacturer might, although ironically that with regards to EULAs, but the law that
these restrictions are made, digital goods are may well depend on clauses in the rejected surrounds them is still murky, and legal clarity
worth far less than physical goods, as we have EULA itself. The only real solution is a change has so far been brought only by precedents
far fewer rights. If that’s the case, they should in the law to tilt the balance back in the set in the courts.
be much cheaper. But they aren’t.” consumer’s favour. That said, the UK and EU look set to avoid
“Consumer law is out of date and, worse, the same kind of sidestepping of statutory
REJECTING THE EULA copyright lobby groups are listened to too rights that has taken place in the US, at least
We’ve discussed at length the implications much, creating a highly uneven bargain for as long as the proposed changes to copyright
of the EULA for packaged and downloaded consumers,” says Jim Killock of the Open and sales law are introduced as planned. These
digital content, but we’ve so far failed to Rights Group. “Software, just like any other may not create the same sense of ownership
make mention of one key fact: there’s no product, might be purchased by mistake, and for digital content as we’ve long enjoyed
compulsion for an end user to accept one. the error might be found only when you’re with its more physical counterparts, but they
All onscreen EULAs have a ‘Cancel’ button trying to install it. Customers should not be should at least tip the balance back in the
next to the one that reads ‘I agree’, and this penalised because software companies make end users’ favour and remove all doubt about
gives an easy way out for anyone who wants excessive claims.” exactly what that content can be used for.
to reject the terms on offer.
Sites that deliver digital downloads usually
present their terms in a EULA that must be FURTHER READING
accepted before a purchase can be completed, www.ipo.gov.uk/consult-2011-copyright
or at least an account opened. Sites that hide www.consumerfocus.org.uk/news/government-proposals-to-modernise-uks-copyright-system
a EULA on a separate T&Cs page and simply

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 OLYMPIC TECHNOLOGY

London 2012 will be the most technically advanced Olympics ever,

with new technologies entering the mainstream for the first time.
David Ludlow fires the starting gun on this year’s medal-winners
he Olympic Games is the single biggest sporting event for this kind of live event. So, just as Beijing 2008 was about HD,
in the world. In fact, calling it an ‘event’ is misleading: this year’s Olympics is all about 3D.
it’s really 39 world finals all staged together. It’s little London 2012 will be the first games to be shot in three
wonder an event of this size not only gives the athletes dimensions. This isn’t just some kind of experiment to be
a world stage on which to perform, but also gives the technology demonstrated after the event, but a true live broadcast to UK
companies involved a chance to try something a bit different. consumers. An event of this magnitude has never been broadcast
This year’s games promises to be the first to combine the in 3D on such a scale, and this marks a big push for 3D content
viewing experience on a variety of platforms, from traditional creators and 3D TV manufacturers to get the technology into the
broadcast media to dedicated smartphone apps. It’s an amazing hearts, minds and, most importantly, homes of UK consumers.
leap forward from the 2008 Beijing games, which were the first In order to shoot high-quality 3D footage, Panasonic is relying
Olympic Games to be shot in HD. on its P2HD broadcast-quality 3D cameras. P2 is the name of the
For London 2012, there’s a lot more in store, from 3D company’s solid-state memory technology, which is designed to
broadcasts of live events to the first demonstration of super offer the ultra-high level of reliability required for broadcasts that
high-definition 8K images (see the ‘Super Hi-Vision’ box, page consumer memory card formats such as SD can’t offer.
132). Whether you’re a sports fan or not, the Olympics will be Manolo Romero, managing director of the Olympic
significant for providing a platform for new technologies that Broadcasting Services (OBS), explained why the company had
will influence and change the way we watch in the future. been chosen. “For the past two decades, Panasonic has been a
valued partner of the Olympic movement and of the [OBS],”
AN EXTRA DIMENSION he said. “We are now proud to announce the first ever live
The Olympics is organised using so-called key partners, each 3D Olympic Games, and we are confident this unprecedented
charged with providing certain parts of the infrastructure. On broadcast will be a great success, in no small part due to the 3D
the audio-visual side, Panasonic is providing the equipment, technologies provided by Panasonic. Ultimately, we believe this
both for broadcasting and consuming video at the Olympic site. production of the first live 3D Olympic Games will make the
As sole provider for London 2012, Panasonic has the freedom to London 2012 Olympic Games one of the most significant in the
test out new technologies and develop new hardware specifically history of broadcasting technology.”

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 OLYMPIC TECHNOLOGY

Taking centre stage is the AG-3DP1 camera. This

professional model is a twin-lens camera capable of
shooting 1080p (Full HD) 3D footage using its dual
2.2-megapixel 3MOS sensors. As each 3MOS sensor
is, in fact, three sensors – red, green and blue – each
AG-3DP1 camera has, in effect, six image sensors.
The camera is also notable for its level of control
over shots, with a 17x zoom (35mm to 602mm, 35mm 5mm
equivalent) and full control over 3D convergence.
While the zoom range gives fine control over the
composition of a shot, the convergence feature is
incredibly important for producing 3D content that
doesn’t overwhelm the viewer.
3D convergence sets the reference plane of the
3D image. Anything in front of this plane jumps out
of your television, and anything beyond it falls into
the background. Having control of the convergence
point on the fly is incredibly important on a live
shoot, as 3D is a very sensitive technology; when it’s
wrong, it looks really wrong, and can even cause
headaches and queasiness. Shooting a film in 3D is
fine, because you can set up the shot and reshoot if
it’s not working. When you’re shooting live, though,
you can hardly ask Tom Daley to take his dive again
because the 3D effect wasn’t working properly. Panasonic
nic is putting
tti a Full
ull HD 3D Th
Theatre in the middl
middle off the Olympi
Olympic
Park, and will also be streaming events to screens on a giant barge
To understand why fine control is required, you have to
understand how 3D is viewed. Think of your TV as a window
that you’re looking through, with the bezel as the window frame. 3D ON YOUR TV
In effect, most of a 3D image should be towards the background; As we’ve already mentioned, the London 2012 Olympic Games
if you’re looking through a window, objects passing by don’t lurch will be the first ever to be broadcast live in 3D in the UK. Most
through the frame towards you. of the coverage will be shown on Sky and Virgin Media, via
There’s a second reason that objects shouldn’t generally jump Eurosport, the official Olympics broadcaster. Sky is handing its
out of the frame: realism. Although you see a 3D image, your TV Sky 3D channel over to Eurosport, opening it up to all Sky HD
has a two-dimensional screen, so it can only draw images inside subscribers for free, while Virgin Media will carry a dedicated
the screen’s area; it can’t have objects jump out of the screen Eurosport 3D channel with identical programming, available for
and move past the bezel. Shooting 3D incorrectly can break this all its HD customers (V HD, V+ HD and TiVo are all supported).
illusion and cause huge problems. Each day of the games, there will be eight hours of live
Take, for example, a person standing close to the camera, so programming, followed by four hours of highlights.
you can only see their torso. If the 3D convergence point is set so
they appear behind the bezel, this looks normal: to you, you’re
looking through a window and the person’s head and legs are Just as Beijing 2008 was about HD,
obscured by the frame. If the 3D convergence point is set
incorrectly, so the person appears in front of the screen, you end this year’s Olympics is all about 3D.
up with a strange floating torso, which looks terrible.
What’s more, if the convergence point has been set
London 2012 will be the first games
incorrectly, items can either lurch sickeningly from the screen to be shot in three dimensions
or disappear into the far reaches of the picture, creating an
unrealistic viewpoint.
The final trick in the Panasonic’s AG-3DP1 camera’s armoury “Eurosport has been innovating to provide fans with the best
is overcranking, which enables it to shoot footage at double the live sports experience for many years,” said Jean Thierry Augustin,
required frame rate (50fps for PAL TV). When played back at Eurosport’s managing director of rights acquisition, distribution
‘normal’ speed, it creates a slow-motion effect, halving the speed and development. “We pride ourselves on giving a truly global
of the action, so you can see every bit of detail in every single view of the Olympic Games, letting supreme sporting
sport. Of course, Panasonic’s HD P2 cameras will also be there performances drive our coverage. This opportunity to present
to shoot everything in HD. the London 2012 Olympics in 3D to Sky customers will give British
fans an unforgettable experience of their ‘home’ Games and the
fan
international sporting heroes it will generate.”
int
intern
You won’t need a TV subscription to watch in 3D, however,
as the BBC is also giving the technology a whirl, although on a
more limited scale. As it doesn’t have a dedicated 3D channel,
mor
the BBC will turn over its BBC HD Channel (BBC One HD will
carry the HD version of the broadcast) for 3D content. It will
car
show the opening and closing ceremonies and the men’s 100m
sho
fin live, and nightly highlights in 3D.
final
“We’ve chosen these events partly because they mark the
pinnacles of the Games but also to minimise the loss of HD
pin
that is a consequence of our 3D service,” said Roger Mosey, the
tha
Panasonic’s AG-3DP1 is a director of London 2012 at BBC Sport. “The aim is to showcase
dir
direct
broadcast-quality 3D camera that 3D for the biggest moments but to preserve choice in a world of
will bring the Olympics to your TV conflicting demands.”
con

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ISSUE 295 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | SEPTEMBER 2012 131
 OLYMPIC TECHNOLOGY

If you thought a 4K (4,096x2160) camera was the pinnacle of display

technology, think again. This year’s Olympics will see a trial of Super Super Hi-Vision 7,680x4,320
Hi-Vision technology, which shoots at a resolution of 7,680x4,320, or
16 times the number of pixels of a Full HD (1,920x1,080) picture. The
result isn’t just more clarity, but a much wider field of view.
Developed by NHK, the technology will also be joined by a new
surround-sound format, providing 22.2 channels of audio. Showings 4K Digital Cinema 4,096x2,160
are being hosted by the BBC (see http://tinyurl.com/superhivision).
According to the BBC, “Super Hi-Vision is designed to be
experienced as a wide camera angle shot, giving the audience the
experience of being at an event. Special showcase screenings will
include highlights of the Olympic Games as well as content showing Full HD 1,920x1,080
what London feels like as it becomes an Olympic city.”
Don’t expect the technology to make it to your home any time
soon, though; 4K footage is too large to fit on a Blu-ray, while 8K is
far beyond that. Without something dramatic changing, there’s no
possible way of broadcasting such detailed images, as there’s simply
not enough bandwidth. However, as a showcase for future Super Hi-Vision promises a wider viewing angle and more detail than 4K
developments, it should be interesting. Digital Cinema or Full HD footage

Outside of these events, BBC HD will continue to show its screens, with a combined surface area of around 1,730m2, will be
normal programming, giving those people not interested in the set up around the country.
event the opportunity to watch something else. BBC HD and BBC There will be a wide variety of screen sizes, but the most
One HD are available on Freeview HD and Freesat HD, and via Sky impressive are the giant 143in screens placed back to back on a
HD and Virgin Media HD boxes. barge floating on the River Lea in the Olympic Park. Each screen
is built from individual tiles, stacked on top of each other to
3D IN THE PARK create a larger screen. A 30m2 screen requires 720 individual tiles
What if you don’t have a 3D TV, but want to see how the and more than 193,000 LED bulbs, so creating two 143in screens
technology looks for an event on this scale? For this, Panasonic is and getting them to float on a barge is quite a technical challenge.
installing a Full HD 3D Theatre in the middle of the Olympic Park.
This will allow any visitor to pop in and see live events streamed LIFE ON DISPLAY
in Full HD 3D on giant screens. Panasonic is also responsible for providing display information
It’s not just for those people lucky enough to have tickets to inside the stadia. This has traditionally been done at previous
actual events, as non-event tickets have also been made available. games using large projectors on big screens, but for London 2012,
These enable 70,000 visitors to enter the Olympic Park and walk the company is using its own plasma technology. It will install 47
around it, without actually attending any events. Priced at £10 103in screens, which it believes will give higher definition and
each, these tickets cost no more than a cinema ticket in the capital. better image quality than projectors.
For some of the games, such as the opening and closing
OLYMPICS SCREENING ceremonies, projectors will still be needed in order to create a
The organisers of London 2012 were very keen for the games to large enough picture. At such times, Panasonic’s PT-DZ21K
be accessible to the whole of the UK. Although most events are three-chip DLP projector will come into play. Although little
taking place in London, primarily in Stratford, it was important bigger than a traditional projector, it has an incredible 20,000
that people all around the country could watch the games live. lumens brightness. This high brightness is necessary in order to
To that end, Panasonic will be installing giant screens in project a clear picture on a giant screen from a distance; the
public places in every major UK city. A total of 45 large LED PT-DZ21K can project a 600in, 1,920x1,200 picture from 587ft
away, using the ET-D75LE8 zoom lens.
The company is also providing a TV in every athlete’s
room in the Olympic village, while British Olympiads that win
A giant LED screen will be showing the a gold medal will also be presented with a Panasonic TV.
games live in Hyde Park, London
HOME COMFORTS
All this new technology may be exciting, but only a minority
of people will be able to experience the games in this way.
For those stuck at home without a 3D TV, London 2012 will
be using the internet and digital broadcasting to provide
wider access to events.
In previous Olympic Games, viewers have been limited
to watching the event that the broadcaster has chosen to
show. This means that although high-profile events such
as the men’s 100m final will always be shown on TV, other
events often miss out on coverage.
This year, however, you’ll be able to choose what you
want to watch, thanks to multiple streams being available
courtesy of the BBC.

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132 SEPTEMBER 2012 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 295
 OLYMPIC TECHNOLOGY

It may look like a

normal projector, but
Panasonic’s PT-DZ21K
is a 20,000-lumens
model designed for
outdoor events

“The London 2012 Olympic Games is likely to

be the biggest sporting event in the UK in our lifetimes,”
explained the BBC’s Roger Mosey. “The BBC’s coverage will
ensure that our audiences need never miss a moment.
“We will be bringing live coverage of every Olympic sport from
every venue, through a combination of BBC One and BBC Three
and up to 24 simultaneous streams live online on PC, mobile,
tablet or connected TV.”
No matter where you are, the BBC Sport website (www.bbc.co.
uk/sport) will give you the option of 24 live HD streams to any
desktop or mobile browser. While this has been possible before,
the BBC is really embracing the technology for the games. Users
will be able to rewind live streams, so they can watch from the
start if they missed part of the action. Chapters will also be used,
marking exciting events, letting visitors jump straight to the
highlights. This hasn’t been done on this kind of scale before.
For Android and iOS users, the free Olympics app will provide
access to the same content directly from their tablet or mobile
phone, making it easy to stay up to date with what’s happening.
That’s not to say that television viewers are being ignored. The
BBC is expanding its ‘Red Button’ digital content for the Olympics,
so Sky, Virgin Media and Freesat customers will be able to choose
from up to 24 live streams, getting the same content that’s
available on the website. However, this service will show only
the live stream, and will lack the ability to rewind footage.
For Freeview and BT Vision customers, it’s a bit more
restricted. The Red Button will provide access to an extra
Olympics-only channel, in addition to the coverage on BBC One,
BBC Two, BBC Three, BBC HD and BBC One HD.
The BBC’s iPlayer service will also give you the chance to catch
up on anything you’ve missed. It can be accessed on a variety of
platforms, including media streamers, Blu-ray players, Smart TVs,
web browsers and mobile phones.

SMART TV
In case there was any danger that Smart TV wasn’t being taken
seriously, the BBC has announced that it will release the BBC
Sports app for televisions before the games. This will provide
live streams of up to 24 events and 2,500 hours of content on

demand, all in HD. So far, it’s been announced that Sony Smart
TVs (2011 and 2012 models) and the Sony PlayStation 3 will have
access to the app. We’ve also been told that Panasonic’s Viera
Cast Smart TV platform will also get BBC Sport. Other supported
TV models hadn’t been announced as we went to press.

LET THE GAMES BEGIN

While a lot of this technology has been about broadcasting the
Olympics, the simple fact is that the results will be more far-
reaching. By simultaneously providing feeds via standard TV,
Smart TV, the internet and mobile apps, the BBC has created a
new way of watching TV and choosing what to watch, when you
want to watch it. This truly is on-demand TV.
The games will also provide a testing ground for live 3D
coverage and new super high-resolution images. London 2012
The BBC Sport website will offer 24 live HD streams of the Olympics, may be a big stage for competing athletes but, for technology,
letting you watch what you want wherever you are it’s also the biggest stage ever.

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ISSUE 295 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | SEPTEMBER 2012 133
 PHOTO PRINTING

How to...
Print your own passport photos
There’s no need to pay a small fortune on a new driving licence or passport picture.
Matt Chapman shows you how easy it is to print a high-quality picture at home

THESE DAYS YOU’D have to spend £5 or more per family member to process. Even better, as you’ve got control over the photography, you
get passport photos from a booth, and a lot more for prints from a local can ensure you only print pictures you’re proud of, which is important
high street specialist. Luckily, you don’t have to go to those lengths. as your passport photo will be with you for 10 years. Using free online
Thanks to improvements in photo printing, you can easily create images resources, you can create passport photos of the regulation size for the
your local chemist would be proud of and save yourself money in the UK without having to master an image editor or your print settings.

01 First, you’ll need to have a high-quality photo

taken of you. Get a friend or family member
to use a digital camera to take the shot. You’ll find
01
02 Go to www.idphoto4you.com and use the Country menu to
select United Kingdom. This will mean that the correct setting
is automatically selected in the Photo menu below; it should now read
full details of the conditions you need to meet ‘Passport (3.5 x 4.5)’. Then select your print size – for example, the
at http://bit.ly/ukpassport. Just remember that standard ‘9x13 cm (3.5x4.5 inch)’ photo paper.
you need to stand in front of a white, cream or
light-grey background; you can hang a sheet if you 02
don’t have a suitable wall. The photo should be
straight on and of your face, with good contrast
between your head and the wall behind. Don’t smile, and don’t wear any
head gear or sunglasses or, indeed, anything that will obscure your face.
Make sure you fix any red eye, and be careful that any flash doesn’t
reflect off your face and blow out the details.

03 Now add your

image in JPEG
format. The file size must
03

be no larger than 10MB.

Images should be no
smaller than 130x200
pixels and no larger than
5,000x5,000 pixels. Once
you find a suitable image,
click the Choose File
button, select your photo
and press Upload to use it. 04 Once the photo has loaded, the Crop page should open
automatically. If it fails to load, click the Crop tab at the top of
the main page. If the website detects your face, the crop frame will be
adjusted to show the best image based on UK passport requirements.
05 If you need to crop the image, hover the mouse icon over the edges to
move them, or the dots in the centre to widen the image. You can also
use the sliding scales at the right to increase or decrease the image’s
brightness and contrast. Click the Reset button to remove unwanted
changes and the Make Photo button when you’re happy with your photo.

04

05 After a short wait, your image will be available for use. Click
the small, blue Download link that appears and then save the
printable image. If your computer suggests resizing the image or
making any other changes to the print settings, you should ignore
those prompts. You should also remember to use decent quality white
photo paper to match UK passport regulations. Once the images have
been printed, you can check that each one is the correct 3.5x4.5in
size by using a ruler.

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WorldMags.net
Everything you need to know about
Windows Phone, in one place.
The Ultimate Guide To

Top Windows Phone handsets tested and rated

Find out all the tips, tricks and shortcuts
The best apps and games to download

Order your print or digital copy direct from

magbooks.com or call 0844 844 0053
MagBooks cover a range of topics, from IT to Motoring, and Fitness to Lifestyle
WorldMags.net
 WINDOWS MEDIA PLAYER

How to...
Play any media format
If you like using Windows’ built-in media player but you can’t get it to play all your
files, don’t panic. Rene Millman explains how to make it work with every format

WINDOWS MEDIA PLAYER (WMP) is a simple-to-use media player ‘compression’ and ‘decompression’, and it denotes the bit of software
that’s also quick to load. Its one slight downfall is that it doesn’t that tells your computer how to decode or encode a particular video
support all media files out of the box. Fortunately, if there are any format. By installing additional codecs on Windows, you can extend
audio or video files you’re struggling to play, you can use codecs to WMP’s capabilities and get it to play any file. This will also make
sort out your problems. The word ‘codec’ is a combination of the words Windows Media Center play the same range of files.

01 You’ll be able to tell

if you don’t have the
necessary codecs installed
01
02 The easiest way to
play all the files is
to install a codec pack
02

to play a file, because when that contains all the extra

you browse to a folder, you codecs you’ll need for both
won’t get a thumbnail view video and audio. There
of the file, such as a frame are several packs available,
from a video file. If you but we think the Windows
double-click one of these 7 Codec Pack (www.
files, you’ll get a warning windows7codecs.com) is the
from Windows telling you it can’t open the file. As it stands, these video best. Go to the website and
files won’t be imported into your Windows Media Player library, either. click the download button
to save the installation file
to your computer. Run this file, select Easy Installation and follow the

03 Although following Step 2 will enable you to play most video files,
you may find that MKV files and DivX files with a .divx extension
won’t play. For this reason, you should download and install the DivX
wizard, remembering to deselect any toolbar or other extraneous
software that you’re prompted to install. Then restart your computer to
apply the changes. You should then be able to play all your music files
Plus Codec Pack from www.divx.com/en/software/divx-plus/codec-pack. and the majority of video files.
Download and run the installation file; you’ll get the option to choose
which components to install. The DivX Plus Codec Pack is essential,
and you can safely deselect the Converter Player and Web Player
components. Click Next when you’re done and deselect the Norton
Security Scan option. Click Next again to complete the installation.
05 When you open Windows Media Player, the files that wouldn’t
play before should now start appearing in the correct categories
of your Library. Click Videos, for example, to view all your videos. If
they don’t appear, make sure your files are in the right folder. Right-click
03 the category you want to manage and select Manage <Category>
Library. This will list all the folders that Windows Media Player uses
for that particular file type. You can either copy the files into these
folders, or click Add, navigate to the folder containing your files and
click ‘Include folder’.
If your files are already in a listed required folder, Windows might
require a bit of push. First, quit and restart Windows Media Player.
If that doesn’t work, right-click the category you want to edit and
select the Manage option. Select the folder with your files in and click
Remove. Click OK, and all the files in that folder will disappear from
your library. Then add the folder back to the library following the
instructions in this step. All your files should now be listed.

05

04 All your video files

should now appear
in Windows Explorer with a
04

thumbnail preview of the

content in them, bar files
with a .divx extension. To
fix these files so they have
a proper thumbnail, try
renaming them so that they
have a .avi extension. You
can then double-click any
media file to open it in
Windows Media Player.

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 More storage help required?
Backup reviews page 98

How to...
Synchronise your files
with SugarSync
Keeping multiple computers up to date with the same set of files couldn’t be simpler.
Robert Jaques shows you how to synchronise all your most important documents

CLOUD SYNCHRONISATION SOFTWARE enables you to start work application has a free 5GB version, and you can buy extra storage as
on one computer, save the file, then continue working on it on another you need it. It supports Windows and Mac for synchronisation, while
computer, with all the changes seamlessly updated. Most cloud storage iPhone, Android, Windows Mobile, Symbia and BlackBerry clients
services offer online backup, too, so you’ll also add extra protection to let you access your data from anywhere. Just download and install
your important files. As you can see from our Labs group test on page the software from www.sugarsync.com/downloads. You’ll be prompted
98, our favourite synchronisation service is SugarSync. This flexible to create a username and password, and then you’re ready to use it.

01 The first time you run SugarSync, you’ll be asked to a select

an icon that represents your computer. The software will also
present you with a list of default folders it wants to synchronise with
02 You’ve set SugarSync
up on one computer
so far, so selected folders
02

the cloud, including your Desktop, My Documents, My Pictures, My are only backed up to your
Music and My Videos. You can either select these defaults or click cloud storage. To synchronise
Cancel and select folders manually. To add a folder manually, click Add files with another computer,
Sync Folders, navigate to the folder you want to save online and tick its install the SugarSync client
Checkbox. You can select multiple folders before clicking OK to confirm on it and, when prompted,
the changes. The folder will then be synchronised online. log in with the username
and password you created
01 earlier. To synchronise a folder, select Manage Sync Folders on the new
computer. The computer you’re on appears as This Computer; under
Other Computers, you can see the folders being saved to the cloud
storage. Click a folder you want to synchronise to this computer, then
click Sync. If you had D:\pictures on the original computer, SugarSync
will try to create D:\pictures on your new computer. You can click
Choose Another Location and browse to an alternative folder if you
prefer, but SugarSync will try to create the sync folder inside the folder
you’ve picked, D:\pics\pictures, rather than letting you select D:\pics. If
you want to go with your choice, select the ‘click here’ link and click OK.
The two folders will now be synchronised: any new files or edits will
be saved on both computers, and to your cloud storage. Add folders on
the new computer using the instructions on Step 1, or synchronise your
original computer to new folders using the instructions in this step.

03 04

03 On top of the folders you choose to

synchronise, SugarSync also creates a
Magic Briefcase folder on all computers and
provides a link to it from your Desktop. The
idea is that this gives you a quick way to share
04 One advantage of cloud-based storage is that you can access those files from anywhere
once they are synchronised. You can browse your files using the SugarSync File Manager
on the Desktop, but the web interface is easier to use and gives you more options. Simply go to
a file between all your computers – just drag www.sugarsync.com and log in to your account. Browse your synchronised folders by clicking on
and drop a file into it, and it will be shared a device under My Devices, then browsing through the folders. From here, you can navigate
with all your computers. through all your cloud storage. Just click on a file’s name to download it to your computer.

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 SUGARSYNC

05 The web interface also lets you share a file or folder by creating a public
link to it that other people can use to download it. Hover your mouse
over a file or folder and select Share. Copy the link the software creates, or type
06 To edit a file and then save it back to the cloud, you
can use a helper app provided by SugarSync called
WebSync. Click a file’s tickbox in the web interface, then click
in the email address of the person to whom you want to send it. For Shared Edit with WebSync. This downloads a file to your computer. Run
Folders, you can set an access password and give people Read Only permission it to start a Java app. The file is downloaded and opened in the
or let them edit files. To remove a link, click Public Files under Other Places on associated application on your computer. All changes are saved
the left-hand side of the web interface to view a list of shared files. Click the Chain back to your cloud storage. Click the Done With All button in
icon and select Disable Link. By default, files you email are available for 21 days. the WebSync dialog box when you’ve finished making edits.

05 06

07 If you navigate to a shared folder with photos in it, you

can click the View in Gallery button for a thumbnail
view; click on a picture to view a large version of it. Use the
09 To get SugarSync running on
a mobile device, download the
free client software from SugarSync’s
links on the right to share the album with a link, download website or from your device’s app
it, publish the photos to Facebook and even rotate them. store. You can create a PIN to protect
You can also make an album public for all SugarSync users your data from unauthorised access
to see. To stop sharing an album, you just need to click in case your phone is stolen. The
the Photos link, mobile apps give you much the same
find your album 07 functionality as the web interface.
in the list (it’s Select your computers to view shared
organised by folders and files. Once you’ve found a
folder) and select file you’re interested in, you can share
10
Properties from the it, copy a link or synchronise it to the
Actions drop-down local device for offline access. You can
menu. Select the also view, rename, copy and move a
option to make the file. Files synchronised to your mobile
folder private. are accessed by choosing your device
from the front screen of the app, such
as My iPhone. You can also choose

08 As well as sending your files to the Cloud, SugarSync

saves deleted files and previous versions of changed
files. You can access versions through Windows Explorer if
Sync to Mobile Device from the web
interface to send a file to your phone.

you right-click a file and then select SugarSync, Versions. 09

Alternatively, use the web interface to browse to the file.
Hover the mouse over it, select More and Versions. You can
view the versions by date, either choosing to view the file or
selecting Save As to download a previous version.
To view deleted files, click the Deleted Files link in the web
interface. Navigate through the Deleted files until you find
the one you want. Click the tickbox, and you can choose to
restore, download or permanently delete, which reclaims the
space the file is using from the total storage space available.

08
10 Using the app to navigate to
a folder with pictures in it, you
can browse the images as though
they were stored locally on your
device. You can also upload photos
automatically. Select Photos and
click the camera icon. Take a picture
using your phone’s camera, and it will
be uploaded automatically to your
Mobile Photos folder in Sugar Sync.

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ISSUE 295 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | SEPTEMBER 2012 139
 Want more business advice?
Business Expert, page 155

Business Help
If you have databases, office applications and macro issues, Kay Ewbank
can help. Send your problems to [email protected]

Outlook not working with Hotmail

Q
My wife recently opened a Hotmail email account. I
suggested that she should use Outlook to access it. When
she started Outlook, she input her account as ***@hotmail.
com, which does not exist, instead of ***@hotmail.co.uk. When she
started Outlook, it started loading the profile but then a window
appeared asking for her password, but for the ***@hotmail.com
account. There seems to be no way to alter this to the correct
account, as it is greyed out. Eventually, another window appeared
with this message: “Cannot open your default e-mail folders. The file
C:\Users\*******\AppData\Local\Microsft\Outlook\*****@hotmail.
ost is not an Outlook data file (.ost).” Clicking OK causes Outlook to
close. How do I rectify this situation?
R Gordon Smith

If you’re working with an Outlook version pre-2010, one way to

A solve this is to start Outlook without it attempting to load the
incorrect profile so your wife can set up the correct one. From
the Run command in the Start menu, type Outlook /firstrun and click
OK. This starts Outlook as if it were being run for the first time, so you Use the Mail applet from the Control Panel to change an Outlook profile if
should be able to input the correct profile and delete the incorrect one. you can’t do it from within Outlook
Outlook switches can be helpful in a variety of situations where there’s
a problem. You can find a useful list of the switches, and what they can Profiles. You should see a profile called Outlook. Click Properties, then
be used for, by visiting http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook-help/ choose Email Accounts. You’ll see a list of the current email accounts
command-line-switches-HP001003110.aspx. that have been defined, including the problematic one. You can either
From Outlook 2010 onwards, the /firstrun switch has stopped choose Remove, to go through the process of re-entering the details
working so you’ll need to use an alternative method. In the Control in Outlook, or choose Change to alter the email address and password.
Panel, open the Mail applet. From the options on offer, choose Show You can also change the folder where the data files are stored.

Sharing Access database changes

Q
I have built an Access front- and back-end is also useful if
database, which I am hoping several people are using the same
will be useful to my peers database, as it means each user can
using their own data. I know I can give work with their own local copy of the
them an empty copy of my design for forms, queries and reports without
them to fill, but if I make changes, how being slowed down
do I distribute these updates to my by other people using the same files.
peers so they can have the latest You split a database by using the
design without any hassle? Access database splitter wizard. You’ll
Andy Shellis find this in the Database Tools tab
of the Office Ribbon, in the Move
You would normally do this Data section. You’re going to need
A by splitting the database into
a front-end database that
the Access Database option. The
wizard simply warns you that the
contains the forms, queries and reports, Use the Access database splitter wizard to split a database into a operation might take a long time,
and a back-end database that contains front and back end format advises you to back up your data
only the tables and indexes for the before starting, and asks for the name
database. That way, you can distribute new your changes. However, problems arise if you of the back-end database. It then gets on with
copies of the front-end without problems, need to change the design of a table or index, the splitting, leaving you with a front-end
because the data that your peers have saved so it’s important to get those fixed before you database that contains only the ‘visible’
in the back-end database isn’t affected by start the distribution. The concept of a split parts of your database.

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140 SEPTEMBER 2012 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 295
 BUSINESS HELP

Can I update Excel automatically?

Q
I have a spreadsheet containing historic data that goes back Range("A" & CStr(alldates.Rows.Count)).End(xlUp).Row)).Value
nearly two years. It has data in it that is entered daily by staff Dim i As Integer
with little or no knowledge of Excel (2003). I want to make a For i = LBound(dates) To UBound(dates)
dashboard to show the last six weeks’ worth of dynamic data from this If (dates(i, 1)) >= Now() - 42 Then
master document for reporting purposes; the updating must happen CurrRow = firstrow + i - 1
automatically as data is entered, because the staff members entering DestRow = currentdates.Range("A" & CStr(currentdates.
the data don’t have the skills to update the data manually. I should Rows.Count)).End(xlUp).Row + 1
be able to do this by using a named range and an offset formula, but alldates.Range(CStr(CurrRow) & ":" & CStr(CurrRow)).Copy
knowing this and getting the formula to work are two different things. currentdates.Range("A" & CStr(DestRow))
I’m attaching a sample of the data to prove I can’t make it work. Select Case dates(i, 1)
Glyn F Case Is <= week5
weekstats(6, 1) = weekstats(6, 1) + alldates.
Getting Excel to update data automatically is straightforward,
A
Range("B" & CStr(CurrRow))
but the process depends on the data used. Here’s the sample Case (week5 - 1) To week4
data provided by Glyn, which uses this format: weekstats(5, 1) = weekstats(5, 1) + alldates.
Range("B" & CStr(CurrRow))
Case (week4 - 1) To week3
weekstats(4, 1) = weekstats(4, 1) + alldates.
Calls Calls Range("B" & CStr(CurrRow))
answered answered Case (week3 - 1) To week2
Calls within 20 after 20 Calls weekstats(3, 1) = weekstats(3, 1) + alldates.
Date offered seconds seconds answered Range("B" & CStr(CurrRow))
06/04/2012 146495 132628 2840 131959 Case (week2 - 1) To week1
weekstats(2, 1) = weekstats(2, 1) + alldates.
07/04/2012 72495 62628 2540 60000
Range("B" & CStr(CurrRow))
08/04/2012 108743 93942 3810 97428 Case (week1 - 1) To Now()
weekstats(1, 1) = weekstats(1, 1) + alldates.
27/04/2012 184862 158124 5685 161255
Range("B" & CStr(CurrRow))
End Select
The summary section looks like this: End If
Next i
Calls Calls For i = 1 To 6
answered answered currentdates.Range("H" & CStr(i + 21)) = weekstats(i, 1)
Calls within 20 after 20 Calls Next i
offered seconds seconds answered End Sub

Week 1 253058
The macro falls into two parts. The first part uses the full data set
Week 2 281175 (which we assume is on a separate sheet on the current workbook called
Week 3 312417 AllDates). This full data set is analysed to find the entries for the past
six weeks, given by subtracting 42 days from the current date. The
Week 4 240321
matching entries are then copied on to the summary sheet called
Week 5 184862 CurrentDates. To work out the data range for all the dates, we use:
Week 6 108742
dates = alldates.Range("A2" & ":" & "A" & CStr(alldates.
Range("A" & CStr(alldates.Rows.Count)).End(xlUp).Row)).Value
The data is entered into the first area, and the data for the last six weeks
is displayed in a table, alongside the summary information. The simplest This works out as A2:A47, or however many rows are in the data range.
solution is a macro that could be run when the spreadsheet is opened, or It works out the range by counting the number of rows used in the
when the user presses a ‘show summary’ button on the Excel toolbar, so: worksheet, then using .End(xlUp).Row to move from the last row to the
last used row. This sets up the range called dates to hold all the values
Public Sub CopyDates() used in the dates column. This range is looped through using ‘For i =
Dim alldates As Worksheet LBound(dates) To UBound(dates)’. Within this loop, where a date falls
Dim currentdates As Worksheet in the six week period, the information from that row is copied on to
Dim CurrRow As Integer the CurrentDates sheet using:
Dim DestRow As Integer
Dim weekstats(6, 4) As Long DestRow = currentdates.Range("A" & CStr(currentdates.Rows.
Const firstrow = 2 Count)).End(xlUp).Row + 1
week6 = Now() - 42 alldates.Range(CStr(CurrRow) & ":" & CStr(CurrRow)).Copy
week5 = Now() - 35 currentdates.Range("A" & CStr(DestRow))
week4 = Now() - 28
week3 = Now() - 21 This works out the next empty row on the destination sheet, then
week2 = Now() - 14 copies the current row in the range on the source sheet across to the
week1 = Now() - 7 destination sheet. Having copied all the rows of data across, the Select
Set alldates = Sheets("AllDates") Case statement works out to which week’s total (if any) the numeric
Set currentdates = Sheets("CurrentDates") values for calls offered should be added. We’ve only shown the code for
currentdates.Range("A2:F200").Clear calculating the Calls Offered totals. Glyn would need to add similar lines
dates = alldates.Range("A2" & ":" & "A" & CStr(alldates. for adding in the Calls Accepted and other totals.

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ISSUE 295 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | SEPTEMBER 2012 141
 Helpfile
Whatever your general PC, hardware and software woes, Simon Handby
is here to help. Send your problems to [email protected]

Confusing missing .dll error

Q
After skipping version 12.2 of the Open the Start menu, search for
AMD Catalyst drivers, I’ve upgraded Programs and click ‘Add or remove
to version 12.3. After rebooting, I programs’ from the results. In the
see an error message warning me that ‘The resulting applet, find and select AMD
program can’t start because OpenCL.dll is Catalyst Install Manager in the list of
missing from your computer’. The message programs, then click Change at the
also suggests that I try reinstalling, but it top of the program list. Click Next
doesn’t suggest what needs to be reinstalled. in the InstallShield wizard that
I’ve tried uninstalling and reinstalling the appears, and then, on the next
drivers, but that didn’t work. Any advice? screen, select Uninstall Manager
Ben Baxendale and click Next. Provide permission if
prompted, then tick Custom in the
This problem appeared on certain AMD Catalyst Install Manager
A systems running version 12.2 of
AMD’s video driver suite, and has
window and click Next again.
On the next screen, select AMD
persisted through version 12.3 into 12.4. It Drag and Drop Transcoding and Uninstalling AMD’s transcoding software will prevent this
seems to be related to the drag-and-drop AMD Accelerated Video Transcoding error message
transcoding feature. It’s likely that AMD will from the list of installed components.
resolve the issue in an incremental release of Click Next and allow the installer to the error has gone. If you need the transcoding
the software, but you can prevent the error finish making changes. There’s no need to feature, keep an eye out for future releases
message by customising your driver installation. reboot, but when you next do, you should find of the driver package.

Is my printer collection obsolete?

Q
For many years, I have been heads eventually go, I just throw the printer Click the Hardware tab of the dialog box that
collecting Canon i560 printers and away. Recently my computer failed and, after appears, then click the Device Installation
their cartridges. I currently have five replacing it with a Windows 7 PC, I discovered Settings button. In the next window select
with more than 80 ink cartridges between that there were no drivers available for my ‘Yes do this automatically’, then click the
them, plus an i850 printer. I print a lot of printers. I’ve spent days and days trying to Save Changes button.
pages and use a lot of ink, and when the print find a solution – can you help? Ensure you are connected to the internet,
Brian Evill, [email protected] connect the i560 (if necessary) and turn it on,
at which point Windows will attempt to install
According to the it; this may take a minute or so. You may
A Windows 7 Compatibility
Centre, your printers
notice a message telling you the installation
has failed, but don’t worry about this.
should be compatible with both Click the Start button, then click Devices
the 32- and 64-bit editions of and Printers, and look to see if the i560 is
Windows 7. However, the drivers listed under Printers and Faxes. If the printer
are downloaded through Windows has a green circle with a tick in it, it has been
Update, rather than from Canon’s recognised and installed by Windows and is
own website. now the default printer, and you should find
First, uninstall any drivers that you can print to it. If this isn’t the case, right-
you’ve tried to install for either click the printer’s icon and Troubleshoot, and
printer and turn the printers off if Windows will offer to install a driver for the
they’re already connected to the printer. Click ‘Apply this fix’, and you should
PC. Then click the Start button on find that the printer is installed.
your PC, right-click Computer and You should also be able to install the i850
select Properties. In the left-hand by plugging it in and switching it on. If this
Change this particular setting will enable Windows Update to pane of the window that appears, doesn’t work, right-click its icon and use the
find device drivers for you click Advanced system settings. troubleshooter to apply the correct drivers.

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142 SEPTEMBER 2012 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 295
 HELPFILE

Is my overclocked CPU cool enough?

Q
I read with interest your response to
Bob Michie’s question on overclocking
CPUs (Helpfile, Shopper 289). In your
response, you say that CPUs can run at up to
80°C without damage, but that with a good
fan and heatsink you should aim to keep the
overclocked temperature below 60°C.
I have an AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black
Edition, which I bought specifically for its
easy overclocking potential, paired with a
Scythe Katana 3 cooler. Using the AMD
Overdrive utility, I had no problem overclocking
the CPU from its 3.4GHz stock speed up to
4GHz. However, I was a little concerned that Remember that everyday processor use isn’t as taxing as a stress test
when running at 100 per cent load, CoreTemp
was reporting temperatures in the high fifties be happy running so hot. The 90°C Tj Max time to time. If it remains below 61°C, you may
with an occasional peak of 63°C. AMD’s official temperature displayed by CoreTemp is the be able to try a faster overclock. If you are
specs state the maximum core temperature temperature that no part of your processor approaching 61°C in normal use, though, you
of the CPU is 61°C, so I returned the clock to should ever exceed, and the accepted wisdom should improve your system’s cooling.
the defaults to prevent any damage. is that you shouldn’t get within 20°C of this. Start by making sure that there is good
I’m unsure how to square your advice with While this would suggest that you can airflow through the case. There should be at
AMD’s recommended maximum temperature safely run your processor up to 70°C, we least one fan drawing fresh air in to the case
and the fact that CoreTemp reports that my wouldn’t recommend that you routinely and at least one other fan expelling stale air.
processor’s ‘Tj Max’ is 90°C. When overclocked exceed AMD’s stated 61°C maximum, so If you have a powerful graphics card, you’ll
to 4GHz and reaching temperatures of 63°C, removing your overclock may have been a probably need additional case fans. Ensure
the system has worked perfectly. Please can sensible precaution. Remember, though, that that the cabling inside the PC is as neat as
you confirm if it is safe to run my processor testing with a 100 per cent processor load possible to keep it out of the airflow, but also
at 60°C or not? Is it just that AMD’s specs represents a worst-case scenario. Few practical that there’s room for air to circulate around
are very conservative? applications tax a processor in this way, and in the exterior of the case; don’t put the PC in a
Paul, [email protected] your system it only just nudges the temperature confined space or near other sources of heat.
above the recommended maximum. If the processor is still too warm to
Processor specifications vary, so Try reintroducing a modest overclock and support the level of overclocking you want,
A our 80°C figure was a generalisation.
We wouldn’t expect to see damage at
leave CoreTemp running while you use your
computer normally, keeping an eye on the
you could upgrade to a water cooler. Antec’s
Kühler H2O 620, which is available for £47
that temperature, but not all processors would maximum recorded core temperature from from Amazon.co.uk, is a good choice.

The hardest buttons to button

Q
I have a 22in Philips Brilliance 200w unfortunately we don’t have a similar screen Unplug the power from your monitor
monitor that has recently started available on which to test them. before you start, then look at the construction
displaying the flashing message The first fix involves resetting the monitor of its plastic casing. Check for obvious screw
‘OSD main controls locked’ in the middle of using the control buttons. Hold the OK button heads on the rear panel and at the sides; the
the screen. I’ve tried everything to get rid of in for a minute, which should cause a menu to chances are that the front panel simply clips
it. The only thing that works is continuously appear. If it does, release the OK button, scroll on. If you find no screws, use a small blunt
holding down the Auto button. Before down the menu to the Reset entry and press knife to prise the front away from the back
this latest trouble, the monitor randomly OK when the Yes option is selected. where the two panels join, starting at the
flashed up the screen controls and If this doesn’t work, the cause is bottom of the screen. If you’re able to do this
sometimes behaved as though probably a sticking or bouncing switch. without resorting to excessive force, work your
someone was adjusting the controls Check that the monitor isn’t still way up the sides until you can lift the front
when nobody was. Has my monitor covered by a warranty; if it is, ask Philips panel off enough to see the area behind the
lost its marbles, or is there a way to to repair it. If it’s out of warranty and panel switches; there should be a small circuit
stop it misbehaving? you’re feeling brave, you could try board here containing the actual switches.
Chris Olding, [email protected] opening the monitor casing and You may not be able to remove this board,
cleaning the contacts in the control but you should be able to reach in to gently
We haven’t encountered switches. Note that this will definitely scrub it clean with a toothbrush or similar soft
A this ourselves but, from what
we hear, it can be a problem
invalidate any warranty and, if you’re
unlucky, you might also break the
brush, using a small amount of methylated
spirit as a solvent. Alternatively, you could try
among some older Philips monitors. monitor; it’s only worth trying if the applying a switch-cleaning lubricant such as
We’ve read of two possible fixes, but alternative is throwing the screen Servisol Super 10. Allow the switches to dry
away. Also, older CRT monitors can for a couple of hours before clipping the
If you can get to a dodgy retain dangerous high voltages for monitor back together, then plug it in and see
switch or slider, there’s a good days after being switched off – if the problem is fixed. If not, you may have to
chance Servisol will fix it never dismantle one of these. bite the bullet and buy a new monitor.

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ISSUE 295 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | SEPTEMBER 2012 143
WorldMags.net
WorldMags.net
 Fond of the early home PCs?
ADVANCED PROJECTS See our Top 10, page 16

Emulating the BBC Micro

and Sinclair ZX Spectrum
Britain once led the world in home computing with the BBC Micro and Sinclair
ZX Spectrum. Chris Finnamore shows you how to resurrect these classics

IN THE PREVIOUS issue, we showed you There are several BBC Micro and Master
how to emulate a 1987 Commodore Amiga, emulators, but our favourite is BeebEm. The
a computer that, even with just 512KB RAM, emulator itself is simple to set up and use;
could run a full multitasking operating system. remembering how to use the computers
This month, we’re taking you even further themselves is significantly harder.
back – to the heady days of the early 1980s To start, download and install BeebEm
and the hugely popular BBC Micro and from www.mkw.me.uk/beebem. The latest
Sinclair ZX Spectrum. The Amiga is a veritable version is 4.14. Just run BeebEm from your
powerhouse when compared with these early Start menu to open up a virtual BBC Micro.
home computers, with their 32KB or 48KB of The program defaults to a BBC Model B –
RAM and their 2MHz and 3.5MHz processors. the most popular of BBC computers. You can
Both computers are a challenge to master, but change the type of model by selecting BBC
their simple Basic programming languages Model from the Hardware menu; you may
and variety of classic games make them ideal need to upgrade to a more powerful BBC
for running inside your PC. Master 128 to run some programs.

KNOWING THE BASICS The BBC Micro’s entire operating system is Basic,
BBC MICRO AND MASTER The BBC’s screen is bare – after all, it harks so you can get stuck in to programming
The BBC Micro was a rugged, expandable back to the days before home computers
home computer built by Acorn for the BBC had a GUI. All you’ll see is a command prompt, see “HELLO” appear onscreen. Type Mode
Computer Literary Project, and was a common but this simple cursor does everything, from 5 and press return to change to graphics
sight in schools up and down the country. programming to disk operations. Type in drawing mode. Type ‘DRAW 800,0’ and press
Many children in the 1980s, including this 10 PRINT “HELLO” (BBC Basic displays Return – you’ve just drawn a line!
esteemed publication’s reviews editor, did their everything in capitals) and press Return, then For more Basic commands and some
first programming on the Micro’s BBC Basic. type RUN and press Return, and you should simple programs to type in, you’ll need the
BBC Micro manual. Luckily, this is available
download as an RTF file if you visit
for do
With an emulator, Lawrence Edwards’ page at www.btinternet.
Law
you no longer have com/~lawrence.edwards/bbccomp/bbc.htm,
com
to queue up to use and there are plenty of other useful links at
a BBC Micro the same website. If you don’t want to type
in the programs manually, you can even
copy and paste them straight from the User
cop
Guide into the BBC emulator using the Paste
command in BeebEm’s Edit menu.
com

SAVING AND LOADING

SAVI
You’ll need to create a floppy disk if you want
You
keep your amazing Basic creations. From
to kee
the File menu, go to Disc Options and select
New Disc 0 (the emulator supports up to two
emulated 5¼in drives). Choose where you
emu
want to create your virtual floppy, type in a
wan
filename and press Return to save it. You can
filena
select one of several types of disc from the
‘Save as type’ menu. Single-Sided models
‘Sa
are the most compatible and don’t require
you to change any options within BeebEm.
To mount your disk, select Load Disc
0 from the File menu, and double-click
on your file. To see what’s on the disk,
typ ‘*CAT’ and press Return. To save a
type
progra to disk, turn off the disk’s write-
program
protec
protection in the Disc Options menu, then
sim
simply type SAVE and put the name of the file

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146 SEPTEMBER
SEPTEM 2012 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 295
 ADVANCED PROJECTS

This month, we’re taking you

back to the heady days of the early
1980s and the hugely popular BBC
Micro and Sinclair ZX Spectrum

Zero’s interface is quite friendly. The

first thing you’ll want to do is increase the
Spectrum’s screen size. The Spectrum’s
It’s amazing limited number of pixels means it takes up a
what you can do minesweeper-sized space on a modern PC’s
with 80 lines of display. To increase the screen size just press
BASIC code Alt+ on your PC, and to decrease use Alt-.
You can also toggle fullscreen mode with
Alt-Return. It’s also possible to access the
display options by right-clicking on the main
The BeebEm emulator comes with window and selecting Zoom. For the real
a selection of games, such as the Spectrum-plugged-into-a-TV feeling, select
classic Chuckie Egg Show Scanlines from the Rendering menu.
Access the emulator’s main functions
you want to create in between with the icons along the bottom of the main
quotation marks – such as SAVE screen. The far-left icon lets you perform soft
“TEST1”, for example. To load your and hard resets, as well as switch between the
program, type LOAD TEST1, then Spectrum 48 and 128 models. The reel-to-reel
type RUN to run it. icon lets you manage cassette images, while
the Eye icon brings up the Monitor – this lets
THE NAME OF THE GAME you delve into the Spectrum’s inner workings
You may also want to run some and poke memory addresses, and maybe find
games. Disk images are available an infinite-lives cheat if you’re clever enough.
all over the internet for download. The cog icon brings up various settings. The
They often come in Zip format, so rubber keys inspired a generation of magnifying glass is particularly useful; it links
you’ll need to unzip them to the folder where programmers and games fanatics, and in to the World of Spectrum archives, and will
you’re keeping your disk images. BeebEm launched classic computer magazines such as let you search for anything from game tape
already comes with a selection of disk images Your Sinclair and Sinclair User. images to user manuals to scans of magazine
for you to try. To load a bootable disk image, The computer itself was powerful for its articles. Just enter your search term, press
such as the Games.ssd disk that comes with time, and for its price. Your £129 (which is Search, click on the result and select Program
BeebEm, select Run Disc from the File menu around £390 in today’s money) got you the details. You’ll see a new list of available files,
and select the Games.ssd file. You can also 48K version, with a 3.5MHz processor and so select the tickboxes next to those you
use the Load Disc command and press Shift- 256x192-pixel display with a 15-colour palette, need and click Download Selected Files to
Break on your PC’s keyboard to boot the disk. hence the word ‘Spectrum’. The ZX Spectrum save them to your PC.
The Games disc contains four games, became more powerful (and lost the rubber
including the classic Chuckie Egg and Zalaga. keys) with the ZX Spectrum+, ZX Spectrum 128 KEY NOTES
Most of the time you’ll be fine with BeebEm’s and the Amstrad-manufactured ZX Spectrum Using the ZX Spectrum 48K is certainly an
standard keyboard mappings, but you may +2 and floppy disk drive-equipped +3. eye-opener. Most of the 40 keys have five
occasionally have problems. On a BBC different functions, and half of them are in
computer, the CTRL and Caps Lock keys were MOVING TOWARDS ZERO different positions to those you’d expect.
next to each other, so were used for left and There are many Spectrum emulators around, Have a look at our keyboard screenshot on
right in games, but on a PC they’re above but the one we found the easiest to use – the next page (which comes from a different
each other. You can change this behaviour as well as the most stable – was Zero, which Spectrum emulator, WJSpeccy) to get an idea.
by selecting Map A,S to Caps, Ctrl in the is available at http://ramtop.wordpress.com. As with the BBC, the Spectrum uses BASIC
Options menu. First, make sure you have installed Microsoft’s for its entire operating system; the Spectrum
.Net Framework 3.5 or later; you can get it 128 is a bit different, as it has a separate tape
from http://tinyurl.com/7vrsjj3. Go to the Zero loader section for when you just want to load
SINCLAIR ZX SPECTRUM 48K website’s Download section and download the some software. When you first boot up, all
Clive Sinclair’s 1982 ZX Spectrum 48K could Zero Zip file. Unzip the contents of the zip file you’ll see is a grey screen with ‘© 1982 Sinclair
well be considered the first mainstream UK to a folder called ‘Spectrum’ on your PC and Research Ltd’ at the bottom. This is your cue
home computer. The black brick with the then run the Zero.exe file. to begin typing. You don’t have to type out

WorldMags.net
ISSUE 295 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | SEPTEMBER 2012 147
 ADVANCED PROJECTS

There’s no help from the Spectrum’s startup display –

it’s just you, a grey screen and a bit of imagination

the full commands for Print, Save and so on. key; in Zero, Symbol Shift is mapped to your Each rubber key has four
The Spectrum auto-completes them for you, PC’s Ctrl key. To use the commands above functions – who said computers
whenever you’re in a situation that requires a each key, press your PC’s Shift and Ctrl keys used to be simple?
command. On a basic level, this is when you’re at the same time; this puts you in Extended
at the beginning of a line or after you’ve mode, denoted by the cursor changing to an E. LOADING FROM TAPE
added a program line number. It’s a bit more complicated if you want to play
As you can see in our picture of the FOLLOW THE LINES games. The Spectrum stored its games on
keyboard (above), the letter keys all have As in BBC Basic, each line of a program is tapes, and their inherent lack of random
commands printed on them in white. If you prefixed by a number, so you can reference access makes them a tricky storage medium.
press P while at the beginning of a line, for each line from other points in your program. You’ll find plenty of Spectrum games in the
example, the Spectrum will always return the As you type each line prefixed by a number World of Spectrum archives, or by hunting
PRINT command, then expect you to type in and press return, the programming line will around the internet. Alternatively, you can
arguments after that. You can tell which input appear at the top of the Spectrum’s input download them from within Zero by clicking
the computer currently expects by looking at window. When your program is finished, type the Program Finder button. Tape image files
the cursor; a flashing K means it expects a R and press return to run it. World of Spectrum come in a variety of formats, but the most
command, and a flashing L means you’re free at www.worldofspectrum.org has a digital copy common is .tzx. Zero can also read tape
to enter text. On the original Spectrum, if you of the ZX Spectrum Basic Programming images from within Zip files.
wanted to type symbols such as quotation Manual in its Documentation section. Click the tape icon, browse to the tape
marks, you had to hold down the Symbol Shift You can use Zero’s Save Snapshot function image file you want to load and open it.
to save the memory state Zero’s Tape Deck program should also open.
of the Spectrum to a file on On the right, you should see a list of the
your PC. Right-click on the tape’s structure, divided mainly into data and
main window and select Save pauses. If you’re in Spectrum 128K mode,
Snapshot, name your file and select Tape Loader in the boot menu, then
save it (in .szx format). Load switch to the Tape Deck and press Play, and
the Spectrum’s state into your game will load. In 48K mode, type J to
the Zero emulator by right- bring up the LOAD command, then type “” (by
clicking in the Zero window holding down Ctrl on your PC and pressing
and selecting Open File. the P key twice). Then press Return, switch
back to the tape deck and press Play.
When the game is loading, the Spectrum’s
screen will display bright stripy colours, and
the Tape Deck display will make its way down
the list of data on the tape until the game is
fully loaded. You can speed things up by
checking the Accelerate loading box. Bear
in mind that the emulator will pause – and
therefore stop loading – if you change to
The Zero emulator another program in Windows.
has a clear tape image
management interface
NEXT MONTH
RASPBERRY PI
It’s the British mini-computer that
looks set to become a bedroom coding
The emulator has phenomenon – we show you how to set
everything you need for up and use the £30 Raspberry Pi.
some game hacking

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148 SEPTEMBER 2012 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 295
 WEB EXPERT

Making versatile
web typography
Do you sometimes get nervous about using a particular font on your site?
Nik Rawlinson shows you how to free up your designs by embedding fonts

IN THE PREVIOUS issue, we looked at how also have Palatino, Arial Black and Narrow, echo "You are using a Mac.";
you can ensure your site remains accessible, Lucida Sans, Impact and a handful of other }
whichever device your visitors use to access fonts. This is great news for designers who elseif (strpos($agent,'Linux')) {
it, by using relative text sizes for padding, want to produce a quick website using echo "You are using a Linux-based
margin and images that respond to changing common elements, as the full list (http://bit. operating system.";
baseline measurements. The upshot is that ly/websafefontslist) more than doubles what }
not only will you end up with a better coded was at their disposal before. else {
site as a result, but you’ll also spend less time echo "I can’t tell what you’re
working on it. This month, we’re taking text SPECIAL AGENT using.";
even further and showing you how you can You can go further than this if you know that }
use the font-embedding features of CSS3, a particular font is bundled on one platform ?>
HTML5 and modern browsers to move but not the others, by applying a user agent
beyond the standard ‘web safe’ fonts and check in your page header to establish which SCRIPT ATTENTION
create more engaging online designs. platform your visitor is using. You’ll notice that we’ve included a failsafe
The user agent is a string that identifies line at the end of the script that informs the
FREEDOM RULES the browser and OS that the computer is visitor you can’t tell what they’re using
The liberation of web typography is one of running. For example, the code below runs a because their user agent string doesn’t
the biggest benefits of the latest web design user agent check as soon as a visitor lands on include the terms ‘Windows’, ‘Macintosh’
modifications. It marks a shaking off of the old the page in which it’s embedded and outputs or ‘Linux’. This illustrates one of the two
restrictions that hampered innovative design. a relevant line of text to confirm the results, shortcomings of this approach.
Not so long ago, the web was rendered in just but it could just as easily be used to load an First, we’d have to create a very long script
six mainstream fonts: Verdana, Arial, Courier alternate, platform-specific stylesheet: if we wanted to cater for every eventuality,
New, Times New Roman, Serif and Sans-Serif. encompassing every desktop, mobile and
These are the ‘web safe’ fonts, so called as <?php smartphone browser. This would be slow to
they have long been found on just about every $agent = $_SERVER['HTTP_USER_ parse and would delay the loading of our page,
Windows, Mac and Linux machine with access AGENT']; and it would never be comprehensive as new
to the internet. Over time, though, the range of devices are popping up every day.
fonts common to each platform has grown. if (strpos($agent,'Windows')) { Second, it’s easy for visitors to spoof their
Just as you can safely assume everyone echo "You are using Windows."; user agent string, particularly if they’re using
with a desktop computer or laptop has Flash } a less popular or non-standard browser. In
installed (or access to Chrome with its built-in elseif (strpos($agent,'Macintosh')) the early days of Apple’s Safari browser, for
Flash Player), you can bet that their system will { example, it was often necessary to set it to
identify as Internet Explorer if you wanted to
use it for online banking. This may no longer
be the case, but it should serve as a lesson for
all web developers that clumsy barriers such as
user agent checks are easily worked around.
Should a visitor’s smartphone browser
allow them to set it so that it mis-identifies
itself as Internet Explorer then they may have
access to a wider range of sites, but when
they come to yours they’ll likely be served up
code demanding fonts they don’t possess.
The user agent trick also doesn’t take into
account any adjustments that your visitor
might have made to their machine’s base OS
installation. Mac users might have uninstalled
the bundled cut of Helvetica if it interferes
with an in-house alternative that they need
to use for laying out brochures, magazines
and flyers. Sending them to a Mac-specific
stylesheet that only calls Helvetica because
This is the same page rendered using (clockwise from top left) Windows 7, Mac OS X 10.7, ChromeOS and you know it’s installed by default by OS X will
Ubuntu. Despite the fact that it is Linux-based, Chrome wasn’t recognised by our user agent test because cause their browser to revert to its default
we hadn’t made any allowances for it font, and your design will be ruined.

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ISSUE 295 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | SEPTEMBER 2012 149
WEB EXPERT

The two fonts used

With 501 faces to here for the header and
body copy have been
choose from, the chances embedded within the
page from Google’s
are that Google will have a Web Fonts servers

font to meet any need

FAMILY VALUES
This leaves us with font families, which, as you
probably already know, allow the browser to
work its way through a list of fonts until it
finds one installed on the host machine. The
first match it turns up is the one it uses, so:

body { fonts. The same service is also open to non- for a complete sliced page to load before it’s
font: 1em/1.2em Helvetica, Arial, Creative Cloud subscribers through www. rendered has largely been eliminated. Even if
Geneva, sans-serif; typekit.com, with plans starting at $25 (around our stylesheets fail to load, the bare bones of
} £16) a year without Typekit branding. Other our page will still be available to visitors as
providers include www.fontdeck.com, which is unformatted, top-down text and graphics.
This would set your text at 1em, on 1.2em line $7.50 (around £4.80) per font per year, www. However, when using Google Web Fonts,
spacing, in the first font it could render out fonts.com, which is $10 (around £6.37) every your site’s effective loading view will differ
of the list that followed. For Mac users, this 30 days, and www.fontslive.com, from $40 from browser to browser. Firefox is the best
would probably be Helvetica; for Windows (around £26) per year per font. behaved in this respect, as it displays your
users, it would probably be Arial. However, the best-value option is Google text in the default browser font in the first
Using font families like this allows us to Web Fonts, which offers hundreds of fonts, instance and swaps it out for your Google
call on non-standard fonts or, if we choose, each of which can be embedded in your site Web Font once it has loaded the rest of the
use fonts that aren’t installed on our visitors’ for free; see our ‘How to…’ (right) for details. page. Internet Explorer, Chrome and Safari
machines at all. It’s important to keep an eye on the size of render those parts of the page set in regular
the download package when choosing your fonts immediately, but leave spaces for the
EMBEDDING REMOTE FONTS fonts. The more you pick, the longer it’ll take Web Fonts content, which is slotted in after
There are various remote font services for your page to load, which could have more everything else has loaded.
available. Adobe Creative Cloud users who pay serious implications than you might imagine. If you only use Web Fonts for headings,
a monthly subscription for the company’s CS6 Following the switch from table- to this won’t be such an issue. However, if you’ve
applications, for example, can call on Typekit layer-based layouts, the problem of waiting set your whole site, including your body copy,
in a Google Web Font, the structure will be
built and the images set out, but the text will
appear a few seconds later, once the font has
been downloaded from Google’s servers.

EMBEDDING LOCAL FONTS

With 501 faces to choose from, the chances
are that Google will have a font that comes
close to meeting any need. However, if you
have a custom in-house font you absolutely
must use, then it’s possible to call this direct
from your server.
The @font-face CSS tag first locates the
font on the local server and then makes it
available for calling in your CSS classes.
Bear in mind that Internet Explorer, which
has supported @font-face since version 4,
implements it a little differently to Chrome,
Firefox, Opera and Safari. Still, we can run the
two implementations one after the other in
the same class declaration. We’ll start with
the non-IE browsers:

Adobe’s Typekit service lets you choose from hundreds of fonts, all of which will be displayed correctly @font-face {
in any browser font-family: JennaSue;

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| Call: 0844 444 3242 8am-9pm Weekdays, 9am-6pm Saturdays, 10am-5pm Sundays
 WEB EXPERT

font. To do this, run it through the processor

at www.fontsquirrel.com/fontface/generator.
Extract the .eot and .woff versions of the font
from the downloaded bundle and upload
these to your server, alongside the original
font. Then expand the @font-face declaration
to cater for IE using the template that was
downloaded along with your converted font:

@font-face {
font-family: JennaSue;
src: url('jennasue.eot')
format('embedded-opentype'),
url('jennasue.woff')
format('woff'),
url('jennasue.ttf')
format('truetype');
}

Refreshing your site in IE will now render it in

the same way as Safari and Chrome.
Uploading a font to your server in this way
would make it possible for third-parties to
Microsoft has long championed the technology behind embedded web fonts, and started working on a download, as they’d only have to inspect your
standard with Internet Explorer 4 CSS to find out where it was stored. You
should only use the @font-face method with
src: local("JennaSue"), h1 { open-source or creative commons fonts, or
url("JennaSue.ttf") font-family: "JennaSue", Arial, those for which you own the copyright.
format("truetype"); sans-serif;
} }
NEXT MONTH
Here we call the server-stored JennaSue True Reloading the site in Safari, Chrome or Firefox, COOKIE UPDATES
Type font, downloaded from dafont.com and we can see that the headline has now been The EU has introduced new laws that
in the same folder as our HTML page. We’ve swapped out for our server-stored font. state your website has to let visitors opt
assigned it the logical name JennaSue, so we However, Internet Explorer doesn’t like the in to receiving cookies. We’ll show you
can call it within our <h1> tags by swapping TrueType format. To get it working reliably in everything you need to be compliant.
out our Google Web Fonts header, Nuntio: all browsers, it’s first necessary to convert the

How to…
Use Google Web Fonts
Find out how to add web fonts to your pages without the need for any programming

1 Go to www.google.com/webfonts.
Use the Filters drop-down in the left
margin to narrow down the fonts on offer.
2 Click Use in the blue footer and select
the weight of each font you want to
use. We want our headlines to stand out, so
3 Call the embedded fonts using styles
in the <head> area of your page or,
preferably, using an attached stylesheet.
Choose contrasting styles for your we have changed Nunito from the default Enclose the embedded font names in
headlines and body copy. We have chosen cut of Normal 400 to Bold 700. There is quotes and provide alternate styles as
the sans-serif font Nunito for our headlines only one cut of Antic Slab. Then copy the part of a family for older, incompatible
and serif font Antic Slab for the body copy. code in box 3 (see screen above) and paste browsers, or as a fallback for when the
Click Add to Collection beside each one. it into the <head> area on your web page. browser can’t access the Google server.

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 MULTIMEDIA EXPERT

Creating vintage
photo effects
Making digital photos look like faded analogue snaps is all the rage. Here,
Ben Pitt reveals how to create this effect from scratch with your image editor

IF YOU’RE FED up with the grotty digital refreshing change from the clinical look of Blend modes dictate how the layers will
noise that blights photos from your compact normal digital photos. They are also a useful merge with each other. The default mode,
camera or smartphone, why not hide it with way to disguise the imperfections of an image Normal, simply means that anything on an
some nostalgic splodges and smudges? created on a smartphone’s camera. upper layer hides the layers below. Other
Vintage photo effects recall the days of Box Snapseed offers finer control over these blend modes are more sophisticated. Screen
Brownie and pinhole cameras, with blurry, effects than Instagram, but it’s still a matter is the equivalent of shining two projectors on
darkened edges, skewed colours and mottled of mixing and matching from pre-defined to the same screen, while Darken shows only
textures that give a warm, dreamy haze to templates. Here, we’ll be creating vintage the pixels that are darker than those below.
photos. Various image editors and mobile photo effects in a conventional image editor, However, Overlay is the one we’ll be using
apps offer these styles, but creating the effect as this gives us far greater control over each here. It combines the colours of both the
in conventional image-editing software gives stage of the process. We’ve used Adobe upper and lower layers, but retains plenty of
far greater control over the process. In this Photoshop Elements, but similar results can contrast and definition from both. Even if you
article, we’ll be using some of Photoshop be achieved in any editor that supports have no interest in creating vintage photos,
Elements’ most advanced features to take adjustment layers and blend modes. this tutorial will help you to unlock the power
your photos back into the past. An adjustment layer is the digital of adjustment layers and blend modes.
equivalents of a lens filter. It sits on the layers
CHOOSING THE EDITOR palette and applies colour correction to all the SELECTIVE FOCUS
In Reviews, Shopper 294, we reviewed a superb layers below it. Unlike the various filters in the After selecting a photo, the first task is to
little image editor called Snapseed, which Enhance and Filter menus, adjustment layers apply some selective focus; older lenses were
specialises in vintage treatments that make are applied non-destructively, so you can go often sharp in the centre but blurred towards
digital snaps resemble grainy old photos from back and tweak settings. This is useful when the edges. As well as creating a nostalgic
a bygone era. These effects are very various adjustment layers interact with each appearance, this effect can also help to focus
fashionable at the moment – largely driven other. Adjustment layers can also have masks the viewer’s attention on the main subject.
by the success of Instagram – and make a applied, so they affect only a part of the image. Many image editors include an effect
that’s specifically designed for this task, but
Photoshop Elements’ Depth of Field effect
isn’t the best example. To demonstrate
why, let’s recreate how it works using the
conventional Layers and Filter
tools; don’t worry, we’ll be
using similar techniques more
fruitfully in a few minutes.
In the Layers palette, right-
click the Background layer,
select Duplicate Layer and then
click OK. With the upper layer
selected, click the Filter menu,
Blur and Gaussian Blur. Choose a
blur radius – 20 pixels is about
right – and then click OK. In the
Layers palette, click the second
button from the left at the
bottom to add a layer mask.
Click the Gradient Tool (or
type G), then click the gradient
at the top-left of the screen and
choose the preset that goes
from black to white. Choose
Radial Gradient from the options
to the right. Click the centre of

Adjustment layers and blend

modes allow for all sorts of complex
treatments without requiring you to
alter the original photo directly

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 MULTIMEDIA EXPERT
MULTIM

1 Our photo has been

transformed from vanilla
dullness to withered relic
in just a handful of stages
– blur, gradient map,
vignetting, texture and
final colour correction

the photo and drag to the corner. The blurred 2

layer will be given a gradient mask, revealing
the sharp version in the centre of the frame.
You can switch the two layers on and off using
the eye buttons in the layers palette to see
how the effect is put together. This works to
an extent, but it’s not an accurate simulation
of how a lens behaves. For one thing, a
Gaussian blur looks a little different to lens ker areas. We can simulate this using an
darker
blur. More importantly, this technique creates adjustment layer called Gradient Map.
two versions of the image and fades between Click the button third from the left at the
them, whereas a lens will blur different areas bottom of the Layers panel and select Gradient
by varying degrees. The mid-point should be Map. This maps the brightness of underlying 3
slightly blurred, not half blurred, half sharp. pixels to a gradient, and the default white-to-
Our solution with Photoshop Elements is a black gradient produces a greyscale image. If it’s
bit of a bodge, but we prefer it to the technique in negative, locate the Adjustments panel (via
above. Right-click the blurred layer and delete the Window menu if it isn’t visible) and click
it, and duplicate the background layer again. Reverse to flip the greyscale so it’s the right way.

Old photos were often developed with a white

border with rounded-off corners, and this effect is
easy to replicate in Photoshop Elements 4

Click the Filter menu, Blur and Radial Blur. Set In the Layers panel, click the drop-down
Amount to 2 and Blur Method to Spin. If you list at the top to change the blend mode from
want the area of focus to be away from the Normal to Overlay. The greyscale and full-colour
centre, click the white box to reposition it versions of the image will combine to produce
(this might take a few attempts with the Undo a full-colour image with boosted contrast.
command) and then click OK. Apply Radial
Blur to the same layer again, but this time
In the Adjustments panel, click the gradient
and a bigger one will appear. Double-click the
5
switch from Spin to Zoom and increase the black marker below this gradient and choose
Amount to 8. This technique doesn’t look a different colour. This will tint the darker
exactly like lens blur, either, but it’s closer than areas of the image but still allow some of
Gaussian Blur, and the blur gets progressively the original colour through. Do the same for
stronger from the centre to the edges. the white marker to give highlights a tint.
You might find that the sharp area in the Experiment with highlight and shadow tints
centre is too small and that parts of your
main subject are a little blurry. In that case,
add a mask to the upper layer and reset the 6
foreground and background colours to White
and Black (type D). Select the Eraser tool
(type E), right-click the image and select a
soft round brush type 300 pixels wide. Then
simply draw with the mouse to erase parts
of the blurred layer. Bear in mind that you’re
editing the mask and not actually deleting the
image data. If you want to restore any parts
of the blurred layer, type X to switch the
background and foreground colours, and the
Eraser tool will start working as a restorer.
When switching between layers, choose
whether to edit a layer or its mask by clicking on
the appropriate thumbnail in the Layers panel.

ADDING A COLOUR CAST

The next job is to skew the colours in the
photo. People often associate old photos with
warm sepia tones, but it’s not the only option.
When a photo fades over time, brighter parts
of the image may develop a different tint to

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12 153
 MULTIMEDIA EXPERT

To recreate the scratches and splodges of a

photo that’s been in a drawer for decades, you’ll
need a bit of help from Google image search

until you find something that works for the darken and brighten. This has a
image. Click OK when you’re done, and try similar affect to the Dodge and Burn
adjusting the layer’s opacity to reduce the tools, but because it’s on
strength of the effect. its own layer there’s no risk of
messing up the original image.
DIFFERENT CORNERS
The primitive lenses of yesteryear weren’t only FRAMES AND SCRATCHES
blurry towards the edges but also tended to Old photos were often developed
be darker. This effect is known as vignetting. with a white border with rounded-
Again, it draws attention to the subject and off corners. This is easy to replicate Snapseed will add vintage effects automatically
also serves as a natural frame. To simulate this in Photoshop Elements. Type U repeatedly to but you have more control using Photoshop
effect, create a Brightness/Contrast adjustment cycle through the shape tools until you come
layer and use the Adjustments panel to reduce to Rounded Rectangle. Set the Radius to 100 To recreate the scratches and splodges of
the Brightness across the image. Adjustment pixels and drag across the image to draw a a photo that’s been in the drawer for decades,
layers have a mask applied, so use the Gradient rectangle. This creates a rectangle that you’ll need a bit of help from Google image
tool to apply this effect progressively more obscures the image. Hold down the Ctrl key search. Searching for “paper texture” or
strongly towards the edges of the frame. If the and click on the thumbnail of the rectangle in “photo texture” yields lots of useful results,
corners aren’t dark enough, change the blend the Layers panel (it should be a white square although it’s worth showing only large images
mode of this adjustment layer to Multiply. with the words Shape 1 beside it). This turns so the texture isn’t a much lower resolution
By this point, the image should be looking the layer’s shape into a selection. Right-click than your photo. Right-click in your browser
convincingly vintage, and we can get more the Shape 1 layer and select Delete Layer. to copy an image and type Ctrl-V to paste it as
precise with our colour correction. Use the Create a Solid Colour adjustment layer, set its a layer into Photoshop Elements. Type Ctrl-T
left-most button at the bottom of the layers colour to white and click OK. Type Ctrl-I to and resize it to cover the image. Set its blend
panel to create a new layer; this is just a invert the mask for this adjustment layer, mode to Multiply, and the image will appear to
normal layer with pixels. Switch its blend The frame should now be in place, but it have been printed on to this textured paper.
mode to Overlay, select the Brush tool (type might look too neat and straight. There are The image may now be too dark, so you’ll
B) and reduce the brush’s Opacity to 30% lots of ways to give it some imperfections. want to brighten up the texture without losing
either at the top of the screen or by typing 3 We’ve used a 3-pixel Gaussian blur to soften the darker tone of its scratches. Create a Levels
on the numerical keypad. Right-click to select it and the Blur tool (type R) to soften some adjustment layer and, in the Adjustments
a suitable brush size (soft, round, 300 pixels parts a little further. We’ve then used the panel, click the button at the bottom-left so it
works well) and lighten and darken parts of Glass effect (Filter menu, Distort, Glass) to affects the layer below only. On the histogram
the image using brush strokes. Type X to add some gentle undulations to the edge, with display above, drag the centre handle to the
switch between black and white brushes to low Distortion and high Smoothness values. left to lighten the midtones, and the left handle
to the right to darken the scratches. If you’re
not so keen on the colour of this texture layer,
add a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer, link it
to the layer below and adjust the controls.

FINISHING TOUCHES
It’s worth switching each adjustment layer on
and off to see what they do, and trying out a
few settings. It may be worth adding a couple
more, too, such as another Levels adjustment
layer to brighten or darken midtones, or Hue/
Saturation to reduce the overall saturation of
the image. Changing the order of these layers
in the panel will dictate which other layers they
affect. Remember these techniques aren’t just
for creating old relics. You can achieve subtler
results with gentler settings, or venture off
in a completely different direction. Because
you’re designing the effects from scratch,
you’ll always be in control.

NEXT MONTH
UNDERSTAND THE MANUAL
Digital cameras’ automatic settings are
so reliable, there’s often little incentive to
stray, but manual settings have corrective
You can process any photos in the same way to give it that vintage feel, such as with this photo of the and creative benefits, as we explain.
Thames we worked on

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 BUSINESS EXPERT

Building a
budget network
A startup rarely has funds to splash about. In the first Business Expert,
Simon Handby shows you how to build a fast, reliable network on a budget

BY THE TIME most businesses start to suitable portion of its cost as a business
become widely known, they’re already well expense), but in an office you’ll need your own
funded and well equipped, but many of them connection to a business broadband service.
started off with just a couple of people and Most business addresses should have
some ropey computers in a back room. This is access to landline-based ADSL and VDSL
a common setup when there’s limited cash to services from a range of providers, while some
spend and the focus is on getting the first may also have the choice of cabled services
round of sales or funding, rather than building from Virgin Media. When choosing a package,
an infrastructure. With a bit of luck, you remember that two or three people who are
might get away with it, but temperamental using the internet for email won’t require a big
hardware can delay vital progress, while a bandwidth or high monthly usage cap. If your
simple failed hard disk could make the business revolves around the web or the
difference between your business dreams electronic transfer of large multimedia files,
becoming a reality or remaining dreams. however, it’s best to pay more for a fast service
However, for just a few hundred pounds, with a higher cap. If you’re in short-term offices,
it’s possible to build a backbone for your get a provider that won’t penalise you for
business using standard consumer devices. moving, or sign up to a service with a short Synology’s DS212j is a budget-friendly two-bay
Spend wisely, and you’ll have have the support minimum term; some, such as Zen Internet, NAS server for small office use
you need in the short term, and possibly for a offer one-month contracts.
few years to come. Whatever you’re starting Business broadband doesn’t always come worst, it can have catastrophic results, and
with, we’ll explain some of the must-haves for with a free wireless router, so you may have even legal repercussions. Therefore, it’s
startups and how best to set them up. to buy one. This could be an ADSL modem/ vital to build any business network around a
router or – on cable or fibre broadband, where reliable server with an effective backup plan.
BROADBAND BEGINNINGS your ISP provides the modem – it could be a You can use just about any computer as a
Every business needs internet access for wireless Ethernet router. Such routers are at server but, unless you already have one going
communications, research and marketing at the heart of a typical small office, acting as a spare, the cheapest reliable option is to buy a
the very least. Many also need it to receive, DHCP server and firewall, and often forming network-attached storage (NAS) device. As
manage and fulfil orders. While bigger firms the physical backbone of the network. the name suggests, these devices connect to
can afford high-bandwidth, dedicated lines, a network and are left permanently switched
most startups do just fine with broadband. ADDING A SERVER on, providing storage space on demand. NAS
Self-employed home workers can use their A modern business depends on information. servers either come complete with one or
existing connection (remember to claim a Data loss is an inconvenience at best; at more hard disks, or as an enclosure into which
you can slot disks of your choice – if you
don’t already have disks, it’s easiest to buy a
NAS device with its own.
The best NAS device for business is one
that supports at least two hard disks, as
this will allow you to add an easy layer of
protection to your data by mirroring the
contents of one disk on to the other. Do
this by selecting RAID 1 (mirroring) when
setting the NAS up. Should a disk ever
fail, the NAS device’s contents will remain
safe on the working disk; just be sure to
replace the failed disk as soon as possible
to re-introduce this redundancy. Note that
mirroring the disks will halve the advertised
capacity of the NAS device; a 2TB NAS device
containing two 1TB disks will have a capacity
of 1TB if you choose to mirror it.
Choose a NAS device with plenty of room
for your business’s needs. Although 1TB
of mirrored space will be plenty if you
mostly work with customer records,
text databases and office documents,

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 BUSINESS EXPERT

A business depends
on information. Data loss is
an inconvenience at best –
at worst, it can have
catastrophic results, and
even legal repercussions

you will find that multimedia work, particularly

video editing, generates huge amounts of
data; you may need to spend more for a
device with two 2TB disks, or even a four-disk
device. Most models include extra features
such as FTP or web servers and USB ports,
which you can use to expand the storage by
connecting an external hard disk.
If your budget isn’t too restrictive, we Configure the network to use WPA2 in order to protect wireless access
recommend QNAP’s TS-412 Turbo NAS
device, a fully featured enclosure with slots the back of a standard router is the perfect data as fast as possible. This approach
for up to four disks. When bought with two start for a simple network. Most modern prevents a bottleneck occurring in the link
2TB disks, this costs just over £400 including routers have a full set of Gigabit Ethernet between the router and switch. Its limited
VAT, and it provides two spare slots for adding ports, but some budget models have only bandwidth will be used only for network
more disk space as the business grows. If 10/100 (100Mbit/s) ports. Choose a Gigabit admin traffic and internet access, and when
money’s tighter, the Western Digital My Book router if possible. If you can’t get one, or you data is exchanged between wired and wireless
Live Duo 4TB comes with two 2TB disks. This think your network might grow to more devices on the network. In most cases, even
device, which costs less than £300, can be than four devices, there’s no harm in also a 100Mbit/s link provides enough headroom
expanded with a single external USB disk. For spending £25 on an eight-port Gigabit switch. for all three to happen at once.
more in-depth buying advice, read our group The router acts as the gateway to the If you’ve got more than a couple of
test of NAS devices in Computer Shopper 293. internet and the core of the network, network devices, it’s good practice to label
allocating IP addresses to devices connected each Ethernet cable at the end near the
SETTING UP THE NETWORK via the wired or wireless networks and switch so you know where it’s going. Cables
Whichever NAS device you choose, you need protecting them with its firewall. If you come in various colours, so you could create a
to plan the network properly to get the best also have a Gigabit switch, connect the two scheme to help you identify connections at a
out of it. You’ll need to connect it, and the with a Cat5e Ethernet cable, and don’t plug glance. Try red for backbone connections which
computers that will use it, via a Gigabit anything else into the router’s switch. Plug shouldn’t be unplugged, such as the links to
(1,000Mbit/s) switch if you’re to get the all other network devices into the Gigabit the NAS device and between switches, and
fastest file transfers – this could make a huge switch to ensure that they can exchange green or blue for regular connections to PCs.
difference when you’re backing up or sharing
large volumes of data. The four-port switch on

Shields Up will
highlight potential
firewall problems

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 BUSINESS EXPERT

Ensure there is a wired connection available

for each laptop, as it will make backups faster
and more reliable. If you can afford it, Cat6
cables and devices across your entire network
will ensure the best speeds, but you’ll still get
near-Gigabit speeds with Cat5e cabling.

MAKING A SECURE ENVIRONMENT

Most off-the-shelf routers are pre-configured
to block all incoming internet traffic, allowing
only outbound traffic and any replies. This is a
good secure starting point, so if you’re using a
second-hand router, be sure to reset it to its
factory defaults and start from there – you
can normally do this by poking a recessed You can create NAS user
reset button for at least 10 seconds. groups to control access to
Follow the instructions in the router’s different shared folders
manual to access its web configuration
interface and log in. Change the admin we generally recommend that businesses pay hardware failure, but it won’t help if there’s a
password to something you’ll remember, for faster, more reliable professionally hosted fire or if the NAS device and PCs are all stolen.
avoiding anything easy such as the company webspace. Similarly, it’s safer to use an online For additional protection, you should consider
name. If neither you nor any likely visitors file-sharing service rather than FTP for large backing up critical information with an online
have wireless devices, it’s most secure to file transfers. If employees frequently need service such as LiveDrive or SugarSync. A
switch the wireless network off altogether. In to work remotely, a virtual private network three-user, 100GB business account with
most cases you’ll need it, though. Change the (VPN) is the most secure option; we’ll cover SugarSync costs $30 (£19) per month, but
SSID to something friendly and configure the this in more detail in a future issue. you’ll need a generous broadband cap.
network to use WPA2, WPA-PSK encryption, If you’re working directly with files on the
choosing a suitable encryption key; don’t make DEVISING A BACKUP NAS device, consider creating different shares
this the same as the router password, though. Exactly where you store files will depend on for one or more projects or customers, and
Don’t use an old router that only supports the type of business you run. Your staff may limiting different users’ access. Also, create a
WEP, which is insecure. Also, it’s recently been work directly on files stored on the NAS separate share for business administration so
discovered that there’s a security flaw in the device, or predominantly with files stored on that only those who need to will be able to see
PIN system used in many modern Wi-Fi their own computers. In the latter case, it’s financial details or staff records. Don’t work
Protected Setup (WPS) routers – if you have best to use the NAS device as a daily backup from and back up to the same NAS device,
one, turn off the WPS feature if possible. You destination, installing backup software on as this offers little data protection, and don’t
should now have a secure network, but test each PC and storing password-protected assume that mirrored disks will protect your
the firewall with a utility such as Shields Up, backups in a dedicated network share on the data from all eventualities; a flood, fire or big
available at www.grc.com, and remember that NAS device. A home backup program such as drop could still trash a NAS device and all its
you may need additional protection if you’re Acronis Home Image is a good choice when contents. It’s advisable to use one or two
storing information covered by the Data starting out, but you may need to switch to a high-capacity USB hard disks to back up the
Protection Act; there’s more information business package as you grow. entire NAS device once a week, and store
available at the Information Commissioner’s If you’ve mirrored the NAS’s disks, this these securely off-site unless in use.
Office at http://tinyurl.com/info-com-office. ought to amply protect your backups against
READY FOR BUSINESS
KEEPING THE DOORS CLOSED You should now have a fast, secure and
Most NAS devices have built-in FTP or web reliable small business network, but you’ll
servers, which are useful but must be set up
Shopping List need to add a printer if you don’t already have

Pricing up the essent ials

with care if you're to avoid creating security one. Choose a network MFP with a fax machine
weaknesses on the network. Ensure that the – it’s antiquated, but it may occasionally prove
NAS device and router are updated with the essential. We recommend spending £160 on
latest available firmware, which should include
fixes for any security bugs discovered. When Setup: Epson’s WorkForce Pro WP-4535 DWF (see
Best Buys: Printers on page 70), but if money
setting up services, limit access to the server. NAS device £300 is tight then Kodak’s ESP Office 2170 isn’t bad
Only give FTP access to those who really need
Network MF P £85 at just over half the price.
it; make sure they’re only given permissions to
Gigabit wireless router £50 This is a sensible beginning for startups,
access the directories they need, and give the
lowest level of access necessary. If possible, Eight-port Gigabit switch £25 but established firms are likely to have greater
needs. As your business grows, you’ll need
create a dedicated FTP folder on the NAS device Cat5e Ethernet cables £2 each to replace consumer network products with
and give users access to that – do not enable
FTP access to your main network shares.
Backup software £20 per PC more robust enterprise equipment. We’ll
be exploring this in greater depth in
Whether configuring an FTP or web server,
you must add suitable rules to the router’s
Total (for three users) £526 future columns.

firewall to permit incoming traffic. It’s essential

to limit this to the relevant port numbers and Monthly: NEXT MONTH
ensure that the router forwards traffic only to
Broadband and calls package £40/month ONLINE ACCOUNTING
the relevant server on your network. Most
Optional online backup/sync $30 (£19)/ Keeping your books online means that
routers have pre-configured service rules that
help to make this more straightforward. Given
mont h you and your accountant can access them
anywhere, and work together to keep on
the potential for security breaches and the
Total: £59month top of them – we’ll sum up the options.
overloading of your broadband connection, per
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 LINUX EXPERT

Running Windows
applications in Ubuntu
Linux doesn’t come with all the applications you love, so here David Ludlow
explains how to get the most popular Windows programs on to Ubuntu

UBUNTU COMES WITH a lot of built-in system to draw its main window and menu Centre and search for PlayOnLinux. Select
applications that let you do most of the tasks in a different way to a Linux one. This is the option that appears and then click the
you need to carry out, but there will be times before we even consider the differences in Install button.
where they don’t quite make the grade; perhaps the file system, how the various files are Enter your password when prompted and
you want Microsoft Office for a specific job, stored, and the different ways of treating click OK. In the Terminal window, type Y when
for example. Fortunately, you can run certain executable applications. prompted to allow the software to download
Windows programs under Linux. In this However, underneath it all, Ubuntu and and install from the internet. Keep an eye on
month’s Linux Expert, we’ll show you how. Windows run on the same hardware. Using the installation and approve any dialog box
Ubuntu ships with a lot of open-source emulation software, it’s possible to trick that appears using the left and right cursor
applications that replace the software you’d Windows applications into running under keys and Enter.
normally expect to see on a Windows PC. Ubuntu at pretty much full speed.
While most of them do a brilliant job, there The emulator you need is called WINE. Its FIRST RUNNINGS
are times where only the official Windows name is a recursive acronym that stands for Once it’s installed, you can start PlayOnLinux
application will do the job. Fortunately, you Wine Is Not an Emulator – who said Linux from the Ubuntu Dash. Launch the software
don’t have to switch back to Windows for people weren’t funny? This essential bit of into a setup wizard that will automatically
these occasions, as a good number of the software is designed to make Linux look like configure it for your computer. Click Next to
programs you want to run can be persuaded Windows. The only downside is that not every create the virtual drive, which is used to house
to run under Linux by using emulation. This application supports it, and there can be quite a Windows-compliant file system for the
month, we’ll take you through the process a bit of configuration involved. applications you want to install. This will take
of configuring and installing the most Fortunately, help is at hand in the a few minutes, after which you can click Next
popular programs and those that you’re form of PlayOnLinux. This is a to complete the configuration.
likely to miss the most. front-end of WINE that makes
installing and managing
EMULATION NOW Windows applications
The reason Windows applications don’t work incredibly easy. First, you
on Linux is because they’re written for entirely need to install PlayOnLinux.
different and incompatible operating systems. The easiest way to do this is
A Windows application asks the operating to open the Ubuntu Software

You can download the latest

version of PlayOnLinux from
the official website

PlayOnLinux makes it easy

to add and install Windows
applications on Ubuntu

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158 SEPTEMBER 2012 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 295
 LINUX EXPERT

with the help of PlayOnLinux, you can install

Internet Explorer 8. Click the Install button
and Next, and Internet Explorer 8 will be
downloaded and installed. You may be
prompted to download other components
PlayOnLinux comes as the installer completes. You’ll also need to
with a lot of pre- go through the Internet Explorer 8 first-run
defined installation wizard to set up your preferences.
routines for the most Once this is completed, you’ll get a shortcut
popular Windows
to the application on your Desktop and in the
software, such as
PlayOnLinux application. Double-click either
iTunes, but they don’t
all work perfectly link to start Explorer. You’ll get an icon for the
software in the Launcher, too, and can pin it
there like any regular Ubuntu application.
Internet Explorer 8 works just like it does
on Windows, with one restriction – ActiveX
is not supported. This makes it useful for
dealing with websites that aren’t rendering
properly in your regular browser and also for
checking that your own website designs will
work properly in Internet Explorer. It does
mean that you can’t get certain bank websites
working, but we’ll cover an alternative method
All the applications for doing this in next month’s column.
you can install are neatly
organised into categories MICROSOFT OFFICE
Although Libre Office is a good office suite,
it doesn’t have all the features of Microsoft
Office. Fortunately, you can install Office on

Once the wizard has run, you may find

that when you hover your mouse over a Ubuntu ships with a lot of open-source
button, you’re told that there’s a new version applications that replace the software you’d normally
of PlayOnLinux available. The easiest way to
upgrade is to go to www.playonlinux.com/en/ expect to see on a Windows PC
download.html in your web browser. Select
Ubuntu and download the Deb file. Once suffers from similar problems. In order to help your Linux computer via PlayOnLinux. The
downloaded, open the file and it will load you with those, we’ll be looking at a different only restrictions are that neither Access nor
in the Ubuntu Software Centre. Click the way of working with Windows applications Outlook works, leaving you with the core
Upgrade button to get the latest version. next month. applications of Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
You’re now ready to start installing and Still, PlayOnLinux is a great place to start. To install Microsoft Office, click the Install
configuring the applications you want to run. We’ll show you the most useful applications button in PlayOnLinux, select Office and then
The main page will house the applications that available to you, and how to get them working. choose the version of Office that you want
are installed; all you have to do is select one to install. There’s currently no support for
and click Run. However, as you don’t have any INTERNET EXPLORER Office 2010, although you can run an add-on
applications installed yet, you’ll need to click Internet Explorer is a useful browser to have, installation script for it. Just type ‘get:801’
the Install button to bring up the PlayOnLinux as some websites refuse to work with anything into the PlayOnLinux Install search bar and
install menu. Here, you’ll find the list of else and don’t render pages properly. Luckily, the script will be downloaded and run
applications that the software supports, all
split neatly into categories.
Before we continue, a word of warning:
although there are a lot of applications in the
list, some don’t quite work properly. Apple
iTunes 10 is a good example. PlayOnLinux
requires you to download the installer from
Apple’s website, but the 64-bit version doesn’t
install properly. The 32-bit version is better,
but it won’t install on 64-bit Linux. You can
install iTunes 7 automatically from PlayOnLinux
and this works well, but it doesn’t support the
latest iPods or iPhones, and there’s also no
access to the iTunes store. Other software

Don’t miss our

step-by-step guide,
on sale now for £6.96
at MagBooks.com Internet Explorer is a handy application to have to hand if you’re experiencing problems with a website or
you want to check how your own designs are rendered by the popular browser

WorldMags.net
ISSUE 295 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | SEPTEMBER 2012 159
 LINUX EXPERT

automatically. We had problems getting this

to work with our Office 2010 version, which
is an executable file rather than a CD, so we
went with Office 2007 instead.
Regardless of the version that you run,
you’ll need to point the installer at your
installation files. This can either be via CD or
by extracting the files from your Office ISO
and putting them on to your hard disk. If you
opt for the latter method, you’ll need to tell
PlayOnLinux where to find the installation
files. First, use the Nautilus file browser to
navigate to the Office install folder. Right-click
the title bar, which houses the full path of the
files, and select Copy. Return to PlayOnLinux
and select Other as the location for the
installation files, then select the text box
and paste in the path. Click Next, and the
installer should start.
You’ll need to enter your Product Key into Using the Windows version gives you access to
the box and click Next. Agree to Microsoft’s all Spotify’s features
terms and conditions, then click Continue.
You’ll now get the choice to install every Lock Icon to Launcher to leave it as a
Office component or to click Customize and permanent feature.
choose the applications you want to install.
Given that not all applications work, we THE CALL OF SPOTIFY
recommend clicking Customize. Depending Although Spotify works on a Linux client,
on the version of Office that you’re installing, it’s currently not fully featured and doesn’t
you should deselect Access, Publisher and support apps. A better way is to install the It’s easy to install the Windows version of Spotify;
Outlook from the list, and click the Install Windows version. Click the Install button just follow the wizard and download when asked
Now button. Office will then install on your on PlayOnLinux, then click Multimedia and
computer. Once the installation has finished, Spotify. Click the Install button, then follow Spotify app will now launch, and you can play all
you’ll only have access to Word, Excel and through the installation wizard, choosing your music just as you would if you were using
PowerPoint, as these are the only applications ‘Download the program’ when given the Windows. You’ll need to quit Spotify (right-click
supported. Just double-click the icon of the option. This will automatically download and the icon that appears by the clock in Ubuntu
relevant application in PlayOnLinux or on the install Spotify from the internet. and select Quit) to complete the installation
Desktop to start it; once running, you can also Once the installation has completed, just routine. Then relaunch Spotify using the icon
right-click the icon in Launcher and select enter your login details and click OK. The full in PlayOnLinux or on the Desktop.

OTHER SOFTWARE
PlayOnLinux is a front-end of WINE that PlayOnLinux also supports a variety of games,
although these aren’t that new or up to date.
makes installing and managing Windows Given the graphical power that games require,
applications incredibly easy we think it’s best to play games on Windows
and save emulation for work applications.
It may seem as though you can’t run many
Windows applications under Linux. The truth
is that Windows applications rely on large
parts of Microsoft’s operating system to
install and run properly. WINE can only
emulate part of the operating system and it
requires scripts to get any software to install,
so not everything will be compatible. Even the
Once the installer software that does install won’t necessarily
starts, it’s the same have all its features enabled. Still, getting some
on Linux as it is important Windows applications to install will
on Windows make your experience of Ubuntu much better.
Come back next month, when we’ll show
you how you can use software that doesn’t
support PlayOnLinux, and how a virtual
machine can become a powerful ally.

With PlayOnLinux, you

NEXT MONTH
can get Microsoft Office
working perfectly on RUNNING VIRTUAL MACHINES
your Ubuntu computer We show you how to run Windows
from inside Linux, so you can access all
the software you need without ever
having to reboot.

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160 SEPTEMBER 2012 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 295
 PRODUCT INDEX

Product index
Our useful guide to all the products reviewed this month

PCs and laptops 26 Audio 50 76

reviews
Apple MacBook Air 11in (2012) Aftershokz Mobile AS301
Apple MacBook Pro with Sony Walkman NWZ-Z1060
Retina Display
Chillblast Nautilus
View Quest Retro WiFi Radio
inside!
CMS Computers Zoostorm Video 52
Home Media Desktop Canon Legria HF R36
Sony Viao T13 Sony HDR-CX730E Components 58
AMD Radeon HD 7970
Ivy Bridge PC group test 86 Printers and scanners 54 The Raspberry Pi Foundation
Arbico Elite 3575 CS Brother DS-700D Raspberry Pi Model B
Chillblast Fusion Diablo Kodak ESP 3.2
DinoPC Velociraptor 3450 Software 60
Package Networks 56 Nik Software Snapseed
Eclipse Discovery Z77i345R777 Devolo dLAN 500AVtriple+ Propellerhead Reason Essentials
Ginger 6 G6 Vision TP-Link TL-WR2543ND Xara Web Designer MX
Mesh Elite i3570K CS
Palicomp Alpha Excite Storage 57 Online backup group test 98
PC Specialist Vanquish Elite 560 LaCie Little Big Disk Carbonite Home
Wired2Fire Hellspawn Ultima Thunderbolt Databarracks Buddy Backup
Yoyotech Warbird 3570XTI Seagate Backup Plus 1TB Decho MozyHome
Google Drive
Handhelds 34 SSDs group test 110 Livedrive Pro Suite
Bookeen Cybook Odyssey Adata S511 120GB Memset SquirrelSave
Nokia Lumia 610 Corsair Force GT 240GB Microsoft SkyDrive
Nokia Lumia 900 Corsair Performance Series MyPCBackup Home/Pro 75GB
Samsung Galaxy S3 Pro 256GB Pro Softnet iDrive Pro Personal
Crucial M4 128GB SOS Online Backup Home
Photography 40 Intel 520 Series 240GB Edition 5.0
Canon PowerShot A4000 IS Intel 520 Series 60GB SugarSync 30GB
Nikon CoolPix L810 Kingston HyperX 240GB Trend Micro SafeSync
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V OCZ Agility 3 240GB
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX200V OCZ Vertex 4 256GB Games 62
Patriot Pyro SE 120GB Call of Cthulhu: The Wasted Land
Displays 46 Patriot Wildfire 240GB Max Payne 3
Asus PA248Q Plextor M3 Pro 128GB Resident Evil: Operation
ViewSonic PLED-W200 PNY Professional SSD Raccoon City
120GB
Home Cinema 48 Samsung 830 Series 256GB Business 64
Sony KDL-46HX853 Sandisk Extreme 120GB QNAP TS-469 Pro
Yamaha RX-V373 Verbatim SSD 240GB Synology RackStation RS812RP+

Click: dell.co.ukWorldMags.net
| Call: 0844 444 3242 8am-9pm Weekdays, 9am-6pm Saturdays, 10am-5pm Sundays
 PARTING SHOTS

Zygote
What can we learn from the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles? Zygote isn’t sure,
but it might just come in useful as we prepare for that encroaching zombie apocalypse

IN THE LINE OF FIRED lacking in this 15 square-mile ROAD TRIP outside their company for the
All 1,340 members of staff at the paradise, and that’s people. We’ve already been lulled into situation, then went on to say it
asset management arm of Aviva The city is not for human trusting computers with our was a minor issue and customers
were recently sacked in the worst beings to inhabit but is purely financial affairs, social networks, shouldn’t worry about it.
possible way – by email. The email for research – chiefly something tax returns and medical records. So which is it? Either website
from Aviva Human Resources ominously referred to as “first Now it looks as if we’re about to security certificates aren’t worth
ordered every one of them to responder tech for homeland hand our car keys over as well. the electrons they are printed on
clear their desks, hand over their security”. It is to be used to The Nevada Department of and can be safely ignored, in
computer passwords and security conduct urban experiments Motor Vehicles has just allowed which case the online business
tags and vacate their offices. on a huge scale without driverless vehicles on to the world has been conned out of
They were also warned never to causing annoyance to existing public highway. To be specific, millions, or Sage Pay is a group
disclose any information about communities. Ain’t that sweet? it has licensed Google’s fleet of of incompetents who leave their
systems, operations and clients, robot cars to drive all over the security to “someone outside the
before they were wished bon THE CALL OF NATURE state without any humans on company”, in which case their
voyage to the outer darkness to Spectrum Interactive is the board to control them. Instead, clients should change to a more
which they had been condemned. UK’s largest independent Wi-Fi the Google fleet of Lexus, Audi professional payment service,
You’ve probably guessed that provider, so why has it been and Toyota vehicles will be driven such as PayPal, which is free.
the email was intended for just snapping up every payphone box by personal computers.
one person. Well, we’ve all been it can find in London, amassing Zygote sincerely hopes they YELLOW PERIL
there. Of course, sending an no fewer than 1,800 of them? To don’t use Windows. Otherwise, The publisher of Australia’s
email to an entire mailing list begin with, Spectrum offered a Nevada may soon see a spate of Yellow Pages has launched a
instead of the sole intended paid-for Wi-Fi service based on wonky boots, blue windscreens prize competition worth over
recipient usually ends in tears. the location of the phone boxes, and inexplicable crashes. £15,000 to whoever develops
Happily, a grovelling apology was but it was clear that the only way “an app to survive and thrive
issued to the 1,339 staff who to make a small fortune from this SAGE STUFFING during the inevitable zombie
were not meant to be sacked. was to start off with a big fortune When customers log in to a apocalypse”. Zygote doesn’t
However, Zygote is intrigued and watch it dwindle. Now the “secure and efficient payment know about Australia, but the
to note that several key Aviva strategy has changed. Spectrum service” such as Sage Pay, they zombie apocalypse has already
board members were shown the is giving free Wi-Fi access to any expect their online credit card happened here in the Mother
door in the same week as the punter who will reveal some transactions will be handled, err, Country, as dead-eyed, drooling
email disaster, including the contact details to download securely and efficiently. Similarly, creatures lurch through the
heads of the North American, electronic coupons. Brilliant. when businesses pay a minimum streets. The sponsors of the
European and Investment At present, the coupons are of 20 pounds a month for Sage competition say entries should
sections. Were they also pushed only for shops in areas such as Pay to handle online customer take full advantage of geo-
out by receiving the same email, Victoria and Mayfair, which gives payments, they expect the same. location features and tracking.
or by any chance did they receive Zygote an idea. London phone So when Sage allegedly forgot to They have obviously never seen
huge rewards for their recent boxes used to be handy places renew its security certification, a proper zombie movie. Geo-
questionable performances? for young ladies and gentlemen customers trying to do business location will be useless, as all
to deposit calling cards for with Sage Pay clients were told communication networks are
GHOST TOWN services of an intimate nature. that the site security was invalid sure to fail in the wake of the
A billion-dollar City Of The Zygote can foresee a convenient and could not be trusted. In a zombie dawn, in which case the
Future is being built in Lea downloadable coupon service patronising statement, a Sage Yellow Pages will be best served
County, New Mexico, and it’s for this ancient practice. Pay minion blamed someone as toilet paper.
stuffed full of smart technology
ranging from intelligent traffic
lights to self-flushing toilets.
There will be malls, suburban
areas and rural districts, all linked
by highways and boulevards, and
ultra-modern utilities and services
will reach into every shiny nook
and cranny. Needless to say,
telecommunications will be
superfast, with next-generation
wireless networks everywhere,
and security will be handled by a
vast array of surveillance devices
and monitoring systems. In fact
there will be only one thing

WorldMags.net
162 SEPTEMBER 2012 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 295
WorldMags.net
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All names, manufacturer names, brand and product designations are subject to special trademark rights and are manufacturer‘s trademarks and/or registered brands of their respective
WorldMags.net
owners. All indications are non-binding. Technical data is subject to change without prior notification. Apple, iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, and iTunes are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered
in the U.S. and other countries. App Store is a service mark of Apple Inc., Google, Google Docs and Android are registered trademarks or trademarks of Google Inc.
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