MicroMart 1 9 May 2016
MicroMart 1 9 May 2016
MicroMart 1 9 May 2016
ISSUE 1414
2.99
JUNE 2016
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Contents
This week...
08
CPU &
Motherboard Deals
08 Processor &
Motherboard Deals
14
Graphics Cards
& Monitors
20
RAM &
Storage
4
Issue 1196
14 Graphics Cards
& Monitors
28 External Storage
26
Mobile Market
46 Is The End Of
Fake Reviews?
86 Typing Software
Round-up
69
70
73
74
Reviews
60
External Storage
68
71
72
28
Group Test
Edier Rave
MP700 Speakers
Zoostorm Stormforce 805
Parrot Flower Power
Synology Diskstation
DS916+
Element Gaming Xenon
700 Headset
iHealth Lite Scales
61
62
64
Also In
This Issue...
42 Make A Spectrum
Loading Screen
44 Alphabet Pi
76 Download Directory
81 Remembering
We recall Freescale, a
game engine that was
used to create some
genuine classics
66
67
106
108
Experts
Ask Aaron
Ask Jason
Specialists
92
93
94
95
96
Linux Mart
Mac Mart
Mobile Mart
Hardware Mart
Gaming Mart
News
54
30
98
100
102
112
Regulars
Subscriptions
Ad Index
IT Essentials
Classifieds
Logging Off
82 Retro Round-up
90 Top Tips
110 Crowdfunding
SAVE A BUNDLE
Issue 1196
1414
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Enter your special promo code MMTEN at the checkout online to enjoy these specially reduced deals!
CPU AND
MOTHERBOARD
DEALS
Getting the right motherboard and processor combination at the
right price is key
Issue 1414
CPU AND
MOTHERBOARD DEALS
youre planning on buying a separate
graphics card, the Core CPUs are a
good choice, but if you cant commit
the extra funds then an A-series will
offer better graphics than you can get
from even a higher-end Core CPU.
Issue 1414
Motherboards:
What To Look For
Gigabyte GA-Z97-D3H
12
Issue 1414
CPU AND
MOTHERBOARD DEALS
ports, M.2 and SATAe ports, built-in
HDMI, DVI-D and VGA, eight USB
3.1 ports and four USB 2.0 ports,
built-in gigabit LAN and support for
DDR4 memory. As long as you dont
want to overclock your CPU this is as
good a motherboard as you can get,
and perfectly pairs with any (locked)
Core i5 chip.
Asus A88X-GAMER
Issue 1414
13
GRAPHIC CARD
AND MONITOR
DEALS
14
Issue 1414
Radeon Deals
Budget:
Sapphire Radeon R7 250
(70)
Mid Range:
Asus STRIX R9 380 (154)
The R9 380 is about a year old
at this point, and thats pushed
its price down, so it has a great
GRAPHICS AND
MONITOR DEALS
Sapphire Radeon R7 250
High End:
XFX Radeon R9 Fury 4GB
(350)
GeForce Deals
Budget:
EVGA GeForce GT 740
Superclocked (74)
Mid Range:
Gigabyte GTX 960 OC
2GB (160)
High-End:
MSI GTX 980 4GB (415)
Issue 1414
15
Monitors: What To
Look For
16
Issue 1414
Monitor Deals
Budget:
Samsung S22D300HY
(90)
Mid Range:
Dell U2515h (255)
ADDON T3
TEST WINNER
PLAY
LONGER
& LOUDER
30h
50% VOL
12h
100% VOL
www.audioprodirect.co.uk
Samsung S22D300HY
BenQ BL2711U
Dell U2515h
High-End:
BenQ BL2711U (480)
18
Issue 1414
www.buffalo-technology.com
MEMORY AND
STORAGE
DEALS
Give your PC a quick and easy boost with these upgrades
Memory:
What To Look For
20
Issue 1414
MEMORY AND
STORAGE DEALS
CPUs, higher is better. You can
overclock RAM (if your motherboard
allows), but as with CPUs, this can
potentially damage the hardware.
RAM transfer rates are given in
MB/s, using codes such as PC310666. This, translated, tells you
that the RAM is DDR3, capable of
transferring data at a rate of 10,666
MB/s. Again, higher numbers here
are better.
Kingston ValueRAM 8GB DDR3
DDR3 Deals
Budget: Kingston
ValueRAM 8GB (2x4GB)
DDR3 1333MHz (26.50)
DDR4 Deals
Budget: Crucial 8GB
(2x4GB) DDR4 2133MHz
(29)
Issue 1414
21
Storage:
What To Look For
22
Issue 1414
visit www.meshcomputers.com
for the latest Mesh offers and discounts
499
999
15.6 X553SA |
269
60 OFF
WAS 899
sales@meshcomputers.com
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WAS 329
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Terms and
conditions apply
Please Read: Sales subject to terms & conditions (copy available on our website). Advert does not form part of a contract. Pictures shown for illustration purposes only - colours may vary. Full specications available online.
Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other countries. All trademarks are acknowledged. At Mesh our PCs are custom built, fully burn-tested with professional CPU
overclocking options - Free overclock conguration is available for an unlocked CPU and when a liquid CPU cooler is selected. 0% Finance - Pay 10% deposit, and pay the rest off within 12 months and pay no interest. *Lifetime Gold
Warranty - Lifetime Labour, 2 Year Parts, 1 Year Free Collect & Return. Sales line open Monday - Friday 9am - 6pm. Online ordering 24x7. Prices and specication correct at time of going to press on 12/5/16. E&OE.
SSD Deals
Budget: Toshiba 120GB
Q300 (34)
We wouldnt be comfortable
recommending anyone choose a
drive smaller than 120GB as their
main one, so if youre looking to
put an SSD in a budget system, we
suggest you look at the Toshiba
120GB Q300. At 34 its one of the
cheapest 120GB units youll find,
and even though its overall read
and write speeds are poor compared
to most SSDs, itll still trounce any
mechanical drive youre using in
every area except price. Time was
you couldnt justify an SSD in a
budget system, but with hardware
like this on the market, its a tough
option to ignore.
24
Issue 1414
HDD Deals
Budget: Seagate Barracuda
1TB (43)
Its a bad idea to buy a hard drive
cheaper than 1TB at retail, simply
because the smaller the drive you
buy, the greater the proportion
of cost spent on materials and
manufacturing becomes. Even 1TB
drives arent especially good value,
but buying anything cheaper puts
you in the territory of being actively
mugged. 1TB provides enough
capacity for both running a system
or making long-term storage, so
its a good all-round purchase,
which you can happily repurpose
later on. You dont even have to
skimp on speed: even the cheapest
drives are SATA-3 (6GB/s) and run
at 7200rpm, meaning a competitive
experience. You can maybe save a
few pounds by going with another
manufacturer, but wed argue that
Seagates reputation makes it worth
the extra few quid.
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HOW TO
GET
THE
BEST
DEAL
ON A
NEW PC
n t pay
pay ttoo
to m
much...
Here are a few tips to ensure you dont
26
Issue 1414
Your
1Choose
Retailer Carefully
Your
2Balance
Components
BEST DEAL
ON NEW PC
The
3Skip
Extended Warranty!
5Time It Right
Your
6Cannibalise
Old System
Issue 1414
27
WHICH EXTERNAL
HARD DRIVES ARE
THE BEST VALUE?
C
Because more storage never goes amiss
hoosing an external
drive can be tough
at the best of times,
but when there are so
many on the market its tough
to know if youre getting the
best deal. The price of storage
is in constant flux, so how can
you get the best deal on a new
external hard drive?
To see which external drives
are the best value, we looked
at every available tier of
storage and calculated which
gave the most capacity for
the lowest cost. Within each
storage tier we automatically
picked the cheapest drive as
well, so our work can also
function as a benchmark
for storage prices if youre
thinking of buying a new
external drive and it seems
wildly more expensive than the
ones presented here, check
whether youre actually getting
anything worth paying extra for.
28
Issue 1414
Verbatim 320GB
Intenso 1TB
Samsung D3 2TB
Buffalo Velocity
DriveStation 3TB
Seagate Backup
Plus 4TB
Issue 1414
29
32
Issue 1414
Bad News
INTEL EXITS
billion. That places earnings for the first quarter at 42 cents
per share a decent amount below analysts expectations
of 48 cents per share. The workforce reductions are expected
to net the company $1.4bn in savings by 2017, once its
taken a $1.2bn hit for redistributing 12,000 people into the
job market.
Chief executive Brian Krzanich outlined its future prospects
in these terms: These actions drive long-term change to
further establish Intel as the leader for the smart, connected
world. I am confident that well emerge as a more productive
company with broader reach and sharper execution.
Reading between the lines, that seems more like: Weve
spent too long milking the PC cow; perhaps its time to see
what else we can grow on this farm. However, within just a
few weeks, Intel would quantify the nature of this restructuring
and end some strategic directions the company had previously
promoted as being foundational to its future plans.
Intel CEO Brian Krzanich, who in 2013 was outlining the companys longterm mobile strategy
in the reduction of up to
12,000 positions globally
Broken Promises
What really wrong-footed people was that just four years ago,
the analysts had charted out how Intel would start small and
end big in the smartphone market. In their crystal balls, the
likes of Qualcomm, Texas Instruments and Nvidia would all
concede chunks of market share to Intels infinitely superior
mobile products.
Looking back at many of these predictions, most assumed
that Windows Phone would be a significant player by now.
And that once established, like some sort of Mexican masked
wrestling team, Microsoft would tag its partner, Intel, into the
ring with an x86 phone chip and see off their nemesis ARM
and its clever power management credentials.
That was one horribly inaccurate hypothesis, as it turns out.
Much of that theory was based on how Intels Medfield chip
was competitive in power at 32nm LP, so it would be even
better when it moved to Intels much vaunted 22nm 3D Tri
Gate technology.
And it was, but not enough to actually make phone makers
flock to it and put it in actual phones or tablets. Each time
Intes improved its technology and failed to make it stick,
the analysts doubled-down, eventually identifying the 14nm
fabrication as the potential eureka moment.
What this rather glossed over was that ARM has spent
the best part of 30 years developing its power efficient
technology, and 15 years ago Intel produced the Prescott
P4, a chip that assumed infinite scope for PC power supplies
to grow ever larger and cooling systems to reach airconditioning proportions.
Since then, especially with the Atom, its been more power
conscious, but theres a huge difference between getting
decent battery life out of a laptop and a phone and the
expectations people have for those devices.
In 2012, this was the sort of thing that experts were saying:
Over a period of three years, Intel will start to take market
share from Qualcomm, Texas Instruments and Nvidia, albeit
very small in 2012. As Intel integrates wireless, moves to 14nm
and waterfalls their offerings to lower price point smartphones,
this makes much more competitive to handset makers and
Issue 1414
33
This slide from an Intel internal roadmap has subject to change without
notification on it, and thats exactly what happened to the 2015 side of
this plan
Surface Phone
34
Issue 1414
Intel partnered on its SoFIA range with two companies that arent likely
to want to join it when it tries to join the 5G party further down the road
36
Issue 1414
SoC Questions
The Asus Zen Phone 2 was one of the very few high-profile branded
devices that used an Intel processor. The top model uses a quad-core Intel
Atom Z3580 running at 2.3 GHz, but it hasnt been a huge seller
MEINCRECETRAS FT
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01/06/2015 13:18
The left side of this Intel graphic happened; the right side is cancelled
Head of Intels mobile chip division, Aicha Evans tended her resignation
last month, only to retract it after her boss, Brian Krzanich, convinced her to
stay. Intel recently lost both Doug Davis, its the Internet of Things business
expert, and Kirk Skaugen, head of the massive client computing group, in
quick succession, so keeping Evans is important if Intel is to make its future
focus on 5G remotely credible
Final Thoughts
Fab
Smartphone
Tablet
Notebook
Year
Saltwell
32 nm
Clover Trail
Cedar Trail
2011
Silvermont
22 nm
Merrifield
Moorefield
Bay Trail-T
Bay Trail-M/D
2013
Airmont
14 nm
Riverton
Cherry Trail-T
Braswell
2015
Goldmont
14 nm
Broxton
Willow Trail
Apollo Lake
2016
Apollo Lake
38
Issue 1414
Intels mobile device ambitions started with such confidence and ambition,
but ended with almost no market penetration whatsoever
40
Issue 1414
THE
EFFECT
fitter+healthier+happier
#coacheffect
Step 1
The first thing youll need is an image to
convert into a Spectrum loading screen. For
our example were going to use a JPG of a
Micro Mart cover from the April special a few
weeks ago.
Youll also need at this stage a copy of
BMP2SCR, which can be found at goo.
gl/7cdc55. This is a small zipped file, which
when downloaded will need the BMP2SCR_
EXP_2.11a executable extracted and saved
into the same folder as the image youre
planning on using.
Step 2
Double-click the BMP2SCR executable, and
from the pop-up Explorer window, choose
the image you want to convert into a
loading screen.
Step 3
Youll notice that the image is only displaying
a small portion in the preview screens along
the top of the BMP2SCR program. To remedy
this, click on the Processing tab and click the
42
Issue 1414
Step 8
From within Windows Explorer, right-click on
the LoadingScreen.asm file and choose Edit
from the menu to open it in Notepad.
In LoadingScreen.asm, enter the following
lines:
org 0
incbin filename.SCR
Replace filename.SCR with the name of
your converted image file. Save and exit
Notepad.
Step 9
Drop back into the Command Prompt and
from the same folder as Pasmo and the other
files, enter:
pasmo --tap --name IMG LoadingScreen.
asm NewFileName.TAP LS.TXT
This command will run the
LoadingScreen.asm file through the
compiler, converting the filename.SCR that
we defined in LoadingScreen.asm into a
Step 7
Download Pasmo to the same folder as your
image and extract the contents, making
sure that the filename.SCR file is in the same
folder as the Pasmo executable.
Youll now need to create a file called
LoadingScreen.asm in the same folder
as Pasmo and the image youve already
converted. To do this, enter the Command
Prompt (Windows key + R > CMD > Enter)
and from the folder where Pasmo and the file
exist, enter:
Copy NUL LoadingScreen.asm
Press Enter, and this will create the file.
SPECTRUM
LOADING SCREEN
6
8
10
11
somewhere, then install PlayZX from the
Google Play store.
Load up PlayZX, and from the Local tab
locate your loading screen TAP file. Plug
in the cable from the phone or tablets
headphone socket to the EAR port on the
Spectrum and enter the LOADSCREEN$
command again, while pressing Play in
PlayZX on the phone. mm
Original Hardware
Getting your newly created loading screen
onto the original hardware is remarkably
simple. All you need to do is save the TAP file
to your phone or tablet or on your network
12
Issue 1414
43
O
CAlphabet Pi:
K
g
I
d
David Briddock meanders through
Raspberry Pi technology from A to Z
Kernel
Kano
44
Issue 1414
Kano kit
Keyboard
You can attach just about any USB keyboard to a Raspberry Pi.
The one you already use for your Windows or Linux PC should
work just fine, but with millions of Pi owners to satisfy, there are
a growing range of dedicated Pi keyboards.
ModMyPi has quite a few options on its website (goo.
gl/hbLo3u), as does the Adafruit site (adafruit.com/
categories/386). Many of these are considerably smaller than
a full-sized keyboard and therefore a better match to the Pis
credit-card-sized board. Others offer an integrated trackpad,
which means you dont have to bother with a mouse.
If youre not keen on cables, then a number of products offer
wireless connectivity. Adafruit supplies a wireless keyboard and
mouse kit combo (adafruit.com/products/1738), as well as a
mini wireless keyboard complete with trackpad (adafruit.com/
products/922).
Is This
The End
For Fake
Reviews?
Not every online review can be trusted. Some companies write their
own or pay someone else to say nice things about them. The days
of fake reviews may be numbered, though. Sarah Dobbs investigates
46
Issue 1414
FAKE REVIEWS
Trust No-one
The whole point of fake reviews is to make it seem like theyre just the
enthusiastic opinions of genuine customers. Sometimes theyre pretty
believable, but at other times it can be relatively easy to spot that somethings
amiss. Here are some warning signs to look out for, before buying something
on the word of an online review:
Too much detail
Genuine customers probably wont refer to things by their full model
numbers. If its a review of a new graphics card, then maybe the tech specs are
relevant, but otherwise, reviews that include too much precise technical detail
should raise a red flag.
Too little detail
While too much detail might mean the manufacturers are talking themselves
up, too little detail could be a sign of someone writing a review without ever
having actually seen the product in question. Its a tricky distinction, but its
also something that sometimes, you can just tell.
Too many reviews, too soon
If a new product has tons of reviews, especially if they were all posted in
a short space of time, that could well indicate that the reviews have been
bought and paid for.
Similar phrasing
If there are lots of very positive reviews that all seem to use the same few
phrases, that could suggest they were all written by the same person
someone whos bashing out fake reviews for a living.
Too glowing
Maybe youre reading a review from someone whos just really excited by
their new purchase, but be wary of anything with too much hyperbole. If the
reviews seem to have been written by customers in raptures over their new
washing machine or generic phone charger, something might be wrong.
Too negative
Again, it seems strange that being too negative might be as much of an
indicator of a fake review, but absolutely slating a product and recommending
a rival in the same post can be a clue that its part of a smear campaign. Of
course, it also might be genuine so, if you can look at the reviewers other
reviews, to see if theyve been on a spree of similar sounding missives.
At the end of the day, theres no way of knowing 100% for sure that what
youre reading is a real review, but if youre going to make a big purchase,
try reading reviews on multiple different websites to get as wide a range of
opinions as possible. That way, you should minimise your risks of being fooled.
Issue 1414
47
Striking Back
48
Issue 1414
There are some things in a review that might indicate youre reading a
fake, and generally you might find you just get a feeling about a review.
Computers, however, may be able to do and even better job?
At least thats what researchers at Cornell University reckoned, so they
developed Review Skeptic, a tool for testing the truthfulness of reviews. By
analysing the kind of language and sentence structure used in a review, the
tool then decides whether or not its a real review, or a puff piece.
At the moment, its best at judging hotel reviews but even so, in tests,
the Review Skeptic had a 90% hit rate, while human subjects only had a 50%
chance of spotting the fakes. The Cornell researchers suggested that something
like this could be used as a first line of defence on review websites like Yelp,
where it could weed out the majority of fakes before they ever got published.
If you want to try it for yourself, you can paste in a review at reviewskeptic.
com. In Micro Marts completely unscientific tests, it had a 100% hit rate, even
when the reviews werent about hotels, so it might well be worth a try.
it onto the site, especially if theyre for lesserknown establishments that maybe dont
already have many reviews.
Amazon, too, is fighting hard to get rid
of fake reviews on its pages. The online
retail giant has filed lawsuits against literally
thousands of reviewers for leaving false
or misleading reviews on products it sells;
back in April 2015, Amazon targeted a
number of websites offering reviews for
sale, including buyamazonreviews.com and
byazonreviews.com, while in October, it
went after Fiverr users who were advertising
their reviewing skills through the site.
FAKE REVIEWS
Be Careful Out There
Its hard to imagine booking a hotel without checking the reviews online first, but how can you be
sure the reviewers can be trusted?
Reviews of just about anything are available online now, so you can see what other people are saying
Some of the worst culprits for writing fake reviews are, well, writers. Over the
past few years, there have been several scandals where authors have been caught
writing 10/10 reviews of their own work under an array of different pseudonyms.
Crime writer R.J. Ellory copped to giving himself positive reviews on Amazon,
while his fellow crime novelist Stephen Leather was also found to be writing
damning reviews of his rivals books, talking up his own work in the process.
Even screenwriters arent immune from the lure of self-promotion; for example,
illustrator and screenwriter Monte M. Moore posted a 10-star review of his own
movie, Spirit Hunters, on the IMDB. In the review, he mentioned getting the
opportunity to review the screener, but didnt try very hard to hide his identity,
using the same handle he uses for his professional Twitter account. Oh dear.
Issue 1414
49
With the advent of Windows 3.x on the PC, Apple was looking for
things it could do on the Mac that couldnt easily be done by its x86
brothers. One of those areas was media manipulation, and it saw
50
Issue 1414
APPLE QUICKTIME
Microsoft wasnt
Its worth noting that at this time, around 1995, Apple and
Microsoft were engaged in a long running dispute about Microsofts
appropriation of ideas that Apple believed it owned, which were
used in Windows. Had this not been the case, Microsoft and Apple
might have reached an arrangement about QuickTime licensing,
avoiding much of the unpleasantness that followed.
Realising that the PC needed good media playback, Intel got
involved and employed a business, San Francisco Canyon, to create
a video driver that could provide VfW with comparable performance
to QuickTime. It did this knowing that Apple had used the same
company to build the video driver for the PC port of QuickTime, and
gave it a stupidly short time-frame to deliver it in.
Everyone involved got the hint, even if Intel didnt explicitly tell
them what they should do.
What Apple realised in the mid-90s was that having its own hardware
architecture was a massive drain on resources, and despite the
marketing message, it was mostly window dressing.
Apples own efforts with QuickTime for Windows proved as much,
and the cost of developing new PowerPC processors with Motorola
and IBM was prohibitively expensive. It knew even then that it would
eventually move to an architecture controlled by others, whatever its
engineers wanted.
This thinking strongly influenced the development of QuickTime,
and Apple worked hard to build much of the functionality into an
abstracted layer that wasnt hardware dependent.
Referred to as the QuickTime Media Layer, it was designed to sit
between the OS and the hardware, much like DirectX would later for
PCs, and enable applications to take advantage of hardware features
without being explicitly aware of them.
QuickTime was therefore referred to as a framework, though
most people saw the player and assumed it was just an application.
The underlying technology was orientated to both the
presentation and the creation of content, and soon Apple expanded
its media repertoire from music and video into VR presentations with
QuickTime VR, in an attempt to see off Microsoft developments in
these areas.
Those concepts, like Microsofts Active Movie, didnt actually dent
the popularity of QuickTime, but they did become the basis for a
radical new media API called ActiveX and eventually DirectX.
Issue 1414
51
While Microsoft moved ahead with its plans, Apple got massively
side-lined, as it tried to develop its new OS, called System 8,
codenamed Copland. This project failed horribly, leaving Apple with
a major headache.
The Copland disaster had wide ranging consequences for Apple,
one being that many of the engineers responsible for QuickTime left.
As a desperate measure, it was forced to purchase Steve Jobss
NeXT company in order to get its NeXTSTEP OS, which it then
relaunched as Mac OS X.
Luckily for Apple, all the cross-platform work it had done
previously paid off, and it soon released QuickTime 3.0 with new
hypermedia functionality, starting the fashion for interactive media
presentations and games.
At this time, Apple still held sway with authoring tools, but the
PC world really wasnt keen on Apples influence, and Microsoft was
actively looking to stop QuickTime on Windows.
Much of how Microsoft tried to lean on Apple to end QuickTime
at this point came out in the subsequent anti-trust litigation that
Microsoft become embroiled in, as it had decided that video
playback on Windows would be entirely controlled by itself.
One especially underhand method Microsoft used involved it
buying shares in media software house Avid, and then getting it to
strip QuickTime out of its content creation tools, like Avid Cinema.
Avids products at this time were second only to Abobes Premier
suite for popularity, and with these moves Microsoft demonstrated
it wanted QuickTime to leave the PC market, feet-first if necessary.
But Apple had friends in high places and MPEG-4 encoding/
decoding up its sleeve.
In 1998, internet usage was truly exploding, and many people were
looking to make it as rich and interesting an experience as possible.
One of the major problems was that many people were connected
via dial-up, with performance that would make paint drying look like
time lapse.
Therefore, technologies that could deliver a rich experience with
minimal download times were technological gold. Microsoft had ASF,
Macromedia had Flash, RealNetworks had RealAudio and RealVideo,
and Apple had QuickTime.
MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 werent really suitable for sending video
over the internet, so many looked to MPEG-4 to deliver that dream,
including Apple, which had bound this technology into QuickTime.
Apple also managed to get the Motion Pictures Expert Group to
approve QuickTime as the container format of choice, rather than
Microsofts ASF, and that started an association that went on for
many years, whereby movie trailers were presented exclusively in
QuickTime format.
As the millennium came and went, Apple used QuickTime as
a critical framework for an entirely new generation of software
products. Some of these were Mac specific, but a few like iTunes
52
Issue 1414
APPLE QUICKTIME
Final Thoughts
Many consider that the writing was on the wall for QuickTime at
the point when Apple stopped delivering movie trailers that you
could download. But actually it was a dead man walking once
YouTube became the go-to solution for streamed video and Apple
could no longer be bothered to maintain something without a
tactical reason for existing in the first place.
Had Microsoft delivered a proper video decoding and encoding
API when it should have, QuickTime would have been an
exclusively Apple experience.
Ultimately, its true value was probably allowing Apple
engineers to think about hardware abstraction when this was
an important skill to move Apple away from the failed System 8
and into the NeXT initiative. That then paved the way to an Intel
QuickTime TimeLine
QuickTime For
Mac
1991
1.0
1992
1.5
1993
1.6
1994
2.0
1995
2.1
QuickTime for
Windows
Video for
Windows
2.x
1996
Active Movie
DirectShow
1997
1998
3.0
3.0
1999
4.x
4.x
2001
5.0
5.0
2002
6.0
6.0
2000
Windows Media
Player 6
WMP 7
2003
WMP XP
WMP 9
2004
2005
Microsoft
Video
WMP 10
7.0
7.0
2007
7.2
7.2
2008
7.5
7.5
2009
10.x
7.6
2006
WMP 11
2010
2011
7.7
Issue 1414
53
NHS Fined
Over Data
Breach
'8Pack' Creates
Case For
Overclockers UK
First design from muscled master
54
Issue 1414
Free Windows
10 Upgrade
Ends In July
100 after that... So make your mind up quickly
Anthony
Issue 1414
55
.AVWhy?
56
Issue 1414
QUICK BITS... Another Google self-driving car has been involved in a crash in California, but the driver of the other
Caption
C
ap
Competition
n
I'm not sure if my wife is
really leaving me because
of my gambling addiction.
She might be bluffing.
Space Invaders
Invades Game
Hall Of Fame
Iconic classic makes the grade
You good
Y
d lladies
di and
d gentlemen
tl
certainly
t i l wentt allll iin for the
Caption Competiton in issue 1212 which featured the chap you
see above... Here are the best bets:
he World Video
Game Hall of Fame
has inducted some
new titles during its
sophomore year. Space Invaders
is arguably the most notable
inclusion, if only for the fact
that it wasnt already on the list,
which seems strange. Recognised
alongside the 70s classic were The
Oregon Trail, Grand Theft Auto
III, The Legend of Zelda, The Sims
and Sonic the Hedgehog.
The Hall of Fame tinyurl.
com/hb2zdgm is based in
Security
Problems
Weigh Down
UK Firms
Two-thirds of UK firms detected system breaches
he governments
latest Cyber Security
Breaches Survey has
revealed that two
thirds of firms in the UK have
detected a security breach on
their systems over the past year.
Furthermore, a quarter of those
companies experienced a breach
vehicle was blamed
Issue 1414
57
Snippets!
Laser Pens A Problem
According to the UKs Civil
Aviation Authority, 1,439
incidents of lasers being
shone at aircraft were
reported last year. This is
actually marginally lower
than the incidents reported
in 2014, but its still far
too high, clearly. The BBC
has also reported that the
National Police Air Service
has said that its helicopter
pilots had reported over
double the number of laser
incidents in 2015 compared
with the year before.
HTC Struggles
Taiwans HTC recorded a loss
for the first quarter of the
year as a drop in sales led
to a 64% year-on-year fall
in revenue. For those who
follow such things, this is
not really a surprise its no
secret that HTC has struggled
for a while against market
leaders, Samsung and Apple,
but the firms chief financial
officer said that it was hoping
that its smartphone business
would break even by the
third quarter of this year.
Perhaps the HTC 10, which
has received some positive
reviews, will help to get
things back on track as we
move towards 2017.
58
Issue 1414
EA Exec: Consoles
Wont Be Around
Forever
Looking to a streaming future
hile it may
seem difficult
to imagine, it is
quite possible
that video game consoles will
not be around forever. The
plain fact is that data streaming
has altered music and video
consumption and it is perhaps
naive to assume that it wont
have a similar impact on the
gaming market eventually.
This is certainly the view of
Peter Moore, chief competition
officer of Electronic Arts. In an
interview with online source
QU
QUICK BITS... A Spotify exec has said that the service has witnessed a faster pace of growth since
Perfect Score
Time To
Unplug, Again Recorded By
Will you be taking part in National
Unplugging Day?
Mobile Phones
Dont Cause
Cancer, Says
New Study
30-year study shows no link
he University of
Sydney has carried
out a study over a
period of 30 years
into any correlation between
mobile phone use and brain
cancers, and its concluded that
there was no increase in cancers
despite the huge uptake in
phone use.
Apple Music entered the market
Donkey Kong
Master
Proof posted on Facebook
ouldnt it be
great to hold
the world
record for
something? Perhaps you fancy
yourself as a champion gamer
of a certain title, and wonder
how great it would be to
have the world recognise your
world-beating achievements?
Of course, when it comes
to Donkey Kong the setting
of world records has been a
mightily contentious affair (if
you havent seen the fantastic
film The King Of Kong: A Fistful
of Quarters, may we urge you
to seek it out immediately).
Many a record has been set and
Liberty Reserve
Head Gets 20 Years
Money laundering charges lead to jail time
rthur Budovsky is
known for setting
up Liberty Reserve,
a digital currency
company allowing users to move
money around anonymously. The
service was subsequently used by
a lot of criminals, who apparently
perhaps unsurprisingly used
it to move around their own illgotten gains.
Issue 1414
59
REVIEWS
Edifier Rave MP700 Speakers
A powerful portable and rechargeable Bluetooth speaker from Edier
DETAILS
Price: 199.99
Manufacturer:
Edier
Website:
goo.gl/Omc8Sp
Requirements: A
self-contained unit
that only requires
devices with A2DP
and AVRCA Bluetooth
prole support to
connect via Bluetooth
60
Issue 1414
A somewhat chunky
unit that provides a
powerhouse of sound
8
8
Quality
Value
Overall
ON
TEST
Reviews
DETAILS
Price: 1599.99
Manufacturer:
Zoostorm
Website:
goo.gl/dqxft0
Requirements:
Monitor, keyboard,
mouse
9
8
Quality
Value
Overall
Issue 1414
61
DETAILS
Price: 39.99
Manufacturer: Parrot
Website:
www.parrot.com/uk
Requirements:
iPhone 4S or higher
iPod Touch 5 or higher
iPad Mini (all), iPad
Air (all), iPad 3 & 4
(or higher), Android
version 4.3 or higher
with Bluetooth LE (4.0)
support
Features
62
Issue 1414
ON
TEST
Reviews
7
6
Quality
Value
Overall
Issue 1414
63
+
6
1
9
S
D
n
o
ti
ta
S
k
is
D
y
g
lo
o
n
Sy
A next-generation NAS design that offers huge storage potential
DETAILS
Price: 442.80
DS916+ (2G)
480.00 DS916+ (8G)
Manufacturer:
Synology
Website:
www.synology.com
Requirements: Wired
network with channel
bonding switch
ith Synologys
penchant for
reusing its
enclosures, its
easy to assume that whats
inside remains unchanged.
From the outside, the new
DiskStation DS916+ looks
almost identical to the DS415+,
but internally it has more in
common with the company's
recent DS716+.
For those confused by the
naming conventions, the first
number is the number of drives
the system can accept, and
then the last two numbers are
year of launch, as in DS116
and DS216j.
However, the DS716+ and
now the DS916+ take two
and four drives, respectively.
How does that work exactly?
Its correct, because both these
units can bridge through an
eSATA port to a second box,
the DX513 or DX213, allowing
more drives to be added.
Highlights
64
Issue 1414
It delivers on so many
ON
TEST
Reviews
9
8
Quality
Value
Overall
Issue 1414
65
t
e
s
d
a
e
H
0
0
7
n
o
n
e
X
g
in
m
a
G
t
Elemen
No noble gas, just great sounds
DETAILS
Price: 49.99
Manufacturer:
Element Gaming
Website:
goo.gl/BXI5jK
Requirements:
Windows XP or later,
spare USB port
66
Issue 1414
8
9
Quality
Value
Overall
ON
TEST
Reviews
DETAILS
Price: ~55
Manufacturer:
iHealth
Website:
goo.gl/z8NWDC
Requirements:
Android 4.0 or later,
iOS 6.0 or later
When connected to the app, the iHealth Lite can keep track of your weight
and BMI
8
7
Quality
Value
Overall
Issue 1414
67
GROUP
TEST
CPU Liquid
s
Cooling Kit
DETAILS
Price: 140
Manufacturer:
Alphacool
Website:
goo.gl/qd77GC
Socket support:
Intel LGA 2011-3,
1366, 1156, 1155, 1150
CPUs / AMD FM2, FM1,
AM3+, AM3, AM2+,
AM2 CPUs
lphacool isnt a
company weve
come across before,
so we were fairly
intrigued about what we
might be unboxing, especially
since this is a product with an
exceptional number of Xs in
the title.
This kit is aimed more at
system builders who prefers a
more modular approach to
their liquid cooling, and its a
system youll need to fill up
yourself, rather than being
self-contained.
Setting up the entire kit
requires some room to
manoeuvre in your chassis.
With self-contained kits, you
could get away with most of
the individual components still
in place. With the Cool
Answer 120, we found the
easiest solution was to pull
everything out of the case,
including the motherboard.
The pump head is a little
68
Issue 1414
5
5
Quality
Value
Overall
GROUP
TEST
CPU Liquid
Cooling Kits
Corsair H55
The design of the pump
allows it to slot into the
baseplate and retention ring
perfectly, creating a secure
fitting over the processor.
With everything ready, the
correct mounting plate and so
on, the process of getting up
and running shouldnt take
more than five minutes. The
trickiest part, in our example
system, was working around
the internal makeup of the
chassis to fix the radiator and
fan to the case output vent.
Stock performance on the
i7-4790k 4GHz CPU we used
was perfectly fine, measuring
a mere 33C. With a slight
overclock to 4.4GHz, the
temperature reached 58C,
which is reasonable. We could
have clocked a little higher,
but time and the fact that this
was our only processor at
hand meant we kept within
normal limits and avoided
taking things to the extreme.
The Corsair H55 is a good
entry-level water cooling kit.
Everything is built well, and
its easy to fit and forget. If
youre thinking of more
extreme overclocking, though,
you may need to look at the
higher end of the Corsair
H-series scale, but otherwise,
the H55 is a good start.
DETAILS
Price: 60
Manufacturer: Corsair
Website:
goo.gl/iIvmrA
Socket support: AMD:
AM2, AM3, FM1, Intel
LGA: 1150, 1155, 1156,
1366, 2011, 2011-3
Its easy to fit and can be left alone to keep everything cool
8
8
Quality
Value
Overall
Issue 1414
69
DETAILS
Price: 34
Manufacturer: Cooler
Master
Website:
goo.gl/CzGioZ
Socket support: Intel
LGA 2011-3 / 2011 / 1366
/ 1156 /1155 / 1150 / 775
AMD Socket FM2+ / FM2
/ FM1 / AM3+ / AM3 /
AM2
nsurprisingly Cooler
Master is the go-to
name when it comes
to total system
cooling, regardless of whether
thats air or liquid based. Its
CPU liquid cooling options
come in two main product
lines: the Seidon, which were
reviewing in this instance, and
the more exclusively designed
Nepton series.
The Seidon series is Cooler
Masters compact all-in-one,
easy-to-fit liquid cooling
solution one that will fit into
pretty much any PC chassis
going and with either Intel or
AMD chips. The Seidon 120V is
the start of the range and
features a 120mm aluminium
radiator, single 120mm fan and
a square-shaped pump with
9.5mm diameter corrugated
FEP tubing attached.
This system is already
primed and ready to go, and
it's filled with a blend of
distilled water and propylene
glycol coolant. The 120mm
radiator and fan are low
profile, which means theyll
attach to the interior output
vent of the PC case without
too much difficulty and
without getting in the way of
other internal components.
The aluminium radiator or,
to be more technical about it,
liquid to air heat exchanger, is
similar to that offered by the
Corsair H55, both in design,
70
Issue 1414
7
8
Quality
Value
Overall
GROUP
TEST
CPU Liquid
Cooling Kits
DETAILS
Price: 96
Manufacturer: Corsair
Website:
goo.gl/Jzgpux
Socket support: AMD:
AM2, AM3, FM1, FM2,
Intel LGA: 1150, 1155,
1156, 1366, 2011, 2011-3
9
7
Quality
Value
Overall
Issue 1414
71
DETAILS
Price: 60
Manufacturer: NZXT
Website:
goo.gl/YRM3SZ
Socket support: Intel
LGA 2011-3, 1366, 1156,
1155, 1150 CPUs
AMD FM2, FM1, AM3+,
AM3, AM2+, AM2 CPUs
72
Issue 1414
The added benefit of the integrated software makes for a great product
9
9
Quality
Value
Overall
GROUP
TEST
CPU Liquid
Cooling Kits
DETAILS
Price: 90
Manufacturer:
Thermaltake
Website:
goo.gl/nCnvRz
Socket support: Intel
LGA 2011-3, 1366, 1156,
1155, 1150 CPUs
AMD FM2, FM1, AM3+,
AM3, AM2+, AM2 CPUs
hermaltake is certainly
no stranger to the PC
cooling scene. The
company has been
around for at least 16 years
now and shows no signs of
resting on its laurels.
The range of liquid cooling
solutions varies from the
entry-level Water 2.0 Pro kit,
through to the Water 3.0
Extreme and Ultimate kits.
In this instance, we have
the Water 3.0 Extreme S
CPU cooler on test, a highly
regarded all-in-one cooler
used by overclockers the
world over.
Starting with the radiator,
it measures 270 x 120 x
27mm and is constructed
from a black aluminium mesh
in the same vein as the H55
and Seidon 120V. The dual
curved, seven-blade fans fit
close to each other onto the
radiator and provide between
1200 and 2000rpms of heat
exchange from the cooling
system. Its an efficient
setup, and the large surface
area makes for better than
average cooling.
The pump head (or water
block, if you prefer) can
fit both Intel and AMD
processors and has a large
copper surface area with a
small amount of pre-applied
thermal paste. Like the H55,
the pump head is quite low
profile and shaped very
The Thermaltake Water 3.0 Extreme S AIO is a good cooler, with plenty
going for it
7
7
Quality
Value
Overall
Issue 1414
73
DED
EN
HO
SC I
IGHLY
MM
CO
DITOR
CE
How We Tested
Each water cooling system was built and fitted to an Intel i7-4790k processor, running at 4GHz. The temperature was recorded at
that speed, and again when the system was under stress, playing The Witcher 3 and Fallout 4, and running Firefox with eight tabs,
as well as Word 2013 and VLC playing an HD video. The same content was run when we clocked the processor up to 4.4GHz.
Alphacool NexXxoS
Cool Answer 120
Corsair H55
Cooler Master
Seidon 120V
Corsair H100i
GTX
Thermaltake
Water 3.0
Extreme S AIO
140
60
34
96
60
90
No Fans
Fan Size
120mm
120mm
120mm
2x 120mm
120mm
2x 120mm
Radiator Size
Thermal Past
Pre-applied?
No
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Stock Temp
42C
33oC
38C
29C
28C
31C
Overclocked
Temp
74C
58C
60C
53C
52C
56C
Price
74
Issue 1414
nt
Componhe
Watc
Component Watch
James Hunt has found some great deals on routers this week
Issue 1414
75
The
Download
Directory
James Hunt scours the internet for the best freeware, shareware
and paid-for application releases
76
Issue 1414
THE DOWNLOAD
DIRECTORY
Pint 1.0
ImageMagick 7.0.1-2
Issue 1414
77
78
Issue 1414
Betawatch
Fedora 24 Beta
getfedora.org/workstation/prerelease
THE DOWNLOAD
DIRECTORY
ReDownloaded
Hardwipe Portable
www.hardwipe.com
Reviewed Version: 4.0.3, Current Version: 5.1.4
Geo-Tag Mapper
www.it-digin.com/geotagmapper
Reviewed Version: 1.1, Current Version: ?
QuickMove
www.thecodeline.com
Reviewed Version: 1.5.5, Current Version: 3.0
OpenELEC
openelec.tv
Reviewed Version: 3.2.4, Current Version: 6.0.3
Issue 1414
79
Of course, the flip side of this is that if youre not a developer, there
isnt a huge amount here for you. Even if you do a lot of batch editing
there are more user-friendly programs available. Impressive though
ImageMagicks suite is, we just dont see more than a tiny fraction of
our readers finding any legitimate use for it that couldnt be covered
better elsewhere. Its not badly conceived, its certainly not badly
made; its just not for us.
WinLock 7.0.2
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Issue 1414
REMEMBERING...
Remembering
Freescape Engine
David Hayward once inhabited an 8-bit world of polygons. Some say he still does
Its History
Total Eclipse on the PC. It may look its age, but its an
amazing game nonetheless
Issue 1414
81
Retro Round-up
The retro games keep coming, but more modern ones are
disappearing and Dave Edwards doesnt like it one little bit
82
Issue 1414
Phantomasa 2 (tinyurl.com/jhe2z4p)
Very colourful
RETRO ROUND-UP
Phantomasa 2
Graphics 45%
Sound 65%
Presentation 70%
Value For Money 50%
Overall 58%
Graphics 50%
Sound 65%
Presentation 40%
Frustration Factor 95%
Overall 63%
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83
Sanna Nielsen
84
Issue 1414
RETRO ROUND-UP
Vade Retro
Graphics 80%
Sound 10%
Presentation 65%
Value For Money 50%
Overall 51%
Imogen
Graphics 90%
Sound 90%
Presentation 90%
Overall 90%
Adieu To You
Issue 1414
85
86
Issue 1414
Typesys Chrome app makes it an appealing prospect, but youll need to pay to get the most of out it
Typing Tutors
Issue 1414
87
Theres nothing zombies hate more than people typing words really quicky
88
Issue 1414
Typing Games
Issue 1414
89
Browse Collections
If you want to browse all your photos and see them arranged
in chronological order, select Collection in the left panel. At
the top is the month, and below are photos grouped by the dates
they were taken. Spin the mouse wheel to scroll up and down
through the photos.
The month is a clickable link, and it displays a list of months and
years. You can quickly select another month or spin the mouse wheel
to scroll the list and go back several years and select a month. This is a
quick way to jump to photos from years ago without having to scroll
through them all.
90
Issue 1414
photos and then click the Share button that appears in the top-right
corner of the app window.
This opens Windows 10s sharing panel on the right side of the
screen. The options that appear here depend on the apps you have
installed. If you have the Facebook app, then you can post the selected
photos on Facebook; if you have Twitter, then you can include a photo
in a tweet; and you can send photos using the Mail app or Facebook
Messenger and others if you have them.
Select one or more photos and share them with friends on social media
WINDOWS 10 APPS
Add Folders
If all your photos are in the Pictures folder, the Photos app
can find and display them. What about photos stored
elsewhere, such as other folders on the disk, another partition or
USB drive? To enable the Photos app to show the images in other
locations, go to Settings and click the plus button under Sources.
Find and select the other folders containing images.
Below the Source section is OneDrive and its particularly useful to
turn on the option to show pictures stored in your online storage.
Get the OneDrive app for your iPhone or Android phone and turn
on the option to automatically upload photos. Each photo you take
on your phone is automatically uploaded to OneDrive and then it
appears in the Photos app on your PC.
Theres an option in the OneDrive section to show photos from
the Pictures folder only, which is where your phone uploads photos,
or to include images from all folders on OneDrive. This is up to you.
Apply filters to photos, save them and then apply more to create effects
Apply Filters
10
Selective Focus
Use the selective focus tool to blur unwanted backgrounds from images
Issue 1414
91
Specialists
Linux Raider
Getting to grips with Lara on Linux
Linux
92 Issue
Issue1414
1191
92
Platform Leaping
Lara
Craig Grannell is
a writer, designer,
occasional musician
and permanent
loudmouth. Hes
owned Macs since
1996, when Apple was
facing certain doom,
and is therefore
pleasantly surprised
by its current success.
Find Craig on Twitter
at @craiggrannell
Mac
Issue1414
1194
Issue
93
93
Micro Modular
Ian McGurren checks out synth maker Moog's shrinking trick
Mobile
Ian is a professional
IT analyst, a semiprofessional writer
and a pretty amateur
electronic musician.
He likes gadgetry and
loves making gadgets
do things they were
never designed to do
94 Issue
Issue1414
1191
94
Hardware
Issue
Issue1414
1194
95
95
Specialists
Back To
The Future
Call Of Duty adds transforming craft and dogfights in outer-space in the autumns sci-fi infused Infinite Warfare
Gaming
96 Issue
Issue1414
1229
96
Online
GAMING
Incoming
Issue 1414
97
Index
AD INDEX
2/3 CCL
23 Mesh
6/7 Morgan
25 Fasthosts
10/11 eBuyer
35 Fractal
17 Tibo
115 Falcon
19 Buffalo
116 MSI
To advertise contact :
Joe Teal: +44 (0)20 7907 6689
Joe_Teal@dennis.co.uk
NOTE TO ADVERTISERS
Micro Mart Dennis Publishing, 30 Cleveland Street, London W1T 4JD. Company registered in England No
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MICRO MART is published weekly by Dennis Publishing. Subscriptions rates available on request. Micro Mart
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necessarily those of Dennis Publishing. Advertisements and goods/services offered are the sole responsibility
of the particular advertiser and Dennis Publishing cannot be held in any way responsible. Whilst every care
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Publishing 2006. This publication may not be reproduced in or transmitted in any form in whole or in part
without the written consent of the publishers. ISSN 956-3881. Blimey.
98
Issue 1414
IT
Essentials
TO ADVERTISE CALL
JOE TEAL
,
uters
Compnology
Tech ional Cat
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And T
Bu y or su bs cr ib e us in g
Zi ni o
on your tablet, mobile ph
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roMartZinio
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Issue 1414
Classifieds
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Issue 1414
Classifieds
Coolermaster Centurion 5
midtower case. Excellent condition.
All front and back blanking plates
present. Can be supplied with
coolermaster 650W PSU 15
extra. 15.00 +p&p or collect from
Bradford WY
Tel: David (01274) 610045 Email:
dgaguine@gmail.com
Coolermaster HyperTx2 cooler
excellent condition for LGA 775
and AMD AM2/754/939/940
All fittings included. Very quiet.
5 +p&p or collect from Bradford
Tel: David (01274) 610045
Email: dgaguine@gmail.com
Coolermaster 650W PSU RP650-PCAP. Tested and working,
mint condition. Quality Product,
SLI certified 15 o.n.o. p&p
extra or free collection Bradford
WY area
Tel: David (01274) 610045
Email: dgaguine@gmail.com
OCZ stealthstream2 PSU 500W.
Mint, very quiet. 20+4pin ATX,
4 Pin CPU, 6+2pin PCIE, 4
peripheral, 3 SATA. 15. p&p extra;
free collection Bradford WY area
Tel: David (01274) 610045 Email:
dgaguine@gmail.com
Motherboard Bundle 3.2Ghz
Intel 64 bit CPU 1GB Ram 2pci-e
2xpci 2IDE 2SATA 8usb ports
LAN 6ch sound COMES WITH
DRIVER CD AND MANUAL
Great for gaming, office work,
surfing the net, watching movies
generally a good all round system
spec can slightly be changed if
required please email or call me
for a price
Tel: David (01616) 888119
Email: pcmadnessltd@yahoo.co.uk
Retired PC for sale, will split
if no taker for whole. Antec
Sonata case, Asus P5Q LGA775
motherboard, Core 2 duo E8400
CPU w. Freezer 7 pro (and
unused stock cooler), 4GB Patriot
PC2-6400 C4 Viper RAM, Nvidea
GT 440 1GB GPU. Just 80 plus
free LED monitor, keyboard and
mouse if collected.
Email: rylandp@gmail.com
Issue 1414
103
Classifieds
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Issue 1414
Classifieds
HARDWARE WANTED
SOFTWARE WANTED
IMPORTANT
BUYING ADVICE
We work very hard to
police our classified
ads, and make them
as secure as possible.
However, please do
your bit too and use the
following guidelines:
Never - NEVER - pay by
bank transfer or post out cash,
unless you know the trader
already, or are sure it is okay
to do so. Pay by cheque, Paypal,
Nochex etc wherever possible.
Be wary of anyone who insists
on you paying by the above
methods if in doubt, get us
to check them out by mailing
editorial@micromart.co.uk
Keep copies of all
correspondence
When sending out goods, at
the least obtain a certificate of
posting from the Post Office
If you are in any doubt,
feel free to send us a mail
via editorial@micromart.
successful transactions
co.uk.
Every year, thousands of
take place through our
classifieds, and that's just
how we like it.
Help us help you
keep them one of the
safest and most secure
places to buy and sell
computer kit.
Issue 1414
105
ASK
AARON
Printer Jam
Kevin
Aaron Birch
Micro Mart
Dennis Publishing
30 Cleveland Street
London
W1T 4JD
aaron@micromart.co.uk
Aaron
106
Issue 1414
THE
EXPERTS
HDMI NAS
John
It's surprisingly difficult to find a NAS unit
that includes an HDMI output, especially
given the connection's popularity and
perfect fit for media centre devices
something that many use their NAS units
My First Laptop
Ed
It's a good idea to introduce computers to
your child early on. They're superb aids for
learning, and when it comes to hand-eye
coordination, they're also very good. Simply
teaching language and spelling is also
something computers are proven to be of
great help with.
The concerns you have are very real and,
yes, computers aren't the most child-friendly
Issue 1414
107
ASK
JASON
All Or Nothing?
Meet Jason
DAllison, a veteran
of Micro Marts panel
of experts. Hes here
to help with any
technical questions,
including anything
to do with tablets or
smartphones, as well
as PCs
Send your questions to:
Jason DAllison
Micro Mart
Dennis Publishing
30 Cleveland Street
London
W1T 4JD
jason@micromart.co.uk
Jason
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Issue 1414
1361
Pin Money
THE
EXPERTS
youre not a gamer, this isnt important. Even if you were
a gamer, any performance drop would still likely be nonexistent, as I reported in issue 1412 (see the benchmarks at
goo.gl/Smfa3R).
Also, H81 has six PCIe 2.x lanes, used for non-graphics
slots and internal ports. All other LGA 1150 chipsets have
eight. Some chipsets see a reduction in supported SATA-3
ports too: two for H81 (plus two SATA-2 ports); four for B85
and Q85 (plus two SATA-2 ports); and six for everything else
(no SATA-2 ports). Some chipsets also support fewer USB
3.0 ports (all support eight USB 2.0 ports): two for H81; four
for B85; and six for everything else.
Of course, extra ports are sometimes added to
motherboards via third-party controllers. Furthermore, extra
ports can usually be added via expansion cards. If you think
youll need to do that, however, Ryland, youd be better
going for a higher-end board to start with.
Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear
Issue 1414
109
Crowdfunding Corner
Your smartphones camera might be good, but with a little modification it could
be so much more at least that what this weeks Kickstarter choices reckon
Flens
Blips
URL: kck.st/2200J35
Funding Ends: Friday, June 10th 2016
URL: kck.st/1Ws8b75
Funding Ends: Friday, June 24th 2016
Most high-end smartphones now incorporate an LED flash that can also
be used as a torch or flashlight but those lights are inexact and short
range, limiting their use. If you want to change your phones LED light
into a more powerful tool, the Flens accessory is exactly what you need.
Designed to focus and extend the range of your LED flash, the
Flens attaches to the back of your phone and contains a lens that
gives you a more direct beam. As a result, you can shine the light
more tightly and illuminate things that are metres away instead
of inches. It can even be used to give you better illumination at a
distance when taking photographs in the dark.
The flens is engineered for iPhones, but works with a variety of
Android devices too theres a list on the Kickstarter page in case
youre unsure. It attaches magnetically to a thin metal washer that
adheres around the flash, and comes with a keyring attachment so
you can keep it safe when youre not using it.
Backers can get their hands on one for 19 (15), and that package
includes the keyring, two shapes of washer and the lens itself. Buying
the kickstarter package saves you 11 (8.50) on the retail price, while
higher tiers allow you to get a protective box for the lens or discounts
on multiple ones. The campaign has hit 25% of its goal after one day,
so we dont expect there to be any problems getting it over the finish
line and if it does, your lenses should be with you by July. Not bad!
Disclaimer: Images shown may be prototypes and Micro Mart does not formally endorse or guarantee any of the projects listed. Back them at your own risk!
110
Issue 1414
David Hayward tastes a glass or two of the true water this week
Distiller
Features At A Glance
Personalised recommendations.
Rate bottles for tailored whiskey
suggestions.
Add favorites to your Top Shelf.
Share your list as a not-so-subtle
hint for the perfect gift!
Write your own tasting notes to
document your whiskey journey.
Unique Distiller Rating from the
Tasting Table whiskey expert panel.
Conclusion
Issue 1414
111
Logging
Off
EDITORIAL
Editor: Anthony Enticknap
theeditor@micromart.co.uk
Designer: Laura Jane Gunnion
Designer: Kevin Kamal
Bonus John: John Moore
Contributors: Mark Pickavance,
Sales Executive:
SUBSCRIPTIONS
Managing Director:
Joe Teal
joe_teal@dennis.co.uk
US Advertising Manager
Matthew Sullivan-Pond
John Moore
ADVERTISING
Group Ad Manager:
Andrea Mason
andrea_mason@dennis.co.uk
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1213
Issue 1414
matthew_sullivan@dennis.co.uk
MARKETING
Marketing Manager:
Paul Goodhead
Tel: 0207 907 6393
PRODUCTION
Production Coordinator:
MicroMartAdCopy@gmail.com
Digital Production Manager:
Nicky Baker
micromart@servicehelpline.co.uk
NEWSTRADE SALES
Newstrade Director:
David Barker
DENNIS PUBLISHING
Group Publisher:
Paul Rayner
paul_rayner@dennis.co.uk
John Garewal
Ian Westwood
www.dennis.co.uk
PRINTING
Printed By: BGP
Distributed By: Seymour
Certified Distribution:
13,712 average copies
Jan-Dec 2010
Mark Pickavance
DISCLAIMER
The views expressed by
contributors are not necessarily
those of the publishers. Every
care is taken to ensure that the
contents of the magazine are
accurate but the publishers
cannot accept responsibility for
errors. While reasonable care is
taken when accepting
advertisements, the publishers
cannot accept any responsibility
for any resulting unsatisfactory
transactions. Johns not really a
person known for his dynamic
nature. Indeed, if he were to have
a spirit animal, it would most
likely be something like a sloth,
or a slow loris... Suffice to say
that, when he gets to his desk in
the morning and gets to work, he
would make a reasonable
Down
1 Extremely large; enormous. (4)
2 Industry standard investment
management software for asset
managers and hedge funds. (6)
3 Notebooks manufactured by Apple
from early 2006 to late 2011, and
relaunched in 2015. (7)
4 The key on the typewriter keyboard
that changes from lower-case to
upper-case letters. (5)
5 A colour between blue and violet. (6)
6 Give authority or sanction to
someone or something when
recognised standards have been
met. (8)
11 An electrical instrument used to
control a current by varying the
resistance. (8)
13 Archaic term for worries. (7)
15 The most basic level or core of an
operating system, responsible for
resource allocation, file management,
and security. (6)
17 Manufacturers of the GroupWise
enterprise collaboration system. (6)
18 Preliminary drawing for later
elaboration. (5)
21 The topology of a network whose
components are all connected directly
to every other component. (4)
Issue 1358
1414
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Top
Horrible
Technology
Noise
Bang
Grind
Crack
Splash
Squeal
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