Exclusive: Pics of the UK's first iPad microSIM pop up
We know that you've been reading all the coverage of the Apple iPad today here on TechRadar and just wishing that there was more of it – perhaps covering a slightly different angle.
Not content with bringing you news from Apple, O2, Orange and Vodafone, we've now got a very exciting exclusive – the first gallery of images showing Vodafone's microSIM card!
Yes, we're excited too – these are ACTUAL pictures of something that looks like a normal SIM card, but it's not.
The excitement never stops
As you can see, it's a) smaller, and b) a COMPLETELY different colour scheme, showing that... well, not really showing anything actually.
Basically, it's a picture of a microSIM with Vodafone branding on there – we've already published our tutorial on how to create your own microSIM card if you want to ruin a perfectly good SIM.
The good thing is that if these microSIMs are knocking around then Apple hopefully won't be delaying the UK release date too much – we don't want it to get in the way of the iPhone HD now, do we?
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Now Orange joins UK iPad party
In what can only be called the most startling announcement of the year, nay, decade, Orange has announced it too is to stock the iPad in the UK.
The network has sent TechRadar a statement that we hope was created by Orange, and not just taken from O2 and Vodafone's and swiftly amended a few key names:
"Orange today announced that it will offer dedicated iPad price plans for all models from the end of May(in France, UK, Spain and Switzerland).
"The iPad lets users browse the web, read and send email, blah blah blah revolutionary interface."
UK release date (sort of)
We may have amended that second paragraph to make it more readable after being used for the third time today.
So, it seems end of May is when this is all kicking off – at least we've got something resembling a UK release date we guess.
The networks are slowly getting ticked off the list now – we assume Virgin and Tesco are busy trying to work out the best way to write the exact same statement as everyone else.
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Google opens up Twitter archive to search
Google has announced it is to open up the Twitter archive with a new Replay search function.
This means that users will be able to search Twitter's archive for their favourite tweets and see how things like news stories panned out in real time, er, not in real time.
"With the advent of blogs and micro-blogs, there's a constant online conversation about breaking news, people and places – some famous and some local," says Google on its non micro blog.
"Tweets and other short-form updates create a history of commentary that can provide valuable insights into what's happened and how people have reacted. We want to give you a way to search across this information and make it useful."
Just beginning to understand
How the new service works is pretty simple. When you Google a particular topic, click Show Options, then Updates in the left-hand column and a timeline will appear. Then all you do is click which part of the timeline you want to look at.
The timeline shows when Twitter traffic for the topic is at its highest (and probably most interesting).
"All of us are just beginning to understand the many ways real-time information and short-form web content will be useful in the future, and we think being able to make use of historical information is an important part of that," notes Google.
The feature is currently being rolled out and should be available in "the next few days".
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Intel shows off Queensbay SoC
Intel has previewed its upcoming 'Tunnel Creek' System-on-Chip (SoC) tech for in-vehicle-infotainment systems for cars. Interestingly, the demo - on a vehicle designed by Chinese car maker HawTai and based on the Queensbay platform - was running MeeGo, Intel's now joint venture OS with Nokia.
The forthcoming SoC hardware features an Intel Atom processor core that will directly connect to other third-party devices via the PCI Express standard, saving on cost. Queensbay is, essentially, a later version of the company's Menlow platform.
The Tunnel Creek SoC combines the processor core, memory controller hub, graphics engine and video engine into one chip and because of the PCI Express compatibility could link to other technologies such as Nvidia's Ion graphics chip. The hardware could also be used for other applications such as IP telephony, says Intel.
Dian Ming, vice chairman of HawTai Automotive, was predictably enthusiastic about the new hardware. "It saves us application development costs, and enables new services to be introduced quickly with high reliability."
"With an infotainment solution that utilises the Intel Atom processor, we are leveraging the well-established and latest internet technologies, and re-using existing software that has been developed on [the] MeeGo based Linux platform," said Mr Wang.
Frugal power use
Energy efficiency is another key theme of this IDF. Intel Chief Technology Officer and managing director of Intel Labs, Justin Rattner, discussed how smarter technology can reduce and better manage energy consumption.
"Consumer empowerment is critical," said Rattner. "If we can make energy more personalised with real-time information and offer visual tools that engage entire communities, it will lead to valuable changes in behavior and save staggering amounts of energy."
Intel researchers have invented a new wireless device to make the collection of energy data easy and inexpensive for consumers. The experimental sensor needs to be plugged into your home's electrical wiring to measure and wirelessly report the power consumption of each electrical load.
Intel has also been talking up the "connected computing experience" where all devices share information (if only).
"With an additional 1 billion connected computing users by 2015 and with more types of devices there is value in providing a common experience between the devices," said David (Dadi) Perlmutter, executive vice president and co-general manager, Intel Architecture Group.
"Intel architecture delivers the right combination of performance and power that provides the foundation across all computing devices creating a virtual continuum of computing to enable this common user experience."
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HTC Incredible will be Droid Incredible in the US
The exciting-looking HTC Incredible will be billed as the Droid Incredible in the US, where it joins Verizon's other Droid branded phones.
The HTC Incredible has already hit the news several times and will bring a 1GHz Snapdragon processor, HTC's much-vaunted Sense UI and an 8MP camera.
HTC's celebrated Desire is already doing a brisk trade in the UK, providing a very real alternative to the Apple iPhone.
Mo' memory
The Incredible brings all the fun of Android 2.1, plus 8GB internal memory and a 3.7inch WVGA screen.
And, of course a significantly ramped up camera, which will make it a popular Droid over the pond as a replacement for the HTC Desire
However, much of the attention will be on the fact that the HTC Incredible is 4G enabled, a feature that will not be coming across to the UK because it does not be supporting the next generation network.
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Review: TomTom Start2
Buying a sat nav which won't break the bank means you risk getting hopelessly lost at the hands of shoddy equipment, but the new TomTom Start2 aims to bring fully featured satellite navigation to those with the most meagre of budgets.
The Start range sits below the more popular and expensive XL, One and Go systems in the TomTom line-up. And with the standard model bundled with UK-only maps available to buy for just £119.99, it's an attractive proposition for anyone looking for a sat-nav system.
TomTom also sells the Start2 system with European maps for £139.99.
Premium features
The original TomTom Start only offered simple navigation and map browsing, while the rest of the range enjoyed advanced features like spoken place names, lane guidance, media handling, support for Bluetooth devices and text-to-speech support.
The TomTom GO range enjoys full 'LIVE' subscription-based services, such as traffic updates while you're driving and fuel price information, and voice control technology. The XL features a widescreen display, and the One has advanced lane guidance system for motorway junctions.
While TomTom has led the way in the sat-nav market for the last few years, it has come under pressure to update its entry level range, with strong competition from the Garmin Nuvi 255 which has loaded its lowest priced systems with European mapping and speed camera locations.
The Start2 now gets advanced lane guidance and spoken place names previously exclusive to the top-of-the-range TomToms.
Advanced lane guidance simply gives you an in-car view of motorway turnings as you approach, so you can clearly see where you need to be, which in most cases is the left-hand lane. It does help on more complicated junctions though, and it would be inadvisable to navigate Spaghetti Junction without it.
The spoken place names does exactly what it says on the tin, and reads out streets as you approach them rather than gruffly ordering you to "turn left" or "bear right".
The TomTom Start2's main screen has been simplified to offer just 'Plan Route' and 'Browse Map' features, so there are none of the bells and whistles found on superior members of the TomTom range.
While this may seem restrictive to those used to having a host of features at their fingertips, it's also liberating to have what you need from the off.
The Start2 shares the familiar TomTom menu system, and it's easy to find your way around. You can choose to search by postcode, or street name if you don't have the precise information to hand. Like other TomToms, you can also navigate quickly to 'points of interest' such as landmarks and petrol stations, and do quick diversions, if you're faced with heavy traffic.
Simplified Menu System
To say TomTom has 'simplified' the menu system of the Start2 is a good piece of PR spin. The truth really is that the Start2 is so light on features that it would be hard to complicate such a limited device.
Despite this, the interface is extremely well laid out and it's easy to find what you need, especially when you need to make a quick selection when waiting in traffic. From the outset you simply choose 'Plan Route' and choose between a simple postcode entry or location search.
Conveniently, all menu options are displayed at the bottom of the screen, and most options and features are accessible within two finger presses, making navigation easy.
While the Start2 is light on features, no-one can deny it's extremely easy to use. This is something that could be better implemented on the GO range, where common menu options, such as sound control, are often buried.
Plan Route
TomTom's mapping is some of the best in the business, and the Start2 benefits from clear 3D and 2D top down views. Maps are slightly slow to refresh while navigating twisty road systems, but they're crystal clear and extremely reliable, without the issues of maps getting stuck or crashing, which has been a problem on other budget sat navs.
You can choose between male and female UK voices, as well as an Irish accent and TechRadar's new best friend Ken the Australian. You can also download The Simpsons and John Cleese voices from the TomTom Home if you so wish.
Spoken place names
The decision by TomTom to include spoken street names on its entry level device is what makes the Start2 stand out. Having the name of the street you're turning onto read out by the computer voice is a huge help when driving alone. It's just a shame that it doesn't work with Ken the Australian.
Advanced lane guidance
This displays an in-car view of motorway junctions, showing you which lane to pick up. This can be useful for some, but in most cases the system is unnecessary for those familiar with motorway driving.
Browse Maps
The home screen is broken down into two options, route finding being the first and map browsing the other. This option enables you to drag and zoom around maps of your area, if you're looking for landmarks or alternative routes.
The Start2 just isn't powerful enough to handle the zooming and dragging, and it's almost impossible to centralise the map on a specific location to zoom in. It's so bad, in fact, that it renders the whole feature useless, and it would have been better to make the Start2 a single function sat nav and simplified the interface further.
Touchscreen
While the screen is vibrant and clear, one bugbear with the Start2 is its touchscreen. The smaller surface area of the screen means your finger needs to be more precise than other TomToms, but the sensitivity of the touchscreen hasn't been upgraded, making for a difficult typing experience. This is something long term users will doubtlessly overcome, but in the short term, it made for a frustrating experience.
Small size
The TomTom Start2 is the smallest of the TomTom range, but its bright clear screen is still easy to read even when driving. It features the same twist and grip suction pad, and it's easy to attach to your windscreen, and refreshingly, easy to remove, so you won't be tempted to leave it in the car.
When you do reach your destination, the Start2 is small enough to slide into your pocket, which might just save you the £14.99 required to buy the additional case.
Warning assistance
The Start2 will warn you of speed cameras on the road ahead and when you start exceeding the speed limit. Thankfully, it's less intrusive than previous models, with light bleeps rather than heart-stopping sirens.
The TomTom Start2 is an extremely good buy for anyone looking for basic navigation at a bargain price, and as you'd expect from a TomTom system, it's good quality and reliable.
While many of the bells and whistles, which you find on top of the range sat-navs have been sacrificed, what you're left with is something extremely functional and easy to use.
We liked:
Despite the Start2 being light on features, this is also its greatest strength and the simplicity is unparalleled.
The pocket sized body of the Start2 is a huge advantage, and it's refreshing to see a sat nav which is truly portable when you step out of the car.
Mapping is superb, and the stability and reliability of the interface is unrivalled, and we applaud TomTom for including great technology like the spoken street names on its most modestly priced devices.
We disliked:
The touchscreen left a lot to be desired, and we found it frustrating when inputting postcodes and street names into the route planning option.
The point of the Start2 is its stripped down feature set, so it's unfair to mark it down in that department, but if you have used other sat navs in the past, you will find it extremely limited.
Verdict:
If you're looking for a simple pocket-sized sat nav for those occasional ventures into the unknown, the Start2 is the perfect option.
Users who have previously enjoyed the superior sat navs in the TomTom range will balk at its stripped down interface, but first time users will be hard pushed to find a more ideal system at a better price.
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O2 next up with official iPad UK release
After Vodafone was the first to announce it will be official stocking the iPad in the UK, O2 has followed suit.
Literally minutes behind and with a very similar statement, the bubbly network has confirmed it will be getting on the iPaddington train:
"O2 today announced that it will offer dedicated iPad price plans for all models from the end of May in the UK.
"The iPad lets users browse the web, read and send email, enjoy and share photos, watch HD videos, listen to music, play games, read ebooks and much more, all using iPad's revolutionary Multi-Touch user interface."
Apple pulling the strings
We're getting the feeling Apple is structuring these releases given how similar the wording is between O2 and Vodafone's announcements – but it makes sense for O2 to join the party given it had the iPhone on exclusive in the UK for so long.
We're still yet to hear official UK release dates for the iPad or any kind of UK pricing, but we're assuming it's not going to be something you can just add on to your existing iPhone tariff.
Orange, Virgin Mobile and Tesco Mobile have also got deals to sell the iPhone in the UK, so we're now just waiting to hear if any others will be stocking the iPad later next month too.
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Vodafone to offer Apple iPad in the UK
Vodafone has confirmed to TechRadar it will be offering Apple's iPad in the UK, with data plans to be made available for the 3G-enabled version when it arrives.
The statement is pretty generic, but confirms that, like the Microsoft Kin phones, Vodafone will launch the iPad in multiple European countries at once:
"Vodafone today announced that it will offer dedicated iPad price plans for all models from the end of May in Australia, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK.
"The iPad lets users browse the web, read and send email, enjoy and share photos, watch HD videos, listen to music, play games, read ebooks and much more, all using iPad's revolutionary Multi-Touch user interface."
Although Vodafone could neither confirm nor deny whether it would be getting the iPad exclusively, we're pretty sure if it was it would have been shouting from the rafters about such a thing.
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Facebook offering 'speed dial' approval in political debates
Facebook users will be able to rate the main candidates during their live television debates ahead of the election, with a 'dial test' monitoring users' opinions in real time.
Technology is already playing a much larger roll in the forthcoming election than it ever has before, and the Speed Dial promises real-time social feedback on whether Labour's PM Gordon Brown, the Conservatives' David Cameron and Lib Dems leader Nick Clegg are appealing to the Facebook generation.
"With Britain's first ever prime ministerial debate taking place on Thursday, Facebook's 23 million UK users are being invited to participate in a mass "dial test" which will enable them rate the debates in real time and provide instant feedback on the performance of the three party leaders," explained Facebook.
"The dial test will give a detailed, moment-by-moment snapshot of exactly how voters up and down the country are reacting to the debate between the three candidates for prime minister. "Never before has this kind of online opinion test been attempted on this scale or at this level of sophistication in the UK."
Rate the debate
The Speed Dial works by asking users to rate, during the debates, to use the dial to indicate how much they agree or disagree with the debates as they happen.
So when the Digital Economy Act gets mentioned you would imagine that leading parties might not win the approval they desire, following its controversial passage through Parliament.
"The first prime ministerial debates are a landmark moment in British politics, but the rigid rules mean that the voters themselves have a limited role, said Richard Allan, Facebook's Director of European Public Policy
"The mass dial test changes that completely. The Facebook dial test enables millions of voters to say exactly what they think of the three leaders' performances and to wrest back control from politicians.
"2010 is the UK's first ever social media election, and the dial test shows how voters can get involved on a scale never seen before. The dial test will provide a true barometer of the public mood and will define how the impact of the debates is interpreted."
A nice idea – but will it jar with a Facebook generation whose social network site represents poking and picture tagging rather than their political cares?
The first debate is on Thursday 15 April.
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Apple delays UK iPad release date till 'end of May'
Apple has officially announced that it is delaying the international launch of the iPad until the "end of May".
The fruity company has decided to delay the launch due to "strong US demand".
The company did note that international customers (including us in the UK) will "be disappointed" about the delay but they "will be pleased to learn the reason – the iPad is a runaway success in the US thus far."
Er, no we are not pleased in the slightest.
The official release reads as follows (try to hold back the tears): "Although we have delivered more than 500,000 iPads during its first week, demand is far higher than we predicted and will likely continue to exceed our supply over the next several weeks as more people see and touch an iPad.
"We have also taken a large number of pre-orders for iPad 3G models for delivery by the end of April.
"Faced with this surprisingly strong US demand, we have made the difficult decision to postpone the international launch of iPad by one month, until the end of May.
UK iPad pricing
At least Apple has revealed that UK pricing for the iPad will be out 10 May – so that is one date we can pencil into our diary.
"We will announce international pricing and begin taking online pre-orders on Monday, May 10," says the release.
"We know that many international customers waiting to buy an iPad will be disappointed by this news, but we hope they will be pleased to learn the reason-the iPad is a runaway success in the US thus far."
We knew something was up when the Apple Store went down yesterday and iPad pricing was not announced – well, we did get some shiny MacBook news but that was it.
The delay of the iPad in the UK is a big disappointment, considering the US has already got its grubby mitts over the device.
So the UK release date for the Apple iPad is now officially 'end of May'. Sigh.
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MSN teams with Paramount for full-length movies
Microsoft has announced that its MSN Video Player service is to get a nice boost, in the form of movie content from Paramount Pictures.
A new deal – which Microsoft is calling the first of its kind in the UK – means that users will start to see content form Paramount on the player, which will include both movies and clips.
Unfortunately, Microsoft is being tight-lipped with regards to what content will be shown.
But considering Paramount owns the rights to the Transformers franchise, Star Trek and Indian Jones the deal could prove quite lucrative.
Forward thinking
Speaking about the news, Ashley Highfield, managing director of consumer and online at Microsoft said: "MSN's heritage is based on innovation and it is great to work with a forward-thinking film studio like Paramount Pictures.
"This is a pioneering move for MSN Video Player in the UK and the service will continue to evolve with the changing needs and demands of consumers into Europe for MSN Video.
"This deal forms a fundamental part of this growth."
Peep Show
MSN Video already shows a number of full-length TV shows – including Peep Show and What Not To Wear.
MSN Video Player was launched in the UK last August in Beta - a tag it shed in March.
The full-length movies from Paramount will initially be available in the UK, with a rollout to Italy, Spain, France, Germany and the Netherlands to follow.
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In Depth: How to switch your small or home office to Linux
With Linux and free software making a name for itself in the world of big business, many people are testing the feasibility of switching small and home office software to their open source equivalents.
Regardless of how you feel about the Linux desktop, this is one area in which Linux can have a real impact, both financially and productively, and any small or home office has the potential to be transformed by just switching one application or two to their open source equivalents.
This is traditionally the domain of Microsoft, a costly and sometimes frustrating environment where you have to constantly keep on top of updates, patches and the latest versions to stay in the loop. Free software offers an escape from this cycle, and more importantly, an alternative.
Linux and free software can offer a breath of fresh air, and you don't even have to jump feet-first into a new operating system: cross-platform open source applications enable you try the alternatives before you make the big switch.
Most users are going to find that the free versions of the software they're used to are very similar in both design and functionality, and over the course of the following pages, we list the most important and try to highlight any gotchas and considerations along the way.
It's a sign of how successful free software has become that we could have filled these pages with various alternatives for many other common tasks and applications, but we wanted to go into enough depth that prospective users will feel confident enough to make the switch, or discuss the potential with the people who make the decisions.
How we learned to stop spending and love free software
The great thing about open source software is that, no matter what platform you're using, if an application is popular enough it will have been ported to your system.
Free software stalwarts like OpenOffice.org, Firefox and Gimp all work just as well on the Windows platform as they do on Linux. This means that even if jumping to Linux seems like an intimidating prospect to begin with, you can safely swap an application or two in your regular software suite to begin with, and see how things go over a period of weeks.
As your confidence builds, you could consider replacing another application, and perhaps another, until you realise that maybe Linux isn't the leap into the unknown that it used to be.
The world of the small office seems to be dominated by products from Microsoft and Adobe, neither of which have made a serious effort to port their heavyweight products to the Linux desktop. This is where open source developers have tried their hardest to catch up, building free alternatives to most of the commercial offerings from both companies.
Free software is full of alternatives, because developers like choice. And because the code that's used to create this software is open, once one application has invented a new kind of wheel, you often find its open source competitors catching up and providing many of the same features.
Many are also very receptive to feature requests and personal emails, which is something that would never happen with either Adobe or Microsoft. And of course, if you or your colleagues have the necessary coding skills, you can change things yourself and make a contribution to the community.
A point you'll find we make several times over the following pages is that while there may not always be total parity with the applications you're used to in the proprietary world, in the vast majority of cases this tiny shortfall won't make a difference. There are very few office users who touch these advanced features, and if you're one of the minority of users who use the full feature-set of of an application such as Microsoft Office, we've got a solution that will enable you to keep your old applications on Linux.
Running Windows apps on Linux
If you do switch your office to Linux, there are still two ways to run legitimate Windows software. The first is Wine, an application that lets you run Windows executables from your Linux desktop. It will let you run applications like Quicken and older versions of Office without difficulty, and newer versions can be made to work if you don't mind a little tinkering.
There's also a commercial Wine solution called CrossOver Office. This will run Microsoft's latest Office suite, and the money you pay for CrossOver will be rolled back into open source development. The best bit is that you won't need a licence for the operating system, only the software you use.
We're getting ahead of ouseselves a little here: while it's good to know that things will still work, you'll find that maintaining Windows compatibility becomes less of an issue as you get used to the new set of tools that Linux offers.
The one app that above all others needs good interoperability
There is one issue that more than any other governs whether a business can switch to open source software and which software it should use. That issue is compatibility with Microsoft's venerable Office suite.
The file formats used by Microsoft have become standards, used by almost everyone for everything from quick memos and internal emails, to official letters, books and publishing. File extensions like DOC, DOCX and XLS have become synonymous with word processing and spreadsheets, PPA files for presentations and PST files for email archives.
Each one of these formats is owned and governed by Microsoft, and the most important aspect of finding an alternative is that the replacement format should work as transparently as possible without the user having to worry about compatibility.
Fortunately, for the vast majority of people and uses, there are open source alternatives that will be almost 100% compatible, and you should be able to migrate to these options without any problems.
There are several free Office replacements that can read from and write to Microsoft compatible formats, and this means the people you send files to never need know you've not paid a penny for the software you're using, or that they were developed by a community of hackers unless you want them to. These applications are also just as capable as their proprietary counterparts, and they should be able to accommodate even the most arcane and esoteric formatting needs.
But there is a caveat. We said 'almost 100%' for a reason, and if you're a Microsoft Office power user, you will notice differences, especially if you like playing with Visual Basic macros in the spreadsheet.
For most users, these small differences won't affect your experience or the way you share files with other people, but it's also better to have a realistic expectation of what to expect from free alternatives, and none are 100% compatible with Microsoft Office.
The best choice for MS Office compatibility is a suite of applications that fall under the name of OpenOffice.org (OOo). This is a rather strange web-like name for a suite of office apps, but the name OpenOffice was already taken, so the .org was added to distinguish it from the other. It also means you're unlikely to forget the project's website.
OpenOffice.org
The initial project never meant to be free software. In the early part of 1999, it was a proprietary office suite just like Microsoft's. Later that year, one of Microsoft's competitors, Sun Microsystems, bought the the product and released the whole thing for free. The following year, the code that makes up the software was also freed, opening the package up for anyone to make changes.
Since then, OpenOffice.org has been in a rapid state of development and has been the principle weapon in the fight to provide a free Office alternative for Windows, OS X and Linux desktops. The current release of version 3 are more than capable of performing all your statutory office duties, and make an ideal replacement for its commercial competitors.
The most commonly used application in every office suite, and possibly the only application most of us use, is the word processor. OpenOffice.org's is prosaically dubbed Writer, and if you've used any one of these applications in the years since the genre climbed out of the DOS-bound primordial soup, you won't have any difficulty using this one. You type words on to the page, use tabs and markers to format things and send the results to a printer or an external file.
If you've had to get used to the newer generation of Microsoft's products, you may be relieved to see that Writer's user interface is much easier to understand, which could be a real advantage if you're also considering upgrading to Microsoft Office 2007.
WRITER: There are many configuration options hidden in Writer's Tools
Loading MS Word documents is as easy as opening the file requester from within Writer and selecting the file. It can make sense of both DOC and the newer DOCX formats, and although you may get a warning that some formatting features may not be supported in the conversion to OpenOffice.org, most people won't notice any difference in layout. If your documents do look different, there's quite a lot you can do to improve compatibility.
1. Use standard fonts
When you're running OpenOffice.org on Linux and Word on Windows, the biggest difference between the two is going to be which fonts they use, as neither will use the same sets. But you can ensure that documents mostly look the same by keeping to the default Sans and Serif fonts used when you first launch the editor.
On Windows, this means using MS Sans and Serif, while Linux users might want to opt for 'Liberation' or 'Free' versions of both typefaces.
2. Keep documents simple
It might seem like common sense, but the fewer formatting objects there are on the page, the less likely there are to be problems. Lots of tables or complicated headers can mess up the layout, as can certain kinds of images and the use of esoteric fonts.
If something isn't absolutely necessary, such as a custom colour on a table background, you'll have better compatibility if they're not included. Consider a better tool If you're sharing a complex newsletter with someone, consider whether a word processor is really the best tool for the job.
You might get better cross-platform compatibility by jumping to a DTP tool like Scribus, or a vector graphics editor such as Inkscape, both of which have cross-platform versions that everyone can use freely.
3. Choose a better format
While DOC and DOCX are the best choices for most word processing documents, if the content of your document is entirely text, you may as well use something simpler, such as RTF or even raw text.
Writer alternatives
Writer is a great application and probably the best option for general use. But there are alternatives, and if you find Writer's user interface a little too heavy and overburdened with features, it's worth taking look at what else is available. You might be surprised to find that there are several applications that are almost as good at working with Microsoft formats.
The second most popular word processor is called AbiWord, and if it's not included by default, you can install it easily through your distribution's package manager.
AbiWord is faster to launch and quicker to operate than OOo. It doesn't have half as many dependencies, and doesn't consume as many system resources. You'll notice all these things as soon as you launch the application from the menu.
Everything you need for working with text is present in AbiWord, and you can start working quickly. Many more advanced features are included, such as a grammar checker, a tool for constructing formulae and links to online resources such as language translation.
Newer versions will also include a 'Collaborate' menu, from which you can create an account and work on documents with other people across your office or the internet in real time. It's a great addition, and something you can't quite so easily do in Microsoft Word.
After the word processor, there's a quartet of applications every office needs
There's more to the work of the average office than typing letters, which is why most offices use a single bundle of applications as a catch-all suite for most office tasks.
Which of these applications are integral to your work is obviously dependent on what you do, but it's unlikely that you'll be able to completely avoid using a spreadsheet or an email client, or even avoid making the occasional presentation.
These are the workhorse applications that an office can't function without, and while they may not be the most exciting applications on the planet, they're essential whatever platform you happen to be working on.
Anyone who works with numbers has to use a spreadsheet at some point. As they are second only in importance to the word processor, there are quite a few to choose between.
The most obvious option, and the one with the best support, is the spreadsheet that's included as part of the OpenOffice.org suite. It's an application called Calc, and it's reasonably analogous to Microsoft's Excel. If you've used Excel, you shouldn't have any problems using Calc. But more importantly, you should also be able to load and save files you've been working on.
CALC: Most spreadsheet tasks can be accomplished with OpenOffice.org's Calc
But Excel spreadsheets can be complicated, and in particular, they can be augmented with what are known as VB scripts and macros. These are quick and informal chunks of programming logic that can be used to extend custom functionality to a spreadsheet when the default functions don't offer the facilities you're looking for. They're commonly used to trawl through large sets of data, or to input and output data to and from a specific source or worksheet.
The language itself is descended from Microsoft's Visual Basic, and when used with tools like Excel, it's referred to as Visual Basic for Applications, or VBA. Getting the same VBA compatibility with applications that aren't developed by Microsoft can be tough. It adds a new layer of complexity and a new target for developers to chase. This means that if your spreadsheet relies on VBA functionality to work, you may have a problems finding an open source alternative where your old spreadsheets are 100% functional.
VBA compatibility in OpenOffice.org, for example, should be considered a work in progress. The trouble is that when people develop VBA scripts for Excel, it's unlikely they consider whether their script is going to be used with a different application.
Go-oo
But all is not lost. VBA compatibility is working nicely for most and there's a specific project working on bringing improved compatibility to OpenOffice.org. Despite our warnings, you may find that your Excel spreadheets and macros just work, and even if they don't, there's still something else you can try, a different version of OpenOffice.org.
There's an alternative version that does boast better VBA macro support than the default version that most people download from OpenOffice. org, and that's called Go-oo.
Go-oo contains many different enhancements over the default version of OpenOffice.org. These enhancements have been unable to find a place in the main project which is why they're maintained under the Go-oo name. They include things like improved performance, SVG support, 3D transitions for the presentation application, a calculation solver for the spreadsheet and better interoperability with Excel, as well as the all-important VBA macro support.
If you're installing the Go-oo office suite from a Linux distribution, you'll find that most of these enhancements have already been rolled into the version that provided, but if you're trying free software on a Windows or OS X platform, you might want to grab the installer from http://go-oo.org rather than the official OpenOffice.org site.
Free presentation software
Presentation software has taken something of a hammering in recent years. There can't be many of us who haven't had to endure an hour or complete boredom as a co-worker clicks their way through page after page of dry statistics and slowly animating graphs.
The Microsoft application synonymous with this task, PowerPoint, has become a byword for this painful process. But that doesn't mean all presentation software, and all presentations, needed to be consigned to the trash. They still have an important role to play.
IMPRESS: We know presentations are boring, but at least with OOo Impress you won't have to pay to make them
The OpenOffice.org PowerPoint equivalent is called Impress, and it actually has some decent advantages over Microsoft's presentation software. The first is that, thanks to the community, there are now dozens of decent templates available that you can use freely to revitalise your own presentation style. Take a look at them here and click on Impress on the tag cloud on the left.
You'll find plenty to choose from, and they can all be loaded into the application from the startup wizard that appears as soon as it launches. There's also a good selection of export file types available from Impress.
You can create HTML websites and PDF documentation from the File > Export option, for instance. But perhaps the cleverest is the ability to export a Flash movie. This will preserve all your carefully crafted transitions and graphics, and enable you to place the file online for other people to watch automatically. You could even become a YouTube video star if your presentations are that good.
Impress is also broadly compatible with PowerPoint, loading and saving its PPA format without difficulty. The KOffice presentation manager, KPresenter, might be an good option, but it's relatively primitive in comparison to OpenOffice.org's offering, and its PowerPoint compatibility is relatively poor compared with Impress.
There are several projects working on presentation software, including MagicPoint and KeyJNote, but neither can compete with Impress for functions, and should only be considered if you really dislike the way both PowerPoint and Impress do things.
Open source email apps
In any Windows-based office, there's no getting away from the ubiquity of Outlook. It's what many people consider to be the only face of email, in the same way that Internet Explorer used to be the only accepted way of accessing the internet.
As with IE, there are some serious open source alternatives that you may find make a refreshing change to the multiple-sliding panels and do-all interface offered by Outlook and Outlook Express. But which you use is going to depend on how your email is delivered.
If you happen to be using Microsoft Exchange, things get a little more complicated. There are solutions, including costly 'exchange' bridges to local clients and enabling IMAP on the Exchange server, but these might be more trouble than their worth. It might be easier to ask any Linux converts to use the Exchange web interface until a better solution can be found.
But in a small or home office, it's likely you'll be grabbing your email from a third-party's internet service, either as part of their hosting package or perhaps through an online provider like Google or Yahoo. In those cases, you'll most likely be using the IMAP or POP3 protocols to connect to these remote servers, and these are widely compatible with most email clients, regardless of the platform.
In the cross-platform category, there's the recently released Thunderbird 3. Developed by the same people that made Firefox such a success, it's a mature and stable application that can be augmented by numerous addons and extensions, just like Firefox. It's also widely used and stable.
The latest release adds tabbed mail viewing and a dynamic search interface, and should offer a revolutionary experience as a replacement for Outlook.
EVOLUTION: Manage your email, contacts, tasks and calendar from Evolution
If you really need to maintain as close an Outlook experience as possible, then the Evolution email client is the closest match for functionality and design. It's also the default email client for Gnome-based distributions, and includes the contacts and calendar additions as sliding panels for the complete personal information manager experience.
There's nothing to stop you doing top-quality design work with free software
Whether you want to crop an image to drop into a document, create a website design or draw a diagram, there's a free software tool that's up to the job. There are more options for graphics design in the world of free software than there are for almost any other type of software. There are applications that cater for everyone from the photo enthusiast to the print shop and publisher.
OpenOffice.org even includes its own image editing and drawing tool. That said, in the world of the professional designer there's really only one application that's considered, and that's Adobe's Photoshop. It's a huge application that seems to have grown a new set of functions every year for the last decade, and as a result, it can be difficult to learn and difficult to migrate from.
If you're looking for a free software version, the truthful answer is that you're not going to find one. But if your editing requirements are more modest, there is an alternative, and it's called Gimp.
GIMP: If someone sends you a PSD file from Photoshop, Gimp will let you open, edit and save it to the same format
Everyone seems to have heard of Gimp. This is thanks to its stupid name and its rather arcane user interface, which it seems to have inherited from one of those older versions of Photoshop. But get past these shortcomings – and the rather steep learning curve – and there's a powerful application lurking just beneath the surface. Just don't expect to be able to make any quick edits without a little pain.
Like Photoshop, Gimp uses layers to keep the various parts of an image independent of one another. Each layer can be filtered, modified, warped and transformed freely, and various layer modes can be used to change how one layer's colour affects another. If you've not used Photoshop, it can be difficult to get your head around, but it basically enables you to build up complex images from simple parts, apply effects and export the whole project as a single layer.
Photon paint
Gimp is also the best tool for importing Photoshop image files with the PSD extension as most of the layer information will be preserved, and you can edit the file and send back the results using the same file format. It's not a complete format conversion, but if you can get the contact who's sending you the PSD file to render their layer effects before sending you the image, there shouldn't be too many problems.
If you want to edit photographs, then Gimp has a good range of automatic selection tools where you can use a colour proximity threshold to automatically select parts of an image, as well as several other types of selection. You can perform the normal contrast and brightness adjustments, and make more complex tweaks using histogram graph or a menu full of various filters and effects.
The only real problem with Gimp is that it doesn't natively support the CMYK colour space that's the bread and butter of professionals. You can get around this limitation by installing a plugin that creates the separation manually, but it's a long way from integrated support that the end user doesn't even have to think about.
Gimp is a powerful solution, and can replace its expensive counterpart in many places. It also has the advantage of being available for Windows, which might help if you want to run it alongside Photoshop for a while, but we can't whole-heartedly recommend it as a Photoshop replacement until the long promised GUI overhaul materialises (this is planned for the next release, version 2.8) and it gets a lot easier to use.
Inkscape
If you're looking for a vector graphics editor rather than a bitmap editor, you'll have better luck. This is because there's an application called Inkscape that can do almost everything you need without being all that complex or difficult to understand.
INKSCAPE: Many of the icons and widgets used on the Linux desktop are provided as SVG images that can be edited and used freely from within Inkscape
You can use Inkscape to create scalable diagrams, illustrations, artwork and text effects, and export these creations using the industry standard SVG format as well as a PDF. It's broadly equivalent to Adobe's Illustrator application, and includes many of the same features.
Images are built out of a series of paths, which are usually either straight lines or smooth curves with junctions used to mark changes from one section to another. These shapes can then be filled and overlapped.
A layer palette, much like those used in Photoshop and Gimp, is used to keep each section of the overall image independent and you can process the layers. Inkscape even manages to be better than Illustrator at some things. SVG is its native format, for example, and this means it's generally much easier to load and save to the format from within Inkscape, and the resulting files should also be better formatted.
Several of the tools, such as the paint bucket, the gradient tool and the drawing tools can be easier to use, and there are keyboard shortcuts for for the vast majority of functions. It might not be able to compete in terms of industry acceptance, but Inkscape is still more than capable of creating stunning output.
It's also perfect for print, because the scalable nature of the images means that there's no limit on the output resolution, whether that's from home printer or a commercial duplicator, and it's used by most open source artists to create all those plastic-like icons that every software project seems to have nowadays.
You'll probably find Inkscape easier to use than OpenOffice.org's own image editor, and there are stable versions available for both OS X and Windows. Should you need to combine images and words with any degree of proficiency, desktop publishing applications are few and far between.
But in the world of open source, Scribus has grown to become the standard. It's an application designed to help you pull images and text into something that will look good on paper, whether that's a flyer for a Chinese restaurant, a brochure for a local store or even a periodic journal.
Like Gimp, it doesn't quite have the streamlined workflow and maturity of its commercial competitors, but it's catching up quickly and for the vast majority of people, it's going to offer more than enough features to accomplish most tasks.
Scribus
Thanks to the prohibitive cost of proprietary DTP packages, this is normally the type of product that's regarded as rather niche, leaving most people to create their bulletins and newsletters from a word processor. But if all you've used is a Word or Writer, Scribus can vastly improve the quality of your output.
SCRIBUS: If you write a newsletter, try dumping your word processor and giving Scribus a try
And because it's free, you've got nothing to lose by giving it a go. There are several useful templates from which you can create a new project with Scribus, and you can use these for most standard situations.
You can find many more at www.scribus.net, including a massive list of label and CD cover templates, which broadens this application's use even further and should help keep you and your colleagues from the clutches of proprietary software.
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Sky worried by content parasite platforms
Sky's chief executive Jeremy Darroch has outlined his fears over the increased numbers of people providing platforms to watch television, believing that many of the online, mobile and other device makers are not interested in making their own content.
With the argument with Ofcom still rumbling on, Sky obviously has a vested interest in protecting premium content, but Darroch – talking in Cannes – believes that major problems lie ahead.
With many different companies getting involved in offering IPTV and device platforms, as well as online catch up platforms, Darroch is keen that companies be as interested in paying to create content as taking advantage of cheap programmes to push their own agendas.
Commoditisation
"A second, very real risk to the long-term value of content... is the threat of commoditisation, and it is all too easy to see how this can happen," said Darroch
"The arrival of new players in the value chain will create a greater number and variety of routes to reach consumers. But the choice of which partner, or partners, to work with must be weighed with great care.
"While all content aggregators are engaged superficially in the same activity, it would be wrong to assume that there is a uniformity of strategic interest.
"For some, content is far from the core of their business; it is the means to an end rather than an end in itself.
"As a consequence, we will see a variety of players – device manufacturers, phone companies or online aggregators – who are happy to retail content at the lowest possible cost, or even give it away, in order to earn their profits elsewhere.
"That might be through the sale of hardware, broadband connections or the delivery of targeted advertising."
Creative risk
Darroch points out that there is an inherent risk in creating content, and that taking the onus away from investment will impact on the quality.
"But here's the problem: creating quality content costs money and is inherently risky. If you strip the value out of content to take a fatter margin elsewhere, you risk undermining the long-term future of quality content altogether.
"That may not be an issue for the device manufacturer, the phone company or the online aggregator. But it's a big problem if you want to go on earning a return from content investment. Or, for that matter, if you want to go on watching the very best TV.
"So all of us with an involvement in content creation will need to think carefully about the alignment of long-term interests when we consider our approach to distribution in the future."
Of course, people will always be interested in paying to see their football team, something Sky knows well, but with investment in quality drama already becoming a key problem in the UK, it is an interesting stance.
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Google builds 3D New York in Google Earth
Google has gone all Glee on us and created a mashup of it earth and Street View services, offering up a highly detailed 3D tour of New York.
A new demo – which is pretty stunning – shows off the 3D imagery which has been create by mapping imaged from Street View on to the sides of buildings.
This isn't the first time search behemoth has given a lifelike façade to a city. Late December, Google offered up 3D tours of Portland, Austin, Chicago and Philadelphia.
It is, however, the most impressive one TechRadar has seen so far.
Amazing improvement
There's no word if (knowing Google it will be more like when) this service will come to the UK, but we're hoping that London will get in on the 3D mapping action soon.
We are also hoping that Milton Keynes gets the treatment too – but that's just for our own amusement.
Google on its blog said about its virtual version of New Yoik: "The new imagery will be an amazing improvement to our already-stunning Video Wall and will help us to reach our goals in making New York City more accessible to visitors and residents alike.
"The detail at the street level makes it easier than ever to virtually experience our variety of cultural institutions, storefronts and residential and commercial buildings."
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Review: Speedlink Kudos
The world of the gaming mouse is a complex thing, filled with intense competition and the incredibly subjecting notion of what people find both aesthetically pleasing and comfortable. Add into that extra anguish of those awkward left-handed folk and the sheer costs involved and from birth the gaming mouse has a thoroughly difficult time of it.
Speedlink's Kudos mouse is going to have a harder time than most, mainly down to the fact that it's not a particularly well-known name in the gaming community and it lacks any sort of marketable gimmick with which to wow the press with.
But the Kudos is an incredibly solid, slick and functional device despite the lack of shouting about it. Each button has a reassuringly solid click to it and the extra weights that come in the packaging make it a nicely weighty mouse.
Not for the leftties
The design too is ergonomic enough to fit comfortably in the hand, well, the right hand that is. This is another mouse that's set to make the sinister lefties throw up their hands in disgust at being left out once more.
For the rest of us it's a snug fit with enough customisation on offer through Speedlink's simple configuration utility to have you setting your extra buttons, macros and DPI levels to your personally preferred levels.
It's a simple mouse then, but with enough depth to warrant the term 'gaming mouse'. And with a DPI setting going all the way up to (eleven?) FIVE THOUSAND you ought to have enough breadth to hit your ideal speed.
But, as ever, there are superior, older mice available for less than the price of the Kudos, which is in the end what's going to keep this mouse down.
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Exclusive: Google: we plan to open up our Goggles platform
Augmented reality is being hailed the next big thing on mobile devices, for everything from gaming to checking out house prices; point a smartphone running Yelp at a city street and the Monocle feature gives you reviews and ratings for the businesses there.
Google Goggles can do much the same thing but Goggles product manager Shailesh Nalawadi isn't that interested in AR: "We don't really see ourselves as working on augmented reality; we are working on visual search."
That's the way humans work, he points out, so it only makes sense for search to work visually. "80% of information is consumed visually, and not through any of the other senses. Why is it you have to translate and transcribe what you see into words?"
Although Nalawadi is realistic about what you can do with a phone camera today ("Image recognition is really hard although there's no shortage of Hollywood movies that show this as already achieved!"), he doesn't think we need location-aware spectacles or the digital contact lenses predicted to be on sale by 2020; as the name Goggle suggests, the phone is the viewer.
"You have these really fast computers that we all carry around in our pockets, that have capabilities you wouldn't have had in desktops a mere five or 10 years ago," he says.
"Of course, no matter how powerful these devices are, computer vision has a way of taking up all the CPU cycles you have so Goggles take care of the heavy lifting over in the cloud."
That only works because of mobile broadband connections and while Nalawadi calls the three to eight seconds recognition time that Goggles usually takes "pretty phenomenal" he admits "we also realise it is not enough because people's attention spans are really short."
Far from finished
Goggles is the fruit of three to five years of research and it's far from finished, he says.
"We struggled and we built this thing where you can move your camera, point it at an object and have it come back and tell you what it is that it's looking at. The reality is we're really far from that state."
What Nalawadi wants to do is much more ambitious than just layering information about where you are on screen; he wants visual search that can deal with the whole world.
"Primarily, he explains, "it's about extending the recognition capabilities of our computers. Right now we have a very narrow set of tens of millions of objects that we recognise but the world is much larger than tens of millions of objects and it's a phenomenal effort to try and get this info into our database and recognise it."
SEE AND SEARCH: Goggles treats landmarks like logos and barcodes; it tells you what you're looking at and brings up search results
Over time Goggles will recognise plants and chess games, and soon it will translate text on things you see.
Making the database of images Goggles can match bigger is only the start. There's the basic search problem: "We are spending a lot of time on search quality; when there is a successful match, what are the relevant results that need to come back?"
A broader problem
But Nalawadi also wants to tackle the much broader problem. "Currently there is this notion that augmented reality is all about the display of curated geodata. I think there's way more information in that scene and you really need image recognition overlaid on top of this to give more information of what is going on around you."
He also thinks image recognition will make the augmented reality experience better than the approximate position today's smartphones can calculate.
"To solve augmented reality, you need to have an extremely accurate location. The current method of extraction from handsets are really insufficient and in my view it leads to a poor user experience where you're looking in this direction and the app thinks you're looking over there - we really we need to crack that nut before augmented reality apps becomes interesting.
"We think computer vision is the solution to that; we can use computer vision techniques to supplement that data that's coming from the handset."
That kind of recognition would get away from the need for everywhere you go to have been mapped and annotated for augmented reality in advance; instead of telling you what is supposed to be where it thinks you are, a future version of Goggles would tell you what you're actually looking at.
Sometimes that could be too much information. Goggles doesn't have face recognition because of privacy concerns. And there are already calls for an open augmented reality standard, based on openARML (Open Augmented Reality Markup Language) - a standard way to describe points of interest, based on Google's KML.
"The viewfinder [on your phone] is the new browser", says Mike Liebhold from the Institute for the Future; "it's a view of data through the viewfinder. If it's a browser it should follow browser rules; it should be able to render the data independent of the client."
Opening up Goggles
Nalawadi promises that third-party apps will be able to build on Goggles; "Goggles is not just an app - it's a platform. Yes, we do plan to open up the platform as an API but we are not sure what the platform should be.
"I'm interested in understanding from developers what are the features and capabilities of Goggles that would be good to expose."
And that's when what you could achieve looking at the world through Google Goggles could really change what you see: "What are the interesting apps you can come up with?" Nalawadi asks. "What user experience can you create when you have access to computer vision?"
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First commercial 3D Blu-ray release dated and priced
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has announced the release date of its first 3D Blu-ray movie Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs, the first studio to do so.
Surprisingly, the release is happening in Germany first and not the US, with the disc penned in for 1 June release.
There will also be a 2D version available for those who have not yet jumped on the 3D bandwagon.
June release
The release marks the first time a 3D Blu-ray disc will be commercially available. Samsung did pip Sony to the post by bundling Monsters Vs Aliens with its 3D TV range but this disc is so far only exclusively available to Samsung owners.
The 3D Blu-ray release date is threadbare for this year, with only a trickle of titles available to those with 3D sets.
But the release of Meatballs is a significant one for Sony as it comes at around the same time that the company's free 3D firmware update is to be piped into PlayStation 3s all over the world and the latest Sony Blu-ray players.
Price isn't right
The 3D Blu-ray version of Meatballs – or to give it its sexy German name Wolkig Mit Aussicht Auf Flesiscbaellchen – has also been priced and will be a full €9 more expensive than its 2D counterpart, at €28.99.
Considering there hasn't been a significant drop in prices for normal Blu-ray discs, expect this price premium to come to the UK, too.
Nobody said that this 3D malarkey was going to be cheap.
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Quarter of Brits buy new PC when something goes wrong
Apparently nearly a quarter of Brits have bought a new computer rather than dealing with the problems, and 27 per cent admit to turning to violence in an attempt to coax their poor machine into doing what it's meant to.
Virgin Media is launching a Digital Home Support Service, and the company's research suggests that while the service may not really be pitched at the tech savvy TechRadar reader, it may save them getting the blame for other people's woes.
The report suggests that 58 per cent of people have sworn at their computer when it doesn't behave properly and 27 per cent have actually hit their machine.
This jars with our own entirely observational evidence that suggests that 100 per cent of TechRadar readers regularly indulge in the off frustrated screen slap when Adobe Reader fails to shut down or that file disappears into the temp folder Bermuda Triangle.
Technophile to blame
Of more relevance may be the admission from nearly a quarter of people who have turned on their tech-savvy friends or relatives when the PC isn't behaving.
Jon James, executive director of broadband at Virgin Media says: "A lack of computer knowledge combined with a lack of easily accessed support is leading to massive consumer frustration.
"Our research found evidence of customers so frustrated with fixing PC problems, they ended up buying a new PC when only a simple fix was needed.
"As customers demand more and more from their PCs and ultrafast broadband; we're launching the UK's best value help service from any ISP, both to help customers get the most out of their PCs and home devices, and to help them fix annoying everyday problems.
"With one in 10 internet users needing help with a technology problem at any point in time, Virgin Media Digital Home Support offers a comprehensive service exclusive for Virgin Media customers that uses new remote control technology to allow specialist technicians to fix 95 per cent of problems remotely and without the need for customers to hang on the phone or wait for a technician to visit."
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Review: Scan 3XS i3 OC
I said that Intel's latest dual-core CPUs had made the value segment of PCs rather more crowded. What I didn't mention was that as well as being far more crowded now, what with Intel offering a proper value competitor to AMD's budget range, it's also become a rather confusing segment too. This is ably demonstrated here by Scan Computer's 3XS i3 OC.
All conventional logic says that this machine, only £100 more expensive than the Palicomp Excalibur rig, should be far superior. The Athlon II chip of the Excalibur is based on rather elderly tech now, while this Core i3 CPU is based on the latest Nehalem architecture that powers the top-end PCs of today.
It may only be a dual-core chip, but with Intel's HyperThreading technology, it should better the four cores of the AMD chip. It's also overclocked to a huge 4GHz, over 1GHz faster than the stock speed of the chip. That, paired with the DDR3 memory installed in this rig, should put it head and shoulders above that AMD rig.
However, for all the technological improvements, new generations of hardware and overclocking prowess that Scan has bestowed on the 3XS i3 OC doesn't actually translate into superior performance.
Future proof
Much of this has to be laid at the feet of the HD 5770 that's taking care of the graphical responsibilities of both machines. It demonstrates the current state of PC gaming – devs coding for the five-year old hardware of the Xbox 360 rather than for the exponential advances PC tech has made – where this £100 GPU can cope with even the most recent titles on their highest settings at crazy resolutions like 2,560 x 1,600.
Granted, you'd rather be playing at the more realistic 1,680 x 1,050 resolution for smoothness' sake, but still, these machines are playable at the higher resolution.
The big surprise, though, is that the processor doesn't win outright against the Athlon II X4 from the Excalibur. Looking at the Cinebench figure, it's four seconds faster at rendering the full scene, but then the AMD chip pulls ahead in the X264 video encoding test. Given the Athlon II X4 is based on far older tech, it's definitely a surprise.
That said, I'd be far more comfortable with the Scan system from a purely future-looking standpoint. With the H55 motherboard, you've got the option to drop in anything up to a socket 1156 Core i7 and have the vast realms of DDR3 memory at your disposal.
The Excalibur, then, is far more limited, but it depends on whether you'd be happy to spend the extra £100 between them just for the less tangible idea of future-proofing rather than for a performance advantage now.
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NASA develops one-man personal rocket concept
NASA engineers have been working on new concept designs for personal aircrafts, with the company predicting what the future of air travel might look like.
NASA aerospace engineer Mark Moore came up with this latest vertical take-off and landing concept – called the Puffin personal air vehicle.
Puffins are eco-friendly
"If you've ever seen a puffin on the ground, it looks very awkward, with wings too small to fly, and that's exactly what our vehicle looks like," Moore told Scientific American, adding that the puffin is also known as an environmentally-friendly bird, because it hides its own excrement.
The Puffin's tail has four legs which double up as landing gear. The idea being that it lifts of vertically just like a helicopter, hovers for a while, before tipping forward to fly horizontally.
The Puffin concept aircraft would be an electric-powered, 12ft (3.7m) long, 14.5ft (4.4m) wingspan personal rocket weighing in at about 300lbs (136kg) when empty.
The key word in that last sentence being 'would'.
Test flights planned
Moore came up with the design as part of his doctoral degree, which he then sold on to NASA.
The Puffin would have a top speed of 150mph (241kph), but could easily cruise at lower speeds, with a range of around 50 miles.
The US National Institute of Aerospace is set to trial a remote control one-third size model of Moore's concept aircraft to test out whether or not the theories can possible be made into reality.
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Review: Sony VAIO VPC-Z11Z9E/B
In the past, Sony's Z-Series has blown us away with its stunning combination of power, mobility and features. The latest model – the VAIO VPC-Z11Z9E/B – has now taken things a huge step further and is the most powerful and capable laptop we've seen to date.
Performance is staggering, thanks to Sony cramming a cutting-edge Intel Core i7 CPU and an incredible 6144MB of highspeed DDR3 memory into its slim chassis. Outperforming the largest desktop replacements, even the most demanding software tasks are dispatched with ease.
Graphics performance matches this high standard with a high-performance Nvidia GT 330 GPU providing equally impressive power. You can easily edit high-definition (HD) video and run the latest games, and all without excessive heat generation.
An integrated Intel GPU is also in place and the VAIO automatically switches to this chip during downtime to save power. We noticed no real difference during testing, however, as the Sony ran for 285 minutes when using the Intel chip and 278 minutes from the Nvidia GPU.
Graphics are complemented by the vibrant 13.1-inch LED screen. While it isn't the brightest panel we've seen, colour and contrast are strong. The Full HD resolution is pleasing for such a small machine and provides very sharp images, but text appears quite small as a result.
Built using a mix of hybrid carbon fibre and milled aluminium, the 1.4kg chassis is extremely light and tough. The black and gunmetal grey colour scheme looks great and creates a high-end executive look.
The wide keyboard features the popular isolated-style. All keys are well-spaced and highly responsive, making the Sony a pleasure to work on. An ambient light sensor adjusts back-lighting on the keyboard automatically, making it easy to keep working in low light conditions.
RAID configured
Four 64GB Solid State Drives are set up in a RAID configuration, for a total of 256GB of storage. Due to its lack of mechanical components, this flash-based storage adds to the chassis' lightweight design and reduces the chance of hardware failure.
An integrated DVD rewriter is also in place for accessing DVDs and CDs, and a fingerprint scanner lets you add biometric security to your most important files.
Finally, 802.11n Wi-Fi and an integrated HSDPA module provide cutting-edge, high speed wireless connectivity.
With the VAIO VPC-Z11Z9E/B, Sony has set the standard for all ultraportables to aspire to. Not only is it the most powerful laptop you can buy, but it is also one of the most stylish and best-specified machines around and a stunning example of high-end mobile computing.
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Review: Dell Latitude Z600
The Dell Latitude Z600 is Dell's take on a high-end business laptop. Sporting a striking design, there is a wealth of impressive software on offer to make this an excellent choice for those who take their business seriously.
The machine certainly looks the part and the soft-touch cherry-red finish is both functional and attractive.
The laptop's wide chassis means there's plenty of room for a large backlit keyboard, but we feel the space could have been better utilised – with a dedicated numeric keypad, for example. The typing action itself is excellent, however, despite a bit of flex.
Dell Capture
The laptop is crammed with proprietary software to make your life easier, like Dell Capture which uses the laptop's webcam to take photos of business cards, which you can catalogue and even export to your Outlook address book. It's quick, intuitive and not at all gimmicky.
It also lets you scan documents and convert them to PDF format for easy organisation or emailing.
The right-hand-side of the laptop's screen frame is touch-sensitive. When you touch the bottom of the frame a number of options appear, giving you touch-access to various applications. It also lets you scroll up and down documents quickly and easily, instead of using the touchpad.
A CULV Intel Core 2 Duo processor provides everyday performance, alongside 4096MB of DDR3 memory. We found it to be decent enough for office work, but anything more resource-intensive will see the machine show signs of lag.
An integrated Intel graphics card provides the laptop with limited 3D performance, but it's fine for watching movies on – although the laptop doesn't feature an integrated optical drive. Nevertheless, a 256GB Solid State Drive is in place and provides sufficient room for storing the occasional film, along with all your work files and folders.
The 16-inch screen is fantastic and the 1600 x 900-pixel resolution is very sharp. The panel is also bright and there's no shiny screen coating, meaning no distracting reflections in bright light.
The large screen size does mean that this isn't the most portable laptop around, but the 2.1kg the machine weighs isn't going to be a massive burden and the 200-minute battery life is just acceptable.
Connectivity is decent, with 802.11n Wi-Fi and Gigabit Ethernet on board, and there's also two USB ports, an eSATA interface and a DisplayPort in place for hooking up to external monitors.
We are impressed by the Dell Latitude Z600. It's a smartly designed machine with decent performance and some fantastic business features.
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Sky Player coming to Humax Freeview boxes
Sky has announced an agreement to bring its Sky Player to Humax Freeview set-top boxes, bringing its content to thousands of users.
Although it has already done deals with 3View and Cello, as well as with Microsoft on the Xbox, Sky's latest rollout of its IPTV video on demand service is a significant milestone.
Humax's Freeview boxes are both popular and critically acclaimed, and the company represents a key player in the Freeview market.
The news emerged in a speech given by Sky's chief executive Jeremy Darroch in Cannes.
Unconfined
"Until recently, Sky Player has largely been confined to the PC screen but that is changing fast. Since last autumn, it has been available on the XBox and this year it will roll out to more broadband-enabled devices through deals with the likes of Fetch TV, 3 View and Cello," said Darroch.
"Just today, we're announcing a further expansion of Sky Player through a new agreement with Humax, the leading provider of Freeview boxes. And there are more deals in the pipeline."
Sky is still furiously fighting against Ofcom being able to set the price of its premium sports content, and much of Darroch's speech dealt in how to ensure that content producers were well served.
But with the Sky Player appearing on an increasing number on platforms, the company appears to be reinforcing its mantra that 'content is king' – and looking beyond the satellite platform for audience.
More choice and control
"In providing both new and existing customers with more choice and control over how they access Sky content, we continue to harness secure and high-quality distribution platforms like Humax," said Griff Parry, Sky's Director of On-Demand.
"We know that many Sky homes also have Freeview in other rooms, and this provides a great way for them to enjoy Sky away from their Sky box. And for new customers, particularly those in Freeview homes, it provides an innovative new access point to Sky's high-quality pay TV content."
Humax's Graham North added: "The addition of Sky Player on our Freeview HD boxes ensures Humax is positioned to offer consumers an exciting way to experience digital TV, with great content and a range of home networking and content sharing features."
Sky's online TV service will launch across Humax's new range of IP-enabled high definition (HD) digital boxes for Freeview.
"This includes the UK's first Freeview HD box, the Humax HD-FOX T2, which launched in February 2010, and a Humax HD digital TV recorder planned for the coming months," confirmed Sky.
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How to turn your iPad into a cool retro phone
While the US tech community seems strangely obsessed with Steampunk styling, here in the UK we prefer our retro-tech a little bit more modern.
We like the cool 1950s art-deco styling of the original Bakelite phone instead of the faux-Victorian sci-fi look, which is why this new retro handset add-on for the Apple iPad grabbed our attention this week.
iRetro styling
BoingBoing contributor Mark Frauenfelder noted how this rather fetching Moshi Moshi 01H handset from Native Union turns the iPad into a Dom Joly-style mobile phone.
However, while we would not really feel very comfortable using this retro Skype mobile on the bus, we are seriously considering investing in the handset for home use.
There is something deeply comforting about using one of these handsets for long phone conversations.
We will of course be sure to report back with a detailed hands on assessment as soon as we get the shipment in…
"Is that a retro handset in your pocket, or are you just glad to see me?" kidded one BoingBoing commenter. Others thought the set-up "looks like Jobs' Bat Phone" and one joker added:
"What a great idea, only if it were about 1/4 the size and had bluetooth. Now that's an untapped market..."
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Intel hints at dual-core Atoms for netbooks
Dual-core Atom processors for netbooks could be coming soon from Intel, according to the company's president Paul Otellini.
Intel has had its best start to the year ever, with a huge increase in profit showing that the economic difficulties have not stopped people investing in their computers.
Speaking as the results were announced, Otellini said: "the next innovation coming out on Atom is dual core, which comes out in the second quarter."
With dual-core Atoms already being used in small media computers or nettops, to merit such an announcement it seems likely that the forthcoming chips are for netbooks.
Quarter masters
Intel announced a 400 percent increase in year-on-year quarterly profit, raking in $2.4 billion (£1.55bn) and producing a profit of 43 cents a share – significantly more than analyst predictions.
The company cited that it was huge growth in its mobile microprocessor revenue that was responsible for the good news.
Of course, Intel's Atom chips remain dominant in the burgeoning netbook market, and the company has traditionally been very strong in laptops, despite competition from rival AMD.
Intel is also looking forward to some key additions to its offering in the coming months, including the Moorestown platform and the dual-core Atoms that have got the mobile computing world humming.
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