Guide: How to stream video from your Mac to iPad
One of the reasons people are excited by iOS devices is because Apple is the first company to make multimedia convergence really work.
Previous examples of broadly similar technology often failed to convince in every area – a good games device having an awful web browser, for example, or a decent music player being terrible for watching videos on.
By contrast, Apple's iPad, iPhone and iPod touch are all great for a wide variety of tasks, including surfing the web, playing games, listening to music, reading electronic books and watching videos. However, the lack of storage space on iOS devices means video can be a problem, since video files are often huge.
On your Mac, you probably don't notice this, since hard drives are now typically in the hundreds of gigabytes; but iOS devices currently max out at 64GB (and the devices with the lowest capacities offer just 8GB of storage), which means that even a relatively modest collection of movies, video podcasts and TV shows may leave you with little space for storing anything else.
For many people, the solution is to just sync a handful of videos to a device, watch them and then replace them with a few more unwatched shows.
However, media management of this sort is a tedious process, and while it makes sense putting in this kind of effort if you're loading a device with specific content for a train journey or holiday, Air Video makes it unnecessary if you're within the boundaries of your Wi-Fi network.
The Air Video system comes in two parts. On your Mac, you install server software and then, via the application's preferences, define which folders it should make available (such as ~/Movies); you can also create playlists (standard or smart) of your favourite video podcasts and movies in iTunes, and add those to the list.
You then install Air Video Free or Air Video on your device(s), which enables you to access your defined folders and playlists, and play the videos within. The free version of Air Video only shows a few randomly chosen items from any folder or playlist, but nonetheless offers a useful taster for the full version (and a means of playing content if you only want to watch a few items now and again, without syncing them to your device), but the full version lacks such restrictions.
Both versions handily provide live conversion (assuming your Mac's powerful enough) of video formats not otherwise compatible with iOS, including AVI and FLV, and there's also an option for saving outputted files so Air Video doesn't have to convert them again next time.
If you fancy paying for the full version of Air Video, it's on the App Store for £1.79. And because it's a universal app, Air Video will work on any device running iOS 3 or later.
Here, we explain how to use Air Video for various tasks. For further information about (and troubleshooting details for) the system itself, simply visit www.inmethod.com/air-video.
Use Air Video to access your videos over Wi-Fi
01. Install the server
Download Air Video Server for your Mac. Open the DMG, drag the Air Video Server application to your Applications folder and launch it.
After a few seconds, the Air Server icon should appear in your Mac's menu bar (it looks like a film strip with a Wi-Fi signal over it). By default, the server will be turned on at this point. You can use Stop Server and Start Server within the menu to disable and enable Air Video Server.
02. Configure the server
Within the same menu, select Server Preferences, which opens the Air Video Server Properties window. Click Shared Folders.
Here, you define which folders on your Mac and which iTunes playlists you'd like to enable the Air Video iOS app to access. Note that the Air Video app can happily navigate folders, so adding your Movies folder (~/Movies) and the Films and Podcasts iTunes playlists might be enough for you.
However, you can also manually create other video-oriented playlists in iTunes or use smart playlists to collect certain series. For example, we're fans of Robert Llewellyn's Carpool (see http:// llewtube.com for more on the series), and created a Carpool smart playlist by using the playlist rules Media Kind is Podcast and Name contains carpool.
Before closing the window, you might also want to check Start at Login under Settings if you'd like Air Video Server to automatically start when you boot your Mac. If not, you'll have to launch the application manually each time you want to use Air Video.
03. Use the iPhone app
On your iPhone or iPod touch, launch Air Video, tap the + button and select your Mac from the available servers. On doing so, you're returned to the servers list, which will now include your computer. Tap it and you'll see the folders and playlists you added earlier.
Tap one to load its contents. Tap a video file to see its details and Play to start playing it using standard iOS video controls. This should work fine with QuickTime files and iTunes content that's not protected by DRM.
Note that the inability to play content with DRM over Wi-Fi is a restriction imposed by Apple.
Videos that cannot be played will show an error message when you press Play. (Strangely, we found some videos that were 'DRM protected' nonetheless played!)
04. Convert incompatible videos
Many video file types that work on your Mac won't play on iOS devices. However, rather than converting them, adding them to iTunes then syncing them, let Air Video do the grunt work.
You get two options: Play with Live Conversion plays the video in real-time (assuming your Mac is powerful enough); Convert converts the video to an iOS-compatible format, the settings for which can be amended in Conversion Settings.
If you're feeling impatient and want to watch a video while also making a conversion for later, just start the conversion going and then use the Play with Live Conversion option. And should you want to see the conversion queue at any time, simply press the Queue button; you can then edit queued items or cancel specific conversions.
05. Use the iPad app
As noted elsewhere, Air Video is a universal application, which means you can buy it once and install it on multiple iOS devices. On the iPad, the features mentioned in the previous two steps work in the same way, but the interface is quite different.
Instead of the iPhone version's 'sliding column' approach, Air Video on the iPad has a dual-pane setup much like Mail's. On the left, you see a list of videos, and you tap one to load it into the playback area on the right. The video list can be expanded if titles are cropped (tap Expand) and collapsed once you're done (tap Collapse).
If you decide you'd like to watch your video full-screen, start playing it and tap the full-screen icon at its bottom right, as you do when viewing video embedded in a web page.
06. Air Video Free
If you only want to watch the occasional video and are feeling particularly miserly, Air Video Free is an option. It's also a universal app, but it only shows a few randomly chosen items per folder or playlist.
You can refresh until you see what you want to watch; alternatively, create folders or playlists with only a few items prior to an iOS Air Video session.
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In Depth: How we build Ubuntu
Ubuntu is one of the most polished Linux distributions available, fusing the work of a global community of contributors who provide a diverse range of skills to make Ubuntu what it is. While we all enjoy the fruits of a new Ubuntu release every six months, many people have asked the team over the years how this wide range of contributors manage to come together to build a new Ubuntu release.
In this article we're going to explain how a new Ubuntu release is made, what kind of skills and talent go into it, and what organisational structure we use to bring together this range of contributions into one cohesive unit.
Regular releases
At the heart of the Ubuntu project is a commitment to deliver a new release every six months. Unlike many software projects that identify a set of core features to deliver in a release, and who are often willing to delay the release until those features are complete, Ubuntu never releases late. If a given feature will not be ready in time for release, we bump the feature, not delay the release.
This six-month period is known as a Release Cycle and is published at the beginning of a new cycle. As an example, the current development release (Ubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat) has its schedule published at http://wiki.ubuntu.com/MaverickReleaseSchedule.
The cycle is broken down into a few key components:
Freezes
A freeze is when a particular type of development must stop, typically ready for release. There are different type of freeze, such as UI Freeze (no more changes in user interface elements), string freeze (no more translations), and feature freeze (no more significant feature development).
Alphas
Throughout a release cycle we make a number of snapshot releases as the release develops. These alpha releases are sometimes incomplete and buggy (owing to their work-inprogress nature), but provide a good opportunity to target features to them.
Betas
Beta release are feature-complete releases that need a lot of testing. We often recommend the beta as a good time for testers to upgrade, stresstest Ubuntu and file bugs.
Release candidate
A release candidate comes just before the final version, and is released to spur on a final chunk of testing from the community. This six-month cycle and these different elements are present in every release, and the community is welcome to upgrade to a new development release as soon as it opens for work – though regular users may wish to wait until the later stages of development before they try the new version out.
It all begins with Debian
The way we build Ubuntu is to take source code from open source projects (known as upstreams) and upload it to a build machine in the Launchpad project hosting site that will build a package ready for installation in a Ubuntu system. These packages mesh together to form the full distro, from the kernel that boots the machine, right up to the applications you run.
The first phase of the release cycle involves bringing in new releases of upstream components into Ubuntu. To do this we import the full Debian package archive and build it for Ubuntu.
We use Debian because it's the single most effective way to keep up to date with upstream code (Debian maintainers package new upstream releases on a frequent basis, often faster than we are able to do so), and because Debian and Ubuntu are similar in many ways so their bugfixes are often bugfixes for us too.
With this core set of packages from Debian imported into Ubuntu, we then take a set of our modifications to many of the packages (known as patches), which transform the Debian package into one that looks more like Ubuntu.
As an example, the Debian packages for Gnome don't include many of the modifications we make such as default software choices, default theme, additional panel features etc. All of these patches that transform Debian packages into Ubuntu packages are freely available at http://patches.ubuntu.com.
The next step is to decide what new feature development we want to do and to build those features into the new Ubuntu development release. The Ubuntu Developer Summit Primary feature decisions and plans are made at our twice-annual Ubuntu Developer Summit, whose location alternates between the USA and Europe.
The Ubuntu Developer Summit (UDS), is an event in which we send our full Ubuntu development team, and we sponsor a significant number of community members to attend.
The week-long event is broken into nine tracks (Desktop, Server, Community, Mobile, Design, Foundations, QA, Security, and Ubuntu on ARM) each of which has a track lead who schedules sessions for each track throughout the week. These sessions are requested by Canonical staff, community members and more and are designed to provide a place to discuss and plan particular features, scoped specifically to the new release.
Throughout the full UDS week a huge range of topics are discussed, decisions are made, solutions are fleshed out, and ultimately these conclusions are documented. And thus, we move on to the blueprinting phase.
In any large software project it is critical to document feature plans for a target release and ensure that everyone who has a hand in building that feature and solution knows what they are doing and what work is assigned to them.
Over the years we have worked hard to formalise a process in which these plans and expectations are not only documented, but also that:
1. We can ensure that the work is kept on track, and
2. The community has visibility on the whole process, as per the transparency-driven ethos of Ubuntu.
To do this we heavily use a feature in Launchpad called blueprints. Blueprints provides a place to document plans and track their progress.
After a given session at a UDS in which an idea or feature is discussed, a blueprint is registered in Launchpad that outlines the goal of the feature and a link to a specification. A specification is a wiki page on wiki.ubuntu.com that fully outlines the plan of what problem the feature solves and how it should be implemented.
Most specs include the following information:
Summary - What the feature does.
Rationale - Why we need the feature and what the justification is.
Use Cases - Common examples of user demand or workflow that justifies the feature or outlines its functionality.
Scope - What elements of the feature will be completed within the cycle.
Design - How the design of the feature works.
Implementation plan - How the implementation works and what work is involved.
Outstanding issues - Any outstanding or unresolved issues.
With a blueprint registered that points to the spec with the full details of the feature, anyone in the community can easily see the full range of features that are being discussed for the next Ubuntu release.
The blueprints feature in Launchpad also enables anyone to subscribe to a blueprint so that when it changes all subscribers get an email with details of the change. This is a great low-bandwidth way of keeping up to date with specs that interest you.
The next step is that blueprints are then filled with work items. With any feature or plan, work is often distributed across multiple people, and each work item is one task assigned to a specific person.
Inside every blueprint in Launchpad is a feature called the whiteboard, which provides an editable part of the blueprint that anyone can edit. We use the whiteboard as a place to store these work items.
At a UDS we'll register a blueprint before each session idea, and the spec is written and the work items are discussed and documented in the whiteboard's blueprint. When we add these work items they are stored in a specific format so that we can process them.
The format is: [assignee] Task to do: STATUS
As an example, a work item for me could be:
[jonobacon] Review process with Tech Board: TODO
Work items have four possible statuses (TODO, DONE, INPROGRESS and POSTPONED), and we use these as a means to track progress on the work.
When we have a blueprint with a completed spec and documented work items, we then assign the blueprint to a given milestone in the release cycle (alpha, beta etc). This is a useful tool for helping the developers working on the project to ensure that the right parts of the feature land at the right times.
As an example, a feature may require a back-end service to be set up first, which a front-end client then consumes. We would probably target the back-end service to alpha 1 and the front-end service to alpha 2.
At this point we have a series of blueprints with documented work items and specs all assigned to the right-hand portion of the cycle, and we are now ready to start implementing the work.
Typically much of the feature development work that happens involves either new features from upstream being pulled in and implemented into the distribution (such as support for WebM in GStreamer), or new development happening to build the new feature (such as Canonical developing the Unity interface for the Ubuntu Netbook Edition).
Building features
To pull in a new feature from upstream we first need to build a source package of the new upstream release. This source package includes the files relating to the Debian packaging system rules and it is uploaded to a build server where it is built and made part of the distribution.
The package is then released to those running the development version of Ubuntu who will typically test it and report bugs for problems they find. When a bug is filed, the development team review it, assign it a priority level and often assign someone to it to develop to fix.
For a new piece of development (new code), the blueprint typically outlines who is assigned to write the code, and when a first cut of the code is ready, it is packaged and uploaded like any other package.
For much of the new desktop engineering work going on in Ubuntu (such as the application indicators, Notify OSD, the panel menu, messaging/sound menu, Unity etc) we have a regular upload window of Thursday each week. This means that the developers writing code for these features always ship a weekly package to ensure their progress is synced with the distribution. This has worked well for exposing their work to more testers and better desktop integration.
Throughout this process a wide variety of skills and contributions latch on to the regular flow of updates entering the development version of Ubuntu. This includes regular testing, constant translations, updated documentation and regular bug triage.
Tracking progress
As you can tell from this process, there is often a lot of detail floating around. This isn't a problem for most community members, as they often only care about a handful of blueprints, but Ubuntu team managers at Canonical such as myself have to balance a large number of blueprints across our team members.
To provide better visibility on progress in our work we developed a system that was designed to make the work across a cycle much easier to understand not only for managers, but everyone who participates. This system is called the Burndown Work Item system.
Let's have a quick recap. Earlier we discussed that when we decide to work on a feature for a new Ubuntu release we produce a blueprint with a set of work items assigned to specific people and each work item has a status assigned to it (TODO, DONE, INPROGRESS or POSTPONED). We also target the blueprint to a particular milestone in the cycle (such as an Alpha).
These are all the ingredients we need to generate a burndown chart. The burndown chart for my team and the blueprints I am responsible for. I run the Community team at Canonical, and as part of the team I approve this set of blueprints that my team and community members will work on throughout the cycle.
The burndown tracking tool reads in all the work items from these blueprints and generates a graph. On the Y axis on the left are the total number of work items for the release cycle across the blueprints, and the X axis along the bottom is the length of a cycle. Each day a new bar is plotted on the graph and coloured to reflect the proportion of DONE (green), TODO (red) and POSTPONED (orange) items.
The goal is simple: keep the red TODO bars under the the thick black line (called the Trend Line). If we do this, we are on track to complete work items throughout the cycle.
As you can see from my burndown chart as it stands today (available at http://people.canonical.com/~pitti/workitems/maverick/canonical-community.html) we are only part way through the cycle. My goal as a manager is to ensure that all actions are planned and executed to ensure there is smooth completion of items throughout the cycle.
Wrapping Up
Building a new release of an Operating System every six months is a complicated process, but I hope this article has provided a useful way of dipping your toes into the water before finding out more online.
If you're interested in finding out more about how Ubuntu works, I recommend you first take a look at https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuDevelopment, where you can explore the technical processes involved in building Ubuntu. If you would like to get more involved in building packages you can also see https://wiki.ubuntu.com/PackagingGuide to learn how to build Ubuntu packages.
Alternatively, if you need to ask for help or how to get started, just log on to IRC and head to #ubuntu-devel and ask, or email me at jono@ubuntu.com.
I look forward to seeing you on the bleeding edge!
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In Depth: Will sat navs all be cloud-based by 2020?
A leading automotive analyst says that by the end of the decade all navigation will be cloud-based. Phil Magney, vice president of Automotive Research at analyst iSuppli, spoke about how mobile apps and the cloud are revolutionising the design of in-car HMI (Human Machine Interface) design. "What do I use? I use my Android phone. The content is just more relevant. In five years half the navigation users will be cloud-based... by the end of the decade everything will be cloud-based. The general telematics trend is moving [towards having] open platforms and app stores."
"On-board resources are going out in favour of cloud-based resources. No matter what you say, it's all moving to the cloud."
Magney was speaking about the changing times in HMI design at the SVOX Forum in Zurich. SVOX is a provider for text-to-speech systems and has been working on more natural speech recognition for in-car use – its partners include Clarion, Microsoft Auto and the Open Handset Alliance (Android).
"TTS (Text To Speech) is very, very important with the emphasis on bringing messaging and email into the car", said Magney. "This heightens the need for TTS."
Mobile apps running on smartphones can provide information or even a skin which runs on the head unit. Mini Connected is an iPhone app which enables you to listen to internet radio through your iPhone but using the controls of your Mini's HMI.
The stage on from that is to have apps running on the head unit itself, with a smartphone OS like Android inside the car – however, iSuppli warns that would require work on how the apps can be distributed and who gets a share in the revenue.
Connectivity and bandwidth will, however, surely be a major stumbling block with any of these systems. Magney was vague as to how this would be paid for. "I presume they'll go to a tiered pricing plan," he tamely suggested.
Likewise, Magney was also questioned about the quality of service on mobile networks while driving. "I guess it's my belief that LTE comes along and takes care of the issues with regard to bandwidth."
In another talk, BMW's Alexandre Saad said that mobile apps have to be well designed to succeed in-car, not least because of the cycle of car design. "A head unit could be four years old... the apps are not known at the design stage. Applications should be developed independently from car production cycles and other car technology."
Phil Magney also talked about the example of the BMW Station – pictured above – which enables an iPhone to effectively be embedded into the dashboard and - via a BMW app due in early 2011 – control in-car systems. We've also previously seen Audi's Google-based system at CES while Mercedes Benz has also shown a cloud-based head unit.
Potential for distraction
However, one of the big questions of in-car apps remains over driver safety. "You still have safety and security to worry about. Driver distraction is going to be the biggest issue. Governments will come down hard on automakers because of the distractive nature of mobile apps."
Magney suggested that one idea was that some intelligence could be supplied to how HMIs are used, perhaps depending on the time of day or the conditions but – perhaps unsurprisingly – many of the other speakers at the SVOX Forum were focused on better, more natural speech solutions as the key method to reduce driver distraction.
Thomas Scheerbarth, senior expert in Voice & Multimodal Solutions at Deutsche Telekom said that studies carried out using a PTT (Push to Talk) button had reduced eye dwell time on the in-car system to around two per cent. However, a demo video of a in-car scenario with a touch-interface where emails were being read out revealed eye dwell time as significantly more.
There's also the question of how smartphone apps will sit alongside the embedded model – systems like BMW iDrive and the Microsoft Auto-based Ford Sync. "These things will coexist. We do believe long term that you'll have embedded for the driver's sake and mobile apps for the passenger's sake."
"Unfortunately people aren't going to pay for traditional telematics. But mobile apps... that's what will drive them into the showrooms to buy those cars."
Doing open source properly
With many in-car systems moving to open source operating systems like Android, Andrew Till, head of solutions marketing at mobile software provider Teleca, warned that using open source isn't a ticket to cheaper design.
"Open source is not free. Yes, you can get the code, but everybody else you're competing with can get the same code. [Those who have] reduced their R&D budget, are less competitive.
Till warned that those designing using open source software should design for platforms and portability not lead devices. He said that the initial outlay is not inconsiderable, with the first device being 150 per cent of the cost of using a closed platform, but the second 75 per cent and so on.
Till also warned that the licensing in open source was very important to think about. "MeeGo is distributed under the GNU license – it's important to understand where you need to contribute code back. Android however is under the Apache2 licence and doesn't require you to contribute anything back."
"We'll end up in a strong multi-OS world. That said, some will disappear, it's too fragmented."
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Apple Peel 520 'iPod to iPhone converter' leaves China
An iPod case created by Chinese developer Yosion is heading to the US, which turns humble iPods into fully functional iPhones.Although the Apple Peel 520 has been out in China for a while, the case is set to debut in the west after GoSolarUSA announced it would be manufacturing the product for the American market.
The case uses a wireless skin that includes a circuit board, a 4.5-hour battery, dock connector and SIM card.
iPod jailbreak
The caveat is that the Apple Peel 520 has to be connected to a jail-broken iPod touch to work properly as software has to be installed. It's pretty cheap, though, with the Apple Peel 520 looking to retail for $60.
As it is heading the US, this does mean that it may well enter the UK market as well.
That is if Apple doesn't block the release of the case, as the news of its impending US launch will probably mean Steve Jobs and co are speaking to their friendly lawyers right now.
Personally, we can't wait to see the antenna comparison tests between the case and the iPhone 4.
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In Depth: How to buy a PC for editing video and photos
With everything in this world turning digital, manipulating and editing vast amounts of HD video and multi-megabyte images is starting to become a job many of us have to handle.If you're looking to put together a professional-level multimedia suite these are our recommendations for a suitable powered system.
When it comes to crunching a lot of information you can't get enough processor power. Couple that with a large amount of memory and heavy-weight tasks can be chomped through in record time. When dealing with processors it's best to think of them as the computer's engine.
Similarly to an engine, processors can run at faster speeds measured in gigahertz, but they can also have more processing cores similar to an engine having more cylinders. Today it's common for most processors to have two, but four and six core models are available. With well written software these cores can all be utilised to power through tasks in record times.
Both Intel and AMD offer multi-core processors. AMD has its affordable Phenom II X4 and X6 range. Intel has its very expensive Core i7 970 six-core processor. While the rest of the Core i7 range are all quad-core, these are all generally taken to be faster than the best AMD Phenom II X6 processors.
Next down in performance is the Core i5 range. Both the Core i5-750 and 760 are quad-core models offering similar performance to the six-core AMD Phenom II X6 processors. The Core i5-6xx range are all dual-core but offer similar performance to the Phenom II X4 quad-core models.
Which you choose is more a matter of cost. The high-end Intel Core i7 options do have inherent extra costs. The required socket 1366 motherboards cost more and the processors themselves are significantly more expensive.
Once you come down to the Intel socket 1156 options, costs between the AMD and Intel choices are much closer, with AMD being potentially the slightly cheaper one, if cost is an issue.
As with the other computer-type choices new motherboards tend to spoil you for choice when it comes to onboard options. However make sure the one you choose offer enough hard drive SATA connection, USB ports and if you need them Firewire connections.
Our processor reviews will help you choose a new processor.
Memory for HD video editing
It wouldn't matter if you chose the fastest processor on the planet if you don't back it up with enough work space to do its funky binary work thing. A key player in making a fast video or photo editing workstation is giving the processor exactly that, and to do so means installing as much memory as possible.
If you've selected a good motherboard it'll have either four DDR3 memory slots or six in the case of the Intel Core i7 socket 1366 systems. Fully populating these slots with identical memory sticks of the largest DDR3 you can afford will do just that.
Before buying your memory it's important to check that the motherboard supports the size and amount of memory you're planning on installing. Many motherboards support a maximum of 16GB total system memory, so on a four DIMM installation using 4GB sticks you're going to max-out the board. Currently 8GB single sticks are available, so only two of these could be installed in such a motherboard.
The more expensive Core i7 socket 1366 motherboard support 24GB, so again this will be maxed-out with six 4GB sticks. We wouldn't worry too much about the raw speed of the memory you opt for, people can get caught up in wanting the fastest possible, but even the slower PC8500/1066MHz memory is only going to lost a couple of percentage points slower in speed over the faster PC10600/1333MHz options.
As with gaming PCs it's important to note that for systems using more than 3GB of main memory you'll need a 64-bit installation of Windows. Until now most installations have been 32-bit and these only provided access to around 3.2GB of system memory, any more installed would be ignored.
A 64-bit installation can take full advantage of 4GB and above. If you're buying Windows 7 it comes with both a 32-bit and 64-bit install discs.
Check out our memory reviews and memory reviews for more info.
Graphics cards for video editing
Unless you're working with OpenGL 3D rendering packages you may consider the requirement of a high-end graphics card to be somewhat unnecessary for photo editing and video work.
The situation is that packages such as Photoshop CS4 and CS5 can now use the power within a modern GPU to perform complex mathematical calculations at blistering speeds, which translates into faster manipulation and filter performance.
Also your video package may offer 3D transitions that can be rendered using the installed graphics card's capabilities. It'll be down to the software and the type of graphics card it can take advantage of for example Photoshop CS5 can use both AMD and Nvidia cards to accelerate certain operations.
We've tested all the latest cards in our graphics cards reviews.
Monitors
A good visual workspace is vital when editing both video and photography. Modern graphics cards offer dual-display and greater capabilities. This enables your PC to drive more than one display at the same time with an extended desktop. This enables you to maintain one display for your editing and a second display to hold the pallet boxes, web browser, email and other windows.
As for choosing a decent monitor for professional work try to find out if the panel is TN, IPS or VA based, the latter two are far superior technologies for colour reproduction, however it can be painful information to find out.
You'll find the few 30-inch monitors that offer a beautiful 2560x1600 resolution are IPS or VA models and cost around the £1,000 mark.
Most of the more affordable 24-inch monitors that provide a good 1920x1080 resolution tend to be TN, though HP offer a number of IPS models, such as the LP2475w and there's the Dell U2410.
Browse hundreds of monitors in our monitor reviews.
Storage
If you're running lots of heavy video processing then dedicated high-performance drives are usually the primary storage option. Additionally in a professional environment back-up solutions are usually a welcome addition.
The simplest option that covers both speed and security is a simple mirrored RAID-1 solution, which is two identical drives running in tandem so if one fails there's another mirroring it. Alternatively, a full RAID-5 solution offers similar protection and speed enhancements, but over a bank of three or more drives.
All motherboards will be offering SATA 2.0 support - if not the latest SATA 3.0 - this has enough speed to transfer 286MB/s, which far surpasses the performance of any spinning hard drive's continuous transfer speed, which is to say it's good enough.
There's also the solid state drive or SSD option, these provide staggering speed but have reduced capacities and are far more expensive but you may consider these worthwhile tradeoffs.
To choose your PC storage, head over to our PC storage reviews.
Mice and keyboards
While you can't beat a normal mouse and keyboard combination these aren't the only way of interacting with your computer. Some creatives opt for the tablet input option, while these can take some getting used to they provide a more natural pen-based method of controlling and interacting with your PC.
They're not always the best way of working with general windows but when it comes to touching up images then using one is far more like working with a pencil, and offers far more control over precise work.
The best known brand is Wacom that offers a complete range from small hobby tablets, up to full A4 sized ones with displays built in to them.
For video users it's more likely that you're be looking for additional audio inputs, which are best catered for via a plug-in sound card. As this will offer 1/4-inch jacks for input, along with midi controls.
Our keyboard reviews, mouse reviews and graphics tablet reviews will point you in the right direction.
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Blu-rays for home cinema nuts: The Exorcist
Since its release in 1973, The Exorcist has proven to be one of the greatest horror films of all time. Or if you believe the lacquered locks of Mark Kermode, then it is the greatest film of all time.While the exploits of Regan, Father Karras and a little demon that goes by the name of Pazuza may not seem like perfect Blu-ray fodder – with the film nearly 40 years old – Home Cinema Choice has taken a gander at the Blu-ray and is mightily impressed by what it saw.
Head turning
Speaking about the print's HD makeover, Anton van Beek, news editor of HCC, said: "No matter how many times you've seen it before, this two-disc Blu-ray edition of The Exorcist is sure to turn heads.
"The VC-1 1.85:1 1080p encodes for both versions of the film look sensational, revealing a level of detail and clarity you've never seen before. And colour saturation is excellent throughout, ensuring that the pea-green vomit looks more vibrant, and repulsive, than ever before."
Your mother knits socks in Hull
As for the audio quality, van Beek notes: "Add to that a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack that even has director William Friedkin claiming 'I've heard little details in the soundtrack of the Blu-ray that I'd never heard, that I didn't even know were in the track', and a wealth of extras including three new high-def featurettes and the full-length version of the Fear of God documentary, and this is a set no Exorcist fan can do without."
As The Wire so eloquently put it, the devil is in the detail and this is why Home Cinema Choice has put up some full-size grabs of the Blu-ray of Exorcist on its website.
The Exorcist is out 11 October, courtesy of Warner Home Video, and is priced at £19.99.
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Panasonic brings 3D to TV screens
Panasonic has announced that its latest advert for its Viera 3D TVs will get an airing tonight (24 September), showcasing the why consumers need 3D in their homes now.The advert is the first of what Panasonic is calling its 'biggest-ever' pre-Christmas campaign and it is getting a prime-time slot – on ITV1 at 19.45 during Coronation Street.
Full HD 3D
Panasonic recently launched its new Viera VT20 3D Plasma TVs with 42- and 46-inch screen sizes, as well as its 42-inch GT20 3D Plasma TV.
It will be hoping that the new advert will entice more punters to 3D in the home.
Panasonic also has the DMP-BDT300 Full HD 3D Blu-ray player in the shops which makes up its 3D ecosystem.
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In Depth: The future of KDE
MeeGo is less than a year old. KDE, by contrast, has 14 years of experience in building the Linux desktop. Even with the backing of the world's largest mobile phone and processor vendors, it takes a bold man to turn up at Akademy, KDE's annual global conference, and announce that MeeGo is "redefining the Linux desktop landscape". Valtteri Halla, Nokia's director of MeeGo software, is such a man. He not only set out his vision for how MeeGo will take over the world, but invited KDE along for the ride.
Akademy begins with a two-day conference showcasing the latest advances in KDE technology, news from the community and the views of speakers from outside that group, such as Halla.
The conference is then followed by five days of meetings, workshops, hacking sessions and networking, during which consensus for the year ahead is reached and problems spanning more than one of KDE's teams get solved as contributors meet face to face in the same time zone.
This year's conference had two main themes: extending use of KDE software beyond Linux on desktop computers, and connecting users and data through social networking and cloud computing.
With the recent advances of Google's Android operating system in the smartphone marketplace and the merger of Nokia's Maemo with Intel's Moblin projects to create the MeeGo operating system, these are exciting times for free software beyond the desktop.
The success of services such as Google Documents, Dropbox, Facebook, Twitter and the buzz around Google's upcoming Chrome OS has also focused the KDE community on greater interaction with, and control over, online services.
Going mobile
KDE has had mobile devices as a target ever since planning began for KDE 4.0. Having Valtteri Halla present, along with other Nokia and Intel representatives with an interest in MeeGo, provided a great opportunity for KDE to show off its existing mobile technologies, present its plans for the future and share experiences.
MeeGo's policy of working with and contributing to upstream projects has already worked well for KDE. Nokia has adapted KDE's KOffice applications to make a mobile office viewer application, fixing bugs in KOffice and improving its handling of Microsoft's document formats at the same time, while also saving Nokia the time and expense of developing a solution from scratch.
Some key KDE teams presented their work on porting applications to mobile devices. Till Adam, from the KDE Personal Information Management team, explained how the port of the communication suite Kontact is going.
Adam already uses Kontact on his own phone, although some optimisations are needed before it's ready for general use. The main challenges for Kontact are adapting the interface to small screens, reducing processor and memory demands, and minimising network traffic.
The ultimate goal is to go far beyond the capabilities of currently available mobile mail clients; Adam believes that users will do more with their phones if the negative effects on battery life can be alleviated.
Find your way with Marble
The team behind Marble, KDE's desktop globe, have also been busy. With the release of KDE 4.5, Marble will include advanced location search using OpenStreetMap data, enabling the user to find and zoom to a particular street by typing its address.
Marble is also gaining route planning capabilities, showing a route between points on a map and providing step-by-step instructions. Combined with GPS location awareness, this will make Marble a complete free software navigation system.
The remaining feature to implement is having the map follow the user's current position, and this is currently under development as part of a Google Summer of Code project.
The Marble developers have also been working on making Marble mobile. It already works on Linux, Mac OS X, Windows and MeeGo. It's in an experimental state on Maemo 5 and work is ongoing on Symbian. With mobile use cases in mind, Marble's developers have implemented the ability to download OpenStreetMap data for later use, so that maps are still available in high resolution when an internet connection is unavailable or expensive.
Plasma on your phone
It's not only KDE's applications that are going mobile. A new workspace, Plasma Mobile, is being developed for use on smartphones. Artur Duque de Souza and Alexis Menard presented its state so far.
Although some experimental work on making a KDE interface for phones began late in 2009, the Plasma Mobile project officially launched in February.
Plasma Mobile aims to have greater location and context awareness in the interface. For example, games will not be on the main screen while a user is walking, and social networking can be disabled during the working day to avoid distractions. This could help to eliminate the large grid-style menus found on many phones, replacing them with an initial view of just a few of the most relevant applications.
Plasma Mobile is heavily based on widgets to provide easy tracking of news feeds, incoming messages, weather, travel information and more. The widgets will adapt to the device on which they're run, so they can increase or decrease in size according to screen size and resolution.
Artur and Alexis were able to show a quick demonstration running on top of Maemo 5, although a MeeGo port is also underway. Plasma, like MeeGo, is intended to run everywhere and so the lead architects of two more new Plasma workspaces also gave presentations.
Marco Martin gave an overview of the current state of Plasma Netbook for mobile internet devices. Plasma Netbook debuted with KDE 4.4 and will be receiving stabilisation and polish in KDE 4.5, with smoother animations and more caching of the data used by widgets to reduce processing and network demands.
Alessandro Diaferia presented his work on the upcoming Plasma Media Centre that aims to wrap the basic functions of playing videos, listening to music and viewing photos in a consistent interface that makes use of KDE technologies.
Everything in Plasma Media Centre is a Plasma widget, meaning that any of the components, including players, can be easily swapped for another according to personal preference. Widgets can also be used simultaneously, so it'll be easy to listen to a favourite music album while viewing holiday snaps.
Metadata will be tracked using KDE's semantic desktop layer, Nepomuk, so that it will be possible to share tagging and rating information between traditional KDE desktop applications and the media centre. Web services will also be integrated, enabling direct access to content from the likes of YouTube and Flickr without leaving the interface.
A technology preview should be available this autumn and the 1.0 release is expected with KDE 4.6 early in 2011.
Bringing the web to the desktop
Sebastian Kügler began Akademy's web and cloud computing session by discussing how KDE software can take advantage of web services without throwing away 14 years of work on desktop applications.
He explained some of the current problems with web-based applications: they're dependent on a working network connection and have inconsistent user interfaces, and because they need to work on a wide range of device types they fail to take full advantage of the power and large screens of the majority of home computers.
Sebastian's proposal is to overcome these problems by separating data from its presentation. Data can be stored in the cloud, but should be cached locally for offline use, and presentation can be handled by KDE applications that are aware of the capabilities of the device on which they are running, modifying their appearance and behaviour accordingly.
Within KDE, these concepts are known as Project Silk and unify existing KDE technologies. These include indexing web pages using Nepomuk (KDE's semantic desktop layer) and using Akonadi (KDE's data storage engine) for parsing RSS feeds and making them available offline.
Sebastian also proposes accessing YouTube videos using KDE's Dragon video player and browsing and tagging Flickr images in the Gwenview image viewer. These visions are already starting to become reality, with uploading of photo content to Flickr and many other services built into KDE image applications and downloading of OpenStreetMap data for offline use coming to Marble.
Having KDE applications interact seamlessly with web services is good, but for free software advocates, the closed nature of many of these services is a problem.
Frank Karlitschek, the force behind the OpenDesktop family of social networking and content-sharing websites (including KDE-Apps, KDE-Look and Gnome-Look), has turned his attention to freeing the cloud.
His latest project within KDE, known as OwnCloud, aims to provide a free cloud computing system that anyone can install.
Freeing the cloud
You may wonder why anyone would want to go to the trouble of installing their own server, but the motivations are clear for Karlitschek. Not only does it further the cause of free software, preventing the free desktop from becoming nothing more than an interface to proprietary web services, but it also gives the user complete control over their data and features encryption options.
This is important for individuals to protect their privacy, but is essential for companies handling sensitive data. It's also easy to keep track of changes, because OwnCloud uses the FreeDesktop.org Open Collaboration Services standard for notifications, integrated with KDE's notification system.
Work is already underway with KOffice to develop a web-based OpenDocument Format editor so that it will be possible to edit documents either in the familiar KOffice interface or via a web browser. Collaborative editing capabilities are also planned for the future.
By the time OwnCloud 1.1 is released later in 2010, sharing of data will be enabled and plugins will be available to integrate a web-based picture gallery and music server. Further in the future, file versioning (probably based on Git) will be added.
While mobile applications and web service integration are exciting new areas of KDE development, the contributors haven't lost focus on traditional desktop computing.
KOffice celebrated its 2.2 release in May, the first KDE 4.x version deemed suitable for 'real work'. Inge Wallin presented the future directions of KOffice and previewed upcoming features including support for version 1.2 of the OpenDocument Format.
He also discussed the use of 'shapes' in KOffice that make capabilities from any of the applications available to all others. In this way KPresenter simply embeds text shapes from KWord, graphics from Krita (pixel editing) and Karbon14 (vector drawing). KOffice applications were also demoed running in a Windows environment.
Calling all artists
KOffice's drawing application, Krita, featured in a separate presentation. Lukas Tvrdy gave demonstrations of its brush engine for natural painting. Tvrdy has been working on this extensively, thanks to funds received from a community appeal.
These improvements are particularly important to Krita's focus on becoming the premier free software painting application, leaving tasks such as photo editing to other capable applications such as Gimp or KDE's Digikam.
Polishing KDE software was a central theme of Sunday's keynote address. Given by long-time KDE developer and evangelist Aaron Seigo, this talk focused on the successes of and challenges for KDE. He said KDE had enjoyed a great year and listed a number of its successes. These included retaining a deployment of 50 million school desktops in Brazil and gaining several hundred thousand additional deployments in universities.
Deployment of KDE desktops in Portugal has almost doubled from four to seven hundred thousand laptops. There are a million KDE deployments in Venezuela and KDE software is used on 11,000 computers in German embassies worldwide.
Seigo urged the community to seek consensus rather than always striving for unanimity, in order to agree on courses of action and pursue them more rapidly. Above all, he called for elegance in everything KDE does.
He urged application developers to review their interfaces to make them more intuitive and consistent. Library developers should do the same with their APIs, he added. Jargon should be reduced and warning pop-ups eliminated for all but the most critical errors.
The impact Seigo's message had was visible during the week, as developers tweaked their interfaces, discussed the best way of doing things and constantly called Seigo over to assess their elegance.
One annoyance of the free desktop at present is the use of incompatible systems for storing sensitive user data such as passwords. Every web browser may have its own password store and anyone using both KDE and Gnome applications will likely have to open both KWallet and Gnome Keyring in every desktop session.
Michael Leupold presented a collaboration between KDE and Gnome to develop a unified standard for storing secrets. The aim is that KDE and Gnome applications will both be able to share a common secrets architecture but still have separate graphical interfaces.
A KDE user will be presented with a KDE interface if they need to unlock an account in Empathy (the Gnome instant messaging application) while a Gnome user will see a Gnome interface for password management even if they prefer to chat using KDE's Kopete. It is also hoped that the standard will attract the support of other vendors, such as Mozilla.
KDE as a community
Although KDE is male-dominated, with around 95% of contributors possessing a Y-chromosome, most teams have important female contributors.
The women of KDE discussed how they had the feeling of being impostors – that they do not know enough to contribute effectively and that their lack of knowledge might be found out – even though they're generally as well-qualified their male counterparts. But they agreed that KDE was a good home for women in free software with a welcoming community where the gender of a contributor is unimportant as long as what they bring to the table is of value.
Akademy closed on Friday after seven days of presentations, discussions, work and fun. Many new friendships had been made and old ones strengthened. Contributors commented that they had achieved several months or work in just seven days by meeting face to face to sort out problems without other distractions.
Next year's Akademy will be co-hosted with Gnome's GUADEC and should be the biggest ever meeting of the free desktops. It will aim for greater than ever cooperation between the two communities to provide a smoother, more integrated and perhaps even more elegant experience for users of the free desktop everywhere.
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Dell unveils touchscreen Inspiron One and Zino HD
Dell has added to its Inspiron 'family' with the touchscreen all-in-one Inspiron One and Inspiron Zino HD media PC the latest to join the computer giant's desktop range. The Dell Inspiron One is billed as the 'perfect family PC', although presumably that family does not leave sticky fingerprints on the touchscreen, with the Dell Inspiron HD a 'mini powerhouse PC offering Dell's best home theatre capability.
The all-in-one Inspiron One offers what Dell is terming "Space saving, stylish design with unique keyboard storage under the display and built in Wi-Fi, webcam and HDMI.
The Zino HD is a media PC which offers 'awe inspiring' video and audio, should connect easily to home HD TVs and comes in a compact form factor with three optional lids.
Inspiron One
"Delivering on its promise to offer the best in next-generation entertainment, Dell has added to its award-winning Inspiron family a new Inspiron all-in-one desktop and a new Inspiron Zino HD desktop offering the best home-theatre capabilities in its class," explains Dell.
"At the centre of the new line-up is the Inspiron One, with features that set it apart from other all-in-one PCs including: a full HD 23-inch LED-backlit LCD; an optional quad-core processor that zips through web surfing, movie watching, family photo album creation, video chats and more.
"It has a host of audio/visual inputs that instantly transform the PC into a TV, perfect for student dorm rooms and family settings.
Inspiron Zino HD
"Rounding out the refreshed Inspiron desktop family is the Inspiron Zino HD, the next-generation version of the award-winning system that sports a powerhouse entertainment experience in a compact design.
"The Inspiron Zino HD connects easily to big-screen high-definition TVs for an amazing family entertainment experience.
"With an optional remote control and wireless keyboard, viewers can surf the Internet from their living room couch, watch Blu-ray DVDs or browse their music and photo libraries – all on the big screen. And its compact 8-inch-by-8-inch footprint fits unobtrusively anywhere."
The Dell Inspiron Zino HD has a UK price of £329 and is available now, with a vague UK release date of 'later this year' and no confirmed price for the Inspiron One.
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Arcam rCube - the 'world's best' iPod speaker dock arrives
Arcam has unveiled details of its first iPod dock system, the Arcam rCube.The rCube has been three years in the making and it said to be the 'world's best' iPod dock to hit the market.
There's not much science to back this claim up but the specs on the device are extremely impressive.
Features include: Kleer lossless streaming, genuine high-fidelity sound and wireless streaming built-in.
The speaker system has been built with quality in mind, offering 90 watts rms and 4 x high-quality speaker drive-units. All this is contained within a damped enclosure of aluminium, MDF and Triple-layer composite.
Kleer cut
As it uses Kleer lossless technology, you will need to by some USB wireless dongles if you want to stream music from a PC or, say, an iPad. These are optional extras and cost £79.95 (for PC and Mac) and £69.95 (for iPod and iPhone).
The size of the rCube is 200mm x 200mm x 200mm and it is portable though, as it weighs five kilos, you won't want to carry it around for too long.
It does have a decent lithium-ion battery built into it though, so if you aren't near a power source you should get many an hour of music playing out of it.
When it comes to extra connectivity, there's a 3.5mm audio jack, USB port, composite audio and video.
The Arcam rCube will be available from John Lewis and has a UK release date of October, costing £500.
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Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 2.1 update delayed
Sony Ericsson Xperia X10, X10 Mini and X10 Mini Pro owners who have been waiting for Android 2.1 to be rolled out to their handsets will be disappointed to know that the company has delayed the update. The X10 was slated to get the update in Q3 2010, but Sony Ericsson has now suggested on its forums that it will be the end of October before Éclair arrives on the handset.
"The revised plan is to start the roll-out from end of October and onwards," explained Sony Ericsson's Rikard Skogberg.
Not happy
"We are of course not happy about the change of launch timing but we have had to spend some additional time on the software to really make sure we roll-out with the right quality and user experience," he continued.
"When it comes to what to expect from the updated software all three X10 models will be updated to Android 2.1 and the Xperia X10 will also get HD video recording with continuous autofocus among many other things."
This is certainly far from ideal for X10 owners, who will no doubt be looking at the handsets that are already getting 2.2 updates and questioning why they are so far behind.
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Gary Marshall: HP Slate 500 video: please let it be fake
Have you seen the leaked footage of HP's new Slate yet? Did you think "iPad killer", or did you think "hey, HP! 2001 called, and it wants its technology back!"I'm being a little unfair here, but only a little. If the prototype in the video is a near-production model, then HP's making the same mistake Microsoft's partners have been making for nearly a decade: it's making a Tablet PC, not a tablet PC.
That capital T is important. Capital-T Tablet PCs have been around for the best part of ten years, and they're a niche product. Small-T tablet PCs, on the other hand, could well be the future of mobile computing.
HP thinks it's making a Small-T tablet. It isn't. Somebody's left the Caps Lock on.
Maybe the whole thing is a fake, or perhaps it's an elaborate marketing stunt, something to distract us while HP prepares a WebOS-based Slate using the OS it got from Palm. I hope so, because what we've got here is an entire PC crammed into a smaller case, a Capital-T Tablet PC.
You can't fault the engineering - the hardware looks great and appears to run quickly - but I'm not so sure about the software. Windows 7 looks far too fiddly on that screen, and that's because desktop apps are - surprise! - designed for desktop PCs. Sure, Windows 7 supports touch, but it wasn't designed as a touch-based OS.
Comedy gift
Apple fans have been quick to jump on the dedicated Ctrl-Alt-Del button - handy for logging in and out, but a comedy gift for anyone who wants to slag off Windows - but they're focusing on the wrong thing. The big problem with the Slate is another button: the keyboard one.
On the Slate, whenever you touch something that needs text input, you have to press a button. A real, physical button. Do you need to press a hardware button to bring up the virtual keyboard on an HTC Desire? On an iPhone? On an iPad? Of course you don't.
That's because those devices - and their operating systems - were made to be touched. Windows wasn't. If it were, that virtual keyboard would pop up whenever you needed it, just like it does on an HTC Desire or Apple's iPad.
Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think a desktop operating system is the way to go for a Small-T tablet PC. iOS works on the iPad in a way Mac OS X wouldn't, and I'm sure that when Samsung sorts out its comedy pricing the Galaxy Tab will be more compelling than any tablet running full-fat Windows.
That doesn't mean tablets shouldn't run Windows; it's just that they need to run the right Windows, a Windows that's been designed for touch input on mobile devices rather than a desktop Windows with extra pointy bits. That Windows, I think, is Windows Phone, not Windows 7.
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In Depth: 10 best Freeview HD PVRs in the UK today
In the rush to bring out Freeview+ HD recorders in time for the World Cup, one or two manufacturers – including Pace and Sagemcom – quite obviously rushed out their products before they were finished.Cue EPGs that didn't work, stalling operating systems and snarling consumers. Happily, virtually all of those teething problems have since been fixed via over-the-air software updates, giving us the chance to compile the definitive top ten best Freeview HD PVRs in this now sparkling new genre.
There are 500GB hard disks with options to double that capacity, one-touch series link recording, wireless streaming of media around your home, and even the occasional built-in Blu-ray player.
Oh, and pin-sharp high definition recordings.
One thing no manufacturer has offered thus far is a Freeview HD PVR with three DVB-T2 tuners, something that leaves Virgin V+ users, in particular, shackled to their monthly fees.
Sky users will already be familiar with the inflexibility of two tuners, though it's something we expect these brands to address in the second batch of Freeview HD PVRs.
What makes the best Freeview HD PVR?
When buying a Freeview HD recorder, do bear in mind the size of the hard disk. As a rough guide, 500GB will give you around 220 hours of recordings from standard definition channels and around 70 hours of high definition – although obviously you need to think of the mix you'll actually use.
Typically only one in four – or less – recordings are from hi-def channels, in our experience.
The user interface – always crucial on any AV product – only gets more important when you add recording functions, so choose carefully and, as always, try before you buy.
Humax HDR-Fox T2
Humax sensibly avoided trying to cash in on the World Cup with a prematurely early release of its debut PVR.Building on a very good reputation in the Freeview PVR market, the HDR-FOX T2 further boosts Humax' reputation in the fledgling HD sector.
The sensibly-designed remote control, attractive menu system, fascia information and slickness of navigation are major positives. Freeview HD and standard-def images and sound are as good as we've seen while multi-media functionality is a good bonus, especially the ease with which files can be copied on to the hard disk from USB.
Other non-Freeview talents include multimedia file playback from USB or DLNA compliant devices connected over a wired network.
Since we reviewed this box a software update has made Sky Player available on the interface – now that we like. BBC iPlayer is on the way too.
Review and price check: Humax HDR-FOX T2 review
3View 3VHD
3view may not be the first manufacturer to release a hybrid VoD and Freeview HD PVR but this UK-based company's inaugural 3VHD product has lots of features on offer if you want a media server as well as a recorder.The pun-tastic term '3view' is defined as 'watch, search and interact', alluding not just to TV but the networking and online features on offer.
Its 500GB 2.5in SATA hard drive is accompanied by a Z-Wave chip, which will enable you to control lighting and heating systems at a later date. Blimey.
The seven-day EPG goes above and beyond the average Freeview PVR, while recordings can be scheduled using a manual timer as well as the EPG with the ability to specify duration and repeat options.
Media streaming is possible from DLNA/uPnP-compatible USB drives or networked devices and all manner of files can be copied to the hard drive. And that's the icing on the reliable, multi-functional and great value recorder.
Review and price check: 3view 3VHD review
Digital Stream DHR8203U
A slow EPG blights this Freeview+ HD recorders's otherwise impressive performance. The bulky DHR8203U from Digital Stream was one of the first Freeview+ HD recorders to hit the market, and one of the few around that didn't suffer greatly from bugs and rushed-out software.The headline feature is that this black box with soft blue lighting and red-lit touch sensitive controls (which flash yellow when touched) hides a 320GB hard drive. It can store around 180 hours of standard definition recordings, or 60 hours of hi-def TV.
The DHR8203U manages superb picture quality. Hi-def channels such as BBC HD and ITV 1 HD are stunning in their depth and detail, though that's hardly a surprise. More of a shock is the excellent quality of most SD channels, which are solid, colourful and almost completely free of artefacts and noise.
Kudos goes to Digital Stream for producing one of the simplest and best-looking user interfaces around – it's certainly in another league when compared to most Freeview HD receivers.
Review and price check: Digital Stream DHR8203U review
TVOnics DTR-HD500
This laid back and pricey 500GB pairs Freeview+ HD with HDMI switching, but is it doing enough?Curvy and tilted like some Samsung Blu-ray players, the DTR-HD500 is all about easy recording to its 500GB hard disk, and some unique HDMI switching skills – it's able to take feeds from a games console and a Blu-ray player, cutting down on remotes in your living room.
Recording functionality is relatively advanced, with dual DVB-T2 tuners allowing you to record two channels at once, as well as pause live TV, though there's scant USB functionality aside from JPEG slideshows.
Its interface is slightly too slow and largely identical to its rivals' efforts, and though there's a lot to like about TVonics' debut Freeview+HD recorder, it's a few features short of greatness.
Review and price check: TVonics DTR-HD500 review
Samsung BD-C8500M
Freeview HD recording and Blu-ray playback: has Samsung created the ultimate all-in-one? Expensive, but ideal for anyone looking for an all-in-one solution, the BD-C8500 has little competition save its 250GB-endowed variant, the BD-C8200M, and Panasonic's DMR-XW380.Fitted with a 500GB hard disk and a single Freeview HD tuner, the BD-C8500 can pause and rewind live TV and record 120 hours of HD programmes.
Samsung's Internet@TV online video platform is also present, as is AllShare DLNA streaming from a PC or Mac on the same home network.
Pictures from any Freeview channel are excellent. Standard definition channels are upscaled very well indeed, and the EPG works quickly and presents information on all upcoming programmes very clearly, though it completely lacks real-world recording functionality – Freeview+ this is not.
Review and price check: Samsung BD-C8500M review
Philips HDT8520
Like Capello's men, it seems this Pace-produced Freeview HD recorder – the first of its kind at the time – wasn't well prepared ahead of the World Cup.Bugs a-plenty pretty much stalled its progress, but happily the arrival of some new software – version 4.22, to be exact – has helped the HDT8520 become the Freeview HD recorder par excellence we'd always hoped it would be.
The HDT8520 has two Freeview HD tuners, which makes it possible to record two channels simultaneously to its 500GB hard disk while watching a recording. That equates to around 220 hours of SD channels and 110 hours of HD.
Highly detailed broadcasts from BBC HD were presented crisply and with plenty of life, while SD channels hold up well. Sure, there's the odd wobbly edge and a touch of picture noise in backgrounds, but there's some decent upscaling going on.
If you're after fairly advanced Freeview HD recording functionality it's a good option.
Review and price check: Philips HDT8520 review
Panasonic DMR-BW880EBK
It's pricey, but Panasnic has come up with perhaps the ultimate way of interacting with Freeview HD. Following the example set last year by the brand's Freesat HD/Blu-ray combis, the 500GB DMR-BW880 (and 320GB DMR-BW780) Blu-ray/PVR combi is the ultimate living room recorder, especially since it has dual Freeview HD tuners.With Top Up TV now offering Sky Sports, the absence of a CI slot could prove critical for sports fans, while there's a GuidePlus+ sponsored and advert-heavy Freeview EPG that even Gene Hunt would find archaic.
Luckily, in all other areas this is a first-rate product and if Blu-ray archive recording from Freeview HD is your bag, this is a highly accomplished machine that comfortably delivers the goods – plus a few others besides.
Review and price check: Panasonic DMR-BW880EBK review
Sharp TU-T2HR32
This Sharp is near the front of the grid when it comes to pure functionality and ease of use.Matching, and in some cases beating, its rivals on price, the TU-T2HR32 is fitted with a couple of Freeview HD tuners, holds a 320GB hard disk for recording and, crucially, is compatible with Freeview+. That means you can program recordings straight from its eight-day electronic programme guide, set series links, and get full recordings of programmes even if they over-run.
The TU-T2HR32 produces excellent hi-def pictures from the key Freeview HD channels, with plenty of detail, colour and contrast, while recordings identical to the original broadcasts.
Recordings can be made from the EPG simply; hit the record button on any present or future programme and the box gives you a choice to either record once, or set a series link (if available).
A fantastic effort but does that 320GB hard disk leave this Sharp in danger of looking rather puny?
Review and price check: Sharp TU-T2HR32 review
Panasonic DMR-XW380EBK
This DVD-cum-Freeview+HD recorder provides a unique way to interact with the new Freeview HD broadcasts.The DMR-XW380 has two Freeview HD tuners and a 250GB hard disk, enabling recordings to be made that can then be archived to DVD. Around 255 hours of standard definition recordings can be made, or roughly 65 hours of HD programming, though the latter can't be archived to a DVD in hi-def, of course.
The DMR-XW380 can, however, create Dolby Digital from Freeview audio and send it to a home cinema via its optical audio output for surround sound.
We have reservations over the small size of its hard disk, but the DMR-XW380 certainly pumps out top quality pictures.
So involving are the many recording options that we almost forgot all about some features. The DMR-XW380 does, however, feel its burden and can be slow to operate at times.
If you can find the DMR-XW380 for around the £400 mark it represents a great value piece of kit, though its small HDD will put some users off it completely.
Review and price check: Panasonic DMR-XW380EBK review
Sagemcom RT190-320
Sagemcom's effort is a bit of a two trick pony (albeit the two most important ones), with a 320GB hard disk that can store up to 80 hours of HD shows (a 500GB version is also available) to complement the Freeview HD tuner.Despite the presence of USB and Ethernet sockets there are no multi-media or networking functions.
The good news is that the RT190-320 T2 HD's tuner serves up excellent HD images.
Native HD content – everything on the BBC HD channel – is especially impressive and shows all the clarity and detail found on simultaneous Freesat and Sky broadcasts. Skin tones, which are often the least convincing aspect of a broadcast image, are as accurate as you could expect.
SD pictures are good, too, but the box's operating system is no match for the fine quality of its pictures; the GUI that greets you when you finally arrive at a picture and press the menu or guide button is frankly pig ugly.
The combination of a hideous grey and red colour scheme, old-fashioned fonts and clipart icons is a world away from the slick delights used by kit from the likes of Samsung and Humax. To make matters worse, navigating the menu system is an irritatingly slow business.
Review and price check: Sagemcom RT190-320 review
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Facebook chat comes to Hotmail
Microsoft has announced it has added a number of new features to Hotmail, including the ability to chat with your Facebook friends through the email service. Microsoft's Dick Craddock explains the new features in a blog post, noting: "We recently announced that Messenger would let you chat with your Facebook friends.
"We released this into the beta of our Messenger app for your PC a few weeks ago, and last week we added this into Messenger on your iPhone.
"We're now adding this ability to chat with Facebook friends into Hotmail, making it easier for the 250 million Hotmail users that also use Facebook to stay in touch with those friends."
Better pictures
This isn't the only new addition to Hotmail, as Microsoft has also unveiled a new package tracking system for the service which recognise the number and display the real time shipping status when you get an email from a courier.
Currently, this is for the US postal service, but we're hoping it will come to the UK at some point.
Microsoft is also allowing the sending of bulk photos through emails by integrating its SkyDrive service into Hotmail.
Essentially this means you can have up to 10GB of photos sent through in an email.
Finally, it will now let you preview videos that are sent via email. Although you can already do this with YouTube and Hulu clips, this has been extended to stuff from Daily Motion and Justin.tv.
The rollout will happen over the next few weeks, with Craddock noting: "We believe that these features will benefit people using Hotmail with a more efficient email experience that saves time and is just more fun to use."
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Weird Tech: New super-villain virus on the loose
A new virus is doing the rounds. It's very dangerous, but possibly only if you happen to be in the vicinity of Iran's Bushehr nuclear power facility.The Stuxnet virus is believed to have been specifically designed to infect and ruin the computer systems of Iran, and possibly just its nuclear power plant - with several months of reverse engineering revealing a complex piece of viral code able to precisely attack one specific system.
The usual doom-mongering security experts are already on the case, suggesting this new form of "weaponised software" could lead to a future where bespoke virus attacks designed to take out specific targets are created on the whims of potential super-villains.
The Stuxnet virus is said to have infected 45,000 computer systems worldwide, but is yet to actually attack or cause any damage - because it hasn't found its predetermined target. Yet. It might be your emails it's really after.
"Mum, Dad, I'm... a notorious international hacker"
The 17 year old who created this week's insane "mouseover" glitch in the Twitter matrix is yet to tell his parents about the trouble he caused around the world.
TWITTER DOWN: We used the downtime productively to defrag a hard drive
Pearce Delphin, who calls himself Zzap on Twitter, was the first to post the mouseover code that was hijacked by other users and eventually brought Twitter to its knees. The Aussie kid, speaking to the Downunder Telegraph, said he did it "to see if it could be done" and didn't foresee the several hours of mild inconvenience he would cause to bored office workers the world over.
Man-o-plane
The University of Toronto's Snowbird has finally made the human-powered flight dream real. Instead of wearing a feather suit and jumping off the end of a pier, Snowbird takes a pedal-powered approach to flight, with the ornithopter taking to the skies.
Or whatever the bit of air ten feet above the ground is called. Sky is perhaps too flattering a word. It flew for 19.3 seconds and covered 145 metres, although it does appear to have been towed up into the air.
Pilot Todd Reichert is believed to have had the chicken meal option, and watched the first 18 seconds of Jackie Chan's remake of The Karate Kid.
May cause users to be outside in their pyjamas
Prank App Store app Scary Phone claimed a proper victim this week, terrifying an American girl so much she climbed out of a window and ran to a neighbour's house for help.
AND STAY OUT:"Now walk slowly backwards through the cellar"
The app creates a fake phone call that warns the listener to "Get out now" - which the girl did very quickly after phoning her mum in a panic, thanks to the app making it appear that the phone call was coming from her own landline number. To be fair, the App Store description warns that the app may cause heart attacks.
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Microsoft adds new features to Office Web Apps
Microsoft has responded to feedback on its free Office Web Apps, making several changes and bringing new features into its service. Office Web Apps have been accessed by more then 20 million people in the past 100 days, and 25,000 comments are helping Microsoft to shape the product.
"Since launch, we've been working hard to listen to you and deliver the features you need," said Jason Moore, Microsoft's principal lead program manager for SkyDrive.
"Starting today, those new features are available to everybody, including people who live in the new supported regions."
Open in...
The first new feature is the 'Open in [Office app]' functionality, allowing you to jump from cloud based files to your desktop Office apps.
"Since over 90% of documents on SkyDrive were first created in Office on the desktop, we hope this new feature will make it easy to bring your document back to your desktop for additional editing, said Moore.
Other noteworthy additions are the ability to embed Excel and PowerPoint documents into a blog or desktop, and the ability to view Excel docs on a phone.
"And of course, we've fixed bugs you've told us about, made improvements across the board, and generally improved the performance and reliability of your experience," adds Moore.
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20 million mark reached by Microsoft's Office Web Apps
Microsoft has revealed more than 20 million people have used Office Web Apps in the 100 days since it has launched. Office Web Apps, which includes Hotmail, Office 2010 and SkyDrive has picked up the 20 million from the US, Canada, Ireland and here in the UK.
Microsoft is now rolling out Office Web Apps to Australia, Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Russia, and Switzerland and has made some changes based on the huge weight of feedback it has received.
100 days
"In just over 100 days since Office Web Apps launched, more than 20 million people in the US, UK, Canada, and Ireland have used them – including Hotmail, Office 2010, and SkyDrive," blogged Jason Moore Microsoft's principal lead program manager for SkyDrive.
"With more than 25,000 comments so far, we're releasing more new features today, shaped directly by your feedback.
"And, we're making Office Web Apps available in 7 more countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Russia, and Switzerland."
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Cambridge Audio Minx micro system unveiled
Cambridge Audio has announced the arrival of its Audio Minx micro system, which promises big sound despite its small size.Launched at the Cedia Expo in Atlanta, the speaker system features a choice of three subwoofers and a handful of can-sized satellite speakers – which measure just 8 x 8cm.
The system features BMR (Balanced Mode Radiator) technology that brings extra zing to both film and music audio.
The subwoofers come packing one-piece aerospace grade aluminium cones and uses passive radiators instead of bass ports.
Truly versatile
T3 has already had the setup in to test, explaining: "To say we were impressed is a gross understatement.
"Everything we experienced demonstrates that the Minx is a truly versatile sound system.
The system is available in both a 2.1 or 5.1 setup and comes in either scratch resistant black or white high gloss finishes and will be available for the princely sum of £349.95.
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In Depth: iTunes 11: 11 things Apple should change
When Steve Jobs unveiled iTunes 10, he spent a short while going through its best bits.There are some things to like, notably improved iOS device sync, with a capacity bar that updates in real-time.
However, plenty of gripes remain, and so below are the 11 things we'd like to see Apple change in iTunes 11.
1. Embrace the cloud
iTunes seems rooted in the past, and it's in danger of becoming a dinosaur. The iTunes Store's fine, but with Apple TV moving away from a purchase model, iTunes 11 should in part follow suit and integrate a music-streaming service. Elsewhere, iOS devices should back-up and sync wirelessly, with new purchases optionally being sent simultaneously to all your devices.
2. Make podcast subscriptions stick
iTunes seems to think that if you've not watched a podcast series you subscribe to in a while, it should stop downloading new episodes. 'Subscribe' should mean just that - after all, it's not like magazine publishers stop mailing new issues to your door if you've not read the previous few.
3. Improve app management
Managing apps in iTunes feels like you're using a badly coded web app. You still can't drag-select multiple items (unlike in Windows Explorer and Mac OS X's Finder), moving items between pages is fiddly, and even on powerful hardware the pane Apple's designed is unresponsive and sluggish. App management in iTunes 11 should be as simple as dragging desktop files, not the app equivalent of moving things through treacle.
ANNOYING: Managing apps in iTunes: approximately one per-cent less annoying than doing so on your actual device
4. Enable global view options
Apple makes a big deal about iTunes display options, and when Jobs unveiled iTunes 10, he proudly showed off the new Album List view. (Bonus tip: if you want all albums to show art, even those with only a track or two, View > Always Show Artwork.) However, Apple needs to provide a means for users to set view options for multiple playlists, rather than force you to amend them one at a time.
5. Borrow from iOS
Grid view's jarring when you double-click on an album and get booted to a list view. It'd be good to see iTunes 11's Grid view take a leaf from the iPad iPod app, using 'floating' album windows to display track listings.
BETTER WAY: The iPad iPod app offers an elegant user experience that iTunes's design team should take note of
6. Get non-iTunes artwork
Steve Jobs wants you to buy all your music from the iTunes Store, but that's never going to happen. To that end, iTunes stubbornly refusing to download artwork from music that Apple doesn't sell seems petulant. If iTunes doesn't have relevant art, it should look elsewhere on your behalf.
7. Expand Ping
On Ping's arrival, arguments raged that there's not room for another social network. That's not true, but Ping has too many problems: it's not very social (not integrating with other networks), nor is it flexible, focussing purely on music. In iTunes 11, Apple should allow Ping to embrace Twitter and Facebook, and open Ping to movies, TV shows and - especially - apps.
ANTI-SOCIAL: Ping currently feels like an afterthought and is awkward to use
8. Improve rather than regress usability
There are some questionable usability decisions in iTunes 10, not least removing colour from the sidebar items (resulting in each of them being less distinct), making its bottom-toolbar buttons resemble anything but buttons, and replacing toggle switches with hidden show/hide navigation when you hover the cursor over some (but not all) sidebar headings.
Stuff like this would get a junior UI or web designer reprimanded in most companies; that Apple - often championed for its quality UI design - sees fit to weld these things to iTunes 10 beggars belief.
9. Improve the artwork window
Click on Now Playing and the cover art loads into a separate window. On hovering your mouse over it, you get controls. This is a nice alternative to the mini-player, but in iTunes 11 Apple should improve it, enabling you to float the window and rate a track from it.
NOW PLAYING: The artwork window boasts basic controls, but has potential to be far more useful
10. Sort out the Windows version
More Windows users use iTunes than Mac owners, and many of them feel forced to. Whereas the Mac version dodders on, just about being good enough to not cause Mac users to march on Cupertino, the Windows version is a sluggish, resource-hungry mess. Apple has Windows users worldwide loving its iOS devices and despising iTunes, and this needs to change.
11. Sort out the Mac version
Still, we're not entirely enamoured by the Mac version. It's often slow and somewhat resource-hungry, and showcases truly bizarre decisions on the part of Apple's designers.
The Preferences toolbar is centred, monochrome and not Mac-like (on Windows it uses standard tabs); and the vertically aligned window buttons are bizarre (again, these don't appear on Windows).
Some argue the vertical buttons save space, as per their alignment in the mini-player window, but open a new iTunes window and you get a title-bar anyway, suggesting development of one of Apple's most important products doesn't necessarily go hand-in-hand with concepts like 'attention to detail' and polish.
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Review: Trust Widescreen HD Webcam
Trust's catchily-titled Widescreen HD Webcam is certainly one the cheapest around. But does it follow that it's also the weakest? Well, to be honest I was expecting that to be the case, but the truth is that this is an incredibly capable little camera.
It's about half the size of the FaceVsion camera and is even smaller than the relatively diminutive Logitech C510 too.
But it's fairly mighty to boot, with a stable three-way clamp and a pair of white LEDs to the left of the lens to highlight the face in a darkened environment. Neither of the other cameras had anything like that.
It doesn't have the more expensive camera's onboard processing power though as it requires a much beefi er system to run on. The minimum CPU specs are down as a modern dual-core, a far cry away from the 1.8GHz CPU the other two needed as a base. Still, if you've got a decent processor you don't need to worry overmuch.
That means that it's relying on the CPU when you're recording so we managed a fairly impressive 25fps when it was recording 720p video, though that is when running on a 2.6GHz quad-core.
It's also got a quality software bundle too giving you ArcSoft's WebCam Companion in the box. This allows you to do all the silly framing and superimposed face fun, but also allows you to record 720p video and post it directly to YouTube.
It also comes with a basic motion recorder too that will record clips and send them to you via email or FTP. A worthwhile webcam then that is surprisingly feature-rich.
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Review: MSI Big Bang XPower
When Intel unleashed the six-cored Core i7-980 Extreme a while back, a few motherboard manufacturers took the opportunity to go away and refresh some of their X58-based motherboards, adding in the latest technologies, such as SATA 6Gbps and USB 3.0 in the process. MSI did that and a whole lot more, and launched the mighty MSI Big Bang XPower, a board with a spec sheet that lives up to the billing its name gives it.
The feature list for the Big Bang XPower makes for impressive reading; high end components in the power delivery (something MSI call 'Military Class') system, six DIMM slots supporting up to 24GB of triple-channel DDR3 memory, dual Gigabit Ethernet, six PCI-E slots (two x16, two x8, two x4 speeds), advanced Quantum Wave audio and more overclocking features than you can wave a stick at, including MSI's OC Dashboard, an external device for monitoring and tweaking settings on the Big Bang XPower.
Cinebench R11.5
Ranking 2.94
X264v2
Pass 1 (avr) 75.003fps
Pass 2 (avr) 26.897fps
X264v3
Pass 1 (avr) 68.860fps
Pass 2 (avr) 26.225fps
Games Performance
(HD5670 / GTX460)
Far Cry 2 
(1280 x 1024 small farm benchmark avr fps)

HD5670 41.29
HD5670 CrossFire 75.75
GTX460 54.31
GTX460 SLI 144.94
Just Cause 2 (1280 x 1024 Dark Tower map)
HD5670 43.69
HD5670 CrossFire 64.90
GTX460 74.31
GTX460 SLI 98.31
USB 3.0 HD Tach
Average Read 65.7MBps
Random Access 16.1ms
SATA 6Gps HD Tach
Average Read 111.4MBps
Random Access 16.7ms
Power (system power measured at wall, peak running Everest burn-in test)
Idle 102 Watts
Peak 220 Watts
Although MSI's Big Bang XPower comes with six PCI-E slots, only the first and fourth slots run at full x16 speeds if you use two cards in a CrossFire or SLI setup.
If you really want to impress your friends, you can fill all six but then the speeds drop to x8 / x4 / x4 / x8 / x4 / x4. To help power all this cards there is a six-pin power connector sitting just above the first PCI-E slot
Just one look at the Big Bang XPower and you can see MSI mean business with this board – the build quality is really top notch. The X58 Northbridge and the major power circuitry are cooled by passive heatsinks connected by thicker than normal 8mm heatpipes (MSI claims that the thicker pipes increase thermal efficiency and therefore aid cooling).
MSI's Big Bang XPower is very well laid out with plenty of room around the CPU socket, which allows for some fairly big third party coolers to be fitted – you might need it if you tackle the plethora of overclocking options MSI have given the board.
The six memory slots – remember the X58 is a triple channel memory supporting chipset – have latches only on the far side of the slot so that they don't interfere with the massively cooled graphics card the Big Bang XPower cries out for.
If you were in any doubt that the Big Bang XPower is a power user's board, there are two eight-pin 12V power connectors, which are handily placed near to the board's edge. There's also an edge-mounted block next to the SATA ports, which enables the use of a voltage meter to check the real time voltage going to various components such as the CPU, memory and both chipset bridges.
The base of the board contains a small panel which holds the OC Genie (automatic overclocking) button and four other touch-sensitive areas; Power, Reset and two Direct OC controls.
We liked
A very well put together board, MSI's Big Bang XPower features top notch build quality and a feature list you've come to expect from a motherboard aimed at enthusiasts. The one nice surprise is the price tag.
Okay, at over £250 you need deep pockets and long arms, but this is actually a very good price for a board like this. Some of its competitors will run you well over £300.
We disliked
Despite all the PCI-E slots, the board doesn't support quad SLI, but it does support quad CrossFire.
Verdict
Yes, it's reasonably expensive even though, to its credit, MSI has tried to keep the price down, but it's a basically a niche product for the enthusiast. It could even make the basis of a decent workstation, because you do get an awful lot of motherboard for your money.
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Review: Logitech HD Webcam C510
Should you baulk at the cost of the FaceVsion TouchCam N1 then you will no doubt be happier to see that Logitech isn't asking anywhere near the £90-odd price tag slapped on that solid little number. TheHD Webcam C510 comes in at a more pleasing £40, but doesn't have any of the Fischer Price stylings of the cheaper cams like Genius' offerings.
This is a sleek, black camera, that's more on the unobtrusive side than the showy. It's solidly made and comes with the now-traditional three-way connecting mechanism for mounting on your laptop, LCD display or desktop. Realistically though you're unlikely to want it stood on your desk as it's not entirely stable…
The C510 also comes with a packed bundle aside from the necessary evil of driver installation disks. It comes with a launcher for the camera which gives you access to a host of related apps that you can download for free to use with the C510. It also links in with any software ready to use the HD camera, such as the latest Skype client and Live Movie Maker too.
Aside from Skype it also comes with Logitech's own HD video calling app, called Vid HD. It's more basic than Skype, but that only makes it incredibly easy to use. Crucially it also works cross vendor so you're not restricted just to Logitech cams.
It's an excellent little cam, with a great bundle to boot. Well worth the £40 price tag.
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Review: Crucial realSSD C300 64GB
Solid state drives are definitely coming of age. Not only are they increasingly the norm for mid-range laptops and pre-built gaming systems, but we've seen huge leaps in performance lately. From Kingston's SSD Now V+ series to the SandForce-powered Agility 2 and Vertex 2 from OCZ, things are looking good for SSDs.Crucial's latest realSSD C300 drive is available in three sizes, 64GB, 128GB and 256GB. Inside the drive, the memory chips naturally come from Crucial's parent company Micron, and the controller is by way of Marvell.
There are two things that are really interesting about the realSSD C300, though. First up, it's reasonably priced – a little bit more expensive than Kingston's perhaps, but a lot cheaper than OCZ's offerings.
Secondly, it's one of the first internal drives of any flavour we've seen that make use of the new 6Gbps SATA standard.
SSD read speeds have been getting very close to the limits of the older SATA 3Gbps bandwidth cap. Does changing the interface let them off the leash?
Our benchmarks measure the performance of the hard drive in sequential read and write tests to give an overall measure of maximum performance. The key figure, though, is the AS SSD 4K 64 thread test. This simulates lots of small files handles simultaneously – which is exactly what happens in normal desktop apps that slow your PC down. The OCZ drive here is the one to beat, while the Kingston V+ has a few characteristics that have dogged SSDs since they first appeared.
ATTO max sequential read
OCZ Vertex 2 120GB: 236MBps
Kingston V+ 60GB: 213MBps
Crucial SSDnow C300 64GB: 322MBps
ATTO max sequential write
OCZ Vertex 2 120GB: 249MBps
Kingston V+ 60GB: 110MBps
Crucial realSSD C300 64GB: 80MBps
HDTach burst speed
OCZ Vertex 2 120GB: 256.1MBps
Kingston V+ 60GB: 240MBps
Crucial realSSD C300 64GB: 330MBps
AS SSD average read
OCZ Vertex 2 120GB: 166.75MBps
Kingston V+ 60GB: 198.33MBps
Crucial realSSD C300 64GB: 303.7MBps
AS SSD average write
OCZ Vertex 2 120GB: 132.04MBps
Kingston V+ 60GB: 108.9MBps
Crucial realSSD C300 64GB: 73.26MBps
AS SSD 4k 64thread read
OCZ Vertex 2 120GB: 23.45MBps
Kingston V+ 60GB: 23.96MBps
Crucial realSSD C300 64GB: 31.96MBps
AS SSD 4k 64thread write
OCZ Vertex 2 120GB: 79.12MBps
Kingston V+ 60GB: 2.37MBps
Crucial realSSD C300 64GB: 58.19MBps
Even pitched against the ludicrously swift OCZ Vertex 2, with its much-vaunted SandForce SF-1200, Crucial's new drive puts in an admirable performance. When weighed against the price saving, it makes it well worth considering as a performance enhancer for your existing system or laptop.
The C300 realSSD capitalises on the traditional strength of solid state storage with blistering read speeds that far exceed the limits of older SATA 3Gbps ports, justifying at last the rush to get newer 6Gbps controllers into the wild recently.
So long as you have the motherboard to go with it, it's the fastest SSD in this respect bar none.
When reading small files simultaneously, it's benchmarked around 30 per cent higher than its nearest competitor. That means fast boot times and level loads – exactly what you want an SSD for.
The C300 realSSD is slightly weaker when it comes to write speeds. It falls short of the new standard set by the SandForce SF-1200 drives, but it's a long way ahead of older drives that barely scraped double figures in the key AS SSD 4K 64 thread test.
Unlike many technologies, where competing benchmarks cluster together like caravans on a motorway, what the C300 means is that you have a clear choice if you're after an SSD at the moment. If it's out of this world write speeds for a good overall performance boost, then the OCZ Vertex 2 is the drive for you.
But if you want the fastest read times bar none and a very attractive price point to boot, then the Crucial C300 realSSD is a clear winner.
We liked
What's not to like about the C300 realSSD? It boasts read speeds like nothing we've seen before, which finally make use of the raised bandwidth cap of SATA 6Gbps and beats all but the very best drives in write operations too. Even better, it's priced at the bottom end of the SSD spectrum.
We disliked
The only complaint you can lay at the C300's door is that it doesn't match the superlative SF-1200-based drives for write performance.
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Review: Corsair Force F40 CSSD-F40GB2
When it comes to solid state drives, it's all about the controller chipset. Granted, the quality of the flash memory used is important, too, but it's the controller chip that makes the biggest difference to both out-of-the box performance and longevity.For SSD buyers on a budget, that's a problem. Smaller, more affordable SSDs tend to have cheapo controllers. That's probably a false economy given that the cost of any SSD is largely swallowed up by the flash memory itself.
Enter, therefore, Corsair's latest affordable SSD, the Force F40 CSSD-F40GB2. At just 40GB, the new Force F40 is at the very limit of we would class acceptable and usable in terms of raw capacity.
As its name suggests, however, it packs arguably the finest SSD controller currently available in the SandForce SF-1200. Of course, the Sandforce controller does push the price up a little compared to competing 40GB drives. Both Intel's X25-V and Patriot's PS-100 are cheaper. What's more, at 64GB, the Patriot is larger, too.
Mimicking real-world SSD workloads in benchmarks is tricky. Certainly, performance metrics such as sequential read and write tests only tell part of the story. Arguably, the most interesting synthetic test is the 4k random write part of the AS SSD benchmark.
While you wouldn't expect day-to-day performance to precisely mirror the 4k random write results shown here, they do provide an insight into how an SSD stands up to the sort of choppy data traffic that makes up the bulk of disk activity.
Size
Formatted capacity: Bytes, bigger is better
Corsair Force F40 40GB: 37.1GB
Intel X25-V 40GB: 37.1GB
Corsair Force F100 100GB: 93GB
Synthetic drive performance
ATTO Sequential read: MBps, bigger is better
Corsair Force F40 40GB: 285MBps
Intel X25-V 40GB: 196MBps
Corsair Force F100 100GB: 281MBps
Synthetic drive performance
ATTO Sequential write: MBps, bigger is better
Corsair Force F40 40GB: 265MBps
Intel X25-V 40GB: 46MBps
Corsair Force F100 100GB: 250MBps
Synthetic drive performance
HDTach Burst rate: MBps, bigger is better
Corsair Force F40 40GB: 261MBps
Intel X25-V 40GB: 246MBps
Corsair Force F100 100GB: 220MBps
Synthetic drive performance
AS SSD 4K random writes: MBps, bigger is better
Corsair Force F40 40GB: 45MBps
Intel X25-V 40GB: 28MBps
Corsair Force F100 100GB: 42MBps
Application performance
File decompression: Time taken, lower is better
Corsair Force F40: 38s
Intel X25-V 40GB: 50s
Corsair Force F100 100GB: 37s
Pint-sized SSDs with puny performance is a familiar refrain. Can Corsair's SandForce-powered F40 break the mould? In a word, yes. Starting with ATTO's sequential read benchmark, the Corsair Force F40 racks up a massive 285MBps. That's an epic figure and much faster than Intel's X25-V 40GB can manage.
It's also marginally quicker than the Corsair Force F100 we tested recently. That's a 100GB drive based on the same SandForce controller.
In fact, it's likely that the limiting factor in this test for the F40 is not the flash memory or controller chipset. Instead, it's probably the SATA 3Gbps interface. This drive – and probably all SandForce-based drives – deserves a SATA 6Gbps connection.
Anyway, it's a similar story in the sequential write test. Meanwhile, things look a little better for the Intel competition in the HD Tach burst rate bench where it manages a creditable 246MBps. But it's not enough to beat the pluck little Force F40, which spits out 261MBps.
Of course, such peak performance metrics don't tell the whole story. Arguably more revealing is a look at random access performance. Before the SandForce controller came along, Intel owned this test. No longer. The Corsair Force F40 blows Intel's X25-V away with an impressive result of 45MBps.
As for our real-world file decompression benchmarks, it's pretty much in line with the synthetics. The caveat to all this is that F40 is running a slightly newer firmware than the F100 when we tested the latter.
We liked
The bottom line is that this fun-sized SandForce offering delivers the same real-world experience as its bigger brothers. Whether in peak throughput, random access or actual application performance, it's a real scorcher. Even better, thanks to support for the Windows 7 TRIM command, there's a good chance it'll stay that way in the long run.
We disliked
The list of things we don't like about this drive is extremely short. However, there's no doubting the Force F40 is seriously small. With a formatted capacity of just 37.1GB, it's debatable whether it's big enough to merely serve as a boot. If you're a gaming enthusiast with a large library it almost definitely won't be. The F40 would also benefit from a SATA 6Gbps controller.
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