CES 2011: Canon announces new beginner to pro camcorder line-up
Not content with the slew of digital cameras announced today, Canon has also released details of its latest camcorder line-up at CES. The 10 new camcorders from Canon cover the whole video-shooting spectrum, from standard def right through to professional-quality capture.
Entry level camcorders in the Legria R-series will enjoy new HD-shooting models for the first time movie maker, specifically the Legria HF R28, R26 and R206 models.
New models in the Legria M-Series, the HF M41, HF M46 and HF M406, all feature the professional-standard HD CMOS Pro Sensor for hearty low-light shooting and wide dynamic range.
Let's not forget standard def
It's not all about HD though, with the Canon Legria FS400 featuring as Canon's smallest ever standard-definition camcorder, while the Legria FS46 and FS406 also pose as affordable options for standard-def video capture.
The expert-grade Canon XA10 is also highly compact, offering full manual control and professional audio features.
The new camcorders join the top-end flagship Legria HF G10 on the shelves at some point this year; unfortunately neither the UK release date nor UK pricing have been revealed as yet.
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EA boss: 'Gesture-tech will not replace controllers'
The CEO of Electronic Arts has gone on record to state that he doesn't think new gesture-tech controllers such as Microsoft's Kinect and Sony's Move will replace traditional control pads at any point in the future.In particular, first-person shooter and racing games just don't feel right with motion controllers, thinks EA CEO John Riccitiello.
Thumbs still rule
Hardcore gamers that might have been concerned that their years of practice of thumb-based control might have been 'wasted time' need worry no more!
Riccitiello told IndustryGamers that, in his esteemed opinion, certain genres were better suited to different methods of control.
"I think that there will be genres where the gesture-based gaming... will actually be the superior way to play. Dance games, music games, exercise games. It's really hard to imagine an exercise game with your thumbs," said the EA boss.
"It's really hard to imagine that I'm going to play a future edition of Medal of Honor, or Call of Duty, or Battlefield, hiding behind my couch, making a gun out of my finger. I've tried driving with gesture-based controls; I don't really like it."
"My guess is that some genres will be best on Move over Kinect, over controllers; some genres will be best on Kinect over Move and controllers, and some genres will be best on controllers and then there will be some blend..."
It is the developments in those games where there will be 'some blend' such as Microsoft's forthcoming new Forza title (which allows you to mess around with your cars in the garage using motion control, but uses traditional control pads or steering wheels for the racing aspects of the game) that we will be eagerly looking out for as 2011 progresses.
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CES 2011: Canon Legria HF G10 camcorder promises pro tech for the consumer
Canon has announced its latest flagship camcorder at CES; the Legria HF G10, which kicks off Canon's new G-Series range. The Legria HF G10 features technology and features taken from Canon's pro-shooting range, complete with a 10-megapixel HD CMOS Pro sensor, which offers improved low-light performance and wide dynamic range.
Offering full manual control, the HF G10 also features an eight-blade iris, 32GB of internal storage, a 3.5-inch touchscreen, and a 30.4mm wide-angle HD video lens, all in a compact casing.
Lots to play with
The built-in microphone on the Legria HF G10 is also quite nifty, adjusting its intake based on the zoom level.
Along with all this top-end hardware, the HF G10 also comes with some software enhancements, including Cinema-Look filters to lend a professional-looking air to your creations, Story Creator mode for budding directors and Touch Decoration, which allows you to embellish your shots without the need for a computer.
Sadly, if you've got a hankering for the HF G10 then you'll have to hang fire; the UK release date has not yet been announced, nor the all-important UK price.
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Official Gran Turismo 5 steering wheel launched
Peripherals specialists Thrustmaster has launched the official GT5 steering wheel this week, costing British driving game fans a whopping £450.Sony's detailed the Thrustmaster T500 RS on its website, which is the second steering wheel to be officially supported for playing the mighty Gran Turismo 5.
Polyphony challenges Thrustmaster
Polyphony boss Kazunori Yamauchi said he challenged the French steering wheel manufacturers to give gamers an experience that did justice to Gran Turismo 5.
"The goal that I set for the Thrustmaster team was to design for me the most precise wheel ever developed, without any latency, to accurately reproduce the sensations of GT5, and let users truly feel the emotions experienced by drivers on real racing circuits," said the famously perfectionist game designer.
You can view a video of the new Thrustmaster Wheel in action over on the EU PS Blog and a rather awesome unboxing of this bespoke bit of gaming kit over on Inside Sim Racing
If you want to play GT5 as its designers intended, then you had better start saving your pennies for the Thrustmaster T500RS, which launches in the UK later this week.
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CES 2011: Canon offers up A2200 and A1200 IS digital cameras
Canon has unveiled new PowerShot A2200 and PowerShot A1200 cameras, a 14.1MP and 12.1MP addition to the popular A range.The 14.1 MP A2200 and 12.1MP A1200 offer slim chassis, with the former powered by a lithium-ion battery and the latter using good ol' AAs.
"Canon today launches two PowerShot models that bring a new level of fun, creative and easy photography to the digital compact camera market," said Canon.
Video capture
"The PowerShot A2200 and PowerShot A1200 combine Canon know-how with HD video capture and easy-to-use shooting modes including Smart Auto – making it simple for everyone to achieve great results with one simple touch of a button."
Both cameras offer a 2.7-inch LCD screen, Canon 28mm wide-angle lens, and a 4x optical zoom.
The cameras also boast Canon's DIGIC 4 image processing and Smart Auto.
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Big growth for IMAX as ticket sales more than doubled in 2010
IMAX box office takings doubled in 2010 compared to those of 2009 as the public's appetite for super-sized cinema grew despite gloomy economic conditions. More films were released in IMAX in 2010 than ever before, including nine of the top ten grossing movies of the year.
Visually stunning big name releases like Avatar that are shown to their best effect on the larger IMAX screens are also likely to have helped to boost sales.
It's not all about 3D, you know
IMAX is keen not to put too much onus on the popularity of 3D releases in 2010, however, with Richard Gelfond, CEO of the IMAX Corporation, stating: "Our 2010 box office results reflect our model of showcasing the biggest blockbuster titles, whether they are 2D or 3D."
A portion of the box office takings also came from the company's own documentary releases, including the likes of Hubble 3D, Under the Sea 3D and Deep Sea 3D.
With blockbusters like TRON: Legacy, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides slated for IMAX release this year, this stellar growth could be set to continue.
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CES 2011: Canon launches Powershot A800 for easy, affordable photography
Among the bevy of cameras just announced by Canon is the PowerShot A800, a simple point-and-shoot that promises ease of use for photographers on a budget. Boasting a "genuine Canon lens" – we'd expect nothing less from Canon, to be honest – the dinky snapper offers 10 megapixels and 3.3x optical zoom for high-quality images.
With a 2.5-inch LCD display on the back, the camera is powered by two AA batteries. Although this will make it easier to juice up when you're on the move, we're not convinced that it's anywhere near as economical as a rechargeable lithium-ion battery.
Ease of use
Canon's Smart Auto mode offers a range of shooting options, including landscape, sunset, macro and self-timer settings to help amateurs get the best out of their shots.
The camera is able to upload video directly to YouTube, and Canon also offers 2GB of online storage space in the form of the Canon Image Gateway.
With a UK release date of February 2011, the Canon PowerShot A800 will be available for the very reasonable price of £79 in red, silver, black or blue.
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CES 2011: Canon unveils Powershot A3300 IS, A3200 IS
Canon has announced the PowerShot A3300 IS and PowerShot A3200 IS digital cameras, two new models that apparently make it easier to have fun with your photography. The cameras will be the successors to the A3000 and A3100 models as the top models in the PowerShot A series.
"Capturing high-resolution, still images and optically stabilised 720p HD video, each offers an exceptionally easy-to-use, flexible and great value option for those who want to relive their best moments in amazing detail," says Canon.
"Both models are slim and stylish, with a solid metal chassis that reflects the enduring, robust performance assured by all Canon products."
Colourful
The PowerShot A3300 IS is available in red, blue, pink and silver, and offers 16MP images, a 28mm Canon wide-angle lens, 5x optical zoom, image stabilisation and DIGIC 4 image processing.
There is also the company's Smart Auto face/subject detection, i-contrast and Smart Flash. The UK release date is February at a price of £149.
The A3200 IS brings the same features but slightly inferior 14.1MP piccies, with a UK release date of February and a price of £129.
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CES 2011: Packard Bell unveils new 2011 line-up
Affordable PC manufacturer Packard Bell has announced its new line-up for 2011 at CES in Las Vegas this week.Packard Bell's latest range of laptops for 2011 apparently "further reflect the brand positioning in the trendy and lifestyle segment".
Techies sneer at trendy tag
It's perhaps a little too easy for techies to sneer at Packard Bell's focus on 'trendiness' and new colours, however, this is the brand's proposition.
The company knows that it's not going to sell these laptops to hardcore gamers or power users, so why bother pushing specs in the marketing messaging?
Packard Bell is a sub-brand of parent company Acer, with Gianpiero Morbello, Acer Group Vice President of Marketing & Brand noting that:
"Packard Bell has made several steps towards its distinct value proposition, synonymous with 'In style and trendy, well designed and easy-to-use products'.
"Our 2011 line-up will consistently confirm these values, addressing style-conscious users who want a unique and distinctive product sporting quality while easily enabling their digital lives."
As such, Packard Bell will soon be releasing a new range of notebooks under the 'Packard Bell EasyNote S series' brand, along with a refresh of the Packard Bell ixtreme deskto, and a new colour scheme and asymmetric design for the Packard Bell Maestro series, as well as a new range of 'PB Go' storage devices.
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A quick guide to Mac OS X 10.7 Lion
Set to ship next summer, Mac OS X 10.7 Lion is the eighth major version of OS X. And it will borrow everything that's good from Apple's other OS, iOS. "We started with Mac OS X, repurposed it for the iPhone and used it in the iPad as well. "Now we're bringing some of the ideas back to the Mac," said Apple CEO, Steve Jobs. "Lion has a ton of new features, and we hope the few we had time to preview will give users a good idea of where we are headed," Jobs said.
Highlights include the Mac App Store, Launchpad, fullscreen applications, Mission Control, Auto Save and Resume, and more. Jobs also went on to respond to speculation that Apple intends making touch-sensitive Macs: this is both true and false.
Jobs admitted Apple has been working on this, but said touch surfaces "don't want to be vertical," because a user's arm will get tired pretty fast. As such, Apple's answer to using touch as part of the user interface (UI) of Mac OS X comes in the form of Multi-Touch, via the Magic Mouse and the Magic Trackpad.
2011 is the 10th anniversary of Mac OS X. On launch, it boasted industry-leading features: full-colour scalable graphics, text and graphics anti-aliasing, the Dock and more. Lion seems set to maintain that lead.
The competition
Apple's world-class OS scales between phones, tablets and computing devices. But how does this compare with others?
Microsoft recommends avoiding using Windows Phone 7 on tablets, promising it is developing its own "rich touch and applications experience" for tablets. Microsoft will focus on bringing a low-power version of its PC platform to market for these.
However, this is creating confusion: while Apple has a clear division between iOS and Mac OS X, cross-pollinating as appropriate between the systems, Microsoft has three, all called Windows…
Similarly, Google continues to achieve success with Android, and manufacturers are already introducing tablets running Android.
Linux, meanwhile, continues to go from strength to strength, but the open source system still lacks a major footprint in consumer markets.
Apple leads
We're at a nexus point for the OS and app development. Full-screen windows will deepen our relationship with our apps. A great app should "tell a story with a screenshot," said Chicago Times Apple pundit, Andy Ihnatko. In the future, if you can't tell how an app works just by looking at its screen, then it will be an interface failure.
Borrowed from iOS, Launchpad is like a Home screen and will show you all your available applications. This underlines Lion's focus on convenience, usability and the interface.
Lion may be remembered as a step toward developing non-hierarchical file management for computers. Ultimately, Apple is creating a common environment across all its devices, proving Mac OS X a highly flexible, powerful and modern OS.
Developers welcomed what they saw. "Lion looks interesting, but I think it's still too early to tell how it's going to turn out," said DragThing founder James Thomson. "From a developer perspective, anything that makes it easier for developers to build apps for both Mac OS and iOS would be welcome. My main hope is that we'll see something like UIKit (the iOS UI framework) as part of Lion."
Bare Bones Software founder and CEO, Rich Siegel said: "The truth is that it's far too early to do much more than project, like a good Rorschach test, until we see the first seed."
The Mac App Store may change everything, and some developers are worried Apple may demand all Mac software is sold this way, locking them out of the platform.
"We will need to make a separate version of each app for delivery to the App Store," observed Siegel. "The Mac App Store represents an opportunity to put our products in front of a larger audience," he said.
"I have mixed emotions about the Mac App Store, but it's not a shock," said Thomson. "As soon as the iOS store was a success it was inevitable."
He's concerned at app review, though, noting: "A lot of apps might not even be approved under the guidelines." A case in point is his own app, DragThing, which could be seen as overlapping functions of the Finder and Dock.
Lukas Mathis is a developer who builds apps for different operating systems on his Mac. He thinks the Mac App Store will be a "game-changer" and will make the Mac apps market "vastly larger" than the audience for consumer Windows apps.
His problem with the App Store? The challenge of app discovery amid a sea of mediocre apps, he said, urging Apple to ensure quality control.
This power to reject worries Rixstep, who warned an App Store for Mac was on the way last summer. They are concerned Apple may demand all Mac software be sold via the store. "We don't believe things will stop as they're currently announced. We believe the longterm goal is to bind all third-party software to the platform," a company spokesman said.
What effect could this have? "We've been selling PCalc for iOS for over two years now, so we're used to the limitations," said Thomson. "Mainly the delays in shipping new versions caused by the approval process and the race to 59p pricing. But PCalc makes more on the iPhone and iPad than on the Mac."
Innovation history
It's almost 10 years since its launch, and OS X remains built on the object-oriented operating system NeXTSTEP, itself developed at Jobs' second computer company, NeXT.
While NeXT hardware proved too expensive for mass-market adoption, it generated powerful software technologies, such as WebObjects and the object-oriented programming language which we now know as Cocoa. Apple was foundering. Mac OS was dated, unwieldy and reaching the limit of what it could do.
The company had been working to develop its own OS, Copland, but it came to nothing. They then acquired NeXT in 1997. The first version of Mac OS X shipped in March 2001. Has it changed things?
Snow Leopard reached twice as many users as Leopard. Apple is now the fourth biggest US PC maker, and if you add OS X-based iPads to its sales it is arguably the biggest 'PC' maker in the world.
Missing links
The Lion launch also saw Apple debut the MacBook Air, which ships without Flash preinstalled; an Apple tech note also confirmed the company won't be shipping its own Java runtimes in future iterations of OS X.
In future, Mac users wanting to use either standard will need to download the most recent Mac versions from standard developers.
The lack of Java could be a problem, noted Mathis. "As a developer who uses Mac OS X to write non-Mac apps, I was unhappy to hear Apple will stop supporting its version of Java. While most don't rely on Java on Macs, developers use Java-based IDE's to write server-side apps, and apps for Android and other mobile platforms.
"When Mac OS X first launched, Apple spread the message of open standards and flexibility. Java was a popular objectoriented programming language, so Apple worked to improve Mac Java support. Oracle now owns Java, following the acquisition of Sun Microsystems.
"Presumably, we'll get a usable replacement for Apple's Java by the time Lion hits, but it would be nice if Apple helped us by open-sourcing its own version of Java, and letting us maintain it," notes Mathis.
We'll see questions like these answered as Apple approaches summer 2011, particularly when it attempts to excite attendees at the Worldwide Developer's Conference.
The top 5 features of OS X 10.7 Lion
01. The Mac App Store
Apple's Mac App Store will let you browse, purchase and download apps from Apple and other sources directly to your Mac. You'll be able to install software you purchase on all your personal Macs, while developers take 70% of their revenue.
Granted, this will make it easier than ever to purchase software for your Mac, but titles sold here will have to pass through the App Store approval system. You'll still be able to buy software elsewhere. The store will open for Snow Leopard users in weeks.
02. Touch to find
Lion's new Mission Control feature will make it easier than ever to navigate through your open windows, applications, Spaces and Exposé. You'll navigate through these using flicking gestures, just like an iPad.
iTunes users may feel a little as if they're using Cover Flow. Accessed via the Dock, Launchpad will be a flick-through screen showing icons for your apps. Like an iPad, you'll be able to organise icons as you wish and also gather these inside custom folders.
03. FaceTime
Apple has rebranded iSight cameras as FaceTime cameras, and Lion will integrate FaceTime chat.
Currently available in beta, FaceTime will let Mac users initiate video chat with any iPhone, iPod touch or Mac user, via Wi-Fi. In future you can expect FaceTime support via 3G networks, although we can't say when.
04. Full-screen apps
Mac OS X Lion will bring Mac users system-wide support for full-screen applications, maximising screen space – a bonus for creative users. You'll be able to enter full-screen mode with just one click, and – with a focus on touch – switch from one full-screen app to another with just a swipe of the trackpad.
05. Window change
Lion borrows from iOS when it comes application window behaviour. As some demo windows show, you'll see discreet scroll bars that appear when you initiate a swipe gesture, much like on an iPad. The bright Aqua scroll bars are replaced by these sleek strips. You can also resize Lion's windows from any corner.
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CES 2011: Microsoft CES 2011 keynote streamed on Facebook
Microsoft will stream its traditional CES opening keynote over its Facebook page – allowing people who 'like' the company to watch Steve Ballmer et al discuss the software giant's view on forthcoming tech. With CES 2011 all set to kick off, it is Microsoft that fires the opening salvo with the first official keynote offering starting at 2:30 am GMT.
To be able to watch the curtain-raiser live, people will have to go over to the official Microsoft Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/Microsoft and agree to 'Like' the company.
Stream
That will then allow people to watch the streamed event, where the company is expected to show off its latest version of Windows for tablets among other announcements.
Steve Ballmer will be leading the keynote – with the ebullient CEO likely to provide his usual energetic commentary on the company's offerings.
Kinect, Windows Phone 7 and Internet Explorer are all likely to get a mention, but it is tablets that are likely to be the headline act for the Redmond giant.
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CES 2011: Pure launches new £200 high-end iPod dock
Pure has launched a new high-end iPod dock at CES this week, with the £200 Pure Contour also boasting media streaming and internet radio features.Targeting the audiophile market, Pure hopes that its new does-it-all iPod dock will be able to compete with costlier products from the likes of Arcam and Bowers and Wilkins.
Audio quality and looks
Pure's launch press release describes the Contour as "a stereo internet-connected digital radio and media streamer with retractable iPod/iPhone dock which stands out as much for its looks as it does for its powerful audio delivery".
Contour is the seventh member of Pure's internet-connected Flow range. The company boasts that its Clearsound technology "delivers clear dynamic audio, higher volume levels and low power consumption."
"Contour has been designed with an acoustically tuned and sealed cabinet with dual bass ports to deliver unparalleled volume, clarity and response from 18KHz down to less than 50Hz."
Perhaps the most interesting USP of the Contour is the fact that it lets the user stream their digital music collection from a Wi-Fi enabled computer or media server, in addition to playing thousands of internet radio stations via Pure's Lounge portal.
For more on Pure's new Contour iPod dock head to www.pure.com/
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Qualcomm snaps up Atheros for $3.1 billion
Qualcomm has splashed out a massive $3.2 billion (£2.05bn) in cash for chip maker Atheros. The communications giant has paid a premium for the chip maker, which is based in California and specialises in 'innovative technologies for wireless and wired local area connectivity in the computing, networking and consumer electronics industries'.
"It is Qualcomm's strategy to continually integrate additional technologies into mobile devices to make them the primary way that people communicate, compute and access content," said Dr. Paul E. Jacobs, chairman and CEO of Qualcomm.
Natural extension
"This acquisition is a natural extension of that strategy into other types of devices," he added.
"The combination of Qualcomm and Atheros is intended to accelerate this opportunity by utilizing best-in-class products for communications, computing and consumer electronics to broaden existing customer relationships and expand access to new partners and distribution channels."
Qualcomm purchased Atheros for $45 per share in cash to secure the deal, which is expected to be closed in the first quarter of 2011.
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Video: New BlackBerry PlayBook video shows off web capabilities
Keen to continue the buzz surrounding the BlackBerry Playbook, RIM has released a new video showing off the tablet's web browsing capabilities. If you dream of a tablet that can browse the web like a desktop computer, then you're in for a treat.
The PlayBook's web video playback looks pretty good – the clip shows both an embedded video and a YouTube video playing flawlessly, presumably over Wi-Fi given 3G can only be accessed using a standalone BlackBerry phone companion.
The Social Network
The new video then goes on, as we all inevitably do, to Facebook. The tablet offers the full desktop version of the site with no compromises, as RIM is keen to point out.
Everything seems to work perfectly, including Facebook Chat and Flash games which can be played while chats and notifications run in the background.
The videos come hot on the heels of rumours of poor battery life on the long-awaited tablet; rumours that RIM was quick to dispel.
It's all well and good to keep releasing video after video, but sooner or later RIM will have to actually release a product – will we see more of the PlayBook at CES? With a first quarter release date scheduled, we'll be keeping our eyes peeled.
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8 of the best Linux password managers
Still remember the password to your account on Angelfire for a website that you abandoned in 1999 but can't remember the login information for the Fedora 13 virtual machine? We've all been there. It's what Sherlock Holmes referred to as filling up the attic with useless information. We're not all capable of clearing stuff out from our attic, but we can trust some important information – such as passwords – to dedicated password managers that can remember, protect and serve us these passwords as and when we need them.
The naysayers would argue that you can't trust all your passwords to a single location. Different password managers rely on different encryption algorithms to ensure your passwords remain safe, and in our selection you'll find many different algorithms in use.
Most of these tools, however, also rely on a master password. Forget the master password and you can't retrieve any of the passwords stored within.
Because of the basic premise of password managers, only a few tools are now in active development. Still, the nature of open source projects, and the stability of these tools have ensured them a place on our list.
So why wouldn't you use a password manager instead of mucking about with silly text files with manual encryptions. There's just one rule: make sure your master password is very secure – but more importantly, make sure that it's something you won't ever forget.
How we tested...
We wanted tools that can easily work on more than a single distribution and make it easy to import and export data. Because the information trusted to password managers is so private, the security measures they use wins them extra brownie points.
While there are Firefox extensions you can use to store passwords for websites, we're interested in tools that can store any username/password combination, irrespective of what that combination unlocks.
We also wanted tools that offer search features so you can quickly locate any passwords. Many tools are still in beta, so that isn't a criterion on our list. If it's stable and can do all that it promises, we're happy
Our selection
Fiagaro's Password Manager
Gpass
Gpassword Manager
Gringotts
KeePassX
MyPasswords
PasswordSafe
Revelation
KeePassX
One of the oldest and most popular tools
Despite the popular naming convention of Linux tools, the K in KeePass doesn't reflect its dependency on KDE. This tool is an unofficial port of the Windows password manager tool KeePass.
A standard feature in software repositories for most distributions, the only requirement of KeePassX is the Qt library. When you first launch it, the first step is to create a master password.
In contrast to some of the other tools in our list, it can also work with encryption key files. You can also use a combination of master password and key file to add another layer of security to your login credentials.
To begin, click File > New Database and provide a master password. You can also create a key file at this point. All login credentials are stored in an encrypted file on your disk.
KeePassX offers AES and the Twofish encryption to better protect your passwords. By default, it lets you add entries to the database in two groups – email and internet. You can store the login information for websites, forum boards, wikis, news sites and so on in the internet group, and use the email group to store the email account passwords.
For better control, you can even create new groups or sub-groups using the Groups menu from the toolbar. The right-click context menu for each entry in a group lets you copy the username and the password to the clipboard in addition to offering to open the URL in a browser window.
However, copying the password to the clipboard is an obvious security risk as any program that can read the clipboard can access this password. You can search the entries in the database using the search bar at the top-right of the KeePassX interface.
Verdict
KeePassX
Version: 0.4.3
Web: www.keepassx.org
Price: Free under the GPL
Very secure. Can work with multiple databases and export and import data
Rating: 9/10
Gpass
This old horse can still fight, but should you care?
Although no longer actively developed, Gpass remains a fan favourite among the netizens. It stores the passwords in an encrypted file under the ~/.gpass directory, which is protected with a master password.
As it works only with an encrypted file, you can't create different databases. All login credentials must be stored in a single file. Another shortcoming is that it doesn't give you the option to search through the login credentials file. The single repository of login credentials can expand over time and, while the entries are arranged alphabetically, the inability to search through the list can become bothersome as it grows.
Gpass relies on the Blowfish encryption algorithm to make the password repository file unreadable. To add a new entry to the list, click the Add button and fill in the details in the Attribute Editor window. You can use the Type drop-down list to select either General or Folder.
Since it can't work with different files, you can create folders to easily manage your passwords; for example, a folder each for wikis, forums, blogs, and so on. Each folder can then have multiple entries.
Another useful feature is the password generator. In the Attribute Editor window, next to the Password field is the Generate button. You can use this to create a random password.
Login information for your bank accounts and other such sensitive information should not be trusted to a password manager no matter what its security feature set. With many easy-to-use tools still actively developed, there's little reason for you to use Gpass over any of them.
Verdict
Gpass
Version: 0.5.1
Web: http://projects.netlab.jp/gpass
Price: Free under the GPL
Easy to install and use. But no database, and can't search or import
Rating: 4/10
Gpassword Manager
Genius interface. Could use some colour though, and better tooltips
Gpassword Manager offers just about all features you would expect from a password manager. While not available in the software repositories, a simple Bash script for an installer makes it an ideal choice for all levels of computer users.
Uncompress the tarball and in a terminal run the command sudo ./install.bash This will install the program, and you can then launch it from the terminal with the command gpasswordman or from the Alt+F2 Run Application dialog box.
When adding entries, you can define favourites, which can then be accessed by right-clicking the system-tray icon. This feature is unique to this tool, and it's mighty useful.
Gpasswordman uses Crypto++ for encryption and can run on Windows or Mac. So you can easily use the same database to store user account information for all your machines.
Unlike many other tools in our list, it doesn't offer the option to import or export the encrypted file. So, when you wish to use the file on a different instance of Gpassword Manager, click File > Open and select the file.
To create a new entry, click File > New > Secret. The Edit Secret dialog box, where you fill in all the information, lacks proper tooltips. While the tool does offer helpful hints for each of the many buttons, many of them aren't very specific. Type the name of the website in the Label field, and use the + button to add the Username, Password, URL and other fields. You can then fill in this information.
Clicking the star button will mark the entry as favourite, enabling you to access it from the system tray icon.
Verdict
Gpassword Manager
Version: 2.4.0
Website
Price: Free under Apache Licence
It's awesome to access your favourites from the system tray
Rating: 9/10
Revelation
Hey, it has a punchy tag line!
Any tool that says: "You drive, I think there's something wrong with me" in the Help > About dialog deserves to be in as many lists as possible. But saner minds prevail and so it's only on a list of compatriots.
Revelation is another password manager for Gnome, and this one isn't in active development any more either. Unlike most other tools, it doesn't ask you to provide a master password as the first step.
To add a new entry to the database, click the Add Entry button on the toolbar and fill in the details. Use the Type drop-down list to select what kind of information you're storing. The Account Data fields change depending on what you choose.
After adding the entry, click the Save button on the main toolbar. Revelation will ask you to type a name for the database file and specify a location where you wish to store it. Only after you've done that will you be asked to provide a master password.
Over time the list of stored credentials will grow, and that's when you will really appreciate the different types of information you can store.
To search for an entry, click View > Search Toolbar and type in the complete name in the search bar. You can limit the search to any type, such as website or email, using the Any Type drop-down. It only searches through the name fields of each entry, and you must provide the exact name or the search will come up empty.
Revelation loses points here as this is in contrast to many other tools that offer partial matching. It enables you to import files from many of different tools, such as Gpass or Password Safe, and you can export to any of these or even plain to XML.
Verdict
Revelation
Version: 0.4.11
Website
Price: Free under the GPL
An improved search feature will make it a title contender
Rating: 8/10
Gringotts
A secure notes manager, but it can be used to store passwords
Possessing a vast feature set, including the option of choosing from eight different types of encryption algorithms to protect your data, makes Gringotts the most comprehensive program on our list. The feature set however is a curse as much as it is a blessing.
Because most users will only want to use a tool to store passwords, its crowded interface may seem a bit tedious. If all you're looking for is a simple tool to store login credentials, this is probably not for you, for it aims to be a repository of all your important data – not just passwords.
The website doesn't offer any documentation, and while the project hasn't had a new release in over a year, it's still stable enough for regular use.
When you first run Gringotts, click Edit > Preferences and select the type of encryption you wish to use. The Preferences window is made of three tabs and you should browse through each to define its behaviour.
To begin, click File > New. You'll be asked to define a password. You can choose to enter a string, or use a file on the disk. Gringotts requires you to first create a new document, and then add items to this document. Since it's a notes manager, you can effectively create a document each for all your medical scans, prescriptions, credit card statements and so on.
When adding items to a document, it enables you to attach files. So, you can effectively create a monthly document for your credit card statements and attach all the different bank statements as different items in the document. It will then encrypt and store this data for you. Because of the complex encryption on offer, you can effectively attach a text file with login credentials to Gringotts and feel safe with it.
Verdict
Gringotts
Version: 1.2.10
Web: http://gringotts.berlios.de
Price: Free under the GPL
If you only want to manage passwords, there are easier tools.
Rating: 4/10
MyPasswords
It's beautiful and we like it
The best thing about this tool is that it doesn't require installation and it's super fast. You won't find MyPasswords in the software repositories of your distribution, so head on to the project's website and grab the 3.6MB zip file.
Handily it can run on Windows, Linux, Unix and even Apple. Once uncompressed, you only need to double-click the run.sh script to launch this program. You can alternatively run the script from the terminal.
It relies on the Derby database and AES encryption algorithm to create a secure repository of your login credentials. The interface is very simple and straightforward. You're asked to fill in the login information for a website when you run the program.
The fields are all the same for all tools, except it offers the genius tags option. You can add tags to each item you add to the database, and you can provide multiple comma-separated tags for each entry. To add another entry, click the New button at the bottom-right of the window and enter the details for the new account. Each entry is saved into the database when you press Save.
When looking for entries, click the Search button on the toolbar and you can search using the title or any tags you provided for the entry. You don't need to provide the exact title, as partial matching also works.
For a list of all the entries in the database, click Search without specifying either title or tag. On each subsequent run it will add new entries to the same database and you can easily export this to an XML file if you like. Lack of a master password means anybody can launch the tool and read your passwords, so be careful.
Verdict
MyPasswords
Version: 1.00
Website
Price: Free under the LGPL
Registered and released this year, this is the tool to use.
Rating: 10/10
PasswordSafe
Not to be confused with the command-line pwsafe
This tool is in beta, and in our tests it crashed a couple of times. You should therefore carefully backup the database files to be on the safe side. Thankfully, it offers various back up options to make the task easier.
You'll find PasswordSafe in the software repositories for Ubuntu 10.04 and beyond, but don't confuse it with pwsafe, a command-line only password manager.
To add to the confusion, once installed, PasswordSafe also responds to the command pwsafe. So, to launch, type pwsafe into the Alt+F2 Run Application dialog box.
When you first run it, you'll need to create a new database. You also need to specify a password – called safe combination in PasswordSafe parlance. The safe combination is the master password you'll use to unlock the database.
We're now ready to populate the database with new entries. To begin, click the Add New Entry button on the toolbar or click Edit > Add Entry. The Edit Entry dialog box comprises four tabs. You type in the details for the entry in the first, Basic, tab.
PasswordSafe lets you create different groups such as blogs, forums, wikis and the like. You can then assign entries to any of these groups. You can define the settings for the password generator in the last tab – things like the number of characters, or what combination of lower-case/uppercase letters and numbers to use.
Another plus point is its hyper-advanced search feature. Press Ctrl+F and you can then use the search bar at the bottom of the main window to look for items in the database. If the basic search doesn't suit your needs, click the Advanced Find Options button on the search bar and then you can search within the different fields as well.
Verdict
PasswordSafe
Version: 0.1-1
Website
Price: Free under the Artistic Licence
Fix a few bugs and this tool has all the makings of a title contender
Rating: 7/10
Fiagaro's Password Manager 2
Another thoughtful tool. We're really spoiled for choice now
Once installed, you can launch this program from the terminal or the Alt+F2 Run Application dialog with the command fpm2. The first step is to specify the master password. We're now ready to fill the database with a wide range of entries.
FPM2 uses AES-256 encryption to secure the database files – stored in the ~/.fpm/ directory. To add a new entry, click the New button on the toolbar.
Like PasswordSafe, FPM2 also allows you to create categories for different entries in the database. All the entries in the database are listed in the main FPM2 window. You can use the
The password generator in most tools is almost exactly alike, but the Avoid Ambiguous Characters option in FPM2's password generator is unique and very useful. It ensures that characters like 1 and l (number 1 and lower-case L), for instance, that are often confusing to read and distinguish, aren't used in the generated password.
The search feature offers the search-as-you-type function, which yields near-immediate results for your queries. Partial matching is also supported, which means when looking for The Register entry, you can type reg and FPM2 will helpfully still locate and display the entry.
FPM2 can also be used as an application launcher. Just type the name of the application in the URL/Arg field, and select one from SSH, web, or generic command in the Launcher drop-down list. When you now doubleclick the entry in the FPM2 window, the program will be launched.
Verdict
Fiagaro's Password Manager 2
Version: 0.77
Web: http://als.regnet.cz/fpm2
Price: Free under the GPL
The settings for applications launchers can be easily defined.
Rating: 8/10
The verdict: MyPasswords 10/10
Tell me you didn't see that coming. That the winner would be the tool that lets you assign tags to each entry, doesn't require any installation and supports partial searches. And it's the only tool in the selection that offers two of these qualities – no installation and tags.
A perfect score may make us seem partial or jaded or out of our minds, but you'll agree with us after giving MyPasswords a spin yourself. But it wasn't an easy battle, and we were pleasantly surprised to have such a closely contested competition.
It was unexpected, especially because some tools haven't seen any developer love in a good long while. The other podium finishers, KeePassX and GPasswordManager, both managed a 9/10. With only a little work, these two can easily topple MyPasswords, although we suspect it will be a Vi vs Emacs-like debate and not a clean win for either party.
Most websites nowadays require users to fill in a security question and password that can be used to recover a secret word string if you ever forget yours. And yet, none of the tools in our list offer the option to also add this information to the login credentials.
Some tools, like KeePassX, let you add notes for each added entry, and while this can be used to store the security question and other related information like a secondary email address perhaps, dedicated fields to store this information will be very much appreciated.
Gringotts gets such a low rating because it's not the easiest to use tool in the list. In fact, it wasn't intended to be a password manager at all, and so putting it in this list was maybe unfair. It's an amazing program when you use it for storing files – which is what it was created for.
While some of these tools let you search within categories, PasswordSafe's advanced search option lets you select any number of fields, like name, URL or description to search within. And this is something that the other tools should also offer.
While partial matching and search-as-you-type is a handy feature, it's not very convenient when you have dozens or even hundreds of entries in the database. The fact that it doesn't offer a source file so that you can manually install in other distributions is shocking.
But MyPasswords, our winner with a perfect score, isn't without fault either. The absolute lack of any documentation is a feature common to almost all tools. Some of them don't even provide a complete feature set.
A small tooltip for each button on mouse-over is useful, but this shouldn't be the extent of the documentation for any type of software – not just password managers.
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Firefox overtakes Internet Explorer in Europe
Website analytics company StatCounter has insisted that Microsoft's Internet Explorer has been overtaken by Mozilla Firefox as Europe's most popular browser. StatCounter suggests that Firefox now holds a 38.11 per cent share of the browser market over Europe compared to Internet Explorer's 37.52 per cent.
"This is the first time that IE has been dethroned from the number one spot in a major territory," said Aodhan Cullen, StatCounter's CEO.
"This appears to be happening because Google's Chrome is stealing share from Internet Explorer while Firefox is mainly maintaining its existing share."
UK share
Interestingly the company's December statistic also suggests that the UK – one of Microsoft's traditionally strong browser markets – could see Internet Explorer drop beneath a 50 per cent market share for the first time in years.
Chrome is also the major beneficiary in the UK market – climbing by two per cent in December, with Google's browser having a real impact on the back of a major advertising campaign.
Microsoft's latest browser, IE9, represents a major improvement from the company over its predecessors, but it remains to be seen if it can arrest a troubling decline in market share.
On the bright side, IE is still hugely dominant in the US with a 48.92 per cent share, with nearest rival Firefox back on 26.7 per cent.
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Zeppelin Air uses Apple AirPlay to wirelessly stream tunes
Bowers & Wilkins has announced the Zeppelin Air, a new addition to its iconic Zeppelin speaker range. Bowers and Wilkins claims that the Zeppelin Air is the first premium wireless iPod speaker with AirPlay capabilities.
Music from your iTunes account can be streamed from a computer to the Zeppelin Air, while your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch acts as the remote – alternatively, you can stream music directly from your mobile device.
Sounds good
As well as doing away with the need for wires, the Zeppelin Air also offers improved audio thanks to updated drive units, five specially designed amplifiers and improved bass reproduction.
It may retain the classic airship-inspired shape, but the speaker does feature some minor stylistic upgrades, namely a smart black back-plate and a new-style iPod docking arm.
Out in the UK in March, the Zeppelin Air doesn't come cheap at £499.99; that's £100 more than the AirPlay-less original.
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CES 2011: iTablet finally launches, promises to be more than just a media player
Back in February 2010, UK company X2 beat Apple to it and launched a product called the iTablet. Now, almost a year later and with the iPad a household name, the Windows-based tablet is being released at CES as the iTablet W10, under the AHX Global brand.
The specs have improved a little since we last reported on the iTablet; instead of Windows Mobile 7 (as the world knew it then), the slate will ship with Windows 7 Home Premium and a trial version of Microsoft Office 2010.
Other goodies to look forward to include a 10.1-inch widescreen (compared to the iPad's 9.7-inch effort and Galaxy Tab's comparatively tiny 7-incher), 1024 x 600 screen resolution, 32GB of internal storage, HDMI output for playing movies and viewing photos on larger screens and stereo audio playback.
Gotta get yourself connected
When it comes to connectivity, there's no SIM-integrated model, so you're limited to Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. There are two USB 2.0 ports, so you could also use a dongle or Mi-Fi to stay connected on the go.
A two-megapixel webcam also allows for a spot of video calling, something the iPad is not yet capable of.
Powering all this is an Intel Atom Z530 1.6GHz processor with 2GB of RAM, so we'd expect multitasking as standard.
As well as the high-spec iTablet, AHX Global is also launching a slightly lower-spec version called the W10² with a 1.3GHz processor and 1GB of RAM, which comes Windows 7 Starter Edition but no webcam or HDMI output.
There's not much longer to wait until you can get your mitts on an iTablet, because they'll be shipping in March.
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Tutorial: How to create your first Android app
One of the strengths of the Android platform compared to, say, that of the iPhone, is that it's open source. This makes it easy to produce your own apps and distribute them without a lengthy approval process. You can code your own Android app on your PC as long as you have the right software, and you can even take it for a test drive using an Android emulator. We'll guide you through the steps you need to take in order to write run a basic 'Hello world' application in Android.
Android apps are written in Java code, so you'll need a Java development kit installed on your PC. You also need an integrated development environment (IDE) to write and test the code.
We explain how to set up Eclipse IDE to work with the plug-in Android Development Tools and the Android Software Development Kit, which enables you to generate and execute suitable Java code within an Android emulator.
You also need at least one version of the Android platform. See 'Adding Android platforms' below to find out how to do this. Once you've downloaded a version of Android, you also need to set up a virtual device to run in the emulator.
There are several steps you need to take to get your computer ready for the Android SDK. First, install a Java Development Kit. You can get the right one for your version of Windows from here.
You also need to install Eclipse IDE for Java developers, which is available from www.eclipse.org/downloads.
When you install Eclipse, it will check for the JDK. It's best to extract Eclipse in the same directory as the JDK. Eclipse won't install if it can't find it, but you can move the required files to whichever directory the Eclipse installer is examining.
With Eclipse installed, you can download the Android SDK. Extract it to a safe directory and make a note of where it is.
Back in Eclipse, you need to add the Android Development Tools. Choose 'Help | Install new software'. Next to 'Work with', enter https://dl-ssl.google.com/android/eclipse and click 'Add'. In the pane below this, check 'Development Tools' and click 'Next'.
You should see 'Android DDMS' and 'Android Development Tools' selected. Click 'Next', accept the agreement and restart Eclipse. Point the ADT plug-in to the place you extracted the Android SDK to.
In Eclipse choose 'Window | Preferences | Android'. Next to 'SDK location', click 'Browse' and fi nd the folder containing the SDK. Click 'Apply' and 'OK'.
platforms
To test any app you create, you'll need a version of the Android platform installed. You can do this in the Android SDK and AVD Manager, which you'll be able to launch in Eclipse if you've set your system up correctly.
Choose 'Window | Android SDK and AVD Manager' to open it. Now select 'Available Packages' and tick the box next to 'https://dl-ssl.google.com/android/repository/repository.xml'.
After a scan of the repository, you'll see the available components. Tick those that you want to install and clear the others.
The most important package to install is the latest version of the Android platform. You'll need this to set up a virtual Android device. There are several versions available, but you'll need older ones if you plan to release your app, and therefore need to test it with a range of different versions.
At this stage you can also clear the samples, Google APIs and USB driver. If you find that you need any of these later on, you can always go back and install them.
Click 'Install selected' and wait for the components to download. Verify and accept the new components if prompted to do so. They will then be added to your existing Android SDK folders.
Once you've got Eclipse up and running and have at least one version of the Android platform installed, you need to set up an Android Virtual Device, or AVD.
You can do this in the Android SDK and AVD Manager. Choose 'Window | Android SDK and AVD Manager' and select 'Virtual Devices'. Click 'New' and provide a name for your new device. Select the Android platform that you want to use as the target. Click 'Create AVD'.
If you want to test your application to ensure that it runs under different versions of Android, you'll need to create a new virtual device for each version of the platform. You can also specify other parameters here, including the presence and size of an SD card. It's possible to select a file to use as a virtual SD card, too.
You can opt to use the built-in skin (recommended) or specify the resolution that you want to use. Under the 'Hardware' option, click 'New' and select a device if you want to add more virtual hardware.
For a simple AVD, you'll usually be fine sticking with the default options. Once you've finished, you can close the Android SDK and AVD Manager.
Now that you've created your virtual device, you can set up a new project in Eclipse to begin creating your application.
Once you have the software in place and have set up a virtual device in the Android SDK and AVD manager, you can create a new project.
In Eclipse IDE, choose 'File | New | Project'. In the 'New project' wizard, select the 'Android' folder and choose 'Android Project'. Click 'Next'. You now have a new window for your project details.
We'll set up a 'Hello world' application, which displays text when launched. In the 'Project name' field enter HelloAndroid. For 'Application name' enter Hello, Android. For 'Package name' enter com. example.helloandroid, and for 'CreateActivity' type HelloAndroid. Click 'Finish'.
These parameters are used to set up your project in Eclipse. 'Project name' is also the name for the directory in your workspace that will contain your project files. Eclipse will create it for you. Assuming you accepted the default Windows workspace of 'C:\Users\username\workspace', you'll find the above directory at 'C:\Users\username\workspace\HelloAndroid'.
If you browse to this in Windows Explorer, you'll see a number of subfolders and files set up as part of the project. Name your app 'Application name' is the title of your app, and is displayed on the Android device.
You can change this at will, but be more careful with 'Package name'; this is the namespace for the package where your source code resides. It needs to follow the rules for naming packages in Java and be unique across the Android system, which is why a domain style package is used. 'com.example' is reserved for examples such as this.
If you develop an app that's published, you'll need your own namespace. This usually relates to the organisation publishing the app.
'Create activity' relates to the class stub generated by the plug-in. An activity is basically an action. We'll leave the other project fields at their default values.
'Min SDK version' enables you to set the minimum API needed by your app. If 'Use default location' is ticked, your project is saved in your workspace.
'Build target' is the platform target for your application – the minimum version of Android it will run on. If you develop an app to run on an earlier version of Android, it should run on a later one too, but an app developed for a later version of the platform probably won't run on an earlier version.
The build target isn't critical as long as you can get your app to run in the emulator. It's more of a concern when you come to release an app. The option to create the project from an existing example enables you to select existing code to modify. This will be of interest as you move on to new challenges.
You should now see your project in the Package Explorer. Double-click 'HelloAndroid 'to expand it. Also expand 'src' and 'com.example.helloandroid'. Doubleclick 'HelloAndroid.java' to see the code that's set up. In the main pane, you should see this text:
package com.example.
helloandroid;
import android.app.Activity;
import android.os.Bundle;
public class HelloAndroid extends Activity {
/** Called when the activity is first created. */
@Override
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super. onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.main);
}
}
If you can't see all of this, look to the left-hand side of the pane and expand any plus signs indicating collapsed code. Essentially, this defines your application without actually doing anything at this stage. We need to add an object that will contain your text, and specify what the text will be.
Below the line 'import android. os.Bundle;' add the following:
import android.widget.TextView;
You also need to add the following three lines of code above the two closing curly brackets:
TextView tv = new TextView(this);
tv.setText("My First Android App");
setContentView(tv);
You can replace the text in the quotes to make your app say what you like. The code in its entirety reads should read as follows, if you kept the text the same:
package com.example. helloandroid;
import android.app.Activity;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.widget.TextView;
public class HelloAndroid extends Activity { /** Called when the activity is first created. */
@Override
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super. onCreate(savedInstanceState);
TextView tv = new TextView(this);
tv.setText("My First Android App");
setContentView(tv);
}
}
Save the changes and you're ready to test your code in the Android emulator.
In Eclipse, choose 'Run | Run | Android Application.' The emulator can take a few minutes to boot into Android. Once booted, your app should run automatically and you'll see a grey title bar with the app name in it. Below this, your text is displayed.
Press the 'Home' button to return to the Android home screen. Click the 'Applications' button to see the list of available apps, including 'Hello, Android'. Select this to launch your app.
Now you've run your app in the emulator successfully, you can try it on a real device. First, you need to ensure that the USB driver is installed in the Android SDK and AVD manager.
Choose 'Window | Android SDK and AVD manager | Available Packages'. Select the Android repository, ensure that the USB driver is ticked and click 'Install selected'. Connect your Android phone to a spare USB port and wait for Windows to detect it.
In the 'New hardware' wizard, choose 'Locate and install drivers' and opt to browse your PC for the drivers. Browse to the 'Android SDK' folder and locate the subfolder for the USB driver. Windows should find and install it from here.
You need to declare your app as debuggable. In Eclipse, expand your application and double-click 'AndroidManifest.xlm'. Move to the 'Application' tab and select 'True' from the 'Debuggable' dropdown list. Save the project.
Go to your Android phone and choose 'Menu' from the home screen, then select 'Applications | Development', and enable USB debugging. You can now reconnect it to your PC via USB.
If you want to check that the SDK can see your phone, browse to the 'Tools' directory in your Android SDK folder. Launch 'adb.exe' and you should be able to see your phone listed as 'Device'. To launch your app on the connected phone, choose 'Run | Run | Android application in Eclipse'. Now you have your phone and the emulator connected, you need to specify which you want to run it on.
Eclipse presents you with a Device Chooser that lists all the available devices and emulators. Select your phone from this list to install and run the app. Now you've produced and run a basic application in an emulator and on an Android device, you can begin to learn how to develop your own.
It helps to have some knowledge of Java programming, but you'll also find a number of stepped tutorials in the Android Developer Resources pages.
These include introductions to the different views available to apps and how to implement them. You'll also find ways to use common resources such as location information, and learn how to debug your work. You'll find a list of sample code on these pages too, which will help you work through example apps that you can modify to your own ends.
These include games, such as Snake and Lunar Lander, plus utilities including Notepad and Wiktionary. You can find more samples at apps-for-android.
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CES 2011: Samsung SH100 turns your phone into a camera sidekick
The new Samsung SH100 pocket camera uses Wi-Fi connectivity to make it less about the megapixels and more about bringing the power of the internet into your snapper.This means that you can connect to the internet to upload photos to the likes of Facebook and Picasa, or upload video to YouTube directly. This is all done over Wi-Fi, and included in the box is an account with Boingo, giving access to 200,000 Wi-Fi hotspots.
Cooler than all that uploading gubbins though: you can connect to a Wi-Fi enabled phone and use that as a remote viewfinder. This means you can set the family portrait and be in it too, without the need to run back and forth to make sure everyone's in the right place.
No need for long arms
You can even zoom in and out and activate the shutter remotely, although this does mean your smartphone is also going to be present in a majority of these pictures. At least you can use your phone's GPS (saving space and cost on the SH100) to geo-tag a photo, thus making it more relevant to the picture.
DLNA connectivity to a big screen TV or a PC is offered as well, so you can bore the life out of your daughter's boyfriend with 700 photos of you on a recent Safari trip on a much larger scale, and you can even set the PC to auto-backup content as soon as you're in Wi-Fi range.
Of course, you'll probably want to know the specs as well: we're talking a 14.2MP 1/2.33-inch CCD sensor and 720p HD video recording with up to 5x optical zoom as well.
The UK price for the Samsung SH100 has been set at £199.99, with a UK release date of March 2011 – so best hold back some of the Christmas money if you want a super-connected new compact camera.
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CES 2011: Asus shows off shape-changing concept tablets
Asus likes to show off some impossible ideas alongside the products it's actually producing.That's not because the company expects to build a screen that can change in size from a couple of inches square for a watch to the size of a tablet, but because thinking about what you want concept devices to do gives you new ideas for designs for the more prosaic objects today's technology can produce.
The concept video from its Da Vinci innovation lab that Asus showed at CES 2011 is called IRIS: inspirational research for immersive space.
It looks like a watch…
The idea behind the watch that morphs into a tablet is that instead of having different devices to use in different places, an ideal device would adapt to the space you use it in.
When you're travelling, the IRIS looks like a watch with a big square screen but you can take off the screen and use it to read the paper or play a game; when you get to the office and need to start work, you detach the screen and pull the two metal corners to make the screen bigger.
…and you can see the time, or your next appointment, but you can also pull the screen off your watch, grab hold of the corners and drag to make it bigger…
Hold it up like a camera and the device turns almost transparent as it previews the image; connect it to a projector on your desk and, as well as working on your own ideas, you can control a shared workspace that projects what you're working on up on the wall where everyone can see and interact with it – that's the immersion part of things.
Now it stretches out to the size of a tablet for web browsing and watching videos…
Back at home, you can use the IRIS to play cards; instead of seeing the whole game on the screen, you just see your hand of cards – and when you deal, the cards show up on the other person's screen.
…or you can use it to control the bar on the desk that's actually a tiny projector
The Android tablets Asus announced at CES could be first steps towards that kind of fluid, adaptive device, with keyboards that slide out of the way behind the screen or detach when you don't need the weight and extra battery.
Use the stylus to draw like a pen or to drag and select
We've already seen some of the dual-screen notebooks Asus(among others) has shown off as concepts in the past turn up as physical products and the on-desk projector fits in neatly with the "seamless mobility" promise of the WaveFace service.
A tablet can work as a controller; here you're dealing cards to other players with their own tablets
Flexible screens are still a long way off (glass doesn't bend and plastic printed circuits don't stand up to much rolling and unrolling) but the combination of devices with removable options and folding designs plus cloud services could put some of the ideas behind IRIS in your hand or in your office sooner than you think.
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CES 2011: Any speakers can go wireless with new Logitech adaptor
Logitech has announced a new Wireless Speaker Adaptor that can turn any stereo speakers into a wireless sound system – if you're using an Intel Wireless Display laptop, that is. Intel Wi-Di devices (can't see the name catching on, to be honest) can wirelessly share laptop content to external displays, and the adaptor enables the laptop to connect to existing stereo speakers using your Wi-Fi network.
The Logitech adaptor plugs into the speakers using an RCA or 3.5mm jack, at which point the Wi-Di enabled laptop should pair with the speakers automatically.
Sweet, sweet music
Logitech claims that you'll enjoy better audio quality through your stereo speakers, although this will obviously depend on how good your speakers were to begin with.
The wireless speaker adaptor offers another way to enjoy Spotify wirelessly if you can't afford the excellent Sonos wireless speaker system.
In addition, Logitech has launched a mobile version of the adaptor, which can be used to play music from your mobile phone through stereo speakers using Bluetooth rather than Wi-Fi.
The adaptors should be hitting European shelves in May but there's no word on pricing yet and, unfortunately, no images.
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CES 2011: Any speakers can go wireless with new Logitech adaptor
Logitech has announced a new Wireless Speaker Adaptor that can turn any stereo speakers into a wireless sound system – if you're using an Intel Wireless Display laptop, that is. Intel Wi-Di devices (can't see the name catching on, to be honest) can wirelessly share laptop content to external displays, and the adaptor enables the laptop to connect to existing stereo speakers using your Wi-Fi network.
The Logitech adaptor plugs into the speakers using an RCA or 3.5mm jack, at which point the Wi-Di enabled laptop should pair with the speakers automatically.
Sweet, sweet music
Logitech claims that you'll enjoy better audio quality through your stereo speakers, although this will obviously depend on how good your speakers were to begin with.
The wireless speaker adaptor offers another way to enjoy Spotify wirelessly if you can't afford the excellent Sonos wireless speaker system.
In addition, Logitech has launched a mobile version of the adaptor, which can be used to play music from your mobile phone through stereo speakers using Bluetooth rather than Wi-Fi.
The adaptors should be hitting European shelves in May but there's no word on pricing yet and, unfortunately, no images.
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Review: Advent Quantum Q100
The Advent Quantum Q100 is a no-frills machine that offers a decent specification, but is held back by flawed usability and limited mobility. Built around a generic chassis, the matt-black design is functional, but lacks the style of the Toshiba Satellite T110-121 and ViewSonic ViewBook 130. The chassis is suitably well made, however. All the panels are firm and pleasingly resilient to scuffs and scratches, providing ample protection.
At just 2.1kg, this is a laptop you can easily carry around the house or use on short journeys. The surprisingly slim 35mm design lets it slip smoothly in and out of a carry case.
Mobility is hindered by the 117-minute battery life, however – a truly awful result for such a small laptop.
Usability is similarly flawed. While the keyboard is comfortably wide, with large keys and a spacious design, the board flexes slightly when typing. The keys also have quite a long degree of travel, meaning touch-typing isn't as smooth or intuitive as on some rival machines.
The 13.3-inch Super-TFT screen is far more pleasing. Despite lacking the true widescreen aspect ratio of some of its rivals, image quality is excellent, with vibrant colours and striking brightness. Contrast is a little too strong at times, but not enough to pose a serious problem.
Limited performance
Performance is basic, but this is common at this price. The single-core Intel Celeron processor only suits internet browsing and running office applications, slowing to a crawl when you attempt to multi-task.
Graphics are equally limited. Using the same integrated Intel GPU as many other laptops at this price, only the most simple tasks are possible. High-definition (HD) video runs smoothly enough and you can also edit your photos with ease, but don't expect to edit videos or play games.
The 250GB hard drive provides ample space for storing your files. Unlike the Toshiba and ViewSonic there is also an integrated optical drive for full read-and-write access to CDs and DVDs.
Aside from the operating system, there is no pre-installed software, so if you want to get started straight out of the box, the Toshiba is a better bet.
Network connectivity is strong, however. 802.11n Wi-Fi provides the fastest wireless connections, while 10/100 Ethernet lets you get connected to fixed networks.
On its own merits, the Quantum Q100 is a likeable, if unexceptional, laptop that is a good choice for first-time buyers. Against such strong rivals, its limited mobility and lack of software means it falls short, however, making it hard to recommend.
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Review: Scan 3XS Vengeance
We're not entirely sure who Scan Computers is aiming to exact its vengeance upon with this rig, but by the numbers the 3XS Vengeance is producing it's a pretty safe bet it's going to manage it.
This is the first full PC we've seen to actually put the new second-generation Intel Core platform into context. You'll have read just how good this Sandy Bridge platform is by now, but until you actually see it in a machine, it's tough to quantify.
The pairing of the Core i7-2600K and Nvidia GTX 580 could well be the top CPU/GPU partnership of the next six months or so, but until we get a few more rigs across our test benches, it's a hard to be certain. No matter the context, though, the only machine in the last year to come close to the 3XS Vengeance's performance numbers has been the CyberPower Charybdis.
That was a £2,000 machine sporting an overclocked Gulftown six-core CPU and twin 1GB GTX 460s running in SLI. Granted, that rig still has the performance lead, but only by a hair's breadth – and that's mostly down to the twin GPUs beating at the heart of the PC, rather than the CPU itself.
From these benchmarks the Charybdis might look the better machine, but it's not £250 better. The performance figures you're getting from the 3XS Vengeance are so close, and on the DiRT 2 gaming benchmark slightly ahead, that you'd happily go for this more fully featured setup.
These benchmarks don't take into account the superior OCZ SandForce SSD and dedicated soundcard of the Scan machine either, both of which help make it such a quality machine.
CPU performance
Cinebench R11 – Index: higher is better
Scan 3XS Vengeance: 8.73
CyberPower Charybdis: 10.32
DirectX 11 tessellation performance
Heaven – FPS: higher is better
Scan 3XS Vengeance: 25.9
CyberPower Charybdis: 28.2
DirectX 11 gaming performance
DiRT 2 – FPS: higher is better
3XS Vengeance: 90
CyberPower Charybdis: 88
The other major difference between the CyberPower Charybdis and the Scan 3XS Vengeance is the noise. The Charybdis had to water-cool the CPU to keep it happy, but still relied on two large fans, and the twin GPUs also made a bit of racket happily heating up the innards.
Scan's 3XS Vengeance, on the other hand, is whisper quiet.
Despite the fact that the Core i7-2600K is running at a lightning 4.5GHz, it's kept cool by the Alpenfohn Matterhorn active-cooler, which is itself a rather softly spoken chiller. The GTX 580, too, still surprises us with just how quiet it manages to be. Compared with its GTX 480-shaped forebear, that's doubly impressive.
At £1,740, it's by no means a particularly wallet-friendly machine, but considering the combination of top-end tech and spectacular benchmarks it comes out looking rather good value.
There's absolutely no compromise in this system – at no point have cuts been made to make sure this machine hits a certain price point. Indeed, if the rather scarce GTX 580 becomes more widely available, the pricing may actually come down.
You've got the top Sandy Bridge CPU, seriously overclocked, the best graphics card on the planet, a full 1TB storage drive and a SandForce-powered SSD from OCZ, a bloated 8GB of speedy DDR3, and even a particularly tasty discrete soundcard as an extra cherry on top.
Faster components and chipsets will arrive, but a 3XS Vengeance purchase is going to remain relevant for a while yet. Essentially, this is a machine that will happily be playing at the top of its game for the next two years at least.
As the first machine of what is effectively a new generation, it was always going to blow the previous rigs we've seen out of the water, but we can't help but be impressed by the 3XS Vengeance.
We liked
The performance of this rig is nothing short of phenomenal. The pairing of a Sandy Bridge CPU and Nvidia GeForce GTX 580 makes it something to reckon with.
It's also incredibly quiet for something packing this much high-end kit.
We disliked
To be honest, there's very little not to like about this machine. There's been no compromise with any of the components, making it about as feature-rich a machine as currently possible.
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