Google adds deeper Twitter integration to search
Google has announced some new features to its social search functionality, adding more integration with Twitter and other social networks.In a blog, Google highlights how it is bringing "the opinions of the people you care about" into its search, enabling you to get even more information from your friends, whether they're publishing on YouTube, Flickr or their own blog or Twitter feed.
"Social search results will now be mixed throughout your results based on their relevance (in the past they only appeared at the bottom)," said Google in its blog.
"This means you'll start seeing more from people like co-workers and friends, with annotations below the results they've shared or created."
Social search
Google has also tweaked the way your information is seen on Google – which means you now have the choice as to whether your Twitter posts appear within its search engine.
As with all Google updates, the search giant has created a video showing off its new features.
Warning: it contains more twee than your average Belle and Sebastian tune.
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Ministry of Sound reviews letters to filesharers campaign
Ministry of Sound Recordings (MoS) is reviewing its policy of sending letters to alleged filesharers, following a recent court ruling criticising such activity.One high-profile law firm responsible for sending out hundreds of threatening letters to alleged fileshares, ACS:Law, recently stopped trading, following intense criticism of its strong-arm tactics on behalf of its client MediaCAT.
The end of threatening letters?
ACS:Law targeted alleged illegal file-sharers and demanded money from them to avoid court action.
Following the demise of ACS:Law, the Ministry of Sound has now admitted that while it still plans to continue its "fight against piracy" that the record label has also "noted the judge's comments and will, of course, address these as part of any future actions.'
An MoS spokesperson told Which? this month: "We're undertaking a thorough review of how to proceed and as part of that exercise we will be reviewing the existing cases and previous letters."
For the average man on the internet, this recent ruling basically means that it is going to be "more difficult for content and rights owners to speculatively bombard potential file-sharers with letters demanding money," as IP expert Kim Walker, a partner at legal firm Pinsent Masons explained to TechRadar.
"In other words, they are not going to be able to use their lawyers as a profit centre – sending out letters effectively claiming money to scare people into paying up – instead of having to produce evidence that they might be embarrassed with, such as producing evidence of downloading pornographic films and so on.
"Following this, if you are going to make a claim that a third party is infringing your copyright you have to be very clear on what evidence you have… in other words you cannot just fire out letters in the hope of bullying people into paying you some money."
The Ministry of Sound, via its law firm Gallant Macmillan Solicitors, has to date issued over 1,500 letters to consumers accusing them of illegally obtaining and sharing copyrighted music files, requesting £375 in compensation and costs from each alleged filesharer.
Deborah Prince, head of Which? in-house legal, said of this campaign: "Judge Birss made it clear in his judgement that copyright owners can't say for certain that an IP address proves file sharing or that not securing your wi-fi makes you liable, [so] the MoS will require a wholesale reform of previous tactics."
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iPlayer links up with ITV, Channel 4 and Five
The BBC has started integrating non-BBC channels into iPlayer, hoping that consumers will use the site as a landing page for other on-demand services.Back in May it was announced that the iPlayer would begin to link to non-BBC channels and nine months later it has given birth to this 'sharing the link love' idea.
Now don't get your hopes up that you can now watch ITV content on the iPlayer, but you can search for on-demand ITV channels and they will appear on the iPlayer, with a link out to ITV Player.
Partner linking
This deep integration of non-BBC content is all part of 'partner linking' and ITV, Channel 4, Five, SeeSaw.com and S4C. There's also a new partner involved, in the form of MSN Player.
"We think BBC Online should serve as a hub to support other UK sites and want to double the traffic we send externally," said Paul Clarke from the BBC in a blog.
"Already the BBC News product is one of the top 5 sites driving referrals to UK newspapers, adding value to the UK online economy and our audiences: this partnership is a good example of how the BBC iPlayer can follow in those footsteps.
"Given the popularity of BBC iPlayer, we hope this feature will support fellow broadcasters and boost the overall uptake of video on demand."
It may turn the iPlayer into an all-encompassing on-demand site that Project Canvas wants to be through set-top boxes, but it's a start.
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Opinion: The winners and losers of MWC 2011
This was a very interesting Mobile World Congress. And not actually in terms of devices; although we saw some special stuff, there was nothing to top the hardware inside Motorola's dual-core Tegra 2 Xoom and Atrix announcements at CES last month.But the show was certainly rather more interesting in terms of the strategy and positioning of the various mobile chip and operating system players.
In terms of hardware, the LG Optimus 3D was of great interest, the Samsung Galaxy S2, Galaxy Tab 10.1 and LG Optimus Pad superb, while HTC's hardware disappointed with no dual-core (although it surely won't be long) and the specs of the HTC Flyer were a letdown – unless it can hit a stupidly low, iPad-bashing price point, of course.
If you'd any doubt about it before, Android 3.0 is huge. Honeycomb is, of course, where it's at but the openness of Android has helped it become the mobile ecosystem that accepts all comers.
And that means that everybody from never-heard-of bit-part players through to Samsung to LG to Dell to Nvidia is talking up the OS. All had massive Android branding everywhere.
The Android stand itself was something to behold, with its own slide (yep, you read that right) and huge numbers of partners demoing their wares. Android is here to stay and Honeycomb especially is seriously grade A. It feels good. It looks good. And it works wonderfully.
We also like HP's webOS. But HP will have to be careful it doesn't get crushed under the Android juggernaut. And that's before you think about the BlackBerry PlayBook.
Once again, despite its promises to the contrary at CES, Intel was a footnote at MWC 2011.
What about MeeGo?
Could it be that we we were going to see a MeeGo-powered N9 at MWC before the Microsoft Windows Phone deal was signed? We think so; at CES we got the distinct impression it was planning to announce a device here in Barcelona.
Intel may keep saying that it's serious about smartphones and tablets but come on - show us the partners, show us the devices.
Why the urgency? Because the performance that ARM and its partners like Qualcomm, Nvdia and Texas Instruments are talking about shows epic promise over the next few years.
Tegra 3, future Snapdragon and OMAP 5 all look so good, while looking further on, versions of ARM's Cortex-A15 design will undermine Intel's Atom and Core still further – it supports the Windows DirectX 11 graphics platform for when the OS becomes ARM-compatible.
At the show Intel staged a preview of Medfield, its 32nm mobile processor. But, as with Intel's previous mobile announcements, there was no partnership to talk of – only the mention that it was "sampling to customers."
But who? Anand Chandrasekher, senior vice president of Intel's Ultra Mobility Group, showed a prototype Android phone (nope, not MeeGo) packing the processor, but it was a tease - it could have been the Aava Mobile handset that has been mooted – but again there was no partner announcement.
Intel says it will continue with MeeGo on its own, but it surely won't make an impression on the market and could very well go the way of Symbian, the phone OS with no summer wine left. Nobody is mourning good old Symbian, the phone OS we've all used and, at one point, cherished.
Nokia and Microsoft
The Nokia QT stand looked rather like the HD DVD stand did at CES a couple of years ago – completely deserted.
Indeed, it was interesting to see that everybody was mentioning the Nokia-Microsoft deal when talking about the industry's direction and, in terms of sheer numbers of device shipments, we think we'll see Windows Phone really start to be the third mobile OS of choice.
It helps that Windows Phone is terrific to use – when Microsoft said that 93 per cent of people that bought Windows Phones were really pleased with them it might have been PR bluster but we can well believe it's true.
The Windows Phone ecosystem will get better and better. It shows a softer side to Microsoft, one that's willing to learn and work together rather than dictate. But it's Android that's the mobile OS powerhouse.
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Review: Panasonic HDC-SD900
Panasonic is quite possibly trying to hit every target with the HDC-SD900 – and it may just do it. This is a Full HD 1920 x 1080/50p camcorder, which benefits from three 2.53MP sensors, uses the AVCHD recording format and has enough manual features and creative functions to keep even the most demanding movie maker happy.The sub-£900 price only adds to the prospect that this could already be one of the best camcorders of the year. However, if you're thinking it's got all this functionality and can fit into a coat pocket you'll have to think again.
The SD900 is – relatively, you understand – a chunky camcorder, rather than a svelte pocket-friendly model. But thank heavens for that, because it means you can find and easily use the controls, and there are neat design touches such as the inclusion of a widescreen electronic viewfinder, 3.5-inch touchscreen LCD, manual control ring (for focus and zoom etc) and all the input/outputs you need.
The camcorder sits among two other similar models in Panasonic's 2011 3MOS range. While the SD900 records to SDHC and SDXC cards (it can record to SD but it's not recommended and our advice is not to try), the HS900 and TM900 provide alternative storage options.
The HS900 features a 220GB hard drive and SD card recording, but is heavier and costs over £1,150. The TM900 comes in at under £1,000 and uses a 32GB flash memory along with SD card recording. In terms of other major specifications the three camcorders are the same.
What's worth bearing in mind is that though the SD900 is the most affordable option of the three, you'll need to have at least an 8GB card installed in order to record for any practical duration. More SD cards mean more investment.
The SD900 offers the potential for 3D moviemaking, as do its siblings, and for that matter models in the less-expensive Panasonic 1MOS HD range. 3D recording is achieved by purchasing an additional 3D conversion lens, the VW-CLT1, which costs in excess of £200.
If you then also have a 3D TV and the appropriate glasses, it's possible to watch the movies you've made in 3D. On consumer camcorders, this is a technology in its infancy, and so please be prepared for your results to be a little less Hollywood than your ambitions might suggest.
What's certain to attract excitement and scrutiny is the way the SD900 has every base covered. It's a camcorder that likes to think it has the answer to everything. And, in the many ways, it has.
Aside from manual control over focus, white balance, shutter and iris – through the menu and using a rotating control ring around the suitably up-market Leica Dicomar lens – there are superb functions such as the Digital Cinema mode that alters shutter speed to create film-like footage. There's also the option of Timelapse recording at 10sec, 30sec, one minute and two minute intervals.
The advanced functions keep on coming too, with a Zebra pattern over-exposure warning mode, picture adjustment settings (for sharpness, colour, exposure, white balance) that can be made during recording, and a Histogram option giving vital information on exposure levels.
The creativity that's possible is quite stunning in its breadth, and it even extends to audio quality with mic level adjustments available, as well as our particular favourite: bass setting.
This mode lets users select from 0dB, +3dB and +6dB bass settings for the mic, and in many respects quells the oft-quoted criticism that camcorder's built-in microphones aren't capable of bass-y enough reproduction.
Trust us, there's even more to explore on this 'advanced feature' front.
Performance
'Ease of use' is a subjective term, and can be confusingly used in reviews. How? Well, the SD900 is easy to use, in the sense that finding, activating and employing many of its controls is straightforward.
However, getting the most from its lengthy list of features isn't easy: it takes time and practice. But you won't be any the poorer for that. Finding the most appropriate, appealing or effective settings involves a journey of discovery.
Video quality
The HDC-SD900 produces sumptuous, detail-rich images with precious few areas for complaint. It's an outstanding performer.
The auto white balance reproduces accurate colours, which give scenes an authentic, lifelike quality. Reds are calm rather than too vibrant and blues and greens have a natural resonance.
The SD900's autofocus is similarly effective and efficient. It detects subtle changes in the scene and acts decisively to return the image to pin-sharpness. With our test footage we attempted to throw it off course with ambiguous, difficult footage but it reacted quickly and with accuracy in all but the most-trying conditions.
What's easy to love about a camcorder that's so flexible and adaptable as the SD900 is that you notice so much more about your movies when you play them back. The intricacies of flowers, the sinewy flight of seagulls, these details come back to you in Full HD glory.
The camcorder is capable of smooth movement and even on fast-moving action we didn't see evidence of artefacting or excessive picture noise. The 35mm wide-angle lens also ensured we crammed as much of a shot as possible into the frame without having to move miles away.
And the 3.5-inch touchscreen is an absolute gift for both framing/composing shots and replaying them to see if you got what you needed.
The 0.27-inch electronic viewfinder is good to see, since viewfinders are a forgotten feature in the age of the LCD. However, while it's not as small as some we've seen, it's fair to suggest that the majority of users will choose the LCD instead.
Audio quality
Where it is easy to criticise a camcorder's audio performance is usually because of a lack of flexibility. The built-in mic may give middling performance but it's the inability to do anything about this that causes the aggravation. You're stuck with what you've got – or you have to record audio separately.
The SD900 doesn't fall into this trap: its mic-level adjustments, bass settings and range of mic options (surround, focus, zoom mic and stereo mic) neatly circumvent the obvious problems. Also include the external microphone input and you have a practical and productive set of controls.
The 'bare' audio isn't exemplary but it is clear, crisp and even on dialogue. The bass settings rescues a rather tinny performance on recorded music by providing a tangible sense of low-end sounds.
Photo options
Photography settings are almost as impressive as movie recording, particularly since they concentrate on features that benefit snapping rather than being gimmicky.
The maximum resolution of 14.2MP is excellent – and the end results are detailed and sharp – while the 13.3MP 'compromise' quality you get when shooting stills while in movie mode puts many other camcorders in the shade.
The touch shutter function, used on the touchscreen LCD, adds a neat rapid-shooting element to the SD900's functionality and the flash is flexible enough to have settings for different brightnesses. Users will also love the fact that Histogram, Luminance, Picture Adjust and Zebra functions are available in photo mode as well as movie record mode.
Sockets and software
There is no area of complaint when it comes to the Panasonic HDC-SD900's range of sockets. HDMI (mini) output is for connecting to a high-def TV, USB 2.0 for computer connectivity, AV for non-HD device connection, and DC-in for charging up the battery.
There are also sockets for an external microphone input and headphone output: the latter so you can monitor the audio you are recording, and is a brilliant feature to have, too.
Software comes in the form of the Windows-only and rather simplistic HD Writer AE 3.0. Editing is best performed through a standalone software application. Panasonic's user manual indicates that the SD900 is compatible with Apple's iMovie 11.
Verdict
As much as it is easy to gush about the SD900, this camcorder is not going to meet everyone's tastes. It is both a sizeable product and a sizeable investment, and it also lacks the cutesy element of fast YouTube upload that's to be found on pocket-friendly models.
However, as a movie-making device for enthusiasts, semi-pros, film students and low-budget producers, it is exceptional.
We liked
Superlative video recording is matched by digital photography functions, but what really seal the deal for the SD900 are its advanced features. Accessed through the exemplary 3.5-inch touchscreen LCD, there is such a rich, treasure trove of modes that it's hard to think what else you could possibly have wanted to include.
The Digital Cinema mode genuinely provides a different style of footage, while the Zebra warning provokes your creativity and nudges you towards using the manual features. The manual control ring is smooth and resistant where it needs to be, and while it can lead to fingers occasionally appearing in front of the lens, eradicating this involves practice rather than a design rethink.
Simultaneous recording of photographs while in movie mode may have limited wow factor but since those stills are 13.3MP it becomes a brilliant addition.
The Leica Dicomar lens and 3MOS sensors might be behind the superior movie recording but what we particularly enjoyed was the wide-angle nature of the lens. No more edging backwards and backwards until everything's in the frame (or the cameraperson falls into the hotel pool).
And, as Panasonic Viera TV owners will find, if you do get the chance to use Viera Link, the timesaving nature of controlling the SD900 camcorder using your TV remote is fantastic.
Ultimately, what we most liked about the SD900 is that it pushes you towards being a better filmmaker, but in doing so doesn't forget to give you the tools you need to do the job.
We disliked
It may be more productive or entertaining to insert your own top tip or amusing anecdote here, because there is so little you can criticise this Panasonic model on.
Perhaps the viewfinder does feel like an unnecessary throwback – if you're going to include one why not design it to be properly large and make a feature of it? The audio quality from the built-in microphone is only adequate, but then we do also recommend you buy/use an external microphone. You don't need to save on space – this is a chunky camcorder after all.
Verdict
If you have the money, and also the need, for this level of Full HD camcorder then the Panasonic HDC-SD900 has to be near the top of your shopping list. The SD900 is as essential as camcorders can get.
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Updated: 15 best PC upgrades for gamers
What are the best gaming upgrades for your PC today? How do you turn a whimpering little PC into the gaming goliath you want, nay, deserve?Well, stick around because no matter what you can afford to spend, we've got a the best PC upgrade for you.
Obviously the key components we'll be looking at are the graphics card, CPU, motherboard, memory and your storage devices. Upgrading any of these will always help, and we're here to tell you which ones are right for you.
To get the most out of your machine you need to know first what you're mostly going to be using it for and secondly which components will deliver the best performance increase for the things you're going to do with it.
After all, there's little point in forking out £500 on a dual-GPU graphics card when all you're using it for is playing Farmville on a 1280x1024 screen.
Likewise sticking with 2GB of low-spec RAM and a dual-core CPU isn't going to be much cop for editing down your directorial opus, or even putting together the family holiday movie. But for gaming on a tight budget, you might be surprised at what you ca get away with.
So, do you want the best gaming PC ever, need the best gaming upgrades? Or do you just want the single best upgrade component to give you the most for your money?
Stick around and let us show you the best upgrades for each of the five key areas. And don't worry, it doesn't have to cost the earth.
The humble CPU aint so humble any more. Sure the graphics card is the super-model of the components world, but you can always survive without one. You're not going anywhere without a processor...
The humble CPU aint so humble any more. Sure the graphics card is the super-model of the components world, but you can always survive without one. You're not going anywhere without a processor...
Money no object - Intel Core i7 Extreme 990X - £870
Hands-down the fastest desktop processor available to us mere mortals is the supreme Gulftown CPU from Intel. The six-core behemoth that is the Intel Core i7 Extreme 980X, with a full twelve threads of processing power at its disposal, is the pinnacle of desktop CPUs right now.
Plus, as an extreme edition, it features an unlocked multiplier making it a candidate for overclocking too.
It's the undisputed champion for applications which can utilise all of its cores, and can reduce HD video editing from hours to minutes, and minutes to seconds. Unfortuntately, this might six core king is in danger of being usurped by its own cheaper stablemate... see below.
Price/performance king - Intel Core i7 2600 - £235
Based on Intel's latest Sandy Bridge architecture, this four core CPU is capable of handling eight threads at a time. It's basic clock speed, 3.4GHz, is almost identical to that of the older Core i7 980X above and that's bad news for its rival, because the Sandy Bridge chips can get a lot more done per cycle. In other words, this is very nearly as quick as a CPU which costs three times the price.
If you shop around, you may even find an unlocked version of this chip - the 2600K - available for the same price. That's a stellar bargain to be had.
It's not cheap though, and if it's a little bit rich for your tastes have a look at its slightler slower cousin, the Core i5 2500, which is almost its equal.
Budget hero - AMD Phenom II X2 545 - £68
As a gamer there are still few titles that will take full advantage of the multi-threading performance of a hex or even quad-core CPU. So, if you're on a budget a decent dual-core chip, like AMD's Phenom II X2 545, will still stand you in good stead.
For future-proofing a quad-core will serve you well - and the Phenom II X4 955BE is only just over £100 at the time of writing. But at 3GHz this AMD dualie will handle most of your gaming needs without breaking sweat.
There's also a chance that you'll be able to sneak in some extra value for money by literally doubling its performance. It's fairly straightforward to unlock two dormant cores on some of these cheeky little chips for a half-price quad that will last you years to come.
There's really no guarantee what chips will have stable cores to unlock, mind you, so it's not worth basing your purchase on it. Even without that, though, this is a bargain champ.
The motherboard is the basis for every PC in existence and is absolutely the workhorse of your rig. Making sure you have the right chipset to match your processor to is vital, and within those categories are a wealth of further options.
Money no object - Asus RoG Rampage III Extreme - £300
Right now the Rampage III Extreme is the best motherboard you can pick up based on Intel's top-performing X58 platform.
As well as looking like something torn straight out of the innards of the Starship Enterprise (one of the modern ones, not the Sixties, cardboard and Formica one), it's also an overclocker's dream motherboard.
It's the perfect accompaniment to the Core i7 980X, and any other X58 Core i7 CPU you can mention. the AsusP6X58D-E is worth a mention too as it can almost keep pace with the Rampage III Extreme and for half the price. Almost.
Read our Asus Rampage III Extreme review
Price/performance king - Gigabyte P67A-UD3 - £107
In order to run Intel's latest Core i3, i5 and i7 processors you'll need a 6 Series motherboard like this one, which sport a 1155 pin socket designed for those chips.
These boards currently come in two flavours, called the P67 and the H67, and there are a couple of big differences between them. The performance oriented P67 has lots of BIOS features for tuning clockspeeds and getting the most from your chip, but unlike the H67 it won't let you take advantage of the graphics processor that's integrated on the CPU die.
That's a bit of a shame, as video encoding is lightning fast when the built in graphics are allowed to come into play. but for this price we're happy to settle wit Gigabyte's micro-ATX board that can support six hard drives and has 14 USB ports, including two for ultrafast USB 3.0.
Budget hero - Foxconn A7DA-S 3.0 790GX - £55
AMD's older 790 chipset doesn't have the latest features like USB 3.0 and 6GB/s SATA connections, but frankly, at this price who cares?
There are few hard drives or peripherals which can take advantage of such speeds, and this board has everything else you need for making the most of a Socket AM3 chip like the Phenom II or newer Athlon IIs.
If you're brave, the 790GX is also an excellent chipset for overclocking, so you can build a budget system and tweak it to compete with the big boys.
This is the superstar of any gaming PC, and the most important upgrade for any gamer looking for the best framerates out of their PC.
Increasingly though it's not just about the gamers. With more and more desktop software like video editing, photo manipulation software and even web browsers, now taking advantage of the power of your GPU it's starting to become an important upgrade for everyone.
Money no object - AMD Radeon HD 5970 - £500
Money no object - AMD Radeon HD 5970 - £500
The best, fastest graphics card you can buy right now is still AMD's Radeon HD 5970, although there are precious few left around and the price is ridiculously high.
Packing two full DirectX 11 GPUs onto one slab of PCB has created a graphics card that's proved practically impossible to beat. NVIDIA's latest GTX580 comes close to reaching these performance heights, but it's not enough to take on a card with two chips for the price of one.
It's getting on a bit now in GPU terms, mind you, and we fully expect an even faster two-chip card - speculatively known as the Radeon HD 6990 - to come along and replace it any day soon.
Read our AMD Radeon HD 5970 review
Price/performance king - Nvidia GeForce GTX 460 1GB - £140
Another card which has been around for a while now, the 1GB variant of NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 460 (avoid the 768MB version) not only continues to offer up as much performance as most of us need, it's dropped in price to something verging on ridiculous.
You can even pick up a factory overclocked GTX 460 without paying a penny more, which can compete with cards that cost a third as much again.
What it means is that for £140 you'll be able to comfortably play any current DirectX 10 or 11 game at 1920x1080 resolution with a pleasing amount of image quality settings turned up. Unless you're gaming on a 30 inch monitor, or have a two screen set-up at home, that's going to keep you playing for a long time to come.
Read our Nvidia GeForce GTX 460 review
Budget hero - AMD Radeon HD 5770 - £90
As a gamer you should really be looking to spend a minimum of £100 on a new graphics card if you want any hope of future-proofing, but you could get away with AMD's Radeon HD 5770 for less.
With a full 1GB of GDDR5 and a DirectX 11 capable GPU, the HD 5770 is a great little card and no mistake.
It may not have the clout at the top resolutions, but if you can afford a display that outputs at 2560x1600 then what are you doing trying to power your £1000 display with a £100 card?
At the more standard desktop res of 1680x1050 though you'll happily hit over 30fps, at full settings, on pretty much any game you care to mention.
At just under a ton, this card's a bargain.
What memory upgrade you choose will really be dependant on your platform of choice. With an X58 motherboard you really need to fill at least three of the DIMM sockets in order to get the full benefit of triple channel memory, while everywhere else you can make do with dual channel alone.
Money no object - Corsair 6GB Dominator GT DDR3 - £180
Traditionally Corsair is the name on gamer's lips when they think of memory, and the Dominator range does just that, dominates.
With low latency settings and a sophisticated heatsink designed to support overclocking, you can squeeze every drop of memory bandwidth out of your motherboard. It's the go-to guy for extremists everywhere. If you're after the ultimate performance, this is where you'll find it.
Read our Corsair 6GB Dominator GT DDR3 review
Price/performance king - Corsair Vengance 12GB DDR3 - £135
How times have chainged. It seems like just a year ago we were tapping into our life savings for just a couple of gigs of DDR3 RAM, and now you can get a massive 12GB of Corair;'s 1600MHz for almost £10 a gig.
The drawback, of course, is that this is a three stick pack and therefore designed for those with an X58 motherboard that can use triple channel memory. Curiously, though, even if you don't use one of the 4GB, it still works out cheaper than most 8GB packs. Odd, huh?
We'd also recommend, however, Geil's dual channel pack of two DDR3 1600MHz 4GB sticks for £85, although you won't get the same kind of overclocking performance from it.
Budget hero - G.Skill RipjawsX 4GB DDR3 - £40
Most of us have no need for vast quantities of high performance memory, though, and for the majority of systems out there 4GB of RAM will be more than enough to cover all your running apps and leave you with a little bit extra to spare.
The flashy heatsink on G.Skill's new RipjawsX range is as cleverly designed as Corair's infamous Dominator and is more about looks than performance, but there's no arguing with the price. It's excellent quality for such bargain basement stuff.
With the advent of the solid state drive (SSD) the traditional spinning platter hard drive is facing competition for the first time in a long while. The incredible speed compared with the old school HDD makes them the only real upgrade if you're talking in performance terms
On one hand they are incredibly fast at certain functions, but on the other they come in low capacities at an incredibly high price. More worrying though is the performance degradation that many have experienced (including your's truly) using SSDs over time.
Most of those performance issues though stem from the memory controller used. At the moment SSDs using the latest Sandforce memory controller are showing to be the most stable, and things will continue to improve as this new technology matures.
Money no object - OCZ Ibis 240GB - £555
In reality, there's no way we could possibly advocate a 240GB drive which costs over £500 unless you're running a broadcast video workstation or a sophisticated medical imaging lab and need to process an enormous amount of data at lightning fast speeds.
The rest of us are allowed to look on and admire, however, quite what OCZ has done with Sandforce's latest SF-1222 controller: sustained read/write speeds of over 600MB/s leaves other SSDs looking like they're based on quills and paper.
One day, all drives will be made like this. Just not yet.
Price/performance king - Crucial RealSSD C300 128GB - £190
Prices are falling, and even though Crucial's C300 series of drives brings them into the range of affordability, they're still a luxury few will splash out on.
That said, the performance of this Crucial drive is consistently close to the top. It's not quite as pacey as some of the Sandforce-based models from OCZ and Corsair, but is approaching affordability if you're after fast boot times and bit of a boost to your videoi processing times.
Importantly, it retains the important Windows 7 TRIM command for keeping performance degradation at bay.
Read our Crucial RealSSD C300 review
Budget hero - Samsung 1TB Spinpoint - £40
When you're working on a budget loading times can quite happily be swapped for increased storage, and you'll be hard pushed to get more of an increase than upgrading to a full 1 terabyte of storage space.
With the larger, more modern drives too performance is slightly improved. Obviously you'll never hit the sort of speeds you can muster with an SSD but you'll also not want an SSD that costs £50.
Because it'll probably fall over and lose your data after five minutes. But that will scarcely matter because you'd only be able to store five Word documents on one that cheap anyways...
But a 1TB drive for less than £50 is a bargain and will happily hold your entire Steam back catalogue without breaking a sweat, and makes it entirely possible to buy two and set them up in a RAID configuration.
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Google buys Ireland's tallest commercial building for Euro HQ
Google has bought Ireland's tallest commercial building in Dublin to house its EMEA headquarters.Following the announcement of the real estate deal this week, Google is soon set to move its staff into its new 15-storey Montevetro office building on Dublin's Barrow Street.
At 67 metres high, Google's new EMEA HQ is Ireland's tallest commercial building, although a number of cathedrals tower considerably higher, such as the 97-metre high Limerick Cathedral.
Which means there will be no 'bigger than God' claims from Google anytime soon.
Google's John Herlihy, VP of ad operations and head of Google in Ireland said of the new HQ in Dublin: "We are at capacity in our EMEA headquarters on Barrow Street and the additional space will allow us to relocate some teams to Montevetro and to create an even more spacious working environment for Googlers in our existing buildings.
"Acquiring Montevetro also means we have the space and flexibility to support our future operations."
European expansion
The immense 15-storey building comprises 210,000 square feet of office space in Dublin's Grand Canal Dock, allowing Google to plan for considerable European expansion in the future.
John Bruder, Managing Director at Treasury Holdings Ireland said of the deal: "Google is an iconic name globally and its decision to buy Montevetro is good news for Ireland and we wish them every success in their new home."
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Google buys Ireland's tallest commercial building for Euro HQ
Google has bought Ireland's tallest commercial building in Dublin to house its EMEA headquarters.Following the announcement of the real estate deal this week, Google is soon set to move its staff into its new 15-storey Montevetro office building on Dublin's Barrow Street.
At 67 metres high, Google's new EMEA HQ is Ireland's tallest commercial building, although a number of cathedrals tower considerably higher, such as the 97-metre high Limerick Cathedral.
Which means there will be no 'bigger than God' claims from Google anytime soon.
Google's John Herlihy, VP of ad operations and head of Google in Ireland said of the new HQ in Dublin: "We are at capacity in our EMEA headquarters on Barrow Street and the additional space will allow us to relocate some teams to Montevetro and to create an even more spacious working environment for Googlers in our existing buildings.
"Acquiring Montevetro also means we have the space and flexibility to support our future operations."
European expansion
The immense 15-storey building comprises 210,000 square feet of office space in Dublin's Grand Canal Dock, allowing Google to plan for considerable European expansion in the future.
John Bruder, Managing Director at Treasury Holdings Ireland said of the deal: "Google is an iconic name globally and its decision to buy Montevetro is good news for Ireland and we wish them every success in their new home."
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Sony reveals new 25-inch OLED TV
If you are in the market for a 25-inch OLED TV and happen to have a spare £17,880 under the bed, then Sony's latest pro display is just the thing you've been looking for.Sony pulled sales of the consumer-grade XEL-1 OLED TV in Japan early last year, with the current focus squarely on the professional market with the latest 25-inch OLED display releasing this month.
Trimaster OLED range
Sony has unveiled a couple of new OLED monitors in its Trimaster EL professional range: the BVM-E250 25-inch model and the slightly more 'affordable' BVM-E170 17-inch display (a snip at a mere ¥1.3 million/ $15,710/ £9,740).
The "Super Top Emission OLED" panels used in both new displays feature an RGB 10-bit driver, 100 cd/m2 standard luminance, 1920 x 1080 resolution, and a 178-degree viewing angle.
The Sony Trimaster BVME-250 is currently the biggest OLED panel in production right now. And, no surprise, the most expensive!
As you would expect from dropping nearly £18,000 on a monitor, the new OLED display offers almost no motion blur and (breathe in) "a nonlinear cubic conversion color-management system that delivers stunning uniformity, smoother-than-ever gamma performance, and picture quality consistency."
Sony plans to make the 25-inch model available in May and the 17-inch one later in July.
If you are a freelance TV or film producer, of course, remember that it's all tax deductible…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REAC0c1tGzw
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PlayStation Network ban incoming for all PS3 hack users
Sony has released a statement with regards to news that the PlayStation 3 has been hacked, explaining what the repercussions will be for those who decide to play hacked games on their console.In short: Sony will take away all your PSN privileges, a bit like when your parents take away your console when you have been a very naughty boy.
Obviously the implications of widespread PS3 hacking are pretty severe for Sony. The PlayStation 3 has been a massive success to the company in recent years, but the majority of the time it has been on sale, it has been something of a loss-maker – the hardware behind those next-gen graphics costs a packet.
The real money has come from selling the games.
Terminated permanently
In the statement, Sony explained: "Unauthorised circumvention devices for the PlayStation 3 system have been recently released by hackers.
"Use of such devices or software violates the terms of the 'System Software License Agreement for the PlayStation 3 System' and the 'Terms of Services and User Agreement' for the PlayStation Network/Qriocity and its Community Code of Conduct provisions.
"Copying or playing pirated software is a violation of International Copyright Laws. Consumers using circumvention devices or running unauthorised or pirated software will have access to the PlayStation Network and access to Qriocity services through PlayStation 3 system terminated permanently."
Sony also notes that using this homebrew kit will void any warranty you have on your system.
"To avoid this, consumers must immediately cease use and remove all circumvention devices and delete all unauthorised or pirated software from their PlayStation 3 systems," the statement continues.
Sony seems intent in nipping piracy in the bud before it starts – but is stopping access to the PSN really going to deter users?
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Review: Nikon Coolpix S1100pj
It was only ever a matter of time before someone thought to incorporate a projector inside a digital camera, but two and a half years after Nikon took the plunge it remains the only manufacturer to have done so. Despite the lack of any competition the company clearly reckons it can better its original concept, and does so in the shape of the new Coolpix S1100pj.
Read TechRadar's Nikon Coolpix S1000pj review
Predictably, perhaps, Nikon has justified the new release with improvements to the projector's functionality, but other revisions to both its specification and design show Nikon's willingness to also make it a better camera overall.
With regards to the projector, Nikon now claims the S1100pj is 40% brighter than before, which in turn allows it to perform better in brighter conditions and against brighter surfaces.
Images and videos can now be projected up to 47-inches in size, while wider compatibility with different file types allow it to be used for business purposes, such as for displaying presentations. The camera comes complete with a stand which can be adjusted out of its base, as well as a remote control for controlling the projector from a distance.
The sensor has also been upgraded to offer an effective 14.1MP, although the 5x optical zoom lens still provides a focal range between 28 and 140mm. Showing little tolerance to camera shake of any kind, Nikon has also fitted the S1100pj with a 5-way VR system which uses optical and electronic methods, as well as a Best Shot Selector system, Motion Detection and a maximum sensitivity of ISO 6400 to ensure images taken in any conditions blur-free.
Exposure modes are limited to Easy Auto, Auto, Smart Portrait and scene modes, the latter category comprising seventeen different functions to suit every eventuality. Sadly, there's no manual exposure control of any kind, save for an exposure compensation function which can be adjusted over +/-2EV.
As well as receiving a marginal boost to 3-inches, the LCD has also doubled in resolution to 460,000 dots and gained touchscreen functionality, while HD video recording is also now on offer at a maximum resolution of 1280 x 720p.
The camera still supports SD media for recording images and movies, although the use of SDXC cards is now also a possibility.
The design of the S1100pj makes it clear that it follows on from its predecessor, but Nikon has arguably made the new model easier on the eye. Both the lens and projector have lost their more angular details, and are instead surrounded by circular motifs, while the projector's once-sliding focus switch has also been replaced by a round dial.
Furthermore, to better fit the larger LCD screen, all controls have been consolidated into three buttons on the back, which means that many key functions are now accessed directly through the touchscreen.
A stylus is supplied with the camera, which goes some way to explaining why many buttons are small and awkward to press with a finger, although the fiddly nature of using something so small is likely to frustrate some users.
It's not particularly helpful that the screen can often lack responsiveness too, all of which translates to an overall frustrating user experience.


One of the better aspects of the camera's performance is its focusing system, which finds subjects with ease and locks on to them quickly, even when shooting conditions aren't great. Focusing and releasing the shutter at once can also be done through the touchscreen by simply pressing the desired area, although the afforementioned issue with responsiveness can make this tricky.
Post-capture, it takes a good couple of seconds for the image to be displayed, while browsing through images is made problematic by the sensitivity of the LCD screen, which requires a surprisingly firm swipe of the finger in order to cycle through stored images.
While the camera is capable of producing a good standard of image quality, overall performance is inconsistent. Metering is largely accurate, although the camera has a tendency to overexposure in certain situations. Highlight detail is generally well maintained, though, while colour in optimum conditions is punchy and vibrant, and largely faithful. In such conditions the camera can also produce images with a high level of detail, particularly at the centre of the frame.
White balance in the auto settings is largely fine, but occasionally leans towards coldness, particularly when there is less information in the scene for the camera work with. The main problem concerns the softness which characterises many images.
Noise and noise reduction leaves images looking heavily processed and devoid of detail, and remind us of the problem with cramming 14MP on a 1/2.3in sensor. Furthermore, images taken at the longer end of the zoom are soft and lacking in definition, despite the camera claiming to be within the limits of its image stabilisation technologies.
To compensate for all of this, the camera has a tendency to oversharpen images which creates unnatural edges, and again contributes to the general processed look of images.
f/3.9 at ISO 228 (Click here to view full-res version)
f/3.9, 1/170 sec at ISO 80 (Click here to view full-res version)
f/4.2, 1/30 sec at ISO 83 (Click here to view full-res version)
f/5.8, 1/30 sec at ISO 84 (Click here to view full-res version)
f/3.9, 1/800 sec at ISO 80 (Click here to view full-res version)
f/5.8, 1/270 sec at ISO 80 (Click here to view full-res version)
f/3.9, 1/90 sec at ISO 80 (Click here to view full-res version)
The projector is activated upon a press of a button on the top-plate, which is encircled by a dial for focusing. This button, being small and recessed into the dial, requires a good press for the projector to turn on, which may be awkward with larger fingers, but once on it's easy to operate the projector with the supplied remote (which is advised over touchscreen operation).
Controls on offer include starting slideshows, browsing through images and videos, and zoom functionality, and it also possible to change the volume over three levels for any recorded videos.
Projected images are well exposed and colourful, and maintain a contrast we'd expect from a projection, although this depends on the image and the conditions in which it is viewed. The projection can appear a little dull and muddy, particularly if the video has any shadowy details and if the viewing conditions are a little bright, but this is somewhat to be expected.
Sound quality is a little tinny from the camera's small rear speaker, but for capturing everyday scenes and family occasions this shouldn't be too great a deal; only when the recording contains little sound does background hiss become noticeable.
The Coolpix S1100pj fulfils its aim as a pocket projector well, with large clear images and the helpful inclusions of the built-in stand and remote. Indeed, this is the camera's major selling point and with no alternative than the S1100pj's predecessor – at least not in camera form – it's likely to attract attention.
But those who are drawn to it will need to place a great deal of value on this feature alone, as it's an otherwise average camera with frustrating operation and mediocre image quality, certainly not to the standard of other camera's with a £330 asking price.
Hopefully one day the technology will proliferate to other manufacturers which will create both variety and competition, but for now the S1100pj remains a pricey lifestyle gadget that can only be said to do one thing well.
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Motorola Xoom: who will stock the Honeycomb tablet?
The Motorola Xoom looks set to be one of the most desired (and priciest) tablets of 2011, so it's no surprise that a number of UK retailers have put their names down to stock the device.According to Motorola, the Carphone Warehouse and Best Buy will launch with Motorola XOOM (3G/Wi-Fi), and Currys and PC World will launch with Motorola Xoom Wi-Fi in Q2 2011.
Powerful device
Andrew Morley, vice president of marketing for Motorola Mobility, said about the news: "We're excited to be bringing a device as powerful as Motorola Xoom to leading carriers and partners in the UK.
"Today's announcement is testament to how well Motorola Xoom has been received by consumers and carriers alike."
It may have been well received but leaked pricing of the device, which comes with a 10.1-inch screen and Android 3.0 Honeycomb, seems to suggest that you will have to part with around £700 if you want the tablet.
The Motorola Xoom UK release date is spring.
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Tutorial: Customise Ubuntu with Ubuntu Tweak
Customisation is an inherent part of Linux, but if you're not comfortable working without your mouse, tweaking aspects of your desktop can be tricky. That's where Ubuntu Tweak comes in. It's a nifty little app that helps you modify aspects of your Ubuntu installation. It breaks your desktop into various categories and enables you to tweak settings buried inside the regular Gnome admin panel and config scripts.
It's not just about desktop eye candy though - Ubuntu Tweak lets you manage apps and increase productivity. You can add packages, keep track of updates to them, remove any unwanted packages and even add options to the right-click context menu.
If you're running Ubuntu on a laptop, you'll also be able to tweak some basic power settings to get more from your battery. New users can use the tool to batten down the hatches of their fresh installation.
Whether you're a new Linux user or an experienced one, Ubuntu tweak has plenty to add to your Linux experience.
Fine tune your desktop with Ubuntu Tweak
1. Get Ubuntu Tweak
Grab Ubuntu Tweak's '.deb' package from www.ubuntu-tweak.com and install with GDebi. It will pull in all the required packages and park itself under 'System Tools | Ubuntu Tweak'. Make sure you allow it to update itself when prompted, and browse through the preferences.
2. Install new apps
When you visit the Application Centre for the first time, Ubuntu Tweak will fetch the list of available applications from its repository. The apps are listed in categories such as 'Browser', 'Email', 'File Sharing' and 'Game'. Pick the ones you want, then click 'Apply' to install them.
3. Control your apps
The Package Cleaner utility enables you to clear the download cache and purge personal package archives (PPAs). The Source Centre keeps track of updates to third-party applications such as the Adobe Flash plug-in, Google Chrome, Deja Dup, Cairo-Dock and a lot more besides.
4. Control startup
You can use Session Programs to select the apps that launch at startup, like the Bluetooth Manager, Evolution Alarm Notifier and Gwibber. Session Control provides options for editing the look and behaviour of the login screen, such as disabling the list of users and the restart button.
5. Desktop control
To tweak Ubuntu's Compiz settings, you need the Advanced Desktop Effects settings manager. You can also install Screenlets to display widgets on the desktop. If you change your mind, use Ubuntu Tweak to back up and then restore Gnome and any apps to their default settings.
6. Advanced features
Add scripts such as 'Compress PDF', 'Link to Desktop' and 'Check MD5sum' to the right-click context menu. You can also add pre-defined templates to create new documents such as an ODT document or an ODP presentation, and alter applications associated with file types.
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Review: Nikon Coolpix S80
'S' means Style in the Nikon Coolpix range, and following on from the S70, the new Coolpix S80 brings improved features to the mid-range compact camera market with updated styling.The Coolpix S80 comes with a useful 5x optical zoom (equivalent to 35mm-175mm) combined with 5-way Anti-Blur Hybrid Vibration Reduction (using Lens shift, Electronic vibration reduction, maximum ISO6400, Best Shot selector and Motion Detection) to ensure the 14.1 megapixel CCD sensor captures shake-free images.
Viewing images on the Coolpix S80 is improved thanks to a new touch-sensitive 819k-dot Organic LED screen, with anti-reflective coating, higher contrast and more vivid colours. If you want to enhance your images further there is an easy to use editing menu and Retouching Filters that allows practical or fun adjustments to be made in the camera.
There are five dedicated shooting modes on the Coolpix S80 with Easy Auto being the simplest. You can take further control over your shooting in normal Auto by using exposure compensation (+/- 2EV), White Balance Presets, ISO setting, Multi-shot 16 and Best-Shot selector.
In 'Scene' mode there are seventeen pre-set Scenes to choose from, the majority of which allow simple adjustments prior to shooting. Smart Portrait mode has what Nikon calls a Smile Timer where the camera detects faces, focuses and releases shutter automatically when it detects a smile.
The fifth shooting mode is 720p HD video, with a built in microphone that records in stereo, and a HDMI outlet socket allows the camera to be connected straight to a television.
In keeping with the overall theme of minimum user input the S80's autofocus system has a straightforward approach. The camera can select up to nine small focus areas and, as usual, pressing the shutter button halfway locks the focus, which is ideal for off-centre shooting.
The touch screen allows a further three options to be accessed for focusing. In Touch-Shutter mode, tapping the screen focuses the camera on that point in the scene and simultaneously releases the shutter. In Subject-Tracking mode you tap the screen on the subject you wish to follow and the camera does so, in this mode the shutter button is used to release the shutter.
Finally, AE/AF lock lets you tap the area in which you wish the camera to focus and pressing the shutter button halfway locks the exposure and focus. Pressing the button down fully takes the shot.
The first thing you notice when taking the Coolpix S80 out of its box is how slim it is, it's a svelte 16.5mm thick. Soft touch, sturdy, brushed-metal surfaces it give the Coolpix S80 a positive feel your hand, while the black chrome end plates add a extra style.
The 819k-dot Organic LED intuitive touch-screen is not overly sensitive to the touch and requires deliberate actions to get what you need from the camera. Fortunately, there is a shutter release button (the only button) and I prefer to use this as there is a tendency to jog the camera when using the touch-screen shutter release. Also, shutter lag is more noticeable when using the touch-screen and there were occasional missed shots. The shutter button is quicker and gives more reliable results.
The Camera (or shooting) and Review mode menus are both logical and have easy to understand icons which slide into view at the touch of a tab. Switching back and forth between shooting and review mode is straightforward as their symbols are constantly displayed in the upper left corner of the screen.
Images are reviewed by swiping fingers across the screen and can be zoomed in and out using a pinch technique with your fingers. This too needs a deliberate action to get the camera to respond to your commands.
Other than on a camera phone, handling doesn't come much simpler in photography.
In keeping with form over function the Coolpix S80 comes with a no-frills standard evaluative meter, which gives a good overall exposure balance for the majority of images, with an occasional tendency for slight over-exposure. Extreme situations fool it, but this is easily resolved by a half-press of the shutter button, locking the exposure and then recomposing or using AF/AE lock mentioned previously or by using the exposure compensation facility.
A camera like the Coolpix S80 is likely to mainly be used with its auto white balance setting selected, and it does a very good job. Scenes have an accurate and natural feel to them. There are also 5 pre-sets and a manual white-balance option should the need arise.
Overall, images are neutral with a natural contrast and the camera retains good shadow and highlight detail with minimal clipping. It is only at extremes this can be become a problem.
The 5 x optical zoom, a 35mm-175mm VR ED lens has a useful range, but would benefit from being wider at the lower focal-length - a 28mm equivalent would be ideal. Camera shake can be a serious issue with long telephoto lenses, but the 5-way vibration-reduction (VR) combination helps keeps this to a minimum.
With care it is possible to achieve good hand-held results at 1/8sec at the longest focal length. That is very impressive. Nikon has also included ED glass (used in Nikon professional lenses) to ensure images are clear and smooth with good resolution, but unfortunately colour fringing is still be a problem in some situations.
For a camera of this price noise is controlled exceptionally well through the ISO80 - ISO6400 range (ISO 3200 & 6400 files are limited to 3-million pixels) and images are still acceptable at the higher ISO settings. There is little evidence of detail 'smearing' but from ISO 1600 onward fine detail starts to lose definition due to the effect of noise-reduction. Edges appear to join smoothly together as opposed to having hard definition.
Overall the Coolpix S80 images would benefit from a small increase in sharpening, but to my mind that's better than them being too sharp as at least USM can be applied to taste. Some cameras have sharper images in the lower ISO range, but appalling image quality at the higher end. The Coolpix S80 gives images that are usable across its entire ISO range making it very practical.
Not surprisingly, the Coolpix S80 doesn't have a raw capture mode. Although this would allow users to extract more quality from images using their own noise reduction or sharpening techniques, but that would defeat the point of the Coolpix S80. It is camera about play and not work.
ISO 80 (Click here to view full-res version)
ISO 100 (Click here to view full-res version)
ISO 200 (Click here to view full-res version)
ISO 400 (Click here to view full-res version)
ISO 800 (Click here to view full-res version)
ISO 1600 (Click here to view full-res version)
ISO 3200 (Click here to view full-res version)
ISO 6400 (Click here to view full-res version)
ISO 80 (Click here to view full-res version)
ISO 400 (Click here to view full-res version)
ISO 80 (Click here to view full-res version)
ISO 80 (Click here to view full-res version)
ISO 6400 (Click here to view full-res version)
The Coolpix S80 with its smooth lines and touch screen is clearly marketed at those who embrace technology and style.
The layout will make it ideal for beginners, or those who just want stylish, easy, photography. Image quality at high ISO settings more than makes up for its minor shortcomings.
The majority who buy the Coolpix S80 will not be disappointed as it performs well in most of situations and at £299.99 gives good value for money.
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Review: Fuji Finepix Z800 EXR
The Fujifilm Finepix Z800 EXR was announced back in July last year, and is loaded with several impressive features more commonly found on higher end compacts. Within the crowded compact market (especially at the Z800's price point) the touch-screen, the EXR sensor and 5x optical zoom found on board a stylish body, means the Z800 certainly has lots of plus points.Something bound to appeal to many photographers is the promise of instantaneous auto-focus and shutter release. Thanks to the new intelligent Phase Detection AF, Fuji promises the Z800 can autofocus and take an image in 0.158 seconds.
The 12 megapixel second generation EXR sensor, first introduced back in 2009 on the Finepix F200EXR has been designed to work well in low light, and in the Z800 is claimed to offer even higher resolution while maintaining low noise images.
Touch-screens are becoming a common feature on many modern compact cameras. On the Z800, a large 3.5 inch, 460k dot touch screen takes up the entire back plate, doing away with any physical buttons.
Other new features on board include Motion Panorama 360, a popular addition on several other compact cameras, the processing of the panorama is done entirely in camera. Intelligent image stabilisation with a newly enhanced gyro sensor is designed to compensate for handshake, allowing you to shoot at lower sensitivities and shutter speeds.
Uploading to Facebook and YouTube can also be done from within the camera, as well as the creation of photobooks. Face recognition, pet detection and auto release for babies and children (the camera automatically takes the shot when a subject looks directly at the lens) are also included.
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Review: Manhattan Plaza DS-100
The number of standard-definition Freesat zapper boxes released thus far can be counted on the fingers of one hand, but the continuing digital switchover means that there's still a need for beginner-friendly, quality FTA sat boxes. What Freesat receivers offer that many other FTA boxes don't is a common spec which ensures that you at least get a superior EPG even if few are particularly well suited to finding channels on satellites other than 28°E.
The DS-100's black casing is pretty generic for a Freesat box – lacking any kind of display other than a blue power light and concealing a row of operating buttons beneath a flap on the front. The rear panel is also minimal – just a single LNB input and two Scarts, which makes it easy to hook it up to a VCR or DVD recorder (though only the TV Scart can output in RGB).
There are no separate audio connectors or data ports (software updates are strictly over the air). The remote has plenty of bright white buttons and a layout that quickly becomes intuitive to use, with the box responding fast to commands.
Setup involves entering your postcode (to decide which regional versions of ITV and BBC One you get – although these can be swapped around later) and selecting aspect ratio before automatic tuning starts.
The menu interface is also familiar from other Freesat boxes we've tested, with a few tweaks here and there. TV and radio channels can be accessed quickly from a main list with the option to lock channels, show TV only or add them to a single favourites-only list.
Scheduling and recording
EPG data for eight channels at a time can be viewed as a full-screen grid for all channels or organised into 12 genres such as radio, lifestyle and children. Synopses are shown and you can jump page by page and skip back and forth 24 hours, but there's no timer for making external recordings.
The programme info banner can be used to view now-and-next data for the current channel and others without needing to switch over and can be toggled to show synopses in half-screen.
A manual tuning menu caters for non-Freesat channels in range of your dish. Frequency, symbol rate and polarity can be entered but – as might have been expected from the Manhattan brand – there's no motorisation, DiSEqC switching, advanced searching or the ability to select which satellite you want to scan.
Located channels are listed from number 3000 onwards and accessed from the channel list by pressing the swap button or via the programme info bar. They can't be favourited and don't show up in the EPG. MHEG and audio description services are supported.
The DS-100 falls rather short in the picture department when viewed on our 40-inch plasma TV even with good reception. A seemingly lacklustre tuner generated soft-looking results regardless of the source with minor but noticeable artefacting.
Not one for the big telly in the living room, perhaps – nor, indeed, those with home cinema audio systems as there are no audio outputs, though sound via Scart was perfectly acceptable on our Panasonic TV.
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Virgin Media boasts 5.8% rise in revenue
The story has been updatedVirgin Media has shone a light on its fourth quarter earnings, announcing that 2010 was its "best ever" year.
The cable company saw strong growth last year, with revenues up 5.8 per cent.
Subscriptions for Virgin Media's fixed-line service were 17,100, but considering Virgin Media has only just begun to offer its Virgin Media TiVo box to the general public – its next-gen PVR - that number is bound to rise in 2011.
Broadband signings up
Virgin Media now has a total of 4.8 million subscribers, which means it isn't exactly snapping at BSkyB's heals, more like nibbling at its feet fish-manicure style.
The good news is that Virgin Media is bringing more and more people into the world of HD, with 39 per cent of its user base now using a HD ready box.
There were also smiles all round in the company's mobile phone sector – as revenue grew 6.7 per cent in the fourth quarter to £148.3 million.
The biggest rise for the company was in the broadband sector, with a total of 118,000 customers signing up for the 50Mb service. This equates to a 29 per cent increase in sign-ups from the third and fourth quarter.
We are putting it down to using Speedy Gonzales in the advertising campaign – that mouse sure is popular.
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Review: Panasonic Toughbook CF-31
Panasonic's Toughbook range is built to survive in the harshest climates, making it perfect for more adventurous users. The Toughbook CF-31 is the latest entry and an extremely well-built laptop, well suited to travel. With an Ingress Protection rating of 65, this machine can withstand a jet of water from any direction and is impervious to dust infiltration. It's been tested to military-grade standards and can withstand a drop of up to 180cm, thanks to the rugged magnesium alloy casing and flexible internal parts.
The chassis is incredibly bulky and weighs 3.8kg, but it's undeniably solid and features a built-in handle for transport. The battery life of 563 minutes is truly remarkable for an Intel Core i5-powered machine and means you get a full day of use even if you're miles from a plug socket.
Comfortable keyboard
Despite the boxy build, we had no problems with the firm and tapered keyboard. Some of the keys are squashed due to the restricted size, but the wide palmrests make typing comfortable.
Unfortunately, the touchpad is tiny and non-responsive and infuriated us in seconds, so we quickly resorted to the touchscreen controls instead.
The square 13.1-inch screen is one of the brightest displays we've seen, with an effective anti-reflective finish. You can prod the solid surface with your finger or the included stylus to move the cursor, which is preferable to using the touchpad, despite Windows 7's fiddly menus.
The solid hinges mean the screen doesn't shake when jabbed, although it picks up fingerprints and smudges a little easily and you have to push hard to get a response.
Performance is strong, thanks to the Intel Core i5 520M processor, and you can comfortably multi-task with various applications open.
The integrated Intel GMA HD graphics are more limiting, but there's enough power to enjoy your media and even indulge in some light photo editing.
Although our test model didn't come with an optical drive, there's a slot for adding a DVD drive if desired. There's a large number of ports, including VGA and HDMI connections for attaching external monitors, 4 USB ports for connecting peripherals, and even an aerial socket.
802.11n Wi-Fi and Gigabit Ethernet provide speedy networking and Bluetooth is also on board for sharing files with compatible devices.
Although the Toughbook CF-31 is bulky and heavy, it's an indispensable companion for anyone who regularly visits inhospitable climates. And despite some usability issues, they don't detract too much from the resistive build, bright screen and excellent features.
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Dell confirms Streak 10 to use Android 3.0
Dell has confirmed that its forthcoming new Streak tablet which it first teased back at CES in early January is set to use Android 3.0 'Honeycomb'.The news was revealed in a Q4 fiscal earnings call this week, in which the company revealed that a 10-inch "Dell Tablet/Slate Concept" will run on Android 3.0 and be officially called the Dell Streak 10.
No official information on when we might expect to see the new Dell Streak 10, other than at some point later in 2011, has yet been announced. However, leaks (outlined below) suggest it may arrive as soon as April.
Dell will offer tablets using either Android or Windows 7 to consumers, with a Windows 7 tablet also due to launch later in 2011, aimed more at business users.
Windows 8 tablet?
Elsewhere, Dell's2011 smartphone and tablet line-up has been leaked, revealing and a slate running Windows 8
WPCentral and Android Central somehow managed to obtain Dell's smartphone and tablet roadmaps for the rest of 2011, which also reveals devices running the forthcoming Android 'Ice Cream' OS.
In terms of Dell's smartphone plans, it looks like we should see the Dell "Wrigley" Windows Phone 7 vertical QWERTY slider handset in April and those handsets based around Android Ice Cream around September time.
Dell's plans for Tablets are perhaps a little more interesting, with the new Dell Streak 10 due around April time.
Already looking as far ahead as CES 2012 in January, Dell is expected to release three tablets - the Opus One and Silver Oak Android Honeycomb flavours, as well as the Peju running Windows 8.
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Review: ZyXEL P-660HN-T1
The ZyXEL P-660HN-T1A stands out for a couple of reasons. The first is that it is single band and only uses 2.4GHz. Thankfully, this is balanced by the second reason, which is that the P-660HN-T1A is very cheap. At the time of writing, it has yet to go on sale, but we are assured it will sell for a mere £40 (inc. VAT).
The matching NWD2105 N-Lite USB adapter is a tiny piece of kit that only protrudes 25mm from the USB port. It comes with a short USB extension cable and has an amber activity LED that doubles up as a WPS button, yet it sells for just £14.
The management utility is called ZyXEL Wireless N-Lite USB adapter utility and works well enough.
The design of the P-660HN-T1A is rather basic, but it seems very functional. The router stands vertically on a base that is a moulded part of the ventilated casing. The four LAN ports are 10/100 rather than Gigabit and there is no USB port for a printer or external storage. However, you do get an ADSL2+ modem.
ZyXEL has included Ethernet and phone cables, but neglected to stick a phone filter in the box.
We popped apart the casing to see if we could get a clue about the absurdly low price and came away none the wiser. The 802.11n, wireless, Ethernet and ADSL2+ chips all use Ralink technology and are made by Trend Chip and there is a single internal antenna made by M.gear.
The default configuration IP address and password are conveniently printed inside the front cover of the quickstart guide. The software insists you replace the default password of 1234 with something more secure. One annoyance is that the sticker on the base gives the default key for wireless security, but doesn't mention that the encryption is WPA2-PSK.
Connection and signal quality were good. However, the speed was noticeably slower than newer 5GHz models.
ZyXEL has delivered a competent ADSL2+ router at an amazingly low price. This is a superbly cheap way to get online with 802.11n wireless speeds.
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Review: Panasonic TX-P46VT20B
Anyone interested in 3D is advised to think a little larger than 40-42-inches. Panasonic's 46-inch TX-P46VT20B, therefore, has the potential to be a real winner, especially as it uses 3D-friendly plasma technology.Gas has consistently proved over the past few months to be better at handling active 3D's crosstalk noise issue than LCD, thanks to its inherently faster response time. Plus, in Panasonic's case, the development of a way of reducing the time it takes for the phosphors in a plasma cell to 'decay' after showing an image frame.
The TX-P46VT20B seeks to underline its potential appeal to 3D fans, moreover, with plenty of other features, including access to Panasonic's Viera Cast online service, playback of all manner of multimedia file formats from USB sticks, SD cards or networked PCs and even the option to record in HD to USB HDDs from either of the built in Freeview HD or Freesat HD tuners.
The VT20 series sits right at the top of Panasonic's consumer TV tree, just above the V series, which offers nearly the same spec as the VT20s, except for 3D readiness. If you want 3D thrills for less money, there's the P42GT20, which lacks the VT20's Infinite Black Pro technology for enhanced contrast, as well as its built-in subwoofer and supplied USB Wi-Fi stick.
With the next generation of 3D TVs nearly here, though, it's the potentially class-leading talents of the TX-P46VT20B that might well provide the best example of just what the new 3D wannabes are going to have to beat.
You'd think a flagship TV packed with cutting-edge tech would want to shout about its talents with every fibre of its being, but the TX-P46VT20B is rather a dour looking set. It lacks the svelte lines of so many of today's top screens and its sculpting is pretty basic. The best you can say is that the brownish colour scheme is quite unusual and that the set's bodywork feels more robust than most.
The TX-P46VT20B's high-tech innards only start to become apparent with its connections. For instance, all of its four HDMI inputs are built to the v1.4 standard, so they can play full HD 3D from suitable Blu-rays. It's also got a couple of USB ports you can use to play back a wide variety of multimedia file types, or for recording from the TV's digital tuners to certain models of Buffalo JustStore USB hard-disk drives (HDDs), or for inserting the USB Wi-Fi dongle that comes free in the TV's box.
If you don't want to go the Wi-Fi route, there's an Ethernet port for jacking into DLNA PCs or accessing Panasonic's Viera Cast online service. Or, if you're more an SD card kind of person, there's a slot capable of playing photo and music files.
Unusually, the TX-P46VT20B has a satellite LNB input as well as the predictable RF tuner jack. What's more, this LNB input isn't just connected to any old satellite tuner. Rather it feeds a true Freesat HD one, providing a means of receiving neatly packaged HD broadcasts for people – and there are still plenty of them – who currently live outside Freeview HD reception areas.
The Viera Cast online service is best described as fair to middling by today's 'Smart TV' standards. It has a decent amount of 'A-list' content, such as the AceTrax movie rental/purchase platform, Skype, YouTube, Twitter and Eurosport. But there's also a lot of pointless (for most UK residents, anyway) foreign language stuff.
For people more interested in cold, hard picture quality than fancy online TV stuff, the TX-P46VT20B appears to be a very compelling proposition. It's a plasma screen, which means it benefits from the technology's innate advantages in terms of viewing angles, contrast and reduced crosstalk with 3D material. The TX-P46VT20B also builds on all this by adding a special 'Infinite Black Pro' high contrast filter exclusive to the V and VT series and by introducing its proprietary rapid decay 3D technology, for further boosting plasma's already lickety-spit response time.
The panel at the TX-P46VT20B's heart is one of Panasonic's latest NeoPDP offerings, complete with redesigned plasma cells, improved phosphors and a more efficient discharge gas. The panel is driven by Panasonic's '600Hz' sub-field drive technology, too, a system that pulses each cell up to 12 times a second for increased image stability. It's not to be confused with the 100Hz and higher systems employed by LCD TVs to reduce motion blur.
As a flagship model, the TX-P46VT20B additionally benefits from both Panasonic's highest level of video processing (V-Real Pro 5 3D), with additional Intelligent Frame Creation (IFC) interpolation technology for reducing judder.
The TX-P46VT20B makes much more effort to accommodate both professional and serious amateur calibration efforts than previous generations of Panasonic plasmas, a fact that's been rewarded with endorsements from THX and those specialist AV calibration gurus, the Imaging Science Foundation.
Among the fine-tuning tools available are a reasonably full – though not totally comprehensive and poorly presented – colour management system, and various gamma controls.
The THX support has given birth to a THX preset within the various picture modes the TX-P46VT20B carries, and while this preset may feel marginally muted and soft for normal TV viewing, it represents an unusually good 'out of the box' setting for watching Blu-ray movies.
Other bits and bobs of note include brand new Resolution Enhancer circuitry designed to sharpen up standard definition, and a Vivid Colour mode that artificially boosts colour saturations.
Kicking off with 3D, the TX-P46VT20B quickly confirms that it's the leader of the 3D pack, setting such a high standard for a debut technology that it won't be at all surprising if rival LCD screens struggle to match it, even with second-generation products.
The single biggest reason for this is the TX-P46VT20B's almost complete freedom from crosstalk noise. This double ghosting issue plagues every single LCD TV to some extent, diminishing the sharpness and depth credibility of 3D images, even on those that handle it the best, not to mention giving you a pretty nasty headache if you're not careful.
So having crosstalk appear only extremely subtly and once in a blue 3D moon on the Panasonic TX-P46VT20B is a joy, enabling you to both watch 3D for longer periods of time with no ill effects and appreciate much better the whole point of active 3D's full HD resolution.
Leaving a chink of hope for LCD 3D TVs is the fact that Panasonic's first generation of 3D plasma TVs – including the TX-P46VT20B – do suffer a pretty serious reduction in brightness when you've got Panasonic's active shutter 3D glasses on. So much so that while black levels look astoundingly deep, some shadow detail can be squeezed into dark oblivion while an occasional dark colour tone can look a bit forced.
While the reduction in brightness could present a problem for people with bright living rooms, though, for most people the trade of brightness for crosstalk will be one they'll be only too eager to make.
The main gripe about the TX-P46VT20B's 3D performance concerns the 3D glasses. The lenses are much too narrow, allowing too much light and ambient room information to enter your eyes along with the 3D images. This may require you to slide them down to the end of your nose to get the right angle from your eyes to the TV screen, which is just silly.
Panasonic has been keen to stress that the technologies introduced to the TX-P46VT20B to aid its 3D performance also boost its 2D efforts. These are more than just idle boasts: the TX-P46VT20B is the finest 2D picture performer Panasonic has made to date, which is really saying something.
Particularly excellent in 2D mode is the TX-P46VT20B's black level response. So rich, deep and natural are the set's black levels, in fact, that it's tempting to think that the filter behind the new Infinite Black Pro technology is the most direct result yet of Panasonic's 'knowledge-sharing' deal with Pioneer – the brand responsible for the legendary Kuro plasma TVs that still haven't been beaten for contrast two years after they were withdrawn from the TV market.
The TX-P46VT20B's black levels still aren't as good as those of the Kuros, but they're the best around among TVs you can still buy, especially if you factor in the way deep blacks retain shadow detail and can sit right alongside punchy bright image content. This is a combination of skills LCD TVs can only dream about.
The TX-P46VT20B's colours represent an improvement over previous Panasonic sets, and other models lower down Panasonic's current range. Reds, in particular, are much richer and, well, redder than Panasonic's previous slightly orange efforts and this improvement also filters through into better skin tones and a generally more dynamic and balanced palette.
The TX-P46VT20B's colours are reasonably punchy in 2D mode too; no match for the histrionics of a typical edge LED or direct LED LCD TV, perhaps, but strident enough to really emphasise just how much brightness the set loses when you don your 3D glasses.
Also excellent about the TX-P46VT20B's 2D pictures is its fine detail response, as it effortlessly reproduces the finest of picture information from top quality Blu-rays. What's more, the set's talent for reproducing detail in dark areas means this clarity remains consistent; you aren't suddenly faced with a sense of hollowness during dark scenes like you can be on many LCD TVs.
Motion is completely free of blur, meanwhile, and, finally in the plus column, a combination of Panasonic's NeoPDP technology and its most powerful scaling engine means that standard-definition material is sharp and clean, and retains colour tone much more satisfyingly than you see with many cheaper or older Panasonic plasma sets.
The few problems include some very minor dotting noise over skin tones if they're crossing the screen quickly and some apparent momentary colour lag at times if you're watching 50Hz, though this can be removed via the Intelligent Frame Creation circuitry.
Overall, though, the positives of the screen, especially as a purveyor of active 3D and Blu-ray, far outstrip its minor flaws.
Boasting bamboo speakers and a subwoofer, the TX-P46VT20B has clearly had more attention lavished on its audio than most slim TVs. And this pays off in some areas, as you can hear subtle details in a mix that are lost to most rivals; enjoy treble effects that don't sound harsh; and become embroiled in a mid-range of impressive dynamism and openness.
The only let-down is the subwoofer, which doesn't really provide as much of a bass undercurrent as expected.
Value
Although the TX-P46VT20B is hardly cheap for a 46in TV, it does happen to have definitely the best 3D pictures and arguably the best 2D pictures the 46in market currently has to offer. Plus, you get a couple of 3D glasses worth £100 each and a Wi-Fi dongle thrown in for free, as it were.
Ease of use
While there's nothing truly bad about the TX-P46VT20B's operating system, it certainly feels in need of a pretty major overhaul ahead of Panasonic's next TV generation.
The onscreen menus, for instance, are almost painfully bland, only showing the occasional hint of the sort of graphical flair increasingly used by other brands. For the most part, exploring the TX-P46VT20B is a slightly tortuous drudge through lots of text. Some aspects of the menu organisation feel unnecessarily confusing too, with the decision to shove the Intelligent Frame Creation options, Resolution booster and overscan on/off tools into a vague 'Other Settings' menu section rather than the main picture menus being particularly unhelpful.
The remote is also in need of a revamp. It's comfortable to hold and responsive, but aspects of its rather dated layout are starting to crumble under the assault from all the new features Panasonic TVs now carry.
After an uncertain start thanks to a rather desultory design, the TX-P46VT20B quickly starts to hit its stride.
Its connections are expansive and varied, for a start. The four v1.4 HDMIs should be enough to cater for even the most ambitions AV fan, while those of you already immersed in the new multimedia world will appreciate the video/photo/music flexibility offered via USB and SD card slots - not to mention the set's flexible DLNA compatibility.
You can also record from the set's onboard Freeview HD and Freesat HD tuners to USB HDD, and take the TV online to explore Panasonic's fair-to-middling Viera Cast platform.
The TX-P46VT20B leaves no stone unturned in its quest for good picture quality, either. Obviously, its headline feature here is its 3D playback, which is the best currently around thanks to the way Panasonic's plasma technology suppresses the distracting crosstalk problem that blights 3D on LCD TVs.
But the screen's Infinite Black Pro technology also helps make it a stellar performer with 2D, producing the finest black level response seen since the days of Pioneer's KURO TVs. Other factors playing their part in the TX-P46VT20B's generally excellent pictures are its freedom from motion blur, rich colours, exceptional HD detailing, and impressive standard-definition upscaling.
Add some better than average audio to the heady picture mix, and you've got a really outstanding TV.
We liked
The importance of the TX-P46VT20B's ability to show 3D with hardly any crosstalk noise cannot be overstated. But even if 3D is only of secondary interest to you, the TX-P46VT20B still deserves your attention because of its generally superb picture quality with 2D material – both standard and high-definition. Its multimedia talents are attractive, too.
We disliked
The amount of brightness lost when viewing 3D is annoying. There's also some slight colour bleed from narrow, bright picture elements when watching 50Hz material; Viera Cast is a little behind the best online platforms; and the TV's looks and operating system are both rather bland.
Final Verdict
Don't be fooled by the TX-P46VT20B's uninspiring looks. Tucked within the bronzed body are some real cutting edge moves, including, rather handily, 3D pictures that represent the current state of the art.
It's also a multimedia-savvy lover of 2D material, even taking standard-definition sources in its stride.
It's not the easiest TV to learn your way around and Panasonic would be well advised to both call in some serious design help and try and get a bit more brightness into its 3D pictures, but the TX-P46VT20B remains arguably the best 46-inch TV of the current generation.
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Opinion: How to make computing more pleasant
While I doubt it's actually true, I was amused by the story about Google's plans to remove the Caps Lock keys from its Chrome branded laptops. The idea isn't to save a millionth of a penny, but to try to change the world a little bit for the better - making it harder for people to SHOUT LIKE THIS all the time.
It's a silly idea, not least because I just typed that by holding down the Shift key, but an interesting one, if only because petty annoyances and computers go together like chalk and a substance that looks like chalk but is actually the ground-up remnants of engineers' souls. Possibly with some rat poison thrown in for good measure.
It doesn't matter how infuriating something is. As long as everyone does it, complaining about it isn't just pointless, but counter-productive, because everyone thinks that's how it's meant to be done.
It takes a rare company like Apple or Google to have the guts to go ahead and change it anyway, not least because the only way to make it work is to take away the alternative.
Doing it differently
The iPad, for instance, only works because Steve Jobs and his engineers had the guts to ditch a physical keyboard. Google Mail offered a gigabyte of free space when everyone else was offering 25MB or so, because it was willing to sacrifice offering a Mail Plus option in the name of how it thought email should be done. In both cases, of course, the rest of the industry followed suit.
I want to see more such cases. In fact, I'll offer a few for some heroic company out there to get the ball rolling.
Let's start with serial numbers. I'm sick of typing serial numbers. Sick of it. The only reason to have a 26-character number is if you one day hope to sell a copy to every single atom in the galaxy. Unless you're World of Warcraft, which appears to be getting close, it's just not going to happen.
Props go to BitDefender for only having a seven-character one to enter, but I want to see more. Or is that fewer? Either way, I never want to type another one ever again.
This goes double for products that don't even do an online check in the first place. Pointless! Die! (I'm reminded of the copy protection systems found on many old adventure games, in which company after company failed to spot the amusing irony of putting some trivial lock in front of an audience who wanted to spend their evenings solving problems.)
Age gates and error messages
Next on my hitlist: age gates. You'll have seen these. You head to a website for a game or film, but before you can go in, you're stopped by a screen asking you to tell it when you were born.
Not only is there never, ever anything particularly exciting behind them, who exactly is this trying to stop? Only teenagers who can't count.
Perhaps we could solve that problem by making the entry question a bit of trivia instead. The teenagers will still be able to get through and be disappointed by the lack of blood, sex and naughty language, but at least they'll do it knowing that the plastic things on the ends of shoelaces are called aglets.
Third up, error messages. If they don't make sense, I don't want to see them. Error Code -51? No. If you know the code, you can tell me the error and tell me how to fix it. "Oops, something went wrong" is not an acceptable answer. At the very least, a program should be able to tell me whether or not it's my fault.
Please try again
Fourth, passwords. Nobody is looking over my shoulder. Stop replacing what I type with '*******'. That goes double for phones, where the chances of hitting the wrong key are so much higher, but triple - no, quadruple with whipped cream and a cherry on top - for anything that wants me to enter it twice in case I made a mistake.
In a similar vein, any website that deletes so much as a single field after rejecting a login attempt is officially on the list, along with the indecipherable CAPTCHAs that usually cause that to happen. (CAPTCHAs incidentally need a new name. I suggest "Useless Humanity Checks That Don't Actually Work", but I'm open to suggestions.)
The irony of almost everything like this is that it only takes one company to take the plunge, and the rest can fall into line with a sigh of genuine relief. It's the other side of doing something because everyone else does, and why we no longer have to worry about things like dongles and CD checks and using specific browsers.
For that reason, if Google's Caps Lock crusade doesn't turn out to be utter nonsense - and I suspect that it will - it'll be something to shout about. Except we won't be able to then, will we? Damn you, Google. Damn you quietly to heck.
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Review: Panasonic HDC-SD90
Panasonic's HDC-SD90 records Full HD 1920 x 1080/50p video to SDHC and SDXC cards and is part of the firm's 1MOS range for 2011. It's an AVCHD model aimed, primarily, at people who want an HD camcorder with a wide range of features and connectivity, and has the sort of subtle functionality prized by moviemaking enthusiasts who want to take full control over the images they shoot.
The SD90 makes a positive start with an f1.8 Panasonic lens – Leica Dicomar lenses appear on higher-end/3MOS models – that has a 28mm wide-angle equivalent allowing filmmakers to cram more into the frame without having to move further away from the subject.
Creative licence means it can be applied to any shot but for family users or holidaymakers it would work particularly well on party or landscape shots.
A three-inch touchscreen LCD ensures you can compose and review images in suitable detail, as well as making selections from the menu screen. It's particularly good to see zoom and record options incorporated into the screen.
You don't have to look away to find the correct button, just press an area on the left of the LCD to activate and use these controls.
In fact, many other aspects of the SD90's menu can be accessed on the screen, including setup and recording options, and photo modes. The camcorder can snap 5MP stills separately using its photo mode but can also grab 4.5MP images via the simultaneous-record function, meaning it's possible to nab a quick shot while you're actually recording video footage.
With 3D still a buzzword more than a mainstream consumer reality, the HDC-SD90 nevertheless makes a leap for the bandwagon by referring to its 3D filming capacity. The camcorder is capable of 3D movies but this requires you to buy an optional 3D conversion lens (the Panasonic VW-CLT1).
This will let you render images in 3D, but at a cost of over £200 extra it may have limited appeal. The conversion lens itself is large and somewhat bulky and definitely requires a hands-on demo prior to any purchase.
Manual modes are well served on the SD90, as befits a camcorder that's likely to gain popularity with low-budget moviemakers eager to grab attention on YouTube. Manual options include focus, white balance, shutter speed and iris.
There's a 21x optical zoom – plenty of scope for any moviemaker – plus an intelligent zoom option that takes it up to 40x and a digital range from 60x to a bewildering 1500x. An optical image stabiliser will help ensure movies aren't always blighted by shaky-cam syndrome.
The lack of either hard drive or flash memory has allowed Panasonic to keep the size of the SD90 down but fortunately this is without the resultant miniaturisation of buttons and controls it usually entails.
It is a camcorder that feels substantial yet easily controllable and it feels comfortable to hold. And chiefly because it's not ridiculously tiny or featherlight, it's a camcorder that remains easy to keep steady when making a panning or tilting shot.
Performance
A camcorder like the HDC-SD90 that's setup for more adventurous users delivers the bonus of versatility. The camcorder's design embraces the need for creative photography features as well as the facts of what happens after you've filmed or snapped.Photo opportunities
The SD90's photography skillset incorporates Face Recognition and Face Framing (just as it does in moviemaking mode) and can recognise up to six faces, which it will then automatically optimise the settings for – in order to deliver the best results it can. The Smile Shot function is even intuitive enough to interpret when one of your subjects is smiling and to snap a photograph automatically.
Other photo functions include hi-speed burst mode for rapid snapping, red-eye reduction and a three-mode flash (on, off, auto), with flash-level settings depending on brightness. It's an excellent array and one that reinforces the SD90's credentials as a true multimedia device.
Socket selection
Connectivity is now part and parcel of the moviemaking landscape, so whether you want to upload movies to sites such as YouTube or Vimeo, or to display them in all their Full HD glory on an HDTV via HDMI it's possible.
The SD90 has a superb socket selection: there's HDMI (mini) output for that vital high-def TV connection, AV output for non-HD devices, and USB 2.0 in order to hook up to a computer.
From a filmmaker's point of view it's also reassuring to see the inclusion of an external microphone input (the SD90 has mic level settings to help boost your audio results). We're also pleased to note the inclusion of a shoe adaptor so you can connect an external microphone or even a more powerful video light. These accessories will need to have their own power supply because this isn't a hot shoe.
Video quality
The SD90 sets the bar high for camcorders under the £500 mark. The visuals are exceptional, with the Full HD resolution drawing out huge amounts of detail. See the dew holding onto a leaf, the textures on brick and woodwork and the lines (sadly) that add character to a face.
The autofocus is solid: reacting rapidly to changes in the scene and correcting for it just as fast. Even indoors or in low light, it's a reassuringly sturdy performer.
What is marginally frustrating is the auto white balance's tendency to boost greens. Our test footage shows hot/too-vivid greens – it's only greens, reds prove to be no problem – that add an unwanted, artificial feel to this particular footage.
It can be adjusted, or rather corrected, using manual white balance, and we'd recommend using manual settings as much as you can to take control over capturing images.
Indoor performance is just as noteworthy as exterior movies and the SD90's low-light performance is also commendable. The camcorder manages to create watchable images without too much grain.
Picture noise is kept to a minimum and you'll see precious few digital artefacts or pixellation on the edges of building or on fast movement. Our test footage captured cars thundering past and the resultant playback was smooth, controlled and realistic.
Audio quality
Sound reproduction is often a camcorder's Achilles heel – and the reason reviewers often complain about the lack of microphone inputs is that it equals no way of transcending or amending the audio results.
The SD90 quashes most major concerns by including an external microphone input, as well as having a menu system that offers some mic-level control.
Speech is recorded cleanly with even drop-off as you move away from, or to the sides of, the camcorder. We also recorded music from a high-quality source and were impressed with the quality and subtlety of the treble and mid-range on playback, but in terms of bass there's simply very little there, giving some sections of a track a rather one-sided feel.
An external mic is recommended to be in your accessories bag.
Software options
There's nothing spectacular included with the SD90, though it is supplied with Windows-only software that gives users access to some basic image management applications.
If you want editing tools then you'll need to consider your budget and functionality requirements. Mac users' 'need to know' is that the HDC-SD90 supports iMovie '11.
Verdict
There are such a large number of positives about the HDC-SD90 it would be easy to get carried away with how good it is. Actually, strike that, it's important to give credit where it's due, and this Panasonic model will not let anyone down.
There's much to enjoy and benefit from, but perhaps the element that will stay with users the most is its versatility: camcorder, camera and a compelling array of PC/TV connectivity – what's not to enjoy?
We liked:
The striking level of detail in our test footage has to be the standout – and so it should be with a camcorder; you don't really want other elements stealing the limelight. The SD90's images are so rich, pin-sharp and engaging that it will have you finding reasons to film.
Touchscreens can divide opinion – most often if the screen is unresponsive or hard to use – but the SD90's provides both a great view and snappy performance. It's perhaps not as slick as you'll find your mobile phone's to be, but prolonged use is unlikely to end in frustration.
The SD90 has some intriguing details and lower-key features and it's this subtlety and attention to detail that makes it such a productive camcorder. Guidelines can be activated that place a grid on the LCD screen to help ensure movies and photos are horizontally and vertically straight.
A Quick Start setting has the camera ready to film in a second, while the PRE-REC feature places a few seconds of video in a buffer memory, so you can actually record events that happened before you pressed the record button.
For those with Panasonic Viera TVs the Viera link is a labour-saving function, which enables the user to control playback via the TV's remote control. A small, and perhaps not essential, feature but practical nonetheless.
Battery life is reasonable and elements such as the built-in lens cover proved to be useful in protecting the Panasonic lens.
We disliked:
The SD90 has very few real failings. We did find the zoom lever to be harder to control than we'd like. Smooth zooming only came through trial, error and experience, as initially the zoom felt too fast and slick.
Open the LCD screen and you'll see buttons that include the on/off control. However, for some reason this has been placed in a truly awkward position – almost in a crevice. It's not particularly annoying but is a touch baffling.
A headphone socket to go with the external microphone would have added a final flourish to the socket selection, and would have reinforced the SD90's place among more frequent/ambitious moviemakers.
Verdict:
A massive thumbs-up for the Panasonic HDC-SD90. This is almost the complete camcorder. It's hard to see, for the sub-£500 price, how you could reasonably ask for more. Watching our test footage played back, even mundane shots are imbued with an almost-tactile quality.
The SD90 is stylish, effortlessly engaging to film with and is capable of superb moviemaking results. A contender for any low-budget filmmaking fan; if you get a chance to put it through its paces, then take it.
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Jobs, Schmidt and Zuckerberg to meet with Obama this week
Apple CEO Steve Jobs, recently on a medical leave of absence, is set to meet up with Google chief exec Eric Schmidt and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg at President Obama's business leaders' event in San Fran this week.Tech media will no doubt be fervently speculating what the four men will discuss when they get together this week.
Google, Facebook, Apple, Obama
Mark Zuckerberg was most recently the subject of Hollywood blockbuster The Social Network, while Mr Jobs has hit the headlines in recent days with worrying (albeit unsubstantiated) stories in the US National Enquirer that his health is perhaps far worse than Apple's PR machine has so far let on.
Still, celeb tabloid muck-raking aside, Jobs seems perfectly well enough to meet the US President this week. Which doesn't sound like a man at death's door…
"The president and the business leaders will discuss our shared goal of promoting American innovation, and discuss his commitment to new investments in research and development, education and clean energy," said a White House official.
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