The Oculus platform's games and apps will be rated on more than just quality
There are plenty of developers making games for Oculus Rift, and not all of them are guaranteed to be hits.
It's inevitable there will be some duds in virtual reality, but Oculus isn't worried about that as much as the ways that games will be rated, Oculus Vice President of Mobile Max Cohen told TechRadar at Oculus Connect 2014.
Cohen, who helped court many of the developers currently creating apps for Samsung and Oculus's Gear VR, said the company doesn't want good games to have poor ratings simply because they're too intense for some users.
That's why games on Oculus's store platform will have separate ratings for quality and for "comfort level," he said.
Bad VR vs. boring VR
"Yes, bad VR is a problem. But so is boring VR," he said. "We want to make sure that that put-on-and-play experience is good for everyone, but for the people who want to dig deep and try all sorts of neat things in VR, we don't restrict them.""We don't want to be sitting in a room picking what types of games are good or not," he continued. "We want developers to have free reign to make whatever they do as long as consumers are appropriately educated."
That's why virtual reality games on Oculus's platforms will have separate ratings for quality ("stars") and comfort level.
"You don't want to say 'I tried a game but I was uncomfortable, therefore it's a terrible game' and give it one star, because it might be an amazing game, but just not for you," Cohen explained. "All of our brains work differently. We just want to make sure people have the information and can make informed decisions."
He said his priority in terms of Gear VR experiences is to have "as wide a variety as possible," and that means catering to people who want more extreme options. But as far as Oculus's first-party games, the company is more interested in making "super-comfortable experiences," Cohen said.
"Neither I nor anyone has all the answers yet," he continued. "I'd say that our job at Oculus is to make the platform as accessible as possible for developers."
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Week in Gaming: 8 things you need to know about Super Smash Bros. for 3DS
No matter how tough things may get for Nintendo, it will always have the go-to franchises that guarantee the big bucks. Mario Kart, Zelda, Pokemon, and Super Smash Bros are arguably the biggest of those, which means that with Mario Kart 8 now out, the latest iteration of Nintendo's brawler could be the game that determines how high the Wii U will fly. If Mario Kart and Smash Bros can't sell a Nintendo console, nothing can.
We won't know that for a while longer, but the 3DS version of Super Smash Bros should be an indicator of just how good it will be. Now it's here, the embargo has lifted, and the review scores are in, we can finally talk about the first half of one of this year's most anticipated games.
So here's what you need to know...
1. Afraid that the game has been cut for handheld? Breathe easy
There was some concern among fans early on that the 3DS version of Smash Bros might be compressed and 'light' compared to its Wii U counterpart, but you can rest assured that's far, far from the case. There are over 40 characters, customisations (which I'll come onto) with a crazy amount of depth, and more stages than you can shake a Villager's umbrella at - although those stages are understandably smaller for the handheld. Weapons are also aplenty too. What's more, the action looks superb and miraculously manages to remain at 60fps all the while.
2. But you'll probably want a 3DS XL
Having played a lot of the game on a regular 3DS, we can tell you that the action can sometimes get a bit too intense for that small screen, especially with four brawlers in the ring to keep track of. We'd advise getting yourself an XL, unless you can wait until the "new" XL - although unless you're in Australia or Japan, you'll be waiting until 2015. Smash Bros was a game built for the big screen, and that's not changed.3. It's more customisable than you probably think
Not only can you create new fighters from the Miis on your 3DS, but you can further alter their items, weapons, clothing and special moves. For example, you can add an item that makes Smash Balls gravitate towards that character, which could make all the difference in those vital final seconds.
But the customisation stretches to every other character too, meaning you can meddle with Luigi, Villager, Samus or anyone else you so wish, completely changing the way they handle. It gives the game a feeling of more depth than ever before, but if you fancy a simple, old-school scrap, custom characters can be switched off in a flash.
4. Characters feel balanced
There are a lot of characters, with many unlockable secrets that we're not allowed to talk about right now. But we're pleased to say that so far the characters feel carefully balanced; for every possible move it seems another character has a move to counter it. No one (at least yet) feels more powerful than anyone else, which means you'll spend even more time testing out each face to find the one that suits your style of play best.
5. Online play is much better this time around, but the jury's still out
It won't be long before you're ready to take the fight to the rest of the world, and Smash Bros' online functionality is much more evolved than Brawl's laggy, clunky attempt. But there's more than one way to do it, with two types of battle to pick from: 'For Glory' and 'For Fun'. You can probably guess who one is for the serious brawlers.For Glory takes out all of the items and places you on the 'omega' version of each stage, with all the the extra fun bits cut out. As the game is yet to be released in the West, we've had little chance to explore how well the speeds hold up online. Going up against Japanese players there was quite a lot of lag, but Nintendo says that players will be put against geographically close opponents, so this shouldn't be a problem come the game's release. Fingers crossed.
6. Classic mode is back with a vengeance
Yup, the age old Classic mode makes a glorious return, putting you on a journey of battles against random CPUs with the promise of some tasty rewards. But most fights come with some unique twist - you might be up against an army of Miis, or a giant Donkey Kong - making for a decent quick-fire game when you're away from the Wi-Fi. You can also choose the intensity of your journey, with more demanding quests offering better loot.
Then there's Smash Run, a five-minute, side-scrolling adventure in which you collect power-ups to use in a final showdown. But it makes us long for Melee's Adventure mode more than anything else, if we're honest, and it's unlikely to be a mode you'll return to many times.
7. Miis from your 3DS will show in the background on the Tomodachi Life stage
It's a small detail, but a nice one. Miis saved on your 3DS will appear in the rooms on the Tomodachi Life stages, occasionally doing something a bit weird. My personal Mii was running around in women's underwear. If seeing a virtual version of yourself in some weird lingerie isn't an effective distraction, I don't know what is.
8. The reviews are pretty good so far
Unsurprisingly, Smash Bros 3DS is getting a lot of praise across the board.CVG gave it a score of 9/10 and concluded: "Whether you enjoy it as a technical fighting game or an insane Nintendo block party, Smash Bros' handheld debut delivers big on all fronts."
GamesRadar was a bit more critical of the multiplayer features, landing on a 3/5 and summing up: "A highly polished iteration of Smash Bros. that plays great on its own. But when you're afflicted by latency problems in local multiplayer, you'll suddenly become painfully aware of the 3DS version's critical shortcomings."
CVG has rounded up the rest of the reviews from around the web, which you can see here.
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In Depth: Wembley: From sporting icon to the mothership for mobile technology
Even for those people that miss old Wembley it's nigh on impossible to not be impressed by its replacement. With that already iconic arch looming over a stadium of staggering scale it's not hard to understand why EE would choose this Great British landmark as the self-proclaimed mothership for its latest and greatest mobile technology.
There are ambitious plans for contactless payment and iBeacons that get your ticket ready on your phone as you walk up to the turnstiles. It's also got a well-conceived update to the Wembley app, which should prove invaluable to visitors for sports and events when it rolls out in October for the England San Marino game. Wembley is fully focused on being at the cutting edge of technology.
That project is being led by Rob Ray, the CTO for Wembley and a man whose huge team face a mind-boggling array of tasks both with EE's mobile technology and a mass of ever-shifting projects that cater for everything from the American Football that was being set up when we were visiting to major music concerts.
Fortunately, Ray is a man who is clearly enthused by the tasks at hand. He opened his chat by telling us that the stadium was built with a dark room that was quickly given a new role as a cloakroom when digital photography rendered it largely pointless.
Cold Trafford, warm Wembley
Manchester United recently took the decision to ban iPads and other tablets from Old Trafford for fear of undermining the rights of the millionaires both on the pitch and in the directors in the box. So why is Wembley so keen on enabling its visitors rather than stymying them?"I think that's a good question," says Ray. "The reality is the customers want to do this and interrupting that experience is not what we are about at all. It's about enabling the customer.
"So I understand [Manchester United's] position and I understand the rights perspective, but we have to move beyond that.
"Some of [the problem] is 'you're getting in my way' but that's a local issue. For the most part if I travel around the country or Europe [embracing tech] is what I tend to see.
"Plus at Wembley its not just about football it's about five different events which can be very different."
A big deal
EE wasn't about to talk about just how much it had invested in the Wembley deal (although having your brand as prominent around one of the world's greatest stadiums doesn't come cheap) but the decision to use it as a test bed for its next generation of technology is an interesting one.
Mansoor Hanif, director of radio networks at EE, explained why Wembley is to be the network's 'mothership', which is expected to bring the first trials of 400Mhz 4G in Britain next year.
"We really feel a common vision, a common vitality with Wembley," he says. "It's the mothership of our network. We expect our customers to come to the mothership and experience how things are going to be. This is where it's embodied and they can experience it it, touch it and feel it."
Even keeping the current infrastructure stable and running is a challenge, with Hanif adding: "Stadia are the most difficult places to manage because so many people all want to do same thing at same time.
"So for instance, [at football matches] everyone wants to do something at half time. So do you build a massive pipe or find intelligent ways to manage that traffic.
"It's similar to London's Tube; in the morning peak hour you know you're going to have to queue, you accept that. On networks we set the bar very high so our 99% call success rate means that only 1% of time would you have to queue.
"It's a massive tech challenge and we're rightly very pleased with that number. The fact is that today's experience is fantastic even at the biggest events like the recent One Direction, which was a massive challenge."
The belly of the beast
As you walk around deep in the belly of the beast, you get some idea of both the scale of the current operation for simply keeping all those mobiles working in a testing environment of great ebbs and flows in usage.
The racks of network gear sit in a half empty room, testament to the big increases in capacity on the horizon to keep Wembley's communications working in the coming decade.
"We've added in more capacity on 3G and doubled our transmission capacity," says Hanif. "We've doubled the number of antennas and in terms of 4G we've added another 10Mhz so the total is 20Mhz."
Hanif is at pains to point out that just because EE is investing so heavily in this 'mothership' the network will not neglect the all-important rural rollouts that will increase coverage to other customers, talking about the 'thousands of little ships' and the 'medium ships' of past test areas like London's Tech City.
Monumental
Wembley Stadium itself is an impressive monument to not only the football that still defines it but also this next generation of mobile technology and all of the contactless and wearable technology. This technology might be currently be clunky, will at some point proliferate through our lives, adding convenience and a layer of information transaction that is both slightly insidious but also intrinsically useful.
The vision is using technology as an enabler, helper and friend at any major event and you can already see the beginnings of a future in which you will start a journey using your phone to pay for your travel, arrive at the stadium with the ticket appearing on your mobile's screen to allow you entry and then buying your pre-match pie with the same device.
Your app will tell you the weather ahead of kick-off to ensure you bring the right clothing, will tell you where to go and not only allow you to interact with the big screens but bring you the latest offers so you can get 20% off a half time cup of tea.
And the network, fuelled by EE's work, will make sure that all of this is not interrupted by a lack of signal or a failure of the data connection.
Hanif jokes at one stage that this mothership is also 'a Stonehenge of the future' - only this particular landmark relies of technology and not the druids. Now that's progress.
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Industry voice: A look at the key trends in application development
Having recently attended Enterprise Apps World, I thought I would share my key takeaways from the show. It's clear that most organisations are looking at the implications of going mobile and are considering how enterprise apps will work within their mobile strategy. IT teams are working to increase the productivity of their developers to build enterprise apps faster and more cost effectively, ensuring that they are multi-channel and that they are built for mobile.
As a result, agile development is now a reality and as an industry we have started to move away from the old 'waterfall' development days when very big projects included long delivery times. Now businesses are looking for rapid response to change and incremental releases as well as a time-boxed development approach.
Getting agile
There was also quite a lot of discussion at the show around how you achieve an agile approach and whether high-productivity tools and platforms can help complement or accelerate an agile methodology.In the past, the challenge with agile has been connecting enterprise apps to multiple systems and a large and complex infrastructure. For complex systems to integrate and work seamlessly together careful planning is needed and IT teams from various parts of the business all need to cooperate. More recently however, this has changed with new tools and platforms that allow developers to build enterprise software faster, tackling it in smaller chunks.
The traditional way of building software required time to be spent on what we call the 'plumbing', creating lots of underlying infrastructure before a developer can get to the useful part of the software, which needs to be extracted so developers can work on the real business functionality.
Two methods
There are two ways of doing this. One is by using a high-productivity platform that does all the plumbing for you and lets you focus on creating business functionality. The other way is the organisation builds its own platform. However in my experience this is rare, very resource intensive, and expensive.When we've talked to our customers who are doing their first project sometimes they have approached the project with an old-fashioned 'waterfall' mind set, not really realising the capability of a visual modelling environment.
However, when they see and experience this visual approach, more often than not, they open their minds as they explore, learn and understand how a high-productivity platform can help them. In my experience, once you use a high-productivity platform it actually helps you to become more agile because the shortened development and release lifecycle make it easy to obtain feedback and respond to changes.
Mobile matters
So how does the debate around development methodology translate for organisations looking to go mobile? Analysts firms currently estimate that approximately 50% of enterprise apps today can benefit from going mobile. However, when enterprise apps are taken mobile, their numbers multiply by a factor of five to ten. Current mobile app dev approaches, whether that be hand-coding and/or waterfall, simply will not scale to this magnitude.Coming away from the event it is now apparent that there is broad consensus around which approach and tools are most appropriate for the different methods of mobile application development. For example, you could go down the native route, you can take a web-based (HTML5) approach, or you could take a hybrid approach.
Here is where and how the industry believes these tools and methodologies should be applied:
• Native Applications: When building highly specialised consumer apps, the native approach is generally the one that organisations believe they should take. Native apps are mobile applications that are written in the sometimes-proprietary language(s) prescribed or allowed by the mobile OS manufacturer. Usually these apps provide a very rich user experience, because they are built specifically for a particular device's hardware.
On the downside, for each device to be supported, you'll need to build a specific version of your app. This approach tends to carry with it specific teams dedicated to each platform because of the uniqueness of each language and device or outsourcing to companies that specialise in this.
• Mobile Web Applications: For enterprises whose aim is to rapidly build apps that increase staff and business productivity, utilising a web-based (HTML5) development approach helps. HTML5 is not device specific and you can develop once and deploy across multiple platforms – so it is great for mobile. HTML5 is also good for developing enterprise applications where changes need to be made often and immediately.
Rapid advances in HTML5 mean that web apps can now do most of the things that native apps can do with much less overhead in terms of development and maintenance resources. The web app approach enables IT teams to use what they already have, as opposed to the native approach, which requires new skills to be learnt.
• Hybrid Applications: The main goal of a hybrid application is to leverage the power of native and the simplicity of mobile web. This is achieved by building a thin native shell around a mobile web application or applications. Companies frequently use this technique to get the mobile app listed on a variety of app stores or do device-level integrations. Hybrid is becoming very popular when you need to combine elements from the native approach but you want all the benefits of web.
It is quite likely that the approach you ultimately take in mobile won't be native, mobile web, OR hybrid - it will be native, mobile web, AND hybrid. We have customers using our application platform to develop and deliver all three application types as different situations always call for different approaches.
A recent Forrester report addresses the growing need for new low-code development platforms that accelerate app delivery and help enterprise organisations deliver mobile and multi-channel apps. There is no doubt that mobile app development is a key priority for organisations going forward and the faster IT teams can accommodate new mobile projects into their workload, the more responsive IT will be to meeting business needs.
- Andrew Burgess is a solutions engineer at OutSystems UK.
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Review: UPDATED: Motorola Moto X (2014)
Introduction, display and design
The Moto X name hasn't changed in 2014, but rest assured, this updated Android smartphone packs enough new specs to deserve its own Moto X+1 or Moto X2 title.With a larger screen, a better but not perfect camera, surprisingly useful first-party apps and, of course deeper customization, the original Moto Maker returns with a competitive price.
It's just $99 on-contract or $499 (£419.99, AU$534). Don't let Motorola's seemingly low ball price fool you either. Like its low-key name, the Moto X 2014 has a deceptive asking price.
Motorola's flagship phone is slightly bigger in every sense, enough to make it one of the best Android premium phones next to the more expensive Samsung Galaxy S5 and HTC One M8.
Display
There's more to the Moto X 2014 now that the display literally measures up to its competition. It's 5.2 inches, the same size as the new Sony Xperia Z3 and a hair larger than the 5.1-inch Galaxy S5.That's up half an inch from last year's 4.7-inch Moto X, a size that Motorola left to the likes of Apple and its, by comparison, pint-sized iPhone 6 display.
With a little reach and large enough fingers, the new Moto X is still a one-handed phone that almost ventures into two-handed territory. Yet it doesn't compromise much on the display when compared to a phablet.
It's again protected by Corning Gorilla Glass with the same AMOLED technology behind it, but the 1080p Full HD resolution makes for a much crisper screen with 423 pixels per inch. You won't want to go back to the original's 720p and 316 ppi display specs.
This sharper display is put to the test as soon as the new Moto X is booted up thanks to the bright and colorful default wallpapers that Motorola included with the handset. It really sets the tone for this premium smartphone experience, especially next to the still 720p Moto G 2014.
It stands bezel-to-bezel with the Samsung Galaxy S5 in this regard, though it lacks the Super AMOLED display. In a few cases, we found the Moto X screen harder to read outdoors. But keep in mind that Motorola has made its smartphone much cheaper than anything in its class.
The Moto X 2014 makes up for its direct sunlight shortcomings with a better way to conserve battery life by default. The return of the extremely efficient Motorola Active Display means that waving your hand over the phone or taking it out of your pocket brings up the current time and simple notification icons in white. The rest of the screen remains off. The popular, always-on microphone is here as well, giving you a way to cut to the chase with voice commands.
Tapping an Active Display icon reveals more information about the notification, like the gist of your latest emails or Hangout messages. It's a great use of AMOLED's ability to selectively light up individual pixels and it sure beats an ambiguous blinking status light on a phone.
Design
An all-new aluminum metal frame means that Moto X 2014 is stronger than its predecessor, not just bigger than before. Plastic is no longer binding together Motorola's flagship device. It's closer to the build material of the iPhone 5S, sturdier than the pliable iPhone 6 Plus and, most importantly, doesn't feel as cheap as the metal-looking polycarbonate Samsung Galaxy S5.What's surprising is that despite the Moto X's naturally larger size care of the 5.2-inch display, Motorola once again used tricks to minimize the overall dimensions, and it worked in its favor. For example, there's very little bezel around the edges and the soft buttons are on-screen, as opposed to the capacitive buttons used by Samsung devices.
This makes the Moto X 2014 roughly the same size as the Galaxy S5 and, remarkably, even the iPhone 6. Its official measurements are 2.9 in (72.4 mm) x 5.5 in (140.8 mm) with a sloped 0.2 in (3.8 mm) to 0.4 in (9.9 mm) curve.
The S5's width and height are 2.9 in (72.5 mm) x 5.5 in (142 mm) with a narrower overall depth of 0.3 in (8.1 mm). iPhone 6 is nearly as big: 2.64 in (67.0 mm) x 5.44 in (138.1 mm) x 0.27 in (6.9 mm). As much as I appreciate the iPhone's home button and Touch ID, it has half an inch less screen real estate to show for its almost-as-tall dimensions.
Moto
X's premium frame thins out along the corners, but forms a fairly thick
bow shape at the center for a curved back. This leaves plenty of room
for a top-center 3.5mm headphone jack, an adjacent nano-SIM card slot
and bottom-placed micro USB port. Along the thinned-out sides, there's
just enough depth for a volume rocker that's smooth and power button
that's accented with ridges. This makes it easier to tell the two
stainless steel buttons apart in your pocket.Moto Maker returns with additional customizations to match the now-premium Moto X with even more personalization. Leather, for example, is now among the choices that can back your phone in one of four colors. It joins last year's four wood options and 17 plastic colors. Black or white fronts and 10 accent colors for the front-facing speaker grills and rear Motorola logo dimple round out the most pressing Moto Maker decisions.
Cradling the Moto X backed in soft leather is a delight, but it's also the most delicate material within Moto Maker. Yes, the Moto 360 smartwatch uses the same genuine leather sourced from Horween Leather Company, but the supple material bruised more easily in our pockets than on our wrists. That's what's great about Moto Maker, though. It's filled with more options than your standard one-size-fits-all smartphone in case that doesn't work for you.
Moto X weighs in at 144 grams vs last year's 139 grams. Considering the aluminum metal frame and 5.2-inch screen, that's a worthy trade-off. Of course, there are beefier specs too.
Specs, performance and interface
Moto X 2014's specs, like its larger display size, complement the fact that it's no longer the runt of the Android litter. Its Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor is identical to the 2.5GHz quad-core chip that's found at the heart of the LTE-equipped Galaxy S5.
Motorola also answers Samsung's graphics performance with the same Adreno 330 GPU at 578 MHz and its memory with a healthy 2GB of RAM. The new Moto X isn't an also-ran when it comes to the most important specs. It's snappy performance backs this up even when all of our favorite apps, photos and video are clogging the internal storage.
There's a caveat: you can only fill up the Moto X so much because you won't find a micro SD card slot anywhere. Expandable storage isn't a part of the Moto X like it is on the Moto G 2014 and the earlier Moto G 4G model. You'll have to contend with the 16GB and Moto Maker-exclusive 32GB internal configurations.
Also missing is any sort of fingerprint sensor, heart rate monitor (not that you really need that) and waterproof seal. It doesn't measure up to the IP67 rating of many Android smartphones, so it's not water resistant up to 30 meters for an hour. Instead, it's just "splashproof." It's more than the leather back that's delicate in wet conditions.
Moto X did get the speakers right where others often fail. Its front-facing bottom grill projected music the right way - forward - not down at the ground, and its four microphones for voice calls and noise canceling reduced background noise to appropriate levels in all our test calls.
Interface and apps
Google may have sold Motorola to Lenovo, but the company is still dedicated to providing a pure Android experience that helps its phone contrast with devices from Samsung and HTC. You won't find TouchWiz or Sense changing the experience with a wonky overlay.
Moto X's Android KitKat 4.4 interface is much the same as last year save for the Google Now Launcher, a few fresh Motorola-branded apps and some carrier-loaded bloatware depending on your provider. Once again, the aforementioned Moto Display shows up when the display is off, providing a discreet and battery-saving method of peeking at notification icons.
Moto Assist takes driving seriously by reading text messages aloud while you're on the road. It also knows when to keep quiet without disruptive noises during meetings or when you're ready for bed. The next day, it wakes up when you wake up, according to your schedule.
Moto Actions takes advantage of the Moto X's IR emitters that resemble the sensor-spotted Amazon Fire Phone. The built-in app recognizes hand motions from all directions to turn on the Moto Active Display, silence calls and a snooze alarms with a simple wave. Just hop out of the shower and want to know the time? Look no further than Moto Actions. That's really convenient for a phone that's only splashproof.
Moto Voice builds upon Google Now by letting you change the always-listening voice prompt. Instead of the "Okay Google Now" command that seemed futuristic in 2013, the new Moto X lets you use custom phrases - everything from "You there Moto X?" to "Wake up buddy!" were among the Motorola-suggested examples. But I preferred the Motorola staffer / X-Men fan who used the prompt, "Okay Professor X" to get things started. And, again, unlike Siri, there's no need to hold down a button or have the phone plugged in to get the attention of Moto Voice.
Outside of the main Moto suite is Connect, a way to bridge the messaging gap between your Moto X smartphone and computer. It delivers text messages to a Chrome browser extension, though not as reliably as third-party apps like MightyText. I'm still hoping that Google one day brings SMS to Hangouts on a PC. Apple aced this with iMessages among its device owners two years ago and is further building upon it (by relaying all texts) with Mac OS X Yosemite and iOS 8. Connect is hopefully a stopover to something broader from Google.
Everything else about Motorola's Android KitKat 4.4 setup is untouched next to the Nexus 5, and for the most part, this pure interface is really appealing. It does mean that Google's quick settings for brightness, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are buried behind one and two extra steps compared to what Samsung's pull-down menu. I really hate having to adjust the brightness outside with an swipe down, a poke at the left quick settings button, a stab in the dark at the brightness grid label and a feel for the brightness slider. Even with this, pure Android a lighter and cleaner alternative in all other cases.
Camera
Moto X 2014 can't pull off "premium" without a vastly improved camera considering last year's middling snapper. Motorola bumps the specs to 13 megapixels, up from the 10-megapixel rear camera that proved extremely inconsistent 12 months ago.
With a 13MP sensor that's identical to many of today's Android smartphones, the new Moto X took much sharper pictures than its predecessor. It also put the autofocus in the right place more times than not. That's not to say that its performance was flawless or as responsive as the speedier LG G3, but I walked away with higher-resolution photos and subjects in focus without the need to plead for retakes. It's a step in the right direction for Motorola.
The default camera app is simple and straightforward like last year, offering a tap-to-snap touchscreen shutter button, Auto HDR and Panorama. The controls are hidden to the left, while swiping right explores the gallery. What's interesting here is that Motorola's software tries to pick out the best pictures via its Highlight Reel functionality. It's not always perfect, but it does weed out blurry shots and handily group images for a quick comparison.
Keep in mind that Moto X's stripped-down manual focus and exposure options may make you leap for third-party alternatives in the Google Play Store, but Motorola's camera app is the only one that opens with two twists of a the wrist. Even if you don't use the default app all of the time, this shortcut makes for easy to capture photos in a minimal amount of time.
The 13-megapixel camera is accompanied by a unique-sounding ring flash, which essentially means the lens is flanked by two LED flash bulbs. The right and left lights do an admirable job brightening up subjects to balance shots, but approaching subjects too closely still results in overblown pictures.
When the Moto X gets things right colors temperature are oversaturated and pushed to the extreme on the equally saturated AMOLED. It's vibrate-looking, though not true to life in all cases. Selfies are best shot with the front-facing camera that's 2 megapixels and doesn't have a flash even if you want one.
Both cameras can shoot 1080p HD video, but only the rear-facing camera is capable of slow motion video at 120fps and Ultra HD video quality at 30fps. The pixels extend to 2160p, which means Motorola is now welcomed into the 4K smartphone capture club. Whether or not you really want to use up your limited internal storage for such video files is up to you.
Camera samples
Battery life
The new Moto X has a 2300 mAh battery backing up its larger screen, which is bigger than the 2200mAh battery found in last year's model. That seems better on paper until you realize that the 5.2-inch screen requires more power throughout the day. Throughout our testing the new Moto X lasted us 24 hours with mixed use.That's enough to plug it in at night without fail, but not as long-lasting as something like the Galaxy S5 with a 2800mAh battery. Motorola does benefit from the AMOLED Active Display because checking the time and notifications doesn't light up the entire screen. It also doesn't accidentally light up in this mode when face down or in a pocket.
The company's Moto 360 smartwatch has a significantly shorter battery life of less than a day and it's yet another thing to charge. However, also shored up our notification-checking addiction on the Moto X 2014 and ultimately helped the battery last even longer than 24 hours some days.
When battery life is critical, though, it's Samsung that swoops in with its Ultra Power Saving mode. It can be a real battery life-saver. Motorola's 10% is the same as its 90%. You also won't find a backward compatible micro USB 3.0 connection on the Moto X for faster charging and transfers, as seen in the Note 3 and S5.
Motorola does sell a Turbo Charger that can add an impressive eight hours of battery life in just 15 minutes thanks to Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0 technology. Its ideal for juicing up during work breaks in the day and layovers at the airport, but it's not something you'll get out of the box. It's $35 (about £21, AU$40) through Motorola's Moto Maker store.
Verdict
Moto X 2014's display size jumped half an inch, but the overall quality leapt a full foot from its also-ran origins. That's not to say that it was a terrible mid-range device the first time around. Motorola has just updated the design and specs enough to make it a high-end contender in 12 short months.It takes on the "premium" label without sacrificing the low price point in most regions. In fact, the US price is actually a lot cheaper: $99 on contract, making it half the price of its leading competitors. SIM-free it's still a deal: $499 (£419.99, AU$534).
We liked
The 5.2-inch display gives us more screen real estate without verging on phablet territory. It's still a one-handed device for people with large enough fingers and coupled with the AMOLED Moto Active Display that we wish all smartphone manufacturers would blatantly copy already.A metal frame makes it feel as good as the screen looks, while Moto Maker combinations now total in the thousands. The pure Android OS is thankfully only supplemented by Motorola's useful apps and the price makes it Android's hidden treasure. X truely does mark the spot.
We disliked
It's premium, but it's not without pitfalls. Moto X 2014 doesn't have a micro SD card slot, so you're either stuck with 16GB or 32GB of internal storage. You can also forget about taking it in any sort of water. It's not IP67 waterproof like many other Androids so hold onto it tight.Wait, don't hold onto it too tightly. That all-new premium leather back cost more, but bruised on us rather easily. The 13-megapixel rear camera takes better photos than before - not much of an accomplishment. We're still not convinced it'll ever take the shot we want every time.
Final Verdict
Don't think that just because the Moto X 2014 name didn't get much of a change that the phone is just a basic specs bump. Motorola's new flagship smartphone proves that the reinvented company is listening to customer feedback with a bigger screen and aluminum metal frame, all for a price that's better than its competition. It only half-listened the requests for a superior camera and didn't pay attention to anyone plea for a micro SD slot.The good news is that Motorola continuing with its popular Moto Maker customization policies. That means personalized backs including new soft leather and trim accents on the front and around the camera lense. And yet the firm doesn't tinker with the pure Android experience set forth by Google. The specs are more robust while the software stays minimal, the opposite of other Android phones out there. That's just the way Motorola rolls, and we rather enjoy it.
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In depth: Nvidia jumps into virtual reality with GeForce GTX 980 and 970
The marriage between PCs and virtual reality is stronger than ever thanks to the latest graphics card from Nvidia.
During Nvidia's inaugural 24-hour PC gaming event, Game24, CEO Jen-Hsun Jeng revealed the GeForce GTX 980 and 970 GPUs.
The Maxwell architecture in the 980 and 970 boasts several new and impressive features but the head turner is definitely the integration of VR Direct.
This new feature makes Nvidia the first hardware company to put virtual reality software into its GPUs - though likely not the last.
During the event, we spoke with Justin Walker, Senior Product Manager who further explained the concept of VR Direct on the new Maxwell GPU.
Virtual reality SLI
SLI played a big role in figuring out what to do with VR's latency issues.Walker says: "SLI would work but the thing with SLI is that you do alternate frame rendering on one GPU and then the next frame rendering, going back and forth. In a normal environment, that can inject a little bit of latency."
Meaning on a screen, your frame rate goes up so much that you don't even notice or care. However with VR, any delays between gameplay and head movement are sure to make you nauseous and ruin your experience.
Which is something Walker notes, "you want to get rid of."
This is where SLI and VR come into play: "So we developed VR SLI basically, where you can actually assign each one of the GPUs to each eye. By doing that you don't have a latency effect anymore because you're literally just going from one [GPU] directly to each eye."
More at play
Nvidia also plans on cutting down VR latency by implementing new tech called MFAA - Multi-Frame sampled Anti-Aliasing - which produces 4x's multisample anti-aliasing images at 2x MSAA speeds.
NVIDIA's Dynamic Super Resolution (DSR) technology will be also available to VR which should significantly help reduce aliasing on today's panels. MFAA and DSR should be available after the 980's launch where the latter will roll out as an update to older graphics cards.
Lastly, asynchronous warp or JIT WARP (just in time Windows Advanced Rasterization Platform) allows sampling of head tracking to run smoother by cutting latency directly in half. Expect your GeForce GTX 980 and 970 GPUs to start running asynchronous warp software a bit later though, when more virtual reality devices actually hit the shelves.
Future of VR
It's already apparent that virtual reality isn't going anywhere but the advent of new hardware made specifically for VR has further cemented its future. With the Oculus Rift being the most prominent headset, it's no surprise Nvidia worked with the Oculus to create VR Direct.Though Walker says, "Oculus isn't exclusively working with Nvidia because they have a whole PC ecosystem to worry about."
He then quickly pointed out that "they [Oculus] benefit a lot because they need the performance; they really need the latency, and we're the ones that deliver that better than anyone else, in particular with Maxwell. Maxwell is going to be the GPU you want if you're doing VR because we've put a lot of focus on fine tuning the process."
Since Nvidia is the first company to out VR GPUs, we think it's OK to boast a bit, but but we're sure plenty of other GPU companies won't be far behind.
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Exclusive: Samsung Gear VR has plenty of room for improvement, says its creators
Samsung Gear VR is one of the stranger and more exciting virtual reality prospects set to arrive in the near future, but it's far from perfect.
Thankfully its creators are well aware of this, according to Oculus Vice President of Mobile Max Cohen. Oculus helped Samsung build the Gear VR headset.
At Oculus Connect 2014, the VR conference where the Crescent Bay Oculus Rift prototype made its debut, Cohen said there's a reason the first Gear VR release will be called the "Innovator Edition."
"We're not trying to sell millions of these devices; this is very much for early adopters, tech enthusiasts and developers," he told TechRadar.
Cons…
The Gear VR headset uses a Samsung Galaxy Note 4 to provide users with a portable and versatile virtual reality experience, but "there are some things we can still improve on before we try to sell it to every single person," Cohen said."We don't hide from any of the drawbacks," he continued, listing several off: the lack of positional tracking like Oculus Rift has, limited battery life due to the Gear VR's reliance on a phone, and thermal issues that can cause dropped frame rates, to name a few.
"If you run at a high clock rate, then the phone starts to get a little hot," Cohen explained. "It won't actually harm anyone, but it's just shutting down and going to lower clock rates, which can degrade performance enough that you can't hit 60FPS anymore. And if you can't hit 60FPS, you're not going to be in VR. We don't want anyone to be in VR if you're not at frame rate."
He said Gear VR play sessions will ideally be shorter, in the five- to 20-minute range.
"You can still have engaging things, it's just you're not going to be piloting a space ship for three hours like you would on [Oculus Rift]."
…and pros
But Gear VR is not without its advantages, as well. The Galaxy Note's 5.7-inch 1440p Super AMOLED display looks gorgeous even with your face pressed right up against it, for one, and the iterative nature of phone hardware means the experience could potentially improve every six months or so."This is not a Note 4-only product," Cohen teased. "There are lots of other devices that are coming out every six months that we have the opportunity to push hardware and do neat stuff."
And since the Gear VR doesn't need to be connected to a PC like the Rift does, it's naturally more portable. You can swivel around in 360 degrees to your heart's content while you explore a virtual space.
"Being untethered is the biggest thing," Cohen said. "Swivel-chair VR is really going to be I think the ultimate form of consumer VR for a while." Gear VR can also be used more easily while standing up, though Oculus doesn't recommend it, and the lack of positional tracking will hamper that experience.
Cohen said Gear VR is more than just an experiment, and Oculus Rift and Gear VR "are two product lines that we expect to carry on for a while." That means there's plenty of time for improvement as well, and a bright future for virtual reality.
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Thom Yorke is the first artist to use BitTorrent's new paywall feature
Thom Yorke has sympathized with fans who pirate his music in the past, and now the Radiohead frontman is taking advantage of those pirates' favorite tool: torrenting.
The artist's latest solo album, Tomorrow's Modern Boxes, is the first BitTorrent Bundle that will be partially locked behind a paywall.
Yorke, whose first name is definitely pronounced "Tom" despite how it looks, said in an announcement that the album release is "an experiment."
He and producer Nigel Godrich want to see if the Yorke-loving music populace "can get its head around" the new business model.
Paranoid androids
Previous BitTorrent Bundles let torrenters have a free taste of some content and unlock the rest by providing an email address or an optional monetary "donation."BitTorrent's Director of Communications Christian Averall said in 2013 that the company wants to "make the transaction easier" between artists and consumers.
Yorke fans will be able to download a single track and a video from the new album for free, but the singer will require more than an email address to cough up the rest.
Thankfully $6 (about £3.70, AU$6.85) isn't a lot to pay for an entire album. In this initial test of BitTorrent Bundle paywalls the artist handles the transaction and keeps 90% of the money, with the other tenth going to BitTorrent itself, and users have a limited number of downloads per transaction.
If people buy in and the "experiment" proves fruitful, more artists could go this route and provide fans with a cheap, easy way to get what they want through established technological channels.
- Or all musicians could just give up and be like Metallica
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Samsung Galaxy Alpha released as an AT&T exclusive
It may not warrant the same kind of hoopla afforded a certain new Apple device released last week, but AT&T has quietly started offering Samsung's latest Galaxy smartphone as a US exclusive on its website.
Following a press release last week, AT&T today slipped the new Samsung Galaxy Alpha into its online product mix. The Galaxy Alpha is available in a trio of color schemes starting at $199.99 with two-year agreement or an oddly priced $612.99 with no annual contract.
Available in black, white or gold, Galaxy Alpha is notable for being a departure from Samsung's typical flagship handsets such as the Galaxy S5, a handset some have criticized for its use of a plastic casing.
The 4.7-inch display on the Galaxy Alpha is instead housed frame that features a metal trim. The phone bears more than a passing resemblance to last year's iPhone 5S, thanks to the squared-off edges which offer a more premium look.
New directions
Despite the fresh design, Samsung has curiously taken a step backward when it comes to the display; the Alpha packs a mere 1080 x 720 pixels into its Super AMOLED panel, a step down from the full 1080p on the Galaxy S5.Internally, the Galaxy Alpha isn't exactly a slouch, powered by a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor clocked at 2.5GHz with 2GB RAM running the latest Android 4.4 KitKat operating system.
A quick spot check of local in-store availability shows plenty of inventory at AT&T retail stores across the nation.
AT&T Next customers are also eligible to pick up the Samsung Galaxy Alpha for a mere $25.55 per month for 24 months with upgrade eligibility in 18 months, or $30.65 per month for 20 months for those who prefer to upgrade every 12 months instead.
- Take a peek at our hands-on review of the Sony Xperia Z3!
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Review: Fujifilm HQ-Pro SSD
Introduction and design
The Fujifilm HQ-Pro is a standard 2.5-inch SSD, built with a controller and 19nm 2-bit MLC Flash memory from Toshiba.Yes, you read that correctly. The HQ-Pro is a solid-state drive from Fujifilm, a brand associated by just about everyone with cameras rather than storage. Not that this is a particularly surprising move – other companies such as Panasonic have recently jumped into the market too, yet they're not a company with a rich history of storage products either.
Actually, Fujifilm already sells a wide range of SD cards, which perfectly complements its camera business. While SSDs are a quite different technology, Fujifilm already has plenty of expertise in bringing storage products to market, so it's less of a leap than you might think.
That said, while SD cards are a great accessory for camera sales, it's not obvious which markets Fujifilm has a foothold in where an SSD makes a perfect companion purchase. The company has slotted the HQ-Pro into its recording media category, which is a slight stretch.
Four models
There are four capacities available: 60GB, 128GB, 256GB and 512GB. We were sent a 128GB and 256GB version, but thankfully, not the 60GB variant, since this capacity is so small it's now barely worth using when larger drives are more affordable than they were.Cased in aluminium, the 2.5-inch SATA 3 drive is 7mm high, which is rapidly becoming a standard physical size for SSDs. Early generations were 9.5mm, which prevented them from fitting in certain laptops and games consoles.
Power consumption is rated at 2.8W for the 128GB model, 3.1W for the 256GB and 3.4W for the 512GB drive.
As with other SSDs, the HQ-Pro has not been entirely built by Fujifilm. As we already mentioned, the parts have been sourced from third parties, namely Toshiba for both the 19nm NAND flash memory and controller. In fact, this is really a Toshiba SSD with Fujifilm's branding.
Other markets work in exactly the same way. Many companies will assemble devices such as displays, tablets and televisions entirely from parts manufactured by others. The PC industry grew to its present size based on this very principle.
Pricing and performance
SSD prices are falling faster than any other technology right now. You can pick up a 512GB SSD, specifically Crucial's MX100, for £150 (around US$250, AU$270). That's a staggering drop, given that a few years ago, a drive this size was closer to £500 (around US$830, AU$890), and if you go further back, it approached four figures.So why hasn't Fujifilm noticed this trend? On its own product store, the Fujifilm HQ-PC Series 512GB SSD is listed for £349 (around US$580, AU$620). The 256GB version is £171 (around US$285, AU$305). Even the 128GB version is £99 (around US$165, AU$175).
Almost every other brand is cheaper. That includes Intel, PNY, OCZ, Corsair and even market leader Samsung, which makes the 850 Pro SSD that's slightly pricier than the rest. You can pick up an SSD with close to 1TB capacity for less than the cost of the 512GB Fujifilm HQ-PC Series. While prices are lower from various online retailers, they're still relatively extortionate.
The drive's warranty and possible longevity is no better than most SSDs on the market. Fujifilm doesn't quote the maximum number of writes, but instead suggests 1.5 million hours MTTF (mean time to failure).
That's a generally useless figure, calculated using algorithms rather than tests, since it works out to be 171 years, a whole lot longer than the HQ-Pro's three-year warranty.
Along with lower prices, longer warranties are a trend going through the SSD industry now, and Fujifilm's three years is not long compared with the 10 years firms such as SanDisk now offer on high-end drives.
Performance
It's not entirely clear why the prices are so high. The HQ-Pro, as the name may suggest, is sold as a high-end SSD aimed at professional users. And while it's good, it's not the best SSD on the market.With the 256GB version, sequential transfer rates were excellent, with 537MB/s read speeds and 504MB/s write speeds. These write speeds dropped to 400MB/s on the 128GB version.
Compared to other brands, these are respectable results, a trend that continued in other tests in CrystalDiskMark. Its random 512kb read speeds of 453MB/s and 492MB/s write were right up there with top-end SSDs.
But it measured lower in other tests. The crucial 4K QD32 transfer rates, which reveals the drive's IOPS (input/output operations per second) were far lower than other drives. The 128GB version only managed 142MB/s while writing, which works out as 37,000 IOPS. The 256GB version fared better, with 55,000 IOPS, higher than the rate quoted by Fujifilm, but this is less than many other drives, and significantly less than the Samsung 850 Pro, which managed 83,000 IOPS in the same test.
Access times as measured by AS SSD were reasonable, but nothing special, particularly while reading. The 256GB HQ-Pro managed 0.092ms, almost the same score as the OCZ RevoDrive 350, which by no coincidence also uses Toshiba NAND, and is far from the shortest access time around. The write access time on the 256GB model looks better though, with 0.037ms, roughly matching Samsung's 845 Evo SSDs.
In PCMark 08, the Fujifilm HQ-Pro managed a score of 4,032 with the 256GB model, and 4,028 for the 128GB. These are excellent results, significantly higher than other SSDs – but the HQ-Pro scored lower in the PCMark 08 storage test, with an overall score of 4,993, roughly equal to Samsung's 845 Pro.
Verdict
We liked
The HQ-Pro SSD is a good performer. Sequential read and write performance of the 256GB drive we tested was up there with the best competing drives.Access times, especially when writing, are also fairly good, enough to compete at the top-end of the SSD market.
We disliked
The high retail pricing is obviously a big turn-off, since the HQ-Pro is outperformed by less expensive drives. But even if Fujifilm reduced those prices, there's still the issue of relatively low IOPS.Final verdict
There's nothing terrible about the Fujifilm HQ-Pro, but given its exceptionally high price, there's nothing special about it either, which makes that price somewhat puzzling. If it cost around a third less than the amount Fujifilm is asking, this might be an SSD to recommend, but as it stands, you can get a better drive for less money.
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Apple: majority of OS X users are safe from Bash bug
Earlier this week, we reported on a newly-discovered security vulnerability, nicknamed 'Shellshock', that could affect UNIX-based operating systems including Linux, Mac OSX and Android - potentially even letting hackers overtake an operating system.
People have been calling it "worse than Heartbleed", but Apple has spoken up to reassure OS X users who are concerned that they might be under threat, and promised that it's working on a fix right now.
"The vast majority of OS X users are not at risk to recently reported bash vulnerabilities," a spokesperson for Apple told TechRadar in a statement.
"Bash, a UNIX command shell and language included in OS X, has a weakness that could allow unauthorized users to remotely gain control of vulnerable systems. With OS X, systems are safe by default and not exposed to remote exploits of bash unless users configure advanced UNIX services. We are working to quickly provide a software update for our advanced UNIX users."
Quickly, quickly!
If you are in the minority of vulnerable folks that Apple refers to, the advice would be to switch off any of the advance UNIX services for now and hold out for a patch.Bash has been present in every UNIX system since its introduction in 1989, which obviously means that the extent of the damage is potentially massive.
Which is why we're crossing our fingers that Apple and other can patch the problem quickly, before the flaw is abused.
Bash vulnerability: everything you need to know
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Review: Updated: Acer Aspire V7
Introduction and design
Laptops fall into neat categories. The 11.6-inch notebooks stay small and affordable, the Ultrabook sits at the higher-end spectrum of mobile computing and anything 14 inches and up is represented with budget or gaming laptops up until you get to the 17-inch mobile gaming rigs.For the most part, there's no deviation from this mold, other than 2-in-1 laptops like the Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro. Like I said, for the most part.
Enter the Acer Aspire V7. It's an interesting 14-inch notebook that splits the difference between a Ultrabook and larger gaming machines like itself. Acer has not made any allusions to it's laptop being perfect for both use cases; instead, the Aspire V7 is just barely a gaming machine and just barely an Ultrabook.
Basically, this is a slimmed down, 14-inch laptop equipped with a vivid 1080p touchscreen and Nvidia GT 770M graphics card, whereas most Ultrabooks would forego including a dedicated GPU. Has Acer hit the right balance between portability and power, or does the Aspire V7 suffer an identity crisis?
Design
Compared to other ultraportable notebooks, the Aspire V7 is one of the most plasticky machines around. Users won't find any Gorilla Glass, as with the company's high-end Aspire S7 Ultrabook or the Samsung ATIV Book 9's metal casing. Measuring 0.9 inches thick, the Acer is also considerably thicker than the exquisitely thin 13-inch MacBook Air and all the other wedge-shaped laptops it has inspired.It's obvious the Aspire V7 won't win any beauty pageants against premium Ultrabooks, and I wouldn't expect it to with its much lower price, starting at $799 (£469 or AU$1,299) Despite the all-plastic frame, the V7 is still a very attractive package. The chassis does not creek at all under the full weight of your palms, or as your fingers tack away on the keyboard.
Acer has also nimbly avoided using the oft-used plain plastic by giving both the laptop lid and keyboard deck with a brushed aluminum-like finish. Even the underside looks and feel good, thanks to a rubber bottom. The rubberized underside also helps keep the laptop firmly planted on desks and feels softer on bare knees.
Aside from the surface details, Acer has sculpted the V7 with gently curved edges. Most notably, you won't feel like your wrists are cutting into the laptop's gently rounded edges. Elsewhere, the palm rest flows smoothly into the slightly sunken in keyboard before another curve caresses upwards to meet the display. They're all minor aesthetic touches, but taken as a whole, there's a consistent look you'll appreciate about the Aspire V7.
Around the back of the laptop you'll notice it's a bit thicker and this is to make way for a video output ports as well as a USB 3.0 and ethernet jack. Some users might not appreciate this port placement, but it's perfect for those using the Aspire V7 as their main work computer. Users will be able to plug in the laptop to a monitor on their desk and USB hub while keeping the cables tucked away and hidden behind the screen.
Specifications and performance
The Acer Aspire V7 is one of the lighter 14-inch laptops around, weighting in just 4.41 pounds. It's also fairly compact at 13.4 x 9.4 x 0.9 inches. The Lenovo Y40 is just as thin, but its rounder plastic body makes it a tad larger overall, at 13.7 x 9.8 x 0.9 inches and 4.85 pounds.
Of course, the Aspire V7 can't compete with the portability of the Asus Zenbook UX301LA. The smaller 13.3-inch Asus Ultrabook tips the scales at 3.08 pounds and measures 12.8 x 8.8 x 0.6 inches.
Here is the Acer Aspire V7 configuration given to TechRadar:
Spec sheet
- CPU: 1.6GHz Intel Core i5-4200U (dual-core, 3MB cache, up to 2.60 GHz with Turbo Boost)
- Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GT 750M (4GB DDR3 RAM); Intel HD Graphics 4400
- RAM: 8GB DDR3L RAM (2x 8GB, 1,600MHz)
- Screen: 14-inch, 1920 x 1080 Glossy IPS Touchscreen
- Storage: 500GB (5400 rpm with a 16GB SSD cache)
- Ports: HDMI, 2 USB 2.0, 1 USB 3.0, RJ-45 Gigabit Ethernet, mini-VGA, SD card reader, combination mic/headphone jack
- Connectivity: Intel Wireless-N 7260 802.11n WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0 + HS
- Camera: 720p HD webcam
- Weight: 4.41 pounds (2,000 grams)
- Size: 13.4 x 9.4 x 0.9 inches (W x D x H)
Sadly, the V7 as specced above isn't available to other parts of the world. If you live in the UK, you will only be able to pick up the Aspire V7 with a lower-spec Intel Core i3 chip and a 1366 x 768 resolution screen for £469. Australian folk, meanwhile, can only chose the larger 15.6-inch version of the notebook, which also comes with a disappointingly low resolution 1366 x 768 screen for AU$1,299.
The Lenovo Y40 follows the Aspire V7 very closely, with better specs and a marginally lower $849 (about £526, AU$921) price. The Y40 is also equipped with a very similar 1080p 14-inch – albeit non-touch – display, plus the same amount of RAM. The bonuses of picking the Lenovo Y40 include a faster 2GHz Intel Core i7 processor, 1TB of storage and an AMD Radeon R9 M275X GPU (fairly equivalent to Nvidia's GT 770M).
If a fully decked out Ultrabook is what you desire, and you have the cash to burn, the $1,789 (£1,095, AU$1,907) Asus Zenbook UX301LA might be perfect for you. Between the 2560 x 1440 quad-HD 13.3- inch display and dual 128GB SSDs paired together in Raid 0, the Asus is a high-end machine. The only thing it lacks compared to the Y50 and Aspire V7 is a dedicated graphics chip for serious gaming.
Performance
Despite running with average internals, the Aspire V7 had plenty of power handle my daily work load. It did not hitch at all, whether I was browsing through the web across 20 tabs or tweaking images in Lightroom for this review. It even held its own playing modern games like Wolfenstein and Grid Autosport. Although the Aspire V7 can just barely be considered a gaming machine, I was impressed with its performance.Benchmarks
- 3DMark: Ice Storm: 45,720; Cloud Gate: 5,865; Fire Strike: 1,465
- Cinebench CPU: 227 points, Graphics: 55 fps
- PCMark 8 (Home Test): 2,306 points
- PCMark 8 Battery Life: 3 hours and 36 minutes
- BioShock Infinite (1080p, Ultra): 16 fps ; (1080p, Low): 50 fps
- Metro: Last Light (1080p, Ultra): 6 fps; (1080p, Low): 22 fps
While playing an actual game, the Acer was able to render BioShock Infinite at 1080p – with all the settings turned up – at 16 fps, beating out the Y40's 14 fps showing. The Lenovo and Acer were neck-and-neck in the Metro: Last Light benchmark, albeit for a terrible score of 6 fps on average.
The Aspire's Intel Core i5 processor also did surprisingly well in the Cinebench CPU test with marks of 227 points. Comparatively, the i7 chips in the respective Lenovo Y40 scored 191 points and the Asus Zenbook UX301LA trounced everyone else, with 240 points.
Bigger isn't better for battery life
While the Acer put on an impressive show of gaming and computing power, it has the shortest battery life of all. The Aspire V7 only lasted for 3 hours and 36 minutes on the PCMark 8 battery test, falling short of the Lenovo Y40's 3 hour and 54 minute performance. The Asus Zenbook UX301LA' battery life lasts well past the two 14-inch machines at 5 hour and 32 minutes, likely thanks to its lack of a dedicated graphics chip.
While the battery test revealed some disappointing results, the Acer does a bit better running real world applications. Over the course of 4 hours and 49 minutes, I managed to stream Judge Dredd on Netflix and write up a portion of this review, while dabbling in some fact checking across 15 tabs split between Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox. For my real-world battery test, I also had Google Music playing in the background with the speakers set to 15 and turned the screen brightness up to 35%.
The Aspire V7 will never meet the 6 hour and 45 minute time set by the Zenbook UX301LA. But you will have enough battery power to make it through a long business meeting or work on projects during a long commute.
Dazzling display
The biggest highlight of the Acer Aspire V7 is its perfect IPS screen. After a few seconds of looking at it, the screen proves to be vibrant with saturated colors – but not too much so. Excellent viewing angles produce a very clear picture even if you view the display from an oddly skewed angle.
The screen's accurate colors and wide dynamic range make the Acer an excellent machine for working with photos. Meanwhile, those who are less photography-oriented will enjoy the screen for viewing everything from webpages to movies. The laptop's multimedia experience is further bolstered by the tonally rich speakers designed with the help of Dolby.
The only gripe I have with the Aspire V7's display is it suffers the same glaring issue that prevents glossy screens from being viewed in sunlight. The problem isn't too prominent when indoors and can be somewhat amended by turning up the screen brightness, but this sacrifices battery life. The sad truth is glossy screens help produce richer colors, but at the cost of usability in more lighting scenarios
Bloatware central
Acer falls into the guilty party of laptop manufacturers that gorge on an abhorrent amount of bloatware, and it's unforgivable with the Aspire V7. Below are just a few of 13 pieces of "bundled" software that come preloaded on the laptop. While most are simply chaff, these are the highlights – everything else should be just uninstalled.
- AcerCloud - Acer has developed it's own cloud service allowing users to store access their PC files remotely from a mobile device.
- Acer clear.fi Photo - A client to upload your photos to Acer's Cloud. While it's a bit obsolete thanks to Flickr, Facebook, Google+, Dropbox and the myriad ways of sharing photos, the silver lining here is Acer's cloud photo app has no limit on file size.
- AcerCloud Docs - Potentially one of the more useful apps giving users an alternative option to buying Microsoft Office, but in reality this docs app only syncs Microsoft Office files to the user's personal cloud.
- Cyberlink MediaEspresso - A free video, music and photo converting app with a slight hint of annoying advertisements.
- Acer Power Management - A power management tool that combines a battery life meter with an activity monitor.
- Acer Recovery Management - Just in case you run into a bad patch or install some faulty drivers, Acer Recovery Management will help you restore the Aspire V7 to factory settings. A useful tool to keep around.
- Acer Crystal Eye - Take selfies with the Aspire V7's webcam adding special effects and other modifications.
- Acer Theft Shield - An useful little application that will help prevent the theft of your notebook through detection with either your Wi-FI network or Android phone.
- Acer USB Charge USB Charge Manager - Setup the Acer Aspire V7 to charge your USB connected devices when sleeping, plus the option to set limits when the laptop's battery level is low.
Verdict
Acer set out to split the difference between a 14-inch gaming machine with a portable Ultrabook machine, and it's struck a good balance with the Aspire V7. It's one of the slimmest 14-inch laptops around, thanks to its Ultrabook-inspired styling. As just barely a gaming laptop rig, the Acer will play games far better than most ultraportable machines that lack dedicated graphics processing.We liked
The Acer Aspire V7's screen was really love at first sight. After spending some more time with it I was continuously impressed with the display's visual fidelity. I was stunned by the panels sharp resolution and great colors working in Photoshop.While streaming movies, I was amazed again with the screen's deep blacks, but more importantly, was able to discern details whereas most laptop screens would just produce giant blotches of darkness. Acer has put one of the best laptop screens I've ever seen into the Acer Aspire V7, and photographers as well as media junkies will love it.
An even bigger surprise was the amount of gaming power the Aspire V7 has behind it despite its rather middling components. The machine was able to play a handful of modern games including Wolfenstein at 30 fps, and then at 58 fps with some visual tweaks. Meanwhile, gamers will have an easy time playing the less strenuous gameslike Transistor and The Walking Dead Season 2 at 40fps with their settings turned all the way up.
We disliked
The Acer Aspire V7 might tip towards the Ultrabook size and weight, but it does not inherit the same long battery life as many small notebooks. With a battery life that maxes out around 5 hours, the Aspire V7 will only last though part of the day, and you will have to make doubly sure to stow the power adapter in their bag.The amount of bloatware that comes preloaded is also another major issue with the laptop. Users will have to do a lot of application pruning in the Add and Remove Programs tool. It's a small annoyance that can be corrected but ultimately users want a system that they can get instantly comfortable with and not spend time removing adware posing as a computer application.
Final verdict
Anyway you slice it the Acer Aspire V7 is an odd duck in the notebook world. It strikes an interesting compromise giving Ultrabook users a more capable machine while adding a smaller, lighter option for 14-inch laptop lovers. At the same time the Acer has an identity of its own offering users a lot without breaking the bank. WIth a stunning screen and great speakers, it a perfect media viewing device.The Lenovo Y40 might offer very similar performance for a minor discount. But having handled both laptops, I would pick the Aspire V7 on aesthetics alone. Not to mention that the Lenovo's screen pales in comparison.
Compared to the Asus Zenbook UX301LA, the Acer lags behind in screen resolution, battery life and a few choice parts. However, as benchmark results revealed, the Acer laptop does not actually lag behind too far – and even surpasses the Asus – in games. At the end of the day, the Zenbook UX301LA might last longer, but the Aspire V7 is the more capable mobile machine for your mula.
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Industry voice: Four reasons why Apple Pay is more secure than you think
One of the most intriguing announcements at Apple's latest launch event last week was the introduction of Apple Pay.
A contactless payment technology built into the iPhone 6 and the new Apple Watch, it allows you to tap and pay for your day-to-day purchases without hunting through your credit cards, entering PINs or signing bits of paper.
Now, mobile payments has been talked about for years and has struggled to take off but, but with Apple Pay the stars may have finally aligned to deliver a user experience that is compelling.
Needless to say, if Apple Pay does take off, it will be a juicy target for attackers, but Apple looks to have taken sensible measures to ensure it is as secure as possible. Here are my 4 reasons for why Apple Pay will be secure:
There's not very much for the attacker to steal
Apple Pay, like all mobile payments solutions, introduces a new points of attack, the handset itself. That's always been a potentially big issue since phones with their numerous apps are notoriously hard to secure. To reduce these added risks, Apple have taken a number of steps.Firstly, the phone employs a tamper-resistant hardened security chip, called a Secure Element, to protect the secret codes used to make payments. This guards against physical attacks and malware on the phone and although no security measure is perfect the Secure Element is a big improvement.
But, perhaps the most important innovation is that the codes on the phone are not actual credit card number so even if they are stolen or the phone is lost there is no need to cancel your cards.
Apple has worked with the credit card companies like Visa, MasterCard and American Express to ensure that only temporary 'tokens' are stored on the phone.
These tokens are used in transactions to represent a user's account but are useless to an attacker and can be deleted without affecting the user's bank account or credit card.
Not only does this tokenization process reduce the risk at the phone it also protects the back-end infrastructure that communicates with the phone to set up payment accounts and approve transactions, for example the systems operated by the mobile operator and Apple themselves.
Strong biometric authentication
Another strong security measure is the integration of Apple Pay with the Touch ID biometric authentication capability of the iPhone. If an attacker can't steal the card information from the then the next best thing is to steal the phone and misuse it until it gets shut down.Touch ID has been around for a while as a way to unlock the phone now it is being used to authorize a payment off. Biometrics, in this case your fingerprint, heightens security as it is completely unique to the user and is based on your personal biological data that can't easily be stolen or replicated.
The use of biometrics does occasionally have some challenges, some fingerprints just can't be read and false positives do occur but isn't a huge improvement over passwords.
Apple isn't reinventing the wheel
Against many people's expectations, Apple has based its service Apple Pay service on a set of well proven and standardized technologies rather than forge ahead with a proprietary approach.The maturity of the technology is good news for security and investments already made by merchants could now pay dividends.
Apple Pay works on established payment 'rails', adopting technologies such as NFC, EMV that combine with the Secure Element to communicate with standard contactless point of sales (POS) devices in stores.
The fact that banks and credit card companies will continue to play their traditional role as part of the Apple ecosystem will help to quell the arguments and allow everyone to focus on the customer.
A balance between customer experience and security
Balancing security against user experience is critical for the successful of any security venture and is even more critical for mobile payments.Tim Cook argued that firms in the mobile payments sector have focused too heavily on their own interests (i.e. monetisation) for years and not paid enough heed to customer experience.
It's vital that everyone views mobile payments, or mobile commerce as it should be called, as a better way to buy more things and not simply another way to buy the same things with just using a different technology.
If poorly thought out security gets in the way, creates friction, the mobile model will never take off. Apple has clearly taken this idea on-board, and have been working hard on creating a product that is customer orientated without compromising security.
Richard Moulds is Vice President of Strategy at Thales e-Security.
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In Depth: LG G4: What we want to see
The LG G3 is a phone that hugely impressed us, but there are a lot of things which could have been improved and some areas, such as battery life, in which it was even a step down from the LG G2.
Times are a-changing too and while the LG G3 is still a fairly recent phone it becomes that little bit more dated with each passing month and each new flagship release.
So it's not hard to think of ways that the LG G4 could be better. If you're reading LG, take the following suggestions on board.
A metal chassis
The LG G3 sure does a good job of looking metallic, but that's all it is, an effect, and as soon as you pick up the phone the illusion is broken, so much so in fact that it actually winds up feeling cheaper than the LG G2.
So we really hope the LG G4 will go the whole hog and have a shell crafted from actual metal. Even Samsung's sticking metal in its phones now so LG really can't afford not to.
We'd also appreciate it if they gave the G4 a unibody rather than having a removable back, as it's likely to feel more solid and premium as a result.
Improved battery life
The LG G3 had good battery life, but it was actually slightly worse than the G2's battery and that's not a trend we like to see. There's steeper competition here now too, with Sony in particular doing well with the Xperia Z3 and the Xperia Z3 Compact, both of which have a whole lot of juice.A battery saving mode
Battery saving modes are all the rage these days, whether it's Sony's Stamina mode, HTC's Extreme power saving mode or Samsung's Ultra power saving mode, but the LG G3 doesn't have one.Now it already does a good job of conserving battery on the fly, by adapting the display and slowing down the processor when the extra horsepower isn't needed, but it would be great if the LG G4 went even further and had additional options that could be toggled as needed, just to squeeze even more juice out.
More power
More power is an obvious wish and an increasingly redundant one as most high end phones are levelling out and delivering near faultless performance. But the LG G3 actually did noticeably lag at times.Maybe that's down to the QHD display, maybe it's just down to poor optimisation, but whatever the reason we really hope LG sorts it out and gives us a faster phone in the LG G4.
A slicker interface
LG could also afford to do some more work on its interface. The G2's was a cluttered nightmare and the G3's was a big step in the right direction, but still not as slick as it could be.
In particular we'd like to see improvements made to Smart Notice. This sits below the weather widget on the home screen and gives you tailored advice and suggestions, for example it might give you more details on the weather or suggest you add someone to your contacts if you call them a lot.
The problem is it just doesn't work that well, often providing irrelevant advice, so LG should make it smarter or ditch it, we already have Google Now after all.
A better camera
On the whole the LG G3 has a pretty great camera, complete with optical image stabilisation and a laser autofocus. But while it performs well in bright light it's not so good in low light, relying on software to unconvincingly smooth over noisy shots, rather than taking good photos to begin with. So hopefully the LG G4 will improve in that area.
We'd also like to be given more manual control. The LG G3 is great if you just want to point and shoot, but there aren't many options for those who want to adjust the exposure or ISO for example.
A superior screen
This one might seem strange, after all the LG G3 is already QHD, but we're not talking about more pixels. Rather we'd like to see improved performance from the pixels that are already there. In particular the LG G3 suffers from a noticeable loss in brightness when not viewed square on, so if LG can sort that for the G4 we'd be pretty happy.
Water and dust resistance
While not exactly a headline feature, water and dust resistance are undeniably nice things to have. We have to wonder how many people ever actively make use of the fact that they can submerge their smartphone, but knowing that it can survive a little water gives us some peace of mind.Here in England it rains all the time and sometimes we'd actually like to be able to use our phone while outside, without first crafting a makeshift shield from whatever else we happen to be carrying / wearing at the time.
Knock Code Improvements
We love Knock On – the ability to wake up your phone with a tap, but Knock Code, which takes things further by letting you also unlock your phone with a series of taps, just doesn't work all that well.The main problem is that if you touch the screen when picking the G3 up it registers that touch as the first tap and causes the pattern to be interpreted incorrectly. We're not quite sure how LG can get around that so it's a good thing we're not designing the G4, but hopefully LG has a solution because a feature which doesn't work is just an annoyance.
Front-facing speakers
With support for high quality audio the LG G3 already does a great job when listening to music through a good pair of headphones, but its speaker isn't so hot either in terms of positioning or quality.For the LG G4 we'd like to see dual front-facing speakers, like those on the HTC One M8 and Sony Xperia Z3. It's a much more logical place for them, especially when you're watching something or playing a game. If LG can make the sound crisper and richer too then all the better.
- We're looking ahead to the Samsung Galaxy S6 too.
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Amazon gives update on EC2 downtime
Amazon Web Services issued a statement that shed more lights on an incident that affected a small but still significant portion of its EC2 customers.
Jeff Barr explained that AWS had to apply a "timely security and operational update" - as part of XSA (Xen Security Announcement) - to a tiny fraction of the global EC2 userbase (less than 10% he added).
While some instances that were patched didn't require any reboot, certain types of updates did require a warm boot, with the system restart keeping them offline for a few minutes.
Barr confirmed that automated configuration will be kept intact as should be the case for saved data as well. He acknowledged that it might be inconvenient for some customers but stressed the fact that they thought it was important and time-critical.
AWS also confirmed that its APIs and backends won't be affected by the BASH bug (or Shellshock as it is commonly known). Those using Amazon Linux won't need to worry however, those using other Linux hosts will need to make sure that they have an updated Bash login shell.
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Microsoft Azure sees big price reductions
Microsoft has announced, in a blog post, that it will be slashing the cost of some of its Azure cloud services from October 1st.
Claire Fang, Director of Azure Business Planning, said that Microsoft aims to "make it more cost effective to build complete solutions on Azure to leverage the full breadth of our [Microsoft's] technologies".
She also confirmed that customers buying through Entreprise agreements will enjoy even lower prices. The rate card currently shows 63 services being reduced by up to about 40%.
"As we committed over a year ago, Microsoft remains committed to matching AWS list prices on compute, storage and bandwidth," a Microsoft spokesperson told ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley.
Economies of scale due to its growing user base (on average 1000 new customers sign for Microsoft Azure and half of Fortune 500 companies use it) and new technologies (like SMR hard drives or new processors), combined with the fact that it is a major cloud user (Outlook.com has more than 400 million active users) allow Microsoft to regularly pass some savings over to its customers.
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In Depth: Beyond gaming: How virtual reality will impact the workplace
VR for training and gamification
Virtual reality devices could be the next major computing platform to follow mobile. Just ask Facebook, which recently acquired Oculus VR, a technology company revolutionizing the way we experience video games. Some other major players in the virtual reality realm include Google Glass (through their augmented-reality capabilities in various games and apps), Sony's Project Morpheus, Microsoft's Kinect, CastAR and Canon's MREAL.Virtual reality is about more than just gaming. The emerging technology is breaking boundaries into immersive and augmented experiences that can easily be applied to business practices. This is not to say that the future of the workplace and business strategies is centered around one technology like the Oculus VR, but rather on the approach to enhancing reality to bring the mundane world to life in new, previously unimagined ways.
Virtual reality can be applied to business practices in many ways. Think virtual tours of a business environment, a 360-degree view of a product, or a more immersive way to train new employees. These types of deeper-than-reality initiatives are the way forward for most businesses looking to drive their initiatives forward with innovation.
Customer service training involves teaching current and new employees the skills and knowledge required to increase, retain and understand customer satisfaction. Training generally includes how-tos on greeting customers, listening, body language, dealing with disgruntled users and appropriate tones of voice. All of these skills are difficult to hone when learning in the hypothetical. Imagine being able to simulate real-world situations with a disgruntled customer and walking through the process of addressing their concerns, resolving the issue and turning the unhappy customer into a satisfied one. Thanks to virtual reality, employers can now create a 3D customer service experience to place employees into replicated situations that will help them more easily prepare.
Gamifying virtual reality is a great technique as it taps into some fundamental principles of the human psyche. Games are competitive and status-oriented, and are responsible for delivering instantaneous feedback, which leaves those involved with reinforcement that drives hunger for more. This lends itself seamlessly to sales teams within corporations that are already used to performance-based environments, particularly those that are driven by competition. Competitions could consist of simulated sales situations; for example: a customer wandering the sales floor, deciding between models or trying to get a random passerby on the street to sign up for a service. These competitions can be designed to grade the salesman on merits such as close-rate efficiency, price point achievements and overall sales style.
HR, product development and in-store experiences
Virtual reality can also be a huge benefit to the human resources departments of organizations as they try to woo potential employees to join their teams. As of late, company culture has become one of the biggest considerations for job seekers, particularly in a workforce made up in large part by millennials, who consider flexible and forward-thinking work arrangements to be key indicators of a fruitful employment opportunity. What better way to show what a day in the life of an employee at your organization is like than simulating it through virtual reality? Now, candidates can experience a full, realistic tour of a company's offices, as well as a run-through of what a typical day of an employee would be like. This can drive more informed decisions by potential candidates when choosing their next employer, which benefits human resource departments who will see a decrease in turnover and increase in retention rates as they will be making stickier hires.
With augmented reality technology, businesses have the opportunity to take 2D ideas into the 3D realm. Virtual reality technology can revolutionize development, allowing businesses to test scenarios and designs, and experience products before they are even made. A great example of this is Ford's use of virtual reality technology to develop its designs, which began in 2000 and have become central to their automotive development using the Oculus Rift headset. Using the headset technology, Ford is looking for the perceived quality of vehicles, as a customer would see them; they want to be able to see their cars and experience them before actually having produced them. Examining the entire exterior and interior of a car design, the virtual reality technology links right into a computer aided (CAD) system. While adoption of this still has a long way to go despite proven success with 111-year-old Ford, this application of the virtual reality technology can be extremely cost- and time-efficient for businesses across all different verticals, but especially those which manufacture tangible products.
Virtual reality can also be a great tool for team-building, particularly as companies continue to globalize and expand their teams into different markets. Keeping international teams collaborative and connected is hard, even with modern video chatting and messaging technologies. With our current processes, it can leave different global offices feeling isolated from their international teammates, leading to a less productive and less cohesive team. Using virtual reality technology, companies can instate realistic conferencing for global teams, as well as other team-building exercises that can help everyone feel engaged. Management teams can set up virtual retreats and social events via virtual reality technology to encourage deeper communication and engagement between colleagues in a way that doesn't require costly and time-consuming international or regional flights, but still accomplishes the relationship-building necessary to nurture a successful team.
Virtual reality can turn the way we shop online upside down, as well. Up until now, our "in-store" experience with Web and app-based stores has been flat. Two-dimensional pictures of what we're purchasing, single-toned pages with blocks of lengthy, descriptive text and little-to-no help when making purchase decisions. By applying virtual reality, we can turn our online shopping experience into an immersive and personal one, similar to what we experience in-store. Imagine virtual sales representatives providing us with valuable information about products we are considering, as well as insights into similar options. Or how about actually being able to experience the product in three dimensions, getting a deeper look into size, weight, and appearance? This can be a game-changer for e-commerce, lowering the barrier to entry for online shopping as users who were previously too nervous to purchase something online without a deeper engagement with the product.
At its core, augmented and virtual reality is all about enhancing user experience, so we shouldn't be surprised as brands begin to wake up and try to conquer the utility of virtual reality to enhance their business practices. Using this digitally enhanced view of the world in which we live and interact on a daily basis, companies will be able to build brand loyalty, employee retention, and impact the bottom line with improved operational and training tactics. It shouldn't be long until virtual reality becomes a tangible one for companies across the board.
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Opinion: Ello hype proves we may be ready to move on from Facebook
We've been here many times before. Something comes along wanting to be the "next social network", it gains a bit of traction, a few articles pop up about all the "buzz" it's causing, and then it vanishes back into the black hole of insignificance. We all go back to Facebook and Twitter and that's the end of it.
But something different is astir with Ello. The social network with the no-ad promise is picking up more hype than those before it. Kickstarted by a mass immigration of the LGBTQ community peed off by Facebook's correct name policy, the initial groundswell has been spurred on in the last 48 hours by scores of people tweeting and Facebooking about it - and the fact you need an invite if you want access (Exclusivity helps build hype. Always. Even for Google Wave).
Once you're in, Ello looks pretty familiar. It actually reminds me a lot of Chinese social network Weibo, which I became a big fan of during my time living in the country, and which similarly pulls together the timeline of Twitter with the more personal features of Facebook.
It's a clean look, but more importantly Ello promises no ads and no data mining. So how the hell is it going to keep the lights on? Its creators promise paid-for features in the near future, which users will have the option of adding to their profiles at a small cost. It sounds like it's going to be a freemium social network.
Sure, history tells us that it'll go the way of so many of its predecessors. But history has another lesson to teach us about: Myspace.
Remembering Tom
Remember hanging out with Myspace Tom? He still remembers you. And he still remembers how you left him on the sinking HMS HTML without a liferaft when you jumped ship for Facebook. Zuckerberg's platform was a way of escaping those annoying Myspace changes you didn't like.But like Ello, Facebook wasn't so different from what we knew when it came along. It was new, it was interesting, but it wasn't exactly different. Moving away from the personalisable profiles that Myspace afforded to Facebook's monotonous blue pages probably wouldn't have been predicted by most, but there you go.
And the niggling resentments we had towards Myspace are starting to creep in again, now aimed at Facebook and, to a lesser extent, Twitter. Like Myspace, Facebook is not the same beast it once was: It spams our feeds with adverts more than ever; it sells on our data to more third parties than ever. Meanwhile Twitter's latest idea is to invade our feeds with tweets from people we don't even follow. There has to be a breaking point.
All these companies need to find ways to survive, so I'm certainly not suggesting we deserve any of this stuff for free. But Facebook's current model of aggressive expansion could end up costing it its appeal. I'm fickle. So are you. We're human. We'll both move onto something better if it comes along, and only faster if we're being pushed from the other direction.
Because the only thing keeping us on Facebook is our friends. And when they go, we'll go with them.
So will Ello pick up or will it sink like a stone? As I said, recent history predicts the latter. But a lot of people are interested in Ello right now and I think that says a lot. Feelings towards Facebook and Twitter have shifted in the past few years and there may soon be an opportunity for someone else to swoop in and divert our attention - there's no reason Ello isn't that someone.
Facebook and Twitter may not have to worry about any mass migration just yet, but if they continue to increasingly push adverts, sell data and spam our feeds, their days of relevance are surely numbered.
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Interview: How to avoid being taken for a ride by software vendors
In the last few years, cloud computing, hosted software, services and infrastructure, as well as mobile working have exacerbated the problems caused by already complicated software licensing pricing structures, and there is a risk of vendors profiting from the lack of awareness amongst end-users.
The recent reports of Oracle's In-Memory patch default enablement issue further brings to light the challenges that businesses are facing when it comes to obtaining visibility of their entire software estates, and how they can incur huge costs without even realising.
We spoke to Martin Prendergast, CEO and co-founder of Concorde Solutions, to discuss how businesses can proactively limit this risk and gain control of the software licenses in their entire IT estate.
TechRadar Pro: What developments in the IT industry are impacting software asset management today?
Martin Prendergast: Arguably, cloud computing has radically changed the role of the IT department, so much so that having visibility of your entire IT software estate has become a bigger challenge than ever. This is especially true when you're dealing with the kind of vast and complex infrastructures that global enterprises typically have in place.
Things like instant software updates and security patches to protect from new threats can also mean that enterprises are either in a constant battle to maintain visibility of their ever-changing software estate, or leaving themselves vulnerable when it comes to being audited by a software vendor.
TRP: How are these developments changing how software licensing is managed?
MP: Due to the fluid nature of cloud computing, it's making it a lot harder for enterprises to manage software licensing. Many workplaces are also embracing the use of mobile devices for remote working and this is making it even more difficult to keep track of the licenses you do and don't have, and usage of software. The software estate of an organisation now has the potential to change daily, so software asset managers are under more pressure than ever before to keep up to date with how many licenses the organisation has.
Enterprises are increasingly moving from the traditional Software Asset Management model to Software Value Management in order to obtain business intelligence, control, and establish governance in an increasingly complex market for IT assets, rather than just counting licenses.
TRP: What are the compliance and governance issues end-users are currently facing?
MP: Software vendors are aware of the issues that organisations are facing in terms of managing their software estates, and the major ones now have software compliance teams in place to identify firms that may be under-licensed via audits. With vendor audits increasing in frequency as the pressure mounts to identify revenue streams via back licensing and support, companies are under an obligation to stay compliant.
Some vendors will randomly select companies for auditing whereas some will actively target those who have been caught out before, so any company can be at risk from being targeted. This creates problems when companies have increasingly complex cloud-based software estates in place.
The growth of software delivery methods and usage models, coupled with the huge boom in the use of mobile devices, has added layers of complexity to software licensing. In this brave new world, companies simply can't afford to limit software and license management to their desktops.
Cloud is the perfect example of a new delivery mechanism that has the potential to deliver great efficiencies, but can also make things more complicated – particularly when it comes to software licensing. Many businesses are embracing the cloud in search of the promised land of cost-savings and boosts to productivity.
TRP: What can be done to tackle this?
MP: Companies are automatically at an advantage if they know the exact size and make-up of their software estate, since any negotiations with a vendor can be initiated from a position of confidence (if they're making good use of their business intelligence).
It is critical to have a deeper understanding of what's happening with mobile devices in your business beyond email, as this can have a huge impact on your licensing position and can expose you to compliance risk. Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) schemes are still a fledgling practice – governing use of personal devices on corporate networks by employees is one of the trickiest processes when there is no proper structure or protocol in place.
To uncover the business intelligence that you need to gain a holistic view of your software estate, enterprise-level business intelligence software should be considered. With this in hand, you have the clarity that can really help you to understand the opportunity or risk you may face when considering a move to the cloud, implementing a virtual environment, or dealing with mobile computing.
TRP: How is cloud computing and virtualisation changing the way vendors structure licensing?
MP: While licensing has typically been based on the number of users, or per processor, some vendors have noticed that the cloud adds complexity to traditional licensing structures and have worked to create new ways to get a handle on this.
Microsoft, for example, has recently replaced its three-year-old software licensing pricing structure with Server and Cloud Enrolment (SCE), a new licensing vehicle that enables customers to standardise on one or more Microsoft Server and Cloud technologies. This makes it easier for customers to plan, administer, and adapt as organisations evolve.
TRP: What should companies be paying attention to in their vendor contracts?
MP: Check the small print for things like software maintenance clauses; you may not need this if you have IT professionals in-house and you could be paying over the odds for a service that you don't need.
In addition to this, query your audit clause from the beginning – understand your contractual obligations and control what information you should and should not provide. Remember, the vendor is likely to use audits to identify revenue generating opportunities including upgrades and under-licensing, so you need to have control of this from the first instance.
TRP: What can be done to keep track of your software estate if you want to make changes to it?
MP: When keeping track of, and making changes to your software estate, making use of scenario modelling is a good way of getting a clear picture of your entire estate and also the impact of licensing, so you can communicate this to your vendor.
Having this visibility means that you know exactly what you have and what you need, and you can avoid falling into a trap of paying for additional services you may not require when your vendor suggests them to you.
About Martin Prendergast
Martin is CEO and co-founder of Concorde Solutions. He has worked with a large number of companies around the world and has helped architect, sell and deliver solutions for market leaders such as HP, CSC, EDS and Computacenter.
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This guy says he's played with the Microsoft Surface mini
The Microsoft Surface mini has been kicking around as an unsubstantiated tech rumour for quite some time now. And a new report has surfaced (sorry) alleging Microsoft has indeed made one. It just isn't sure about selling it yet.
The report in question comes from Brad Sams over at neowin who says, perhaps unsurprisngly, that the Microsoft Surface mini looks like a Surface Pro 3 but smaller.
Unfortunately, Sams says he wasn't allowed to take any pictures of the device. But it's the detail he goes into that gives his report a whiff of authenticity.
Windows shopping
He says the Surface mini packed a Qualcomm processor, 1GB of RAM, Windows RT 8.1 and a microSD card slot and used a pen, the same as the Surface Pro 3. It also featured OneNote integration.Additionally, Sams says that Microsoft developed Type Cover-like cases for the device with a built-in kickstand and loop for holding the pen. Although lack of space mean there was no QWERTY keyboard.
"The bezel size is large enough to have a full size Windows button, exactly like the Pro 3 at the bottom; at the top, there is a front facing camera with roughly the same size bezel," says Sams.
"It does make the device look a bit odd since the bezel is so large but it does make sense if you are holding the device so your thumbs don't cover the screen."
Sounds good to us, especially given how fond we are of Apple's Retine iPad mini. It's just a shame that Microsoft decided to kill its announcement of the device at its Surface Pro 3 event earlier this year.
That's not to say the Microsoft Surface mini will never see the light of day, but at least for the moment, it's laying dormant.
- Want to save size on your tablet? Check out our iPad Mini with Retina Display review
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Hands-on review: OS X 10.10 Yosemite
Introduction and design
Later this year, Apple will release OS X 10.10 Yosemite, the latest version of its Mac desktop operating system. It will run on all the same Mac models as OS X 10.9 Mavericks, and will be a free download and update. According to reports, Apple is set to release Yosemite on October 21, and it's possible that the company will also host an event to unveil the iPad Air 2 and iPad Mini 3. It held an event last year October 22 that was used to announce the general availability of Mavericks.That's all expected, but there are some unexpected changes coming with Yosemite. For a start, Apple is offering a public beta of the operating system, something Apple hasn't done since it was preparing to launch OS X in 2000.
Anyone can apply, but bear in mind this release is for testing bugs, not a demo of the finished OS. If you apply and are successful, make sure you follow Apple's advice on backing up and installing somewhere safe carefully.
I've been trying a beta build provided by Apple, though, and have had a chance to dig into the more important changes for most users: the extra features. Unfortunately, because I've only been able to preview Yosemite alone, and not iOS 8 or the new features of iCloud, I actually can't give my opinion on some of Yosemite's best features: Continuity and the new iCloud options.
Yosemite offers the ability to pass tasks between it and iOS (known as Handoff), and to take phone calls on your Mac, send SMS texts from your Mac, and set up your iPhone as a mobile hotspot instantly from your Mac. iCloud Drive, meanwhile, gives you a very smart way to get data between iOS and Macs without having to put any effort in. These are easily Yosemite's most exciting possibilities, so it's a shame I can't talk about them.
Design
That's not to say there wasn't a lot to dig into. The biggest and most obvious change to Yosemite is the design, of course. Taking a leaf from iOS 7's slightly transparent book, windows are simpler, and some have a see-through element, revealing soft hints of the windows beneath them.It was a contentious look in iOS, but I'll stick my neck out and say that it really works in Yosemite. The change hasn't been as dramatic as the iOS switch was, with OS X retaining more of its earlier style, and having already made small steps towards slightly simple, 'flatter' design in aspects of Mavericks.
It's more colorful in some spots, less colorful in others, but pretty much always striking – at least, coming from using Mac OS X 10.9 or Windows 8 day-to-day. The new Helvetica font looks great on Retina screens, and the brighter, simpler icons match the starker window designs nicely.
On non-Retina, though, it doesn't sing quite as strongly. Small text can be hard to read, especially in areas such as the progress bar when copying files. Here the text is presented as mid-grey lettering on a light-grey background, which just isn't that legible.
Text layered on transparent background or over images can also be more difficult to read. There's simply less definition to the text, so in a busy setting, it can sometimes get lost a little.
The new font loses a bit of elegance in its more jagged form, too. It's not hard to read, but it has definitely been designed with Retina in mind. Nothing here is so bad to be a show-stopper by any means, but there's no denying that OS X 10.10 is much more at home on Retina than not.
The Dark Mode is a nice touch in theory, turning some white elements of the OS dark black to make thing easier on the eyes in lower light level, but it's kind of only half a feature. It makes the Menu bar and Dock darker, but that's it – all the shiny light grey and white windows are still bright.
The simplification aspect of Yosemite isn't about stripping away options so much as just putting them somewhere a little tidier. In some cases this means putting buttons that used to sit just below the title bar higher up, so less space is used for window chrome and more for whatever you're doing in the apps themselves.
At least, that's the idea. In some apps, it's been included well (such as Safari and Maps), but it's not consistent. For many apps, including Mail and Preview, the icons sit below the title as they always have.
This occasional change goes hand-in-hand with the new translucent elements. Again, they're not present in every app, and when they are it is sometimes surprising. Safari and Maps have translucent titles bars, enabling you to get a glimpse of the content within those apps that's 'hidden' underneath the interface.
But Messages is different. It's half translucent (the list of people on the left) and half solid (the actual message on the right) – a division that stretches all the way through the title bar, leaving a strange half 'frosted glass'-half solid effect
Then you have Mail, which has a solid title bar and a Messages-like split view below, except both the list of emails on the right and the message itself are solid white. If you bring up the Mailbox list to view your email folders that is translucent, but that translucency doesn't extend up into the title bar, as it does with Messages.
Popup windows are usually translucent (things like Share windows or details of a location in the Maps app, for example), but at the moment, I'm not sure this new element of Yosemite is as consistent as it could be.
Another thing that can trip you up is that Apple has moved the 'fullscreen' button from the right-hand corner of a window to the green button on the top-left, which used to have the slightly nebulous function of fitting the window to the content. That functionality is still there if you hold alt and roll over the green button, though.
However, not all apps support full screen, including Apple's own apps, which means that sometimes the green button is a plus sign, indicating it's the old behavior, and sometimes it's two arrows, indicating it can go full screen. Having two behaviors from one button color means you won't know what it does until you roll the mouse over it to see the icon, which seems a little odd.
Apple has definitely given OS X 10.10 a striking new look, and I really like it, but I wonder if the company might yet do a bit more tinkering with the interface in different apps before release. The inconsistency doesn't affect usability; the apps all work largely how they do in Mavericks, but when sitting down to explore Apple's new direction, it left me scratching my head in a few spots.
Features, apps and verdict
The design changes are only one part of Yosemite, of course. This might not be Apple's most feature-packed OS update ever (the new yearly release cycle and general maturity of OS X means that the huge blockbuster OS releases of old are probably a thing the past), but it does have some key new things to offer, both in the OS itself and its bundled apps.One of the most useful changes introduced in Yosemite will be in Spotlight. Though it has always been a brilliant little tool, Spotlight is getting upgraded and made more prominent. Hit command and space and instead of a little window in the top-right, you get a big text field in the middle of the screen. Instead of just searching your Mac and offering a couple of rarely used extra features it's now a center of knowledge, pulling search results and information from both offline and online sources.
Type in the names of apps or documents and it'll find those, giving you a preview right in the same window, and you can launch them by just pressing return.
But type in a unit of measurement and it'll instantly bring up the most likely conversion result you'd want. If you type in "26c" it'll bring up the Fahrenheit equivalent without you needing to type any more.
Type in something you want to know more about and a Wikipedia entry will be shown, without you having to search the web for it. Spotlight will also be able to find local business information and maps data, and display it there without having to launch another app, though some of these are US-only at the moment.
The extra information promises to be useful (I'm particularly pleased with the conversions), but the visibility of that information is just as important. Siri has yet to make it to Mac, but it feels like this is Apple's substitute with the same kind of information presented immediately, without you having to use a specific service to find it.
Notification Center
Expanding on this 'information-at-a-glance' theme is the new layout of Notification Centre. It still lists your app notifications, but by default the first view is the new Today panel (with notifications in a second panel). Similar to the same tab in iOS 7 and iOS 8, it's like a watered-down version of Google Now, listing important information about your day – reminders, calendar appointments and so on.However, it will now support widgets, so you can chop and change exactly what's in there, depending on what's best for you. This could be more scheduling information, the stocks ticker, or stuff that's more productive.
App developers will be able to make new widgets and release them through the Mac app store, so the scope here is nearly endless. From website analytics to eBay tracking and sports results – you'll be able to set up nicely customised results in the future.
For now, Apple's widgets give us a bit of a guide to some of the possibilities. The Social widget lets you post quickly to Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn, or send a text message. The Reminders widget lets you tick off reminders, or edit them by opening the Reminders app. The 'Today' and 'Tomorrow' widgets pull through weather, events and other relevant information for the next day, presenting it all slightly differently compared to even the widgets for these respective tasks (again, like Siri does for iOS when asked).
Safari
Safari is one of the few apps that Apple updates with pretty much every new OS version. It's no surprise to see the new version is a poster boy for Yosemite's changes, then: slimline title bar, translucent interface and clear, unobstructed presentation of content.At the top of your browsing window, you get the usual buttons for forward and back, followed by the Smart Search Bar, which is the unified URL/search box. In OS X 10.10 it includes new, quick ways to activate Safari's Reader view, stripping websites down to just the story and its images, and adding a page to your Reading List or favourites.
There's also a new Share button, the new Tabs view, a button to view your downloads, and a button for new tabs. It also pulls through some of Spotlight's options. Wikipedia and Maps results pop up separately to other suggested searches or websites but almost everything else is omitted, though, including conversions.
The Share button lets you save links to your bookmarks, or send a link to other people using a whole bunch of services, from AirDrop to Facebook.
It also showcases the great new 'recent people' sharing option. Below all of the generic services you can share through it brings up contacts you've been in touch with recently, so you can send links to them using whatever method is best to get them on.
It's a really smart touch: an acceptance that sharing is often about sending something just to one person, rather than broadcasting it to a bunch of followers, and making that easier.
The favorites view gets a bit more prominence, appearing not just as an option when you open a new window/tab, but also popping up below the Smart Search Field when you click there, helping to make that more of a one-stop-shop for getting to sites. You only get icons for each site, rather than a thumbnail of its latest content, but at the size of these squares, that's not really a problem.
The option to view all tabs has had an update too, with a new, stacked view for those who tend to keep dozens of tabs open at a time. Safari will put them in 'piles' based on the domain, so if you've been hunting TechRadar for the latest laptop reviews and opened a bunch in new tabs, they'll all be grouped, while your Gizmodo UK tabs are in a separate stack.
It's a simple but effective system as far letting you see them all at a glance, but it's missing one key feature: you can't see what's on the thumbnails of tabs that are at the bottom of the stack – just the title. Given that OS X has had the brilliant Quick Look feature for years, this seems like a strange oversight.
What I could play with was the other addition: image annotations inside the mail composition window. You just click the image and look for a small arrow in the corner, then select the Markup option. If you've used Preview's tools in previous versions of OS X, the basic will be largely familiar, with a few useful changes.
The ability to add a signature is made prominent, so you can sign PDFs and send them back easily. Signatures can also be added by signing a piece of paper and holding it up to the FaceTime camera on your Mac, or you can sign your name on your trackpad. You'd think the latter would be terrible if you're just using your finger, but it actually works surprisingly well. Your signature won't be perfect, but you can get it very close with a couple of tries.
The other particularly smart addition is the ability to draw lines with the pen tool (or arrows), which are then turned into neater, less squiggly versions for sending. Otherwise, you can add shapes, adjust fills and strokes, type text and change its font and colour, and generally all the usual annotation tools.
Your drawings are burned into image files such as PNGs (though a copy is saved of the original), but are saved as separate annotations in PDFs.
Messages
Messages is the last app to get major new features in Yosemite, with the key ones here being better group messaging support and Apple's new Soundbites.The group messaging suff largely amounts to more control over your groups, enabling you to leave group chats or silence them for a while. They're small additions in the context of instant messaging, but are still hugely useful.
Soundbites are little audio clips that you can record on OS X 10.10 or iOS 8 devices and send to other people in Messages. It's kind of an Apple twist on the push-to-talk idea (that never really took off).
iOS users need only hold their phones to their ear to hear the messages, without even locking the screen. It's really simple to use on the Mac – just click the microphone and talk. Not everyone will use this feature, but it has the potential to be handy and is integrated well.
Some of the other new features in Messages are clunky though, particularly when it comes to sharing maps and location. In iOS 8, sharing your location is a key feature, and while this obviously isn't as important on a computer, I was surprised that sharing any location to Messages from Maps in OS X 10.10 was actually kind of a pain.
There's a share button on any location in the Maps app, but that pulls up a blank new message screen. I had an existing group chat I wanted to share the location in, to direct people to. In the end, I had to copy out a clunky location with hyperlink all as text – I expected something smoother here.
Forthcoming features
As mentioned, there's much about Yosemite that I simply can't test yet. Sending/receiving texts on the Mac, making phone calls and Handoff all look excellent, and Handoff is easily the stand-out feature of OS X 10.10 for those with an all-Apple setup, but I couldn't try it yet.I also couldn't test iCloud Drive properly to see if really could be a suitable replacement for Dropbox or Google Drive.
And though iTunes 12 was released during my time testing OS X 10.10, our build from Apple didn't receive it as an update, so I also haven't been able to get into the changes there. The version I had in this build was iTunes 11, which stood out comedically with its old-style buttons and design among all the simple glass apps.
Verdict
So far, my impressions of OS X 10.10 are really positive, with the caveat that I've been previewing a beta version. The apps are very usable and familiar for Mac natives, with less of the dramatic, sweeping UI changes that iOS 7 brought to its mobile devices.It was very stable too – though I did encounter some bugs including popup windows that couldn't be closed and the inability to visit websites in Safari's Tab view. But these are to be expected – Apple is releasing Yosemite for testing, not as a demo of a finished product.
Like iOS 7 it's clear OS X 10.10 is designed for Retina screens. On a 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro, it looks brilliantly clear and crisp, and the extra brightness in the icons and interface makes the whole thing pop. It's clear and pleasant to use too – there's very little clutter, though the lack of clear dividing lines between windows makes me wish for some built-in window management/snapping tools more than ever.
Mostly, though, I'm looking forward to trying Yosemite out with iOS 8. It's a nice, solid update in the parts that I've been able to test, with only a few foibles currently, but there's so much more yet to come.
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Could this be the first £50 Windows 8.1 tablet?
Pictures and details of what looks like one of the cheapest (if not the cheapest) Windows-based computer (let alone a tablet) ever launched have surfaced online on the forum of one Chinese tablet manufacturer (via Mike Canex).
The Pipo Work-W4 looks like a bog-standard Windows-based, Intel-powered tablet that is expected to cost RMB 499 (about £49, $81, AU$92). Arguably, these prices do not include value added tax and probably not delivery.
A spokesperson for the company said that the new model is still "a concept" and they are thinking of changing the specs of the existing, more expensive Pipo W2.
What we do know about is that it will have almost the same hardware bar the onboard storage (16GB, rather than 32GB) and the system memory (1GB rather than 2GB).
The layout of the cameras and speakers indicate that the Work-W4 is best used in portrait rather than landscape (which is the case for the W2).
It will almost certainly run on Windows 8.1 but we're not sure whether it will come with an Office 365 subscription like the W2. Since it carries the Work moniker, I believe it is highly unlikely since the Office 365 Personal license forbids a business usage.
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Damien Demolder: Making a digital camera with no rear screen is a pretty dumb idea. Isn't it?
Most devices have some element or other about them that is critical for the way they work or indeed for making them work at all. An engine in a car is an obvious example, as is perhaps a flame for a barbeque, ink for a printer and a door on a refrigerator. If we were to remove that critical element, the function of the device may become so undermined that it would become ineffective at performing the tasks we might reasonably expect of it.
Unpredictably unpredictable, Leica Camera has just launched, albeit on a limited, collectable production run of 600 units, a digital camera that does not have something we might all think essential in a digital camera: a rear screen for viewing menus or images captured. The Leica M Edition 60 comes with a Summilux-M 35mm f/1.4 ASPH lens, and comes to us as some sort of Lenten celebration of the 60th birthday of the Leica rangefinder system, at which hair-shirts are compulsory attire. I can't wait to see what they do for the 100th anniversary in 2054 – no imaging sensor perhaps.
A forward step backwards
Of course this isn't the first LCD-free camera, but those that existed before have been left on the hillside to die, as technology has progressed and consumer acceptance of dysfunctional digital products has diminished dramatically.But it is perhaps important to remember that we survived without post-capture review, and on-screen menu systems, for quite a number of years before the digital camera was born. In those days, when we mightn't actually get to see the picture for perhaps a week – or even longer – we would either just point and hope for the best, or spend some time considering what we wanted the picture to look like. Then we'd apply the settings to achieve the look we were after. The term 'pre-visualisation' was almost normal vocabulary for thinking photographers, and often practiced in principle by those who hadn't even heard of it.
Eye on the ball
I wonder if perhaps we'd all benefit from a spell using a camera with no LCD screen. I'm aware that I've missed magic moments myself while being engrossed in the less-than magic moment I caught a second or two before, as it was being displayed in wide-gamut colour on the 3in 912,000-dot LCD on the back of my camera. Perhaps we might all weigh exposure more carefully if we were deprived of the means to check it afterwards. And I wonder how many hours I've wasted reviewing images on the camera's rear screen that I will review again, in more detail and with more purpose, on the computer screen once I got home.As Leica's viewfinders never black out during an exposure we should be able to see exactly what happened at the moment the shutter tripped, so in theory we have no need to check the screen to see if we caught it. It is only DSLRs that leave us in the dark for an instant, while we hope the decisive moment is occurring on the other side of the mirror. When the lens barrel isn't blocking part of the view, Leica M cameras offer the clearest impression of what is being captured.
Didn't we manage OK before?
The Leica M Edition 60 also only shoots in raw mode, so menu systems for white balance and picture controls – such as contrast, colour tints and dramatic filters – would be somewhat superfluous in any case. When I examined my own shooting practice I probably found that the only controls I use on a regular basis are aperture, exposure compensation and ISO settings. This stainless steel contra-common-sense freak actually caters for each of those in easily accessible form, even if it means reverting to completely manual exposure control. I tend to open the aperture wide, and leave it there, adjusting shutter speeds to suit the occasion.I don't think this method of working is ideal for every type of shoot that I do, but then neither are Leica cameras in general. Technological progress exists for a good reason – to make life more convenient – and in many situations the advantage a rear screen gives us is invaluable for techniques that involve risk and complex set-ups that require trial and error. However, I think having no screen would suit my street photography rather well. I'd have more time to concentrate on what is happening in front of me, as I'd be less distracted by the camera. If I managed when I only had a Nikon FM2 to work with I'd manage again. The discipline I'd be reminded of, when the luxuries of modern devices are stripped away, would benefit my head no end. And I can't think how much better the battery life would be without me fawning over the screen every two minutes.
The budget version we can all enjoy
I don't anticipate too many other camera brands following Leica's lead on this front, though many individual engineers might admire the company's philosophy and spirit. I can also say with some certainty that one of these £12,000 cameras is not going to find its way into my possession, this week at least. For now then I might practice the M 60 Way, folding my LCD screen away and trying not to look at it while I'm out shooting. Sometimes we have to glance backwards to see how yesterday's methods can radicalise the way we work today. Why don't we all try it for a day or two? Perhaps it will be an experience we'll be grateful for and we might learn a thing or two. Those crazy Germans from Wetzlar!
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Week in Tech: Week in Tech: Apple's got the bends, BlackBerry's got square eyes
If you can hear faraway screams, it's probably Apple's quality control department: with headlines already appearing about bendy iPhones, Apple released and then promptly pulled a spectacularly buggy iOS 8 update.
Rivals such as Google and BlackBerry are probably having a good laugh at Apple's expense, but can their next generation handsets beat the bananaphone? Week in Tech has the answers to these questions and many more, including one about ghosts.
Boing Boing
Some call it bendgate, others bananagate. It's the news that the iPhone Plus is much easier to bend than its predecessors, and Gary Marshall is bemused. "it looks like Apple is getting it in the neck for making a phablet that isn't safe to sit on," he says. "Since when was that part of the spec sheet?" Marshall hasn't encountered the problem with his iPhone 6, but then "as a 14-and-a-bit-stone man I try to avoid sitting on any of my consumer electronics".While bendgate bounced around the web, Apple issued an iOS 8 update to fix some problems. Unfortunately it caused more, severe problems, so Apple pulled it again. "Our bad," Apple more or less said, promising to be "working around the clock" on a fix.
BlackBerry's back! Back! BACK!
It's the phone Spongebob Squarepants has been dreaming of: a square BlackBerry, the brand new BlackBerry Passport. "Is it really hip to be square?" Jeff Parsons asks. "It's just as weird in real life as it looks in the promotional pictures", he says, and while "you won't be reaching for it over an iPhone 6 or HTC One M8" it's a good business device.Google's new Nexus
We don't know what it's called yet but we've got a pretty good idea of what it'll do: the Nexus 6 has leaked, and it sounds pretty good. There's a 13MP, 4K camera, a 3200 mAh battery, a 498ppi screen and a Snapdragon 805 with 3GB of RAM. Not only that, but we may have spotted the first leaked shot of the handset. Expect to see it in late October.Who's winning the VR war?
Virtual reality headsets are like buses: you, er, stick them on your head and, er… let's leave that one. Virtual reality! It's nearly here and everybody's at it, but who's going to win the wwar? JT Ripton compares the plans of Google, Samsung, Oculus, Microsoft and Sony to see which firm, if any, has the edge. The Facebook-funded Oculus Rift looks like the leader, but Sony's catching up quickly.Can Apple make everyone pay?
We mean pay in the good sense: Apple Pay, the NFC-based payment system launched with the iPhone 6, hopes to become the world's favourite wireless payment system. Does it stand a chance? Industry experts Gavin Arrowsmith and Souheil Badran take a detailed look at the system and the challenges it faces. It won't be an overnight hit, but it could well turn out to be one of the biggest things Apple's ever done.Games for ghosts
Good news for our readers among the undead community: Nintendo's new 3DS can be played by ghosts. That's what we're taking from Nintendo's latest trailer anyway, as it shows the console being played by transparent hands. The new 3DS and 3DS XL are due to launch in Japan by Hallowe'en and in Australia and New Zealand by Christmas, but sadly US and UK customers have to face the spectre of a Christmas without them: they don't launch in those markets until 2015. Boo!
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Intel to invest $1.5 billion in Chinese ARM partner
After Rockchip earlier this year, Intel has enlisted yet another Chinese fabless ARM partner to help it crack the Chinese market. This time though, there's money on the table. Big money.
Intel has commityed to invest RMB 9 billion ($1.47 billion, £0.9 billion, AU$1.66 billion) for roughly a fifth of the holding company under Tsinghua Unigroup which will own Spreadtrum Communications and RDA Microelectronics.
Both entities develop solutions for smartphones, tablets and other consumer electronic devices specifically for the Chinese market, with a wide array of connectivity options (2G, 3G, 4G).
What's next for Intel?
Spreadtrum made the headlines back in February by partnering with Mozilla on a $25 Firefox OS smartphone and while it is not well known outside the Chiese market, it did sell 350 million system-on-chips in 2013, mostly to the Chinese market.Intel and Spreadtrum will jointly create and sell a family of Intel Architecture-based system-on-chips (SoCs).
SoFIA, Intel's own family of integrated mobile SoC, was not mentioned in the press release but since the timeline mentions the second half of next year, highly likely that it will be the case.
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