IT-Code-News: IT News Head Lines (Techradar) 3/31/2015

Australian pricing for Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 edge announced

Samsung has announced the Australian release details for its Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge handsets, and unsurprisingly the pricing exactly matches Apple's iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.
Pricing starts at $999 for the 32GB Galaxy S6, with $1,149 snagging the 64GB model and a whopping $1,299 being asked for the 128GB model.
The Galaxy S6 Edge is even pricier still, with Samsung charging $1,149 for the entry 32GB handset, $1,299 for the 64GB model, and $1,449 for the 128GB Edge.
This pricing is identical to what Apple is charging for its handsets, although Apple's entry devices have 16GB of storage, while Samsung has upped that to 32GB.

When can I get one?

Online pre-orders for the new handsets open at 5:00pm today, while in-store pre-orders will be available from tomorrow.
The Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge will go on sale in Australia from April 10, with White Pearl and Black Sapphire finishes available in 32, 64, and 128GB storage options.
It seems we'll be getting none of those fetching green, blue or champagne finishes (for now at least).
Samsung will be hoping these slick-looking devices change how its handsets are perceived, after the lacklustre Galaxy S5 failed to deliver the premium feel expected of a flagship Samsung smartphone.

Wondering if Samsung's latest is powerful enough for you? Recent testing indicates the Galaxy S6 is the most powerful Android phone around.

Telstra stops being a miser with mobile data

Notoriously Scrooge-like with its data packages in the past, Telstra seems to be changing its ways in order to compete with its rivals in this post media-streaming world with a range of new and adjusted mobile phone plans that offer raised data allowances and even offer a free Presto subscription.
New customers looking for a handset can opt for Telstra’s Mobile Accelerate (Handset) plan on a 24-month contract, which is getting a significant boost in data compared to what existing customers are currently getting, with the S plan ($55 a month) plan going from 500MB per month to 1GB per month, the M plan ($70 a month) plan going from 1.5GB per month to 2.5GB per month, the L plan ($95 a month) plan going from 2.5GB per month to 6GB per month and the XL plan ($130 a month) plan going from 3GB per month to 10GB per month.
If you already own a handset and aren’t looking for a new one, Telstra’s cheaper Mobile Accelerate (BYO) 12-month contract plans are definitely the way to go, with the S BYO plan ($45 a month) plan going from 500MB per month to 2GB per month, the M BYO plan ($55 a month) plan going from 1.5GB per month to 3.5GB per month, the L BYO plan ($70 a month) plan going from 2.5GB per month to 6GB per month and the XL BYO plan ($95 a month) plan going from 3GB per month to 10GB per month.
Flexible Mobile Accelerate (Casual) plans are also available without a contract on a month-to-month basis, and will cost you the same as the Mobile Accelerate (Handset) plans – albeit without a shiny new phone.

Stream your new data away

Customers who take advantage of Telstra’s new Mobile Accelerate plans on a 24-month contract will get another bonus cherry on top of their data pie – a free six month subscription to Foxtel’s Presto streaming media service to use all of your new data allowance on.
The changes to Telstra’s Mobile Accelerate plans will take effect from April 9.
If you sign up for a BYO plan before April 27, you’ll also get a bonus 1GB of data on top of what’s already being offered.
Telstra customers who are already locked-in to existing 24-month handset contracts will also receive a free increase in data, though just how much extra data they’ll get is unconfirmed at this stage.

Telstra’s bringing 5G to you in the future. Read all about it!

PC Gaming Week: Retro-me-do! Digitiser's Mr Biffo on his top PC games of all time

Digi speaks

If the phrases "moc-moc-a-moc!" and "stay out of my bins!" mean anything to you, there's a good chance you was among the millions of videogame addicts that tuned into Teletext's satirical games magazine Digitiser on a daily basis back in the 90s.
Penned primarily by Paul Rose (aka Mr Biffo), Digitiser featured a blend of factual games coverage and surreal humour thanks to its blocky illustrated characters (many of which appeared under articles accompanied with nonsensical captions after pressing the TV remote's reveal button). Swayze!
When Digitiser closed its doors after a decade in 2003, Biffo went on to write a gaming column for TechRadar's sister magazine and website, Edge, for five years. Digitiser returned in late 2014 as a website, Digitiser2000.
PC gaming was a huge part of Digitiser, with many of the platform's major titles gracing its neon-coloured review pages — from Theme Park to Command & Conquer. Talking to TechRadar, Biffo shines a light on his favourite PC oldies from years gone by.

Check out our PC Gaming Week coverage

Half-Life 2 (2004)

I just love first-person shooters! It's my sort of genre, and as I get older I realise that's what I enjoy. Half-Life 2 consolidated so much of what FPS games were doing at the time, and did it in a way that made it so much better than anything that had gone before. Even now it does stories and character so brilliantly by integrating them into the action of the game and not taking control out of the player's hand. It builds a game without hitting you over the head with cutscenes or making you find audio logs or notes. The world is clearly fully-formed and very well-realised.
Sure it's dated a bit visually, but in terms of pacing and atmosphere there's very little to touch it. In recent years you see its influence in games like The Last Of Us, which feels very similar — especially those opening sequences. It has the same way of building character through action. I love it. Half-Life 2 is one of the few games I've played through half a dozen times, maybe more.
I don't want Valve to rush Half-Life 3, and they clearly aren't, so hats off to them for that. I have to wonder what's going on behind the scenes. They have to come out with something better than what went before, and I'm really interested to see if they're holding their cards back for when their VR headset comes out. It will have to introduce new gameplay mechanics in the way that Half-Life 2 so brilliantly used physics and the Gravity Gun. But I don't blame them for being utterly terrified that it might not live up to what went before.

Star Wars: Dark Forces (1995)

From the opening bit where you hear the music, it had the environments and that sort of hugeness that you expect from Star Wars. Looking back, even though it clearly looks dated and basically like a Doom mod, it had the best sound effects and there was something about its pacing and structure that made it feel Star Wars-ey. They just can't seem to get that feeling in Star Wars games now.
In a lot of Star Wars games I just want to wander around the Millennium Falcon, or the Death Star; I need a really spot-on recreation of the Star Wars universe. I want to be in that world. Dark Forces was the first PC game I owned at home. Although I had a PC at work that I played the games on, I bought one for using at home to play on Dark Forces, and I wasn't disappointed.

The Stanley Parable (2011)

I love the bit in Bioshock when the big twist is revealed and it turns out you're blindly following the bad guy's orders — it's brilliant. It was such a genius moment that was essentially all about video games. That moment crystallised the fact that in game we really have no choice — you're at the whim of the game designers, funnelled down a certain path without ever stopping to question it. You can try but you can't break the game, which is what the Stanley Parable is all about. You're stuck in a game that, one way or another, will control you. It's barely a game, and it doesn't last very long, but it's genius design that's so clever. I love it when you break that fourth wall in a game.

Outlaws (1997)

Outlaws is by LucasArts which made Star Wars: Dark Forces. It was again one of the games that stayed with me for creating a really unique atmosphere. If you look at the clips of it on YouTube now, it's a terrible-looking game, but at the time it was real to me. It felt like I was in the Wild West, and it was also one of the first games to feature a sniper rifle, which people forget and don't give it enough credit for.
The uniqueness of the game was brilliant. There was one level where I had to get into a fort through a tunnel leading up to it, and I had a slither of health after making a quick save. I was essentially stuck there as I couldn't get out or the bad guys would shoot me. Outlaw also had digitised speech that made enemies say things like, "come out marshal, we know you're there!", which was quite scary hearing them call me out. In the Wild West you could die at any time, and I loved the atmosphere that created. It felt unique.

Command and Conquer: Red Alert (1996)

I'm terrible at most strategy games! I have no patience which is why I like first-person shooters — they let me pop around the corner to look at (and shoot) something new. But there was something about those Command & Conquer games that made them so easy to play. With Red Alert you had the easy alternate history stuff that started with a cutscene showing Albert Einstein assassinating Hitler, which happened in an alternate universe. It had a sense of humour about it too. Not only was it simple to play, it made me feel like I was quite good at strategy games, because it was the only one I could do — probably more-so than the other Command & Conquer games. I really miss that franchise — it's due for a resurgence because it was great.

System Shock 2 (1999)

I didn't realise until I was making this list how much of System Shock 2 ended up in Bioshock, two games that were by Ken Levine. I love the way it blended role-playing games with first-person stuff, and it was just so atmospheric. OK, so it built its world using audio logs and reading material, which sometimes annoys me as it can get in the way of the experience, but in Bioshock's case that really enriched the game.
You can see Bioshock's influence in Alien: Isolation, which is basically System Shock 2, only a lot better-looking. You can also see the influence in Dead Space and Doom 3. At the time System Shock 2 was a bit of a flop, which I don't get, as it was a beautifully-designed game with environments that felt like real places. You really had that sense of being alone and terrified in a dangerous environment.

School Daze (1984)

School Daze on the ZX Spectrum 48, which was sort of a school simulation, was a sheer wish fulfilment or fantasy in the way that GTA V kind of is. It could be described as the first sandbox game, where you could avoid the teachers and cause havoc — a bit like avoiding the police in GTA. Funnily enough Rockstar tried to do the School Daze-esque game with Bully a few years ago, but it was done from an American perspective rather than a British one, which is what I loved about School Daze. That game really felt like my school — it had a gym, climbing frame and ropes. It was the first game I really fell in love with.

Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis (2001)

One of the main things I remember about Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis is that it was incredibly hard. Once again I had a saved game and a tiny slither of health on a level where the Soviets landed their forces on the beach. I was hiding in a hut while soldiers walked outside and tanks were rolling past. If I popped my head out to try get off the beach they'd kill me. I don't know why I didn't have any earlier save games, but it made it full of atmosphere and was one of the most real experiences I ever had in a game. There were loads of moments like that, where it felt like you could die at any minute, which is primarily what war was like. There was lots of crawling on your belly trying not to draw attention to yourself.

Buying Guide: The best iPhone 5C deals in March 2015

Best iPhone 5c deals

The iPhone 5C has proved to be an incredibly popular phone with some users. Not a huge amount cheaper than the regular iPhone, but with a fun range of colours it's been something of a refreshing change in Apple's range.
It comes with 4G too, so you'll be able to get fast internet speeds, which for most people is just about the most important thing when it comes to a modern smartphone. Perhaps the only major downside to the 5C is that it has no fingerprint scanner, for that you need to upgrade to the iPhone 5S.
So, it's decision time. Because it's a little older now, the iPhone 5C can be a more attractive bargain than the rest of the iPhone range. If you're looking for a bit more power and speed, then you might want to read our deals pages for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.

The UK's best iPhone 5C deal: considering all the factors, like up-front cost and the allowances given, the best iPhone 5C deal is from EE. Included are 500 minutes of calls, unlimited texts and 1GB of data. All-in-all, that's not a bad package for £25 up-front and then £18.49 per month. Get this deal: direct from The Carphone Warehouse
Compare: all iPhone 5C deals
Now let's break down the best iPhone 5C deals by network…
iPhone 6 deals on EE

Best iPhone 5C deals on EE

EE is the network to go to if you want high-speed 4G
Deal 1: EE does have the best overall deal, which is the one listed above, but if you want to save even more money - but get a much-reduced data bundle - then you can get the phone free and pay £16.99 per month. That gets you 500 minutes of calls, unlimited texts and 500mb of data. If you spend most of your time on Wi-Fi, then this is a bargain. Get this deal: direct from Mobiles.co.uk
Deal 2: For £28.49 per month you can get an iPhone 5C with 4GB of data and unlimited calls and texts. This is ideal for those who are out and about a lot without access to Wi-Fi. The phone is also free on this tariff. Get this deal: direct from EE
Deal 3: If you want the 5C in pink, then there's a good deal waiting for you. The phone is free and your £18.49 monthly subscription will bring you 500 minutes of calls, unlimited texts and a reasonable 1GB of data. Get this deal: direct from BuyMobiles.net
Compare: all iPhone 5C deals
iphone 6 deals on o2

Best iPhone 5C deals on O2

O2 is the network with extras, including the popular O2 Priority service
Deal 1: The best offer for the iPhone 5C on O2 gets you a free phone with 1GB of data and unlimited calls and texts. It's £28 per month and you get a choice of any colour and there's currently £50 cashback up for grabs too. Get this deal: direct from The Carphone Warehouse
Deal 2: If you're a heavy user of data then O2 has a tariff with 5GB included. As you might expect, calls and texts are unlimited and the phone has no up-front cost. It will cost you £38 per month though. Get this deal: direct from The Carphone Warehouse
Deal 3: If you're looking to strike a deal between up-front costs, per-month rental then your best option might be to pay £19.99 for the phone, then £18 per month. That will get you 500mb of data, 500 minutes and unlimited texts. Get this deal: direct from Mobiles.co.uk
Compare: all iPhone 5C deals

Best iPhone 5C deals on Vodafone

Vodafone prides itself in coverage and quality, it's often a bit mean with data, but there are extras like Spotify and Sky Sports Mobile thrown in.
Deal 1: After a £59 up-front charge for the phone, we think the best deal for the iPhone 5C on Vodafone is for £14.50 per month. The low monthly cost means that you're getting a very modest 100mb of data, 100 minutes and unlimited texts. This one is ideal for that special teenager in your life who spends every waking moment staring at WhatsApp while connected to their home Wi-Fi. Get this deal: direct from Mobiles.co.uk
Deal 2: For those who need a lot more data in their lives, you can pick up a pink 5C on Vodafone's 4GB bundle for £35.50 per month. That has no up-front charge for the phone, and both calls and texts are unlimited. Get this deal: direct from Mobiles.co.uk
Deal 3: If you need a free handset, with modest monthly costs then take a look at the Vodafone £18.50 per month deal. You get 300 minutes, unlimited texts and 250MB of data along with a free blue iPhone 5C. Get this deal: direct from Mobiles.co.uk
Compare: all iPhone 5C deals
iphone 6 deals on Three

Best iPhone 5C deals on Three

Three is one of few providers that offers unlimited data, and Feel at Home is amazing for regular travellers.
Deal 1: The best deal on Three is for a white iPhone 5C with 2GB of data, you get unlimited texts and 600 minutes of calls for £36 per month, and there's no up-front cost for the phone. For some reason you'll also get an XBox 360 included. Get this deal: direct from BuyMobiles.net
Deal 2: Three offers unlimited data for those who want it, and it's pretty much the only network that does. But it also has one of the best deals for the iPhone 5C, first of all you can get the 16GB model – the rest here are 8GB – and unlimited everything with no up-front fee. The monthly cost is fairly high at £37, but for the data-hungry, this is the only deal in town. Get this deal: direct from Three
Deal 3: If you want to reduce your monthly costs a bit, then £34 per month will get you a green iPhone 5C, 2GB of data and unlimited texts. For talkers, there's 600 minutes of calls included too and that free Xbox 360 can also be yours. Get this deal: direct from BuyMobiles.net
Compare: all iPhone 5C deals

HTC One E9+ unveiled with confusing spec line up

The HTC One E9+ is official, as a full product page for the handset has appeared on the Taiwanese firm's Chinese website, but there is some confusion over what's on offer here.
You'll find a 5.5-inch display on the One E9+, but while the spec sheet quotes a full HD resolution, scroll down the page and HTC is boasting about a QHD, 534ppi screen.
If true this 2K offering would beat the full HD panel on the firm's flagship One M9, while round the back a 20MP camera is contradicted in the spec sheet again which has it down as a 13MP lens.
What is certain though is the Ultrapixel front facing camera, HTC's updated BoomSound speakers with Dolby Audio and the new metal design language - all features borrowed from the One M9.

In terms of power the One E9+ is rocking an octa-core MediaTek processor and 2GB of RAM, while 16GB of internal storage is backed up by a microSD slot supporting cards up to 128GB in size.
There's currently no word on an HTC One E9+ release date or price, and there's always the chance the handset will not make it out of Asia.
We have contacted HTC for more information and clarification on the specs, so check back here later to find out what it says.

Read our in depth HTC One M9 review

PC Gaming Week: Build it: The best gaming PC under £500

Common components

Despite all the noise notebook manufacturers make about how great their products are for gaming, the truth remains that, pound for pound money-wise, a desktop computer will perform better than its svelter counterpart.
That said, the dilemma about whether to build or buy your next gaming rig remains. There are a few good reasons to actually buy a gaming computer, believe it or not, even if you're a seasoned veteran.
You save time, you reduce the risk of frying components (or slicing open your finger), you often get a "free" operating system and you often only need to deal with one shop (rather than a fair few). Today though, we're on a mission to build you the best rig for £500 (around $743), give or take £5. Ready? Let's roll.

Check out the rest of our PC Gaming Week coverage

Common components

Let's start by using components that are common to both AMD and Intel processor bundles. They are likely to be the ones I would reuse if I were to upgrade the rig. As a rule of thumb, always start with the components that will usually last longer.
Coolermaster casing

For the casing and PSU, we've gone for a Cooler Master CM FORCE 500 (£59.99, around $89). That's a great price for a mid-tower from a reputable brand and one that comes with a 120mm fan to boot. It supports USB 3.0 and has a lot of features that will make DIYers jump for joy — like tool-free access for ODD, accessories and HDD. Note that it also comes with a 500W Elite PSU from the same maker. You can buy a cheaper brand but as many builders will tell you, when it comes to the PSU, you get what you pay for.

As for the storage, I'm going overboard by RAID-zeroing twin Kingston SSDs, two 240GB V300 models at £59.98 (around $89) a pop. At less than 25p per GB, they are the cheapest SSDs from a recognised brand. Getting them on RAID-0 will make any system fly, just make sure you backup.
The last four components will have to share a budget of around £380 (around $565).
Kingston DDR3

For the memory, I opted for Kingston's 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1600MHz CL10 HyperX Fury memory modules which automatically overclock to the highest frequency possible without having to reach out to tweak anything in the BIOS (1866MHz in most cases). Available in four colours, the cheapest is the blue one (£47.24, around $70).
Powercolor graphics card

For the graphics card, I've chosen four possible combinations: two from the green team (the Palit GTX 960 OC and the Zotac GTX 960) and two from the red team (the XFX R9 285 and the PowerColor R9 285). The Nvidia cards cost £150 (around $223) each while the AMD cards are on sale for £140 (around $208). Mileage will vary but on the whole the GTX 960 should match the R9 285 pretty evenly across the board with power consumption being much better for Nvidia.

CPU and motherboard

So we end our journey with just over £230 (around $342) (assuming you opt for Nvidia) to spend on the processor and the motherboard. Go for an ATX model as it will provide you with room to grow.
MSI AMD Motherboard

Let's start with AMD, possibly the easier of the two. At £158.64 (around $235), the AMD FX-8370 Black Edition is not the most expensive processor in AMD's desktop line-up. But it is the most powerful one that can run at 125W or less. It has eight cores, 8MB of cache, runs at 4GHz and has a TDP of, wait for it, 125W. Pair it with the MSI 970A-G45 motherboard at £44 (around $65) and you get a decent AMD rig (actually the best you can buy from them) for less than we had to spend. You will likely need a solid cooler for this little baby though.
MSI Intel motherboard

The piece de resistance has to be the Intel bundle. We opted for the MSI B85-G41-PCMate ATX motherboard, a socket 1150 board with a B85 chipset. Not only does it have four USB 3.0 ports, it also has four DDR3 memory slots. A real bargain at £52.54 (aorund $77). Which leaves us with about £180 for the CPU, which will have to be the Core i5-4690K at £173 (around $257), Amazon's current best-selling processor and an absolute beast of a processor. Based on Devil's Canyon, it has four cores, comes with a heatsink/fan, clocks at up to 3.9GHz, has 6MB cache and a TDP of 88W, and oh, is also unlocked.
One thing that immediately jumps out is how late AMD are to the game. Other than price cuts and some minor improvements, it looks as if the company has given up on the enthusiast market almost completely. The FX 9590, a 220W CPU, actually being more of a swansong than anything else. Intel's K-series runs circles around anything AMD currently has on the market.
So there you have it – a sub-£500 (around $743) build based on either Intel or AMD and using either Nvidia or ATI.
For the sake of simplicity, I have assumed the following:

You know how to build a PC
You have the necessary bits and equipment to build one
You have an OS to hand
You don't want to overclock at this stage
You have other peripherals (mouse, keyboard, monitor, cables etc)
You plan to recycle some components (fans etc)

Also why not read the following features related to building your own PC...

PC Gaming Week: Manic Street Platformers: the games that had 90s bands hooked

Pop stars and their games

The enduring relationship between videogames and musicians has only strengthened in recent times. From Guitar Hero's literal take on making gamers feel like rock stars to chiptune's post-millennium resurgence, the two industries continue to inspire and entertain the other in equal measure.
For PC Gaming Week, TechRadar has already brought you the PC games that today's bands are playing. Read on for Amiga Power's original 1993 feature on the titles that had Manic Street Preachers, Massive Attack, Lush and Altern 8 hooked back in the day.

Check out the rest of our PC Gaming Week coverage

Manic Street Preachers

Hey! Commodore? Do you know any pop stars who use the Amiga these days? "Why yes. there's loads of 'em, there's. umm, Jonathan Ross, dum-de-dum, Sue Cook. and Bruno Brookes, er..." Not had too many hits between them lately, have they though? Well, these have....
Hello Sean Moore, drummer from the Manics, those Welsh rockers who think the rest of the music industry is rubbish...
How long have the band been into computer games, Sean?
About a year. We were into Amigas and Atari STs through music-making and the studio. After eight to 10 hours of total concentration and the pressure of programming drum patterns and everything, switching to games became a welcome release, blowing away the frustration and anger, running riot with something that was just total fun. We've also bought a Mega Drive between us, and I've got a Game Gear for myself on the road. I bought a Game Boy in Japan. but it was total rubbish, good games but poor graphics.
What games are you into at the moment?
Kick Off and a lot of sport sims, it must be the summer atmosphere. Kid Chameleon on the Mega drive, Olympic Gold on the Game Gear... all sorts. We buy them while on tour — especially in Japan and the States.
Personall all-time favourite game?
Sorry Amiga fans but it's just got to be Sonic The Hedgehog. The graphics are so smooth, each level well-balanced, and good characterisation. Nothing on the Amiga equals it yet.
Worst game ever played?
The first James Pond. though I thought Robocod was much better.
Is game playing a solitary, or social, occupation for the Manics?
Favourite game? It depends on the game, and the computer. The Game Gear is naturally solitary. For train, plane and bus trips, but otherwise we're all hooked during a sports sim, rooting for Nick during a round of PGA Golf or James and Richey almost coming to blows during a particularly heated match of John Madden's American Football.
What genre of game do you prefer?
I'd like to have a chance to get more into strategy and adventure, but for the moment I've got to admit to a liking for strong characterisations, so it has to be cute platformers.
How often do you buy games?
Let's see, I've bought seventy-five over the last year, so that's more than one a week.

Massive Attack

Hello 3D, dreamy stream-of-consciousness vocalist from Massive Attack, Brit award-nominated Bristol trio, performers of such hits as 'Unfinished Sympathy' and 'Daydreaming'...
How long have you been playing computer games, 3D?
I got my Amiga for the graphics about four years ago, but all I've really done is play games on it.
What games are you into at the moment?
The game we play big time is Kick Off 2. We have serious tournaments, with at least eight people playing each other once then semis and finals. Plenty of beer goes down, all the stats are out, scores, pitch conditions. We're well into it, total involvement. There are a few flaws obviously, repetitive things that shouldn't happen.
The goalie is like a magnet every time you go near him. The free kicks are too hard. It needs a 'simple' facility to set up your own league etc but it's still the ultimate football Berne. Everyone is waiting for Kick Off 3. We've tried other football stuff, though not Sensible Soccer yet, but the only thing even remotely as good is Speedball 2. These are games where you can have a room full of people all having a laugh without it becoming boring. Stunt Car Racer used to be another in that category, we always hook up two Amigas for that one.
Personal all-time favourite game?
Kick Off 2, of course. But me and Mushroom really got crazily obsessive about Sim City for a while. I've got to admit it was a pirate copy without a save facility so we had to keep it on non-stop for three days, until eventually we had to get some sleep. When we woke up New York had burned to the ground, then the computer...
Worst game you ever played?
I don't know about worst, but the most disappointing was It Came From The Desert. The advance demo was brilliant so I was expecting a lot, but the real thing was too repetitive.
How often do you buy games?
It's not a routine thing. The last one I got was Robocop 3 for my birthday. Its really crap. The idea is clever, but the graphics have no atmosphere. It's Just an old arcade target game - really boring. Didn't like that one at all.
Is game playing a solitary, or social, occupation for the Manics?
Definitely social. An all-nighter once we get started. A lot of the other acts from Bristol are involved. Fresh Force, Smith And Mighty... No one talks about music though, just football, it's a real male thing.
When I first got the Amiga I spent lonely days and nights with Elite, trading, trading. trading, until suddenly I woke up wondering where all me mates had gone. The only game I ever really enjoyed playing on my own was an oldie called Deja Vu.
What genre of game do you prefer to play?
Sports, social things, competitive games. It's more fun to compete against, rather than just play with someone. I'd love to get into something like Midwinter but basically I'm lazy. I just don't want to read instructions. I just want to turn on and tune in
Massive Attack future plans?
We're well into the new album at the moment, so it looks like a release later in the year, but don't hold your breath, we're very fussy. My real ambition for the near future is to review Kick Off 3 for Amiga Power.

Lush

See that bunch of music-types? They're Lush they are. (Miki's the one on the lett.) Hello Miki, vocalist from Lush, forever on-the-road giants of the Indic music scene...
How long have you been playing computer games, Miki?
Nine or 10 years. My grandparents are Japanese so I used to play with an early Nintendo whenever I visited them in Japan. My first computer was an Amiga 500. I bought it three years ago with the very first money we got from 4A1, our record company. The first game I bought needed one Meg, so I had to go out again and buy the extra memory. I was frantic by the time I finally set it up, all I wanted to do was play games. I've just bought an Amiga 1500 to save farting about.
What games are you into at the moment?
I'm very slow so I'm still fiddling around on Monkey Island. Lemmings is another that's still driving me crazy, I just can't handle the part where they all explode into bits. It's unnerving. Because we've been on the road non-stop since early February - doing America, Europe and Israel - I've had to satisfy myself with a Game Boy. In Israel I played Dyne Blaster and an adventure called Final Fantasy, non-stop, but as soon as I get back to London for a day or two I spend the whole time on the Amiga.
Personal all-time favourite game?
There are so many, and all different kinds. Blood Money was brilliant for shooting and graphics. I almost got to the end of that one. Oh, And Deja Vu, a corny adventure, but I loved it.
Worst game you ever played?
That's easy. Our producer, Robin Guthrie, has Strip Poker, which is totally useless and does nothing to dispel the idea of computer gamers all being frustrated, spotty, adolescent boys.
How often do you buy games?
I can't really keep up because we're constantly on tour. For example, we finished in Israel yesterday, are off to do Glastonbury tomorrow, and next week it's back to the States for seven weeks on the Lollapalooza tour. I just go into Virgin and buy whatever takes my fancy every couple of months. There are stacks at home that I just haven't had the time to play.
Is game playing a solitary, or social, occupation for the Manics?
Utterly and totally 100 per cent solitary. At home it's all, 'shut up John, get out John. leave me alone John...' It's mine, all mine. I hate sports things like multi-player PGA Golf and all that stuff, I just wanna be playing all the time, not waiting around for others.
What genre of game do you prefer?
Like I said, sports are crap, but generally I don't mind the type as long as it's good. I get into adventures a lot, and when they get too frustrating I turn to a shoot-'em-up for release.
The boys love those flying ones like F1-11 and A320 Airbus, it's bizarre. They say things like 'but you learn how to fly a real plant it really feels like you're flying'. Weird. I prefer something completely pointless, but brilliant nonetheless. My Amiga is a games machine, pure and simple, that's all I want to do with it. I don't understand anything else.

Altern 8

Hello Chris Peat from Altern 8, Stafford-based mask-wearing purveyors of chart-bound quality Techno dance music...
How long have you been playing computer games, Chris?
Forever, since I was given an Atari console when I was 13. I studied computers and have had an Amiga 500 for a couple of years now. It's brilliant, excellent choice and quality of software, great speed, easy to use. But of course you know all this — you're an Amiga mag.
What games are you playing at the moment?
Protect X virtually nonstop, the graphics and sound are amazing. It's so addictive. We're also working on three games of our own - this isn't a wind-up - so we're playing those but it's all top secret at present. We'll be doing the music too of course. I'm a total fanatic. I could spend all day, every day, playing if we didn't have to make music. I'm more the techno side of the act, with Mark Archer being the musician, the raver, the pop sensibility.
Personal all-time favourite game?
Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy on the old ZX81, that was the best adventure ever. It doesn't matter how limited the graphics and stuff are when the concept is so good.
How often do you buy games?
Every eight days. — we spent eighty-eight pounds a month.
Is game playing a solitary, or social, occupation?
The locks on my bedroom door should answer that! My girlfriend gets really ratty when I bolt myself inside. But game playing, you know, you just don't wanna give anyone else a go do you? I once spent twelve solid solitary hours with Asteroids, but I'm only slightly hooked.
What genre of game do you prefer?
Anything with loads of noise, action, and blasting everything to bits.
Altern 8 future plans
The third single 'Hypnotic St-8' has followed the others into the top ten. We've just released the 'Full On...Mask Hysteria' album by inviting 15 journalists up to Stafford for a techno duel at Quasar, and videoed the event for a future promo clip. We've got a new 20ft tall robot as part of our live act, (there's a bloke inside on stilts).
We're doing four shows in Turkey (!?!) and taking part in an international belly-dancing competition while we're there. Then off to the USA where the Old 'E-Vapor-8' single has just taken off. We'll be playing the odd rave in the UK, building up to more at the end of the summer. Oh, and we've been asked to do soundtracks for loads of kids TV shows. Not bad for a one-off joke that started on a rest day from our old Nexus 21 act.

Fighting Talk: Hey BT, improve your coverage first, then we'll talk about perfect 4G

Did you get excited about BT Mobile this week? I didn't. I live in a special part of the UK known as "The Countryside" where you're lucky if you have any mobile signal at all, let alone a 4G mast of ultimate power.
It's funny living in The Countryside. It's like you're actually living in a make believe nation where everything is worse and no one cares about you, similar to Borat's downtrodden portrayal of rural Kazakhstan.
My phone just says "G" when it's not on Wi-Fi. Here, in The Countryside, that's what we consider lucky. It means, if I'm really, really bored and hiding from the rain in the right cave, I can pass the time by seeing if I can load any pages of the internet before receiving a timeout error.
Connected mobile services just don't work in The Countryside. Google didn't really allow for people using 3k a second mobile data connections in 2015 when it put together Keep, Google Now, the voice-to-text system or most of the fun things people who live in The Big Towns take for granted.
The BT Mobile announcement didn't mention what happens when you sign up but then don't get a signal because of where you live. Presumably the small print says you can keep the micro-SIM to use as a coaster for a Lego minifig to put his pretend cup of tea on, because playing with Lego is often all you can do for fun in The Countryside.

Downwardly mobile

Actually, the small print on BT's page says: "4G speeds vary by location, coverage and demand," which is handy to know.
That's like a broadband company promising an "up to" connection speed of 24Mbps, before everyone on your street starts streaming Top Gear simultaneously and the actual connection plummets to a data transfer rate roughly equivalent to morse code.
It's another case of BT being allowed to cherry-pick the profitable parts of the country and ignore people who live in fields down dirt tracks, who were last visited by a BT engineer in the 1950s.
The good news for me and BT is that, thanks to it not being cost effective to wire up anyone to fibre and even Richard Branson himself not having enough money to pay Virgin to hook up buildings in fields, I'm still on BT Broadband.

The exchange hasn't been unbundled because no one's even sure where it is any more. It might be that shed by the river, or the collapsed brick thing around the back of the school that they grow sunflowers in now. So at least I can get a non-working BT Mobile SIM for the cheaper price.
Not that there's any point. If there's some sort of emergency and I have to go to a city, 3G is amazing enough for me. When you've been on one G for six years, having a mobile phone that actually works as advertised without having to beg for a stranger's Wi-Fi password is incredible.
Maps suddenly work, for example, which is useful as cities often have more than one road and upwards of 20 houses lumped together in one big building all with the same front door, and can therefore get a bit confusing to countrysiders.
Problem is, a visit to The City usually means coming home to a massive data bill shock, as, seeing as we can't use it here, most people opt for the bare minimum data allowance to get them through. Like, for example, BT Mobile's useless 500MB limit, that'll last a City Person about 45 minutes on iPlayer.
Even two nights of looking at Google Maps and the 1990s web sites of local tourist attractions in a B&B over 3G can sail you through your allowance, leaving you to return back to The Countryside with a £60 data bill.
The thing is, it's actually all quite good.
When you go for a walk, you really go for a walk. You may as well leave your phone at home charging when you are in The Countryside, as there's not much point carrying an internet-enabled supercomputer around with you when there's no internet.
If there's a good rainbow I can run home and get my proper camera. When you're not staring at your phone counting bars and cursing the constant switches between HSDPA and HSDPA+, you get to look at the trees and things. It's like... relaxing. Instead of Twitter making you angry, bees and things can make you happy.
So maybe I will get one of those BT Mobile SIMs. No one phones me anyway, so I may as well pay £5 a month for nothing to ever happen on my phone rather than £10.

Read More ...

Facebook means business with Messenger Platform, VR and drones

Introduction and global connections

Facebook's annual F8 developer conference, attended by more than 3,000 app developers, isn't really annual at all, having failed to make an appearance in 2013, 2012 and 2009. However, this certainly hasn't lessened the excitement surrounding the event and this year anticipation, particularly surrounding plans for Oculus Rift, was palpable – even as the European Commission warned the EU that they should close their Facebook accounts to avoid being spied on by US security services, and the UK's BladeRoom Group filed a lawsuit with the social networking giant for theft of intellectual property.
CTO Mike Schroepfer certainly wasn't distracted by events outside of F8, announcing on day two of the conference that Facebook was "here to talk about the future", setting the tone for the most notable announcements, including where Rift fits into the social network. Facebook's core priorities appear to revolve around Oculus Rift, drones and AI, all intended to make Facebook more 'lifelike' and 'useful'.
The $2 billion (around £1.3 billion, AU$2.6 billion) purchase of Oculus Rift a year ago prompted a lot of head scratching at the time, although the world's collective scalps were soothed by Mark Zuckerberg's explanation at the time that he saw Rift as a "new communication platform" and a "platform for many other experiences," and not merely a fillip to gaming companies.
Oculus Rift

"By feeling truly present, you can share unbounded spaces and experiences with the people in your life," he went on. "Imagine enjoying a courtside seat at a game, studying in a classroom of students and teachers all over the world or consulting with a doctor face-to-face."

Global connections

A year on and, even without an F8 two-dayer, we're all pretty clued up to roughly where Zuckerberg sees Rift fitting in o the new Facebook 'family' – a new means of communication through the social media platform; a future where the internet will rely heavily on virtual and augmented reality tech and applications. F8 provided the Facebook team an opportunity to paint a more vivid picture of where they see things going with Oculus Rift: opportunities to connect the world over as if all are in the same room together.
But there's a way to go yet. As Facebook CTO Mike Schroepfer explained: "After thousands of demos we know we are just on the cusp, just getting there to get that sense of presence where for a moment your conscious brain is overruled by the subconscious that says, 'You are not where you think you are'." And Facebook couldn't (or wouldn't) give a timeframe on when Oculus Rift headsets will be available, so it's very much a case of watch this (head) space.
However, the newly announced spherical video gives everyone a taste – a "first step" – of what Oculus Rift will be able to do, once it's launched properly as part of the Facebook family. Spherical video is set to allow Facebook users to interact with immersive, 360-degree videos in their Facebook News Feeds, following YouTube's lead. The videos are shot with 24 cameras, all working in concert, allowing viewers to "move around inside" the video and view from a variety of angles. Soon, said Zuckerberg, "you're going to be able to put on your Oculus headset and view spherical videos there too."
And Rift is only one member of this new Facebook family. As Zuckerberg explained: "Facebook used to be this single blue app and it did a lot of different things, now Facebook is a family of apps. Moving from being a single service to a family of apps is the biggest shift we've made in our strategy in helping connect people."

Drones and Messenger Platform

Planet-wide prototype

The Aquila solar-powered drone prototype might not be considered an 'app', but it's certainly a new family member. Boasting the wingspan of a 737 and the mass of a small car, it is intended to fly up to 90,000 feet to provide internet access to net-poor areas in order to "get everyone on the internet," according to Schroepfer. Altruistic, sure, but Facebook is sure to be one of the main beneficiaries of both this and Google Inc's internet-beaming satellites. It currently has 1.3 billion monthly users and is hungry for more.
And this desire to get the whole planet online is set to compound one of the issues informing the need for artificial intelligence development: the glut of digital picture and video content, with more and more added daily. AI will help to index and archive this huge amount of data in a more rational and human way, to "build a deeper understanding of what's in the content."
Facebook is working to build new AI systems that can learn, be trained and solve basic logical problems, helping to make sense of the brimming sea of data, which is set to become a Great Flood as Facebook widens its global reach.
"If we achieve our first goal, get everyone on the internet, build services at scale for the entire planet, we create this new problem: so much information you can't consume the stuff that's important to you," Schroepfer said.

Platform expansion

Adding to this info flood, the announcement that Facebook is opening up its four-year-old Messenger service to third-party developers – the 'Messenger Platform' – so that they can add their own functionality ("more tools for expression") looks to be an attempt by Zuckerberg to broaden Messenger into a wider platform, with over 40 new apps already developed. With more than 600 million people said to use Messenger at least once a month, there's clearly scope to make it more than just a chat hub. "One of the fastest growing and most important members of our family is Messenger," explained Zuckerberg.
Facebook had previously announced VoIP calls and that it was allowing US Messenger users to send money to and from one another, and at F8 Zuckerberg also announced Businesses on Messenger to "reinvent" how people and businesses communicate.
This will allow members of the public to communicate directly with representatives from businesses that they interact with or buy goods from, instead of using the more traditional email approach – something Skype once tried unsuccessfully to front up. One specific use of Businesses on Messenger will be to allow users to receive real-time shopping updates, tracking and confirming orders via instant message conversations.
With more and more companies worldwide overcoming their initial scepticism of Facebook as a business-facing platform, this is an interesting development, expanding business' reach into Facebook's more traditionally personal orbit.

Everything that mattered at Facebook's developer conference

PC Gaming Week: TechRadar's PC Gaming Week

It wasn't so long ago that the PC was being written off in the face of tumbling shipments, a widespread dislike for Windows 8 and the rising popularity of tablets.
Mobile computing has undoubtedly changed how people buy and use PCs, but for gamers it's business as usual. For people who need the latest (and best) hardware to deliver eye-popping visuals and face-melting performance, the PC is king. And if it has been away on royal business in recent years, it's back to rule with an iron fist.
While PS4 and Xbox One owners are only just beginning to enjoy the fluidity and clarity offered by 1080p titles running at 60 frames per second, PC gamers are looking well ahead into the future. And boy, does it look good.

Rack 'em up

Gaze into a crystal ball and you'll find a whole host of mouthwatering trends — including high-powered VR (hey there, Oculus Rift), Windows 10 and DirectX 12, 4K and 120Hz/144Hz frame-synching monitors, meaty graphics cards like the Nvidia Titan X and much more.
So plug in your keyboard and mouse, check your water cooling temps and map your key bindings. For the next seven days TechRadar will be bringing you interviews with leading PC gaming industry experts, previews of unmissable titles on the horizon and plenty of tips on how you can squeeze the most of your gaming PC.
Check back here for all the latest updates and articles during PC Gaming Week.

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These 10 games will make PC gaming (more) awesome

They're going to be massive
It's all well and good talking about virtual reality and powerful hardware: what you really need are the triple-A to go with it. It's a good job then, that there's more exciting titles on the horizon than you can shake a stick at — from Star Citizen to Unreal Tournament. And then the possibility of a new adventure starring a certain bearded, crowbar-wielding guy... Read: PC gaming's future rides on these 10 unreleased titles

Is Blizzard's Overwatch the next Team Fortress 2?

It's all guns-a-blazin'
Blizzard is best-known for producing the mighty popular World Of Warcraft, StarCraft and World of Warcraft series. As you'll be aware, none of those are first-person shooters, which makes the fact that the company's next title, a colourful gun-packed FPS called Overwatch, much more exciting. It's been compared to Team Fortress 2, which alone is enough to make our trigger fingers that bit itchier. Read: Forget Team Fortress 2, Overwatch is Blizzard's next PC colossus

Will your next gaming machine be a laptop?

Don't sweat the small stuff
Minecraft is known as a game that fosters creativity and encourages exploration, but one teacher has found that it can be used in the classroom too. Based in the UK, Ray Chambers is using the sandbox game to teach students the tenets of programming — from constructing logic gates to problem solving solving and analysis. Chambers reveals that Minecraft is perfectly suited to teaching other subjects too. Read: Could a gaming laptop replace your desktop PC?

Can Minecraft help teach kids how to code?

Building blocks to a bright future
Minecraft is known as a game that fosters creativity and encourages exploration, but one teacher has found that it can be used in the classroom too. Based in the UK, Ray Chambers is using the sandbox game to teach students the tenets of programming — from constructing logic gates to problem solving solving and analysis. Chambers reveals that Minecraft is perfectly suited to teaching other subjects too. Read: How Minecraft is helping kids learn code one block at a time

Available Tags:Samsung , Galaxy , Gaming , his , iPhone 5 , iPhone , HTC , 4G , Facebook ,

Monday, March 30, 2015

IT News Head Lines (Techradar) 3/31/2015

When can I get one?

Stream your new data away

Digi speaks

Half-Life 2 (2004)

Star Wars: Dark Forces (1995)

The Stanley Parable (2011)

Outlaws (1997)

Command and Conquer: Red Alert (1996)

System Shock 2 (1999)

School Daze (1984)

Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis (2001)

Best iPhone 5c deals

Best iPhone 5C deals on EE

Best iPhone 5C deals on O2

Best iPhone 5C deals on Vodafone

Best iPhone 5C deals on Three

Common components

Common components

CPU and motherboard

Pop stars and their games

Manic Street Preachers

Massive Attack

Lush

Altern 8

Downwardly mobile

Introduction and global connections

Global connections

Drones and Messenger Platform

Planet-wide prototype

Platform expansion

Rack 'em up

Saturday

Friday

Thursday

Wednesday

Tuesday

Monday

Sunday

These 10 games will make PC gaming (more) awesome

Is Blizzard's Overwatch the next Team Fortress 2?

Will your next gaming machine be a laptop?

Can Minecraft help teach kids how to code?

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