Review: Dell UltraSharp U3415W review
Introduction, design and features
Back in the mid-2000s, owning a 30-inch monitor was the (expensive) dream. Our collective thirst for larger panels hasn't dampened since then, and if you're not considering splashing out on a TV-sized 40-inch monitor, you might be weighing up a cinematic ultra-wide offering like the Dell UltraSharp 3415W.The Dell UltraSharp 3415W sports a pixel-resolution of 3,440 x 1,440 (WQHD), lending it a "cinematic" aspect ratio of 21:9. Compared to the first wave of ultra-wide monitors from 2013-2014 that used a much narrower 2,560 x 1,080 pixel-resolution, WQHD feels much less like peering into a brightly lit letterbox.
The resolution also feels more familiar if you've used a 2,560 x 1440 (QHD) monitor before. The 3415W has the same amount of height as Apple's (non-Retina) 27-inch iMac, for example, only with 440 extra horizontal pixels bolted onto each side.
It means that you get tons of real-estate on the desktop for using multiple browsers at once, watching Hollywood blockbusters in their native 21:9 aspect ratio or playing games in massive detail — if you've got the beefy graphics card (or two) required to push the pixels.
The U3415W is particularly worth considering at this moment in time due to being given a price drop by online retailers, some of which are offering it for just short of £600 (US$849, which is around AUS$1,188), versus Dell's RRP of £789 ($1,449, around AUS$1,219).
It's going up against several competing 34-inch ultra-wide monitors, including the LG 34UM95, AOC 3477PQU, and Samsung S34E790C, which also has a curved display.
Design
The U3415W sports a sensible design that's suitable for homes or offices thanks to its neutral, classy two-tone black-and-grey colours. Aside from an inconspicuous Dell logo located on the bottom of the display's thin bezel, you won't find any unsightly stickers getting in the way.Viewed from a side, it's not the bulkiest monitor we've ever seen, but it's not suitable for desks lacking depth — if you want to avoid sore eyes from sitting too close, that is. The display is slightly curved at the edges which makes it a bit easier to see what's being displayed at either end of the screen, and you feel more surrounded by the monitor. It also looks cool to boot.
For a big slab of plastic, the U3415W is incredibly easy to setup and can be done in a mater of minutes with minimal fuss.
One benefit of the monitor arriving in a gigantic box is that the stand comes pre-assembled, so all you have to do is lay it flat on its front and slide the teeth at the top of the stand into the connecting holes at the back of the monitor. Once locked into place, it's impossible to disconnect the stand without pressing a button that releases it and allows you to slide it out easily.
Featuring a heavy-duty stand, the U3415W is well-balanced and sturdy. It has a generous height adjustment of around 115mm, in addition to tilt and swivel capabilities.
Owning quite a low desk, in a bid to get more height, I turned a plastic bucket upside down (don't try this at home) and placed the monitor on top. Though it's not a recommended way to raise the display, the U3415W's even balance meant that it was in no danger of tipping over.
In the box
In the box you'll find the monitor, stand, power cable, DisplayPort to mini-DisplayPort cable, USB Upstream Cable, Cable cover and user documentation. There's a dearth of ports on the U3415W, although you'll have to swing your head under it to get to see them easily.Under there you'll find x1 HDMI connector, x1 MHL connector, x1 Mini DisplayPort, x1 DisplayPort (v.1.2), 1x DisplayPort out (Multi-Stream Transport), x1 Audio Line out, x4 USB 3.0 ports and x2 USB 3.0 ports - Upstream.
One of the USB ports is located around the back to the right-hand side. Although it's easier to get to than the USB ports on the underside, it's still awkwardly positioned if you're used to using side-mounted USB ports, of which there are none here.
Features
The U3415W's sheer size is a feature in itself, providing the same amount of pixels as four 1,720 x 720 pixel-resolutions monitors stuck together. Most of the time you'll find windows floating around as if they're in space, such is the amount of real-estate on offer.If you're the organised type, the U3415W is perfect for cascading windows and snapping them to different corners. You can browse a website while writing a document while keeping one eye on Skype and another on Facebook, for example.
Better yet, at 34 inches, the U3415W's 3,440 x 1,440 pixel resolution lends it 109ppi (pixels-per-inch), so there's no need to alter Windows' or OS X's scaling settings to make text and menus readable. That's a huge reason to opt for Dell's monitor over a 4K panel if your main concern is having tons of screen real-estate without having to effectively magnify parts of the desktop.
A row of capacitive touch-sensitive buttons are used to navigate through the U3415W's menus, which allow you to adjust the brightness, colour, audio levels, view energy usage, switch inputs and change what the shortcut button on the bezel does. It also lets you activate its picture-in-picture mode, which lets you display two input sources at the same time.
How well it works depends on what input sources you're running and what resolutions they're running at. For example, connecting a games console (in this case the Wii U) and a laptop running at 2,560 x 1440 will give you two 16:9 images on each half of the panel, leaving big black horizontal bars above and below the image.
The sheer size of the U3415W means that it wasn't such a problem playing Mario Kart 8 even sat 1.5 metres away from the monitor. However, it was nearly impossible to use the laptop's desktop as everything looked tiny.
Adjusting the laptop's resolution to 1,024 x 768 vastly reduced the space on the desktop, but it at least allowed me to browse web pages, stream video and do other single tasks while sat a distance away from the monitor. So if you want to let somebody play on a console game on one half of the display while streaming a sports match or catching up with the latest news, picture-in-picture is a bit clunky but works well enough.
Oh, and be warned: although the U3415W possess decent speakers that are easily loud enough to fill a small room, it can only output volume from one input at a time. That shouldn't be a problem if you use the monitor to ouput sound from a console, and then use the laptop's speakers separately if you need to.
The capacitive buttons aren't as easy to use as physical ones, occasionally requiring a second tap to register a press. Neither are they labelled, so you'll have to learn what each one does and which action you have the shortcut button set to perform if you choose to re-assign it.
Sound isn't the primary reason you're going to buy the 3415W, but its two 9W speakers provide loud and clear audio, even if they're not going to shake the room with pounding bass any time soon.
The Dell's AH-IPS panel produced excellent results. Out of the box, the monitor reached 298.32 cd/m2 when measured with our X-Rite iDisplay Pro calibrator. The panel produced inky blacks, with back levels measured at a healthy 0.26 cd/m2.
Verdict
If you need ample space on your computer's monitor for apps, games and movies, and don't want to worry about the scaling issues that come with 4K monitors, Dell's U3415W is well worthy of your consideration.Its easy setup, excellent build quality and impressive pictures out of the box make it a hassle-free way to get acres of space. You might need a bigger desk to take advantage of them, though.
We liked
The 3415W really is a sight to behold on any desk - just make sure yours is big enough to accomodate it. With great picture quality, plenty of features and plug-and-play appeal, it's a hassle-free way to get a massive amount of real-estate without worrying about software quirks.We disliked
The size of Dell's monitor is also its worst enemy. Its 34 inches could prove disorientating if you're sat too close to it for long periods of time. Despite its price reductions at certain retailers, it still costs double the cost of budget 4K monitors on the market - so you'll have to think twice about whether it best fits your needs.Final verdict
If you've been looking to swap your current monitor (or monitors, if you have several in your setup), the Dell UltraSharp U3415W is a solid offering. It looks great and serves up plenty of features that make it great for one person or several in the room. If you want more real-estate from your monitor without having to play about with scaling settings in software, the Dell UltraSharp 3415W is elegant, effective and would do the job for years to come.
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The reason for YouTube Red, as explained by PewDiePie
YouTube Red is live now - if you live in the United States - and you might be wondering just why you should shell out $10 to take all the ads away from the video sharing site and access some exclusive content at the same time.
Well, wonder no longer: one of YouTube's biggest stars has laid out the pros of the new service in a blog post on Tumblr. PewDiePie (real name Felix Kjellberg) says the move is an obvious response to the growing use of ad-blocking software on the web.
"YouTube Red exists largely as an effort to counter Adblock," writes the vlogger. "Using Adblock doesn't mean you're clever and above the system... using Adblock has actual consequences." PewDiePie does say he's "okay" with people using ad-blocking apps on his own channel - but the effect on smaller channels can be "devastating".
Ad blockers on the up
PewDiePie also shares some statistics from his own dashboard: apparently 40 percent of the people who view his videos are making use of ad blockers, a figure that has risen in recent years.He admits there are "important questions" about YouTube Red - such as whether $10 is the right price - but says "it's more important that we understand what the actual problem here is."
Of course YouTube Red is about more than blocking adverts: you also get access to exclusive content (some of which will be provided by PewDiePie himself together with YouTube's other major stars), background listening on mobile devices and a subscription to Google Play Music thrown in as well.
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Running Man of Tech: The best running tech that isn't actually tech
The reason for this column was pretty simple: while being the phones and tablet editor for techradar, my hobby was running - and I wanted a place to be able to just dump all my experiences with the latest running gear (which you can't really do in the latest iPhone review).
It's been ace: I've tried the latest running watches, tested the Apple Watch on multiple Parkruns, improved cadence with the Moov and generally vented on something that a lot of people don't care about (but those that do, REALLY do).
Every so often I get sent things that aren't really tech though - or perhaps not a lot to do with running (the latter being a hangover from me attempting to do a triathlon). The thing is, if there's not a lot of tech involved, it's hard to stick them in the 'Running Man of Tech' column - but there have been some notable exceptions that I really want to talk about.
So the following items might not be necessarily tech-based (or running) but they ARE awesome and things I genuinely use all the time, and I'll do my best to pretend that there's something tech about them.
Inateck Sweatproof Running Waist Pack
There are a couple of things I respect about Inateck: firstly, it's a brand that seems to just make things it thinks of. Everything from a USB charger to running headphones…and inexplicably a running belt too.
The second thing is the naming. It's just the name of the thing. Inateck Bluetooth Headphones. Inateck Sweatproof Running Waist Pack. It's almost like it's aiming for search terms on Google and Amazon.
I like this belt a lot though. It's really discreet, and I thought only had space for a couple of gels. But you can shove nearly any size of phone in the first pocket, which expands inexplicably through some clever folding - and still have space for gels further around.
It's pretty cheap, and with an elasticated strap is really comfortable - it can even go under your top to be really discreet.
Reason it's tech: Erm… physics. It defies them with the foldable pocket. That's smart engineering. Which needs tech.
Blue Gizmo Running Buddy Pouch
I got given this last Christmas (when I was expecting a heart, but whatever. I would have just given it away) and despite the fact it looks like an actual purse, it's ace.It's a normal pouch with magnets, where you fold one part into your shorts or whatever and stick your phone / keys / gels on the outside section, and then just bring the two together.
They close with an impressive amount of force, and this thing will struggle to fall off. In fact, it's more likely to drag your shorts down, so be VERY READY FOR THAT AND TIE THEM UP TIGHTLY.
Seriously. Trust me on this.
Again, it's not overly expensive and worth trying out if you don't want straps around your waist or an armband.
Reason it's tech: Magnets. Science. Technology. Magnets.
Griffin LightRunner
This is mostly just an armband, but it's a very well made one. What's more, it has cutouts in all the right places, and as someone who uses a million different phones a week, this kind of variation is welcome.You can use fingerprint scanner, hit menu buttons and more - all useful when running and you don't want to remove it.
The key thing here is the LED though - there are lights infused all around the outside, and with a tap of the wonderfully tactile button you can have solid, flashing or faster flashing, which is perfect for when you want to be seen outside.
It's a little more expensive at £30 / $40 / AU$56, but the lighting is really comforting when you're trotting down dark country lanes.
Reason it's tech: Diodes running down neoprene pipes or something.
Blaze Laserlight
OK, this one isn't as much non-tech as it is non-running - but it was sent over for me to try out and I felt the need to talk about it.
It's a front bike light that costs £125 / $195 / AU$270, but it's incredibly well made, machined from metal. The key difference here is that not only do you get a blindingly bright light, but also a laser beam.
Yep, lasers. Frickin' lasers on your bike.
These don't burn through the cars in front thankfully, but they do warn them of your presence. The light projects a bike image onto the road around 10 feet in front of you (although this can be altered) that will alert pedestrians and turning cars that you're there.
"I wanted to make the bike visible when they were otherwise invisible. I wanted to make you seen before you would otherwise. Approaching a junction I found myself wishing I had a 'presence' just 5 yards ahead, warning drivers I was approaching," Emily Brooke, creator of the Laserlight, told me.
It can even be flashing to draw more attention to you - but that's the hardest bit. This is a bike light that's akin to holding a megaphone and shouting 'I AM A BIKE I AM APPROACHING ALL PEOPLE BOW DOWN TO ME BECAUSE I AM A BIKE.'
People will look at you. People in cars will look at you. People walking on the street will look at you. In short: people look at lasers, and they will know you are there. In fact, my biggest worry is that it would distract drivers… but they'd definitely not turn into me any more.
The reason for the higher cost, Brooke says, is that the lasers aren't just the same as the laser pointers we all use but a 'direct diode' which, along with the materials used in the highly-engineered build, make the high price more understandable.
It's definitely an awesome light, and now I'm getting used to it I feel less ostentatious cycling back from work - with the added knowledge at roundabouts that cars are less likely to pull out in front of me.
Reason it's good for running: Not being hit by cars makes it easier to run. Cycling is good cross training. But mostly the hit by cars thing.
- Gareth Beavis is TechRadar's Running Man of Tech, testing the latest in fitness technology in a never-ending quest to run further and faster and bringing you the results in a weekly column. If you want to say hi, he's @superbeav on Twitter, and you can see his stumblings on Strava too... plus for more data, follow him on Smashrun - if you want to sign up, please use this link(once you see the service, you'll work out why...)
- And if you want to get the full lowdown on the latest and greatest running tech, read the rest of the Running Man of Tech story here.
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Week in Gaming: We need Nintendo - so don't let the magic die
This week, I really need you all to trust me. Some of you will look at the words I have written and dismiss me as some overly optimistic, head-in-the-clouds fairy princess. Others will think I'm just an idiot. And there will undoubtedly be a small, vociferous selection of people that insist on telling me that their black box is better than all the other black boxes because it has a better disk drive or something. But please, just for 15 minutes, turn off all the negative voices in your head and sink into the soft, marshmallowy beanbag of niceness with me, because I am going to tell you why Nintendo should make you happier than a puppy riding a Roomba.
We love to tear apart games companies. We'll tell them that their games are buggy, their characters are boring, their dialogue uninspired. I've read 9/10 reviews that focus more on tackling the reason they took off 10% than the reasons they think it's cracking. Games writing can sometimes be a very negative, stressful and cynical place. And that's okay - cynicism can be fun, and it's a way to stay cautious.
Being kind makes you vulnerable, right? Much easier to swaddle yourself in the bubble wrap of criticism so you don't stand out. But Nintendo, the adorable, brightly-coloured paragon of sweetness that it has always been, relentlessly presses on with its brand of happy, fun video game magic. It's got incomprehensibly silly mascots - a green dinosaur that licks things, a pink ball that eats things, a plumber who really loves jumping - that just can't be compared to the gruffness of the Lara Crofts and Nathan Drakes of other AAA games.
And every time Nintendo looks like it might be trying something new, like with its mobile gaming division, people get snotty - because Nintendo is different. It looks at the things we take for granted, like shooting and killing in games, and questions it. As we learned this week, Miyamoto apparently said about Goldeneye, the N64 James Bond game, that "it might be nice if, at the end of the game, you got to shake hands with all your enemies in the hospital." In this instance, he's not wrong - it would be lovely, wouldn't it? - but it's not exactly MI6 policy.
The news this week is that Nintendo has finally announced one of its mobile games, named Miitomo, which looks like Tomodachi Life had a baby with a Tamagotchi and it grew up to be a Social Media Manager. It's not super clear what exactly the game entails yet, apart from having conversations with your Miis and answering questions shared among friends. It sounds odd, but it also sounds adorable as hell, and as if the seven-year-old version of yourself wouldn't go crazy to know that some day, in the future, Nintendo would make a freakin' tamagotchi.
It's also clear that Nintendo is thinking carefully about how to use the platform. It would have been easy to just stick a new Zelda adventure on smartphones, throw in a few microtransactions and push it out - and the money would have poured in. Miitomo proves that Nintendo is thinking about how people use their phones - the primary function being communication, of course - and forging its own path.
It's easy to make the conclusion that Nintendo is basically Video Game Jesus, come to save us from brown cover shooters and RPGs with plots so frail that a light cough blows them away. But optimism reaps its own rewards, like believing in fairies really hard makes them exist… harder? Not sure I ever got that one, actually.
Nintendo has always stood for fun. It was burned by the Wii U but it will learn and adapt like plenty of other companies before it. Hey, if anyone can adapt, it's the company that went from making playing cards and love hotels to building video games. But as it adapts, we should be ready for it to do so in its own way - because Nintendo has rarely followed in the footsteps of others.
If we keep believing in Nintendo, then maybe our happy little child selves - ready and willing to have faith in everything - won't shrivel up inside our bodies in the face of tax returns and responsibilities. We owe it to the kids we used to be, the ones that loved Tamagotchis and wished for an uncle at Nintendo. Don't let the magic die.
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How to recover lost or deleted files
How to recover lost or deleted files
Data recovery is a tricky business. There can be no going back for accidentally deleted data or a lost hard drive, and there's no guarantee your files are in a state to be successfully recovered.
However, there are some free tools available that can give you a chance of recovering documents, photos and other irreplaceable files that have been lost or deleted.
One of the best is DMDE – Free Edition. This is a powerful tool that does more than simply recover deleted files – it can also enable you to access hard drives that are still physically working but are no longer visible to Windows.
If DMDE can see the drive, it enables you to copy your files and folders from it, often without losing any data at all. In this tutorial I'll show you how to use the program to access your drive, find lost files and – hopefully – recover working copies of them.
1. Download and extract
DMDE is a portable tool, which means you can run it from any drive. Open your browser and navigate to the download page and click the 'Download DMDE for Windows' link.
Save the zip file to any drive other than the one you're trying to recover data from. Right-click the downloaded zip file and choose 'Extract All' to extract its contents.
2. Launch DMDE
Open the extracted folder and double-click dmde.exe to launch the program, clicking 'Yes' when prompted. Leave 'English' selected and click 'OK'.
Accept the license agreement and you'll be asked to select the drive you wish to recover data from. If the drive is visible in Windows, select 'Logical Disks' followed by the drive letter and click 'OK'.
3. Select physical drive
If the drive appears in Device Manager, but doesn't show up in Windows and can't be assigned a drive letter using Disk Management, then leave 'Physical Disks' selected.
Click each Physical Drive entry in turn and DMDE will display information about its type and size, helping you identify the missing drive. Select it and click 'OK'.
4. Select partition
DMDE will scan the drive for partitions. Don't be surprised if errors appear (click 'OK' to clear them) and then a number of possible matches – some similar or seemingly identical – should appear.
Select the partition you're looking for using the volume name (and drive letter if applicable), partition status, f.system and size to identify it.
5. Construct virtual file system
Click 'Open Volume'. After a second scan, a dual-paned window will open. On the left are three entries – to view all recoverable data from the drive (including deleted files), double-click All Found + Reconstruction.
In most cases clicking 'OK' at this point is sufficient, but advanced users can click 'Parameters' to tweak settings if necessary.
6. Browse for recoverable items
You can now explore your drive's contents via the expanded $Root directory. Click the arrow next to a folder to expand it, or double-click the folder to view its contents (including files) in the right-hand pane.
Look out for folders with red dots – these contain deleted files, so double-click to explore. Deleted files are clearly marked by a red 'x'.
7. Search for specific items
Alternatively, click the 'Search Panel' button (with the magnifying glass) to open a Search window. Use the file filter to define your search – use wildcards if you're not sure about a file's exact name, or to search by file type (such as *.doc).
Use the annotation to help refine your search further, then click 'OK' to let DMDE scan for matches.
8. Select what to recover
The Free Edition allows you to recover files one of two ways: you can select up to 4,000 files from a single folder by opening it in the right-hand pane, selecting the files you want to recover and choosing 'Tools > Recover'.
If recovering files from a search, you must recover each file individually by right-clicking it and choosing 'Recover the Object…'
9. Recover your data
Click the 'Size' button to get an estimate of how much space your recovered items will require, then click '…' to select a different drive with enough space to recover them to (never recover files to the same drive).
Make sure 'include deleted' is selected if applicable and finally click 'OK' to attempt file recovery. Wait while the files are copied.
10. Your data, restored
Once complete, a dialogue box will display the results of your recovery. Browse to the folder where your recovered files are and see if you can open them – not all files can be recovered sadly, but if the file was only recently deleted then your chances of success are greater.
Return to DMDE to continue recovering other files and hopefully save the day!
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Google's new app wants to know Who's Down
Once you've got a suite of apps covering email, office apps, maps, an intelligent assistant, photos, notes, calendars, messaging, social networking and just about everything else, there aren't many new directions to explore.
Google still has new ideas for software though - hence its Who's Down app, which just showed up on the App Store and Google Play. As you could probably guess from the name, it lets you see which of your friends are free to hang out right now.
After you've ascertained 'who's down' you can start chatting inside the app and make plans to do something. Your 'available' status is good for three hours so think coffee in town rather than a camping weekend.
Call me maybe?
Google isn't letting the wider public at large install the app - at least not yet. You have to be a college student in the US to get involved and even then there's a waiting list to join. There's been no official announcement from Mountain View about the app either.This is obviously a small-scale roll-out then - although the same college student restrictions didn't do Facebook any harm, helping to build up hype for the fledgling social network before it became available to anyone.
We don't know whether we'll ever get chance to play around with Who's Down and find out how good our friends are at avoiding us - but it's interesting to see Google playing around with new ideas for spin-off apps outside of its established tools.
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In depth: Halloween hell: can tech save us from giant asteroids like 2015 TB145?
Main image: Reconstruction of the path of the asteroid that exploded over Chelyabinsk, Russia, on 15 February 2013. Image credit: Olga Kruglova & Sandia Labs CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Given the scale of space, what's going to occur at just over a moon's length from Earth on Halloween has to be classed as a celestial near-miss. Headed our way – but predicted to miss Earth by about 500,000km – is 2015 TB145, a giant rock that's 28 times bigger than the Chelyabinsk meteor which hit Russia in February 2013. Its closeness has caused NASA to class TB145 as 'potentially hazardous'.
No warning
Forget movies like Deep Impact and Armageddon – when as asteroid even this big comes towards Earth, astronomers get little advance notice. NASA's Near-Earth Object Observation Program (NEOO) identified TB145 only a few weeks ago via the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (Pan-STARRS-1) in Hawaii.
"It turns out that near-Earth asteroids fly-by the Earth with some regularity, many times with less advance notice than we have for 2015 TB145," says Dr. Nick Moskovitz, a planetary astronomer who researches, and searches for, near-Earth objects at Lowell Observatory in Arizona, USA. "For example, an object designated 2015 TC25 was discovered on October 11 about two days before it flew by the Earth at a distance of about 100,000 km, more than three times closer than TB145."
2015 TC25, however, was much smaller than TB145, and would likely have burned up in the atmosphere if it had been on a collision course with Earth.
How serious would it be if TB145 smashed into Earth?
"The energy from such an impact would be the equivalent of about 100 of the biggest nuclear weapons ever detonated," says Moskovitz. "This would definitely have significant regional effects on the scale of many hundreds or even thousands of miles."
The most famous asteroid impact so far occurred in Tunguska, a remote area of Siberia, in 1908. The impact is estimated to have been about 1,000 times more powerful than an atomic bomb, and the shockwave devastated over 800 square miles, felling 80 million trees.
Events like Tunguska and the Chelyabinsk meteor and rare purely because the chances of an asteroid striking land – let alone an urban area – are remote (Tunguska was so remote that its effects weren't photographed until the 1930s). However, a sizeable asteroid hitting the ocean could still be deadly. "An impact of this asteroid landing in the ocean, which would be most likely, could result in a significant tsunami," says Moskovitz.
Just how big is TB145?
This is a big asteroid, probably somewhere between 200-600 meters across according to Moskovitz, although he points out that we'll only know the size after observations conducted as it passes Earth at around 125,500km/h. That astronomers can measure the size of objects as big as TB145 only as they pass by may be alarming, but the chances of Earth being hit are actually very small."We don't get hit by objects in that size range very often, only about once every 10,000 years," says Moskovitz. "Space is big, there is a lot of stuff out there, and we would have to be extraordinarily unlucky to be hit by one of these objects."
Are we doing enough to find near-Earth objects?
NASA's Near Earth Object Observations Program (NEOO) says TB145 will be the biggest asteroid to sweep near Earth until August 2027, although it's only basing that on what it's picked up so far – an asteroid called 1999 AN10 – and there may well be other objects lurking out there.
There's a lack of funding for NEO detection systems, and most use small 1-2 metre telescopes to scan large portions of the sky over and over again. A next-gen system is badly needed, and that's exactly what the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) promises. An 8.4-meter telescope with a 3,200-megapixel camera, from about 2023 the LSST will scan the sky for faint NEOs from its high-altitude location in Cerro Pachón, Chile.
At 3 x 1.65m and 2,800kg, the LSST's camera – now under construction – is about the same size as a car, and the largest even constructed. Able to photograph the night sky in six colours, from near ultraviolet to to near infrared, it will reach a stunning 3,200-megapixel (actually 3.2 gigapixels) resolution by using a mosaic of 189 16-megapixel silicon detectors arranged on 21 sections.
"The LSST project will certainly accelerate our discovery rate," says Moskovitz. "The good news is that we are getting very good at finding objects like TB145, so any impact hazard that these objects may pose is slowly being eliminated." Moskovitz thinks that within a couple of decades we will effectively know about all TB145-like objects in the vicinity, and won't have to worry about getting hit by one – and happily, the chances of us being hit in the meantime are small.
Privatising asteroid-hunting… and mining
NASA is also eyeing asteroids not as potential threats, but as possible stepping stones to deep space, with backing from private company Planetary Resources. Why is private money involved? Asteroids present a near-infinite supply of rare-Earth metals, that's why. Planetary Resources – whose investors include Richard Branson and Google's Larry Page and Eric Schmidt – want to use the ARKYD space telescope to identify near-Earth asteroids that could be commercially mined.
How to see 2015 TB145
Stargazers and amateur astronomers will get a treat this Halloween, but TB145 will be tricky to observe. "Amateurs with a small backyard telescope may be able to observe the object as it passes," says Moskovitz. Bigger and closer than most asteroid passes, TB145 will be unusually bright, and visible in the eastern night sky on 31 October – Halloween night – near the constellation of Orion. However, the Moon, which TB145 will pass just beyond, will be only just on the wane from full, so very bright – and you'll need a minimum 4-inch telescope to stand any chance of spotting the asteroid.There's some great advice on aiming a telescope at TB145 here, and the event will also be covered live on the web here. Meanwhile, NASA will be mapping TB145 by bouncing radio waves off the asteroid, collecting radar echoes in radio telescopes at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico and the Green Bank Telescope in West Virginia.
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In Depth: 15 best horror movies on Netflix UK: scary movies for Halloween
Introduction
There's nothing better than watching a decent horror movie. A horror movie that forces you to sleep with the light on after watching it. A horror movie that latches onto your deepest, primal fears, pokes and prods at your psyche, strangles you with fear and raises your heart rate to palpitation levels. These types of horror movies are rare, and that is what makes them so special.
The following is a hand-picked list of horror movies you should - no, need to - watch over Halloween that are available on Netflix in the UK. They are the titles on Netflix that will induce fear but as you will see, fear takes different forms. Sometimes it's foreboding, sometimes it's mixed with comedy, other times it's bloody and brutal.
And then there's that other fear: the fear that you have missed off some damn good movies from a list. If that's the case, then let us know in the comments below.
1. An American Werewolf in London
A classic movie that is one-part comedy to two-parts horror, American Werewolf in London starts off as a homage to Hammer and ends up being its own brilliant beast. The tale of two backpackers going off piste and one (spoiler) ending up as a werewolf terrorising the streets of London has an amazing soundtrack and still one of the best transformation scenes in film history. A stone-cold classic.
2. The Babadook
The Babadook's horror, a brilliant debut by director Jennifer Kent, lies in its subtlety. The plot revolving around a creepy bedtime book is secondary to the fraught relationship between widowed Amelia (Essie Davis) and her six-year-old son Samuel (Noah Wiseman). It plays on the usual fear-inducing tropes but the real horror of the movie is seeing a family in grief and the devastating sadness that accompanies this.
3. Black Christmas (1974)
Halloween may have been the film that took the slasher horror genre by the neck and gave it a squeeze but Black Christmas created that genre. Director Bob Clark was among the first to think that the idea that a lone maniac who takes pleasure in cutting up nubile teenagers would make for decent cinema fodder. Given this blueprint was carried on through the works of John Carpenter, the Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th franchise we can't really disagree. Viewed some 40 years later the movie has only improved with age and can still hold its head high as one of the greatest indie horror movies ever made. And the greatest to come out of Canada.
4. The Blair Witch Project
The Blair Witch Project always seems to come under unnecessary criticism but that's because it is a victim of its own success. It's a horror movie that was never really meant for the big screen, let alone one of the most successful films of all time. The camera shakes, the poor lighting and bad acting are all because the movie was made on the weekends by some film-school buddies. It's not low budget, it's no budget and it's a style that, for better or worse, created the found footage genre that's still being used today. It's a hard watch but stick with it and it does repay you with a deepening sense of dread. The tears and the snot at the end are real because the actors had no idea what was going on and this only adds to the tension. It's not perfect but it's a great insight into how to make a horror film when cash is nowhere to be seen.
5. The House Of The Devil
Many modern films have tried to ape the '70s/'80s look of horror movies but none have done it as well as House of The Devil. Ti West is one of the most promising horror directors around and this movie is him finding his feet in the horror genre, ratcheting up the suspense slowly but assuredly. Don't watch if you want a slash fest but if you are fans of brooding, bubbling tension then this is for you. Oh, and indie starlet Greta Gerwig makes an appearance.
6. Insidious
Director James Wan cut his teeth - and many other limbs - with Saw, which is fun but forgettable. Insidious feels like a much more grown up horror movie, that eschews blood for Poltergeist-style japes. Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne are husband and wife who are looking after their coma-induced son. Some great cinematography makes up for a plot that does annoyingly veer into supernatural territory near the end. Despite this, there's a lot of fun to be had.
7. Invasion of the Body Snatchers
As remakes go, Invasion of the Body Snatchers is up there with the best. A brilliant turn from a haunted Donald Pleasence means that even if the McCarthy era paranoia from the original is missing, and small town America has been replaced by San Francisco, there's still plenty of terror to get your teeth into. And it looks amazing, too - thanks to cinematography from Michael Chapman, the man who also lensed Taxi Driver and Raging Bull.
8. Let's Scare Jessica To Death
One of the most overlooked horror movies of all time, this is a wonderful hidden slice of '70s horror. Shot through a dream-like lens, the movie follows a group of mates looking to find solace for their friend Jessica, who has just been released from a clinic. After a road trip they end up shacking up in an empty house that comes complete with a stranger called Emily. Full of subtle scares, marvellous missteps and lingering shots, Let's Scare Jessica To Death is a must watch.
9. The Mist
Stephen King may well be the master of horror when it comes to books but adaptations of his stories have always been a bit hit and miss, especially the horror ones. Directed by King regular Frank Darabont (Shawshank Redemption), The Mist manages to evoke pure horror from a pulpy plot that involves some freaky creatures that descend on a town after a freak storm. Taking many cues from Dawn of the Dead - society collapsing, a shop standoff - the movie doesn't shy away from making a doomed situation feel even worse.
10. The Omen (1976)
Jerry Goldsmith's Ave Satani score is one of the most recognisable and sinister scores ever made and underpins a movie that has more shocks than a jellyfish hugging an electric eel. The plot is wafer thin: and American diplomat (Gregory Peck) adopts a lovely son called Damian, who turns out to be the spawn of the devil. But you don't watch this for the plot but the operatic death scenes that include decapitations, people falling out of the windows and a ruddy great spike. Lovely stuff.
11. Re-Animator
An HP Lovecraft story this may be but Re-animator is pure schlock, lovingly put together by director Stuart Gordon. Jeffrey Combs stars as Herbert West, a mad scientist who finds a way to bring people back to life by 're-animating' them. Renowned for being one of the goriest and over-the-top movies ever made, Re-animator doesn't flinch with the blood letting but it's all done with (severed) tongue firmly in cheek.
12. The Prophecy (1995)
Christopher Walken is superb in this tale of angels coming back to earth to collect a soul that belongs in heaven. Walken is no stranger to horror flicks - he also starred in the superb Dead Zone - but in the Prophecy he is an, er, revelation as the Angel Gabriel. Part action movie, part horror, part supernatural thriller, The Prophecy is no Oscar contender but it is a whole lot of fun.
13. Scream
With its myriad meta musings on the slasher genre and knowing nods to other horror movies, it is sometimes forgotten that at the heart of Scream is a damn good horror movie. Director Wes Craven and writer Kevin Williamson play against trope after trope in Scream and pretty much spell the plot out for you, but from the first scene to the last there's a real menace to the movie. The look of Ghostface may have entered parody thanks to Scary Movie but, nearly 20 years ago, the mask was the face of horror. Brilliant stuff.
14. The Sacrament
The Sacrament is a movie that shines a light on the scary world of cults and enigmatic cult leaders. The story leans heavily on the real-life Jonestown Massacre, which saw cult leader Jim Jones lead his followers into mass suicide. Using the found footage formula that is baked into the horror genre, The Sacrament gives a brilliant first-hand account of what it is like when a paradise turns into a nightmare.
15. Would You Rather
Yet another movie that is made 1,000 per cent better because Jeffrey Combs stars in it. Would You Rather has an interesting concept - the ultimate life or death game of 'would you rather' hosted by a sadistic aristocrat - that doesn't quite reach the heights it should but you will have a lot of fun watching it try. Definitely not one for the squeamish!
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How to manage Wi-Fi in Windows 10
Introduction and password recovery
Windows 10 includes the wireless networking features from both Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone 8.1, giving you several ways to sync and share Wi-Fi settings, plus some options for when the Wi-Fi you're using is actually an expensive connection.Like Windows 8.1, Windows 10 doesn't just save the details of the Wi-Fi networks you've connected to in the past, so it can automatically get you online next time you're in range. It also syncs them using your Microsoft account – so if you use the same account to sign in to two different PCs you'll automatically get the Wi-Fi connection details you've already used on the other device (and when Windows 10 comes to phones, it will work there as well).
Those connection settings are stored securely, the same way they would be if you connected to the Wi-Fi network by typing in the password on each PC, so letting them sync isn't any more of a security risk, and it means you don't have to try and remember all the Wi-Fi passwords you need. But you can always get the password for a Wi-Fi network you've been connected to.
Recover a Wi-Fi password
Right-click on the Wi-Fi icon in the taskbar and choose Network and Sharing Centre, then click on the Wi-Fi connection listed. In the Wi-Fi Status dialog that pops up, click Wireless Properties, then open the Security tab. Click the Show Characters checkbox and the Network security key will show up as text you can read and copy.
You can get the same information for the current connection or for other networks too, from an elevated command prompt. Right-click on the Windows button in the taskbar and choose Command Prompt (Admin) from the menu, then type in:
netsh wlan show profile
This will show the name of the Wi-Fi connection (and probably a lot of other recent connections, so find the right one). Copy that and use it instead of "Profile Name" when you type in this command, and you'll see the password:
netsh wlan show profile name="Profile Name" key=clear
Manage Wi-Fi networks
Windows will automatically connect to Wi-Fi networks you've used before, and to Wi-Fi networks shared with you by friends using Wi-Fi Sense, or to open networks detected as commonly used (again, by Wi-Fi Sense). That means if wireless is turned on, you'll automatically connect to free, open Wi-Fi hotspots like the ones in airports and coffee shops.
Most of us connect to open Wi-Fi networks, despite the fact that they're not entirely safe – the owner of the Wi-Fi network can monitor network traffic, and so could other users on the same network if they're using network sniffing tools. If you don't want Windows 10 to make those automatic connections, change the Connect to suggested open hotspots setting (under Settings, Network & Internet, Wi-Fi, Manage Wi-Fi Settings) to off.
Wi-Fi Sense and metered connections
Share connections with Wi-Fi Sense
You can also choose whether to connect to private Wi-Fi networks shared by your friends here (if you don't want that convenience, turn off Connect to networks shared by my contacts), and whether you want to share any Wi-Fi networks via Wi-Fi Sense with friends on Facebook, Skype, Outlook.com or all three.You still have to choose to share the network information each time you connect to a new network, and what your friends get is not a password they can copy and pass on, but a credential stored in their PC that lets them connect without knowing the password.
If you want to stop Windows connecting to a Wi-Fi network you've used before, scroll to the bottom of the Manage Wi-Fi Settings page and find the network in the list. Select it and choose Forget (that will remove the password from your system as well).
If you're concerned about your friends sharing your Wi-Fi connection with their friends, who you may not know, remember that the friend they share it with won't get online unless they're close to your hotspot – and that if you tell someone your Wi-Fi password they can always tell someone else.
If you don't want to add the word _optout to your Wi-Fi network name to stop it being shared through Wi-Fi Sense, you can change the password regularly, and ask people not to tick the Wi-Fi Sense sharing checkbox when they connect.
Once you're connected to a Wi-Fi network that you haven't shared, you have to type in the password again to share the network with friends; select it from the list in Manage Wi-Fi Settings and choose Share. Basically, you're trusting your friends to behave reasonably, which is the same calculation you'd be making if you just told them your Wi-Fi password.
Manage expensive connections
If you have built-in mobile broadband, Windows 10 is smart enough to know that's a connection you pay for, and the OS won't use it for downloading Windows Updates (except for high-priority security updates) or automatically updating apps from the Windows Store. Outlook won't even download email on a metered connection unless you click the button that appears in the inbox.
That also happens automatically for a mobile broadband dongle that you plug into your laptop, but if you're using a mobile hotspot or you're using your phone as a hotspot, you need to manually limit the connection.
In Settings, choose Network & Internet, Wi-Fi, Advanced Options, and turn Set as metered connection on (while you're connected). If you don't have data limits on your mobile broadband, or you need to temporarily have Windows download updates that it wouldn't normally do on a metered connection, you can turn the metering off, as well. You can't make an Ethernet connection metered though.
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In Depth: 10 game trailers from this week you need to see
Paris Games Week Trailers
In four short years, Paris Games Week has gone from a mere dream of European gamers to one of the biggest trade shows in the entire world.
The show kicked off on Wednesday with an announcement-laden keynote from Sony that debuted a number of trailers and sprinkled in a dash of pants-wettingly exciting news.
In the days since a few more details have slipped out, but before the show ends on Sunday, we wanted to round up the best, most noteworthy demos and trailers before the hype trains rolls out of the station until E3 2016.
1. Detroit
Quantic Dream, Detroit's developer, has a storied history of spinning both heart-breaking and enthralling threads with its previous titles Beyond: Two Souls and Heavy Rain.
Both games afforded players a multitude of options as to how they would get through the games' stories and hitting them with real, palpable consequences depending on which route they went down.
Detroit, the studio's third title, will surely do the everything its predecessors did and more, this time taking place in a near-futuristic city of Detroit. It's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep meets Blade Runner in what is sure to be an emotionally-wrought cinematic joyride.
2. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
With the single-player all squared away for Uncharted 4's big launch, the only question that remained going into PGW was about the game's multiplayer.
While we're not quite walking away with specifics, the latest trailer has shown us a fair amount of what we can expect from Drake and Co. when we tap into Uncharted's online mode this Spring.
The biggest change so far looks to be the addition of relics - consumable pick-ups that are born out of the single-player campaign. Let's just hope they're more creative than the typical uninspired "you have more health" or "unlimited ammo" power-ups that usually pervade third-person shooting games.
3. Tekken 7
I'll be the first to admit, as much as I love them, fighting games generally don't have very good plotlines. Usually it's straight revenge or something outlandishly supernatural.
The Tekken 7 trailer shown at Paris Games Week incorporates both of those tired plot points into its story, yes, but for the first time in series history we'll see how everything - the fighting tournament, the Mishima Corporation, Kazuya and Jin - all came to be.
If none of those names ring a bell, don't worry. All will be explained when the game comes out. Unfortunately, however, we don't exactly know when that's going to be, as the trailer didn't specify when we can expect to be button-mashing our way to victory as Eddy Gordo on next-gen systems.
4. Dreams
If you haven't seen Dreams before, brace yourself, it's a weird, wacky, but ultimately creative look at how gamers can create their own worlds.
There have been a handful of games that have done this successfully in the past, Minecraft and LittleBigPlanet are two that come to mind, each bringing their players the power to shape and mold the game world to their choosing.
What makes this trailer worth watching (it's over seven minutes long, by the way) is that it gives us our first look at some of the creative tools used to create the worlds that we'll explore when the game comes out.
5. Robinson: The Journey
As a fellow techradar colleague said in her PlayStation VR: 5 things we learned from Sony's Paris event piece that ran earlier this week, Robinson looks good. Really good.
Some might argue that this could be the game that sells PlayStation VR - Sony's virtual reality headset that has been in development for close to three years.
The game, which is being developed by Crytek, borrows a lot of concepts I've seen in earlier PlayStation VR demos: PlayStation Move-supported gestures, an on-rails track that moves the player from point A to point B and a gargantuan dinosaur bearing down on you.
6. Matterfall
While I can't tell you what's going on in the trailer for Matterfall, a new action game from the developer behind Resogun, I can tell you it's awesome.
Resogun, if you haven't played it, pit you against a never-ending stream of enemy ships (similar to Defender on Atari) on a giant circular grid. The idea was to fly around from one side of the grid to the other taking out enemies as you go without taking a bullet from an enemy ship in the process.
The game was one of my favorite titles on Sony's newly launched system which means I have high expectations for this trippy, sci-fi shooter.
7. No Man's Sky
With each trailer I get more excited for No Man's Sky, the open-world (galaxy?) sandbox game that lets you explore an ever-expanding universe and stake your flag on any number of planets.
The Paris Games Week trailer showed the audience a side of the game that hasn't really been talked about as much: player-vs-player combat.
In the short, two-minute clip we get a taste of what it will look like to confront other players out in the darkness of space during white-knuckle dogfights and a glimpse of on-the-ground battles with the controlling player taking down what looks like an AT-ST.
8. Ratchet and Clank
The Ratchet and Clank series has been hit or miss for the last couple of years. It had a pretty big miss with Rachet and Clank: All for One, a multiplayer-centric adventure game that depended heavily on your friends being good sports to be fun to play, and has slowly slid to the backburner for some gamers.
The 2015 revamp of the series aims to draw longtime series veterans and first-time space adventurers into its zany, hilarious and wonderfully voice-acted world.
9. Star Wars Battlefront
Star Wars Battlefront is three painstakingly long weeks away from coming to home consoles and PC, and while I now know what we can expect thanks to the epic five-day beta, I'm hungrier than ever to get the full game in front of me.
This trailer debuted slightly ahead of Paris Games Week, but for its sheer epicness I've decided to include it in this round-up.
The trailer in question shows off many of the unlockable heroes you can play as including Boba Fett, Princess Leia, Luke, Han, Vader and yes, even Palpatine himself.
10. Gran Turismo Sport
DriveClub could never replace Gran Turismo, Sony's legacy racing series that at one time lead the driving genre in innovation and graphics back on the original PlayStation and PS2.
As much as DriveClub wanted to push high-end graphics and an ever-expanding list of cars, wonky driving mechanics and lackluster online play only deepened our desire for the Gran Turismo franchise to come to PS4.
Thankfully, it looks like that wait is over. Gran Turismo Sport will return the series to the forefront of the genre, finally giving its Xbox One rival, Forza Motorsport, a run for its money.
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Review: Updated: Microsoft Surface Book
Introduction and design
In its short tenure as a hardware maker, Microsoft has become the defacto trailblazer for Windows-running devices. It all started with the lofty promise that its Surface tablet could replace your laptop. We were skeptical about it three years ago, but after the Surface Pro 3, Microsoft nearly perfected the formula and showed veteran computer manufacturers how hybrids should be made.Now, Microsoft introduces the Surface Book as the "ultimate laptop." Like the Surface tablets before it, this laptop takes a unique spin on the notebook format that's been around for over 40 years. Between the 3:2 aspect ratio, 13.5-inch screen and its practically-trademarked "dynamic fulcrum" hinge, there isn't any machine on the planet like the Surface Book – and then, with the touch of a button and a gentle tug, it becomes a tablet.
It all sounds like an amazing idea on paper, and with the added "holy shit, Microsoft made a laptop" factor, the Surface Book sounds like a thoroughly amazing device. Let's see just how well Redmond made good on the hype.
Design
If a tear in the space-time continuum were to suddenly rip open, two things would fall out: the Terminator and then the Surface Book quickly tumbling to the Earth behind it. From the snake-like hinge, the flat design and even down to the washed-out silver color of this laptop, everything about it just seems like it came from the future.Milled from two solid blocks of magnesium, the Surface Book feels sturdy and has a most minimalistic style unto its own.
From keyboard deck to the palm rests, the entire interior of this laptop is one flat surface of metal, save for the large space reserved for the glass touchpad. Similarly, the screen lid is made of one uninterrupted slate of magnesium, with its only extra flourishes being a mirror-finished Windows logo in the center and a rear-facing camera.
Along the chiseled sides, you'll find two flat edges that start from the top of the display and terminate at the tip of the palm rest. That's not the only seamless transition.
Unlike most other convertible devices, the screen and base sections share nearly the same thickness and weight. Without the foreknowledge that the display can actually detach, the Surface Book looks like one continuous device, thanks to the hinge.
Mind the gap
At the midpoint of the Surface Book, there's a piece of connective tissue that Microsoft calls the dynamic fulcrum hinge. On top of simply gluing the screen and keyboard base together, it's this key piece that makes the whole device work.Rather than folding flatly, the hinge basically coils into itself, leaving a noticeable gap between the screen and keyboard when the unit is closed. When opened, this same part rolls out and actually extends the base of the laptop, which in turn helps extend the support base for the tablet portion of the Surface Book (called the Clipboard).
While a traditional notebook display might weigh half a pound at most, the top section of the Surface Book weighs 1.6-pounds, because it contains all the necessary parts to act as a standalone tablet. As such, the hinge has been reinforced and contains extra mechanisms, not unlike the Lenovo Yoga 900's watchband-style hinge to keep it in place.
Surface Book is solid as a rock, and you can even pick up it by the display and shake it about without worrying about the whole thing falling apart. On a flat surface, the screen is held steady in place and even stays put when you have it in your lap.
The only times the screen wobbles are when I'm poking at it with my finger or the Surface pen, but that really comes with trying to operate a touchscreen on any laptop.
And to address the concerns of the gap left in the middle of the system. Yes, there is a substantial open space in the middle of the system when it's closed. No, dust and other bits of nasty will not slip into the interior anymore than with a standard laptop, unless you're a particularly messy person. After a week of using the Surface Book religiously, I can run my finger against the inside edge of the hinge and not find a single speck of dust.
Another plus side of having a laptop that doesn't close completely flush is you'll never find any oily outlines of the keyboard imprinted on the screen. It's a design element that also eliminates the need to seat the keyboard into a recessed area. Instead, the keys on this laptop sit flush with the keyboard deck.
The keyboard itself offers a splendid 1.6mm of key travel that caps off with a satisfying thwack when you bottom out the keys. The trackpad is equally as enjoyable, with it's glass laminated finish. For the first time ever, I found myself interested in using the three-finger multi-gestures to rotate through windows and reveal the desktop.
While this is a tiny element of the Surface Book, few – if any – other Windows notebooks on the market today offer such a tight tracking experience.
Mobilizing the desktop
The Surface Book's other signature trick is the screen can pop off the base with just the tap of a button. Technically, Microsoft is coming late to the 2-in-1 laptop game with various devices being able to do the same, including Acer's Switch family, Toshiba's Click notebooks, some HP devices and the list goes on.However, no one has made a system as seamless as the Surface Book.
Undocking and attaching the Clipboard is nearly as seamless as the Surface Book's design. After either pressing the eject button on the keyboard or the virtual button in the taskbar, the screen will blink off for a second and then notify you it's safe to detach the screen with one quick tug.
It's fast and simple, however, the timing takes a little getting used to. After you get the prompt to detach the screen, you have to wait for about half a second before you can actually lift the display off its base.
Another unique feature to this notebook is it's the first to integrate a discrete graphics processor, or GPU, into a hybrid system. Tucked underneath the keyboard is a customized Nvidia GeForce GPU that makes this laptop just a bit more capable with media production and gaming.
We've seen this sort of GPU docking technology before in machines like the MSI GS30 Shadow with GamingDock and Alienware's GPU Amplifier solution. Microsoft has improved upon dockable graphics, as the Surface Book just needs a short moment to disengage the extra parts, whereas both the Alienware and MSI solutions require the laptop to reboot completely.
It's a neat feature that allows me to quickly show a friend something cool or when I want to read a digital comic book without having to lug the whole laptop around. But it didn't really click with me until I realized how easily it lets me bring my entire PC to another place without having to disconnect my external monitor, keyboard, mouse, Xbox controller and all my other peripherals at home
It's the coolest mechanic since the saucer separation of the Enterprise-D. What's more, it leaves open a door to expandability. Because the Clipboard is compatible with all Surface Book keyboard bases, not just the one it shipped with, Microsoft could theoretically come out with future upgrades could be done through new bases. (Or maybe even a desktop rig that interfaces with the display? We can dream.)
Specifications and value
With a starting weight of 3.34 pounds (1.51kg), the Surface Book is one of the heaviest 13-inch laptops. And that's without the optional, discrete GPU, which ends up adding a few extra ounces and bumps up this laptop's total weight to 3.48 pounds (1.58kg). While this might look like a lot on paper for an Ultrabook-class device, consider the 13-inch MacBook Pro weighs just as much despite it packing a smaller screen, no dedicated GPU and fewer batteries.If you're looking for the power of a discrete GPU in an Apple device, you'll have to go all the way up to a high-end 15-inch MacBook Pro. And this is a machine that is significantly heavier (4.49 pounds or 2.04kg) and larger (14.13 x 9.73 x 0.71 inches or 359 x 247 x 18mm).
Thanks to its 3:2 aspect ratio and having a 13.5-inch screen, the Surface book is quite a bit taller than your average 13-inch laptop. Despite its peculiar 9.14 x 12.3 x 0.51-0.90 inches or 232 x 312 x 13-22.8 mm (W x D x H) dimensions, I had no problem slipping this laptop into bags designed to hold a traditional 13.3-inch laptop.
The Dell XPS 13 comes as the antithesis to the Surface Book in its mission to be the smallest 13-inch laptop in the world, weighing in at 2.8 pounds (1.27kg) while measuring 11.98 x 7.88 x 0.6 inches (304mm x 200 x 15mm).
Spec sheet
Here is the configuration for the Microsoft Surface Book techradar reviewed:- Processor: 2.4GHz Intel Core i5-6300U (dual-core, 3MB cache, up to 3GHz with Turbo Boost)
- Graphics: Intel HD graphics 520; Nvidia GeForce graphics (1GB GDDR5 high-speed memory)
- RAM: 8GB
- Screen: 13.5-inch, 3,000 x 2,000 (267 ppi) PixelSense Display
- Storage: 256GB PCIe3.0
- Ports: 2 x USB 3.0, mini DisplayPort, SD card reader, mini headphone/mic combo jack
- Connectivity: 802.11ac 2x2 MIMO Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 LE
- Camera: Windows 8MP rear-facing auto-focus camera (1080p HD), 5MP front-facing Hello face-authentication camera (1080p HD)
- Weight: 3.48 pounds (1.58kg)
- Size: 9.14 x 12.3 x 0.51-0.90 inches (W x D x H) (232 x 312 x 13-22.8 mm)
With an $1,899 or AU$2,949 (about £1,239) price tag for the configuration above, the Surface Book asks for a pretty penny that's typically reserved for high-end gaming notebooks. And that's even applicable to the $1,499 or AU$2,299 (about £978) price associated with its most basic configuration, which is essentially a more expensive Surface Pro 4.
Not just a joke either, Microsoft's two Surface devices shares very similar standard specs including the same processor, storage space and memory allotment. However, there are several key differences, as Microsoft's first laptop possess a larger screen and a completely different design. It's for this reason, it makes sense to either throw in an extra couple of dollars in the hole to get the $1,699, US-only unit with discreet graphics and 128GB of storage space.
The well-equipped, Skylake-powered Dell XPS 13 can be had for $1,649 (£1,149, $2,499). While it does not come with a discrete graphics chip, the XPS 13 has a leg up on the Surface book with a 3,200 x 1,800 resolution display and a 2.5Ghz Intel Core i7-6500U processor.
The 15-inch MacBook Pro is by far the most expensive machine, ringing up for $2,499 (£1,999, AU$3,799). However, for this kingly some, it comes with double the RAM and SSD storage space, an AMD Radeon R9 M370X GPU, and it's the only one with a quad-core processor. Unfortunately, it has the lowest resolution display, pushing only 2,880 by 1,800 pixels.
If you're looking for something to serve your basic mobile computing needs, then the Dell XPS 13 is your smartest and most economical choice. However, if you're looking for something flashier and can do more, then the Surface Book is your ticket. For those who need a production workhorse, the 15-inch MacBook Pro still wins this race against Microsoft.
Performance and features
With a dedicated GPU, naturally the first tests I conducted were gaming ones. The Clipboard and its Skylake processor have more than enough power to make Hearthstone fly, even at full resolution. Plugging the display into the keyboard base unlocks even more performance from the dedicated GPU. With the discrete graphics chip in tow, the Surface Book can play Rocket League at 30 frames per second (fps) in full screen and medium settings.For more serious games, like Metal Gear the Phantom Pain, I was able to get it running between 24 to 29 fps, but only after dropping the resolution to 1,920 x 1,080 and practically turning off all the settings. Microsoft's first laptop won't be replacing your PC gaming rig any time soon, but it's surprising how well this machine gets along with only 1GB of video RAM.
Of course, all this power also makes the Surface Book a productivity beast that easily takes on task after task. Lightroom runs incredibly fast on this 13-inch laptop, thanks to the added power of the Nvidia graphics. What's more amazing is I'm able to edit photos quickly while I have a browser full of 10 tabs and streaming video pushed over to a connected monitor.
Benchmarks
Here's how the Microsoft Surface Book performed in our suite of benchmark tests:- 3DMark Cloud Gate: 7,285; Sky Diver: 6,089; Fire Strike: 1,868
- Cinebench CPU: 301 points; Graphics: 32 fps,
- GeekBench: 3,166 (single-core); 6,635 (multi-core)
- PCMark 8 (Home Test): 2,336 points
- PCMark 8 Battery Life: 3 hours and 58 minutes
Thanks to the extra boost from the discrete graphics chip, the Surface Book also has more than double the performance for gaming. This is evidenced by its 1,868 point Fire Strike score compared to the Dell's 739-point performance.
The only figure I can draw to compare this machine to the 15-inch MacBook Pro is the GeekBench score. In the multi-core test, Microsoft's laptop finished with 6,635 points, whereas two outlets saw the 15-inch Apple's steely steed completed the test with an average of 14,258 – an unsurprising result, considering the MacBook Pro has twice the number of processor cores.
Pixels to please
With 3,000 x 2,000 pixels under its belt, the Surface Book sits at a happy middle ground of being sharper than most other laptops (including every MacBook in existence) without the troubles that plague 4K screens. You'll never see the separation between the pixes, l because they're so tiny, and Windows 10 scales beautifully at 200%.While most applications, including the Origin, Steam and Battle.net launcher would look tiny on a 4K screen, these windows look small, but not uncomfortably so, on the Surface Book.
I even like the 3:2 aspect ratio. The ability to read more lines of text and not have a Lightroom window that's not vertically squished together more than makes up for the thick black bars that appear when you watch movies. Microsoft fashions its displays after A4 paper, which makes the Clipboard feel like a natural device for writing and art work.
Within five minutes of handing the Surface Book over to an artistic friend, who works as a designer in the fashion industry, she was already drinking the Kool-Aid. According to her, using the Surface Pen is incredibly accurate, and the screen gives just enough to the point where it emulates the feel of painting and drawing on real paper.
Sadly, the speakers don't make as big of an impression and really only sound good enough for some casual listening. While they avoid the problem of being tinny, as most laptop speakers are, they also lack any depth with barely any bass. If you're looking to settle down for a movie or a quick game, you'll want to plug in a pair of headphones.
Battery life
Battery life on the Surface Book is both pretty good and surprisingly disappointing. While Microsoft has promised 12 hours of continual usage and other outlets report getting even more juice out of the machine, our best time for the device was 7 hours and 39 minutes. As for the Clipboard on its own, the tablet can last for 4 hours.While these are more than respectable numbers considering all the hardware inside the Surface Book, I honestly expected a much longer run time. The good news is this notebook recharges quickly, going from zero to 100% charge in under two hours.
This could largely be due some problems early Surface Book owners are running into. My unit seems to be among this group of afflicted models. Just some of the major bugs include the system not starting up properly when connected to the dock and display driver failures. The latter of which cause battery life to drop dramatically by three or more hours.
Microsoft has said it is "aware of aware scenarios where Surface Book's display may deliver a display driver error and that we'll address through fixes issued via Windows Update within a few weeks after launch."
By comparison, the older generation Dell XPS 13 lasted for 7 hours and 40 minutes, while several outlets were able to stretch their usage of the most recent 15-inch MacBook Pro for an average of 9 hours and change. So again, the Surface Book's battery life is by no means terrible, but it could get a lot better with future updates.
Verdict
Now, the question is: has Microsoft made the ultimate laptop? And the answer is not quite – not quite yet, anyway. The Surface Book still has some growing pains to get through, and its substantial size may not jive with everyone. However, this is a great first crack, and it's made the concept of 2-in-1 laptop look and sound more believable than anyone else has.The majority of hybrid laptops to this point have followed the back-flipping model established by Lenovo's Yoga series. This is largely because models with detaching screens were clunky and chunky, but Microsoft has turned the perfected the concept by splitting the laptop in half.
All the essentials for a Windows 10 tablet are packed into the Clipboard, which can be used as Surface tablet unto it's own. But then the slate marries perfectly with its other half that contains extra batteries and a dedicated GPU.
We liked
The Surface Book's design isn't for everyone, but I simply fell in love with its futuristic look. Whether it looks odd or just ahead of the curve will depend on your perspective, but you can't deny Microsoft has made a daring move with its dynamic fulcrum hinge. 2-in-1 laptops – and especially those of the detachable variety – have had their ugly duck moments. This is no such moment for Redmond.Beyond looks, every design element of this laptop is full of purpose, from the rolling hinge to how quickly you can detach the Clipboard. The Surface Pen and the display work together beautifully for creating art that I will never understand beyond jotting down my notes in chicken scratch. And then there's the Surface Book's undying performance that just won't let up whether you're working on spreadsheets, editing photos or even enjoying some light gaming.
We disliked
While I praise this hybrid for its incredible performance, there are heavy limits on just how many games it will play with only one gigabyte of video memory. The early bugs are also something I can't ignore, but they're to be expected from the first run of the first laptop ever created by Microsoft.Though some small parts of the Surface Book experience are borked as of this writing, you can bet Microsoft won't be resting on its laurels. Updates will continue to come out quickly one after the other and just in the time of one week, I've already received two software patches that have fixed a few of my early problems with the device.
Final verdict
If you were to strip away the Clipboard's ability to detach, the Surface Pen, the neatness factor of the dynamic fulcrum hinge and just about everything that makes the Surface Book unique, you would be still left with terrific laptop. That's what I love the most about this device. Underneath all the extra stuff, the Surface Book is a solid laptop in terms of ergonomics, performance and, yes, even battery life despite the promises.Incorporating all the extras – from the ability to run off with the clipboard, the incredible accuracy of the Surface Pen and the engineering feats of the hinge – they all serve to enhance the experience, rather than detract. In time, Microsoft will smooth out all the rough edges of its first go. Both the Dell XPS 13 and 15-inch MacBook Pro are well worth purchasing in their own right. But if you want an excellent laptop that does just a bit more, then the Surface Book is your ticket.
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In Depth: Halloween asteroid: every detail on today's 'Spooky' close encounter
Halloween scares are usually of the localized, personal variety - stuff like ghosts and unsavory characters hiding in our closets with lawn care equipment.
But this Halloween is bringing a scare of a very different sort, one that could affect us all. Somewhere out there in the black beyond is an asteroid named 2015 TB145 that's set to zoom by our planet at 10:05am Pacific time on October 31.
It's moving at a stunning 22 miles (35km) per second, and were it pushed off its current course by even a smidge, it's possible our candy hauls would be the last things on our mind come Sunday morning. But thankfully there's no need for doom and gloom in this case. In fact, its appearance is a bit of a rare treat for astronomers.
How big is it and how close will it come to Earth?
We're in no danger at all, as it turns out, but it'll come close. 2015 TB145 (or "Spooky," as it's being called informally in some circles) will approach our planet within 302,000 miles (487,000km), which is only 1.3 times the distance from the Earth to the moon. And it's kind of big, too, as current estimates peg it at 1,300 feet (400 meters) across. On the bright side, it's still far enough away that the European Space Agency doesn't even see cause to include it on its Risk List for near-Earth objects.
The asteroid was only discovered by the Panoramic Survey Telescope & Rapid Response System (Pan-STARRS) on October 10 atop Hawaii's Mount Haleakala, but that's been more than enough time for scientists to calculate the specifics of its orbit. In fact, we even know that it has a highly elliptical and tilted orbit that's curiously more common to comets than asteroids (though it lacks any of the classic signs of comets, such as tails), and that it's either a "dead" comet or an asteroid with an orbit that was severely altered by the gravitational pull of Jupiter at some point.
Its highly skewed orbit, in fact, is thought to be one reason why it remained undetected for so long, as only telescopes in the remote spots of the Southern Hemisphere would be able to spot it on most of its journey. Data also suggest that it likely last made a close flyby in 1975, well before many of today's advanced monitoring systems were developed.
What would it do if it hit us?
For perspective, the asteroid responsible for creating Arizona's 560-foot deep and .737-mile wide Meteor Crater is thought to have only measured around 130 feet and was traveling at a comparatively modest 7.5 miles (12km) per second.That was also the presumed size of the meteor thought responsible for the "Tunguska Event," which leveled approximately 800 square miles (2,070 square kilometers) of remote Siberian forest back in 1908. (The asteroid or comet that killed the dinosaurs is usually thought to have been around six miles (10km) in diameter.) That such a large object as 2015 TB145 went so long without being detected has some scientists on edge.
"The fact that such a large near-Earth object, capable of doing significant damage if it were to strike our planet, was discovered only 21 days before closest approach demonstrates the necessity for keeping daily watch of the night sky," said Detlef Koschny of the ESA's Space Situational Awareness office in a statement.
Daniel Brown, a lecturer in astronomy at Nottingham Trent University, published a scenario at The Conversation on Tuesday detailing what that would mean for us if 2015 TB145 hit this weekend. His observations were based on observations of 2013's Chelyabinsk meteor event (which injured 1,491 people) and impact simulators from Imperial College London, and it's not a pretty picture. Many people would likely die, and economies would be devastated. Brown imagines a scenario in which a Pacific impact unleashes a "tsunami wave between five and 15 metres in height" that would cause misery for huge swaths of coastal Australia and other Pacific countries. It wouldn't be the end of civilization by a long shot, but it would leave scars the affected areas wouldn't easily recover from.
Why are astronomers excited?
But since there's no need to worry about all that, scientists are eager to get down to the dirty business of studying the Spooky asteroid. Such a close flyby means that this is an extraordinary opportunity to study such an object in detail without going through the trouble of landing a craft on it, as the ESA did with its Rosetta space probe on comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko last year.As a result, NASA is already prepared to monitor the asteroid on October 31 with its radar telescopes at California's Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex. According to Marina Brozovic of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, the Goldstone complex will transmit the radar signals to the asteroid while Puerto Rico's Arecibo Observatory and West Virginia's Green Bank Observatory will receive the signals, resulting in "really spectacular" images that we'll hopefully see a few days down the line.
But what about us normal people? Can we see it?
The sun will be too bright in North America for the closest flyby, and even if it weren't, Paul Chodas, manager of the Center for Near Earth Object Studies at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory notes that "it is expected to be fairly faint, so night-sky Earth observers would need at least a small telescope to view it."If you do have a telescope, though, you can find it at around 12:20am Pacific (3:20am Eastern) Saturday by setting your sights on HIP 23301, a magnitude 8 star located in the constellation Orion. Nearby, 2015 TB145 will look like a slowly moving "star."
Don't want to bother with all that? Never fear: you can treat yourself to the free feed hosted by the Slooh Community Observatory beginning at 9:30am Pacific on Halloween.
Top image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
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13 scary movies to stream and make you scream this Halloween
Movies to make you scream
It's that time of year again, when we willingly submit ourselves to bouts of terror and dread, all for the sake of avoiding the increasingly chilly autumn winds.
Indeed, Halloween is a "hallowed" time for watching movies with those we love. From campy and corny to gruesome and gory (call me Dr. Seuss,) nothing says fun like a Halloween flick. However, choosing from the bounty of frightening films can be a ghastly thing.
To make your life easier, I've picked the 13 essential Halloween film to watch or rewatch this unholiest of holidays on Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hulu Plus. The movies are listed in no particular order and are a mixture of fun, scary and occasionally brain-dead entertainment.
I will include a "fright-o-meter" for each film, measuring the terror of the flick on a scale of one to five Donald Trumps (or Trumpkins, because why not have fun with it?) The fright level will be about more than jump scares and gore, but will take into account the suspense and horror that the film builds.
Also, since this is a list about movies and this is the internet, you will undoubtedly disagree with most of my choices and probably respond with some witty memes or insults. I thank you in advance for the laughs. Let's get started.
Night of the Living Dead
Streaming service where you'll find it: Amazon Prime (US/UK)
It's hard to top a classic. George A. Romero's iconic zombie horror flick is the perfect film to watch this Halloween season. Night of the Living Dead not only inspired an entire genre of horror, but also still stands as a culturally relevant and entertaining film.
Night of the Living Dead offers us everything we want from a Halloween movie: blood, guts and classic campy fun. You can't go wrong with this one on October 31.
Fright level = 4/5 Trumpkins
American Psycho
Streaming service where you'll find it: Netflix (US)
Netflix undoubtedly has the widest variety of fantastic films to watch this Halloween season, starting with this hilarious and sinister horror-comedy starring Christian Bale and directed by Mary Harron.
This film is based on Bret Easton Ellis's 1991 novel of the same name and follows a well-off Manhattan investment banker who moonlights as a dark-humored serial killer. Sounds fun, right? If you're in the mood for an enthralling creepy film with some scathing social satire, grab the candy corn and watch Christian Bale deliver his iconic, unsettling performance as Patrick Bateman.
Fright level = 3/5 Trumpkins
The Nightmare Before Christmas
Streaming service where you'll find it: Netflix (US)
It just doesn't get any more perfect for Halloween than this. Tim Burton's classic stop-motion film, directed by Henry Selik is a picture people of all ages can enjoy this season.
The dark musical follows Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town who finds a portal to Christmas Town and proceeds to celebrate the occasion. This is hands down one of the greatest Halloween films ever made, with infectious tunes and twisted dark humor.
If you've never seen this movie, watch it this Halloween and then again at Christmas. You've got some serious catching up to do.
Fright level = 1/5 Trumpkins
The Blair Witch Project
Streaming service where you'll find it: Hulu Plus (US) / Netflix (UK)
Sorry to break it to you Hulu users, but generally speaking you're better off binge-watching American Horror Story than searching for worthwhile horror flicks. That being said, Hulu subscribers do have access to one of the best found-footage films ever made: The Blair Witch Project.
While this movie is almost a sin because it kicked off the overused trope eventually seen in every Paranormal Activity movies (yawn), Blair Witch did found-footage right. The film follows three student filmmakers in Burkittsville, Maryland who are filming a documentary on Blair Witch, a local legend.
The Blair Witch Project stands as one of the most successful independent films of all time, as well as a deeply unsettling and suspenseful horror movie. If you've never seen it, it's absolutely worth a view.
Fright level = 3.5/5 Trumpkins
The Babadook
Streaming service where you'll find it: Netflix (US/UK)
For any true fan of the horror genre, the Australian film The Babadook is absolutely essential viewing.
What made The Babadook so brilliant is that it throws away the cheap jump scares that plague horror films today and replaces it with a well-written, deeply unnerving story about a mother and her son. Without ruining it, I will say that The Babadook completely reinvents what it means to experience a monster movie.
Admittedly, this isn't for everyone. It's not a film for cheap thrills or laughable horror-comedy tropes. The Babadook is a well thought out, incredibly disturbing psychological thriller that is, in my opinion, the new benchmark for modern monster horror.
Fright level = 5/5 Trumpkins
Gremlins
Streaming service where you'll find it: Amazon Prime (US)
What can I say? It's the Gremlins.
If you (somehow) haven't seen this film, just watch it and thank me later.
Fright level = 2/5 Trumpkins
Silence of the Lambs
Streaming service where you'll find it: Netflix (US)
Silence of the Lambs isn't what you think of when you hear the phrase "Halloween movie." There's no over-the-top gore or spooky mythical monster. Instead, this Academy Award-winning film is a deeply chilling psychological thriller that will leave you speechless long after the credits have rolled.
This film features Anthony Hopkins' iconic cannibalistic psychopath, Hannibal Lecter, as an advisor to a young FBI hopeful on her search for a deranged serial killer named Buffalo Bill. While this may not be your classic Halloween flick, Silence of the Lambs embodies the nuance of horror in every sense of the word and is well worth the watch.
Fright level = 4/5 Trumpkins
The Sixth Sense
Streaming service where you'll find it: Netflix (US)
The Sixth Sense, M. Night Shyamalan's first film, came out in 1999 and to this day stands as a pillar of the thriller/suspense genre.
The story revolves around a young boy who is plagued with visions of ghosts that no one else can see, eventually opening up to a child psychologist. From there, the film takes several twists and turns, culminating in the most shocking twist ending since The Empire Strikes Back.
For anyone looking for a truly great film, with a compelling ghost story and thrilling finale, The Sixth Sense should absolutely be on your list.
Fright level = 2/5 Trumpkins
The Addams Family
Streaming service where you'll find it: Netflix (US/UK)
Wait, Doc Brown is Uncle Fester? Count me in!
Seriously, this movie is a blast. Basically everyone is familiar the kooky Addams family we've come to know and love, and to me this film is criminally underrated.
If you're looking for a fun, unique and hilariously dark comedy to kill a few hours with this 31st, you absolutely can't go wrong with The Addams Family.
Fright level = 1.5/5 Trumpkins
Let the Right One In
Streaming service where you'll find it: Netflix (US)
The Swedish romantic horror film called Let the Right One In just may be the most unique horror film I've seen.
The film focuses on the relationship between a young boy named Oskar and his new, mysterious neighbor named Eli in a winding modern interpretation of a vampire story.
Yes, you will have to read subtitles to get the dialogue, but this film is a breath of fresh air to the vampire genre. I highly recommended it.
Fright level = 3.5/5 Trumpkins
Tucker and Dale vs. Evil
Streaming service where you'll find it: Netflix (US/UK)
Tucker and Dale vs. Evil is, well, just plain fun.
For those not in the know, the premise is this: two men, Tucker and Dale, are mistaken by a group of clueless college students for murdering hillbillies. Somehow, it only gets crazier from there.
The flick enjoys a well-earned 84% on Rotten Tomatoes and is, in my opinion, the most fun to be had on any streaming service. There's heart, scares and plenty of laughs to go around in this one.
Fright level = 3/5 Trumpkins
Scream
Streaming service where you'll find it: Amazon Prime (US) / Netflix (UK)
Directed by the late, great horror master Wes Craven, Scream is the quintessential slasher.
We all know the story: a deranged man with an affinity for horror flicks is stalking the citizens of the quaint town of Woodsboro and slashing them to bits. The classic campy feel and horrifying kills combine to make an instant classic.
It's excellent, mindless fun for the Halloween season, brought to life by one of the most inventive directors in the horror genre. Scream is a guaranteed hit at your Halloween parties for decades to come.
Fright level = 4.5/5 Trumpkins
Rosemary's Baby
Streaming service where you'll find it: Netflix (US)
Other than Psycho, Rosemary's Baby is arguably the most iconic horror film ever made. Directed by the revolutionary Roman Polanski, this film has somehow remained relevant nearly 50 years after its release. It's even preserved in the National Film Registry at the Library of Congress.
This film delves into dark places, including child sacrifice, and is sure to upset and frighten you down to the core. What else could we ask for from a horror movie? If you've never seen Polanski's classic film, put this near the top of your list this Halloween.
Fright level = 4/5 Trumpkins
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Versus: Asus ZenWatch vs ZenWatch 2: which is right for you?
Asus Zenwatch vs Zenwatch 2
Asus has introduced the successor to the ZenWatch, a smartwatch that was originally praised for its Apple Watch-esque design as well as its status as one of the better Android Wear watches out there.This came as a surprise since Asus is a popular computer-focused company that has largely failed to make a real dent in the mobile industry.
Because of the praise of the original device, the new ZenWatch 2 has a lot to live up to. But is it able to stand up against the original? We put the two devices head-to-head to find out.
Design
Still, the design of the ZenWatch 2 is slightly more refined than the original ZenWatch. One of the big visual differences is the addition of a small metal crown that can be used to interact with the device.
Much more customization is also available: the ZenWatch 2 comes in three different color options, including rose gold, gunmetal and standard silver. There are also more band options available now.
Asus has introduced two different sizes of the ZenWatch 2. The smaller version of the device has a model number of WI502Q and has dimensions of 45.2mm (1.78 inches) x 37.2mm (1.46 inches) and a thickness of 10.4mm (0.41 inches). The larger device is the WI501Q, and is 49.6mm (1.95 inches) x 40.7mm (1.6 inches). The thickness, however, is smaller, at 9.4mm (0.37 inches). This is likely because there is more room under the hood for internal components.
The original ZenWatch had dimensions of 51mm (2.0 inches) x 39.9mm (1.57 inches), however the thickness was slimmer than both of the newer devices, sitting at 7.9mm (0.31 inches).
Apart from body dimensions, Asus also changed the size of the watch band. Both versions of the ZenWatch 2 feature a band width of 22mm (0.87 inches), while the older ZenWatch's band was 39.8mm (1.57 inches) across.
Display
Both the larger ZenWatch 2 and the original ZenWatch feature a 1.63-inch AMOLED display with a resolution of 320 x 320 pixels and a pixel density of 278ppi.
The smaller ZenWatch 2, however, has an appropriately smaller display at 1.45-inches, a resolution of 280 x 280 pixels and a density of 273ppi. The pixel density of the smaller display is minimally smaller, however the physical size of the display is noticeable.
Processor, RAM and Storage
Interestingly enough, Asus hasn't really made many changes under the hood the second time around. Every ZenWatch model comes with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 1.2Ghz processor and all feature 512MB of RAM and 4GB of on-board storage.This is somewhat surprising, especially considering the devices were released around a year apart. Clearly Asus' mentality for the device is, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." The only fear that one could have is that the new device might go out of date quicker than the previous generation, however only time will tell whether that plays out or not.
Fitness tracking
One of the things that's changed between the two generations of devices are the sensors on offer for fitness tracking. The original ZenWatch featured a nine-axis sensor/bio-sensor, which can track metrics like steps taken, calories burned and heart rate.Both ZenWatch 2 models feature a six-axis sensor, including an accelerometer and gyroscope, along with a sensor-hub, which basically helps process the information captured from the sensor. While comparing six to nine might make the new device seem a little less impressive, the new ZenWatch 2 can still track the same metrics. Not only that, but the Wellness app has been redesigned for the new watch, and, at least according to Asus, helps make the new watch a "fully-featured activity tracker."
The new device is also able to handle water and dust a lot better than its predecessor. While the original device had an IP55 rating, meaning it can handle a few splashes, the new watch has an IP67 rating, indicating it can be fully submerged in up to a meter of water for up to 30 minutes. You still shouldn't go swimming or shower with it on as the rating refers to accidental submersion.
Battery life
Asus has upped the battery life on the ZenWatch for the new larger model, which offers a 400mAh battery, compared to the 369mAh battery of its predecessor. The smaller ZenWatch 2, however, features a lower capacity 300mAh battery.Asus claims the the larger ZenWatch 2 will last for two days on a single charge and the smaller version a day and a half. The older device only lasts one day on a single charge. Basically, Asus has managed to bring its ZenWatch in line with other wearables on the market, which is great news for those who don't want to have to charge their device every day.
Software and compatibility
The new ZenWatch 2 runs the latest version of Android Wear out of the box, which has a number of big updates. Of course, the older ZenWatch has received this latest version of Android Wear as an update as well, so really there aren't many differences as far as software goes between the two devices.
Asus did add a number of tweaks to the software on the ZenWatch 2. For example, a feature called Remote Camera enables users to see through the camera lens on their smartphone. This feature did exist on the original ZenWatch, however it has been upgraded in the new device to offer further reach and faster performance.
Another improvement is in the wellness smartphone app, as discussed earlier.
There should be no difference in compatibility between the two devices, especially with recent updates to Android Wear. The two devices will work with Android smartphones running 4.3 and later, and iPhones running iOS 8.2 and later.
Price
Here's where things get a little confusing with price, at least if you choose to buy from the Asus website. The original ZenWatch costs $149 (£149/about AU$207). The new, larger ZenWatch 2 actually costs less than the original, starting at $129 (about £84.2/AU$179) for the model with a brown leather band.For a metal band, users will be paying $199 (about £130/AU$277), however it's not on sale just yet.
The smaller ZenWatch 2 costs more than the larger device, matching the price of the previous version and starts at $149 (about £97/AU$207). Like the larger ZenWatch 2, prices range up to $199 (about £130/AU$277).
Conclusions
This really is a no-brainer, especially considering the price. The ZenWatch 2 is a better device, even though it's only marginally so. There's no reason to buy the original ZenWatch. Add in the fact that it has a slightly more refined design, better battery life, better fitness tracking and more features overall, and the Asus ZenWatch 2 is a steal.- A look at the latest Moto 360
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Amazon Local closure will force small businesses to rethink daily deals
Small business owners looking to entice new customers through deals and discounts will soon have one less option to market themselves. Amazon announced that it will shutter its Amazon Local service starting December 18.
The move is unsurprising given that Amazon Local competitors have not fared well. Groupon announced it would lay off 1,100 employees last month and LivingSocial announced this month that it is trimming its workforce by 20% as it moves away from deals.
"From October 30, 2015 until December 18, 2015, you can continue to purchase deals at Amazon Local as usual," Amazon announced on its website. "All purchased vouchers will not be affected by this change and remain valid according to their terms."
What this means for small businesses
As deal hosting companies like Amazon Local, LivingSocial and Groupon change their business models, small businesses will also have to evolve the way they market to consumers.LivingSocial, for example, is changing its focus to delivering experiences to customers.
"We've learned a great deal from the daily deals business and will look for ways to apply these lessons in the future as we continue to innovate on behalf of our customers and merchants," an Amazon spokesperson told TechCrunch.
Amazon's new direction with local commerce seems to be around partnering with local merchants rather than highlighting individual businesses. For example, Amazon Home Services allows customers to choose and hire a local repairman that's part of the Amazon network, and Amazon is working with local restaurants for food delivery through Amazon Prime Now.
Amazon is also working on expanding the availability of its same-day Amazon Prime delivery service, which means the company will be competing more directly against local merchants. If you're a business that sells goods on Amazon, the e-commerce giant still offers platform-wide deals through its Deal of the Day and Gold Box Deals.
There are still opportunities for small businesses to promote, but new business models from Amazon and LivingSocial may be less centered on discounts, and more about quality service, like a local pizzeria offering fast delivery through the Amazon Prime Now network.
- Read our picks for the top 11 small business technologies
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Don't worry, there's a non-stupid way to charge your Apple Pencil
The Apple Pencil, the proprietary stylus developed to work with the iPad Pro, may require a special adapter for it to be charged with Lightning cables.
The adapter, detailed in AppleCare employee training literature leaked by 9to5Mac, bridges a Lightning cable and the Apple Pencil so it can plug into a wall or laptop. While it has yet to be confirmed, the Apple Pencil adapter is reported to come bundled with the $99 (about £64/AU$139) stylus when it launches this fall.
The Apple Pencil, which sports a Lightning connector of its own under a cap, can connect directly to the iPad as its primary way of charging. Apple boasts the Pencil can build up nearly half-an-hour's worth of juice after only 15 seconds of charge time.
While the need for a secondary charging method may be unnecessary, concerns have arisen that leaving the device rigidly sticking out of a tablet to charge could leave either electronic prone to accidental damage.
Developed for use with the iPad Pro, which may go on sale on November 11, the Apple Pencil uses built-in sensors combined with the large iPad's multi-detection touchscreen to replicate high-fidelity pen placement, angle and pressure similar to a graphics tablet or ... a regular pencil. The Apple Pencil appears to be marketed primarily for the creative industry, with developers like Adobe pledging support for the device.
- Hands on with the Samsung Galaxy View mega-tablet
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This R2-D2 fridge will serve you cold ones for a cool $9,000
Star Wars hype might be red-hot right now, and the idea of remote-controlled R2-D2 is so cool for a multitude of reasons.
Created by Haier Asia, a new remote-control mini-fridge features the beloved droid complete with a rotating head, sound effects and the ability to keep your beverages at a cool, Hoth-like temperature.
That said, be ready to drop a pretty penny on one of these beauties. Each R2 unit comes with a hefty pricetag of ¥998,000 (approximately $8,266/£5,360/AU$11,591) before tax, shipping and import fees are even included.
If you're not dissuaded by the price, the good news is that you can preorder your Artoo now so you're first in line to get this wonderfully nerdy appliance.
Part of Haier's AQUA line of home appliances, fans of the darker side of The Force will be glad to know that other products based on a galaxy far, far away are also available to preorder, including a Darth Vader cooler and matching Galactic Empire-themed vacuum cleaners.
Other Disney-owned properties have been included with the AQUA lineup of geek homeware, such as Disney cartoons and Marvel superheroes, but a moving, bleep-blooping R2-D2 complete with frosty cold ones takes the cake for us. The fridges are expected to be released by December, so perhaps consider having one hold your spot in line once Episode VII hits theaters.
Top image credit: AQUA - Haier Asia
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In-depth: How tech helps ghost hunters find what goes bump in the night
Ghost hunters
Ghost hunting is serious business.Just ask any of the major cable networks that willingly dedicate hour-long time slots to black T-shirt wearing professionals every week. Once a hobby for curious teenagers and bored housewives, tracking down specters has become a spectator sport, spawning multiple TV shows, including Ghost Adventures and Ghost Hunters. Now, we're finally seeing what happens when ordinary folks get a chance to hunt in front of millions.
Part of the paranormal industry's success can be attributed to the public's belief in the otherworldly beings. A Harris Poll issued in 2013 found that42% of Americans believe in ghosts, but why are people putting faith in the existence of things they cannot see?
We may have technology to thank for that.
"Each day there are more and more advances in technology allowing us to answer questions that just a few years ago baffled us," says Michael Rohr, co-founder of Elgin Paranormal Investigators.
Since 2007, Rohr and his team have been investigating local accounts of hauntings in Illinois and Wisconsin.
"We utilize infrared cameras, digital voice recorders, and electro-magnetic field and temperature detectors as the 'go to' equipment on all investigations," Rohr continued.
But in order to understand why any of this technology needs to be used, we need to take a step back and examine the underlying art of ghost hunting.
Believing in the unbelievable
In the paranormal world, most investigators believe that ghosts – humans who have passed away but whose spirits have hung around – can make a physical impact on our environment.One common assumption is that ghosts can sap the energy out of a space and use it to manifest in different ways. Investigators believe this can result in a change in temperature and electromagnetic energy levels.
In other words, you might start to feel goosebumps or a cold breeze if a ghost has stepped into the room. Some investigators also believe that high electromagnetic levels can contribute to dizziness and anxiety. While electronics can also be affected by these waves of energy, the waves effect ranges from little to none to interfering with small devices such as pacemakers and quartz watches.
However, electromagnetic fields (EMF) are around us every day, stemming from devices such as microwaves, power lines and televisions. While monitoring tools haven't always been associated with detecting the paranormal, a number of these devices have quietly seeped into the field of ghost hunting.
"The EMF meter was originally made to diagnose problems with electrical wiring, power lines and to get readings on appliances," says Betty Dupont with Paranormal Investigators of New England. "The ghost hunting community quickly latched on to these as the go-to item as the theory [that] spirits could cause electrical disturbances in the environment evolved."
"During the investigation, it can also be used as a response tool for question and answer sessions," she added.
Talking to the dead might seem impossible, but detecting any electromagnetic changes in the atmosphere and temperature fluctuations could be inferred as a response from ghosts.
In some cases, investigators tweak existing technology to help them with their research.
"The SB-7 Spirit Box is just a radio scanner and speaker that generates white noise so the spirits can use it to speak," says Jeff Young, a member of Arkansas Paranormal Investigations. "We have talked to several different spirits this way."
Communication is a big part of paranormal investigations, and there are many basic pieces of technology that can capture the voices of lost souls. These days, digital recorders are the go-to for investigators, but in the past, it wasn't uncommon to pull out a tape recorder.
"You can purchase these recorders at any Wal-Mart, and they are very affordable," Young notes. "We just turn them on and carry them around or set them down on a table and just let them record. Later, when we are reviewing the evidence, we discover that we caught whispers or voices that didn't come from our teammates."
Sometimes, the simple approach is best, and investigators have the evidence to prove it.
"We have caught an out-of-breath soldier running up to our team, as well as names, phrases, and answers to questions we've asked," says Young. "These voices are classified as EVPs, or electronic voice phenomena, meaning you can only hear them through the recording device. If you are able to audibly hear a voice, it falls under the classification of disembodied voices."
Tools of the trade
When paranormal investigators aren't trying to listen for the exact causes of cold chills and creepy feelings, they tap into technology to capture visual evidence as well.In order to photograph spirits, ghost hunters turn to infrared and ultraviolet light.
"'Ghosts' may only be visible in those wavelengths, which most humans cannot see but unfiltered digital sensors and some photographic films are able to record," explains New England Investigator Anthony Duda.
Duda, who has been investigating the paranormal for more than 25 years, is all about getting to the bottom of paranormal activity for his clients. In his line of work, he uses both still cameras and video camcorders.
Tune in to any of the ghost hunting programs on television and you'll see investigators using simple recording equipment, too. You may even be inspired to whip out your digital camera the next time you're walking through an old building. However, you might need to splurge a little if you're as serious as the professionals.
"The basic and affordable components of a ghost hunter's toolbox in order of use and importance are the digital camera, audio recorder, EMF detector, and remote temperature sensor," says Tom Elliott of Boston Paranormal Investigators.
"The total price tag for these would be less than $250. Beyond that, there are all sorts of sophisticated tools such as thermal cameras ($3,000 and up). Generally, new technologies are coming on the market yearly, but limited funding puts them beyond the reach of most groups."
The evolution of the hunt
To give spooked homeowners some peace of mind, it takes a lot of technology to hone in on the cause of the paranormal activity, and most investigators can agree that it's come a long way. Furthermore, technology is still evolving."I have seen new gadgets, like the 'Paranormal Puck' and the 'Ghost Light,' come and go," says Mike Palmer, founder of the Paranormal Investigators of Northern Kentucky. "Each year there seems to be 'the next big thing.'"
In some cases, investigators are just as skeptical about new technology as they are about paranormal activity at a new location. Just ask Michael Cardinuto, the founder of Long Island Paranormal Investigators.
"I have seen more and more tech equipment emerge, but in my opinion, new technology isn't necessarily better for the field," says Cardinuto. "For instance, 35mm cameras are becoming obsolete and digital cameras seem to be taking over. With a digital camera photo anyone can take that photo and alter it using various different programs."
Perhaps that's what using technology for ghost hunting is all about: building credibility and proving that maybe there is more to than the living world. However, most investigators know they shouldn't rely on their gadgets to figure out what goes bump in the night.
"Some paranormal investigators rely too heavily on technology, often missing the physical, organic evidence," says Barbara Wright of Cranberry Coast Paranormal. "They are too busy staring at the numbers on their temperature guns and EMF meters to see the apparition that just floated by them."
As investigators work hard to figure out the paranormal, they have a mountain of technology to confront as well. Luckily, the five basic human senses are affordable resources they can use along the way.
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Hands-on review: Updated: Canon PowerShot G5 X
Features, build and handling
The G5 X is one of three new cameras launched by Canon. The others are the G9 X, another compact camera, and the EOS M10 mirrorless model.The G5 X is potentially the most interesting because it offers enthusiast-orientated controls in a pocket-size camera with an electronic viewfinder, and we've now been able to update our hands-on review with sample images.
Inside the G5 X (and G9 X launched at the same time) is the same 20.2 million-pixel back-illuminated 1-inch type sensor as is found in the Canon G7 X, which impressed us when we tested it in 2014. As in the G7 X this sensor is coupled with a Digic 6 processor and sensitivity may be set in the range ISO 125-12,800. The G5 X also has the same lens as the G7 X; a 4x zoom with a focal length range equivalent to 24-100mm. There's also a maximum aperture range of f/1.8-2.8, which ensures reasonable control over depth of field.
In a significant difference from the G7 X, however, the G5 X has an electronic viewfinder (EVF) built-in. This is a 0.39-inch type OLED device with 2.36 million dots and it shows 100% of the scene that will be captured. The EVF also has a refresh rate of 120fps, which should ensure that it's possible to follow moving subjects accurately. According to Canon this EVF is similar but not identical to the optional EVF that's available for the G3 X.
Canon has also given the PowerShot G5 X a 3-inch 1,040,000-dot touch sensitive screen that's mounted on a vari-angle hinge to make it easier to compose images in either upright or landscape format at high or low angles.
Further good news is that like other G-series cameras, the G5 X offers advanced exposure control with aperture priority, shutter priority and manual mode being available, as well as a collection of scene modes and automatic options. There's also stabilisation built-in to help produce sharp images as light levels fall.
Build and handling
Canon has opted for retro styling for the G5 X. Some may find it a little old-school and angular, but I rather like it. It's not a million miles away from the Sony A7R II in looks. It feels reasonably well constructed and there's a nice secure grip on the front.The electronic viewfinder sits in the middle of the top-plate and this gives the camera a mini-DSLR-like appearance. There's also a retro control arrangement with a ring around the lens along with dials on the front and back of the camera that can be used to adjust a range of settings. In addition, it's nice to have a dedicated mode dial to set the exposure mode quickly and a compensation dial for speedy exposure adjustment by up to +/-3EV.
Initially I found the shutter release a little awkward to reach as your index finger has to stretch over the exposure compensation dial. However, I adjusted my grip a little so that my index finger could be poised on the release while my middle finger rested on the front adjustment dial. This enabled me to make quick setting changes with the camera held to my eye. I want to explore this control arrangement further when we get the camera in for testing.
Meanwhile the lens ring is within easy reach of the fingers and thumb of your left hand as you support the camera for shooting.
Having a viewfinder is huge advantage in bright conditions and the G5 X's EVF is very good. It's more comfortable to use than the unit in the Sony RX100 III and Sony RX100 IV and it doesn't have to be popped-up and extended like theirs do – it's ready for use whenever you need it. There's even a helpful sensor that detects when the camera is held to the eye to fire up the viewfinder and turn off the main screen.
Like the viewfinder, the G5 X's screen provides a clear view. It also responds quickly to a touch and it's easy to adjust settings and swipe through images.
Canon G5 X sample images
By Rod LawtonTo introduce its new PowerShot G5 X, G9 X and EOS M10, Canon took a party of journalists to a derelict factory awaiting redevelopment in the London docklands for a little urban exploration. This was the ideal opportunity to try out the G5 X in a range of conditions.
This was taken at the lens's maximum zoom setting and it looks just as sharp as shots taken at shorter focal lengths – it also looks sharp right to the edges. The colors and contrast are good, and the auto white balance has captured the natural color of the mid-afternoon low sunlight very well. Click here for a full size version.
Here's another shot taken at full zoom. Click here for a full size version.
And here's another with the lens zoomed right out to give an idea of the focal range offered by the lens. Click here for a full size version.
This was taken at an ISO setting of 6,400. There's an obvious increase in grain and a noticeable drop in detail, but this is still a good performance from a compact camera, and the larger than usual 1-inch sensor is no doubt a factor. Click here for a full size version.
Even at a relatively low ISO of 125, however, the G5 X has not had enough dynamic range to hold on to the highlights in the bright sky here. It's possible that the raw file might hold some extra highlight information, but we'll have to wait until we have the latest Canon raw conversion software to check. Click here for a full size version.
The colors and tonal rendition are good here, but the G5 X's program AE mode chose a surprisingly slow shutter speed of 1/20 sec, even though this was shot at the maximum zoom setting. It's a shame the camera didn't choose a higher ISO to allow a faster shutter speed because the picture is blurred slightly by camera and subject movement. This is one of those situations where you'd need to take control manually. Click here for a full size version.
The autofocus worked well, even in low light. You can tap the screen to set the focus point, though it's often just as easy to use the centre point and half-press the shutter button to lock focus and then reframe. Click here for a full size version.
This low-angle shot was taken just a couple of inches above the surface of an expanse of water to capture the unusual reflection. The G5 X's articulating screen made this possible although, oddly, the eye sensor next to the viewfinder was confused by the high visibility jackets we were wearing, and didn't always switch the view automatically to the rear screen. Click here for a full size version.
The combination of a larger than usual sensor, for a compact camera, and relatively wide aperture lens means it's possible to get sharp foreground focus and attractive background blur, especially if you can get close to your subject. Click here for a full size version.
The G5 X's default evaluative metering seems to favour highlight areas of the scene, which is probably what most enthusiast photographers would prefer. It exposed the scene beyond the window perfectly here, without the need for any exposure correction. Click here for a full size version.
Finally, here's another example of the G5 X's excellent color rendition. The wall of the building opposite ours was bathed in a warm reflected glow from the late afternoon sun, and the G5 X has captured it perfectly. Click here for a full size version.
This second shot, taken roughly half way through the zoom range, has kept exactly the same exposure value and color rendition without the need for any manual adjustments. Click here for a full size version.
Performance and early verdict
Our early samples suggest that the PowerShot G5 X is just like the older G7 X model. Like the G7 X, it produces high quality images in many situations, usually without much intervention from the photographer. With the G7 X, noise is controlled well but ISO 12,800 images are best kept fairly small – 8x10 inches is fine. We look forward to checking to see if the G5 X is the same.Many of our G5 X samples were taken in low light and its autofocus system coped well – it will be interesting to test this further in our full review.
When I tested the G7 X I found that images shot at the widest point of the lens showed a more noticeable drop in sharpness across the frame than those taken at the telephoto end and some coma distortion was visible – we'll take a close look at the G5 X's images to see if this has been corrected.
Early verdict
After a prolonged period when manufacturers omitted viewfinders from compact cameras, they are now making a welcome return. While I liked the Canon G7 X a lot when I tested it, it doesn't have a viewfinder built-in and this made image composition trickier than I'd like in bright light. It's also easier to follow a moving subject in a viewfinder rather than on the screen on the back of the camera. The G5 X corrects this omission by adding a good quality electronic viewfinder.Although it has a much in common with the G7 X and there's a similar lens ring along with a responsive touch screen, the new camera feels quite different, having a pronounced grip and a new control arrangement with an extra dial on the front. The shutter release seems oddly placed at first but it didn't take me long to adjust to it. It will be interesting to see how convenient or comfortable it is during prolonged use. I'm looking forward to giving it a thorough test in the near future.
Read:
- Best compact camera
- Best high-end compact
- What camera should I buy?
- How to use the techradar camera channel
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Review: Optoma NuForce BE6
There's a rat race going on within the tech industry to become the smallest and lightest out there in every category, wireless in-ear headphones included. And when these compact buds come to market, they're usually chock full of compromise. Either the sound performance is cruddy, or the battery doesn't last for longer than a few hours.
But occasionally, a company strikes the fine balance between raising the bar in terms of design innovation, while still including the features that we all want and expect. One of those companies is Optoma, most famous for its projectors. A year after acquiring NuForce, it has crafted the $129 (£99, about AU$180 ) BE6, the most convincing argument for wireless earbuds that I've encountered yet.
Design
Motorola, for example, recently released the Moto Surround, which houses all of its components in the plastic band that wraps around your neck. It's fairly low-profile, but slick as the presentation may be, it's proof that the challenge of shrinking down components without reducing performance is a tough one.
Optoma NuForce has carved out its own path by making a set of in-ear headphones that look almost no different than your usual set of buds, with all of the components tucked into its flat wire and inline remote.
The earpieces, which house the sound drivers, are crafted with aluminum and match the minimalist appearance of many of today's leading smartphones, like the HTC One M9 and iPhone 6S. Those who are used to wearing wired earbuds will probably think that the BE6's earphones appear a bit on the hefty side, but these don't present any issue when it comes to sound throughput, or staying put inside your ears during a jog.
The back ends of each earpiece are magnetized, allowing the two to click onto to each other. Many other models perform this function, but that doesn't make its application here any less cool or convenient for organization's sake. Moving down, the earpieces are supported by a few pieces of thick, matte-textured plastic to prevent the wire connecting them from fraying.
The BE6 only includes the most basic, but useful functions for listeners to take advantage of. Its inline remote hangs just beneath the right earpiece and is easy to reach. The panel of easy-to-press buttons contains a volume up and volume down button, each of which offer a dual purpose to skip or reverse songs by holding them down for a second. The middle button pauses and resumes tracks, as well as answering and hanging up phone calls. You'll also find an LED indicator that provides feedback on battery and connectivity status. On the remote's side, there's a microUSB port covered by a rubber flap.
Optoma NuForce includes a welcomed set of goodies along with the purchase. You'll receive a zip-up canvas hard case, packed inside with a microUSB and six sets of eartips (four silicon and two Comply foam sets). If you're having trouble finding a good fit, you'll be pleased that a set of stabilizers are included. These attach to the earphones, along with a set of tips, and wedge into the cartilage of your outer ear canal.
Performance
A slick-looking set of wireless buds isn't too hard to find. But, I'd posit that you'll have a much more difficult time trying to find one that possesses both design and performance prowess. Well, it just got a little bit easier. Just as the Optoma NuForce took no shortcuts in crafting this lightweight, fully-featured build, the BE6 also impresses with its ease of use, universal support and sound performance.
Connecting to an Android or iOS device is simple, just push and hold the power button until you hear an audible chime. The setup process here is no different than every other Bluetooth headset on the market. But unlike most of those other options, the BE6 is universal, meaning that its full set of functions work perfectly on both Android and iOS. This is a huge plus in my book.
For being such a small package, the BE6 is capable of delivering a remarkable audio profile. Once you find the right fit, made easy by the several included sets of ear tips, music across-the-board sounds accurate, well-balanced and full of detail. The bass presence, while not exactly booming, is right where it should be and doesn't step on the other frequencies. Mids and highs are crisp and show off the BE6's knack for highlighting all the little nuances in your music.
Taking phone calls with the BE6 is simple and a frictionless experience, thanks to the inline controls and sensitive microphone. The rechargeable battery is advertised to last for six hours before requiring a charge. And, throughout several charge cycles, that's just about how long it lasted.
For how much Optoma NuForce got right with the BE6, its battery is the only component that illustrates that even the slightest compromise in a super compact design is difficult to avoid. Even so, it's definitely long enough to power you through a few exercises or a few days of light listening at work.
Verdict
As noted earlier, the six-hour battery leaves a bit to be desired. This isn't really a smack against Optoma NuForce, since this figure is the industry standard at the moment. Regardless, it's a big part of this otherwise exceptionally well-crafted package that doesn't match the rest of its parts.When comparing it to a competitor, the Beats Powerbeats2 Wireless, the BE6 shows its strengths and value. These in-ear Beats retail for $199 (£169, AU$259) and offer a similar level of design mastery, but the BE6 one-up the Beats in terms of sound quality and value.
The Optoma NuForce BE6 doesn't revolutionize the wireless in-ear headphone, but overall, it's a refinement that the market needs. What you're getting here matches the compact nature of a set of high-performance wired earphones and all of the goodies that the purchase usually includes, but without the hinderance of the wire. At that, the affordable BE6 is the one to beat.
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