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7 S y x a l a G g n u Sams : d e h c n u a l e g d E & S7 ow n k to d e e n u o y g in th Ever y

EAR VR IS HERE: G Get yours with an S7.

Issue 25 | march/APRIL 2016 | htxt.co.za

Contents

www.htxt.co.za

Issue #25

welcome!

March/April 2016

Need To kNow: News

05

W

06

elcome to the combined March/April edition of Tech Made Easy! You’ll notice we’ve made a rather large change in this issue – the magazine is once again a single, contiguous entity, with our business-centric news, features and reviews found further back rather than as a separate mag accessed by flipping the magazine over. We hope you like the change; we certainly do!

We were recently at the big Mobile World Congress trade show that took place in Barcelona, where the heavy hitters of the mobile industry gathered to show off their latest technologies and upcoming products. Our very own Charlie Fripp was there, and he got to spend some one-on-one time with things like Samsung’s Galaxy S7 and several virtual reality headsets; read all about his experiences in our MWC roundup, which you’ll find on page 4 and 5.

There are quite a few reviews for you to peruse as well; we take a look at HP’s sadly disappointing Star Wars-themed notebook (page 14-15), a new budget phone from Alcatel (page 17), a mini PC from ASUS on page 18 and some really great games. If you are a Dying Light fan, you’re going to love its expansion, The Following (page 20).

We’ll be back in May with even more; enjoy Public Operator’s sub-r500 Ste Holiday Season and we’ll see you then.

MTN la u n c hes super15 cheap smartphone

M

ppa is first of its kind.

obile operator MTN has launched South Africa’s first Android-powered smartphone that’s available on pre-pay for less than R500. It certainly an African first, and may even a world one: as far as we know, there’s no other smartphone in this PUBLISHER: Brett Haggard – brett@htxt.co.za class available for less than $50 anywhere.

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Adam Oxford – adam@htxt.co.za That makes it quite a milestone in MANAGING EDITOR: Nick Cowen - nick@htxt.co.za putting high-tech handsets within the DEPUTY EDITOR: Deon du Plessis – deon@htxt.co.za reach of everyone. Which is awesome.

TECH & NEWS: Charlie Fripp – charlie@htxt.co.za The phone itself isn’t, of course, hugel y STARTUPS & STUFF: Lungelo Shezi – lungelo@htxt.co.za powerful. It’s based on a Qualcomm MAKERS: Brendyn Lotz – brendyn@htxt.co.za, reference design, so it has a 1GHz single Clinton Matos - clinton@htxt.co.za core Snapdragon processor, a 3.5in ch DESIGNER: Selina Morulane – selina@htxt.co.za screen and a mere 2MP camera on board.

ADVERTISING: Dorothy Haggard – dorothy@hypertext.co.za More limiting is the fact that there’s only Sengezo Jubane – sengezo@hypertext.co.za, Masego Leshora 512M B of memory and 1GB of storage on-board. masego@htxt.co.za The screen is a decent enough multitouch affair, which takes up most

Deon

It’s a milestone which puts hightech handsets within the reach of everyone… of the front of the device. There’s no physical keyboard.

It also runs a positively ancient versio n of Google’s Android OS, Gingerbre ad.

Still, that does still mean it’s able to access BlackBerry Messenger, which is hugel y

important for South Africa.

Sadly, MTN has confir med that there ’s no plans to upgrade the Steppa to a more recent version of Android, although local hackers are investigating the possib ility of unlocking the phone and flashing a custom firmware.

There’s an FM radio though, along with a microSD port for upgrading the storag e.

What you don’t get, however, is a fast HSPA radio for high speed internet access – you’ll have to settle for plain old 3G. All in all, though, it’s a heck of a phone for the price. Not even Nokia can come close with its Asha range of semismartphones, which start at about R799 and don’t have access to half the numb er of apps and services the Steppa has.

Like the sound of this super budget smartphone? See our full review at

Want to know more? use Bit.ly

htxt.africa’s Tech Made Easy is At the bottom of almost every produced by: Hypertext Media, 102 on 11th, article in Tech Easy Climate Cha nge willMade Cause more Highlands North, 2192, Johannesburg storm dam agesee you’ll in one sa of these strange

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Contact Us: Email: info@hypertext.co.za go to htxt.co.za Tel: (011) 023-8001/4 Fax: 08654 83304 Our content is licensed under a Creative 6 | tech made easy | March 2014 Commons Attribution-NonCommercialShareAlike 4.0 International Licence. Other rights may apply for non-original materials.

sts from short codes.Two It’sscienti a Bit.ly adress Wits have published a paper which says shortening link, which means that that South Africa may be at when you type it into web increas ed riskyour of tropical storm damag browser it will take e. you to a longer I am a cy bit.ly /nww6kr about clURL one with more information forming over Madagaswhat you’ve just read. Give it a car try now!

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FaCebook buys whatsapp For r200bn Facebook has just dived into its war chest again to make another big purchase, this time it’s buying the popular messaging service WhatsApp. bit.ly/1npd8wj

Typ e into this c you ode r bro web wse r! www.htxt.co.za | 1

Contents Issue #25

March/April 2016

Need to Know

11

The best reviews

The important stuff in SA tech

4

6

10

www.htxt.co.za

8

10

06 11

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Mobile World Congress News Roundup The biggest news and trends out of this year’s MWC Samsung’s Galaxy S7 and S7 edge Everything you need to know about Samsung’s 2016 flagship phone Tech News Glocell gets the green light to take over Autopage’s Cell C customers Old satellites get an 1800Mbps new lease on life No more Unotelly for Paypal users Cell C launches contracts for the data-hungry Maker NewsThis cheap 3D printer aims to get kids Making Treatstock wants to get you paid for your 3D printing hobby Porcelite will allow you to 3D print with porcelain Move over Continuum, here’s the NexDock Game News Quantum Break PC version and specs confirmed Fallout 4’s DLC beta is coming Games in early development to get a boost from Launch X

An affably affordable phone, a mini PC and some awesome games star in this month’s reviews

18 20

Alcatel Pixi 3 Those looking for a cheap but good phone will love the Pixi 3 ASUS Vivo Mini PC Who says a full PC needs to be huge? Certainly not ASUS

22

Dying Light: The Following Finally, an expansion in the truest sense of the word

23

XCOM 2 Think you know XCOM? Think again, soldier.

25

How To Add A Second Instagram account Finally, social media pros can use Instagram from more than one account.

26

Everything you need to know about TV Digital TV, set top boxes, what’s it all mean? We break down the state of TV in SA today.

29

Competition Who wants to win a solar powered TV? Why everyone, of course!

5 of the best mirrorless cameras Interested in a mirrorless micro four thirds camera?

Check these out.

www.htxt.co.za | 3

Need to know: NEWS

Sony debuts Xperia X and XA series

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ell here’s a surprise. Since Sony launched its flagship Xperia Z5 late last year we weren’t expecting a new smartphone at MWC 2016, but here are the X and XA series, and both have some stand out features, like a camera with “predictive hybrid autofocus” and new battery tech that could see batteries lasting much longer than before.

The manufacturer also announced a wireless ear-piece called the Xperia Ear. Using Bluetooth or NFC, people will be able to connect it wirelessly to their smartphone. By pairing the Ear with an app, users will be able to get up-to-date information like the weather fed right into their ear. bit.ly/1TF8biG

Free Gear VR when you pre-order a Galaxy S7 from Cell C and MTN

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ccording to the terms and conditions on the Samsung website, those who purchase the new Galaxy S7 handset between 11 and 20 March will be eligible for the VR headset. This applies to contract deals as well, so don’t worry about having to buy the phone outright. The offer is available via Cell C and MTN in South Africa.

Samsung also makes mention of an app that must be downloaded which people will need in order to redeem the Gear VR. The Samsung Rewards app will need to be downloaded and the Gear VR activated through the app between 11th and 20th March.

bit.ly/20UyZul

Huawei launches a 2-in-1 Matebook

H

uawei made use of its pre-Mobile World Congress press conference to launch a new 2-in-1 notebook/tablet called the MateBook.

It draws heavily on the look and feel of the smartphones in Huawei’s line-up, like the Mate S. To this end, it’s sleek and curved around the edges, with a CNC diamond-cut full metal body.

The 2-in-1 is available in two colour combinations – a black panel with a grey metal body and a white panel with golden metal body – with four different colours of detachable keyboard, namely brown, black, orange and beige. bit.ly/1TF8c6j

4 | tech made easy | march/APRIL 2016

Over 70% of the global populace will have a mobile connection by 2020

T

he GSMA predicts that over 70% of the globe’s population will have a mobile phone subscription by 2020.

GSMA Intelligence explained that over a billion people will take up a mobile subscription over the next five years, pushing the amount of people connected the mobile networks to 5.6 billion.

“Over the next five years a further one billion people will take advantage of the social and economic opportunities made possible by mobile connectivity, but we are now entering a new era that presents mobile operators with fresh opportunities and challenges,” explained Hyunmi Yang, Chief Strategy Officer at the

GSMA, at this year’s Mobile World Congress.

But he was quick to add that some markets will see a slowdown in the uptake of mobile phones as some markets will reach their saturation point.

“Many economically developed regions, notably Europe and the developed markets of Asia Pacific (e.g. South Korea, Japan, Australia) have already reached extremely high levels of mobile penetration and are now at the point where future subscriber growth opportunities are limited.”

That isn’t a bad thing, as it simply means that the extra subscribers predicted will come from developing regions like Africa and India.

bit.ly/1TF8kCK

Need to know: NEWS

Charlie’s iPhone got hacked at Mobile World Congress

C

harlie spent some time with a security company called Vkansee at Mobile World Congress back in February. The CEO, Jason Chaikin, took him through a live demonstration of the inherent weaknesses of the fingerprint scanners found on big-name mobile phones – by hacking Charlie’s phone via its fingerprint reader.

It was done under tightly-controlled

circumstances; they got Charlie to make a cast of his fingerprint in dental paste, they made a “copy” of the print using Play-doh, and then used that copy to unlock his phone.

Naturally, they were punting their own fingerprint scanning technology, which Chaikin said captures four times as much detail in each scan as those used in other big-brand smartphones, including whether or not the finger being scanned is alive or dead. That’ll come in handy, we’re sure. bit.ly/1QbKSHp

LG launches modular G5 plus VR kit at MWC 2016 I almost threw up using HTC’s Vive VR headset, and it was awesome

T

L

G’s new G5 has a unibody design, but also a removable cradle located at the bottom of the phone that can be used to replace the battery or add other cool gadgets.

The G5 will also dedicate a portion of the display to be always-on. According to LG, we check our phones 150 times a day for notifications and this always-on display will give users the convenience of being able to check the time and whether are any other

pressing notifications without having to switch the entire display on.

LG also announced the 360 VR headset.

Frank Lee from LG Mobile said that the 360 VR headset has been designed to be comfortable and still give users that feeling of immersion VR should give you.

The Snapdragon 820 processor will help this along handily given how the chip has proven itself in other high-powered flagships such as Samsung’s Galaxy Note 5. bit.ly/1OuaSvr

he benefit of attending Mobile World Congress is seeing fledgling tech in person, and when Charlie got his head into HTC’s Vive virtual reality headset, those of us back at the office were plenty jealous.

After trying his hand at virtual painting in an application called Tilt Brush (and loving it), he strapped himself into the virtual cockpit of PC game Elite Dangerous; without a screen to look at, and instead finding himself immersed in the game’s sci-fi world like he was physically there, Charlie succumbed to some serious motion sickness even though he’s not someone who gets motion sick in the real world.

Despite the nausea, Charlie loved every second of it. Expect the Vive later this year, and expect it to cost more than R12 000.

bit.ly/1VDJbpK

www.htxt.co.za | 5

Need to know: NEWS

Samsung Galaxy S7 & S7 Edge launched: Everything you need to know

I

t has been one of the worst-kept secrets of the last couple of months, but at Mobile World Congress, Samsung finally made the existence of the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge official.

Both phones are even faster than before, and are built from metal and glass with natural lines from back to from. The Edge will be a 5.5-incher, while the regular S7 will have a screen size of 5.1-inches. The camera (in terms of design) is now almost level with the body.

Display

The phone also makes use of Always-On Display, which lets you see things like emails, time, and messages, without even touching the screen. With a side-glance, you get the info you need, quickly. Interestingly, Always-On is something that LG also added to its G5.

Are they waterproof ? Sure, why not. They both have a IP68 waterproof certification, meaning that you can submerge them entirely in water for 30 minutes in 1.5m water.

Meaning that you can now take pictures and videos underwater.

Speaking of footage, the phone will now also have a Micro SD, so you can add more storage so you can take more pictures.

Camera

More storage is great, but you need a great camera, so the S7 has camera with an f-stop of F1.7, making night photography easy-peasy.

But what are the megapixels?

Samsung is also the first company to embed Dual Pixel technology into a camera. Simply put, what this means is that 100% of the pixels are used to focus on something.

Want fish-eye and wide-angle lenses?

6 | tech made easy | march/APRIL 2016

Samsung has thrown that in as well, as you get covers that add extra lenses.

Hardware

Having all those things is great, but you will need some serious tech to run all of those.

Samsung hasn’t yet said whether these phones sport a Snapdragon processor of one of the firm’s own Exynos chips, but is has described the S7’s CPU as 30% more powerful than the S6, and the new “Pro GPU” as adding 60% more power. According to founder of Epic Games Tim Sweeney, the GPU is capable of full screen anti-aliasing and some impressive real-time physics – which suggests this is Samsung’s own chip tbh.

Denison made a big deal of the cooling system too – essentially the GPU is cooled using the kindsog heatpipes you find on PC graphics cards and laptop processors. “It like aircon for your phone,” Denison explained.

Both phones will sport Qualcomm chipsets in the US, China and Japan (likely the Snapdragon 820), and Samsung’s own octa-core Exynos 8990 processors in the rest of the world.

Battery

You have your power – check. You have your graphics – check. But now you need a great battery to make that all happen. For that reason, Samsung has thrown in a powerful 3 000 mAh and 3 600 mAh battery into the S7 and S7 Edge respectively. That is the most that any Galaxy phone has ever had, so it should last you pretty much all day (the official stat is “enough for an entire season of Game of Thrones” – although 10 hours of video playback isn’t that impressive these days).

Availability

The S7 and the S7 Edge will be available in select countries, which will include South Africa, on 11 March, and the company said that pre-orders will open in the coming days.

There has been no mention of price, but we will let you know as soon as we know.

But speculation has it that it will be between 20% to 25% more than what the current phones cost.

Need to know: GAMES

UE BOOM 2 is the 360- degree wireless speaker that blasts loud, insanely good sound with deep, full bass in every direction– everywhere you go. It was designed to get wet, muddy, and beat up. Itʼ s waterproof* , shockproof and crafted from the sexiest and most uninhibited premium materials known to man. * IPX7-rated waterproof (up to 30 minutes and a depth of 1 meter)

ULTIMATEEARS.COM www.htxt.co.za | 7

Need to know: tech

Old satellites get an 1800Mbps new lease on life

T

he European Space Agency (ESA) thinks it can improve the speed at which data is transferred from satellites to Earth six-fold… using lasers.

On 29th January, the ESA put Eutelsat 9B into orbit; this telecommunications satellite was equipped with the European Data Relay System (EDRS) which, according to The Guardian, weighs just 53kg and is about the size of a microwave oven.

Don’t let the size fool you though. The EDRS module is capable of transmitting and receiving data at up to 1.8Gbps, or to put it

into better perspective, 1800Mbps. That’s one point eight times the speed of a Gigabit Ethernet port running at full speed.

The satellites that will benefit from this new technology the most would be the ESA Sentinel satellites which are constantly looking towards Earth, gathering data and images before sending them back to Earth.

As we mentioned earlier this transmission of data can take several hours because the satellite many not be in line with the antenna on Earth.

The advantage of an EDRS module is that it orbits higher than the Sentinel

satellites, meaning it can maintain constant communication with the ground given its huge coverage.

The hope is that if an image is needed urgently after a natural disaster, or indeed just before one unfolds, the EDRS technology could lessen the wait for data and images from hours to minutes.

Bringing EDRS modules to space is – as would be expected – slow going and the second module is only scheduled to go up in 2017. Bit.ly/1XsQu50

Glocell gets green light to take over Autpage’s Cell C customers and stores

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outh African independent mobile telecoms group, GloCell, has just received approval to acquire all of now-defunct service provider Altech Autopage’s Cell C customer base.

Altech Autopage shut down last year

in November, due to “ongoing mobile termination rate reductions and continued industry and consumer deflationary pressures”.

This meant that mobile network subscribers who had signed up for contracts through Autopage, had to be moved to the

No more Unotelly for PayPal users

More stories at go to htxt.co.za

8 | tech made easy | march/APRIL 2016

Love watching all of the thousands of shows on American Netflix and paying for your geo-unblocker with PayPal? No more – the payment service no longer services Unotelly.

Bit.ly/20yIUWv

original mobile network, if they chose to keep their contracts.

The Competition Commission of South Africa approved the proposed acquisition, meaning GloCell is now a Cell C licensed partner.

“We are naturally pleased that the competition commission has ruled in favour of the transaction, and we look forward to delivering new ground-breaking personalised services to our subscribers and their families, also better value,” Alessandro Mariola, founder and MD of GloCell, said in a statement.

Mariola explained that GloCell is now in the process of taking over and rebranding many of Autopage’s national outlets and turning them into what he terms “experience stores” and re-branding them as GloCell stores.

Neither GloCell nor Cell C revealed how much the acquisition is worth.

Bit.ly/1WmWpr7

Cell C launches contracts for the data-hungry

Everybody’s favourite third mobile operator has new contracts lined up that specifically target people who love using mobile data.

Bit.ly/1SPLske

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ULTIMATEEARS.COM

Need to know: makers

This cheap printer aims to get kids Making

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oy maker Mattel unveiled ThingMaker and ThingMaker Design recently at New York’s Toy Fair: a $300 (R4 721) 3D printer and a free CAD app aimed at children, respectively.

The ThingMaker 3D printer has a few features to appeal to children (and parents)

besides the low price. To keep kids being burnt by plastic or caught in moving parts, the clear doors in the front close once a print begins, while still allowing kids to gawk at the job. The print head too is safety-focused, as it retracts when it’s not printing.

For filament you’ll find hard PLA in around two dozen different colours.

ThingMaker Design, however, is where things get interesting. The free app (which is downloadable right now on Android and iOS) was developed with Autodesk to make designing as easy (and fun) as possible.

Mattel provides a library of modular toys which can be mixed and matched, and then customised with colours and textures. After you’re happy with your new toy, you print the separate modules which connect by way of ball joints. This not only allows different filaments to be used to change up the colours and materials, but also means smaller pieces can be completed first so the kids have something to play with.

Luckily, you won’t need a ThingMaker printer to use ThingMaker Design, as the app will output files as STLs, ready to print on almost anything.

The ThingMaker is set for a late fall launch in the States (September in South Africa), but it’s unknown whether it will see the light of day here in South Africa. Mattel’s other brands such as Barbie, Hot Wheels and Fisher-Price all have official support here, so there’s a strong chance we’ll get this unique product on our shores. Bit.ly/1R7QzII

Treatstock wants to get you paid for your 3D printing hobby

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re you skilled at 3D modelling?

If not, do you have a 3D printer that’s gathering dust?

Whatever your skill level, a new website called Treatstock wants to put money in your pocket.

For modelling and CAD work, Treatstock works a lot like a premium version of Thingiverse, where users can find your published models and “buy” them. For every print sold, you get paid.

Treatstock also acts as a middle-man, outsourcing your 3D printer to anyone who wants to become involved in printing. The focus here is on proximity, as your “customers” can either have their print mailed to them or pick them up directly from you. The caveat here being you won’t be paid unless your customer approves the model.

Finally, if you’re more of a consumer than a

More stories at

Porcelite will allow you to 3D print with porcelain

go to htxt.co.za

10 | tech made easy | march/APRIL 2016

Printing with plastic is so 2014.

Thanks to a new Kickstarter campaign and a new substance called Porcelite, 3D printers could soon create objects made entirely out of porcelain. Bit.ly/1PQo7st

maker, you can buy the models or the prints.

On the surface, this site isn’t doing anything new; rather, it’s simply collating and connecting those with skills and resources to anyone in need of them.

In the United States, for example, where “send-in” 3D printing services are popular, Treatstock may not gain a significant hold.

However, in smaller countries like our own, it could serve to gift hobbyists a way to make a little money on the side, or even turn their craft into a full-time job, with the site acting as a storefront.

Regardless. the determining factors here will be: market size, what kind of cut the site takes, and the dreaded “who owns what” argument that creeps into every maker business.

Interested? Head over to Treatstock.com to find out more. Bit.ly/1Og4bNx

Move over Continuum, here’s the NexDock

Microsoft wants you to use your Windows Phone as a PC someday, but Nex Computer may beat the software giant to the punch with a crowd-funded docking station that does exactly that with ANY phone.

Bit.ly/1LtoxTC

Need to know: GAMES

Quantum Break PC version confirmed

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icrosoft has announced that Quantum Break, Remedy’s time-bending third-person-shooter (TPS) will land on PC. Along with this news – which is likely to delight PC gamers – Microsoft has also revealed the bare minimum and recommended PC specs needed to run the game.

Here they are below:

Minimum Specs

Recommended Specs

• OS: Windows 10 (64-bit) • DirectX: DirectX 12 • CPU: Intel Core i5-4460, 2.70GHz or AMD FX-6300 • GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760 or AMD Radeon R7 260x • VRAM: 2GB • RAM: 8GB

Alongside the confirmation on PC, Microsoft has announced that there’ll be a couple of shiny new Xbox One bundles available too – one of which is a rather tasty-looking console cast in white with matching control pad and a 500GB drive onboard. It’s expected to retail at around R6 499 and will be available starting March 29, 2016.

Both bundles come with a free digital copy of Quantum Break, as well as a free copy of Remedy’s previous game, the supernatural thriller, Alan Wake. Also included is Alan Wake’s two pieces of DLC, The Signal and

• OS: Windows 10 (64-bit) • DirectX: DirectX 12 • CPU: Intel Core i7 4790, 4GHz or AMD equivalent • GPU: NVIDIA GeForce 980 Ti or AMD Radeon R9 Fury X • VRAM: 6GB • RAM: 16GB

The Writer.

If you pre-order Quantum Break, you’ll also receive a copy of the game for PC and Remedy’s standalone downloadable title, Alan Wake’s American Nightmare.

If you’ve no idea what to expect from Quantum Break, think of Max Payne, but instead of bullet-time, players are able to slow down and speed up time. Okay, so that description is a little slapdash, but we’re reserving judgement until we see the final code.

The game has a star-studded cast, though; along with Shawn Ashmore (Iceman in the

Fallout 4’s DLC beta is coming

More stories at go to htxt.co.za

For the first time ever, Bethesda is offering gamers a chance to test-drive the DLC for one of their games before it’s out. Head over to Bethsoft’s official site if you’re interested in participating.

Bit.ly/1TnGw4e

X-Men movies) and Dominic Monaghan (Lord of The Rings, Lost), Quantum Break features Aiden Gillen (Game of Thrones, The Wire) and Lance Reddick (The Wire, Fringe).

Okay, so maybe ‘star-studded’ is overstating things, but… shut up, we liked The Wire!

Quantum Break has had its share of ups and downs; originally slated for release last year, it was delayed until this year due to the volume of titles landing on Xbox One. Here’s hoping it sticks to its current release date.

Bit.ly/1opDJfU

Games in early development to get a boost from Launch X

A new online service from Kongregate wants to help crowd-fund games in really early development; incubating games less than a month old are welcome to apply. Bit.ly/1QkOigh

www.htxt.co.za | 11

Need to know: laUNCH

The Mirrorless Question

Looking for a new camera and considering going mirrorless?

Here’s a closer look at the technology behind this exciting format.

E

ven if you only have a passing interest in photography, chances are you’ve heard of mirrorless cameras. They’re a relatively new type of camera that uses an entirely different way of capturing images, doing away with the mirrors and optical viewfinders of traditional DSLRs entirely while still, impressively, offering similar image quality to DLSRs. They tend to be thinner and lighter than DSLRs as a result.

Micro Four Thirds You may also have heard them being called “Micro Four Thirds” cameras.

While a somewhat intimidating and technical-sounding name, in practice all this means is they are mirrorless and use an interchangeable lens system – unlike DSLRs, a micro four thirds lens will fit any mirrorless camera, regardless of manufacturer. Both camera types offer access to similar lenses and imaging sensors of comparable technical prowess, so you really don’t lose out on much choosing a mirrorless snapper over a DSLR.

No optical viewfinder The absence of a viewfinder that creates an optical path for light to pass through the camera from the lens to your eye is one of the key differences between the two formats.

The significance of that absence is up to you,

introduction in 2008, as they offer very similar overall image quality to DSLRs, but in a far smaller package. They’re cheaper, too.

though – some photographers swear by optical viewfinders as they offer a “live” view of what the lens is pointed at, while others don’t mind the slight lag introduced

by LCD screens. It’s a matter of personal preference, ultimately.

Disadvantages

Autofocus About the only other significant difference between them is that DSLRs have a dedicated autofocus system, while mirrorless cameras rely on their main imaging sensor for it.

While this was initially considered a weakness of the mirrorless format, improvements in sensor tech have turned it into a strength.

Mirrorless cameras with the best autofocus capabilities have what’s called “Hybrid Autofocus”, so if it’s excellent continuous autofocus you’re looking for, models that support it are the ones to go for.

Advantages Where you score with a mirrorless camera is in the size department – they are much thinner and lighter than their DSLR cousins, as no mirror means the lens can be mounted closer to the sensor, achieved by reducing the thickness - and thus bulk - of the camera body. Those lenses are also designed to match the size of the sensor, so they’re smaller and lighter than DSLR lenses.

As you can imagine, mirrorless cameras have been gaining in popularity since their

The main disadvantage of going mirrorless has to do with battery life. Since mirrorless camera bodies are so thin, there’s not a lot of space for batteries. And because the sensors and LCD screens need constant power, mirrorless cameras typically don’t last as long on a single charge as their DSLR cousins, and thus can’t take as many pictures. Having spare battery packs is all but a must if you go the mirrorless route.

The Choice Mirrorless is definitely the most exciting thing happening to cameras at the moment.

The downsides are only a turn-off if you’re a professional photographer with exacting standards for autofocus efficiency and optical viewfinders, and you hate swapping batteries during a shoot.

If you’re a talented amateur or an aspiring DSLR owner on a budget, going mirrorless is a no-brainer. Modern mirrorless cameras are smaller and lighter than DLSRs, they shoot favourably comparable video and still imagery, and above all, are less expensive. That’s a compelling argument in anyone’s book.

Cameras for Mirrorless Roundup Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3 R11 499 body only The Lumix DMC-GH3 builds on the strength of its predecessor (no prizes for guessing that’s the Lumix DMC-GH2), and improves on that camera’s already-strong video capabilities.

Impressively, it also makes for a better stilltaker, plus Panasonic’s engineers have worked hard on ergonomic button placement in order to keep it as hand-friendly as possible. It’s also chock-full of manual controls, complemented by very competent automatic ones.

Ultimately, the GH3 is a fantastic hybrid mirrorless camera that’s brilliant for serious photographers looking for a bit of everything (but with a particular focus on excellent video), as well as curious amateurs looking to challenge their skills.

12 | tech made easy | march/APRIL 2016

rating: • • • • • •

16MP sensor Well-regarded predecessor Fantastic ergonomics Five programmable buttons Excellent for video A bit bulky

• Good button layout • Supports the most important codecs like 1080p@60Hz/30Hz/24Hz

• Takes amazing stills as well as

incredible video – a great “hybrid” camera • WiFi

Need to know: launch

Canon EOS M10 R6 695 body only, R8495 with 15-45mm lens Anyone interested in DSLR-quality photos taken with a camera that really doesn’t require any photographic knowledge will love Canon’s EOS M10 – it’s a mirrorless compact camera with simplified controls that only asks that you point and shoot.

It only has three modes accessible from a dial atop its body – images, videos and auto – and the rest of its options are accessed via its three-inch touchscreen.

The M10 offers faster autofocus than its

Olympus PEN E-PL7 Body Only R7 688, 14-42mm lens R9 900

FujiFilm – X-T10 R11 595 body only, R16 595 with 18-55mm lens (Ormsdirect) The X-T10 is another great camera that builds on a rock-solid foundation: it adds a built-in flash, a high speed electronic shutter and a threaded cable-release socket to Fuji’s amazing X-T1 mirrorless camera.

Its retro stylings are gorgeous to look at, its real metal dials feel wonderful, and tweaking settings with them is child’s play. And if you’re snapping people pics, this camera makes them look good under just about any lighting conditions.

It’s light, too, at just 371g, and its autofocus

predecessor, the M3, and supports a good selection of kit lenses. It gets a bit noisy in low light, but overall it manages really well and is a wonderful camera for a beginner.

rating: • • • • • •

18MP sensor 3-inch LCD screen Touchscreen focus works well 2.4x faster autofocus than the M3 Mini HDMI output Supports WiFi, NFC

The Pen E-PL7 is a somewhat less serious MFT camera with its all-aluminium body and the absence of an electronic viewfinder, but it does what Olympus is attempting with the PEN series: it makes taking photos FUN. It even has a respectable selfie-friendly feature – a screen that flips down to make taking selfies just that much easier. That’s far from its primary appeal, though – this is a camera that does a bit of everything, and quite well.

This isn’t the camera to go for if video is your primary use case, though, as it’s far better at stills. On the other hand, if it’s versatility you’re after the PEN E-PL7 will do you just fine.

rating: • • • • • • • • •

16MP sensor Flexible display Generally streamlined design More manual controls, but feels a little cramped A little complex to operate Grip a bit too small Not so great for action shots 25 scene modes, 16 filters Good for selfies

is super fast. Should you be in the market for a brilliant all-rounder, FujiFilm’s X-T10 is a great choice.

rating: • • • • • • • •

16MP sensor Built-in flash Beautiful looks Sharp and undistorted images Sturdy body Exceptional auto white balance in poor lighting Excellent for people, events and portraits Threaded cable release socket

Samsung NX1 R15 999 body only Go big or go home – Samsung’s NX1 is the mack daddy here, as it’s so stuffed with features that it’ll intimidate all but the most professional of photographers.

Its stonking great 28.2MP sensor shoots amazing 4K and UHD videos at 25fps and 30fps respectively, and uses the latest H.265 codec to keep file sizes manageable. And image quality? Superb.

But it’s speed where the NX1 excels. A hybrid autofocus system and 1/8000s top shutter speed is quick enough to capture even the fastest action scenes, even under low light

conditions, so this is the camera to get if act ion is your thing.

And best of all, this brilliance is packaged up in a lightweight yet sturdy frame. It’s a bit pricy, though.

rating: • 28.2MP sensor • Hybrid autofocus with 205 phase and 2-9 contrast-detection AF points

• Captures 4K at 25 frames per second • NFC and WiFi connectivity • USB 3.0 port and high speed SD card support

www.htxt.co.za | 13

REVIEW

14 | tech made easy | march/APRIL 2016

REVIEW

HP Star Wars Edition 15-inch Notebook More confusing than a conversation with Jar Jar

W

e make no bones about the fact that we love Star Wars here at htxt.africa. There was a battle in the office as to who would review The Force Awakens and who would be watching it in IMAX 3D. So it makes sense that we would be smitten with a notebook that is packed to the brim with Star Wars references.

Sadly, the short answer is that we weren’t; the longer answer goes to the “why”.

We don’t often talk about packaging and packing material but the box and foam that the Star Wars Edition notebook ships in is a really good quality, and - bonus points - the foam looks like a TIE fighter. That’s cute.

The exterior of the notebook is really well done even though it’s just wrapped in a Star

Wars sticker; the print looks like it will last a while and the red accent lighting is a nice touch. There’s also an inscription in Arabesh; we took the time to translate it and we’ll give you infinite geek points if you can as well – without the help of Google.

Inside the notebook is an Intel Core i5 6200 U CPU with a base clock speed of 2.3GHz; our review sample was running at 2.4GHz. There is also 6GB of DDR3 RAM and a 1TB 7200RPM hard drive. So overall, not a terrible-sounding laptop… and it isn’t, provided all you want to do is look at it.

In a Cinebench R15 benchmark test where the CPU is stressed we got a score of 274cb. To put this into perspective, a gaming notebook clocks in at 702cb. So for twice the price of this notebook you’ll get almost three times the performance.

The GPU here is an Intel HD 520 which is less than ideal for doing anything but desktop stuff and maybe watching the odd movie.

Don’t even think about gaming, unless all you play are 2D retro games.

“Why mention gaming? This isn’t even a gaming notebook!” you might say. Well, to a degree you are correct but let’s think about the

average Star Wars fan that uses a PC. Would it be so wrong to assume that they play games now and then? We don’t think so.

And that is where the confusion begins.

This is a pretty good notebook for a working professional. The physical HDD storage aside, the notebook boots quickly and it’s quite fast when using Office apps and doing a bit of photo editing, and multitasking is good. The glaring problem here is that unless you’re in a creative environment, this notebook is going to stick out like sore thumb.

Our marathon battery test which involves a video played on loop continuously with WiFi switched on, sound at 50%, battery saver switched off, and screen brightness at 75% gave us 15 minutes shy of four hours, which is actually not bad. Juicing the battery back up to full again takes just two and a half hours, which is relatively fast. Good work, HP. Results will vary based on your particular usage patterns, but overall we were quite happy with this.

Having a 15-inch, Full HD (1920 x 1080) display means that at least everything onscreen looks good, and the fact that it’s an IPS panel means that viewing angles are

www.htxt.co.za | 15

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REVIEW

excellent. Unfortunately, the screen struggled to remain visible in direct sunlight outside; this is definitely an indoor laptop.

We were also quite disappointed to see that the lid feels very flimsy and bends quite a lot, far more than we would like to see at this price.

Even when the notebook is closed the lid has way too much give, and we were too scared to put it into our notebook backpack for fear of damaging it.

So it sucks a little on the hardware and quality side, but what of the Star Wars-related additions? Well, there are custom icons, trailers and still of the first six movies and even a few from The Force Awakens. To be honest though, you could just search Google, or YouTube for similar content – there’s nothing truly special here.

By far the coolest inclusion is the unique screen saver collection: you can select lightsaber fights or moments from the Hoth battle to save your screen from burn-in.

The custom sounds are extremely confusing.

Was that TIE fighter firing a good thing? Was that Kylo Ren lightsaber sound effect supposed to mean my document saved? We honestly struggled to tell.

You can switch these back to Windows’ regular sounds in the control panel, but we’d

prefer it if HP had left notification sounds as they were, for ease of use.

Our question is, who is this notebook aimed at? Our first thought given the specifications was business people. That said, we can’t see this being pulled out with much confidence at an annual general meeting.

What about the arty types then? We don’t think they’d get a kick out of this either because you can get a Star Wars skin for a Macbook that you might like better.

Honestly, the only person we can see buying this notebook is a collector.

Ultimately, we’re not going to recommend this, not even to die-hard franchise fans. The price is too high for the specs on offer and besides, the Star Wars extras leave us feeling more like Jar-Jar just had his way with us than any sense that we’ve defeated the Empire. bit.ly/1YaW2AU

Details • Price: R12 999 • Processor: 6th Generation Core i5-6200U @2.3GHz • GPU: Intel HD 530 • RAM: 6 GB DDR3L • Storage: 1TB HDD • Interface: 2 x USB 3.0, 1 x USB 2.0, HDMI, Headphone out/Mic in • Operating System: Windows 10

Scores Appearance

8

Specifications

6

Battery

7

Display

6

Extras

6

Overall

6.6

www.htxt.co.za | 17

REVIEW

Alcatel Pixi 3 (4.5)

Stripped down and smiling, Alcatel’s Pixi 3 is great

T

he Alcatel Pixi 3 (4.5) is a smartphone that’s as cheap as a feature phone, and it’s not just a cheap phone for cheap phones’ sake.

For one, the display is really good.

Images appear crisp and well-rendered, so much so that it’s one of the best cheap phone display’s we’ve yet seen.

Looking closer, we did spot the odd pixel making a dash for the border of an icon and the viewing angles aren’t that great, but this 4.5inch TFT display is better than some TNbased displays we’ve seen, though we won’t dare say it’s on par with IPS panels. That way madness lies.

The overall look of the phone is plain.

Audio ports are at the top and the microUSB charger is at the bottom. We would have really liked a more pronounced volume rocker and unlock button but that’s really the only layout problem we have.

Underneath the surprisingly good display sits a Mediatek MT6572M chipset which runs a dual-core Cortex A7 CPU running at a clock speed of 1GHz, while a Mali 400 chip handles graphics duties.

In all fairness, this phone has low specifications because of its price, and while everyday tasks like messaging and browsing the web are fine, our benchmarking tools pushed the phone beyond its limits.

Our PC Mark benchmarking tool wouldn’t make it past the first test, and while Antutu did complete one run, that’s all it managed.

Does this mean the phone is bad? Well, that all depends on what you want to do with it.

For those who want to browse the web, send messages, use IM services and that’s pretty much all, then treat yourself to a Pixi 3. If you plan on running very demanding games, give this one a miss.

18 | tech made easy | march/APRIL 2016

For purposes of clarity, Antutu gave us a score of 11 427 which is the lowest score we’ve seen in a very long time. Still, that’s not bad for R899.

Internal storage is tiny at just 4GB. Once the OS is accounted for, that space dips to a little over 2GB. We’ve sung the praises of this handset so far but this is where we need to draw a line.

Keep in mind that this limits the amount of apps you’ll be able to download though thankfully there is a microSD card slot so photos, videos and other content you want to store has a space. Once you’ve bought an SD card, that is.

Connecting the Pixi to the world is a bogstandard 3G module, but when you consider that this will be an upgrade from GPRS for some people, it’s a decent connection that we never had any problems with. There’s also a WiFi module rated at 802.11b/g/n, and of course Bluetooth.

Alcatel has fitted a 1 400mAh removable battery in the Pixi. That doesn’t sound very big but it’s decent enough to play a 480p video on loop, with screen brightness at 100%, WiFi switched on and a headset plugged in for just over four hours. In relative terms this isn’t as good as some batteries we’ve seen. It’s serviceable, but not great.

The Pixi 3 does have a removable battery, so given its low price you could buy a second phone battery and simply swap them out when one runs out of juice.

The cuts continue. At the back of the phone you’ll find an 8MP snapper with autofocus and an LED flash. The results are okay, but just okay.

The images are muddy and aside from the autofocus there is no focus. Trying to get the foreground to look sharper? Nope. Trying

to make sure you can see your friends face clearly? Nope. It’s just not a very good camera.

The front snapper is classified as a VGA grade camera, which is worse than the rear camera and won’t be making anybody look to glamorous anytime soon.

So if everything is okay, does that mean this phone is “just okay”? Actually no; in fact, for this price, Alcatel has done damn well. You won’t get a premium smartphone experience out of the Pixi but you do get a great smartphone experience. And that’s definitely worth the R899 they’re asking for it.

We can’t help but feel that this handset is going to open more people than ever up to the wonders of technology. And more importantly, the internet.

Thinking about it, the Pixi is the ultimate gateway smartphone to get people online and exploring what possibilities the internet holds, and for that reason alone we recommend buying one for somebody you know that can’t share photos on a social network or access sites like Wikipedia.

We’re pretty sure they’ll love the Pixi 3.

We sure did. Bit.ly/1ThsoLW

Scores Appearance

8

Display

8

Hardware

7

Battery

7

Camera

4

Overall

6.8

Need to know: launch

www.htxt.co.za | 19

review

Details Price: R2 399 Processor: Intel Celeron 2957U @ 1.4GHz Graphics: Intel HD Graphics Memory: 2GB (Upgradeable to 16GB) Storage: 32GB Network: 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac WiFi, 10/100/1000Mbps Ethernet Input: 2 x USB 3.0, 2 x USB 2.0, HDMI, 4-in-1 card reader, 3.5mm audio jack (Mic in/Headphone out)

C

ASUS Vivo Mini PC UN45

M

Y

How good can a Windows PC the size of a tin of biscuits really be? We find out.

CM

MY

I

t’s easy to believe the VivoMini from ASUS is the future of home PCs. It’s really small, barely the size of a medium-sized tin of biscuits, but it’s powerful enough that it runs the full desktop version of Windows 10. That puts most of what a desktop PC can do at your fingertips, in a form factor attractive enough to fit into your lounge. Or even hidden entirely behind your TV. And because it hooks up to your TV with an HDMI cable and can make use of wireless keyboards and mice, it’s as neat as can be. That’s brilliant, because with all of the streaming services coming online locally, the VivoMini PC provides a really easy way to get that content and more onto non-smart TVs. The insides of the machine aren’t hugely impressive – we’re talking a Celeron processor, only 2GB of RAM and a paltry 32GB of storage space here - but that’s still more than a match for the web-surfing, email-checking and video on demand streaming you’re likely to do with the VivoMini. Sadly, even though integrated Intel HD graphics chips have become more powerful over the years, you won’t get anything but 2D gaming done on this PC – 3D gaming performance is so poor it’s just not worth bothering over.

Still, should you want to improve the overall

20 | tech made easy | march/APRIL 2016

CY

responsiveness of the machine down the line, the box-like form factor means there’s space inside for upgrades, like space for up to 16GB of RAM and a 256GB M.2 SATA drive. Do that, and performance is only held back by the Celeron processor.

WiFi on the VivoMini is great, supporting improved speeds and coverage that ACclass WiFi offers over its N-class predecessor.

Supplement that with a 1000Mbps wired LAN port, and you’ll find that network transfer speeds don’t hold the VivoMini back whatsoever.

ASUS is also giving people a bevy of input and output options. There are two USB 3.0 ports – perfect for expanding the 32GB of storage with external hard drives - one HDMI port and an audio jack for microphone in and headphone out. There is even a 4-in-1 card reader that is compatible with SD, SDHC, SDXC and MMC storage cards, useful for viewing the contents of memory cards when you’ve not yet transferred your photos onto the PC. But perhaps the biggest appeal of this particular PC lies in the fact that as a full Windows desktop, it can run any PC application. Since there are so many available online, it’s almost inconceivable that you won’t find what you need.

While the VivoMini won’t be comfortable

editing photos and videos, you can do just about anything else with it. And that’s powerful, because true versatility is not something tablets - those other options for connecting TVs up to the wider internet – are quite as good at.

So should you go out and get one? If you’re looking to hook yourself up with an excellent streaming device, and you want the power and versatility offered by a box that can run Windows apps as well, then definitely. Should you want a full-power desktop machine that just happens to be packed into a tiny form factor, no – the VivoMini is just powerful enough to get the job it was designed for done, but not much more.

Scores Performance

8

Graphics

7

Storage

8

Interface

8

Versatility

8

Overall

7.8

CMY

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REVIEW

Dying Light: The Following

An expansion in the truest sense of the word, The Following brings you more of everything you loved about. 2015’s best zombie-basher, and more.

W

e love it when a developer offers DLC that’s more than just a few new skins and

weapons.

That’s exactly what Polish developer Techland has done with Dying Light it’s released a genuine expansion to the zombiefest called The Following, which brings a bunch of new features to the game, including a new rural area to explore that’s big enough to let you drive around it in a dune buggy.

Yes, The Following has a dune buggy, a vehicle that adds a whole new skill tree and customisation options that include upgrades that significantly enhance its performance.

Experience is earned through running down zombies, dropping the hammer and flying off conveniently-placed ramps strewn about the place, and it’s all just oh-so-satisfying. Once the buggy is properly upgraded with better ramming abilities, more speed and strength and various anti--zombie measures, the real fun begins.

There’s also a whole new story that underpins the DLC and it’s surprisingly good.

It involves a mysterious cult whose members are immune to the zombie infection. Still playing as Kyle Crane, players must make their way through various quests to get to the bottom of it and help Crane’s friends back in Harran, who are running out of anti-zombie

medicine. It culminates in a very satisfying conclusion and without spoiling anything, let’s just say you’ll be saying “Oh, damn!” a lot.

The path to this denouement, however, is a teensy bit frustrating, as you’re forced into taking various side quests that need to be completed in order to progress the story.

They’re not terrible, but they do eat into the to the pacing of the story, and make the whole affair feel more sluggish than is necessary.

Overall you should get about another 20 hours out of Dying Light with this expansion - more if you dawdle or go exploring.

When you’re not pursuing the main story, there are more side quests that can occupy your time, usually resulting in some kind of handy reward, like unique weapons and upgrades. These are quite varied and you never get the sense that you’re on just another fetch quest, as is the case in so many other open world games.

One of the most notable new features is the addition of “mini bosses”, huge new enemies that take quite a lot of skill and tactical consideration on your part to take down.

While the battles aren’t as elegant as those of the Dark Souls series, I couldn’t help but think of those games as I chipped away at the armour and health of special zombies with wildly varying tactics. The fights are not always fair, though, and I found the mini-bosses to be

more of a nuisance than a welcome addition to the game, but your mileage will likely vary (especially if Souls is your cup of tea).

The Following also comes with enhanced graphics and sound that affects not just the new content, but that of the base game as well. On all platforms, Dying Light looks significantly better with The Following installed, especially on PC (my review platform) thanks to some amazing new hi-res textures and an extended draw distance.

The voice acting and writing also got a bit of love - it’s much better this time around making The Following the definitive version of Dying Light to play.

The Following is not only a well-crafted expansion that improves on the core ideas that made the original game so good, it boasts a host of new elements and features that make it even better than the base game. Add in fourplayer co-op, and it’s an absolute blast that fans of zombie games simply must play.

If you haven’t yet picked Dying Light up, grab it with the Season Pass which includes The Following as well as all of the other DLC that’s been released so far.

Details • Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, PC • Price: R229 (The Following PC, XBO, PS4), Season Passes: R339.95 (PC), R499 (console)

Scores Presentation

9

Mechanics

9

New Features

10

Replayability

9

Overall 22 | tech made easy | march/APRIL 2016

9.3

REVIEW

XCOM 2

The tough-as-nails sequel to 2012’s XCOM is an exercise in beautiful frustration.

X

COM 2 was one of our most anticipated games of this year but, six hours into the campaign and with multiple new grey hairs and bulging temple veins, we almost stopped playing.

Our A-Team had just returned from a mission with our best four warriors gravely wounded and shaken. Not only would they be out of the fight for a long time, but the new shaken status would make them prone to getting hurt again once they returned to the battlefield.

Top that off with the fact that a new complex time-passing mechanic had been added to the tried-and-trusted research and engineering formula from the last game, and add in woes like a constant lack of money and materials, and the USS Save The World From Aliens was sinking fast.

Then, a miracle: a new bonus was achieved which sped up our healing process and, just as our troops got to fighting strength, an Easy mission popped up that let us dominate, restore morale, and nab some resources.

All was right with the world. We made the plunge to use the new soldier customisation to turn our alien fighters into Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, despite the risk that next mission they could all be permanently killed.

We didn’t care, we were winning this war… …that is, until the next mission when the metaphorical hit the whatnot. In a civilian hostage mission our best soldier was killed when flanked by a group of ADVENT soldiers, and our second best soldier was killed by a civilian which transformed into a mass of

flesh and death.

XCOM 2 is a bit of an uphill battle, to say the least. Every mission brings something new and unexpected which you’ll have to adapt to beat. Yet it doesn’t feel like the increase in difficulty is arbitrary either; the story pulls you through the frustration, pushing you to rise to the challenge. There’s a reason for that too, apparently: after the release of XCOM: Enemy Unknown the developer, Firaxis, looked at the stats gathered on players and realised the vast majority didn’t finish the campaign. While this is fairly common, the devs wanted to work that into the narrative and way the game plays too. As a result, the original XCOM failed to repel the alien invasion, and you return 20 years later to take on an entrenched enemy: alien rulers and their ADVENT organisation.

As a result, your soldiers are more of a guerrilla unit than an army. You start missions out in concealment and then spring into battle with surprise ambushes. You’re not just the underdog: you’re the weak, mewling runt of the entire underdoggie litter.

Your base last time was a fixed, underground bunker; now it’s a floating alien ship that you’ve commandeered not entirely unlike one belonging to a certain superhero group currently riding high in the box office ratings (it’s even called The Avenger…).

Between turn-based battles, you fly around the world connecting resistance cells and collecting resources, but what it brings to each combat scenario is that it speeds up the game in the initial phase with faster movement in the concealment phase.

And on that note, the strategy side of things (everything you do when not shooting aliens) feels very much like the original game. It also feels like you spend more time putting it to the enemies here when compared to Enemy Unknown. Which is a good thing, of course.

The ever-increasing difficulty of XCOM 2 makes you feel more like a bunch of punk trainees than a group of supertroopers, but the addictive gameplay loop of eking out victories and micromanaging your base and resources will keep you hooked. We spent so long with Enemy Unknown and Enemy Within that beating up grey skins became a formulaic exercise. Now it’s pushing us to be more brutal, risk a bit more and go the extra mile, all while bombarding players with new, tougher aliens and random dice rolls.

It’s chaotic and frustrating, but so rewarding that in the end you’ll be glad you suffered through. Bit.ly/1Lp28GU

Scores Graphics

8

Gameplay

10

Sound

9

Stability and performance

6

Story

8

Overall

8.2

www.htxt.co.za | 23

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Simply logging in to the router can be a headache, what with having to find out its IP address and hoping the connection works long enough to finalise your settings.

That’s why the TP-Link Archer MR200 Wireless Dual Band 4G LTE Router is proving itself to be increasingly popular among wireless internet users.

The Archer MR200 is so user friendly that all you need to do is insert a 4G LTE SIM card and start browsing. The MR200 doesn’t require any sort of pre-configuration to detect your SIM card and begin beaming wireless internet to your smartphone, your notebook and even your Smart TV. And you can do it all without compromising security either: so long as all your devices support WiFi Protected Setup (WPS), you’ll be able to add them to your network with two simple button presses.

What’s more, thanks to its dual frequency radios, your home network will be lightning fast no matter how much data is moving across it. A standard 2.4GHz band antenna that’s capable of 300Mbps means you can enjoy streaming movies, sharing files and browsing online over a long range.

The 5GHz antenna is shorter range, but less prone to interference and has a whopping 433Mbps bandwidth so you can play games with next to no lag without disturbing other network users in your house.

Whether you’re using an LTE connection or simply want to add wireless connectivity to your home, or indeed, small office, the Archer MR200 can adapt to your needs offering a tray

24 | tech made easy | march/APRIL 2016

for either a micro or nano SIM card as well as a LAN/WAN port for connecting your existing fibre or ADSL router.

Pricing for the TP-Link Archer MR200 AC750 Wireless Dual Band 4G LTE Router starts at R3499.99 and is available right now, where all good electronics are sold.

Simple network monitoring If you start to notice that a user is using a bit too much of your internet cap not to worry. You can monitor users and the data they use and take action, all from within the specially built interface in the Archer MR200.

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All you need to do to enjoy wireless internet at your holiday destination, or business is plug in the router and presto, the Archer will start beaming internet to you immediately.

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HOW TO

How to manage multiple Instagram accounts Finally, Instagram lets power users use more than one account. Here’s how to do it.

I

nstagram has finally added an option that many other social media networks boast – the ability to create multiple accounts that can be active on one device and one app.

Before you to do this, you’ll need Instagram version 7.15 for iOS and Android, so make sure your app is up to date.

Now, let’s get started.

Add a new account 1 Open the Instagram app 2 Tap on your profile and then tap on the

settings button (either the gear or three dots)

3 Scroll down to the bottom until you find an option called “Add Account”

4 Fill in the details of the account you’d like to use.

5 You’re done! You will now be on the

home page of the new user account (indicated by the changed picture in the bottom right corner)

Switch between your accounts 1 Go back to your profile (by tapping the image in the bottom-right corner)

2 Tap on your username, a drop-down list

with all your accounts will appear, tap on the one you want to switch to.

3 You will now be returned to the profile page of the user you chose (indicated by the changed picture in the bottom right corner).

Remove an account 1G o back to your profile (by tapping the

image in the bottom-right corner) and switch to the account you’d like to remove 2 Tap on the settings button (either the gear or three dots) 3 Scroll down to the bottom until you find

an option called “LogOut of ‘account name’” and tap it 4A n option asking if you’re sure will pop up; tap “Log Out” You will return to the profile page of the account which is still logged in (indicated by the profile picture in the bottom-right

corner switching to a generic image).

5N ow, switching between accounts is as

simple as tapping whichever username you want, and voila, your social media account-management problems are a thing of the past!

Bit.ly/1ohYjPo

www.htxt.co.za | 25

Need to know: tv trends

Television Trends Everything you need to know about South African TV

W

atching TV in 2016 isn’t quite the same as it was 20 years ago, as there’s just so much choice. And not only in terms of online vs. locally-broadcast channels,

the tech itself has changed. To help our readers get to grips with it all, we’ve put together this useful guide on the television options available to South Africans today.

Analogue Television – What is it?

This one’s easy; analogue TV is what South Africa’s original system used to get television signal out to the country. Picking it up is as easy as plugging any old TV into power and connecting an aerial to its analogue input.

How do I get it?

Analogue TV is the easiest and cheapest of the bunch to get. All you need is a TV, an aerial

Digital TV – What is it?

Digital TV is television broadcast on a different radio frequency to analogue TV. South Africa is busy switching over to digital broadcasting in a bid to free up the wireless spectrum currently used by TV broadcasts for other purposes, like telecoms and wireless internet services.

How do I get it?

You’ll need a Set Top Box to receive digital TV signals, which connects to a regular TV aerial,

and somewhere to plug it all in, and you’re golden. Well, sort of – with analogue TV, you’re limited to just four channels – eTV and the three SABC offerings – as well as however many local channels (like SowetoTV) are in range of your aerial.

What does it cost?

Expect to pay around R3000 for a small 32-incher, less when they are on special.

which picks up the digital broadcast and sends it to the set top box to be translated into video, sound and various digital services overlaid atop the bouquet on offer.

What does it cost?

Since government has not yet finalised the migration, costs are unknown at this time. In addition to the aforementioned Set Top Box, you will need a TV, of course; how much that costs will be up to you.

ShowMax - What is it?

This South African service also provides access to a library of movies and TV shows that can be streamed over the internet. The difference is, it has more local content than overseas services do, while its other shows and movies tend to be a little less current.

How do I get it?

Simply sign up for a ShowMax account on the official website, and stream whatever you like to your phone/tablet/PC.

What does it cost?

For just R99 per month, you get access to everything ShowMax offers.

Website: http://www.showmax.co.za

OpenView HD – What is it?

South Africa’s only “free” satellite TV service carries 20 TV stations (including the four public broadcasters) and eight radio stations, covering a range of local, educational and movie content. You won’t find the latest episodes of Game of Thrones here, but the selection is solid for a free service and some of the channels are in HD.

How do I get it?

You visit a big-name retailer like Game

26 | tech made easy | march/APRIL 2016

or Makro and buy an OpenView HD Starter Kit. It comes with the decoder and instructions on how to go about arranging for an official installer to come and install the satellite dish and associated cabling.

What does it cost?

All you pay is R399 for the decoder, and R799 for the satellite dish installation. There are zero monthly costs, so once you are set up, that’s all you pay forevermore.

Website: http://www.openviewhd.co.za

Need to know: tv trends

Netflix - What is it?

Netflix is an online video service that lets you stream a variety of TV shows and movies that’s determined by your region. All you need is a phone, laptop or PC connected to the internet and a Netflix account, and a world of content is yours, mostly quite up to date compared to what’s airing on services like DStv.

How do I get it?

Sign up for an account on the Netflix website

StarSat - What is it?

StarSat replaced TopTV as a satellite TV service back in 2014; it offers several bouquets to choose from that range in cost and channel selection from R99 to R199 per month and 45 or 74 channels, with a strong local content focus. There are also speciality bouquets that provide access to Indian and Chinese shows as well as a four-channel sport subscription. Only some of the channels are in High Definition.

(www.netflix.com), give them your credit card details and you’ll be billed monthly regardless of how much you watch.

What does it cost?

You’re looking at $11.99 a month to watch everything Netflix has to offer South Africans; that’s just under R200 at today’s exchange rate. You’ll also need a phone/tablet/PC and an internet connection faster than 2mbps to watch without buffering.

Website: http://www.netflix.com

How do I get it?

You’ll need a satellite dish and decoder; you can call StarSat to get everything delivered to your home, or visit an accredited StarSat retailer to buy the starter kit.

What does it cost?

The initial setup costs just R599, and that includes the dish, decoder and installation.

Thereafter it’s just your monthly subscription.

DStv – What is it?

If you don’t know this, welcome back from your 30-year fugue/ coma. DStv is Multichoice’s satellite television service that offers up a multitude of sport, TV shows and movies from around the world, broken up into various “bouquets” that differ in price and content.

It also offers its own “BoxOffice” service that lets people rent new movie releases.

How do I get it?

You’ll need to get a satellite dish to pick up DStv’s satellite signal and a

decoder to decode it into watchable audio and video.

What does it cost?

Dish installations cost in the region of R1500, and decoders cost anything from R499 for standarddefinition devices that don’t record, to R1 799 for Multichoice’s latest allsinging, all-dancing Explora decoder that is HD-capable and has a huge hard drive to record whatever shows you like. Subscriptions range from R39 (EasyView) to R699 (Premium).

Website: http://www.dstv.com

How do I get it?

Simply navigate to whattovu.com and subscribe. There are two subscription levels to consider – a PremiereVU account, which just lets you rent the service’s rentals and a MaxVU account that does the same; it also offers you a selection of movies and TV series “on the house”.

What does it cost?

MTN VU - What is it?

VU (previously MTN FrontRow) is a video streaming service from MTN. Its catalogue also differs from other providers, but you can

expect a good selection of up to date TV series and movies regardless. VU’s biggest draw is that MTN subscribers can stream their movies and videos without incurring any data charges.

Rentals cost between R15 and R27 depending on how new they are. A PremiereVU account is free, and gives you the option to pay R39 per weekend for unlimited viewing (excluding rentals) from 4pm on Friday to midnight on Sunday. R99 per month gets you a MaxVU subscription that grants you access to all of the site’s free content.

www.htxt.co.za | 27

WIN! A TV

powered by the sun

worth R4 000!

S

outh Africa is a beautiful land of plentiful sun, and not so plentiful electricity. You’d think that by now, someone would have come up with a way to use the power of the sun to keep vital electronics going when conventional electricity isn’t available… and you’d be right!

Local firm Poynting has developed the SunPoynt TV, a handy solar-powered kit that uses the power of the sun to help run a 19-inch TV set for up to six hours at a time. It’s perfect for times of load shedding, or for use in areas where traditional power is either unreliable, or doesn’t reach at all.

And it doesn’t just provide access to local TV broadcasts – Poynting has designed in a 500maH cell phone charging port to charge cell phones, and ensured the system supports two high-intensity 3W LED lights as well. It charges during the day and discharges at night as you watch; a clever solar charge regulator makes sure your battery never over-charges or runs flat.

So with this kit, power gathered from the sun during the day can keep you watching TV while you remain connected to the rest of the world, and even keeps you in the light when Eskom can’t.

The only thing it doesn’t come with is a car battery – that you’ll need to supply yourself.

But Poynting says that on just a 20Ah battery, you’ll get six hours of power from the system.

That’s more than enough for an entire evening’s watching!

We just so happen to have one of these awesome systems to give away to a lucky reader. To enter, all you have to do is Tweet us your name and the hashtag #sunpoyntTV, and we’ll draw a winner at random in the coming weeks, and announce their details on htxt.co.za when the competition closes.

Good luck to one and all!

SHOOTS DOWN MORE THREATS TO YOUR FINANCES. Kaspersky Internet Security – multi-device 2016.

Taking the danger out of digital.

www.kaspersky.co.za

Contents change is good

W

elcome to the business section of the magazine, in which we explore news, reviews and features that are relevant to today’s business environment, which we hope you will find both interesting and useful.

I spent some time with Microsoft recently, being shown the capabilities of Skype for Business, the company’s Lync replacement that builds on the Skype foundation. It’s a comprehensive, versatile business communication tool that’s packed with features; you can even make cell phone calls with it if you sign up for the right subscription. Check out my impressions on page 36 and 38.

If you’re concerned over power supply and surge issues in your premises, we’ve put together some great advice on what to watch for when considering uninterruptible power supplies and surge protection that starts on page 40.

Later on in this issue, we have an awesome business printer roundup for you, in which we take a close look at a variety of printers aimed at small to mediumsized organisations. You’ll be surprised at just how far printing technology has come, and the sheer volume of prints that modern printers are capable of without costing you an absolute fortune. You’ll find our roundup between pages 46 and 50.

See you next month!

36

Need to Know

The best business features

The important stuff in SA business

33

Deon

40

www.htxt.co.za

35

Business News National Broadband plan Sage Live on iOS Zando’s parent gets cash injection DEMO hosted in Joburg More Business News Africa’s biggest datacentre Cape Town Fibre trial hits 400Gbps Open US bank account, incorporate a business Alcatel re-relaunching in SA

Buying advice, how tos and more

36 40 44 45

46 52

Skype for Business See what a subscription to Microsoft’s Lync replacement gets you Surge protection & UPS advice Things to keep in mind when UPS shopping 5 essential Cloud apps These are the five Cloud apps every SME should be using Cashless Payment Systems We round up four of the most popular ways to pay without using cash Business Printer Roundup A roundup of business printers from some of the country’s biggest brands Month in Stats All the numbers you love to love

www.htxt.co.za | 31

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news

Sage Live offers real-time accounting services on iOS devices

I

t’s no surprise that just about every business (and their dog) is expanding into mobile territory; accounting software firm Sage is the latest company to jump on that particular bandwagon.

The company has announced the general

availability of its Sage Live app on iOS, which puts a business’s financial information within easy reach of the people who need to keep an eye on it, whether they’re at work, at home or just out and about.

The press statement that accompanied the announcement said “The new Sage Live for

iPad, iPhone and Apple Watch will deliver significant advances in real-time business management and improve efficiency and effectiveness across the entire supply chain for small and medium business users. Sage Live will be sold through Apple’s ecosystem and Sage will work with Apple to help educate Small & Medium Sized businesses on the benefits of mobile technology.”

Sage joined forces with Apple recently and became a mobility partner. According to Sage’s executive vice president of global strategic and alliances Alan Laing, that’s because “We see the future as mobile, and we’re excited to be an Apple mobility partner which will help us get our simple and powerful accounting solutions into the hands of even more Small & Medium Sized business owners and help them grow and be successful.”

So if you’re a Sage user, and you’ve always wanted to be able to access your financial data through your iPhone or iPad, now you totally can.

If you’re interested, you can find the app in the Apple App Store. Bit.ly/1oDkD5G

#SONA2016 R740M allocated for phase one of National Broadband Plan

D

id you see it? The State of the Nation Address 2016, delivered by President Jacob Zuma in Parliament, was nothing if not dramatic.

Delayed by a full hour by MPs from all parties demanding to have their say, when it finally got underway it was without the EFF and those well-known rabble rousers from COPE, who led the walkout.

The biggest news is that the government wants to reduce the number of capital cities from two to one, by closing down either Pretoria or Cape Town as an administrative centre. (What about Polokwane?)

The local elections got a date – they’ll take place on 18th May – and there was feedback on the plan to build more nuclear power stations. On that note, the President sounded

More stories at go to htxt.co.za

rather more cautious than before, emphasising there’d be no rush into a deal without proper due diligence.

Good news was shared in that the private sector has invested R194m in renewable energy, a partnership model which Zuma says is how private and public money should work.

There was also a lot of commitments to reducing government waste, including no more lavish meals for MPs after budget debates (there are meals and golf days around today’s event, mind).

As far as the technology goes, Zuma confirmed that the Department of Science and Technology will finalise details of the Sovereign Innovation Fund, created to support local entrepreneurs. He also – for the first time – put a price on the delivery of broadband to rural areas as outlined in the National

Zando’s parent company secures R1.3bn in European investment The Africa Internet Group (AIG), which owns online retailer, Zando, has just received a massive injection of capital to assist it in launching its cohort of online startups into more African markets. Bit.ly/244U2is

Broadband Plan, SA Connect.

SA Connect, which is way behind schedule and has been largely ineffective up until now, calls for 50% of schools and hospitals to be connected with minimum speeds of 10Mbps by the end of this year. In SONA, Zuma allocated R740m to connect 8 000 government buildings in eight provinces over three years.

That’s unlikely to get SA Connect back on track, but after two years of no action at all, it might be welcomed as a start. In October, the budget for broadband rollout was cut by then Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene to just R100m.

So this looks like an about face – although we’ll need more details on exactly what that money is and how it will be spent to be sure.

Bit.ly/1PWCyi6

DEMO Africa startups conference is hitting Joburg this year For the first time since its inception, the DEMO Africa conference, one of the continent’s most recognised startup events, will be hosted in Johannesburg.2012.

Bit.ly/1Qh9M7C

www.htxt.co.za | 33

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A

Africa’s biggest datacentre being built in Jozi

data centre being built by Teraco and spanning 18 500 square metres, is set to become the biggest in Africa when construction completes later this year.

According to Gys Geyser, Head of Operations at Teraco the facility will be located in Isando just outside of the Johannesburg CBD. The space will comprise of 9 000 square metres of white space and 18 500 square metres of utility space.

A space this big, specifically when it’s being used to house a data centre will draw a lot of

power. Teraco has been in negotiations with the local municipality to provide 16MVA of power to the data centre and its cooling needs.

The cooling solution for this data centre has been created after Teraco assessed its other data centres and found what worked best in those.

The data centre will also use a water supply for the purpose of cooling that is independent from the municipality, just in case there is a problem.

“The overall design and build of the new data centre is focused on achieving international data centre design, build and operating standards,” says Geyser of the project.

Just in case the power coming from the municipality stops, Teraco will store 210 000 litres of diesel on site to power generators.

According to the firm this should run the data centre at maximum load for a minimum of 40 hours.

As demand for cloud based services and video on demand platforms like ShowMax increases, there needs to be data centres capable of taking up the slack; this centre aims to do that. Bit.ly/1ThqvPg

Cape Town Fibre trial hits 400Gbps download speed

T

he Mother City may be in danger of losing its capital status if Parliament decides to shift “oop north” (as we say where I come from), but it’s just put in a claim to the throne of Queen of Broadband connectivity. Tests on the Cape Town metro fibre network just proved that it’s capable of

More stories at go to htxt.co.za

sustaining data transfer speeds of 400Gbps, while doing something else.

Telecoms firm ADVA Optical Networking apparently carried out the tests, according to a press statement just received at htxt. towers, sending bits around a 106km route between Nyanga and Mitchells Plain. It says

Incorporate a business and open a bank account in the US

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that it tested switching speeds of 200, 300 and 400Gbps on the network while multiple 10Gbps signals were still live.

The metro fibre network is currently used to connect 300 government buildings and 190 hotspots as well as commercial services.

According to Mayoral Committee Member for Corporate Services and Compliance, Councillor Xanthea Limberg, “The trial demonstrates a potential quantum leap in both the speed and the potential performance of our network. At 400Gbps, it takes less than 0.02 seconds to transfer data equivalent to the capacity of a movie.”

By happy coincidence, assuming an average movie is an hour and a half long, it would take just under one second to download all 97 episodes of Quantum Leap using Councillor Limberg’s maths too. Bit.ly/1QfM8va

Alcatel to relaunch in South Africa (again) Alcatel One Touch aims to drop the One Touch branding and re-launch itself as just Alcatel.

The change comes with a new logo and new font that aims to rejuvenate the brand in South Africa and beyond. Bit.ly/1QfMZMs

www.htxt.co.za | 35

feature

Skype for Business

Goodbye, PABX, hello internet-based communication

T

he future is not quite as some imagined it would be 30 years ago. We don’t have flying cars, technologies like teleportation and time travel are still the stuff of science fiction, and despite serious advances in IT tech, some governments are still about as inefficient as a two-stroke engine powering a one-ton vehicle up a 60-degree incline.

But today’s present is still pretty good in some respects. Communication in 2016, for example, is as simple as can be – people have more options today than at any point in human history thanks to a mishmash of oldfashioned landline telephones, smartphones and internet-connected computers and smart television sets. We’re able to talk to people on the other side of the world and feel as if we’re standing in the same room as them, and as a result, distance is no longer a deterrent to effective communication.

Exactly because of how fast the telecoms and IT industries have expanded in the last 20 years, it’s not uncommon for businesses across the world to still be using an expensive

36 | tech made easy | march/APRIL 2016

mix of old and new communications technologies. PABX systems, for example, are still in widespread use in South Africa according to a 2015 Gartner report, despite the fact that all you need to talk these days is an internet connection and a smartphone or computer.

The rise of IM This is thanks largely to the rise of internetbased instant messaging apps which let people talk to one another using a combination of text-based messages and voice calling options.

The late 90s saw a boom in instant messaging applications that included the likes of ICQ , Powwow, MSN Messenger and others, and that evolution continued well into the 2000s.

Skype enjoyed tremendous success during that boom time, attracting millions of users across the globe with its mix of text and voice-based options. It even went so far as to allow people to make calls to landlines and cell phones; people could buy “Skype Minutes” and use them to call phones around the world at a fraction of the cost of calls through traditional providers.

Intelligent Acquisition Naturally, its success drew the attention of Microsoft, which acquired Skype back in 2010 and turned its attention to working Skype’s underlying technologies into its own products. With Microsoft’s concentrated focus on Office 365 and the aggressive expansion of its cloud technologies, it was inevitable that we’d someday see Skype making an appearance in a major Microsoft software suite.

That “day” is 2016 Recently, Microsoft took the wraps off of a Skype-based technology that has the potential to revolutionise business comms called Skype for Business. It integrates closely with Office 365 and allows people to talk, collaborate and annotate documents created in the latest versions of Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook, OneNote and Access right from within the applications themselves and not through a separate program.

Microsoft has vastly expanded Skype’s conferencing capabilities as well. Not only can up to 100 people join in on a virtual

feature

conference call, but people can be called on their cell phones from within the session, and join in on the group conversation from their mobile phones as if they’re having a regular phone call.

Chuck out your PABX Skype for Business also brings with it the option for businesses to chuck out their existing PABXes, by introducing a “virtual PABX” that lives in the cloud. It’s a new service called “Cloud PBX & Modern Voice” and it’s powered by Microsoft’s massive Azure cloud server network; it effectively takes over from your physical PABX and routes all calls made from IP telephones, PCs, laptops and mobile phones through to their destination via the internet.

and an Office 365 E5 Enterprise subscription, and voila, no more need for a physical PABX system. At the time of writing, that subscription will cost you $35 per month, per user, on an annual commitment basis.

While that sounds like a lot, especially as it converts to around R533 per employee per month, that’s all you need to pay for access to all of Office 2016’s productivity software and the ability to make calls. Over and above that, those calls don’t cost you anything but the internet data they use, so if your staff make a lot of calls, the cost savings over time could be significant.

Try before you buy Microsoft offers a 30-day free trial that you can make use of before making your final decision about Skype for Business, so give it a go – you really have nothing to lose, You could, however, quite possibly lower your operating costs, and that’s pretty important in these trying economic times.

https://products.office.com/en-us/ business/office-365-enterprise-e5business-software

There’s an app for that And when your staff are away from their desks, they can still use Skype for Business to make calls with their smartphones that use compressed data instead of expensive minutes.

The Skype for Business app enables all of the functionality of the desktop/notebook application, including setting distinctive ringtones for specific numbers and contacts.

How much?

All you need is your own work network connected to the internet however you please

www.htxt.co.za | 37

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feature

More power to you 10 things you should know about electrical protection

I

t’s common knowledge in 2016 that you should really have some sort of protection between your electronics and the electricity supply.

But what to get, and why? And what does all that marketing gumpf mean?

This article will help you cut through it all to find the protection you need.

Not all protection is the same There’s a major difference between a regular multi-plug, a surge protector and a UPS. And even within each category, not all products are the same.

Most regular multi-plugs will not offer any meaningful surge protection, while the more expensive ones have some sort of built-in fuse that breaks the circuit when a surge happens.

If you see multi-plugs with a red button on them, that typically means it contains a

UPS

circuit-breaker/fuse combo.

An actual surge protector, meanwhile, offers a certain amount of protection against surges and spikes. This is rated in joules, and deteriorates over time; a 1000 Joule surge protector can protect against ten 100 Joule surges, or one 1000 Joule surge, but thereafter will need to be replaced.

Think of the protection on offer as water in a jug, each surge consuming a certain amount of it. When it’s all gone, it’s time for new protection.

Basically, when shopping for a surge protector, the greater its Joule rating, the longer it’ll last you. The best surge protectors will actually let you know through some sort of indicator how much protection is left; without that, it’s up to you to replace your protection on a regular basis, just in case the surge protection has been depleted.

Some brands offer cash warranties Some brands are so confident in their surge protection, they even offer cash warranties should your electronics take damage whilst properly connected to their products. Ellies, for instance, offers to pay up to R20 000 on many of its surge protectors.

The trick, of course, is proving your goods were properly connected at the time the damage happened, but it’s still a nice vote of confidence that brands are willing to do this at all.

Power conditioners While surge protectors offer some protection against power fluctuations, surges and spikes, if you want to eliminate the possibility of surges making it through to your equipment at all, you should consider a power conditioner instead.

Power conditioners constantly monitor the quality of the electricity being supplied, and adjust accordingly when surges and spikes are detected. This ensures your equipment is always getting exactly the electricity they need.

Granted, power conditioners are more expensive than surge protectors, but they use more advanced technologies like surge diverters, isolation transformers and power line noise filters to ensure that your equipment remains protected, even in the event of a major surge.

Surges can come through any wire

PLUG

40 | tech made easy | march/APRIL 2016

The thing with power surges is that all they need is some sort of conductive material to travel along, so literally any wire that plugs into your PC, be it a power cable, phone line for an ISDN modem or a LAN cable, could be a path through which the surge travels.

To protect against damage from all angles, some surge protectors have connectors for these as well, so keep an eye out for ones you can plug everything from LAN cables to phone lines in to.

www.htxt.co.za | 41

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UPSes also provide a good degree of surge, spike and dip protection by modulating electricity at just the right level, absorbing the dips and surges.

UPS

Want faster USB charging?

Check the amps on USB ports USB is everywhere these days, but not all ports are created equal. When it comes to USB ports on surge protectors – a common occurrence given how many of our gadgets use USB - we advise that you check the output amperage rating. While 1A is good enough to charge a smartphone, if you want faster charging for bigger devices like tablets, you should insist on getting one with a 2A rating.

Amperage is a measurement of electrical current, and a higher rating means more electricity can pass through the connection.

Thus, a higher amperage means your gadgets get juiced faster.

The only caveat is not to go too high with the amperage (2A is just about perfect), as more amps means more heat while charging, and too much heat degrades the Lithium Ion batteries present in much of our tech and reduces their lifespan.

INVERTER

UPSes also provide a good degree of surge, spike and dip protection by modulating electricity at just the right level, absorbing the dips and surges. Here are a few things to know about them before making a purchase.

Match the load to the UPS UPSes are rated in kVA and kilowatts, for the most part, which indicates how much of an

Uninterruptible Power Supplies are good If you anticipate having no power for a few hours at a time, and you don’t want to buy some sort of battery inverter setup, there’s no better investment than an uninterruptible power supply, or UPS. A UPS is designed to keep critical electrical appliances and gadgets powered on during a power failure, allowing you to do things like shut desktop and server PCs down properly at the office, and keep a few lights and maybe the TV on for an hour or so at home.

42 | tech made easy | march/APRIL 2016

GENERATOR

electrical load they can support.

To figure out which UPS to buy, you need to know what load it should support, by tallying up the power rating of all devices it will be connected to.

A 2.1KW UPS, for instance, can support a television, a DVD player, a decoder, a laptop computer and three 15W lights for about an hour.

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Pure Sine Wave vs. Modified Sine Wave UPSes You’ll see these terms a lot when shopping for a UPS; they refer to the technology used in the provision of the temporary power, which relates to how alternating current (AC) power works.

A pure sine wave inverter in a UPS delivers smooth power over time, as illustrated by the rounded curves of the sine wave (pictured). Modified sine wave inverters don’t – they deliver instantaneous peak loads of power for milliseconds at a time, and their graphs have jagged edges stemming from power being on, then off, then on again (ad infinitum) for milliseconds at a time.

The differences between these two delivery methods can have a severe impact on sensitive electronics, such as

miscalculations in microprocessors and even a reduction of their lifespans over time.

Pure sine wave UPSes are more expensive than their modified sine wave contemporaries, but are the better investment if you’re powering computers and servers through a blackout.

Always install the software Many UPSes come with software, and will only kick in and do their job if configured correctly. The general rule with any UPS connected to a computer or server is to make sure the software it comes with is installed and configured to your needs.

Regular maintenance is key It’s easy to buy, setup and forget about a UPS, but you really shouldn’t. Instead, you

should perform regular maintenance on yours, as battery performance degrades over time and the time to find out that they’re not doing so hot is not when the power goes out.

To that end, perform regular checks using the included software, monitor the physical UPS for warning lights, and enlist the help of professionals every year or so to give them a good going-over.

Wrapping up Keep these tips in mind when shopping for uninterruptible power supplies and surge protectors, and you will extend the lifespan of your electronics, plus keep the lights on in times of darkness without any worry that you’re doing your connected electronics damage.

GENERATOR

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Cashless payment systems are here Four payment apps your customers love using

M

ore and more South Africans are choosing to leave their wallets and cash at home as merchants begin accepting mobile payments, also known as cashless payments.

The premise is simple; a customer links their credit or debit card to an app which they can then use to make payments by scanning a barcode at the point of sale (POS) with their phone.

There are benefits to accepting payments in this way in addition to the obvious one of keeping up with the times: payments are simple, and with the actually transfer of funds happening between the banks rather than at your point of sale, it’s incredibly secure.

There is one sticking point, though: not everybody is using the same mobile payment app.

So we’ve tracked down four of the most popular mobile payment apps in wide use today in a bid to help you decide which one is right for you.

Snapscan Platforms: Android, iOS, Blackberry Cost: 3% transaction fee Hardware: None Online payments: Yes POS payments: Yes

Snapscan is becoming a very popular payment app. Merchants with a Standard Bank account can complete the sign-up process online, and should they bank with another institution, part of the application can be done online but a Snapscan representative will need to contact you to complete the setup.

You can link your payments to existing point-of-sale (POS) solutions and even receive confirmation of payment via SMS or your POS system.

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FlickPay Platforms: Android, iOS Cost: Varies depending on size Hardware: QR scanner Online Payments: N/A POS Payments: Yes

Unlike Snapscan where customers scan a merchant-supplied barcode, Flickpay merchants scan a barcode generated by the customer. The authentication and payment is handled in a similar way to Snapscan, where everything is done between the banks.

Just be aware, you will need to have a QR scanner fitted to your POS, and the cost will vary depending on how many you need.

Zapper Platforms: Android, iOS, Windows Phone Cost: 2.7% transaction fee Hardware: None Online Payments: Yes POS Payments: Yes

With operations in Europe and Australia as well as South Africa, there is no denying Zapper is big. The app works the same way as Snapscan in that customers scan a QR code to pay you. Payments are processed through a third party such as PayGate and transactions are secure for both merchant and buyer. The ecommerce side of Zapper is possibly its best feature. Place a Zapper QR code on your site and customers can “Zap” it to log in and in another Zap make a payment.

MasterPass Platforms: Android, iOS, Windows Phone, Blackberry Cost: Varies according to banking partner Hardware: None Online Payments: Yes POS Payments: No

Backed by MasterCard, Masterpass has the largest reach of all four payment services listed here. As with the majority of the payment apps customers scan a QR code but MasterPass is limited to online shopping portals. The service is fast and secure and the only requirement is that you accept MasterCard branded cards.

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5 Cloud Apps Every SME should use

Looking to enhance your small business with cloud apps? These are the ones to use.

I

n the age of the Cloud, it’s possible to run business software right from your phone, which is fantastic as it means you no longer need to manage the install process or maintain the hardware needed to do so.

These apps work on both Android and iOS – the two most popular mobile operating systems – and all they require is user licenses per staff member and the payment of each service’s monthly fees.

Evernote

Box

This is the very best way to take notes on your phone, and not just because the actual process is easy thanks to Evernote’s slick interface, but because you can store everything you create on Evernote’s servers. That ensures it’s all available on whatever device you happen to have Evernote installed on, and you can go from your phone to your desktop and pick up right where you left off. Definitely worth the R96 monthly fee.

Looking for a platform that allows for secure file-sharing and collaboration between teams? Box offers two packages – Starter and Business – that provide secure online storage and sharing tools along with document encryption and user management that will help teams that work far apart collaborate online. Do it all from desktops, laptops, phones and tablets.

R96 per user, per month

R100 - R275 per month, per user, storage dependent

MozyPro

Quickbooks Online

GetFeedback

Backing data up online is perhaps the easiest and cheapest way to keep your important business information safe. MozyPro offers various subscriptions that let businesses automate daily, weekly and monthly backups to servers in the cloud; you’re paying to put the infrastructure costs and redundancy worries onto MozyPro’s shoulders. Should your data needs exceed 250GB, MozyPro says highercapacity plans can be negotiated.

Accounting software that you don’t have to install on a PC, that offers the full functionality of the QuickBooks desktop app and which works on any operating system, including mobile ones? That’s exactly what Quickbooks Online offers.

It allows business owners to access their financial information from anywhere, at any time, on any device.

Finding out exactly what your customers think of your business is perhaps the very best way to get honest feedback that can lead to improved products and services over time. But actually doing it can be tough, which is where GetFeedback comes in. It’s a mobile app that gives businesses the opportunity to put together their own surveys, and payment options scale according to the number of monthly responses businesses are looking for.

R150 – R1500 per month, depending on storage required

R160 – R450 per month, per user depending on functionality

R160 – R2 200 per month depending on desired number of responses

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What to look for when business printer shopping Interested in replacing the office printer with something better?

Here’s what to look for.

T

ake it from us: the paperless office is very likely never going to be a thing, and there’s always going to be a need for some type of printing machine in the daily running of just about any business.

Naturally, not every business’s printing needs are the same, and what works for one may not work for another. So we’ve put this guide together of a few things to keep in mind when hitting the shops looking for a replacement printer to see you through the next few years.

Size

Printers range in size from small and compact and able to fit on any desk without taking over, to so huge they almost need their own dedicated office space. Which is best for you is determined by your daily printing needs – daily print count and finishing options, for instance – as well as the number of staff the printer needs to serve.

Offices with 50 or more people needing access to a printer should go for something bigger than a desk-sized printer, as bigger printers tend to have the most paper-handling options, the fastest printing speeds and are able to process multiple jobs at a time without falling over.

Smaller printers, ones that fit comfortably onto desks are best for small business environments with space constraints and less than 15 staff members.

Speed

Speed comes into play when printing is a regular occurrence in your office, and staff are likely to send multiple multi-page jobs at a time. Nobody likes to wait in line, and printers that are able to queue jobs and process them without too much of a delay are ideal here.

These tend to be enterprise-grade printers with built-in hard drives and memory stores

46 | tech made easy | march/APRIL 2016

with which to process jobs.

The time to first print – the time it takes for the first page to emerge after hitting the Print button – is also important. Printers that spend a lot of time warming up can be an irritation to busy staff. A time of less than 5 seconds to the print emerging is ideal.

points to connect to.

It’s best to have both connectivity options, of course, but not all printers come with WiFi, and you should keep that in mind when shopping.

Colour or mono

Touchscreens can offer really easy ways to interact with a printer, but in some cases physical buttons can be better, as they offer more immediate feedback. Some manufacturers don’t include the best-quality touchscreens with their printers; we’ve seen some not responding right away to touches, and slight lag introduced when swiping through option screens. Actual screen quality can be another issue – some aren’t particularly sharp. When a touchscreen is both not sharp and its controls don’t respond immediately, we’d just as soon skip them and press physical buttons, thank you very much.

You need to decide up front whether you want the option to print in colour, or if monochrome printing is fine for the documents your business produces. Colour is nice to have, of course, and can bring some much-needed life to business documents – especially if you print presentations with pictures and graphs and whatnot regularly – but it can also tempt staff into printing things they shouldn’t at work.

Colour laser printers are more expensive than their ink counterparts, but they also tend to produce more pages for less money per page than ink printers do, and are best for businesses that print a lot.

Multifunction or single function

A printer that simply prints offers cost benefits over printers that print, copy, scan and fax, but their limited functionality can also limit productivity. We advise choosing multifunction printers for business, as they provide flexibility that will likely come in handy at some point, if not right away.

Wireless or wired networking

Connecting a printer up to a wireless network offers more freedom as to where to place it than one that connects with a cable, as its only limiting factor is the strength of the WiFi signal. Cables, meanwhile, must be run from the router to the printer’s location, or the business needs to have pre-installed network

Touchscreen or buttons

Cost per page

This is perhaps the most important factor when choosing a new printer. You need to look at the up-front cost of the printer itself, as well as ink/toner cost. The cost per set of ink/toner cartridges divided by the number of pages you’re able to get per full set gives you the cost per page; printers that seem expensive at the till can actually prove cheaper to run in the long run if their cost per page is low enough.

Price range

The price you’ll pay for a printer depends heavily on the type of printing application you’re considering it for. You can pay a few thousand rand for a small desk printer all the way up to tens of thousands for far bigger ones; which is best for your budget is entirely up to what you’re buying the printer for and what you’re willing to spend.

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Epson L565 Epson’s consumer printers switched to what they call an “Ink Tank System” a few years back, and they’ve proven hugely successful with small businesses and home users alike.

That’s because while they cost more than competing printers at the tills, their new ink tanks produce far more pages than ink printers in the same category, plus refills are super-cheap – you’re looking at R120 per bottle, and up to 4 000 pages of mono prints and up to 6 500 colour prints.

The L565 is a no-frills printer, too – its mono LCD screen is functional but not impressive, but it can handle the copying, faxing and scanning needed in a small office. It’s also WiFi-only, but fortunately setting it up initially is a simple task, and connecting to it with a Windows 10 PC is as easy as scanning for it on the network and clicking Install.

Copying and scanning is quite slow on the L565, though, and it only manages just under 10 pages per minute when printing, so don’t get this if speed is important. This is more a dependable workhorse than a

racehorse, but it certainly proves its worth in the long run with its low running costs.

VITAL STATISTICS • Price: R5 999 • F unctionality: Print, Scan, Copy, Fax • Cost per set of cartridges: Average R480

• • • •

age Yield: 4 000 black, 6 500 colour P Connectivity: USB and WiFi Interface: Buttons with mono LCD Printer Mechanism: Micro Piezo with Epson Ink Tank System • Mobile Printing: Yes, with Epson Connect for iOS and Android

HP Laser Jet Pro MFP M477fdw HP continues to put out some amazing printers, and the M477fdw looks great, prints fast and its colour touchscreen is beautifully responsive and nice and clear to boot.

Print quality is certainly up there; the M477fdw is brilliant at both text and images, and although you shouldn’t use it to print out all of your holiday snaps, it does a good enough job of it that you totally could – just slot in some photo paper, choose photo paper in the print options and off you go. We were very impressed to see full colour prints come out looking bright and vibrant, even on regular plain paper.

Setting it up on the network and on a PC is a breeze, too, partly thanks to the intuitive touchscreen interface and partly because HP’s products and Windows play very nicely together.

Sadly, buying toner cartridges every eight thousand or so prints

48 | tech made easy | march/APRIL 2016

is quite costly – you’re looking at just under eight grand for a full set due to our local currency having a tough time of it at the moment.

HP has made a rock-solid, highly-competent printer for small offices here, one whose overall quality is exceptional and definitely worth the asking price.

VITAL STATISTICS • Price: R9 999 • Functionality: Print, scan, copy, fax • Cost per set of cartridges: Black • • • • •

(R1 999), Colour x 3 (R1 999) x 3 = R7 996 Page Yield: 2 300 black, 2 300 colour Connectivity: WiFi, Ethernet, USB Interface: Touchscreen Printer Mechanism: Colour Laser Mobile Printing: Yes, via HP ePrint

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OKI MC342w At first glance, this mid-range printer, scanner, copier and fax from OKI seems to be a throwback to 1990s-era design with its off-white plastic, tiny mono LCD screen and solid, heavy build. But that’s soon dispelled by a robust range of features more in line with the design of 2010s printers – WiFi, an Ethernet port, support for mobile apps, and a generous three-year warranty.

Text quality is exceptional, as all our text documents came out razor-sharp in typical OKI quality. Images, while good (and a bit shiny), were only so-so but certainly good enough for an office meeting where quality isn’t of the utmost importance.

Sadly, this particular OKI proves to be rather expensive to run, costing just over seven grand to replace all four toner cartridges,

and yielding just 2 200 mono prints and 1 500 colour pages per colour toner.

Speed-wise, the MC342w did extremely well, almost reaching the 22ppm it is rated at for mono prints, and a fast time to first print of just 12 seconds from sleep.

Overall, though, this printer’s good aspects are outweighed by some negatives that outweigh the good.

VITAL STATISTICS • Price: R8 999 • Functionality: Print, scan, copy, fax • Cost per set of cartridges: R1 699 • • • • •

(black), R1 799 (colour) = R7 096 per set Page Yield: 2 200 (black), 1 500 (colour) Connectivity: WiFi, Ethernet, USB Interface: Physical buttons with 2-line mono LCD Printer Mechanism: Colour Laser Mobile Printing: Yes, via OKI Mobile Print

Brother MCL-8850CDW Now this is a gorgeous printer that matches its looks with plenty of speed and functionality. It’s exactly the kind of printer a small-tomid-sized office should be looking at, as its colour laser engine produces fast prints and a single-pass automatic duplexer that lets it print on both sides of a page quickly and without fuss.

Default options include a 300-page paper tray and a 35-page automatic document feeder, expandable to 800 pages with an optional 500-sheet tray, so it’s great at handling the average work day’s prints.

Actual print quality is solid for a laser when it comes to text, so expect sharp fonts, but it doesn’t produce the bestlooking images and photos.

They’re not terrible by any means, but they’re also not as sharp or as nice-looking as

we’ve seen from Brother.

It connects to a network via cable or WiFi, and also supports Brother’s iPrint&Scan app for mobile phone and tablet printing.

Overall the 8850 is a decent printer with great options for small-to-medium-sized offices, but it’s also a bit expensive as a full set of cartridges will cost a thousand bucks shy of the initial purchase price.

VITAL STATISTICS • Price: R9 999 • Functionality: Print, Scan, Copy, Fax

• Cost per set of cartridges: • • • • •

R2450 per colour, R1599 per colour x 3 = R8 949 per set Page Yield: 6000 (black, colour) Connectivity: USB and WiFi Interface: 4.85-inch Touchscreen Printer Mechanism: Colour Laser Mobile Printing: Yes, via Brother iPrint&Scan app for iOS, Android

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Ricoh MPC 306Z We haven’t seen a lot of Ricoh printers here at the Tech Made Easy offices, but this one certainly made a good impression on us. Sure, it’s designed for mid-sized offices and thus comes with a bunch of high-end features that we’d likely never use, but it’s just so robust and fast that we can’t help but be impressed.

Its biggest draw is its full-colour, 10.1inch tablet-like touchscreen interface that lets people control every aspect of its operation like they would any touchscreen app. It’s fast and responsive, and does a great job of providing intuitive access to everything from basic functions to the printer’s deepest recesses.

Then there’s the programmable NFC tag that can be set up to print at the touch of a smartphone, a special “silent mode” for printing in noise-conscious areas like libraries (which does a great job of reducing the overall noise made during printing, by the way) and its “Device Software

Manager”, a PC-based utility that simplifies and automates print-driver installation and updates.

Beyond that, the printer has a built-in web browser that connects users to the internet, as well as to a host of Cloud-based services like OneDrive, DropBox, OCR facilities and more.

Price-wise, however, you may want to sit down, as Ricoh charges nearly R40 000 for all of this cutting-edge printing goodness – the local retail price is R36 999.

VITAL STATISTICS • Price: R36 999 • Functionality: Print, scan, copy, fax, cloud • Cost per set of cartridges: • Page Yield: • Connectivity: WiFi, Ethernet, NFC • Interface: 10.1-inch Full Colour Touchscreen • Printer Mechanism: Colour Laser • Mobile Printing: Yes, via Ricoh’s Smart Device Print & Scan app

Samsung ProXpress SL-M4580FX Mono Laser This massive mono laser printer from Samsung prints like a man possessed, and comes with a fancy tablet that is the sole way of interacting with the machine.

It’s stuffed with enterprise-friendly features, most notably close integration with Microsoft’s Active Directory, giving admins close control over what functions their users have access to, along with support for web-based services like Box which are accessible right from the tablet.

Print and copy quality is exceptional; Samsung’s print engine is superb, as is the quality of its scanner. Often copies came out looking slightly sharper than the original documents did. A built-in hard drive and support for large print queues make this a brilliant option in any busy medium-sized business.

The best part about this printer is that while it’s monochrome-only, you do get 40 000 prints before you need to replace the toner

50 | tech made easy | march/APRIL 2016

cartridge. That’s a lot of prints and an incredibly low cost per page, since a replacement mono cartridge costs just R1 699.

Initial setup is quite complicated, though, but then that’s not a problem for the intended audience, namely experienced enterpriselevel IT admins who do that stuff in their sleep.

So if it’s really fast, high-quality monochrome prints you’re after and your budget is in the R28 000 range, Samsung’s SL-M4580FX is a really good option.

VITAL STATISTICS • Price: R27 999 • Functionality: Print, Scan, Copy, Fax • Cost per set of cartridges: R1 699 • Page Yield: 40 000 per toner cartridge

• Connectivity: USB, Ethernet and WiFi • Interface: Full colour 10.1-inch tablet

• Printer Mechanism: Monochrome laser

• Mobile Printing:

Samsung Mobile Print

STATS

SA tech

The numbers that sum up the best of the month

in stats

The SEGA Megadrive games console from the late 1980s has been re-released in South Africa with a few minor upgrades.

It’ll cost 5c short of R1 500 and come with 80 built-in games.

Bit.ly/1TRhEnD

Eskom’s 5 female directors, its gender equity rating of 29.83% for 2014/15 and its increased targets of 32% for 2015/16 and 45.7% for 2019/20 have helped place it as the 6th-most gender-diverse power company in the world. Bit.ly/1P3yEi7

This month we got to see a router from ASUS with eight aerials that was capable of a whopping 2167mbps transfer speeds over its AC-class WiFi. Bit.ly/1LWo1mJ

A new SSD from Samsung can store a whopping 15.36 Terabytes of data, transfers at 12Gbps and reaches read/ write speeds of 1 200Mbps, random read performance of 200 000 IOPS and random write speeds of 32 000 IOPS. That’s huge, and fast, like a rhino crossed with a cheetah. Bit.ly/1pBf08M

A Johannesburg business man wants Vodacom to pay him 5c for every R1 Vodacom made from its “Airtime Advance” promotion, which he claims is his idea. He has taken the company to court over it.

Bit.ly/1TRML2l

A disgruntled ISIS member has leaked the names of over 22 000 supposed ISIS terrorists by handing over a Flash disk containing 1 736 documents packed with juicy details gleaned from a 23-question form would-be members need to fill in before joining. Bit.ly/1LWoPI8

Enjoy this free copy of htxt.africa’s Tech Made Easy? There’s loads more stories like these, plus in-depth features and news published daily at our website www.htxt.co.za.

Next month

And if you want even more, keep your eyes peeled for issue 26 from May 2016 in all good technology retailers.

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