April 2011
Bits&Bobs Understanding torage Computer S
perfect Pan ramas
Bring that Landscape into Focus
The
green
team We go inside AMD
R14.95 incl. VAT
e m H k r o W
! Kit out your office space
Top
Reviews MONITORS LAPTOPS CAMERAS PRINTERS SOFTWARE cellphones GAMES
www.connectmag.co.za
VOL02 Issue #12
FEATURES 12 Setting up a Home Office How to make your dream job become a reality
April 2011
12
16
Back to Basics: Storage Learn about the magic behind those megabytes in your computer
20
Get iLife Unpacking Apple’s popular media suite
22
Advanced Micro Devices Indeed! Going inside AMD
26
The Perfect Panarama Lovely landscape photography tips
28
Sell Your Stuff Using the digital market place
20
28 16
REGULARS 06 08 68 70 72
News Trouble-free Technobabble Tamsin the Tech Tannie Competition Disconnect
REVIEWS 34 38 46 48 49 50 52 54 55 56 58 60
First Look Top 5 eReader Notebooks Peripherals Webcams Mobile GPS Networking Accessories Software Books
GAMING 62
PUBLISHER Brett Haggard brett@connectmag.co.za EDITOR Tiana Cline tiana@connectmag.co.za
REVIEWS Deon du Plessis EDITOR deon@connectmag.co.za TECHNOLOGY Christo van Gemert EDITOR christo@connectmag.co.za CONTRIBUTORS Tamsin Mackay Adam Oxford ART DIRECTOR Jason Palmer jason@connectmag.co.za
Reviews
SUBSCRIPTIONS subscriptions@connectmag.co.za ADVERTISING Dorothy Haggard dorothy@connectmag.co.za Contact Hypertext Media Communications (011) 023-8001/4 info@hypertext.co.za FAX 08654 83304
Connect is a joint venture between Hypertext Media Communications and Incredible Connection
ed’s note
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Subscribe now and you could win one of three HP Officejet 7500A Wide Format e-All-in-One Printers!
4 | connect | April 2011
magine being able to work from home. No more traffic, rising petrol prices, window washers or potholes. But there is more! What about the ability to spend more time with your loved ones (pets included) and not having to pack work lunch? Before you know it, you could be spending the whole day in pajamas, only having to quickly pop on a jacket for the Skype videoconference. Sound good? It could be, but actually setting up a small office network can be a daunting task. This is why we’ve tried to make it all a little simpler with a feature on page 12. Read it to find out the basics of what hardware is required for the home office, and what steps need to be taken to get up and running fairly quickly. And while working at home might not be the perfect ideal for everyone, if you’ve considered it, then this is the guide for you. Before you begin to calculate expenses in your head, we’re going to put this fact out there: computers don’t have to be expensive, and cheap computers don’t have to be underpowered. This is truly one of AMD’s strengths – producing affordable but impressively powerful computer chips. In this issue of Connect, we’re taking a closer look at the company’s most exciting technologies (see page 22). If it is a piece of hardware that makes up the building blocks of your everyday PC, AMD make it: processors, graphics cards and motherboard chipsets. As a continuation to our back-to-basics series, we’re focusing on storage. Do you know the difference between a gigabyte and a megabyte?
Bits and bytes needn’t be complicated, thanks to the Connect guide (page 16) to data storage. Learn how big a megabyte is, and how many songs you can store in a gigabyte. We also detail the different kinds of storage: RAM and hard drives, and explain what each is used for. Capturing wide-open scenes becomes a whole lot easier with our guide on how to take better landscape photos. Get tips on what to do right, even if you don’t own a complicated camera, and learn about software that’ll stitch your panoramic photos together. The perfect panorama? Sorted. Most of the time, it is easy to find what you are looking for. Need a mouse? Head over to your nearest Incredible Connection and get one. Looking for particular novel that isn’t available at your local bookstore? Buy it over the Internet. But what happens when you want to (safely) sell your stuff online? On page 28, we’re taking you to the digital marketplace to show you how to have your own online yard sale. From gadgets to gizmos and everything in-between, if you have something what someone is looking for, then why not make some space? Features aside, the April issue of Connect is packed with practical previews and reviews you can use. Our tech tannie will solve all your IT quandaries and games? We have those covered as well. We hope you enjoy another great issue of South Africa’s only technology magazine that speaks your language. Tiana Cline
Editor’s photo by Dan Elkabir / www.lightscapespdd.com
r e g g i b a gig BYtes r e t t be
Go for a drive...
A Verbatim GT Drive!
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news Apple’s iPad sequel We might be a bit hard done by here in South Africa, especially when it comes to tech. In this case, the original iPad went on sale in local stores mere weeks before Apple unveiled (and put on sale) the iPad 2 in the American market. The new model has the same display as the
Secure storage from Verbatim Storage supremo, Verbatim, announced a tiny USB drive with a very special feature: hardware encryption. In this day and age of personal data being very sought-after, these tiny USB drives can save your bacon. They boast ultra-secure AES encryption with a 256-bit key, so even if you lose it, it’ll be years before some hacker cracks that Word document with your daily journal.
IPS monitors from LG As if we didn’t have enough acronyms to memorise, LG’s just added another one to the list. Granted, it isn’t the first company to boast IPS (in-plane switching) technology in its displays, but it’s the first mass-market monitor we’ve seen. The new technology makes for more vibrant colours and clearer visuals, by letting less light stray through the panel. Two models are available: a 21.5” model and a 23” version, each boasting LED backlighting and full HD capabilities. They’re on the shelves now, for R1 899 and R1 999 respectively.
Upgrade your Explorer
App of the Month: Powertime (Android)
Twitter-tastrophe! Hollywood actor Charlie Sheen, the subject of close psychological scrutiny, leapt into record books, tiger style, when he went from zero to one million followers on Twitter in just 25 hours. Whether you think he’s a genius or just plain crazy, there’s no denying that this is a spectacular achievement.
6 | connect | April 2011
first-generation device, but it has a slimmer design, weighs less and has faster internals. Amazingly, Apple hasn’t changed pricing on the devices. There’s no word yet on when we’ll see the new model here. Local Apple representatives are remaining mum.
Quite a few modern homes are kitted out with prepaid electricity meters, but there’s always the small chance of credit expiring before you’ve charged up your account. That’s the worry Powertime aims to eliminate. It has a mobile application for the iPhone, BlackBerry and Android platforms, which gives you quick and easy access to your electricity. Check existing balances or buy some more credit – from anywhere in the world. Now that’s convenience. To find out more or to register, visit: www.powertime.co.za
Microsoft has officially started a death timer for that old stalwart, Internet Explorer 6. The web browser was originally packaged with Windows XP in 2001, and has been causing web developers headaches ever since. South Africa is on the map with 8.4% of Internet users still stuck on the archaic software. If you see somebody using IE6 – get them to upgrade to the recently launched Internet Explorer 9. It’s a lot better. Track the progress on www.ie6countdown.com
Internet number 9 Microsoft has released the ninth version of Internet Explorer. As with any new version, it’s “the best yet”, but flippant rhetoric aside, it is actually very good. New technologies include full support for HTML 5, which means fewer plugins to watch videos and animations – and that’s a good thing, because it means fewer crashes and freezes while browsing the web. Download it at www.microsoft.com/ internetexplorer
techno jargon // by Deon du Plessis
8 | connect | April 2011
Prepare yourself for some pretty sweet geekery as we delve into some really arcane and complicated-sounding terms. Binary
3D Vision
Binary refers to a numerical system with a base of two numbers, rather than ten. In the binary number system we only have a 1 and a 0. This is what computers see: a 1 indicates power on and a 0 indicates power off.
nVidia is a company based on the USA that makes graphics cards. 3D Vision is nVidia’s implementation of stereoscopic 3D technology that makes use of the company’s graphics cards, special active shutter glasses and 3D screens to create the effect of game graphics and movie visuals having depth.
Bits and bytes A single bit is either a binary 1 or binary 0. A byte is expressed as 8 bits – and it’s the most basic, practical measure of data. One byte represents a number between 0 and 255. The binary byte for the number “123” is: 01111011.
Kilo, mega and gigabytes Kilo is Greek for thousand. Thus a kilobyte is 1000 bytes. Mega means millions, so a megabyte is 1-million bytes, or 1000 kilobytes. A gigabyte is 1-billion bytes, or 1000 megabytes.
GeoIP GeoIP stands for Geographic IP. As we know, every computer connected to the Internet has an IP (Internet protocol) address. GeoIP is a technology that can be implemented to determine where in the world you are located. This is how YouTube knows that you are not in the United States and blocks certain content, and how the BBC’s iPlayer can tell that you’re from South Africa and not the United Kingdom. Happily, the technology can’t be used to identify individual people, rather it’s used to locate the general area an IP address is located in. The closest GeoIP can get is to narrow down the suburb you’re in.
Geolocation Active Shutter Glasses 3D images on traditional displays, such as a cinema screen and your LCD monitor, are composed of two separate images being shown at once, which is why they’re blurry to the naked eye. Active shutter glasses filter this combined image by quickly opening and closing (an electronic, not mechanical process) and splitting it up into separate images for the left and right eyes. Each image is of the same scene but shot from slightly different angles, mimicking the way your eyes and brain work together to perceive depth in everyday life.
AFK If you play World of Warcraft or any other online game, you have probably seen this term appear in chat windows. It means “Away From Keyboard”, and is used to tell team mates and guild mates that a player has left his computer, presumably to grab a bite to eat, answer nature’s call or to extinguish the flames that have just erupted unexpectedly from a carelesslydiscarded cigarette, and that no response should be expected from them for the next few minutes.
Like GeoIP, Geolocation is used to determine a device’s physical location. Unlike GeoIP, the technology is a lot more accurate and is usually assisted by an on-board global positioning satellite receiver, to give exact X and Y co-ordinates. Geolocation information can be used for navigational aids, or to add location data to photos and videos (also called “geotagging”).
Macros In computing, a macro refers to a single command that performs a task that would otherwise take several separately-executed steps to complete. In Word and Excel documents, for example, it’s possible to create a macro within each program that takes away the repetition of certain tasks. If you are frequently required to create a specific type of document with specific measurements, character spacing, paragraph layouts using a specific font of a certain size, you can use Office’s built-in macro recorder to record all the steps you take to create that document using those settings, and then assign a key that applies all those steps at once. Tada, you’ve created your first macro!
www.connectmag.co.za | 9
buying advice //by deon du plessis
: o t how
set up a
office
Interested in working from home? Read on, as Connect takes a look at all the hardware needed and the steps necessary to make your dream job a reality...
T
hanks to skyrocketing petrol prices, nightmare traffic, chatty co-workers and all the other pitfalls of working in an office five days a week, working from home is becoming a very attractive prospect. To do so requires some planning on your part, though, which is where we come in. Below, Connect delves into the options available today that can turn the 9-to-5 grind into something a lot more pleasurable.
Examples of wireless ADSL routers with excellent range and speeds: • Belkin Play Max • Sitecom Wireless Modem Router 300N • Netgear DGN2200 Wireless Router
Necessary Networking By far the best way to set yourself up to work from home is to install a network, complete with both wired and wireless Internet access. The idea is to give yourself access to the Internet from any point in your home with wireless connectivity, while also providing the cables necessary to connect up any desktop PCs you may have too, for maximum convenience. Since printers with wireless connectivity are becoming the norm, having a network at home is a fantastic way to connect up all PCs or Macs to a printing device, too.
12 | connect | April 2011
Here’s what you will need: An ADSL router with built-in wireless networking, preferably 802.11n for the increased range it offers. An 802.11b/g router is workable, but it will offer shorter range and lower transfer speeds. A telephone line from Telkom. ADSL access through said telephone line (available through a large number of ISPs, including Telkom). An ADSL account from an Internet
Service Provider (ISP) like Branded Internet with however many Gigabytes of data you think you might need – 15GB is a good monthly amount for the average family. A notebook computer. A desktop computer complete with monitor, keyboard and mouse. A printer with built-in wireless networking (again, look for one with 802.11n networking capabilities).
How to set up the ADSL router: Unpack the router Connect it to the supplied adapter and plug it in to the power outlet. 3 Plug the telephone line into the ADSL router’s line jack. Watch the DSL light – if ADSL access is active on your line, it should blink on and off for a few minutes and then remain on. A second light labelled “Internet” should remain dark, as the router won’t have your ADSL account credentials yet and cannot, therefore, establish a connection to the local ADSL network. 4 Follow the instructions included with the router for setting up basic network access. This may involve connecting to the router using a network cable (which should be included in the router box), and then manually navigating to the router’s default setup page, or using the included CD to get there. Leaving the default network settings is advised, unless you prefer to set your own network address range. 5 Navigate to the section of the configuration page that allows you to enter your ADSL account credentials. These details will be provided by your ISP. Enter your account details and click Save or Apply. After a few minutes, the Internet light on the router should come on. This means you’re now connected. If it doesn’t, contact your ISP’s support centre. 6 To connect to the router wirelessly, you will need to set up the wireless portion of the network. This involves activating it in the router’s configuration page and giving it a name you will recognise, like “Home Router”, and then configuring the connection’s security settings. We recommend WPA or WPA2 security, with a 256-bit encryption key. Each Wi-Fi device that connects to your wireless network will need to enter this key to successfully join the network. The more complicated this key is, the more protected the network is. To join your notebook computer to the network, you will need to enable your wireless network card and scan for any wireless networks in range using the Windows interface. Once located, click Connect. You will be prompted for the security key that you set up earlier. Enter the key, click OK, give the device a few seconds to configure its network settings and voilá, you’re connected to your home network wirelessly. 7 The router will automatically hand out network addresses to all wired devices with no need for security settings. All you need to do is connect any desktop PCs to the router using regular network cables. 1
2
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buying advice
The Perfect Printer A lot of consumer-level laser and inkjet printers have built-in Wi-Fi capabilities. This means they can connect to your wireless home network, which, in turn, means they can receive print jobs from any computer on your network. Probably the best thing about wirelessly networkable printers is that they no longer need to be attached to a computer directly, and can rather be placed somewhere more convenient than on the same desk as the computer that needs to print. Even though the 802.11n wireless networking standard is best for printers since it gives them the best possible range, it’s also acceptable to buy printers that only do 802.11b/g networking. The only restriction this introduces is that they shouldn’t be placed too far away from the router. Setting up the printer on your home network is very simple. Most Wi-Fi-capable printers made in the last year or so can be set up directly from their touchscreen interfaces. All that entails is navigating to the Network Settings menu, selecting your home network (it should automatically appear in the list of available networks) and entering the security key. Once that’s done, the printer becomes visible to all computers on the network. All that has to be done from there is install the printer’s drivers on each PC using the included CD. Be sure to specify that it’s a network printer you’re installing. Examples of inkjet printers with built-in Wi-Fi: • HP OfficeJet 6500A • Lexmark Prevail Pro705 • Canon PIXMA MG6140
14 | connect | April 2011
Need a Notebook? The last piece of hardware you’ll need (presuming you don’t already have one) is a decent notebook. Here are some useful tips on what to look for. Memory Entry-level notebooks with 32-bit operating systems should have no less than 3GB of memory (also called RAM). Lots of memory allows Windows and other programs to run faster during general use, and multiple programs to be open at once without the notebook falling over. The best possible configuration is a notebook with a 64-bit version of Windows 7 and 6GB of RAM or more, but for work purposes, 3GB is sufficient for everyday use. Processor For the best overall performance, Intel processors can’t be beat. Core i3, Core i5 and Core i7 processors represent the current crop of Intel processors and they are impressively powerful. Even the entry-level processors, the Core i3s, are more than good enough to power a business notebook. The whole range has been designed to work hard while consuming a conservative amount of power, which results in better battery performance (i.e. longer time between recharges). Core i3: For simple day-to-day workloads (e-mail, document creation, web browsing) Core i5: For more demanding tasks like running complicated business applications Core i7: For ultimate performance and enough power for any task Storage A notebook’s hard drive is not a big priority as storage can always be expanded later with external drives. The most basic option these days is 250GB of storage, and that’s more than enough for business purposes. Ports and Extras All modern notebooks have integrated 802.11b/g/n wireless networking, an Ethernet port, Bluetooth and USB ports. They differ in their video signal outputs (HDMI, DVI and VGA are the options), the number of USB ports, whether they have a Blu-ray or DVD rewritable optical drive and the kind of card readers they use. Operating System Notebooks to be used for work should have Windows 7 Professional installed, as this operating system offers the most appropriate set of features for any corporate environment. You can happily join your work’s domain, run virtual machines, access remote application servers using Remote Desktop and enjoy all the security features needed to keep your work data safe.
What to get: Connect recommends any notebook with at least the following specifications: • Windows 7 Professional 32-bit • 3GB of RAM • A 250GB hard drive • Core i3 processor • 802.11b/g/n wireless networking • Writeable DVD drive • Fingerprint scanner • At least 2 USB ports What to Avoid: Do not purchase a notebook with any of the following hardware. You may save money initially, but you’ll pay later in frustration, torn-out hair and general irritation due to the inferior performance or reduced features these components offer: • Processors: Intel Celeron, Intel Pentium, AMD Athlon64 • RAM: Only 1GB. Just say no. • Operating System: Windows 7 Starter, Windows 7 Home Basic
Examples of notebooks well-suited to business use: • Entry-level: Sony Vaio VPC-YA15 • Mid-range: Dell Vostro V3500 • High-end: Lenovo ThinkPad
Down to business Once you’ve set everything up, you’re 100% equipped to work at home whenever the need arises. You are connected to the Internet (and thus the rest of the world), you have a powerful notebook computer to work on and a printer with which to print documents. With this setup, you can have virtual meetings using your webcam, and have conference calls over Skype with colleagues and overseas contacts. There will be absolutely no need to go into the office, and you save money and frustration by not sitting in traffic for hours every day, not to mention the environmental benefits. www.connectmag.co.za | 15
back to basics //by christo van gemert
Giga–whatch
16 | connect | April 2011
chamacallit? Sit down, relax, and learn about the magic behind those megabytes in your computer.
I
t can, no doubt, be confusing when you read the specifications for a computer and see two figures listed: memory and hard drive space. While both are measured using the same metric, and both are used for storage, they have distinct functions. They’re not related, though: the amount of hard drive (HDD) space is not tied to the amount of memory (or RAM) in a computer.
Have a byte RAM and hard drive space are measured in bytes. The first computers were equipped with mere kilobytes of memory and storage. Kilo is derived from the Greek term for 1 000, so a kilobyte is 1 000 bytes. A megabyte is 1 million bytes, and a gigabyte is 1 billion bytes. After giga, we get tera, then peta.
Space: the final frontier A computer’s hard drive is like a really big filing cabinet. When you save a file, it gets written to the disk. This is the same as filing away a document or storing a photo in a shoebox. It can get put away and kept safely. Of course, computers have very complex, and efficient, file systems, which means searching for that information is a lot faster than rifling through some drawers or boxes, but in the grand scheme, a hard drive is still the slowest component in a computer. Fortunately, storing massive amounts of information is easy. Hard drives are made up of magnetic platters and tiny heads to read the information on those platters. The average two-page Word document is about 35 kilobytes in size, which means around 28 documents fit in 1MB of space. But nowadays, hard drives are measured in gigabytes, and the smallest hard drive you can buy has a capacity of 250GB – that is 250 000 megabyes. Obviously you don’t need that many Word documents, but our computers are used for playing music, movies and games, too. A high-quality MP3 music file takes up roughly 1.5MB for each minute of audio. Video files vary dramatically in size, but a compressed, standard-definition film can take up 700MB of space, while a straight DVD copy will be around 5GB in size. High-definition films can be 10GB to 20GB in size. Video games can be anywhere between 200MB and 15GB, when installed. Suddenly, 250GB of hard drive space doesn’t seem that significant. Thankfully, storage is cheap – a 1-terabyte hard drive costs less than R600.
www.connectmag.co.za | 17
W H
W H
back to basics
Memory of note RAM, which stands for Random Access Memory, is the normal operating space required by a computer for calculations and work. Think of it as the notepad you have on your desk. This can be used to write down a phone number or recipe, take notes, etc. It’s short-term memory. And when you switch off your computer – or if the power fails – that memory loses the information stored in it. However, just like you file away a piece of paper, you can save something in RAM to the hard drive. With that analogy in mind, think of the practical advantages of having many notepads around the house. One in the kitchen, one in the study, another in the TV room and a fourth in the bedroom: all of this equates to a lot of temporary space where stuff can be written down. It helps you remember things a lot easier. Computers are the same. A computer with 1GB of RAM will perform less optimally than a computer with 4GB of RAM. If a computer has very little memory, it will sometimes use the hard drive to temporarily store some of that information. It slows down your computer when it has to wait for the hard drive to fetch information and load it back into RAM. For this very reason, a RAM upgrade is often considered the best performance increase for your money – especially when a 2GB or 4GB upgrade can cost between R300 and R600.
18 | connect | April 2011
Megachart! The abbreviations are simple: kilobyte (KB), megabyte (MB), gigabyte (GB), but how much of each equals the other? Simple! 1KB = 1 024 bytes 1MB = 1 024 kilobytes 1GB = 1 024 megabytes 1TB = 1 024 gigabytes Wondering where the extra 24 comes from? Turn to our jargon guide on page 8.
Gigs on the go Portable storage is one product category that has seen significant growth in the last few years. It has become very cheap to manufacture hard drives, and putting them in external closures is the next step towards data freedom. Sometimes these external hard drives are big and bulky, and require a separate power cable. These are the desktop external drives, and can be had in capacities of up to 4 or 8 terabytes, in special multiple-drive enclosures. Ultra-portable drives are available in capacities of up to 1TB, and are powered by your computer’s USB port. That’s a lot of space for backups, music, movies and other archived data.
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more about mac //by tiana cline
Get iLife With iLife 11, you can organise your digital photos, create photo slideshows, produce movies, burn DVDs, make music and podcasts, publish websites and blogs, and so much more.
A
s you may have already discovered, the iLife package consists of iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD, iWeb and GarageBand. But like any programme suite, it’s easy to use just one and forget about the rest. But what you don’t open may hold exactly what you’re looking for. Below, we open up the iLife 11 software suite.
iMovie
iPhoto iPhoto offers three easy ways to organise and manage the thousands (maybe more) of photos on your Mac: Faces, Places and Events. The Faces feature helps you sort your photo library by the people in the pictures. It automatically detects (and recognises) faces in the photos. Instead of staring blankly at your photos wondering, “Now when did that happen?”, Places in iPhoto allows you to search and sort photos by location, using data from any GPS-enabled camera or iPhone. Don’t have a GPS-enabled camera or iPhone? You can still use Places by adding your own location information. iPhoto will also automatically organise photos by Event, so you don’t confuse that recent holiday in Cape Town with the one from a few years back. iPhoto also features some great one-click imageediting tools, as well as PhotoBook creation software.
20 | connect | April 2011
Chances are you have a camcorder, a digital camera, or a video-enabled cellphone, maybe even all three. iMovie puts your videos in one place and organises them for you so they are easy to browse through and fun to watch. Just plug in your device, open iMovie, and start importing your video. It appears in your “Event Library”, which is the one place where you’ll find everything you have ever recorded. (And just like photos in iPhoto, videos are organised by Events.) With drag-and-drop editing and the ability to tweak every cut and transition, edit colour and audio, and fix shaky video, iMovie will even add a bit of Hollywood bling to your creations with one-touch trailers and special effects. What more could you want? Well, burn it using iDVD and share the love…
iDVD If you’ve ever wondered how to turn your home movies or holiday photo slideshows into a professional-quality DVD with animated menus, buttons, scene selection and more, then you need iDVD. Try it – it takes less time than you think. Take Magic iDVD as an example. Select Magic iDVD, pick a theme and choose the movies and photos you want to feature from the iLife Media Browser. Magic iDVD automatically creates a complete project (including main menu, buttons, scene selection menus, and slideshow menus) from start to finish. All you do is burn the DVD. iDVD is all about customisation. There more than 150 Apple-designed themes in widescreen and standard format, each providing a group of coordinated screens, including main and chapters menus as well as extra menus for content like slideshows. And if you’re more the hands-on type, iDVD gives you lots of in-depth options for further customising your DVD. With iDVD, you can burn to single- or double-layer DVDs that can be watched on a standard or widescreen TV, a Mac, or a PC. With support for a wide variety of DVD media formats (including DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW, DVD-R DL, and DVD+R DL), iDVD works with any compatible DVD burner.
GarageBand Yes, you can make music on your Mac! Plug a USB music keyboard (try the one on-screen if you don’t have one) and over 100 realistic software instruments are at your fingertips. You’ll find pianos, strings, drums, guitars and horns, as well as everything from bass to woodwinds. Just create a new track, choose an instrument, and play. To write a song, start with the beat. It’s easy to build with the included Apple Loops – 1 000 professionally recorded performances you can use in your songs. Then plug in a guitar, bass or
microphone. You can play (or sing) into the mic on your Mac. GarageBand captures the audio and turns it into digital files you can manipulate using recording and mixing tools. When you’re finished, you can export the songs you make in GarageBand to your iTunes library so you can listen to them onthe-go. GarageBand not only helps you make music, it can also teach you how to play an instrument. Choose from 40 basic lessons that cover blues and rock guitar, classical and pop piano, and more. Onscreen instruments with animated guitar strings and piano keys show you exactly where to place your fingers. All you need to do is follow chords, guitar tablature or music notes.
iWeb Designing a website may seem difficult, but with iWeb, it’s easy. First, you create your site using themes. Each theme comes with coordinated fonts, backgrounds and colours to give the site a consistent look throughout. Next, choose a page template. iWeb features ready-made templates for welcome, about me, photo album, movie, blog, and podcast pages. (You can create as many pages as you like.) After that, add the final touch by customising the layout with easy-to-use iWeb tools. iWeb makes it drag-and-drop easy to add widgets like RSS feeds, iSight photos and videos, a countdown timer and YouTube videos. To end it off, publish your site to MobileMe with a click, or to any other hosting service via FTP. Website done.
Now for iPad 2… Already launched internationally, this second generation tablet is thinner, lighter and faster. Inspired by the iLife suite of programmes, Apple has introduced two new apps: iMovie and GarageBand for iPad (both available on the App Store – $4.99 each). With iMovie, iPad 2, you can shoot and edit videos right on your iPad and then post
your movies to YouTube or Facebook, or watch them on your iPod, iPhone or iPad. You can also view them on an HD TV using AirPlay and Apple TV. GarageBand turns your iPad into a collection of touch instruments and an 8-track recording studio, allowing you to perform with onscreen keyboards, guitars, drums and basses using multi-touch gestures… even if you don’t play a musical instrument.
www.connectmag.co.za | 21
the ABCs of AMD //by deon du plessis
Advanced
Micro Devices AMD is a company with a lot of really cool consumer products that compete directly with bigname hardware-makers like nVidia and Intel. Connect takes a closer look at some of the more exciting technologies the company has to offer... 22 | connect | April 2011
indeed!
A
dvanced Micro Devices (AMD) is a USbased company that makes processors, graphics cards and motherboard chipsets. For any readers unfamiliar with these terms, they are basically the hardware pieces that form the building-blocks of a PC. Prior to 2006, AMD only designed and built processors, but since the merge with Canadian graphics card and chipset-maker ATI, which was concluded in 2009, today’s AMD is a maker of all of these components. Doing this has put AMD in a better position to provide consumers with affordable yet powerful desktop, notebook and netbook computers. The biggest advantage this affords AMD over its arch-rivals Intel (processors) and nVidia (graphics cards) is that neither of those companies has what AMD calls a “complete platform solution”. Ignoring for a second the awful business-like sound of that term, what this boils down to is being able to buy products made up almost entirely of AMD’s components. Since this gives AMD total control over just about everything that goes into the PCs, netbooks and notebooks sold by their hardware partners, consumers end up with highlyoptimised products that not only perform well, but are priced very nicely too.
DID YOU KNOW? AMD supplies the graphics cards used in Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and Nintendo’s ultra-popular Wii gaming console. The card in the Xbox 360 has 512MB of video memory, and the Wii’s card, ATI’s “Hollywood” graphics processing unit, has only 64MB.
Process this AMD has developed a wide range of processors, for use in everything from desktop and server computers to netbooks, notebooks and even cellphones. The 2000s saw a veritable explosion in the number of cores packed into a single processor (one core is the equivalent of an entire processor), and today, top-end desktop processors from both Intel and AMD have six cores – that’s six dedicated processors packed into a single processor, in a physical design that is barely the size of the average fingernail! But, of course, processors with six cores are expensive. AMD has put a lot of research into designing and creating processors with a range of cores, at a range of price points. For example, it’s possible to buy AMD-based PCs with processors that have 2, 3, 4 or 6 cores, catering for budgets of all sizes. While Intel’s processors are, for the most part, much faster than AMD’s, the differences in performance levels are not reflected in pricing. An Intel processor that is 40% faster than an equivalent AMD chip, for example, is not necessarily only 40% more expensive. The point is it’s possible to get a highperformance AMD processor for a very reasonable price. DID YOU KNOW? Phenom II is the name of AMD’s fastest desktop processor series. When you see Phenom II and an X followed by a number, that number denotes how many cores the processor has. AMD’s fastest processor is the Phenom II X6 1100T.
Getting graphic ATI’s vast expertise in the graphics market is the force behind the amazing power of AMD’s Radeon graphics cards. A dedicated graphics card like those in the Radeon range is needed to power 3D games, and is especially handy for running games at the highest resolutions and at the best-quality settings. The latest batch, AMD’s Radeon 6000-series cards, are incredibly powerful when compared to cards of a few years ago, but perhaps best of all, they are amazingly affordable too. We reviewed the Radeon HD6870 a few months back, and found it to offer a fantastic blend of performance and affordability. For gaming enthusiasts who want even more performance, up to four Radeon graphics cards can be paired together using a technology AMD calls “Crossfire”. This requires a special motherboard with enough graphics card slots, as well as a power supply that can reliably supply over 1 000 Watts of power. The benefit of a two-card Crossfire setup is that it adds almost double the graphics processing power. It’s also very cool if you’re the geeky type, and will earn you the title of Supernerd should you decide to go that way. Get some bang for your buck!
These AMD Radeon HD graphics cards offer great value: AMD Radeon HD6970 2GB – RRP R4 399.95 AMD Radeon HD6870 1GB – RRP R2 999.95 AMD Radeon HD6850 1GB – RRP R2 199.95 DID YOU KNOW? The more video memory a graphics card has, the better the card will perform at higher resolutions and at maximum quality settings. Graphics speed is measured in frames per second (fps); a frame rate that is consistently above 30fps is what a decent gaming PC should be aiming for. Boosting that figure beyond 30fps in some games at the highest resolutions requires the use of a Crossfire setup.
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the ABCs of AMD
The future is Fusion Until recently, graphics processors and normal general-purpose processors in a PC have been separate devices. Now, thanks to AMD and its “Fusion” technology, that is no longer the case. AMD has developed a new breed of processors called APUs, or “Accelerated Processing Units”, and they combine the everyday functions of a processor with graphics-processing capabilities, all wrapped into a single chip. The benefits of doing so are better powerefficiency, better graphics performance and a much smaller physical footprint for entry-level PCs and netbooks based on the technology. Real-world implications are the advent of new netbooks that can play back HD video smoothly (something present-day netbooks battle with) and better overall Windows performance. Intel’s competing chip, the Atom netbook processor, is not equipped with similar technology and thus cannot handle graphicsintensive tasks as elegantly.
Open 3D A further benefit of HD5000- and HD6000-series Radeon graphics cards is their built-in stereoscopic 3D capabilities, which AMD calls HD3D. Unlike nVidia’s competing stereoscopic 3D technology, called 3D Vision, HD3D allows third-party developers direct access to AMD’s hardware, which allows them to create their own software to bring the experience of the 3D cinema into your home. AMD HD3D software partners include TriDef, iZ3D, ArcSoft, Cyberlink and Corel. Currently only HD6000-series cards can do 3D Blu-ray playback as well as gaming, whereas HD5000-series cards can only do 3D gaming and the playback of movies that have been converted to 3D using software. What this means is customers can choose which 3D software to go with, and if they already own a qualifying Radeon graphics card, two of the software packages (Tri-Def and iZ3D) can be purchased at a generous 50% discount. Doing it this way means any modern game that makes use of Microsoft’s DirectX API can be converted from 2D to 3D, as opposed to nVidia’s 3D Vision solution that only supports specific games at this time. Again, AMD’s aim is to give the end-user as much flexibility in choosing their 3D hardware solution as it can. DID YOU KNOW? Viewing games and movies in 3D requires monitors that are capable of displaying stereoscopic content. Check with your chosen 3D software vendor for a list of compatible screens. A 24” 3D monitor can cost in the region of R5 500.
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DID YOU KNOW? Fusion-based products are already available internationally. The word from AMD’s local representatives on local availability is that we should see mid-range Fusion products appearing on store shelves from around mid-2011, while entry-level
The Bottom Line Computers built using AMD technology offer excellent value for money, particularly in the entry-level and mid-range markets. Now, a consumer can buy affordable entry-level and mid-range computers built with AMD components and get far more performance for his or her money than was previously on offer for the same price. AMD has raised the standard of entry-level computing such that even the most basic of computers now provides performance that will please the average computer-user. Buyers interested in more performance can put together a fantastic gaming PC using Phenom processors and Radeon graphics cards without spending massive amounts of cash. The bottom line here is that AMD’s innovations mean better computing at lower prices, and that’s good news for everyone.
photography tips //by christo van gemert
G Wide! Top tips for taking better photos of those landscapes that touch the horizon.
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andscape photos, as the name implies, are those beautiful shots of wide-open plains, mountain ranges or oceanic vistas. They capture the magnificence of a breathtaking view, and put it in a single frame where you can relive the moment forever. Or that’s the idea, anyway. The truth is that good landscape photos are pretty hard to pull off. They either lack the depth of what you remember seeing, the colours can be all wrong and those big mountains seem so distant when captured and then printed. While the superb photos you see in travel magazines are from professionals, they all use the same basic rules to get a goodlooking shot. From there, it’s just a bit of practice and some Photoshop, to get the picture you’re going for.
A decent exposure Most cameras, both point-and-shoot and big digital SLRs, have an exposure compensation mode. This allows you to make a slight adjustment to how much light is in the final shot. Let’s say you take a photo, but the end result looks a bit too dark. In this case, you adjust the exposure compensation to the positive side; take the photo and this will allow more light into your shot. Obviously, photos that appear too bright can be adjusted to the negative side and have less light captured in the shot. Ideally, though, landscape shots are not taken in bright, direct sunlight, as this creates harsh shadows and unwanted glare. Taking photos closer to dawn or sunset is advised.
Keep it stable It might not seem like a big deal, but the added stability from a tripod goes a long way. It’s doubly important when you’re trying to grab the perfect shot where the sun is just peeking over the horizon, or ducking under the horizon: the lack of light will require an even longer shutter speed than usual. This basically means that the camera’s sensor will be exposed to light for longer, and any movement or vibration will make the photos blurry. Sometimes pushing the shutter button can also introduce unwanted shake. To prevent this, put the camera on a two-second timer, giving it a short while to stop vibrating after you’ve pushed the shutter button.
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Stitch ‘em up
Eyecatcher While the view may be stunning, capturing it in a photo is another thing. Just having a flat plain with big blue sky is going to make for a featureless photo, so try to find a focal point. It could be a tree or field of flowers in the foreground. Or perhaps it’s a mountain range or a building along the horizon. Once you’ve found a focal point in the landscape, it’ll be something that attracts the viewer’s focus. Also try to avoid having the horizon smack bang in the middle of the frame. Use the rule of thirds to compose the shot: mentally divide up the viewfinder’s grid into three sections, from top to bottom. In a landscape, the horizon should either run along the bottom third of the frame, or the top third of the frame.
Using all these tips – especially the tripod advice – you can take a number of photos of your scene, and then stitch them together in a panorama. Panoramas are the ultimate landscape tool, but they require a lot of work. Some cameras actually have built-in panoramic modes that walk you through the process of taking multiple photos and lining them up automatically. If you prefer to get your hands dirty, there are a lot of software packages available – both free and premium – that will take those multiple landscape photos from a single scene, and assemble them into an über-landscape!
Go deep Remember to adjust the camera’s focal depth – this can be done by looking at the f-stop, if operating in manual mode. Chances are this will only be an adjustable option on a dSLR or high-end compact camera. A low f-stop will mean a low depth of field. In other words, if you focus on a nearby object, it will appear in focus, while other things are out of focus and appear blurry. Unless you have a nearby subject, you’ll want to set the focal depth a lot higher, even as high as f16 or f22 if the camera allows it. This brings a lot more things into sharp focus and makes a lesser contrast between in- and out-of-focus objects.
Camera can-do The iPhone 4 has a really good camera built into it, so using it to take landscape photos makes lots of sense. Sadly, its lens is fixed and there aren’t many options to adjust things in the camera application. However, there are a ton of applications out there that will make taking landscape panoramic photos a breeze. One of the best ones is Autostitch Panorama, which walks you through the steps of taking photos and then assembles them into a wide, landscape scene. For a bit of experimentation, give “SeeThis” a whirl: its full name is “You Gotta See This”, and it create a panograph of your surroundings, as you move the camera about.
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online money-making //by tamaryn Watkins
S EL L your goods online Buying books, movies, games and gifts is something most people prefer to do online these days. But it’s just as easy to sell things on the Internet, as it is to buy. So, instead of spending it, why not make money online? We show you how to do it locally.
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urning your unwanted goods into wcash or selling your products or services online is easy, and with Kalahari.net Marketplace and BidorBuy, it’s never been simpler to do it locally. It’s safe, hassle-free and can be a convenient way to make money, from anywhere in South Africa.
Buy-buy, baby Shoppers no longer use the Internet merely as a price-checking tool. People would rather buy items online, and shopping around for a good deal on the Internet is far easier than doing so in a busy mall. Rather than set up your own online store, which requires you to build a website and register your own domain, you can make use of the seller facilities offered by Web giants Kalahari.net and BidorBuy. The beauty of these services lies in the fact that you’re exposing your items to enormous existing customer databases – customers who have already proven a willingness to purchase online. All transactions are facilitated through the sites (for a small transaction fee), including payment processes, which means less hassle for you when getting your money.
Location, location, location As is the case in the real world, it’s important to pick the location to set up shop very carefully, which is why we picked Kalahari.net and BidorBuy to share with you. Bear in mind, however, that these two services differ from each other slightly and, depending on what kind of seller you intend to be and what kinds of goods you’ll be selling, your needs (and thus your solution) will be slightly different. BidorBuy.co.za An online service that’s part auction house, part online store and part car-boot sale. BidorBuy does not sell any goods itself; instead, it provides an online platform where anything can be listed for sale or for auction. Kalahari.net Marketplace Provides the platform for the sale of both new and used items. Individuals can get rid of books, games, DVDs and photographic equipment. There are also all the enterprise tools required for companies or stores to upload their complete inventory – without hassle – making it much easier for people to become online entrepreneurs.
Kick off sales with Kalahari.net Marketplace Setting up as a seller on Kalahari is easy, but you’re currently limited to selling (new or used) books, CDs, DVDs, Blu-ray discs and photographic equipment. Anything else you can list on Kalahari.net ads, which is basically a classifieds service that gives potential customers your details and lets them contact you directly. If you’re selling goods other than those permissible on Kalahari.net Marketplace, we suggest you skip down to the section on setting up shop on BidorBuy.co.za. Need to know: Be sure to read the site’s terms and conditions of use, familiarise yourself with transaction fees, and be aware of the costs involved with being an online seller.
AT A GLANCE Kalahari.net PROS: Product pictures (if already listed in the marketplace) are available for you to choose from, which means there’s no need to take your own. Kalahari.net Marketplace facilitates refunds and mediates disputes between buyer and seller. Kalahari.net Marketplace takes care of all the advertising and processes payment and all you need to set your price and ship items speedily. CONS: There’s a nominal registration fee applicable. You’re limited in terms of what you can sell. You have to wait 14 days to be paid once a sale is made, which is not ideal if you’re looking to make a quick buck.
FIVE SIMPLE STEPS TO SELLING: STEP 1: Register as a Marketplace seller (either by registering a new account or modifying an existing one) and create a personal, seller or company profile. STEP 2: Find your product and list it by searching the site and looking for the `sell yours here’ button on product listings. If you can’t find it, request that it be added. STEP 3: Appraise your product by describing it and its condition (new/used). Providing a detailed, honest description allows for an informed decision, which enhances buyer satisfaction. QUICK TIP: Good, honest communication will help you earn positive ratings as a buyer, which is indicative of your trustworthiness as a seller. Even one bad rating could dissuade potential customers. STEP 4: Price your product and select quantity. Add delivery options – registered mail is a compulsory offering, while a courier option is a costlier convenience offering. STEP 5: Once your item has been confirmed, you’ll be able to manage the orders. You’ll be notified of new orders and when the buyer pays, it’s time to ship. Once you’ve shipped, you must log back into your Marketplace account and log the shipping info – tracking number, ETA and the like. Once you’ve logged that info, you’ll be paid for that sale after 14 days.
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online money-making It’s also up to you to determine how you’ll be accepting payments. You can use the built-in pay mechanism, which furnishes the buyer with the details of the BidorBuy account into which funds must be transferred. The advantage of this is that there’s usually no waiting period, and only takes an hour or so. You could also personally receive EFT payments, or use the credit card gateway. At the end of a period, BidorBuy sends you an invoice with the transaction fees you’ve incurred, and it’s up to you to pay this over to continue using the service.
10 TIPS FOR SUCCESSFUL SELLERS
Build your store on BidorBuy
AT A GLANCE BidorBuy.co.za PROS: Just about anything can be listed for sale on this site, with more than one method of selling available, and there are also re-listing options. Shipping charges can be automated and money from sales is paid over to you, as soon as it becomes available. CONS: It’s not compulsory for the seller to log shipping information, like tracking number and ETA, which means it’s up to you as the seller to make sure this info is relayed.
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Using BidorBuy, you can list items (and yes, there’s a bulk uploader tool here, too) as either `buy now’ or `bid now’ sales. What this means is that you can either sell an item – this item usually has a set/ standard value – at a predetermined price, or you can sell an item through auction, by having people bid on said item. Auctions are usually where you’ll sell antiques or second-hand furniture, and the price is determined by demand – the more people bid on an item, the more money you’re likely to make. If you’re worried that you won’t make enough money off an auction because not enough people have bid on the item, then BidorBuy allows you to list the item with a reserve price. This means that until the amount you want for the item is met, an auction will not be successful. The process of setting up an account and listing items for sale is much like it is on Kalahari.net Marketplace – with the added bonus of being able to list anything for sale. For certain items (like properties and cars), a nominal listing fee is payable, while other listings only attract charges on a successful sale or auction being concluded. The fee you need to pay BidorBuy for each item is based on the price you sold it for, and a detailed easy-to-understand breakdown appears on the site. The other thing that’s different about BidorBuy (and this makes sense, because you can list anything for sale) is that it’s up to you to provide pictures of what you’re selling, and it’s up to you to make the buying process as simple as possible for your customer.
1 Giving an honest appraisal of your goods if they’re second-hand is vitally important. If there are any flaws, you should not try to conceal them; rather, allow the buyer to decide whether or not he can live with those flaws. This leads to greater customer satisfaction. 2 A few pictures of the item, taken from different angles, will help the buyer `view’ your product better, giving him a better idea of what he’s getting. 3 Set your shipping charges at a standard rate, and make sure they’re prominently displayed for the buyer to see. This avoids any payment mistakes or disputes over shipping charges from occurring. 4 If you’re shipping something that’s fragile, make sure you pack it securely. There’s no such thing as too much bubble wrap when it comes to our postal service. 5 If you’re selling gadgets or electronic goods, make sure you list the product specs and features. This helps a buyer choose your product over someone else’s. 6 Communication is key, so ensure that you respond to queries and orders promptly, so as to keep your buyers reassured. 7 Offer different methods of payment, making it easy and convenient for people to purchase your items. 8 It’s worthwhile offering a few methods of shipment (overnight, door-to-door, registered mail, etc.) or consider offering an option to collect, for urgent orders. 9 Don’t forget to rate your customers, as building up their ratings is important for their status on the site as well. 10 Learn how to use the additional selling tools provided on the selling platform you’ve chosen. For example, BidorBuy has a number of listing options that are useful for promoting your products, so ensure you maximise the potential of each service.
product reviews // by Deon Du PLessis
...In with the new
Contents
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e’re changing things up a bit in the reviews section this month. We often find out about really cool kit that’s coming soon, but we’re unable to include it because it’s sometimes difficult to secure review samples in time, so we’ve decided to create a little “First Look” section. It’s all about outlining upcoming products that aren’t yet in stores, but which we feel are worth highlighting. That way, you get the benefit of seeing a little glimpse of what’s coming up, and we get to spice things up a bit. The first of these “First Looks” are really nice-looking and potential-filled all-in-one PCs from Acer, Dell’s excellent XPS17 3D notebook and HP’s new DV6 and DV7 notebook ranges. We hope you enjoy the new approach, and if you’d like to share your opinion on the change (whether good or bad), please feel free to pop me an e-mail. Enjoy! Deon
While we make every effort to ensure pricing is accurate before we go to print, sometimes through circumstances we have no control over, the prices in Connect may differ from those you’ll see on store shelves. In all cases, shelf pricing takes precedence.
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34 35 36 38 40 42 43 44 46 48 49 50 52 54 55 56 58 60
First Look – Dell Studio XPS17 3D Entertainment Notebook First Look – Acer All-in-One PCs First Look - HP Pavilion DV6 & DV7 Motorola Defy MB525 Smartphone Sony Ericsson Xperia X8 Smartphone Acer Iconia Tablet PC/Notebook Sony Vaio VPC-F217 3D Notebook BlackBerry Bold 9780 ER e-Reader Sony Vaio S-Series Notebook Logitech C310 HD Webcam Mede8er Med200X Media Player HTC Wildfire Smartphone Garmin Oregon 450 Belkin Play Max Wireless ADSL Router Logitech Harmony 900 Universal Remote CyberLink PowerDirector 9 Ultra84 Books
product FIRST LOOK
Product
Options Dell Studio XPS Options available include: • Intel 2nd-Generation Sandy Bridge Core i5 and i7 Processors • 4GB, 6GB, 8GB, 12GB or 16GB of DDR3 memory • Up to 1280GB of 7200RPM hard drive storage or up to 256GB of solid state storage • nVidia GeForce GT550M/ GT555M (XPS 17), GT525M/ GT540M (XPS 15) • 8x DVD+/-RW (standard), Bluray Disc combo (reads Blu-ray discs & writes to CD/DVD) or Blu-ray Disc Triple Writer (reads and writes CDs, DVDs, BDs) • Windows 7 Home Premium/ Professional/Ultimate 64-bit • 6-cell or 9-cell battery • 2.0MP HD 720p Webcam • IEEE802.11b/g/n and Gigabit Ethernet networking • 15” or 17” LED-backlit full HD screens (3D screen only available on XPS 17) • Full backlit keyboard with number pad • JBL 2.1 speakers with WaveMaxx technology
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Dell Studio XPS Notebook Range NEED TO KNOW • High-spec notebooks in 15” and 17” configurations • Watch movies and play games in 3D with the XPS 17 • Integrated JBL speakers and a subwoofer produce excellent sound • Intel’s 2nd-generation Core i-series processors Availability: May 2011
Dell has refreshed its Studio XPS notebooks that were launched in late 2010. This year’s XPS notebooks pack even more of a punch thanks to Intel’s Sandy Bridge Core i-series processors, nVidia’s 500-series GeForce mobile graphics processors and full HD screens. Sandy Bridge processors bring with them incredible speed as well as support for the new USB 3.0 connectivity standard. The Studio XPS range has never been about “thin and light” computing, and the new ones are no different. Dell has gone with an all-metal case that feels even better than it looks, but it does mean the notebooks look and feel fairly chunky, especially when using a 9-cell battery which sticks out quite a bit. This is okay, though, as you’re going to want to buy one of these for its raw performance rather than its looks – both the 15” and 17” models can play games and movies with ease (even current titles), and their full HD screens are simply gorgeous to work and play on. They are both powered by nVidia’s excellent GeForce 500-series of mobile graphics processors, and the XPS 17, the flagship model, has the most powerful of these so that it can play back games and movies in stereoscopic 3D. That’s right, the XPS 17 can play 3D Blu-ray movies and games that support nVidia’s 3D Vision technology. It comes with a pair of active shutter glasses, which are superior to passive polarised 3D glasses as they enable 3D in higher resolutions and with far less motion-blur. The
end-user experience, we’re told, is simply amazing. We can’t wait to get our hands on this notebook to see for ourselves! The other multimedia-friendly feature is the integration of JBL speakers into all Studio XPS notebooks. We were happy to find this out as JBL is a well-respected brand with a deserved reputation for high-quality audio components. We’ve often found that notebook sound leaves a lot to be desired; with JBL speakers and an integrated subwoofer, we’re expecting far better sound in games, movies and music enjoyed on these notebooks. An HD webcam adds further high-definition goodness to the range, allowing you to chat over the Internet without relying on a lowresolution webcam with a terrible frame rate. Instead, you can be seen and heard in amazing 720p video (amazing compared to a traditional 1.3MP webcam, that is), which should make Internet conversations just that small bit more personal and meaningful. Perhaps even more important than their raw specifications, however, is their price. We’ve heard rumours that you’ll be able to pick up the top-of-the-range XPS 17 for a good few thousand Rand less than you’d pay for a competing product from other manufacturers. Time will tell, of course, but the prospect of a sub-R20 000 price tag for a notebook kitted with 3D display technology is mighty appealing indeed. The potential is there for Dell to deliver a truly amazing mobile computing experience with these new Studio XPS notebooks. We’ll be sure to let you know the second we have them in for review. Excitement potential
product FIRST LOOK
Product
line-up
Acer Aspire Z3731
New Acer Aspire Z-Series All-in-One Touchscreen PCs NEED TO KNOW • Models: Z3731, Z5710, Z5763 • 21.5”, 23” and 23” 3D All-in-One PCs • Choose between touchscreen interaction and an innovative gesture system • Configured for a range of budgets, from entry-level to extreme Availability: Late April/early May 2011
Acer’s brand-new Aspire Z-series of personal computers have been designed from the ground up to suit modern homes, lifestyles and usage scenarios. With stylish looks, an integrated, upright design that takes up minimal desk space and plenty of computing power packed tightly inside, they are truly the home computers of the 21st century. The entry-level model, the Z3731, is powered by a dual-core Intel Pentium processor, and as you move up the range to the 5710 and the 5763, these machines get even more powerful with quad-core Core i5 processors and dedicated graphics cards powerful enough to play 3D games. The top-end model even sports Intel’s new 2nd-generation Core i5 processors that offer more performance than ever before. But perhaps more important than those powerful components is the unique ways Z-series PCs enable consumers to interact with them. The Z3731 uses a single-touch capacitive touchscreen for navigation and the Z5710 has a multi-touch touchscreen that encourages the use of two or more fingers to get around Windows and perform common tasks like zooming in and out. Acer has included its own touch-enhancing applications with the Z3731 and Z5710 that make surfing the Web, interacting with Facebook and Twitter and even playing games a more tactile and involving experience. The Z5763 doesn’t have a touch-sensitive screen. Instead, it makes use of Acer’s Air Touch technology that lets users control the desktop using gestures performed in the air, much like Microsoft’s Kinect sensor allows for the Xbox 360. This sounds really fantastic on paper, and we
look forward to a real-world test where we determine if it’s as cool as it sounds. All PCs in the Z-series come with full HD screens capable of 1920 x 1080 for crystal-clear HD content playback. Acer has also built 5.1 channel surround sound into each, and because the range only sports speakers rated at 5W, Acer has included output options so they can be connected to external speakers for an even better cinematic audio experience. The flagship model, the Z5763, also brings the reality of stereoscopic 3D entertainment to the home desktop courtesy of nVidia’s GeForce GT440 graphics card, making watching 3D Blu-ray movies and playing games in eye-popping 3D a real possibility. Wireless-N connectivity is standard on all machines in the Z-series so they can be connected anywhere there is wireless network coverage, and each ships with a wireless keyboard and mice to further eliminate cable clutter. For faster network speeds, there are also wired Gigabit Ethernet ports on each. USB ports aplenty allow the connection of peripherals like hard drives and printers. The Z5763 even has a few USB 3.0 ports, which are much faster than USB 2.0 ports, but you need USB 3.0 compatible products to take full advantage of this. So for anyone looking for a new PC for the home, the Aspire Z-series potentially offers a whole lot of bang for your buck. They certainly have attractive, stylish looks and the right hardware to power a really fantastic Windows 7/social media/entertainment experience, with the Z5763 offering even more in the way of Blu-ray movie, a gesture-based navigation system and games that can be enjoyed in stereoscopic 3D. There certainly appears to be something for everyone here, from the entry-level Z3731 to the punchy Z5710 to the ultra-powerful, 3D-sporting Z5763. Excitement potential
R7 999.95 • Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit • Intel Pentium Dual Core E5800 Processor • 4GB RAM • 1TB Hard Drive • Super-Multi Dual-Layer R/W Optical DVD Drive • Single-touch 21.5” LCD Touchscreen @ 1920 x 1080 • AMD Radeon HD6450 512MB Graphics Card • IEEE 802.11 b/g/n and Ethernet networking • Wireless keyboard and mouse
Acer Aspire Z5710 R9 999.95 • Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit • Intel Core i5-760 Processor • 4GB RAM • 1TB Hard Drive • Super-Multi Dual-Layer R/W Optical DVD Drive • Multi-touch 23” LCD Touchscreen @ 1920 x 1080 • nVidia GeForce GT 240M 512MB Graphics Card • IEEE 802.11 b/g/n and Ethernet networking • Wireless keyboard and mouse
Acer Aspire Z5763 R13 999.95 • Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit • Intel Core i5-2400S Processor • 4GB RAM • 1TB Hard Drive • Blu-ray optical drive • 3D-capable 23” LED-backlit LCD Screen @ 1920 x 1080 • Acer AirControl for gesture-based computing • nVidia GeForce GT 440M 512MB Graphics Card with 3D Kit • IEEE 802.11 b/g/n and Ethernet networking • Wireless keyboard and mouse
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product FIRST LOOK
Product
line-up
DV6 From R7 999.95 to R11 999.95 • Processor: Intel Core i5-2410 • Graphics: AMD Radeon HD6490 1GB or HD6770 1GB • Memory: 4GB DDR3 RAM or 8GB • Storage: 500GB, 750GB or 1TB Hard Drive • Optical Drive: DVDWR or Blu-ray • Battery: 6-cell battery • Connectivity: N-class Wi-Fi, Ethernet, Bluetooth • Webcam: HD Webcam • Operating System: Windows 7 Professional 64-bit • Display: 15.6” LED-backlit LCD screen with Bright View
DV7 From R10 999.95 to R13 999.95 • Processor: Intel Core i7-2630 • Graphics: AMD Radeon HD6770 1GB • Memory: 6GB DDR3 RAM or 8GB • Storage: 1TB or 2TB Hard Drive • Optical Drive: DVDWR or Blu-ray • Battery: 6-cell battery • Connectivity: N-class Wi-Fi, Ethernet, Bluetooth • Webcam: HD Webcam • Operating System: Windows 7 Professional 64-bit • Display: 15.6” LED-backlit LCD screen with Bright View
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HP Pavilion DV6 & DV7 Notebooks NEED TO KNOW • HP’s newest generation of work and entertainment notebooks • Choose between Core i5 and Core i7 mobile processors • 15.6” and 17.3” Bright View LED-backlit Full HD screens • Sound is courtesy of Beats audio Availability: Late April/May 2011
By the look of HP’s new Pavilion DV6 and DV7 laptops, it’s a fantastic time to be buying a notebook. Finally, we’re at a point in the development of computer hardware that components that were expensive a few short years ago are appearing absolutely everywhere, resulting in products hitting the market that not only perform well, but which are very nicely priced as well. Better yet, companies have fully-embraced the idea that consumers want their technology to look as good as it performs, which is why HP has, for the past few years, been cladding its performance notebooks in such stylish exteriors. Happily, the new DV6 and DV7 notebooks continue this fine tradition with their beautiful brushed-metal finish. The DV6 is where prospective buyers looking for a notebook more for work than for play should start looking, as the entry-level model comes with a Core i5 processor, 4GB of RAM and an entry-level AMD Radeon HD6470M graphics card. It’s also got the smallest hard drive in the range, but this is said rather tongue-in-cheek as we’re talking a very respectable 500GB. At 15.3”, the full HD screen is big enough to work on without adding too much bulk to the machine, and of course it is LED-backlit and uses HP’s excellent Bright View technology to keep colours bright and punchy. With these specs, this DV6 can easily power all work-related tasks at a brisk pace, and best of all it won’t cost more than R8k.
For those interested in more of everything, there are several other DV6 models with bigger hard drives (750GB and 1TB), a more powerful processor (Core i7-2630 and more system RAM (8GB). The most powerful DV6 even has a Blu-ray drive so you can watch HD movies while you travel. Atop all screens in both ranges is an HD webcam, which should make for fantastic high-resolution Internet video chats. The DV7 range is where the real prestige lies, as they have large 17.3” screens and a host of powerful hardware options that make them fantastic for both work and play. They should be able to run games at high resolutions and at good speeds thanks to an integrated Radeon HD6770M graphics card, and buyers can choose between 1TB and 2TB of storage capacity – extremely impressive in a notebook computer. The top-end DV7 also has a Blu-ray drive and 8GB of memory, whereas the basic DV7 only has 6GB of RAM and a single Terabyte of storage. Speakers in a notebook are often an afterthought in the design process, resulting in awful, tinny-sounding audio for many products. The DV6 and DV7 ranges, on the other hand, come with Beats audio, in a collaboration between HP and hip-hopster, Dr Dre. We’re very keen to hear these for ourselves, as they may potentially blow our tiny little minds with pure awesome. DV6 and DV7 notebooks have been designed for people who love mobile technology and notebooks that are capable of playing just as hard as they work. These same people like power at their fingertips, and are not prepared to compromise on performance just because they are using a mobile computer. With luck, these awesome-sounding notebooks will deliver on their potential. We’ll be sure to tell you once we receive our review samples. Excitement potential
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Sandisk 16GB microSD card While the Defy has a 2GB card in the box, fitting a 16GB card brings it closer to the realm of things like the iPhone. All that storage means more music and movies to carry around, and more space for those bigger applications.
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Motorola Defy MB525 NEED TO KNOW • Toughened and water-resistant exterior • Android 2.1 operating system • Compact design with 3.7-inch touch screen R3 999.95
BlackBerry Torch
If Android isn’t your bag, give the new touch-screen Torch a whirl. It has all of the legendary BlackBerry e-mail capabilities, but comes in a touch-screen form factor while still retaining a slideout QWERTY keyboard.
Apple iPhone 4
The other, other white meat is Apple’s awesome iPhone. It’s the most popular platform when it comes to mobile applications, and Apple’s been perfecting things for the last four years – this is the benchmark everybody else tries to beat.
38 | connect | April 2011
Chances are that in a room with some random folks, you’d get a healthy show of hands if you were to ask who has ever dropped a cellphone. The ubiquity of mobile phones might have an impact on the accuracy of this impromptu survey, but it still highlights the fact that we’re clumsy creatures. And also that phones could do with a bit of armour cladding. Carrying around phones clad in hefty covers seems counterproductive, though.We’ve seen rubber sleeves and plastic shields of all kinds, for the various phones on the market, and they detract from the overall design just as much as they add protection. The answer is to have something built tough at the factory. To make things easier, there’s even an international rating system for waterproofing and dustproofing electrical devices. Just like the Garmin Oregon 450 reviewed on page 54, the Motorola Defy is rated on the same scale. It’s rated IP67, which means it has level 6 ingress protection for solid objects as small as specks of dust, and level 7 ingress protection for water – up to 1m, for 30 minutes. Rounding off the environmental hazard-protection package is a Gorilla Glass touch screen – a special impact-resistant material made by the same company that manufactures fibre optic cables. It doesn’t mean the Defy is all brawn and no brains, though. Under its monkey glass sits a high-resolution display that keeps text legible at even the smallest font sizes. Motorola’s customised interface for Android is also present, providing subtle tweaks over the standard Android experience. Swiping between the various home screens is fast and fluid – it’s just as good as the iPhone, something few other phones achieve. The Defy boasts the usual array of essentials, too. Bluetooth, wi-fi, Google integration, voice search, a 5-megapixel camera and navigation. Anything it doesn’t do out of the box can be added by way of the Android
Marketplace, where the collection of fantastic apps is growing steadily. There are some caveats, though. Its enviro-proofing means that some of the exterior features are fiddly. The power button is where you’d expect it to be, but activating it is quite literally a pain in the finger, especially since this is also used to put the phone into standby after calls. Then there are the protective rubber bits that cover all the ports and plugs. These flappy bits are required for the IPX rating, but can get in the way if you need to use those ports often. Happily, they don’t add bulk to the device. The only annoyance with the interface is the haptic feedback – the little vibration that confirms when you’ve pushed an on-screen button. It can be disabled, but this option doesn’t turn it off for all functions. It takes getting used to, and might not be to everybody’s tastes. One thing’s for sure, though: Android devices are catching up pretty quickly with Apple’s iPhone. The interfaces are getting faster and prettier, but there are still some overly-technical options on offer. Casual users don’t need to know about uninstalling applications and managing tasks. What they will appreciate, though, is the Defy’s everyday-proof design. NOTEWORTHY SPECS • Display: 3.7-inch touch screen • Storage: 2GB built in; microSD card slot • Android version: 2.1 (Eclair) • Connectivity: microUSB, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi • Camera: 5-megapixel, autofocus
Pros
Cons
• Very responsive touch screen • High-definition display • Ready for the rough bits of life
• Only Android 2.1 • Average quality photos from camera • Lots of flaps and covers
Overall rating
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Sony Ericsson Xperia X10
This really big mobile was Sony Ericsson’s first efforts at making an Android-based smartphone. It is powerful, and it has a generous 4” capacitive touchscreen with a resolution of 480 x 854.
Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini
A far smaller version of the X10, the X10 mini has a 2.55” screen and weighs a paltry 88g. The phone slides open to reveal a QWERTY keyboard that’s a real pleasure to use.
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16GB MicroSD Card Since the X8 sounds as good if not better than an iPod, you’re going to want to put all of your music on the phone, for easy access, so a 16GB MicroSD card will come in very handy!
40 | connect | April 2011
Sony Ericsson Xperia X8 Smartphone NEED TO KNOW • The latest in Sony Ericsson’s Xperia range of smartphones • Uses Google’s Android 2.1 operating system • Smaller than the X10, bigger than the X10 Mini R3 999.95
If you’re someone who thinks phones are becoming too complicated when all you want is to make a call, send a text message and maybe send a picture message to your mom of your dog’s cute face, the Sony Ericsson Xperia X8 is for you. It’s ridiculously easy to use and its capacitive touchscreen is amazingly responsive thanks to Android 2.1, the mobile operating system Sony Ericsson uses for the Xperia range. It phones like a champ, sending SMS messages is as easy as pie (maybe easier), and the on-screen keyboard is easy to use for all but the biggest hands. As a day-to-day phone for general use, it’s very easy to recommend as it just works. Sony Ericsson has tweaked the Android interface to suit their own style, and the result is understated yet attractive. Scrolling from screen to screen is incredibly smooth and loading applications is fast. The phone comes with quite a few applications already installed, some entertainment titles and others map and navigation applications. Wisepilot, the included GPS application, is fully-functional and free, presumably because of the advertising that appears while using the application. The standard features expected of smartphones are also present. The X8 has Wi-Fi capabilities, HSPA connectivity, a nice 5MP camera that takes decent photos and it connects up to a PC using Sony Ericsson’s PC Companion Suite, a handy one-stop app that lets you update the phone, synchronise your information and even charge the battery. As with every Android device, Google services like Gmail, Google Talk and direct access to YouTube are included. For business types, the phone also supports corporate push-email services, although all mails sent and received on the X8 will incur data charges from your service provider. As a bonus, Sony Ericsson has included several coloured backplates with the phone, so if you aren’t a fan of the original white backplate you can change it to blue-green, silver, pink or navy blue. While we were very happy with the phone, the build quality left a
bit to be desired. The phone’s casing is entirely made of plastic, and at times felt like it creaked in our grip. The buttons on the phone, while they did what they were designed to, they just felt a little bit cheap; we hope Sony Ericsson’s designers adjust their approach to button design in future versions. As with any Sony device, the multimedia capabilities of the phone are very strong. While it can’t play movies without skipping due to the underpowered mobile processor, the phone’s music playback capabilities are stunning. Sound is rich and crisp, playlists are easy to manage and getting music files onto the device is a snap thanks to the PC Companion Suite that comes with the phone. There is even a 3.5mm jack for regular headphones for easy on-the-go listening. Yes, we loved the X8 and are sorry to have to return it to Sony Ericsson. While it’s not absolutely perfect, it does what a phone needs to do. It also looks good and comes with enough extras that it will appeal to everyone from busy business people to everyday folks just looking for a good, reliable phone. NOTEWORTHY SPECS • Screen: 320 x 480 pixels, 3” capacitive touchscreen • Memory: Internal memory up to 128MB, MicroSD card support up to 16GB • Operating System: Google Android 2.1 • Networks: GSM/GPRS/EDGE, UMTS/HSPA • Dimensions: 99mm x 54mm x 15mm • Weight: 104g
Pros
Cons
• Simple but elegant operation makes it very easy to use • Android 2.1 is a very responsive operating system • Does well what a mobile phone needs to do, and more
• Case is made entirely out of plastic • Playing movies on it is not recommended • Push e-mail service will incur additional data charges
Overall rating
ADVANCED + RETROSPECTIVE/
www.bitdefender.co.za 011 789 6181
Distributed by Holton and Associates
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Apple iPad
It’s the only other thing you can buy that comes remotely close to the revolutionary experience offered by the Iconia. Multi-touch input, custom interface and bleeding-edge technology: both items are pretty similar, in that regard.
Acer Iconia NEED TO KNOW • Dual 14” touch screens • Virtual keyboard and mousepad • Custom touch-optimised user interface R14 999.95
Microfibre cloths
After an hour’s use, you’ll be reaching for a nice, soft cloth to wipe the gunk and finger oil off the Iconia’s two large displays. Big touch-screen panels get grubby, fast, but it’s a small price to pay for the awesome user experience.
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LG External DVD writer As the Iconia lacks an optical drive – since it’s packed with lots of other, cooler technology- you might want to pick up an external DVD drive to back up data or read discs.
42 | connect | April 2011
Freshly-unpacked, and with its lid closed, the Iconia looks very unassuming. There’s nothing that gives away the fact that this is an extraordinary bit of technology, save for maybe the smarter-thanusual design. This is definitely sexier than any other hinged computer from Acer, or any of its competitors for that matter. It’s not hard to see why, once you lift the lid. Usually the exciting bit about a new laptop is knowing that it has better, faster bits under the hood. The Iconia transcends the usual “spec list” concerns and brings something completely new to the table: touch screens. Sure, Apple has had touch-screen devices such as the iPhone and iPad for a while now. But notice we said screens, not screen. While the fruity devices all boast a single touch-enabled display, Acer’s pulled out all the stops and blessed its tech showcase with two 14” panels. Both have full touch capabilities, and work really, really well. Round about now you might be wondering where the keyboard and trackpad are, and we’d have to answer that they can be found where you’d expect them to be. On the bottom half. Acer’s developed a clever, secondary software system that runs on the second (lower) display and gives users a virtual keyboard and trackpad to navigate Windows 7 as per usual. It’s not perfect, but it does the job. One thing that’s a bit silly is Acer’s decision to offer a virtual trackpad that’s the same size as the one on a regular laptop. It’s a bit silly when you’ve got all that touch-screen real estate to work with. It’s also quite intuitive to reach out and interact with windows and icons on the upper display, completely bypassing the virtual trackpad. The keyboard is easy to use, but the lack of tactile feedback is unnerving. It could do with a bit more responsiveness, too. Nothing that can’t be fixed with some software tweaks, we reckon. To help it from being saddled with the unwanted label of “gimmicky gadget”, there are some other clever touches. The software running
the lower display gives users a few custom experiences. There’s a scrapbooking application, media player and journal application, all of which give a very tablet-like experience. It’s just a pity the upper display isn’t used more in these activities. The best bit is the TouchBrowser application, though. This web browser stretches a website across both displays. It intuitively lets you read sites in a column fashion and scroll up and down with simple gestures. In regular use, it’s probaby more limited. The lower display can be used as an extended desktop, but as soon as you place both palms on it, the keyboard activates and you can’t access the stuff you’ve put there. Using it with an external keyboard solves this, but removes the portability. That second display also means double the power draw: we couldn’t get more than 2h30m from a single charge. Not great going in today’s world of 5 hour laptops. Despite this, the Iconia manages to make things not about the chips and bytes, but how they can be used to make us go “wow” - something we’ve not experienced with computers in a very long while. NOTEWORTHY SPECS • Display: 2x 14” touch screens • Processor: Intel i5 M480 (2.67GHz) • RAM: 4GB • Hard drive: 640GB • Operating system: Windows 7 Home Premium • Ports: 2x USB 2.0, 1x USB 3.0, HDMI out, VGA out, audio in and audio out • Connectivity: Ethernet and wi-fi
Pros
Cons
• Unique touch interface • Single-button macros • Fantastic device support
• Sometimes fiddly • Finger input can be come tedious • Expensive
Overall rating
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nVidia GeForce GT560
If you want to game in 3D on your desktop and you’re a big nVidia fan, all you’ll need is this graphics card, a compatible 3D-capable monitor and a 3D Vision kit.
Sony Vaio VPC-F217 3D Notebook NEED TO KNOW • Immensely-powerful entertainment notebook • Play 3D games and Blu-ray movies on a full HD screen • Supports nVidia’s 3D Vision technology R25 999.95
The entertainment industry began the move to cutting-edge 3D technology a good few years back, and it was just a matter of time before it made its way into homes. That has started to happen with 3D-capable highdefinition TVs becoming available, and now, it’s being bundled into every technology company’s flagship notebook computers as well. Sony’s new Vaio F217 is one such notebook product, and it is, in a word, astounding. This is because the F217 has the latest cutting-edge hardware, including a writeable Blu-ray player built in and an HD LED-backlit 3D screen that is capable of Full HD (1 920 x 1 080), so you can enjoy 2D and 3D Blu-ray movies in their proper high-definition glory. An excellent 2nd-generation Intel Core i7-2820QM processor is the power behind the scenes, and the machine we received for review was configured with a delightful 8GB of RAM, just the right amount to let Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit really spread its wings. With such awesome hardware, you can take it as a given that the machine performs like a dream in Windows, regardless of what sort of application you might throw at it. This makes it a really good desktop-replacement notebook, as it can do anything your desktop can, and more. The “and more” includes breath-taking 3D, both in games that support nVidia’s 3D Vision technology, and 3D Blu-ray movies. We fired up Dead Rising 2 as it natively supports 3D Vision, and proceeded to kill zombies wearing the powered active-shutter 3D glasses that ship with the F217. IR transmitters kept the glasses in sync with the screen, and the end result was simply incredible. It’s hard to describe what gaming in 3D is like, but we’ll try. The added perception of depth makes characters and objects take on a weight that they just don’t have on a regular screen, and it was very cool seeing the game unfold as if the depicted events were happening for real, in a box in front of us. The performance of the game was silky-smooth, a surprise since 3D technology essentially determines that any scene in a game is effectively being rendered twice (once for each eye) which doubles the strain on the graphics card, but the F217 managed admirably.
3D movies were also pretty amazing, although of course they will always be better on a bigger screen. Bolt 3D was included with the review machine, and watching it in 3D added an intangible ‘something extra’ that a regular 2D flick just can’t capture. It’s a beast of a machine, weighing a fairly hefty 3.2kg, and its angular edges mark a departure from Sony’s previous favouring of rounded surfaces. While different, we liked it as it added a certain aggressive edge to the design, something we’re sure gamers will appreciate. There is a price to pay for being an early adopter of this technology, however, and it’s about R26k. As the technology matures and more people buy in it will drop, but for now that price is a pretty big barrier to entry for the average consumer. Still, if you can afford it, the 3D experience is amazing, as are the other, more everyday functions of the notebook. NOTEWORTHY SPECS • Operating System: Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit • Processor: Intel Core i7-2820QM @ 2.30GHz • Hard Drive: 640GB @ 7 200RPM • Memory: 8GB DDR3 • Display: 16.9” LED-backlit @ 1 920 x 1080 with 3D capabilities • Graphics: nVidia GeForce GT 540M 1GB • Sound: Intel High Definition Audio with Dolby Home Theatre technology • Networking: IEEE 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, Gigabit Ethernet • Ports: 1 x USB 2.0, 2 x USB 3.0, FireWire 800, HDMI, VGA • Optical Drive: Writeable Blu-ray Disc Drive with DVD SuperMulti • Card Reader: Memory Stick Duo, SD memory cards Pros
Cons
• Supported games and movies look incredible in 3D • The Windows experience on offer is absolutely sublime • The design of the notebook is edgy but attractive
• This is a very big and heavy notebook computer • R26k is a significant amount of cash • Not all games support nVidia’s 3D Vision technology
Overall rating
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Dead Rising 2 One of the first games to support nVidia’s 3D Vision technology, Dead Rising 2 is a fantastic zombie-romp set in the fictitious Fortune City after a massive zombie outbreak. Wading through zombie hordes in 3D has never been this cool!
Resident Evil 5 If you like your zombie games a little grittier and more serious, definitely check out the fifth instalment of the Resident Evil series, which also supports 3D Vision technology.
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BlackBerry Torch
This incredibly wellengineered phone introduces a slider mechanism for the first time to the BlackBerry stable of phones. It was, until the 9780, considered by many to be the ‘best BlackBerry yet’.
Apple iPhone 4
Yes, we’re still going to compare any phone that looks like it wants to rise above the herd to the iPhone 4, but that’s only because the iPhone 4 is as near to cellphone perfection as man has yet achieved.
Samsung Galaxy S
Google’s Android operating system has proven to be solid and reliable, and Samsung managed to create a device that made it even better when it brought out the Galaxy S. If you like Android, this is the phone to get.
44 | connect | April 2011
Blackberry Bold 9780 NEED TO KNOW • First QWERTY keyboard on a Blackberry OS 6 device • Slight specifications bump • WebKit browser great for Internet surfing on the go • Improved multimedia support From R4 999.95
Once the mainstay of business people and knowledge workers, Blackberry smartphones have over the past two years been steadily infiltrating the ranks of small business professionals, students and social media fanatics. With the release of the Torch smartphone last year, that trend took a leap forward. Apart from its combination of a touch screen and conventional slide-out QWERTY keyboard, the Torch introduced us to Blackberry OS 6. The operating system upgrade has a much-better looking user interface, improved multimedia support, is much snappier and has a Web browser that gives users a richer, more immersive Internet experience. But how well will Blackberry OS 6 fare without the combination touchscreen and keyboard offered by the Torch? With the release of the Bold 9780, that question is being answered. At a hardware level, there’s very little distinguishing the Bold 9780 from its predecessor, the Bold 9700. In fact, the only two differences are the upgrading of the device’s on-board memory from 256MB to 512MB and the upgrading of the device’s camera from 3.2MP to 5MP. But with OS 6 preloaded, the 9780 is an entirely different beast. While it retains the familiar Blackberry look and feel, there’s some new goodness under the hood. Most notably, navigation is faster, the icons look fresher and the menus are a little more intuitive. Features and applications are also more integrated on OS 6 than what they were before. The operating system’s common inbox – like the previous version – brings together SMS messages and new messages from the user’s different e-mail accounts, but now also includes social media conduits like Twitter and Facebook. There’s also a new system-wide search facility that gets users to their information super fast – type in a person’s name and expect to be presented with all recent e-mails from them, Tweets related to them and
of course, their contact information if it’s stored in the address book. The new multimedia support is nothing short of a godsend. A larger range of audio and video formats are supported by OS 6 and RIM has included a native YouTube application. The operating system’s party-piece is however its new web browser that does away with the squished, rather unsightly way Blackberry used to mark-up web pages. And since the browser is based on WebKit, it features tabbed browsing for accessing multiple sites simultaneously and a zoom feature that can intelligently wrap text in a column while maintaining the placement of a page’s key elements. It truly is a leap forward in functionality. There are a ton of skeptics out there and a handful of people that have played with both the Torch and the 9780 feel that Blackberry OS 6 needs the touch-screen offered by the Torch. We don’t agree. Blackberry OS 6 is every bit as good without the touch screen and fits so nicely with the iconic Bold 9780’s design, it has now replaced the Torch as our favourite Blackberry smartphone. NOTEWORTHY SPECS • 624MHz Processor • 3G (HSDPA) and 802.11b/g WiFi connectivity • 512MB RAM • Up to 32GB Flash storage (2GB included) • 5MP Camera • Full QWERTY Keyboard • Optical track pad • 480 x 360 pixel screen Pros
Cons
• Same iconic ‘Bold’ design • Compact smartphone powerhouse • QWERTY keyboard • Blackberry OS 6 is a vast improvement • Higher resolution camera
• Lack of touchscreen bothers some; and • Virtually identical to the Bold 9700
Overall rating
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Apple iPad
While it lacks an E ink display, the iPad’s 9.7” LCD is nice and big – perfect for reading eBooks from Amazon’s Kindle service or Apple’s very own iBooks online store.
ER E-reader NEED TO KNOW • 7” LCD display • 4GB internal storage • Read books, play music and movies R1 199.95 Bookeen Cybook
With an actual E ink display, the Cybook is a bit closer to the experience that what has made e-readers so famous. It’s also available locally, and will read most popular ebook formats.
Samsung Galaxy Tab
It’s a direct competitor to the iPad, and for good reason. The Galaxy Tab has a more compact design with its 7” display, and tons of apps on the Android Marketplace mean there’s no shortage of software to read ebooks.
46 | connect | April 2011
While the whole world is going gaga over digital books, companies are pumping out e-book readers left, right and centre. Amazon is probably responsible for what we know as the original e-book reader. Its Kindle, with the revolutionary E ink display technology, was an instant hit and catapulted the idea into the limelight. Of course, the Kindle had an entire ecosystem to act as a platform for the device. E-book readers have been around since the mid 90s, but Amazon, with its reputation as a bookseller, offered users a device with two important differences. First up was that display, which looks very similar to real paper. It doesn’t have a back light, but viewed under normal light it is very easy on the eyes and presents less eyestrain. Secondly, the Kindle book store gave users instant access to millions of books. Added to the Kindle’s wireless delivery system, it made every competing device look a bit prehistoric. But the Kindle isn’t readily available in South Africa, and the few importers that do sell it here (if you’re not willing to brave shipping one from the US) add a few extra zeros to the price of the sought-after devices. That’s where something like the ER E-reader comes in. Instead of an E ink display, it has a cheaper 7” non-touch LCD screen with conventional backlighting. The full colour display not only lets you read in the dark, it will also play back movies and let you view photos. Using the fiddly keypad, you can navigate the rudimentary menu system and play music (there’s a headphone port), adjust brightness and zoom into the documents you’ve loaded on the device. It has 4GB of on-board
storage, with an SD card that can accommodate up to 8GB more. Sadly, none of these things are executed in style. Other devices that play movies and music, and let you read books, are the Samsung Galaxy Tab and the iPad. Sure, they’re a lot pricier than the ER E-reader, but even for its asking price we were hoping for something nice. It’s haphazardly-placed buttons and overall finish feel cheap, and the display is only really clear when viewed head-on. Even then, it’s not kind on the eyes, and the low resolution means you have to zoom in on the texts you’ve loaded. PDFs display just fine, but when zoomed in, one still has to scroll to the left and right: the E-Reader does not reformat text dynamically. This is a huge problem, as it’s a fundamental basic function in every other similar device. It’s closer to a tablet than an e-book reader, and even then it lacks networking functionality to make it as functional as those devices. As much as we would like to recommend great products, the ER E-reader falls short of the mark and unfortunately gives itself very little to base a solid recommendation on. NOTEWORTHY SPECS • Display: 7” LCD screen • Storage: 4GB built in; SD card slot up to 8GB • Battery: Rechargeable, included • Connectivity: USB Pros
Cons
• Lightweight • Thin design • Fantastic device support
• Cheap finish and buttons • Terrible viewing angles • Cludgy interface
Overall rating
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Sony Vaio VPC-S117 Business Notebook
Power your business dealings with this classy notebook from Sony that’s powered by Intel’s excellent Core i5 mobile processors.
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Logitech Speaker Lapdesk N550 To prevent discomfort and to ensure proper ventilation when your notebook is on a desk or resting on your lap, a Lapdesk N550 is a really good companion purchase. It also has better speakers than the average notebook’s.
Microsoft Arc Touch Mouse If style is as important to you as performance, consider grabbing this excellent flatfolding and highly responsive and comfortable mouse from the mind of Microsoft’s creative engineers.
48 | connect | April 2011
Sony Vaio VPC-SB18 13.3” Ultraportable Business Notebook NEED TO KNOW • Intel Core i7-based notebook • Ultra-thin body for lightweight mobile computing • Switch between power-saving and performance mode R12 999.95
When this notebook arrived for review, it made us very sad. Not because it was awful, but because first impressions of it were so good that it made our existing notebooks look old and dated by comparison. That’s because the VPC-SB18 is very thin. Not ridiculously MacBook Air thin, but certainly thin enough to warrant exclamations of pleasant surprise from around the office. Somehow the VPC-SB18 packs in a supermodel-thin 13.3” LED screen, a DVD rewritable drive, 3 USB 2.0 ports, an HDMI output, a VGA output, a Gigabit LAN port and a card reader into the chassis. This surprised us as we were expecting some sort of feature-compromise to achieve the 23.9mm thickness. Happily, that is not the case. That being said, the VPC-SB18 is not an entertainment notebook. Its serious lines, the lack of a Blu-ray drive and its 1366 x 768 native screen put it squarely in the “business” category. While it may be able to play games, that is only in a very general sense, as the AMD Radeon HD6470M onboard graphics card earned only mediocre scores in the DirectX9 graphics test we put it through. Windows 7 Professional 64-bit powers the VPC-SB18, and it’s kitted out with 4GB of RAM, a 500GB hard drive that spins at 7200rpm and of course N-class Wi-Fi capabilities. These components are easily powerful enough for the daily tasks required of a busy business person, and they can expect great Windows, Office, web-surfing and general productivity performance from the VPC-SB18 notebook. Sony has also elegantly included its usual array of software utilities in with the VPC-SB18, which are all accessible from the menu that hides away at the top of the screen until a mouse cursor gets close to it. You can adjust settings here, get support, launch Internet Explorer and more. As always it’s a nice touch by Sony, but not a must-have feature. In fact, it can be a bit annoying to have the menu pop up when the mouse cursor nears the edge of the screen; thankfully, uninstalling the menu is an option. Sony’s screens are always beautiful, and this one is no exception. It’s LED-backlit so colours are gorgeous and it is nice and bright when powered by the mains. It dims when on battery power, but maintains
enough brightness that all items remain visible. The Chiclet-style keyboard is also up to Sony’s usual excellent standards, and is comfortable to type on as well as responsive. The best new feature Sony has included is a physical switch that lets you switch between “Speed” and “Stamina” mode. “Speed” mode makes all components perform at their peak, while “Stamina” mode sacrifices system performance for extended battery life. This is a feature we’d like to see every notebook ship with. There is a small price to pay for the VPC-SB18’s compact size – noise. To keep the components cool, a fairly loud fan kicks in when the system is under load, and only goes off once the desired temperature has been achieved. This also means the notebook can get quite warm, so a Lapdesk or something like it is recommended if it’s to be used on your lap. In all, the VPC-SB18 is another fantastic notebook from Sony. Its excellent business performance and slick looks are off-set somewhat by a noisy fan, but it’s a small price to pay in the grand scheme of things. NOTEWORTHY SPECS • Operating System: Windows 7 Professional 64-bit • Display: 13.3” LED-backlit @ 1 366 x 768 • Processor: Intel Core i7 @ 2.7GHz • Hard Drive: 500GB @ 7 200RPM • Memory: 4GB DDR3 • Networking: IEEE 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, Gigabit Ethernet • Ports: 3 x USB 2.0, HDMI, VGA • Optical Drive: DVD R/W • Card Reader: 5-in-1 • Special: Speed/Stamina switch Pros
Cons
• Tons of power packed into a very thin chassis • Easy-to-reach Speed and Stamina switch is a neat touch • LED screen and Chiclet-style keyboard are a pleasure to use
• Some of Sony’s pre-loaded utilities are not essential • Loud fan kicks in when the system is under load • The notebook can get a bit warm after extended use
Overall rating
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Microsoft Lifecam Cinema
If you prefer one brand to the other, Microsoft also has a high-definition capable webcam – the Lifecam Cinema. It can also do 720P video, and features an autofocus lens to keep things crystal clear.
Logitech C310 HD Webcam NEED TO KNOW • Up to 720P video capabilities • 5-megapixel photos • USB 2.0 connectivity R399.95
We’ve come a long way since the days of the first webcams. Back then, we were stuck with cameras that could only capture at 15 frames per second – the human eye sees smooth motion at 24 frames per second – and the resolution of those first webcams was pitiful. Until the recent crop of HD webcams came along, of which this Logitech is one, we were happy with VGA quality video. That equates to a resolution of 640x480, while the first webcams operated at a quarter of that same resolution. The result? Blocky, unclear video footage that stuttered along. Of course, Internet connections have evolved too. A connection with a speed of 1Mbit per second, a speed that’s easy to achieve with even a 3G link, can easily transmit HD video feeds. And the boom in connectivity also means more services offering video chat and video calls. Previously, we were limited to only a handful of cumbersome services for video calling. These services have recently started making the move to HD. It’s now possible to have high definition video chats, using affordable technology. Skype started to support HD calls in 2010, though the HD functionality isn’t available for all users. Folks using Apple Macs still haven’t had an upgrade to the Skype software to allow for the new video format. Thankfully, Logitech does offer its free Vid service to both Mac and Windows users, with HD video calls on both platforms. Getting started isn’t even that expensive. The Logitech C310 we have on test here is the most affordable HD webcam the company offers, and it works perfectly for basic HD video calls. Sadly, it does lack some features certain users might find essential. One of these is an autofocus lens, which will help the camera focus on closeby subjects – but as long as you’re more than 40cm away from the C310 the call recipient will be none the wiser. Users who’d like an autofocus lens can opt for the pricier C510 or C910 models.
Back at home, though, the C310 is a great bit of kit. Usually webcams aren’t used for still photos, but in case it’s required this can capture 5-megapixel stills. We’d still recommend using a dedicated still camera to get the job done properly. When making non-HD calls, it performs superbly. Compared to the regular integrated webcam in a laptop, it’s miles ahead in terms of picture quality, and it also copes better with challenging lighting conditions. Like all modern webcams, the HD310 is powered via the USB port, which it also uses for transmitting data to your computer. This means setup is as easy as plugging it into your computer, from where Windows or OS X will automatically configure it. Installation of the Logitech Vid software is optional, and Skype will automatically configure it for HD calls. It’ll easily sit on top of most monitors. The universal clip can be folded to help it perch on almost any surface – just be careful, because it’s quite light and can still fall over if the cord is tugged lightly. Other than that, it’s affordable and gets the job done. Just the way tech should be.
Logitech Clearchat PC Wireless
While webcams generally have decent built-in microphones, you’re still required to be in front of your PC to use it. If you want a bit more freedom – and privacy – the Clearchat PC headset offers wireless audio.
NOTEWORTHY SPECS • Video: Up to 720P • Photos: 5-megapixel • Connectivity: USB 2.0 • Compatibility: Windows and Mac OS X • Video calling: Logitech Vid and Skype
Pros
Cons
• Clear video in SD and HD • Affordable • Skype HD and Vid HD video support
• Lightweight construction makes it unstable • No auto-focus • Not full HD
Overall rating
Belkin Play Max N600 wireless router
If you’re going to make video calls from anywhere but your study, you’ll want a decent wireless connection. Belkin’s Play routers support HD video streaming, so you’ll have a stutter-free video call each and every time.
www.connectmag.co.za | 49
product reviews
perfect companions
Western Digital MyBook Since the MED200X has no internal storage, now would be a good time to invest in an external USB hard drive. A 1TB drive costs very little, and can store nearly 200 full length high definition movies.
Mede8er MED200X NEED TO KNOW • HDMI-equipped media player • USB ports for external hard drives • Plays digital video, photos and music on your TV R999.95
Belkin HDMI cable HDMI is a single cable that can transport both high definition video and uncompressed audio. Belkin’s high quality cables are perfect for connecting the Mede8er to your HDTV.
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Mede8er MED500X
If the MED200X seems a little too underpowered for your media-consuming needs, its bigger brother could be what you need. The MED500X can be had with an internal hard drive, and also boasts network connectivy, with support for Internet streaming services.
50 | connect | April 2011
Digital media has become all the rage in the last two years. There are online services with video and audio content, such as YouTube and iTunes. Even our discs at home can now be copied (or ripped, as the geeks say) to have them easily accessible on our hard drives. In fact, there are software packages that will help you convert your DVDs to digital video formats, and most music players will convert your audio discs into MP3 format with just a few clicks. But all these files are useless just sitting on your computer. When friends come around you don’t invite them to the computer room to watch a movie. Carrying the computer outside to play some banging party tunes is also not ideal – somebody might get carried away and spill a drink on it. Dedicated media players that perform these functions have been available for quite some time, now. Most are priced above R1 500 and offer everything you’d expect – they’ll stream videos from YouTube and play music from a varliety of online radio stations. When it comes to video files on hard drives, they’ll play the regular AVI files, in addition to the newer MKV file format used for high definition content. Mainstream audio and photo formats are also supported, as well as the more obscure file formats for all three content types. The Mede8er MED200X supports all of these and plays them without a hassle. It even has an SD card slot, for easier playback of photos and video clips from your digital camera. Also present are two USB ports for external hard drives: no internal hard drives here, it’s just simple plug-inand-play using external storage. Around the back there are analogue video and audio connectors for older TVs, and they are joined by an HDMI output for more modern displays. Should you require digital audio (via a fibre optic cable – not
included), a port is available for that, too. The only thing missing from this compact media player is a network port. The lack of networking brings its price down. At just on R1 000 it’s one of the cheapest media players on the market. It also highlights how important network connectivity is: unless you have an external hard drive stuffed with digital media, the player feels a bit barebones. Sure, it plays files without problems, but having access to online updates, movie information, YouTube and streaming audio feels like a must-have feature. If web connectivity is essential, Mede8er does offer the MED400X which boasts a network port but costs around R400 more. Internet-enabled media players often have the ability to fetch movie posters and information online. This way, when you select a movie, it shows the information about that film. Mede8er offers a free software package that will do this for the movies on your hard drive, so it shouldn’t be a big deal that the MED200X doesn’t have web access. In the end, its interface is not going to win any design awards and competing players from Iomega and Western Digital have prettier graphics and more intuitive layouts for their menu systems. If you have a few movies on a hard drive and just need a box to plug them into for viewing on your TV, this will do the job just fine. NOTEWORTHY SPECS • Connectivity: 2x USB 2.0 ports, 1x SD card reader • Outputs: Compositive video, RCA audio, optical audio, HDMI • Video output: Up to 1080P Pros
Cons
• Compact design • Support for many formats • Great value
• Tatty remote control • Really bland interface • No HDMI or optical audio cables supplied
Overall rating
advertorial
I
n case you haven’t heard, the consumer protection act (CPA) that’s been getting so much airtime of late has come into effect. And as the name of the act suggests, it’s all about protecting the consumer’s rights. You will in all likelihood notice quite a difference in the way retailers, services businesses and individuals selling a good or service treat you. That’s because the penalties for not abiding by the rules set out in the act are quite onerous. On the upside though, from now on there’s a far smaller chance a consumer – people like you and me – will walk away from a transaction dissatisfied. While things are pretty detailed when you get down into the nitty gritty, we thought we’d give you a glimpse at some of the highlights. This extract shouldn’t be considered legal advice though – rather get yourself a copy of the act (http://www.dti.gov.za/ccrd/cpact09.pdf) and take a read through it. It’s fascinating stuff.
Highlights include: • Consumers will now have up to six months to return faulty or unsafe goods. Choices include having the goods repaired, replaced or fully refunded; • Goods ordered online have to be delivered at an agreed date, time and place. If they aren’t you’re free to reject them when they arrive, in essence canceling the agreement. You also have the right to inspect your purchases before accepting them, and reject them if you’re not satisfied; • VAS rates – those expensive, hiked text-messaging rates used for SMS competitions – are gone. You’ll now be charged the standard network rate to enter SMS competitions; • Auto-renewing contracts are history. Companies can’t build clauses into their contracts that autorenew. They’ll have to contact you between 40 and 80 business days before your contract expires. They have to give you the option to continue your
Advertorial contract, change its terms or cancel it. The contract will continue on a month-to-month basis until you make your choice; and • You will now be able to cancel contracts (like a cellphone contract) at any time, providing you give the company 20 days’ notice – in writing – and you’re able to pay then anything you owe to the date of cancellation. Importantly, you will no longer have to pay them out for the full value of the contract.
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R250 off* a purchase of R3 000 or more, a FREE monthly Connect Magazine along with your monthly statement and a discount voucher on your birthday! If you haven’t got a Connection Card yet, simply apply at any Incredible Connection store countrywide or visit www.incredible.co.za. We’ve got some amazing deals up for grabs so make sure you don’t miss out! Boost your buying power and keep up to speed with the latest in technology.
Choose it. Charge it. Take it home. *Terms & Conditions. R250 discount voucher redeemable on a single purchase of R3 000 or more. Discount voucher valid for 2 months from date of issue. Connection Card financed and administered by Maravedi Financial Solutions (Pty) Ltd. Maravedi is an authorised financial services and registered credit provider. NCRCP74.
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2011/01/20 3:09 PM
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Found an application on the Android Marketplace that you think a friend would like? By using Android 2.1’s “Share App” widget, you can direct your friends straight to the application’s Marketplace page via SMS or e-mail.
HTC Desire
This high-quality, responsive phone witvh its hi-resolution Touchscreen and pleasantlylarge build is something to aspire towards for all fans of Smartphone technology.
HTC Wildfire Smartphone NEED TO KNOW • HTC’s budget-friendly Android 2.1 Smartphone • Capacitive 3.2” LCD Touchscreen @ 320 x 480 • Uses HTC’s excellent Sense skin for Android R2 999.95
Motorola MB525
If you tend to drop your phone a lot or have dived into a swimming pool with a mobile in your pocket before, you may want to consider this life-proof, water-proof and drop-proof phone as your next upgrade.
perfect companions
Monster Beats Tour earphones Thanks to the Wildfire’s 3.5mm jack, you can plug in this excellent set of earphones and sit back and relax to the sounds of your favourite tunes.
52 | connect | April 2011
If you’ve been dying to get your hands on a Smartphone driven by Android 2.1, but the devices configured with it have been out of your price range thus far, HTC has a solution for you. The Wildfire is HTC’s budget-minded Smartphone that aims to make Android 2.1 accessible to a wider audience, but to do so it has compromised on some of the features found in more expensive products like HTC’s Desire in order to achieve that goal. Even so, the Wildfire is a really solid effort from HTC, and will easily satisfy the needs of people that aren’t too fussy about their tech. The first thing you’ll notice about the Wildfire is that it’s quite a chunky little phone. While it’s not very tall (101.3mm) or wide (59.4mm), it makes up for this with its thick waistline (12.4mm). This is not a bad thing, per se, it just means the phone feels a little thicker in your hand than other phones might. The second thing you’ll notice is the screen, and the way the phone’s graphics look a wee bit blocky. This is due to the screen’s low resolution of 320 x 240 and the fact that HTC has used TFT-LCD technology as opposed to more expensive yet nicer-looking AMOLED tech to keep the phone’s price low. Happily this does not impact on the screen’s touchsensitivity, and we were overall very pleased with the responsiveness of the screen. There are signs of an underpowered processor, however, as we sometimes experienced lag during general navigation. HTC has developed its own “skin” for Android 2.1, called Sense, and it is very attractive and easy to use. There are 7 Home screens that can be customised with your favourite widgets and applications, and it features extensive integration with social networking services like Facebook and Twitter. The phone goes so far as to pull pictures for your contacts directly from Facebook, so that when a friend calls you see their latest profile picture on your phone’s screen. Sending Tweets from the phone is simple – all you have to do is load the application and type out whatever you’re thinking in 140 characters or less using the Wildfire’s keyboard. Pressing the right keys is easy even
if you have big fingers, but we did notice a delay at times to our presses. The delay wasn’t huge, but just enough to be noticeable. Google includes many of its services with the phone, and you can expect excellent integration with Google Talk, Google Mail and even Google’s amazing “Sky Map”, an application that maps the stars for you when you lift the phone up to the heavens. Multimedia playback is good on this phone for music lovers but not so great if you want to watch videos, as these tend to stutter along which makes them unwatchable. Music, on the other hand, plays easily, sounds really good, and the 3.5mm jack found along the top edge of the phone means you can plug in any old headphones. The camera is only okay, though, taking merely acceptable pictures and videos. Overall we found the Wildfire to be a competent entry-level Smartphone. It’s got its share of flaws including some lag during general operation and a low-resolution screen, but for someone just getting into Smartphones, it’s a good place to start. NOTEWORTHY SPECS • Operating System: Google Android 2.1 • Display: 3.2”Touchscreen @ 320 x 480 resolution • Camera: 5MP • Processor Speed: 600MHz • Memory: 512MB RAM and 512MB ROM • Internet : b/g/n Wi-Fi, 3G, GPRS, EDGE • Network: Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE • Battery: 1230 mAH rechargeable Lithium-ion • Connectors: MicroUSB, 3.5mm stereo audio jack Pros
Cons
• Great price for a Touchscreen Smartphone • Integration with Google and social networking services • The phone feels very solidly-built and pleasantly hefty
• Low-resolution screen makes graphics look a bit blocky • There is some input lag during general navigation • Video and picture quality is not great
Overall rating
product reviews
perfect companions
Uniross rechargeable batteries The Oregon 450 uses readilyavailable AA batteries, so if you’re headed out into the bush for the weekend just stock up on some of these instead of carrying around a custom charger. Uniross has some great long-life rechargeables.
Sandisk microSD card The expandable storage slot in the Oregon can be used to store more maps and record even more journeys. You don’t need a big one – an extra 1 or 2GB card will do – and they’re not even that expensive.
Google Earth Available as a free download on google.com/earth, you can import saved trails from the Oregon and view them on a real map. It’s fully interactive and lets you share your waypoints and trails with other Google Earth users.
54 | connect | April 2011
Garmin Oregon 450 NEED TO KNOW • Outdoor trail tracking • Ruggedised construction • 3” touch screen R3 599.95
Nowadays, Garmin is perhaps best known for its fantastic nüvi products. You know, those dashboard-bound navigation units that shout out directions and get you to your destination even when there’s traffic. But the company’s history with satellige navigation and tracking goes way back, before in-car navigation was as well-known as it is today. Handheld field tracking units were how Garmin got its reputation, starting with the famous eTrex units. With the technology evolving, we now have full colour touch screens, software integration and many other features on units such as the Oregon 450 – a stark contrast from the monochrome displays and button-riddled designs of years gone by. One thing is clear, though. The Oregon isn’t something you’ll necessarily need or use every day. It’s aimed squarely at outdoor types who go camping, hunting, fishing and adventuring – after all, technology is available for almost all lifestyles. The most noticeable thing about the 450 is its bulbous, chunky exterior design. It’s rated waterproof to IPX7 standards. That’s a standardised international measure for toughened devices, in this case meaning the Oregon can be submerged in 1m deep water for up to 30 minutes. Definitely for adventurers, then. Its outdoors arsenal consists of a barometric altimeter, digital compass and highly accurate satellite receivers. It can record your hiking and off-road excursions on either the on-board memory or a microSD card, and the additional information can be used to help read the weather. Recorded trails can also be sent to other Oregon users via a wireless sharing technology aptly named Garmin Connect. Also present are fishing and hunting tables, along with sun and
moon tables to determine exactly when those celestial bodies will rise or set. It’s not all serious outdoors business, though. More casual users will be glad to know that this has support for Geocaching – the global game where users can stash or discover treasures using GPS co-ordinates. So you’ve made up your mind and decided the Oregon is exactly what you need to complement your Bear Grylls lifestyle or new hobby. In that case, you should know that it runs on two AA batteries. Ideally you’d get a few rechargeables for this purpose. Battery life is excellent, but out in the bush you might not have a fresh supply of cells. It’s also worth noting that the 3” touch screen works well, but the interface Garmin has chosen for the Oregon isn’t the most intuitive – at least not compared to more contemporary devices such as smartphones and regular navigation devices. Chances are, though, that you’re going to spend the time learning how to use it if you’re serious enough about your outdoor fun that the prospect of a handheld tracking device appeals. NOTEWORTHY SPECS • Display: 3” touch screen • Connectivity: Wireless sharing; USB • Waterproof: Yes (IPX7 standard) • Battery life: Up to 16 hours • Storage: 850MB built in; microSD slot
Pros
Cons
• Accurate trail tracking and recording • Compatible with Google Earth • Uses easily-replaceable batteries
• Very niche applications • No windscreen mount included • Quite pricey
Overall rating
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Belkin Play Max N600 HD Dual-band Wireless ADSL Router NEED TO KNOW • ADSL router with 4 Gigabit Ethernet ports • IEEE 802.11b/g/n wireless network coverage • Preconfigured with wireless security settings R1 899.95
This month we have a Play Max router to play with. It is the best router in the Play range according to Belkin, and we put it through its paces to see what it offers over the entry-level Surf router that was reviewed last month. For starters, the Play Max is physically bigger than the Surf. Ignoring the size difference, the two routers look remarkable similar, with four Ethernet ports at the back, a jack for a telephone line, power, a WPS (Wireless Protected Setup) button on the front and a single light to indicate power. The biggest differentiators between the two devices are the two USB ports located beneath the Ethernet ports on the Play Max that are not present on the Surf. These can be used to connect printers and USB hard drives, which can be shared across the network. The rest of the differences are all internal. The Max is an IEEE802.11b/ g/n router, whereas the Surf only does what Belkin calls “Enhanced N”, making the Max the faster of the two and the router with the best wireless network coverage. This makes the Max better for homes with lots of walls, or locations where the computers that need network access are placed far from the router. The Play Max also supports wireless networking using the 5GHz band, but there are few devices that can take advantage of this, making it largely irrelevant for the SA market. They both support WEP, WPA and WPA2 wireless security protocols, and they both come with wireless security already set up, so you don’t have to do it yourself. The password for the secure connection is written on a card that can be stored underneath the router. While Belkin has created a very easy way to set the router up (all you need to do is load the CD that came with it and follow the on-screen prompts), the company forces users to install its Belkin Router Monitor application to gain access to its more advanced features. The problem with this is that to access a USB hard drive or printer that’s plugged into the router (it has two USB ports for this reason) each computer has to have the software installed, a requirement not present in other routers that offer USB network storage and printer support. Performance-wise, the router’s wireless connection offers faster
Belkin Play Surf ADSL Router
transfer speeds than the Surf. For the best results, it’s recommended to connect clients over Ethernet cables, and ensure that each has their own Gigabit Ethernet port. We found that the Play Max router got warmer than we were expecting during general operation. It’s recommended that you don’t place the router in corners, under desks or anywhere without natural ventilation as heat and electronics don’t mix very well and it may reduce the lifespan of the router. Overall the Play Max is a fairly solid effort from Belkin. The wireless and wired network connectivity on offer is sufficient for use in homes and small offices and it’s very easy to set up. If you don’t need to cover a large area and all you want is a small wireless network with Internet access for a few computers, the Play Surf router offers better value for money. NOTEWORTHY SPECS • Encryption Types Supported: 256-bit WPA/WPA2 encryption 64/128 WEP encryption • Hardware Interface Type: Gigabit Ethernet (4xLAN, 1xWAN), 2x USB 2.0 A Female (Storage or Printer) • LEDs: 1x network status LED, 1x WPS LED • Network Standards: IEEE 802.11n (up to 300Mbps*) IEEE 802.11g (up to 54Mbps*) IEEE 802.11a (up to 54Mbps*) IEEE 802.11b (up to 11Mbps*) • Ports: 1x WAN (ADSL2) 4x LAN Gigabit 2xUSB 2.0 • Protocols supported: Supports external USB hard drives formatted in FAT 16/32 and NTFS file systems Supports USB printer • Radio Frequency: Band Dual Band, Dual Concurrent Radio 2.4GHz and 5GHz ISM • Specifications Standards: 802.11a/b/g/n , 802.11a/b/g/n and USB 2.0 , 802.11N • Supporting Software: Easy Start, Preset Security, Video Max HD, Self Healing, Print Genie, Memory Safe, Daily DJ, Music Mover, Music Labeler, Bit Boost, Torrent Genie Pros
Cons
• Wireless N technology provides wide network coverage • Incredibly easy setup process walks users through the basics • Supports WPA and WPA2 wireless security
• Added extras aren’t absolutely essential • Software must be installed on all PCs to access all router functions • Router heats up quite a bit during normal operation
Overall rating
If all you want is a basic router that will give you wireless networking and Internet access and you’d like setup to be incredibly easy, the Play Surf router is a good choice.
Netgear DGNB2100 Wireless ADSL Router with USB Adapter
Netgear’s high-quality routers need a wee bit more technical savvy to set up than the Belkin Play series, but their reliability and performance are well worth the effort.
perfect companions
HP ProBook 4520 Notebook This Core i3-based notebook from HP is excellent for professional and personal use, and with a wireless network at home, you can even use it while sitting in front of the TV, or lying in bed.
www.connectmag.co.za | 55
product reviews
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Logitech Harmony 1100
Add 200 to the model number and you get the 900’s bigger brother. This one boasts far fewer buttons, in favour of a larger touch screen that can be completely customised with virtual buttons. It is costly, though.
Logitech Harmony 900 NEED TO KNOW Logitech Harmony 300
This is the entry-level Harmony universal remote, and while it can only be programmed to control up to four devices – out of a possible 5000 – it costs a whole lot less than its stablemates.
Smartphones
Your iPhone or Android device can be loaded with remote control software that will let you take control of your home theatre PC, iTunes or Media Player. The app marketplaces have many downloads that’ll offer a variety of functions.
56 | connect | April 2011
• Universal remote control • Replace up to 15 other remotes • Programmable touch screen R2 199.95
Two things that are the bane of a home entertainment enthusiast’s life: cable clutter and remote controls. It’s all good and well having a shiny 3DTV, an AV receiver, Blu-ray player, gaming console, satellite receiver and home theatre PC, but the six remote controls for these devices aren’t a pretty sight. And that’s before you’ve got around to wiring them up. Logitech’s Harmony 900 won’t get rid of unsightly cables – something we’ll get to later - but it’ll definitely make controlling the action a lot easier. It can be programmed to replace the infrared remotes of up to fifteen devices. Even better is that it completely replaces the infrared part of the equation, which means you no longer have to point the remote control at the device you’re trying to control. The Harmony 900 uses radio frequency (RF) technology, similar to a wireless network, instead of infrared LEDs. This gives it a larger effective range and more reliable operation. It also enables the system to have programmable shortcut keys (macros). Using the setup software the Harmony can be configured to control the devices in your lounge. More than 200 000 individual products are supported, so chances are you’ll find a control set for your specific TV or satellite receiver. Once all the devices are loaded, a macro can be created. You can have a single button that will power on the TV, flip it to the DVD channel, power on the DVD player, start playing a DVD and set the volume on the AV receiver to the desired level. These actions are all accessible through the colour touch screen on the remote, but it still has a full complement of hardware buttons to control common functions such as changing channels, controlling volume and accessing menus. For all the convenience it brings to the table, it also contributes
some of the opposite. As mentioned earlier, it won’t rid you of unsightly cables and wiring. In fact, it’ll add to the mess. The charging station for the Harmony requires a dedicated power source. That’s one plug added to the equation. Then it needs another power source for the remote blaster (the RF receiver with the infrared repeaters in it). The blaster also has an optional microblaster that can be plugged into it, to further extend its infrared range. That’s a whole lot more wiring you’ll have to account for in the lounge, and spend an hour neatly arranging. Setting it up is also a bit tedious. It requires an Internet connection to create an online account, and the software is not quite as intuitive as you’d imagine. It’s not even clear why there is this much complication just to add a device’s control profile to the remote. Granted, all of this is just a one-time hassle and it doesn’t add to the everyday operation of the Harmony. We’ve got experience with the bigger Harmony 1100, which is needlessly complicated. The 900 is also a high-end solution, but it’s so much more elegant and offers convenience that far outweighs its two aesthetic drawbacks. NOTEWORTHY SPECS • Transmitter: RF base station with infra red repeater • Device support: Up to 15 devices • Battery: Rechargeable, included • Interface: Buttons and colour touch screen
Pros
Cons
• Uses RF technology • Single-button macros • Fantastic device support
• Complicated setup • Cable clutter • Pricey
Overall rating
advertorial
Wired For Sound L
ogitech has a long history of producing some of the finest speakers and headsets for a variety of usage scenarios, and 2011 sees a refresh of the company’s excellent audio range. Not only do these new audio products sport a new look, but their internal components have also been overhauled, resulting in speakers and headsets that are not only attractive, but they’re even better-sounding than the models they replace.
> ClearChat Pro USB
For Internet chatters that talk for ages, Logitech’s ClearChat Pro USB headset has been designed for comfort so that you don’t have to say goodbye early because your ears are sore. An over-thehead design and comfortably-padded earpieces come together nicely to take away any discomfort associated with lengthy chats. Better yet, these headphones work just as well for games and movies, complete with a built-in equalizer that can switch between modes to provide the best settings for the content you’re listening to.
Z906 Surround Sound Speakers
The Z906 5.1 THX-Certified speaker set replaces Logitech’s excellent Z-5500 5.1 speakers. With 500W of thunderous RMS and THX certification that delivers cinemaquality audio, these speakers are loud but balanced and will blow you away not only with volume, but with subtlety too. Best of all you can connect them up to six devices at once, from PCs to gaming consoles to HDTV sets and even Blu-ray players.
> H555 Laptop USB Headset
Specifically designed to be collapsible so that it is easy to transport, the Laptop Headset H555 has been created for people that spend a lot of time on the road. The behind-the-ear design makes for very comfortable wearing, and plugging in via USB means high-fidelity digital audio. Included with the H555 is Logitech Vid, a communications program that supports wide-band audio for the clearest-possible connection to chat partners.
H360 USB Headset
Another behind-the-ear headset, the H360 is great for chatting online, especially as it also supports Logitech’s wide-band audio technology that makes for incredibly clear voice chats. The adjustable boom microphone is noise-cancelling so it can even be used in a noisy environment - your chat partner will never hear anything other than your voice. Even though it’s primarily a headset for Internet chats, the H360 can be used as a general-purpose gaming and multimedia headset too.
Z623 Speaker System
If your audio needs don’t include reproducing the surround effect of a multispeaker home cinema setup, a 2.1 set is your next-best bet. The Logitech Speaker System Z623 provides an excellent stereo listening experience, and is pleasantly loud with rich, deep bass notes courtesy of a very solid subwoofer and excellent mid- to high-range sounds produced by the two satellite speakers.
product reviews related
products
Sony Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum 10
Sony’s excellent movieediting software is a decent alternative to Cyberlink’s; while it’s rather complicated and doesn’t take advantage of 64-bit hardware, it comes with a ton of tutorial videos that aspirant Spielbergs can use to come to grips with the software’s interface.
perfect companions
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit Gaining access to more than 3.3GB of system memory will do wonders for overall system responsiveness, and give memory-hungry programs plenty of room to spread their wings.
Memory upgrade Upgrading to 6, 8 or even 12GB of system memory will give anyone’s system a muchneeded performance boost that will have Windows flying along at a decent clip. Just be sure to confirm whether your system uses DDR2 or DDR3 memory modules first!
58 | connect | April 2011
Cyberlink PowerDirector 9 Ultra64 NEED TO KNOW • Video editing software built from the ground up for 64-bit systems • TrueVelocity Accelerator uses graphics cards for faster video processing • Supports a wide range of video file types R1 199.95
As video technology has progressed to high definition 1080p content, the editing process has required more and more computing power and time to display and edit video files. Cyberlink has taken stock of where the computer industry is, hardwarewise, and completely re-built its already-excellent PowerDirector video editing suite to take advantage of the latest developments. Now, if you have a quad-core processor, a 64-bit operating system, 4GB or more of RAM and an nVidia or AMD graphics card, PowerDirector 9 Ultra64 can use these to drastically reduce the time it takes to edit and produce HD videos. Cyberlink’s engineers have re-coded the underlying software architecture of the program, which they have dubbed TrueVelocity Accelerator. It is this that enables the software to use your processor, memory and graphics card to the maximum extent of their abilities, and this coupled with the optimisations that have come about because of the re-coding has resulted in a huge speed boost over previous versions of PowerDirector. Best of all, those optimisations mean you don’t absolutely have to be running a 64-bit operating system to enjoy the performance enhancements of PowerDirector 9. In case you’re wondering, 32-bit operating systems let the computer access a maximum 3.3GB of system memory, whereas 64-bit OSes have a memory limitation measured in Petabytes (thousands of gigabytes). If you install 24GB of RAM and Windows 7 Professional 64-bit, for example, PowerDirector 9 Ultra64 can and will use it all. This speed comes in handy when editing HD video files, as using as much of your computer power as is available means quick, responsive results. Popular file formats like .MKV, AVCHD, .AVI, .WMV and others are supported, and the actual editing process is made accessible by the software’s intuitive interface. Video files can be imported directly from video cameras, memory cards/USB sticks, and adding them to the timeline is a matter of dragging and dropping. There is the option to create menu systems for DVDs (like you see when you rent a DVD), burn DVDs and Blu-ray discs (if you have the appropriate hardware, of course), add over 150 customisable scene transitions, text effects, and even upload videos directly to Facebook and YouTube from within the program. New users will still need to grow accustomed to where everything is, but thanks to extensive tutorials hosted on Cyberlink’s YouTube channel, help is at hand.
One of the best features on offer is the ability to upscale SD footage to HD resolutions. The results are really good; this is pleasantly surprising as often upscaling SD content doesn’t result in particularly noticeable gains in clarity, whereas our sample files looked considerably better after running them through the process. Just don’t expect to use your computer while the software upscales or converts video files, as doing so leaves you with no free memory and a 100% CPU load. Other cool features include a feature-packed audio editing suite called WaveEditor that lets you add soundtracks and 5.1 Dolby Surround sound to your videos, and even clean up the audio quality of existing videos. We’re very pleased with Cyberlink’s latest efforts at creating a fullyfeatured video editing package for the average person at home. Sure, it will take time to learn the software’s ins and outs, but the achievable results are well worth the effort. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS • Screen Resolution: 1024 x 768, 16-bit colour or above. • Operating System: Windows 7/Vista/XP SP2 • Memory: 512 MB required, 3GB DDR2 recommended for 32 bit OS, 6GB DDR2 or above recommended for 64 bit OS. • CPU: Intel Pentium 4 2.4GHz and above, AMD Athlon II X4 and above. Full-HD quality H.264 and MPEG2 profiles: Intel Corei5/7 or AMD Phenom II X4. • Video Capturing Device: PCI or USB1.0/2.0 capture device compliant with WDM standard • Hard Disk Space: 5 GB required (additional 400 MB for SmartSound Quicktrack Library). • 10GB free (20GB recommended) required for DVD production. • 60GB free (100GB recommended) required for BD/HD/AVCHD production. • Burning Device: A CD or DVD burner (CD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW or DVD-R/RW) is required to burn VCD/DVD/SVCD/AVCHD titles. • A Blu-ray Disc recordable drive is required to burn Blu-ray Disc titles. • Microphone: Required for recording voice-overs. Pros
Cons
• Fast video processing compared to previous versions • Upscaling SD videos has a noticeable sharpening effect • Takes full advantage of 64-bit operating systems and hardware
• Takes a while to learn where everything is • Encoding videos takes over all system resources
Overall rating
book reviews
NEED TO KNOW • By Julie Adair King and Serge Timacheff • 224 pages
Digital Photography for Dummies If you’re familiar with the concepts of photography in general, but you’re struggling to make the jump into the digital age, this is the book for you. In very friendly and often-amusing terms, author Julie Adair King will take readers through the basic concepts of digital photography, outlining just how different digital photography is from its filmbased counterpart and providing hints and tips on how to make the transition. She helps readers come to grips with the many settings found on digital cameras, encouraging exploration through gentle persuasion, without ever sounding
Troubleshooting Windows 7: Inside and Out
NEED TO KNOW
• By Mike Halsey • 528 pages
This weighty tome will be all you need to find out how Windows 7 works, and what to do in case you’re ever presented with an arcane-sounding error message that, in usual Windows fashion, isn’t hugely helpful. Aside from providing you with more information on the faults than Windows gives, this book also equips you with the knowledge needed to tackle those headaches and also make sure they don’t happen again. Of course, it’s not a beginner’s
60 | connect | April 2011
game: you’ll be delving deep into the inner-workings of Windows and clicking checkboxes you didn’t even know existed, so inexperienced users be warned. Even if you have a basic understanding, the book is still helpful. There are stepby-step guides on what corrective actions to take, with many tips on keeping your machine running swiftly and smoothly.
condescending. People who are just starting out with digital photography will find the book very easy to read, and they should come away with a better understanding of their new hobby. If you have a passing familiarity with digital photography, this book is not for you. If you’re an absolute beginner who would like to become familiar with the core concepts in preparation for a dip in the pool of digital photographs, then this book will help you take the plunge.
Fetch: The Yellow Puppy That Gets Knowledge Books Straight To You! www.fetch.my is a fast, immediate and convenient portal that is designed specifically for IT and professional reference needs, so if you need books, but don’t have the time to hit the book store and get them, just.....let our yellow puppy fetch them for you! The focus remains on technical titles of all skill levels that are designed to meet the needs of IT professionals. In addition to our technical titles we have an expanded range that includes computing related subjects; such as telecommunications, engineering, science, medical, business, management and academic titles. There is also a selection of health and reference titles to choose from, In total there are a massive 50 000 book titles available on the portal!. This portal is terrific because it provides books that are crucial for those who want to upgrade their skills or formalize their IT industry experience and knowledge. This includes university students as well as school leavers who want to embark on a career in IT but cannot afford to attend a tertiary institution. www.fetch.my is also a portal for e-Learning and e-Books. Intersoft Certification Solutions (ICS) present a “best of blended-learning solution, incorporating a vast amount of learning resources and tools - all harmonized into one training programme”. ICS offers high-availability and comprehensive certificationfocused learning programmes that include Microsoft Official e-Learning, Reference Books, Virtual Labs, Practice Tests, Learning Tools, Online and Additional Resources. So if you need to find technical knowledge, look no further than www. fetch.my. FETCH offers you everything at a click of button.
game reviews //By tiana Cline
SHIFT 2 UNLEAShED R499.95 As a racing series, Need for Speed is constantly evolving with the latest, most-anticipated release, SHIFT 2 UNLEASHED (S2U), being one of the most authentic racing experiences to date. It brings with it exciting new features such as the helmet cam, night racing and an incredibly varied career that spans over several different motorsport disciplines. And while S2U may have more vehicles and track locations than ever seen in a Need for Speed game before, it hasn’t left out any essential gameplay elements that are a well-known part of the series such as Time Attack and Drift. S2U also includes an innovative and rivalry-generating technology called Autolog (pioneered by NFS: Hot Pursuit) that connects you with your friends, or competitors, in head-to-head races that use player statistic match-ups to add new layers of depth to the customisation of this racing simulation series. The career mode is incredibly involved with the ability to win cars and compete against big bosses, all on the way to (hopefully) winning the FIA GT1 World Championship. Compared to the first SHIFT title, there is nearly double the number of cars (classifications and styles) as well as locations across the globe. How does it compare to hardcore driver simulation titles like Forza and Gran Turismo? Even though S2U is incredibly realistic on the graphics side of things, it doesn’t bombard you with those extra details which can, for the fun-loving racer, be a bit overwhelming… but that doesn’t mean it is a shallow game. When playing S2U you really get an emotional insight into what it means to be a driver behind the wheel. The competition is increasingly tough as you battle to get (and stay) on the grid. Every element is there, from the heart-pumping night events to the grit and grime that remains on your car long after the race is over. To back this all up is a new graphics engine, a full damage model and elite simulation mode that allows for race-ending crashes. Debris will litter the road after a wreck, and you can shred a tire if you’re already worn too thin. You’ll also get to experience in-cockpit vibrations, realistic driver head movements and the impact of every dizzying crash. But what is a Shift game without the endless customisation options? You can literally turn the world’s most elite high-performance racers into something truly your own with (almost) limitless options for personalisation from engine to body, suspension and much, much more. If you’re an arcade-racing fan (think pick-up-and-play), then S2U is the perfect game to get you accommodated to slightly more hardcore racing on the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360. It’s also ideal if you’re the competitive sports sort who also wants to feel every bash and see every scrape as you fight for the championship title.
62 | connect | April 2011
NEED TO KNOW • True-to-life, dynamic crash physics • Connect and share your racing career with Autolog • Become the FIA GT1 World and GT3 European Champion • Customisation everything from your engine to body, suspension and more
>>drive it first<< The newly unveiled Pagani Huayra, named after the Andean God of Wind, is available exclusively in S2U. The development team has perfectly recreated the form and function of this notable new supercar. From its elegant body shape to its commanding 700 HP engine, S2U is the first videogame where youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll feel the intensity of racing the Pagani Huayra at speeds of over 230 mph.
>>consider this<< Gran Turismo 5 This is as hardcore as it gets for the racing genre: Experience more than 950 cars and over 20 locations as well as 70-plus track variations to master.
>>Get this<< Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit Explore a world as diverse as the California coastline with desert, forest, seaside and mountainous regions. The open world of Seacrest County is designed to create the most intense pursuit experiences ever found in a racing game.
www.connectmag.co.za | 63
game reviews //By Deon du plessis & Christo van Gemert
Dragon Age II >>Consider this<<
NEED TO KNOW • Sequel to 2009’s RPG of the year • More action-focused gameplay • PC version features unique DX11-based visuals Dragon Age II takes place slightly after the events in the first game unfolded. You begin the game by escaping your home town as it’s destroyed by the Blight, and are charged with resettling in a new city, Kirkwall, and making a name for yourself. The events of the first game form part of the backdrop of DA2, but you’re not cast in the role of the world-saving hero this time – rather, you’re charged with becoming someone important in Kirkwall over a period of around 10 years. The RPG elements in DA2 aren’t as heavy as in DA1, and controlling the details of all party members has disappeared in an effort to streamline the experience. Dragon Age 2’s
Motorstorm: Apocalypse
NEED TO KNOW
• 13 different vehicles • 16-player online and 4-player splitscreen racing • Dynamic race tracks with environmental hazards 64 | connect | April 2011
Dragon Age: Origins
combat is more of a spectacle than in the first game, and feels somewhat more action-focused, but still enjoys the ability to tactically pause and issue orders. The voice-acting and dialogue are superb, as are the highlypolished visuals that look even better on PCs with DirectX 11 graphics cards. While DA2 is not the sweeping epic that was Dragon Age, it makes up for this with great characters, fastpaced and deep combat, brilliant graphics and a large world to get lost in. R299.95 (PC)
The first Dragon Age game and its expansion, Awakenings, are available at a ridiculously low price on all platforms. Consider playing these first for greater insight into the back-story of DA2.
>>Coming soon<< The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Set in the frosty realm of Skyrim in northern Tamriel, players must investigate the murder of the High King and battle the forces of evil that have arisen from the conflict. This is open-world RPGing at its best!
The first two Motorstorm games on the PS3 were huge fun, but lacked a little something. We’re not quite sure what it was, but Motorstorm: Apocalypse definitely has that unknown element – and then some. Tackle a variety of environments in thirteen different vehicle classes, including off-road trucks, motorcycles, rally cars and sports cars. Bump opponents off the track and deal with
dynamic environments, such as falling buildings, fires, collapsing roads and gushing water. The graphics and graphic novel art style are fantastic, sound effects are thumping, and the way cars handle has really been drastically improved. This one will have you hooked for hours. TBA
>>Consider this<<
>>get this<<
WRC: FIA World Rally Championship Available on PS3, PC and Xbox 360, this off-road racing simulator could be the natural progression from the exaggerated and fun-filled landscapes of Motorstorm. Give it a bash if you like your racing to be closer to what you see on TV.
Split/Second Last year’s breakout hit, Split/Second, offered similar things to what we’re seeing in Motorstorm: dynamic environments with new hazards around ever corner. This time you’re racing on tar, at breakneck speeds, through cities and suburbs.
TBC Mortal Kombat software © 2011 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Developed by NetherRealm Studios. “KINECT, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox LIVE, and the Xbox logos are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies and are used under “ and “ “ license from Microsoft. ” ”, “PlayStation”, “PS3”, “ are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. All rights reserved. Mortal Kombat, the dragon logo, NetherRealm Studios, NetherRealm logo and all related characters and elements are trademarks of and © Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. WB GAMES LOGO, WB SHIELD: ™ & © Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (s11)
game reviews //By Tiana Cline
Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars
NEED TO KNOW
• All the characters from the TV show • All-new boss battles and lightsaber action • A great game for all ages
LEGO Rock Band Create your own unique rock star style by customising your own avatar, band members, roadies and managers collecting LEGO studs along the way…
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters
NEED TO KNOW • 12 bonus courses like Wolf Creek, Torrey Pine and Banff Springs • Relive and play through memorable, historic moments of the Masters 66 | connect | April 2011
an exciting level builder, you’ll definitely want to let the LEGO force be with you. With fun cutscene animations and intricate, unexpected detail, this is one game that is truly playable across all the gaming platforms. R399.95
SingStar Afrikaans Treffers
NEED TO KNOW
Coming >> soon <<
Look out >> for <<
An entire world made out of LEGO is just about every child’s dream, but what about an entire LEGO universe? The Clone Wars is (yet another) popular series to become blocks. Featuring all the characters from the animated show, LEGO Clone Wars captures everything you love about LEGO and Star Wars in one game. From exciting lightsaber battles where you are either a Jedi or Separatist, to head-to-head combat and
LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game Play through the memorable scenes from the first movies in LEGO, as well as those from the upcoming fourth film, “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.”
• 30 original Afrikaans tracks • High-definition video support • Local talent like Karen Zoid and Steve Hofmeyr
Even though Tiger Woods might not be the most popular person at present, his name still remains EA’s premier golf game. And as you may have already guessed from the title, this is the first game to take virtual golfers to the Augusta National. But to get there, you’ll have to work your way through Q School and the Nationwide Tour. But don’t fret, you can take a caddy along for support – he will even evaluate pre-shot factors such as wind, lie and yardage, to provide a recommended shot! And if you need time-out from the heavy-hitting tournament, try the mini-golf course. This game truly has something for every fan of the green. R499.95
Sony’s karaoke franchise, SingStar, has become a worldwide phenomenon. Not only have they added dancing into the mix, localised versions have been released. For the South African market, SingStar Afrikaans Treffers will have you singing along to Platinum selling artists Kurt Darren, Snotkop and Jack Parow. If you enjoy belting out tunes like Juanita du Plessis’ “Tussen Woorde” or “Sê My” by Fredi Nest, this will be a great addition to your music game collection. Grab your (wireless) microphone and enjoy the same lekker gameplay… but with a nice local twist. And if you need more songs, you can always visit the online SingStore. R399.95 (standalone)
>>Get This<<
>>Consider this<<
Top Spin 4 Experience first-hand all of the intensity, emotion, and excitement of a real life tennis match with 25 pros, dozens of talented up-and-comers and some tennis greats.
SingStar Dance SingStar Dance uses the PlayStation Move motion controller as well as the PlayStation Eye camera together to replicate precisely choreographed routines on-screen.
“2”, “PlayStation”, “PS3” and “À” are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. “Ô is a trademark of the same company. “Ô” is a registered trademark of Sony Corporation. “Blu-ray Disc” and “BD” are trademarks. SingStar™ Afrikaanse Treffers ©2011 Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. Published by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Ltd, 10 Great Marlborough Street, London, W1F 7LP. Developed bySCEE London Studio. “SingStar”, “My SingStar” and “SingStore” are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. All rights reserved.
13L
Download new songs via the SingStore™*
SS Eng KKNK Ad for Connect Ad.indd 1
Afrikaanse Treffers
30 original tracks on PS3 with support for high definition music videos, plus access to the SingStore®. Including artists like Kurt Darren, Bobby Van Jaarsveld, Bok Van Blerk, Juanita Du Plessis, Romanz and many more. (25 tracks on PS2)
2011/03/22 1:02 PM
tech tannie
Sweet like a lemon
with a sting like a bee, Tech Tannie buzzes about to save the day…
issue of the month: Q:
I have finally decided to upgrade my operating system from Windows Vista to Windows 7, but while I was loading the operating system onto my PC, the upgrade got stuck at around 62%. It has sat there for hours. I know this can’t be right and I honestly don’t know what to do. Please help. Vista Freeda in Vryheid
A:
If you have questions, gripes or just seek some solace, e-mail Tamsin, our friendly tech tannie at techtannie@connectmag.co.za 68 | connect | April 2011
Ya, Vista, this is a problem. While Windows 7 is definitely one of the best, if not the best, operating systems to scuttle forth from Microsoft’s lair, it can cause problems right from the outset. Annoying, yes. Fixable, definitely. To start with, you’re going to have to reboot. This should set your PC back to its old Windows Vista days and you can then start fiddling about in the machine to get it to play nicely with other operating systems. Go to the setup log file \$WINDOWS.~BT\Sources\Panther\setupact.log to view the issue. Microsoft have said that the problem could be caused because the lphlpsvc service has decided to stop working, so you’ll need to add some variables to fix the problem. This sounds complicated, but it really isn’t. Just go to http:// support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/ kb/975253; they have a nice and tidy walkthrough for you to carefully follow at your leisure. It is somewhat painstaking and you’ll probably end up muttering under your breath about the whole thing, but it should fix the problem. If this doesn’t work, I heartily recommend a stiff drink and then going to the next step. Had a scotch? Good. Now, the next idea, if Windows Vista is still refusing to leave your system, is to boot and install directly from the Windows 7 disc. This should stop Vista from throwing a massive sulk (because it is kak) and finally allow you to have fun with the awesomeness that is Windows 7. Yes, I am a big fan of this operating system, mainly because it works like a charm.
Q:
Dear Tech Tannie. I have just made the world’s most embarrassing mistake and was wondering if there was any way of stopping it from happening again. Today, I sent an e-mail meant for one person to the wrong person. Unfortunately, it has caused a bit of a kak storm and I am not sure how I did that. I use Google Mail, which can be a bit confusing sometimes, so should I change my e-mail programme to stop this from happening again? Worried Wendy in Westville
A:
Ag, Worried, this is a terrible thing. I have done that so many times and it is moerse embarrassing. Last week, I wrote back to someone saying, “Oh, for Pete’s sake, now what?!” when I meant to forward their e-mail to my husband. Boy, was I in trouble. Fortunately, I also use Google Mail so I hastily went in search of a solution and discovered that Google have actually come up with something that can help. While in Google Mail, go to your Settings tab on the top right-hand corner. See it? Okay, click on it. Then click on the Labs tab and scroll down to the add-on titled Got The Wrong Bob?, and click Enable; then click Save Changes. This add-on was created by some genius at Google Labs to help you NOT send the wrong e-mail to the wrong person. When you smash the e-mail address into your address bar, it highlights potential conflicts and warns you before you hit send. It won’t stop you from sending the mail, but it will throw up some shiny red print that will catch your eye, make you pause and, hopefully, stop you from making a terrible mistake. I shudder to think how many divorces, broken friendships and family battles have ensued as a result of an avoidable e-mail mistake. Get yourself the add-on and, hopefully, it will prevent you from making the same mistake again.
Q:
My windows keep snapping off to the sides or going full-screen while I am working in Windows 7 and it’s driving me crazy. Why is this happening? What is the problem? Do I have a faulty system? Snapped Sibongile in Soweto
A:
You may be about to snap but sadly it’s not because there is a problem with your system. Actually, there is nothing wrong at all. The reason your windows keep snapping to the sides or going full-screen is because of some new features that have been built into Windows 7. Now, don’t feel embarrassed, you have no idea how many people have asked me this exact question! Basically, Windows 7 has a feature called Snap that allows you to drag your windows to either side of the screen and then it automatically snaps them into a half-screen position. The same occurs if you move your windows to the top of the screen or to the base of the screen – this will snap your window into automatic full-screen. For many people, this feature is incredibly useful as it means you can work with two documents side-by-side without overlap and it makes reading and working
very simple. For others, it’s a complete and utter pain. If you hate the feature and really don’t want it on your machine, you can actually turn it off. Go to Control Panel and click on Ease of Access and select Change How Your Mouse Works. Now scroll down to the Make It Easier To Manage Windows section and click on the box beside Prevent Windows From Being Automatically Arranged When Moved To The Edge Of The Screen. Click OK. Now, two things will have happened to you. The first is that you will realise that Microsoft have the longest name descriptions ever; the second is that your windows will no longer argue with you or take on a life of their own. Personally, I love this feature, as it makes my life a lot easier, but that doesn’t stop me from muttering at the screen when it accidentally resizes my window to full-screen when all I wanted it to do was move a bit to the left.
www.connectmag.co.za | 69
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disconnect //By adam oxford
Pity the bookworm eBooks are great, but funny formats are frustrating.
Y
ou may or may not be aware that April 23 is World Book Day, an international celebration of literature. I’m always a little sceptical of these kinds of ‘Days’. Nine times out of 10, they’ve been invented by some random and quasi-official marketing committee to try to make us spend money we don’t have. But I like World Book Day, and not because making writing more profitable is in my interest. For a start, World Book Day has the backing of UNESCO, and has been marked for nearly a century. The date is hugely significant, too, being the day on which both Shakespeare and Cervantes died (although you can see Wikipedia for a mild controversy surrounding this claim). One thing the organisers are going to have to take into account this year, though, is how people’s reading habits are changing. Amazon recently announced that it sold more eBooks than print books in the US last year. UK publisher Bloomsbury reckons 10% of its sales are now in electronic format – and growing fast. Another curious stat from the UK is that percentage-wise, more people aged over 55 own an eReader than those in the gadget-mad 18 to 24 demographic. Personally, I love eBooks. I’ve read a lot more in the last year than ever before, thanks to the fact that my wife bought me an Amazon Kindle for our wedding anniversary. It’s convenient to carry around with you at all times, and I impulse-buy books in a way I haven’t since I was a student. When I hear about a great new title on the radio or see something quoted in a newspaper article, I can have it downloaded in literally seconds. Unlike most of my friends, I’m not averse to eBook prices either. I think it’s generally a good thing for writers to earn more from their work. Outside of the bestseller lists, there are thousands of talented non-fiction and children’s authors scraping by on a pittance. Plus, eBooks are giving writers the ability to skip greedy publishers altogether. Amanda Hocking, a 26-year-old novelist who specialises in teen fiction, sold
72 | connect | April 2011
900 000 books last year via Amazon’s self-publishing site, and has never had an agent or publishers. All power to her. Two things annoy me about eBooks, though. The first is that I shouldn’t really own a Kindle at all. Technically speaking, it’s not available in South Africa yet, even though as a device, it could have been made for this country. For a start, it gets around the shipping issues that result in us paying two or three times the cover price for books that customers in other nations pay. Also, it’s readable in bright sunlight – remember what that looks like, Europe? The second issue is the problem of formats and standards. Every publisher is trying to impose artificial controls on eBooks, just like every other form of electronic media. We’re heading for a standards war like the tedious VHS/Betamax one or Blu-ray vs HD-DVD. Should you go for EPUB, which is supported by Apple and co, or Amazon’s AZW, which has the most convenient delivery mechanism? In the end, these stupid conflicts only serve to flatter the egos of the board members of electronic firms who preen at each other while they supposedly tough it out. The losers are the customers who buy the wrong format and end up with obsolete readers, and the people who work in R&D spending millions of dollars and years of time on a commercial dead end. At least with eBooks, it’s easy, if illegal, to convert a book from one file type to another. That might protect your library from becoming unreadable in the future. Related to this problem of formats, the biggest question facing the potential eBook buyer right now is what device to buy in the first place. Everyone and their dog has an eRreader out, and there’s software and apps for reading on tablets, phones and the desktop. It’s a hugely confusing mess but, judging by the size of the eBook audience, fortunately not one that’s getting in the way of people using them.
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