inSYNC - Issue 7, May 2014 by inSYNC

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Editor George Hall Webmaster Tom Barton Social Network Manager Tobi Stidolph Production Manager Jesse Price

About Us

Design Editor George Hall Technology Editor Tobi Stidolph Gaming Editor Jack Whiteaway Music Editor Luke Jackson Contriburtor Jesse Price Sports Editor Tom Emmans

Can’t wait for the next issue of inSYNC?

inSYNC is a publication aimed at everybody and anybody who is interested in business, technology and music. inSYNC is a multimedia platform, consisting of photos, videos, blogs, articles, reviews and more, that all include desirable content that people are interested to read, and want to know about. We are an up and coming business with more and more people visiting us each month. inSYNC is also a cheap, quality and reliable way to advertise and promote your business. inSYNC was launched in August 2012, and due to our popularity, we rebranded ourselves and relaunched in July 2013. We have recently gone through a major company overhaul, vastly improving our website, set up a host of new social networking pages – to make it easier for you to contact us and keep up-to-date – and redesigned our logo. inSYNC is the only publication that combines technology, business and music in one precise guide. inSYNC is available 12 times a year, once a month, and is also available 24/7, 365 days a year online. As well as a national copy of inSYNC, we are starting to make city-specific issues. This gives more stories from each city, and tailors in advertising to help local businesses. Check out our new, recently launched, inSYNC Portsmouth issue.

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inSYNC Magazine | May 2014

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Contents

On the Cover:

The Bitcoin Revolution, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, Damon Albarn: His Solo Debut, The New Inner City Monorail and Game of Thrones Season Four

22 Arrow A look at the Arrow, the hit TV show now on its second season.

2 inSYNC Subscribe today and meet the team.

Hearthstone for iPad

The popular card game comes to Apple’s iPad.

3 Contents Your here now! See what’s in inSYNC May 2014.

UK Festival News

what’s on: Portsmouth

Your guide to see what’s going on in Pompey in May.

Pie & Vinyl Editor’s Note

See what Editor George Hall has to say about inSYNC’s latest Issue.

Byte-Size News

A roundup of what has been happening with lineups for the UK’s biggest upcoming festivals.

26 podd.io

A quick roundup of news from our favourite partners at podd.io.

Take a look at some quick, entertaining stories from the past month.

3 Games You Need To Play

101 Reykjavik, Southsea

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare

inSYNC on Kindle

Damon Albarn

Featured: The Bitcoin Revolution

Game of Thrones

Bestival 2014

Microsoft’s Shift to Entertainment

Blues News

Castle Road Easter Fete 2014

If you have an Amazon Kindle Fire HD, get inSYNC now.

BBC Radio One’s Big Weekend

Find out more about BBC Radio One’s Big Weekend, this year coming to Glasgow.

The Three Best Indie Games

Three Indie games you have to try in May.

Control Your Home with iOS

See how you can use your iPhone to control lights, heating and more at home.

The New Inner City Monorail

See how Tel Aviv is trying to tackle their traffic problem.

download this month.

Dragon Age: Inquisition

18 dividephotography 21

17 Top 10 Apps See 5 great iOS and 5 great Android Apps you need to

A quick look at the annoucement of the new Dragon Age game.

Three games you may have missed that you should play.

A quick look at the CoD franchises’ latest announcement.

A look at the Blur frontman’s debut solo album.

Our featured article on the Bitcoin, and how it’s shaping our financial future.

See how the World’s most popular TV show is getting on with its fourth season.

How Microsoft are starting to battle with Netflix.

All the latest from Portsmouth Football Club’s May.

Local News: Live at the Castle Road Easter Fete 2014.

39 3D Printed Houses How one company is solving a housing shortage. 40/42

May 2014 | inSYNC Magazine

Victorious Festival/101 Reykjavik

Editor’s Note

Editor’s Note Issue 7, May 2014

We’re entering the summer season now, with tons of upcoming festivals and events. inSYNC Issue 7 focuses a lot on new technologies, as well as introducing inSYNC’s quirky Bitcoin cover, taking a look at our featured article on how the new virtual currency is accelerating in value, and could help support the financial stability of the global economy and all of its currencies. It is exciting for us to announce the launch of the

inSYNC YouTube channel. Jesse Price, the latest addition to the inSYNC team, will be heading the production of our LetsPlay videos. We will also soon be launching our podcasts, alongside inSYNC Radio. An online radio station where you will be able to get up-to-date technology, music and business news, as well as some great music. All linking with our Spotify inSYNC Top 30 playlist. If you haven’t already checked out our Spotify playlist, make sure you have a listen to inSYNC Top 30. If you are into your apps at the moment, be sure to read up on the Five Best Android & iOS Apps that you need for May 2014. These are ten of the hottest apps around; ones that you won’t regret to download, especially as they’re free (page 17). For TV this month, we take a look at hit television show Arrow, that is now in its second season. It is a show based on DC Comics’ character Green Arrow, and one that you really

don’t want to miss out on (page 22). We also have a an article on Game of Thrones. Now in its fourth season, the historical, fantasy-based show became the most pirated show of all time, again, when not enough services provided the show for people to watch. This made many watchers turn to downloading it off non-official sites (page 32). And, of course, we also take a look at Bitcoins, and how they are starting to shape the future of our financial and economic world. If you don’t know much about Bitcoins, find out how they work, and how you could start taking advantage of trading in Bitcoins now (page 30). Editor’s May 2014 Picks: Made sure you read our iOS light Control article. You could start using your iPhone for even more and taking advantage of more features iOS devices have to offer. Control your home’s heating, lights and home appliances with a touch of a button (page 12). Also, don’t forget to read our Damon Albarn review. We take a look at the Blur and Gorillaz frontman’s newest and first solo album (page 29). Well, enjoy inSYNC May 2014, and remember you can get loads of bonus content, and extra news stories, reviews and videos online at www.insynctm.com. June will be an exciting issue with tons of stuff going on, and Glastonbury coming up to kick off the inSYNC Summer 2014 Festival Review. We will see what happens in the tech, music and business worlds until then. Don’t forget you can also read inSYNC for free online at our website and on Issuu at www.issuu.com/insyncmag. Make sure you keep up-to-date with all the latest technology, film, business and music news in-between issues, at www.insynctm.com. Also follow us on Twitter @insyncmag. We are also on Facebook, Google+, Blogger and Instagram. Also check out our inSYNC Top 30 Spotify playlist for some different, exciting tunes. And, don’t forget to check out our new YouTube channel; www.youtube.com/insyncmagazine.

George Hall, inSYNC Editor

Twitter @geogeohall

www.insynctm.com | Twitter @insyncmag | insynctm@gmail.com | facebook.com/insyncmagazine

inSYNC Magazine | May 2014

Byte-Size News television | The Simpsons Reach 550th Episode Milestone On May 4th, long-running cartoon show The Simpsons reached its 550th episode. The Simpsons has now been on the air since 1989. The show is still the most watched animated cartoon show of all time, with around 9-10 million regular viewers every week. To celebrate this incredible achievement, Matt Greoning and his team has joined forces with Lego. Because of this year’s Lego Movie and the launch of the first Simpsons Lego set, during the episode all of the characters turn into Legos. It was an exclusive episode, featuring Lego animation, unfortunately not the same stop-motion Lego animation that we saw in the Lego Movie earlier this year. If you haven’t already, make sure you watch it when the episode is aired in the UK.

gaming | Hearthstone Released For iPad The incredibly successful collectible card game Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft is already one of the most liked videogames of the year. It is a freeplay game for PC and Mac, and last month made a debut on Apple’s iOS platform, specifically for iPad. Hearthstone on iPad delivers excellent content and a fresh, streamlined approach to card games. The game has some impressive touch controls. Players of Hearthstone have to choose one of nine characters, and then collect cards and create decks that they can use in one-on-one combats against computercontrolled rivals, or against human opponents. It is basically a simpler version of the card game Magic The Gathering. Hearthstone has already made it big as a freeplay game for your desktop. It’s simple, fascinating and, once you’ve built a great deck that beats your enemies with ease, highly gratifying. Now that it’s available on iPad, it’s even harder to put down your tablet. See the full review on page 23.

technology | Sneak Preview of Apple’s Next OS X

gaming | PlayStation4 Video Features Update Sony has announced a new update that will bring video-editing tool SHAREfactory to the PlayStation 4. The features will come on the console’s upcoming 1.70 firmware update. The PS4 allows users to capture screencaps and video clips already, and share them via Twitter, but the SHAREfactory will offer a more advanced suite of editing features. Players will now be able to stitch clips together, use themes and transitions, add music, and cut their own commentary recorded with the PlayStation’s camera. Users will also be able to control the length of clips that are recorded; unlike, currently, where a rolling 15 minute capture of the screen is recorded. The new update also gives users the ability to disable HDCP, which will alow them to capture content through an HDMI cable. The new update will also allow PS4 customers pre-ordering digital versions of games to pre-load the software, making it available to play immediately on release day. This is a big shift for console releases, and an opening salvo as Sony expands its digital offerings. However, the update doesn’t yet improve the PlayStation 4’s Home Screen, which remains an endless, unorganised stream of icons for each game or application users install on the system. Something, perhaps, for Sony’s next patch update?

Apple has announced their OS X Beta Seed Program, which lets users catch a sneak-preview of pre-release material of their operating system. The first version available to the public will be Apple’s 10.9.3 update for OS X Mavericks. Apple have added support for 4K displays, and a function that allows a 60Mhz output from the Retina MacBook Pro (2013). To have a look at the Beta Program you need to go to the OS X Beta Seed Program website and sign in using an existing Apple ID. Its all free, but users have to be over 18. Once users are in they will be able to get pre-release versions of the latest O/S. But, this isn’t just about Apple showing off new software before the whole world sees, it’s about gaining quality feedback from customers to further improve the new operating system before it goes totally live. Before now, Apple has only aloud beta versions of OS X to be viewed by developers. So this is a big landmark for a change to Apple’s usual policies. We will have to wait and see what Apple comes up with, in improving their software in the coming year. No doubt it will go alongside some of 2014’s upcoming products from the Cupertino-based firm.

inSYNC Magazine | May 2014

Category

December 2013 | inSYNC Magazine

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inSYNC Magazine | May 2014

music

BBC Radio 1 Big Weekend in Glasgow

making an appereance. With Pete Tong, Zane Lowe, Annie Mac and Danny Howard also joining the main stage bill for Friday. Saturday sees British rock/pop band Coldplay headline the main stage. Thus, will coincide with Coldplay’s sixth studio album ‘Ghost Stories’, which is due to be released eight days prior to them taking to the main stage in Glasgow. Also joining Saturday’s bill is Ed Sheeran, Lily Allen, Jake Bugg, Pharrell Williams, Bastille, with the opening set coming from One Direction. Sunday’s main stage headliner is American singersongwriter Katy Perry, who hit fame in 2008 with her massive single ‘I Kissed A Girl’. Also joining the Sunday main stage lineup is acoustic legend Paulo Nutini, singer-songwriter and rapper Tinie Tempah, upcoming indie band The1975, Rita Ora, John Newman, new boy band The Vamps, and the opening set coming from excellent US rock band Kings of Leon. The secondary stage, known as the In New Music We Trust Tent for Saturday and Sunday will be headlined, on the Saturday, by British singer-songwriter and rapper Example. His appearance at the festival will be just prior to his upcoming fifth studio album ‘Live Life Living’. Also joining the Saturday INMWT lineup is new act Clean Bandit, Kiwi 16 year

The World’s biggest boy band, One Direction, are amongst the big names on this year’s star-studded BBC Radio 1 Big Weekend lineup in Glasgow. The weekend festival, which has toured the UK since it was first held in 2003, will take place in Glasgow this year to celebrate the Commonwealth Games. One Direction, fresh off their UK stadium headline tour will open on the main stage of the festival on the Saturday. Dutch DJ and Producer Tiesto, with hits ‘Take Me’ and ‘Red Lights’, will headline the main stage on the Friday night. 17 year old, fellow Dutch DJ and Producer Martin Garrix, known for his massive hit ‘Animals’ is also

old Lorde, Bombay Bicycle Club, Katy B, Twin Atlantic, Wilkinson and The Kooks. British rock band Kasabian will headline the In New Music We Trust Tent on Sunday. Kasabian are also the closing Sunday night headliners for the UK’s biggest festival, Glastonbury next month. Their fifth studio album ‘48:13’ will be released on the 9th June. DJ and rapper Sub Focus, who inSYNC reviewed back in February, will be joining Kasabian, as well as You Me At Six, London Grammar, Sam Smith, CHVRCHES, Klaxons and Gorgon City, who will be completing the festival lineup. If your hoping to go to Glasgow later this month, I’m afraid you are already to late. All 80,000 tickets sold out in just 30 minutes on 31st March when they went on sale. | Luke Jackson For the full lineup and festival information visit: http://www.bbc.co.uk/events/ep3g9r

May 2014 | inSYNC Magazine

Indie Games

Three Indie Games You Have To Play

inSYNC Magazine | May 2014

Indie Games Seeing as there is a massive rise in the amount of indie games at the moment, it can be a daunting task trying to find what ones to start with. So here is three that I highly recommend you give a go: 1/ FTL: Faster Than Light FTL: Faster Than Light is a top-down space simulator, where you take control of a large space ship and its crew. You’re tasked with travelling across all the sectors of the galaxy to deliver a message to your superiors. The message contains information regarding a massive rebel fleet heading in your direction. In this journey you will receive new weapons, upgraders and crewmembers, meaning each time you play the game it’s always different. This also means the game has the advantage of being different every time you play it. The main reason why I am so in love with FTL is because the game is unbelievably addictive. Reaching the ten hour milestone of collecting and unlocking new ships and trying to get the perfect combination of weapons means you just can’t put the game down. Having it on PC was fun, but the game is now available on Apple’s iPad, and with a huge content update, means you can play in comfort; in bed or on the sofa with ease.

game can be very cruel to new players, but stick with it because when you can break the cycle and learn all the different ways to survive, then the game becomes more and more addictive. Watching the Day Clock tick over makes you want to have another go as soon as you die. Platforms, PC | PlayStation4 Price, £11.99 Approx. Hours I’ve played, 50 3/ Surgeon Simulator 2013 Surgeon Simulator 2013 is not exactly your average simulator. It’s very different to other simulators on the market; this game, at its heart - no pun intended - is really fun. If you’re playing alone or with friends, you get a lot of joy from choosing from the arsenal of tools to smash through ‘Bob’, who’s the patient. Getting through Bob’s rib cage to get to his organs sounds gruesome, but because of the ridiculous concept of the game, makes for some unorthodox fun. Platforms, PC Price, £6.99 Approx. Hours I’ve played, 5 hours

Platforms, PC | iPad Price, £6.99 Approx. Hours I’ve Played, 150 2/ Don’t Starve Don’t Starve is an action-adventure game that tasks you with trying to survive for as long as possible. There are a number of threats that can get you killed and end the game; monsters, not having light at nightime or not having enough food. The

Words by Jesse Price

3 May 2014 | inSYNC Magazine

Control Your Home with iOS

HOW TO CONTROL YOUR HOME’S LIGHTING WITH AN iOS DEVICE See how you can use your iOS device to control lights, heating, fans, locks and more in your own home...

iPhones and iPads do everything and anything in the modern world; from checking train times to seeing what’s on at the cinema. But iOS devices are not just limited to the screen they have, you can control loads of things in your home with them too. Instead of moving to turn on or off a light switch, just grab your iPhone. Everything from room temperature to automatic shutters can be controlled with apps and accessories generated for iOS. Its not all about giving commands via Siri, with audio and video, and remote file access to your desktop, you can use your iOS device to control everything in your digital life. Your iPhone will even let you monitor your home’s CCTV systems, for example, so if you think you’re using your iPhone to its full extent, then think again. The concept of automating the modern household has been around for a while, with new systems that let you control your home’s lighting levels, temperature, locks, curtains, shutters, appliances, etc, but in the past these things were only ever available through expensive

installations of new equipment. And, the only way of controlling them was through some elaborate remote or ridiculous wall panel. Now, however, there is easier, cheaper accessories that give more or less the same control options, but now just need to be plugged in; only a problem if your house is short on plugs. Today, though, everything is app-connected. Download the correct software from the App Store, and you will take control of everything that’s connected within your home. Lighting your house. Something that can be complicated and difficult, especially when trying to set a theme or mood in a room. One option is the Philips Hue lighting set. The set is a series of LED lightbulbs that plug straight into regular light sockets, but are wirelessly controlled by a base station that will connect to your iOS device. You also have to download the accompanying app that allows you to make certain lighting changes. What makes the Philips set different, however, is that you don’t just control the brightness of the bulbs. You can also change

inSYNC Magazine | May 2014

Control Your Home with iOS

their colour too. The system is very clever: telling the bulbs to match certain colours in a picture, for example. This said, the Hue bulbs are pretty expensive. So for something as cool but takes less money, take a look at LightwaveRF’s Dimmable CFL Bulbs. Much like the Philips system, the CFL Bulbs work in normal household light fixings, and you can control them from the iOS app. But, they don’t change colour. You just control on/off and brightness, but all without having to install custom light switches. If you are adverse to splashing out on bulbs, there is a third option. You can replace your current light switches with ones that communicate wirelessly to a base station. And this way you can control brightness and on/off of any light connected to it. LightwaveRF sells switches that work with its compatible base station. Other companies like Control4 and X10 also have a range of connectable light switches. If you have a lot of lamps at home, another option for iOS-controlled lighting is a plug-based system that can be used to control them. LightwaveRF also make plug sockets that can be controlled by your iOS device. Instead of replacing wall plugs, they also make plug adapters that you can plug your lamps into, and then plug the adapter into the wall socket itself. Tech company Belkin also makes this kind of adapter called the WeMo Range. They’re more expensive than the adapters from LightwaveRF, but they don’t require extra money to be spent on a base station to make them function. They connect directly to your iPhone. With most of the ‘controller apps’, it is then possible to group sets of lights together so that you, as the user, can set different moods or scenarios in different locations around the house. Control4’s system includes a ‘Goodnight’ option, which will turn off all the lights in the house with just one click. iOS-controlled plugs and plug adapters can be used for more than just controlling lights, however. You can control on/ off and speeds of ceiling fans, turn your computer on or off, or cut power to your TV directly at the wall to save energy. Not forgetting the safety

stuff, LightwaveRF’s systems boast the ability to immediately cut all power to sockets in a room if you’re worried about children, animals, etc, playing with plugs. Remotely controlling your house’s central heating is another very handy feature of the iOS device. Not forgetting how good it would be to turn your heating on even before you’ve got home. Nest, recently acquired by Google, have got a ‘smart thermostat’ system that learns as it goes. It learns about how your home is heated and when you tend to feel coldest. It will then adapt the temperature automatically, as well as having manual settings on your iPhone. Control4 also offer wireless thermostat technologies where lots of thermostats can be controlled independently if your property has zonal heating. LightwaveRF offers wirelessly controlled radiator valves that would be controlled by your device, letting you create zoned heating without multiple thermostats. It effectively controls each radiator individually. An added feature is that you can now use your iPhone to control your home’s security. Control4 make a lock system, which is a smart deadbolt that can be installed on your front door opposed to a regular lock. This can be unlocked by entering a code or using your iPhone. You can make sure all the locks are secure before bed, just with a touch of a button on your iPhone. A company call Z-Wave also offers this type of automated door lock. Most of the systems we have talked about let users set timers. Meaning lights will turn on and off as required, heating can be switched on when you need it, etc. Most settings can be controlled within the systems’ compatible app. So if you haven’t already, try controlling something in your house with an iOS device…you may be pleasantly surprised. | Tobi Stidolph

May 2014 | inSYNC Magazine

New Suspended Monorail

New Innercity Monorail Hopes to Win Battle Against Conjestion 14

With more than 500,000 commuters in cars entering the city every day, Tel Aviv is one of the Worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s worst cities for traffic problems. skyTran is a company based in the Nasa Research Park in Moffett Field in California. skyTran is developing a Jetsons alternative; a new transport system. The new system will have a number of two-person suspended capsules, like a monorail, that will send passengers to their destination at speeds of upto 250kph. So what is the secret to this new aluminium-designed monorail? Magnetic levitation.

inSYNC Magazine | May 2014

New Suspended Monorail

The transportation system is based upon a 1990 patent for the mag-lev monorail concept. A patent filed by aerospace engineer Douglas Malewicki. skyTran CEO Jerry Sanders said in a statement about the firm, ‘The key thing Douglas realised was you mustn’t fall into the trap of thinking that mass transit is about how many people you can fit in the vehicle, but rather how many people you can move from point A to point B in a given amount of time.’ American-based skyTran hopes to be up and running fully by 2017 in Tel Aviv, with a nine kilometre track starting at the port, through to Tel Aviv’s leisure district. The monorail will run through the University Station to the new tech hub within the city. The whole project will cost around $50 million, and that is only the beginning. skyTran is also in talks with a number of other authorities and governments, including in Kerala, India.

May 2014 | inSYNC Magazine

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Top Apps

5 apps for iOS and Android you must have in May 2014 01

Cyber Dust | iPhone, iPod Touch | £Free Cyber Dust is a brand new app that lets you send multiple text messages and photos that disappear after 30 seconds. Mark Cuban, the owner of the Dallas Mavericks and investor on ABC’s Shark Tank has devloped the app for iOS devices. The best way to describe the app would be that it is a WhatsApp Snapchat hybrid. The app makes it very easy for users to have control over their messages so that they can have pri- vate conversations, as well as sending photos. Like Snapchat, you are notified if someone takes a screenshot of your image. Zoute | iPhone, iPod Touch | £Free Zoute Inc. recently released a public transport application that lets you track bus, train and underground routes near your location. The app currently only works in eight U.S cities, but we can’t wait for Zoute to be delivered to the United Kingdom. New York, Boston, Washington D.C, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Portland are all supported by the app. The app provides schedules, department information and train stations and bus stops within walking distance to your current location. If you are in the States now, download Zoute for free. Reactr | iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad | £Free Reactr is another social networking app that lets you share photos and videos with family and friends. You can capture their reactions to your clips and pics. Simply upload your favourite videos and/or pictures and then select the type of reaction that you want to receive. Your friend who then received you photograph or video can choose to share their recation to it back to you. An interesting social networking concept...let’s wait and see if it gets as big as Snapchat. Google Helpouts | iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad | £Free It wouldn’t be a look at new apps without Google slinging something in. November last year saw Google launch Helpouts for Android. Now it’s on iOS and the app lets you connect with experts all over the World via a live video feed. You can browse through many topics like Art & Music, Computers & Electronics, Cooking, Education & Careers, Fitness & Nutrion, and more. You can receive notifications when a Helpout is scheduled, and you can send instand messages to other users to help them out, or for them to try and help you. Gusto Email | iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad | £Free Gusto makes it easy to organise your email mailboxes and quickly find important photos and files within email attachments. You can search using filters like keywords, file type, email, date, etc. You can also use the email’s swiping gestures to reply, delete and mark emails. The app also lets you connect multiple Gmail accounts, and soon you will be able to connect other email accounts.

Google Camera | Android | £Free Last month Google released its offical Camera app on the Play Store. It offers tons of new features and a brand new, easy-to-use user interface. This version includes a Lens Blur mode for SLR-like photos, Photo Spheres for 360 views, and Panorama mode with HD. The updated app will work on Android devices running Android 4.4+ KitKat.

Retrica | Android | £free Retrica is a new photo-editing app that offers plenty of decent filters. You can create collages, set time intervals to take con- secutive photos and lots of logos to choose from. Retrica is a perfect app for selfies but has come under some controversial fire as many are calling it, ‘a sh*t version of Instagram.’ Try it for yourself at the Play Store.

Lingua.ly | Android | £Free Ever fancied learning another language? Then check out Lingua.ly, which lets you copy and paste words to improve your vocab. You can practice using the virtual flashcards and by playing games. The app can help users learn 18 different languares including English, Spanish, Chinese, Korean and French. Lingua.ly makes learning languages fun, not to mention it’s a good way to learn on the go.

Javelin Browser | Android | £Free If you want something to replace the default Android browser, then look at the Javelin Browser. Javelin focuses on user privacy, especially when bookmarking, browsing, reading and ad blocking. It works for both phones and tablets with Android, and is a great browser change for the privacyconscious Interneter.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 | Android | £Free The new Spider-Man film was released on May 2nd, so its no surprise that the official game for the movie was released for mobiles. Spider-Man 2 is a 3D adventure game where you can wall-climb, take the fight to the sky, and unleash intense combos against villains.

May 2014 | inSYNC Magazine

Category

technology It may be hard to imagine a World without Google these days, and their list of accomplishments could probably fill the yellow pages. So, inSYNC have taken a look at 8 of Google’s best stockprice-raising projects.

Space Exploration Google now doesn’t just let you explore Earth and space any smartdevice on the planet, but the search engine is funding something call Lunar X Prize, which will give $30million to the first team that can get a robot to the moon to gather photos and information about our lunar satellite. Currently, 34 teams are competing.

Android

Google is now in everyones’ pocket. Every day another one million people join the Android bandwagon. There are almost billion apps to download from the Play Store. inSYNC can’t wait to see what happens with Google Glass. Google Plus

Driverless Cars Google is the leader in futuristic development of the Autonomous vehicle. Robot drivers are simply better than humans in every way. They make better calculations and they don’t get distracted. Meaning, less accidents and a much safer future. Recently companies like Mercedes, BMW, and Tesla have joined up and are all working towards a driverless reality. Google don’t mind though, as having us free of the burden of driving will just give us more time to use their other services.

Google Now Now is Google’s service that finds what you want before you search for it. It lets users know things like expected changes in the weather or traffic, or how your favorite sports team is doing. It can learn how you search, and will present information to you when you need it with virtually no setup needed.

Maps Google has made GPS and Navigation so easy for the whole World. Google will tell you any street in the World, and guide you where you need to go. Even though Google has blown apart competition with Maps, it never stops innovating. Google even provides tools for first responders when it comes to natural disasters.

So Google Plus may not be as prominant as Twitter or Facebook, but it does give users the ability to customise different groups of friends. Google+ is a core part of Google’s services and strategy. It’s the service that brings Google all together, concisely. YouTube YouTube is now completely linked with Google+, so commenting and sharing videos with friends is so easy. And you can just share to whoever you want. Advertising

Google’s biggest stream of revenue is definitely advetising. They do have free tools for customers, but the best thing to do to advertise is using AdWords and AdSense. Google earned around $57 billion in 3rd quarter 2013 from ads revenue. Thats 36% more than the same time as the year previous. Their stock continues to rise

and is now above $1,000 for the first time ever.

inSYNC Magazine April 2014 | inSYNC | December Magazine 2013

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December 2013 | inSYNC Magazine

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inSYNC Magazine | May 2014

Upcoming Dragon Age

Dragon Age: Inquisition Dragon age has been at the forefront of RPG gaming, on games consoles, since its release back in 2009. Its combat and movement was reminiscent of the days of Knights of the Old Republic, and has taken a dungeons and dragons-style storyline to the next level. This, of course was with the help of EA Games. However, the sequel, Dragon Age 2, felt a little lack lustre to me; as it changed every element of combat to a button basher, which wasn’t what many gamers wanted. This saw the dull repetitive button bashing return and didn’t help the franchise at all. But now, they are back, hopefully, as powerful as ever with the third game in the series, Dragon Age: Inquisition. Storyline wise, it looks as if we will see the main character in his/her prime during the whole of the game, which is what I like to hear. You will start after an attack, leaving hundreds of fellow soldiers dead, and yourself on the verge of death. However, luckily, you have Magic and this pulls you through. You then seek out the plague-ridden monsters that killed your friends, and kill them in due time, with it all climaxing when having to take on a fearsome dragon. As far as we know, the third instalment of Dragon Age will take place in Ferelden, the world in which the other two games were set. You will play as the protagonist, known as the Inquisitor. According the rumours, the new storyline will take 40 to 50 hours to complete, which sounds relatively similar to 2011’s hit game Skyrim. Also the game will take place in an Open World Adventure, but recent information has told us it will not be as big as other games like Skyrim. Unlike the other Dragon Age games, Inquisition seems to be more focused on the action element of the game. This focuses predominantly on fighting. As well as this, Bioware seem to have the customisations down to a tee. Apparently, there will be many classes, such as Warrior, Mage and Necromancer etc, all with their own unique specialisations. The

screenshots that have been released so far depicts a very clean and crisp game that has clearly been thought about, and the elements inputted seem to have been considered carefully. Running on the software Frostbite 3, this third instalment sets to hit stores on the 7th October for PlayStation and Xbox consoles. I am looking forward to seeing the combat of the game and how the destructible environment that the monsters can create shapes is whilst playing in the landscape around you. Hopefully, we will see an amazing game created by professional Bioware workers. Only time will tell. | Jack Whiteaway

inSYNC Rating

8.0 May 2014 | inSYNC Magazine

Arrow

Arrow: A Show You Just Can’t Miss In May

Arrow is a new TV series based on the DC comics character Green Arrow. The show follows Oliver Queen, a billionaire who, after being trapped on an island for five years, returns to his home in Starling City to fight the crime and corruption that has plagued the city. Queen is a hooded vigilante known by the residents of Starling City as ‘The Arrow’. Taking a much darker route from the comic book films you may have seen, the TV series offers a very comic book-feeling, but with more action and a much darker story line. This is something that the films often shy away.

we’ve seen the characters Felicity Smoak, Walter Steele, Merlyn, China White, Constantine Drakon, Deadshot, Black Canary, Huntress, Deathstroke and Speedy, but changing parts of their stories to make them fit into plot makes the show even better. One of the more notable appearances is Barry Alan who plays The Flash. So far we have the famous accident in which he acquires his power, and since then, CW have announced a spinoff show for the character, mainly because he was met with such a good reception.

Personally, I think that the acting of the majority of the cast is very good. The personal relationships between the charters really help you feel attached to them, and when the show comes to the weaker, more vulnerable Arrow is very faithful to its comic book roots. So far characters like Felicity, I find myself willing on the hero to swoop in and save them. Each episode of Arrow has a small section where they show us what happened from the five years previous that Oliver Queen spent on the island. This becomes far more important in the second season, and the main villains in the show back the story is easily best part. Arrow is currently on Season 2, with a third Season already confirmed for next year. And already having shows like Flash directly connected to it, there is a huge chance of a connected TV universe of different characters. Much like how Marvel are now filling in the gaps with each new film that is release; The Avengers, Thor, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, etc. It’s better to jump in now before you got too much to catch up on, so get on to Arrow. It’s a must watch. | Jesse Price

inSYNC Magazine | May 2014

Hearthstone for iPad Before I start talking about Hearthstone for iPad, I just want to point out that this is not a standard gaming review. Mainly because I feel my opinion would be biased considering just how much I love this game. What it is, however, is an overview of Hearthstone, and I’m hoping it might give you a push you give it a try. After all, is it free. Developed by Blizzard Entertainment, the makers of World of Warcraft, StarCraft and Diablo, Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft is a free-to-play card game. The very simple look and brightly coloured cards and board make it very inviting than some of the other interactive card games available. I started playing Hearthstone back in the closed beta-era last summer. Since then Blizzard have tweaked the card stats to achieve the perfect balance. All the cards in the game are characters, creatures and spells from the Warcraft series. Each time you place a card on the board, the minion makes a noise or says a phrase, and the more powerful cards you play from your hand, the harder you hit the board with an almighty rumble making the feeling of a really well-made game. Unlike other free-to-play games you may have tried. Hearthstone is truly a game that is easy to learn, but hard to master. There are countless combinations of cards that give you the chance to experiment with all the different effects and buffs. Currently, there are nine classes in the game: Warrior, Sharman, Rouge, Paladin, Hunter, Druid, Warlock, Mage and Priest. Each class has its own unique cards that will really define how you play. All nine heroes also

Hearthstone for iPad: The Game You Just Can’t Put Down have an ability called ‘Hero Power’, where each one is different in changing the strategy of your play. There are several different ways to play against a computer. One is against a real player, where you use decks you build out of your own collection of cards, and area, which makes you choose one of three random heroes and then build a deck out of the three cards that pop up on you screen, then the computer asks you to choose one and then the other two will disappear, this process will repeat until you have 30 cards (all decks have 30 cards). You try to win as many games as possible, until you lose three games at which point you earn rewards (the more you win the better the rewards). Hearthstone has its own in-game currency called Gold. You can earn this by playing real players, by completing quests that you receive every day, or as a reward in the Arena. You can spend this Gold on card packs, or on entry to the Arena. Now this is where Blizzard make their money

May 2014 | inSYNC Magazine

from the game; you can either buy card packs for real money in place of Gold or pay for entry to the Arena. Personally I feel that the balance is tipped in the favour of the player who doesn’t spend money because Blizzard are very generous with giving away the in-game Gold. Blizzard have already announced the first of the game’s expansions. It’s called The Curse of Naxxrmas. It’s being released in the summer over a five week period, where each week you will be playing against new heroes until you face the boss, earning you a powerful Legendary once you have defeated him. You will be able to buy each part of the expansion with Gold or real money, furthering my belief that you never have to spend money on this game. Having played over two-hundred hours of Hearthstone, and still going strong, I hope I have at least made you consider playing this game, and like I said why shouldn’t you? It’s free! | Jesse Price

music

UK Festival News Check out what has been happening in the uk in april. below are all the current lineups for some of britainâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best and biggest festivals.

isle of wight festival - Above latitude festival - Below

Bestival - Top Left Reading & leeds festival - top Wireless Festival - middle Download festival - top right glastonbury - middle right boomtown festival - bottom right

inSYNC Magazine | May 2014

Star Wars VII Cast Announced

The upcoming Star Wars movie, number seven in the saga, has announced the core of the new cast. Disney bought Lucas Films from Star Wars creator George Lucas last year for a colossal $4.05 billion (£2.5 billion). Star Wars: Episode VII will star John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, and Max von Sydow. They will join some of the original stars from Star Wars including Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, and Kenny Baker in the new film. The new Star Wars is being directed by J.J. Abrams. The new screenplay has been written by Lawrence Kasdam and J.J. Abrams, with Kathleen Kennedy, Bryan Burk and Abrams are producing the movie, with music legend John Williams composing. The movie will open across the globe on December 18th 2015. ‘We are so excited to finally share the cast of Star Wars: Episode VII. It is both thrilling and surreal to watch the beloved original cast and these brilliant new performers come together to bring this world to life, once again. We start shooting in a couple of weeks, and everyone is doing their best to make the fans proud,’ said J.J. Abrams. | Tobi Stidolph

May 2014 | inSYNC Magazine

podd.io

DUCATI RELEASE APPLE TO RELEASE HEALTH BASED EARPODS? JACKET AIRBAGS Ducati unveils new motorcycle safety technology Paired up with Italian Motorsport clothing company Dainese, Ducati have unveiled theirs latest contribution to motorcycle safety technology with their product “D Air”. What D Air basically is an airbag jacket that riders will wear around the torso so if they’re in an accident, new sensors on the motorcycle will detect this and automatically inﬂate the airbag in 20milliseconds, in comparison it takes on average 400ms to blink your eye!

IT WILL COST £2065 AT RETAIL Ducati claim that the advantages to them making this jacket is the fact that it’s been made for purpose by their engineers in an controlled environment. The sensors will detect a frontal impact, a rear impact and it’ll also detect if the rider was to fall off the side of the bike (when traveling over 10kmh).

Author: Tim Warburton

Author: Conor Adamson

FOR DAILY TECH & GAMING NEWS VISIT: http://podd.io/

MINECRAFT XBOX360 SAVES TO SYNC TO XBONE

Author: Harry Zolobajluk

inSYNC Magazine | May 2014

top games Platform: PC | Xbox 360 Released: 17th May 2011 3 - Puppeteer You can be forgiven for not even having heard of this one. Selling only around 170,000 copies this could be one of the most under-appreciated games of the last generation. In the Puppeteer, you play as Kutaro, a boy who has been transformed into a puppet and loses his head. While you play though the platforming adventure you look for new heads to give you magical properties. However, the best part of the game is the presentation. The whole game takes place on a stage with the audience cheering and booing you throughout the game. If you fancy giving the Puppeteer a go, this month only it is free on PlayStation Plus. Platform: PS3 | PS4 (on PS Plus) Released: 11th September 2013

Three Games You Need... The three games you have to try from the past three years. Seeing that there are no major game releases out for a little while, you may just be bored playing the same old games over and over. I thought I would give you a few great games try that you may have missed over the last couple of years. 1 - Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch Made by LEVEL 5, known for some of the best JRPGs, with the animation and music created by Studio Gihbil. You play Ni No Kuni as Oliver, a young boy who travels to a parallel world to become a wizard, and attempts to bring his mother back from the dead. It borrows mechanics from PokĂŠmon, mainly the capturing creatures, levelling them up and making them evolve into stronger more powerful creatures. It took me about 40 hours to beat the main campaign, but with side quests you could get another 10 to 20 hours out of it. A must try for bordem tackling. Platforms: PS3 Released: 22nd January 2012 2 - Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings A sequel to the first Witcher game released back in 2007, Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings takes massive steps forward from the original. You, the player, takes control of Geralt of Rivia, one of very few remaining Witchers. Witchers are humans that have been genetically modified and trained to kill monsters from a young age; using magic and advanced sword handling techniques. The game offers a very strategic way to fight, making it quite hard on the normal difficulty. But turning it down to Easy gives you the chance to enjoy the story, whilst still having a little challenge on bosses.

May 2014 | inSYNC Magazine

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare

The Next

Incredible

Addition

to the Call of

Duty

Call of Duty. It’s the game series that everyone has heard of; most people have played it and seems to attract gaming lovers and haters alike. My opinion of it Call of Duty, though, is one that is now starting to disappoint. I buy the CoD games every year, and each time I play them they get worse and worse. However, I am delighted to say that for the first time in a long time, I’m actually quite excited about the upcoming CoD game. With the talent of actor Kevin Spacey, and the new deployment cycle of Call of Duty, the will now be made by three studios: Sledge Hammer, Treyarch and Infinity Ward, which should help to improve the game’s quality. Each studio will be given three years to make the game, instead of two, hopefully upping what goes into each game. I mean, Grand Theft Auto V, the most successful game of all time did take five years to build. So far, not much of the story has been revealed. The only things that we know are Johnathan Irons, the character played by Kevin Spacey, will run a military company called ATLAS. Irons rants about how, for the past one hundred years, the USA have tried to bring democracy to the World, and how it has failed every time. He also talks of how the US are not tolerant towards people that worship other

Franchise

inSYNC Magazine | May 2014

gods, journalists that disagree with the President, and how we can’t just invade a religious fundamental countries without a real reason.

The new CoD has a well-equipped army sporting exoskeletons that allows you to have improved strength, better amour and extreme jumping skills. On top of this, there are hover bikes, cloaking technologies, infrared scanners that map out anyone in a room and gloves that allow you to climb walls. With much more yet to be revealed, this year’s Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare could be the best CoD game to date. | Jesse Price.

Damon Albarn

Damon Albarn His First Solo Album

Damon Albarn is truly an icon in the music world. From 90’s Britpop ‘Blur’ to his extremely successful project ‘Gorillaz’ and the more recent ‘Africa Express’. He’s continued to innovate in the music world in a big way. Now, Damon is going solo for the first time with the album ‘Everyday Robots’ – which could be considered his most personal and revealing with the topics of the songs offering an insight to Damon’s memories with an intriguing, if slightly sad sound. Many of the songs combine and blend the digital with the organic – with various speech and street samples used over guitars, pianos and electronic beats, often creating a sense of nostalgia and melancholy. The lyrics of the album touch upon various different subjects, one of the biggest being the digital age and how it often distracts and isolates us from reality; “We are everyday robots on our phones”, “If you’re lonely, press play” and “It’s hard to be a lover when the TV’s on, and nothing is in your eyes” – just a selection of some of these lyrics which show the depressing side of the digital era we are living in. Albarn also touches on the guilt and regret he feels as he gets older. ‘Everyday Robots’, the opening track of which the album is named after, sets the tone and general mood of the album in which Albarn sings over an eerily jagged violin. This song definitely grew on me with multiple listens. ‘Hostiles’ and ‘Hollow Pounds’ continue with the same mood and ‘You and Me’ refers to Albarn’s past use of heroin, a drug he said he found “alluring and dangerous”. That is not to say there a not upbeat songs on this album, with ‘Mr Tembo’ – a song dedicated to an orphaned baby elephant that Albarn encountered on his travels and ‘Heavy Seas of Love’ a sing along featuring Brian Eno and a church choir. Other highlights of this album for me would be ‘Lonely Press Play’ and ‘The Selfish Giant’. Overall, I think Damon Albarn’s first solo effort is great and it has met my expectations. As for what he is going to do next, who can guess? inSYNC Rating - 8.5/10

May 2014 | inSYNC Magazine

Feature: Bitcoin

The Bitcoin:

As email was created with the intention of sending instant messages across the globe, Bitcoin was created to enable people to send money instantly. But using a new, online, global currency. The Bitcoin system works in the format of an address, similar to that of an email address, where you use a 34 character code, which users copy in to send a Bitcoin. To start using Bitcoin, you have to open a Bitcoin Wallet, and then you can start buying, selling, sending and receiving Bitcoins. Bitcoins are something that there is only a limited number of. When a Bitcoin leaves your wallet, it’s gone; and the receiver then gets that in his or her wallet/bank. This makes Bitcoins unique, and finite, unlike emails, which are plentiful. This makes them a thing to trade. A new-age, digital currency.

It’s time to begin your Bitcoin adventure:

As the adoption of Bitcoin accelerates, its use and functionality becomes more compelling

for a growing number of businesses, merchants, consumers, traders and investors. The Bitcoin is a valid currency, and while many people are still analysing whether Bitcoin could become a truly valid currency or not, many say that it is a store of value, a unit of account and an exchange mechanism, thus making is a currency; whether it be digital or not. Although the price of a Bitcoin has been volatile recently, since it began it has been gaining substantial value, and already has a market capitalisation of $3-$4 billion. As Bitcoin continues to grow, and more people take to the currency, its function as being a store of value will definitely be reinforced. As we have said, the Bitcoin is also a unit of account. Since Bitcoins can be used to store value, this value can be compared with the value of any other of the World’s currency. Its value is usually pegged against the dollar, like most other currencies. Because of this, the Bitcoin can be a unit of account to use it to price up products and services. The Bitcoin also is an exchange mechanism. Since it is so easy to transfer, it can be exchanged for goods or services, providing both parties accept the Bitcoin as a source of payment. Thus, is is a modern exchange mechanism. The Bitcoin is a global network; just like emails, anyone with a computer or mobile device can use Bitcoin, and have a Bitcoin address. Using

your Bitcoin address and Bitcoin wallet it is possible for users to send and receive Bitcoins to and from anybody in the World. The Bitcoin is an open source protocol, and it’s decentralised. To store, send and receive Bitcoins has no cost; just buying a Bitcoin costs actual money. This shouldn’t be confused with the purchased and sale of the Bitcoins. To store and use Bitcoins, you need a Bitcoin Wallet. There are a number of Wallet services that you can use, which are easy to subscribe to, and they all give you great functionality to make Bitcoin transactions. Bitcoin wallets will let you see your Bitcoin balance and your transaction history; allowing you to track your Bitcoin activity. You can buy, sell, exchange and trade Bitcoins. Your wallet can be linked against your regular bank account, which makes it easier to convert Bitcoins to your regular currency. Just like a regular currency, Bitcoins can be transferred into any of the World’s currencies. When you have a Bitcoin address, it is easy to post it to any website or send it in an email to another Bitcoin user. A Bitcoin wallet also has merchant services so that you can add in ‘Buy’ or ‘Pay’ buttons on your own website, for an alternative and additional way of being paid.

What are the risks of using Bitcoin?:

Because it is a relatively new technology, Bitcoin has certain risks associated with it. Since inception Bitcoin prices have been very volatile.

inSYNC Magazine | May 2014

Feature: Bitcoin

The Bitcoin Revolution

Recently the Bitcoin price went up from around $100 to around $1250, and is now trading in a wide range between those levels. This happened in a matter of weeks, so it is still very volatile to use as a stable savings or investment mechanism. But for trading it’s great. Although the majority of Bitcoin services like wallets and exchanges have established bank level security in their systems, some are still not very sophisticated and may be subject to hacker attacks and/or theft. This is a serious risk in the Bitcoin network because once Bitcoins are transferred they cannot be recovered. Related to the above, and because Bitcoin has been around for only a few years, all Bitcoin services are mainly start-ups, or companies with no significant capitalisation. This poses an additional institutional risk as the majority of these services wouldn’t be able to respond to customer claims like theft, fraud, or errors. This will of course change over time though. Many Bitcoin exchanges and wallet services have been affected by hackers with denial-of-service attacks (also known as distributed-denial-ofservice attacks – DDoS). These are not internal thefts of Bitcoins or information, but massive attacks that overload their servers. These attacks make these services unavailable for long periods of time so there can be little or no access to your wallet, and thus gives hackers the ability to withdraw money or transfer Bitcoins out of your account with nothing that you can do to stop it

from happening.

The Bitcoin Conclusion:

Bitcoin is a pretty new concept, but it’s in the process of being understood and adopted by a growing number of consumers, merchants, and investors around the World. As this growth process continues, the reasons to start using Bitcoins are becoming more compelling for economic purposes. There is also increased investment in the sector, and many new finance companies are offering more professional and consumer friendly solutions for everyday use. Bitcoin does pose some technological and financial risks, like all exchange processes in our economy, namely the permanent loss of capital. However, as these risks are mitigated, more consumers, merchants, and investors should start learning about the benefits of Bitcoin and how they can use Bitcoin effectively and positively to help their businesses and our economy as a whole. | Tobi Stidolph

May 2014 | inSYNC Magazine

Game of Thrones

Game of Thrones: Season 4 Become the Mo

inSYNC Magazine | May 2014

Game of Thrones

ost Pirated TV Show of All Time, Again... It’s ridiculously hard to write about Game of Thrones without talking about any of the plot twists and massive changes to the world that can come from just one episode. But I’m not going spoil any of the three and half seasons that have aired by the time your read this article. Now with all that out of the way, here we go. Based on the series of books by George R.R. Martin, named a Song of Fire and Ice, the series currently has five books: Game of Thrones (where the TV show gets its name), Clash of Kings, Strom of Swords, Feast for Crows and a Dance for Dragons. With each season of the TV show, it’s based on its corresponding book, and with two more books forthcoming: the Winds of Winter and a Dream of Spring Game of Thrones still has a long way to go. With so many different characters (each with their own story and journey) it can be hard to keep up and understand the story they are trying to tell. But having so many different stories to tell, the show keeps viewers engaged through one hour episodes, and that’s no easy task. I can’t remember the last time a show stoped me from picking up my phone and checking anything just until the boring parts had ended. But Game of Thrones manages it every time. Everyone is connected by the basic plot. The seven noble families, plus a few extra people we meet along the way. They all fight for control of the mythical land of Westeros. It’s this one goal often that drives the chaos that the show is known for. Building the tension each time someone suffers a massive loss. Set on an epic scale, Game of Thrones is filmed all over the world in locations such as Iceland, Morocco and Ireland. All of these locations make the massive fantasy adventure very believable. It also happens to have the largest budget of any TV show ever, costing about six million dollars per episode! From massive set pieces to just people walking around town the production is flawless and I challenge anyone to spot something out of place. There are one or two elements the show has managed to keep mysterious, such as the dragons. I’m sure you’re aware by now about these mythical creatures, and watching Daenerys Targaryen dragons, slowly grow into the monster they will eventuallly become, which is probably the most exciting aspect of the show. Or you might think it’s the white walker. Either way these zombie-like monsters have never really been explained and every time they answer one question they leave two more unanswered. Game of thrones might be the greatest show ever grace our television sets. But you can’t just jump in at season four, you’ll have you go back and watch the first three seasons, and with the seasons five and six already confirmed, it looks like were in this for the long run. So if you haven’t already, get online and start watching. You might just get addicted... | Jesse Price

May 2014 | inSYNC Magazine

Bestival 2014

inSYNC and Bestival 2014

March. Childhood are another great band that are up and coming. inSYNC saw them support Palma Violets at a great, little intimate gig in Southampton last December. Thirty-nine more acts were released, and even more are still to come, including a big announcement. This is yet to be announced by the festival, but many rumours are now circulating. Make sure you get your Bestival tickets now, because you won’t want to miss this year’s most epic line up on the Isle of Wight.

On May 6th, the Isle of Wight’s biggest annual event, Bestival, announced a load more acts to add to this year’s existing incredible lineup of artists. Some of the coutries best new and up and coming acts will be performing at the Robin Hill festival. Wolf Alice, who are at the Wedgewood Rooms in Portsmouth this month, have been announced, as well as Sweedish sister duet Say Lou Lou, who inSYNC covered when they supported Foster the People at the Troxy in London in

www.bestival.net

inSYNC Magazine | May 2014

Microsoft Jump Into Entertainment

Microsoft’s Entertainment Industry Shift

As we reported online last week at insynctm.com, Microsoft’s breach into the entertainment industry has hit us with a bang. Microsoft have announced and now confirmed that there is to be a Halo TV series made that is due to be aired on their Xbox app on Xbox Live. The Halo show will form part of the new ‘Xbox Originals’ series of shows. The Xbox show-idea doesn’t come as a surprise, though, or even as a new idea. The new show might be linked with Microsoft’s new Halo game, due to be

May 2014 | inSYNC Magazine

released this autumn. But this shift right into Netflix’s path, to the entertainment industry, is a bold move by Microsoft, especially as Xbox One sales are still lagging behind that of the PlayStation 4. The TV move has shocked some as it doesn’t seem a stable move for Microsoft, but for me, it seems bold, new and interesting. With Apple’s iOS software and Google’s Android taking hold of the phone and tablet market, Microsoft need to pull something out of the bag quickly to avoid a disaster in terms of sales. Whilst PC sales are still high, especially with windows, the market is being flooded with cheap, well-made products under the Android banner, and this could be a major factor in a possible downfall for a huge company such as Microsoft. Even the companies new ideas, such as virtual glasses for use on Xbox, has been developed by other companies, much like Facebook buying Oculus Rift and using their prototype. Whether we will see a complete shift to entertainment is yet to be seen, but this exciting move could spell a new dawn in online TV streaming and entertainment as a whole. I hope Microsoft do pull it off, but we will just have to wait and see. | Jack Whiteaway

inSYNC for iPad

inSYNC Coming Soon

Get it now on the Magzter, Amazon Kin

inSYNC Magazine | May 2014

inSYNC for iPad

n To Appleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s iPad

ndle or MagCloud apps for iPad

May 2014 | inSYNC Magazine

inSYNC on YouTube

Check out inSYNCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s New YouTube Channel...

...check out our new LetsPlay Videos Launching Soon. 38

inSYNC Magazine | May 2014

3D Printing

3D Printers: Giving A Chinese Company A Modern Solution To Cheap Housing 3D Printers: Since 3D printers have taken off, they have been advancing and creating some amazing pieces of technology; working speakers, furniture, guns and even prosthetic limbs. However, WinSun Decoration Design Engineering Co. of Shanghai is thinking bigger, to solve a problem found across the globe. To solve the issue of getting quick, cheap housing. It can be used in areas of poverty or in disaster zones. The House: Instead of just producing a load of small plastic parts with a small printer, this company print prefab structures from concrete using a huge, building-sized printer. Of course, printing prefabricated houses isn’t brand new, and companies have embraced the idea of mass manufacturing of buildings since before 3D printers. Because of this. And it’s not what WinSun does thats impressive, it’s the amazing pace at which the company is creating houses at. Running full speed, WinSun’s giant printer is capable of producing upto 10 650sq.ft. homes in 24 hours.

How It Works: The houses measure one-hundred and five foot long, thirty-three foot wide and twenty-one foot tall. The company’s huge printer acts pretty much the same as a normal-sized one, just on a much larger scale. The machine mixes a special concrete, and then sends it through a nozzle and onto a flat substrate in a pattern, designed to give the finished house as much structural integrity as possible. The house’s walls are built layer-by-layer, and then once the concrete is dry, the house is outfitted with doors, windows and a shingled roof. The best part about the houses is that the concrete is made from recycled materials, and the 3D printer eliminates the need for paid construction workers. The houses are incredibly cheap to produce. When each house is complete, a 650sq.ft. home costs about $4,800 to produce. This is why theses houses are an engineering breakthrough, and a great solution to China’s growing poor population and quick housing needs. | Tobi Stidolph

May 2014 | inSYNC Magazine

Victorious Festival

The best value festival in the country?! August Bank Holiday Weekend. Seafront location in Southsea, Portsmouth. Priced at just £15 a day, free for kids! •

• • •

Dizzee Rascal, Seasick Steve, 2 Many Djs, Razorlight, Sub Focus, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Shed Seven, Naughty Boy, Scouting for Girls, The Pigeon Detectives, Dan le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip, British Sea Power, Lucy Spraggan, Swim Deep, Public Service Broadcasting, Menswear, Slow club, Super food, Beans on Toast plus many more acts TBC. Early bird tickets on sale for £15 a day, £6 for children & under 5s FREE. Ticket includes 5 music stages, Real Ale Festival, Boutique Markets, Giant Silent Disco, entry to seafront attractions inc. blue reef aquarium, skate park and Pyramids swimming Pool. Holly and Ben & the Moshi Monsters appear alongside a host activities in the free kids arena.

Following council approval and the success of last years event, the festival organisers, who also run the celebrated Belle Isle bar/restaurants are excited to announce that Victorious Festival will be back for 2014. Situated in its new, larger location; Southsea Seafront, this incredible value for money festival will play host to acts such as Dizzee Rascal, Seasick Steve, Razorlight, Naughty Boy, Shed Seven, Sophie Ellis-Bextor & British Sea Power with many more acts to be confirmed. Look forward to a festival that caters for all members of the family young and old. Andy Marsh (organiser) explained; “ We think Victorious maybe the best value for money family festival in the country. It is a chance to see loads of big acts, entertain the kids and enjoy a variety of attractions without breaking the bank! We cannot thank Portsmouth City Council enough for securing this amazing site for the next 5 years. They share our vision & excitement for the future for Portsmouth & Southsea. The event will be fantastic for the local economy, business, tourism and our cultural presence. Alongside the great music line up, festival–goers will also be given free access to the seafront attractions including The Blue Reef Aquarium, Southsea Skate Park, The Pyramids Centre Swimming & Fun Pool, The D-Day Museum & Southsea Castle. If that wasn’t enough, the highly popular Real Ale Festival, Boutique markets, Street food sellers, and Silent Disco will be back again adding to the exciting and diverse experience that is Victorious Festival. The best local talent are invited to apply to play at the festival via the website. Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th August 2014. Tickets are expected to sell quickly for this impressive event. Visit www.victoriousfestival .co.uk to secure your day tickets at an early bird price of £15 Increasing to £20 advance. Children’s tickets £6. Under 5s free.

victoriousfestival.co.uk

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December 2013 | inSYNC Magazine

101 Reykjavik Portsmouth. Come down and try the Thursday Ping. Something different every Thursday of Every Month. A taste of Iceland in the heart of Southsea.

inSYNC Magazine | December 2013