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About Us
Design Editor George Hall Technology Editor Tobi Stidolph Gaming Editor Jack Whiteaway Music Editor Luke Jackson Film Editor Tom Jones Media Editor Jesse Price Sports Editor Tom Emmans
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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 | June 2014
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Contents
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On the Cover:
X-Men: The Days of Future Past. Superheroes on Television, Isle of Wight Festival Preview, Live at Example and Google’s New Driverless Car
2 inSYNC Subscribe today and meet the team. 3 Contents Your here now! See what’s in inSYNC June 2014. 4
Editor’s Note
See what Editor George Hall has to say about inSYNC’s latest Issue.
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Byte-Size News
Take a look at some quick, entertaining stories from the past month.
24
UK Festival 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.
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Google’s New Self-Driving Car
Google create first driverless car prototype.
28
Bad Neighbours
29
Tzukuri Bluetooth Sunglasses
30
Google Project Ara
Our Film Editor Tom Jones takes a trip to see Seth Rogen’s new comedy Bad Neighbours.
New sunglasses that you will never leave behind.
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inSYNC on Kindle
If you have an Amazon Kindle Fire HD, get inSYNC now.
Have a look a Google’s upcoming, market-changing smartphone.
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Budget Smartphones
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Star Wars: Episode 7
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Wolf Alice: Live in Portsmouth
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Live at The Portsmouth Beer Festival
How lost-cost smartphones are starting to affect the smartphone market.
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inSYNC takes a trip to The Wedgewood Rooms to see up and coming band Wolf Alice.
The New Supersonic Business Jet
See how an American company is developing the next-generation supersonic jet.
More news for the upcoming Star Wars film.
Local News: Live at the Portsmouth Beer Festival 2014.
36 Isle of Wight Festival inSYNC’s preview to 2014’s Isle of Wight Festival. Our
review will be in July’s Issue of inSYNC.
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Live at Example We took a trip to the Brighton Dome to see rapper Example. 16 Microsoft Surface Pro 3 A break down of Microsoft’s latest tablet. 18
DC Comics Wave Coming To Your TV
A quick look at the upcoming DC Comics TV shows.
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Games You Must Try...
5 top games that you have to play.
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Feature: X-Men
We review this month’s hottest box office hit; X-Men; The Days of Future Past.
June 2014 | inSYNC Magazine
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Editor’s Note
Editor’s Note Issue 7, May 2014
June has been exciting time for us here at inSYNC. We have crammed in so much to this month’s issue, but we have now also confirmed that the we are covering Glastonbury and the Isle of Wight Festival for July’s issue. This month’s feature is all about May’s box office hit X-Men: The Days of Furtue Past. Make sure yoy read our article on page 22 and 23.
We hope that you have been checking out inSYNC’s new YouTube channel, where we have been uploading our LetsPlay videos and our weekly news podcasts. We will soon be launching inSYNC Radio, where we will have a number of songs from our inSYNC Top 30 Spotify playlist. We also have a special playlist including songs from artists at the Isle of Wight Festival. Make sure you have a listen to get in the mood for the festival. We have two Live gig trips to check out this month; one seeing Wolf Alice (page 11) and one for rapper Example (page 14). We have a small bit on TV this month with Jesse’s article about the great amount of new shows coming, all about DC Comics’ characters (page 18). Moving onto films, we welcome our new Film Editor Tom Jones who has written his first article on Seth Rogen’s new
comedy Bad Neighbours (page 30). We also have our featured article on the box office’s biggest movie of the month, X-Men: The Days of Future Past (page 22). We also have an article from our Gaming Editor, Jack Whiteaway, on some news about the upcoming Star Wars movie. We have also touched on Google’s new driverless car prototype (page 29). We had to show you the new Microsoft Surface Pro tablet, which is priced slightly high (page 16), and we also look at a cool piece of new tech, Bluetooth sunglasses that you will never leave behind. Our Technology Editor, Tobi Stidolph, has contributed a lot of the tech stories this month. My editor pick article of the month is the new US-designed supersonic business jet. Please enjoy inSYNC June 2014, and remember you can get loads of bonus content, and extra news stories, reviews and videos online at www.insynctm.com. inSYNC July Issue will be an exciting issue with tons of stuff going on, and the Isle of Wight Festival Glastonbury coming up to kick off the inSYNC Summer 2014 Festival Review season. We will see what happens in the tech, music and business worlds until then. E3 is also coming up, so make sure you check out of E3 review in next month’s issue. 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
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inSYNC Magazine | June 2014
Byte-Size News television | The Simpsons and Family Guy Will Join Forces
T Guy and The Simpsons will feature in a unique, crossover wo of the World’s most popular cartoon shows, Family
eposide this coming September. Fox announced the upcoming show to be a one-hour long special episode that will be named ‘The Simpsons Guy’. The episode will see the Griffin’s leave their Quahog home and head for Springfield, where they will initially bond with Homer and the gang. Plans for the forthcoming episode were discussed at length during a Fox upfront presentation, with a number of journalists and advertiers, who were treated to a section of footage from the episode. And, some scenes from which have been leaked online. The episode will show Stewie Griffin discovering how to skateboard with Bart, while unloved character Meg Griffin will partner alongside brainiac Lisa Simpson. Elsewhere, during the show, Lois and Marge pledge to lay-off the the household chores, while Peter and Homer initially hit it off, it then turns bad and there is a so-called ‘fight scene’ between the two males. The pair’s fight is apparently going to mimic the ongoing Family Guy parody of the ‘Chicken Fight’, where Peter fights a giant chicken named Ernie. Simpsons voices Hank Azarla, Dan Castellenata, Yeardley Smith and Nancy Cartright will feature in the episode, alongside Family Guy cast Seth MacFarlane, Seth Green, Lacey Chabert and Mila Kunis. This, however, is not the first time each of the shows have seen each other’s characters. In a 2009 Family Guy episode Homer, Marge and other various Simpsons characters saw themselves in a cameo role, and in a 2012 Simpsons episode, Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane, made a guest appereance. Family Guy has also take a few lighthearted stabs at The Simpsons early ‘blocky’ animation used when the show first aired in 1989. As well as all this work on the two shows’ collaboration, Seth MacFarlance has been working on a s econd directorial effort A Million Ways to Die in the West, in which he also stars. He will be starring alongside Neil Patrick Harris and Charlizr Theron. The film is scheduled for release at the end of this month. There is not yet an exact release date for the episode, but is expected sometime in September. There is also not a trailer for the upcoming episode, only screenshots of the leaked footage. However, keep up-to-date with inSYNC Magazine and we will share a trailer as soon as one is available.
business | Jaguar Builds Six E-Types
H incredible mission to construc six ‘Lightweight’ E-Types from scratch; all by hand. The firm’s istoric sports car manufacturer Jaguar is bringing history back to life by embarking on an
‘finest craftsmen’ will hand-build each of these new, ultra-rare E-Type Jaguars to the exact specifications written on the company’s original plans. The cars will aslo include an original 3.8 litre straight-six petrol engine. The E-Type cars were originally meant to be built in the 60s as part of a run of just eighteen cars, however only twelve were ever produced. The new ‘missing’ six will be given the chassis and build numbers that were originally intended for the vehicles. The ‘Lightweight’ caried approximately 114KG less than the standard E-Type Jag, mainly due to its completely aluminium body and engine block. A lack of interior trim and exterior chrome work, and a host of other weight-saving features made the car considerably lighter. There is no word on the price of the new Lightweight E-Types, or when they could be available, but Jaguar is expecting high demand for the new cars, and the firm stated in a press release, ‘Established Jaguar collectors, especially those with historic race car interests, will be prioritised amongst those potential customers who express interest.’ This is good news for people with less money, as it means that Jaguar may not just except the highest bidder for an E-Type, but will consider collectors and entuasiasts alike.
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gaming | Canned CoD Game Sledgehammer Games C allhasofsaidDutythatdeveloper at one point they were working
on a Vietnam-set for the CoD series. The untitled shooter was in development for ‘at least six to eight months’. Studio founder Glen Schofield told Game Informer that they would have shaken up the series by setting the game in third-person. Schofield and fellow Sledgehammer founder Michael Condrey previosuly worked at Visceral Games to develop Dead Space, and hoped to inject some of the game’s atmosphere into the CoD franchise.
June 2014 | inSYNC Magazine
Unfortunately Sledgehammer pulled the plug on the project when Modern Warfare 3 developer Infinity Ward needed help to get the game finished before the deadline. ‘Let’s be frank, Infinity Ward was going through some transition,’ Condrey said, referencing the departure of studio founders Jason West and Vince Zampella. Condrey continued, ‘We would’ve loved to have made [the third-person Call of Duty] the game. It was in a space that we enjoyed, but how does anything compare to the first-person [Call of Duty] blockbuster release of 2011?’
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inSYNC Magazine | December 2013
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Available from the Amazon Kindle Store and at www.insynctm.com. June 2014 | inSYNC Magazine
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technology
inSYNC takes a look at how new, ‘budget’ smartphones could help to see an end to the iPhone’s market dominance.
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inSYNC Magazine | June 2014
technology is a hell of a lot of smartphones on the T here market nowadays with more and more being
released each month. Company Flagship devices are popping up all the time; the HTC One M8. Samsung Galaxy S5, Sony XPERIA Z2, Nokia Lumia Icon and iPhone 5S. As well as these, though, the majority of company’s are now developing cheaper handsets, which many reckon could start soon outselling Apple’s mighty iPhone. I would like to first touch on the new Motorola Moto E. It costs just £89, completely network unlocked without any sort of a contract. The Alcatel OneTouch Fierce is another great, budget smartphone. Although millions of people across the globe buy flagship phones, these new budget models bring a new era for smartphone manufacturing, giving lower-income persons the ability to buy a smartphone. This could solve problems in third-world and developing countries like India, where standard of living is getting better, and people now want to become connected. According to Ericsson, the World’s largest supplier of mobile networks, there are currently around 1.9 billion smartphone users in the World. The company expects this to top 5.9 billion in five years time, meaning the over 90% of the World’s population will own a smartphone. This is fuelled by growth in the developing World, and is a huge opportunity for companies like Alcatel to gain a significant chunk of the market, and removes themselves from Apple’s and Samsung’s shadows. This means that in the next few years, a vast number of people’s only way of connecting with the world will be through a budget smartphone. This is a brilliant way of connecting the masses to the Internet without having to install telephone lines or coaxial cables. Or, to be honest, without having to install a large amount of electrics. In developing nations where people do not have access to consumer credit, the you
Above; a budget Android smartphone. One of many new budget smartphones coming onto the market.
buy-it-and-you-own-it smartphone will transform lives. Now, you may be sitting there reading this and be thinking that this only effects them and not you. Well, that’s where you’re wrong. We are heading for an incredible era in the evolution of the smartphone market. These new budget devices means you could walk into any mobile phone shop in the country and pick up a pretty decent piece of kit for about the same as what the average Brit spends on coffee each month. The Alcatel budge phone has 4G, a quad-core processor, a 13MP camera, and it plays 1080p video. It also runs Android 4.2, which isn’t completely new, but definitely isn’t old. And, that’s some pretty great specifications on a phone that costs around £46.00. The Moto E is pretty fantastic top; £89.00, or free if you get a contract, runs Android 4.2.2, has a Gorilla Glass screen, which is usually £12.00 on its own for a Gorilla Glass screen protector, has a 16 hours battery life and is water resistant. That’s a sh*t ton of stuff for less than ninety quid.
‘...pretty great specifications on a phone that costs around £46.00.’ This shows that there are some great features quickly finding their way into cheaper phones. I wonder how long it’ll be before fingerprint recognition is in these phones? But, what is even more interesting is how these budget smartphones will increase in popularity. It we have Internet-connected, app-capable phons running major mobile operating systems and there will be great changes in the smartphone industry and market. We tend to think about how
June 2014 | inSYNC Magazine
flagship phones will effect the development of cheaper devices, that do not have as up-to-date specs, but that is very arrogant! As the developing world starts to invest in the budget models, we, as expensive smartphone users, will be become the minority. We should think about how they will have an effect on us. A big example of this is social networking app WhatsApp. It wasn’t too long ago that the app was largely unheard of in the USA, but it had exploded in developing world countries, and was growing fast. Last month the app hit the 500 million user mark, mainly due to the fact that the app is available on every App Store for every smartphone. Even the Nokia Ovi Store, and let’s be honest, who really uses that? And, WhatsApp got its $19 billion pay check from Facebook not because of its large promotion on iOS and Android, but because of its downloadability on cheap smartphones across the globe. It’s an incredible solution to someone whose country is extortionate to send a text in. Another great example of lower end stuff coming to the big leagues is emojis and stickers. Emojis began in. Japan with old pagers, where it was way easier to send an icon than a text message. These emojis became massive in Japan, and them Asia. And now millions of messages a day include smiley faces, beers and poo piles. And, finally, there’s the dual SIM phone. It’s a feature of many handsets in Asia and in Latin America where people might need to have two SIMs; one for local calls and another for international calls. This is a feature that MediaTek drove forward, but now it’s in the Moto E, which includes a SmartCalling feature to help people set up and swap between each SIM and it’s preferences. It automatically configures access point names. Although, traditional dual SIM phones have been a money saving option for low-cost handsets, it is now something that is incredibly useful for global business travellers, and now this can be used as another unique selling point for high-end phones. We have recently seen this with the HTC One M8 that has capabilities for two SIM cards. This will all continue as budget smartphone become increasingly popular, and start to sell in mass numbers. Handsets are now even tickling up. The Alcatel that I mentioned is bringing an Android-powered smartphone to the US market for just $80.00. The second Alcatel, the OneTouch Evolve will retail at just $59.00 or £35.00. Both of the handsets are based on a MediaTek platform. MediaTek are a Taiwanese firm helping to drive budget smartphones forward. MediaTek make ‘white label’ handsets that operators can customise and adapt for their own regional markets. Alcatel’s OneTouch Fierce and Evolve and based on MediaTek’s MT6589 and MT6575 platforms. We will now have to observe how the smartphone market changes over time, and how these new small devices will outgrow the HTC Ones, the Samsung Galaxy S5s and the iPhone 5Ss.
Words by Tobi Stidolph Technology Editor | Twitter @tstidolph
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inSYNC Magazine | December 2013
music
Wolf Alice: Live in Portsmouth
has been a decent lot of gigs on in Portsmouth this T here year, and at inSYNC we have been to many gigs around
the country. All in the warm up to 2014’s epic festival season. Up and coming band Wolf Alice rolled into town, and we just had to see them before they make an apperance at Glastonbury next month. There has been a lot of good things said about this band, especially when they earlier supported The 1975 on their sold out UK tour. North London’s best kept secret are now finally pulling themselves from the woodwork. Emerging from the capital to bring the UK their own tour. Even though Wolf Alice are yet to release an album, they have a good number of decent songs, and two EPs. Frontwoman Ellie Roswell started the night off with ‘Moaning Lisa Smile’, the first track from the group’s 2014 EP. Then they they moved onto ‘Smile’, a nice song taken from Wolf Alice’s first EP, released last year. The band has a great infectious harmony to its music, and songs like ‘Blush’, ‘Bros’ and ‘Fluffy’ get stuck in your head. Their guitar riffs are definitely strong points for the band’s upcoming success. ‘Your Love’s Whore’ was up next, followed by the excellent, not-so-well-known ‘You’re a Germ’. ‘You’re a Germ’ has guitarist Joff Oddie and bassist Theo Ellis bobbing and weaving, getting stuck into the song. Joel Amey, on drums, plays his part well too. ‘Baby Ain’t Made of China’, ‘Storms’ and ‘Blush’ followed, getting us half way through the band’s 12-song setlist. ‘Blush’ could the crowd in higher spirits, as it being one of their most famous; the first song on their first EP. ‘Wicked Game’, a cover of Chris Isaak’s song was next, follow by ‘Jam’ and best single song ‘Bros’ made up the last songs before the band’s upcoming encore. For their encoure, Wolf Alice played the 2013 Fluffy single. The sound of ‘White Leather’ and ‘Fluffy’ was heard, and made sure they sealed the deal on a fairly short, but really enjoyable gig. The Wedgewood Rooms were pretty busy for a Sunday gig, and support from Gengahr was rally very good. Gengahr are pretty much unheard of, but after listening to the 3-song EP on Spotify, and hearing them hear, I can’t wait to hear more. Wolf Alice certainly have hints of 1990s Brit Pop in their sound, but are incredibly enjoyable to hear, especially live. For a really young band, they do seem to have the makings of success, and we will wait and see how they get on at Glastonbury 2014. They have some great harmonies and catchy songs. We will see how long far this will take them! Setlist: 1. Moaning Lisa Smile 2. She 3. Your Love’s Whore 4. You’re a Germ 5. Baby Ain’t Made of China 6. Storms 7. Blush 8. Wicked Game (Chris Isaak Cover) 9. Jam 10. Bros Encore: 11. White Leather 12. Fluffy
Words by Tobi Stidolph Technology Editor | Twitter @tstidolph
June 2014 | inSYNC Magazine
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technology
The New SUPERSOINC Business Jet An American corpoartion is currently designing one of the World’s first ever supersonic jets aimed at the globetrttoing businessperson
Aerion Corporation are currently T The developing a new supersonic jet,
designed specifically for business travel, named the Aerion AS2. It will be the first supersonic jet since the retirement of Concorde in 2003. The company has recently increased the size of the cabin, and have added an extra engine to the jet in its developing range of business jets. The jets have been designed using Supersonic Natural Laminar Flow ( SNLF) wing technology that was tested in transonic wind tunnel tests, and on NASA flight
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trials. Now, that all probably is nonsense to you, but it basically means that the jet’s wings are designed specially for supersonic flight. The Aerion AS2’s new design will use three small jet engines in place of the original larger two-jet plan. This extra engine will provide the aircraft with quieter running, improve take-off performance, and a longer flying range. The new triple engine configuration will give the AS2 a greater advantage in speed, whilst also using the ‘unswept’ SNLF wing design. The wings boast both upper and lower surfaces bring
inSYNC Magazine | June 2014
curved, ensuring smoother airflow than traditional aircraft wings, that allows the air to travel across the plane in undisturbed layers. They have designed the wings in this way because Aerion claims that there will be 90% less drag on the aircraft. The wings also help to reduce total aircraft drag by upto 20%. Thus meaning, that the AS2 will not just be super-quick, but we be super-efficient too. The AS2 will be capable of reaching Mach 1.6, so not as quick as the late Concorde which went Mach 2.2 (1675mph), but around 650mph quicker
technology
than your average commercial aircraft. The Aerion is designed, though, to travel at two speeds from optimum range and efficiency; Mach 0.95, where supersonic flight is prohibited, and Mach 1.4, where the SNLF wing design are acting at their optimum efficiency. Talking about the plane’s specifications; fuselage is 160 feet long and the maximum take off weight will be around 52,000 kg. Flying at the maximum weight, the minimum range of the aircraft will be approximately 5470 miles, but the firm have said that they would like to achieve 5755 miles as the ultimate aircraft range. Because the AS2 is designed for the globe-trotting businessman, and not the common holiday-maker, the cabin is 30 feet long. It will have a ‘two-lounge configuration’, with the cabin widening from entrance to rear. The cabin height is only about 6.2 feet, but width is 7.2 feet, so it is quite spacious. When the aircraft is fully fuelled it will required 7,500 feet on runway for takeoff. However, that is expected to drop to between 5,000 and 6,000 feet when the takeoff weight is below 45,000 kg. This will allow the AS2 to
operate from medium-sized and large airports across the United States and Europe, and over time move into Asia. The firm said that the improvements to the upcoming aircraft’s design will encourage input from worldwide aircraft operators. A study conducted by the company in the first quarter of this year was to assess possible demand for the jet. Aerion CEO Doug Nichols talked about the research, ‘The message from many of today’s long-range business jet operators is very clear. They want a supersonic jet sooner rather than later; a cabin comparable in comfort to today’s long-range jets; a range of 5,000 nm or better; and they are willing to pay more than US$100 million for such an aircraft. That is the supersonic jet we are working to deliver.’ Although Aerion still have the AS2 in the design stage, the firm does have a plan in place to form industrial collaborations with some aerospace manufacturers to supply engines and airframe structures before the end of this year. This said, we will still have to wait until 2021 for the plane to enter service,
June 2014 | inSYNC Magazine
providing certification for the aircraft is achieved. Aerion do have some competition though. There are another couple of supersonic business jet concepts starting to arise, like the Spike S-512 and the Hypermach SonicStar, which at also aiming for 2021 as the takeoff date. So at the moment it’s a race against time, and who can get their jet in the air first. It is an interesting time for the aviation industry, especially with the new up and coming commercial space travel projects, like Virgin Galactic. We look forward to entering into a new era of flying.
Words by Tobi Stidolph Technology Editor | Twitter @tstidolph
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music
inSYNC Live at Example
8th May, inSYNC took a trip to see O nElliot Gleave, more familiarly known
as Example, take to the stage at the Brighton Dome as part of The Great Escape Festival for a rare, intimate live show. The gig was a late one, with Example not taking to the stage until 11pm. With four studio albums behind him, and a fifth, name Live Life Living upcoming, the London-born rapper packed his set full of bangers that the gathering-audience was more than familiar with. Due to the balcony seating not being open for the gig, the 1,700 capacity Dome was far from full. There was, however, still in excess of 900 people in attendance which is a great figure for a Thursday night upon which Brighton & Hove Albion’s football team played an important play-off match. On stage, Example’s set was extremely energetic as ever with the heavy drops needed to ensure that the hyped-up crowd went insane at every opportunity. Another noticeable factor was how well Gleave communicated with the audience, and not just in terms of singing/ rapping. There was frequent banter with the crowd which made the gig flow extremely nicely all the way from start to finish. The highlight of the night, by far, was during the encore when he and the band dropped ‘Natural Disaster’ for the crowd to go berzerk. Support for the gig was provided by upcoming act Show n Prove, Shift K3y and DJ Wire. Setlist: We’ll Be Coming Back Say nothing Watch The Sun Come Up All The Wrong Places Perfect Replacement Midnight Run Playing In The Shadows Close Enemies Only Human Won’t go Quietly Take Me As I Am Stay Awake Kids Again Kickstarts Encore: Stay With Me Natural Disaster Changed The Way You Kiss Me
Words by Luke Jackson Music Editor | Twitter @Lukejackson95
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inSYNC Magazine | June 2014
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Microsoft’s Surface Pro 3 Tablet - Specifications: CPU Core i5-4300U with Intel HD 4400 (Core i3 and i7 options also available) DISPLAY 12” ClearType Full HD Display, 2160x1440ppi STORAGE 64GB, 128GB, 256GB, 512GB SSDs DIMENSIONS 201.4mm x 292.1mm x 9.1mm WEIGHT 800g PORTS USB 3.0, microSD card reader, standard headset 9mm jack, mini DisplayPort, cover port, charging port a press event earlier this month in New York, Microsoft A trevealed its new tablet, the Surfacd Pro 3. Microsoft has
gone big on the Pro 3’s ‘lapability’. That is the new, made-up word that the computer giant is using to describe the new Surface. The Surface Pro 3 Will sport a 12” screem with a 2160x1440ppi resolution, being only 9.1mm thick. It is lighter than previous Surface tablets weighing in at 800 grams. Microsoft’s new innovation is the adaptable ‘full friction’ multi-position kickstand and Type Cover that offer far more comfortable options to rest the tablet at. The inbuilt kickstand has three settings, as well as a 150-degree angle-based ‘canvas mode’. The Type Cover magnetically connects to the screen. That way it is more adjustable and even more sturdy than before. The new Surface also boasts a larger trackpad than before and the company is calling the Pro 3 as ‘The tablet that can replace your laptop.’ The tabs speakers have been upgraded too, with the device now being 45% louder than before. The Surface Pro 3 will be powered by the latest Intel Core i7 processor, however, this seems to be an add-on, as the midrange i5 processor is standard. The Pro 3 is available for pre-order right now, and goes on sale in North America on June 20th. The rest of the World will see Microsoft’s new tablet by the end of August, but no exact date has been announced for the UK release yet. The new tablet starts at a colossal $799. The mid-range Pro 3 with an i5 processor is $1,299 and the top-of-the-range Core i7 512GB Pro 3 is a frankly ridiculous $1,949. Accessories for the Surface Pro 3 include a new Type Cover priced at $130, a new Surface Docking Station retailing at $200 and an Ethernet cable adapter costing $40. I have never considered buying a Microsoft tablet. And, that’s not because they’re bad, it’s because when writing articles for inSYNC I used my iPad or laptop, and quite often on my lap. The Surface Touch and Type covers are good, but they have to be on a flat surface to work properly. The Surface just doesn’t give that lap stability that you get with a normal laptop. However, what Microsoft have really pushed with the new Pro tablet is something they have called ‘lapability’. The ability to use the new tablet, comfortably on you laptop, just like a laptop. The new Type Cover now has a magnetic strip on the top that you can fold flat to the tablet. When you have folded the cover out, although it is not as stable as the aluminium base, it is much more like a proper laptop. The new kickstand works with the stableness of the keyboard. The last Pro tablet supported two kickstand angles, 22 and 40 degrees. But, the Pro 3 is more laptop-esque, thus meaning the kickstand is stable at any angle you want. Looking at it front on, you coat forget that you’re not actually using a laptop. The only issue, though, is that the Surface takes up a lot of room. If you’re
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June 2014 | inSYNC Magazine
technology using your lap, them shorter people may struggle fit all of the tablet on. And you have you keep your lap flat, otherwise the tablet can become wobbly again. The keyboard is not bad, but still not as good as an ultra book. The trackpad is disappointingly small, and you can run into some trouble trying evoke some of the Windows 8 gestures. The new Surface comes in three different models. The low-range with a Core i3 processor, the normal mid-range model, which has. Intel’s i5-4300U processor, or the high priced top-of-the-range Pro 3 that has the i7 Core. The tablet is thinner and lighter than its predecessor, but Microsoft have not sacrificed the speed which is great. However, the tablet won’t be much if a gaming machine as it only has an Intel HD 4400 integrated GPU. The tablet has an upgraded 802.11ac adapter; this betters the 802.11n adapter found on the Surface Pro 2. The mid-range model includes 8GB of DDR3 RAM, a 256GB solid-state hard drive, from Samsung on a SATA III interface, and an Intel i5 Core processor. This costs a very hard-to-swallow $1,299. The tablet weighs 103g less than the Pro 2, but is still incredibly heavy compared to Apple’s iPad Air, which weighs in at just 469g. It’s not heavy to carry, but is definitely more like a laptop than most other tabs. The Pro 3 has a large 12-inch display. It’s pretty bright, and has a sharp 261PPI screen, which puts it very close to the 15” and 13” MacBook Pro with Retina Display. It has a 3:2 aspect ratio, which is good news for those who prefer to use tablets in portrait mode. But with the Pro 3, it’s not much easier to use portrait way up. The build of the tab is excellent. The chassis of the decide is magnesium, which gives a solid feel, and the kickstand hinge is good. The system does get warm, but what tablet doesn’t? The fan vents are unobtrusive to the tablet and Microsoft has in-built an ultra-quiet fan system into the Surface. This should tackle any overheating problems. The tablets comes with a stylus and the battery life seems to be adequate for replacing a standard laptop. The Surface Pro 3 is considerably better than its predecessor, and is probably the best tablet Microsoft have come up with so far. We can only see whether the technology giant will continue to develop its tablets, so that one day it’s catches up with Apple’s mighty iPad.
Words by Tobi Stidolph Technology Editor | Twitter @tstidolph
June 2014 | inSYNC Magazine
17
television
DC Comics Television Wave Incoming all know DC has been a little behind A sthewegame when it comes to superhero films. Yes the Batman trilogy was amazing, but since then what really has there been? An ‘ok’ Superman film perhaps. Anyway, my point is that Marvel has been dominating the scene with two of their films in the top ten grossing, and a connected universe that keeps growing. DC just seems to have plans to make a Justice League film that’s going to come out sometime in the next few years. However, when it comes to TV DC just keeps growing. With CW, FOX and NBC all making at least one new DC-based show, all set to come out by the end of the year. Now Marvel has their own TV show with Agents of Shield, but I’ve watched a few episodes now and not only are the characters forgettable, they also seem to disregard the stories they could grab from the comics, but instead use pretty boring story lines. Flash: We first saw Barry Allen, who is Flash, in Arrow earlier this year. He was set to appear in some episodes near the end of the series, but CW were so happy with his small appearance that they ordered a pilot of the show, and now a full series. Coming later this year, we already know villains such as Weather Wizard and Professor Zoom will be making appearances, along with Oliver Queen who is Arrow. Gotham: A prequel to Batman, Gotham follows Jim Gordon, a young detective who has to deal with rising crime that threatens to take over the city. We will see Joker, Penguin, Riddler and a ton more of DC’s characters before it became the monsters we know today. Gotham will air later this year. Constantine: John Constantine, a man who is haunted by his past sins, has to suddenly defend humanity from the growing darkness. The reason this show seems a little more interesting compared to the others is because Constantine seems darker than the normal superhero shows we see. Constantine will also air later this year. I haven’t mentioned Arrow or iZombie because although they are DC-based shows, Arrow Season Three will be coming next year, and iZombie will follow. But little is known about both as of yet.
Words by Jesse Price Media Editor | Twitter @jesseprice1994
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inSYNC Magazine | June 2014
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June 2014 | inSYNC Magazine
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Games You Must Try...
gaming Civilization 5: Civ 5 was the first game I ever played when I got my gaming PC, and I can’t put into words the amount of fun I’ve had playing it. Civilization doesn’t have a story and this is why I just can’t stop playing it. How it works is that you pick a leader that represents a country or an ethnic group from the past. You, as the player, can win the game four different ways; ending the game with more points than the other leaders, military conquest or advancing though the science tree and assembling the space ship. During the game you research many different technologies starting with activities like archery and ending the game researching in the further with projects like giant killer robots. Civilization also is probably the funniest time I have ever had with a game; watching Gandhi nuking all of Europe, and ruining my cities, for example. So far I have played over 155 hours and can’t recommend it enough. Go and experience Civ 5 now. Grand Theft Auto V: Now I know that you’ve played this one, or at least watch some gameplay, so I don’t need to say much. I’ve never really played a game were playing heist missions or just driving round running people over was so much fun. It’s something you shouldn’t laugh at, but is actually a lot of fun. I have easily played over 50 hours of GTA and I had fun playing every single minute. GTA is such an easy game to rack up the game hours on and I can’t really think of another game that’s done this as well as Rockstar Game have done with GTA V.
Journey: Journey isn’t a big AAA game, or if you like is ‘action packed’. But, Journey is one of very few games that reminds me of why I actually love games so much. In fact, the game is only about an hour long and there is no voicing or text to read, but the game tells one of the best stories all through beautiful art design and an amazing soundtrack. It’s possible to play the game with others, but not in the normal way. One or two random people appear in your game and you can let them go you play the whole journey with them watching your scarves glow as you pass each other. Journey is one of the simplest game I have ever played, but it’s also the most rewarding. Go find out for yourself what Journey has to offer.
The Last of Us:The Last of Us does something amazing; it tells the very personal story of two people travelling through a world that has been taken back by nature. A fungus has infected the people, leaving roaming-like zombies. The best part of this game is really the emotional storyline. The Last of Us is the only game I have played that actually brought a tear to my eye. The opening scenes are the most tragic heartbreaking moment I might have ever seen in a video-game.
Batman Arkham City: When I was growing up I loved to play superhero games, but there was a problem. They all sucked. However, this all changed when Batman: Arkham City’s prequel came out, named Batman: Arkham Asylum. Finally, a game where I felt like Batman with the satisfying combat let me beat up 15 guys at once without them touching me and the stealth mode that lets me swoop down and take out an enemy, while the others quivered in fear knowing I was going to get them. Well Arkham City is all the amazing stuff from the first game, but even more on top. It has a better storyline than most movies and being able to swoop around doing all the side missions is an added bonus. Batman might not be everyone favourite game but I love superheroes so much it had to be my number one.
June 2014 | inSYNC Magazine
Words by Jesse Price Media Editor | Twitter @jesseprice1994
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film
film
X-Men: Days of Future Past newest film of the X-Men series, Days of Future Past, T isheadapted from the much loved comic book of the same
name, staring the cast from 2000’s X-Men. Professor X, Magneto, Wolverine, Storm, Ice Man, Colossus and Kitty Pride get together, with new members Warpath, Bishop, Blink and Sunspot, to try and prevent the apocalyptic events that have taken place in the future. Mutant hunting robot called Sentinels have killed almost all of the mutants, leaving just a handful left. The Sentinels then started to round up any humans that attempted to help the mutants, putting them into concentration camps. The only way for the X-Men to survive is to send someone back in time telepathically, to prevent the assassination of the man who invented the Sentinels, that eventually leads to the apocalyptic events. As you may or may not know, in the comic book Kitty sends her own consciousness into her younger self to warn her teammates of what’s to come. But, since Wolverine seems to be the flavour of the month, the story is adapted so that Kitty can only send other people back in time, and not herself. But, a normal mutant could not survive going so far back, leaving Wolverine, played by Hugh Jackman, as the only option. Logan, Wolverine’s real name, wakes up in his body ten years after the events of X-Men: First Class. If you haven’t seen First Class, it explains how the X-Men were first formed. He seeks out a young Charles Xavier, played by James McAvoy, who is a shell of the man we saw in First Class. The only person who was stayed with him in Professor Xavier’s closed school is Beast, whose own concocted serum has given Xavier back his ability to walk, at the cost of his mind-reading powers. Xavier became this way after his sister Mystique, played by Jennifer Lawrence, left him to help Magneto. Stopping Mystique becomes Xavier’s, Wolverine’s and Beast’s primary goal because she assassinates Dr. Trask, played by Game of Thrones star Peter Dinklage, creator of the Sentinels, which causes the future events to take place. In order to find her, Logan (Wolverine), and the others have to recruit the help of the last person to see her, Magneto. However, he is being kept in the Pentagon in a stone prison deep underground, after playing a role in the President Kennedy assassination. From there, it becomes a race to stop Mystique and restore Xavier’s hope in his sister and his powers. Unlike most films that deal with a lot of time travel scenes that switch between present and past through different points in time, I did not lose track of the story once. Director Bryan Singer manages to keep us entertained, with only a few moments of minor confusion. There are
small moments that attempt to push the plot to a point where more action can be thrown in. And, it’s these moments that left me a little confused, but this is not a problem to the overall movie. Now for my favourite sequence of the film: Quicksilver. That’s right. After all the controversy surrounding Avengers 2, and I am as guilty as all the others. But, Avengers has quite the task ahead, because Evan Peters takes the role and runs with it, forgive the pun. Although not in the movie for too long Quicksilver’s sequence will become the most memorable moment of the movie for the future of Marvel films. The most important thing that The Days of Future Past does is to ‘reset’ the film series. All the X-Men that have died through the many X-Men movies are brought back thanks to the efforts of the X-Men stopping Mystique killing Trask, leaving me very excited for where the future films could go with new and old character. This is hinted at in the end
June 2014 | inSYNC Magazine
credit sequence. X-Men: Days of Future Past is the most ambitious X-Men to date bringing the original cast and First Class cast together, and even though Hugh Jackman’s performance is amazing as always I can’t help feeling that Jennifer Lawrence’s performance, which is by far the best, is left in the background because Wolverine is the fans’ favourite. All of this aside, Days of Future Past is the best X-Men film ever made and you should definitely catch it before it leaves the cinemas. Pros: Clear Story | Appearance of Quicksilver | Great Action Scenes Cons: Not enough screen time with all characters | More of future cast seen
Words by Jesse Price Media Editor | Twitter @tstidolph
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music
UK Festival News Check out what has been happening in the uk in april. below are all the current lineups for some of britain’s best and biggest festivals.
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Reading & Leeds Festival - Above
Glastonbury - Above
Bestival - Middle
Isle of Wight Festival - Top Wireless Festival - Bottom
latitude festival - Below
Download festival - Below
inSYNC Magazine | June 2014
Category
June 2014 | inSYNC Magazine
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podd.io
IOS 8 AND OSX YOSEMITE ANNOUNCE AT WWDC
XBOX ONE WITH NO KINECT As of June 9th you can purchase the Xbox ONE without a kinect as it is no longer needed to play. Second hand retailer CEX have already taken action and you can now buy them without for as little as £315. CEX also buy the kinect on it's own now and sell them at £20 (Currently) so if there is ever a need for them again th they will be available to buy. I imagine there will be a flood of kinect trade-ins during the month of june. The kinect seems to be one of those gadgets that has loads of potential but never gets used. No one seems to care about its abilities to listen and read human interactions of which nothing else in the gaming world can. The games that have been released for the Xbox ONE do not really take kinect into account either. eithe Dead Rising 3 seems to be the game that uses it to some degree, as you can shout to survivors while battling off zombies. Useful when you have your hands full and have to think quick!
Author: Izak Jackson
Author: Tom Gardener
FOR DAILY TECH & GAMING NEWS VISIT: http://podd.io/
MORTAL COMBAT X LISTINGS ON AMAZON
Author: Harry Zolobajluk
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inSYNC Magazine | June 2014
technology
The New Google Self-Driving Car
surroundings. For now, these cars will be a replacement for taxis, but not replacements for the car parked on your driveway. The car are still in the early prototype stages, and Google is yet to figure out how to mass produce the technology in a car, and how much a car would cost. Although Google is trying to perfect the technology, it is unlikely to actually produce the car. It has said in the past that the firm is looking for manufacturing partners; meaning we could see Toyota, Ford or Fiatproduced Google cars, but that is all speculation at the moment. So when will we see these Google cars? Early next year is when they will be road-ready, mainly for greater testing with people other than Google engineers. The current expectation is that the self-driver will be in the road in the States in the next five years, but it could be longer until you can hire or buy one. One of the biggest delays in the seeing these cars in the US, the UK and Australia is government legislation. A law was passed in California over a year ago that made the testing and operation of self-driving vehicles on roads possible, as long as they had manual override controls. The Department of Motor Vehicles in California is expected to issue regulations on the operation of selfdriving cars soon, after which self-driving cars may become a bit more of a common place on the road. But, we can only wait and see how long it’ll be before Google start dominating the road.
Google revealed its brand O nnewTuesday self-driving car prototype.
Google is now the first company to build a car with no steering wheel, accelerator or brake pedal. This car shows the development of the next stage of Google’s driverless car project, which has been running since the early 2000s, from the DARPA Grand Challenges for building robotic vehicles. Google started its very own self-driving car project in 2008, which derived first using modified Toyota Prius’ and then using customised Lexus SUVs. They took these cars’ existing sensors, like the cruise-control cameras, and then added spinning laser scanners to adapt the cars into driverless. This then progressed to the prototype we see today. It will be the first truly driverless electric car. It looks like the love child of a Smart Car and a Nissan Micra, and it includes two seats and enough room for luggage. It now gives us a physical vision of what Google want from self-driving cars in the future, and its self-driving project. The car can be summoned by a smartphone, also setting your destination on your phone. There is not steering wheel or manual control, simply
a start button and a big red emergency stop button. Passengers have a screen in front of them that shows weather, speed of the vehicle, etc. When the car reaches passengers’ desired destination the screen reminds you to take all personal belongings. This is a purposeful decision by Google to reinforce that this new prototype is not yet the replacement for your car, but rather a new possible taxi service without a driver. So how do these awesome new pieces of kit work? They are powered by an electric motor with around a 100 mile range. The car uses a number if sensors and software to locate itself, combined with accurate digital maps. A rough position of the car is marked by Google Maps, Google’s GPS software. When the rough guide is calculated, radar, lasers and cameras take over to monitor around the car from every angle. The new software cam recognise objects, people, road markings, signs and traffic lights. The software obeys the rules of the road, allowing for multiple hazards like cyclists. It even detects temporary signs and road works. The new car can detect objects upto 600 feet in all directions. This new prototype is Google’s next evolution of their self-driving car project. Although this car is untested at the moment, the search engine’s previous adapted cars have travelled over 700,000 miles on public roads. This has bee mainly in California, including a 1,000 miles of driving in complex situations and in city centres like San Francisco. At the moment, the car is limited to 25mph, which restricts it to certain roads, but this minimises the kinetic energy the prototype would carry into a crash if one should occur. The front of the vehicle is also as ‘pedestrian-friendly’ as possible, utilising a foam bumper and flexible windshield. The car is fitted with seat belts, but the car has redundant systems for steering and braking. Not forgetting the passengers’ emergency stop button. The car has two standard seat belts, as to meet road safety requirements. This also provides more familiarity for passengers. Google has said that it has gone as far as it can with the customisation of other vehicles, and by building their own car with Above: A computer generated the technology built in, now means it can take the project to the next animation of Google’s new self-driving level. car prototype. Google made a purposeful decision to make their car look car, and ‘face-like’. This was an attempt to put other road users and passengers at ease whilst experiencing the new technology. The shell Words by Tobi Stidolph is also designed to give the car’s sensors the best view of the vehicle’s Technology Editor | Twitter @tstidolph
June 2014 | inSYNC Magazine
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film
Bad Neighbours Tom Jones takes a trip to see Seth Rogens latest comedy Neighbours is the new comedy from B adNicholas Stoller, who wrote the very
School Musical and the Lucky one, but he has starred in a comedy before the release of Bad Neighbours called That Awkward Moment and my opinion of him has started to change, and he is growing into a good actor. The performance from Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne as a couple have a good chemistry and both extremely funny in the prank situations between the fraternity house and themselves. Bad Neighbours is a hilariously crude comedy that will please fans who favour that type of humour. It pushes the rude humour to creative levels. Some of the jokes are misses but there are enough big laugh moments to make Bad Neighbours a worthwhile experience. For its demographic, I highly recommend this film, it is full of hilarious pranks, crude jokes and funny references to many celebrities. inSYNC Rating - 7.5/10
funny “Get Him to the Greek” that starred Russel Brand. The film features a couple played by Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne with a new born baby that come face to face with unexpected difficulties after a Fraternity moving into the house next door. A Fraternity is an American term for a brotherhood, a group of men that share a bond so strong it is almost like a family bond. Kelly (Rose Byrne) and Mac (Seth Rogen) have to deal with the Delta Psi Beta fraternity led by Teddy, who is played by Zac Efron and Pete (Dave Franco), his right hand man. They are quick to accept friendship from the couple when they introduce each other as neighbours. Night after night of partying, Mac asks Teddy to lower the noise levels, even accepting to party with them one night. When Teddy goes back on his word, Mac calls the police to deal with the problem. The police are quick to blame Mac of their presence on the fraternity’s doorstep and all hell breaks loose. The family feud with the frat brothers gets hilariously dangerous, and leaves the Delta boys on thin ice with their college. Once they receive their final warning, and are placed on probation, Mac and Kelly pull a prank so ingenious that Teddy is forced to respond in order to keep the frat. From Robert DeNiro parties to Christopher Mintz-Plasse, the actor from films such as Superbad and Kick Ass, having sex in the bushes, this is a comedy that shows how things can go wrong dramatically when a family and frat house become neighbours. I was a bit sceptical seeing Zac Efron in a comedy as I have personally only seen him in soppy films such as High
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If you want to read more film reviews follow me on Twitter tcjones95 or follow my blog at http://tomstimes.wordpress.com/ Cast: Seth Rogen Rose Byrne Zac Efron Dave Fanco Christopher Mintz-Plasse Elise Vargas
Words by Tom Jones Film Editor | Twitter @tcjones95
inSYNC Magazine | June 2014
technology
sunglasses. It can be an annoying L osing problem. Especially when you have to buy
Tzukuri Bluetooth Sunglasses
a new pair. Australia eyewear company Tzukuri hope to end this sunglass problem with their new solution; smart sunglasses. These new smart sunglasses have a tiny Bluetooth Low-Energy chip embedded in them, which allows a communication between the glasses and the Tzukuri iPhone app. The app alerts users when they are 16, 32 and 50 feet from the sunglasses. After the 50 foot mark, the app keeps a record of the last known location of the glasses, so that you can retrieve them. Cleverly, the app also works in the opposite way; if you leave you iPhone somewhere, the app knows the iPhone is still and that the glasses are moving away from it, so it will trigger a loud sound as a reminder. The app will also know when you’re at home and when you’re at work, so it won’t constantly send you notifications whenever you are apart from your glasses. Turning to power, Tzukuri have an embedded solar cell on the Bluetooth chip that gets it fully charged. If the glasses do need recharging, a handy notification will pop up on your iPhone. According to the company, an hour in the sun should see them fully charged. We don’t have an exact release date for these smart sunglasses yet, but they will be available by the end of the year. If you do want a pair you can put a $50 deposit down. The first batch will cost $250, the additional $200 if payable before you receive your sunglasses. After the first batch, the price will increase to $350. The sunglasses, according to Tzukuri, are handcrafted by ‘by the best artisans in the world’ in the Japanese prefecture of Fukui. The glasses will apparently come in six different designs. The designs are iconic figures: fictional lawyer Atticus Finch, President John F. Kennedy, designer Tom Ford, Beatles legend John Lennon, actress Grace Kelly, and writer Truman Capote. The glasses will only support iPhone 4S and higher, and in the company’s FAQs, it says the the sunglasses will not support Android smartphones ‘...until Bluetooth Low-Energy becomes ubiquitous’.
Words by Tobi Stidolph Technology Editor | Twitter @tstidolph
June 2014 | inSYNC Magazine
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technology
Project Ara has revealed its newest attempt to Google evolve the smartphone market for good.
This is a modular smartphone called Project Ara. Have you ever been half way through your day and ran out of battery? Well, with Ara you can just slide in a spare, a cracked screen would no longer mean buying a new phone, you just buy a new one and slide it into place. When Project Ara was first announced, I doubted if it was possible to make this a reality or if people would even buy it. But I started to understand what Ara is really meant for. It’s more than a phone that could out last your two year contract. Let’s say Google, or even a third party firm releases a new camera module. With Project Ara you buy it, swap it and sell the old one any way you want, rather than replacing the whole phone. If this is done with all the modules of Google
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smartphone, you basically have a new kind of phone that can rival the new releases of other companies at a fraction of the cost. Ara could be the biggest news to the phone market since Apple announced the first iPhone back in 2007. Ara could not only change how we, the consumers, use phones, but also how they are made. Google will have to work really hard to change the way we think about our phone, though. You would buy the size shell you want and simply just build a phone to the specifications you want, like many of us do with PCs now. If this takes off you can be sure that Apple, Microsoft and Blackberry will follow suit. Google are hoping to make three different sizes of phone; a small phone, a medium that is around the same size as the Samsung Galaxy S5 and a large version of the
inSYNC Magazine | June 2014
phone that users of the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 will be very familiar with. But the big question is how much will this cost, it’s all nice and well having a good idea but if it cost too much then only a few people can buy it and what this project needs is a lot of backers. Well they have said they are thinking the smaller size will cost around $50 to produce and the largest will cost round $500 to produce. Now produce means what it will cost them to make, so the question is are they hoping to sell a lot meaning the price will come down or expensive and just a few.
Words by Jesse Price Film Editor | Twitter @jesseprice1994
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June 2014 | inSYNC Magazine
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film
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film
More News For Disney’s Star Wars: Episode 7 a huge Star Wars fan, I really can’t wait to see the B eing upcoming instalment of the franchise. But, something that
has been troubling me is the storyline. How will it be done? Which characters will be used? Even, what space ships will we see? Well, it’s something that every Star Wars enthusiast wants to know. We could see the follow-ons from Episode 6 in which Luke rebuilds the Jedi Order on Coruscant at the temple. However, the film is supposedly set 30 years after the events of Return of the Jedi so we may even see the after events of the rebuilding of the Order. The proposed storyline continues to a point where the Emperor, or Palpatine to those who know, is reborn by the force and tries to rebuild the Empire. Spoiler alert though! As it takes the combined Jedi power of both Luke and Leia to defeat him again. And yes you heard correctly, Leia becomes a Jedi in the new order. The worst thing about this storyline though, is that Palpatine actually succeeds in turning Luke to the dark side and initially gives him the rank of Apprentice. I really hope this story isn’t used as it seems to be a cliche, and a little same-old-sameold for the audience, who I fear would get bored very quickly in a storyline similar to the prequels of Episode 7. I would very much prefer to see the rebuilding of the order, and the struggle to finish off the Empire. Maybe adding director J.J. Abrams’ own unique twist to the Star Wars universe will make it better, especially by adding a new Sith Lord. Perhaps this would entice people to watch the new set of movies more than the official storyline that bores me completely. I do hope to see the new characters link in well with the old ones, and a clear story being told of origins of these new characters and how they come in to play in the new story. As it seems to be the Star Wars way, I do expect to see at least one of the new trilogy to be about a victory for the Empire. It makes the trilogy way more tantalising and makes the audience watch in suspense, rather than seeing the ‘good guy’ always winning. But, Disney has its ways of surprising even the oldest of fans so I guess its just a case of time will tell. As we get closer to the new film, we will undoubtedly hear more news on the production and on the story of the upcoming films. But, I can only pray to the force to make this film great. I am genuinely worried that mistakes will be made, but I have full faith in Abrams and Disney to pull it off.
Words by Jack Whiteaway Gaming Editor | Twitter @jackwhiteaway
June 2014 | inSYNC Magazine
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Live at the Portsmouth Beer i nSYNC Festival 2014: We went and had a go at
another local event for this month’s Portsmouth Issue of inSYNC. The Beer Festival, hosted at the excellent Portsmouth Guildhall, was a weekend of celebration towards craft beers, cask ales, real ales and ciders. We went on the Friday 16th May evening session, and a tenner for a ticket, which included a pint glass and free pint was not bad value for money. The Portsmouth Beer Festival was new and innovative, and the aim of the festival was to deliver the best parts of the classic beer festival into a new era of beers and ales with a modern way of thinking. Craft beers and ciders are very popular at the moment, especially in Southsea, and it was good to see a good number of the younger generation getting involved with the festival. There were many featured beers from local breweries, alongside popular ale breweries from around Great Britain. Porters,
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pale ales, bitters, ciders and craft beers were all featured, all designed to appeal to a wide range of different people’s tastes. A lot of new flavours were also brought to the festival. Beers from Brewdog, Kernel and Tiny Rebel were all there for tasting, as well as a number of beers from local brewers like The Brewhouse, Oakleaf and Irving & Co. The ciders were very good, and we started at the highest proof one of 7.8%, but only braved half a pint as too not end the night not being able to stand. We would recommend the ‘Fanny’s Bramble’ cider; a full flavour, and not too sweet. Whilst we were there to sample the many ales and ciders, there was also live music from some of Portsmouth’s best talents. The Bog Rolling Stones and Day of the Rabblement were just two of the acts featured on the Guildhall’s large stage. The Friday session, that we attended, ran from 6:00pm to 11:00pm, and there was then another two sessions on the Saturday, 17th May, running from 12:00pm to 5pm, and
inSYNC Magazine | May 2014
then from 6:00pm to 11:00pm. The event was sold out for all three sessions. The event came about thanks to the collaboration of the Portsmouth Guildhall, The White Swan Brewhouse & Kitchen, Portsmouth City Council, and the Feel Yourself Campaign. As well as bringing the people of Portsmouth some of the best beers from around the United Kingdom and some of the local talent Portsmouth has to offer, the event also supported the Feel Yourself Campaign, which has become big in the Portsmouth area since late 2013 when they hosted their Gland Rock event. We look forward to seeing the Beer Festival return to Pompey next year. And, Congratulations to everyone involved in organising the event, as it was a great success, and a great start to all the events happening in and around Southsea this summer.
Words by Tobi Stidolph Technology Editor | Twitter @tstidolph
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music
inSYNC’s Isle of Wight Festival Preview
Biffy Clyro, Calvin Harris, Red Hot Chili Peppers & Kings of Leon To Headline
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inSYNC Magazine | June 2014
music Isle of Wight will next week welcome Scottish rock T he band Biffy Clyro, Scottish DJ-producer Calvin Harris
and American rock bands Red Hot Chili Peppers and Kings of Leon. The progressively expanding weekend festival, which is in its 13th year since a 2002 revival, that marked the first festival on the island since 1970 is annually held at Seaclose Park on the outskirts of Newport. Scottish three-piece rock band Biffy Clyro will return to the festival to headline for the first time on their third visit, of which their first was in 2012 when they sub headlined for Pearl Jam in front of an energetic main stage crowd. The Scottish rock band and crowd favourite that spent most of 2013 on the road all over the world will be joint-headlining the bill on Friday night. Joint-headlining Friday night with Biffy Clyro and returning to the festival for his third visit and first since 2010 is fellow Scotsman Calvin Harris. The Scotsman has become massively popular since his last visit to the Isle of Wight festival and now holds the record for the most top ten hits from one studio album on the UK Singles Chart with nine hits from the album 18 Months, surpassing Michael Jackson. Friday night will also see Hackney drum & bass band Rudimental take to main stage. The group reached popularity in 2012 with their single ‘Feel The Love’, featuring John Newman topping the UK singles chart; with singer-songwriter from nearby Chichester Tom Odell, pop-alternative band Starsailor, and pop-rock four piece Lawson all joining the Friday lineup. With a 2014 UK and Ireland exclusive performance, Red Hot Chili Peppers will take to the legendary main stage as Saturday night headliners. The performance will mark the Chili Peppers’ first UK festival appearance since 2007 when they headlined the Reading & Leeds Festivals. Joining the main stage lineup for Saturday is the legendary The Specials. The band originally formed in 1978 and had seven consecutive UK Top 10 singles between 1979 and 1981 before dissolving in 1984. After reuniting and dissolving again in 1993 and 2001 respectively, the band has been active since 2008. Also joining Saturday night’s bill are British indie band The 1975, soul-pop singer John Newman, Scottish rock band The Waterboys, American rock band The Pretty Reckless, 19 year old Scottish singer-songwriter Nina Nesbitt, American rock band Rival Songs and South African singer-songwriter Jesse Clegg. Pictures from top to bottom: Kings of Leon, Calvin Harris, Biffy Clyro and Red Hot Chili Peppers
June 2014 | inSYNC Magazine
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music
*KOL Preview* Joining the Sunday main stage lineup is British alternative-rock band Suede. The band originally formed in 1989, and released five studio albums and headlined Reading and V Festival before dissolving October 2003. In 2010, Suede released ‘The Best of Suede’ and toured Europe concluding at London’s O2 arena. Also joining the bill for Sunday is American rock band, fresh off their UK arena tour Fall Out Boy, Brighton-born folk-rock singer-songwriter Passenger, London singer-songwriter Ella Eyre and Southampton indie-rock band Delays. Kings of Leon will headline the festival on Sunday night. The band rose to fame extremely quickly after being formed in 1999 and in 2008 released 3 massive singles, ‘Sex on Fire’, ‘Notion’ and ‘Use Somebody’. It will be the bands second visit to the Isle of Wight Festival and their first UK festival slot since headlining V Festival in 2013.
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Headlining the secondary stage, the Big Top on Thursday night is Boy George after performances from Inspiral Carpets, From The Jam and The Doors Alive. Friday will see Katy B headline the Big Top. Also performing are The Polyphonic Spree, Alison Moyet, Anna Calvi, The Selecter, Chlöe Howl and Samantha Fox. Clean Bandit will headline the Big Top on Saturday night, before a closing set from Gorgon City. Also joining Saturday’s billing is Duke Dumont, Cyril Hahn, The Struts, Cher Lloyd, Dappy, The Vamps, Neon Jungle and NVS. Headlining the Big Top on Sunday night is Travis with prior-performances from The Horrors, Peace, Swim Deep, The Strypes, Deap Vally, July Talk, Amber Run and Pylo.
Words by Luke Jackson & George Hall Music Editor & Editor | Twitter @lukejackson95 & @geogeohall
June 2014 | inSYNC Magazine
inSYNC Magazine | December 2013