We Are Tech by Jack Leslie

SEEING COLOUR FOR THE FIRST TIME 6 APPS YOU 100% NEED

WE ARE TECH HOW A

FALLOUT

YEAR OLD

STOLE YOUR

TE DATA

TECHNOLOGY TE TE

PLAYSTATION VS XBOX

CHINA

HOW FAR AWAY TE ARE

AND ITS YOUNG GAMING

ADDICTS

TE DRIVERLESS

CARS

ARE YOU ENOUGH FOR THE

FIT

FITBIT

AND ITS WEIRD

WHICH ONE WILL

COME OUT ON TOP?

EDITOR’S LETTER

EDITOR’S LETTER W Joe Carey - Editor A gaming and technology enthusiast, mobile and wearable tech are Joe’s main fascinations in the ever-evolving industry. cannot remember a time when having a controller or electronic device in hands felt unfamiliar. His obsession became so great that in 2008, We Are Tech’s Editor even sold a number of his possesions - including his bike to buy the iPhone 3G.

e Are Tech is a magazine idea I came up with after becoming tired of niche technology magazines filling up the shelves. I wanted to create a publication that condenses all the latest tech news and features into a 120 page monthly magazine. I know there are many others who felt the same way as I did, that’s why We Are Tech is here for you, to create a world that you’ll never want to leave. The first purpose of this magazine is to be straight to the point on the latest technology. There is nothing blurring the lines between you and the content our team have produced. No women in bikinis holding the latest smartphones, nothing like that. We know who our readers are, they don’t need that and neither do we. Our second aim here is to provide you with content unlike any other magazine. Technology is rapidly developing, new products come and go, we will always cover them, but the way in which we do so is different to anyone else. Take, for example, our main feature this month, looking at the race between PlayStation and Xbox to the top of the gaming mountain. We chose not to look

at the current consoles on the market, but instead to explore the long-standing rivalry between Sony and Microsoft. In this issue, Adrian Vasilescu talks about the technology in a little game you may have heard of called Fallout 4. Jack Leslie looks at the future of driverless cars and just how far away we could be to seeing them on our roads, while Ryan Yeo addresses the recent hacks at TalkTalk. That’s not all, of course, as we have plenty of surprises for you in the first issue of We Are Tech, but why give them all away on this page? This is our debut issue; everyone at the team has worked incredibly hard to deliver this magazine to you. But we are still learning. We want to grow, as writers and as pioneers of magazine design. Lastly, we would like to thank you, the readers. Making this magazine would not be possible without an audience. Your passion for everything technology fuels this magazine. Being able to write about the things we love for a living is what all of us dreamed of here at We Are Tech. We hope you’ll join us on the ride we are all about to embark upon.

Joe Carey - Editor of We Are Tech

The Staff

Ryan Yeo

Jack Leslie

Sajid Hassan

Amie Stone

Adrian Vasilescu

When We Are Tech’s A freelance Sajid currently Amie is We Are Adrian is from Art Director is not motorsport and resides in London. Tech’s Assistant Romania but now geeking out over F1 journalist from He is tech mad Editor. When she lives in London. the latest games Norfolk, Jack and an occasional isn’t writing for the He is Sub Editor at console or gadget, currently living in gamer, often found magazine, she’s out We Are Tech and is he’s spending his London. He is also playing FIFA or GTA. searching for the passionate about earnings on IKEA Features Editor of We He is We Are Tech’s next best thing in technology, gaming furniture. Are Tech magazine. News Editor. technology. and film.

/We Are Tech

@WeAreTech_

C O N T E T N S

ON THE COVER

HORIZON The latest tech news p6-9

BUZZ Inside Formula E’s electric SRT_01E p12 Fitbit review p13 Previewing YouTube Red p18

P24

PlayStation Experience preview p19 Colour for colourblind p15 Caffiine vaping craze p14 Phantom 3 Professional review p17 Looking at Helium 3 p21

FEATURES

P39

PS4 vs Xbox One p24 The rise of the Segway trend p28 Hacking Talk Talk p30 The tech in Fallout 4 p34 Teenage gaming addicts in China p39 How far away are driverless cars? p42 The story behind Virigin Galactic p46 Wireless headphones for the iPhone 7? p47

P42

TINKER World’s most expensive tech p50 Six apps you need to download

p52

What makes up virtual reality? p59 Make your home smart p56 Inside the Apple Watch p54

P13

RETROSPECT Smartwatch history lesson p62 When Motorola Razrs ruled the world p60

P35

lack cabs in London will accept contactless payments from October 2016, TfL has confirmed. The BBC Trust has announced that BBC Three will be turned off in February 2016, despite a petition for it to be saved that had 270,000 signatures. A fifth person has been arrested in connection with the recent TalkTalk hack. The latest Windows 10 update has deleted potentially important programs without asking for permissions from users first. Reports suggest a second film in the Fantastic Four reboot, which lost production company 20th Century Fox a huge sum of money, could be cancelled after its release date was changed to “TBD” – to be determined. ITV launches new streaming hub to replace the ITV Player, with the updating streaming application having a new name (ITV Hub), look and feel. Just over 100 Xbox 360 titles are now compatible to play on the Xbox One after a new system update. Tesla boss Elon Musk has confirmed on Twitter that the car firm is “ramping up” its efforts to build a fully driverless car, having recently launched a new “autopilot” mode for its Model S. Google has released a rework of its social network Google+, focusing on community and collection aspects.

olograms in your home Amazon is working on technology that can turn your home into a Star Trek-style holodeck. They say it they can bring holograms to your living rooms without the ugly spectacles. A ceiling-mounted node could be used to track the movement of all the people in the room, which means a great step for augmented reality as it shifts from the simple wearing of clunky headsets. Amazon is currently working on technology that consists of “a room equipped with computerised projection and imagining systems that enable presentation of images on various objects within the room to facilitate user interaction with the images and/ or objects”, so is described in the patent

HORIZON document. The company tried and failed to experiment with this type of technology in the past, but this time they might just be on the right track. If they turn out successfully, it will be years before holograms in our homes become a reality. They also have competition, as Microsoft is releasing its HoloLens next year.

“ROBORACE is an open challenge to the most innovative scientific and technologyfocused companies in the world. “It is very exciting to create a platform for them to showcase what they are capable of and I believe there is great potential for us to unearth the next big idea through the unique crowd-sourced contest.”

acebook have announced a new feature that allows users to stream live video. The social media website’s live video feature will initially be available to only a small percentage of people in the United States and will only be available on iPhones. However, the giant said: “over time, the company plans to bring it to all users”. They did not give specific timescales.

WHAT’S ON THE

ony has confirmed the firm is working on bringing Remote Play to both PC and Mac devices. Shuhei Yoshida, president of Sony Worldwide Studios, confirmed via Twitter this month the company was working on bringing the streaming functionality to more devices: “Some people asked if we plan to provide Remote Play function to PC, and yes, we are indeed working on an official application for PC/Mac. :D” @yosp. Remote Play launched alongside the PS4 in November 2013 to work with the PlayStation Vita, it has since been available on Sony Bravia TVs and Sony smartphones. The service has been well received, finally giving resolution to arguments between those wanting to keep exploring the wasteland in Fallout 4 and those wanting to watch the weekend football.

itman 2 Silent Assassin is free on the Square Enix online store, as the company celebrates the 15th anniversary of Agent 47 in a very generous fashion. Users need to enter the code “FreeSilentAssassin” at the checkout to claim the free game. Hitman 2 was released in 2002 for the PS2, Xbox, GameCube and PC to critical acclaim, this will do much to get fans hyped for the reboot scheduled for next year simply dubbed ‘Hitman’.

R I Z O O N H T he FIA Formula E motorsport series and disruptive technologies investment company Kinetik have announced a new racing category featuring driverless cars. ROBORace will form part of the support package for Formula E and will see autonomous electric cars go against each other, helping to develop driverless technology. The first race in the series is set to take place during the 2016-2017 season, with 10 teams – each with two driverless cars – competing on the same circuits as Formula E. All the machines will be the same but the cars will compete using real-time computing algorithms and AI technologies. Further support for the series will come from Kinetik-backed company Charge. “We are very excited to be partnering with Kinetik on what is surely one of the most cutting-edge sporting events in history,” FIA boss Alejandro Agag said.

The feature will display the number of viewers along with the names of friends who are watching and real-time comments as they are written. The video will be saved to users’ timelines and will stay there for as long as they want. When they introduced the service, they described it as a means of showing the people you care about what you are doing and seeing in real time, be it visiting a new place, cooking your favourite recipe or simply want to share some thoughts. The way in which people can share photo collages was also updated, and it now allows users to mix photos and videos. Facebook has come quite a way from its beginning as a simple ‘book of faces’ to the way it is now. And, from the look of it, it does have a promising-looking future.

HORIZON

pple has advised customers who purchased the new iPad Pro that a hard reset is required to wake the product up, after users reported the screen would remain black and unresponsive after an extended charge. One user in particular described how he left his iPad Pro charging overnight and woke up to discover it needed a hard reset to wake itself up. This can be performed by pressing down the lock and home buttons at the same time for a duration of at least 10 seconds. Then the device will perform normally once again. The company has not acknowledged that they’re working on a more permanent way to fix the issue but many users will be hoping the next update for iOS will make the iPad Pro less of a sleeping beauty and more of a productive powerhouse.

BM received heat after launching a ‘women in tech’ initiative called ‘Hack A Dryer’. The firm said it wanted to “blast away the barriers” that women confront with daily. Regarding the discontinuation of the campaign, an IBM spokesman said: “The videos were part of a larger campaign to promote STEM careers. It missed the mark for some and we apologise. It is being discontinued”. Earlier this year, EDF Energy launched a campaign called ‘Pretty Curious’, with the purpose of encouraging young girls to pursue science. The campaign was criticised for its name.

pple purchases motion-capture technology firm. Technology giant Apple has purchased the Swiss form Faceshift, which is behind the motion-capture technology used in the latest Star Wars film. It is not known how much the deal cost and a spokesperson said Apple does not generally “discuss our purpose or plans”. Faceshift is a start-up based in Zurich that develops technology used to create animated avatars and other figures that capture facial expressions. It is an interesting venture for Apple, as the virtual reality sector continues to grow. It indicates the famous firm could be interested in entering the industry in the near future.

he so-called Islamic State has released their own app, found by activists Ghost Security Group. The app only available on Android devices provides a new medium for the terrorist group to spread propaganda. They have used social media with countless Twitter accounts to promote their ideology. The addition to IS’s media usage which makes it harder for the authorities to track them down. According to Ghost Security, the app publishes content from Amaq News Agency, an IS propaganda channel.

ollowing a second security problem with its computers this month, Dell is facing further questions. The issue was similar to the first and could mean personal user information is now vulnerable, according to researchers backed by the US government. In a statement, Dell said the second problem affected those who had downloaded its Dell System Detect product between the 20 October and the 24 November 2015. It stressed that the issue was not pre-installed on computers, unlike the first, and they have raised concerns by technology experts about security. Dell said the product was removed from its website once the disruption was detected and put in place a replacement application immediately.

enault has been dragged into the ongoing emissions scandal. Following Volkswagen’s admission that it faked emissions tests for its diesel engines, DUH (the Germany Environmental Agency) has brought Renault into the scandal. Regulators have been checking other car manufacturers and the DUH reports that the new Renault Espace diesel emitted 25 more nitrogen oxide than the current Euro-6 limit allows. Inspections were undertaken using new European test cycles in five separate examinations with a warm engine. The DUH says it is too easy for manufacturers to dupe consumers with the current legislation in Europe. Axel Freidrich, co-founder of the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), was quoted by the DUH saying: “We need a comprehensive reorganisation of the system, in which mandatory regular controls on the street are integrated.” Renault has yet to comment on the news at the time of We Are Tech going to press.

ormula E and Kinetik announce driverless race series. The FIA Formula E motorsport series and disruptive technologies investment company Kinetik have announced a new racing category featuring driverless cars. ROBORace will form part of the support package for Formula E and will see autonomous electric cars go against each other, helping to develop driverless technology. The first race in the series is set to take place during the 2016-2017 season, with 10 teams – each with two driverless cars – competing on the same circuits as Formula E. All the machines will be the same but the cars will compete using real-time computing algorithms and AI technologies. Further support for the series will come from Kinetik-backed company Charge. “We are very excited to be partnering with Kinetik on what is surely one of the most cutting-edge sporting events in history," FIA boss Alejandro Agag said. "ROBORACE is an open challenge to the most innovative scientific and technology-focused companies in the

HORIZON entire world. “It is very exciting to create a platform for them to showcase what they are capable of and I believe there is great potential for us to unearth the next big idea through the unique crowd-sourced contest.”

he social media app Snapchat was hit by problems this month, with users around the world reporting problems. The issues began on the 8 December and remained for many throughout the day, with those on the app unable to sign in, load pages and send videos. The problems were not felt by all Snapchat users. 4,000 people in the UK reported that it was down at around 12pm on the 8 December, using the the Down

of hacks on key infrastructure, the EU has opted to create a new law. It was agreed by MEPs and ministers from 28 EU countries. It will also apply to some technology firms. Details have yet to be worked out but it is set to include online marketplaces, like eBay and Amazon, and search engines, including Google. At the moment there is no common approach to these digital network beaches, whether it is human error, technical failure or malicious attack. The new laws would see member states cooperate more on cybersecurity, exchanging information and offering assistance.

Detector website, which tracks if a website or app is not working properly. The Snapchat posted on Twitter after the issue was detected that it was "aware of the problem and working on a fix”, but no time on when a solution was expected was confirmed. However, many users took to other social media to report that their application was back up and running.

echnology firms and companies running critical services will have to report any cyber breaches, under new rules proposed by MEPs. The rules will establish minimum standards of cybersecurity for banks, energy and water firms. It is the first time in European history that a EU-wide rule on cybersecurity has been made. Following recent breaches of cybersecurity, as well as rising concerns

witter has started trialling a new non-chronological timeline. Currently the social media website and app shows posts in a chronological order, the newest at the top of the timeline. Recently Twitter replaced the ‘favourite’ star with a new ‘like’ heart, and it is continuing to try out new things. The non-chronological timeline has only been made available to a limited few, but immediate reaction was mixed. The new version of the timeline is similar to Facebook’s ‘top posts’, where status updates, pictures, links and more that have received the most attention appear as the first things users see when they load up the website or app. It goes against what has become one of Twitter’s best selling points – its accessibility for breaking news, with new posts appearing at the top of the timeline when it is refreshed. For now Twitter is calling the change an “experiment”, gaining feedback and trying out something different. So it doesn’t look set to appear anytime soon.

IF YOU HAVE ANY NEWS YOU THINK WE SHOULD BE COVERING, THEN LET US KNOW!

BUZZ PREVIEWS & REVIEWS

FIT BIT: NOT A FIT FOR EVERYONE

ENCHROMA GLASSES: COLOUR FOR COLOURBLIND

FORMULA E: FUTURE 12 OF ELECTRIC RACING CAFFEINE VAPOUR: 14 THE LATEST HIGH

DRONE: EVEN FOR 17 YOUTUBE RED: THE LATEST AMATEURS PAID SERVICE FROM GOOGLE PSX: WHAT HAPPENED AT 48 WHIRLPOOL: THE LATEST SONYâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S CONFERENCE? KITCHEN TECHNOLOGY

FIT-BIT

BUZZ

FORMULA E

MOTORSPORT SPARKS TO LIFE

FITBIT, CHARGE HR

FORMULA E DEBUTED LAST YEAR, WITH ELECTRIC MOMENTS SCATTERED THROUGHOUT THE SEASON MUCH WAS SAID ABOUT THE ACTION OF THE NEW ERA, BUT WHAT ABOUT THE ACTUAL TECHNOLOGY?

he all-electric series burst onto the motorsport scene, kick-starting what could well be a game-changing era for the sector. Electric single-seaters thrilled thousands of fans with close racing, star drivers and fresh technology. It is the first series of its kind, but its maiden season, from September 2014

NOT A FIT FOR EVERYONE

to June 2015, split opinion. Clearly there is still plenty of room for improvement, Formula 1 is far from perfect and the series has been constantly developing since 1950. Formula E debuted with just one car, the Spark-Renault SRT_01E. For some teams, the same machine is still being used in season two. But, what is under the bodywork of the incredibly complicated piece of kit? J.L.

IN 2015, FITBIT RELEASED THE CHARGE HR ITS AFFORDABLE PRICE AND NEW FEATURES SEEM TO MAKE IT THE BEST YET BUT IT’S NOT ALL IT’S CRACKED UP TO BE

T STEERING WHEEL The Formula E steering wheel is far from simple. It features a number of dials and buttons, which change car set-up and work the team radio, drinks bottle and the pit lane speed limiter.

There are also paddles for the gearbox and the FanBoost system, which gives selected drivers extra electricity for a short time. A dashboard completes the steering wheel, providing vital data and information.

BRAKES AND TYRES The brakes feature two hydraulic systems, which are operated by the one standard pedal. Material is free of choice, while aluminium alloy callipers are used. Michelin is the tyre supplier, with the cars running on 18 inch treaded rubber, perfectly suited to both dry and wet conditions.

H2-WOEFULLY MISSED?

POWER UNIT GEARBOX The SRT_01E uses a five-speed sequential gearbox, with paddles on the steering wheel to change up and down. It is produced by manufacturer Hewland and the gear ratios are fixed to save money.

Formula E’s first season in statistics... Races: 11 Drivers: 35 Teams: 10 Drivers Champion: Nelson Piquet Jr Teams champion: e.dams Renault

The motor is made by McLaren and produces a maximum of 200kw, equivalent to 270bhp. The race mode for season one was limited to 150kw, with FanBoost increasing this to 180kw temporarily. Two motor generator units are allowed and have to be linked to the rear akle. Williams Advanced Engineering provided the batteries. The cars have a 0-62mph time of three seconds and a capped top speed of 140mph in season one, but the power unit has been opened up to manufacturers for season two.

You may remember a couple of years ago that Shell aquired a patent for a hydrogen cell to power a car. This idea was quickly locked up and put away because for as long as fossil fuels are still up for grabs, that’s what will be used. However that didn’t stop Japanese car company Honda to unveil the Clarity Fuel Cell Sedan. The hydrogen engine is the same size as a V6 and sports a mighty 175bhp and can go 300 miles between refueling.

he Fitbit is a physical activity tracker designed to help you be more active and eat healthier which in theory will help you lead a better life. Founded in late 2007, California, the Fitbit tracker comes in nine variations and has a number of abilities that help make it the leading fitness tracker in the market. “We design products and experiences that fit seamlessly into your life so you can achieve your health and fitness goals, whatever they may be.” - Fitbit’s mission statement. It’s relatable and it describes what the devices do, what more could a user want? We Are Tech have reviewed what we think is the best value tracker for both your money and its features. We Are Tech reviewed the Fitbit Charge HR and there are some surprises. Syncing up the devices via Bluetooth and putting in health information was a simple five minutes and you’re able to get started. Whenever you’re within range of your Bluetooth device, the Fitbit will connect and update data automatically. Note: wear the Fitbit on your non–dominant wrist for most accurate data.

The Charge HR is primarily used for exercise which all of it features ultimately are to be used for. It measures steps taken and flights of stairs walked using an altimeter – a feature the Apple Watch doesn’t have. All of this is in addition to miles walked; exercise and calories burned make it ideal for exercise which is calculated using its optical heart rate monitor all available to read on the organic light emitting-diode. It also includes the ability to auto-connect your heart rate to your sleeping patterns that makes full use of its battery life of up to five days. Waking you up with soft, repetitive vibrations. When this feature is being used the Fitbit complies data of heart rate and activity in the night showing how often you woke and was restless. With this information you can actively change your sleeping habits that may improve your life.

13 This data is compiled into easy to read graphs on the free app. (available on IOS, Android and Windows devices) All of the features are transferred into easy-to-read data and graphs. Furthermore, if your phone is within range of 6 metres, caller identification is enabled and will appear across the screen. For all its worth the Charge HR is a complex pedometer, while providing an allround evaluation of your health. Sure, your phone can do the same but once you have it around your wrist, you will feel inclined to work out more. It is a piece of technology a health nut won’t be able to live without and a device that any other person will get annoyed with. S.H.

ENCHROMA GLASSES

BUZZ

CAFFEINE VAPING

THE LATEST IN WESTERN ‘STRESS-DEALING’ FADS TOO BUSY TO MAKE COFFEE? JUST INHALE ALL THE CAFFEINE YOU NEED

affeine vaporizers offer a quick hit that could last for up to 30 minutes. It is soon to be a popular method of getting your energy fixes on the go. This device works similarly to e-cigarettes, heating the ingredients to stimulate a reaction when inhaled. The liquids used to put into the electronic vaping stick come from the Amazonian plant Guarana. It also consists of Taurine and ginseng, which is a supplement also used in energy drinks. A caffeinated puff contains up to two milligrams. This means one serving could include 20 to 40 milligrams, which is actually less than your average cup of coffee could contain, with 95 to 200 milligrams. The caffeine vaping stick and liquids are still in early development. This is quite shocking considering they are so easily available online. The FDA in America is yet to review them so there is a debate surrounding the items safety. At the moment, the consequences from consuming too much caffeine are the same as if you drank too many energy drinks or too much coffee. It does have the potential to cause a rapid heartbeat, feeling lightheaded or even shaking. If a person has overdosed on caffeine, blood pressure can seriously rise, causing

It absorbs into the bloodstream much quicker than if you were to digest it

heart problems. There is also concern surrounding the inhaling of caffeine as it absorbs into the bloodstream quicker than if you were to digest it. The worry is that people will not realise how much they have consumed before it is too late and the damage is done. The Eagle Energy Vapor is one of the most established companies selling the products. The Vancouver-based company sell their products across North America and worldwide online. The technology within the creation allows it to be thin and portable. It contains a lithium battery with sensors inside. The person using the pen will see the end of it glowing blue as they inhale. Matt Lang, EEV Marketing director describes the experience as “a much more immediate effect, and also a much more controllable experience for the user”. He adds: “You can stop as soon as you feel more alert as opposed to drinking an energy drink and waiting for it to kick in.” For some busy people this could really help them wake up to a better day but at the moment, we are unaware of the product’s downfalls. Despite, the caffeine vaping being down to self-control it is a huge concern, as it is so accessible over the Internet. Christopher Taddei, a marketing media manager working in London, explains: “I will punch everyone that buy one, morons. It is another pointless addiction that we don’t need to add to this country and the government should crack down on their online purchases immediately”. Due to the product being so new we will have to see what the future holds and how the government deals with a new kind of technological addiction. A.S.

ENCHROMA GLASSES COLOUR. FOR THE COLOURBLIND

hat colour is this? Someone interrogates me as they shove the nearest object they could find so far into my face that I needn’t worry about colourblindness, just complete blindness. I’m now expected to entertain their gleefully shocked faces and guess every colour under the sun when I clearly know what it is. That’s the thing with Deuteranopia; it doesn’t mean that I can’t see red or green - I’ve grown up understanding what colours look like. Rather, colours that have red or green in them, I see in a different way. There are three distinct classes of retinal cone cells; each absorbing red, green and blue light individually. But in a person with red-green colour blindness, the sections of the light spectrum overlap because one cone cell won’t be able to absorb a certain light. Greens are forever murky, blues and purples blur together to make one colour, black and browns sometimes get confusing, and don’t even get me started on neon lights. To put it simply, where the red and green spectrum of colours overlap for colourblind people, the lenses on EnChroma glasses shove a filtering ‘wedge’ between the two cones making them distinguishable. The website claims that experiences like the rainbow or the sunset are seen for the first time with EnChroma, but I have never had an issue

with witnessing the beauty of either. Nevertheless, when I wore them, I couldn’t deny the vibrance that radiated from some of the most mundane colours. This isn’t a sob story. I don’t claim to be inhibited in any way from this. The only times it affects me is when customers at work describe clothes in a way like “seagreen, kind of aqua blue, Moroccan sunset kind of colour.” But imagine realising that for your whole life that you were seeing everything wrong - that shook me. I didn’t find any previously undiscovered colours. But everything was so

Imagine realising that for your whole life, you were seeing everything wrong.

vivid. Shades that didn’t seem real to me were beaming into my eyes. I looked at the flora outside my window and could instantly tell where the grainy brown of the twigs ended and the luscious green leaves began. The suns rays sliced through them like butter but it’s vibrant gold didn’t bleed like it normally does, I could distinguish it perfectly. The sky was still the sky, nothing changed with blue it seemed. Understandably, people can be skeptical about this type of revolutionary product, especially when it’s starting price is $349, but their NEI research trials show that the glasses are effective “for about 80% of cases of colour blindness”. And to be honest, it’s a small price to pay to be able to see if you’re supposed to stop or go at the traffic lights. R.Y

THE SMART PILL CHEAT THOSE LAST MINUTE STUDY PERIODS

ormally prescribed to people with sleeping disorders to help them stay awake, Modafinal is one of the latest ‘smart drugs’ being used by late night crammers. Over 24 studies from 1990 to 2015, the drug showed “higher processing abilites” in participants meaning tasks such as problem solving and planning took shorter than those who didn’t take the drug.

Attention, learning and memory were also improved. Despite the need for further testing, the idea of becoming more resilient and innovative human beings is tempting to all. Google Lens and Microsoft Holo-lens are examples of productibility-driven technology. Now it seems pharmaceuticals are joing forces with the digital world, altering both the way we think, and the way we live our lives. R.Y.

DRONE

DJI PHANTON 3 DRONE EYES IN THE SKY

FOR PROFESSIONALS, ADVANCED AMATEURS OR HOBBYISTS WHO WANT TO GET THE BEST POSSIBLE QUALITY FROM THE AIR

s drones are ‘taking off’ in terms of both professional purposes and leisure time enjoyment, the apogee of this technology can easily be represented by DJI’s Phantom 3 Professional. The design of the aircraft resembles the ones of its predecessors. Its attractive and eye-catching body consists of four propellers accompanied by legs that stabilize it when on the ground. It features a camera mounted beneath, fitted to a mobile 3-axis gimbal. It is small enough to fit in a regular backpack if you remove the rotor blades. Despite its resemblance to the other drones of its series, the insides of the Phantom 3 Professional were completely redesigned. Piloting the drone does require some skill, but it is relatively simple to control. 10 minutes of flight can be enough for one to learn the basics. The controller has an adjustable pad for your smartphone or tablet to fit in. The drone streams the video to your device and records the images when airborne. It features soft material on the sides and back, which aids the comfortable grip of the user. Unlike previous generations, the sticks do not lock when moved, say, in a downward position, but bounce back up, diminishing the difficulty of piloting to a very high degree. The landing part might prove to be a tad more difficult than the rest. But one of the best features of the controller is that it has a ‘return’ button. A.V.

2000 metres operating distance 6000 metres maximum altitude 23 minute

Take amazing HD footage with the mounted 4K camera

flight duration 16 metres p/s Wi-Fi enabled iOS and Android compatible 1280 grams

Adjustable pad and freeform control sticks

4000x3000 photo resolution

PSX

BUZZ

PSX: WHAT TO EXPECT FROM THE EVENT DO YOU CHOOSE

IN AN ATTEMPT TO EXPAND, GOOGLE HAVE INTRODUCED A SERVICE THAT GETS RID OF ALL OF YOUR STRUGGLES WHEN WATCHING VIDEOS ON YOUTUBE

hen Google released the beta version of YouTube Red called Music Key in November 2014, people were left confused. Why pay for something that you can get for free? Then in October 2015, YouTube Red launched with upgrades to its predecessor, offering ad – free content across the board, in addition to the other services aimed to make the YouTube experience better. YouTube Red is a paid subscription service aimed to improve viewing. There are four main features of this service, which warrants its $9.99 and $12.99 (IOS) per month charge. This service is completely optional.

Contrary to belief, it won’t change the entirety of YouTube. YouTube Red will offer original content, only available to subscribers. These YouTube personalities include PewDiePie, The Fine Brothers and Tobuscus, who’ve all signed up to create and star in original films and series. How will Red affect YouTube? Benefit for creators – potentially popular creators will be able to make 25 times more revenue on top of the existing model. The money Google makes from subscriptions will be distributed via the watch count on their videos. This feature may delay their analytics because Red gives the user the ability to download and

watch videos within 30 days. Viewers would be unreachable of ads. Goes against Google’s revenue model as they rely on advertisements BUT it’s likely that advertisers will make money from integrating brands into videos. As it’s only available in the US so far, the results will not do it justice as the true success of YouTube Red will be proven if, or once, it goes global. But from humble beginnings a decade ago, YouTube has improved to put itself as a leader in media. Using YouTube Red will be as routine as skipping ads on videos. We look forward to the future of the service, and if it will become the video equalivalent of Spotify S.H

WE PREVIEW THE LAST GAME SHOW AND DESCRIBE WHAT WOULD MAKE OUR TRUE PS EXPERIENCE

layStation Experience is right around the corner, taking place from the 5-6 December in San Francisco. Sony made the event for the diehard PlayStation fans of the world, with its inaugural event held only a year ago. Just like 2014 we are hoping for some big announcements to come out of the event throughout the weekend. Of course there are the usual suspects, more Uncharted 4 gameplay, a closer look at Horizon: Zero Dawn, but here at We Are Tech we do things a little bit differently. So here are a few wild and wacky predictions about what is to be shown:

Now service. With the announcement, 20 games will be available at the launch of the emulation.

2. SONY BEND FINALLY DRAWS

4. VITA WILL HAVE ITS TIME

BACK THE CURTAIN

IN THE SPOTLIGHT - EVEN IF IT

Sony Bend hasn’t made a game since Uncharted: Golden Abyss, the PlayStation Vita launch title released in 2011. In over four years of development since, they must have a triple A game on their hands ready to show. Here’s hoping they do the same as Bethesda with Fallout 4 and head for a quick release. After all the game has to be done by now right?

IS ONLY A FEW MINUTES

3. SONY SANTA MONICA 1. PLAYSTATION 2 EMULATION ON PS4 EXPLAINED Sony already confirmed they are working on PS2 emulation for the PS4. At the press conference they will outline the games that are coming to the console. However none of them will be first party titles, instead they will focus on third party games for the system, otherwise this will take away from all the pushes they have been making towards their PlayStation

break from Killzone, Sony Santa Monica will do the same for God of War and show of something new, something fresh.

REVEAL THEIR NEW GAME BUT IT ISN’T A NEW GOD OF WAR Last year layoffs hit the developer and it was confirmed that an open world sci-fi RPG was cancelled. God of War is an obvious one for the developer…perhaps too obvious. The studio has worked almost exclusively on the adventures of Kratos since its inception. Just like Guerrilla is taking a

Gio Corsi took to the stage last year to announce several up and coming Vita titles, Some of which still haven’t been released. However Sony will show that they still have a lot of love for the handheld. We’re not going to see any new triple A games from first party studios, but indies will do nicely.

5. PLAYSTATION 3 AND VITA GET PRICE DROPS ONCE AGAIN Despite the PlayStation 4 being over two years old, it is still hard to pick up a last generation system new on the cheap. The PlayStation 3 is still on the market for over £250 and the Vita isn’t exactly cheap for a console that has been labelled as ‘dead’ for a quite a while now. Both are set to get price cuts in the future. The PlayStation 3 will get a price cut to £150 while the Vita will now be £99. J.C.

WHIRLPOOL

WHIRLPOOL SMART COUNTER-TOP COOKING HAS NEVER BEEN SO PRODUCTIVE

You’d be forgiven for thinking the illuminated ring around the pans somehow cook your chicken. I wouldn’t forgive you if you then tried to eat it though. For that is how technology wows us; it teases us with something ridiculous. Something not at all possible right now actually. Enter Whirlpool’s latest concept and addition to its extensive technological kitchen tools; the Interactive Kitchen of the Future 2.0. It aims to develop a thin ‘mat’ that can be placed over any countertop. Where single inductors embedded into your built-in kitchen hob limit you to predetermined locations, electromagnets in the mat are spread out everywhere allowing Whirlpool to locate your pots and pans with sensors and cook your food in the safest and most precise manner. The mat can also weigh your food. It then sends this data to the mats laser display which conjure images, such as the numerical values of weight and temperature, and illuminates

them in distinguishable colours around your cooking instruments so you won’t get confused at what you’re looking at. It’s essentially a visual aid without any physical hassle. Their demo at CES 2015 simply used a birds eye projector to display the imagery, but this simulated their true desire to incorporate touch screen technology into the mat; transforming your counter-top into a giant tablet. This would allow you to throw recipes around the surface, video call your mum for that spice advice and surf the web for any information about the food you’re cooking, without worrying about damaging personal devices from spillage. It can also display social media feeds and videos making the kitchen a lot more interactive and productive thanks to it’s defeat of the clunky and cluttered kitchen devices. While this technology is admittedly roughly five years away, the sheer joy and excitement from tech fans says much

about the need for gadgets in the kitchen. Faster boiling kettles and colder fridges are useful improvements in technology but when technology is driven by fun, it can create this; something that whole families can enjoy and encourages them to interact with each other. True, it can’t make you the next Delia Smith or Jamie Oliver. But it’ll take that little extra stress out of your life so you don’t dread preparing a meal. Whirlpool hopes to pair this technology with their currently released app. It synchronises all your kitchen devices together. For example, it can piece together whatever sad bits of food you have in your fridge and suggest a recipe it finds from the internet. It will then adjust the electromagnets to the temperature you’ll need. Although don’t expect it to work it’s magic if all you have in the fridge is single cream and a jar of pickled eggs. R.Y

FEATURES TECH LINCHPINS IN THE WORLD

FALLOUT TECH YOU DIDN’T KNOW EXISTED IN THE REAL WORLD

HOW LONG DID IT TAKE TO GET KICKED OFF A SEGWAY

ARE DRIVERLESS CARS REALLY THAT FAR AWAY?

VIRGIN GALACTIC: WHAT HAPPENED TO THE SPACE EXPLORATION?

XBOX VS PLAYSTATION: 24 THE RIVALRY HOW A 15-YEAR-OLD ALMOST 30 STOLE YOUR PERSONAL LIFE CHILDREN OF CHINA: THE 39 FUTURE OF KIDS GAMING APPLE’S THINNEST MODEL YET: BY 45 REMOVING HEADPHONE JACK

CONSOLE WARS2.0 XBOX VS PLAYSTATION

FEATURE

THE CONSOLE WAR BETWEEN SONY AND MICROSOFT WE TAKE A LOOK AT THE ORIGINS OF THE

HAS BEEN RAGING FOR OVER 14 YEARS. PLAYSTATION AND XBOX AND THEIR TURMOILS BY JOE CAREY

After initially launching with mixed messages and backlash from gamers across the globe, the Xbox One slowly redeemed itself with a change of leadership and awesome exclusives.

PlayStation 4 launched appealing to gamers, it has been a runaway success selling over 30 million units in just over two years on the market.

ast year Blake J. Harris released a book entitled Console Wars where he describes the fierce rivalry between Nintendo and Sega during the early 90’s. This really was a battle fought long and hard between two companies. Sega was able to take Nintendo’s monopoly of the time away and create a much more competitive industry. Sega is no longer a console manufacturer and Nintendo are leaving much to be desired with the Wii U. The spotlight has slowly shifted away from both of these companies. Now, two very different console manufactures have come to the forefront of the gaming stage that no-one would have expected back in late 1980s. The rivalry between Sony and

Microsoft has marked a new console war PlayStaton versus Xbox. Back in 1988 Sony didn’t have the experience to enter the gaming space. That’s exactly why they partnered with Nintendo to release a CD-ROM component for the SNES. The deal soon broke down and resulted in Sony taking matters into their own hands, developing the original PlayStation in less than six months, making for a timely December 1994 release date in Japan. Sony killed Sega’s last real hopes of staying relevant at E3 1995, undercutting the price of the Sega Saturn significantly. PlayStation went on to dominate the console war this generation with iterative hardware and killer software working

harmoniously. Microsoft joined the console war in the sixth generation of hardware. The Xbox launched in 2001, joining the PS2 and Nintendo GameCube in the war to become the most popular console. Microsoft knew they had to differentiate themselves, their USP was blurring the lines between the PC and the console. Providing gamers with the ease of use that a console brings while carrying over features more traditionally associated with a PC such as online gaming and the ability to download game content.

box’s battering ram started to hit hard on the doors of Sony Computer Entertainment. The icon leading the charge was Master Chief, who’s first outing was critically acclaimed and developed an attach rate greater than 50%. The console was priced competitively at $299. The trump card for Microsoft was a little thing called Xbox Live, the online service that Sony could never compete with, at least for now. Xbox Live launched on the first anniversary of the console and was very lucrative, bringing in over 350,000 users in four months. By July 2004 Xbox Live had over a million recorded users. This was the first time anything close to the social

25 networks we have today were present on a console. Being able to communicate with others was unprecedented. Xbox Live laid a foundation that would only be improved upon. Furthermore it was the same template Sony followed when they launched the PlayStation Network in November 2006. The PlayStation 2 launched in November 2000 for $299 in the US. One of the biggest features that made the console so widely adopted was its DVD functionality. PS2 launched at a time when the DVD was becoming the new form of media playback. DVD players themselves costed around the same price as a PlayStation 2. Consumers then had the choice of whether to pay for a standalone

media player or a video game console that could do the very same. It was an easy choice for everyone. This helped PS2 to become the best selling console with over 150 million units shifted. The internals of the two consoles differed vastly. The PlayStation 2 launched first, giving Microsoft time to refine the components of the Xbox, making it more powerful with double the processing power of the PlayStation 2 and double the RAM. This meant games looked and performed better, a prime example of this were the Grand Theft Auto games that were released a year later with refined graphics and bug fixes. None of this meant the Xbox came anywhere near surpassing the PlayStation in terms of sales. Only 24

XBOX VS PLAYSTATION

FEATURE million units of the console were sold. The seventh generation of consoles started with the Xbox 360, launching in November 2005. Microsoft came out the gate with a console that looked futuristic and had an even better controller, one that’s considered the best of all time. With launch games such as Call of Duty 2 and Project Gotham Racing 3 the power of the next generation was certainly demonstrated. The console got off to an awesome start, selling out in every market at launch except Japan. By the end of the same year the console had shifted over 1.5 million units. Microsoft hoped that launching early would put them in good stead to dominate the console

market before Sony could even get their hardware out the door. It seemed to be working. In a rush to get the console out the door, some vital checks were never made on the 360, if they were, Microsoft ignored the results. The ‘Red Ring of Death’ issue was soon discussed soon after the consoles launch. People claimed that their 360’s would die after displaying these three rings on the front of the system. This resulted in Microsoft having to replace consoles, damaging their reputation as a competent console manufacturer. The issue was resolved on later iterations of the system. Sony’s first blunder was in 2006 when they announced that PlayStation 3 would be delayed until March 2007 in Europe due to issues with the Blu-ray drives that were a vital part of the system. To say that Sony came into this generation of consoles with overconfidence is a severe understatement. They announced PS3 would be priced at $599 for the 60GB model. In comparison to the Xbox 360’s more reasonable $399 for the premium edition, it really didn’t seem like a hard decision when choosing your console of choice for the next seven years. The Playstation 3 had a slow launch and was left to play catch up with the 360 for over 6 years. The companies success with PS2 meant that when PS3 launched for an extremely high price, Sony were still certain people would go out and buy

the system. The company claimed that people would go out and get second jobs to afford the console. They were very much mistaken. By 2013, the PS3 had many software improvements, a slimmer redesign and a price cut. This propelled the console past the Xbox 360 in terms of units sold. But the mindshare of the seventh console generation was certainly with Microsoft. fter having an absolute drumming with the launch of the PlayStation 3, Sony seemed to have learned many lessons that would be put in practise with the launch of the PlayStation 4. In February 2013 Sony shot first with the announcement of the new console. They preached about how the console would be made for gamers first and foremost. In a complete 180 to this, Microsoft announced the Xbox One in May to an immediate backlash on the internet by it being positioned as a media device rather than a dedicated place for gamers to play. The console was burdened by many restrictions such as having an always online functionality. This put a terrible taste in gamers mouths, the decision to reverse all of these decisions helped, but the damage had already been done. Sony smelled blood and struck fast, staying on track by having a console designed for gamers. They have never shied away from this message, this is why they are once again on top in the gaming space. The last we heard from both console manufacturers PS4 was sitting at over 24 million units sold while the Xbox One had sold

WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF CONSOLES?

To say that Sony came into this generation of consoles with overconfidence is a severe understatement just over 13 million units. A great lead has already been established by Sony, but it’s good news for both consoles as each one is outselling the console prior to it, which shows the console market is very healthy. What is most fascinating is seeing a war between two companies that has been present for over 14 years still in its prime. Both gaming giants have their foot on the gas and show no signs of letting up. This truly is the second console war. Sony and Microsoft are putting on the show for us, as gamers we have a duty to sit back and play the great games that come out of this long standing rivalry. Competition is horrible for the companies involved, but awesome for the consumer, here’s to another 14 years Sony and Microsoft!

TECH FACE WHICH THE 13.5in x 10.4in x 3.2in 1.75GHz AMD 8-core CPU 1.31 teraflops AMD Radeon GPU

10.8in x 12in x 2in

1.6GHz AMD 8-core CPU 1.84 teraflops AMD Radeon GPU

8GB DDR3 RAM (3GB dedicated to OS)

8GB GDDR5 RAM (3.5GB dedicated to OS)

Games run at 720p or 900p resolutio at 30 or 60fps

Games run at 1080p resolution at 30 or 60fps

500GB + 1TB Hardrive 2 USB ports, HDMI in/out, S/ PDIF digital audio, IR blaster connection, ethernet port Comes with Kinect camera + headset £260

BEST?

SPEC OFF IS REALLY BEST?

ONLY YOU

500GB + 1TB interchangeable Hardrive 2 USB ports, HDMI in, S/PDIF digital audio, ethernet port Comes with charging lead and earpiece £264.99

CAN DECIDE

hen the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One launched, game developers preached about the new generation of consoles, saying it gave them so much more freedom to realise the worlds they wanted to create, they had so much more power to harness. Sticking to hardware that was over eight years old has its limitations, for the player and developer. The new consoles are much more capable, but still already underpowered when compared to a fully specced out gaming PC. If consoles were released more often they could keep the industry moving at its frantic pace and give developers what the want. Taking a look at the mobile gaming space can give you a glimpse as to what life might be like if consoles were released even every couple of years. With the launch of every new iPhone the same graph is shown at Apple’s press conferences showing the superior overall speed and graphics performance the new device is capable of. This is then followed up by a software developer showing off a new game. For the

Mobile gaming is very unique in a sense that the latest software doesn’t need to run on the latest hardware announcement of the iPhone 6s game developer ‘Pixel Toys’ took to the stage to demo their latest game Warhammer 40,000: Freeblade that showed console like performance, with awesome particle effects and a large number of AI on screen at once. Mobile gaming is very unique in a sense that the latest software does not need to run on the latest piece of hardware. Games that are said to be best played on the iPhone 6s will also run perfectly fine on older hardware. Whenever you look at a mobile game on the app store it will tell you which devices support the game, depending on which piece of hardware you own, the game will scale down things such as particle effects, textures and the number of characters on screen to fit with the performance of

the phone or tablet. This iterative model would suit consoles perfectly as they are already made using a PC architecture. This means scaling down different versions of the same game would be more possible as it has been present on PC’s for decades now. With a release every couple of years consoles would keep the pace with the ‘master race’. One of the biggest problems with the last generation of consoles was that the PS3 and Xbox 360 were over eight years old, they held back the potential of the PC and newer hardware. Developers did not and would never make PC exclusive games when both consoles had an install base of over 80 million each. The larger market spoke, meaning games were always made for these platforms. Better games, better graphics and a faster moving industry, what could you possibly complain about then? J.C

E3 1995 Sony announces the price of PlayStation to the West, the console launched for $299

MAR 2000 PlayStation 2 is launched

NOV 2001 Microsoft launches the Xbox NOV 2005 Xbox 360 is launched FEB 2013 PS4 is announced in NYC JUN 2013 Microsoft reverses policies - DRM is removed

DEC 1994 PlayStation released in Japan SEPT 1996 Crash Bandicoot released for the PlayStation NOV 2000 Xbox Live is launched JULY 2004 Xbox Live has over a million recorded users NOV 2006 PS3 is launched MAY 2013 Xbox One announced to an immediate backlash

SEGWAY

FEATURE one. According to a Metropolitan Police Sergeant, it’s more than likely you’ll get away scot-free because the police have “got better things to do.” It isn’t going to be a life and death situation if you choose to take your board on the streets. I wouldn’t advise you to

HOVER

YOUR WAY OUT OF THE LAW

Self-balancing scooters, the latest craze in 2015 were recently made illegal in the UK. We are Tech have looked at the law and we tell you what you can and can’t do – and still enjoy yourself. BY SAJID HASSAN 28

wegways and Airboards are just a few of the names given to self-balancing scooters invented in China in 2013. But the name popularised by the media are Hoverboards. With this, there has been many other variations of the designs, whose brands that vary in price: from the standard £300, up to £1,500. The IO Hawk board is considered the more sophisticated board on the market. Regardless of their name, there is no doubt of its popularity amongst the tech – savvy people in the UK. This new wave of technology is an extension of the Segway, launched in 2001, which had been named one of the top 50 worst inventions in Time.com. The hands-free versions today are easier to travel with and cooler, hence the name SWEGway - a variation of ‘swag’ and a

relation to its predecessor. So there’s no question as to why it has become so popular with teens who want to stay on top of the latest trends. Fast forward to 2015 and there are now numerous brands with additional features such as Bluetooth speakers to boom music from underneath the board. Despite being the envy of young adults

“The average bobby on the beat know they’re illegal” around the UK, riding them on pavements and on public roads is now against the law under Section 72 of the Highway Act 1835 and Section 170(2) of the Road Traffic Act 1988. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) have officially said that “selfbalancing scooters would not currently

meet the requirements of these schemes so are not legal for road use.” But there is a silver lining underneath this issue. What can the police actually do? It’s highly unlikely that they would detain and confiscate the device. You’ll be pleased to know that if the owner doesn’t pose a threat there is no problem. IN REAL TERMS, it’s up to the opinion of the officer the time. Besides, riding boards in public would annoy pedestrians more than anyone else. Yet, at the moment these regulations have thwarted plans for present-givers this Christmas as even though prices of some self-balancing scooters have dropped to as low as £280, the chance for people to actually use it freely is close to none. Or so you might think. Here at We Are Tech, we’ve got some valuable information for those of you thinking about buying

become such a phenomenon because of mans hope for a futuristic vehicle as seen in the Back to the Future franchise. Flying cars and holograms are just a few creations that the movie that was possible and readily available for the masses come 2015 Marty McFly looked

as Liverpool star Philippe Coutinho and Manchester City winger Raheem Sterling who’ve made a point on their social media accounts that – if anything – have pushed the public to join the movement. This in addition to the reality TV stars including TOWIE’s Mario Falcone, who’ve

overtly torment the police riding in public so cool in his 2015 riding a hoverboard brought the craze across the Atlantic and as some YouTube pranksters have done, that, yes, actually floats above the ground! have become the envy of many – at least but this craze hasn’t yet showed any sign Perhaps this is why it’s taken people’s for now until it dies down. Where they of decline so you may be in luck. imaginations. The self - balancing nonchalantly stroll wherever they like, it As an enforcer of these laws, one board has clearly impacted on popular London policeman commented saying, culture and is one contributor to the “the average bobby on the beat wouldn’t fad. The hoverboard is popular because know their illegal”. DING! That was the people want to be like McFly. The 2013 light bulb going off in your creation if anything head. If some of the police made people happy. don’t know they’re illegal, Companies such as that makes it all the more Lexus have gone one may be more likely for the common man easier for you to ride your step further in 2015 to find themselves in situations they’re board in peace. Even then announcing SLIDE unable to get out of. he said when questioned, that actually hovers. 60 years ago, the ‘boy toy’ to get if in the unlikely situation The technology used was the Rolls Royce. In 2015 it is the IO Hawk you were being a is more sophisticated Hoverboard. People want it to stand out. LED Lights nuisance, would you get because the car brand The technology might have changed but detained? “Probably not … using superconductors, the point of the tech stays the same. The £1,200 we’ve got better things to which allow point being that they both do.” It looks like in Britain the board to are status symbols, if you you may be able to get away with riding hover one to two inches above have a Swegway, people them but it’s ultimately up to you to risk the ground and liquid nitrogen will turn their heads, you going out onto the streets where you won’t to cool the device. will get attention. be invisible to the police but overlooked. It’s no surprise that these And that’s why perhaps; To call the self-balancing scooter a devices have popped up across they’ve become such a hoverboard doesn’t really do it justice. the UK because we’ve taken hotbed of discussion. The poorly named hoverboard that uses suit from the USA. America has You either love them or two wheels to glide rather than actually led the way in social culture hate them and despite E-FAST hovering uses the persons weight and the fact that the self measures that have been Bluetooth Speaker put in, it looks like the manydistribution to control the direction you’d balancing scooter emerged go in using gyroscopic sensors. So core and gained popularity from named, unable-to-hover £1,200 strength and good balance is key to social media is no coincidence. hoverboard is set to remain master it without falling off. The plethora of premier league on our streets regardless of Really the self-balancing scooter has stars who’ve added to the hype such the law.

Would you get detained? “Probably not...we’ve got better things to do

TALK TALK HACKS

FEATURE

HOW A YEAR

15OLD ALMOST

STOLE YOUR DATA

THE TALKTALK HACKS PROVED THAT THE WORLD WAS FAR TOO COMFORTABLE STORING THEIR DATA IN SYSTEMS AND SERVERS THEY HAD NO KNOWLEDGE OF. WE TAKE A LOOK AT THE SECURITY MEASURES BUSINESS’S HAVE IN PLACE AS WELL AS TIPS YOU CAN DO FOR SECURITY AT HOME BY RYAN YEO

ecause everyone had seen a few episodes of Mr Robot; the Amazon Prime series about a young hacker, they all became overnight experts throughout the TalkTalk hackings. If you weren’t aware, the telecommunications firm experience severe attacks at their servers earlier this year and the safety of their clients personal data was questioned. According to the company, more than 157,000 of their customers had their personal information accessed, 15,656 of whom

Definition of laziness? You know nothing of what and where you’re storing your most personal data into. And yet you do so incredibly willingly. had their bank account and sort codes stolen. 28,000 also had their credit card information thieved but TalkTalk said that the data was encrypted and couldn’t be used for financial transactions. That’s not even the most worrying part. The real

threat comes from the realisation that one of the five hackers was 15-years-old. I don’t know about the readers of We Are Tech, but when I was 15, I was too busy playing Pokemon and pretending I was an Argos receptionist to bother with coding and hacking. Many users, some of whom

weren’t even affected, called out TalkTalk for their “lazy handling” of the situation. Do you want to know the definition of laziness? You know nothing of what and where you’re storing your most personal data into. And yet you do, so incredibly willingly. So let’s shine a little light on the subject. With a hack that cost them £35 million, we can safely assume that they believe their security systems are

adequate enough to regularly prevent them from losing such revenue. Most of the time, we’re kept in the dark for a reason; if you don’t know what protocols and software their security systems run on, then you’ll have less of an idea about how to hack it. That, and the idea that most people probably won’t understand nor care. It’s not enough to just block incoming malware, the technology has to be able to recognise it amongst the massive amount of data it’s also filtering. Imagine trying

31 to follow the route of a fly in a crowd of a thousand football fans. Business’s will normally also have to encrypt the data they hold. That way, if it is ever stolen, it could never be accessed without running it through dedicated ‘off-the-grid’ software

PERSONAL DATA

TALK TALK HACKS

FEATURE

to de-crypt it. yber-security firms can charge up to £10,000 per day to protect major companies from attacks. While this may seem like a lot of money, cybercrime overall is expected to cost the UK £34 billion per year. A new survey conducted by the Manpower Employment Outlook suggests that demand for cyber security will see a boom of available jobs in the next year. And it wouldn’t surprise me if the 15-year-old that was bailed out of jail would be offered a job as well. Of course, even the toughest of security systems has it’s limits. And attacks such as the DDoS that plagued the TalkTalk servers, unfortunately, have absolutely no

Although this method is really at just causing annoying chaos, if the DDoS shuts down the security part of the website, then there is little firewall to protect whatever data it may hold; making it easier for hackers to retrieve sensitive information. Companies that employ certain cyber-security firms are required to carry out DDoS drills. It seems that human proccesses are simply not quick enough to evolve with the rate of technologys fast visor grip. Companies, like Sony, survived the worst of their cyber attacks by offloading most of the heavy traffic into cloud servers that they quickly booted up, meaning that the PlayStation Network has been saved several times from going offline and therefore restricting players to

the service. While you’ll have no input on how your data is stored and handled with business’s once you’ve given it to them, there are procedures you can do at home to protect you against virus’s and harmful software. Other than your basic tips; making sure you never use the same passwords across accounts and making sure those passwords consist of nothing personal to you (although we all know you’ll just put a ‘1’ at the end if needs be) there are some other methods to staying safe online. Many web browsers have ‘incognito’ searching which doesn’t keep a history of where you’ve been roaming on the internet. This then blocks cookies from tracking your data movement and

WHAT ARE THE TYPES OF DDOS ATTACKS?

A Distributed Denial Of Service (DDoS) attack floods online platforms with huge amounts of electronic traffic, causing the site to shut down.

limit. A Distributed Denial Of Service (DDoS) attack involves internet traffic from electronic devices flooding specific online platforms, most commonly websites. This is done in the attempt to overload the website’s servers and take it offline. According to TrendMicro research, $150 can buy you a week long DDoS attack. People really are on the black market to take down corporations. If you were affected by the TalkTalk hackings, you’d call this illegal vandalism. If you’re a ‘Netflix and chill’ kind of person and you’ve taken a keen interest in Mr Robot, then you might call it vigilanteism. Either way there’s a business for it, and it’s a lot simpler than you’d actually think. Hackers will spread around malicious software to multiple electronic devices in the form of emails and websites. Once infected, the attacker will have control over the digital army, known as a Botnet, and can use it to flood bandwidths of websites by ‘requesting’ connection. This is normally too much for the website to handle and it therefore shuts down.

VOLUME BASED ATTACKS: The attack’s goal is to saturate the bandwith of the attacked site, and magnitude is measured in bits per second (Bps). PROTOCOL ATTACKS: Includes Pings of Death and SYN floods, this type of attack consumes actual server resources, or those of intermediate communication equipment, such as firewalls and load balancers, and is measured in Packets per second. APPLICATION LAYER ATTACKS: Comprimised of seemingly legitimate and innocent requests, the goal of these attacks is to crash the web server, and the magnitude is measured in Requests per second. therefore have nothing to offer up if they’re ever called upon by a threatening software. I’m sure this tip will be used in the name of something else, rather than security though. Basic virus protectors can be bought quite cheaply to install on your computer, although some are available free online to download. They act as a last tough firewall if you do happen to click on a dodgy link; it gets in the way before your computer is harmed or hijacked. They also alert you to websites that could have a risk to your computer as well as letting you know if a virus does manage to seep through the cracks, giving you the option of then eradicating it.

Needless to say, any call to action to get you to stop putting so much of your data online is futile. You still need to access all your accounts online and therefore your address and name will be registered online. Any direct debits you may have tied to these accounts will also have records of your payment details. And this is at risk. And somewhere in your head you know it. But that’s one thing I do admire about the human race; we accept that things may turn very nastily for us in the digital world because it’s convenient to do so. Because we can’t be bothered with paper statements. Because we want Spotify. Because we want a can of free Red Bull

sent to our door. All of this is worth getting hacked, because we’ll always believe it probably won’t be us.

FEATURE

I HOW

S.P.E.C.I.A.L IS THE TECH IN

FALLOUT? IN A UNIVERSE THAT COULD HAVE VERY NEARLY BEEN OUR OWN, WE LOOK AT WHAT OUTLANDISH TECHNOLOGY THE FALLOUT GAMES HAVE BROUGHT TO OUR SCREENS - AND WHAT RIDICULOUS INVENTIONS ACTUALLY EXISTED IN THE REAL WORLD BY ADRIAN VASILESCU

t is pretty amazing how different the world in the Fallout series is. I am talking about the world before the Great War. Those of you who are legitimate Fallout fans are probably very curious about it, especially when it comes to the world’s history and about the seemingly ‘vintage-sci-fi-like’ technology in it. The technology in the Fallout universe will be the star here. A tiny bit of historical back ground could be relevant though. So, their world was pretty much going in the same direction as ours, but only until World War Two. From that point on, it followed a path towards progress, like our own, but in a different direction. That’s when the timelines started to differentiate one from the other in terms of history and, above all, technology. For example, where history was concerned, the United States were divided into 13 Commonwealths in order to mitigate the expansion of Communism during the Cold War, and thus changing the American flag. There thirteen small stars that form a circle, which represent the Commonwealths, with a big star in the center, which represents the nation as a whole. There were no serious armed conflicts until the year 2052 when the oilrich nations of the Middle East raised the prices of oil, triggering the Resource Wars which ended with the Great War in 2077. Yeah, the one that messed everything up. And in this messed-up world, players can learn a lot about its past from the ruins they explore and what they discover.

FALLOUT TECH

FEATURE

HOW CLOSE DID WE COME TO FALLOUT’S POSTAPOCALYPTIC FUTURE?

1969 The U.S divides into 13 commonwealth nations MARCH 2052 New Plague Virus breaks out - US closes its borders

The most amazing thing is the technology, which is the star. While it’s different from ours, it’s a mix of the outdated and the advanced. The TVs are black and white, the radios are old and often made out of wood, there are no smartphones, and the computers are terminals that run on operating systems which some would say are inferior even to our world’s MS DOS. But apart from that, they have fusion-fuelled vintage-looking cars and steam-powered trucks, robots with real artificial intelligence and…Pip Boys. You all know the Pip Boys. They are the portable computer accessories the main characters in the games wear on their hands. They resemble the smartwatches we have, however, they weigh around 10 tons and look very unaesthetic. They are not fashion choices, they are practical and absolutely necessary. So what are the coolest pieces of technology in the Fallout universe? Robots: while our world is still apparently struggling with building the first robots and investing a lot of time and money in ‘teaching’ them how to bring us drinks, robotics is in fact an actual industry in Fallout. Robots are so popular that they are not used only by the military, but by civilians as well. They can operate weapons and make tactical decisions as well as sweep floors and wash dishes, like the popular Mr Handy does. Many of them are even given artificial intelligence.Computers: even

though robots are basically computers with limbs, the actual computers are primitive with very low processing power. Maybe even MS DOS would be too much for them. They also look primitive, like central units with integrated screens and keyboards. But that’s why they are cool, because they seem obsolete in comparison with the rest of the tech, and thus, they are one of the main things that make Fallout so special. Cars: because of the oil crisis that started in 2052, car manufacturers were forced to look for alternative fuels. In the end, the successor to gasoline was the fusion cell. With fusion cells, personal cars had over 800 horsepower and could accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in less than a second. They are completely analogue with no computers on board. naturally, not all cars were like this. These are pretty much Fallout’s version of supercars, and they obviously costed much more than the average person could afford. And of course, they pretty much look like the cars people used to drive in our world in the 1950s. Weaponry: These are the coolest. There are conventional guns, like assault rifles, shotguns and pistols. But, the

With fusion cells, personal cars had over 800 horsepower and could accelerate from 0-60mph in less than a second.

coolest ones are the energy weapons. They are powered by microfusion cells, pretty much the same type of energy that powers cars. They consist of laser weapons, which obviously fire laser beams, and plasma weapons, which fire powerful pulses of energy. Melee weapons range from baseball bats and sledgehammers to power fists and electrical knuckles. So both close and ranged combat is very much entertaining. Protection: protection represents great technological advancement in Fallout. And the apogee of this advancement are the Power Armours. They are made out of steel and can withstand enormous amounts of damage from both conventional and energy weapons. The built-in fusion cores enables them to operate for a long period of time before depletion. They were used in the military before the war. Now they are favoured by two particular factions: The Brotherhood of Steel and the Enclave, the remnants of the US government. We don’t have anything remotely close to that kind of protection potential. We do have ideas and projects on Juggernaut Suits, which would come relatively close to the Power Armours. However, even if we were to build an armour that would stop a .50-calibre bullet from penetrating the helmet, the shock followed by the kinectic energy would render the wearer unconscious. But it would, in fact, save a life.

Medical: Stimpaks are the syringes we take a dozen of, along with 17 bottles of ‘purified water’ and 50 pieces of radroach meat when we encounter Deathclaws in the wasteland. When used, the stimpak sends cells into a frenzy of replication, healing minor wounds and rebuilding tissue. They work in a similar way to stem cells. It does in seconds what would normally take days. There are also the superior versions: the super and the ultra stimpaks. Naturally, they are stronger. But stimpaks are not all there is to Fallout’s medical technology. Let’s not leave out the seemingly miraculous chems that enhance certain skills of pretty much everyone who takes them and have curative powers on top of that, like the Radaway, which cures radiation almost instantly and the Mentats that increase an individual’s Intelligence Quotient and Perception for a brief period of time. But the apogee of technological advancement

consisted, among other things, of cloning limbs and whole parts of the body in order to replace the damaged or unhealthy ones, as well as enhance the person permanently. So alongside its curative powers, it also makes you superhuman. Vaults: They are indispensable to the fallout world and they are immense and incredibly advanced pieces of technology. Or were, at some point. They were built before the Great War and their purpose was that of sheltering people in the event of ‘total atomic annihilation’. However, the vaults were actually bunkers in which the US government conducted a series of social and scientific experiments, and people were obviously oblivious to that ‘detail’. For example, in the latest game, Fallout 4, the residents of Vault 111 were frozen and preserved in cryogenic capsules with the purpose of waiting out the radiation levels on the surface. In essence, the vaults were hightech underground facilities that played with their populations.

Alongside its curative powers, it also makes you superhuman.

2 SEPTEMBER 1945 Japan surrenders to the allied powers. WW2 officially ends. 2051 The U.S enters Mexico to preserve oil wells

JULY 2052 Countries pull out of the UN. United Nations is officialy disbanded

APRIL 2052 The Resource Wars begin as European Commonwealth invades the Middle East for oil

2059 The first AI is born

2054 Vault construction begins as part of Project Safehouse

23 OCTOBER 2077 The Great War begins. Nuclear warfare erupts on a global scale. It is suspected that China fired first

2060 Oil fields run dry, ending the EuropeanMiddle Eastern War

FEATURE

ADDICTION

GAMING IN CHINA

Overcrowding in China has to led to competition for education and jobs. The escape for younger generations struggling with cultural pressures? Video Gaming. BY AMIE STONE

any capitalist nations look to China with fascination and curiosity as, citizens live within a communist society.Since 1949, the founding father of the Peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Republic of China, Chairman Mao Zedong led the communist revolution. His ideologies known as Marxism-Leninism-Maoism introduced a strong military presence and new political policies. The older generation often celebrate being liberated; They turned their back on poverty and looked towards a richer, more prosperous future. It is often ignored that he left millions to die of starvation and killed thousands of political opponents. The Communist Party used poor young families for political opportunity as they forced authority and obedience. These generations have used strict discipline on their children so, they compete for a better life.Successfully,

China leads the world in the development of technology; Therefore citizens have been able to immerse themselves in a new online culture. It is estimated that 24 million Chinese teenagers are addicted to online gaming. The pressure to obey rules has led to many Chinese adolescents reaching for an outlook to escape mundane life. But how does society help children who cannot conform to the pressures of everyday Chinese culture? In July 2015, the Chinese government lifted the ban on selling foreign games consoles. Many young people were able to access the gaming software due to, grey areas in Chinese law. Children were able to download games for free onto their mobile phones. Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft are now able to enter the market but, the Chinese government maintain censorship over consoles.This proves that gaming culture is very different from the way that

gamers play in western societies. In the UK, many children have consoles in their home therefore, parents can keep a close eye and set time limits. In comparison, Chinese students would visit gaming cafes after school to get their gaming fix. This took away control from parents and their children would be away from the home. The most played game in China is the multi-player battle game League of Legends. Shanghai leads the way in holding national tournaments at arenasized gaming centers. The super fan game culture has seen professional teams earn a small fortune and gain celebrity status. The professional gamer, Liang Chang-Wei from Team Royal is a world famous player who made record breaking prize money from his skill and experience, having played games since he was 10 years old. He does recognise the excessive gaming problems in China as he confirms â&#x20AC;&#x153;Some

CHILDREN OF CHINA

FEATURE students face greater pressure. The main pressures are getting a good job and maintaining living expenses. It’s difficult to find a satisfying job, because the employment competition is intense in over populated cities.” The son of the richest man in China, Wang Sicong, 27, was also educated through the British system

“It’s difficult to find a satisfying job, because the employment competition is intense in over populated cities.” Yueer Wang

The Chinese education system puts children under pressure to succeed which causes some to thrive but leave many left behind looking for an escape. Parents cannot help but put pressure on their children as they look back to their past and realise how hard life was. With super stardom encouraging children that gaming is a career although an unlikely one, there is no incentive for them to stop playing games. The boot camp systems continue to display control, authority and discipline. It is obvious that children are depressed and use video gaming to escape pressures of studying. In Britain, teenagers would perhaps turn to drugs but, it’s clear gaming is their drug. It is interesting how technology has become a new addictive outlet for people to use as an escape.

and views gaming as a distraction from the mundane life of school and home. Sicong explains there is no way to succeed outside of the system as the state chooses what is good for you and individuals are expected to conform. He describes that in Chinese society you “go forward in life with a mask but online you are able to take it off”. It’s obvious that there are huge pressures on Chinese teenagers but, unfortunately there seems to be no rational escape.

people who are obsessed with playing may see their academic results drop. It depends on how you manage your time. I think it’s good to have some fun but you shouldn’t do it excessively”. With ordinary people being elevated to riches and fame by playing games it’s hard to understand what entices people to give up gaming. In recent years, China has seen a rise in rehabilitation schools who use bootcamp methods to cure video game addicts. Children are sent to institutions by their parents in hope they can get back into mainstream school. The gaming junkies are forced to leave their home for long periods of time in isolation from family and friends. The pupils are cut off from all electric devices such as computers and mobile phones to ensure they have no access to gaming.

An unidentified school in Hebei Provence uses a ‘no soft’ approach when it comes to rehabilitating children back into normal society. A third of the boys who attend the

“Some people who are obsessed with playing may see their academic results drop. I think it’s good to have some fun but you shouldn’t do it excessively”. Liang Chang Wei unit have been left due to their gaming addiction. It is clear that studying has

GAMING FACTS

In 2015, there will be 266 million Chinese gamers playing at least 2 hours a month

10. Hearthstone Heroes of Warcraft 9. World of Tanks 8. Fantasy Journey to the West 2 7. Demigods and Semi Devils 6. Blade and Soul 5. Guild Wars 2 4. World of Warcraft

become unbearable, therefore they use gaming to escape pressures of reality. Principle Liu explains “When normal schools refuse to the take the kids and parents can’t deal with the situation. Then someone has to stand up and help. That’s what our school is for. We aim to help kids adapt back to school life.” In China, there is no room for failure and it is obvious that all children are to conform to an obedient society. In Nantong in Jiangsu province a 19 year old boy chopped off his hands to cure his internet addiction. Ide ntified as Little Wang he is just another example of how children find it hard to fit in to culture. Yueer Wang, 21, is a journalism student in the UK and recognises the difference between the way children are educated. She explains: “I think Chinese

In China, 73% of gamers are male and 27% are female

THE MOST PLAYED GAMES IN CHINA

3. Crossfire

2. Dungeon and Fighter 41

1. League of Legends Changyou is the leading online game operator which man $980 million in revenue

Revenue from gaming is estimated to reach $150 billion by 2017

64% of Chinese gamers spend money on online games each month

DRIVERLESS CARS

FEATURE technology being put on the road as this piece is being typed up or future initiatives. They already have the knowhow when it comes to constructing cars, whereas firms like Google, whose own driverless car project is well underway, have to start from scratch. One such example of a car currently in production using such advanced driverless technology is the Tesla Model S. The premium electric car creator has just released a new software update for its luxury sedan, which brings with it several autonomous features. ‘Autopilot’ uses cameras and sensors placed around the car to keep it in lane, steering without any driver involvement to remain within the all-important white lines. The technology is still in its beta stage but drivers who download the software

reset the mode and you can get back to browsing through your phone, resuming your tablet game or reading a magazine. This is one of the first pieces of the puzzle when it comes to autonomous cars. Whereas some pieces of technology, like lane departure assist and self-parking, only help with small aspects of driving, Tesla’s ‘Autopilot’ puts the car in complete control while on the motorways. Those who have experienced it so far admit that it takes some getting used to, but obviously it will take some time for the novelty of the new technology to wear off. Google is currently well into its development of driverless technology. Testing of its own systems started in 2012 using a range of cars, from the Toyota Prius to Audi TT and Lexus RX450Z.

“As of September 2015 Google’s fleet of cars have managed over 1,200,000 miles of driving

FUTUREIS

THE

DRIVERLESS

As more and more driver aids appear on modern day cars, we investigate how far off a world of autonomous vehicles could be. BY JACK LESLIE

or some, driving is simply a way of getting from ‘A’ to ‘B’. Others truly enjoy it, heading for Sunday drives or taking detours to spend more time behind the wheel. But there are also people out there who find driving tedious, boring and a waste of time. That’s the market autonomous cars will appeal to when they eventually hit the road, whenever that may be. The technology is already starting to make an impact in the automotive world, with more and more driver assists being made standard or as an option on new road cars. Slowly, the equipment is accelerating into the market, proving to be not only a strong indication of where driverless technology will go, but also

how close it could be. Driverless vehicles are on the way and their introduction looks set to change the transportation world, possibly forever. Buses, taxis and many more trades will be rocked by the technology and it would clearly be transferred into other industries around the world, like trains and buses, manufacturing and delivery services. Jobs will be at risk, but at the same time, new roles will be opening and the reasons for developing driverless cars are clear to see. There would be improved safety, with computers being able to monitor the surroundings and events that occur while behind the wheel at a much faster rate. Plus, it would take stress away from the occupants of the car, enabling them to spend the time travelling more

wisely, socialise and even work. But just how far away are we from having a world full of driverless cars? A place where driving tests are a thing of the past, cars are all autonomous and people spend their journeys sat facing the other passengers, talking and interacting, rather than focusing on the road ahead. It could be much closer than many might think. Autonomous car technology is already being developed by a whole host of companies and manufacturers. Some have already established driving assists for their current fleet of road cars, like lane assist, self-parking, steering control and even automatic braking. There are smaller things too, such as seat or steering wheel vibrations to warn that the car is drifting across lanes or lights that automatically turn on when darkness arrives. The fact is that most car manufacturers are already working on driverless cars, either through

Driver aid guide ABS

Anti-lock braking systems first appeared in the aviation industry as early as 1929, before mechanical systems debuted on cars in the 1960s. The first computerised version was created by Chrysler for its 1971 Imperial. ABS is a safety system that prevents wheel locking and skidding under brake pressure.

Cruise control

This system automatically controls the speed of a vehicle, without the driver’s foot being on the accelerator pedal. It was invented by Ralph Teetor in 1948 and was first used on a car on the 1958 Chrysler Imperial.

Lane departure system

This device warns when a car is drifting out of lane without its indicators on and was first used in Mercedes Actros trucks in 2000. Nissan produced the maiden car system in 2001. Warnings can be sent through vibrations in the seat or steering wheel and noises. are able to test it and provide feedback directly to Tesla. All it takes is one simple pull on a lever to the left of the steering wheel. It isn’t a completely driverless way of getting around, it can’t detect other cars, for instance, but its only use at the moment is on the motorways. Some pieces of machinery don’t allow drivers to spend large amounts of time with their hands off the wheel, but in the Model S, the car allows for the mode to be used for up to 10 minutes before a warning signal is sent out. Even then, a brief touch of the steering wheel can

By August of that year, the team had completed over 300,000 autonomousdriving miles – quite an achievement in such a short space of time and proving the intense development process Google put in place from the very start. In December 2014, Google unveiled its own driverless car, featuring no steering wheel or pedals. It is completely autonomous and built from scratch. However, engineers from the tech giant are onboard the vehicles for now, to monitor progress and make sure the complicated kit is working correctly. As of September

2015 Google’s fleet of cars have managed over 1,200,000 miles of driving. The large sensor on top of the car does all the work, with lasers, radars and cameras detecting objects all around and completing a 3D map of the environment, enabling it to stop, slow down and react to simple actions like someone crossing the road or an obstruction. It is a hugely high-tech piece of kit and one that is also used in other driverless car projects.

FEATURE Of course, the system is in development and problems do occur. For example, it has trouble detecting light objects or rubbish, causing it to veer unnecessarily. It also cannot detect potholes and the technology when recognising humans has yet to reach the point where gestures to stop or pull over, say from a police officer, are recognised. However, these issues are always going to be evident at this stage of development. It’s a completely new way of designing a car, with fresh technology. Many more millions of testing miles will need to be racked up before a fully driverless car from Google and any other manufacturer hits the roads for good. Some say it is strange for the tech giant to enter the automotive field but with a wealth of resources and technology that can trickle down to other industries, it does make sense and

“The roads will likely be much safer, there will be fewer accidents, traffic jams and long journey times.”

is playing a big part in the creation of autonomous technologies. This will be the main reason why driverless cars are still a little way off. There’s a lot of hype surrounding the topic but there is still plenty more testing and developing to do before firms and manufacturers feel it is safe enough to put these cars up for sale in their dealerships. In years, how far away? Some say five, some say one or two. It’s unclear and big steps forward could well be made, speeding up the process. What we do know is driverless vehicles are set to appear in the near future. A big stumbling block for autonomous cars is the law. In many places there are regulations and rules regarding driverless transport, where they are not even allowed to hit the roads at all. That is why testing locations have been limited so far – it is rare that you see a picture of the Google car anywhere other than California. But things are slowly turning around and the UK will see vehicles without drivers hit the roads in trial runs in 2017. Clearly it will be a long process for governments to introduce the right legislation and insurance companies to sort out changes in quotes, but it is still very possible and in several countries the plans are already in motion. There’s a range of advantages to the technology - the roads will likely be much safer, there will be fewer accidents, traffic jams may be a thing of the past, car speeds will likely be more consistent and journey times could be cut short. It will

also allow those previously occupied by driving to complete other things. But for now, we will have to wait to see just how quickly the development of the cars goes because technology is changing all the time and things can evolve rapidly. One thing is for sure. In the next five or 10 years, driverless cars will hit the roads and be available to buy. It will be a big change and will have a huge impact

on other industries. They will likely be expensive at first – no surprise due to the novelty value and the more unknown nature - and insurance will be high, but these will decrease if the promises made by the companies developing the technology prove to be correct. It is an exciting but very unusual time for the automotive industry, with some big changes on the way.

VIRGIN GALACTIC

FEATURE

TRAVEL TO THE

MOONAND BACK WITH

VIRGIN GALACTIC

THINNER

IPHONE?

FATTER POCKETS?

Virgin has come back fighting by resuming their space exploration project

Apple aims to make its thinnest model yet, by removing the headphone port replacing it with wireless headphones

I 46

n order to make the upcoming iPhone 7 even thinner, Apple is considering removing the 3.5mm headphone port. It’s the widest port on the device, making it difficult to shrink the smartphone; There’s no other alternative to make it even slimmer. The substitute for plug-in headphones is wireless and will be able to connect to the gadget via Bluetooth. Apple created lightning connectors, a power connector for previous devices including the iPhone 5. It allows the devices to connect to computers and be used as USB battery chargers. In late 2016, the iPhone 7 will be released with earphones appropriate to the model. The new accessories will on the new version and other Apple products. They will be available to purchase online and in stores. With 70% of their revenue coming from iPhone sales, is Apple taking a big risk? Sasha Wickenden, a 19-year-old student and former Apple fanatic, is not

impressed with the rumoured plans. She explains: “Personally I wouldn’t buy it. This is another way for them to make people spend more money. Have they have run out of ideas?” Despite the fact that Apple got away with the previous lightning cable changes, if they keep doing it, people might become irritated. The company has $194 billion on cash reserves, making them one of the richest

“They are sacrificing usability and practicality over design.”

as many phones in comparison to previous models. They would introduce lightning headphone specs through their made-foriPhone licensing. The Apple Store on Regent Street said: “Apple haven’t officially confirmed anything as of yet. Do not believe everything you read online to be true. But, we are excited about the next iPhone to be released”. The next iPhone launch is sure to be much anticipated in the tech world. A.S

corporations in the world. Do they change the model specs profit or innovation? Emre Gunes, a 20-year-old student, states that “They are sacrificing usability and practicality over design and aesthetics.” He added: “I don’t think apple can keep getting away it.” Since the lightning plus was introduced, Apple actually sold twice

HOW MUCH MONEY HAVE APPLE MADE IN THE LAST YEAR?

• Since March 2015, Apple has $194 billion in its cash reserves. • From June 2015, 47.5 million people bought iPhones within three months • In comparison to the iPhone figures, iPads only sold 10.9 million which is 18% less than the previous year • Despite Samsung being favoured in China during the second quarter of 2015, Apple sales reached $13.23 billion • In the second quarter of 2015 4.6 million Apple macs were sold in the ‘back to school’ period

he excitement surrounding Virgin Galactic was phenomenal and for a moment it felt like you couldn’t get away from it. People were fascinated by how technology was moving forward at such a dramatic pace that ordinary humans will eventually be able to visit the moon. In 2014, the death of a test pilot in SpaceShipTwo caused significant issues and since then, the company has shied away from the media. In the last week, Richard Branson confirmed that Virgin Galactic project has produced a new design

“I think we are in a much better place than we might have expected.” following the accident. In February 2016, the new spacecraft will be revealed, with a test programme following shortly after. Despite previous issues, research never stopped for the new

aircraft. The company aims to be able to take six passengers per flight. They will experience a few minutes of weightlessness before returning to Earth. It seems a far away dream but will be a reality. At one moment, Virgin Galactic seemed to quite literally disappear off the face of the earth. It gave time for other companies, such as SpaceX to release new rockets launches in terms of spaces flight. George Whitesides, Chief executive of Virgin Galactic ”I think we are in a much better place than we might have expected in the period immediately after the accident, and that’s because our team came together, our customers stuck with us, and honestly we believe that the vehicle itself is sound”. The team show no signs of slowing down and remain optimistic about the next launch. The plans for Virgin Galactic were initially seen to be too idealistic in their approach. It appears that for such a huge project they have given themselves so little times for trial and error. Their timeline seems to be optimistic as it fails to account time for technological issues and

safety concerns. Despite previous issues the company has faced 700 people have still signed up to go to space. It sounds like a high number but it really is not. It will take people a long time to trust the new method of travel before there is a need for international spaceports. Leanne Hall, 20, an out-of-space activist says: “I would never go to space as they could never guarantee that I would get back home. I’m not that interested in space. I would much rather be on Earth with people.” It will take a long time to come around to the idea

“I think we are in a much better place than we might have expected.” that you can pop to space and back. After the failure of the first launch many were wondering if they should continue their research. The Virgin Galactic team felt that the programme should continue in honour of the pilot who had dedicated his life to the cause. The fascination around being able to visit space will not be one that us humans can easily comprehend. By 2115, we could all be waiting at spaceports, getting ready to visit Mars. Who knows where technology will go next? A.S.

TINKER

INFORMATIVE TIPS & TRICKS

TOP 6 APPS YOU NEED IN YOUR LIFE

5 PIECES OF TECH TO MAKE YOUR HOUSE SMART COMPONENTS OF VR: WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW

MOST EXPENSIVE 50 TECH IN THE WORLD WHAT’S INSIDE AN 54 APPLE WATCH? HOW CAN YOU GET 58 HELIUM 3?

EXPENSIVE TECH

TINKER

PANASONIC TOUGHPAD 4K TABLET - £2218

We get it. You want to be different. You want to cast off the western opulent shackles of Apple. So what better way to do so than to spend even more money on essentially the same thing? Well, sort of. With a 20-inch 4K screen, Intel Core i7 processor and a Nvidia K1000M graphics card, Panasonics 5.6 pound tablet packs a lot of punch for what it is.

Stupid. Not expensive. Pure stupidity. This gargantuous release in the US made eyes everywhere water with absurdity. The whopping price is apparently justified for its 105inch Ultra HD curved screen – with a 5,120-by-2,160 resolution to get a 21:9 aspect ratio. Don’t expect to get it for your little one for Christmas though. You’ve left it too late; each one is made to order.

SAMSUNG 05U9500 TV - $120,000

HART AUDIO D&W AURAL PLEASURE $5MILLION

Fight or flight. That’s the choice you’ll have when you’re presented with this uber-expensive quadcopter drone. The company calls it a “complete aerial film making tool in a box.” You can also get a direct feed to your smartphone as well as two remotes that control the flight navigation and camera separately. We still think it’s a tad dear for something your child will fly into a wall and smash it.

DJI INSPIRE1 QUADCOPTER $3,399

VERTU SIGNATURE TOUCH $10,800

LEICA M 0 EDITION 6 0 $19,40

You have to seriously question the logic of someone who invests in this kind of reckless creativity. Especially when it looks like a boxing glove which is ironic because there’s no way in our life you’d handle something as rough as that, or rather use it at all. For just a pair of speakers, the sound you get isn’t necessarily the best in the market. It’s just a hunch, but we reckon the price comes from the 76cm cabinet that has been cast in 24-carat gold.

EGO LIFESTYLE EMERALD PC NOTEBOOK $10,900

Finally, something sensible to take that cute selfie while you drink your pumpkin spice latte on the way to your gruelling 10-2 job. With only 600 made (that’ll tick the vintage box for you) this camera sports a 24-megapixel full-frame sensor inside. On the outside, it has a 35mm/F1.4 kit lens on the front. It harkens back to the days of film photography – because it doesn’t have an LCD screen on the back.

Conjured by something we’re fairly sure is a Barbie doll’s toy computer, the Ego Lifestyle Emerald Notebook is encased in a handcrafted, interchangeable exterior made of crocodile Italian leather. The main downside? Other than taxidermy? It runs Vista. Now that’s cruel.

P TOMOST SIVE N E P X EPIECES OF

Priced at more than its weight in gold, the Android smartphone houses a lightning fast Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 chip and a stunning 1080p display. Part of the price comes from its expensive material list; hardened titanium, sapphire, calf leather and polished ceramics. The other part? We’re not sure. We’re fairly sure Android can’t be this full of itself yet. R.Y.

7 H C E T

6 TINKER

CITYMAPPER

Travelling around big cities can be confusing, even for the smartest people on earth. Public transport systems are often huge, complicated and far from easy to navigate. But Citymapper makes it much more understandable, and it is free too. The transport app covers three cities in the United Kingdom – London, Manchester and Birmingham – as well as 10 in the United States and Canada,

Many will have heard of Dropbox, the file hosting service. It has its own free apps for iOS and Android devices and can prove to be a lifesaver, storing your documents, photos, videos and other files to the cloud. What’s even better is the fact that you can access these documents through your login wherever you are and

DROPBOX

whatever device you are on, on whether it’s a smartphone, tablet or on your laptop. Documents can be saved there automatically and it is great for sending larger files over email. Dropbox is a free way of making sure your files are backed up and safe, which is vital in the digital age we currently live in.

SPORTLOBSTER

Facebook is fine. Twitter is is cool enough, but for those with specific interests, they might not be enough. Sportlobster is a relatively new and fresh social network dedicated to, you guessed it, sport. All kinds of disciplines are represented, with fans being able to make predictions,

several big European hot spots and several in Asia and Latin America. It covers all kinds of transportation, from train and tube services to walking, cycling and taxis. The A to B journey planner is particularly handy and it is really quick and easy to use, which is ideal when you are on the go. Download Citymapper now in the App Store and Google Play.

post their own articles, create discussions and share status updates. It’s basically all that you love about social networks, but dedicated specifically to sport. It launched as a website but has since been joined by user-friendly apps for Android and iOS, which are free to download.

YUMMLY

Cooking can be such a chore, but Yummly makes things so much easier and more enjoyable too. This is a musthave app for food and cooking fans, creating a “personal food experience”. Packed with interesting recipes, it covers even even the most basic choices

to complicated dishes that that that put abilities to the test. And for no cost whatsoever. If you want to spice things up with your cooking, search for Yummly in the App Store, Windows Phone Store and Google Play.

For those who want to watch what they eat or be more proactive with exercise, MyFitnessPal is a great way to do exactly that. Free to download for Android, Windows and iOS,

the app enables you to keep track of your calorie count and exercise regimes, making it easier to lose weight, monitor what you are eating and get healthy.

MY FITNESS PAL

POCKET The feeling of losing internet connection while waiting for an article, news piece or blog post to load is a serious first world problem, but Pocket is the app that changes all that. It is a free app that allows users to save

articles, videos and other other web content to read later. So boring tube journeys and bus trips will be a distant memory. It is available to download for iOS and Android devices via the Google Play and Apple stores. J.L.

AYOUPPS CAN’T

LIVE WITHOUT

OUR LIVES NOW REVOLVE AROUND SMARTPHONES, BUT WHICH APPLICATIONS WOULD YOUR DEVICE BE INCOMPLETE WITHOUT?

WHAT’S INSIDE

TINKER

E K A M

T N WA NOW TO K

S ’ T A H W AN

E L P P A ATCH W E D I S IN

? K C I T S1 CHIP

Deep in the Apple Watch’s casing is the S1, the integrated computer chip that is the brain for the device. It packs a 32-bit ARMv7 CPU and the RAM and flash memory are actually built by Toshiba and Micron.

The Sports Edition in particular, is made of a unique alloy, that is 70% stronger than standard aluminium. It is blended with finite amounts of zinc and magnesium.

This mechanic is designed to replicate the similar argonomics of a standard watch, however it’s used to cycle through lists and, when pressed, it acts as a ‘confirm’ setting.

3.8V, 0.78W lithium-ion battery with about 18 hours of general use.

At the bottom of the watch, lies the plethysmograph that serves as the Apple Watch’s heart rate monitor. By flashing its LED lights 100 times a second, it can detect the red colour in the blood flow through your veins.

TAPTIC ENGINE

HEART RATE

MONITOR

ALUMINIUM

DIGITAL CROWN

BATTERY

T A WH S IT

Taptic Engine is the tiny motor that provides the user with force vibration feedback whenever the watch face is pressed or when the user receives a notification of some sort. It is attached to the Apple Watch’s speaker.

SCREEN

Made of aluminosilicate glass, the same used in windows of space shuttles and high speed trains, the display marked Apple’s first venture into sensing force as well as touch by using tiny electrodes around the screen.

ANTENNA

The antenna assembly houses the Wi-Fi and bluetooth functionality.

5 THE

PIECES OF

TECH TO MAKE YOUR

HOME SMARTER

YOU PROBABLY DON’T HAVE THE BILLIONS OF POUNDS YOU NEED FOR A PROPER SMART HOUSE. BUT THESE CHEAP DEVICES MEAN YOU DON’T NEED TO

TINKER

SMART HEATING

Take the guesswork and inevitable human error of forgetfullness out of your heating and install one of these. Three generations after the inital release of Nest, and the thermostat has now bumped up its IQ. It learns what temperature you like each of your rooms to be and tells you

NEST THERMOSTAT

if you’re being energy efficient enough. Through independent households, studies have shown that it reduces annual spending of about 12%. It even comes with a smartphone app so you can adjust the temperature when you’re not even home. I’m sure you’ll warm to the idea. £249 | nest.com

BELKIN WEMO SWITCH SMART SOCKETS

Technology is forever forgiving our mistakes. Call it lazy, but that’s pretty much what the majority of gadgets are; a shortcut. WeMo allows you to remotely control plugged in devices around your home through a smartphone app. It allows you to monitor and control things like lights, TV’s and anything else that you plug into the insight switch. Never again will you leave the house and have your heart sink teetering on edge

SEN.SE MOTHER

SMART COOKIES

Turns out that Mother really might know best. Sen.se Mother is a device that monitors everything you attach one of her ‘cookies’ to. Say, for instance, you want to know you’re drinking enough water, simply attach a ‘cookie’ to a glass of water, and set a time between motions and Mother will alert you via a smartphone app if you haven’t drunk anything in

the time you established. It works on a motion basis, with its built in accelerometer. Therefore, it can be used in a multitude of spaces such as under your pillow to monitor your sleep, items you don’t want touched, on your pill intake and even on your front door so you know exactly if and when someone came into your house. This data conglomerates itself into a user-friendly social media page that your entire family can view. £245 | sen.se

MYFOX HOME ALARM SMART SECURITY

While an industrial CCTV camera may not be a subtle ‘I don’t trust you’ to your neighbours, Myfox have designed a small wide-angled HD security camera. You can view the feed from a smartphone app wherever you are. Using a sophisticated algorithm, it can tell

the difference between a football hitting your window and an intruder If it’s the latter, it’ll communicate with the Myfox home alarm and sound a 110db siren whilst also sending you a text. Still automated, but you’d pay a lot more attention to it than Domino’s. £420 | getmyfox.com

SMART LIGHTING

Compatible with Apple HomeKit, Phillips Hue lighting can be controlled from your smart phone or smartwatch. They can also be controlled by Siri. Although saying “romantic lights” when bringing a date home is a little more awkward than using the dimmer switch. The individual 8W bulbs can give off

because you don’t know if you left your straighteners on. The app can also remind you when certain appliances have completed their tasks by monitoring the electric current. For example it can alert you to when your wash cycle is complete, or tell you how long your kids have been watching TV for. £49.99 | belkin.com

PHILLIPS HUE

many colours and brightness settings. The app comes with many presets and can even link to backlighting a TV so your eyes aren’t strained throughout viewing. £149.99 | meethue.com

TINKER

WHAT’S UP WITH

HELIUM 3 A CLEAN AND RENEWABLE SUPPLY OF ENERGY

H 58

elium 3 is constantly being emitted by the Sun. It is a very rare gas on Earth, because the ozone layer and the atmosphere in general prevent it from reaching us in large amounts. There are only a few kilograms a year that reach us, and even so, they are used in the maintenance of nuclear weapons. However, as the Moon does not have an ozone layer, or any type of atmosphere really, it has been collecting enormous amounts of helium 3 for billions of years. So simply enough, all we need to do is go to the Moon, get some of it, come back, and repeat. Space travel in its essence is not a simple thing. Luckily enough, we can assume that in terms of space travel and space distance, the Moon is right across the road from us. We’ve gone there before and we can go again and again because it’s worth it. It is a great and, soon enough, necessary alternative to fossil fuels when we face the threat of global warming and the damage we ourselves do to the environment. Scientists believe that there are over one million tons of helium 3 on the surface of the Moon. We can extract it by heating the dust at a very

high temperature before bringing it to Earth in order to fuel a generation of nuclear reactors. Let’s suppose that we can stuff 25 tons of helium 3 inside a shuttle and bring it back to Earth. That amount could power the United States for one year. Moreover, the cost is that of around 3 billion dollars for one ton. This also makes its extraction economically viable. Several countries have expressed their interests in going up there and mining helium 3 in the past. For example, Russia reported plans to build a permanent lunar base by 2015, and mine helium 3 on an industrial scale by the year 2020. It is currently 2015 and we know nothing of the sort. Or maybe they are keeping it a secret from us, who knows? NASA also reported plans to build a permanent base on one of the Moon’s poles, for they claim that they contain the biggest concentrations. Nobody denies the potential of helium 3. And as we further consume resources, we will eventually have no choice but to focus on it and on nuclear fusion projects in order to secure the continuity of our technology and lifestyles. And frankly, it will be more convenient for everybody anyway. A.V

One of the components of the VR sensation is obviously the screen. It consists of two displays that deliver a total resolution of 2160 x 1200 to both eyes. VP Nate Mitchell said: “Early on we thought one screen was the way to go but ultimately we moved to a twoscreen system”.

AND HOW DO WE GET IT?

Humanity’s next step in the production of renewable and clean energy lies in the potential of helium 3; we can replace the nuclearfission based reactors with nuclear-fusion based ones.

The audio system is capable of creating a sense of true 3D audio integration, which immerses users “sonically in a virtual world, surrounded by realistic sounds from all directions.” It operates via HeadRelated Transfer Function (HRTF) technology. The latest version also features a detachable set of headphones to keep your ears and eyes synchronized with the 360-degree surround sound to match the video with utmost accuracy. The positional tracker and the way in which it operates is undeniably one of the most advanced pieces of tech out there in terms of gaming, or in terms of anything really. It consists of a wireless sensor, which monitors a series of infrared LEDs integrated in the headset.

THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT

VR COMPONENTS

The cable via which the video is sent is an HDMI with an optional DVI adapter for newer graphic cards. It also features a USB, which carries data and powers the device. With a length of 10-foot cable, it provides a consistently good signal with no degradation. It is light enough for the user not to feel like a dog in a chain. The Oculus Touch is essentially a split in half controller. Pretty much like a double controller or a two in one. The controllers enhance your virtual reality experience, and you can use them to reach out into virtual space and more. They offer the users a more natural experience in terms of game control. The headset connects to your head via vertical and horizontal straps, with the uppermost of them including the HDMI and USB cable. When equipped with two pairs of lenses, it magnifies the screen, filling the user’s field of view without causing any motion sickness or blurring. A.V

RETROSPECT

Gaming has finally reached an era where the concept of ‘gaming vintage’ can be applied. The years have moved on and games can now fill us with nostalgia as well as excitement. And we want to reminisce with you...

SPECT

WHEN THE WORLD WENT

RAZR MAD

Reflecting on Motorola’s revolutionary success of the flip phone market.

head of Christmas in 2004, the Motorola Razr was a phone in high demand. Having been released just a few months earlier, its popularity was picking up pace with its striking design and rare technical features. The Razr was available in a range of colours from the very start. It was the era of the flip phone and the model had the slimmest profile of its kind, as well as an external glass screen, electroluminescent keypad and aluminium body. Numerous other versions were released over the years, including hot pink and Matte Black models and the V3i, which

addressed some of the problems with the original Razr. It featured a 1.23-megapixel camera with 8x digital zoom and an improved external and internal display. Motorola marketed it as an exclusive

“It proved a smash hit for Motorola, selling 130 million units over four years.” fashion phone, due to its stylish design – something that split opinion, with some feeling it took away from the functionality of the device. However, it proved to be a smash hit for Motorola, selling 130 million units over a four-year run. The phone really put the firm on the map in the mobile phone industry, cementing it alongside the greats of the time like Nokia and Samsung. Its success continued for several years, with the Razr’s design being so ahead of its time

YEARS

SINCE

Just passing its 19 year anniversary release in Japan, the furry feline is a childhood classic that many fans long to return. And they may have their dreams come true as a future in the Crash Bandicoot series was hinted at during PSX. The charming platformer involved a simpleton

bandicoot on his quest to defeat the evil Dr Cortez and collect crystals. As I write this out, I realise that for those of you who haven’t played it, it could seem a little dull. And you’re right; one of the reasons this hasn’t seen the light in so many years is because we’ve been spoiled by the new innovations in gaming involvement like fancy graphics and gripping narrative. But the reason Crash will stay in our hearts is for all the memories we assossiate with it. And his classic “woahw”. R.Y

that it still stood out on the shop shelves several years after its original release. The original Razr was sold until July 2007, before the Razr2 – an improved version of the flip phone, with numerous new features and a refreshed look replaced it. However, by then the world had moved on. Smartphones had now been introduced and Blackberry devices were also increasing in popularity. The Razr was a radical device for its time and dominated the industry in the mid-to-late 2000s, but as always in the technology industry, things rapidly change. Manufacturers can’t stand still. Motorola tried to keep the flip phone alive with the Razr2 but the less said about that the better. The United States-based company lost out considerably by trying to hold onto the Razr. The phone was hugely successful but out-stayed its welcome, giving Motorola a delay in tapping into the smartphone market. It proved to be costly and there’s still plenty of catching up to do, even now. J.L

YEARS SINCE For a lot of you techies, you may tend to use a Mac for its creative applications but there was a time when one would listen to the familar start up chime of Windows 95, listen to your dial-up talk robotic to you, play solitaire and make the cards dance, and make the paperclip on Microsoft Word perform hilarious animations for you. R.Y

RETROSPECT

WATCH-ING THE INDUSTRY Pebble has cemented itself in the history of technology, but has competition from Apple and co stopped the company from turning into a rock?

he human race seems to complain about its inability to disconnect itself from the online world. Yet we created a product that would keep us updated about everything online even when our phone is in the room next door. We called it the smartwatch. Apple, Google and Samsung are all labelling this tech as the future. But neither one of these companies were the real pioneers of wearable tech. In fact it was a Kickstarter campaign that started the whole smartwatch craze. On April 11, 2012, Pebble Technology launched a Kickstarter campaign for $100,000 to fund their smartwatch idea. Pebble made a category of products, they led the charge in the smartwatch revolution. Their first product was not about amazing or perfect hardware, it was about demonstrating the functionality of such a device.

GROW

the three main pillars of the watch. If you received a text message you could view it, you couldn’t reply, but you were informed for when you next took out your phone. The smartwatch idea came from Similarly, you could control the music one of the biggest annoyances with any playback on your device with ease, once smartphone. You would feel a vibration again saving you the hassle of pulling out in your pocket and get that rush of your phone to change a track. excitement that would disintegrate rapidly The success of the pebble meant when you pull out your phone to see it that bigger hardware manufactures was just a junk email being sent to you. jumped on the smartwatch bandwagon, The time wasted getting your phone out Samsung came second, followed by Google your pocket all adds up. That’s what the and Apple. Pebble tried to differentiate smartwatch promised to get rid of. Being themselves by being more quirky and able to access your notifications with the having a greater level of customisation turn of your wrist is extremely functional with their watches. But they are ultimately and convenient. That’s what Pebble fighting a loosing battle. Other companies identified. have taken the foundation of the fist Pebble reached their goal of raising product and iterated on the somewhat $100,000, in fact they smashed it by quite pedestrian features the first Pebble a considerable margin…making exactly introduced. $20,338,986. Yeah, I guess you could It’s not often a new category of product say people wanted a smartwatch. The is created by a small and somewhat Pebble was able to capitalise on being niche company. But that’s exactly what the first of its kind, instead of cramming happened two and a half years ago. So the product with tons of unnecessary and if you’re in the market for a smartwatch, gimmicky features, the company focused why don’t you check out the company that on providing users with a smaller number started the revolution in the first place, of features that actually worked properly. you might find it to be a cheaper and Notifications, control and fitness were differentiated alternative. J.C