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Take it or leave it Apple made “easy” popular, and everyone else is playing catch-up in a mindless stampede. Sony took away the ability to install Linux on my PS3 a few years ago, plays Big Brother with DRM techniques such as Cinavia, and thanks to the Blu-ray market in India being largely unorganised and unregulated, I can’t seem to find any good movies to watch that also happen to be from my “region”. Completely following the letter of the law of course, but how come all other Blu-ray players seem to magically transform into “regionfree” players when you enter a silly code? Microsoft, on the other hand, has ensured that I will use nothing other than Windows 7 on any desktop, because that tile interface of Windows 8 is terrible for anyone using a keyboard and mouse, and not wanting to check Facebook updates every 2.63 seconds. Sadly, I’m a dwindling minority, and I suspect you are too. There’s just no room left for tinkering, to have fun, to unlock and fool about. If the powers that be get their way, we’re moving into completely closed platforms, with even more ridiculous ploys. For example, in the US, the copyrights office is removing the exemption that was given thus far to unlocking your mobile phone. I’m not saying carriers are going to start suing individuals for unlocking phones, but it certainly won’t be as easy as before to have a phone unlocked, and yes, you will be breaking a US law! So is this the future? Take it or leave it, but don’t try to change, improve or customise it? Instead of building intelligent communities and crowdsourcing to make things better and more customisable like Open Source did, are we headed into the building up of even more grey market dealers operating from shady offices offering to unlock your phone, or change your iPad battery, or just do the fun stuff that you’d much rather do yourself?
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’m now officially ancient (and the team never fails to remind me of that). This month I completed a decade of working for my favourite magazine, and I can vouch for the truth of the statement, “time flies when you’re having fun”. However, what has struck me the most over the past decade is how much less fun I’ve been having as the years progress. No, this is not a rant aimed at my bosses, this is a rant aimed at the technology makers, Microsoft and Apple maybe, Sony especially! I’m often called a fossil for preferring my powerful desktops over laptops and tablets, and certainly also the phones or phablets out there. Sure they have their uses, but none of them is a serious creation tool; they’re just fountains of data for the ravenous consumers of content. The statement of having less fun is to do with the death of the tinkerer, the killing off of curiosity, the maiming of the spirit to discover. There was a time when all of us who worked at Digit and those of us who read it would be called “geeks”, and it was a badge we’d proudly wear. We didn’t need to be Electronics engineers to pull out a soldering iron, or take a Metal Works course before dremelling our cabinets into new shapes, or get certified before dabbling in code to try and tweak something. Linux was loved because of this very reason: it taught you to think, to experiment, to try – and most importantly, it taught you to fail... Linux isn’t popular anymore, and neither is any of the rest in most cases. No one’s teaching anyone how to fail, how to get back up afterwards, how to try anything new... how to be a geek, basically. There’s an app for everything; there’s no reason for you and me to know how to do anything more than work a few buttons. There’s no glory or sense of pride in anything that doesn’t make you rich – no one wants to start another Wikipedia, everyone wants to start another Facebook. I’m sure there are enough Digit readers out there who will disagree, and I’m thankful that they do, or else we ourselves wouldn’t exist ... but this isn’t really about you, the person holding this magazine. This is about the world around you, the people you’re sitting next to while reading, your coworkers, your kids, siblings, parents even.
Robert Sovereign-Smith Executive Editor editor@thinkdigit.com
“No one’s teaching anyone how to fail, how to get back up afterwards, how to try anything new... how to be a geek, basically”
Liked or hated this column? Write in to editor@thinkdigit.com and let me know your thoughts.
Digit | February 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com 1
Contents february 2013
volume 13 \ issue 02
quick
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navigator 001 Enter 018 COnnECTIONS
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tech 030 Sci Internet of things
Gazing into the void
LIFE 038 DIGITAL Droolmaal 48fps
046 toolbox Q&A
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Workshop DIY Tips & Tricks
SMART 068 STREET Agent 001 Killer Rigs Price Watch
at work 082 Tech Smart SoHo
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Industry Connect Careers in SEO
next gadget...is you 76 The Find out how the next wave of gadgets will be built for, and into, the human body
and 088 Tried Tested Cameras Cabinets Bazaar
Tried & Tested
2 Digit | February 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com
106 Viewsonic td2220 A touch-screen, LED monitor for your desktop
94
The perfect enclosure
20+ cabinets vie for the honour of housing your very own killer rig
107 dell xps12 convertible Tablet or laptop or both?
108 intel core i53450s Mid-Range performer
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A “Privacy Visor” ?!
We throw light on The Hobbit’s “HFR” movie format and wonder whether the future of filmmaking is in 48 fps
A group of Japanese scientists are developing a pair of glasses that can protect you from Facial Recognition Machines
Star Wars VII gets a director
Dating site finds iPhone
And it’s none other than J.J. Abrams, who made a name for himself writing, directing and producing the hit show Lost and the Star Trek movie
A man used an online dating site by creating a fake profile to lure the thief who had stolen his iPhone. Full story here: http://dgit.in/TMEMlH
Drool maal
Sonic Screwdriver Some people say that Doctor Who is the James Bond of science fiction, although Mr. Bond uses quite a lot of fiction himself. But looking past that, we would say that the huge army of fans that the show has garnered will surely appreciate the fact that somebody has actually gone on to prepare the Sonic Screwdriver, which the Doctor uses for exactly the same purpose as normal people would use a screwdriver -- absolutely anything. Lock-pick kit to tracking a bunch of nasty aliens, this promises to do anything that the writers can decide on. And it will do none of those things in real life, of course. But it is still a good piece of the show memorabilia, and would work for you as a trusted universal remote. Yours for some 5 grand, plus shipping. Check out www.iwantoneofthose.com.
Dive straight into the deep-end of tech nirvana with these digital toys Tesla Model S We are including this car not only because we love cars, but because of the previously unimaginable horizon that this particular manufacturer has brought very close to reality – a car that is eco-friendly without feeling like one. This piece of art on wheels, the “moonshot” Tesla Model S has been painstakingly in development for years, and was finally unleashed late last year. Costing around `60 lakhs, which is actually on the lower side considering its impressive stats, this car will fit the standard definition of a ‘sports car’ for the people who love those (basically everyone in the world), and is powered entirely by batteries, to keep the green army happy as well. Not an easy agreement to achieve, as most luxury car manufacturers would tell you. But we salute Elon Musk for his attempts, and bow down to the moonshot that is his creation.
.338 Lapua Magnum Geeks are a very predictable bunch. If you ask them for their ideal lives, you would probably get a roughly even distribution between the Matrix and James Bond movie environments. Favourite games would probably throw up Quake, Call of Duty and the ilk. What if we told you that there are parts of the above fictional worlds that are coming to life? AND they are powered by your favourite operating system – Linux? Please wipe that drool off your face, you might drop some on the page. So here is a setup that has an iPad that would pair with your gun’s scope, and would allow you to actually ‘lock’ on your targets, take all weather conditions into account, and fire a shot so jaw droppingly awesome that you absolutely cannot miss. As an added benefit, there is always the good feeling of living like an open source soul, even if it will cost you `11,00,000, although that is not way off creating the same setup yourself. So a good deal, all in all. If any of you would actually like to have one of these, you should be looking at www.tracking-point.com
ChargeCard If you travel extensively, you obviously know the pain of not being able to sync up your devices if you don’t have the heavenly blessing of an internet connection around you. A neat little Kickstarter project called the ChargeCard plans to remove those woes once and forever. They have introduced a small chip that can be carried around with you, in your pocket, which supports the God of modern connector cable – Micro USB. And it has not left the rebels out as well – here’s one for the iPhone too! The entire concept is effortlessly easy, but very cool. All you need to do is to take up the card, plug it into one device, have the sync material stored, and then plug it to your other device. Simple as that, and will only burn a `2,000 shaped hole in your pocket.
Scanadu Scout As it turns out, NFC is pretty native to our natural bodily structuring. At least that is what the guys at Scanadu believe, and that is the vision in which they created their nifty device called ‘Scout’, which can measure a bunch of your vital stats by simply holding it right next to your temple. Anyone remember the Star Trek medical tricoder? We seriously feel that the writers of that show were among the greatest visionaries in the modern day, unleashing the imagination of millions of geeks to go out and make the imaginary concepts of the show a reality. And they do so at a price that is not exactly worth drooling about – that part is taken care of by the idea itself. Check out www. scanadu.com, and in their own words, have your smartphone go to med school. Only for some 10 grand.
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Digit | February 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com 39
38 Droolmaal 59 World View
Our pick of the best article from around the world
63 devworx
Feature: Firefox OS; Sunil Shetty: Mobile Developer, eBuddy
Skoar!
Exam Prep Xth and XIIth std. papers CBSE approved supplementary reading material Windows 8 Development Visual Studio 2012 Windows 8 app samples Photoshop templates C# and XAML labs
Slender: The Arrival Perspective Drivers AMD Graphics drivers nVidia graphics drivers Intel PRO/SET WiFi drivers Realtek HD Audio drivers Essentials Google Chrome 7-zip Open Office Audacity Any Video Converter CCleaner .NET 4.5 Avast!
Play Party of Sin Grandpa’s leftovers Perspective demo Planet Explorers
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Dive into the deep-end of tech nirvana!
On The DVDs
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Demystifying 48 fps
Digital life
Movie Trailers Beasts of the southern wilds Dead man down I am not a hipster Parker Game Trailers Battlefield 3: End Game Aliens: Colonial Marines
Sponsored ESET Smart Security 5 (trial) TED A history of visual effects The last of the mosquitoes Dung beetles
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122 Devil May Cry The Perfect Reboot
124 Resident Evil 6
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Confusing, but beautiful
CBSE Exam prep
DVD
109 iball andy 4.5h Budget Android is finally coming of age
solved papers
110 Sennheiser momentum All round brilliance
Digit | February 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com 3
February 2013 • Volume 13 • Issue 02 Products reviewed this month
To Advertise Email: sales@thinkdigit.com National Manager: Lalit Arun, Mobile: +91-95822 62959
Test Centre Manager, Test Centre Jayesh Shinde Senior Reviewer Nimish Sawant Reviewers Vishal Mathur, Sameer Mitha, Swapnil Mathur, Anirudh Regidi Intern Siddhant Sharma Product Co-ordinator Shweta Mali Assistant Vikas Patil devworx & Custom Publishing Asst. Editor Nash David Thinkdigit.com Online Editor Soham Raninga News Editor Abhinav Lal Sr. Sub Editor Kul Bhushan
North: Debleena Majumdar, Mobile: +91-98101 19492 East: Jayanta Bhattacharyya, Mobile: +91-93318 29284
advertising index
Brand Page No ASRock......................................................................... 51, 97 ASUS...........................................15, 31, 69, 93, 101, 103 Bajaj.......................................................................................23 Byond Mobile.................................................................. 125 Circle.................................................................................. 121 Corona................................................................................. 95 Cyber Solutions............................................................... 83 Domo Tab........................................................................... 49 Eset...................................................................................... 35 iBall................................................................................11, 47 India AV............................................................................ 127 Inflection............................................................................67 IOCL.................................................................................... 55 Kaspersky..........................................................................BC Kyocera................................................................................21 LIC........................................................................................17 Liteon................................................................................... 33 Micromax.............................................................................13 Model................................................................................... 99 NVIDIA......................................................77, 79, 81, IBC Pradan.......................................................................... 74, 75 Quick Heal........................................................................ 119 Seagate................................................................................25 Sony........................................................................................9 Symantec.............................................................................. 7 Techcom..............................................................................37 Toshiba..............................................................................IFC TP-Link.................................................................................87 Trend Micro..................................................................... 123 Western Digital.................................................................27 Xerox....................................................................................... 5 Zenfocus............................................................................. 29 Zenith....................................................................................19 Zoho...................................................................................... 45
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Design Sr. Creative Director: Jayan K Narayanan Sr. Art Director: Anil VK Associate Art Directors: Atul Deshmukh & Anil T Sr. Visualisers: Manav Sachdev & Shokeen Saifi Visualiser: NV Baiju Sr. Designers: Raj Kishore Verma, Shigil Narayanan, Suneesh K & Haridas Balan Designers: Charu Dwivedi, Peterson PJ, Midhun Mohan & Pradeep G Nair Marcom Associate Art Director: Prasanth Ramakrishnan Designer: Rahul Babu Studio Chief Photographer: Subhojit Paul Sr. Photographer: Jiten Gandhi
West: Sajeed Momin, Mobile: +91-98192 44603 Suvarna Shringarpure, Mobile: +91-93249 28247
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Editorial Executive Editor Robert Sovereign-Smith Features Editor Siddharth Parwatay Multimedia Co-ordinator Anirudh Regidi
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Managing Director Dr Pramath Raj Sinha Printer and Publisher Kanak Ghosh Publishing Director Asheesh Gupta
South: Ram Sarangi, Mobile: +91-98864 06961 Jijo George, Mobile: +91-7676881480
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Contributors Writers Abhishek Choudhary, Paanini Navilekar, Kshitij Sobti, Mithun Mohandas Copy editing Infancia Cardozo Production and Logistics Sr GM - Operations Shivshankar Hiremath Manager Operations Rakesh Upadhyay Asst Production Manager Vilas Mhatre Asst Mgr Vijay Menon Production Assistant Brahmanand Nikalje Executives M P Singh, Mohd. Nadeem Ansari Nilesh Shiravadekar
Brand Product Mgr Arun Yadav Asst Product Mgrs Kshitij Garg, Sourabha Shakya Mgr - Online Shauvik Kumar Co-ordinator / Scheduling Kishan Singh Circulation Sales National Co-ordinator Samir Mehta Regional Mgrs Jayanta Bhattacharyya, Norbert Joseph Manager Circulation Dharmendra Singh Executive Vijay Mhatre
Reader Services Lead Associate Itishree Mishtra Executives Pinky, Sudhir, Shabana, Shilpi
Cover Illustration: Manav Sachdev Photo: Subhojit Paul Model: Rakaysh
4 Digit | February 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com
Bazaar Acer Aspire V5-471P Aakash iTutor ADATA XPG SX900 256GB Amkette Evo box ASUS PadFone Canon EOS M Dell Latitude 10 Dell XPS 12 Convertible EAFT Destiny D90T eScan Mobile Security for Android Fujifilm X-E1 Harman Kardon CL HCL ME Ultra 3074 Huawei Mediapad 7 Lite iBall Andi 4.5h iBerry Auxus Core X2 3G’ iDance Hipster 703 Intel Core i5-3450S IRIS Compressor Pro JBL J22i JBL SoundFly BT Karbonn A21 Micromax Canvas 2 A110 Nokia Lumia 920 Portronics iLume Projector Seagate Barracuda XT 3TB Sennheiser Momentum Viewsonic TD2220 WickedLeak Wammy Sensation ZOTAC ZBOX AD06 Plus
Published, Printed and Owned by Nine Dot Nine Interactive Pvt. Ltd. Published and printed on their behalf by Kanak Ghosh. Published at Bunglow No. 725 Sector - 1, Shirvane, Nerul, Navi Mumbai. 400706. Printed at Print House (India) Pvt. Ltd. R-847, TTC Industrial Area, MIDC, Rable, Navi Mumbai 400701. Editor: Anuradha Das Mathur Disclaimer For every Digit contest, there will be only one winner, unless specified otherwise. In the event of a dispute, the Editor’s decision shall be final.
Cabinets Antec Eleven Hundred Antec One S3 Antec P280 Antec Solo 2 Bitfenix Merc Alpha Circle Herculean Circle Tornado Cooler Master Cosmos II Cooler Master Elite 344 Cooler Master HAF 912 Cooler Master HAF-XB Cooler Master HAF-XM Cooler Master K380 Cooler Master Silencio 650 Cooler Master Storm Scout 2 Cooler Master Storm Trooper Corsair Carbide 200R Corsair Carbide 400R Corsair Graphite 600T – Mesh Corsair Vengeance C70 Huntkey T-91 Mercury Romeo Omega NZXT Phantom 410 NZXT Phantom 820 Zebronics Bijli 2 Point and Shoot cameras BenQ GH210 BenQ GH650 Canon PowerShot G15 Canon PowerShot G1x Canon PowerShot S110 Fujifilm EXR F660 Fujifilm X10 Nikon Coolpix L610 Nikon Coolpix P310 Nikon Coolpix P7700 Nikon Coolpix S8200 Panasonic DMC-LX7 Sony RX100
Contact us Tell us what you feel about Digit If you have an opinion about anything published in Digit, or about technology in general, write to editor@thinkdigit.com or call at +91-22-678 99 700. To interact with the authors of specific articles, please write to the email address specified under the author’s name Software on the DVDs To submit and suggest software or any other type of content, to be included in the Digit DVDs, write to dvd@thinkdigit.com or call +91-22-678 99 707
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Help! For copy-related issues, delivery status or any other complaints regarding out service, write to help@thinkdigit.com or call +91-22-678 99 678
Join the group that suits your need!
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LG reveals new Ultrabook
Buzz
) Some years ago, Digit rarely published
content that would be useful to software developers. I had written to Digit about this, and though my letter was never published, a few months later, Digit did become a bit software-developeroriented. Whether this was a result of my letter to Digit or not, I don't know, but now I’m happier. There have also been Fast Tracks dedicated to software developers and I've taken full advantage of them. I’m a Software Developer myself working for an established UK-based software company, and I’ve been using the software-developer-oriented software and other material (tutorials etc.) provided by Digit, extensively. Please provide an index file (Even a basic PDF file would do) to help us locate all software (and other content) that has been provided in the recent past by Digit in its DVDs. Sameet Natekar, Mapusa, Goa
to keep costs down. Paper, printing and distribution costs have risen 1000 per cent or more since we started in the late 90s, yet the price of Digit has risen only 50 per cent − from `100 to `150. You won't believe the hoops we have to jump through to keep costs down. Web site design is very subjective, and what you hate, others love. That said we can surely improve if you send us some pointed and specific suggestions. We will continue to give those and other tutorials in our DVDs. Robert
your fabulous work. Keep it up. Hats off for the job you’re doing. Prakash Singh Congratulations! Your first letter has been published! 1 and 2) We’ve been providing tutorials on various aspects of programming over the past year and have included many a tutorial on Java and PHP and we will continue to do so over the coming months. 3) Well, the Windows 8 FastTrack that you’re getting this month should get you off to a great start. Anirudh
) This is my first letter to you guys. I’ve
) I’m a Class X student and have been
been reading Digit since February 2012 and now I'm a big fan. My brother and I would like the following for our studies: 1. Video tutorials on Java EE (swings, servlets, JDBC, JSP, JSF, EJB, Hibernate, Struts etc.) 2. Video tutorials on .NET (C# and PHP) 3. In-depth knowledge of computer hardware, NTFS, file system, cache memory, buffer memory, overclocking, etc. Also answer questions such as: What happens when a PC starts? What should be taken care of while formatting a PC and installing an OS? I want to say thanks to you guys for
reading your magazine since 2011. I really love the latest snippets of tech news on the top of each page. I liked all of the reviews this month especially of the iPhone 5 & the Samsung Galaxy camera. Awesome review of Far Cry 3 & HTC One X though I felt both products were underrated by you guys. Have you ever given a 90+ overall score to any product? All articles based on the cover story rocked, though I loved ‘The Ideal OS’ and ‘The Dark Horses’ − two awesome stories back to back. Keep up the great work! Akshat Pradhan
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We’ve had a few iterations of a software archive, but none of them were good enough. You can check out our forum at thinkdigit.com/forum where we provide a DVD manifest every month. Anirudh
Feedback for the January 2013 issue of Digit
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LG introduced their new Ultrabook called the U560 which has an IPS based 15.6-inch LCD, 1.8GHz Core i5 CPU and a dedicated GPU
We bring you the latest from CES - the biggest electronics trade show on earth !
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) You guys are doing a great job! I've been reading Digit since the past few months and now I'm completely hooked. The Yays: The language you use is great and I easily understand complex concepts. You guys have added new sections; keep it up. The Fast Tracks are a complete hit. The layout of your magazine is impressive. The snippets atop every page are awesome. The Nays: I thought the cost was ridiculous when I first saw it. It turned out to be worth it, but please reduce it. The web site is a complete mess. TheNewBoston tutorials included in a DVD were a complete godsend. Please include all the remaining tutorials. Atheesh Krishnan
Thank you for taking the time to give us feedback, we really value it. Thanks for the "Yays". As for the Nays: With the price of things the way they are, it's hard 8 Digit | February 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com
If a product is excellent it will score over 90, but we have very rigourous test
Sad demise
CES Toshiba, and even ViewSonic. The first devices are expected to launch later this year, around the American summer.
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Razer Edge gaming tablet – While it was not the online portable gaming device of this year’s CES, the Razer Edge certainly attracted a lot of eyeballs, being the perfect example of a mobile device touted to have the power of a full fledged PC desktop. Due in February, with a $999 price
tag, the Razer Edge will ship with Windows 8, a 3rd Gen Intel Core i5 or i7 CPU, a discrete GeForce GT 640M GPU, an SSD (up to 256GB), and a 10.1-inch IPS display with a 1,366x768pixel native resolution. A bunch of controller accessories will also be available.
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OLEDs, AMOLEDs, and were made by every name in the business of displays – LG, Panasonic, Samsung, Sharp, Sony, 12 Digit | February 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com
Due to the decline in desktop PC sales, Intel has decided to discontinue manufacturing desktop motherboards within the next three years
Top 20
Here’s a look at the hottest gadgets from the world’s biggest electronics show
streaming with no dropped frames and razor-sharp picture quality. Designed for high-end smartphones and tablets, it uses ARM’s big.LITTLE technology, pairing four ARM Cortex-A7 chips with four Cortex A15 multicore chips. First expected in the S IV and Note II, more details are due at MWC.
a touchscreen. On the demo Android-based unit, when the OS called for a keyboard, the buttons raise out of the screen almost instantly, offering a small amount of resistance, enough to survive an accidental touch. When Android no longer needs the keyboard, the buttons instantly melt back. CEO and founder, Craig Ciesla states that the touch buttons can be configured into any design, including gamepad configurations. The
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ES 2013 brought with it a lot of announcements, and while we can’t say the world has effectively changed overnight, several paradigm shifts are more readily apparent. And we did see trends that we expect will make their way into homes and pervade general society by the end of the year. A variety of new technologies were shown off at CES. From a flourish of 4K televisions and other forms of high-resolutions displays, to new ranges of mobile and tablet processors from all the big names. We even sae new Android and PC gaming devices, as well as a few innovations in storage, touch and virtual reality technologies.
Intel update
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Buzz
Aaron Swartz, American computer programmer, co-author of the RSS 1.0 specification, and internet activist was found dead on 11th January
Samsung Exynos 5 Octa – Samsung took the wraps off an 8-core processor, the Exynos 5 Octa. It will apparently offer a “level of pure processing power never before seen in a mobile device,” enabling heavy-duty multi-tasking without lag or disruption. It is also built to easily handle HD movie
Oculus Rift – A virtual reality headset, the Oculus Rift from Oculus VR is a giant visor that straps to your head. The prototype development version shown off at CES 2013 was built of moulded plastic. It is then connected to the Oculus Rift Box, that is connected to an Xbox 360 or similar console via HDMI or DVI, and controlled via controller and head tracking. Currently at 720p HD resolution, exact specs have not been decided yet. Early impressions of the device have been very positive, and we hope to see consumer-ready versions ready sometime in the near future.
Tactus Pop-up Touch Tech – Tactus uses microfluid technology to raise buttons out of
technology is expected to make its way to major manufacturer’s devices by the end of the year. Valve Steam Box – While Valve didn’t actually showcase its Steam Box console, founder Gabe Newell did outline what the product would be like in an interview with The Verge. With its own version expected only in 2014, multiple partners will be able to offer Steam Boxes in the meanwhile. At CES 2013, Xi3 showed off the Piston Steam Box prototype, replete with a very large number of ports. The Valve Steam Box will apparently also be able to act like a server, with
Web watch
Connections
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A lot happenend in the world of Facebook and Google this month. We look at Graph Search and features of Chrome 25 beta
App watch
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January saw a lot of SOS apps for women’s safety gain traction. We take a look at some of them
Of Lumias, Ascends and Xperia Z’s We bring you the latest news from Consumer Electronics Show, which surprisingly saw few smartphone launches. Are phone-makers waiting for MWC?
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storage. The budget device is due to hit shelves in February.
13MP BSI rear-facing camera along with a 1.3MP front-facing camera for video calls. It also sports a 3000mAh battery. The device is expected to launch first in China, in late-January. The Huawei Ascend W1 is a 4-inch phone with an 800-by480-pixel IPS LCD. Under the hood is a 1.2GHz dualcore Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 MSM8230 processor and Adreno 305 GPU. It isn’t supermodel thin, at 0.39 inches, but it packs in a 1950mAh battery. At the time of writing, the device has already launched in China.
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Lumia 920 and Lumia 820. The Lumia 920, designed with a polycarbonate shell, comes with a 8.7MP PureView technologyendowed rear camera, coupled with an LED ‘pulse burst flash’ and 1080p HD video recording at 30 fps. The rear camera features floating lens technology, for optical image stabilization (OIS). A 1.3MP front facing camera with 720p HD video recording capabilities. Read our review for more details. The 9.9mm-thick Nokia Lumia 820 has an MRP of `27,559 and is almost identical on the specs sheet, except for a smaller 4.3-inch 800x480 pixel AMOLED display, and the lack of a PureView camera. It also has a smaller 1,650 mAh battery that’s rated to deliver up to 14 hours of talktime, and 330 hours of standby time. Unlike the Lumia 920, it supports a microSD card slot, up to 32GB. The Lumia 620 was also showcased at the Lumia 920 and 820 launch event. Nokia’s Lumia 620 is a 3.8-inch handset with a ClearBlack WVGA display powered by a 1 GHz dual-core processor and 512 MB of RAM and a 5MP camera. Nokia has also conveniently added a microSD card slot that supports up to 64GB of
Huawei’s at CES
Huawei was one of the few manufacturers to unveil a range of mobile devices at CES 2013, showing off the 6.1-inch Ascend Mate, the 5-inch Ascend D2 (both of which are Android 4.1 Jelly Bean-based), and its first Windows Phone-powered device, the WP8-based Ascend W1.
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ince the last time we met, perhaps the biggest change in the Indian market has been the launch of the much-awaited Nokia Lumia 920. Given an MRP of `38,999, the Windows Phone 8 device started adorning store shelves in India from mid-January. Further along these pages, you will find our review of the Finnish manufacturer’s flagship. Elsewhere, at CES 2013, some manufacturers showed off their wares, whilst others, like LG, Samsung, and HTC, were surprisingly missing from the scene. Lenovo launched a few Android dualSIM devices, Huawei filled out its Android and WP8 lineup, with a couple of quad-core devices in tow. The BlackBerry 10 leaks kept coming of course, and at the time of writing, we were still awaiting the BB10 OS and device launch on January 31 – head on over to thinkdigit. com for the latest updates on that front. Moving sideways, two new entrants have made their motives plain in the smartphone operating system battlefield – Mozilla has announced developer models for its mobile Firefox OS, and Canonical has also declared similar intentions for powering mobile devices with Ubuntu from 2014. Samsung has also said it plans to release the first Tizen phones this year.
Nokia Lumia-920
Sony’s Xperia Z and ZL
Huawe Ascend Mate 1
The Ascend Mate has a 6.1inch display with a 1280x720 IPS+ display and has a 1.5 GHz Hi-Silicon quad-core processor under the hood combined with 2GB of RAM. It runs on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean straight out of the box and is powered by a 4050mAh battery. It has an 8MP AF rear-facing camera with HDR and 1MP HD front-facing camera for video calls. The device is expected to launch first in the Chinese market, in February. The Huawei Ascend D2 bears a 5-inch IPS display with a resolution of 1920x1280p and runs on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean straight out-of-the-box. The D2 has Huawei’s K3V2 1.5 GHz quad-core CPU along with 2GB of RAM. It has a whopping
The Xperia Z was finally unveiled at CES 2013. Sony says that the earliest the phone will hit the markets globally is March 2013. The Xperia ZL will only hit “select markets”. Pretty much in line with the rumours, the Xperia Z specs include a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro APQ8064 quad-core processor clocking in at 1.5GHz, Adreno 320 graphics, 2GB of RAM, a 5-inch 1080p HD TFT display, 13MP Exmor RS camera, 16GB built-in storage with microSD expansion, 2330mAh battery, as well as Clear Audio+, Bravia Reality Display and Bravia Engine2 technology. The Xperia Z also has waterproof capabilities, up to a depth of 1 metre. The Xperia Z has glass panels on the back and the front, along with plastic covers for all ports on the spines. The Xperia Z will ship with Android Jelly Bean 4.1 out of the box, with a “promised” Android 4.2 Jelly Bean update.
“Installous” shuts down
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The era of smart, connected devices is well and truly upon us
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he Internet has revolutionized our lives in more ways than we care to imagine. Within a decade from being a desirable facet of one’s life, the Internet has invaded our homes and is now a strong necessity that we can’t live without . Yet what we deem as the Internet is just a web of computers (in one shape or another) exchanging data through a network of communication devices (routers, switches, etc.). These days the definition of computers has changed a bit to encompass highly evolved gadgets like smartphones and tablets that access the Internet more than good old PCs ever did. Often what we loosely label as the Internet (for checking Facebook, reading websites, etc.) is in fact the World Wide Web or Web – just a means of reading content over the Internet’s superhighway. This is where most of us restrict our involvement of the Internet. To think we call this minor obsession of ours with the Internet a revolution is just plain ridiculous. Imagine an Internet of intelligent devices (not PCs) that requires minimum supervision, as a separate network entity which interacts with the Internet, leveraging its potential different to what we are used to in our-day-to-day life. The possibilities of such an Internet, alive with gadgets and devices, is vastly more enriching. Just thinking about it is enough to realize that such an Internet of Things will go a long way in making our lives more comfortable than they already are. And it may be unfolding around us in the coming months.
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The pirated app store called “Installous”, which provided pirated copies of paid apps for iOS shut down recently.
Which is the best telescope to gaze into the night sky? We tell you that and more...
30 Digit | February 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com
The next big wave Internet of Things has been a buzzword on the technology horizon for the past couple of years. But not until the Consumer Electronics Show held in January this year did the term re-surface and claw back into popular discourse. There were products unveiled at the year’s biggest technology show to signal that the Internet of Things has matured far beyond a concept to buzzing, beeping devices produced by a variety of manufacturers, lending muchneeded momentum to the phenomenon’s widespread acceptance.
Fancy an electronic, remotely operated light switch to your living room? Check out the Belkin WeMo Light Switch which looks and feels like any ordinary light switch, only it’s not – it’s much smarter, connects to Wi-Fi and can be remotely controlled from anywhere in the world by an iOS (and soon-to-release Android) app. Can’t check on your flower garden regularly when you’re busy travelling? Monitor their well-being through this ingenious Parrot Flower Power sensor asasasas The device plugs into the soil to track sunlight, moisture, temperature and
Demystifying 48 fps
Digital life
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We throw light on The Hobbit’s “HFR” movie format and wonder whether the future of filmmaking is in 48 fps
A “Privacy Visor” ?!
A group of Japanese scientists are developing a pair of glasses that can protect you from Facial Recognition Machines
Sonic Screwdriver
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Some people say that Doctor Who is the James Bond of science fiction, although Mr. Bond uses quite a lot of fiction himself. But looking past that, we would say that the huge army of fans that the show has garnered will surely appreciate the fact that somebody has actually gone on to prepare the Sonic Screwdriver, which the Doctor uses for exactly the same purpose as normal people would use a screwdriver -- absolutely anything. Lock-pick kit to tracking a bunch of nasty aliens, this promises to do anything that the writers can decide on. And it will do none of those things in real life, of course. But it is still a good piece of the show memorabilia, and would work for you as a trusted universal remote. Yours for some 5 grand, plus shipping. Check out www.iwantoneofthose.com.
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Dive straight into the deep-end of tech nirvana with these digital toys Tesla Model S
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We are including this car not only because we love cars, but because of the previously unimaginable horizon that this particular manufacturer has brought very close to reality – a car that is eco-friendly without feeling like one. This piece of art on wheels, the “moonshot” Tesla Model S has been painstakingly in development for years, and was finally unleashed late last year. Costing around `60 lakhs, which is actually on the lower side considering its impressive stats, this car will fit the standard definition of a ‘sports car’ for the people who love those (basically everyone in the world), and is powered entirely by batteries, to keep the green army happy as well. Not an easy agreement to achieve, as most luxury car manufacturers would tell you. But we salute Elon Musk for his attempts, and bow down to the moonshot that is his creation.
38 Digit | February 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com
Make your own CMS
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Tips and Tricks
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Supercharge your Chrome browser with plugins and speed up you Apple devices with these gestures and settings on iOS6
Laptop overheating, partitioning woes to getting rid of unwanted messages...
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If it is in the default mode, then the graphics will be switching to HD 7670M based on the game settings. In case you are running the games on integrated graphics, then it looks like the integrated graphics on your processor is finding it tough to keep up with the game settings you have. Hence, it's heating up. In case, you are running the games using the 7670M, and the CPU is still heating up, then that indicates that it is not being cooled properly. You can either get it
Multiple issues
I have a couple of problems, but first here are my system specs: • OS: Windows XP Professional SP3 • CPU: Intel Pentium (R) E5300 @2.7GHz • Motherboard: ASUS P5G41T-M LX (LGA775) • RAM: ADATA DDR3 2GB @1333MHz • HDD: 75GB SAMSUNG SP0822N (PATA) • PSU: 450W 1) I've noticed that my system takes quite a while to start up. But occasionally it starts up quickly but the home screen takes time to come on. My dad says that it may be due to a faulty power cord and a lot of apps are set to start on start up. Is there any menu for it like on Windows 7? My HDD is almost 6 years old. 2) I used ‘Speccy’ which was bundled with the Digit DVD and it showed my RAM as: ‘2.00 GB Single-Channel DDR3 @ 400MHz (6-6-6-15)’. But both my RAM and motherboard are DDR3 1333MHz. Is it this that is causing the 1st problem? Everything has slowed down than earlier 3) Can I use my Sony Bravia 32CX420 Full HD TV as a monitor via the HDMI port of a graphics card? Reuben Thomas
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Laptop overheating I purchased an HP G6-2016TX six months ago from Lucknow. It has Intel Core i5-3210M and ATI 7670M and has switchable graphics (which is turning out to be a pain). Off late when I play games (like Ghost Recon Future Soldier, Defense Grid) my fan makes a lot of noise. Checking with hardware monitor reveals that CPU temp reaches 100 deg C. This high temperature is freaking me out. Please advise me if it is safe to operate the laptop at this temperature. Else what should I do? Archit Gupta
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We go through sos@thinkdigit.com to answer your distress calls
Cooler Master Notepal U Stand
checked at the service centre if it is still under warranty. Or you can get a good laptop cooler to keep the laptop running cooler. A good option is Cooler Master Notepal U. You can read more about it here in our online review: http://goo.gl/ PAqoq. Worth the money. 46 Digit | February 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com
Let's us answer your questions, one at a time: 1) The reason startup is taking so long is because you probably have set a lot of applications to start when Windows starts. Now this is not really necessary for all applications. Specially utilities like the Canon printer menu and so on. In order to reduce your startup time go to Start > Run > msconfig > Startup tab and untick the services that you do not want to start up when Windows starts. But if you are not sure which services to untick, install the CCleaner utility which is bundled in the DVD under Essen-
Run "msconfig" to launch the window
tials. First Analyse system and then Run CCleaner. 2) The DDR3 1333MHz is the specification of the motherboard, in the sense that it indicates that the board supports upto 1333 MHz DDR3 memory. The memory you have lodged in the RAM slot is running slower. That's fine. 3) Yes, you can connect your TV to the HDMI cable coming out of your graphics card and use it as a monitor.
Running multiple OSes Can you please suggest me some software utilities or applications by using which I can run multiple OSes simultaneously. I want to use Windows 7 and Windows 8 simultaneously. I currently use Windows 7 32-bit edition. Please help. Milind Fegade You can use the utility Virtual Box to have multiple OSes running on your system. You can find it in the DVDs that are bundled with the magazine or can download it from (http://goo.gl/4bbl). On installing the utility, it will ask you to allocate free space on your HDD on which a new OS can be loaded.
American Megatrends bootscreen with 'Press F1 to Run SETUP' message This is the first time I am writing to you and I am a very big fan of your magazine.
Our pick of the best tech articles from around the globe
(Must reads)
Graph Search: The Inside Story
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We saw some smart home appliances launched at CES with ridiculous pricing over their non-smart counterparts. In this article, the author builds a case for how smart appliances should actually be and debunks the ‘smartness’ of the current appliances.
(Wired Corner)
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Smart appliances? Really?
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In this free-wheeling chat, Valve’s Gabe Newell tells us about SteamBox – a Valve-developed hardware case targetted at gamers. He stresses on using biometrics as an input method over traditional motion controllers; the future of multiple screen gaming; user-generated stores on Steam and more.
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http://dgit.in/Xs5aR0
Facebook announced its third pillar – Graph Search – on Jan 15th, but this Wired senior writer got early access to the system and has written a wonderful piece on the making of Graph Search. Fun Fact: Graph Search was headed by two ex-Google employees (one of whom was instrumental in forming Google Maps and Google Wave). http://dgit.in/SpojWo
Particle Physics and shopping recommendations?
Nothing could be as different as particle physics and online shopping recommendation engines. Yet researchers from a Swiss university are using the philosophy behind particle physics – particles occupying most energetically favourable states or in case of bosons there is no limit to the number that can occupy a given state – and applying it to improve online recommendation engines
http://dgit.in/SqqVU6
A Larry Page interview Google CEO Larry page rarely gives interviews and when he does, the tech world takes notice. Here he talks about the need to work beyond incremental changes, Google X, importance of being able to market your innovations, the future of Motorola and much more. http://dgit.in/XrYAKe
Auto-tech at CES We have all read reams upon reams of coverage of tablets, smartphones, 4K TVs and so on from CES 2013. But there were some innovative auto-tech on display as well. This photo-gallery gives a listing of the best. http://dgit.in/V9JxVl
Hybrid data-networking Optical networking is currently used to transfer data between data centres and sparingly to transfer data within a data centre. It talks about research in the field of hybrid electrical and optical networking which will power future data networks. http://dgit.in/13Xl8b5
Digit | February 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com 59
> code / creativity / community > Interview with
Sunil Shetty, Mobile Developer, eBuddy
For the complete interview visit: devworx.in
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BlackBerry 10 is here...
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skirmishes, Microsoft had refreshed the ecosytem with its fresh tiled interface in Windows Phone. While all of that seemed unique enough, it left very little space for any new entrant to have room enough to ‘innovate’ with creative, functional or rather original an approach. For a while it felt each piece of innovation risked being the victim of IP claims and possible sabotage. Surprisingly, Research in Motion has mostly overcome all the above hurdles. It’s stripped off bloat, dead weight as an organisation, plugged holes, nearly written off Java for a POSIXcompliant RTOS called QNX that powers car dashboards in over 200 million automobiles across the club, factories as well as nuclear power plants. It’s not without reason that the Canadian company is banking so heavily on BlackBerry 10.
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Monetarily speaking, it’s cheapest to develop for BlackBerry. Yet, at the same time, BlackBerry developers earn more than 4 times what Apple developers earn. Scrolling down to the overall experience, or user interface per se, there has been a lot of squabbling between Apple and the Android camp. A couple of days ago, a court ruled specifically that Samsung tablets do not infringe Apple patents. After these technological
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Github’s two million
>>Launched in April 2008--GitHub--the open source developer’s code repository of choice, now has 3 million developers on board. By adding 1.3 million sign-ups since raising $100 million in July, GitHub is now red hot with 3 million developers on board with their 4.9 million repositories. GitHub has been used by several prominent products to host code.
http://dvwx.in/10lbP5T
>>Google is now allowing Android application developers to respond to reviews generated for their apps on the Play Store. Read:
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t’s February, and after a long wait, BlackBerry 10 is finally out there. A couple of analysts we spoke to believe “BB10 definitely has an advantage, if compared to other new platforms such as Windows Phone”. When compared to an open platform such as Android, it won’t have challenges such as fragmentation to the extent that developers working on Google’s platform face. At the same time, it’s of course not as ‘closed’ in nature as Apple is.
*Respond to App reviews
Project Glass begins...
>>The events, which are being called “Glass Foundry”, will allow developers to get to know the Mirror API and start developing for Google Glass with the help of easy access being made available to a number of Google Engineers at the events.
http://dvwx.in/UUZMFF
Read the entire article at http://dvwx.in/T51ZTC and share your comments.
Oracle faces hiccups
*15k apps in 37.5 hours!
>>Yes, that’s exactly what Research in Motion managed to pull with a hackathon prior to the launch of BlackBerry 10. Read:
http://dvwx.in/VKEvCz
*Device irrelevant
>>A new study by Accenture reveals that two-thirds of smartphone and tablet owners don’t have strong brand loyalty to any one particular operating system. Read:
>>After the American government warned users of the security risk posed by the recently discovered Java vulnerability that was being exploited in the wild, Oracle quickly came into action and posted a security update within 3 days of the news spreading worldwide. However, according to several analysts, there is still considerable work needed to assuage industry, developer and user concerns surrounding the report of a security vulnerability.
http://dvwx.in/VKEFto
http://dvwx.in/VKEu1q
http://dvwx.in/13fnwK8
For latest news, updates and features, join us on Facebook at
facebook.com/ devworx.in
devworx> | February 2013 | www.devworx.in 63
Price Watch
Killer Rigs
Street smart
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Our regular monthly round-up of the best components for your rig across budgets
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Find out the latest prices of phablets, tablets and smartphones over the `15,000 price bracket
Add bling to your smartphone with these fun accessories Agent 001
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martphones today have become all round devices. Apart from the usual texting and making calls, smartphones connect users to their social networking accounts, act as dedicated GPS devices, can be used for multimedia, portable gaming and have effectively replaced your average point and shoot camera. If you thought that was enough, wait till you come across some funky accessories I have found for them.
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Everything for your smartphone
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A Bluetooth headset is the most basic accessory you will need with your smartphone. It is ideal for those who are on the move and like to keep their hands free for other activates (get your mind out of the gutter!). For this I recommend the Jabra Stone 2. It has some cool features like answering or rejecting calls with voice commands, verbal setup instructions, caller ID and battery level (verbal) indications. It can also dictate GPS directions. It comes with a charging stone letting you charge the headset on the go. You can pick it up for `8,000.
Portable Charger
Lets face it, with all the functionality a smartphone offers users today, the one thing that it lacks is a good battery backup. This is where a portable charger makes sense. I recommend you take a look at the Nokia Universal Portable Charger DC-16. To start with, it packs in a 2200mAh battery. This capacity is good considering that most phones pack in a 2000mAh battery at best. You can charge a smartphone completely in roughly 2 and half hours. For `1,499 this is definitely a steal.
68 Digit | February 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com
Headphones
A rugged case
The bundled earphones with smartphones aren’t the best especially if you are a music buff. But having a nice pair of headphones that also double up with answering calls really makes it a value for money device. The Bose AE2i headphones comes to mind. Not only are they comfortable to wear and produce some fantastic sound, but they also have controls for music as well as calls so you can seamlessly answer calls without having to remove the headphones. Expect to shell out `8,888 for these babies.
Doesn’t it break your heart when you drop your smartphone and see that big scratch along the side or back? Well, not anymore. There are a variety of tough cases available from OtterBox for most of the popular smartphones available in the market. These cases are priced around the $35 (Rs. 2,000 approx.) and are a real value for money proposition especially if you are one who likes to carry their smartphone wherever they go, including mountain climbing.
Removable iPhone lens Yes, the camera of the iPhone is one of the best when compared to the competition but it has a long way to go before it can appeal to a professional. Additional lenses from olloclip is just what the doc ordered. You get a three-in-one lens – fisheye, wide-angle and macro. If you are one who loves shooting images with your iPhone, then this is a must have accessory for you. You can expect to pay $70 (`4,000 approx.) for this accessory.
Smartphone car mount If you get lost easily, then the GPS and maps app on your smartphone is a lifesaver. To ensure that you don’t drive into a wall while checking your phone, we suggest that you take a look at a car mount for your smartphone. Ranging from `1,200 to `4,000, there are a number of car mounts available. Some are generic and can house smartphones of various build and sizes such as the Griffin Window Car Mount for smartphones priced at `1,500. Some of the universal mounts can house PMP’s as well.
76 Digit | February 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com
Illustration: Manav Sachdev Photo: Subhojit Paul Model: Rakaysh
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Work@Tech
Tech @ Work
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Industry Connect
We look at career opportunities in the fields of Web analytics and SEO in India
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We speak to Qualcomm’s Dr. Avneesh Agrawal on the prospects of LTE in India, SoCs and much more
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f you’re running a business, you of all people should understand the importance of data security and integrity. It doesn’t matter how small or big a threat may be, or its type or nature, there will be consequences (reputation, legal charges, losing competitive edge, and other unforeseen damages) for any breach of your company’s data and in some instances even irreparable damage. Unless you run a completely offline business, chances are that you have a fair amount of interaction with the web, which is rapidly becoming the top infection point for all sorts of security vulnerabilities. Seeing how security vendors are always releasing not-so-encouraging reports about the online threat landscape, it is important to understand and acknowledge the fact that unless protected your data is under constant threat. There are a number of steps that one should take to safeguard and secure data before it’s too late. We share a few basics that shouldn’t be ignored.
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Steps you need to take to ensure business data is protected all the time
Secure your network and connections
While working from home, how do you ensure that you connect securely to your office server for an urgently required file? Virtual Private Networks or VPNs is the answer, think of it as your very own private, completely secure tunnel through the internet. Windows 7 has a built-in VPN feature which you can explore (just
82 Digit | February 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com
type “VPN” in the Start Menu field) to hook up two computers. You can also check out pretty good third-party solutions like OpenVPN or Hamachi which are free and easy-to-setup. For your wireless office network, don’t ignore the basics: ensure you deploy WPA2 encryption with a difficult passphrase and MAC address filtering at the router level.
that even if a laptop is stolen or lost, the data on it is always encrypted and impossible to recover. Tools that let you do this are TrueCrypt, an open source favourite, and Windows’ own BitLocker utility. Both of them are used to securely encrypt entire hard drive volumes with or without hardware encryption via TPM (trusted platform module), deploying different authentication methods.
Encryption shouldn’t be ignored at all
Online backups are critical
Make data encryption part of your work policy, whether you have two or twenty employees. Every computer that has business data on it should be encrypted at the hardware and software level to ensure
If your office PC hardware is old or aging fast – disk drives whirring too loudly, with audible clicking sound – it’s important to backup your data at short, fixed intervals before disaster strikes.
Cabinet Test
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An assortment of headphones, cameras and other gadgets are passed through are rigorous test process
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Tried & Tested
20+ cabinets slug it out in a quest to house your precious hardware. Head over here to find the one that’s right for you
Camera Shootout of the
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We compare the popular enthusiast cameras out there to crown the best
Swapnil Mathur
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ith the pointand-shoot camera market hitting somewhat of a wall in terms of growth, the camera makers figured it was time for the next stage of evolution – advanced point and shoot. Given the changing trends, manufacturers have started taking the features that make DSLRs so great and packing them into smaller point-n-shoot cameras. In the last two years, we’ve seen cameras with really fast apertures of f/1.4, we’re seeing bigger sensors getting packed into the little cameras not to mention those really convenient dials and controls that are also starting to slowly creep into these little shooters. Normally, if
you want fast apertures of f/1.4, you’re going to have to shell out a lot more for the lens than you would for an advanced point and shoot. While the manufacturers are in a giving mood, they’re not willing to let the consumer have it all. If you’re hoping for a point and shoot with a really fast f/1.4-2.3 lens to also have a large sensor with an excellent 24mm (or wider) to 200mm (or longer) focal length, we recommend you go back to sleep and continue dreaming. There seems to be an underlying trend of crippling even these advanced cameras.
Advanced point and shoot This is a category we are quite excited about as it is a sign that there truly is a future for the little cameras that fit into our pockets. It is a sign that we may
88 Digit | February 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com
not have to lug our DSLR kits around just because we want to be sure of not missing that critical shot.
Features and design Given that the advanced point and shoot segment is still in its infancy, we’re not surprised that the feature set is still very fragmented. While one camera might play host to a large sensor, the optics on it might fall short with a relatively slow lens. On the other hand a camera blessed with a fast aperture might falter due to its small 1/1.7-inch sensor, at least when it comes to high ISO performance. Case in point being the Sony RX100 and the Panasonic LX7. While the RX100 has a large 1-inch sensor, its lens has a really slow f/4.9 maximum aperture at the telephoto end. The LX7 on the other
hand, boasts an aperture range of f/1.4-2.3, the fastest in a point and shoot, but the camera gets crippled due to a small sensor. The Canon PowerShot G1x is the powerhorse here, with its huge 1.5-inch APS-C sensor, the first of its kind in a point and shoot camera, but with that huge a sensor comes a major drawback. The minute you lay your hands on a G1X, you’d feel like you’d rather be holding a small DSLR. Not only is the camera huge and bulky, but it also has a relatively slow f/2.8-5.8 lens. The G1x also weighs in at 534 grams, which is not really light so far as point and shoots go. All cameras in our comparison had a pop-up flash, with all the advance cameras also sporting a hot-shoe to attach external speedlights. The Sony RX100 is an exeption here though, lacking both a hot shoe
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The latest products reviewed For you
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The Digit Test Centre receives hundreds of products every month. Each of these products is put through a series of tests and is finally given a score. The final score is arrived at after considering a number of factors and evaluating them in terms of features, performance, value for money, build quality, and, in the case of software, even ease of use.
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For better understanding of our ratings, hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a quick guide to our overall score 10
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Strictly OK.
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Page 115 ASUS PadFone
Go for it, but there may be better products out there.
Highly recommended.
Ground-breaking product.
Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve never seen anything like it before. A definite must buy!
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PLUS 106 | Acer Aspire V5-471P 106 | Seagate Barracuda XT 3TB 106 | Viewsonic TD2220 107 | Amkette Evo Box 108 | Intel Core i5-3450S 108 | IRIS Compressor Pro 109 | HCL ME Ultra 3074 109 | iBall Andi 4.5h 110 | JBL SoundFly BT 110 | Sennheiser Momentum 111 | iBerry Auxus Core X2 3G 112 | Karbonn A21
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Custom Lumia 820 cases
Motorola X Phone
Nokia has announced that it will allow owners of its Lumia 820 smartphone, an option to customise their phone cases or shell covers
If rumours are to be believed, the much awaited Motorola X Phone with Android Key Lime Pie OS is slated to be announced at Google I/O in May this year
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Acer Aspire V5-471P
Seagate Barracuda XT 3TB
Budget warrior but with chinks in the armour
Second to the Velociraptor
Touchscreen LED monitors are here
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ith the Windows 8 OS upon us we will soon be seeing a lot of touchscreen monitors. Viewsonic TD 2220 sports a highly reflective screen and has a fluid touch response. The full HD resolution is impressive and is great for regular use. The contrast ratio using Spyder3Elite colorimeter came to around 451:1 at 50 per cent brightness and contrast settings which is on the lower side. The reflective screen makes movie watching experience in a lit room quite painful. At `19,999 it is priced at quite a premium and we would advise you to wait till other players enter this space.
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he Aspire V5-471P is touchscreen based laptop Price39 39,1 from Acer coming with a 14-inch screen and a Windows 8 Home OS. It houses a comparitively older Intel Core i3-2365M processor which sporting laptops and ultrabelongs to the Sandy Bridge books. In the graphics departline up, clocked at 1.4 GHz ment, 3D Mark 06 gave an without any Turbo Boost. overall score of 3230 marks. As The Acer Aspire V5 has a far as real life games go, we got silver-coloured plastic body all around 23 fps on Resident Evil 5 around and lacks the premium at 1280x720 pixel resolution. feel that one sees in the Aspire Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t bother with gaming on S7. The 14-inch touchscreen is this machine. a finger-print / smudge magnet The audio output of the which becomes evident while Aspire V5 was quite impresyour screen is dark. sive. Clarity and sound separaWe got a score of 1901 on PC tion were decent for a laptop of Mark 7, which is much lower this class and we did not notice than competing Core i5 and any distortion at 100 per cent Core i7 Ivy Bridge processor volume level. Videos lack the depth, thanks to the display which is highly reflective and suffers from backlight bleeding around the edges. The battery life just lasted for 140 minutes, which will mean that it will Features.....................................60 give around 4 - 4.5 hours on Build Quality.............................40 standard usage scenario. Performance.............................50 The Acer Aspire V5-471P Value for money.......................70 is an ideal machine for those who are looking at an entrySpecifications Processor: Intel Core i3-2365M; level Windows 8 machine Clock speed: 1.4 GHz; RAM: 4 GB; with a touchscreen. Students HDD: 500 GB; Operating System: are the first candidates that Windows 8 Home; Screen size: come to mind. At `39,139 we 14-inches; Resolution: 1366x768; think itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a tad bit expensive Optical Drive: Yes; USB ports: 1xUSB 3.0; 2xUSB 2.0 specially considering its older processor. Under `35,000 Contact this would make for a good Acer India purchase if you can overlook Phone: 0120 3807200 its issues. Email: all_easycare@acer.co.in Website: www.acer.co.in Nimish Sawant
Viewsonic TD2220
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106 Digit | February 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com
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his drive comes with the Advanced 4K technology that was missing in the 512-byte sector size in the previous 3 TB iteration. The DiscWizard software allows you to use it on WinXP sporting machines as well. The Barracuda XT 3TB gave faster speeds than the WD Black 2TB drive and is second only to the mighty WD Velociraptor 1TB drive. Sequential Read / Write: 172 / 157 MB/s and Assorted Read / Write: 134 / 144 MB/s. Its cost per GB comes to `5.18 which is quite decent for its performance.
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80 Features.....................................80 Performance.............................85 Build Quality.............................NA Value for money.......................75
Specifications
Unformatted Capacity: 2794.2 GB; Interface: SATA 3; Rotational Speed: 7200 RPM; Advanced 4K: Yes; Buffer size: 64 MB
Contact
Fortune Marketing Phone: +91 11 2641 4468 Email: sales@fortune-it.com Website: www.seagate.com
Features.....................................80 Performance.............................65 Build Quality.............................70 Value for money.......................40
Specifications
Display size: 21.5-inches; Resolution: 1920x1080; Display ports: 1xD-Sub, 1xDVI; Dimensions with stand (WxDxH in mm): 511x635x240; Weight with stand: 4.92 kg
Contact
ViewSonic Technologies India Ltd Phone: +91 11 4260 3195 Email: sales@in.viewsonic.com
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Devil May Cry and Resident Evil 6 reviewed. Evil beckons
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Craziest moments in tech Apple Maps
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Where do we even begin? First, a man is found dead in Belize, then he spends a night hidden in a cardboard box, then he’s in Guatamela, a photo from there finds its way to the internet. He apologizes saying the exif data was faked and he tampered with it; turns out he was in Guatamela and he apologizes again for apologizing about tampering with the photo.
The maps fiasco of iOS 6 was one of the most unexpected from Apple. What it did was send the entire iWorld back to the Stone Age. People had to actually talk to strangers (“shudder”) and ask for directions. A dire situation indeed! No matter, Google’s maps soon came along and returned the iFaithfuls to the 21st century.
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John McAfee
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2012 was quite a year, packed to the brim with the wierd and wonderful. Here is our compilation of six of the craziest tech moments in 2012
A fresh start. Or Not. The disappearance of the Start Menu was met with much agitation from the Windows community at large. People were lost without it and the new Metro, or Modern, or New Style or whatever the UI is called now just seems so incoimplete without it. It was a sad day indeed when Microsoft finally decided to kill it. R.I.P. Start button.
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A second too soon
The one, true religion
Isak Gerson is your God and the Missionary Church of Kopimism your place of worship, Kopimism being your new religion. Begone to Sweden ye perfidious pirates. The only country that recognises file-sharing as a true religion. A religion that holds Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V as holy symbols demands our attention. The message, “Have internet, will copy.”
118 Digit | February 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com
Time Keepers add an extra second to the world’s atomic clocks and parts of the world grind to a halt. A minor glitch in the linux kernel caused many servers (not updated in time) to just crash. The crashed servers include those of Reddit and Mozilla. In a world where every second counts, Time is truly our mistress.
Space Age parts When you are accidentally shipped wierd spares with a suitably cryptic id. “Google Planet8541 Pluto switch”, you know that Google’s plans at world domination are grander than you think. Nobody has yet been able to solve the mystery of the spares and Google has gracioucly presented T-Shirts to the engineers who received those parts.
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Skoar!
Sameer “Psycho Mantis” Mitha feedback@skoar.com
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linear, the levels themselves are a lot of fun to navigate. The game essentially takes place in Limbo, which is a destructive imagination of the real world (a lot more crazy that the world we have seen in Constantine) and that is a very good thing. From upside down subway stations to a gothic them parks, the levels are superb and varied throughout the experience. Dante has at his disposal his sword, Rebellion, and his sexy twin pistols, Ebony and Ivory. Being a Nephilim, Dante has access to a bunch of new moves, which include Devil mode and Angel mode. Holding down the right and left trigger respectively can access these modes. In each mode, Dante’s weapons are modified to vary his attacks. You also have an additional two weapons in each mode and an overall of three different guns giving you an arsenal to take on an army (which you kind of do in the game). The gameplay stays true to tradition. The hack and slash mechanic are retro enough to keep fans happy as well as appeal to new comers with the addition of new combat elements. The number of weapons, combos and varied enemies at your disposal are more than enough to keep the game fresh for its 12 hours play through. The
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ust like the rest of the world, we were skeptical when we heard that DmC was going to receive a reboot. We have been playing the game for some time now, and we have to tell you, it doesn’t disappoint. To start with the story is on similar lines of the original series with a slight twist. You are Dante, a Nephilim (son of a demon father and angle mother). With his mother murdered and father imprisoned, Dante joins forces with his twin brother Vergil to take down the demon God Mundus who brought this fate upon them. Fans of the franchise will recognize the plot twists half way through but there are other twists and turns that keep the story interesting. The voice acting in the game is good and even thought there are the cheeky moments they can be forgiven because the overall package is a treat. The audio in the game too is fantastic. The various swish and swipes of combat mixed with fast paced metal music gives you a sense of excitement that is very exhilarating. The level designers of the game deserve special credit. Even though DmC is very
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The Perfect Reboot
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way the enemies are introduced too is very dramatic. Towards the end of the game, most of the tough enemies are grouped together putting your demon slaying skills to the test. This is an action platforming game with just one puzzle. The platforming is swift and fluid mixing together Angle and Demon mode giving you access to some really cool moves to traverse the already crazy environment and the boss fights, although simple, are a sight to behold.
Verdict If you love action games, you have to play DmC. If you are a fan of the franchise, trust us when we say that the game will by no means disappoint. A must have for all action adventure fans and a benchmark for future reboots!
MOAR! » Genre: Hack and slash, beat ‘em up » Developer: Ninja Theory » Publisher: Capcom » Price: PS3 and Xbox 360: `. 2999; PC: ` 999
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