Computer Shopperの January 2021 の目次

I write this with an extremely heavy heart. As you’ll have worked out by now, this is the final ever issue of Computer Shopper. I’m immeasurably sad and disappointed it’s all come to an end. When I first took over as Shopper editor almost five years ago, the print market was already suffering, as readers and advertisers increasingly turned to the web. The feeling back in late 2015 was that Shopper – which didn’t have the luxury of its own website to generate additional digital revenue – would last for another couple of years. We managed to weather the print decline storm for several more years, thanks both to the superb Shopper writers, contributors and production staff, who it’s been a complete pleasure working with for the past four-odd years…

Software guru and Shopper legend IT’S BEEN ONE of those weeks when I’ve had to check the date isn’t the first of April while checking the tech news, especially when reports arrived of an app for tightening or loosening the laces on trainers – and changing the colour of the lights on the trainers, too. Seriously? I know the question ‘is there an app for that?’ is a constant among phone users, but an app to change how tight your laces are when you can’t be that far from your feet strikes me as an app too far. LACE VENTURA I was even more convinced this was app overkill when people began reporting they needed to do a hard reset of their trainers following software updates to their phone. Looking…

£722 • From www.laptopsdirect.co.uk CHROMEBOOKS CAN BE a fantastic alternative to Windows laptops for kids and students and, as the Acer Chromebook 714 proves, they’re not all stubby bargain-bin machines, either. This laptop employs an Intel Core i5 CPU housed in a lightweight chassis, all topped by a Full HD non-touch display. Build quality is uninspiring, but performance is great; it’s a speedy and reasonably well-priced machine, too. OLD FAITHFUL The Acer Chromebook 714 is a lightweight laptop with a sizable 14in IPS Full HD display. It comes with a metal chassis finished in attractive matt dark grey, has a large touchpad with integrated buttons and a full-sized keyboard, plus a fingerprint reader for quicker, easier logins. There are several models of the Chromebook 714 available across various retailers in…

£159 • From www.amazon.co.uk CLEARLY, A WORLDWIDE pandemic hasn’t interrupted Motorola’s usual barrage of smartphone launches. If anything, the Moto G9 Play comes even earlier than expected, only mere months after the Moto G8 (Shopper 391). What’s more, this seems simply to be a rebranded Moto G9, with exactly the same specs as the handset that’s launched in India. Whether this means we just won’t get a non-Play Moto G9 in the UK remains to be seen. THICKEN THIN Intrigue aside, Motorola has mixed up the design once again, most notably when it comes to the rear camera placement. Now situated in a much tidier square in the top-centre portion of the phone, the three cameras and LED flash module are spaced evenly apart in a 2x2 grid, with a…

£379 • From www.apple.com/uk LET’S GET THIS out of the way quickly: the Apple Watch Series 6 is the best smartwatch you can buy. No rivals have appeared over the past year that seriously challenge its position, and several improvements this time around mean it’s even more firmly ensconced at the top of the wearables sector. Android phone owners still aren’t paticularly well catered for, despite the new Family Setup feature (more on this later), but if you own an iPhone there’s nothing – at least, not in terms of all-round capabilities – that even comes close. YOU SNOOZE, YOU WIN From the front, the Series 6looks no different from the last two generations. You still get a choice between 40mm and 44m models, the former having a screen resolution…

01 A network-attached storage (NAS) device lets you store documents, media, and other files on its hard disks so you can share them with other devices on your network. Some have disks already installed, while others are empty enclosures into which you install your own disks. Buying an empty NAS can often be the more cost-effective option, as they’re usually less expensive and give you the freedom to add disks at a later date. You should buy one with a Gigabit Ethernet interface, as these provide the highest transfer speeds. To use a NAS device at these speeds, you’ll need computers with Gigabit Ethernet network adaptors and a Gigabit Ethernet switch or router. Computers with Fast Ethernet adaptors can still access the NAS device, but only at the much slower…

01 A basic 24in LCD monitor costs around £100. It will be fine for typical Windows work but is likely to have poor viewing angles, so you’ll need to sit straight on for the best picture quality. Its colour accuracy may not be very good, either. 02 A VGA input lets you use the monitor with any PC, but the quality may not be as good as it is over DVI or HDMI. Both are digital connections and require a compatible graphics card but they avoid the need for digital-to-analogue or analogue-to-digital conversions, which can reduce image quality. A digital connection achieves the best picture automatically, so you won’t have to adjust clock or phase settings as you do with analogue connections. Many DVI and all HDMI connections support HDCP,…

01 A smart thermostat can save you a lot of money by intelligently controlling your heating. Most smart heating devices are designed to be used with hot water central heating systems, with the boiler directly controlled by the system. These typically require a relay to be wired into your boiler, with a wireless thermostat giving you direct control. Smartphone apps then tie into the system to give you remote control. While it’s possible to fit controls yourself, you may want to pay an experienced plumber to do the job: expect to pay around £150 for a typical installation. If you have electric heating, there are very few choices, and the big names (Nest, Honeywell and so on) do not directly support these systems. 02 Want smart hot water control? If…

01 A 32in Full HD TV costs around £200, but premium larger 4K models can be closer to £2,000. TVs look much smaller in the shop than in your home, so measure the space available before you buy. Curved TVs are becoming increasingly more common, but bear in mind that these typically take up more floor space than a traditional flat set. 02 A 1,920x1,080-resolution TV can display a 1080p image. You can still buy TVs with a 720p (1,366x768) resolution, but they’re no cheaper and the image won’t be as sharp. 3,840x2,560 Ultra HD resolution, or 4K, TVs are finally available at reasonable prices, although you’ll still pay a premium for one over a 1080p model. 03 Consider the number of inputs you’ll need to connect the rest of…

01 If you’re ready to step beyond the basic controls of a compact camera, or you want greater flexibility than an ultra-zoom can offer, a compact system camera (CSC) is the next logical upgrade. With interchangeable lenses, manual controls and stellar image quality, these cameras give proper digital SLRs a run for their money. 02 There are three competing types of CSC mount, and the one you buy determines the number of compatible lenses and accessories you have available. Samsung’s NX-mount is arguably the most limited in terms of lens selection, and the company has confirmed that it’s shutting down its European camera business, so it’s best to avoid these altogether if possible. Sony’s E-Mount has a slightly wider range, but Micro Four Thirds offers the widest variety. Both Panasonic…

Chat and Communication Evernote 6.25.1.9091 Store your notes, ideas and plans in the cloud, and synchronise them between computers. Mailbird 2.8.30.0 A free desktop email client for Windows. Miranda IM 0.10.80 Chat with friends across multiple messaging platforms, including AIM, Facebook, IRC and MSN, all from one simple interface. Skype for Windows 8.64.0.80 Make internet voice and video calls for free, and buy credit to make calls to mobiles and landlines. Telegram 2.3.1 This free IM app syncs your conversations across multiple devices, and can spruce up chats with stickers and GIFs. WhatsApp Desktop 2.2033.7 A PC and Mac version of the messaging app, letting you chat from your desktop. Customisation iolo System Mechanic Free 20.5.1.109 Speed up your system with iolo’s PC optimisation suite. Rainmeter 4.3.1 Customise the desktop…

Chris Finnamore RANTS YOU KNOW WHAT the biggest problem with technology today is? It’s just too damn cheap. There was a time when the latest kit was properly expensive, and would stay that way for ages. How jealous was the Ludo-playing 1950s family of their TV-owning neighbours? How green were the faces of those bolting their evening meal in time for Doctor Who, when next door would calmly record to Betamax and watch at their leisure? How insecure did the Betamax owner feel when witnessing the mind-blowing picture quality and beautiful cover art of their rich friend’s LaserDisc collection? Now, everything has changed. Unless you have a Tesla Model X or a Hyperloop in your garden, there’s very little to brag about. Technology gets smaller, faster, more capable and, crucially,…

£270 • From www.amazon.co.uk MONITORS TYPICALLY RAMP up the resolution as the screen size increases, but not the BenQ Mobiuz EX2710. Marrying a 27in display with a resolution of 1,920x1,080, AMD FreeSync support and a 144Hz refresh rate, the EX2710 helps gamers on a budget gain higher frame rates without sacrificing screen size. There is, naturally, an adverse effect on pixel density and thus sharpness, and text can look fuzzy and pixellated compared to any 1440p monitor of the same size. However, it also means you don’t need monstrously powerful – or expensive – graphics hardware to get a smoother frames-per-second count. UPS AND DOWNS The EX2710 is a nice-looking and well-built monitor. Slim bezels to the left, right and top contribute to a minimalist look, and the angular stand…

£350 • From www.amazon.co.uk HOW DO YOU improve on the best pair of ANC headphones released in the last few years? In the case of the WH-1000XM4, they build on 2018’s exceptional WH-1000XM3 (Shopper 375) with even better sound quality and noise cancellation – not to mention a few new features. In design terms they’re almost identical, which also means they’re just as comfortable. The main change is that the WH-1000XM3’s ANC button can now be customised within the Sony Headphones app, for a bit of extra flexibility with the controls. On that subject, touch controls make a return from the last generation and remain a shining example of how to implement them successfully. Doubling-tapping the outer surface of the right earcup plays or pauses your audio, while holding your…

£699 • From www.amazon.co.uk VLOGGING IS A booming medium, but on cameras we often we see video features play second fiddle to headline stills specs, With the release of the Sony ZV-1, however, we have a video-first, premium compact camera that’s good enough to be on every social content creator’s shortlist. While the ZV-1 doesn’t sit within any of Sony’s existing product lines, it’s essentially a video-centric spin on Sony’s successful RX100 range of compact cameras. The plastic build isn’t in the same league as its more metallic cousins, but at just a touch wider than 100mm, it definitely shares the same compelling compactness. The front of the body is dominated by the Zeiss-designed 24-70mm (35mm equivalent) f/1.8-2.8 lens. In fact, so much real estate is taken up by the…

01 A basic PC costing around £350 will be able to run everyday office, multimedia and education software and will easily cope with surfing the internet. It might even be able to run some modern games. Many PCs can be sold either with or without a monitor. If you don’t like the display the manufacturer is offering, you can always use your current one, or buy another one separately. 02 If you want to play games, you’ll have to upgrade the graphics card. Budget cards such as the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 will cope well with many 3D games, but to play the latest 3D games smoothly (and enjoy the best-quality graphics) it’s worth upgrading to a more powerful card such as the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070. 03 All modern…

01 It’s essential that you buy the right type of motherboard for your processor. For example, Intel’s Skylake, Kaby Lake and Coffee Lake processors all use the same LGA 1151 socket, but because each CPU generation introduced new chipsets, you’ll need to get a Z370 motherboard for a Coffee Lake chip, a Z270 board for a Kaby Lake chip and so on. 02 All current Intel processors have built-in graphics chipsets, so if you want to use your chip’s built-in graphics, make sure the motherboard has the video outputs, such as DVI, HDMI and DisplayPort. If you want to play the latest games, you’ll need to fit a dedicated graphics card in the motherboard’s PCI Express x16 slot, although this may block one of your other slots. 03 Normal tower…

01 Laser printers used to be much more expensive than inkjets and were typically restricted to offices. They are now much more affordable, however, and offer several benefits over inkjets, including lower per-page printing costs and faster print speeds. 02 A decent laser printer will typically cost around £80, and will happily print hundreds of black-and-white pages per hour. If documents are your priority, you’ll want a high minimum speed and low print costs. However, you’ll probably be limited to black-and-white printing at this price. 03 Although you can still buy single-function laser printers, multifunction peripherals (MFPs) are now far more common. These models can scan and photocopy documents as well as print them, and some of them also have fax capabilities. Laser MFPs start from around £200. 04 Heavy-duty…

01 A smartphone’s operating system (OS) dictates its basic features and which third-party software you can install. There are three main contenders: Apple’s iOS, which is found on the iPhone, Google’s Android, which is used by various handset manufacturers, and Windows Phone, which has few options, especially since Microsoft has discontinued support for its OS. Apple iOS and Google Android both have thousands of apps available. 02 All smartphones have colour screens, but their resolutions vary. Basic models have 1,280x720 pixels, but text can be indistinct. Look for a display that has at least 1,920x1,080 pixels so it’s easier to read text and watch Full HD videos. Don’t worry too much about built-in media players or Office document editors; you can always install apps to replace these with better versions…

01 Bluetooth speakers come in all shapes and sizes, so you’ll need to decide what you want to do with the speaker before you buy. If you don’t plan to take your music outdoors or around the house, look for a wired speaker. These are typically cheaper than speakers with built-in batteries. If you do want a portable speaker, however, pay particular attention to how much it weighs. Ruggedised models should be able to survive accidental drops, water spills and unexpected rain showers. 02 Many of the cheapest Bluetooth speakers use the lossy A2DP Bluetooth protocol, which is prone to compressing your music and discarding detail compared with the original recording. It’s hard to tell the difference when listening to pocket-sized speakers, but if you’re looking for a speaker to…

01 Wearable tech can include anything from chest-strap heart-rate monitors to augmented reality glasses, but the two most common types are smartwatches and fitness trackers. Both are designed to sit unassumingly on your wrist, and are almost always meant to be used in tandem with a paired smartphone. 02 Smartwatches are typically more complex and expensive, though more closely resemble a traditional wristwatch. You can use them to receive and reply to text messages and emails, quickly check maps and even play games – like a smartphone, most smartwatches allow you to install your own choice of apps. 03 Fitness trackers are much more dedicated to healthy pursuits. Step counters, heart-rate monitors and even sleep tracking are all common, and the data collected is fed back to you so you…

Your PC’s case will hold everything that you’ve built, so it makes sense to start here, preparing it to house your computer. At this point, it’s worth talking about static and the danger it poses to your computer. Static electricity can fry delicate components. Although this isn’t common, it’s something to watch out for and protect against. At the minimum, make sure that you discharge any static by touching the metal part of your case before you touch any components. An anti-static wristband is a good, and cheap, way of protecting your components, too. TAKE THE SIDE PANELS OFF You should remove both of the side panels: one gives you access to where the main components go, the other is for cable routing and may be used to house a…

While experts at the University of Leicester announced triumphantly that they had proved that the remains found at Greyfriars were those of Richard III, some scientists have expressed doubts about the evidence. For a start, some have taken issue with the way the results of the DNA analysis were made public. The normal process in academia is to submit scientific results to an academic journal for peer review, where they are scrutinised by other experts who check that the work is of sufficient quality to be published. The first the world heard of these results was at a high-profile press conference. Experts have raised two particular issues. First, they question whether adequate precautions were taken to prevent contamination of the ancient DNA. Second, they ask how likely a DNA match…

Ian Fleming is best known for his creation James Bond, but during the war he was in part of the Naval Intelligence Division and heavily involved with Bletchley Park. Fleming came up with several plans to retrieve German code books, including Operation Ruthless, which was never implemented. The plan was to capture a German plane and fill it full of British pilots dressed as Germans. They’d crash the plane into the sea, wait for a German ship to rescue them, overpower the crew and then take over the rescue boat. They’d shoot the crew, dump them overboard and return to England with the code books in-hand. It sounds like a plot in a James Bond novel. Later in the war, Fleming was involved in Operation Mincemeat, which put false documents…

Tech pioneer and all-round good egg FOR ME, THERE are two amusing aspects of technology that have been triggered by Covid-19. The first of these is that I no longer use cash, which has weighed heavily and distorted my trousers all my life. Until now. Farewell, then, to the germ-ridden, dreadfully designed, bulky physical representations of currency exchange, and good riddance. Like most other people, I now wave a mobile phone or a small contactless rectangle of plastic to reduce the risk of sickness and death. The second of the amusing aspects of technology brought about by the pandemic is the promise of a contact-tracing app. Ha! When a test version of just such an app was launched on the Isle of Wight way back in the springtime, I would…

With more than 30 years of experience in law enforcement, our retired cop gave a police officer’s perspective on cybercrime I WAS ONE of too many people packed uncomfortably into a hot carriage when the train pulled into Vauxhall station. A few new passengers managed to squeeze in and the train was just about to pull out when one final, frantic man threw himself in through the door. Everyone felt the impact and lost another fraction of their breathing space and patience. “Ass!” exclaimed one voice. The latecomer lashed out, striking a nearby onlooker, who asked, “Why did you hit me?” “You called me a rude word,” said the man. “No, he didn’t, I did,” called out the American voice who had started the exchange. The predominantly British congregation broke…

Just over 20 years ago, Dennis Publishing was a small but thriving company with a motorcycle magazine, a hi-fi magazine, a number of one-shot publishing ventures and a toehold in personal computer magazines. To be strictly accurate, we had been the publisher of Europe’s first personal computer magazine, Personal Computer World, which I had already sold for a small fortune to VNU. The only other thing that set Dennis Publishing apart from its rivals was our presence in America. At that time, as I still do today, I commuted endlessly across the Atlantic and enjoyed considerable success with my American partners, Peter Godfrey and Robert Bartner, in magazine publishing. I first came across Computer Shopper in the most bizarre environment: at a personal computer show for Apple's new Macintosh in…

£850 • From www.hihonor.com HONOR’S LAPTOPS HAVE proven to be an important outlet for the Chinese firm in 2020 and, with the release of the new Honor MagicBook Pro, it’s pushing on into the premium laptop space. Launched at a virtual press conference at IFA 2020 alongside a series of new wearables and an updated MagicBook 14 and 15, the new laptop uses AMD’s latest Ryzen 4000-series mobile chips. Combined with decent build quality, a large 16.1in display and an extremely reasonable price, it’s shaping up to be the best laptop we’ve seen at under £1,000. GONE WIDE Honor has close ties with Huawei, so it should come as little surprise to discover the MagicBook Pro bears some similarities to the MateBook line of laptops. The 16.1in non-touchscreen means the…

£350 • From www.very.co.uk THE RIGHT MONITOR can provide a genuine advantage in games, and with its sky-high 240Hz refresh rate, the Alienware AW2521HF is all too happy to oblige in fast-paced multiplayer games. Despite the ‘25’ in its name, the AW2521HF’s panel measures 24.5in across the diagonal, and it has a resolution of 1,920x1,080. It uses an IPS panel, so viewing angles are nice and wide, and its matt anti-glare coating almost completely suppresses glare from nearby lights and windows. £350 is quite a lot for a monitor of this size, but considering the refresh rate as well features such as onboard RGB lighting and AMD FreeSync and Nvidia G-Sync support, it’s not a bad deal. The only minor issue is there’s no HDR support, but that’s not yet…

£700 • From www.currys.co.uk AS TVs BECOME ever slimmer, soundbars attempt to pack movie-quality sound into ever more slender, unobtrusive designs. That said, LG’s Sound Bar GX soundbar has one of the tougher design briefs: it’s been specifically built to match the company’s stunningly slim GX OLED TV. Since the GX OLED is purpose-built for wall-mounting, so too is the Sound Bar GX, squeezing Dolby Atmos and DTS:X support into a casing measuring a mere 33mm deep. While other similarly-priced soundbars pack in numerous side-firing, upwards-firing and satellite speakers for the ultimate in sound immersion, the GX is a mere 3.1 soundbar. This means it has to downmix surround-sound formats to feed its left, centre and right channels, while the .1 is taken care of by a wireless subwoofer. VERTICALLY…

£299 • From www.amazon.co.uk THE OCULUS QUEST 2 achieves something remarkable: it builds upon the unexpected success of its predecessor in almost every way. Like the original Quest, it squashes virtual reality into a portable package, side-stepping the need for a gaming PC or compatible smartphone, and manages to upgrade the hardware while selling for £100 less than its predecessor. This is no lump of cheap plastic, either. It’s comfy, being 70g lighter than the original Quest, and ditches the old, utilitarian plastic straps in favour of fabric. This makes it trickier to adjust the fit on the fly, but also ensures that it’s easier to wear over long periods. The face foam is a little softer, and a little deeper too, although it will still imprint on your face…

01 A basic laptop costing around £300 will run everyday office, multimedia and education software, but it won’t be suitable for 3D gaming or processor-intensive tasks such as video editing. Many laptops at this price have a 15.6in screen and weigh over 2kg, so they’re best used around the house and for occasional journeys. 02 If you want to play modern games, you’ll need a laptop with a dedicated graphics chip such as the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060M. Good gaming laptops tend to have large 15.6 or 17in screens and weigh around 3kg, so they’re best suited to use at home. 03 If you want a laptop that you can take everywhere, look for a model that weighs less than 2kg. For the best portability, buy one that has a…

01 Building your own PC is often cheaper than buying a pre-made system, and gives full control over the components. You don’t need any special computer knowledge: just a few spare hours, a screwdriver and your choice of parts. Even things such as liquid-cooling systems can be found in user-friendly, easy-to-install packages, and for the most part it’s as simple as inserting each component into a particular slot. 02 Arguably the most important component is the CPU. These days you can get a quad-core chip even on a tight budget, which should provide more than enough brainpower for simple tasks such as web browsing, but hexa-core and octa-core chips are better for tougher jobs such as media editing, gaming and content creation. The CPU will also determine which motherboards you…

01 Wireless routers each use a number of Wi-Fi standards, so you shouldn’t have any trouble connecting your computer or phone wirelessly if you get an 802.11n or 802.11ac router. Nearly all routers support 802.11n, so even a cheap model should provide decent performance. You can expect a transfer speed of around 40Mbit/s at a distance of 10m from any modern 802.11n router. The very latest routers use the 802.11ac standard, which provides tremendously fast transfer speeds. Some devices still don’t support the 802.11ac standard, so check the specifications before you buy. 02 If you subscribe to an ADSL broadband service, you should buy a wireless router that has a built-in ADSL modem. This will cost more than the equivalent cable router, but it allows you to connect your router…

01 All tablets rely on an operating system (OS) to run apps. You have three main choices: Apple’s iOS, which runs on the iPad; Android, which Google licenses to various manufacturers; and Windows 10, which has become common in hybrid tablets and convertibles. If you own an Apple or Google smartphone, you can download your apps, music and so on to a tablet that runs the same OS, so it makes sense to stick with a compatible device. 02 It’s important to pick a tablet that has a good-quality, high-resolution screen. Many budget tablets have 1,280x800-resolution displays, but better tablets have Full HD 1,920x1,080 panels, and we’re starting to see tablets that have even higher screen resolutions. Some are as high as 2,560x1,600 or even 4K. Entry-level tablets typically use…

01 Media streamers have come a long way from the hard disk-based set-top boxes of a few years ago. They now come in two main forms: flash drive-sized dongles that plug directly into the HDMI port in the back of your TV, and larger microconsoles that sit under it. Whichever model you choose, it will stream content from the internet rather than storing media files locally. 02 Most streamers use their own operating system, which you can navigate with a bundled remote control, but Google’s Chromecast dongle requires a paired smartphone, tablet or laptop to stream content on the big screen. If you’re looking to set up Netflix for someone who doesn’t have a smartphone, buy a standalone streamer such as a Roku or Amazon Fire TV device. 03 A…

DOWNLOADING YOUR SOFTWARE YOUR UNIQUE COUPON CODE FOR £4.99 ISSUES: CHECK THE SPINE Enter www.shopperdownload.co.uk/395 into your browser’s address bar. In the New user section, enter your email address and the coupon code printed on the spine into the relevant boxes, then click the Register button. Browse through this month’s choices and follow the online instructions to download and register the software. You may need to register a user account for our software store and enter your coupon code more than once. The registration process varies from program to program, so read the instructions carefully – they explain exactly what you need to do for each program. ANY PROBLEMS? If you need help with any of the software this month, please send an email to support@creativemark.co.uk. We check this inbox…

Before you can do anything else, you need to have your motherboard ready. You should remove the board from its packaging, but it’s worth keeping the anti-static bag that it shipped with. You can use this to stand the motherboard on while you get on with the initial job of preparing it. We often stand the motherboard on the anti-static bag, on top of the motherboard box, just so that the more delicate solder joints on the underside aren’t on a hard surface. As far as possible, it’s worth working on the motherboard before you put it in the case, as this will give you a bit more room. LINE UP THE REAR I/O SHIELD In the box of accessories, you’ll find the rear I/O shield (a metal plate with…

Unless you’ve gone fully M.2, chances are that you’ll need to fit traditional storage: hard disks, SSDs and maybe even a DVD drive. Here, we’ll show you how to fit traditional storage devices. FIT A 2.5 in SSD If you’re using a 2.5in SSD, you should find that modern cases will have bays especially for this type of storage. Look at the rear of the case to see if there are vertical mounts; these keep the SSD out of the way for a neater finish. For vertical mounts, you’ll have to remove the mount (typically with a thumbscrew), screw the SSD into place underneath and then reattach the mount on the rear of the case. If you have traditional 2.5in drive bays, slide the SSD into place, with the connectors…