TechLifeの September 2018 の目次

EDIFIER’S REVISED VERSION of its crisp-sounding Luna speakers are both modern and a bit behind the times. Thanks to their design, the Luna HD stereo speakers (model code e25HD) could pass for modern art, just like the original Luna speakers. The sound quality is exceptional for a stereo setup, though it would want to be for $299.95 (the same price as the superseded models). So while they sound great and look even better, they could do with being a bit more modern. Your input options are limited to Bluetooth 4.0, optical and a standard 3.5mm. That’s an minor upgrade compared to the previous model, which didn’t have the optical input. Nor is there any mention of Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa integration, so if you want a smart assistant, you’ll…

95% MORE PEOPLE ARE SIGNING UP FOR APP SUBSCRIPTIONS IN THE APP STORE THAN LAST YEAR. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the launch of Apple’s game-changing App Store, and with it, the tech giant has released some sales stats. According to the report, 28,000 iOS apps are currently offering a subscription service, and the number of users signing up for them has almost doubled since last year (a 95% increase, to be precise). The service launched in 2008 with a total of 500 apps, but now is in the realm of 2 million. 500, 000 NUMBER OF ACTIVE PODCAST SHOWS ON APPLE’S PODCAST SERVICE. During Apple’s June keynote event, the company let loose a few statistics about its Podcast app, and one of the most striking is the…

LACK OF SLEEP CAN CAUSE THE BRAIN TO QUITE LITERALLY BEGIN EATING ITSELF ERM, FOOD FOR THOUGHT? There are two types of cells in the brain that go into action when we are asleep: astrocytes clean out unnecessary and worn-out synapses to reshape and refresh the brain’s wiring, while microglial cells remove toxic byproducts of neural activity that have accumulated through the day. Neuroscientists from the Marche Polytechnic University in Italy have, however, found that the brain cleaning process gets kicked into overdrive when we are suffering from chronic sleep deprivation. While the work of the astrocytes is not necessarily harmful, microglial cells will quite literally begin to eat away at the healthy brain cells if the body hasn’t caught up with its sleep quota, increasing the risk of neurodegenerative…

Xenxo S-Ring “WRAP TECHNOLOGY AROUND YOUR LITTLE FINGER.” www.xenxo.pro | Goal: US$25,000 | Raised: US$543,434 from 2,849 backers | RRP: US$279 There was a time when mobile phones were cool if they were small, before the days of watching videos on them. These days, people (like your humble writer) are borderline ridiculed for having a phone with a small screen — so how could a smart ring possibly survive in this sort of environment? With 12 applications developed specifically for the Xenxo S-Ring, we were interested to see what it could do that supposedly no other smart device could. It apparently has the ability to take Bluetooth calls (you can literally ‘talk to the hand’), has gesture controls, silent alarm, acts as an SOS and Bluetooth key, links up with…

[ SEARCH ME ] Qikipedia WIKIPEDIA SUMMARY CARDS AT YOUR FINGERTIPS. Free | tinyurl.com/tla80-qiki IF YOU’RE A regular Wikipedia user, you’ll have noticed that the latest update adds summary cards when you hover over a word, terminology or name. It’s quite useful to have that quick look when you’re reading up on something but don’t want to navigate away from that page. If you’re a Chrome user, you’ll find that Qikipedia does something similar on any web page. A simple installation places the plugin on Chrome’s toolbar and it is, by default, switched on. So the next time you’re reading something online and you need to do more research or check a definition, highlight the word or phrase — you can select up to seven words — and if a…

The Crew 2 OPEN-WORLD RACER FAILS TO IMPROVE ON ITS PREDECESSOR — BUT IS A BLAST NONETHELESS. $99.95 | PC, PS4, XO | thecrew-game.ubisoft.com AS IS OFTEN the case with blockbuster online games, 2014’s The Crew had a disappointing launch, but over the months that followed, it blossomed into something great. We have our fingers crossed that its sequel will be on the same trajectory, because at launch, it’s a decent racing game but lacks flair. Ubisoft has wisely opted to avoid an edgy narrative this time around, choosing instead to layer a social media meta-game over the racing. As you travel this condensed United States, participating in races and tournaments across a variety of disciplines, you’ll gather social media followers, and the more clout you have, the more access…

UNIDEN’S LINE OF dash cameras consistently have a dazzling back-of-the-box repertoire. With the compact iGO CAM 60 you get 2K video, red light/speed camera warnings, lane departure alerts, and even promises an audible nudge when the car in front of you takes off at the lights. (However, the superhuman at the wheel of the taxi behind with jet pilot-like reflexes will likely offer a ‘friendly’ toot prompting you on before this kicks in.) What you might find more useful is an alert reminding you to turn on your lights when it’s dark outside. Clever stuff — when the features work. The ‘you’re dawdling’ alert didn’t work for us in both everyday traffic and a controlled situation, and the alarm for ‘the car in front is too close’ is the same…

THESE DAYS, YOUR network is put to much greater use than simply getting your computer online to browse the web and check email. Inevitably, that means enduring a lot more disruption if something goes wrong with it — no more Netflix, tunes won’t stream from Spotify, online gaming is out, and you may be unable to access files on your networked storage until the problem is fixed. But how do you go about identifying the root cause of the problem, which could originate anywhere from your internet service provider to the location within your home that you’ve chosen to use your desktop PC, phone, tablet or some other kit? Here, you’ll learn about diagnosing network interference, kit that can boost your network, ways to improve security, new things to do…

CHECK HOW MANY NODES YOU GET IN THE PACK, AND WHETHER THAT ALSO INCLUDES A DEDICATED ROUTER. NUMBER OF NODES Check how many nodes you get in the pack, and whether that also includes a dedicated router. You may not need the latter, and to get decent coverage you may need at least two nodes. SIZE OF YOUR HOUSE A medium-sized apartment or single-storey home may only need two nodes to provide ample coverage. Two-storey houses, or those with lots of walls, will likely benefit from three nodes. PLACEMENT You’re buying a mesh system to cover the black spots in your home. Look for a system that offers an app that will, in turn, tell you the best place to position each of the nodes. GET THE LOOK D-Link’s system…

OF ALL THE different broadband technologies used in the multi-technology mix NBN, only two — FTTN and FTTC — require that you buy a modem router. For all the others, all you’ll want is a broadband router. These routers have an Ethernet WAN port, and that’s all that’s needed for FTTH, HFC, fixed wireless and satellite. On those services, the modem is built into the NBN equipment when it’s installed in your home. Broadband routers aren’t only for those particular NBN users, however. Many people looking to supplement their existing modems or modem routers also look for a broadband router. There are features available in many broadband routers that just can’t be found in many DSL devices, most especially high-performance gaming optimisation. There are a number of current broadband routers…

ALL THE OPTIONS When managing multiple accounts, go through each of the tabs to make sure that every little thing is covered. ACCOUNT TYPES You can set access levels for accounts, giving users more or less control over your PC. You can also block them, too. FAMILY MEMBERS Adding family members links them to your Microsoft account, enabling you to manage them online. LOCAL ACCOUNTS If you don’t want users attached to your Microsoft account, add them here. Add a guest account for visitors. MANAGEMENT This offers tight control over kids’ actions, including asking permission for purchases. BLOCK APPS If you want to make sure the users of your PC behave themselves, block their access to certain applications. JARGON BUSTER! USER In Windows’ terms, a ‘user’ isn’t just the person…

01 GET THINGS STARTED On your Mac, open System Preferences, click iCloud and then Manage Family. In the sheet, select a family member and then click Ask to Buy. This option only exists for children, and is on by default for under-13s. 02 USE AN IOS DEVICE If you’re on an iOS device, you activate Ask to Buy in the Settings app. Tap your name to access the settings for your Apple ID, and then tap Family Sharing. Select the family member in question, and tap Ask to Buy. 03 ADD MORE ADULTS If your family has more than one adult, the organiser alone doesn’t have to approve requests. Select another adult (on Mac or iOS) and click/tap (as appropriate) Parent/Guardian. They now have the power to approve. 04 MAKE…

01 CHOOSE YOUR TOOL Click on the Auto Selection Tool on the left-hand side of Photoshop Elements. You’ll see four options: Rectangular Marquee, Elliptical Marquee, Lasso and Polygonal Lasso. Choose one of these to make your selection with. 02 MAKE THE SELECTION Use your chosen selection tool to make a rough outline around whatever you want to select in your image. We went for the Lasso and were sure not to trace right up to the edges of the car, as to allow for the Auto Selection to work. 03 PERFECT THE SELECTION Auto Selection will then do its thing, and select other pixels of similar colours near to the selection you’ve just made. Of course, this isn’t foolproof; select an ordinary Lasso and select more or less in the…

01 ADJUST THE TINT SLIDER Shoot raw files and you can remove colour casts later rather than in-camera. Here, we’ve taken the Tint slider towards green to start reducing the magenta cast. 02 ADJUST THE TEMPERATURE SLIDER Moving the Temperature slider to the left reduces some of the amber. We need to be careful: if we lose the natural warmth in this image, we lose what this shot is about. 03 CORRECT THE SATURATION To further correct the colour cast, you can make adjustments in the HSL panel. Here, we’ve reduced the Magenta saturation to -100 and the Orange saturation to -26 to balance the image.…

Air Filtration Wearable Project AS ABOVE. AT LEAST IT HAS A VERY CREATIVE NAME... cleanair.live Air is great, but not when it’s polluted. Now, Kickstarter isn’t the platform you’d choose if you’ve got an invention that can solve climate change, but it IS the platform you’d choose if you had a quirky workaround. Enter this dumb-looking air filtration wearable. Anyone who has ever been in hospital and hooked up to an oxygen system will cringe when seeing this. Marketing itself as an alternative to a facemask, this breathing device “delivers clean air with a tight and comfortable seal against your nose” and is apparently thinner than its previous iteration. It does, however, look as though Lt Commander Forge’s eyepiece had fallen over his nose, just without the ‘cool’, glimmering design.…

THE AUSTRALIAN CONSUMER watchdog, ACCC, took Apple to court in April last year for its uncompromising repair and warranty policy, specifically regarding the Error 53 bug that plagued iOS users in 2016. The ACCC alleged that the tech giant made “false, misleading, or deceptive representations on consumer guarantees” that are protected under Australian Consumer Law. The ACCC has won the case, with a federal court slapping Apple with a $9 million fine. The legal action was the result of an investigation conducted by the ACCC after numerous iPhones and iPads generated the error while updating to iOS 9, which had a feature that could detect if a device had undergone third-party repairs. Apple refused to help the affected customers on the premise that they hadn’t utilised the company’s services to…

TECHLIFE IS AUSTRALIA’S most practical mainstream technology magazine, having been in print since 2012, when we launched as a redesigned and modernised version of Australian PC User. The latter was first printed in 1990, and we take that 25-year heritage seriously and strive to be both ethical and transparent in our coverage of technology and any other topics we broach. Like our sister magazine, APC, we have two main goals here at TechLife: to track down the best of modern tech and to help our readers get the most from it. We’re also an open church in terms of platforms. We know most people aren’t wed to a single brand’s products and use a variety of devices in their lives. And like you, TechLife’s journalists want to know what’s good…

THE SONY A8F is a 4K OLED flatscreen that oozes class, and sports a picture that will have you instantly hankering to upgrade. That’s a blunt but straightforward way to introduce it. Available in 55-inch and 65-inch screen sizes (we tested the big fella), the A8F sports a classic design aesthetic, unlike the lean-back Sony A1 model. It’s also slimmer, with a smaller physical footprint. This more conventional appearance makes it much easier to accommodate on or above typical AV furniture. Sony describes the overall design as ‘soft minimalism’. Everything is underplayed, including the Sony branding, which is subtle to the point of invisibility (hint, it’s at the bottom left). It certainly doesn’t detract from the picture on screen. GOOD VIBRATIONS Here, Sony is again using Acoustic Surface technology to…

YOU’D BE FORGIVEN for thinking ‘hangry’ is the most absurd-sounding made-up word for the age of the millennials, but you can unroll your eyes. It’s very much real and we’ve all experienced it often enough. It’s that irritation you feel building when your tummy begins to rumble with no food in sight. And as the grumbles increase in frequency, so does the level of irritability, making you angry because you’re hungry. In 2015, Brenda Bustillos, a dietitian with the Texas A&M Health Science Center School of Public Health, explained that the ‘hangry’ feeling is a survival mechanism. It’s our body’s way of making sure we get fed ASAP. As time between meals passes, the amount of glucose available to the brain decreases, triggering the release of stress hormones, like cortisol…

Explorables WHEN WORK MEETS PLAY. explorabl.es Explorables is “a hub for learning through play” — a page dedicated to compiling interactive learning tools, wherever they are to be found on the web. Whether you’re interested in art, philosophy, social science, maths or more, you can browse by categories like this or jump right into the overwhelming ‘ALL OF IT’ section to see each of the links the site currently has to offer. Because Explorables isn’t responsible for creating the content itself (some of the sites it links out to, such as The Pudding, we’ve actually covered in previous editions of Site Insight), the quality and nature of each of its links varies, but from what we’ve explored, the curation is generally rather thorough. Some examples of the available Explorables include…

IT’S EXCITING GETTING paws on a pair of headphones that actually fits this writer’s tiny head (it’s an ongoing saga). The Edifier G4’s build quality appears to be quite solid, too, if rather plasticky and stiff, with adequate leatherette padding on the headband and cups, meaning they remain comfortable during gaming sessions. However, we did find our ears overheating a bit after an hour or so and tapping the outside of the cups sends a rather annoying twanging reverberation sound through the ‘phones, much like someone hitting a metal screen door with a hammer. The vibration effect is to blame here. “The what?” Well, while most ‘gamer’ branded headsets these days come with pretty LED lighting, the G4 has gone one-up and introduced vibrations as well. This is basically just…

THESE STYLISH BUDS are pretty sophisticated, allowing you the ability to tweak the equaliser, bass and gain. The best thing by far, however, is Transparency Mode. Many earbuds boast some level of noise cancellation, but the E8s allow you to filter out select undesirable noises (say, voices in the office, while bumping up your music), but it can also allow in the sounds of the city to remain aware of your surroundings. Using the accompanying Beoplay app, you can either switch between three levels of transparency at will, or set up your default state, which can be turned on by simply tapping the buds on the go. The battery life is also quite impressive, lasting four hours from each charge. The E8’s leather charging case provides an extra eight hours…

WHILE THE CORE FUNCTIONS OF THESE ARE THE SAME AS FULL-FAT VERSIONS FOUND ON THE GALAXYS AND PIXELS OF THE SMARTPHONE WORLD, THERE ARE SOME SACRIFICES. ALCATEL’S MOST RECENT range of budget 1-series phones present an attractive proposition on paper for budget buyers. We’ve reviewed the most expensive of the three, which features a modern 18:9 ratio and lightweight Android Go operating system. It costs a measly $129, and that display leverages the componentry work performed by parent company and TV-manufacturer TCL. You could also buy the 1C for $89, or the 1 for $99, which have slightly different specs. Back to the 1X, an average phone for an astoundingly low price, then. Well, for $129, you can’t expect much. Under the 960 x 480 screen is a paltry 1GB…

ONCE UPON A time, you plugged your PC in to a modem and that was your internet connection sorted. These days, your network consists of more than just a few computers and perhaps a printer; now there are your mobile devices, smart TVs, smart speakers, streaming devices, Internet of Things (IoT) gadgets and other hardware besides to consider. If your network is struggling to cope with bandwidth demands or the places you need it to reach, now’s the time to look for the right upgrade to suit your needs and your wallet. NEW WI-FI ROUTER The 802.11ac Wi-Fi standard gives you faster wireless performance at greater range, covering more of your home. A new router may have other advantages — extra features, stronger security and so on. See pages 78…

Access shared folders on a Mac IF YOU WANT TO ACCESS A SHARED MAC FOLDER FROM A WINDOWS PC, YOU FIRST NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT THE MAC IS USING SMB INSTEAD OF APPLE FILING PROTOCOL. WINDOWS COMPUTERS DON’T understand Apple Filing Protocol. On your Mac, go to ‘Apple menu > System Prefs’, then click on Sharing. Click on File Sharing to select it, then click Options. Finally, make sure the Share files and folders using SMB is option is on (you can have both AFP and SMB active). Now, on your Windows PC, you should be able to see the shared computer. Open up File Explorer, then click on Network on the left. Hopefully the Mac will show up and you can connect to it. If you can’t see…

HOME MESH NETWORK kits first started appearing about two years ago, and since then, many of the networking industry’s leading brands have released their own take on the technology. What mesh kits do it create a seamless multi-node network that works far better than older range extenders. You can set down multiple wireless access points — as many as you need to cover your home — and wander around the house, seamlessly roaming from one access point to the next without having to reconnect or losing internet connectivity. The access points themselves create a back channel network to relay data between them and ultimately connect you to the internet, regardless of which access point you’re currently connected to. They also did something that conventional routers should have done years ago…

01 WHICH KIND? Go to ‘Start > Settings > Accounts’. There are two varieties of account — local or Microsoft accounts. Using the former isn’t a huge problem, but the latter has a number of benefits, particularly when it comes to tying your activities together between different PCs. If you’re using a local account, you can upgrade by clicking the ‘Sign in with a Microsoft account’ link. 02 MANY ACCOUNTS, ONE ACCOUNT Whether you’re using a local or a Microsoft account to log in, you may have multiple logins you need to apply to different applications —Google for your calendar, Outlook for your email and so on. You can manage these via the ‘Email & app accounts’ page, linked on the left. Just click ‘Add an account’, and follow the…

01 DOUBLE-PAGE SPREADS In this format, pages are shown opposite each other, as they’d appear in a publication. 02 FOUR IS A MAGIC NUMBER If you’re thinking of printing a booklet, you need multiples of four pages. 03 GET SET UP The facing pages magic happens in Document Setup, accessed from the More menu. 04 IN THE MIDDLE Now you can design spreads with elements crossing the spine! Well... with some jiggling. AT THE RECENT launch of the sixth-generation iPad, Apple also unveiled new iOS versions of the iWork apps: Pages, Keynote and Numbers. And Pages 4.0 now lets you create and edit documents more flexibly than ever. Among the additions are Pencil annotation, leveraging the entry-level iPad’s support for Apple’s pressure-sensitive stylus; ePub templates for more ambitious book designs…

Your camera has a range of options for setting the colour temperature and removing colour casts. The default option is Auto White Balance, where the camera sets the colour temperature automatically. It can work well in mixed lighting, but can be a bit heavy-handed — sunsets can look a bit insipid with AWB, for example. Also, it doesn’t guarantee consistency between pictures, which may be a problem if you shoot a sequence. Using one of the white balance presets, which are arranged according to lighting type, does retain the same setting across a series of shots. You may also be able to set the colour temperature in degrees Kelvin (K) manually, or set a custom white balance. AUTO WHITE BALANCE (AWB) The camera often gives the ‘Goldilocks’ of colour temperatures…

WE HAD TRIED TO GET THE GAME WORKING THROUGH STEAM, EVEN, BUT FOR SOME REASON, THE STEAM CONTROLLER OVERLAY SIMPLY WOULDN’T POP UP, MEANING WE COULDN’T CONFIGURE THE CONTROLLER FOR THE GAME — NOT THAT THE GAME HAD REGISTERED IT ANYWAY... Controller incompatibility I recently went out and bought myself a new game — a physical disc no less — which is a bit of an event for me, since gaming is something I can rarely find time to do these days (I have three kids). Plan was to sit down after the kids have all been bathed and put to bed, and play the game with my husband. (I won’t name it, as this rant might cast a dark cloud over it that I don’t think the game itself…

SINCE IT WAS revealed that upwards of 87 million Facebook users worldwide had their data collected by Cambridge Analytica, the social media behemoth has come under considerable scrutiny over concerns of user privacy and the security of the personal information that it keeps. Research conducted by Pureprofile has concluded that, since the scandal, 12% of all Australian Facebook users have deleted their account, which equates to 1.8 million of the total 15 million users that were most recently estimated to use the service. While many were quick to get rid of their accounts entirely, Australian users were slightly more inclined to simply adjust their privacy settings, with 14% of all users claiming to have done so. Although these 2.25 million Australians edited their Facebook settings regarding personal information, we were…

MOST HEADPHONES AND earbuds do a terrific job of piping sound into your ear at the expense of blocking out ambient noise, which can be a hazard. However, would you be excited by a set of earphones which allowed you to listen to the world around you while also enjoying your favourite music? We were, and thought the idea behind the Sony Xperia Ear Duo was brilliant and couldn’t wait to try them... after spending two weeks learning how to get them on correctly. AWKWARDLY DOES IT The first thing you’ll notice about Sony’s new ‘hearable’ is how bulky they are. They look more like futuristic hearing aids than headphones. So it’s no surprise that getting them on can take some getting used to. You’re well advised to follow the…

Bandito THE WEARABLE THAT KEEPS THE BUGS AT BAY. guarden.co | Goal: US$25,000 | Raised: US$234, 542 from 3,206 backers | RRP: US$35 We Australians know all about mozzies and how annoying they are. You might be able to light a few candles outside or set up traps to keep them away while you’re having a BBQ, but what about when you’re on the go? The Bandito wearable wristband incorporates non-toxic scent strips (citronella, peppermint and lemongrass) to deter the mosquitos and hopefully keep your skin bite-free. But that’s not all. It also emits a sonic sound that mozzies apparently hate. Sure, it doesn’t look as sleek as a high-quality smartwatch — it actually looks quite cheap and plasticky — but, luckily, you don’t have to wear it on your…

MOTOROLA’S G-SERIES HAS been a staple recommendation of ours in the budget realm. However, the latest lineup pushes the pricing well into the mid-range, and introduces a new player to the field in the process. With the rising standard of smartphones and a price creep to go with it, what has Motorola done to keep our interest, and which of the series is the right handset for you? Lucky you — we’ve tested all three to find out. PUMP UP THE RATIO Last year brought us a $300 Moto G5, and then eventually a $350 Moto G5S, but 2018’s more expensive $400 model is far from just another link in the iterative chain. With its well-established name, the G6 family has bumped up its collective price but brought with it…

SOMETIMES, IT’S HARD to know what you want to listen to. The Dollop might be your favourite podcast of all time (Do we reference it too much? Sorry, not sorry!), but you might not be in the mood to hear a crazy story from history, or learn about the science behind nuclear war, or even listen to a bunch of nerds talk about Star Wars for two hours. Sometimes, you need someone else to decide what you should listen to today, and we have the perfect tool for you to use. Listen Notes (www.listennotes.com) is a podcast search engine that’s come in handy a number of times over the life of this column. So today, we thought we’d let the database itself take centre stage. We’ve buckled up and hit…

THIS ALL MAKES THE FUJIFILM X-H1 A TRULY FLEXIBLE OPTION. IT’S EASIER TO CARRY THAN A DSLR, WITH BETTER HANDLING FOR BIGGER LENSES THAN A SMALLER COMPACT SYSTEM CAMERA, AND PACKS PLENTY OF CONTROLS FOR PROS Fujifilm X-H1 CAN FUJI TAKE COMPACT SYSTEM CAMERAS TO THE NEXT LEVEL WITH ITS LATEST MODEL? WE GET SNAP-HAPPY TO FIND OUT THE LATEST IN Fujifilm’s line of excellent mirrorless cameras is aimed slightly higher than usual. The X-H1 carries the price of a mid-range DSLR because it comes with more pro-level features to help it stand out as a lightweight alternative to a bigger snapper. These upgrades are found inside and out. On the X-H1 you’ve got a sturdier, weatherproofed body compared to most compact system cameras (CSCs), and flexible features such as…

2018 IS GOING to be another year without a new Surface Pro, so Microsoft’s competitors are putting out new top-of-the-line 2-in-1s with the idea of making 2018 their year instead. Enter the Dell Latitude 5290, a detachable device that the Texas manufacturer hopes will capture some of that 2-in-1 territory. The Latitude follows the typical template: it has a deployable kickstand, so the tablet portion can stand on its own, along with a magnetised type cover for easy tablet/laptop conversion, and an extra-large bezel and tactile rear panel for easy gripping. That said, the Latitude 5290 does bring some welcome wrinkles to the 2-in-1 blueprint. It has a nifty take on the kickstand — the leg auto-deploys by holding the tablet at a 90° angle and pressing it into a…

THE SLAB-LIKE DESIGN ISN’T AS SLEEK OR ELEGANT AS THE IPHONE X OR SAMSUNG GALAXY S8, BUT IT’S CERTAINLY UNIQUE AND IT DOES MAKE THE BODY EASY TO GRIP AND HOLD FOR LONG PERIODS OF GAMING OR VIDEO. THE RAZER PHONE classifies itself as a ‘gaming’ phone, but it’s actually the perfect device for all entertainment, whether that’s watching movies or listening to music, thanks to an amazing screen with technology not seen in a phone before, brilliant speakers, and a design that makes it easy to hold in landscape. Taking inspiration from Razer’s range of gaming laptops, the phone is crafted from matte-black aluminium. The rear casing features a contrasting black Razer logo (a limited-edition launch model will feature a venom-green logo). It still manages to be understated, though,…

HOW DOES DATA travel from one part of your network to another? The answer lies in the TCP/IP model. TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) is the method used by computers to connect over networks, while IP (Internet Protocol) is the way in which data is broken down into ‘packets’ of information and transferred. Each packet is labelled in such a way as to make it clear where it’s come from and what its destination is. When data is transferred, the TCP part of the process is responsible for ensuring that the data is checked for errors during transmission — if errors are found, the data is transferred again. This model can be broken down into four basic layers: Application, Transport, Internet and Link — see the explanation opposite for a basic…

JUST HOW SECURE is your network? At the very least you should be protecting the Wi-Fi side of things with WPA2-PSK encryption. This is the latest Wi-Fi security measure, scrambling your data and protecting it using a pre-shared key (PSK), which is network speak for a password. But that only scratches the surface. Read on for other tips you should employ to close the door on hackers and other unwanted intruders. UPDATE YOUR ROUTER The recent discovery of the KRACK vulnerability has shaken Wi-Fi networking to its core. Familiarise yourself with what it is at krackattacks.com. Your first step should be to visit your router’s homepage and see if a firmware update has been released that specifically addresses this problem — on Mac, if you have an AirPort Express, Extreme…

[HARDWARE] Quick ‘n’ dirty benchmark My four-year-old PC has served me well, but I’m wondering if it’s time for an upgrade. I’ve scoured online articles and forums, but I can’t really tell how much of an increase in performance a new CPU would bring. I have a fourth-generation Intel Core i5 processor, onboard graphics and 16GB RAM — is it worth upgrading? GERAINT POWELL Nick Peers replies: The jumps between Intel CPU generations isn’t quite as dramatic as it once was, but there may still be value in an upgrade. You will have to factor in the cost of a new motherboard — and possibly RAM and a graphics card, too. Perhaps the best thing to do is benchmark your current setup using a free tool called NovaBench…

FOR PARENTS WHO grew up in a simpler time, the prospect of kids armed with iOS devices and Macs is a little terrifying. These items are typically always online, and the App Store is just a click or tap away — which means in-app purchases often aren’t far behind. For young kids, you’ll want to fully manage their devices, installing apps and games yourself. But when children get older, there’ll be a time when they want a little bit of extra independence — downloading things they themselves like the look of. PERMISSION BEFORE PAYMENT Unless you hate money (or have an awful lot of it), you still don’t want this to be a free-for-all. Ask to Buy provides a middle ground. A part of Family Sharing (bit.ly/fmshr), it enables a…

01 MAKE A LAYOUT DOCUMENT Open Pages and tap Create Document. Only a few templates are in page layout mode, mostly flyers. We used Tab Flyer. From More (the three-dot icon, top right), pick Document Setup. Under Document, turn on Facing Pages. 02 ADD SOME PAGES Swipe inwards from the left to see page thumbnails, and tap the + sign at the bottom until you have eight pages. The first and last pages appear alone — these will be your front and back covers — and the rest as ‘spreads’. 03 CREATE YOUR LAYOUTS Double-tap placeholder text (it highlights pink), then type your own. Use the Style menu (the brush icon) to change font and size. Drag items to move them, or their handles to resize. To move several, hold…

MAKING A SELECTION is often the most time-consuming part of a project. If you’re anything like us at TechLife, you spend hours meticulously tracing your edges over and over again to get the right cutout, before tweaking with Refine Edge, and even touching over the mask with a brush on that passion project. It’s a case of trial and error, working and re-working your selection to grab exactly the right pixels. There are plenty of selection tools that can do the job, though, and with the latest version of Photoshop Elements, Adobe added another. The Auto Selection Tool is designed for speed and ease, with intelligent measuring of the edges just by loosely clicking around the outside your object. It’s a good way to get a really thorough selection without…