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- Catch up: this week's most popular posts
- Buying Guide: The best Nvidia graphics cards you can buy
- Buying Guide: The best AMD graphics cards you can buy
- Buying Guide: The best AMD graphics cards you can buy
- Gran Turismo 5 gets UK release date
- Review: Canon PIXMA iP4850
- Teufel attacks hi-fi market with new UK website
- Review: Canon PIXMA MG6150
- Google escalates Facebook war of words
- Google escalates Facebook war of words
- Exclusive: 'Highly unlikely' action will be taken against Twitter Joke Trial tweets
- BBC: iPlayer on BT Vision is a 'major advance'
- Be Broadband's Line Bonding 'could double speed'
- Twitter Joke Trial sparks 'I Am Spartacus' uprising
- Gorillaz new album recorded on an iPad
- Hands on: Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF2 review
- Tutorial: How to build a Mac for £300
- Review: Teufel T500
- Hands on: Palm Pre 2 review
- JoliBook set to launch with JoliCloud OS
- Buying Guide: 10 best HD camcorders in the world today
- Weird Tech: Pavement power and snooker in space
- Review: Totem Sttaf
- Apple iOS 4.2 delay looking likely
| Catch up: this week's most popular posts Posted: 13 Nov 2010 12:00 AM PST  This week rumours surfaced that the Android Gingerbread release date is imminent as Kinect was hacked to run on hardware other than the Xbox. Our round-up of the best Kinect games pulled in the hits as did our rumour round-up on Android 3.0 Read on for this week's most popular stories on TechRadar… Top five news stories Rumour: Android Gingerbread arriving next week? Rumours have surfaced that Android Gingerbread - the eagerly awaited next generation of the popular mobile OS - could be with us in a matter of days. Gingerbread was expected to be the tablet-friendly Android 3.0 release, but it's looking increasingly likely to be an incremental upgrade and Android 2.3 for smartphones. That wouldn't rule out some tweaks to make Gingerbread run nicely on the slew of Android tablets that are arriving at the moment - including the Samsung Galaxy Tab. Skype offers free UK-wide Wi-Fi Leading VoIP-operator Skype is offering Brits UK-wide free Wi-Fi access to celebrate Internet Week Europe. Skype offered Brits free public Wi-Fi until the 12 November this week. Microsoft Kinect camera hacked Eager tinkerers have already managed to hack Microsoft's Kinect motion control camera, following a $2,000 wager to crack the new gaming tech. A company headed up by two MIT graduates offered the $2,000 prize money to anyone able to hack the Kinect system. Limor Fried and Phillip Torrone, of Adafruit Industries, think that the tech used in Kinect is too useful to not be adapted for use in non-gaming applications. iPhone Flash app makes $1 million in a weekend SkyFire, the app that lets iPhone users view Flash video on their phones, has managed to generate a cool $1 million in its first weekend on sale. The SkyFire app for iPhone costs $2.99 in the US and yet is still not officially available on the UK iTunes Store. British inventor of laptop honoured The British designer of the world's first laptop has been honoured with a lifetime achievement award by the Duke of Edinburgh. Bill Moggridge's original designs for the GRID Compass were drawn up way back in 1979, for which he has picked up this year's Prince Philip Designers Prize. Top five in-depth articles Kinect games: here's what you can buy At its E3 keynote in June, Microsoft talked up a range of games that will work with the Xbox Kinect motion-sensing gaming system, which went on sale in the UK on 10 November. With these titles, promises Microsoft, "your living room will become a zoo, a stadium, a fitness room or a dance club." Where the Kinect games have been reviewed by our colleagues on CVG, GamesRadar.com and Official Xbox Magazine we've included their scores in this round-up. Core i5 vs Core i7: which is best for you? Intel's Core i5 and Core i7 PC processors are as quick as they come. But thanks to Intel's confusing branding scheme, it's not always obvious what the labels Core i5 and i7 really mean. The long list of models on offer plus two different sockets to choose from only add to the confusion. How do you know which is best for you? How to share the Orange and T-Mobile signal In September, we reported that Orange and T-Mobile were offering roaming across their networks, so T-Mobile users would be able to call and text on the Orange network, and Orange users could do the same on the T-Mobile network. Here's how you do it... 10 Windows 7 Registry hacks and tweaks Windows 7 needs far less of the sleeves-up shuffling about that its predecessors demanded for smooth operation. It works, and it works well. But that doesn't mean you can't use the Registry to add nifty features or change the settings to your liking. Here are ten things you can do with the Windows 7 Registry. Just type regedit in the usual search box and hit [Enter], then follow our tips. Android 3.0 rumours: what you need to know Details about the next version of Android – Android 3.0, or Gingerbread – are starting to emerge. Latest update: Gingerbread might actually be Android 2.3 rather than 3.0. If this is the case, we can expect it to be a much smaller update. If Gingerbread is Android 2.3, then Honeycomb will be Android 3.0. Top five reviews You become the controller with Microsoft's new motion-controlled add-on. If you can afford it, and you've got enough space, you might just love it. The HTC Desire is, in effect, the second in the new Android range from HTC, with its much larger brother, the HTC Desire HD, taking most of the limelight. Philips Cinema 21:9 Platinum (58PFL9955H) review The original 21:9 was so nearly a brilliant TV, but was let down by a few issues Philips has addressed those issues and brought full HD 3D into the mix. The result? A brilliant TV. This is the fastest graphics card around today. No caveats here. There's none of the GTX 480's distraction over the dual-GPU HD 5970: this is as fast as it currently gets. The Optimus One is a solid phone, but there's little in the way of outstanding features to get excited about. The main selling point here is your chance to get Android 2.2 on a budget. That's it. Also reviewed this week Amplifiers Musical Fidelity M6PRE pre and M6PRX power amplifer review Audio systems CD players Mobile phones Radio tuners Software BeLight Software Get Backup Pro 2.4.2 review Blip Interactive NanoStudio 1.0 review TVs 
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| Buying Guide: The best Nvidia graphics cards you can buy Posted: 12 Nov 2010 08:56 AM PST  With AMD stealing Nvidia's thunder a tad recently, the big N seems a little dazed by having the carpet pulled out from under it so mercilessly. It's not all bad, though: combine Nvidia's own CUDA and PhysX with its ventures into 3D and it's clear that it will once again come into its own in the next few years. It's also catching up with AMD big time by releasing a range of affordable but powerful cards, ranging from £100 to almost £400. We've pulled together six of the best from the green beast. 1. MSI GeForce GTS 450 Cyclone - £103
We asked for a GTS 450 close to £100, and we got it: it's currently just £3 over the mark. MSI has constructed a rather beefy card, too, with a humongous fan dominating it, which delivers cool performance from a single PCI power connector. In benchmarks terms it's what we expected from a GTS 450: good performance, but the £150 GTX 460 beats it. But it's a small card without much power draw, which makes it perfect for an SLI or media centre set-up. Read our MSI GeForce GTS 450 Cyclone review 2. Asus GTS 450 TOP - £113
Since time began, Nvidia and AMD have been stuck in the graphics card race, and this is Nvidia's attempt to out-do AMD in the budget stakes. It's not a bad little card, too, with a decent overclock and rock-solid core performance. It competes almost directly with AMD's similarly-priced 5770, adding Nvidia's own CUDA and PhysX to the DirectX 11 mix. Asus' overclocked "Top" edition beat the 5770 in our benchmarks by a hair's breadth - something the original GTS 450 wasn't capable of. Read our Asus GTS 450 TOP review 3. EVGA Superclocked GTX 460 768MB - £129
There's a difficult balancing act in the GTX 460, between the 1GB versions and the 768MB cards, such as this EVGA effort. EVGA has made up for the comparative lack of memory by "Superclocking" this card, which means it's got a little more power where it's needed. The result is some fairly impressive benchmarks, although it doesn't offer quite as much overclocking headroom as a full 1GB card. If you're happy with the decent Read our EVGA Superclocked GTX 460 768MB review 4. EVGA GeForce GTX 460 1GB FTW Edition - £219
EVGA's other GTX 460 - the 1GB FTW edition - sits at the other end of the scale to its cheapo 768MB card. The FTW is a wonderful card, too, delivering the best out of box GTX 460 performance we've seen, with a decent price tag to boot. It's not a great overclocker (that accolade goes to MSI's GTX 460 HAWK), and it does get rather toasty, but it's a solid graphics card you can slap straight into your PC without having to get your hands dirty with all those overclocking shenanigans. Read our EVGA GeForce GTX 460 1GB FTW Edition review 5. Zotac GeForce GTX 470 - £291
Sitting firmly between the GTX 460s and 480s, the Geforce GTX 470 is essentially a trimmed 480, but it's still a perfectly capable high end card. It packs a definite graphical grunt, sailing through all but our Metro 2033 benchmarks. It doesn't take too much power (a single PCI-e connector is all that's required), and it's also fairly small. Our biggest gripes are the price and its higher-than-average noise levels, but it's still a killer card, and far cheaper than its GTX 480 forefather. Read our Zotac GeForce GTX 470 review 6. Zotac GTX 480 AMP! - £392
GTX 480s are infamous for getting as hot as the surface of the sun, hence the need for not one, but two, industrial coolers on Zotac's take on the card. This allows Zotac to up the clocks a little, giving a four per cent increase on stock performance and an AMP! moniker. Not all that great, but what really impressed us about the GTX 480 AMP! is the extra headroom on top of this - we managed to get the overclock up to 20 per cent. It's incredibly pricey, but it's one of the best cards out there, and able to handle everything we threw at it with aplomb. Read our Zotac GTX 480 AMP! review 7. Nvidia GeForce GTX 580 review - £399
So why not eschew the outgoing 480 and plump for the 580? In terms of performance, the GTX 480 was a very good card. In single-GPU metrics, it was the fastest card available, despite AMD's launch of its second-generation DX11 cards: the Radeon HD 6870 and HD 6850. With the 580, there's been no strange reordering of Nvidia's card nomenclature to match what we've seen from its competitors. What's more, this new graphics behemoth is also heralding the approach of the 500 series of second-generation Fermi cards, with the lesser-lights of the card family filtering through fairly soon after. Watch this space. Read our Nvidia GeForce GTX 580 review -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
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| Buying Guide: The best AMD graphics cards you can buy Posted: 12 Nov 2010 08:20 AM PST  Despite having a slightly wobbly mid-decade, AMD has really found its feet again recently, and its 4800 series of cards currently rules the roost on the Steam hardware survey. It's taken the crown from Nvidia through cleverly pricing its cards in the not-too-expensive range, and beating Nvidia to the tesselated loveliness of DirectX 11. That said, it's a tight battle at the moment, and Nvidia has followed suite by releasing a selection of cheap but powerful cards. We've rounded up six of the best AMD cards and given them a run from their money. 1. Sapphire HD 5670 Ultimate - £93
The ideal card for a media centre PC that's capable of more than just spreadsheets and videos, Sapphire's fanless HD 5670 doesn't even require a PCI-e power input. It breezed through demanding games like Dirt 2 and Far Cry 2, and it's capable of Eyefinity multi-monitor heaven. Admittedly, it's not quite up there with HD 5770 - which is only around £10 more - but for a cheap and quiet home theatre set up you could do far, far, worse. Read our Sapphire HD 5670 Ultimate review 2. XFX HD 5770 - £110
XFX's version of the 5770 slims the whole thing down to a single slot, making a nice change for the rather oversized cards we've seen of late. This comes at a price: we reckon the lower benchmarks are down to the skinny cooling system, but it's still great for a media PC that packs more of a punch than Sapphire's HD 5670 Ultimate, above. Where it's really capable, though, is as part of a CrossFire setup - and one which won't make your PC weigh a ton. 3. HIS HD 5770 - £112
The sub-£150 area is where AMD really pulls its punches, and the HD 5770 is no exception. Offering full DirectX 11 support, as well as up to three monitors' worth of EyeFinity goodness, it's a great package for such a low price. It did struggle slightly at maximum resolutions, but in real-world gaming terms it's something of a winner. As the cheapest 5770 card we looked at in our recent 5770 round-up, it's definitely worth considering. 4. Gigabyte HD 5770 Super Overclock - £135
Read our Gigabyte HD 5770 Super Overclock review 5. AMD Radeon HD 6850 - £167
AMD's latest card was a bit of a disappointment with its middling benchmarks, but it's still an interesting move from the GPU giant. It boasts low power consumption and EyeFinity support, and with its bizarre price point fluctuations it might offer good value for money, once AMD works out how much to charge for it. It is the newest card in this round-up, though, and all-in-all it's better than the 6870, its big brother. Read our AMD Radeon HD 6850 review 6. Sapphire Radeon HD 5870 Toxic - £405
Sapphire's Radeon HD 5870 Toxic comes with some brain-fryingly high numbers: 2.15 billion transistors, a stream shader count of 1,600 and 2GB of memory. It's also brain-fryingly-priced at around £400. But it is the best AMD card out there at the moment, and that extra gigabyte of memory provided a smooth experience in Crysis: Warhead, the most graphically-demanding game we've ever seen. If you can afford it, and want something that's truly future-proof, this AMD card's for you. Read our Sapphire Radeon HD 5870 Toxic review --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
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| Buying Guide: The best AMD graphics cards you can buy Posted: 12 Nov 2010 08:20 AM PST Despite having a slightly wobbly mid-decade, AMD has really found its feet again recently, and its 4800 series of cards currently rules the roost on the Steam hardware survey. It's taken the crown from Nvidia through cleverly pricing its cards in the not-too-expensive range, and beating Nvidia to the tesselated loveliness of DirectX 11. That said, it's a tight battle at the moment, and Nvidia has followed suite by releasing a selection of cheap but powerful cards. We've rounded up six of the best AMD cards and given them a run from their money. 1. Sapphire HD 5670 Ultimate - £93
The ideal card for a media centre PC that's capable of more than just spreadsheets and videos, Sapphire's fanless HD 5670 doesn't even require a PCI-e power input. It breezed through demanding games like Dirt 2 and Far Cry 2, and it's capable of Eyefinity multi-monitor heaven. Admittedly, it's not quite up there with HD 5770 - which is only around £10 more - but for a cheap and quiet home theatre set up you could do far, far, worse. Read our Sapphire HD 5670 Ultimate review 2. XFX HD 5770 - £110
XFX's version of the 5770 slims the whole thing down to a single slot, making a nice change for the rather oversized cards we've seen of late. This comes at a price: we reckon the lower benchmarks are down to the skinny cooling system, but it's still great for a media PC that packs more of a punch than Sapphire's HD 5670 Ultimate, above. Where it's really capable, though, is as part of a CrossFire setup - and one which won't make your PC weigh a ton. 3. HIS HD 5770 - £112
The sub-£150 area is where AMD really pulls its punches, and the HD 5770 is no exception. Offering full DirectX 11 support, as well as up to three monitors' worth of EyeFinity goodness, it's a great package for such a low price. It did struggle slightly at maximum resolutions, but in real-world gaming terms it's something of a winner. As the cheapest 5770 card we looked at in our recent 5770 round-up, it's definitely worth considering. 4. Gigabyte HD 5770 Super Overclock - £135
Read our Gigabyte HD 5770 Super Overclock review 5. AMD Radeon HD 6850 - £167
AMD's latest card was a bit of a disappointment with its middling benchmarks, but it's still an interesting move from the GPU giant. It boasts low power consumption and EyeFinity support, and with its bizarre price point fluctuations it might offer good value for money, once AMD works out how much to charge for it. It is the newest card in this round-up, though, and all-in-all it's better than the 6870, its big brother. Read our AMD Radeon HD 6850 review 6. Sapphire Radeon HD 5870 Toxic - £405
Sapphire's Radeon HD 5870 Toxic comes with some brain-fryingly high numbers: 2.15 billion transistors, a stream shader count of 1,600 and 2GB of memory. It's also brain-fryingly-priced at around £400. But it is the best AMD card out there at the moment, and that extra gigabyte of memory provided a smooth experience in Crysis: Warhead, the most graphically-demanding game we've ever seen. If you can afford it, and want something that's truly future-proof, this AMD card's for you. Read our Sapphire Radeon HD 5870 Toxic review --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
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| Gran Turismo 5 gets UK release date Posted: 12 Nov 2010 06:46 AM PST  Sony has finally announced the UK release date for Gran Turismo 5 – with the UK getting its hands on the racer on 24 November. Delays have beat GT5 for years – leaving gamers frustrated and angry at not being able to play one of the games that was being talked about as akey title for the launch of the PlayStation 3 back in 2006. Although Gran Turismo 5 Prologue at least gave people a chance to play an incarnation of the racing game on the PS3, this will be the first full numbered version for this generation of the console. Jewel in the crown The game will be released in both the US and UK on 24 November – and will feature over 1,000 cars. The Gran Turismo series developed by Polyphony Digital – is one of the jewels in the crown of the Sony PlayStation world. The original game arrived back in 1997 – and more than 50 million copies of the franchise have been sold in the 13 years since. At least they managed to get it out before we had all given up on cars and were flying solar-powered jetpacks around. 
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| Posted: 12 Nov 2010 06:41 AM PST  How much do you really need to pay for a top-of-the-range printer? If you don't need options such as Wi-Fi connectivity, faxing and self-contained photocopying – offered in varying mixes by Lexmark's Impact S305, and Epson's PX720WD and WorkForce range – it might be less than you think. The new Canon iP4850 delivers spectacular performance for just £70. Taking over where the outgoing iP4700 left off, the latest model features a new set of pigment-based black ink, plus dye-based cyan, magenta, yellow and black inks that are tailored for top-quality document and photo printing. In fact, the actual inks remain the same, it's just the cartridges they come in are slightly different, with PGI-525 for pigment black and four CLI-526 cartridges for the dye-based inks. In most ways, the new iP4850 is near identical to the older iP4700, but that's no bad thing. It keeps the same dimensions at a remarkably compact 431 x 297 x 153mm (W x D x H). As with most other printers, the overall depth increases once you've extended the input and output trays to their full extension, but in this case to a still space-friendly 550mm. The input and output trays are also worthy of note here, since you get a 150-sheet cassette feeder that slots in underneath the printer, plus a full-size upright feeder at the rearm which can take a further 150 sheets of full A4-sized paper. The upright feeder is especially useful for loading with photo paper, meaning you don't have to keep swapping paper types every time you want to switch between document and photo printing. Some printers, such as the HP Photosmart Plus and Epson PX720WD, also feature a separate photo tray, but in both of those cases you only get a postcard-sized photo tray, which is no good for A4 photo printing. Many of Canon's older models included a paper feed switch on the front of the printer, but this has been scrapped on the iP4850. It actually helps avoid a bit of confusion, since the printer driver could overrule the paper feed switch anyway. Now, an automatic option selects the lower cassette for document printing and the rear tray for photo printing, but this can still be overridden in Printer Properties. Other finery includes auto duplex for double-sided printing, which is no mean feat on a printer this small. Better still, printing is as amazingly fast as the iP4700, outputting mono text pages in six seconds, colour DTP pages in 16 seconds, 6 x 4-inch normal quality photos in 19 seconds and full A4 borderless photo prints at the highest quality setting in two minutes flat. Document quality is impeccable and colour photo quality is absolutely stunning. The only thing that's second-best here is black-and-white photo printing, which can have a slight colour cast. To avoid this, you'd need to upgrade to Canon's PIXMA MG6150 all-in-one printer. Considering its very compact footprint, the iP4850 offers a full range of features, including auto duplex printing, direct printing onto CDs and DVDs and dual paper input feeds, along with super-fast, ultra-high-quality output. We liked Photo quality is dazzling, with beautiful colour rendition, excellent brightness and contrast, and highly flattering skin tones. Reserving the full-size rear paper feed for photo paper up to A4 in size is another bonus, so you can keep the lower input cassette for plain paper. The iP4850 does a brisk and excellent job of document printing thanks to its mix of pigment-based and dye-based inks. The printer also features Canon's latest Full HD Movie Print gizmo, so you can print individual frames of video clips captured on Canon cameras via the software that comes as part of the package. If you're using genuine Canon inks (which we'd always recommend), you also get access to Canon Creative Park Premium, enabling you to download top-quality photos and illustrations for projects such as greetings cards and calendars. We disliked Being 'just a printer', rather than an all-in-one, you don't get a scanner for scanning or stand-alone photocopying, and there are no built-in memory card readers or LCD preview screens here. That said, you can still print photos directly from PrintBridge-compatible cameras. Verdict If all you want is a printer, as opposed to a multi-function device that can do everything apart from making coffee, the iP4850 is an absolute stunner. Print quality is exceptional for both photo and document printing; running costs are reasonable; it's got a neat range of features, including auto duplex and CD printing; and it's immensely fast. At the price, it's an absolute steal. Related Links
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| Teufel attacks hi-fi market with new UK website Posted: 12 Nov 2010 06:36 AM PST  Teufel has launched a UK-specific retail website for the first time. The German hi-fi company's unique selling point is that, like Dell in the computing market, its products are only available direct from its website. But until now, there was one centralised website for all European markets. This has now changed, as Teufel has launched a UK specific website which has all prices in lovely pounds sterling as well as offering other UK-centric features. Teufel says that by cutting out the middlemen in the retail sector and buying direct, you could save up to 60 per cent compared to buying big-brand hi-fi products from traditional retailers. "With Teufel you get better quality at the same price," Teufel's Florian Szigat told TechRadar. "We have the best price-to-quality ratio and this is the crucial point. Customers get good service and native language support and they get the chance to listen to the speakers in their home where they're meant to be played and if they keep them they get a 12-year warranty on any speaker. "We get a lot of requests from German and international companies saying 'we like your products and we'd like to sell them in our stores' and we ask them 'what margin would you want?' and they say 30 per cent, 40 per cent, 60 per cent, and we say we can't do this because our margins are not that high. "Our high end speakers would cost maybe twice the price through a traditional retailer."
Because Teufel aren't stocked in any stores, it allows customers an eight-week home trial in order to evaluate the products. "We cut out the middle man by selling directly and this saves for the customer the margin that the middle man would take," said Szigat, "we either take this saving and pass it on to the customer to offer them the product at a far better rate or we take it, put it into development and offer them a far better product at the same rate. "This is the advantage. The obvious disadvantage is that we're not to be found in the stores so you cannot touch the product yourself or listen to it before you buy it. And this is what we try to cope with by granting all customers an eight week right of return. "You are granted two weeks anyway by law but we grant them an extra six weeks to set the product up at home where it's going to be used, which might have a heavy effect on how it sounds compared to how it would sound in the store, and at any time in the eight weeks customers can pack it up again, call us and we'll collect the product and give you your money back." 
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| Posted: 12 Nov 2010 06:10 AM PST  A4 printers have a lot to contend with. Some ask them to produce crisp documents with rich black text, whereas others want gorgeous photo quality output. Many of us want both, which is where Canon's latest PIXMA ChromaLife100+ printers have made a name for themselves. Models such as the MG5150 include pigment- and dye-based black inks, plus yellow, cyan and magenta dye-based inks, which team up to produce rock solid document output and stunning photo prints. The MG6150 goes further still, with an additional dye-based grey ink cartridge making it great for top-quality black-and-white photo printing as well. Ideal for the photo enthusiast who also wants to print documents, the MG6150 has a lot to offer. An ultra-high-resolution 9,600dpi print engine based on near-microscopic 1pl (picolitre) ink droplets is hooked up to a 4,800dpi, full 48-bit colour scanner, enabling you to print, scan and photocopy. You also get three memory card slots, which include direct compatibility with CF, MS, MS Pro, MS Duo, MS Pro Duo, SDHC and MMC cards. There's also optional compatibility with various other cards, including xD Picture Cards via additional adaptors, and you can print directly from attached USB flash memory sticks. Stand-alone printing and photocopying is greatly refined when compared to older printers such as the Canon MP640, thanks to a crystal-clear 3-inch LCD and immaculate touch panel. The latter features underlying icons that only illuminate when active. Epson performed a similar trick when upgrading its PX710W to the PX720WD, and it really makes the interface much more intuitive to use. Printing from a PC or laptop is equally painless, thanks to Canon's typically logical printer software as well as full USB, Wi-Fi and Ethernet connectivity, enabling you to print from all round the home. As with most Canon printers, the dual full-sized A4 input feeds include an underlying cassette, which is ideal for plain paper, and a rear tray, which is perfect for photo paper. In our tests, print speeds were identical to the five-ink Canon iP4850, at six seconds for a mono text page, 16 seconds for colour DTP, 19 seconds for a 6 x 4-inch photo print in standard quality mode and exactly 2 minutes for a full borderless A4 photo print at the highest quality setting – all very impressive. One drawback with the cheaper iP4850 and more modest all-in-one printers in the vein of the MP640 and newer MG5150 is that black-and-white photo prints can take on a slight colour cast. There's no such problem with the MG6150, since it includes an additional grey cartridge that provides excellent monochrome fidelity. Another bonus is that you can also print directly onto white-faced CDs, DVDs or Blu-ray discs, unlike all-in-ones such as the HP Photosmart Premium and Lexmark Interact S605. The beautifully designed MG6150 looks wonderfully sleek with an almost complete absence of buttons. Instead, the top cover also acts as a neat touch panel and icons become illuminated only when they're active, which also makes the printer very intuitive in stand-alone use. The feast of all-in-one extras here includes direct photo printing and photocopying, along with USB, Ethernet and Wi-Fi connectivity. We liked Print speeds are really impressive and much quicker than Canon's slightly downmarket MG5150. While the printer offers superb document quality, it really comes into its own with photo printing. Colour is just as sumptuous as Canon's MG5150 and iP4850 printers, and the black-and-white photo output is the best we've seen from any A4 printer. Build-wise, the new touch-panel controls add elegance and simplicity to the MG6150. What's more, the wide-ranging media card slots include compatibility with CompactFlash cards. This is often omitted in the latest all-in-one printers, but it's still a necessity for many D-SLR camera users. We disliked There's almost nothing to dislike about the MG6150. Sure, it doesn't have stand-alone fax facilities built in, but this isn't a printer geared towards small business use. It's a little on the chunky side too, measuring 470 x 368 x 173mm (W x D x H), but this isn't above average for an all-in-one printer. Verdict Barely any more expensive than the outgoing Canon MP640, the MG6150 crams in an extra grey cartridge for fabulous fidelity in monochrome photo printing and a much more elegant touch panel interface, but still offers auto duplex double-sided printing, direct printing onto discs and wide-ranging connectivity options. It's a cracker. Related Links
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| Google escalates Facebook war of words Posted: 12 Nov 2010 05:56 AM PST  The war of words between Facebook and Google is raging on, with the search giant now urging people to think twice before exporting their contents into the social networking behemoth. The once-amicable relationship between the two has turned decidedly frosty of late – with Google upset that it allowed Facebook to comb through its Google Contacts data to find friends for new sign ups for the social network, but that the share was not reciprocated. That saw Google change its terms and conditions so that it could stop Facebook doing just this, and this in turn prompted Facebook to use a workaround. Redirection However, now Google is redirecting people using this workaround to a page that questions Facebook's lack of openness. "Hold on a second. Are you super sure you want to import your contact information for your friends into a service that won't let you get it out?" reads the contacts export confirm webpage. "Here's the not-so-fine print. You have been directed to this page from a site that doesn't allow you to re-export your data to other services, essentially locking up your contact data about your friends. "So once you import your data there, you won't be able to get it out. We think this is an important thing for you to know before you import your data there. "Although we strongly disagree with this data protectionism, the choice is yours. Because, after all, you should have control over your data. "Of course, you are always free to download your contacts using the export feature in Google Contacts. "This public service announcement is brought to you on behalf of your friends in Google Contacts." As it happens, Facebook unleashes its webmail service next week – a direct competitor to Gmail, so don't expect the two former friends to play nicely in the sandpit for some time to come. 
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| Google escalates Facebook war of words Posted: 12 Nov 2010 05:56 AM PST The war of words between Facebook and Google is raging on, with the search giant now urging people to think twice before exporting their contents into the social networking behemoth. The once-amicable relationship between the two has turned decidedly frosty of late – with Google upset that it allowed Facebook to comb through its Google Contacts data to find friends for new sign ups for the social network, but that the share was not reciprocated. That saw Google change its terms and conditions so that it could stop Facebook doing just this, and this in turn prompted Facebook to use a workaround. Redirection However, now Google is redirecting people using this workaround to a page that questions Facebook's lack of openness. "Hold on a second. Are you super sure you want to import your contact information for your friends into a service that won't let you get it out?" reads the contacts export confirm webpage. "Here's the not-so-fine print. You have been directed to this page from a site that doesn't allow you to re-export your data to other services, essentially locking up your contact data about your friends. "So once you import your data there, you won't be able to get it out. We think this is an important thing for you to know before you import your data there. "Although we strongly disagree with this data protectionism, the choice is yours. Because, after all, you should have control over your data. "Of course, you are always free to download your contacts using the export feature in Google Contacts. "This public service announcement is brought to you on behalf of your friends in Google Contacts." As it happens, Facebook unleashes its webmail service next week – a direct competitor to Gmail, so don't expect the two former friends to play nicely in the sandpit for some time to come. 
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| Exclusive: 'Highly unlikely' action will be taken against Twitter Joke Trial tweets Posted: 12 Nov 2010 05:48 AM PST  TechRadar has spoken to Struan Robertson, editor of Out-Law.com and Legal Director of Pinsent Masons LLP, about the Twitter Joke Trial and he believes that it is unlikely those repeating Paul Chamber's original 'terrorist' tweet will face prosecution. At the time of writing this, the current top trending topic in the UK is #IAmSpartacus, a hashtag that thousands of users have applied to Paul Chamber's original tweet, which landed him with a criminal record this week. Robertson explained to TechRadar that "It's highly unlikely that action will be taken against those repeating what Chambers tweeted. "While lots of people saw Chambers's original tweet as a joke that, at worst, was in bad taste, the prosecutor and the judge clearly didn't. They saw it as criminally menacing. Big payout Robertson continued: "I can't see a prosecutor taking action over the retweeters, though. Aside from the profile of this protest, the retweeters arguably make clear their satirical intent by using the Spartacus hashtag." The Out-Law.com editor does warn, however, that those using the hashtag aren't completely safe from the law, saying: "It's worth noting that you don't avoid responsibility for a message just because you're repeating what somebody else said. "A person who retweets a libellous message could themselves be sued for libel – and if they have more followers than the original author, they could be facing the bigger payout." This may be food for thought for all the celebrities who have jumped on the Twitter Joke Trial bandwagon. 
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| BBC: iPlayer on BT Vision is a 'major advance' Posted: 12 Nov 2010 05:11 AM PST  The BBC has given an insight into its decision to offer the iPlayer on BT Vision – suggesting the partnership represents a 'major advance'. The success of the iPlayer on Virgin Media's cable service and on both PS3 and Wii have been proof that consumers are keen to watch catch-up TV on their traditional television sets. And a partnership with BT now means that the iPlayer will be accessible through the BT Vision IPTV service. Connected audience "Opening BBC iPlayer on TV to such a large connected audience represents a major advance in our effort to bring the full BBC iPlayer experience to TVs, blogged TV iPlayer product manager Gideon Summerfield. "Already, nearly a third of all TV programmes enjoyed through BBC iPlayer are watched using TV-connected devices including games consoles, set-top boxes, disc players and connected TVs. "This is all the more enjoyable when the experience is accessed from the same remote as the TV, as is the case with BT Vision." Presentation framework The BBC blog also outlined the technology that was used to bring the service to BT Vision. "BT Vision's set-top boxes use the Microsoft Mediaroom IPTV platform to deliver TV on demand alongside TV broadcast over Freeview, added Summerfield. "Last year Microsoft added a technology to this called Presentation Framework (MSPF) to let IPTV network operators add extra services delivered over the Web. "We partnered with Pushbutton to build the BBC iPlayer app on BT Vision using this technology. You'll see the experience is pretty slick!" 
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| Be Broadband's Line Bonding 'could double speed' Posted: 12 Nov 2010 05:01 AM PST  Be Broadband has announced what it is describing as a 'pioneering' line bonding service which could boost customers' broadband speeds up to 44Mbps download and 5Mbps upload. The UK ISP believes that the line bonding technology could mean that those people within 1KM of the exchange could find their rate boosted from around 20Mbps right up to more than 40Mbps. Alex Gowar, Head of Marketing for Be Broadband, said: "As only half of the UK population have access to fibre currently, Be's Line Bonding product is a real viable alternative. "Life-changing" "But Line Bonding is not only great for Be customers who want fibre speeds, but it could also be life changing for the millions of UK customers who suffer slower speeds because they live a long way from the exchange. "It's all part of our 'Real World Speed' proposition and our desire to help customers achieve the fastest speeds possible that their line can handle." There is a catch, however, and that is the price - monthly rental for the line bonding service is £65 per month plus setup costs £85 and you will need two phone lines coming into their building from the same exchange. 
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| Twitter Joke Trial sparks 'I Am Spartacus' uprising Posted: 12 Nov 2010 04:26 AM PST  The Twitter community has responded to Paul Chambers' guilty verdict at the Twitter Joke Trial by tweeting his original 'terrorist' message, with the hashtag #IAmSpartacus. This week the retrial of Paul Chambers, who was accused of sending a menacing electronic communication on Twitter, culminated in the trainee accountant being found guilty and fined £1,000. This sparked outrage on Twitter and even prompted Stephen Fry to say he would pay the fine. Siege mentality Now thousands of people are tweeting exactly the same message on Twitter that got Chambers a criminal record, which is technically putting them all at risk of being charged with the same 'sending a menacing electronic communication' offence. In fact, the hashtag #IAmSpartacus - which was started by Twitter follower @Christt - is now the biggest trending topic of the day, ironically just in front of #TwitterJokeTrial. It will be interesting to see how the Crown Prosecution Service responds to the latest uprising on the micro-blog. Surely they can't all be put in the docks? 
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| Gorillaz new album recorded on an iPad Posted: 12 Nov 2010 04:05 AM PST  Damon Albarn, front man of Gorillaz, has announced that the band's latest album will be out before Christmas and has been recorded on an Apple iPad. Gorillaz currently front the advertising for the Times website where they extol the virtues of technology – which is interesting as Albarn is a self-confessed Luddite. But it seems that the Blur man is starting to get to grips with new technology by using the Apple iPad to record music. Speaking to NME, Albarn said about the album: "I've made it on an ipad – I hope I'll be making the first record on an iPad. "I fell in love with my iPad as soon as I got it, so I've made a completely different kind of record. "It's ironic, being the sort of technophobe and Luddite that I am." The vocoder of America As for what the album will sound like, Albarn notes: "It sounds like an English voice that has been put through the vocoder of America. "More American-sounding than Blur... I'm going to try and put it out before Christmas." According to Mobile Ent, the Gorillaz are also embracing augmented reality for their upcoming gigs at the O2 in London. Their iPhone app is being updated so that fans can point their phones at certain parts of the stage and see life-size 3D models of the Gorillaz characters through their phone. 
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| Hands on: Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF2 review Posted: 12 Nov 2010 03:40 AM PST -200-200.jpg) Panasonic has slimmed down its smallest compact system camera even further with the introduction of the 12.2 million pixel GF2, but has also managed to squeeze in a touch-control LCD screen and full HD video. But does the camera live up to the hype of all the Panasonic GF2 rumours swirling before the January 2011 Panasonic GF2 release date? I'll make no bones about it: I am a fan of the Panasonic Lumix G series. The cameras incorporate lots of enthusiast-friendly features and DSLR-style handling in well-made, attractive little bodies and they produce high quality images. I am particularly keen on the GF1 as its smaller, more rectangular form is perfect for slipping into a bag when heading out cycling or walking and the like. Thanks to its more pronounced grip, the mini-DSLR styled Panasonic G2, however, is a more comfortable model for carrying in the hand. Price GF2-KEB = £599.99 (14-42mm zoom lens kit)
Rumours of a Panasonic GF2 release date have been swirling on the internet for months. Naturally, I was excited at the prospect of Panasonic revealing a replacement for the GF1, especially when I heard that the successor would have a touchscreen similar to the one on the impressive Lumix DMC-G2. However, my enthusiasm was somewhat tempered when I saw that the Panasonic GF2 has fewer button and dial controls than the GF1, and the user has to use the touchscreen to select settings such as the shooting mode. It may be the result of the downsizing of the camera (the GF2 is 19% smaller and 7% lighter than the GF1), but I am disappointed that there's no main mode dial on the top-plate. On the plus-side, the 460,000-dot touchscreen is very responsive and the controls are easy to locate thanks to the new Graphic User Interface (GUI). But I can't shake the sense that the camera has been dumbed-down. Nevertheless, the Touch AF system that sets the camera to focus on the point in the scene where a fingertouch directs is very useful, especially when shooting in awkward positions such as squatting down on the ground.
However, I think both it and the impressive Touch Shutter option, which sets the camera to focus and fire the shutter with a touch, are better suited to a camera with an articulating LCD screen – such as on the Panasonic Lumix DMC-G2. The 460,000-dot screen provides a decent enough view even when shooting outside, but without being able to angle it the photographer is forced to either lie on the ground, or look at a foreshortened image. An unfortunate side effect of the small size of the Panasonic GF2 is that I found my thumb occasionally strayed onto the top right corner of the screen and this activated settings changes. Perhaps with a bit more time with the camera I will become better at avoiding this.
Panasonic has often proved itself to be a manufacturer that listens to its users, and I was very pleased to see that the Touch (Quick) Q-menu can be customised so that it only includes the features that the photographer wants.
Like other G series cameras, the Panasonic GF2 is very nicely put together and it's aluminium alloy body has a high-quality feel. I was pleased to find that the redesign since the GF1 has introduced a small grip on the front of the body which gives a little more purchase. However, the addition of a more grippy-textured coating would improve this further. Whereas I can carry the DSLR-style G2 quite comfortably in my hand between shots, I would be inclined to use the Panasonic GF2's strap over my shoulder. As I was using a pre-production model of the GF2 it would be unfair to draw too many firm conclusions about the image quality, but the results are impressive. My images are well exposed, even when the subject is backlit and the auto white balance system clearly works well. I am not able to view the raw files from the camera, but the JPEG images taken with the default noise reduction settings are good straight from the camera. Images taken at ISO 400 look comparable with those I have taken at ISO 200 on the G1, indicating that Panasonic has come some way with noise control. Even those taken at ISO 6400 are much cleaner with less red speckling than from the GF1. Although Panasonic has introduced a new 'My colors' shooting option which contains similar style settings to the Film Modes of other G series cameras, I was disappointed to find that the Panasonic GF2 doesn't have these Film Modes, as they can be used in any of the PASM shooting modes. Please note that we are currently restricted from showing Panasonic GF2 images at a higher resolution, as the GF2 samples on which they were shot are not final firmware
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF2 with 14mm f/2.5 pancake lens, 1/30sec at f/2.5, ISO 400
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF2 with 14mm f/2.5 pancake lens, 1/40sec at f/2.5, ISO 400
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF2 with 14mm f/2.5 pancake lens, 1/60sec at f/2.5, ISO 160
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF2 with 14mm f/2.5 pancake lens, 1/100sec at f/2.5, ISO 100
Panasonic has tried to simplify the appearance of the GF2 and make heavier use of the touchscreen for selecting camera settings than with the Lumix DMC-G2. Perhaps the company wishes to make a stronger distinction between the compact and mini-DSLR styled models. To my mind the simplification of the Panasonic GF2 in comparison with the GF1 is at odds with the fact that the best-selling GF1 kit in the UK had the Lumix G 20mm F1.7 ASPH pancake lens, suggesting that this camera was popular with enthusiast rather than novice photographers. While its image quality appears impressively high, at the moment I am a little disappointed with the handling of the GF2. Perhaps I will learn to love it once a full-production model comes along. Related Links
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| Tutorial: How to build a Mac for £300 Posted: 12 Nov 2010 03:17 AM PST  The two Steves, Jobs and Wozniak, built the Apple brand on its synergy between hardware and software. 25 years on, you pay a premium for that. It's £599 for the cheapest Mac Mini. £1999 for an entry level Mac Pro. But since 2006, new Macs have had a very similar internal architecture to Windows PCs. The same Intel CPUs, the same Nvidia graphics. Since then, people have been hacking together Macs in their bedrooms. They call them Hackintoshes; PCs that run OS X for a fraction of the price of a brand new Mac. My aim was build the cheapest, usable Hackintosh possible. Basic hardware configuration Forget all about bells and whistles like Blu-Ray and 5.1 surround sound. I wanted to get a basic system up and running with the barest of necessities. I needed to choose a motherboard and compatible CPU, DVD drive, a SATA hard drive, 2GB of RAM and a video card. All were picked to fit nicely into the ATX case of my choice and most of the components were bought on eBay. This was my build: Case: GMC R-3 Corona with built in 350 watt PSU
MOBO: The Gigabyte G31M-ES2L, a low cost motherboard chosen for the high level of success reported by other Hackintosh builders The final damage? After adding in a couple of fans, some thermal paste and a USB Wi-Fi dongle, £303.40. When you consider that an entry level Mac Mini packs a similar wallop, but comes in at £599, that's a bit of a bargain. You can see the full build cost as a spreadsheet here. There were other things I had to take into consideration, though. I had to design the machine, I had to put it together and then I had turn it into a Mac...
CASE STUDY: The ATX case I chose shows you what the final Hackintosh looks like. It's not quite a Mac Pro... Compatible hardware Thank ye olde Gods for the OSx86 Hardware Compatibility Lists (HCLs). In fact, thank them for the entire OSx86 Wiki - a must bookmark for wannabe Hackintosh builders. I picked out the components for my build based on the experiences posted there, cross checking with the HCLs for potential pitfalls.
CHECKLIST: It's essential you check drives, cards and motherboards against OSx86 Hardware Compatibilty Lists, or your custom Mac project may never get off the ground Another way to make sure your system will run OS X is to use someone else's tried and tested build. At the time of writing, the build I've listed above is running Snow Leopard 10.6.4 and - for the most part - it works. There are many other Hackintosh build guides available, though. Here are some other build resources I'd recommend taking a look at:
Insanely Mac is the community flipside of OSx86 with a message board where users exchange advice. They also post full hardware build details, which is very handy if you don't know where to start. Check out the Tutorials section.
Then there are a series of builds at tonymacx86. They're all centred around Gigabyte P55 series motherboards. tonymacx86.jpeg - tonymacx86 Blog started as a document of the author's specific build. Now it's a general resource for Intel based custom Mac projects. Handily, Tony also provides downloads for boot tools and an OS X installer. More on those in a moment. Some guides will tell you that building your own Mac is legally grey. It's not grey at all. Apple's OS X license says quite explicitly: "You agree not to install, use or run the Apple Software on any non-Apple-branded computer, or to enable others to do so." We're unaware of any individual case where Apple has enforced this condition - though it has pursued companies who make Mac clones for profit vigorously. As a homebrew Mac maker the licensing conditions practically mean that you're on your own if things go wrong. And things quite possibly could go wrong.
OS: The Snow Leopard upgrade disk costs just £25. If you're planning on installing Snow Leopard on more than one machine, you should purchase the five-license Family Pack Having got the warning out of the way, there are several fairly reliable methods for getting OS X to run on PC hardware. Let's have a look at two boot loaders that'll do the job. The first is the version I used in my build, iBoot and MultiBeast. Briefly, you'll need a PC built using OSx86 compatible hardware, a legitimate, retail copy of Mac OS X Snow Leopard, iBoot and MultiBeast. iBoot is a ready to burn CD ISO that will enable your PC to load Chameleon, a boot loader for Mac OS X. You see, Mac OS X was specifically designed to run on Apple hardware only. Chameleon fools your OS X retail disc into thinking that it's being installed on a Mac. There are full instructions at tonymacx86 which I heartily recommend you follow to the letter, but briefly the process should be: 1. Tweak the target machine's BIOS settings so it boots from CD
BIOS: You'll need to set your CD drive as a primary boot device and enable AHCI as the SATA/Raid controller type - at least. See full instructions for your chosen boot loader The second method I'd recommend uses a tool called MyHack. Again, there are full and comprehensive instructions for getting OS X up and running on a custom built PC at MyHack's site. The method is nearly identical, except that MyHack boots from a USB drive, meaning that there's no need to swap CDs. The disadvantage is that you'll need a Mac to prepare the flash drive. Post install When I built my Hackintosh, there were still some tweaks to make after the "Welcome to Mac" intro had played. I ran Apple Software Update and downloaded upgrades to the system. In my case it was the combo update to 10.6.4. When that had finished and been applied, I tested the Mac/PC to see what was working and what wasn't. The sound ports, video settings and Ethernet got a work out. I tried each USB port in turn. My careful planning has worked out. USB and ethernet were fine on the Gigabyte board - but I needed to install drivers for audio and video to get them working properly.
MULTIBEAST: MultiBeast offeres two types of post-installation. You can enable hardware level compatibility using a custom DSDT file and add support for installed peripherals on a driver by driver basis That's where MultiBeast came in. It's a combination boot sector creation tool and driver installation application. I fired it up on my Hackintosh and was able to select the additional drivers - called "kexts" - I needed, writing them to the local disk. MyHack has a similar post-installation function, enabling you to write drivers direct to your Hackintosh drive. Crucially, both tools add their boot loader to your local drive, so there's no longer any need to boot from CD or USB stick. Finally, the moment of truth. I took out the iBoot disk and restarted the machine. It launched into OS X with sound working correctly, running in the native resolution of my Nvidia graphics card.
SUCCESS: If all goes well, this is the screen you'll see when you finally reboot your Hackintosh. If not, it's best to retrace your steps and start again After all that, did I end up with a suitable substitute for an Mac Mini or even a Mac Pro? There are some definite cons. The finished machine doesn't look anywhere near as good as Apple's range of computers. Sleep doesn't work properly and I've yet to find a successful workaround for that. And every time I apply new, official updates, my heart pounds in mouth. It's not an undertaking for casual users. What I do have is a machine that effortlessly copes with video editing, 3D graphics and office applications. It runs creative tools like Photoshop and games like Left 4 Dead 2 without any problems, on Mac OS X. And all it cost was £300 and a couple of my weekends. Can't be bad. 
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| Posted: 12 Nov 2010 03:00 AM PST  Teufel is by far the best-known exponent of direct-sell loudspeakers and has been steadily raising its profile in the UK over the last couple of years with great models such as its Columa 900 5.1 surround sound speaker system and Ultima 800. The big difference between Teufel and other brands is that it's not available from hi-fi dealers, cutting out the middleman, which means lower selling prices. So, to an extent, you have to take its qualities on trust. But you do get a generous eight-week trial period, during which the speakers can be returned for a refund if you find you can't get along with them. An additional confidence builder is the astonishing 12-year guarantee period. Yes, that's right, 12 years! Conventional design The T500 is one of the latest from Teufel, a classic three-way floorstander, which, thanks to its distribution model, sells for a very attractive price. This pitches Teufel into direct competition with some of the more popular mainstream brands, including Monitor Audio and Wharfedale. Although essentially conventional in design, there are some noteworthy features, which are not quite by the numbers. The drive unit complement includes a 28mm fabric-dome tweeter, two 170mm bass drivers and a similar size midrange unit, the size chosen to provide the compact footprint and svelte lines that ensures the speaker will not be intrusive in most rooms. The bass drivers use Kevlar mesh diaphragms, with long-throw suspensions, while the midrange unit has a sandwich pulp cone. Bi-wiring or (even) bi-amping are both supported. Finally, the tall, slender reflex-loaded enclosure is fitted with a cleverly integrated platform base. Sturdy A lot of effort has gone into optimising dispersion and minimising phase error, as well as improving time alignment at the point where the tweeter takes over the reins, which is the reason for the stepped-baffle and the deeply recessed tweeter dome. But even leaving this to one side, the T500 is impressively constructed, the sturdy woodwork being made from 18mm MDF with a dark vinyl-wrap wood-effect finish. The price doesn't allow for a real wood finish. More impressive than build quality is the T500's high-value rating, which is largely attributable to the fact that the speakers are sold direct to the end user. The T500 is ready to accept spikes or isolation pads. These don't come in the box as standard, but isolation pads are available optionally, costing around £25 for a set, and you can get spikes from various third-party sources. Don't economise on this: the tall, narrow form factor places stability at a premium. Deep and powerful This is a high-value package, with a grown up performance, but – and inevitably there is a but – there's more quantity here than quality. The T500 is well made and presented, and the bass is moderately deep and powerful, but it is also uneven. The polar response from the tweeter is odd: you need to line up fairly accurately with the tweeter's main axis to achieve a smooth, well-extended response, and something similar happens in the low and middle frequency range too. In this case, the effect has little to do with the listening axis, but the bass and mid-band are similarly uneven, a little wooden and lumpy if you will. If this sounds like damming criticism, it must be seen in the context of value. There's no questioning that the Teufel offers good value for money, and with some care over details such as spikes, as well as room positioning, you can achieve a good working balance. Audiophile perspective There's no denying that you get a real bang for your buck here, and the ability to audition the speakers in your home for a long period. But we never felt completely comfortable with this speaker, which seems to have been designed more by the numbers, rather than real inspiration. There's nothing objectionable about the sound, but it is more workmanlike than inspired. Of course, if funds are limited, there are bound to be trade-offs, but from the audiophile perspective we would gladly sacrifice a little of the bass extension for greater overall refinement. Related Links
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| Posted: 12 Nov 2010 02:48 AM PST  The successor to the Palm Pre has landed in the UK and the folks at T3 have managed to get their hands on the device. Coming equipped with a new operating system, the Palm Pre is the first true handset to be made by Palm (the Palm Pre Plus doesn't count) after their acquisition by HP. HP's stamp is noted straight away, as it seems that since the takeover the Palm Pre 2's OS is no longer called WebOS 2.0 but HP webOS.
The handset is pretty much the same dimensions as its predecessor, the Palm Pre Plus, but the Palm Pre 2 has been slimlined. This is because of a new glass screen that no longer bulges out of the device, but sits flush. Because of its glass, the screen is more responsive and jagged edges are now gone, so the phone won't be able to cut cheese like the last one. The Palm Pre 2 comes equipped with a 5-megapixel camera (situated on the back). This is an improvement on the 3MP one found on the Palm Pre Plus. The whole thing is also powered with a processor that is twice the speed of the Palm Pre Plus - a 1GHz Texas Instruments Omap 3630.
When it comes to the OS, WebOS 2.0 / HP webOS is impressive. There's proper multi tasking and the Cards style home screens are still present. According to T3, a new feature in Cards is Stacking – windows within applications open like a stacked deck of cards, so if you open more windows within one browser session and they'll appear together, letting you open one full screen in no time. What's impressive is that you can switch the order so whatever app is your favourite can be on top. There's no limit to how many you can stack, but it depends on how memory intensive they are. Palm does say it should run 20-30 apps at once.
Other new features are that universal search has been renamed Just Type. Palm is working with websites, so that modules for these sites are created. Once done then you should be able to browse a website without actually going through the web browser. There's also now texting shortcuts, the ability to select contacts as favourites and a redesigned app catalogue. This is something which had to happen, considering the might of the App Store and Android Market. It is now easier to search for apps and there is a new featured section.
Finally, the Palm Pre 2 does a bit of moonlighting as a clock and a digital photo frame. Chuck it in the accompanying dock and it will showcase an app while it is lying there doing nothing. The original Palm Pre never quite proved itself to be a proper contender in the smartphone market, but with a sprinkling of HP it seems that the Palm Pre 2 could well hold its own.
The Palm Pre 2 has a UK release date of 15 November and will be priced at £399. For more on the Palm Pre 2, head over to T3.com. 
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| JoliBook set to launch with JoliCloud OS Posted: 12 Nov 2010 02:46 AM PST  The JoliBook is set to launch, bringing with it the cloud-friendly JoliCloud operating system. The Linux-based JoliCloud OS is, like the forthcoming Chrome OS, built to take advantage of the cloud and connectivity – and describes itself as 'a radically new OS'. To that end, it aims to bring the simplicity of not needing to install drivers but also give the local storage that still remains one of the big doubts about Chrome OS. "Keep your data locally but with the ability to save anything on the Cloud and control which services you want to use," states JoliCloud's website. JoliBook specs The JoliBook will be the first computer to take advantage of the JoliCloud OS, and brings the kind of specs you would expect to see on most modern netbooks. "Designed for people who live in the cloud, it's running Jolicloud 1.1 and comes preloaded with Chromium, Facebook, Spotify, VLC, Skype, and a bunch of cool apps that are one click away," said the company's release "With its super fast dual core Atom N550 processor, its gorgeous screen, its 250GB hard drive, and its affordable price, it should not stay on the shelf very long." There is no UK release date or pricing as yet – but we will, of course, keep you updated. 
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| Buying Guide: 10 best HD camcorders in the world today Posted: 12 Nov 2010 02:40 AM PST  High-definition camcorders now dominate the market. This is great news for consumers because not only do you get the superb image quality of high-def, but there are HD cameras to suit every budget. Prices for HD camcorders start at under £100 and can exceed £1,000, but what's important is to select the HD model perfect for you. The main things to consider – as well as price – are size, design, storage and sharing options. Pocket-size shooters have a convenient design and can be taken anywhere, so are great for YouTube-style clips. Mid- and high-end models are bigger but have larger LCD screens and more creative features to play with. There are a variety of ways of storing HD movies: hard drive, flash memory or removable storage card (such as SD and Memory Stick). Large hard drives enable you to record for longer while removable storage adds the simplicity of swapping cards when they're full. If you're a fan of sharing videos (by email or uploading to sites such as Vimeo and YouTube), check out a camcorder's specifications. Some offer instant/fast (Wi-Fi) upload and some let you do it via the free editing software supplied with your HD cam.
Creative Vado HD (£80)Great value cam with fuss-free web uploading and decent screen This Vado HD is as sleek as they come with a great finish. It feels light, but is still reassuringly solid; definitely something you can sit happily in the breast pocket of your ski jacket confident you wont be emptying it out as shards of silicon at the end of the day. Video quality is fantastic considering the price. Read: Creative Vado HD review
Sony MHS-PM5K (£170)Sony's pocket-sized Full-HD shooter also snaps 5MP stills Another one of the best pocket HD camcorders is the PM5K. It has been nicknamed by Sony as 'the bloggie' and it's great for shooting and sharing HD movies. It's solid but still compact, offers fast YouTube upload and has an innovative 270° rotating lens. The bloggie's built-in USB arm makes for a fast and convenient connection to PC or Mac and it delivers flexibility because it stores movies to SD and Memory Stick media. Read: Sony MHS-PM5K Bloggie review
Flip MinoHD (£179.99)Distinctive ultra-compact HD cam offering 2 hours of recording The Flip Mino HD's slimline design and superb ease of use have made it a must-have pocket-cam. It manages to cram in two hours of recording on its internal 8GB memory and you can record and review your clips on its 2-inch LCD screen. PC connection is straightforward and it's like grease lightning when uploading clips to the web. Read: Flip MinoHD review
Samsung HMX-H200 (£250)A top-quality SD/SDHC camcorder with 1080p recording Conventional looks are a welcoming feature of Samsung's H200 HD camcorder, but it's also pleasing to note the simplicity provided by a touchscreen LCD and a photo mode that produces 4.7MP stills. The 20x optical zoom is impressive, as is the basic, but fun, Intelli Studio software – which launches when the H200 is connected to a PC via USB. Probably the best low-end full HD camcorder available at the moment.
Panasonic HDC-SD60 (£400)Full HD cam with a whopping 25x optical zoom and 2.7-inch LCD For those seeking a traditional camcorder, Panasonic's SD60 won't let you down. Touchscreen controls make it a doddle to use, while the 35mm wide-angle lens lets you cram even more into a shot. Not ideal for shooters who want fast web sharing but the intelligent auto controls ensure top-notch visuals. Superb value price-wise.
Canon LEGRIA HF R18 (£400)Family friendly, Full HD cam with 32GB flash memory Versatility is the watchword for the well-crafted Canon R18. This HD cam records to a 32GB flash memory but can also capture to SD/SDHC removable storage cards. The 2.7in LCD screen and 20x optical zoom are standout features, but you'll also love the HD to SD in-camera conversion that turns high-def clips into web-friendly sized ones.
Sony HDR-XR105 (£450)Sony's XR105 is equipped with Carl Zeiss optics and an 80GB hard drive More serious-minded moviemakers will love the Sony XR105's smooth 10x optical zoom and the capacity of its 80GB hard disk drive, which offers up to 33 hours of recording. SteadyShot image stabilisation helps rid your clips of bumpy footage, while Smile Shutter and Face Detection features add functionality to 4MP stills shooting.
Canon LEGRIA HF M36 (£500)Smart HD visuals and touchscreen-tech in perfect harmony The Canon LEGRIA HF M36 features an internal 8GB flash memory, but through a feature known as Relay Recording users can continue to capture video onto SD/SDHC cards. The 2.7in LCD screen is a tactile and responsive touchscreen version, while the optical zoom is a very respectable 18x. The 3.3MP stills are somewhat limited but the HD movie clips are sumptuous.
Panasonic HDC-SDT750 (£1,250 approx)Full HD camcorder with 3D conversion lens for, yes, 3D recording! Moviemakers who want to stay ahead of the curve need look no further than the amazing SDT750, which comes with a 3D conversion lens that records right-eye and left-eye images simultaneously through its two lenses. It also offers 3D playback on 3D compatible TVs. What's more it features a 3in LCD, electronic viewfinder and nearly 8MP stills.
Sony NEX-VG10 (£2,000 approx, lens dependent)Super-stylish Sony HD camcorder compatible with interchangeable lenses Full manual control and optical image stabilisation are impressive additions, but the fact the VG10 uses interchangeable lenses is the real deal-maker here. Sony's powerful movie-making tool is compatible with a wide range of interchangeable E-mount and A-mount lenses delivering enthusiast and semi-pro moviemakers the shot-making versatility usually the preserve of DSLR users. Related Links
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| Weird Tech: Pavement power and snooker in space Posted: 12 Nov 2010 02:36 AM PST  Most of us don't spend much time thinking about pavements, but Professor K. Wayne Lee does - and he reckons they could help light our streets, melt ice, heat buildings and defend the Earth against lizard attack. Well, maybe not that last one. The University of Rhode Island professor is investigating ways in which pavements can become solar power generators, and his most futuristic idea is to replace the tarmac completely: instead, roads could consist of linked electronic blocks consisting of photovoltaic cells, sensors and LED lights that generate electricity, know when they need to be fixed and light up like Michael Jackson's Billie Jean video. We guess that'll be worth a few electrocuted dogs scattered around the lamposts. Found: God's snooker table UK astronomers have found a faraway star system that looks like, "and may have once behaved like, a game of billiards," UPI.com reports. The system consists of a red dwarf, a white dwarf and two gas giants, and apparently "it's hard to escape the image of this system as being like a giant snooker frame with a red ball, two colored balls, and dwarf white cue ball". Unless you've actually played a game of snooker, that is. Rise of the (toy) robots You're worried about burglars. Do you (a) invest in decent locks and an alarm system, or (b) buy a toy robot, hack it a bit and use it to monitor your house whenever you remember to do it? If you chose (b) you may be Robert Oschler, a Floridian programmer.
CRAFTY CAMERA: Rovio's mobile webcam is a top geek toy, and now it can be a guard dog too He's tweaked a Rovio, a Wi-Fi-enabled webcam robot, and turned it into a guard dog. As Help Net Security admits, "this setup may not be reliable enough for guarding, say, a bank". Wave to the webcam and we'll waive the bill Fancy a dirty weekend for free? Just do your stuff in front of a webcam. That's the latest wheeze from Berth Milton Jr, the "Swedish smut king" who owns Private Media Group. Milton wants to roll out 100 sex-themed five-star hotels around the world. According to the New York Post, "the idea is to give free rooms to frisky hotel guests in exchange for the right to broadcast their dalliances to paying customers live over the web."
SMUT SITE: This is pretty much the only bit of the Private website we can show you without getting into trouble Could such a scheme work here? We asked the manager of our local Travelpit, who told us that while free rooms probably wouldn't happen she'd throw in breakfast if we [censored] her [censored] and [censored] [censored] [censored]. We're pretty sure that isn't national policy. Things that make you go wee Good news for Kings of Leon: if your sex is on fire, you'll soon be able to diagnose it with your mobile phone. The Guardian reports that in order to cut the UK's rising rate of sexually transmitted infections, The Kids will be able to wee or spit on "a computer chip about the size of a USB chip". They'll then "plug it into their phone or computer and receive a diagnosis within minutes." The bad news for people whose bits are burning: the kits won't be on sale for another seven to ten years. 
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| Posted: 12 Nov 2010 02:30 AM PST  Superficially, at least, there's nothing particularly unusual about the Sttaf, with little to distinguish it from, say, the Teufel Ultima 7, or Kudos X2. It's a simple two-way floorstander, based on a 140mm bass/mid driver with a 95mm diameter flared and doped paper cone. This is loaded by the larger, upper section of the enclosure and a rear port and crosses over using a second-order network at around 2.5kHz to a 25mm fabric dome tweeter. Detail obsession The devil, as they say, is actually in the obsessive attention paid to the fine detail here and that's the key factor that goes some way towards justifying the Sttaf's substantial £1,695 price tag. Enclosure construction methods are rarely given much attention, for example, but in this case the joints between the panels are made using traditional interlocking mitering methods, to give superior fit, strength and sealing. As the back panel, at least, is just 11mm thick, construction seems to be deliberately fairly lightweight, presumably to minimise energy storage. Furthermore, no damping fill could be seen within the enclosure itself, though the brochure does mention the use of borosilicate as a damping material. To load or not to load? The column itself is stiffened by two cross-braces. The upper one is angled and perforated by large holes to maintain acoustic continuity and avoid generating focused standing waves. The lower one seals off a section at the bottom of the enclosure for the optional addition of mass-loading material. Although the manual recommends adding 2.3-4.5kg of dry sand, the distributor believes that mass loading is really only beneficial if stability is likely to be a significant issue, and that the best sound quality is achieved without any. Another unusual feature concerns the floor coupling. A small plinth is supplied, which slightly increases the lateral stability footprint and is equipped with very effective spike sockets. The spikes themselves are slightly decoupled by the use of silicone washers and the plinths are also slightly decoupled by the beads of glue that are supplied to fix them to the enclosures – an interestingly unconventional approach, but one that makes accurately lining up plinth and enclosure rather tricky. The enclosure surfaces are finished in a choice of three high-quality real wood veneers, or painted satin white, and the edges around the front and back are delicately chamfered.
The connection block, set a little too high off the ground perhaps, carries two pairs of socket/binder terminals; curiously, a small piece of foam is glued in place just above the terminals, apparently in order to block a tiny 1.5mm hole and prevent it from generating unwanted high-frequency coloration. Warm and laid back The Sttaf was primarily fed from a system comprising a Naim NAC552 preamp, with NAP500 and NAP135 power amplifiers, driven from Naim CDS3/555PS and Rega Valve Isis CD players, as well as a Magnum Dynalab MD106T FM tuner. Vinyl record players included a Linn/Rega hybrid, a Funk modified Linn with FXR II tonearm and a Roksan TMS3/Artemiz, all using a Soundsmith Strain Gauge cartridge. Cables were from Naim, Phonosophie, The Chord Company, TM Systems and Vertex AQ. You won't get deep bass or massive loudness capabilities here, of course, but those are the inevitable and acceptable consequences of any small loudspeaker. What really matters is that the heart and soul of the music is communicated properly and this is something that the Sttaf does very well. While one might fairly criticise some minor departures from strict neutrality – the overall character here is quite warm and laid-back, for example – this is a speaker that's very easy to like and always makes the music sound thoroughly enjoyable. The bass end is certainly rather strong, one contributing factor being that the port-tuning frequency (around 49Hz) is very close to a major mode in our listening room. Some mid-bass excess is therefore only to be expected and while the bottom end is not its strong point – it lacks some grip, poise and clarity – it somehow mostly manages to avoid delivering an isolated 'thump'. Although the very lowest octave isn't on the agenda, there's little evidence here of the upper bass leanness that all too often afflicts speakers of a similar size and configuration. Indeed, the generally warm character throughout the bass region is very welcome, in that it adds a surprisingly good impression of scale and weight and, therefore, compensates to a considerable extent for the lack of genuine extension. Spacious imaging Combine that with exceptionally spacious and out-of-the-box stereo imaging, and a tonal balance that's unusual in slightly underplaying the upper mid-band and presence zones, and the little Sttaf somehow manages to sound a whole lot larger than its physical dimensions lead one to believe is possible. This is particularly impressive with choral music, since the voices are always delicate and well formed, while the exceptional cabinet control ensures very little impediment to the reproduction of the low-level acoustic of the recording venue.
While some might find it a shade too laid back for their personal taste, we believe that these will be very much the minority and most will welcome the impressive sense of scale it delivers, alongside a welcome freedom from any aggressive tendencies. The top end is quite obvious, but it's also quite sweet and very well integrated, so it supplies plenty of detail, but is not in any way obtrusive. Colorations are well under control, and the enclosure is clearly doing a good job of loading the main drive unit without adding any significant contribution of its own. The fact that it's actually quite a lightweight affair, as well as properly stiffened, means that the enclosure shows little tendency to store energy. This ensures a wide dynamic range and also helps the Sttaf sound quick and lively in spite of its basically laid back character – an unusual but unquestionably winning combination. The spacious imaging will undoubtedly appeal to those who favour recordings made in a natural acoustic – choral material is particularly well served here. Indeed, the only type of music likely to catch out the Sttaf is heavy rock, where the limited ultimate loudness capability might start to become exposed. It's easy to underestimate the capabilities of a small floorstander such as this. It doesn't look like a lot of speaker for £1,695, but it delivers a performance that belies its size and fully justifies its price. Related Links
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| Apple iOS 4.2 delay looking likely Posted: 12 Nov 2010 02:08 AM PST  It's looking increasingly likely that Apple has delayed the release of iOS 4.2, with the rumour mill suggesting that Wi-Fi problems are at the heart of the decision. The latest version of the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch operating system is definitely close to being ready, but it now appears that it is days, rather than hours, from making its appearance. Among the problems that the latest version fixes is the problem with the alarm clock that did not correct for the clocks changing in the UK – an issue that left thousands complaining that they were late for work. GM builds The Wi-Fi issues with the 4.2 build have been well documented on forums for those people using the GM build on their iPads and this would be an understandable reason for any delay. Although some are suggesting that next week will still be the most likely arrival point, it could be a couple of weeks if a new version for testing is needed to fix the Wi-Fi problems. In the meantime, we're sure your boss will understand that it's Apple's fault you're late for work and not yours. 
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Gigabyte's variant of the ol' faithful 5770 is "Super Overclocked", so you can rest assured that you're getting a beast of a graphics card. It's reassuringly big and chunky, and what's more is that it delivers: it's the fastest 5770 in our round-up. The extra 50MHz overclock gives it lots of headroom in DiRT 2 and Far Cry 2, and in real-world terms it'll plough through just about anything you can throw at it. Our only slight gripe is that it doesn't support four-monitor EyeFinity.
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