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Techradar |
- LG LW980S unveiled as new flagship television
- iTunes in the Cloud now offering TV shows
- iTunes in the Cloud now features TV shows
- Apple TV update allows TV purchases
- Apple TV update allows iTunes TV show purcahses
- Preview of HTML5 Adobe Edge arrives for developers
- Nokia outlines exciting phone name strategy
- Updated: iPhone 5 rumours: what you need to know
- HTC admits no 'regular' Desire Gingerbread update coming
- Ricoh: "everything normal" following Pentax sale
- Samsung unveils updated Series 9 laptops
- Sony Alpha A35 review: TechRadar labs data
- In Depth: How to repair a broken Zip file
- Exclusive: Psychologist disputes web 'identity crisis' claims
- Review: Netgear NeoTV 550
- Korean gaming and web addiction clinic opens
- Korean gaming and web addiction clinic opens
- iPhone 5 release date outed by network holiday ban?
- Asus launches F1A75-I Deluxe Llano motherboard
- Asus launches F1A75-I Deluxe Llano motherboard
- Chrome now second biggest browser in UK
- Review: Samsung RV511
- Review: HP G62
- Updated: Windows 8: everything you need to know
- Updated: Windows 8: everything you need to know
| LG LW980S unveiled as new flagship television Posted: 02 Aug 2011 01:27 AM PDT LG has announced a new flagship television, with the LW980S described as a "top-of-the-class TV that combines LG's advanced Cinema 3D technology, Smart TV functions and Nano Full LED all in one sleek package". The LG LW980S is now the flagship television for the Korean giant, and the television will join a range that has performed admirably in the past few months. The LW980S is a passive 3D television with the company's Nano Full LED technology built in and, of course, the Smart TV functions that are becoming a mainstay of top-end televisions. Advanced tech "The LW980S is the crown jewel of TVs as it includes the most advanced technologies and features we've developed at LG over the years," said Havis Kwon, President and CEO of LG Electronics Home Entertainment Company. "We've set a new benchmark in connectivity, picture quality and sheer viewing enjoyment." The television will be put on display for the first time at IFA in Berlin, where TechRadar will be able to give you a full hands on: LG LW980S review. 
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| iTunes in the Cloud now offering TV shows Posted: 01 Aug 2011 02:23 PM PDT Apple has added TV shows to its iTunes in the Cloud service, which will allow users to re-download TV shows they've already purchased to multiple devices. The new update will present iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch owners with a "Purchased" tab in the iTunes app, which will highlight the previously bought shows. Effectively, it is a cloud-based storage locker for your TV show purchases. The service, which is a US-only update for the time being, mimics the music functionality of the service which offers users instant access to tracks they've purchased through iTunes on all of their Apple gear. Apple TVFor Apple TV owners, who also received a software update on Monday, the new cloud service is slightly different. The Apple TV device has no on-board storage, so previously bought TV shows can be streamed via the new "Purchased" tab in the main menu on that device. Today's update doesn't yet feature movies, but one would have to assume that would only be a matter of time. Hopefully a UK roll-out will arrive sooner rather than later also. via 9to5 Mac 
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| iTunes in the Cloud now features TV shows Posted: 01 Aug 2011 02:23 PM PDT Apple has added TV shows to its iTunes in the Cloud service, which will allow users to re-download TV shows they've already purchased to multiple devices. The new update will present iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch owners with a "Purchased" tab in the iTunes app, which will highlight the previously bought shows. Effectively, it is a cloud-based storage locker for your TV show purchases. The service, which is a US-only update for the time being, mimics the music functionality of the service which offers users instant access to tracks they've purchased through iTunes on all of their Apple gear. Apple TVFor Apple TV owners, who also received a software update on Monday, the new cloud service is slightly different. The Apple TV device has no on-board storage, so previously bought TV shows can be streamed via the new "Purchased" tab in the main menu on that device. Today's update doesn't yet feature movies, but one would have to assume that would only be a matter of time. Hopefully a UK roll-out will arrive sooner rather than later also. via 9to5 Mac 
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| Apple TV update allows TV purchases Posted: 01 Aug 2011 01:23 PM PDT Apple has released a software update for its Apple TV set-top box, which allows users to buy shows from iTunes and watch them on-demand over the cloud. The Apple TV Software Update 4.3 means that owners of the device are no longer restricted to the paltry range of TV shows available for rental. Now Apple TV fans can choose from the full iTunes selection and buy them outright to watch again and again, rather than be limited to viewing over a certain time period. As this generation of Apple TV does not feature a solid state drive to store downloaded shows, Apple is making the iTunes purchases available to stream at the user's convenience. PurchasedThe software update also adds a tab for "Purchased" shows, which offers access to all of the TV shows you've bought from the iTunes Store, much like the iTunes in the Cloud service for purchased music. The new functionality is not yet available for movies, but surely that's only a matter of time. Also included in Monday's update is access to the Vimeo video sharing service, which for those of you who aren't familiar, is a more high-end version of YouTube, featuring a host of short films. You should receive a prompt for the Apple TV Software Update next time you use the device. via: Daring Fireball 
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| Apple TV update allows iTunes TV show purcahses Posted: 01 Aug 2011 01:23 PM PDT Apple has released a software update for its Apple TV set-top box, which allows users to buy shows from iTunes and watch them on-demand over the cloud. The Apple TV Software Update 4.3 means that owners of the device are no longer restricted to the paltry range of TV shows available for rental. Now Apple TV fans can choose from the full iTunes selection and buy them outright to watch again and again, rather than be limited to viewing over a certain time period. As this generation of Apple TV does not feature a solid state drive to store downloaded shows, Apple is making the iTunes purchases available to stream at the user's convenience. PurchasedThe software update also adds a tab for "Purchased" shows, which offers access to all of the TV shows you've bought from the iTunes Store, much like the iTunes in the Cloud service for purchased music. The new functionality is not yet available for movies, but surely that's only a matter of time. Also included in Monday's update is access to the Vimeo video sharing service, which for those of you who aren't familiar, is a more high-end version of YouTube, featuring a host of short films. You should receive a prompt for the Apple TV Software Update next time you use the device. via: Daring Fireball 
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| Preview of HTML5 Adobe Edge arrives for developers Posted: 01 Aug 2011 09:52 AM PDT Adobe Systems has released a preview version of an HTML5 development tool called Adobe Edge, leading a number of developers to question whether this move means that Adobe is moving support away from Flash towards new HTML5 web standards. Edge has much more of a focus on the mobile web and will let developers build animations online using HTML5 instead of Flash and is available for developers to download from the company's Adobe Labs site. While Adobe is making beta releases of Edge available to developers, the company hopes to release a final version of the software at some point later in 2012. Goodbye Flash? But does this announcement really mean that Adobe is shifting its focus away from Flash? "It's great to see Adobe providing another tool to enable designers to more easily create content using web standards," MacFormat's Craig Grannell told TechRadar, although he was quick to add that Edge "isn't a 'Flash killer', because it lacks the richness games and complex media projects require from an interaction standpoint. "However, it could help hasten Flash's departure from basic online animation, creating a technology split not entirely like the one long-time web designers will recall that involved Director (then the 'standard' for complex multimedia) and Flash (then primarily used for animation)." "Over the last year Adobe has delivered on several significant HTML5 milestones including contributions to jQuery, submitting code to WebKit, and enhanced HTML5 output in Creative Suite 5.5," said Paul Gubbay, vice president of Design and Web Engineering at Adobe. "Now, with Adobe Edge, we're taking our HTML5 tooling to a whole new level and look forward to getting some really useful feedback from the community over the next few months, as we refine the product." Pricing and an exact release date are both still to be confirmed. For now, check out Adobe's The Expressive Web for a taster of what's in store. 
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| Nokia outlines exciting phone name strategy Posted: 01 Aug 2011 09:34 AM PDT Nokia has decided to take the unusual step of changing the way it names its phones AGAIN in a bid to make it easier to understand the difference between each model. Essentially, the days of letter preceding a number to denote a certain type of handset are gone, a move Nokia says shows it's going to 'stop telling users what to do with their phones' - so we have no idea what do with the new Nokia 500, which seemingly couldn't be more middle of the road. "Perhaps you use your Eseries business smartphone mainly for games or IM-ing friends? Maybe you're crunching numbers on a spreadsheet using an entertainment-focused Nokia X7? "That's up to you – the classifications were indicators, but often, they didn't match-up to what people were actually doing with their phones." Think of a number, multiply it by 9 So here's the potted version of how things will work going forward: the first number of the three will represent the price, so 100-series phones will cost the least, and 900-series the premium. The following two numbers should simply be the progression of the phones through the series - it will be interesting to see which number hits its 99th iteration first. You could say this is something that Nokia used to do anyway, with the likes of the 5510, 3530 and 7610 - but the Finnish firm says it 'isn't afraid of experimenting and tried something different' with the likes of the N8 and E6. 
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| Updated: iPhone 5 rumours: what you need to know Posted: 01 Aug 2011 09:20 AM PDT iPhone 5 (or the iPhone 4S, as some are calling it) rumours are flying thick and fast already. Let's raid the iPhone 5 rumour fridge to find the tomatoes of truth amid the stinky stilton of baseless speculation. Check out what TechRadar is hoping makes it into the next iPhone, in our video wish list. iPhone 5 release date This year's WWDC was about software, not hardware, with Apple focussing on iOS and Mac OS On 20 April 2011, it emerged that the iPhone 5 release date may be September 2011. This date was cited by three sources who spoke to Reuters. On 6 May it was reported that Apple manufacturer Pegatron has reportedly been given a massive order by Jobs and co to produce 15 million handsets ready for the phone's autumn launch. On 19 July Apple seemingly confirmed the presence of a new iPhone in the market by the end of Q3, leading to yet more suggestions that the iPhone 5 will be landing in September. Apple Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer was asked during an earnings call why he was suggesting a 12 per cent drop in revenues for the Q3 financial period – a traditionally robust time thanks to the scores of people buying the latest iPhone. He said that there is "a lot going on in the fall with iOS 5 and iCloud" but added there will be a "future product transition that we will not talk about today". T3 says Apple is also hiring more staff for September, while it's also been reported that US network AT&T has slapped a holiday ban on staff for a possible launch. Some are even saying it could be 5 September. The iPhone 5 will debut alongside iOS 5 in the Autumn iOS 5 will ship in the Autumn, so it seems a safe bet that the iPhone 5 will have made its debut on or before then.
On 1 July, Digitimes reported that Taiwanese-based component suppliers were gearing up for production of iPad 3 and iPhone - adding weight to the theory that they will appear in September. Could there be a curved iPhone 5? The Wall Street Journal has previously reported that: "Apple is also developing a new iPhone model, said people briefed on the phone. One person familiar said the fifth-generation iPhone would be a different form factor than those that are currently available… it was unclear how soon that version would be available to Verizon or other carriers." This has since been backed up by reports from Engadget, which state the design will be a 'total rethink'. Chinese case manufacturers have been sent design briefings of the new iPhone 5 chassis and apparently feature a return to the olden days of iPhone design. But could iPhone 5 really have a curved back? We can't begin to tell you how sceptical we are over such a 'leak', given Apple's desperation to keep its forthcoming designs under wraps. iPhone 5 voice control Could the iPhone 5 have a new type of voice control? Know Your Mobile thinks so, Called Assistant, it could be used to play back music, send texts and make Facetime calls iPhone 5 will be iCloud-based Apple says it is "cutting the cable" with iOS 5 - just as well, as it claimed the iPad 2 was the first post-PC device earlier in the year. OS updates can be delivered over the air - you'll just received what's changed rather than the usual 600MB download - and devices can be activated without plugging them into iTunes. You can also now create and delete iOS calendars and mailboxes too, so you really can devolve your device from your PC or Mac. "You can activate on the device and you're ready to go," explained Apple's Scott Forstall. "Software updates are now over the air. So you no longer need to plug in to update your software. And they're now Delta updates. Instead of downloading the whole OS, you only download what's changed," he continued. Will iPhone 5 actually be an iPhone 4S? Of course, since the iPhone 3G was followed by the 3GS it's possible the new iPhone won't be a total refresh and we'll see an iPhone 4S (or iPhone 4GS) before an iPhone 5. An iPhone 4S looked more likely on 16 May 2011 after analyst Peter Misek wrote: "According to our industry checks, the device should be called iPhone 4S and include minor cosmetic changes, better cameras, A5 dual-core processor, and HSPA+ support." However, earlier reports from China backed up the larger-screened, metal chassis-sporting iPhone 5 rumours, so the redesign still seems firmly on the cards. A rumour we covered on 7 March 2011 suggests that the new iPhone will do away with the glass back and opt instead for a metal back which will act as a new iPhone antenna. And an Apple patent that we reported on on 7 April 2011 suggests that we could see the bezel put to good use on the new iPhone. The patent describes how visual indicators and touch-sensitive buttons could be incorporated to the space around the iPhone screen. Rumours that we covered on 3 May 2011, suggest that there may even be two versions of the new iPhone: a 'standard' iPhone 5 and an iPhone 5 'pro'. Apparently, Apple is buying in components of differing quality, and those parts wouldn't be required for a single phone. A cheaper, smaller iPhone 5 - an iPhone nano A prototype version of a smaller iPhone is said to exist, built to ward off competition from cheap Android handsets. Rumours around an iPhone nano picked up again on 13 February when the Wall Street Journal claimed that the so-called 'iPhone nano' exists and may even be on sale later this year. Those iPhone nano rumours may hold little truth, though. As we reported on 18 February, the New York Times cites an anonymous source who says there will be no smaller iPhone from Apple. "The size of the device would not vary," says the source. A white iPhone 5 The Economic Daily News is reporting that white iPhone 5 glass is being shipped, with a supplier called Wintek being the sole touch panel vendor for the white iPhone. iPhone 5 will support 1080p HD It's fairly likely - given that the iPad 2 supports Full HD - that the new iPhone will do the same. iPhone 5 specs According to the Chinese Economic Daily News (via AppleInsider), with the exception of Qualcomm chipsets - which would replace the current Infineon chipsets in the iPhone 4 - Apple's sticking with the same suppliers for the 2011 iPhone 5G components. We'd expect the basics of the iPhone 5 specs to get a bump - more memory, faster processor, and more storage. The A5 dual-core ARM processor from the iPad 2 is extremely likely to be included. The specs? A new antenna, 1.2GHz processor (possibly dual-core) and a larger screen: 3.7" instead of 3.5". The iPhone 5 may also be made from a new kind of alloy, or maybe meat. iPhone 5 screen In other rumours which surfaced on 15 February 2011, Digitimes is reporting on information supposedly leaked from component suppliers that claim the iPhone 5 will feature a larger, 4-inch screen. Digitimes quotes the source as saying that Apple is expanding the screen size "to support the tablet PC market as the vendor only has a 9.7-inch iPad in the market." On 22 March 2011, China Times also reported that the iPhone 5 will feature a 4-inch display. On 23 May, we reported on rumours that the iPhone 5 could feature a curved glass screen. These rumours also came from Digitimes, which said that Apple has purchased between 200 and 300 special glass cutting machines because they're too costly for the manufacturers to invest in. The iPhone 5 or iPhone 4S will also get a massive graphical boost as it moves to a dual-core GPU - this could herald true 1080p output from the new device, according to our news story on 18 January. iPhone 5 digital wallet There's been some speculation that Apple might include Near Field Communication (NFC) technology in the iPhone 5G, turning it into a kind of credit/debit card. However, as Techeye.net notes, "Apple has looked into NFC before" so this might not be imminent. However, with the tech being inside the Google Nexus S, the time for NFC may finally be here. On 24 February 2011, we reported that an Apple patent has revealed an e-wallet icon on the iPhone homescreen. This adds credence to the rumour that iPhone 5 will feature NFC. However, on 14 March 2011, reports in The Independent cited sources from 'several of the largest mobile operators in the UK', who said that Apple told them not to expect NFC in the iPhone 5. So perhaps we'll have to wait for iPhone 6 for that. On 24 June it was reported that the Google Wallet mobile payment platform could feature on the new iPhone. Eric Schmidt admitted that Google is looking to port the software to other manufacturers. LTE support At least one analyst thinks the iPhone 5 will support LTE, super-fast mobile broadband, in the US. That would make the iPhone 5G a 4G phone, which won't be confusing at all. LTE is certainly coming - AT&T plans to roll out its LTE service in 2011 - but an LTE iPhone has been rumoured for a while. USA Today floated the idea of an LTE iPhone on Verizon last year. iPhone 5 camera Speaking at a live Wall Street Journal event, Sony's Sir Howard Stringer was talking about the company's camera image sensor facility in Sendai, a town that was recently ravaged by the recent Japanese earthquake and tsunami. According to 9to5Mac, he said something along the lines of, "Our best sensor technology is built in one of the [tsunami] affected factories. Those go to Apple for their iPhones… or iPads. Isn't that something? They buy our best sensors from us." Other sources have also said that the new iPhone could have an 8MP camera. iPhone 5 price If the iPhone 5 is an evolutionary step like the move from the iPhone 3G to the iPhone 3GS then we'd expect the price to stay more or less the same, although in the UK higher VAT rates may well mean a higher price tag. What do you want to see in the next iPhone? Hit the comments and share your thoughts. 
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| HTC admits no 'regular' Desire Gingerbread update coming Posted: 01 Aug 2011 09:01 AM PDT HTC has seemingly confirmed that the Gingerbread update to the HTC Desire will not be coming as an over the air upgrade. This means the only way to receive the latest software is to connect up to a PC and completely re-flash the handset, deleting all messages, contacts and media saved to the internal memory. Mark Moons, HTC's Benelux president, stated on Twitter that HTC will not be offering the update over the air, as most consumers will be used to, meaning there will be no 'safe' version of the software, which currently comes with the caveat that SMS and MMS functionality may be impeded: "This is THE Gingerbread upgrade Desire. There will no longer get OTA. Through a good, old-fashioned cable..." Users - know your limits"If you do not know what the benefits of the Desire RUU upgrade, I recommend not to install it. "Meanwhile, HTC is the world record Gingerbread upgrades. New phones launch = tempting, but many existing customers worth." The last Tweet refers to HTC's update path - the company has come under huge fire via social networking sites for the limited nature of the Gingerbread update for the Desire, yet HTC says it has offered the new version of Android for more of its phones than any other firm. HTC is faced with a difficult situation with its top-selling Desire handset - the phone is clearly too underpowered to run both Sense and Android 2.3 together easily, but the handset is nearly 18 months old so future updates obviously get trickier and trickier. 
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| Ricoh: "everything normal" following Pentax sale Posted: 01 Aug 2011 08:53 AM PDT Ricoh has told PhotoRadar that everything will carry on as normal at the company following its acquisition of Pentax in June. Pentax announced that it was to be sold to Ricoh for a reported $77 million a few weeks ago. Ricoh is currently better known for its range of photocopier and business products, but it does already produce a small range of digital cameras. Ricoh confirmed that new launches were planned in the upcoming months, including a new module for the GXR system and new cameras in the autumn. The GXR is the world's first interchangeable unit camera – meaning that not only are lenses changed, but also the sensor of the camera. Up until now it wasn't known if the GXR would continue to be developed once Pentax had been acquired. Ricoh's UK distribution company, Alpha Digital, has also told us that an additional salesperson had been taken on by the company to help increase and consolidate sales. Official newsThe takeover of Pentax will not be completed until October, after which it's expected that more official news from both parties will be announced, including information about the future for Pentax DSLR. In July, Marilyn Dixon from Pentax UK told PhotoRadar how excited the company was about the takeover, with imminent plans to create a "billion Euro brand" within the next three years. Keep following TechRadar for more news on the Pentax and Ricoh merger as it happens. 
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| Samsung unveils updated Series 9 laptops Posted: 01 Aug 2011 08:34 AM PDT Samsung has unveiled two new, lower-priced Series 9 notebooks which bring faster Core i5 processors to the Windows-computing party. The two Samsung 900X3A models offer "faster" Core i5 CPUs, 4GB memory and are crafted from duralumin, traditionally used to make aircraft and thus lending itself to the light-but-zippy image that Samsung is trying to portray. The higher-spec 900X3A-BO2UK model comes with Windows 7 Premium, a VGA display adaptor for video-out without HDMI as well as a higher price tag. Good naming, Samsung Slightly cheaper but less-well equipped is the equally well named 900X3A-BO1UK, which comes with Windows 7 Home Premium, It's no secret that we're fans of the Series 9's looks; we described it as "one of the most arresting designs we've seen since the Dell Adamo XPS" in our official Samsung Series 9 review. The upgraded notebooks weigh in at 1.3kg; around the same as the new 13-inch MacBook Air. The two new laptops come with a UK release date of today, with the Samsung 900X3A-BO1UK price coming in at £1,099, while the 900X3A-BO2UK will set you back £1,249 – that's a £50 drop from the original Series 9 price of £1,299. 
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| Sony Alpha A35 review: TechRadar labs data Posted: 01 Aug 2011 08:33 AM PDT Our test of the Sony Alpha 35 is on the way, but in the mean time we would like to share the resolution chart images and the noise and dynamic range results. Resolution chartsAs part of our image quality testing for the Sony Alpha 35, we've shot our resolution chart with a Sigma 50mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM lens mounted. If you view our crops of the resolution chart's central section at 100% (or Actual Pixels) you will see that, for example, at ISO 100 the Sony Alpha 35 is capable of resolving up to around 28 (line widths per picture height x100) in its highest quality JPEG files. Examining images of the chart taken at each sensitivity setting reveals the following resolution scores in line widths per picture height x100:
ISO 100, score: 28 (see full image)
ISO 200, score: 28 (see full image)
ISO 400, score: 26 (see full image)
ISO 800, score: 26 (see full image)
ISO 1600, score: 24 (see full image)
ISO 3200, score: 22 (see full image)
ISO 6400, score: 22 (see full image)
ISO 12800, score: 28 (see full image) Noise and dynamic rangeThese graphs were produced using data generated by DXO Analyzer. We shoot a specially designed chart in carefully controlled conditions and the resulting images are analysed using the DXO software. Signal to noise ratioA high signal to noise ratio (SNR) indicates a cleaner and better quality image.
JPEG images from the Sony Alpha 35 are on a par with those from the Sony Alpha 55 up to around ISO 3200.
This chart indicates that the Sony Alpha 35's JPEGs have a at least a 1EV higher dynamic range than the Canon EOS 1100D's JPEG files upto a sensitivity of ISO 3200. 
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| In Depth: How to repair a broken Zip file Posted: 01 Aug 2011 08:24 AM PDT Easy to create, good compression, wide software support - Zip files are an excellent way to save disk space and network bandwidth. Until, that is, one of your archives becomes corrupted, or a download is incomplete. You may then find your archiving tool refuses to work with the file at all, in which case you'll need some third-party help if your data is to be recovered. In theory this shouldn't be a problem. A quick Google search for something like "fix zip file" brings up a host of promising tools, some of which are free, and all promising that they're the ideal choice for all your archive repair needs. But, as usual, life is rarely quite this simple. There are a huge number of ways in which Zip files can be damaged, and the results you'll see from repair tools will vary greatly: some may recover all your data, others may miss a few files, and one or two might not find anything at all. Who can you rely on, then? There was only one way to find out. We had to test 8 of the top-ranked programs for ourselves. How we tested We started by creating a test archive containing a collection of Microsoft Sysinternals utilities, 95 files in total, producing a Zip file a little more than 11MB in size. This was quite small, but the large number of files compensated for this, and would ensure that recovering everything could be a challenging task. Next, we created a copy of the file and split it in two, saving the first half as "Incomplete.zip". This would help us simulate perhaps the most common zip issue, where a Zip file has only been partly downloaded. For our second test, we took the original archive and replaced the first two bytes of the header with zeroes. This alone is enough to prevent many programs from recognising a Zip archive at all, but hopefully our repair tools would be smarter than that. For our third test, we created a copy of the archive where 256 bytes in the middle of the file had been zeroed, simulating some possibly significant corruption. For our fourth and final test, we zeroed 256 bytes at the end of file, again just to see how that would affect results. And that was it, our test suite was finished. It was time to bring on the contenders. 1. Advanced Zip Repair - £24 Advanced Zip Repair (AZR) is a compact, easy-to-use recovery tool. Just choose the file to be repaired, specify where you'd like to save the results if you like, click Start Repair, and that's about it. An Options tab does reveal more options, though, if you need them. Particularly interesting is the option to "Use AZR's exe stub when repairing self-extracting files", so if the executable part of a self-extracting EXE archive is damaged beyond repair then the program may still be able to get it working. And elsewhere, the options to repair spanned files, or fix a bunch of Zips in one operation, are also welcome. How did it perform in our tests, though? AZR did well with our "Incomplete.zip", correctly recovering all 51 regular files, and part of the 52nd - full marks. The corrupt header test proved trickier, though - for some reason AZR only extracted 94 files from that test Zip (the first was missing). The program was back on form with our third and fourth tests, however, featuring corruption in the middle and end of the file, recovering everything. Overall, then, AZR is straightforward in operation, has a good feature set, and produced generally good recovery performance. Score: 4/5
AZR: Packing plenty of functionality into its compact, easy-to-use interface 2. DiskInternals ZIP Repair - Free This app keeps the archive recovery process simple through its use of a very basic wizard. Point the program at your corrupt file, view the results of whatever its found, and these are saved to disk in a click - very easy. This extreme simplicity does mean you can forget about options like recovering multiple Zips in one go, for instance. And there are no configuration options to customise how the recovery process works. Still, by way of compensation the program scored well in our tests. DiskInternals ZIP Repair recovered everything there was to find in Incomplete.zip (it didn't warn us that one file was incomplete, but that's something we'd find out soon enough). Just as with AZR, the program recovered 94 out of 95 files in the corrupt header test. But it did better in the final two tests, retrieving everything there was to find despite corruption in the middle and end of our archives. DiskInternals ZIP Repair is basic, then, and short on features. But decent recovery performance, and the fact that it's free of charge, meant that the program scored excellently. Score: 5/5
FREE OPTION: It's small. And it's basic. But ZIP Repair is free, and it works (mostly), and that's good 3. Nucleus Kernel Zip - £17.70 ($29) Nucleus Kernel Zip has a more complex interface than many of the competition here, with a toolbar, menus, buttons and more. But take a closer look and you'll see it follows a familiar wizard-style approach; point the program at your broken archive, click Next, and it'll search the file for recoverable data. At least, that's the plan. You may well run out of patience before this process is complete, though, as Nucleus Kernel Zip proved astonishingly slow, taking something like 5 minutes to scan each megabyte of data (the others needed only seconds). If you do hang on, however, the recovery results are generally acceptable. Kernel Zip recovered all the data in our Incomplete.zip and final two recovery tests, for instance, while (as with many others) missing just a single file in the corrupt header test. This isn't good enough to justify the wait, however, especially for a commercial tool, when there are capable (and much faster) free programs available elsewhere. And so we were only able to award Nucleus Kernel Zip a disappointing score. Score: 2/5
COMES UP SHORT: Short on options and extremely slow, there's little to recommend Nucleus Kernel Zip 4. Object Fix Zip - Free Object Fix Zip is a free Zip recovery tool with a simple, wizard-style interface, which is able to carry out several actions on your chosen files. It can simply check Zip files for corruption, extract everything it can from an archive, or try to create a new good archive from an existing broken Zip. This all looked great. Until, that is, we put the program through our tests. When the program was faced with "Incomplete.zip", for instance, it complained that this was an "Incomplete ZIP file". We know, that's why we installed it in the first place, but Object Fix Zip refused to extract a single file. It was the same story with our test archive which we'd corrupted at the end. This was enough to trigger another "Incomplete ZIP file" alert, and again the program recovered nothing at all. Object Fix Zip wasn't fooled by the corrupt header, though, correctly retrieving all our test files. And it did well with our test archive which was zeroed in the middle, recovering all but the file affected by that corruption. As it's free, there's no harm in having Object Fix Zip around, just in case other recovery tools fail. It isn't nearly reliable enough to be your main Zip repair tool, though, and for that reason we can only award it a poor score. Score: 2/5
DISAPPOINTING: Object Fix Zip proved disappointing, failing entirely on two of our tests 5. Recover Data for Zip - £17.70 ($29) Recover Data for Zip created something of a mixed first impression. The clear interface, ability to process multiple files at once, and recover selected files from an archive, rather than all of them, proved welcome pluses. But the fact that the program hadn't been updated since 2008, its inability to display its own help file, and the spelling mistake on the opening screen all helped to detract from the overall effect. Still, performance in our tests proved reasonable. Recover Data for Zip was able to locate all 52 files in our Incomplete.zip archive (although there was no warning that one of the files was itself incomplete). It recovered 94 out of 95 files from the archive with the corrupt header, and extracted everything from the archives with corruption at the middle or end of the file. More than acceptable, then. But the fact that DiskInternals ZIP Repair does something similar free of charge, while Recover Data for Zip will cost you almost £18, means the program lags a little behind the top packages. Score: 4/5
POOR FEATURES: While easy to use, Recover Data for Zip doesn't have quite enough features or functionality to justify its asking price 6. Stellar Phoenix Zip Recovery 1.0 - £28.60 ($46.80) Stellar Phoenix Zip Recovery features a bulky interface which is almost as overblown as the program's name, with menus and large toolbar buttons attempting to persuade you that it's packed with functions and features. Although the reality is that it's quite basic, only able to open a single Zip file at a time, and with no configuration tweaks and very few extra features. There's nothing wrong with Stellar Phoenix Zip Recovery's core engine, though. In our tests, it recovered everything possible from our incomplete archive, and the files corrupted in the middle, and at the end. Better still, it actually recovered everything from the archive with the corrupt header, even the first file that many others managed to miss. Whether this is enough to justify the premium price, around £28.60, is another matter. Still, if other archive recovery tools aren't up to the task then this one may well be worth a look, and we scored it impressively. Score: 5/5
BIG INTERFACE: Get past the bulky interface and you'll find Stellar Phoenix Zip Recovery does a great job of restoring your broken archives 7. ZipRecover - £31.19 ZipRecover takes a simple, straightforward approach to archive fixing, with an attractive wizard-style interface which asks you exactly what you'd like to repair, and a report that delivers useful details on everything that was recoverable. The results in our Incomplete.zip test were excellent, too. Not only did the program find all 52 recoverable files, but it also clearly highlighted the one that was broken, something very few of the competition managed to do. And it also allows you to select files individually for recovery, so if you're only interested in one or two key documents, then you can extract only those and ignore the rest. And the good news continued elsewhere, with ZipRecover detecting all the files in each of our test "corrupt" archives, including the full 95 in the file with the corrupt header (not 94, as many of the competition believed). You'd expect nothing less for the most costly package in our lineup, of course. And it still doesn't include as many features and configuration options as the powerful AZR. Still, its excellent repair abilities mean ZipRecover has to score the best. Score: 5/5
CLEAN: ZipRecover's clean interface is easy to use, and it effortlessly passed all our repair tests 8. ZipRepair Pro - £18.30 (£29.95) ZipRepair Pro has perhaps the most complete feature set here, with options to repair individual or multiple archives, the ability to repair spanned Zips, full support for Zip64 and more. Windows XP-style task panes make using the program straightforward, too. Its performance in our tests started well, with ZipRepair Pro accurately extracting 51 files from the incomplete archive, and highlighting the remaining broken file. The program then went with the crowd in the corrupt header test, though, correctly identifying 94 of the 95 available files. Oddly, it reported finding only 93, though, and the same confusion occurred with the other "corrupt" file tests, as 95 file names were listed but it reported only 94. Maybe this issue was caused by something specific to our test files. And as long as ZipRepair Pro actually recovers your data, what's displayed in the interface is only secondary. It could lead to some confusion, though, and as a result ZipRepair Pro scored less than it could have done, Score: 3/5
CONFUSING: ZipRepair Pro regularly reported recovering one less file than it actually had, for some obscure reason Conclusion So what's the best choice for Zip repairs, then? That really depends on you. If you don't use Zip files that often, and they don't hold critical files anyway, or you're just short of cash, then DiskInternals Zip Repair will probably be just about good enough. It's not exactly packed with features, but the program is very easy to use, and our tests revealed that it's just as capable at archive recovery as many of the commercial competition. If you need the best possible recovery performance, though, and you're willing to pay for it, then our choice would be ZipRecover. It's expensive at £31.19, but its ease of use, detailed reporting, and the way it passed every one of our tests perfectly suggest it could be worth the money. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 
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| Exclusive: Psychologist disputes web 'identity crisis' claims Posted: 01 Aug 2011 08:20 AM PDT A leading British psychologist has questioned the recent, widely-publicised claims made by Oxford professor Baroness Greenfield that the web is making us stupid. Htting back at Greenfield's recent comments on the debilitating aspects of spending too much time on the internet, author and senior lecturer in psychology at Bath Spa University Dr Nigel Holt told TechRadar that while the story was "quite a headline grabber," it must be taken with a pinch of salt. "Greenfield is clearly a well-known and once very powerful academic who certainly has a lot to say about neuroscience and her recent book on the subject," said Holt. Very little good science"That said, I'd be wary of these kinds of comments. She has been concerned very publicly like this about the influence on our brains of the internet and gaming. "She knows, as does every other scientist with an interest, that the brain is a changing, dynamic organ. It is partly its plasticity that makes it so amazing, as it changes to adapt and cope with the demands placed upon it. "Any stimulus at all can influence our neurology like this. Singling out the internet is unhelpful and scaremongering. It makes good press and sells books but it needs to be measured with good science and I can find very little of it." Instead, Dr. Holt calls for a discussion about the effects of the internet "on society, the loss of communication skills, the possibility of an attention span reduction and so on, rather than blankly dismissing the internet as the cause of all out problems." Brains navigating information fasterAs far as Greenfield's comments about the real and 'cyber' worlds being blurred by IT, Holt points to his own students' experiences as indicating quite the opposite, telling TechRadar: "The access to information, and the efficiency with which it is navigated by my students amazes me and it improves each year. Rather than getting lazy, they are getting better, more efficient and more able to manage huge amounts of data. What we need to do is teach them how to gain a healthy sense of scepticism rather than instilling a fear in their parents that their brains are turning to mush. "As for a chip that helps paralyzed people move… Bring it on… As fast as you possibly can. I don't think gaming is evil. I don't think it will turn our brains to mush. They may well excite people to engage in real-life projects or science, or imaginative thinking that they would otherwise not have the motivation or the stimulation to find their way to. "Embrace the technology I say. I wish we'd had it when I was growing up." 
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| Posted: 01 Aug 2011 07:45 AM PDT Despite the ongoing march of Blu-ray into homes across the country, there's been no let-up in the number of media devices that enable you to get all the media you've collated on your PC – whether movies, music files or photos – and access them on your TV in another room. These boxes of joy can deliver the goods stored on your PC in a variety of ways: by having a built-in hard drive that you can put your files onto, like the D-Link Boxee Box or the Western Digital WDTV Live Hub; by simply plugging an external hard drive into the device, as the AC Ryan PlayOn! HD2 Mini does so well; or by streaming them from your computer over the air, like with the AirTies 4420, which is capable of punting full HD movies from one place to the other. The Netgear NeoTV 550 takes the latter approach, but it also doubles up as a network-attached media player, allowing you to stream content from the internet, such as YouTube videos, or listen to radio stations. The NeoTV also caters for those wishing to get their media kicks through a locally-attached storage device. You can plug in a USB memory stick and a hard drive at the same time via the two USB slots, you can stick in an SD card – which is ideal for photographers or those using a handy cam – and there's even an eSATA connection – brilliant if you're connecting a large hard drive with lots of files on that you want to access quickly. So, then, nearly all the important boxes are ticked – however you want your media to be served, the NeoTV can manage it. But does it do any of it particularly well? You get a lot of media player for your money with the Netgear NeoTV 550, although it seems to have come at a slight cost – it's a little on the big side, and it's not really much of a looker, either. It's not a great surprise, given that Netgear is more at home producing slabs of networking plastic called routers. But really, how hard is it to make the thing look half decent? The NeoTV isn't something you would want on show in the lounge, so it's yet another device that will have to be resigned to a cabinet for the rest of its life. Although there's no built-in hard drive, it's probably no great shakes for the majority of people because there are a multitude of ways of accessing your files either using the aforementioned plug-in external storage, which can be connected in many different ways, or streaming media over your home network. Sadly there's no built-in wireless, so if you want to stream media from a network-attached PC, you'll have to do it over Ethernet. So, you'll need to put the NeoTV 550 right next to the router, which will in turn need to be near your TV. Alternatively, you can use the Netgear Universal Wi-Fi Internet Adapter, which allows you to stream with a little more freedom – at an additional cost of about £35.00. You're probably better off sticking to Ethernet anyhow – if the majority of your streaming will be in HD, it'll cope better. There's plenty of video and audio connectivity at the rear of the NeoTV 550, with both analogue and digital covered. There's an S/PDIF output that, combined with the player's DTS support, means you can connect it to a DTS hi-fi and blow the cobwebs off the ceiling in movies that support it. HDMI is also included in this line-up, but oddly there's no HDMI cable present, which is something you might expect to see at this price point. After a brief firmware update when the Netgear NeoTV 550 is turned on for the first time, you're taken through a pretty thorough configuration, including an audio check and video options, which is good to ensure that everything looks and sounds correct before you start using it. You then have to select your country as well as the city you live in, the result of which is an on-screen weather app within the main menu – a neat touch, if a little pointless. If you get stuck at any point here, then you're in trouble – the NeoTV really is that easy to setup. It'll then try to set up a network share, so that it can access your media files for streaming playback. If you've got a NAS device or another kind of network-accessed media share, then you'll have to manually enter the network details to add it. Otherwise, if your media is stored on a networked PC, then you'll have to install the software included on the disc that comes with the NeoTV 550. Annoyingly, if you've got a number of machines then you'll need to install it on every one. It's quite easy to install, though, and once done the NeoTV 550 will immediately see your network attached PC and allow you to access files on it. When external storage is attached, the Netgear NeoTV 550 will tell you that it's connected and ready to use via a handy pop-up at the bottom of the interface. Selecting the storage is simply a case of pressing the source button on the menu, choosing it and searching through the files until you find what you want. This is a great feature when you have multiple drives attached to the device, because it'll always be clear which one you're using. The interface is clearly laid out and very easy to use, and the NeoTV 550 responds to inputs without any delay using the included remote control, which is full-featured and well laid out. The menu is very configurable too – there's a wide range of features available to customise the experience; you can change the font used in the menus or download a custom skin for the interface, for example. Searching through available content is simple – just browse to the device, whether it's attached or over the network, and browse to the right folder. If, for example, you want to choose another movie during playback, the NeoTV conveniently keeps a preview window showing in the corner so you don't miss anything. Although the standard menu system lists files, you can view them as thumbnails at a press of the button on the remote using the cover art option. It makes for a much more natural way of searching through your files. Crucially, when 1080p movies are streamed over a wireless network – albeit a Wireless N one – they played smoothly and with absolutely no stuttering whatsoever. They looked stunning too – crisp and colourful. The only minor problem the Netgear NeoTV 550 threw up was an occasional delay when fast forwarding or rewinding videos, when it gets ahead of the speed at which the data is coming from the network share. As a result, it's advised that you don't use the full speed of the forward and rewind functions because it can cause the NeoTV 550 to almost freeze when it gets lost in the data stream. The NeoTV 550 is right up there with the best of the media players in its format support – it will happily play pretty much anything you throw at it, including AVC HD files and MKVs, and it'll even play ripped Blu-ray movies with the film's menu structure intact. It doesn't stop at just the files stored locally either – the NeoTV 550 also has access to online content through its selection of built-in internet apps. They're pretty slick to use, but aside from a standard offering of YouTube and Flickr, there's not much to choose from. That puts it at a significant disadvantage to something like the D-Link Boxee Box, which has a BBC iPlayer app, among others.
The Netgear NeoTV 550 desperately wants to be the media player to do it all – to be able to play all types of media content and allow you to access them in as many ways as possible. And it comes so close. Only a couple of things hold it back from being the best media player/streamer you can buy. Don't get us wrong – this is still by far and away one of the finest of those out there right now, and for £125 it's excellent value for money, given everything it can offer. We liked It's simple to set up and very easy to use – your grandma could probably even just about figure it out. It also supports a huge range of video, audio and photo file formats, including all the major HD movie files. There's a plentiful number of ways of viewing these files on an external storage device or over a network, and 1080p content plays perfectly. Finding content is also very simple, and the cover art option makes viewing all your files – movies especially – that much more like you're browsing your shelf in the front room. The internet apps are a nice idea, but until there's more support, it'll just remain a nice idea and nothing more. We disliked A lot more thought could have gone into the design of the NeoTV 550, but it seems that Netgear has instead decided to go the anonymous route and make it look like one of its routers – in fact, Netgear makes marginally better-looking routers. The lack of built-in Wi-Fi might also upset some people, but not that many other devices on the market do have it, probably because HD streaming is such a demand over the airwaves – the AirTies 4420 would be a better bet if this was something you wanted. Final verdict While there are certainly cheaper media-playing offerings out there, there aren't many that have the breadth of abilities of the Netgear NeoTV 550, as well as the ease of use and the quality of its functionality. If you're willing to pay just that little bit extra for one of the best methods of satisfying all your media needs, then this is well worth a look. 
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| Korean gaming and web addiction clinic opens Posted: 01 Aug 2011 07:37 AM PDT Yet another new internet addiction treatment centre has opened its doors, this time in the online gaming capital of South Korea. As many of us begin to struggle to control our various forms of addiction to gaming, always-connected smartphone and web technologies, with the younger online gaming demographic in South Korea particularly prone to debilitating forms of web addiction. For example, Blizzard's Starcraft/ Starcraft II real time strategy (RTS) games are immensely popular in South Korea, with TV channels dedicated to reporting what is happening in these virtual game worlds. Getting angry IRL In response to this culture of MMO gaming, the latest net addiction clinic based in the hills outside of Seoul has recently opened its doors. The new clinic in South Korea is focused on treating the entire family unit, helping and encouraging game and web addicted youngsters to start to socialise with their parents and siblings once more in the real world beyond the screen. "When I'm not on the internet, I'm really friendly to my family, but when I'm on the internet, I'm angry when they call," one young gamer being treated at the centre told the BBC. "I don't know why, but it's bad. I'm trying to fix it, but it's hard." Neurologist Dr Lee Jae-won from Gongju National Hospital has also recently opened a brain clinic to help web and gaming addicts. "Some people question why we need to use medical treatment for a habitual disorder," said the doctor. "But if the condition has got so bad that the brain is not functioning as it should be, medical treatment is very effective. "The results from internet addicts were very similar to patients with ADHD, and also other forms of addiction - in the way the brain functionality had been depressed." 
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| Korean gaming and web addiction clinic opens Posted: 01 Aug 2011 07:37 AM PDT Yet another new internet addiction treatment centre has opened its doors, this time in the online gaming capital of South Korea. As many of us begin to struggle to control our various forms of addiction to gaming, always-connected smartphone and web technologies, with the younger online gaming demographic in South Korea particularly prone to debilitating forms of web addiction. For example, Blizzard's Starcraft/ Starcraft II real time strategy (RTS) games are immensely popular in South Korea, with TV channels dedicated to reporting what is happening in these virtual game worlds. Getting angry IRL In response to this culture of MMO gaming, the latest net addiction clinic based in the hills outside of Seoul has recently opened its doors. The new clinic in South Korea is focused on treating the entire family unit, helping and encouraging game and web addicted youngsters to start to socialise with their parents and siblings once more in the real world beyond the screen. "When I'm not on the internet, I'm really friendly to my family, but when I'm on the internet, I'm angry when they call," one young gamer being treated at the centre told the BBC. "I don't know why, but it's bad. I'm trying to fix it, but it's hard." Neurologist Dr Lee Jae-won from Gongju National Hospital has also recently opened a brain clinic to help web and gaming addicts. "Some people question why we need to use medical treatment for a habitual disorder," said the doctor. "But if the condition has got so bad that the brain is not functioning as it should be, medical treatment is very effective. "The results from internet addicts were very similar to patients with ADHD, and also other forms of addiction - in the way the brain functionality had been depressed." 
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| iPhone 5 release date outed by network holiday ban? Posted: 01 Aug 2011 07:29 AM PDT US phone network AT&T has banned holiday requests for the last two weeks in September, which many are speculating is down to the launch of the Apple iPhone 5. An anonymous AT&T employee claims the announcement is due to an "event blackout". "Historically the only time they've done this was for an iPhone release," the tipster adds. Wait a minute… However, 'sources with knowledge of Apple's plans' claim that the AT&T employee is misinformed; "I don't know why AT&T's calling for all hands on deck those weeks, but it's not for an iPhone launch," it told All Things D. Rather, the second anonymous source says the iPhone 5 will land in October, although he declined to give any indication of when exactly we'll see it. So all we can tell you for sure is that there will be a new iPhone but when it will launch is clearly still anyone's guess. 
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| Asus launches F1A75-I Deluxe Llano motherboard Posted: 01 Aug 2011 06:33 AM PDT Asus has stepped on board AMD's Fusion platform with its tongue-twisting F1A75-I Deluxe motherboard. The motherboard is designed specifically for AMD's latest Llano Fusion accelerated processing units, which combine the CPU and GPU on a single chip. Asus has thrown all the usual bits and bobs into the motherboard, including four USB 2.0 ports, six USB 3.0 ports and SATA 6Gbps ports, a Wi-Fi controller and a Realtek High Definition sound card. Single slot You'll only find a single PCI-Express 2.0 x16 slot, but the motherboard is compatible with AMD's Dual Graphics, so the chip's onboard GPU doubles up as a second graphics card in CrossFireX mode. Overclockers are supported by Asus's UEFI BIOS, which actually lets you use the mouse to change those all important clock speeds. This offers full digital control with DIGI+, which is said to cut out digital-to-analogue conversion lag when overclocking. The clock speeds can be controlled from both within Windows with the AI Suite II or from the UEFI BIOS itself. You can even save screenshots of your BIOS settings to a USB drive and share them with your mates. If you're into that kind of thing.
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| Asus launches F1A75-I Deluxe Llano motherboard Posted: 01 Aug 2011 06:33 AM PDT Asus has stepped on board AMD's Fusion platform with its tongue-twisting F1A75-I Deluxe motherboard. The motherboard is designed specifically for AMD's latest Llano Fusion accelerated processing units, which combine the CPU and GPU on a single chip. Asus has thrown all the usual bits and bobs into the motherboard, including four USB 2.0 ports, six USB 3.0 ports and SATA 6Gbps ports, a Wi-Fi controller and a Realtek High Definition sound card. Single slot You'll only find a single PCI-Express 2.0 x16 slot, but the motherboard is compatible with AMD's Dual Graphics, so the chip's onboard GPU doubles up as a second graphics card in CrossFireX mode. Overclockers are supported by Asus's UEFI BIOS, which actually lets you use the mouse to change those all important clock speeds. This offers full digital control with DIGI+, which is said to cut out digital-to-analogue conversion lag when overclocking. The clock speeds can be controlled from both within Windows with the AI Suite II or from the UEFI BIOS itself. You can even save screenshots of your BIOS settings to a USB drive and share them with your mates. If you're into that kind of thing.
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| Chrome now second biggest browser in UK Posted: 01 Aug 2011 06:04 AM PDT Google Chrome has taken the number two spot in the British browser wars, shuffling Mozilla Firefox down into third place. Chrome hit 22.1 per cent of users in July, inching past Firefox's 22 per cent according to StatCounter. The ever-present Internet Explorer is still top of the heap with 45 per cent of UK internet users opting for the Microsoft-made browser. Sad safariTrailing in fourth place is Safari, Apple's proprietary web browser, with just 9 per cent of the nation accessing the internet using it. Chrome has steadily increased its share of the global browser market, too, with its users up two per cent in July compared to June. Meanwhile, Internet Explorer use has fallen again from 44 per cent globally in June to 42 per cent in July. No doubt Google's aggressive advertising campaigns and the launch of its new Chromebook laptops have helped the browser gain more share; but it's obviously doing something right to keep users coming back for more. 
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| Posted: 01 Aug 2011 05:30 AM PDT Samsung's RV511-S01UK is a great all-round laptop. From its excellent keyboard to the dedicated graphics, there's a lot to recommend. One of Intel's previous-generation Core i3 processors is in charge and capably runs everything you throw at it, from word processors and web browsers to complex design software. An impressive 6GB of memory is tonboard and keeps everything running smoothly. If your studies involve heavy design and editing work – for instance, touching up photos and videos or constructing artistic masterpieces – the Samsung is a great choice, thanks to its basic dedicated Nvidia graphics card. Not only can you edit your media, you can also kick back and enjoy Full HD video or indulge in light gaming. Of course, you'll need a decent screen so you can comfortably work all night on your course work (or indulge in a marathon of BBC iPlayer shows). While this laptop's display isn't very bright, and can't match the crisp images produced by the Packard Bell, it's still a colourful panel that produces vibrant images. We enjoyed browsing our photo collections and happily worked for hours at a time. Decent speakers Laptops are rarely given plaudits for their sound quality, but the Samsung's built-in speakers are surprisingly decent. Bass levels are almost non-existent, but you can definitely enjoy some music or watch a film without spending extra on external speakers. At 2.5kg, the Samsung isn't the lightest laptop around and the battery was poor. We managed only 136 minutes of use when watching a movie before the laptop powered down, although you'll get closer to three hours if you restrict yourself to word processing and other basic tasks. If you need a machine to carry to classes each day, the Packard Bell EasyNote NS44 HR-033UK is still a much better option. Tech Labs
Battery Eater '05: 136 minutes While the brushed-metal body won't win any beauty awards, and something like the Dell Inspiron 15r stands out a lot more, it's still a smart design and feels reassuringly firm in all areas. Even better, it hides dust, dirt and other scuff marks well. A stunning portable it isn't, but at least it won't look its age too soon. The Samsung is also one of the most usable laptops on the market, thanks to its wide isolation-style keyboard. Each key is separated from its neighbour, as they poke up through individual holes cut in the chassis. This makes it great for touch-typing, as you're less likely to hit the wrong key.
Anyone who has to work with spreadsheets for their studies will also appreciate the dedicated numeric keypad. A generous 640GB hard drive gives you plenty of room for your files and applications, as well as thousands of photos and songs. Wireless networking is also fast, thanks to the built-in 802.11n Wi-Fi support. While there are more portable and desirable machines, the Samsung delivers on almost all fronts, and at a price that can't be beaten. Performance is solid, due to the Intel Core processor and generous amount of memory, while the vibrant screen and decent speakers make it a good machine for enjoying movies and TV shows. 
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| Posted: 01 Aug 2011 05:30 AM PDT Despite being quite cheap, we were stunned to discover that the HP G62-b32SA packed a powerful Intel Core i5 460M processor. This gives incredible value for money in terms of performance, although the G62 also has its flaws. In our benchmarking tests, that powerful processor beat everything here except the Dell Inspiron 15r. We found we could perform any number of tasks at the same time – for instance, burning a DVD while listening to music and surfing the internet – and there was next to no slowdown. This is a truly remarkable result, given the low price point. There's only 3GB of memory compared to the 4GB that comes installed in most modern laptops, but even that doesn't seem to impact on how well the HP runs programs. Of course, sacrifices have to be made somewhere and the G62 has to contend with integrated graphics. This is where the processor has to handle images on top of everything else, instead of a dedicated graphics card doing the work. Tech Labs
Battery Eater '05: 172 minutes Quality audio Still, HD movies sound rather good, thanks to the powerful built-in Altec Lansing speakers, and look decent on the 15.6-inch screen. It's not a remarkably bright or vibrant display, but it does the job well. It features a glossy Super-TFT coating. This helps bring out colours a little more, but is also highly reflective, so you'll be struggling to see if you try using this laptop outside. If you plan on taking a large collection of MP3s, movies or software to university, you might prefer a laptop with a larger hard drive, which offer up to 640GB of storage space. The G62 comes with a 320GB hard drive, which will still suit anyone who doesn't have a huge media collection. A 5-in-1 memory card reader allows you to expand this storage if needed. The silver chassis looks solid and, for the most part, is, although the lid fl exes rather easily under pressure. You'll want to carry it in a padded bag just to be sure it doesn't get damaged. At 2.6kg, it's one of the heavier around, but still portable enough for everyday use. Almost three hours of battery life while watching films is a decent result, although the MSI CR640-020UK and Packard Bell EasyNote NS44 HR-033UK have significantly better battery lives. HP has omitted the dedicated numeric keypad, meaning there's more room on the keyboard for the other keys. It's a firmly set, well-sized board and comfortable to type on. However, HP has included a column of shortcut buttons along the left edge that perform functions such as printing the screen or opening your web browser. We found ourselves hitting these by mistake when going for the Shift, Tab and Ctrl keys.
Featuring a powerful processor commonly found on more expensive laptops, the HP G62-b32SA is great value for any students on a tight budget. However, if you have a huge media collection or wish to perform heavy multimedia tasks such as editing video, there are more suitable laptops. 
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| Updated: Windows 8: everything you need to know Posted: 01 Aug 2011 05:29 AM PDT The Windows 8 picture is becoming clearer. Following on from the slides allegedly leaked in June 2010 by a software engineer at HP, Microsoft has now outed more details about the interface design. Microsoft says Windows 8 is a reimagining of Windows, "from the chip to the interface". It says that "a Windows 8-based PC is really a new kind of device, one that scales from touch-only small screens through to large screens, with or without a keyboard and mouse." Indeed, the new OS appears to have two completely separate interfaces - one, a traditional (and, on the surface of it, unchanged) Windows desktop and the other a new touch-based interface that borrows heavily from Windows Phone. Actually, as you'll see, it basically is Windows Phone. You can move seamlessly between the interfaces and even have both on screen at the same time. So that leads us to believe there will be a single OS for tablets and traditional PCs. This shows the transition between the interfaces:
Windows 8 release date We originally wrote that we expect the Windows 8 release date to be in early 2012 and on 23 May 2011, Ballmer confirmed that Windows 8 will be released in 2012. He didn't go as far specifying when in 2012, though. Bizarrely, Microsoft later said: "It appears there was a misstatement," adding "To date, we have yet to formally announce any timing or naming for the next version of Windows." However, it now seems he was spot on - as you'd expect. However, more stories are now adding weight to the 2012 date. Microsoft corporate vice president Dan'l Lewin, hinted that the Windows 8 release date is likely to be next autumn - late 2012. Seasoned Microsoft-watcher Mary Jo-Foley suggested on 27 June 2011 that the RTM, or Release to Manufacturing, date could be April 2012.
Speculation is rife that a Windows 8 beta will surface at Build, a developer conference being held by Microsoft in mid-September 2011. Expect to see some Windows 8 action there for sure. Windows-related jobs have also appeared online, presumably gearing up for the launch. Windows 8 system requirements The new demo shows Windows 8 running on touchscreens (potentially tablets too) - expect many Windows 8 devices to be touch-orientated - and this may make its way into the device spec. Both Windows Vista and Windows 7 have system requirements of a 1GHz processor and 1GB of RAM. Vista requires 15GB of free hard drive space, and Windows 7 requires 16GB.
Given that there's been no real jump in requirements from Windows Vista to 7 (unlike the jump from XP to Vista, where XP required a 233MHz processor and 64MB of RAM) we'd expect Windows 8 to happily run on a system that can run Windows 7. On 13 July 2011, Microsoft confirmed our assumption that Windows 8 would have the same system requirements as Windows 7. At Microsoft's Worldwide Partner Conference, Corporate VP of Windows Tami Reller talked about "continuing on with the important trend that we started with Windows 7, keeping system requirements either flat or reducing them over time."
On 18 May 2011, Intel confirmed that there will be separate editions of Windows 8 that run on ARM processors and versions that require Intel's own chips. The Windows 8 ARM editions will be tailored to mobile devices and Windows 8 tablets. The Intel versions of Windows 8 will feature a Windows 7 compatibility mode, while ARM versions won't. However, the following day, Windows President Steven Sinofsky said that Intel's statements were "factually inaccurate and unfortunately misleading." Sinofsky didn't elaborate on how the statements were inaccurate, simply saying "[We] have emphasized that we are at the technology demonstration stage. As such, we have no further details or information at this time." Windows 8 price Windows 7 Home Premium costs £99 for an upgrade copy and £149 for the full version. Expect the Windows 8 price to be similar. Windows 8 interface In March 2011, we reported that Windows 8 could offer a cut-down version of its user interface, taking on some design elements from the Windows Phone 7 UI in the form of Aero Lite. And it appears that prediction was correct - what we've seen looks a lot like Windows Phone. Indeed, it essentially is Windows Phone. And, what's more, you can swipe between any of the interfaces in a cycle - and that includes traditional apps on the Windows desktop.
"Fast, fluid and dynamic, the experience has been transformed while keeping the power, flexibility and connectivity of Windows intact," says Microsoft's head of Windows Experience Julie Larson-Green.
"Although the new user interface is designed and optimized for touch, it works equally well with a mouse and keyboard. Our approach means no compromises — you get to use whatever kind of device you prefer, with peripherals you choose, to run the apps you love. This is sure to inspire a new generation of hardware and software development, improving the experience for PC users around the world."
Here's a full list of what Microsoft has announced about the interface:
The user interface and new apps will work with or without a keyboard and mouse on a broad range of screen sizes and pixel densities, says Microsoft "from small slates to laptops, desktops, all-in-ones, and even classroom-sized displays." "Hundreds of millions of PCs will run the new Windows 8 user interface. This breadth of hardware choice is unique to Windows and central to how we see Windows evolving."
Windows 8 features The 'fundamentals' Microsoft is aiming for with Windows 8 include "a fast on/off experience, responsiveness, and a great level of reliability from the start". You'll be able to use an encrypting hard drive to boot Windows 8 and they'll integrate with BitLocker and third-party security apps. Improving battery life will be based on some deep changes to the kernel; removing an interrupt in the kernel scheduler completely and removing more of the timers that interrupt Windows when it's trying to save power.
Windows 8 might get the same option for powering down unused areas of memory to save power that's on the cards for Windows Server, it will block disk reads and writes and some CPU access when you're not doing anything on your PC and PCI devices can turn off completely when they're not in use (assuming the drivers for specific devices support it). Windows 7 stopped laptops waking up automatically when they're not plugged in; Windows 8 will get a new 'intelligent alarm' that can wake them up for things like virus scans, but only if they're plugged in. OEMs will get new test tools that check the performance, reliability, security and Windows Logo compatibility of the PC, as well as measuring performance in Outlook and IE. And depending on whether partners have "concerns" about it, Microsoft might give the same tools to journalists, IT pros and users. Windows 8 is also set to feature a native PDF reader, meaning PC owners will no longer need to install a third-party app such as Adobe Reader to view PDFs. The new PDF reader is known as 'Modern Reader', and uses the new AppX application package type, which is similar to that in Windows Phone 7 and likely to be used in Windows Phone 8 .
Reports that surfaced on 18 April 2011, suggest that you'll be able to run Windows 8 from a USB stick, using a feature called 'Portable Workspace'. This feature is said to only be available in Windows 8 Enterprise Edition, though. Microsoft has shown effortless movement between existing Windows programs and "new Windows 8 apps." Yep, that's right - Microsoft is going right down the app route...
A Windows app store and Windows 8 apps More than 30 app stores have launched in the last year and Microsoft isn't the only company copying Apple here; Intel has its own app store for Atom PCs. PC makers like the idea - apparently at the first forum they commented that it "can't happen soon enough". With an app store, Microsoft hopes to attract more of the type of developers who are currently building smartphone apps and it wants them to create apps that make Windows the best place to use web apps (a job advert last October claimed "we will blend the best of the web and the rich client by creating a new model for modern web applications to rock on Windows".)
Microsoft says the new OS will support "web-connected and Web-powered apps built using HTML5 and JavaScript that have access to the full power of the PC." There is "effortless movement between existing Windows programs and new Windows 8 apps. The full capabilities of Windows continue to be available to you, including the Windows Explorer and Desktop, as does compatibility with all Windows 7 logo PCs, software and peripherals." Windows 8 apps use HTML5, tapping into the native capabilities of Windows using standard JavaScript and HTML. New Windows 8 apps are full-screen and touch-optimized, and they easily integrate with the capabilities of the new Windows user interface. "There's much more to the platform, capabilities and tools than we showed today," says Larson-Green. The Windows Store will be branded and optimised for each PC manufacturer. Your settings will follow you from PC to PC, as will your apps (although some slides refer to this as a possibility rather than a definite plan) - but you'd need an HP ID to log into the 'HP Store powered by Windows' and get your HP-specific apps. Microsoft doesn't plan to make money from the store; the early slides called it "revenue neutral".
The full capabilities of Windows continue to be available to you, including the Windows Explorer and Desktop, as does compatibility with all Windows 7 logo PCs, software and peripherals. "Windows 8 apps can use a broad set of new libraries and controls, designed for fluid interaction and connectivity," says Larson-Green. "Apps can add new capabilities to Windows and to other apps, connecting with one another through the new interface. For example, we showed today how a developer can extend the file picker control to enable picking from their own app content or from within another Windows 8 app, in addition to the local file system and the network. We're just getting started." Windows 8 startup and shutdown The 'big three' are boot time, shutdown time and battery life which will undergo massive improvement, but Microsoft is also thinking about how long it takes to get things done - how long until you read your first email, see the home page in your browser or start playing media. PCs should feel like an appliance that's ready to use as soon as you turn on the power.
FASTER STARTUP: Windows 8 will show you what slows down startup and if removing an app you don't use improves it Mobile PCs should resume 'instantly' from sleep (in under a second from S3 sleep), and booting up will be faster because of caching, with a boot layout prefetcher and the ReadyBoost cache persisting even when you reboot. As only 9 per cent of people currently use hibernate (which will work more quickly in Windows 8 because system information will be saved and compressed in parallel), Windows 8 will have a new Logoff and Hibernate combination that closes your apps like shutting the PC down does and refreshes your desktop like restarting does, but actually caches drivers, system services, devices and much of the core system the way hibernation does. Turning the PC back on will take about half the time a cold boot needs (and the slides point out that on many PCs the power-on tests take longer than the Windows startup, so BIOS makers need to shape up). It will be the default option but it won't be called Logoff and Hibernate; Microsoft is debating terms like Shutdown, Turn Off, Power Down and thinking through how the other options for turning the PC off will show up in the interface. We've previously reported on a whole load of other Windows 8 rumours, too: Windows 8 Media Center and multimedia Windows 8 will have better media playback and recording, but it will balance using hardware acceleration to save battery life and using the CPU when it gives a better result.
Audio will use hardware acceleration more because that does improve battery life. There will be post-processing to take out blur, noise and shakey video filmed on a phone or webcam, and support for more codecs including AVC and as-yet-undetermined 3D video codecs (stereoscopic3D support is coming, for games and for 3D movies in Media Center, but there are format issues). Windows 8 may well end up with Media Center incorporated still - Microsoft dissolved its eHome team previously but a few leaked screen shots at TheGreenButton.tv show the same old Windows 7 Media Center well and truly alive in Windows 8. Microsoft talks about sharing 'with nearby devices'; one way that will work is adding the Play To option currently in Windows Media Player to the browser for HTML 5 audio and video content, so you can play it on any device that supports DLNA, another is APIs to let other software do the same.
That will work with DRM content, if it's protected with DTCP-IP (digital transmission content protection over IP) or Microsoft's own PlayReady and hardware acceleration will speed up DRM decoding. There's also a new 'remote display' option that will let you send your screen from a laptop to a large monitor (which will use DirectX hardware acceleration and the same multimonitor interface that's already in Windows 7, but for wireless displays as well, which could be an Internet-connected TV - Microsoft refers to 35 per cent of TVs having network connectivity by 2012 and wonders whether to prioritise Internet TV over further improvements to broadcast TV). Windows 8 Help and Support In Windows XP the Help and Support centre was a branded hub of tools and links; in Windows 7 it's far more minimal. Windows 8 will go back to the branded experience, with integrated search for support forums run by your PC manufacturer but add the Windows 7 troubleshooters. It will also link better with the Action Center, with tools that show more clearly what's happening on your PC; what apps are running, what resources are being used (like Task Manager showing which apps are using the most network bandwidth), how and when things have changed and what they can do about it. It will also include an Application Management tool that will let you find what apps are causing performance problems and adjust or remove them.
IMPROVED TASK MANAGER: Task manager will make it easier to see why an app might not be performing; here the Zune software is using all the network bandwidth to download podcasts, so video in the browser keeps pausing. We hope the white on black isn't the final design! The Windows pre-boot recovery environment will be simpler, combining the safe mode and 'last known good' options into one interface. It will use what Microsoft calls 'superboot' to remove malware and rootkits If you have to reset your PC, Windows 8 will restore "all the files settings and even the applications" although you'll have to go to the Windows Store to download apps and get a list of apps that didn't come from the store, so it's not clear how automatic this will actually be. UPDATE: On 28 March 2011, the Windows 8 System Restore feature surfaced in a screenshot. Microsoft is also apparently building a feature called History Vault into Windows 8. History Vault would allow users to back up files and data automatically using the Shadow Copies function and could also allow users to restore documents to a particular moment in time. Devices matter (almost) as much as PCs One of the reasons that Windows took off in the first place was working more easily with devices - in those days, printers. Support for a wide range of devices is one of the reasons it's hard to other OSes to challenge Windows but Microsoft would like to get hardware manufacturers to do more with the sensor platform and DeviceStage interface it introduced in Windows 7. With Windows 8, Microsoft wants to see "PCs use location and sensors to enhance a rich array of premium experiences. Users are not burdened with cumbersome tasks that Windows can accomplish on its own. Users are neither annoyed or disturbed by the actions the PC takes. Instead, the PC's behaviour becomes integrated into users' routine workflows. Devices connect faster and work better on Windows 8 than on any other operating system." The 'current thinking' is for Windows 8 to include Microsoft's own Wi-Fi location service Orion (which has 50-100m accuracy in North America and Western Europe but falls back to using the location associated with IP addresses elsewhere, which can be as bad as 25km). Orion will be used in Windows Phone 7 (as well as Hawaii, a Microsoft Research project to build cloud-enabled mobile apps which refers to Orion as a 'prototype service'). Microsoft partnered with Navizon in March to use their Wi-Fi and mobile network location database but the slides claim that Orion is buying a bigger database than Navizon's 15 million access points, giving it 40 million compared to Google's 48 million (neither matches the 120 million Skyhook gives the iPhone). Location will be available to the browser as well as to any app that's written to use it (music players as well as mapping tools), and web apps will get access to webcams. Microsoft is emphasising the privacy aspect of location and webcam use, with mockups of how apps can ask for location and users can choose to deny it or only allow it once. And it's also asking PC manufacturers how many devices they plan to put GPS in and offering a Device Stage interface for using a PND like a Garmin nuvi as a GPS source for your PC.
LOCATION PRIVACY: Web apps can see your location and use your webcam – but you get to control that to protect your privacy As we've said before, Device Stage will become the standard way you work with devices; Microsoft previewed the options you'll get with a featurephone and a webcam as well as GPS. Along with GPS, Microsoft is expecting PCs to include infrared sensors as well as the ambient light sensors that are becoming common, and the accelerometers that are in tablets with rotating screens. Put that together and the PC could know which way up it is, whether there's anyone in front of it - or near it and what the lighting is like in the room. So when you walk into the room your PC notices and wakes itself up so by the time you sit down the webcam is ready to recognise you - and no waiting or having to line your face up with a box on screen. If this works, the camera will pick your face out of the room, like Photo Gallery finding a face in a picture (hopefully without thinking the face in a picture on the wall is you). When you walk away it goes back to sleep again. We like the idea of rotation lock buttons on 'Lap PCs' so you can move them around to control a game without flipping he screen repeatedly; again, if you look away from the game, Microsoft envisages it pausing automatically and if you pass a slate to someone it will switch to their account automatically. What's in: USB 3, Bluetooth hands free and headset profiles (mono and stereo audio). What's out: Microsoft has no plans to support Bluetooth 3.0 + High Speed, 1394 might be deprecated and Microsoft seems to expect USB 2 ports to be phased out in favour of USB 3 within the lifetime of Windows 8. What's under consideration: Bluetooth Low Energy (from Bluetooth 4.0). What's not mentioned: Intel LightPeak, although Microsoft does ask if it's missing anything on its list of connectivity. Windows 8 Xbox Live integration Like Windows Phone 7, Microsoft is planning to add Xbox Live to Windows 8. Microsoft VP Mike Delman said plans are afoot to bring the experience to its other platforms. Windows 8 will know who you are With better ways to log in to your PC, like your face, Microsoft is considering giving Windows 8 a way to "securely store usernames and passwords, simplifying the online experience". Your Windows account might connect more directly to the cloud than just having a Windows Live ID, logging into web sites on your behalf; there's very little detail on this but it could revive the CardSpace technology introduced in Vista but not widely adopted.
FACE LOGIN: Forget passwords; Windows 8 will use the webcam to find and recognise your face (probably) Windows 8 gaming Microsoft hopes to use Windows 8 to relaunch itself at the forefront of PC gaming, with Redmond ready to put its weight behind the platform once more. "Windows 8 will represent a real new push into PC gaming," a source told TechRadar. "Gaming will be a key component for the whole OS." It sounds as though Windows 8 won't include an Xbox emulator, as if there was any surprise in that. However, as with Windows Phone, it's more than likely that Xbox Live will be included - and indeed the Xbox dashboard itself will start to look more like Windows Phone and WIndows 8. Windows 8 tablets and ARM support The revamped interface and support for ARM processors point only one direction - Microsoft wants to be big in tablets.
LAP PC: Using the Lap PC to read a magazine and play a driving game Key to making a successful Windows tablet is apps with user interfaces that change depending on the form factor (touch and gestures instead of keyboard and mouse), but Microsoft is also looking at stereoscopic 3D and high colour displays and natural input that uses touch, voice, 3D gestures ("on the horizon"), and facial recognition.
3D SUPPORT: Windows 8 will play 3D movies and games, but don't ask Microsoft to pick its favourite format yet Optimising "for smaller screens" will help netbook users as well; Windows 7 gets key dialog boxes to fit on a small screen but not all apps do. Put it all together and you get some welcome improvements. It's impossible to say if Microsoft can come up with a simple enough programming system to appeal to the developers it wants to create Windows apps to rival Apple's App Store. Windows 8 laptops PC World believes that Windows 8 will start a low-cost laptop boom as ARM processors steal up to a quarter of the laptop market from Intel. 
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| Updated: Windows 8: everything you need to know Posted: 01 Aug 2011 05:29 AM PDT The Windows 8 picture is becoming clearer. Following on from the slides allegedly leaked in June 2010 by a software engineer at HP, Microsoft has now outed more details about the interface design. Microsoft says Windows 8 is a reimagining of Windows, "from the chip to the interface". It says that "a Windows 8-based PC is really a new kind of device, one that scales from touch-only small screens through to large screens, with or without a keyboard and mouse." Indeed, the new OS appears to have two completely separate interfaces - one, a traditional (and, on the surface of it, unchanged) Windows desktop and the other a new touch-based interface that borrows heavily from Windows Phone. Actually, as you'll see, it basically is Windows Phone. You can move seamlessly between the interfaces and even have both on screen at the same time. So that leads us to believe there will be a single OS for tablets and traditional PCs. This shows the transition between the interfaces:
Windows 8 release date We originally wrote that we expect the Windows 8 release date to be in early 2012 and on 23 May 2011, Ballmer confirmed that Windows 8 will be released in 2012. He didn't go as far specifying when in 2012, though. Bizarrely, Microsoft later said: "It appears there was a misstatement," adding "To date, we have yet to formally announce any timing or naming for the next version of Windows." However, it now seems he was spot on - as you'd expect. However, more stories are now adding weight to the 2012 date. Microsoft corporate vice president Dan'l Lewin, hinted that the Windows 8 release date is likely to be next autumn - late 2012. Seasoned Microsoft-watcher Mary Jo-Foley suggested on 27 June 2011 that the RTM, or Release to Manufacturing, date could be April 2012.
Speculation is rife that a Windows 8 beta will surface at Build, a developer conference being held by Microsoft in mid-September 2011. Expect to see some Windows 8 action there for sure. Windows-related jobs have also appeared online, presumably gearing up for the launch. Windows 8 system requirements The new demo shows Windows 8 running on touchscreens (potentially tablets too) - expect many Windows 8 devices to be touch-orientated - and this may make its way into the device spec. Both Windows Vista and Windows 7 have system requirements of a 1GHz processor and 1GB of RAM. Vista requires 15GB of free hard drive space, and Windows 7 requires 16GB.
Given that there's been no real jump in requirements from Windows Vista to 7 (unlike the jump from XP to Vista, where XP required a 233MHz processor and 64MB of RAM) we'd expect Windows 8 to happily run on a system that can run Windows 7. On 13 July 2011, Microsoft confirmed our assumption that Windows 8 would have the same system requirements as Windows 7. At Microsoft's Worldwide Partner Conference, Corporate VP of Windows Tami Reller talked about "continuing on with the important trend that we started with Windows 7, keeping system requirements either flat or reducing them over time."
On 18 May 2011, Intel confirmed that there will be separate editions of Windows 8 that run on ARM processors and versions that require Intel's own chips. The Windows 8 ARM editions will be tailored to mobile devices and Windows 8 tablets. The Intel versions of Windows 8 will feature a Windows 7 compatibility mode, while ARM versions won't. However, the following day, Windows President Steven Sinofsky said that Intel's statements were "factually inaccurate and unfortunately misleading." Sinofsky didn't elaborate on how the statements were inaccurate, simply saying "[We] have emphasized that we are at the technology demonstration stage. As such, we have no further details or information at this time." Windows 8 price Windows 7 Home Premium costs £99 for an upgrade copy and £149 for the full version. Expect the Windows 8 price to be similar. Windows 8 interface In March 2011, we reported that Windows 8 could offer a cut-down version of its user interface, taking on some design elements from the Windows Phone 7 UI in the form of Aero Lite. And it appears that prediction was correct - what we've seen looks a lot like Windows Phone. Indeed, it essentially is Windows Phone. And, what's more, you can swipe between any of the interfaces in a cycle - and that includes traditional apps on the Windows desktop.
"Fast, fluid and dynamic, the experience has been transformed while keeping the power, flexibility and connectivity of Windows intact," says Microsoft's head of Windows Experience Julie Larson-Green.
"Although the new user interface is designed and optimized for touch, it works equally well with a mouse and keyboard. Our approach means no compromises — you get to use whatever kind of device you prefer, with peripherals you choose, to run the apps you love. This is sure to inspire a new generation of hardware and software development, improving the experience for PC users around the world."
Here's a full list of what Microsoft has announced about the interface:
The user interface and new apps will work with or without a keyboard and mouse on a broad range of screen sizes and pixel densities, says Microsoft "from small slates to laptops, desktops, all-in-ones, and even classroom-sized displays." "Hundreds of millions of PCs will run the new Windows 8 user interface. This breadth of hardware choice is unique to Windows and central to how we see Windows evolving."
Windows 8 features The 'fundamentals' Microsoft is aiming for with Windows 8 include "a fast on/off experience, responsiveness, and a great level of reliability from the start". You'll be able to use an encrypting hard drive to boot Windows 8 and they'll integrate with BitLocker and third-party security apps. Improving battery life will be based on some deep changes to the kernel; removing an interrupt in the kernel scheduler completely and removing more of the timers that interrupt Windows when it's trying to save power.
Windows 8 might get the same option for powering down unused areas of memory to save power that's on the cards for Windows Server, it will block disk reads and writes and some CPU access when you're not doing anything on your PC and PCI devices can turn off completely when they're not in use (assuming the drivers for specific devices support it). Windows 7 stopped laptops waking up automatically when they're not plugged in; Windows 8 will get a new 'intelligent alarm' that can wake them up for things like virus scans, but only if they're plugged in. OEMs will get new test tools that check the performance, reliability, security and Windows Logo compatibility of the PC, as well as measuring performance in Outlook and IE. And depending on whether partners have "concerns" about it, Microsoft might give the same tools to journalists, IT pros and users. Windows 8 is also set to feature a native PDF reader, meaning PC owners will no longer need to install a third-party app such as Adobe Reader to view PDFs. The new PDF reader is known as 'Modern Reader', and uses the new AppX application package type, which is similar to that in Windows Phone 7 and likely to be used in Windows Phone 8 .
Reports that surfaced on 18 April 2011, suggest that you'll be able to run Windows 8 from a USB stick, using a feature called 'Portable Workspace'. This feature is said to only be available in Windows 8 Enterprise Edition, though. Microsoft has shown effortless movement between existing Windows programs and "new Windows 8 apps." Yep, that's right - Microsoft is going right down the app route...
A Windows app store and Windows 8 apps More than 30 app stores have launched in the last year and Microsoft isn't the only company copying Apple here; Intel has its own app store for Atom PCs. PC makers like the idea - apparently at the first forum they commented that it "can't happen soon enough". With an app store, Microsoft hopes to attract more of the type of developers who are currently building smartphone apps and it wants them to create apps that make Windows the best place to use web apps (a job advert last October claimed "we will blend the best of the web and the rich client by creating a new model for modern web applications to rock on Windows".)
Microsoft says the new OS will support "web-connected and Web-powered apps built using HTML5 and JavaScript that have access to the full power of the PC." There is "effortless movement between existing Windows programs and new Windows 8 apps. The full capabilities of Windows continue to be available to you, including the Windows Explorer and Desktop, as does compatibility with all Windows 7 logo PCs, software and peripherals." Windows 8 apps use HTML5, tapping into the native capabilities of Windows using standard JavaScript and HTML. New Windows 8 apps are full-screen and touch-optimized, and they easily integrate with the capabilities of the new Windows user interface. "There's much more to the platform, capabilities and tools than we showed today," says Larson-Green. The Windows Store will be branded and optimised for each PC manufacturer. Your settings will follow you from PC to PC, as will your apps (although some slides refer to this as a possibility rather than a definite plan) - but you'd need an HP ID to log into the 'HP Store powered by Windows' and get your HP-specific apps. Microsoft doesn't plan to make money from the store; the early slides called it "revenue neutral".
The full capabilities of Windows continue to be available to you, including the Windows Explorer and Desktop, as does compatibility with all Windows 7 logo PCs, software and peripherals. "Windows 8 apps can use a broad set of new libraries and controls, designed for fluid interaction and connectivity," says Larson-Green. "Apps can add new capabilities to Windows and to other apps, connecting with one another through the new interface. For example, we showed today how a developer can extend the file picker control to enable picking from their own app content or from within another Windows 8 app, in addition to the local file system and the network. We're just getting started." Windows 8 startup and shutdown The 'big three' are boot time, shutdown time and battery life which will undergo massive improvement, but Microsoft is also thinking about how long it takes to get things done - how long until you read your first email, see the home page in your browser or start playing media. PCs should feel like an appliance that's ready to use as soon as you turn on the power.
FASTER STARTUP: Windows 8 will show you what slows down startup and if removing an app you don't use improves it Mobile PCs should resume 'instantly' from sleep (in under a second from S3 sleep), and booting up will be faster because of caching, with a boot layout prefetcher and the ReadyBoost cache persisting even when you reboot. As only 9 per cent of people currently use hibernate (which will work more quickly in Windows 8 because system information will be saved and compressed in parallel), Windows 8 will have a new Logoff and Hibernate combination that closes your apps like shutting the PC down does and refreshes your desktop like restarting does, but actually caches drivers, system services, devices and much of the core system the way hibernation does. Turning the PC back on will take about half the time a cold boot needs (and the slides point out that on many PCs the power-on tests take longer than the Windows startup, so BIOS makers need to shape up). It will be the default option but it won't be called Logoff and Hibernate; Microsoft is debating terms like Shutdown, Turn Off, Power Down and thinking through how the other options for turning the PC off will show up in the interface. We've previously reported on a whole load of other Windows 8 rumours, too: Windows 8 Media Center and multimedia Windows 8 will have better media playback and recording, but it will balance using hardware acceleration to save battery life and using the CPU when it gives a better result.
Audio will use hardware acceleration more because that does improve battery life. There will be post-processing to take out blur, noise and shakey video filmed on a phone or webcam, and support for more codecs including AVC and as-yet-undetermined 3D video codecs (stereoscopic3D support is coming, for games and for 3D movies in Media Center, but there are format issues). Windows 8 may well end up with Media Center incorporated still - Microsoft dissolved its eHome team previously but a few leaked screen shots at TheGreenButton.tv show the same old Windows 7 Media Center well and truly alive in Windows 8. Microsoft talks about sharing 'with nearby devices'; one way that will work is adding the Play To option currently in Windows Media Player to the browser for HTML 5 audio and video content, so you can play it on any device that supports DLNA, another is APIs to let other software do the same.
That will work with DRM content, if it's protected with DTCP-IP (digital transmission content protection over IP) or Microsoft's own PlayReady and hardware acceleration will speed up DRM decoding. There's also a new 'remote display' option that will let you send your screen from a laptop to a large monitor (which will use DirectX hardware acceleration and the same multimonitor interface that's already in Windows 7, but for wireless displays as well, which could be an Internet-connected TV - Microsoft refers to 35 per cent of TVs having network connectivity by 2012 and wonders whether to prioritise Internet TV over further improvements to broadcast TV). Windows 8 Help and Support In Windows XP the Help and Support centre was a branded hub of tools and links; in Windows 7 it's far more minimal. Windows 8 will go back to the branded experience, with integrated search for support forums run by your PC manufacturer but add the Windows 7 troubleshooters. It will also link better with the Action Center, with tools that show more clearly what's happening on your PC; what apps are running, what resources are being used (like Task Manager showing which apps are using the most network bandwidth), how and when things have changed and what they can do about it. It will also include an Application Management tool that will let you find what apps are causing performance problems and adjust or remove them.
IMPROVED TASK MANAGER: Task manager will make it easier to see why an app might not be performing; here the Zune software is using all the network bandwidth to download podcasts, so video in the browser keeps pausing. We hope the white on black isn't the final design! The Windows pre-boot recovery environment will be simpler, combining the safe mode and 'last known good' options into one interface. It will use what Microsoft calls 'superboot' to remove malware and rootkits If you have to reset your PC, Windows 8 will restore "all the files settings and even the applications" although you'll have to go to the Windows Store to download apps and get a list of apps that didn't come from the store, so it's not clear how automatic this will actually be. UPDATE: On 28 March 2011, the Windows 8 System Restore feature surfaced in a screenshot. Microsoft is also apparently building a feature called History Vault into Windows 8. History Vault would allow users to back up files and data automatically using the Shadow Copies function and could also allow users to restore documents to a particular moment in time. Devices matter (almost) as much as PCs One of the reasons that Windows took off in the first place was working more easily with devices - in those days, printers. Support for a wide range of devices is one of the reasons it's hard to other OSes to challenge Windows but Microsoft would like to get hardware manufacturers to do more with the sensor platform and DeviceStage interface it introduced in Windows 7. With Windows 8, Microsoft wants to see "PCs use location and sensors to enhance a rich array of premium experiences. Users are not burdened with cumbersome tasks that Windows can accomplish on its own. Users are neither annoyed or disturbed by the actions the PC takes. Instead, the PC's behaviour becomes integrated into users' routine workflows. Devices connect faster and work better on Windows 8 than on any other operating system." The 'current thinking' is for Windows 8 to include Microsoft's own Wi-Fi location service Orion (which has 50-100m accuracy in North America and Western Europe but falls back to using the location associated with IP addresses elsewhere, which can be as bad as 25km). Orion will be used in Windows Phone 7 (as well as Hawaii, a Microsoft Research project to build cloud-enabled mobile apps which refers to Orion as a 'prototype service'). Microsoft partnered with Navizon in March to use their Wi-Fi and mobile network location database but the slides claim that Orion is buying a bigger database than Navizon's 15 million access points, giving it 40 million compared to Google's 48 million (neither matches the 120 million Skyhook gives the iPhone). Location will be available to the browser as well as to any app that's written to use it (music players as well as mapping tools), and web apps will get access to webcams. Microsoft is emphasising the privacy aspect of location and webcam use, with mockups of how apps can ask for location and users can choose to deny it or only allow it once. And it's also asking PC manufacturers how many devices they plan to put GPS in and offering a Device Stage interface for using a PND like a Garmin nuvi as a GPS source for your PC.
LOCATION PRIVACY: Web apps can see your location and use your webcam – but you get to control that to protect your privacy As we've said before, Device Stage will become the standard way you work with devices; Microsoft previewed the options you'll get with a featurephone and a webcam as well as GPS. Along with GPS, Microsoft is expecting PCs to include infrared sensors as well as the ambient light sensors that are becoming common, and the accelerometers that are in tablets with rotating screens. Put that together and the PC could know which way up it is, whether there's anyone in front of it - or near it and what the lighting is like in the room. So when you walk into the room your PC notices and wakes itself up so by the time you sit down the webcam is ready to recognise you - and no waiting or having to line your face up with a box on screen. If this works, the camera will pick your face out of the room, like Photo Gallery finding a face in a picture (hopefully without thinking the face in a picture on the wall is you). When you walk away it goes back to sleep again. We like the idea of rotation lock buttons on 'Lap PCs' so you can move them around to control a game without flipping he screen repeatedly; again, if you look away from the game, Microsoft envisages it pausing automatically and if you pass a slate to someone it will switch to their account automatically. What's in: USB 3, Bluetooth hands free and headset profiles (mono and stereo audio). What's out: Microsoft has no plans to support Bluetooth 3.0 + High Speed, 1394 might be deprecated and Microsoft seems to expect USB 2 ports to be phased out in favour of USB 3 within the lifetime of Windows 8. What's under consideration: Bluetooth Low Energy (from Bluetooth 4.0). What's not mentioned: Intel LightPeak, although Microsoft does ask if it's missing anything on its list of connectivity. Windows 8 Xbox Live integration Like Windows Phone 7, Microsoft is planning to add Xbox Live to Windows 8. Microsoft VP Mike Delman said plans are afoot to bring the experience to its other platforms. Windows 8 will know who you are With better ways to log in to your PC, like your face, Microsoft is considering giving Windows 8 a way to "securely store usernames and passwords, simplifying the online experience". Your Windows account might connect more directly to the cloud than just having a Windows Live ID, logging into web sites on your behalf; there's very little detail on this but it could revive the CardSpace technology introduced in Vista but not widely adopted.
FACE LOGIN: Forget passwords; Windows 8 will use the webcam to find and recognise your face (probably) Windows 8 gaming Microsoft hopes to use Windows 8 to relaunch itself at the forefront of PC gaming, with Redmond ready to put its weight behind the platform once more. "Windows 8 will represent a real new push into PC gaming," a source told TechRadar. "Gaming will be a key component for the whole OS." It sounds as though Windows 8 won't include an Xbox emulator, as if there was any surprise in that. However, as with Windows Phone, it's more than likely that Xbox Live will be included - and indeed the Xbox dashboard itself will start to look more like Windows Phone and WIndows 8. Windows 8 tablets and ARM support The revamped interface and support for ARM processors point only one direction - Microsoft wants to be big in tablets.
LAP PC: Using the Lap PC to read a magazine and play a driving game Key to making a successful Windows tablet is apps with user interfaces that change depending on the form factor (touch and gestures instead of keyboard and mouse), but Microsoft is also looking at stereoscopic 3D and high colour displays and natural input that uses touch, voice, 3D gestures ("on the horizon"), and facial recognition.
3D SUPPORT: Windows 8 will play 3D movies and games, but don't ask Microsoft to pick its favourite format yet Optimising "for smaller screens" will help netbook users as well; Windows 7 gets key dialog boxes to fit on a small screen but not all apps do. Put it all together and you get some welcome improvements. It's impossible to say if Microsoft can come up with a simple enough programming system to appeal to the developers it wants to create Windows apps to rival Apple's App Store. Windows 8 laptops PC World believes that Windows 8 will start a low-cost laptop boom as ARM processors steal up to a quarter of the laptop market from Intel. 
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