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Techradar |
- Facebook announces Messenger mobile app
- Nokia: No more Symbian phones in US
- Apple becomes world's most valuable company
- Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 blocked from sale
- BitTorrent users hit by mass lawsuits in the US
- Rumour: October release for Ice Cream Sandwich?
- Review: Samsung ST30
- Review: 11-inch MacBook Air 2011
- Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini Pro released in the UK
- Official BlackBerry blog taken down after hack
- Boxee Box iPad app launches
- Tutorial: How to install and run Windows on Mac
- Nikon Coolpix P500 review: TechRadar labs data
- Screenshots reveal iOS 5 speech-to-text feature
- AMD rams into the memory market
- Android 3.1 update rolls out to UK Motorola Xooms
- Sony Cybershot DSC-HX100V review: TechRadar labs data
- Sony Cybershot HX100V
- In Depth: iCloud: everything you need to know
- Samsung DT7800 Freeview+ HD PVR announced
- Exclusive: Microsoft Touch Mouse delayed until end of August
- Dixons assessing London riots damage
- Nintendo 3DS gets free Wi-Fi from The Cloud
- Skype 5.3 adds Lion support and HD video calling
| Facebook announces Messenger mobile app Posted: 09 Aug 2011 02:08 PM PDT Facebook has introduced a new Messenger app for iPhone and Android aimed at making sure your friends receive your correspondence with greater speed. The new Messenger app, which will rival BlackBerry Messenger and Apple's forthcoming iMessage service, exists separately from the main Facebook app. Messenger will allow users to contact both Facebook friends and phone contacts with the recipient receiving notifications and texts to inform them of your message. Facebook thinks the service, which is yet to arrive on either platform's app store, will mean friends will see your messages sooner. EasierIn a post on the company blog, Facebook engineer Lucy Zhang wrote: "It isn't always easy to know the best way to reach someone on their phone. "Should you send an email or text? Which will they check first? Did they even get your last message? "We think messaging should be easier than that. You should be able to write a message, click "Send" and know that you will reach the person right away. "So today, we're introducing Messenger, a new mobile app that simplifies how messaging works, and gives you a faster way to message friends and small groups." Good for groupsFacebook reckons the new solution will be perfect for users who are arranging to meet a group of friends and need to contact the group at short notice. "When you're on the go, coordinating a bunch of people can be tricky, especially if plans change at the last minute. With Messenger, you can quickly start a group conversation and message everyone at once. "If you choose to add your location, the people you're messaging with can easily find each other on the map. You can also attach photos, so everyone else can see and comment on what you're looking at." Facebook's service will have an instant advantage over BBM, iMessage and Google's Gtalk, thanks to its multi-platform compatibility. Users will be able to exchange free messages regardless of their mobile operating system. 
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| Nokia: No more Symbian phones in US Posted: 09 Aug 2011 12:59 PM PDT Nokia has admitted that it will no longer release Symbian handsets in the US once it starts selling Windows Phone devices. In an interview with All Things D, Nokia's North American chief Chris Weber says that the company is putting all hope of a smartphone revival on the partnership with Microsoft's improving operating system. "When we launch Windows Phones we will essentially be out of the Symbian business, the S40 business, etc.," he said. "It will be Windows Phone and the accessories around that." Last throwRather ominously, Weber hinted that the Windows Phone tie-in, and the heavy marketing investment Nokia is planning around the launch, was somewhat of a last throw of the dice. "The reality is if we are not successful with Windows Phone, it doesn't matter what we do." The revelation that Nokia US plans to ditch Symbian, which has often dragged down some traditionally strong hardware, is in many ways still a surprise. The company recently announced the impressive-looking N500 handset and back in May, the Finns pledged to stick with Symbian until 2016. That vow is unlikely to change on this side of the pond. Weber also said that the MeeGo-boasting N9 phone will not make it to the US, while there's also be no more low-cost smartphone releases on that side of the Atlantic. Link: AllThingsD 
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| Apple becomes world's most valuable company Posted: 09 Aug 2011 12:06 PM PDT Apple officially became the world's most valuable company on Tuesday. The tech giant has overtaken Exxon Mobil after volatile market conditions on Monday and Tuesday saw the oil giant's stock prices take another hit, continuing a two week slump. Apple has so far proved resistant against the market slowdown and the contrasting fortunes of both companies saw Cupertino leap ahead to become the world's most valuable publicly traded company. On Tuesday Apple's value rose to $341.5 billion with Exxon falling to a mere $341.4 billion. The markets are yet to close in the US, so it's possible that Exxon could regain its position by the close of play. Record breakingApple's value has risen by an incredible 41 per cent in the last year, thanks largely to the success of the iPad 2 launch and the continued prominence of the iPhone 4 and Mac computer lines. As of the last record-breaking Apple quarterly report in July, the company had moved within $50 billion of Exxon's marker. Most analysts had expected Apple to topple the oil giant, but not until later this year. The recent market turbulence comes as a result of the United States government's decision to raise the country's debt ceiling, causing the US to be downgraded from its AAA credit rating. Link: Financial Post 
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| Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 blocked from sale Posted: 09 Aug 2011 11:30 AM PDT The legal battle between Apple and Samsung saw the first real ramifications for UK gadget fans today, after a German court blocked the sale of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 across Europe. The court has granted Apple a temporary injunction against Samsung's selling and marketing of the tablet in Europe, meaning all units must be removed from the shelves. The judge has, for now, backed Apple's claim that Samsung 'copied' the iPad and infringed on Apple's patents. Appeal Samsung can appeal, but it'll be at least four weeks until that appeal to be heard. In the meantime Apple's injunction will stand The long-awaited Honeycomb-based, Galaxy Tab 10.1 only launched in Britain last week and has proved to be the best-selling tablet since the launch of the iPad 2 in March. Apple also has a beef with the rest of the Galaxy range, claiming the smartphones copy the look and feel of the iPhone. An Apple spokesman said: "It's no coincidence that Samsung's latest products look a lot like the iPhone and iPad, from the shape of the hardware to the user interface and even the packaging. "This kind of blatant copying is wrong, and we need to protect Apple's intellectual property when companies steal our ideas." So, if you're one of the gadget fans who rushed to pick up the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 over the last week then it's entirely plausible that you might be the last Dutch gadget fans, can still get their hands on the Tab as the injunction doesn't stand in the Netherlands. Link: Telegraph 
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| BitTorrent users hit by mass lawsuits in the US Posted: 09 Aug 2011 10:34 AM PDT There have been a multitude of lawsuits against BiTorrent users in the US over the last year, with more than 200,000 people facing court over their alleged dodgy downloading. According to TorrentFreak, most of the lawsuits released will be settled out of court for a smaller sum of money, but this is still seen as a revenue stream by the music companies. A similar thing happened in the UK courts earlier this year, with the Ministry of Sound looking to get compensation from thousands of UK file sharers. Bully tacticsThere was also law firm ACS:Law which was found to have threatened file-sharers into paying out of court sums of money to music companies by sending out thousands of letters. This was seen as a bullying tactic by the courts and all cases pertaining to the letters have now been dropped. TorrentFreak has published a spreadsheet of all the file-sharing lawsuits happening in the US – with 145,417 still waiting to be settled. The rest have either been dismissed or already settled. 
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| Rumour: October release for Ice Cream Sandwich? Posted: 09 Aug 2011 10:30 AM PDT Google could be planning to launch the first Ice Cream Sandwich Android devices in October, if the latest anonymous source is to be believed. According to the tipster, the Android-owning search giant doesn't want potential Ice Cream Sandwich customers coming out of their contracts and being lured by the iPhone 5, which is also tipped to arrive in September or October, depending on who you talk to. Further new details are scant, but the Ice Cream Sandwich OS is likely to land on a new flagship Android device, be it a smartphone or a tablet. YummyAnnounced earlier this year, the new OS is intended to sit on both phones and slates. Google described it as its "most ambitious release to date", bringing the most delicious bits of both Honeycomb and Gingerbread to one salacious operating system. With Samsung hotly tipped to be developing the next Google Nexus device, we wouldn't be surprised to see that launch with the OS in October too.
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| Posted: 09 Aug 2011 10:15 AM PDT At the time of the launch, Samsung claimed the ST30 was the world's smallest digital compact camera with a zoom, and it is actually smaller than a credit card. Inside the diminutive aluminium casing is a 10.1 megapixel CCD. The sensor is slightly smaller than many other digital compact cameras' at 1/3 inch which could cause problems with noise. The Samsung ST30 is aimed at the point and shooter who wants to shoot parties etc and wants a camera that's small and looks good in front of friends and family. The camera is full of auto settings so that you don't have to think about anything apart from what to point the tiny lens at.
Because of the miniature size, the back of the camera is cluttered with buttons and the screen is slightly smaller than the standard size at 2.4 inches. The function button is used to access a small menu with the most used features such as resolution, file compression, ISO, white-balance, face detection, focusing and metering options among others. This prevents you having to hunt through pages and pages of options in the main menu. Helpfully however, you can also access the function menu options in the main menu. Most aspects are controlled automatically by the ST30, but it's still possible to selecte spot and centre weighted metering insteadof the default multi metering. Only two focusing modes are available, centre spot and multi spot. Interestingly, the camera defaults the centre focusing option. For photographers that want to add their own individual style to their pictures, the ST30 sports nine picture styles including Soft, Vivid, Forest, Retro, Cool, Calm, Classic, Negative and Custom RGB. They each apply an effect. Built with an aluminium casing, the ST30 is available in five different colours and it feels solid enough although the battery lid is a feeble bendy plastic. To make sure that the camera appeals to as many people as possible, it conforms to the ideology of what a digital compact camera should look like, only smaller. However, that doesn't mean that the camera handles badly. Sure it's small, but unless you have big hands then everything falls to your fingers nicely.
As we mentioned before, the screen is slightly smaller than usual and this is obviously due to the small design of the camera. The screen resolution is lower as well, and it shows when taking pictures. The Samsung ST30 is easy to use and it's certainly good enough for general use and 'quick snap' picture taking. The menu is a simple enough affair. Helpfully, Samsung has taken the most commonly used features and placed them in a separate menu system for easier use. The Samsung ST30 actually performs well. We had our reservations because of the size of the camera and because we also had trouble seeing images on the screen. It's a bit too small by modern standards and it's also not very bright. Still, the sensor recorded colours nicely, we're impressed with the primary range as they came out bright and rich. Complex colours such as purple also had a good result from the camera which is always nice to see.
We're also impressed with how the camera handles light. In normal circumstances (ie broad daylight), pictures are nicely exposed, but we found that the ST30 also coped well in difficult lighting. Thanks to the sensor's dynamic range, highlights are retained and there's also detail in shadow areas. We found that the white-balance system works adequately for most circumstances. There's no shade setting and the cloud setting doesn't cut the mustard in that scenario. Still, if you have the time, the ST30 has a manual option to set the balance yourself. Noise is a bit hit and miss on the Samsung ST30 digital compact camera. While some of our pictures at low ISO have come out lovely and smooth with no sign of coloured speckling, a number of pictures at relatively low ISO have high levels of noise. We couldn't isolate the problem to find a recurring pattern, so it's worth noting to use the lowest ISO possible at all times. Our lab tests prove that noise is a problem even at the lowest setting. It remains relatively under control through the low to mid-range stages, but at ISO1600 the ST30 simply can't cope. At this stage, detail dissipates, purple blobs appear and hard artefacts scatter around the image. To try and control it, the camera knocks the resolution down to 3 megapixels and this does solve some of the problems but the colour invasion remains. It's easy to fall into a trap of thinking that because the ST30is small and basic that the pictures it produces are going to be poor. But Samsung has shown a degree of cunning in only fitting a 10 megapixel sensor to the ST30, because the picture quality is actually pretty good. Colours are good, focusing is relatively fast and metering is more than adequate. One of the ST30's failings is that it sounds like a toy when focusing and taking a picture, but thankfully, the sounds can be switched off. Click on any of the images to view full size.
ISO sensitivity testClick on any of the images to view full size.
ISO 80 (See the full res image here.)
ISO 100 (See the full res image here.)
ISO 200 (See the full res image here.)
ISO 400 (See the full res image here.)
ISO 800 (See the full res image here.)
ISO 1600 (See the full res image here.)
ISO 3200 (See the full res image here.) Sensor: 10.13 megapixel 1/3 inch CCD The main problem that the Samsung ST30 has is assumption. Consumers may see its small size and small price tag and immediately think it's inadequate. But its picture quality is very good for a camera at this level and if you can cope with the small screen and buttons then the ST30 will provide some nice pictures on your holiday. The Samsung ST30 is most suited to families looking for a budget digital compact camera that is easily pocketed for security and convenience without compromising too much on quality. It's got a decent build so if one of the kids gets hold of it and drops it, there's more chance of the camera withstanding the impact. If you're looking for a budget digital compact camera that produces good pictures then this a camera worth looking at. We likedIt could be a hindrance to some people, but we love the dinky size of the ST30. It takes great pictures which you can't appreciate until you see them on a computer. We dislikedThe lack of any "proper" camera sounds makes it sound more like a toy. The screen is sadly lacking in quality and you simply can't see whether the pictures are any good until you get home. By then, of course, it's too late. 
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| Review: 11-inch MacBook Air 2011 Posted: 09 Aug 2011 09:37 AM PDT The 2011 MacBook Air refresh retains the form factor introduced with 2010's line of ultraportables, but makes significant improvements to the core technologies. Apple has switched the ageing Core 2 Duo chips for new Sandy Bridge processors, the Mini DisplayPort has been replaced by a versatile and powerful Thunderbolt port and the backlit keyboard makes a welcome return too. The new MacBook Air range (check out our 13-inch MacBook Air review) contains four off-the-shelf versions. The cheapest offers an 11-inch screen, 64GB of flash storage and 2GB of memory for £849. The next in line, also an 11-inch model, has a 128GB SSD and 4GB of RAM for £999. A similarly spec'd 13-inch MacBook Air costs £100 more, while for £1349 you can get a 256GB flash drive. All four MacBook Airs have dual-core Intel Core i5 processors (1.6GHz for the 11-inch models, 1.7GHz for the 13-inch notebooks), with Intel HD Graphics 3000 integrated graphics. Each has two USB 2.0 ports, usefully positioned with one on each side of the notebook, and a Thunderbolt port. The 13-inch model also has an SD card reader. All the Airs also have a FaceTime camera that supports full native resolution on the built-in display and up to 2560 x 1600 pixels on an external display. The MacBook Air we're reviewing here is the more expensive of the two 11-inch models, but enhanced by the optional customisations available when ordering at the Apple online store. The processor has been beefed up to a dual-core 1.8GHz Intel Core i7 and the flash storage drive has been doubled in size to 256GB. Naturally, these enhancements take their toll on the price. This custom-built MacBook Air costs £1,399, which is more expensive than the priciest off-the-shelf model. But is it worth the extra money, and do you really need all that power in an 11-inch MacBook Air? The customised 11-inch MacBook Air has a dual-core 1.8GHz Intel Core i7 processor with 4MB shared L3 cache. This is a significant step up from the Core 2 Duo chips used in the 2010 models. These new second-generation Sandy Bridge Core i-series processors feature Hyper Threading, which enables two threads to be run on each of their two cores. This means that when you're running applications built to take advantage of multiple cores, the chip can spread tasks more evenly and work more efficiently. Another useful feature is Turbo Boost 2.0, which increases the processor's maximum running speed at times of intense need. It's only a temporary increase and it can only cut in when power and temperature considerations allow, but Turbo Boost 2.0 activates more often and stays on for longer than the Turbo Boost feature in the original Core i-series chips. It's automatic too, requiring no user intervention.
Thunderbolt, meanwhile, is an exciting new I/O technology that can handle video as well as data transfer. A Thunderbolt port is the same size as the Mini DisplayPort it replaces and you can plug in a Mini DisplayPort external screen without using an adapter cable. If you need a DVI, HDMI or VGA connection, you can buy an adapter. As a data port, it gives transfer speeds of 10Gbps in both directions, which is 12 times faster than FireWire 800 and 20 times faster than USB 2.0. You can daisy chain up to six devices on a single Thunderbolt port too. Interestingly, Thunderbolt adapters for gigabit Ethernet and FireWire 800 are planned, bringing both to the MacBook Air for the first time. Like all MacBook Airs, our model lacks an optical drive. If you need to install software or rip music from a CD or DVD, you can use Apple's Remote Disc feature to share another computer's drive as long as it's on the same network, or buy a USB Apple SuperDrive for £66. Unlike the previous generation of MacBook Air, the operating system and bundled software isn't supplied on a read-only thumb drive either. Instead, OS X 10.7 Lion can be reinstalled over the internet using its built-in recovery partition, while the bundled iLife applications (now down to iPhoto, iMovie and GarageBand – iWeb and iDVD are no longer included) can be downloaded for free from the Mac App Store. The backlit keyboard, which lights up your notebook's keys in low-light conditions, has long been a favourite feature of MacBook users. For some reason, it was removed for the 2010 refresh of the MacBook Air, but it's back on this new 2011 model, so you can once again type in the dark without tilting your screen forwards to illuminate the keys. Some things remain the same, though. The battery is still good for around five hours of web surfing. As always, closing the lid puts the MacBook Air into Sleep mode and, like the last generation, after an hour asleep it goes into Standby mode – an ultra-low power state that takes around 30 days to drain a fully charged battery. The screen is still a beautiful 11.6-inch LED-backlit glossy widescreen display with a pixel resolution of 1366 x 768, a figure you'd expect from most 13-inch notebooks. The body is once again based on Apple's construction process, which has included the display housing from the last refresh, using 48% fewer parts and enabling a thinner yet stronger MacBook Air. The 2011 MacBook Air is an awesome machine, a fact borne out by our test results. The new Sandy Bridge 1.8GHz Core i7 processor soon showed its worth. In our Cinebench test, which measures the MacBook Air's 3D rendering capabilities, the new chip's Hyper Threading feature gave it a great advantage over the previous models. Its multicore score was almost 159% higher than the 1.4GHz Core 2 Duo 11-inch MacBook Air from 2010, and over 90% up on the 1.86GHz 13-inch model. Our Xbench test, which looks at the CPU and storage drive, also showed a massive improvement for the 2011 MacBook Air, almost doubling last year's 1.86GHz 13-inch model's score. In fact, the only test in which the new Air didn't trounce the 2010 notebooks was our Doom 3 frame rate test. The Sandy Bridge's integrated Intel HD Graphics 3000 chipset is on a par with the previous generation's Nvidia GeForce 320M (which couldn't be integrated into Core i-series processors due to a legal dispute), but it isn't quite as good at rendering 3D games. Its score of 62.7 frames per second (fps) beat the 2010 1.4GHz 11-inch MacBook Air's 51.7fps, but was a little behind the 1.86GHz 13-inch model's 69 fps.
The SSD means boot-up time is extremely low. What's more, you can make use of Standby mode by closing the lid without switching the power off, which means your MacBook will be instantly on when you open the lid again. This is ideal for times when you're likely to use your computer frequently but in short bursts, such as blogging at a show or event. Like all new Mac notebooks, battery life is excellent too, with a full charge giving up to five hours of web surfing and up to 30 days in Standby Mode. We also tested it by running the BBC iPlayer's live feed at full screen and it lasted an impressive two hours and 34 minutes. The screen is amazing, with excellent viewing angles; crisp, consistent colours; and a pixel resolution that's on a par with many 13-inch laptops. Its small size and widescreen aspect ratio are ideal for watching a movie or TV show on an aeroplane or train, and the backlit keyboard makes it easy to type in low-light conditions. We won't see the benefit of the move to Thunderbolt until more compatible peripherals (or at least adapters) are released. Third-party manufacturers seem very slow on the uptake with this one. But since it offers all the functions of the Mini DisplayPort it replaces, it's not to our disadvantage in the short term. We've no hesitation in recommending the new 2011 11-inch MacBook Air. Before investing £1,399 in the customised, 256GB Core i7 version reviewed here, though, ask yourself what you're going to use it for and whether you need to spend that much. Are you going to use it as a convenient carry-around computer, something you can drop in your bag and use on the move, before syncing with your main Mac at home again? If so, the £849 entry-level 2011 MacBook Air might well prove powerful enough.
The mid-2011 MacBook Air refresh sees the range move to Intel's new Sandy Bridge Core i-series processors. The backlit keyboard makes a welcome return, while the Mini DisplayPort has been replaced by a Thunderbolt port. The new Airs have the same form factor as the previous generation and also retain many of the features, such as the solid state drive and LED backlit widescreen display. The MacBook Air reviewed here is the more expensive of the two 11-inch models, augmented with a 1.8GHz Intel Core i7 processor and 256GB SSD, which are available as options when ordering on Apple's online store. We liked The new Sandy Bridge processors are awesome, with Hyper Threading and Turbo Boost features giving them a real advantage over the previous generation's Core 2 Duo chips. The backlit keyboard is a real boon and a feature that was sorely missed when dropped for the 2010 release. Meanwhile, the Thunderbolt port will prove its worth over time as more peripherals are released. We disliked The Air's graphical abilities have stood still. Although far from poor, this area doesn't benefit from the same kind of great leap forward that processing power has enjoyed. The model reviewed here could struggle to find its niche too, proving too small to use as a main Mac and too expensive to be a convenient portable. It's a call only you as the end user can make, but an entry-level 11-inch MacBook Air might be more appropriate for your needs. Verdict We have no hesitation in recommending the 2011 11-inch MacBook Air, but before spending £1,399 on this expensively customised model, you should ask yourself if you really need the extra power and storage. If you want your Air as a convenient portable Mac to supplement to your main machine, you might be better off with an entry-level model. 
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| Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini Pro released in the UK Posted: 09 Aug 2011 09:32 AM PDT The dinky Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini Pro has finally been released in the UK, bringing its slide-out QWERTY keyboard and Android 2.3 with it. Available now from Carphone Warehouse, the Xperia Mini Pro can be yours for £20 a month on a 24-month plan on Orange. First unveiled back in May, the Xperia Mini Pro has a 3-inch screen which offers the same Sony Bravia technology that you'll find in its higher end brethren like the Xperia Play. Professional midgetIt's virtually the same phone as the X10 Mini, but for the addition of the slide-out QWERTY; so you'll get the same Android 2.3, the same HD video recording, the same 1GHz Snapdragon processor and the same Timescape UI that works with the touchscreen. We awarded a princely four stars in our official Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini Pro review, describing it as "streets ahead" of other entry-level smartphonse. If you're after an ultra-compact QWERTY Android phone, we concluded, you can't go far wrong. 
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| Official BlackBerry blog taken down after hack Posted: 09 Aug 2011 09:27 AM PDT RIM's official BlackBerry blog was hacked this afternoon in retaliation against the company after it announced that it would cooperate with the police investigation into the London riots. The hackers calling themselves TeamPoison posted a statement on the blog, warning that RIM would "regret it" if it passes information on to the police. "If you do assist the police by giving them chat logs, gps locations, customer information & access to peoples BlackBerryMessengers you will regret it," the statement read. "We have access to your database which includes your employees information; e.g – Addresses, Names, Phone Numbers etc. – now if u assist the police, we _WILL_ make this information public and pass it onto rioters…. do you really want a bunch of angry youths on your employees doorsteps?" TTFN BBM?Many rioters are alleged to have swapped information and made plans using BlackBerry Messenger, but the hackers seem convinced that "members of the public who were at the wrong place at the wrong time and owned a blackberry will get charged for no reason at all." RIM has now taken the Inside BlackBerry blogging site down and is looking in to the attacks. Speculation was rife yesterday that the company would suspend BlackBerry Messenger in an attempt to stem the rioting; however, just as we reported, this didn't come to pass. However, the company has released statement at the time, saying "We have engaged with the authorities to assist in any way we can." 
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| Posted: 09 Aug 2011 09:18 AM PDT D-Link has announced a new iPad app for the Boxee Box media streamer, which offers the ability to organise, watch and share video content through your iPad. The new app has been designed to make it easier to bookmark videos for watching later on your iPad, TV or computer. The app also allows you to send media through the iPad to your TV, with the app's Watch on Boxee tab. You can also flip-reverse this and stream content from your Boxee Box on to the iPad through the My Media tab. Some magic behind the scenes means that you don't have to convert the files either as this is all done automatically by the app. New integration"Working together to bring Boxee Box users this new integration reinforces our commitment to ensuring devices in the home should be all talking to one another – whether it's a router, storage, a camera, a phone, a Boxee Box or an iPad," said Kevin Wen, President of D-Link Europe, about the app. "No other software platform allows for this level of interactivity, and the experience continues to set the benchmark for what Internet TV should be." Boxee Box's firmware has also had an update, which brings experimental AirPlay support and OS X Lion compatibility. 
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| Tutorial: How to install and run Windows on Mac Posted: 09 Aug 2011 08:35 AM PDT Whether you're a Mac user who occasionally needs to use Windows, or a Windows user who's just switched to Mac, it's great to know you can enjoy the best of both worlds and run Windows on Mac without having to run completely separate computers. That is, as long as you Mac has an Intel CPU inside you can run Windows on your Mac. All you need is a copy of Microsoft Windows, of course, some virtualisation software and for your Mac to meet Windows' minimum specs Whether you own a Mac with multiple internal SSD or hard disk drives or just the one, the principle is the same: you'll need to create a Windows-compatible partition or dedicated drive that you can install and run Windows on Mac. Run Windows in Boot CampOne of the easiest and cheapest ways to do this is to use the Boot Camp Assistant software that comes bundled with every copy of Mac OS X - you'll find it in your Mac's Applications > Utilities folder. Boot Camp enables you to choose where you'd like the Windows-compatible partition to go, how big you'd like it to be and then enables you to install all the drivers you need for Windows to take advantage of your Mac's features - from its keyboard and trackpad to its graphics card and Wi-Fi. Boot Camp's only real disadvantage is that it only enables you to run one operating system at time.
IN LION: Boot Camp Assistant is the built-in Windows installer for Mac OS X 10.7 Lion. You'll find it in the Applications > Utilities folder To use Windows and its bundled applications like Internet Explorer, you'll need to reboot your Mac - something that's a bit of a time-waster and can be cumbersome to do - especially if you'd like to share files between the two. You can choose which operating system you wish to boot into by holding down the key when you start your Mac. Run Windows in Parallels Desktop or VMware FusionThe alternative is to use dedicated virtualisation programmes such as Parallels Desktop 6 for Mac (£64.99) or VMware Fusion 3 for Mac (£53.95 standalone / £67.37 with 12 months' worth of updates) These enable you to run both operating systems at the same time - either by running Windows in its own dedicated window (the guest OS) in Mac OS X (the host OS) or by switching to full virtualisation mode where Windows-only apps like Internet Explorer and Windows Media Player appear to run in Mac OS X just like any other app on your Mac.
IN PARALLEL: Parallels Desktop 6 for Mac enables you to create a virtual machine for Windows on your Mac. You can even use it to migrate all your files, settings and preferences from your PC In Parallels this is called Coherence, in VMware Fusion it's called Unity. The major advantage of these approaches is that you'll be more easily able to share files between the Mac and Windows platforms - and you won't have to keep rebooting every time you want to use a specific app. If you only use plan to use Windows occasionally on your Mac, the price of Parallels or VMware Fusion maybe hard to justify. Run Windows in Oracle VirtualBoxLuckily there is an alternative in the shape of Oracle VirtualBox It feels a little antiquated and lacks the bells and whistles of Parallels and VMware Fusion, but it's also open source and - best of all - free. If you're switching from PC to Mac full-time, then both Parallels Desktop 6 for Mac and VMware Fusion 3 include Migration Assistants than make it easy to move all your stuff from your Windows machine to your new virtual one, while keeping all your Windows settings, preferences, etc in tact. Neither Boot Camp or Oracle Virtualbox includes these features. Now that's sorted, lets take a look at how you can install and use Windows on your Mac using Boot Camp, Parallels, VMware Fusion and VirtualBox How to install Windows using Boot Camp on your MacBoot Camp is the dedicated Windows installer for Mac OS X. It enables you to create a separate partition (or dedicated internal disk drive, if you have more than one) and prompts you to download and burn to disc the additional drivers you need so Windows can take advantage of all the features and hardware in your Mac. You can then insert the Windows install disc to install the operating system. Your Mac will reboot from the disc so you can install Windows just as you would on a PC. After several restarts you can use the disc you burned earlier to install the Boot Camp drivers Windows needs.
How to install Windows using Parallels Desktop 6 For MacFirst install Parallels Desktop 6 for Mac (a trial version is available) then launch it to begin the Windows installation process. It can find and use an existing Boot Camp partition, if you have one, or you can use its assistant to create one from scratch. You can also use its built-in migration assistant to copy any existing preferences, settings and files from your user account on a Windows PC. Like Boot Camp, Parallels will prompt you to install a toolbox of drivers when you first run Windows so it can take advantage of the hardware features of your Mac. Parallels enables you to run Windows in a dedicated window in Mac OS X or use its Coherence mode. This enables you to access features like the Windows Start menu from within Mac OS X as well as to launch Windows-only apps such as Internet Explorer and Windows Media Player.
How to install Windows using VMware Fusion 3 for MacThe installer and operating environment works in a similar way to Parallels Desktop 6 for Mac - although Parallels has the edge when it comes to performance and user-friendliness. Again you can use an existing Boot Camp partition drive or create a virtual machine from scratch. Like Boot Camp and Parallels, VMware Fusion prompts you to install suitable drivers when you first fire up Widows.
How to install Windows using Oracle VirtualBoxA less polished - but free - alternative to Parallels and VMware Fusion, VirtualBox also enables you to run Windows as guest OS to the Mac OS X host. Installing and using it works on similar lines to the other two virtualisation apps, including the ability to run Windows-only applications alongside Mac OS X ones using a 'seamless' approach.
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| Nikon Coolpix P500 review: TechRadar labs data Posted: 09 Aug 2011 08:27 AM PDT Our test of the Nikon Coolpix P500 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 chartsIf you view our crops of the resolution chart's central section at 100% (or Actual Pixels) you will see that, for example, at ISO 160 the Nikon Coolpix P500 is capable of resolving up to around 20 (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 160, score: 20 (see full image)
ISO 200, score: 20 (see full image)
ISO 400, score: 18 (see full image)
ISO 800, score: 16 (see full image)
ISO 1600, score: 14 (see full image)
ISO 3200, score: 14 (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 Nikon Coolpix P500 are on par with both the Sony Cybershot HX100V and Fujifilm Finepix HS20 up to a sensitivity of ISO 400. Above this value the Nikon Coolpix P500 show less noise than the comparison cameras.
This chart indicates that the Nikon Coolpix P500's JPEGs dynamic range is comparable with the Panasonic DMC-FZ48 
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| Screenshots reveal iOS 5 speech-to-text feature Posted: 09 Aug 2011 07:23 AM PDT Screenshots of a speech-to-text feature that is said to be making its way to iOS 5 have surfaced. The Nuance-powered feature will require users only to tap the microphone icon next to the on-screen spacebar, and speak aloud leaving text to magically appear on screen. The microphone overlay (pictured below) appears once you've clicked the microphone and sticks around as long as you keep talking.
According to the source who sent the screengrabs to 9to5Mac, this feature is only coming to iPod touch and iPhone with iOS 5, and won't be making its way to the iPad. It's not entirely clear why Apple would withhold it from the tablet, but it has been known to keep certain features back in the past so isn't entirely outside of the realms of possibility. iOS 5, which was announced back in June, is expected to make its way to handsets in September or October, right in time to launch on the iPhone 5. Handy. As for speech-to-text making it in the OS? We can't see why not.
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| AMD rams into the memory market Posted: 09 Aug 2011 06:46 AM PDT Graphics and processing unit giant AMD could be about to release its own Radeon-branded memory in a series of three different modules. The modules are set to be Entertainment, Ultra Pro Gaming and Enterprise, according to Japanese site Akiba. The Entertainment series is described as "fast and reliable", and "the best choice for digital entertainment", clocking in at 1333Mbps. The 1600Mbps Ultra Pro Gaming series - as the name suggests - is aimed at ultra pro gamers. It comprises of "hand selected high quality memory parts" and "provides the head room to succeed critical gaming missions". Which presumably doesn't mean midnight trips to Game when Battlefield 3 is released. AMD seems to love its critical missions, and the Enterprise series "has been developed for the most popular critical mission servers". Its data rate is yet to be confirmed. Well RadAll the modules come in DDR3 2GB capacities, and are "ideally suited" to AMD's CPU and APU products - although we're not sure if they'd outperform any other memory. They do have that all-important Radeon sticker on them, though. UK pricing and release dates haven't been announced yet, but the Entertainment series is stocked in Japan for 1,570 yen (£12.42) and Canada for C$19.99 (£12.24), which makes it reasonably-priced. AMD hasn't entered the standalone system memory market before. We do wonder if it's worried about losing money on its graphics cards thanks to its Fusion accelerated processing units, and is looking for other ways to bolster the Radeon brand. 
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| Android 3.1 update rolls out to UK Motorola Xooms Posted: 09 Aug 2011 06:08 AM PDT Motorola has announced that the Android 3.1 update is now rolling out to Motorola Xoom tablets in the UK. The over-the-air software update brings with it a more visual multi-tasking tool, resizable homescreen widgets, keyboard and mouse support and activates the SD card slot that has been redundant until now. Activate the QueenOther handy new features that Android 3.1 supports are picture transfer directly from a camera via USB, support for joysticks and game pads, Wi-Fi lock and Adobe Flash player. Although some of our American cousins have already begun to see Android 3.2 land on their Xooms, Android 3.1 launched in May 2011 and is only now making its way to the flagship tablet in the UK. In the meantime, Samsung has managed to launch its Android 3.1-toting Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, which will give the Xoom a good run for its money, particularly dubbed "the best Android tablet yet" and is likely to give the Xoom a run for its money. 
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| Sony Cybershot DSC-HX100V review: TechRadar labs data Posted: 09 Aug 2011 05:57 AM PDT Sony Cybershot DSC-HX100VOur test of the Sony Cybershot DSC-HX100V 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 Cybershot DSC-HX100V, we've shot our resolution chart 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 Cybershot DSC-HX100V is capable of resolving up to around 24 (line widths per picture height x100) in its highest quality JPEG file sensitivity setting reveals the following resolution scores in line widths per picture height x100:
ISO 100, score: 24(see full image)
ISO 125, score: 24(see full image)
ISO 160, score: 22(see full image)
ISO 200, score: 22(see full image)
ISO 250, score: 22(see full image)
ISO 320, score: 22(see full image)
ISO 400, score: 22(see full image)
ISO 500, score: 20(see full image)
ISO 640, score: 20(see full image)
ISO 800, score: 20(see full image)
ISO 1000, score: 18(see full image)
ISO 1250, score: 18(see full image)
ISO 1600, score: 18(see full image)
ISO 2000, score: 16(see full image)
ISO 2500, score: 16(see full image)
ISO 3200, score: 16(see full image) Noise and dynamic rangeThese graphs were produced using data generated byDXO 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 Cybershot HX100V show less noise than both the Panasonic FX48 and Canon Powershot SX30 IS up to an ISO value of 400
This chart indicates that the Sony Cybershot HX100V JPEGs have a at least a 0.5EV higher dynamic range than the Panasonic's JPEG files up to a sensitivity of ISO 800. 
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| Posted: 09 Aug 2011 05:57 AM PDT Sony Cybershot DSC-HX100VOur test of the Sony Cybershot DSC-HX100V 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 Cybershot DSC-HX100V, we've shot our resolution chart 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 theSony Cybershot DSC-HX100V is capable of resolving up to around 24 (line widths per picture height x100) in its highest quality JPEG file sensitivity setting reveals the following resolution scores in line widths per picture height x100:
ISO 100, score: 24(see full image)
ISO 125, score: 24(see full image)
ISO 160, score: 22(see full image)
ISO 200, score: 22(see full image)
ISO 250, score: 22(see full image)
ISO 320, score: 22(see full image)
ISO 400, score: 22(see full image)
ISO 500, score: 20(see full image)
ISO 640, score: 20(see full image)
ISO 800, score: 20(see full image)
ISO 1000, score: 18(see full image)
ISO 1250, score: 18(see full image)
ISO 1600, score: 18(see full image)
ISO 2000, score: 16(see full image)
ISO 2500, score: 16(see full image)
ISO 3200, score: 16(see full image) Noise and dynamic rangeThese graphs were produced using data generated byDXO 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 Cybershot HX100V show less noise than both the Panasonic FX48 and Canon Powershot SX30 IS up to an ISO value of 400
This chart indicates that the Sony Cybershot HX100V JPEGs have a at least a 0.5EV higher dynamic range than the Panasonic's JPEG files upto a sensitivity of ISO 800. 
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| In Depth: iCloud: everything you need to know Posted: 09 Aug 2011 05:50 AM PDT MobileMe is dead. Long live iCloud. That's was the resounding message from Steve Jobs' keynote speech at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference in June – an event that also saw the announcement of OS X 10.7 Leopard and iOS 5 for iPhone, iPad and iPod. The changes wrought by iCloud are fundamental to the way all these devices will work together in future. In a nutshell, Apple is using push technology – first pioneered by the BlackBerry smartphone and then adopted by the iPhone – and has widened its appeal with a whole raft of new features for OS X and iOS that could easily change the way you use them in future. What is iCloud?
NOT SO MOBILE ME: Apple looks set to ditch MobileMe in a favour of iCloud, a new cloud-based service to include more in coming years The biggest change is that the push technology used by iCloud means you'll no longer have to synchronise your Mac with your other Apple kit using the MobileMe synchronisation settings found in System Preferences; it will just happen automatically. Need to change your partner's mobile phone number? Change it in Address Book on your Mac and that change will be pushed to the Contacts app on your iPhone, iPod and iPad in an instant. You won't even need to do a thing. However, the there's a whole lot more to the way iCloud works. The aim of this feature is to tell you about each one and how it will affect the way you use your Mac and other devices. Let's start with the basics. If you use MobileMe and Mail, then you'll know all about push technology already. What's new is that it has spread to iCal and Address Book, so you'll no longer have to worry about synchronising them yourself or frothing in frustration when it doesn't work, or you end up with lots of duplicated content. Steve Jobs admitted during his WWDC keynote that MobileMe was below par – that it "wasn't our finest hour". Fortunately, iCloud replaces MobileMe's 'It just works... Sometimes' with 'It just works.' It should be a major change for the better. Arriving in the Autumn alongside iOS 5, iCloud will also give you fully fledged replacements for MobileMe's iDisk and iWork.com (the beta website service Apple launched alongside iWork '09 that enabled you to share your Keynote, Numbers and Pages documents with friends and co-workers, while also acting as a handy backup). Instead iCloud will now give you iCloud Storage, another push-based cloud computing service that will automatically synchronise any new documents you create on your Mac, iPad, iPod or iPhone to the other devices you own. So no longer will you have to worry that you've left behind a crucial Keynote presentation for work on your Mac at home. Another new feature of iCloud is the Photo Stream service, which enables you to do with your pictures what you can do with your documents – sync and share them seamlessly and easily using push technology. On the Mac, this feature will be integrated into a future update to iPhoto, but you can already imagine what that means for photos you've take on your iOS device: they'll also automatically appear on your Mac and other Apple devices – and they'll even appear in the My Pictures folder of your work PC, if you have to use one (although the exact details on how this will work have yet to be fleshed out). One of the most important changes for music fans is that iCloud will also enable you to enjoy content from your iTunes music library anywhere you want it. For Apple has announced iTunes Match, a service that will scan your iTunes library and automatically synchronise it with what's available from the iTunes Store. It will then enable you to add any missing content from the iTunes Store simply by uploading it to iCloud. What's more is that much of Apple's revamped replacement for MobileMe will be available either cheaply or for free: Contacts, Calendar, Mail and document storage will cost you nothing (with some caveats – more on these later) while iTunes in the Cloud will be a paltry $24.99 (£15.21) a year, although it and iTunes Match are only currently available in the US. But perhaps the most fundamental change of all is that Apple has finally 'cut the cable' between the Mac and your other Apple devices. Now they will all be able to stay in sync wirelessly using Wi-Fi or 3G. This gives you the freedom to do whatever you want with whichever device you're using, without either having to tether them to each other using bits of wire, or relying on the vagaries of one of the most unloved corners of the Apple empire: MobileMe. iCloud release date and betaiCloud will shop at the same time as iOS 5 in the Autumn for the public. The service has gone live for registered Apple developers, with those lucky few able to test the functionality using iOS 5 and Mac OS X Lion. Feedback so far from the developer community has been mixed with some parties disappointed that full document editing in iWork using iCloud doesn't offer Google Docs-like solution many had hoped for. iCloud pricingApple has announced the pricing tiers for its iCloud service, which was launched in beta for developers on Monday. The company has already confirmed that it will be offering all iOS and Mac OS X users 5GB of cloud-based storage for free, but if you want a little extra, Apple is offering multiple solutions. 10GB of additional space will cost £14 a year, 20GB extra will be £28 a year, while 50GB of space on top of the free offering will be £70 every 12 months. However, don't fret, this doesn't include any media files, such as photos from the Photo Stream functionality or music. iCloud: how and why
SONY WOES: Sony PlayStation 3 owners know how it feels to have details stolen. Will iCloud be immune? Obviously, being able to synchronise all your stuff seamlessly and using iCloud isn't just about what you'll be able to do. You'll be joined by millions of other Mac, iPhone, iPod and iPad users too. The numbers speak for themselves: during the WWDC keynote, it was revealed that there are now 54 million active Mac users worldwide, along with 200 million iOS devices. That's an awful lot of data to push around, especially when you factor in iTunes into the Cloud too: you're talking, potentially, about many petabytes of data. To make all that happen not only requires decent mobile and fixed broadband speeds, it also requires an awful lot of storage, and Apple has been very busy making sure there's plenty to go around. Firstly, it's invested heavily in upgrading its existing data centres in Cupertino and Newark, California. It has also taken on extra capacity with a seven-year lease at the DuPont Fabros Centre in Santa Clara. Apple's biggest investment, however, has been at Maiden, North Carolina; it's invested $500 million (£304 million) in a new purpose-built data centre on the 255-acres of land it has acquired in the area, with plans already underway to build a second data centre next door. To make sure iCloud happened, Apple also spent $4.5 million (£2.73 million) buying the iCloud.com domain name from cloud computing company Xcerion. It then splashed an estimated $150 million (£91 million) on making sure it had on board all the major record labels – EMI, Warner, Sony and Universal – so it could launch iTunes in the iCloud. These are enormous amounts of money in anyone's book. What Apple's competing with, of course, are rival services to iCloud such as Google's Gmail and Amazon's Cloud Drive. Some of these services are available either at a low cost or for free, as well as cloud-based alternatives to iTunes such as Google Music, Spotify and Amazon Cloud Player.
AMAZON CLOUD DRIVE: The Cloud Drive service from Amazon is just one of many competitors to Apple's iCloud With so much competition either actually or potentially on the horizon, Apple's investment in iCloud makes perfect sense – especially when you also factor in competition coming from Microsoft, its Xbox Live services and Sony's recently troubled PlayStation network. There's also the question of what else Apple has up it sleeve. The ability to stream movies, TV shows and other video content was curiously absent from the WWDC keynote, although it's understood that Apple is engaged in bringing these services into iCloud too (something that may be in place for its Autumn launch). Let's look at some of the iCloud services that already exist in a bit more detail. Contacts, Calendar, MailWe've already touched on the major changes to this cornerstone of MobileMe and how it will change with iCloud. But there are a couple of other aspects to this that are worth exploring. Each one of these services has been extensively re-engineered from the ground up, so they'll work seamlessly with iCloud and by extension with the new versions of the OS X operating system: OS X 10.7 Lion on the Mac, and iOS 5 on the iPad, iPod and iPhone. Mail is being given a major make-over in Lion, while changes to iCal will make it much easier to share calendars with friends, family and colleagues. We're hoping that the changes here will also make their way into the iCloud web version: at the moment any calendars you subscribe to (UK holiday dates from Apple, for example) work fine on your Mac or iOS device, but you can't subscribe to them on MobileMe. We do hope this gets fixed in iCloud. App Store, iBookstore We haven't touched on these before because they're primarily aimed at iOS devices like the iPhone and iPad. In essence, anything you buy from the App Store or iBookstore will be automatically pushed to your other devices (up to 10, at no extra cost) enabling you to read a book or play a game you've previously downloaded for one Apple gadget on another. The implication is that this will also sync the app or book with your Mac's iTunes library automatically too. Still, its primary aim seems to be to enable you to keep all your previously purchased content so they'll be instantly available when you want to upgrade your iPhone, iPod or iPad to a new model. iCloud backupThis is another part of the iCloud service that's primarily aimed at iOS users. Anything you buy, any photos you take or settings you make on your iPhone, iPad and iPod will be automatically backed up over Wi-Fi. This will save you the hassle of synchronising them the old-fashioned way by hooking them up to your Mac using a USB cable. iCloud StorageThis is another area we've touched on already, so here's the detail. iCloud Storage will enable you to seamlessly synchronise and backup your documents – along with any changes made in those documents – using Keynote, Numbers and Pages. You'll get 5GB of free storage for your documents. That's a generous amount given that iCloud Storage specifically excludes any data storage you need for your iTunes music, books and apps, or your images in your Photo Stream. Apple says you'll be able to buy extra storage for your documents if you need it. Pricing will be announced when iCloud launches this autumn. iCloud Photo StreamThis is Apple's alternative to photo sharing services like Google Picasa or Flickr. Any photos you take on iOS devices such as your iPhone or iPad will be wirelessly pushed to all your other Apple kit, including your Mac and Apple TV, as well as to a PC. The last 1,000 photos you take will be stored on each iOS device to save space, but you'll also be able to save them permanently as an album. Apple says your Mac (or PC) will be able to store all your Photo Streams, but they'll only remain on the iCloud for 30 days (something, Apple argues, that will give you plenty of time to store them on your Mac via Wi-Fi). iTunes to iCloud
TO THE CLOUD!: Will Apple include movie streaming in its future iCloud plans This is iCloud's most exciting component. The contents of your Mac's iTunes music playlists will no longer have to jostle for space on your iPhone, iPad or iPod, because all of it will be available to you anywhere using iCloud. iTunes Match will do its best to tie up the contents of your iTunes library with the content that's available on the iTunes Store (something Apple says will take minutes, not days) and will even replace any low bit-rate versions with 256kbps equivalents. You will be able to upload any content the iTunes Store doesn't have to iCloud; the only catch is that you'll have to pay $24.99 (£15.21) a year for the privilege. Both iTunes in the Cloud and iTunes Match are currently only available in the US. Note though that iTunes in the Cloud doesn't yet include video. That means you won't be able to watch iTunes on the fly, but it's not yet clear if it will also include iTunes music videos too. The iCloud will also extend to all your iBooks and apps. All your purchased apps and iBooks can now easily be downloaded to all your devices, not just the device they were purchased on. The App Store and iBookstore also let you see your purchase history at a glance. While it was possible to do this before by buying the app again for free, this is a more elegant solution. 5 things we would like to see iCloud do next1. Movie Stream Like Photo Stream, only this time for movies. Steve Jobs made no mention of the video recording capabilities of the iPhone, but being able to push movies you shoot to your other devices would be great. 2. Ping 2.0 Like Ping, only much better – you'll see all your social networking feeds in one place and be able to write and upload your own content to any one of them with ease. 3. Web Stream A Mac-friendly rival to online blogging platforms such as Google's Blogger or Wordpress. It'll be quick and easy to post and share new content anywhere. 4. Game Center Extreme The next version of iOS 5 brings new features to Game Center, but we'd like it to do more – like enabling you to play multiplayer games against online friends and family using your Mac, iPad, and so on. 5. iTime Machine A speedy over-the-air backup service that would enable you to make incremental copies of the contents of your Mac's hard drive. It would work like a super Dropbox. 
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| Samsung DT7800 Freeview+ HD PVR announced Posted: 09 Aug 2011 05:11 AM PDT Samsung has announced the arrival of its new Freeview PVR – the BD-DT7800. The personal video recorder is one of the first by Samsung to be hooked up to its Smart Hub offering. The DT7800 has twin tuners, a 500GB built-in hard drive and it also offers the ability to edit TV programmes once you have recorded them, which means that you can trim them to length and cut out things like adverts. Because of its web functionality, the DT7800 can also act as a digital media server and there's also Samsung's All Share functionality on board as well as DLNA. 3D conversionAs with many of Samsung's latest products, the company has added some 3D functionality in the form of a 2D to 3D converter – this is the same technology that can be found on Samsung's Smart TVs and latest Blu-ray range. To go alongside the launch of the DT7800, Samsung is also offering cash back on purchases of the Freeview PVR and also if you buy a BD-D8900, BD-8500 and BD-D8200 Smart Blu-ray player or a SMT-S7800 Freesat PVR. Anyone who purchases these is entitled to £30 cash back. This offer begins 11 August, which is also the BD-DT7800 Freeview UK release date, with the box retailing for £279. 
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| Exclusive: Microsoft Touch Mouse delayed until end of August Posted: 09 Aug 2011 04:47 AM PDT Microsoft's Touch Mouse has been delayed until the end of August, missing its announced UK release date by two months. First unveiled at this year's CES, the Microsoft Touch Mouse UK release date was originally slated for June 2011. But you may have noticed that June 2011 has been and gone, bringing with it no sign of the Microsoft Touch Mouse. Time goes by so slowlyThe reasons for the delay haven't been revealed but we expect to hear more from Microsoft over the next few days. But it should perhaps come as no surprise, given that the Microsoft hardware team spent over a year turning its original multi-touch mouse prototype into a marketable product. The wireless Touch Mouse is Microsoft's rather tardy answer to Apple's Magic Mouse, a multi-touch cursor-controller which lets users flick and swipe as well as the traditional moving and clicking. The Microsoft Touch Mouse UK price will be £69.99 when it finally hits the shop shelves later this summer. 
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| Dixons assessing London riots damage Posted: 09 Aug 2011 04:22 AM PDT Britain's Dixons Group has told TechRadar that none of its staff were injured in the riots sweeping London, despite several of its Currys and PC World stores being targeted. Dixons Group is one of the nation's most recognisable electronics retailers, and its high value wares have been an attractive target for looters. Stores in Charlton and Tottenham are among those that have been hit hard by the rioters, but the retailer told TechRadar that it could offer little in terms of detail. Hands of the police"We cannot comment other than to confirm that the incident is in the hands of the police and our assessor," said a Dixons spokesperson. "We are very pleased to report that no staff or colleagues were involved or injured in the incidents. "Our priority now is for the continued safety of our customers and our staff and in getting our stores up and running again." With stores already facing tough times due to the economic downturn, the riots have certainly not helped Britain's technology retailers. 
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| Nintendo 3DS gets free Wi-Fi from The Cloud Posted: 09 Aug 2011 04:00 AM PDT Nintendo has struck a deal with The Cloud to give 3DS owners free access to 5,000 Wi-Fi points across the UK. Dubbed SpotPass, the service will see your Nintendo 3DS automatically connecting to The Cloud's network so you can browse the internet, get notifications and download games from the Nintendo eShop. It will even receive updates while it's in sleep mode, thus surprising users with new bits and pieces every time they open the 3DS up. To the cloud! Again!The company will be looking for every which way to push the struggling handheld console, having recently announced a major price drop in order to bolster the disappointing sales. Many are blaming a lack of quality 3DS games for its failures, something that access to Wi-Fi isn't likely to change. Still, it's a nice added extra for gamers who are out and about, putting the 3DS on more of a level pegging with the burgeoning smartphone gaming market. Nintendo 3DS owners should see their consoles automatically connecting to The Cloud from today. 
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| Skype 5.3 adds Lion support and HD video calling Posted: 09 Aug 2011 03:36 AM PDT Skype has added support for Mac OS X Lion and HD video calling to Skype 5.3 for Mac. It means that Skypers can send and receive HD quality video, provided their callers are using an HD webcam and they're enjoying broadband speeds of at least 1.5Mbps. The new software has been built to work with recently released Mac OS X Lion, but is compatible with OS X all the way back to Leopard so older Mac users shouldn't be afraid to install the update. King of the jungleDespite being bought by Microsoft earlier this year, Skype still seems pretty committed to arch-nemesis Apple's platforms, having released Skype for iPad just last week. The VoIP company has also recently announced a tie-in with Facebook to allow video calls through the social networking site. The new Lion-powered Skype 5.3 is available to download from Skype now. 
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