Sponsored

Techradar

---

• Updated: LTE-ready Nexus 9 is now up at T-Mobile, AT&T and Google Play
• Microsoft's Xbox head will 'talk about gaming' at Windows 10 event
• In Depth: Building a better mouse: inside Logitech's Swiss testing facility
• The biggest Chromebook yet might launch early in 2015
• Industry Voice: 3 critical mobility components that help IT managers sleep at night
• Hands-on review: Samsung Galaxy Tab Active
• Buying Guide: Best in ear headphones: our top 3 reviewed
• AAA games on Oculus Rift are years away, says dev
• The Apple Store starts accepting PayPal online
• Download of the day: Avidemux
• Google Maps just became an even better sat nav
• Interview: How to find crucial digital evidence in the big data haystack
• Boxing Day Deals: Boxing Day and January Sales: how to pick up a bargain this year!
• How the Snapdragon 810 is going to change smartphones
• INTERVIEW: What's next for Blackphone: App store, Silent Spaces and new phones
• The Honor 6 Plus is Huawei's Christmas present to us all
• Buying Guide: Group test: wide-angle prime lenses
• Industry voice: How to improve your Google rankings with SSL Hosting
• YouTube's GIF creator is its best idea in years

Updated: LTE-ready Nexus 9 is now up at T-Mobile, AT&T and Google Play Posted: 12 Dec 2014 03:32 PM PST T-Mobile said today that it's the first carrier to launch the LTE version of HTC's Nexus 9 tablet, but AT&T wasn't far behind. The un-carrier is offering the Nexus 9 online via its Underground store for its usual scheme of $0 down and a monthly fee spread out over two years - in this case $24.99, for a total of $599.76. On top of that they'll let you add the Nexus 9 to an existing Simple Choice plan for $10 per month, matching your existing data up to 5GB for use specifically on the tablet. And naturally the Nexus 9 is also eligible for T-Mobile's 200MB per month "free data for life" deal. AT&T and Google Play too AT&T meanwhile wants users to spend the full $600 on their LTE Nexus 9, with a meager $100 bill credit for those who grab a two-year contract too. But its data plans, too, start at $10 per month. Lastly Google Play also put the LTE Nexus 9 up for sale today, so if you don't mind paying full price and you don't want to be locked to a carrier then that's probably the way to go. The HTC-built Nexus 9 is a beast of a tablet, with Android 5.0 Lollipop, an 8.9-inch display and a Tegra K1 chip. T-Mobile's latest Simple Choice offer is an unlimited data family plan

Microsoft's Xbox head will 'talk about gaming' at Windows 10 event Posted: 12 Dec 2014 02:16 PM PST Microsoft announced yesterday that it will reveal the future of Windows 10 at an event in January, and they said at the time that Xbox head Phil Spencer will take the stage in some capacity. Now the Microsoft executive has revealed that he'll be discussing Windows gaming at the event. "I'll be focusing more on what we are doing on Win10 in January," he said in a tweet on December 11. "It's time for us to talk about gaming on Windows." Windows gaming is 'critical' Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella will head the Windows 10 event, while other executives from the company's operating systems group, including Spencer, will be on hand as well. Microsoft's efforts to invigorate Windows gaming have fallen universally flat in recent years, but Spencer has said in the past that the company wants to bring Windows gaming back into the spotlight, as Polygon points out. "Gaming on Windows is critical to Microsoft's success," he reportedly said at E3 this year, and it seems that statement may finally pay off in January. All change: why Microsoft's new staff shuffle is great news for gamers

In Depth: Building a better mouse: inside Logitech's Swiss testing facility Posted: 12 Dec 2014 01:58 PM PST Touring the testing grounds Before beginning my tour of Logitech's Lausanne, Switzerland testing facility, Ujesh Desais, general manager of the company's gaming-focused Logitech G products, cracks wise about the irony of testing mice in the basement. Despite Desais' joke, though, the research and development that goes into creating Logitech's mice and keyboards here in Switzerland is anything but funny. The visit to the tech campus, where Logitech crafted their very first mouse in 1981, along with other journalists wasn't meant to sell us on a specific peripheral or branded product, but instead to give an inside peek into the engineering and science behind their line of gaming mice and keyboards. The company's gaming devices may sport sleek designs and pretty, shiny lights, but Logitech wants its customers to know there's much more to their products than cosmetic appeal. To drive this point home, they led us on a lengthy, behind-closed-doors tour that occasionally felt more like a visit to a mad scientist's laboratory. One of our first stops, a room filled with robotic fingers hovering over keyboards, was essentially a torture chamber for WASD keys. Testing the endurance and lifespan of Logitech's Romer-G switch - a new key developed with the pro-gamer in mind - the machines punish the peripherals, jabbing the keys 13 times per second, until they'd survived 70 million clicks. According to Logitech's standards, the last press should feel just as comfortable and responsive as the 70th million. The next room, which happened to contain a monitor looping a video of a keyboard being run over by an SUV, housed a turntable that didn't look unlike the type you'd place a vinyl record on. Rather than playing your old LPs, though, the device spins discs of various surfaces. With a mouse placed on the disc, Logitech's engineers can quickly test its sensors for things like latency, speed and acceleration on just about any imaginable surface. My query as to whether they had a "Mountain Dew-stained desk" surface disc was met with only a smile. While the turntable didn't look out of place among Logitech's walls, the Katapult 2.0 had my wondering if I'd maybe wandered into a NASA testing facility. Powered by compressed air, the machine sports a large mechanical limb that swipes over a semi-circle at speeds my eyes couldn't keep up with. The point of this rigorous test, in layman's terms, is to mimic mouse swipes at extremely high speeds. Acceleration, trajectory and latency are also monitored by the device. The final stop was the anechoic chamber, a foam-padded room constructed in the deepest depths of the facility. Essentially a soundproof room but for wireless signals, the chamber tests the connections of Logitech's unplugged products by isolating radio frequencies. In other words, if your wireless products are suffering slow-down due to interfering Wi-Fi signals, you may want to invest in your own anechoic chamber; it'll only run you about $600,000. While the in-depth, info-packed tour of Logitech's testing site left me with with a bit of a brain cramp, it also provided a close-up look at the research, development and engineering that goes into the gaming peripherals many of use every day. So, next time you nail a head-shot in Counter Strike: GO, you can thank science, not luck, for your match-winning accomplishment. Head to the next page for a complete photo gallery! Photo gallery Below are more photos of my time at Logitech's Swiss testing grounds. Are Steam Machines the future of PC gaming?

The biggest Chromebook yet might launch early in 2015 Posted: 12 Dec 2014 01:15 PM PST Chromebooks so far have been fairly limited in size, but Acer might be preparing to launch the biggest one yet. The Taiwanese company, which is already a prolific Chromebook maker, will launch the 15.6-inch Acer C910 in March, reports a site called OMG Chrome. They're not saying where they got their info - besides saying a "Chrome Bandit" passed it along - but they seem to have an unusual amount of details. According to the site, the Acer C910 will be part of a new wave of "rugged" Chromebooks launching in early 2015 that also includes the 11-inch Acer C740. The 'Teacher's Chromebook' The Acer C910 Chromebook will reportedly sport a 15.6-inch display with either 1366 x 768 or 1920 x 1080 resolution, an Intel Broadwell or Core i3 chip, 2GB or 4GB memory, 16GB or 32GB storage, and the other usual bells and whistles (Bluetooth, HDMI, USB 3.0, etc.). In addition Acer will supposedly refer to it as the "Teacher's Chromebook," despite the fact that it's apparently launching in March, toward the end of the school year. There's no way to confirm any of this until Acer makes its announcements, but with the sheer volume of information the report contains we're inclined to at least give it some thought. 10 things Google should fix on the Chromebook

Industry Voice: 3 critical mobility components that help IT managers sleep at night Posted: 12 Dec 2014 12:44 PM PST The enterprise mobility industry is going through a methodology shift in how it approaches and thinks about mobile security. When Mobile Device Management (MDM) initially launched, the industry assumed having the ability to lock down features and functions on a particular device also helped secure the device. However, this configuration management type of approach was deemed unsatisfactory when it comes to providing actual security on top of what the underlying operating system provides. As the industry shifted from MDM to Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM), the focal point also shifted and honed in on securing applications and data to ensure corporate and government data residing on the device remains secure at all times. According to Gartner, in the next three years, 75% of mobile security breaches will result from mobile application misconfiguration. This risk factor, along with the increase in corporate mobile use, presents IT with a tricky challenge. BYOD-enabled businesses of all sizes are looking for broader EMM solutions to both address end-to-end data security, while providing an elegant user experience that enables stakeholders to work remotely on mobile devices. In order to turn BYOD from an IT nightmare into a business asset, IT managers can look to secure collaboration tools with built-in authentication, authorization and access control, and a strong, supporting ecosystem, as their security lifelines. Secure collaboration tools In today's BYOD environment, it's essential for employees to access the right information at the right time, from any device and in any location. According to Forrester, employees are beginning to purchase whatever devices and collaboration tools they need, whether company-sanctioned or not. In fact, approximately 32% of employees are willing to purchase collaboration tools to be as productive as possible. To not hinder this new way of working, IT teams must be the guardians that walk the fine line between enablement and control. Expanding further, IT managers must ensure employees are accessing corporate data in a secure manner at any given time, regardless of whether it's from personal or corporate devices. The combination of unsecured devices and leaky collaboration tools put sensitive data and the company at risk. With Forrester estimating that 15% of employees are accessing sensitive corporate data, such as customer information, nonpublic financial data and intellectual property, from personal devices, this is a wake up call and warning for IT managers. Unsecured collaboration tools that allow employees to move data around applications and various cloud services present dangers in the corporate environment. To avoid corporate liabilities, collaboration applications must have security (i.e. data-at-rest and data-in-transit encryption), policy management and compliance capabilities built in as a set of core capabilities from the beginning. IT managers will rest better knowing the collaboration tools are embedded with critical security and management capabilities at the application level. One common way IT managers can ensure high levels of security within collaboration applications is by using a mobile platform that has security as a foundational layer. Security is an enabler. Understanding security and thinking about it early will allow a CISO to say yes to a CIO's request to enable employee access on mobile devices because the company now has the proper risk mitigation controls in place. Strong authentication and multi-layer security It's highly recommended to have at multi-layered security approach that starts with strong authentication, especially given that passwords have become an antiquated approach that are easily getting compromised. Today, organizations can leverage password alternatives such as one-time password (OTP), smart cards, and biometric authentication, which include facial, voice and fingerprint. All are typically referred to as two-factor authentication; since it's something we know (i.e. a password or PIN) and something we have, which could be the token, smart card or biometric template. Going one step further, organizations can integrate into their existing identity and access management (IAM) strategy instead of trying to create something completely different for their mobile deployment. Strong authentication is just one layer in what should be a defense in depth approach. Additional risk mitigation techniques should include verification of the underlying operating system where these collaboration tools are installed on. In addition, there should be a verification of the actual applications themselves to ensure that these applications are providing the necessary security, policy management, and compliance controls as advertised. Open ecosystems Having flexibility around what authentication method to use or what mobile application to deploy to solve a particular use case is a major benefit and piece of mind to IA personnel and IT managers running the mobile deployment. It also provides a sense of agility in this fast-moving space where mobile deployments provide significant ROI when it comes to increased productivity. An open ecosystem should not only include a plethora of authentication providers and the ability to seamlessly migrate from one to another if the time comes, but also a variety of collaboration and productivity applications. Equally important are abstracted app-independent services that can solve various and often times specific needs for a particular enterprise. For an open ecosystem to succeed, independent software vendors (ISV's) need to be able to quickly jump on to a particular platform so they can take advantages of all that it offers instead of trying to figure it out themselves. This applies to things like encryption, overall security, authentication, and many other platform capabilities/offerings. The key to a broad open ecosystem is the underlying platform which should create a "If you build it they will come" phenomenon. By leveraging a robust mobile security platform, enterprises can truly crowd-source to solve their needs, whether they build something from scratch or more likely leverage a popular ISV and just have them integrate the underlying platform. As a result of leveraging an open ecosystem, with partners at every turn to help for any category of things a company might want to do, business gets further enabled by increasing productivity and user satisfaction all while reducing overall costs. An ecosystem, where every application shares the same underlying security methodologies, enables interoperability and unified enterprise policy management, helping meet compliance needs. The ecosystem of ISV's can focus on making user experience terrific, resulting in a happy end user community. In the past, companies were burdened with incomplete capabilities from one vendor's offerings, or from non-integrated components sourced from multiple vendors. This was a management nightmare for IT, a laundry list of potential risks for IA and a horrible user experience. Today, we have the luxury of open ecosystems, which give more choice, flexibility and streamlined and simplified methods to protect data. With 70% of enterprises claiming mobile support to employees will take high priority over the next 12 months, IT managers should be exploring new ways to leverage collaboration tools, strong authentication methods and open ecosystems. The enterprise mobility industry is refocusing its attention on applications and the mobile data that resides within them. As a result, information assurance personnel in partnership with IT managers must decide how best to protect sensitive corporate data and applications regardless of device type. Eugene Liderman is director of public sector technology at Good Technology

Hands-on review: Samsung Galaxy Tab Active Posted: 12 Dec 2014 11:30 AM PST There are certain things an iPad Air 2 isn't designed to do. For example: you wouldn't want to submerge it in three-feet of water for 30 minutes (it will die in any water). You wouldn't want to expose it to -4-degree or 140-degree temperatures (it can survive 32- to 95-degree temperatures), and you wouldn't want to drop it from up to four feet (it's been known to shatter at this height). The iPad Air 2 is definitely the best tablet on the market. However, it's not ideal for extremely energetic people or employees with outdoor jobs. In comes the Samsung Galaxy Tab Active ($699.99, £450, AU$850.00). The recently-released tablet from the Seoul, South Korea-based manufacturer can not only survive the tests I described above, it also provides a thoroughly enjoyable user experience. Similar to the awesome but expensive Panasonic Toughpad FZ-M1 ($2,099 AUD $2,358), the Galaxy Tab Active is built for people who are likely to come face-to-face with the elements. Unlike the Toughpad, the Tab Active is much more affordable and built to function for longer than six hours. Specs The 8-inch tablet is Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n-enabled with 16GB of storage (compared to 82gb on the Toughpad). Built on the Android 4.4 (KitKat) operating system, the Galaxy Tab Active features a 1.2 GHz, Quad-Core and Qualcomm APQ 8026 processor that's backed by Samsung Exynos. Like the incredible Samsung Galaxy Tab S ($399.99, £319, AU$479.00), the Active Tab features a gorgeous form factor and lightweight design (0.88 pounds without the recommended ruggedized case). However, the Tab Active is built with different requirements in mind - so some of the more impressive Galaxy Tab S features didn't find their way onto the Tab Active, while some of the less impressive Tab S specs have been upgraded to suit the business user's needs. For example: unlike the Galaxy Tab S and its ridiculous 2560x1600 resolution screen, the Galaxy Tab Active is only 1280x800. It also doesn't come in the larger 10.5-inch format (because enterprise users prefer a one-handed working approach, says Samsung). Camera resolution pales in comparison to the Tab S, which features 8 and 2.1 megapixel front and rear-facing cameras, respectively. On the Tab Active you get 3.1 and 1.2 megapixels on each side, respectively. The Tab Active does improve upon the Tab S's 12-hour battery life with a built-in 10-hour battery, as well as an easily removable back cover into which you can insert a replacement 10-hour battery. Of course, you'll have to buy the extra battery, but it's worth it, especially if this is part of your enterprise fleet. Built strong The Tab Active is IP67 dust and water resistant certified, so you'll be able to handle the device on construction sites, or if you're standing next to a bunch of dudes dirt-bike racing. This isn't an unusual feature for enterprise-grade devices. However, the Tab Active has coverless microphone and micro-USB ports that are designed to keep out dust, debris and water, which means you don't need to worry about flimsy plastic ripping off and decertifying your device. Enterprise users will enjoy using the C-Pen, which is a sister device to the more popular S-Pen. Unlike the S-Pen, which requires electrical charges and is designed for signing documents and design-work, the C-Pen doesn't need to be charged and is meant to provide all-purpose directional navigation - meaning you should use it to do everything on this tablet if you're wearing gloves. It is also compatible with all other Samsung touchscreen devices. For gloved workers, the Tab Active features physical Home, Back and Forward keys beneath the Gorilla Glass touchscreen. Underneath the hood The Tab Active's strengths aren't only skin-deep. The device supports NFC connectivity, POGO charging and Samsung Knox security. It's also Certified Citrix-Ready and SAP-Certified for SAP Work Manager and SAP CRM Service Manager. All you klutzes out there will appreciate the 3-year warranty it comes with, especially if you're prone to dropping things from more than four feet. First impressions The processing speed, lightweight design and killer speakers make this device a joy to use. I was able to zip between applications and rotate between horizontal and vertical formats with only one hand. Although the screen resolution and camera specs didn't wow me, I don't expect many people to purchase this device for Netflix binging or selfie snapping. That's what the iPad Air 2 and Galaxy Tab S are designed for. I absolutely hate the keyboard on the Android 4.4 operating system, so you'll likely want to download another keyboard app, which could be problematic for enterprise deployments. I admit this is a taste preference and not applicable to all my readers. Some people love the KitKat keyboard. Early verdict Unfortunately, the device doesn't offer some of the bells and whistles of consumer-friendly devices. The cameras don't pack much pop and the screen resolution isn't on-par with the Galaxy Tab S. The Galaxy Tab Active doesn't offer much storage, so you won't want to use this as a two-in-one device for heavier computing. If you need to withstand the rigors of harsh weather or field environments, you won't find a more equipped tablet. The flapless ports and lightweight build offer you a long-lasting weather-proof tablet that you won't get tired of using. The 10-hour battery life and easily maneuverable replaceable battery compartment will enable you to work all day and all night. For only ($699.99, £450, AU$850.00), the Galaxy Tab Active is a wise choice for business users and outdoor enthusiasts alike.

Buying Guide: Best in ear headphones: our top 3 reviewed Posted: 12 Dec 2014 09:50 AM PST As much as we love the sound and bass performance of big, hulking over-ear headphones, there are some situations where they simply tend to cause more problems than they're worth. Whether you're at the gym, traveling, or just hanging out, sometimes you just want something a little more compact, something that won't weigh you down, or maybe even a pair of headphones that's sweat-proof. For these specialties, you're speaking precisely of what in ear headphones have to offer. We're on a mission to provide you with the best in ear headphones around. As such, we've corralled our top rated reviews so that you can do all your research and make a purchase in one place. But don't think we're done updating this guide once it's been published. As we review better headphones, the product with the lowest mark will get the ol' boot. ACS T1 This next set of earbuds is extraordinary in more ways than one. Our own James Rivington described his first experience with the ACS T1 as being thrown into "a lake of narcotic syrup. It flows down your ear holes and intoxicates your brain." If that isn't a recommendation for a product, what is? Differing a bit from standard earbuds, the ACS T1 are basically high-quality studio monitors packed into an earbud-sized silicon mold that rests in your ear. And they fit just right, only because you have to go in for a custom molding of your own inner-ear for ACS to build your set. If that doesn't scare you off, let's get the price out of the way. They're $999 (£649) and that doesn't include the kitchen sink. This may turn you away, but if it doesn't, the ACS T1 might be just for you. They are, indeed, true enthusiast earbuds meant for audiophiles. Get these if money is of no concern when picking out tech, and if you want unrivaled sound performance and comfort. Read our ACS T1 review Bose FreeStyle While Bose isn't typically known for flamboyance, the FreeStyle earbuds are a fun departure from the brand's executive tone. Of course, they do this while holding onto what makes Bose products renowned, sound quality. Specifically targeted to gym-goers, the $129 (about £104, AU$156) FreeStyle headphones are stocked with helpful features to help you get the most out of your music during a workout (when you need it the most). It offers a comfy and stable fit and better yet, it's moisture-resistant design means the FreeStyle can kick it with you through your whole workout, inside or out. The only major downside is that the inline controls are only compatible with iOS. Get these if you're in the market for flashy earbuds that sound fantastic, won't fall out mid-workout, and if money is of little concern. Read our Bose FreeStyle review Bose QuietComfort 20i The Bose QuietComfort 20i earbuds rock some premo features to make up for the hefty $299 investment. Similar in fashion to its over-ear cousin, the QuietComfort 15, the 20i shrinks that experience down to something you can fit right into your ear without losing crucial features like noise cancellation, comfort and of course, amazing sound quality. Get these if you want earbuds with impressive build quality, active and passive noise cancellation and a great warranty. Read our Bose QuietComfort 20i review

AAA games on Oculus Rift are years away, says dev Posted: 12 Dec 2014 08:30 AM PST It will be years until we see console-style games supported on Oculus Rift according to the designer of upcoming Xbox One/PS4 free-runner Dying Light. "How long do I think it will take games to adapt to Oculus Rift? Honestly, years," said Maciej Binkowski, Techland's lead designer of Dying Light, to TrustedReviews in an interview. "To get it to a point where gamers can comfortably play for three hours on a couch, I think it's going to take years. Not just from the technological game perspective, but from the hardware too." Need more power One of the most serious issues for the future of Oculus Rift VR games is that frame rates need to be incredibly high to offer a good experience and avoid the insta-nausea effect that many feel on first trying the headset. The Oculus Rift DK2 prototype is designed to run at 75 frames per second to avoid motion blur while some reports suggest the final consumer version will need rates as high as 90 frames per second. Consider, then, that Techland has just announced Dying Light will perform at just 30 frames per second on console and you can understand Binkowski's lack of enthusiasm about Oculus Rift's future. "With that level of complexity like Dying Light, I think it's going to take years," said Binkowski. He suggests that for the time being, Oculus Rift support will be limited to "a certain kind of project [made] especially for Oculus from the ground up." This is bad news too for the Sony Morpheus, a PS4 virtual reality headset shown off at multiple gaming shows in 2014. Perhaps we shouldn't be expecting much more than indie curiosities to turn up on VR headsets any time soon. Still, with no firm word on a release date for either headset, there's no guarantee either Oculus Rift or Morpheus is going to land in anything like its current state.

The Apple Store starts accepting PayPal online Posted: 12 Dec 2014 07:46 AM PST The Apple Store has started accepting orders through Paypal in the US and UK, offering another way to get hold of a new iPhone 6 or MacBook Pro. As well as being able to buy Apple gadgets outright through Paypal, you can pay in monthly instalments, with the same zero interest deal on offer for those not using PayPal. PayPal payments aren't yet available through the Apple Store app, but at the moment it's not clear whether that's simply down to it not having been updated yet. PayPal vs Apple Pay This news is good for those who like selling their old tat on eBay, especially when paying using one of Apple's 6/12/18 month plans. The introduction of PayPal payments is perhaps a little surprising, as Apple is currently in the process of rolling out its own alternative, Apple Pay. Apple Pay was announced alongside the iPhone 6, and can be used in the US to pay for goods with the latest iPhones or the upcoming Apple Watch, due in early 2015. In a similar vein, PayPal expanded its high street payment offerings in 2014, partnering up with many restaurants in particular to offer a new way to pay for your grub. Is there a cease-fire between Apple Pay and PayPal at present? It seems so, although that could all change once Apple Pay is rolled-out worldwide later in 2015. via Re/Code

Download of the day: Avidemux Posted: 12 Dec 2014 07:00 AM PST Avidemux provides easy to use video editing tools that are perfect if you're put off by some of the higher end packages – and higher end price tags. Why you need it Video editing is not always the simplest task in the world, and getting started may seem like more hassle than it's worth. But not with Avidemux, a free program that aims to make video editing as simple and straightforward as possible. To that end it ditches the timeline and multi-track editing features often seen in other video manipulation programs and instead simply lets you import your video file and get started straight away. You can perform simple editing tasks like cutting and trimming the video or moving sections around, making it ideal for novice users and those looking to learn the basics. But that doesn't mean Avidemux is short on features. It has numerous filtering options, allowing you to add a touch of flair to a video or alter its look, while there are options for auto-resizing, text overlays, deinterlacing and more. Key features Works on: PC, Mac, Linux Versions: Free Simplicity: Avidemux takes the complexity out of video editing, so you can get stuck in regardless of your experience level Editing tools: There are a range of simple editing tools that are ideal if you're not looking to do anything too complicated Filters: Get creative with Avidemux's filters, which can add a whole new look to your video You'll also like Windows Movie Maker aTube Catcher Lightworks Nero Free Video Dub

Google Maps just became an even better sat nav Posted: 12 Dec 2014 06:52 AM PST Google has given its Maps navigation app a little upgrade, with new heads-up notifications on what lane you need to get in to help ensure you don't miss that vital turn-off. Google Maps is a pretty good freebie sat nav already, but Google product manager Darren Baker has just let us know about this new feature in the service. Turn-by-turn navigation has been improved, with more sophisticated mapping data letting Maps tell you what lane you need to be in when turning off motorways and the like. Smarter sat nav This feature will be available in "Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the UK and Ireland," according to a post on the Google Europe blog. You'll be directed into the right lane with both a little visual cue and voice commands. Because, as any driver knows, there are few things as frustrating as missing your turn-off on a motorway. It seems likely this info may spread to some of Europe's smaller countries in time, but for now it's only for the real big hitters. This marks one of the few neat little features we've seen added since Google altered the Maps interface to fit in with the Android 5.0 Lollipop Material UI back in November.

Interview: How to find crucial digital evidence in the big data haystack Posted: 12 Dec 2014 06:30 AM PST Across businesses today, a range of departments are faced with the challenge of finding crucial evidence amongst the ever-growing volume of digital data that is produced. From investigators, information security officers, auditors, records managers, HR to in-house counsel, they all need to find evidence – whether it be an inappropriate email, an important contract or a data breach trail – amongst the organisation's unstructured data. One way to deal with the volume of data efficiently and get to the facts faster, is to share the workload amongst or between departments by dividing up the data for review and collaborating on the results. Paul Slater, Director of Forensic Solutions at Nuix, reveals how Nuix's Web Review and Analytics tool allows organisations to do just that. TechRadar Pro: What are the three biggest challenges facing investigators, internal auditors, or in-house lawyers in finding crucial evidence in large data sets? Paul Slater: The first big challenge is the volume of data. Today, we use multiple devices to generate huge amounts of content. That means sorting through a lot of data, including a lot that's irrelevant, whenever they're conducting an investigation or responding to litigation or regulators. The second is that it's hard to share data between forensic IT teams and investigators, less tech-savvy people, subject matter experts and lawyers. That's a worrying disconnect in the investigation process. The third challenge is that forensic investigators still follow the traditional process of examining each evidence source individually. Often they really need to find the meaningful connections between multiple sources. TRP: How can companies go about solving these challenges? PS: Information governance policies applied through technology can help prevent build-up of data in the first place. With the right technology and workflows, companies can also make investigations more efficient by dividing up digital evidence and spreading the review workload between multiple people. Also putting evidence in front of the people most qualified to understand its context, such as case investigators, lawyers or external subject matter experts. They also need to move away from traditional linear forensic investigation methods towards workflows that will let them see all the evidence holistically and quickly locate the key facts. TRP: Earlier this year, Nuix launched a Web Review and Analytics tool that makes it possible to search case data for evidence from any browser. Could you tell us a little more about how it works and who can use it? PS: Nuix Web Review and Analytics provides access to case data from just about any web browser. It can scale to hundreds of cases and thousands of reviewers, with role-based access to control who sees what. Because Nuix Web Review and Analytics sits on top of a standard Nuix case file, it provides an incredibly simple workflow from data capture and processing to review and reporting. Just about anyone can use Nuix Web Review and Analytics, including non-technical investigators, subject matter experts and external parties. TRP: What industry needs/pain-points did Nuix observe which led your organisation to develop this tool? PS: We wanted to build a tool that the industry really needed, so we looked to our own experiences as forensic investigators and also canvassed industry experts from our customer base around the world. We found that traditional review tools are too focused on the flat, textual content of emails and documents. Investigators also need to consider photos, videos, content from social media sites, mobile devices and more. And they want analytics capabilities to identify patterns and trends, and find hidden connections between people, objects, locations and events. So that's what we gave them. TRP: What advantages are there in an application that makes reviewing evidence possible online? How can Nuix ensure that sensitive information can be kept secure over the web? PS: I would say the main advantage is collaboration – sharing evidence and intelligence online. Nuix Web Review and Analytics doesn't require any third-party plugins, which means it can be used on almost any web-enabled device. This allows the right person to see the right data, wherever they are. We take security very seriously, at both platform and access control levels. We built the platform using Java SSL, so it's not vulnerable to Heartbleed, and the Nuix Engine and RESTful API have passed third-party static code evaluation. We've built in the ability for administrators to assign individual or group-level access to entire cases, folders of items within cases and even features of the application such as downloading files or using visualisations. TRP: What are the benefits for teams in dividing up and collaborating on large data sets, and how can teams ensure that no crucial evidence is overlooked? PS: We advocate an investigative lab workflow which is a way for investigators to combine the efficiencies of the eDiscovery process with the forensic rigour of investigation methodologies. It ensures digital forensic investigators handle each piece of evidence using an agreed set of repeatable processes and makes it possible to spread work between digital and non-digital investigators and subject matter experts. By using a tiered review system, investigators can quickly discount irrelevant items and pass potentially relevant material to those who need to see it. They can employ a tagging system as well as human and machine quality control processes at each stage of the process to ensure they don't miss any data. And of course the Nuix Engine has fault tolerance and reporting built in to ensure it never misses a file. We also provide ways to locate items that keyword searches might have missed, such as near-duplicate functionality that can identify documents with similar content and gauge how similar they are. This can help investigators identify who created, received or sent key emails, documents or attachments, or analyse how documents have changed over time, or indeed find related documents that use similar language. TRP: How can network maps and visualisations help users find crucial and relevant information in large data sets? PS: Network maps allow investigators to quickly see connections between people, objects, locations and events based on email, social media and mobile communications. The commonality visualisation in Nuix Web Review and Analytics extracts names, email addresses, IP addresses and metadata, including geospatial information, from hundreds of file formats to show the hidden connections within the evidence. It's a powerful way to correlate intelligence, relationships and modus operandi. TRP: Where do you see the future of digital investigations going from here? PS: Data is only going to get bigger and more complex with the growth of technologies including virtualisation, cloud and the Bring Your Own Device trend. The only way to respond is by building your capabilities around three major themes I've already discussed: collaboration, intelligence and analytics. And tools that rely on workflows and processes that were designed before this mass explosion of data and devices will no longer be relevant. Many see the explosion of big data as a bad thing. I disagree. Big data allows investigators to gain intelligence and evidence faster than ever before. Our personal devices are now capable of pinpointing our every movement: our phones store where we've been, who we talked to and when, our pictures contain geotagging information. Our fridges can record when we've been inside our houses – although they can also be hacked to send out phishing emails and who knows what else. Social media sites can provide valuable intelligence about what happened surrounding an incident – who was nearby, what they were talking about and what they took pictures of. All these things can be forensically examined.

Boxing Day Deals: Boxing Day and January Sales: how to pick up a bargain this year! Posted: 12 Dec 2014 06:18 AM PST Boxing Day Sales The Black Friday bruises have barely begun to fade and Amazon's already bringing out the bunting for its Boxing Day Deals And in typical Amazon style, it's going for a whole week of Boxing Day deals instead of a single day. Yep, no longer confined to highstreet stores, this year's Boxing Day sales promise to be the most exciting ever, as online retailers slash prices across the board in an attempt to clear stock. So what should you be looking out for this Boxing Day? What deals can you expect to find? And how can you find them? You guessed it... TechRadar will be on hand once again to help you get the best deals on everything from games consoles, to phones, tablets, TVs and more! Here's everything you need to know about Boxing Day and January sales until the big day arrives... Where do retailers put their Boxing Day deals? Retail websites always have dedicated pages for things like this, and you can find some of them here: Amazon Boxing Day deals Very Christmas deals Currys Christmas deals PC World Christmas deals Tesco Christmas deals John Lewis Christmas deals Zavvi Christmas deals GAME Christmas deals Carphone Warehouse Christmas deals More to come! Why Boxing Day and January sales became a big deal The tradition of post-Christmas sales came about for a very simple reason: after Christmas, shops were stuffed with things that took up valuable space and that nobody wanted to buy. While setting fire to it and pretending that villains were responsible sounded tempting, retailers realised that insurers would see right through such tomfoolery. So they put away their matches and came up with the idea of sales instead - and it turned out that sales were brilliant. They really were. Sales helped shift unwanted stock to make room for spring/summer ranges. Sales got people to go shopping when they wouldn't normally bother. And sales often resulted in people coming in for the bargains and then paying for other, profitable, items and accessories. "It's like a post-Christmas Christmas!" retailers thought. "Let's do it every year!" So they did. Why Boxing Day sales seem to start in September now We're exaggerating, but only a little bit. Faced with the question of how their sales could stand out when everybody else was doing it, retailers decided there was only one solution: start before everybody else. In 2013, some retailers kicked off their Boxing Day and January sales the week before Christmas. This year they might have already started. Boxing Day and January sales: online versus the High Street Some retailers start their sales early, but only online - so you can expect to see some websites unveil deals on Christmas Eve that you won't be able to get in-store for another few days. And of course, online-only retailers from gadget emporiums to Steam are keen to get a slice of that sweet sales-frenzy pie, so they'll be running their own offers too. Should I queue overnight for Boxing Day sales? We wouldn't. So-called "doorbuster" deals tend to be very, very limited, and chances are you'll be way behind the organised eBay Tout Massive who know exactly what they want, what Buy It Now price they'll put on it and how to kill you with a single blow if it looks like you'll get to it before they do. We'd recommend staying in bed until a reasonable hour, having a nice breakfast and then relying on a trusted technology website - hello! - to tell you where the best deals are online. Have Boxing Day sales been overshadowed by Black Friday? Tesco certainly thinks so: it's reported that it expects its Black Friday sales to be higher than its Boxing Day ones, although given Tesco's recent track record in reporting important numbers - something that's seen heads roll and the financial cops called - then we should maybe take that with a pinch of salt. We're sure Boxing Day 2014 and the January sales 2015 will be just as frenzied as they've always been - maybe more so, given the current climate of austerity. Can you really get a great bargain on Boxing Day or in the January Sales? Yes, sort of, maybe, if you know what you're doing and watch out for the tricks of the trade. And there are quite a few tricks to watch out for. The most common trick is what the Consumers' Association calls "pseudo-sales"; that is, sales that look like sales and quack like sales but that aren't really sales. They exist because of retailers sticking to the letter of the law rather than the spirit. Here's how it works. UK law says that retailers can claim to have discounted goods provided they've been at full price for 28 consecutive days in the last six months, so some firms simply double their prices to ridiculous levels for a month, drop them back to normal again and stick a SUPER HUGE MEGA DISCOUNT sticker on them. That, amazingly, is perfectly legal, and it's why every single Christmas tree in the world appears to be half price in December: they were twice the price throughout August, when nobody buys Christmas trees (if you did, you were robbed. Sorry. Why are you buying Christmas trees in summer anyway?). TechRadar will only be promoting genuine deals on the day so if you're unsure, check back with this page! Boxing Day Sales: what's TechRadar doing? We'll be on hand on Boxing Day to unearth all of the best Boxing Day sales deals on the web, and we'll be listing them right here for you on this page. If you came to us on Black Friday, it's the same deal - we'll be regularly updating as more deals hit the web! We'll be continuing this throughout the January sales with deals of the day so if you stick with us it'll be almost impossible to not find a bargain or two!

How the Snapdragon 810 is going to change smartphones Posted: 12 Dec 2014 06:00 AM PST Qualcomm showed off its new SoC (system on chip), the Snapdragon 810, to a host of journalists this morning in NYC. Implemented into some reference devices, there were several stations available, each showcasing a new or improved feature made possible with the Snapdragon 810, which will be launching in smartphones by mid 2015. Starting off with 4K, Qualcomm is focused on putting the capability to natively play, record, and even stream 4K content into the hands of users. But to nip the ever-lurking elephant in the room concerning storing massive 4K files, the Snapdragon 810 will utilize the H.265 video codec, which features compression techniques that can shrink 4K content to a much smaller size. Although 4K-capable devices like the LG G3, Motorola Droid Turbo and Nexus 6 have been in the hands of the public for the better part of 2014, 4K is still a burgeoning buzzword. But Qualcomm is dead-set on making it a household term in 2015. To do that, 4K recording will, of course, be natively supported with the 810, as will viewing. But what's new with the 810 is the ability to stream 4K content to a television. Using a proprietary HDMI dongle, users will be able to push content from their phones of tomorrow at 802.11ad speeds (boasting 4-6 gigabit speed). Did you record a stunning time lapse of New York City at night? In 2015, it will be as simple as a tap on the screen to stream 4K in your living room. 4K televisions and 802.11ac wireless routers are still in their infancy in terms of consumer adoption, so what makes Qualcomm so sure that 802.11ad and 4K will be the golden standard by 2015? I can't be the only one who will still be perfectly content rocking 802.11b and 1080p next year. Sights and sounds To add to your media-viewing pleasure, the Snapdragon 810 pumps out the Dolby Atmos format, which surrounds you in sound, much like you've heard with with a 5.1 system, but now with new dimensions of audio that seem to come from above and beneath you. Back in November of 2013, we sat down with the sound designer of Gravity, a film that "has Atmos written all over it...". Now, that technology is coming to smartphones. What a time to be alive! Qualcomm's Snapdragon 810 is also looking to boost the camera experience with support for Corephotonics dual camera technology, which captures two versions of every frame and merges the best qualities of each into one superior frame. It even allows for up to 3x continuous optical zoom with photo stills and up to 5x continuous optical zoom in videos before switching to the inferior digital zoom for closer shots. The goal here is to provide a DSLR-quality in a much smaller form-factor. To get the most out of recording with a smartphone, you need a good microphone. And with the Snapdragon 810 in a reference unit equipped with 3 microphones, full-3D sound powered by Fluence Pro is possible. You can even pick and choose the direction from which you want to record. To illustrate, they brought in a group of carolers. The representative adjusted the audio focus on the fly between him talking off to my left and the carolers singing in front of me. Gaming performance They touched briefly on gaming, where with the jump to a 64-bit CPU and the new Adreno 430 integrated GPU, you can expect a 30% performance increase, while using 20% less power. Epic's Unreal Engine runs with added fidelity as illustrated with the newly implemented DoF (depth of field), which looks great. Then, we checked out Skylanders, which also looked good but didn't provoke the same "oo's and ah's" out of us that Epic's engine did. The hope here is to attract more developers to make scalable, console-quality experiences in a market dominated by casual gamers, which loosely translates to monetization being a juicy, ripe, and low-hanging fruit to pluck. I was told that phone manufacturers and developers have had their hands on the processor for some time and that they're hard at work integrating the 810 into the phones of tomorrow. Could we see it in the Samsung Galaxy S6, HTC One M9, LG G4 and Sony Xperia Z4? Hopefully. Time will tell, but with our peek at the future, we're ready for mid 2015 to arrive.

INTERVIEW: What's next for Blackphone: App store, Silent Spaces and new phones Posted: 12 Dec 2014 05:55 AM PST App store, Silent Sapces and Knox comparison This week's no-longer-secret news about the forthcoming update for the Blackphone operating system clued us in on the "spy-proof" smartphone's new app store and additional security layers. Its timing, set for early 2015, couldn't be better given the rash of stealthy malware that has targeted both enterprise and individuals through mobile devices, especially Android. It's gotten to the point where Google's own Android security chief called anti-virus software for the most popular - and popularly targeted - operating system a waste of time. We chatted with Blackphone CEO Toby Weir-Jones about his company's plans to make the most secure Android-based device and eliminate the need to carry two phones in your pocket. How does Blackphone app store solve the problem of our information being more at risk? Toby Weir-Jones: The app store is going to be interesting as far as Android stores are concerned. There are lots of app stores for Android, but they're not curated in the way that we're familiar with from the Apple experience. One of our goals is to bring some transparency and also some rigors to that vetting process. It'll allow the user to have much more confidence in if they choose to use an app, say, for managing their travel itineraries or keeping track of their social media accounts. If they get that app from the Blackphone, they have a measure of confidence that it does what it says it does and nothing else than what it says it does. Strangely, that's largely missing from the current Android app store landscape. What do Silent Spaces bring to the table that's new? TWJ: With Silent Space, you don't have to accept two phones in your pocket as a solution to this problem of keeping your professional and personal life completely separated. The enterprise approach right now involves sandboxing tools, and some of them are quite effective for what they do, but ultimately you're still limited to whatever the sandbox environment enables when it runs the application layer on your phone. Spaces gives you completely separate and distinct personalities down to the kernel level. You might choose to implement a rule that the only network connectivity into space is through a VPN. Whereas in the public space, you can use mobile data, Wi-Fi, etc. if you're not storing any sensitive information in that public space anyway. We're going down to kneral level firewalling, and making these options available as a fundamental part of the phone rather than simply an app that you install at some point in the future. What does Silent Spaces look like? TWJ: You end up with a new widget that's in your notifications bar and lets you switch between the two different Spaces. Then there's an admin interface to modify the permissions associated with a space. You simply drag down to choose any of the activate Spaces that are on the phone. They are, as far as the user experience is concerned, completely separated instances: different wallpaper, different ringtone configurations and email configurations. You might have an app in each of the two Spaces, but in space No. 1, the app might have one set of configurations and in Space No. 2, it might have a completely different set. You might have two different instances of a Mail Client rather than having a single universal mailbox, which always gives rise to the risk that you send something to or from a personal address with a sensitive work attachment. With Spaces, there's no risk of that because you end up with two different mailboxes altogether. How many Silent Spaces can you have? TWJ: It's going to be two. In the future, there may be more, but we're also tying it to the capability to the current hardware platform looks like and what it's performance potential sounds like. We'll start with two, get people used to the idea and see where we take it from there. How easy is it to switch between the two Spaces? TWJ: You pull down the notifications bar and there's one icon for each Space. You just one-touch the Space you want and the phone switches over instantly. You're dropped right back into that homescreen for the Space. How is Silent Spaces different from Samsung Knox Workspace? TWJ: Knox was much more of a classic app layer sandboxing technology. And that was one of the problems they had getting adoption on the enterprise side. What we're seeing now is that some of the kernel stuff that they've done is what's been folded into the Android code base, which is cool. It's always good to see advances on the fundamental operating system. But what you didn't have was the immediacy of totally separate personalities on the phone. You had things that were nominally safe because they were within the Knox controls, and the presumption was that everything else outside of that was dangerous and unchecked. Maybe, as a consultant, you have one space for client A and one space client B. They're still equally secure and protected. They are simply totally separated, and that's really the key. You've got all of the functionality of the entire phone and the entire operating system to you in each of the two secure Spaces, but the protections that keep the data from migrating between the two is enforced at kernel level rather than at app layer. App selection, new phones and the RedPhone Who benefits most from Blackphone's early 2015 update? TWJ: It's going to be folks who dip their toes in two different worlds. Enterprise is the most obvious consumer, because they've got a work life and then they go home. There's also a lot of private individual users where they maintain a personality, which is in effect their public or their online or personal information footprint - their Twitter handle for their blogs and their Facebook profile and whatever else. And it is all a carefully managed public persona. It's not the stuff they use for their own personal friends and family, and ordering stuff from Amazon. Anybody who recognizes that there is a need to have separate and distinct identities is going to see an immediate benefit from this technology. We don't want to say that it's only suitable if you're a Fortune 50 megacorp. It's clearly a much wider proposition than that. What apps will I see in the Blackphone app store? TWJ: Initially you're going to see some of the classical functions: Mail encryption, password managers, and so forth. Our goal is to not at have 100,000 apps. Six to 12 months in, if we can have 500 or 1,000 apps that we knew were really good and we know a lot about them and had good relationships with developers, that would be a huge success. If you want the latest game tied to the latest Hollywood blockbuster, there are lots of places you can get that, and there's no problem with that in principle, there's no advantage to us in replicating that type of inventory. We want to create a method of engagement with publishers. That's where you're going to see a lot of the work. It's a moving target. We're going to come out with the initial launch and go from there. When the app store first opens, you're going to see some apps that are related to ones already on the phone or from the same developers and you'll see a few other things we've found that we think are interesting to our customers. You'll also see a push on how to submit and what kind of vetting you're going to go through. We want the customers to launch their own interest and say "I'd love to see an app that can do A, B and C." What's next for Blackphone from a hardware perspective? Annual phone updates? TWJ: We'll have more details in the new year on the Blackphone tablet we've already talked about. Then there will be more phones and potentially other interesting devices as well. We're not prepared to share any of the particulars just yet, but once 2015 kicks off and we get through this initial rollout of this next major upgrade of the operating system, I think you'll see us starting to make noise about our hardware plans for the following 12 months. Is Blackphone becoming what some are calling "the anti-Google?" TWJ: I don't know if that's how I'd frame it. I mean, clearly, we do things differently in different ways, but we're also seeing Lollipop converge on some of the ideas we've been making a lot of noise about. And we think that's great for the consumer. It sort of blurs the line between choosing functionality over security, and that's good for everyone. If Google is able to generate market awareness and user knowledge via their own technology releases and marketing efforts, which are consistent with the message that I'm already promulgating, then I'm happy about that. There's plenty of room for innovation. There's plenty of room for a specialized niche product like Blackphone. I don't think I'd frame us as anti-Google. I think what we do is offer a more focused experience. That means, of course, there are some trade-offs. But we're also seeing the industry rally around some of the traditional inconveniences of security and find clever ways to reduce that burden as well. Last big question: Why is there no Whitephone? TWJ: [Laughs] You see will a more diversified product naming convention come to light. Blackphone, as name, has a certain historical preciscent and association with it. One of the hooks we were going for was the super secret red phone that we've always seen in media images between Washington and Moscow. That was actually the association we were kind of playing with when the original naming came out. Broadly, you will see other product names and some other associations that we think are meaningful in this kind of duality of wanting to have a presence, where your personal information is your currency, but at the same time wanting to be in control of it. How far did that idea of the Red Phone get? TWJ: Some of the folks who were involved have been in various aspects of special services, US military and these sorts of things. So it was a familiar metaphor, and in certain cases a literal thing. The choice of a color in the product name was nothing more complex than that. We liked the idea that you had a trusted point of communication, and that you had absolutely certainty that you knew who you were speaking to at the other end, and that's where it started.

The Honor 6 Plus is Huawei's Christmas present to us all Posted: 12 Dec 2014 05:02 AM PST No sooner has Huawei's Honor 6 arrived in our laps than a newer, larger version appears to be waiting in the wings. The Chinese company has posted a teaser image on its Weibo account hinting at a larger version of the 5-inch Android handset. There's not much more to go on beyond the December 16 date, but plenty of Chinese bloggers have weighed in with speculation on what the Honor 6 Plus (as it could be called) will offer. The rumours point to a 5.5-inch screen, with a Full HD 1,920 x 1,080 screen measuring 401 pixels-per-inch. Huawei's Kirin 925 processor is expected to be behind the scenes and the phone could also boast 3GB of RAM, a 3,500mAh battery and dual 8MP cameras - one on the front and one on the back. In your Honor One area where the original Honor 6 impressed us was with its price and, while the Honor 6 Plus isn't going to be as affordable, it could still offer some good value for money. Early whispers put the price at around 1999 yen, or roughly $323 in the US and £205 in the UK. That's a fair bit cheaper than the likes of the iPhone 6 Plus, but we're taking that amount with a pinch of salt. It's likely to be a fair bit more than that if and when it does arrive on these shores. Huawei isn't branding the Honor phones heavily with its own name and the main competition is likely to come from other Chinese handsets like the OnePlus One. But a larger version seems to be the MO of most manufacturers these days; we'll need to wait until December 16 to be sure. Here's our round-up of the best budget blowers.

Buying Guide: Group test: wide-angle prime lenses Posted: 12 Dec 2014 05:00 AM PST Introduction Many digital photographers only reach for a wideangle lens when they've hit the limit on their standard zoom. One benefit of going wider is being able to squeeze more of the scene into the image. It's great for landscapes with big dramatic skies, and equally useful for interiors where you're physically constrained by the walls of a building. But there's more. Wide-angle lenses are brilliant creative tools for exaggerating perspective. Move in really close to the main object in a scene and the middle distance shrinks away at an alarming rate. The results can be truly eye-popping images from a multitude of different scenarios. Portraits of people in their surroundings work particularly well. Why prime? If you're only using a wide-angle zoom lens at or near its shortest focal length, the versatility of having a zoom is largely lost, so there's no good reason for potentially degrading image quality by using a zoom instead of a prime. With the simplified design enabled by a fixed focal length, prime lenses typically deliver less noticeable distortion. Ultimately, you're not gaining much in terms of outright viewing angle, if anything at all, by switching from a standard zoom to one of these wide-angle primes. However, along with a noticeable reduction in barrel distortion and other optical aberrations, there's a significant bonus in terms of speed. Nearly all of the full-frame compatible prime lenses in this test group have a 'fast' widest available aperture of f/1.4, apart from the Nikon 28mm lens which still offers a respectable f/1.8 widest aperture. Aperture widths are still impressive for most of the lenses designed for crop sensor cameras, including the Fujifilm 18mm f/2, the Olympus 12mm f/2 and the Panasonic 14mm f/2.5. The odd one out is the Pentax 15mm lens with a widest aperture of f/4. That's actually three full f/stops slower than the f/1.4 lenses. Open wide What's so important about a wider aperture anyway? The ability to reduce depth of field isn't normally a requirement for wide-angle lenses, although very wide apertures can still give the possibility of blurring the background when using these lenses at or near their shortest focus distances. A more popular benefit of wider apertures in wide-angle shooting is to enable faster shutter speeds for freezing action and for avoiding camera-shake. It can make a big difference in dull lighting conditions, and for handheld shooting indoors or at twilight, enabling sufficiently fast shutter speeds without having to push the camera's sensitivity settings too far. Ultimately, wide-angle prime lenses should give excellent image quality and are useful for an incredibly diverse range of indoor and outdoor shooting requirements. What to look for 1. Effective focal length Photographers are used to thinking about focal length and angle of view in terms of full frame DSLRs and 35mm film cameras, but DSLRs and compact system cameras have different sized sensors, which affects the angle of view a lens takes in. But there is an easy way to work it out. You take the lens's actual focal length and then multiply it by the sensor's 'crop factor'. For cameras with APS-C sensors, this is 1.5x (1.6x for Canon), while for Micro Four Thirds compact system cameras, it's 2x. For example, The Fuji 18mm f/2 lens is used on cameras with APS-C sensors, so its effective focal length is actually 18mm x 1.5, or 27mm. In other words, its angle of view is equivalent to a 27mm lens on a full-frame/35mm camera. 2. Distance scale This is useful when you're working with depth of field to get the maximum near-to-far sharpness in your pictures. Landscape photographers can look up the hyperfocal distance for their lens and aperture setting, switch to manual focus and turn the focus ring to this setting – knowing that the depth of field will extend from half that distance right up to infinity. 3. Autofocus Although some lenses rely on the camera body to drive the focus mechanism, most lenses now have autofocus motors built in. Ring-type ultrasonic autofocus is generally quickest, whereas stepping motors (Olympus and Panasonic) give smooth and silent autofocus transitions for video capture. The Samyang is manual focus only. 4. Lens hood Most of these lenses include a lens hood, and this can help reduce ghosting and flare from peripheral light. Don't take it for granted, though. There isn't one for the Panasonic and it's an optional extra for the Olympus. 5. Control rings Most lenses only feature a focus ring, whereas the Fujifilm and Samyang lenses also feature an aperture ring, so the aperture can be set directly on the lens itself. This is more complicated for camera manufacturers but popular with more experienced photographers. 6. Filter thread Filter thread sizes range from 46mm in the Olympus and Panasonic Micro Four-Thirds lenses, up to 77mm on the full-frame compatible 24mm f/1.4 lenses. The larger the filter thread, the more expensive the filters, simply because they have to be larger. If you use square filter systems like those from Cokin or Lee, you can simply get different sized adaptor rings for your different lenses. How they compare Spend top-dollar on a top-flight professional lens and you expect top performance. But it doesn't always work out that way. The two most expensive competitors in this group are the Canon and Nikon 24mm f/1.4 lenses, both aimed at discerning professional photographers. Indeed, they're both well over twice the price of anything else in the group. Both have rock-solid build quality with metal barrels and weather seals, both are reassuringly hefty, and both have super-fast and whisper-quiet autofocus. However, while the Nikon delivers simply sublime image quality throughout its entire aperture range, the Canon just doesn't. There's a lack of sharpness at the centre of the image, even compared with some of the least expensive lenses on test, and sharpness is downright disappointing towards the edges and corners of images, especially at wide apertures. The Nikon also does much better to avoid vignetting at wide apertures. On a more sensible budget for SLR wide primes, the Samyang 24mm gives impressive image quality if you can live without autofocus, and the Nikon 28mm is nice if you don't need a really wide viewing angle. The tiny Panasonic 14mm pancake lens is the cheapest in the group and is dwarfed by everything else on test. Yet it manages to deliver truly superb image quality and is a top value buy for Micro Four Thirds cameras. The Olympus 12mm is a beautifully engineered MFT lens that gives an even wider angle of view and very good image quality, although it's somewhat larger and more expensive to buy. Lenses 1-4 Canon EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM Mount: Canon | Construction: 13 elements in 10 groups, 8 diaphragm blades | Closest focus distance: 25cm | Filter thread: 77mm | Autofocus: ring-type ultrasonic | Dimensions: 80 x 87mm, 650g Like the directly competing Nikon 24mm f/1.4, the Canon lens is much pricier than other lenses in the group. There's a floating and fully internal focus system, powered by a ring-type ultrasonic autofocus mechanism. Up-market glass includes two aspherical elements to guard against spherical aberrations (a common issue with wide-aperture lenses) and two Super UD (Ultra-low Dispersion) elements to correct lateral chromatic aberrations. While the availability of a wide f/1.4 aperture is great to have, image quality is unimpressive at this setting. Vignetting (darkened image corners) is very pronounced, and there's a distinct lack of sharpness towards the edges and corners of the frame. Read our Canon 24mm f/1.4 review. Fujifilm Fujinon XF18mm f/2 R Mount: Fuji X | Construction: 8 elements in 7 groups, 7 diaphragm blades | Closest focus distance: 18cm | Filter thread: 52mm | Autofocus: micro-motor | Dimensions: 65 x 41mm, 116g Thanks to the X series cameras' 1.5x crop factor, this 18mm lens has an effective focal length of 27mm, compared with full-frame cameras, along with a reasonably fast widest aperture of f/2. The retro styling of the lens is a perfect match for cameras like the Fujifilm X-T1. As a 'pancake' lens, it's physically short at 41mm, and comes complete with an aperture ring that's calibrated in 1/3rd click stops. The corner sharpness isn't great and colour fringing is worse than average but the overall image quality is pretty good. Read our Fuji 18mm f/2 review. Nikon AF-S 24mm f/1.4G ED Mount: Nikon F | Format: Full frame | Construction: 12 elements in 10 groups, 9 diaphragm blades | Closest focus distance: 25cm | Filter thread: 77mm | Autofocus: ring-type ultrasonic | Dimensions: 83 x 89mm, weight 620g As a 24mm f/1.4 lens with full-frame compatibility, it's typically chunky. It has fast and near-silent ring-type ultrasonic autofocus, and a neat focus scale positioned beneath a viewing window on the top of the lens barrel. Centre sharpness is excellent even at very wide apertures, and levels of sharpness are maintained very well even into the extreme corners of the image frame. The image quality is absolutely excellent and fully in keeping with the lens's professional-grade build and high asking price. Read our Nikon 24mm f/1.4 review. Nikon AF-S 28mm f/1.8G Mount: Nikon F | Format: Full frame | Construction: 11 elements in 9 groups, 7 diaphragm blades | Closest focus distance: 25cm | Filter thread: 67mm | Autofocus: ring-type ultrasonic | Dimensions: 73x81mm, weight 330g This is a much more affordable proposition than the 24mm f/1.4 for Nikon users who want a fast wideangle prime lens. The 28mm focal length gives a viewing angle of 75 degrees (measured on the diagonal) when used on a full-frame camera, compared with the 84 degrees of a 24mm lens. It's still a usefully wide lens for indoor and outdoor shooting alike, but loses out to the more generous wide-angle abilities of a typical 24-70mm standard zoom lens. Wide-aperture vignetting is more noticeable than in Nikon's 24mm lens and it's not quite as sharp, but image quality is still very good overall. Read our Nikon 24mm f/1.8 review. Lenses 5-8 Olympus M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 12mm f/2 Mount: Micro Four Thirds | Construction: 11 elements in 8 groups, 7 diaphragm blades | Closest focus distance: 20cm | Filter thread: 46mm | Autofocus: stepping motor autofocus | Dimensions: 56 x 43mm, 130g Typical of Olympus MFT (Micro Four-Thirds) lenses, this one is physically quite small but very nicely engineered. Autofocus is pretty rapid for stills and enables smooth focus transitions during video capture. The electronic 'fly-by-wire' manual focusing mechanism operates with good precision. Sharpness is both good and very even across the whole image frame, right into the very corners. Special coatings are applied to reduce ghosting and flare. However, the rectangular hood designed for this lens has to be purchased separately, and it's not cheap at nearly £60. Read our Olympus 12mm review. Panasonic Lumix G 14mm f/2.5 ASPH II Mount: Micro Four Thirds | Construction: 6 elements in 5 groups, 7 diaphragm blades | Closest focus distance: 18cm | Filter thread: 46mm | Autofocus: stepping motor | Dimensions: 56 x 21mm, 55g This Panasonic 14mm lens takes pancake design to the extreme. It's a mere 21mm in length and a real featherweight at just 55g. Despite its simple construction, the Panasonic shows really good sharpness, both at the centre of the frame and into the corners, throughout the aperture range. There's not much vignetting, even when shooting wide-open, and barrel distortion is well controlled too. Read our Panasonic 15mm review. Pentax HD DA 15mm f/4 ED AL Limited Mount: Pentax K | Construction: 8 elements in 6 groups, 7 diaphragm blades | Closest focus distance: 18cm | Filter thread: 49mm filter | Autofocus: driven from camera | Dimensions: 63 x 40mm, 189g This 15mm optic almost drips with yesteryear charm. It's beautifully engineered with the barrel and screw-in front cap being made from hand-machined aluminium. However, it's certainly not a 'fast' prime lens. Its widest available aperture of f/4 is three stops slower than the f/1.4 lenses, and two stops slower than an f/2 lens. Considering that this lens has such a wide viewing angle, it's a real achievement that it also delivers very little distortion. Read our Pentax 15mm review. Samyang 24mm f/1.4 ED AS IF UMC Mount: Canon, Four Thirds, Nikon F, Pentax K, Samsung NX, Sony E, Sony A | Format: full frame Construction: 13 elements in 12 groups, 8 diaphragm blades | Closest focus distance: 25cm | Filter thread: 77mm filter thread | Focusing: manual focus only | Dimensions: 83 x 98mm, 580g This 24mm f/1.4 looks a bit of a throwback with its old-fashioned manual focus system and aperture ring. It makes the most of its two aspherical elements, four ED elements and UMC coatings to deliver very pleasing image quality. The only negative is that sharpness is a little poor at apertures between f/1.4 and f/2.8 but it's no worse at the corners of the frame than at the centre. Read our Samyang 24mm review.

Industry voice: How to improve your Google rankings with SSL Hosting Posted: 12 Dec 2014 04:30 AM PST Whether you're a developer who runs multiple websites, or a business owner with an ecommerce site, it's important you recognise the importance of Google rankings. Google's PageRank system is arguably the most important feature of the search engine, and Google rarely makes it known how they rank websites. However, a few months back, Google announced 'HTTPS Everywhere' – meaning they are now using HTTPS as a ranking signal, and that's something all website owners should have paid attention to. More weight in the future According to Google's blog post on the matter, this is a relatively lightweight signal, affecting fewer than 1% of global queries, and carrying less weight than high-quality content for example, to give webmasters time to switch to HTTPS. However, Google also noted that this could easily change and have more weight in the future. The fact Google told us this is a revelation in itself, and it's something that we can't ignore. It is presumed that this information was revealed to provide webmasters with the opportunity to switch to HTTPS (also known as HTTP over TLS, or Transport Layer Security, also accomplished with SSL certificates). Here's what we know so far about the PageRank system: • PageRank assigns a rank to every search result, and the higher the page's score, the further up the search results list it will appear • The scores are in part determined by the number of other web pages that link to the target page. Every link to the page is counted as a vote, the idea being that pages with good quality content are linked to more often • Votes from high-ranking web pages count more than low-ranking sites • The more links a web page sends out the weaker its voting becomes Reasons to shift to HTTPS With Google announcing anything about their ranking signal being a rarity, we would strongly advise making the move to HTTPS, as it's relatively inexpensive and doesn't take too much time to set up. There are also a number of benefits: • The ability to ensure information goes to the right recipient • Increased security for you, and your customers • SSL is trusted by customers, meaning they will feel safer using your website. When browsers are forced to use HTTPS connections it raises the security policy, meaning less opportunities for hackers • It's a ranking signal In the same blog post earlier this year, Google also said that it will be encouraging websites to adopt SSL and HTTPS as standard practice, as Mountain View will be zoning in the focus on this particular ranking signal. Websites that are HTTPS-ready now, will benefit from any increase in this ranking signal in the future too. Make the switch So, if you are not using HTTPS via SSL, be sure to switch over straight away. There is virtually no downside, and the upsides are that your site, visitor data and search rankings will all benefit. Your hosting provider should be able to offer you a number of SSL certificate options ranging from a standard SSL certificate to extended validation certificates. Daniel Foster is the co-founder of Manchester-based web hosting company www.34SP.com

YouTube's GIF creator is its best idea in years Posted: 12 Dec 2014 04:29 AM PST We've been saying for years that there should be an easier way to make GIFs from YouTube videos, and lo and behold, our prayers have been answered. As first spotted by Andy Baio on Twitter, YouTube appears to be testing a GIF creator, letting you select the section of the video you want GIF-ified and even add text to the top and bottom of the image if you wish. The maximum length is six seconds and all GIFs are hosted on YouTube's servers. It's a simple tool but right now it seems to only be working for videos on the PBS Idea Channel. We expect YouTube is using this as its testing ground, and will hopefully roll it out to the website as a whole soon.

You are subscribed to email updates from techradar To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States