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• Phone Week: Retro Phone Review: the original Apple iPhone
• How to save bandwidth
• 6 essential streaming apps for Android
• Get better lockscreen notifications using Notific
• UPDATED: The 25 best shows on Stan
• Review: Updated: Foxtel Play
• How to make yourself hack-proof
• Updated: 10 best mobile phones in the world today
• UPDATED: Stan: the content line-up so far
• Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 literally measures up to Apple's iPads
• How data mining works
• Buyers guide: The best VR headsets 2015
• Email spam levels drop below 50 percent for the first time in 12 years
• Phone Week: In pictures: a history of half a decade of Nexus phones
• Phone Week: An Apple for teacher: how tablets are changing education
• UK High Court outlaws CD and DVD ripping again
• 10 very old apps that still (somehow) work on Windows 10
• Phone Week: Your house is getting smarter - and your phone is the brain
• Phone Week: How the smartphone changed the general election

Phone Week: Retro Phone Review: the original Apple iPhone Posted: 20 Jul 2015 12:00 AM PDT The first real smartphone? Regardless of your thoughts on the Cupertino company, you have to admit that when Apple introduced the world to the first iPhone in 2007, it ushered in a new era of smartphones. The fledgling touchscreen technology was given a shot in the arm with Apple's multitouch technology, which allowed screens to recognise more than one finger at a time, enabling gestures such as pinching to zoom in and out on a page - something that now feels like second nature. The inclusion of a full on-screen QWERTY keyboard was also viewed as a risk. Could touchscreens REALLY hope to replace the physical keyboard found on BlackBerrys? The original iPhone, which we described as having "the power of a super sub-compact Mac", also allowed us to view web pages much like they appeared on desktop PCs, delivering attractive and image-rich websites that thankfully banished memories of WAP browsing. The original iPhone wasn't perfect, as it skipped the burgeoning 3G that would make browsing when not on Wi-Fi more palatable. Meanwhile its seven hours of battery life was an indication that week-long battery charges were a thing of the past. The more we wanted to do with our smartphones, the more we were going to have to plug them in to charge. However, as you'll see - the difference in length between our first iPhone review and the iPhone 6 review is, well, rather different... Original review... Can you recall your first encounter with a computer, and how empowered you felt? That feeling that one device could change your world. If you've yearned for that feeling, get an iPhone. The iPhone demonstrates Apple 's ingenuity and keen sense of technical design. What the iPhone does right, it does outstandingly, so much so that it will lead you to overlook its considerable shortcomings. Multi-touch The first feature that exemplifies the iPhone's excellence: Apple's MultiTouch touchscreen technology. MultiTouch will prove to be a model for touchface interfaces in the future. MultiTouch succeeds because it uses natural movements: a pinching motion for zooming in and out, a flick up or down for fast scrolling, single and double taps. MultiTouch avoids awkward movements. The onscreen Qwerty keyboard, a concern for sceptics, has its learning curve but it's not unusable. You need to develop a sense of where your finger (skin, not your fingernail) touches the key. Some of us quickly adapted to the on-screen keyboard, while others will need days to learn the keyboard's nuances. Once mastered, you'll realise the concern was overstated. The iPhone 3.5-inch screen dazzles. Colour pops on the screen, and the text detail may be some of the best seen compared to similar devices. Skin tones look realistic and smooth in photos and videos, and we didn't notice any ghosting. In fact, the image quality is so good that you can enjoy a two-hour movie, even if you believe that movies were made for big screens. A commercially-made DVD movie that we ripped to our Mac using Handbrake and formatted as an iPod movie played on the iPhone flawlessly. iPhone management is done through a USB connection on Mac or Windows (the iPhone is incompatible with 64-bit Windows Vista ) using iTunes . Not only are your iPod files organised in iTunes, but you also determine your Calendar and Address Book settings there, too. The iPhone is compatible with Address Book, iCal under Mac OS X , and Microsoft Entourage on the Mac. On Windows, iPhone works with Microsoft Outlook. Phone and Internet Apple touts a web experience on the iPhone without the compromises you usually make with smartphones. In actuality, the iPhone web experience is glorious yet has its own set of compromises. You see web pages as you would on a computer, and text and pictures look spectacular. However, load a site that requires plug-ins such as Adobe Flash, and you see missing plug-in messages. Apple won't comment on why the iPhone's Safari browser is crippled this way, but perhaps AT&T's EDGE network isn't fast enough for streaming media. That brings us to the greatest obstacle that prevents the iPhone from offering the best web experience in a mobile device. On AT&T's EDGE network and even on a Wi-Fi connection, the speeds feel modem-like. Supported email services include Yahoo, Google Mail, .Mac, and AOL. You can also enter settings for IMAP, POP, and Microsoft Exchange (IMAP only, and the Exchange server must have update Rollup 3 installed). You can view HTML emails, but you can't mark emails as spam. We were able to set up accounts quickly, but we did have some performance lag while typing email messages. The phone sound quality is clear but muted, and we didn't experience static or dropouts while using the phone in San Francisco. The music and video sound quality using earbuds is iPod-like, while the built-in speaker lacks richness and bass response but can get loud. Like its iPod siblings, the iPhone battery can't be removed. In our continuous talk test, the battery lasted just over seven hours. The iPod played music for nearly 23 hours and videos for 6 hours, 15 minutes. All good tallies that fall short of each of Apple's specifications by about an hour. iPhone OS Underneath the iPhone software is Mac OS X, and the iPhone feel like it has the power of a super sub-compact Mac. Unlike the MacBook and other Macs, the iPhone doesn't use an Intel processor. It uses a Samsung-manufactured ARM chip and it has 512MB of SDRAM to run the OS. The ARM processor is quite snappy; you can zip through the iPhone interface without any delays. Some tasks, such as opening email attachments and Cover Flow, feel faster than on an Intel 2GHz Core 2 Duo MacBook. Despite the Mac OS X underpinnings, customisation is limited. You can't change the display font or font size or reorganise the application icons on the home page. You can't create custom ringtones or use MP3 ringtones. Another limitation: Apple won't allow third-party developers to create true OS X applications. Instead, Apple allows development of Ajax-based web apps that run using Safari. The SIM card is stored in a slot atop the iPhone. You insert a paperclip into a hole, and out pops the SIM card caddy with the card. You can't unlock the iPhone and use cards from other phones. The iPhone headphone jack is recessed, which will prevent you from using some third-party earphones. The iPhone's Bluetooth can be used only with a phone headset and can't be used to transfer files, sync, or listen to the iPod via Bluetooth earphones. Verdict The more we use the iPhone, the more our affection grows for it. You can't say that about many things you use in your life. What makes the iPhone such a exciting device is its elegance. From its glossy exterior, to its intuitive interface, snappy response times, and sensible navigation, the iPhone simply works. Yes, the iPhone has many shortcomings. Its slow EDGE connectivity is a deal breaker. The Safari web browser needs to be updated for plug-in functionality. Its limited Bluetooth capabilities make no sense. Perhaps iPhone 2.0's the better deal for you. But if you're willing to make a few compromises, you won't be sorry. The iPhone has changed the mobile device landscape. For the better. We scored the original iPhone 4 out of 5 in our review first published June 2007. This article is part of Phone Week, celebrating the best bits about brilliant smartphones as part of the lead up to the TechRadar Phone Awards. To find out what the iPhone 7 could look like, how a phone could survive in space or just learning how to buy the perfect smartphone for you, bookmark TechRadar's Phone Week hub and check out all the great new content coming throughout the week!

How to save bandwidth Posted: 19 Jul 2015 10:40 PM PDT How to save bandwidth Running out of download quota sucks. If you're on a mobile data plan it worse than sucks: it's also hella expensive. That's why we've compiled our top four ways to save yourself the pain. BitTorrent: Uploads For most home broadband users that run afoul of their monthly quotas, it's likely that the blame lies squarely at the door of BitTorrent. With BitTorrent it's not just the downloads that you have to account for – it's the uploads as well. It is, after all, a peer to peer technology. Since most ISPs now meter uploads, that means that a given BitTorrent download can actually suck up many times more than the actual file size from your monthly quota. This is especially true if you say, start BitTorrents before you go to bed and leave them running all night. Now one way to limit the damage, so to speak, is to put upload speed limits on BitTorrent. That's pretty easy, but it's also problematic. BitTorrent is designed to reward uploaders: the more you upload, the faster your download. Choking the upload speed will hurt your downloads. However, it's very easy to do if you want: in μTorrent click on the gear icon to open your preferences then, click on Bandwidth. In the Maximum upload rate, enter a number that you're comfortable with (we'd recommend nothing below 20). BitTorrent: Seeding limits and transfer caps A better solution than upload rate limiting, however, is to put seeding limits on a file. Once you've finished downloading a torrent, your BitTorrent client goes into seeding mode. Normally, it will continue to upload the file indefinitely until you manually stop it. You can get μTorrent to automatically stop the seeding by putting a seeding limit on it. When the client has upload a certain amount of data – proportional to the size of the original download – it will stop uploading. For example, if you set a seeding limit of 50%, after the client has uploaded data equal to 50% of the original file size, it will stop uploading. Data that you upload while downloading is counted towards this total (so the torrent might actually stop the second it finishes downloading if you've already reached your quota). To set this up, in the preference panel click on Queueing in the left panel. Under the Seeding Goal field, enter a number as a percentage of the original file size that you want to seed. For example, if you enter 50, then BitTorrent will upload up to 50% of the original file size before stopping the torrent, ensuring that most torrents won't use more than 150% of the file size in data quota – unless the torrent takes a very long time to download (it keeps uploading for as long as it's downloading, regardless of seeding goals). Next check the box under 'When μTorrent reaches the seeding goal' and make sure 0 is entered into the field. Click OK. There is a third tool you can use in μTorrent: Transfer Caps, which let you put a hard quota on the amount of data used by μTorrent in a 31 day period. You can find it under Transfer Caps in preferences. Unfortunately, there's no easy way to make it map to your ISP quota resets. Whenever your monthly quota is reset, you'll have to manually go back to μTorrent and reset the quota. Click-to-play plugins Sites with embedded video and Flash elements aren't just annoying: they're bandwidth suckers. Fortunately, in Firefox and Chrome there's a setting call Click to Play. A plug-in won't start up unless you click on its panel. So if you head to a site with a video ad that plays in the corner or a Flash "game" that's designed to lead you to ad advertiser, you can choose whether or not it starts. To turn on Click to Play in Chrome open up your Settings and then scroll down to the bottom and click on Show Advanced Settings. Under Privacy, you'll find a button for Content Settings. Click on it, and a new window will pop up. You'll find what you're looking for under Plug-ins – enable the radio box Click to Play. In Firefox enter about:config into the address bar to take you to its hidden configuration screen (for which you'll get a warning). Scroll down to the plugins.click_to_play setting and set it to True if it's not already (right click and select Toggle to change it). Next, go to the Tools->add-ons page and search for the Flashblock add on and install it. (For some reason, the click_to_play setting does not seem to apply to Flash). Throttle cloud backup systems If you use a cloud backup service, you know that they can totally eviscerate your monthly download quota. If you find yours is doing just that, it's time to adjust the settings. Thankfully, services such as Crashplan have quota and throttling tools to keep that down to a manageable level. Check out the backup applications settings and see if there are tools to limit uploads. If you can't find any, try changing the backup frequency. Continuous backup is good for keeping files exactly up to date, but it triggers an upload every time a file is changed. Try changing it to scheduled daily or weekly backups instead.

6 essential streaming apps for Android Posted: 19 Jul 2015 10:14 PM PDT 6 essential streaming apps for Android If you like taking your streaming media with you, then there are plenty of applications to help you do just that. Here we've taken a quick look at six of our favourite Android apps for streaming content; we'll skip the obvious ones like YouTube and Netflix, and tell you about some you might not have tried. Kodi (with add-ons) Of course we have to start with Kodi (formerly XBMC), easily the best media player and streaming platform for Android. Kodi on Android looks and works just like the PC version of the app, and includes support for the various media streaming plugins that we talked about in the last issue. It will play just about anything you throw at it, and it supports a huge host of protocols for accessing remote servers, including AirPlay, DLNA and Windows File Sharing. iFlix instant torrent player As happens with most apps associated with BitTorrent, the iFlix app was very quickly removed from Google Play, but you can still get it from a number of other Android app sources. Somewhat ironically, the best place to get it is probably from BitTorrent. iFlix was actually designed as a tool for monitoring streams from IP cameras, but was morphed into a one tap BitTorrent streaming app. You just tap on a magnet BitTorrent link in your mobile browser, and iFlix takes over the rest. It's will likely spend a minute or two buffering (this is BitTorrent after all), and you may be asked what media player you want to use, but after that it plays quite smoothly. Showyou Available on Android and iOS devices, Showyou gathers together video feeds from selected social media sources, including YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Indieflix, Buzzfeed and more. Videos from channels you subscribe to and people you are friends with or follow appear in the video list and there are a variety of user-curated channels that you can visit. There so much content, and the complexity of the way the videos are curated and delivered makes the whole app a bit of a mess really – but it's kind of a glorious mess. If you're the kind of person who likes to browse YouTube's trending or top videos or who simply wants to see what your friends are posting and watching, it's definitely worth trying. TED Another app available on Google Play, TED offers access to a fascinating collection of live talks. It includes poetry and inspirational speakers as well as a variety of industry, governmental and organisational speakers. Speeches are drawn from conferences and events as well as personal chats. It's probably not something that's going to appeal to everyone, but it's certainly a big (and welcome) change of pace from unlikely animal friendships on YouTube, and is definitely worth a gander. Crackle A service similar in many ways to Netflix and Hulu, Crackle is a free video service with an actual Australian presence and locally and legally viewable material. Of course, our selection is nowhere near what the US gets – there tends to be a lot of older TV show reruns and movies from the 80s and earlier that appear on it – but it's actually a weirdly pleasant grab bag of commercial media. It's kind of like switching on the TV at midday back in the pre-internet days; you're probably going to only have the option of a handful of older movies and TV shows to watch, and that's OK. Sometimes it's cool to revisit those old westerns and classic movies. You probably wouldn't go seeking them out, but they're pleasant enough to watch if they're just on in front of you. LiveNow!TV Although it lists itself as being a product for US and UK users, LiveNow!TV actually works just great for Australian users as well (it even has a feed from the ABC), since there are plenty of services that aren't geoblocked. The service is essentially a portal into more than 600 live streaming TV channels from around the world. There are US and UK channels, but also German, French, Italian, Russian and Middle Eastern channels. There are channels categorised by content (movies, classic TV, kids shows etc.) and lists of most watched channels. It's kind of like a kick ass global cable TV service – and a handful of channels even support video on demand in addition to the live TV stream.

Get better lockscreen notifications using Notific Posted: 19 Jul 2015 09:22 PM PDT Get better lockscreen notifications using Notific While Android Lollipop finally offered the ability to respond to messages and notifications from your lockscreen, not all of us have made the jump from Kit-Kat or Jellybean. If you're one of Android those people (don't be upset – I am, too) Notific offers much of the functionality, and is a breeze to implement. Created by Anand Bibek, Notific provides a really simple way to have any or all of your notifications appear as little pop-ups on top of your lockscreen. Better yet, it allows you to directly respond to them (that is, if those responses normally appear in your notification drawer), dismiss them (and re-lock + turn off your screen again), or go straight to the relevant app. Handily, it only turns on your screen when your phone is out of your pocket, or if it's removed from your pocket within 10 seconds (or any other configurable length of time). The app comes in both a free and a 'Pro' paid version, with the Pro version offering the ability to create a black- or white-list of apps that can or can't pop-up notifications. Both versions come with several theming and customisation options, to make sure that it will fit with your chosen aesthetic lifestyle. Installing the app So, first things first, go and install the impossibly named free 'Notific Lockscrn Notifications' from the Play Store. You can swap to the more sanely titled Notific Pro later, but just be sure to uninstall the free version first – you will, sadly, lose your settings, although it's a breeze to set back up. Upon first opening the app, the 'Dashboard' is the first place to visit – it outlines what system settings/services you need to enable for Notific to work, and allows you to do so by tapping the relevant entry. So, first tap the 'Notification access not granted' section up the top, which will then take you to the system notification access screen, where you need to place a checkmark in the box next to Notific, and agree that it isn't nefarious. If you're not automatically whisked away to that screen, you can manually visit it by going to Android Settings > Security > Notification Access. Notific's Dashboard screen should now have the top two boxes in colour, so the next thing to do is press the final box down the bottom, which will allow Notific to automatically lock the phone again once you're done interacting with the notifications. For no good reason, my phone refused to take me to the Device Administrators screen, so you may have to do it manually by going to Android Settings > Security > Device Administrators, and placing a checkmark next to Notific (and while also, just like above, agreeing that its intentions are pure). Setting it up Now your Dashboard should appear in glorious full colour, and Notific is ready to make your life consist of less #firstworldproblems. To test its abilities, press the glowing notification disc down the bottom right of the dashboard. Your screen will turn off, and after a few seconds two test notifications will appear. Notice the ease with which you can swipe between them. Be dazzled by the canned actions available on each. Gasp with awe and wonder as you move the disc down the bottom to the left to dismiss the notification (including from the system notification drawer), or to the right to open the app that generated it. Customisation The next task entrusted to you is one of customisation. Diving into the settings section, you'll find five menus. Under 'Notification settings,' you can: show low-priority notifications, such as Google Now weather cards; have the notification's 'quick action' buttons appear or not; change when Notific's notifications will pop up (if your screen is off or turned on but on the lockscreen; only if your screen is off; only if your screen is on the lockscreen; or if your screen is off and your phone is locked); and enable or disable night mode, where the app won't show pop-ups during specified times. Below that is 'Sensor settings,' where you can choose to: have the screen turn on when a new notification comes in; choose to have Notific avoid turning on the screen if your phone is in your pocket; choose how long you have to take the phone out of your pocket for the auto screen turn-on feature to activate; choose how long the screen should turn on for after a notification arrives; choose to have the notifications locked to portrait orientation or not; if you want Notific to turn off the screen automatically after you dismiss the last notification; and whether or not you want the auto-off setting to be overridden if you manually turned on the screen. Themes Under 'Theme settings,' you can choose between the three included themes: the original 'NotifyMe legacy' theme; the current 'Android Wear' one, which optionally includes photos of the people contacting you; or the 'Ambient Dark' theme, which will save the battery on those phones with AMOLED displays, such as the Google Nexus 6, Samsung Galaxy S and Note series, and the Moto X, among others. You can also choose how dark you want the wallpaper to be behind the notification, as well as how wide you want the slider to be; if you want the system status bar and/or the navigation bar to be shown or not; and if you want the background to be blurred or not (which comes at the cost of memory usage). Just below the Theme settings menu, you have a few options for troubleshooting, and below that you have a few options for configuring privacy mode. Speaking of Privacy mode, if there are a few apps generating notifications that you don't want boldly popping up while your phone is locked, you can navigate to the 'Privacy Mode' screen, where you can choose which apps should have their pop-ups stripped of their contents. Pro users can prevent apps from creating Notific pop-ups at all by creating a blacklist (all apps are allowed to create pop-ups, with some explicitly prevented), or a whitelist (all apps are prevented from creating pop-ups, with some explicitly granted the privilege), which is my preferred method, so that I only have 6 or so important apps delivering pop-up notifications.

UPDATED: The 25 best shows on Stan Posted: 19 Jul 2015 08:41 PM PDT Best Stan TV shows: 25 great Stan TV series Anyone who's used the streaming service Stan knows that there's a veritable smorgasbord of great content available to stream at any given moment, which can make the decision of what to watch an overwhelming prospect. This is why we've created the TechRadar guide to the greatest TV shows on Stan right now (in no particular order). We'll keep this best TV show list constantly updated with the latest television shows that you should be watching and also tell you why. Check out our in-depth Stan review 1. Breaking Bad One of the most successful and critically-acclaimed shows of all time, Breaking Bad follows Walter White (Bryan Cranston), a high-school chemistry teacher who is diagnosed with cancer. With death on the horizon, Walter assumes the alter-ego Heisenberg and puts his chemistry knowledge to use in the production of crystal meth, with help from his drug dealing ex-student Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul). How far will Walter go to provide for his family, and will they even be around when all is said and done? Truly, one of the most riveting television shows to ever hit the small screen, Breaking Bad is essential viewing. Seasons on Stan: 5 2. Hannibal Possibly the most gorgeously grotesque show on television (American Horror Story doesn't even come close), Hannibal follows the world's most famous cannibal psychiatrist, Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Mads Mikkelsen), as he attempts to evade discovery by his friends, FBI profiler Will Graham (Hugh Dancy) and FBI director Jack Crawford (Laurence Fishburne). Fans of serial killer thrillers owe it to themselves to check out Hannibal, as the show manages to be even more horrifying than the Thomas Harris novels and films it's based on. It also happens to be the best looking show currently on the air, with an operatic flair that puts most films to shame. Seasons on Stan: 2 3. Better Call Saul Due to the immense success of his previous show, Breaking Bad, creator Vince Gilligan was given the opportunity to create this prequel spin-off series set six years prior. The show follows the fan favourite character Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk) and the events of his life which led him to become the delightfully crooked lawyer we know and love. Similar in style and tone to Breaking Bad (though not quite as grim), Better Call Saul is a welcome continuation of a beloved franchise. Expect to see lots of familiar faces as the show progresses. Seasons on Stan: 1 4. Community Following the exploits of a particularly low-rent community college, Community is a geeky, pop-culture obsessed delight. Community's homaging of all things movies, television and video games is spot on and incredibly realised, due to top notch direction, writing and performances. Best of all, the entire series is available on Stan, with new episodes appearing on the service as soon as they air in the United States. Seasons on Stan: 6 5. Transparent A family's world gets flipped upside down when it's discovered their father Mort (Jeffrey Tambor) is transgender. Having always felt like a woman in a man's body, Mort starts to go by the name of Maura, letting his blossoming femininity take over and providing the family with a new mother figure. The show explores the topical subject of gender identity better than any show in recent memory, dealing with the subject in a realistic and sensitive way that still manages to be humorous. Seasons on Stan: 1 6. Justified A western series set in the modern day, Justified sees tough-as-nails U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant) return to his hometown of Kentucky to dole out some seriously old-school justice. He'll also have to deal with his old acquaintance Boyd Crowder (Walton Goggins), a petty criminal posing as a white supremacist who may or may not get a chance to turn his life around. Seriously good stuff. Seasons on Stan: 6 7. Star Trek Completely remastered in high definition, Star Trek: The Original Series is a remarkably entertaining voyage into the depths of outer space. Join Captain Kirk (William Shatner), Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy) and the rest of USS Enterprise's crew as they navigate the mysterious and unknown cultures found deep in our universe. Trek fans can also stream Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine on Stan. Seasons on Stan: 4 8. Spartacus Before he was the showrunner for Marvel's Daredevil, Steven DeKnight worked on the gratuitously violent and sexual series Spartacus. At first glance, you'd be forgiven for thinking that there's nothing more to the show than meat-headed beefcakes fighting and screwing in a 300-aping manner, but there's so much more going on – we follow Spartacus (the late Andy Whitfield and his replacement, Liam McIntyre) as he is taken into slavery and forced to do cruel and unimaginable things in the gladiatorial arena, just waiting for the day that he can finally get his revenge on slave-owners Batiatus (John Hannah) and Lucretia (Lucy Lawless). All of this culminates in one of the most satisfying season finales in recent memory. Be warned – this show is filled with grotesque violence and an immense amount of sex and nudity. It's like Game of Thrones times ten. Series on Stan: 4 9. Freaks and Geeks On the list of shows that were tragically cut down before their prime, Number 1 is Firefly. Number 2, however, is Freaks and Geeks, the show that served as a launching pad for some of our favourite stars in comedy today. Brash, mischievous and hysterical, James Franco, Jason Segel and Seth Rogen provide a perfect counter-balance for the tepid (and completely loveable) Linda Cardellini. The show scores a spot in our hearts because at the end of the day we've all been Cardellini's character, Lindsay. We've all been picked on, called a nerd and genuinely loved something - whether that's phones, computers, televisions, whatever. And just when you think you'll never fit in, the right group of people somehow find their way into your life. Series on Stan: 1 10. Magic City Magic City is a show that struggled to find an audience while it was on television, though this should not reflect its quality – this show is seriously cool. Playing like a cross between Mad Men and The Sopranos, Magic City gives us an inside look at the glitzy and volatile happenings surrounding the famous Miramar hotel in Miami at the tail end of the 1950s. Ike Evens (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) wants to run a legitimate business, but he's forced to contend with the violent and psychotic mob boss Ben 'The Butcher' Diamond (Danny Huston). This incredibly sexy (and sex-filled) show also stars Jessica Marais (of Packed to the Rafters fame) and Olga Kurylenko. What better way to give Magic City a second chance than to stream it right now on Stan? Seasons on Stan: 2 11. Masters of Horror True to its name, the anthology-style series Masters of Horror gives some of the genre's biggest directors an hour-long episode to produce the creepiest, most horrific stories they can come up with. Sure, some are better than others, but you're guaranteed to experience shivers up your spine with at least a few of these mini-movies. Master horror directors include Dario Argento (Suspiria), John Carpenter (Halloween), Stuart Gordon (Re-Animator), Tobe Hooper (The Texas Chain Saw Massacre), Takashi Miike (Audition) and more! Seasons on Stan 2 12. Life of Mars DCI Sam Tyler is cop on the trail of a killer in 2006. His partner's been taken captive, and the pressure is on to find her before it's too late. But when Tyler gets hit by a car on the way to a crime scene, he awakens in the year 1973, with no idea of what he's doing there, or how to get back. He quickly finds out that being a cop in Manchester during the '70s is like being on a different planet – things are not quite as progressive, to say the least. A wonderful drama with a comedic edge, Life on Mars recalls old UK cop-show favourites like The Sweeney, albeit with a knowing satirical wink. Seasons on Stan: 2 13. Misfits Think of it as Skins with superpowers. A group of sexed-up, troubled British youths are all doing community service together when a crazy storm rolls in and gives each of them powers they can barely comprehend. Will they use those powers for good, or will they use them to get into more mischief? Great writing and a great cast (some of which go on to appear in Game of Thrones) make this show highly recommended. Seasons on Stan: 5 14. Twin Peaks One of the most classic and mind-blowing television shows of all time, Twin Peaks redefined the general public's perception of what a television drama was supposed to be like. Creator David Lynch presented the world with a standard murder mystery scenario, which would go on to become more bizarre and out there with every episode. When popular high school student Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee) is found murdered, FBI agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) arrives in the town of Twin Peaks with two agendas – to find out who killed her, and to eat some damn fine cherry pie. Peppered with a range of eccentric characters, Twin Peaks is one-of-a-kind. Seasons on Stan: 2 15. Orphan Black Orphan Black's premise is truly mind-bending – a streetwise girl named Sarah (Tatiana Maslany) witnesses a girl's suicide. After realising she looks exactly like her, and being somewhat of a chameleon herself, Sarah assumes the dead girl's identity. What she couldn't have expected however, is to be plunged head-first into a mystery in which she discovers that she and her dead doppelgänger are in fact clones, and there are many more of them out there. Now she must discover who is behind all of this. A great new sci-fi series with loads of potential. Seasons on Stan: 2 16. Deadwood HBO's western series Deadwood was devastatingly cancelled before its time, but thankfully we can relive the show's harsh and brutal world on Stan in its entirety. Ex-lawman Seth Bullock (Timothy Olyphant, clearly loving his status as a modern day western hero) arrives in the lawless town of Deadwood to start a hardware business and provide for his dead brother's family. Before long, the crime and corruption of this town, headed by bar owner Al Swearengen (Ian McShane), forces Bullock back into the life he tried so desperately to leave behind. Deadwood is an utterly fantastic show. Seasons on Stan: 3 17. The Shield A cop show with a difference, The Shield follows a tactical strike team headed by Vic Mackey (Michael Chiklis) that is as violent and corrupt as the street gangs it faces on a daily basis. Set in the fictional Los Angeles district of Farmington, Mackey and his crew (which includes Justified's Walton Goggins) must cover their tracks so that their ghastly exploits aren't discovered by detectives Claudette (CCH Pounder) and Dutch (Jay Karnes). Somewhat of a precursor to the show Sons of Anarchy, which also deals with gangs in a fictional Californian town, stars many of the same people and is also written by Kurt Sutter, The Shield is hard-hitting drama at its finest. Seasons on Stan: 7 18. Gallipoli This seven-episode epic mini-series follows four young men as they join the military and set off to fight at Gallipoli during World War I. Featuring fantastic performances from Kodi Smit-McPhee, Harry Greenwood, Sam Parsonson, Ashleigh Cummings and many more, this series is a powerful and respectful reminder of the great sacrifice our ANZACs made at Gallipoli. Heart-wrenching stuff. Seasons on Stan: 1 19. The IT Crowd It's safe to assume that if you're reading this website, you're quite tech-savvy, so you'd probably have an intimate knowledge of what it's like to deal with computer illiterate people. The IT Crowd understands this frustration in a way that only those who've actually lived it can – and it's absolutely bloody hilarious. The show follows the misadventures of tech support officers Jen (Katherine Parkinson), Roy (Chris O'Dowd) and Moss (Richard Ayoade), both in the office and out in the real world – spurred on in part by their eccentric boss, Douglas Reynholm (Matt Berry). It's like a geeky, British version of Seinfeld. Seasons on Stan: 4 20. South Park Trey Parker and Matt Stone's incredible animated series South Park remains as hilarious today as when it was first introduced. Join school kids Stan, Kyle, Kenny and the irrepressible Cartman as they embark on some of the most hilarious (and surprisingly poignant) shenanigans ever conceived. While we wish Stan had more than four seasons of the show available to stream, we imagine that more will be added some time in the near future. Seasons on Stan: 4 21. Dawson's Creek If you're in your early thirties, chances are that Dawson's Creek played a significant part in your high school years. Whether you identified with these impossibly good-looking and verbose supposed teenagers, or you just had the hots for Dawson (James Van Der Beek), Joey (Katie Holmes), Jen (Michelle Williams) or Pacey (Joshua Jackson), Dawson's Creek was surprisingly compelling viewing for a teenage melodrama. Relive your youth by watching Dawson's Creek in its entirety on Stan. Seasons on Stan: 6 22. Fargo Based on the Academy Award-winning film by the Coen Bros., Fargo is a show which has no right being as great as it is. Simultaneously expanding the world introduced in the film and creating a new story of its own, Fargo is a beautifully self-contained season of television that features terrific performances from Billy Bob Thornton as Lorne Malvo and Martin Freeman as Lester Nygaard. Season 2 is also on the way, and will concern itself with a completely different story set during The Reagan Administration. Seasons on Stan: 1 23. Party Down Another show that was taken from us far too soon, Party Down is a comedy about group of out-of-work actors (and one hard science fiction writer) who are forced to take on jobs at a catering service. Each episode takes place at a different party, furthering the characters' relationships in the process. Featuring hilarious turns from Adam Scott, Lizzy Caplan, Martin Starr, Ken Marino and Jane Lynch, Party Down is most certainly the kind of show that deserves to be rediscovered on Stan. Seasons on Stan: 2 24. Top Gear Okay, so the show may be in limbo at the moment due to Jeremy Clarkson's offscreen bad behaviour, but there's no denying that Top Gear is a remarkably entertaining programme. It's easy to get swept up in the show's various car challenges, test drives, stunts and celebrity appearances, even if you aren't a car enthusiast. This is all due to the infectious camaraderie between the show's three hosts – Richard Hammond, James May and the aforementioned Clarkson are a cheeky trio and are completely responsible for making a show about cars absolutely addicting. Seasons on Stan: 8 25. The Mighty Boosh The Mighty Boosh follows the musically-inspired and very surreal adventures that are experienced by Vince Noir (Noel Fielding) and Howard Moon (Julian Barratt) while working at a zoo (populated mostly by puppets) run by Bob Fossil (Rich Fulcher). This British comedy is as wacky as it gets, but it's also hilarious, featuring memorable musical set pieces in each episode. An utterly unique cult show. Seasons on Stan: 3

Review: Updated: Foxtel Play Posted: 19 Jul 2015 08:30 PM PDT Introduction Update: Foxtel has expanded its lineup for Foxtel Play, updating the programs on offer. Unfortunately its PlayStation apps suffer from stability issues. It seems like an age since the TV through the internet craze took Australia by storm. While ABC iView and SBS On Demand are practically everywhere these days and the free-to-air networks are struggling to decide exactly what the internet is to them, Foxtel has been plugging along quietly with online video. Initially, it was simply Foxtel on Xbox, which then made its way to Telstra's T-Box and Samsung TVs. Foxtel Go arrived later, letting Foxtel subscribers get their entertainment on phones and tablets on the go. But Foxtel Play is all of those services wrapped up in one. It's the first comprehensive Pay TV offering delivered through the internet in Australia. Available as an app for Windows PCs, Macs, Samsung, Sony, and LG Smart TVs, the Xbox 360, the PS3 - and most recently the PS4 and Xbox One - Play is the sum of all Foxtel's previous IPTV parts, offering comprehensive channel selection through a wide variety of devices. Packages and pricing Foxtel Play follows the company's more traditional payment and packaging options. You pay a base rate for the most basic package, with the option to add additional channel packages for a fee. But unlike the standard Foxtel subscription, Foxtel Play doesn't have a lock in subscription fee or installation costs. Because all the content is delivered via your internet connection, there's no need for a technician to connect cable from the street or a satellite dish to your roof. Foxtel Play is also cheaper than the cable or satellite based subscription, although not by as much as you might expect given there's no set top box or PVR like the Foxtel iQ included in the price. The basic pricing starts at $25 a month, and is offered in four different package configurations. There's Entertainment, which includes Fox8, Lifestyle, Arena, Lifestyle You, Lifestyle Food, Lifestyle Home, MTV, Comedy, Style, E! and TV Hits; Drama, which includes BBC UKTV, FX, SoHo, Universal Channel, SyFy, BBC First and 13th Street; Documentaries, which includes National Geographic Channel, Nat Geo People, Discovery, BBC Knowledge, Discovery Turbo, History, A&E, Crime Investigation Australia, Bio and Foxtel Arts; and Kids, which includes Disney Channel, Disney XD, Disney Junior, CBeebies, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., Cartoon Network, Boomerang, Discovery Kids and BabyTV. You can throw multiple packages together as well, with Foxtel charging $35 for two packages, $45 for three and $50 for all four every month. In addition, there are two premium packages on offer. Sports, which includes Fox Sports 1,2, 3, 4 and 5, ESPN1, ESPN2, EuroSport and Footy Play; and Premium Movies and Drama, which includes the Premiere, Action, Thriller, Comedy, Family, Disney, Masterpiece, Romance and World movie channels. Premium Movies and Drama pack also comes with the Boxsets channel, which means you can binge watch every episode of shows like Orange is the New Black, Ray Donovan, Entourage, The Wire, Deadwood and Australian piracy's poster show, Game of Thrones. Each of the premium packages will set you back $20 a month for Premium Movies and Drama, or $25 a month for Sports, meaning a complete Play subscription will cost $100 a month. No matter which package you sign up for, you also get access to Foxtel Go, allowing you watch on your tablet or phone, as well as access to the Sky News, Sky Weather, Sky Business, Fox Sports News, CMC, Max, EuroSport News, TVSN, Channel V and V Hits channels. The full Foxtel service has had a price restructure, with the base plan starting at just $25 these days, but scaling up to $120 a month for a complete channel line up. So Foxtel Play is slightly cheaper, and you'll need a satellite and a 12 month contract to get the full service. On the upside, a full service subscription also gets you a Foxtel iQ3 set top box. Still, the advantage of not having to sign up for 24 months, as well as the benefit of being able to watch on multiple devices is alluring. Installing and entertaining Getting set up with Foxtel Play is a fairly straight forward affair. Head to Foxtel's Play website, select your packages, fill in your credit card details, download the app and you're pretty much good to go. Setting up a second computer is slightly trickier, as Foxtel doesn't have links to the software conveniently located on the Play website. It's there - you just have to search around for it. Meanwhile, connecting to the Xbox One or PS4 app is as simple as downloading it from the Marketplace or PlayStation Store and then logging in once your account has been created. The first time you open the app on your PC or Mac, you'll be able to browse the EPG while Sky News plays in the background. When you actually try to select a program, the app will prompt you to login with your account details. From there, you'll be given access to all the channels you've paid for. If you're a parent and want to make sure your kids can only access appropriate material, the parental controls option is pleasantly simple. First, you need to create a four-digit pin, confirm it, and from there set what rating level you want to be available. If a user tries to access content above the pre-set rating, they'll be required to enter the pin. Pressing Play There are three tabs on the PC/Mac app, including a home button and the two main components to Foxtel Play: Live TV streaming and Anytime video on demand. The apps for Sony's PlayStation consoles are more or less the same, but feature an additional two tabs, bringing their selection to five buttons in total: Home, Live TV, Anytime, Search and Settings. Unfortunately there's lack of stability when the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 apps use the Anytime option. Both apps frequently crash during movies and TV shows, taking you back to that title's menu without giving you a resume option. This leaves you to start from the beginning all over again, or clumsily fast forward to get back to the point you were rudely interrupted. The Home tab offers a patchwork of live TV programs and popular catch-up programs, which kind of looks a bit like the Live Tiles from Windows 8. It's a two column grid, with rectangular boxes of various sizes. Weirdly, no matter the size of the window, you need to scroll down a little bit to see everything, but it's not like there's a lot of content below the screen to actually view. Live streaming is exactly what it says on the box. The same content that's broadcast via Foxtel on its selection of channels is streamed online via the Play service. The default view shows a list of channels and current programs running down the right hand of the window, while the left shows the currently selected program, and the programs description below it. There are two alternate views as well - one with the current channel shown as a thumbnail size next to a larger EPG, and a full-screen view that only shows the video playing. You can limit the number of channels shown in the list by genre. As we were testing the service with the full channel offering, we're not sure if it will only display the channels you've paid for, but there's no menu option for "My channels" or something similar, so we're doubtful. Catching up The final viewing option with Foxtel Play is Anytime, which offers a selection of programs on demand, to watch at leisure from start to finish, often without the ad-breaks of the Live TV option. Sadly, for anyone hoping for a serious Netflix competitor in this service, you're destined for disappointment. While the range of programs on offer is pretty decent, with hundreds of TV shows, movies and documentaries available, the depth of each offering is quite shallow, although improving. TV shows, in many cases, only have a handful of episodes on offer at any given time. The arrival of the Boxsets channel means you can binge on some of your favourite shows, but there's still a lot of programming only available on a catch-up basis. While that's slightly frustrating it does make sense. This is a Pay TV company, after all, which has a business plan built around the broadcast model of entertainment. To counter this, Foxtel also has its Presto service, offering a movie and TV streaming selection for an affordable monthly fee. It's a rapidly expanding market, and with the recent launch of Netflix and Stan in Australia, competition is only getting worse. But in the time since the Foxtel Play's launch, it has improved dramatically, with more content and easier pricing models. DRM and Video Quality What, you didn't expect Rupert Murdoch's beloved Australian Pay TV company to dive into a DRM-free online portal, did you? The good news is that the restrictions on Foxtel Play aren't too draconian. You can register three devices to the service, although that does include Foxtel Go as well. Generally, that's probably going to be a computer, a tablet and an Xbox, PlayStation or Samsung, Sony or LG smart TV. While you can opt for a range of permutations and combinations in terms of what devices you connect, you can only connect a single Xbox. We're not sure why - probably because multiple Xbox consoles really would eat into Foxtel's multi-room charging strategy. And while three devices can be connected to a Play account, only two of them can stream video at a time. So forget about having four family members watching four different things on four different devices. You'll need to pony up the cash for two accounts for that to happen. Video Quality In terms of video quality, there are only two settings - Best and Low. Best is actually very decent - we'd go as far as describing it as almost up to DVD quality, although it does depend on your broadband connection. That said, our fairly slow ADSL2+ connection managed the stream effortlessly, and it only took between five and ten seconds to buffer a new video. The Low quality is still very palatable, at least on a computer. While pictures lack definition, they're still watchable on a smaller screen. The lower setting on the Xbox 360 is harder to view, but is certainly no worse than watching most YouTube clips on the big screen. The video quality setting is one thing many users will need to pay attention to, given the bandwidth restrictions on home (and mobile) broadband plans. According to the service's FAQs, the highest quality setting will chew through 1310MB of data every hour, while the low setting will only use about 470MB. In other words, if you left the lowest quality streaming 24 hours a day for a month, you'd likely use up more than 300GB of data. At the highest setting, you'll probably crack 900GB. While those usage cases are unlikely, you may still want to upgrade your broadband plan before signing up. Verdict It's clear that Foxtel has put a lot of thought into creating a proper Pay TV service for the internet with Play. It's sleek, easy enough for anyone to use, and comprehensive in its offering. But, it is still Foxtel. If you've given up paying big bucks for television because of the hours and hours of rubbish programming between one or two decent shows, this isn't for you. It's still the same old content Foxtel churns out day in and day out on its broadcast channel, only delivered through the internet. But it's impossible to doubt the benefit of moving to an IP based system. No longer is your television locked to your home. You can take your Foxtel subscription with you on holiday, or hospital, or anywhere else you may need to go. Of course, whether that convenience is worth the price of entry is up for debate. But if you're likely to pay for Foxtel in the first place, you probably won't balk at the asking price. We Liked It''s so convenient and quick. Even on a fairly poor ADSL2+ connection and a two year old Mac, it still took less than 10 seconds to buffer. Once it started, we never experienced a bump in playback. The ability to stream to multiple devices also won us over. While it's probably a little bit stricter with the DRM than we'd like - only having two simultaneous connections when you can only have three connected devices seems a bit weak to us - the convenience is still something you don't really get with a full Foxtel subscription. We Disliked We'll be honest, we were hoping for more from the Anytime service. It's not that there's nothing to watch via Anytime, it's just that it's not really a viable way to discover a new show. We'd like to be able to try pilot episodes of programs, and then follow through if we like them, like you can with Netflix. The harder pill to swallow though is the price. Sure, a single package seems like pretty good value. But this was an opportunity for Foxtel to bring a la carte channel subscriptions to the table. The biggest problem with Foxtel in general is that you need to pay for half a dozen channels you don't care about to get the one channel you do. In broadcast that may make sense, but this is the internet, and there's simply no reason why users shouldn't be able to create their own package with only the channels they want to pay for. But more than that is the fact that a complete Play subscription gets you 48 channels, some of which won't play on certain devices. A Platinum broadcast subscription gets you 86 channels, plus an iQ box and HD channels, for an extra $20 a month. When you factor in you have to pay for broadband usage as well, it simply doesn't stack up as an affordable alternative. Final Verdict This is a step in the right direction, make no mistake. But Foxtel probably has played it just a little bit too safe for it to really disrupt the market. There's a good chance that in 15 years, pretty much all television will be consumed via the internet. With that in mind, Foxtel Play is a good, solid first step for the Pay TV company, after its previous crawling attempts. We'd love to see more versatility in packaging and pricing, as well as more of a push to on demand streaming. But given the way Foxtel makes its money, there's a good chance we'll be waiting a while for that.

How to make yourself hack-proof Posted: 19 Jul 2015 07:54 PM PDT How to make yourself hack-proof That's it. You've finally heard enough hacking horror stories – even been involved in one yourself – to finally commit to actually doing something to protect yourself against them. We're not gonna lie – you're probably going to be a little inconvenienced. And yes, you'll have to stop opening every email attachment that drops into your inbox, not download any app that takes your fancy and stop oversharing on social media. Still, it's absolutely worth it to take the time. Just ask anyone who has ever lost their entire video and photo collection, had their credit card information jacked or been the victim of an online scam – you'll bet they wished they had taken some reasonable steps. So, without further ado, we'll look at our top five techniques for avoiding the worst. 1. Security software It's fair to say that Windows has become a lot better at protecting your stuff. Microsoft has made significant strides when it comes to security, and Apple has improved as well. But that's not to say the that the default tools you get are good – but it's getting close to "acceptable." Still, if you want to be best protected, you do really need to install extra software on your system. That extra software starts with an anti-malware solution – possibly as part of a packaged suite. Check out this guide to the best anti-virus software of 2015. Windows 7 does not come with anti-virus at all, so installation is a must. You can get Microsoft Security Essentials for free – but you're actually better off with one of the third party tools available. Anti-virus test results have shown that Security Essentials is still a ways off the best anti-virus tools available. In Windows 8, Microsoft folded Security Essentials into the base package (it's part of Windows Defender), but it's still using the same engine, so it's still best to install a third-party tool. 2. VPNs If you're like most people, you probably know VPNs as the services that let you spoof your internet address to foil geoblocking. And they are pretty good at that: they let you watch the US versions of Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hulu or the UK's BBC iPlayer in spite of those companies not really wanting you to. But they have a very important security function as well. Several, in fact. With a VPN, the only site you make a connection to is the VPN provider, and that connection is protected by heavy encryption. The VPN provider then relays your connection to the end sites you want to visit. This has a number of beneficial effects: 1. Your ISP (and by extension, the government) has no way of tracking which web sites you visit, barring a subpoena of the VPN providers records – and it's likely that a) the VPN provider is outside their jurisdiction and b) doesn't keep records anyway. The only connection that your ISP and anybody else monitoring your internet link can see is the one between you and the VPN provider. All other connections are obscured. 2. Web sites you visit have no way of tracking your IP address or figuring out who you are unless you explicitly tell them. All your connections appear to come from the VPN provider and cannot be traced back to you, thus making you completely anonymous. This is how VPNs bypass geo-blocking – they make your IP address appear to be one in the authorised country. It also prevents tracking on other internet services like BitTorrent: if you download something from BitTorrent while connected to a VPN, there's no easy way that the download can be traced back to you. 3. Your data cannot be intercepted and read locally. This is an important one that people often forget. The data link ("tunnel") between you and the VPN provider is encrypted, so nobody can intercept and read your data en-route. That doesn't just defeat most government spying: it's critically important if you use public WiFi hotspots. VPNs: WiFi Thanks to the way that WiFi works, it's very easy for someone on the same WiFi network as you to intercept and read the data you're sending over the internet, grabbing your emails, IMs and any other unencrypted data. Normally, WiFi data is encrypted so that somebody outside the network can't listen in, but if someone is on the same WiFi network as you (as is the case in a public hotspot), they have that decryption key and can listen in. A VPN encrypts all your traffic, so that anybody listening in gets nothing but jibberish. VPNs: Setting one up Setting up a VPN is easier than ever. There are a host of VPN providers operating around the world: Tor, Hide My Ass, and ExpressVPN are among dozens – hundreds – of VPN services operating worldwide. Most charge between US$5 and US$10 per month, and may or may not have data volume restrictions. Nearly all of those providers supply an app you can install and run on a PC that connects you to their VPN. Many also provide mobile apps so you can extend that security to your iOS and Android phone as well (yep, mobiles need VPN security too). More sophisticated users can potentially set up their routers to push all data on a home network through the VPN, though that is a more technical task. 3. Password managers Do you need to have roughly a million passwords for all the sites you visit and apps you use? It's 2015: of course you do. And is each one a unique combination of random letters and numbers? Pretty unlikely – you're only human after all. The truth is that most passwords used by regular people can be cracked in a matter of minutes using a "dictionary attack" – simply trying out a bunch of common words and phrases with an automated tool. A random alphanumeric password (something like "s7Hnd3Fa4") will fool this, but we humans are not good at remembering those. Maybe we can remember one or two, but a different one for every site? Nope. Which is why a password manager is an absolute must. It remembers passwords for you, letting you use a unique combination of letters and numbers for each site and WiFi network. You only have to remember a master password to access all of them. 3. Password managers: LastPass When it comes to password managers, we just love LastPass, a cloud based tool that's free for PC platforms but does require a Premium subscription for US$12 per year for access on mobiles. It's available for Windows, Mac, Linux and all the major mobile platforms. Because it's cloud-based, it lets you share your passwords across your devices. While the company recently experienced a hacking of their servers, all encrypted information (other than possibly a users master passwords) were protected, demonstrating how secure and reliable the service truly is. Installing LastPass will add a widget to your browsers and (optionally) import all the passwords stored in your browser password caches. From then on, any time you visit a site with a password a LastPass icon will appear in the username/password fields and you can click on it to choose which password you will use. In addition to remembering your passwords and sharing them across multiple platforms, LastPass has several features that you really should be using. The first is the password generator. When you create an account on a web site, a little icon will appear in the password field. Click on it to bring up the password generator (you can also access this via the LastPass widget). This will generate a secure and unique password for the site which LastPass will remember for you. The second thing you should do is set up two-factor authentication. Click on the LastPass widget and go to My Secure Vault – this is a web page where you can view and edit all your saved passwords. Then click on Settings, then Multifactor Options. It's here that you can add an extra level of authentication for LastPass. We really like using it with Google Authenticator for mobiles – whenever someone tries to log into LastPass, your mobile will get an authentication message that you have to confirm before proceeding. LastPass may seem like a bit of an inconvenience at first, but you'll get used to it very quickly – and likely appreciate its capacity to share your passwords across devices. 4. Mobile security It's not just your PC that needs some security lovin'. Mobiles are often just as vulnerable as PCs. In addition to being subject to viruses the same way PCs are, mobiles can have dodgy tracking and identity stealing apps installed, and can be easily lost or stolen, giving whoever gets them access to all your stuff. 4. Mobile security: Android An anti-virus security app for your Android mobile is a good start. There are a bunch of them available for free, including solutions from Trend Micro, AVG, BitDefender, Avast, McAfee, Norton (Symantec), Kaspersky, Lookout and ESET. All of those offer good solutions, including anti-virus and anti-theft. But it also comes with an app locker that will require your phone pin before selected apps will start, and an app permission analyser that checks your existing installed apps for shaky privacy practices. It doesn't just rely on Google permissions (you know, that list of access permissions that pops up when you install a new app, which you never actually check and just approve automatically) – it checks the app against a cloud database. Avast is another favourite if you're not a fan of BitDefender. In addition to the anti-malware and theft and recovery tools, it includes a backup solution as well as a firewall – though the latter is available only on rooted phones. Installing an anti-virus solution is a good start, but it's not the final solution for Android. Some other things you should look at include: - Lock your lock screen. Head to Settings->Security and tap on Screen Lock. Choose the Pin, Pattern or Password lock options (or Fingerprint if you have it). We particularly like Pattern for the convenience. - Encrypt your mobile. In the security settings, tap on the Encryption option and follow the prompts. It will take a while, but when it's done nobody will be able to access data on the device without going through the unlock process. - Use secure messaging apps. TextSecure and RedPhone (both from Open Whisper Systems, and available on Google Play) are phenomenal tools for secure text and voice communications between Android users. They provide end-to-end encryption of your communications, with nobody but you and the recipient being able to read or listen in – unlike regular SMS and voice, which are easily intercepted. WhatsApp recently began using the TextSecure protocol on Android, so that's pretty great for private conversations as well (it doesn't offer it for iOS devices, however). 4. Mobile security: iOS iOS users have fewer security tools available to them, but it's fair to say that they have less to worry about. The closed nature of the Apple ecosystem has been pretty effective at keeping viruses out. Still, there are some things worth looking at. While Apple provides its own backup and location tools with iCloud, you're better off using Lookout, available on the iTunes App store. It provides lost and stolen phone tracking and locking, local backup and a system advisor and process scanner that checks currently running apps for anything malicious. One other important thing to do is enable the Passcode lock screen. If you have an iPhone 5s, you can also enable Touch ID, a fingerprint scanner. Head to Settings->Passcode and Touch ID and enable them. 5. Downloads If you've been using computers for more than, say, five minutes, you've probably downloaded some shady stuff – and paid for it with a nasty virus infection or rootkit. Any executable file you download can potentially be bundled with a virus. So you need to be a little vigilant about what you download. 5. Downloads: App stores One of the great things about mobiles is that they come by default with curated app stores. Apps on Google Play and iTunes App Store are pre-checked for viruses and are generally safe to download. There have been a few nasties that have slipped through on Google Play in the past, but nothing for some time. Sure, some apps with awful privacy may be on there, but they're not actually viruses. If you're on a mobile, you should pretty much stick to always downloading from the App Store and Google Play. On iOS devices you have no choice (sans jailbreaking), but even on Android it's generally a good idea to have the "unknown sources" option in the security settings unchecked. On Windows, unfortunately, we generally don't have that option. There is the Windows Store, but right now it only provides a very limited array of Modern UI (Windows 8) apps. When Windows 10 comes out, that policy is set to change and hopefully we'll be able to get a full array of Desktop apps as well – but we'll have to wait and see. For games, there's also Steam. 5. Downloads: Get apps from the source When downloading PC apps, you should always endeavour to get them from the software maker's own web site, and not from a third party download site. Some third party download sites do make an effort to scan for viruses, but not all sites can be trusted. 5. Downloads: Scan before opening When you download an app, you should give it a quick virus scan before opening it. Most anti-virus solutions add a right click context menu item to Windows Explorer/File Explorer with an option to scan a file for viruses. While in theory the AV tool should automatically scan any downloaded files, give it a run anyway. 5. Downloads: Read the comments Okay, you're committed to getting an app from a peer to peer network. We can't stop you. But at least read the user comments on the BitTorrent site you're grabbing it from before downloading. If there's a virus embedded in the file, it's possible that someone may have spotted it and left a comment to that effect.

Updated: 10 best mobile phones in the world today Posted: 19 Jul 2015 07:00 PM PDT Number 10: Nexus 6 Update: The LG G4 has entered the Top 10 fray. Where has it ranked? Read on to find out! Here at TechRadar, we check out every phone under the sun, putting the ones that matter through our vigorous testing process to create our in-depth mobile phone reviews. However, with so many to choose from, we've spent hours whittling them down to a top ten, taking into account the power, specs, design and value for money. And we'll always point you in the direction of the latest handsets - after all, nobody wants to be carting around a phone that doesn't get any updates in a year's time, right? So whether it's one of the many slick Android handsets, the latest iPhone or one from a range of other cool operating systems, we've extensively tested them all so you don't have to! Here are our rankings for the best smartphones around, currently available in Australia. 10. Nexus 6 Google's best ever phone is also its biggest ever OS: Android 5 | Screen size: 5.96-inch | Resolution: 2560 x 1440 | Memory: 3GB | Storage: 32GB/64GB | Battery: 3,220mAh | Rear camera: 13MP | Front camera: 2MP Google's latest Nexus is a phone that moves away from the usual 'super-cheap superphone' and into phablet territory. The good news is the screen is also supercharged: massive at 6 inches, it also has a stunning QHD resolution. You'll always receive the latest updates to Google's Android OS with this one, and while it's certainly something you'd have to use two handed (make sure you're fine with that before buying, as it's put a lot of people off that we've shown it too) its tremendous display, premium specs and great use of Android 5.0 Lollipop make the Nexus 6 one of the best phablets to date. It's not cheap, but as it's the best Nexus ever made, you won't need to hold onto your money. You'll require both hands to keep a grip on this two-handed monster. Nexus 6 review Number 9: Sony Xperia Z3 9. Sony Xperia Z3 A solid phone with a good screen and excellent battery life OS: Android 5 | Screen size: 5.15-inch | Resolution: 1920 x 1080 | Memory: 3GB | Storage: 16GB/32GB | Battery: 3,100mAh | Rear camera: 20.7MP | Front camera: 2.2MP The Xperia Z3 is a phone that offers the best of Sony with some really polished tweaks thrown in for good measure. The screen is one of the brightest around and really benefits from Bravia technology, and the longer battery life embarrasses a number of other big smartphones around at the moment. We do expect more from the camera, and the black bezels above and below the display ruin the aesthetic somewhat, but the ability to Remote Play your PS4 more than makes up for it - it's a really cool feature and means you can keep gaming while someone else is hogging the TV. The Z3 is a brilliant phone with a few rough edges, but Sony's also great at bringing the cost of its handsets down, so this flagship's really good value for money. Sony Xperia Z3 review See the best Sony Xperia Z3 deals Number 8: iPhone 6 Plus 8. iPhone 6 Plus Apple's first bigscreen phone is a stunner OS: iOS 8 | Screen size: 5.5-inch | Resolution: 1920 x 1080 | Memory: 1GB |Storage:16GB/64GB/128GB | Battery: 2,915mAh | Rear camera: 8MP | Front camera: 1.2MP Put simply, this is the bigger version of the iPhone 6, but Apple's done more with its first phablet, increasing the specs to offset that higher price. The screen is Full HD and really packs some stunning colour reproduction. The camera on the back hosts optical image stabilisation, so pictures look sharp. They're also brighter, thanks to more light being let in. The iPhone 6 Plus also has something that's eluded iPhone fans for years: a really good battery, with Apple using that extra space to cram in a few more mAh units. It's one of the most expensive phones around, and is bettered on spec by a few others - but if you're an Apple fan looking for a 'bigger' experience, this is the phone for you. iPhone 6 Plus review See the best iPhone 6 Plus deals Number 7: Samsung Galaxy Note 4 7. Samsung Galaxy Note 4 Samsung's latest phablet is the best bigscreen phone available OS: Android 5 | Screen size: 5.7-inch | Resolution: 2560 x 1440 | Memory: 3GB | Storage: 32GB |Battery: removable 3,220mAh | Rear camera: 16MP | Front camera: 3.7MP Samsung created the phablet category and continues to lead it, cramming so much technology into the Note 4 while still including the S Pen stylus that's proved so popular. The main thing we love here is the screen: Super AMOLED technology combined with QHD resolution means a pin sharp display, and one that we just can't take our eyes off, with the bigger size actually working to show off the extra pixels. It's not cheap, and the interface isn't as clean and clear as on the Samsung Galaxy S6 range, but that could all change soon - in which case, this is one of the most fully featured phones that rewards those willing the pay the premium and put the time in to learn its powers. Samsung Galaxy Note 4 review See the best Samsung Galaxy Note 4 deals Number 6: Sony Xperia Z3 Compact 6. Sony Xperia Z3 Compact A small Android phone packed with big features OS: Android 5 | Screen size: 4.6-inch | Resolution: 1280 x 720 | Memory: 2GB | Storage: 16GB |Battery: 2,600mAh | Rear camera: 20.7MP | Front camera: 2.2MP Less powerful with a lower-res screen than its bigger brother, the Z3 Compact still features most of the high-end specs, fuses them with things like Remote Play and the 20.7MP camera, and does it all at a really low cost for a phone of this power. The 4.7-inch display makes the Z3 Compact one of the best phones to hold and use in day to day life, and it also has a brilliantly long-lasting battery, too. If you're not a fan of the gargantuan models on show, there's a lot to love about Sony's mini flagship. The Z3 Compact is the best of Sony in a smartphone. If that's what you're after, this is the phone to go for. The ergonomics and the price impress, and while it doesn't quite have the spec sheet of the main Z3, the Compact feels more polished. Sony Xperia Z3 Compact review See the best Sony Xperia Z3 Compact deals Number 5: HTC One M9 5. HTC One M9 Not quite up the 5 star standard, but HTC still has the most beautiful phone around OS: Android 5 | Screen size: 5-inch | Resolution: 1920x1080 | Memory: 3GB |Storage: 32GB |Battery:2840mAh | Rear camera: 20.7MP | Front camera: 4MP HTC has sat comfortably at the top of our charts for the last couple of years, and while it's not quite managed it in 2015, the M9 is still a phone with the best build quality out there. None of the old favourites are missing, so BoomSound enhancement still turbocharges the audio and the Sense overlay remains one of our favourites, thanks to its sophistication and power. The camera has been boosted to 20.7MP, although doesn't have the impressive snapping power of some of the other phones on the market. The design language still means this is one of our favourite phones to stick in our pocket. It's a touch more expensive than before, and doesn't take a huge leap forward from last year's model, but that was nearly perfect, so where was HTC to go? HTC One M9 review See the best HTC One M9 deals Number 4: Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge 4. Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Curving into the future with impressive specs OS: Android 5 | Screen size: 5.1-inch | Resolution: 1440 x 2560 | Memory: 3GB |Storage:32GB/64GB/128GB | Battery: 2560mAh | Rear camera: 16MP | Front camera: 5MP The Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge has all the power and features of the table-topping S6, but includes a little extra, thanks to the curved edges on its sides. They don't add a huge amount of functionality, but if you're going on looks alone, the S6 Edge has them in spades. The price is a lot higher, though, which is why it doesn't join its (non-identical) twin at the top of the chart. But if you're after a phone that's wildly different from anything else with a great feature set and a tip-top camera, this should be your choice. Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge review See the best Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge deals Number 3: LG G4 3. LG G4 Luxury leather on a smartphone that tries to please everyone OS: Android 5.1 | Screen size: 5.5-inch | Resolution: 2560 x 1440 | Memory: 3GB | Storage: 32GB | Battery: removable 3,000mAh | Rear camera: 16MP | Front camera: 8MP LG has tried to focus on what everyone actually wants out of a smartphone, a great looking design, colour rich display and the great camera for photos - but it doesn't quite deliver as impressively as we'd hoped. Don't let that put you off though. There's a lot going on with the LG G4, and for the most part it's rather positive indeed. The leather back is much nicer than the plastic option, and it will make your phone stand out among the swath of glass and metal offerings. Its large, expansive screen is one of the best on the market, the 16MP laser auto-focus camera takes some cracking shots and the rear buttons are easier to hit on a handset this size. As a complete package, it offers more than the Xperia Z3 and One M9, but it doesn't quite match the slickness and design of the iPhone 6 and Galaxy S6. Full review: LG G4 See the best LG G4 deals Number 2: iPhone 6 2. iPhone 6 Bigger, better, sleeker and faster than the iPhone 5S OS: iOS 8 | Screen size: 4.7-inch | Resolution: 1334 x 750 | Memory: 1GB |Storage:16GB/64GB/128GB | Battery: 1,810mAh | Rear camera: 8MP | Front camera: 1.2MP The iPhone 6 is a step forward for Apple that's a joy to use, hold and feel. It has all the same ingredients that make iPhones special. While it doesn't excel in any given part of the smartphone recipe, it just works, promoting simplicity over fiddly menus. The camera has a lower megapixel count than others, but it's fast, bright and easy to use. The screen is low-res compared to the phones around it, but pops and fizzes with colour and brightness. And we keep coming back to that design, which feels beautiful in the hand. The sticking point is it's still one of the most expensive phones on the market, and spec-fiends will note it doesn't quite have the specs to back up the cost. But don't let that put you off: if you're in the market for a handset from Apple, or have been tempted by one in the past, buy the iPhone 6. It's a pure joy to use. iPhone 6 review See the best iPhone 6 deals Number 1: Samsung Galaxy S6 1. Samsung Galaxy S6 A brilliant phone that shows Samsung still has what it takes OS: Android 5 | Screen size: 5.1-inch | Resolution: 1440 x 2560 | Memory: 3GB |Storage:32GB/64GB/128GB | Battery: 2550mAh | Rear camera: 16MP | Front camera: 5MP While last year's Galaxy S5 was nothing special, this year Samsung's started from the ground up to make a truly wonderful smartphone. The camera is superb, the audio and video quality brilliant and the QHD display crammed into the 5.1-inch screen is the sharpest on the market - although it does suck down the battery rather a lot. The design finally feels good in our hand (contrasting with the plastic cheapness of last year), and the refined TouchWiz overlay is much nicer to use. It's pretty expensive, mind, so make sure you're after a truly A-grade experience before buying. But if you do take the plunge, rest assured, you have the best phone on the market. Samsung Galaxy S6 review See the best Samsung Galaxy S6 deals You might also like... If a phone isn't in the top 10 best phones in the world list, that doesn't mean it's not worth giving two hoots about. Here's a few handsets you might want to consider should none of the above tickle your fancy... although you're clearly VERY hard to please: HTC One M8 A stunning phone with very few flaws OS: Android | Screen size: 5-inch | Resolution: 1920 x 1080 | RAM: 2GB | Storage: 16GB/32GB |Battery: 2,600mAh | Rear camera: 4MP dual | Front camera: 5MP The HTC One M8 has tumbled dramatically out of the top 10 after holding onto top spot for the best part of a year, so why the fall? Well, it's now pretty old compared to the handsets making up the top ten, and there's a new kid on the block in the shape of the One M9. It's still the same perfectly design handset though, with impressive BoomSound speakers and the short-lived, yet innovative Duo Camera on the rear. The One M9 is almost identical, and just a bit better all round. There's been a small price drop, too, since the arrival of the One M9, and you certainly won't be getting a poor phone if you choose to pick it up. But remember, for just a little more you can have its up-to-date successor. Your call. HTC One M8 review See the best HTC One M8 deals Samsung Galaxy S5 A year old, but still very capable OS: Android | Screen size: 5.1-inch | Resolution: 1920 x 1080 | RAM: 2GB | Storage: 16GB/32GB |Battery: 2,800mAh | Rear camera: 16MP | Front camera: 2MP If Samsung's latest duo of flagship devices (the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge) are too rich for your wallet then you can always consider last year's Galaxy S5. Sure it doesn't have the same premium design as the current generation, but the plastic body means it's dust and water resistant as well as giving you a removable battery and microSD slot - all things not available on the S6 range. The drop in price also makes the Galaxy S5 more attractive, and it's stuffed full of features, including a fantastic screen that will ensure you have an enjoyable mobile experience. Samsung Galaxy S5 review See the best Samsung Galaxy S5 deals Nokia Lumia 930 Hey Nokia, (now Microsoft), nice flagship phone! OS: Windows Phone | Screen size: 5-inch | Resolution: 1920 x 1080 | RAM: 2GB | Storage: 32GB |Battery: 2,420mAh | Rear camera: 20MP | Front camera: 1.2MP The Lumia 930 comes up short when compared with the competition, but only in a couple of areas. Windows Phone is still a sub-par operating system for most people, thanks to the poorer apps and lower level of control. But then again, for a lot of people the improved Office functionality and simple interface is a boon. It's strong in both design and power, although a little last-gen on the latter element. Coupled with a very capable camera, this phone is easy to recommend to those looking for something different. Windows Phone aside, there's a great deal on show here to make this a top-rated smartphone. The build quality is excellent and iconic, and the camera is powerful. We like that 32GB is on offer as the base model, and built-in wireless charging is always a nice addition. Nokia Lumia 930 review See the best Nokia Lumia 930 deals OnePlus One A flagship phone for half the cost OS: Android | Screen size: 5.5-inch | Resolution: 1920 x 1080 | RAM: 3GB | Storage: 16GB/64GB |Battery: 3,100mAh | Rear camera: 13MP | Front camera: 5MP If you fancy trying something a bit different then Chinese firm OnePlus has a rather enticing proposition. Its first flagship smartphone (and only device to date), the OnePlus One, has the same feature set as 2014's flagships, but at a fraction of the cost. You can pick up the One SIM-free from under $450, which is a steal when you consider it packs a 5.5-inch full HD display, Snapdragon 800 processor, 2GB of RAM and a 13MP rear facing camera. It runs the community backed CyanogenMod version of Android which comes with lots of handy little extras. The design is hardly inspiring and the lack of a microSD slot may put some off, but for the price you can't really go wrong. OnePlus One review iPhone 5S Perfect for fans of the smaller screen size OS: iOS | Screen size: 4-inch | Resolution: 1136 x 640 | RAM: 1GB | Storage: 16GB/32GB/64GB |Battery: 1,560mAh | Rear camera: 8MP | Front camera: 1.2MP Remember this? After the furore with the iPhone 6, it's easy to forget that the Apple iPhone 5S is still alive and kicking. It's still a bit expensive, but the iOS 8 software update hasn't presented any problems, so this slightly cheaper option should appeal to those who like a smaller screen. Plus, you can use it with the Apple Watch and pay for things on the go using the cunningly named Apple Pay - although for some reason Touch ID won't be work online, where it will be for the iPad Air 2 and friends. iPhone 5S review See the best iPhone 5S deals BlackBerry Classic Physical keyboards FTW, right? OS: BlackBerry 10 | Screen size: 3.5-inch | Resolution: 720 x 720 | RAM: 2GB | Storage: 16GB |Battery: 2,515mAh | Rear camera: 8MP | Front camera: 2MP Come again? BlackBerry is still going? Well yes it is, and in the past year it's launched both the Passport and the Classic. They certainly won't be to many people's taste, but those unable to drag themselves away from a physical keyboard on their phone have the Classic to fall back on. It takes the best bits of design from the firm's much loved Bold series and brings them into the 21st Century with the BB10 operating system and improved specs. Great for those always emailing and messaging on the go, just don't try and play games or watch movies on its 4:3 display. BlackBerry Classic review See the best BlackBerry Classic deals

UPDATED: Stan: the content line-up so far Posted: 19 Jul 2015 06:38 PM PDT Exclusives and TV Content UPDATED: Stan has added new seasons of several shows, including The Bridge and RuPaul's Drag Race, to its ever-expanding line-up – details below! The upcoming Australian launch of Netflix in 2015 has dominated discussions about streaming media services lately, but a new service that's just been launched could give Netflix a run for its money. A product of StreamCo, a joint venture between Nine Entertainment Co. and Fairfax Media, Stan promises to bring its customers a wealth of entertainment at $10 a month, with no contracts whatsoever. Stan uses Google Chromecast or Apple's AirPlay technology to stream full 1080p HD content to your television, something that other streaming rivals such as Presto and Quickflix have yet to provide. Exclusively Stan's Stan has the exclusive Australian streaming rights to the eagerly anticipated Breaking Bad spin-off show Better Call Saul when the show debuts in February, as well as streaming rights for all five seasons of Breaking Bad itself. Also on Stan's list of exclusive shows are Mozart in the Jungle, and the Golden Globe-winning hit new show, Transparent. According to Stan CEO Mike Sneesby, all three shows will remain exclusive to the Stan streaming service for as long as they're produced. And if that's not enough, fans of the cult comedy Community will be getting access to the sixth season first on Stan. The exclusive deal means Stan is the only place you can access every episode of the show in Australia. And, in an Australian first, Stan has become the first local streaming service to commission an original SVOD series with the new Jungleboys show No Activity – an improvised comedy series about a pair of detectives on stakeout, starring Patrick Brammall, Darren Gilshenan, Dan Wyllie and Harriet Dyer. No Activity is due to arrive on Stan in late 2015. Joining Party Down, Spartacus and Magic City on the service are three more shows from the Starz network which will be having their Australian premieres exclusively on Stan. Probably the most exciting of the three is Ash vs Evil Dead, based on the cult classic Evil Dead film series starring Bruce Campbell and directed by Sam Raimi. The show is currently filming in New Zealand and will premiere on Stan in late 2015. Now available on the service (with new episodes every Sunday) are the first two seasons of the show Power, which is produced by Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson and is about New York's club scene and underground drug trade. Stan has also acquired the Aussie streaming rights to the new 'dramedy' show UnREAL, which is set behind the scenes of a tawdry reality TV show, exposing just how far from reality these shows can get – morals will be left at the door. UnREAL stars Shiri Appleby (Roswell, Girls), Craig Bierko (Cinderella Man, Sex & the City) and Freddie Stroma (Harry Potter series, Pitch Perfect), and fast-tracked to the service from July 11. Fans of the world's most recognisable drag queen, RuPaul, should drag themselves over to their televisions, as the sixth season of her show, RuPaul's Drag Race, has now been added to Stan. Arriving in November and also exclusive to Stan is the new series Flesh and Blood, which is produced by David Michôd (Animal Kingdom, The Rover) and is about the New York City ballet world. You got some good shows Stan, I think you need some browsing A multi-year content licensing agreement with Viacom International Media Networks means that Stan users will have access to shows from Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., Comedy Central and MTV. Confirmed kids content includes SpongeBob SquarePants, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Avatar: The Last Airbender, iCarly, VICTORiOUS, Drake & Josh, while the really little ones get shows like Dora the Explorer, Ni Hao, Kai-Lan and Bubble Guppies. Stan has also announced a deal with Turner Broadcasting to bring a collection of Cartoon Network shows to the service, including classic kids shows Adventure Time, Regular Show, Ben 10, Ben 10: Alien Force, Ben 10: Omniverse, three more special Ben 10 features, Generator Rex, Cow and Chicken, Powerpuff Girls and Ed, Edd, n Eddy. In terms of content for grown ups, the Viacom deal will bring shows such as South Park, Tosh.O, Reno 911!, Teen Mom, Awkward, Geordie Shore, The Hills and 16 & Pregnant.. Sounds good. What else you got, Stan? If Geordie Shore isn't exactly the type of television you're interested in seeing, Stan's deal with BBC Worldwide will likely have you well chuffed. Full seasons of British favourites such as Sherlock, Ripper Street, Orphan Black, Luther, Wallander, Parade's End, Torchwood and Doctor Who will be available to stream at launch, as well as classic comedies such as Absolutely Fabulous, Fawlty Towers, The Vicar of Dibley, Gavin and Stacey, Charlie and Lola, Extras and The Office. Sherlock fans in particular have plenty to be happy about, with the news that a brand-new episode of the show will be available to stream exclusively on Stan later this year. The episode is reportedly going to be set in Victorian-era, bringing the character back to his roots and providing an interesting change of pace for the series. Stan has now added season 21 of the incredibly popular car enthusiast series Top Gear to go along with the previous 4 seasons it already had, and has also added two Top Gear specials: Botswana Special and Polar Special. Those who like their shows to be of the factual variety are also covered, with selection of documentaries from Louis Theroux and David Attenborough on offer. Stream me up, Scotty Stan's agreement with CBS Studios International means that Star Trek fans will be able to stream digitally remastered versions Star Trek: The Original Series and Star Trek: The Next Generation, as well as the complete series of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Other CBS content includes The Good Wife, Blue Bloods, CSI, CSI: NY and *puts on shades* CSI: Miami. YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! The agreement also brings with it a range of shows from CBS subsidiary Showtime, including original Showtime shows Ray Donovan, Dexter, Nurse Jackie, Californication and The Borgias, as well as complete seasons of other classic shows that Showtime holds the rights to, such as Deadwood, Oz and Twin Peaks.Aussie, Foreign and Film Content Okay, but is there any content from Aussie networks? Since Stan is an Australian original, it makes sense that the service would offer a range of local content. Stan's licensing agreement with ABC Commercial is one such example. Australian comedies Upper Middle Bogan, It's a Date and The Moody's are all part of the line-up, as well as Chris Lilley's excellent shows Summer Heights High and Ja'mie Private School Girl. Drama fans get access to Rake, Redfern Now, Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries, Jack Irish and Janet King, and documentary fans will get such shows as Whitlam: The Power and the Passion, Gallipoli From Above and Wide Open Road. Stan will also provide many of the kids shows that the ABC is renowned for, including Aussie shows like The Wiggles, Dorothy the Dinosaur, Guess How Much I Love You and Justine Clarke, as well as content from ABC's library of overseas shows such as Octonauts, Angelina Ballerina, Bob the Builder, Thomas and Friends, Fireman Sam, Sesame Street and Mister Maker. And, Stan is now streaming all seven parts of the new Australian series Gallipoli, which only debuted its first episode one night prior to being made available for the service. This is a major win for the Stan, as it marks the first time that a major Australian television event has made its way onto a streaming service in its entirety before it has even had a chance to air on traditional television. Stan is the Australian streaming home of Plonk, the new series from the creators of The Chaser, which takes a satirical look at the makings of a serious wine show. Fans of the show should get their palates ready, as the second season of the hilarious show has just landed on Stan, ready to stream in its entirety. The show stars The Chaser's Chris Taylor, Joshua Tyler and Nathan Earl. Muy bueno, Stan! ¿Qué más? An agreement between Stan and SBS means that the service will be streaming ethnically diverse Australian-made shows such as Wilfred, Housos and Better Man, alongside acclaimed international dramas such as The Killing and Prisoners of War. The original Danish-Swedish version of The Bridge is also on the service, with the second season of the critically-acclaimed show now available to stream. While announced content has mostly been television-focused, the agreement with SBS will also bring World Movies along with it. World Movies will provide Stan subscribers with access to the best in international cinema from over 45 countries and in more than 70 languages. Yes – Stan offers movies, too A multi-year deal between StreamCo and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) means that Stan will offer a range of the studio's recent titles, as well as a selection from its extensive back catalogue of movies. A small assortment of MGM movies have been confirmed for launch, including The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, 21 Jump Street, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and the remake of RoboCop, along with back catalogue titles such as When Harry Met Sally, The Silence of the Lambs, West Side Story, Four Weddings and a Funeral and the complete franchises of Rocky, RoboCop, The Pink Panther and Legally Blonde. Best of all, Stan has a licence to thrill with all 23 Bond films available in full HD at launch. The MGM deal also comes with a collection of TV shows, such as the critically-lauded series Fargo, which Stan has exclusive streaming rights to in Australia, and other shows like Teen Wolf, Will and Grace and The L Word. Let's get this show on the road, Stan Stan and Roadshow Entertainment have announced a content licensing deal, adding a whole suite of great films to the service. Recent Roadshow titles such as The LEGO Movie, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1, The Wolf of Wall Street, Edge of Tomorrow, The Inbetweeners 2, A Walk Among the Tombstones, John Wick, The Judge will make their way over to Stan, as well as Australian films Wolf Creek 2 and Felony. The deal also brings with it a range of back catalogue Roadshow films, including The Matrix Trilogy, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Sex and the City: The Movie and Sex and the City 2, Sherlock Holmes and Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, and Aussie classics Red Dog, Mad Max and The Man from Snowy River. Woody Allen fans can tuck in for an incredible marathon of the writer-director's films, with a total of eight Allen films now available on the service. The latest Woody Allen addition to Stan, Another Woman, joins his other films Shadows and Fog, Annie Hall, Hannah and Her Sisters, A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy, Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Sex *But Were Afraid to Ask), Broadway Danny Rose and Manhattan. More films will be arriving later in 2015, such as the Academy Award-nominated drama The Imitation Game, the Bill Murray-starring comedy St. Vincent and the Golden Globe-winning Big Eyes. What's yet to be announced? As Stan is the product of a partnership between Fairfax Media and Nine Entertainment company, you could be forgiven for asking "why hasn't any Channel Nine content been announced yet?" We have to agree – it is puzzling, as Channel Nine has a huge back catalogue of beloved, locally-produced shows that would absolutely add another layer of appeal for potential Stan adopt. While the lack of announced Channel Nine content is odd, we're keeping our fingers crossed for some announcements in time for the service's launch. Any original content? It's well known that Netflix is responsible for producing original shows for its own platform – House of Cards, Orange is the New Black and Marco Polo are just three examples. The question is: will Stan be producing its own original TV shows? Turns out the answer is yes. Stan has announced that it will be creating a pair of local Aussie dramas, including a six-part spin off series of hit Aussie film Wolf Creek. Freakishly creepy John Jarratt will reprise his role. Also on the cards is a political drama based on the life of High Court judge Lionel Murphy, dubbed Enemies of the State. This is also set to be a six-part series. Obviously we're still in early days here, so we expect plenty of new original content announcements as the service ramps up. Want to know more? Check out our Stan hands on review

Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 literally measures up to Apple's iPads Posted: 19 Jul 2015 06:12 PM PDT Two new Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 tablets were officially announced today, and it's now a little easier to compare them to Apple's iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3. That's because their Super AMOLED-equipped displays measure out to 9.7 inches, which is an exact match, and 8.0 inches, a hair bigger than Apple's mini line. These Android 5.0 Lollipop tablets make another important screen size change in the transition from last year's Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 and Galaxy Tab S 10: they're both 4:3 instead of 16:10. This changes the resolution to a pixel-packed 2048 x 1536 on both the sizes, making it ideal for browsing the web and reading. It's a switch we saw the Google Nexus 9 tablet make a year ago. Galaxy Tab S2's sub-pencil-thin sizes Samsung boasts that its new Galaxy Tab S2 tablets are its thinnest and lightest yet with dimensions that laser-cut into Apple's sub-pencil-thin depth of 6.1mm. The Galaxy Tab S2 9.7 dimensions are 169 x 237.3 x 5.6mm and it weighs 389g for the Wi-Fi model. The LTE variant isn't much heavier at 392g. The new Galaxy Tab S2 8 measures out to be 134.8 x 198.6 x 5.6mm with 265g (Wi-Fi) and 272g (LTE) on the scale. Looking at the specs, it's easy to spot the sacrifices that had to be made to cut these corners. Battery capacity is 5,870mAh (down from 7,900 mAh) on the 9.7-inch tablet and 4,000mAh (down from 4,900 mAh) on the 8-inch version. Hopefully the Android M update improves battery life to make up for these losses. Samsung Galaxy S2 specs and prices While the design has slimmed down, the internal specs have been beefed up: an octacore chip with combined quadcore speeds of 1.9GHz and Quad 1.3GHz, and 3GB of RAM. Internal memory comes in two sizes, 32 and 64GB, and a microSD card slot is available for up to 128GB when that fills up. MicroSD is a feature Nexus 9 is sorely lacking. You should never buy a tablet for its camera, but that's here too with a 8-megapixel rear camera and 2.1-megapixel front-facing snapper. Finally, a fingerprint sensor is carried over from Samsung's phones to the new tablets. Samsung didn't officially announce Galaxy Tab S2 prices with today's specs unveil, but the cost is likely to be $499 (about £320, AU$677) for the bigger 9.7-inch size and $399 (about £256, AU$541) for the smaller 8.0 edition. Both are due in August, and with rumors that the Nexus 9 won't be refreshed this year in favor of two phones, Nexus 5 and Nexus 6 sequels, Samsung has a chance to top the best tablets list. Phones that match: Samsung Galaxy S6 and Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge

How data mining works Posted: 19 Jul 2015 06:08 PM PDT How data mining works Every time you shop, you leave a trail of it behind. Same, when you surf the web, put on your fitness tracker or apply for credit at your bank. In fact, if we could touch it, we'd be drowning it. The data we produce every single day, according to IBM, totals an unfathomable 2.5 quintillion bytes (that's '25' followed by 17 zeros). We're producing it so fast that its estimated 90% of data in the world right now was created in just the last two years. This 'Big Data' is a global resource worth billions of dollars and every business and government wants their hands on it – and for good reason. Data is the digital history of our everyday lives – our choices, our purchases, who we talk to, where we go and what we do. We've previously looked at the Internet of Things (IoT) and how 'pervasive computing' will radically alter the way we live. You can guarantee IoT will lead to an even greater explosion of data generation and capture – thanks to the boom in cloud storage, we're already putting away this stuff as fast as we can go. But data on its own is pretty useless – it's the information we extract from the data that can do everything from forewarn governments of possible terror threats, to predict what you'll likely buy next time at your local fruit-and-veg. The sheer volume of data available is well beyond human ability alone to decipher and needs computer processing to handle it – that's where the concept of 'data mining' comes in. Machine learning Actually, 'data mining' is really the buzzword for a fascinating area of computing called 'machine learning', which itself is an offshoot of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Here, computers use special code functions or 'algorithms' to process the mountains of data and generate or 'learn' information from it. It's a booming area of pioneering research at the moment, which also incorporates mathematical techniques first discovered more than 250 years ago. In one regard, data mining has a bit of a shadow cast over it, with growing ethical concerns about privacy and how information mined from data is used. But it's not all 'terror plots and shopping carts' – data mining is heavily used by the sciences for everything from weather prediction to medical research, where it's been used to predict recurrence of breast cancer and find indicators for the onset of diabetes. Stanford University's Folding@Home disease research project is data mining on a global scale you can get involved in, searching for cures to cancer, Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's. Essentially, machine learning is about finding patterns in data, learning 'rules' that allow us to make decisions and predictions, or finding links or 'associations' between factors in situations or applications. Get the free software Now you might think machine learning is done in labs with banks of computers, mountains of cloud storage and expensive purpose-built software. You'd be right, but it's also something you can do at home – what's more, a decent amount of machine learning software is available free. Popular examples like 'Hadoop' or 'R' provide powerful frameworks for processing mountains of data, but they can be a little daunting to use, first-time out. And like Holden versus Ford or Android versus iOS, it's a field with passionate supporters of different software. One app commonly used for learning the basics is WEKA, developed by New Zealand's University of Waikato. Like Hadoop, it's built using the Java programming language, so you can run it on any Windows, Linux or Mac OS X computer. It's not perfect, but its graphical user interface (GUI) certainly helps. How machine learning works Machine learning starts with what's called a 'dataset' representing a situation you want to learn – think of it as a spreadsheet. You have a series of measures or 'attributes' in columns, while each row represents an example or 'instance' of the thing or 'concept' you want to learn. For example, if we're looking for indicators of the onset of diabetes, those attributes could include a patient's body mass index (BMI), their blood-glucose levels and other medical factors. Each instance would contain one patient's set of attributes. In this situation, the dataset would also have a result or 'class' attribute, indicating if the patient developed diabetes or not. If another patient presents for diagnosis and we want to know if they're at risk of diabetes, machine learning can develop the rules to help predict that likelihood, based on dataset learning and that person's measured medical attributes. What do rules look like? One of the seriously cool tools we love at TechRadar is IFTTT (If This Then That) - a program that combines social network services to perform linked functions. As the name suggests, it works on the simple 'if-then' programming statement that 'if an event occurs, then go do something'. Basic rules in machine learning are along the same lines – if an event X occurs, the result is Y. Or it could be a series of events – if X, Y and Z occurs, the result is A, or A, B and C. These rules tell us something about the concept we want to learn. But just as important as what the rules tell us is how accurate they are. Rule accuracy reveals how much confidence we can have in the rules to give us the right result. Some rules are excellent – they get the right answer every time, others can be hopeless and some, in-between. There are also added complications – what's called 'overfitting', where a set of rules work perfectly on the dataset they were learned from, but perform poorly on any new examples or instances given to them. These are all things that machine learning – and the data scientists using it – must consider. Basic algorithms There are dozens of different machine learning functions or 'algorithms', many of them quite complex. But there are two simple examples you can learn quickly called 'ZeroR' and 'OneR'. We'll use the WEKA app to show them, but also calculate them by-hand to see how they work. The WEKA package includes a number of example datasets, one being a very small 'weather.nominal' dataset, containing 14 instances of whether golf is played on a particular day, given a series of weather events at the time. There are five measures or 'attributes' – outlook, temperature, humidity, windy and play. This last one is the output or 'class' attribute, which says whether golf was played (yes) on that day or not (no). Zeroing in ZeroR is the world's simplest data mining algorithm – well, it's a bit rude to call it an 'algorithm' because it's so simple, but it provides the baseline accuracy level that any proper algorithm will hope to build on. It works like this: check out the weather data in the image above, look at that 'play' class attribute and count up the number of 'yes' and 'no' values. You should find nine 'yes' values and five 'no'. The proportion of 'yes' values is nine out of 14 instances. That means if we get another instance and we want to predict whether golf will be played or not, we can just say 'yes' and be right nine times out of 14 or 64.2% of the time. In other words, ZeroR simply chooses the most popular class attribute value. You can test this out in WEKA – make sure you have the Java Run-time Engine (JRE) installed on your PC, then download WEKA, install it and launch the app. Click on the 'Explorer' icon to launch the learning window. WEKA uses a modified CSV (comma-separated variable) format called ARFF and you'll find example datasets in the /program files/weka-3-x/data subfolder. In the Explorer window, click on the Open File button and choose the 'weather.nominal' dataset. Next, click on the Classify tab and 'ZeroR' should be already shown in the Classifier textbox next to the Choose button. Click on the radiobutton next to 'Use training set' under 'Test Options' on that left-side control panel and finally, press the Start button. Almost instantly, you'll get the results on the Classifier Output window. Scroll down and you'll see ZeroR defaults to choosing the 'yes' class value and later, 'Correctly Classified Instances' showing '9' and '64.2857%' next to it. Bottom-line, WEKA has just done the same thing we did before – it counted up the 'yes' and 'no' class values and chose the most common. One rule to rule them all ZeroR gives us a 64.2% base-level learning accuracy in this example, but it'd be nice to do a bit better than that. That's where the OneR algorithm comes in. It's called a 'classification rule learner', in that, given what it learns from a training dataset, it generates rules that allow us to determine or 'classify' the result of a future instance. If you look at the OneR table above, you can see how it works – each weather dataset attribute has a small number of possible values. For Outlook, they are 'sunny', 'overcast' and 'rainy'. For temperature, it's 'hot', 'mild' and 'cool' and so on. We create a separate list for each attribute value and then count how many times each value occurs in an instance by noting the number of 'yes' and 'no' results we get. For example, going through the 14 instances, you can see when five instances where the outlook is sunny, giving us two 'yes' and three 'no' results. Likewise, 'outlook = overcast' gets four 'yes' votes and zero 'no' results. We then do likewise for all of the other attributes. Next, we count up the errors – these are the smaller counts for each attribute value, so again, for 'outlook = sunny', the 'yes' count is only two; for 'outlook = overcast', the 'no' count is zero, for 'outlook = rainy', it's two and so on. The red boxes on the table show the most popular class values for each attribute value and it's from these that we make our first set of 'Outlook' rules: Outlook = sunny -> Play = no Outlook = overcast -> Play = yes Outlook = rainy -> Play = no Again, we do likewise for the other attributes. What we're doing is taking the most popular class value for each attribute value and assigning it to that attribute-value pair to make a rule, so for this example, outlook being 'sunny' leads to play being 'no' and so on. Next, we repeat this for each of the other three attributes. After that, we add up those 'error' counts for each attribute value, so Outlook is 2 + 0 + 2 totaling 4 out of 14 (4/14). For temperature, we get 5/14, 4/14 for Humidity and 5/14 for Windy. Now, we choose the attribute with the smallest error count. Since in this example we have two attributes with error count of 4 out of 14 (Outlook and Humidity), you can choose either - we've gone with the first one, the 'Outlook' attribute ruleset above. This now becomes our 'OneR' (one-rule) classification rule set. Using this rule on the training dataset, it correctly predicts 10 out of 14 instances or just under 71.5%. Remember, ZeroR gave us 64.2%, so OneR gains us greater accuracy, which is what we want. Using the new rule Let's say we're given a new instance – the outlook is rainy, temperature is mild, humidity is high and windy is false. What is 'play' – will golf be played or not? Our OneR rule says if the outlook is rainy, play is 'no', so that's our answer – for this instance, it's very likely (about 71.5%) there's no golf happening today. Run the OneR classification test in WEKA by clicking the Choose button and selecting 'OneR' from the 'Rules' list. Press the Start button and you'll see the same list of rules, the number of correctly classified instances at ten and a percentage of 71.4286. That's exactly what we calculated before. Tip of the iceberg Sure, we're not going to make millions or save the world by predicting which days golf will be played based on weather events, but if you're a meteorologist determining if current weather conditions could lead to a massive hailstorm, data mining techniques (admittedly more complex than we've seen here) can help with those answers. Machine learning is a boom area of computer research around the world, aiming to make sense of the 'death by data' overload of information surrounding us. We've barely scratched the surface here, but next time you hit the internet or go shopping, you'll hopefully have a better idea of what happens to the data we generate.

Buyers guide: The best VR headsets 2015 Posted: 19 Jul 2015 08:30 AM PDT Intro 2015 is the year of Virtual Reality. Mobile-compatible headsets such as Samsung's Galaxy Gear VR, Archos VR Glasses and Google Cardboard are available right now, while dedicated headsets such as HTC's Vive and, hopefully, Oculus Rift are set to appear before the end of the year. These are all the virtual reality headsets that you need to know about, in order of excellence, as selected by our resident expert goggle-wearer. HTC Vive Availability Holiday 2015 | Price Unknown | Official page Valve is one of the biggest names in PC gaming: it made Half-Life, Portal and DOTA 2, and operates Steam, the biggest online storefront for PC games. At the end of 2015, it's set to release two pieces of hardware: Steam machines, which are console-like boxes that run PC games, and the Vive headset, a partnership with Taiwanese hardware manufacturer HTC. As of right now, Vive offers the best virtual reality we've ever experienced. This is thanks to the headset's two 1080 x 1200 screens, the highest resolution displays out there, and the two sensors that hang on your wall to track movement. The downside is that the Vive is expected to cost more than other headsets, possibly between £200 - £400. Best game: Portal Demo Pros: Best overall VR experience, Valve backing, HTC manufacturing Cons: Likely to be more expensive than competing dedicated VR headsets Sony Morpheus Availability: First half of 2016 | Price: Unknown | Official page There are a growing number of VR headsets out there, but Sony's probably has the best chance of becoming a commercial success. First of all, while most VR headsets require a decent PC or the latest mobile phone, Sony's Morpheus just needs a PlayStation 4. Secondly, Sony has some of the best game studios in the world working on games for Morpheus: its London and Tokyo studios have produced some excellent VR demos, and Uncharted developer Naughty Dog could be next. The hardware itself also stands out: the latest model is the most stylish and comfortable VR headset we've used. The internal components are also of a high quality, and special mention has to go to the headset's 120Hz refresh rate, which really helps to eliminate motion sickness. Best game: London Heist Pros: Works with PS4, 120Hz refresh rate, supported by Sony studios Cons: Only works with PS4 Oculus Rift Availability: Q1 2016 | Price: Unknown | Official page The current VR arms race is all thanks to one man: Oculus founder Palmer Luckey. As a teenager, Luckey collected VR tech and was fascinated with making his own headset in his garage. Numerous prototypes and a $2bn Facebook buyout later, Oculus is still the biggest name in VR, thanks to a partnership with Samsung and its own upcoming headset. The latest version, codenamed "Crescent Bay", impresses with its high-resolution screens and 360-degree head tracking LEDs. Oculus has lost some ground in recent months to HTC's Vive and Sony's Morpheus, but they've has been doing VR for longer than anyone else, so they're one to keep an eye on. Best game: Elite: Dangerous Pros: VR pioneers, Facebook backing, software support Cons: Falling behind HTC Vive. Microsoft HoloLens Availability: Unknown | Price: Unknown | Official page Microsoft raised a lot of eyebrows when it showed off Microsoft HoloLens earlier this year, which technically isn't VR, but rather a holographic computing device. Instead of immersing the player in an entirely computer-generated world, HoloLens augments reality, adding interactive holograms to the space you already inhabit. Microsoft showed demos of people building Minecraft structures on top of their tables, exploring objects such as a motorbikes, or being able to create video feeds on any surface you like. It's impressive technology, but its uniqueness could also be its weakness: while most VR games are being made to work across multiple VR platforms, HoloLens is a very distinct proposition. However, the headset itself looks cool, and the concept provides countless possibilities for games, work and communication. Best game: Minecraft Pros: Unique concept, Microsoft backing, Minecraft Cons: Won't play "true" VR games Razer OSVR Availability: June 2015 (dev kit) | Price: $199.99 | Official page OSVR stands for Open Source Virtual Reality, so everything about the platform is open and freely available. You can even download the 3D files and create your own headset, if you like. However, Razer has done the hard work for you with its own OSVR hardware, the Dev Kit of which is due to launch in June for less than $200. The hardware is pretty impressive given that low price: the 1,080 x 1,920 resolution display is good, while image distortion has been reduced to 13%, which is lower than most headsets. The OSVR consortium is also backed by some big names, including Leap Motion, who make one of the better motion controllers on the market, and Gearbox Software, developer of the excellent Borderlands series. Best game: None (as yet) Pros: Open source, can build your own or buy Razer's keenly-priced version Cons: Limited support right now Samsung Gear VR Availability: Out now | Price: $199 (£169, AU$249) | Official page Powered by technology from Oculus, the Samsung Gear VR was effectively the first VR headset on the market. To use it, you simply grab a Samsung phone, download apps and games from the Oculus store, and clip it into the headset. The original model supported the Note 4, but a new model out this spring is compatible with the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge. While the S6 is a smaller phone, it boasts a higher pixel density of 577ppi compared to the Note 4's 515ppi, which alleviates some of the dreaded "screen door" effect. The Gear VR headset isn't the highest-quality VR experience available, but it is one of the easiest to get up and running quickly. Best game: Gunner Pros: Oculus store, good build quality, works with a very popular phone Cons: Expensive compared to other mobile VR offerings Carl Zeiss VR One Availability: Out now | Price: $99 (£116, €129) | Official page Like Samsung's Galaxy Gear, the Carl Zeiss VR One uses a mobile phone as its display. However, unlike the Galaxy Gear, it supports both the iPhone 6 and the Galaxy S5, although you need to specify which one when you buy. Even better news is the price, which at €129 (approximately £93), is half the price of Samsung's equivalent headset. The downside is that there's not much content for the device from Zeiss aside from an augmented reality demo and movie app that shows videos from your phone in a virtual cinema. You can thankfully use apps designed for Google Cardboard, though, and more are sure to come down the line. The VR One isn't the best example of virtual reality on the market, but it's a step up from Google Cardboard for those who don't have a Samsung Galaxy phone. Best game: Jack White: THIRD-D Pros: Good build quality, keen pricing, iPhone and Samsung Galaxy option Cons: Limited Zeiss apps FOVE Eye Tracking VR Availability: Unknown | Price: Unknown | Official page Virtual reality experiences may be new, but you usually interface with them using old controller technology, such as an Xbox 360-style pad, or a motion controller like the Razer Hydra. FOVE believes that the future of VR control is eye-tracking, and its headset uses tiny cameras to track where you're looking in real-time. We played a game on the company's prototype headset where you simply look at alien ships to shoot them down. It's early days when it comes to the actual headset – it requires calibration to begin with, it occasionally stopped working, and the VR isn't as good as competing headsets. However, as we saw with Nintendo's Wii, nailing a simple control system can unlock a much larger market for gaming. FOVE is being backed by Microsoft Ventures and will be opening for crowdfunding soon. Best game: Shooting Gallery Demo Pros: Novel control system Cons: Requires calibration before playing, low-quality VR experience overall Archos VR Glasses Availability: Out now (UK only) | Price: £9.99 | Official page Archos has been undercutting manufacturers of mobile phones, tablets and portable games consoles for years, so it was only a matter of time before they got into the VR market. £9.99 makes the Archos VR Glasses the cheapest product on the market, unless you build your own Google Cardboard. Speaking of which, the apps designed for Google Cardboard will work with this device, as will any smartphone up to 6 inches in size, although Archos recommends a phone with at least a 5-inch screen. As you'd expect, it's not the best VR experience, but it's well worth checking out at this price. Best game: War of Words VR Pros: Brilliant price, works with Google Cardboard apps, supports lots of phones Cons: Basic build quality and VR experience Google Cardboard Availability: Out now | Price: Free-$85 (depending on model) | Official page Google Cardboard is a somewhat tongue-in-cheek take on VR, but it makes a great weekend project if you want to see what the fuss is about. You can either download the instructions and make your own headset, or you can buy a kit from a variety of vendors for around $25 (the most expensive model is an outlier at $85). Once you've bought or constructed your headset, you can download Google Cardboard apps to your iOS or Android phone, drop your device into the headset, and get playing. It's not the best VR experience out there, but if you have a modern phablet-sized phone with a hi-res screen, it's actually pretty good. Best game: Google Cardboard Pros: Extremely cheap to make, cheap to buy, works across a variety of devices Cons: Poor quality VR experience overall Avegant Glyph Availability: Q3 2015 | Price: $600 | Official page Major caveat: the Avegant Glyph isn't technically a virtual reality headset. It's more like a pair of headphones that you can wear like a visor, Geordi La Forge-style. The Glyph is compatible with anything that supports external displays, so you can use it with your home consoles or practically any modern mobile phone. You simply slip the band over your eyes, cover your ears with the headphones, and watch or play your content on the retina-quality display. The benefit (and drawback) Glyph has over true virtual reality is that you can still see things outside the headset, so you can use your hands to take a drink, text message, even go to the toilet. However, it's a big old headset, expensive, not true VR, and you look like a bit of a berk wearing it. Best game: Grand Theft Auto V Pros: Good build quality, great display Cons: Bulky, not "true" immersive VR This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Email spam levels drop below 50 percent for the first time in 12 years Posted: 19 Jul 2015 08:06 AM PDT 49.7 percent of anything may sound like a lot, but it's a historical low for spam email levels - it's the lowest share recorded by Symantec since September 2003, so progress is being made. Back then, Tony Blair was the UK PM and Apple was about to release Mac OS X Panther. The world was still waiting for the final Matrix film and bopping along to the Black Eyed Peas' Where Is The Love? The figure is dropping slowly: it was 52.1 percent in April and 51.5 percent in May. Phishing rates and email-based malware are also down on recent numbers, according to the Symantec blog. Malware jump However, Symantec warns there's no time to relax and turn off your security applications. It looks like cybercriminals are switching to malware and ransomware to achieve their ends rather than spam email. 477,000 ransomware attacks were detected by Symantec in June. 57.6 million new types of malware were logged, a big jump from the 44.5 million found during May. A mere 29.2 million new variants were seen in April. "This increase in [malware] activity lends more evidence to the idea that, with the continued drops in email-based malicious activity, attackers are simply moving to other areas of the threat landscape," said Symantec's Ben Nahorney as the report was published. Windows 10 makes it easy for apps to banish malware This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Phone Week: In pictures: a history of half a decade of Nexus phones Posted: 19 Jul 2015 05:00 AM PDT The evolution of the Nexus: introduction The Google Nexus phone has, in many ways, helped revolutionise the mobile market in much the same way that the Apple iPhone has. The Nexus devices may not have set the world alight in terms of sales, but they have served as important reference points for Android manufacturers. And some of them have been rather good. Apple's iPhone has undoubtedly been the catalyst that has changed the mobile market in ways that would have seemed so radical a few years back. If it wasn't for the iPhone, we might well have seen Android looking a lot more like the OS that graced BlackBerry devices. The Google Nexus One was not the first Android phone to market, that was the T-Mobile G1. With manufacturers still seemingly unconvinced about creating devices for its new mobile OS, Google introduced the Nexus One to show developers just what the software could do. Google had never planned on making the Nexus series into a staple of the annual smartphone diet. The original Nexus One handset was designed to give Android a push in the right direction, and nothing more. It obviously worked, as Android now holds over 75% of the mobile market in Europe. Perhaps buckling under industry pressure to follow the Nexus One up with more, and more impressive hardware, the guys at Mountain View made a second. And a third. And then a fourth, a fifth, a sixth. And what's that? You get the idea - they just keep on coming. Google also decided to take this "one off" into the tablet market, showing the world how it feels tablets should be made and helping to popularize the smaller form factor. What's up next for the Nexus line? We're hearing there'll be a Huawei Nexus phone and maybe another LG Nexus device as well. So how has the volatile nature of the mobile market changed the Nexus hardware and software over the years? Well, let us take you through the journey of Google's Nexus range. Google Nexus One Partnering with HTC, the Nexus One was based on the Desire - the very first phone to win our coveted 5 star review. It had some competition at the time, having to win over fans from the likes of Symbian, BlackBerry, and those that had fallen in love with the iPhone 3GS. $529 (around £330) bought you a single-core 1GHz processor, backed with 512MB RAM and 4GB of storage (and a microSD slot believe it or not). It also packed, what is considered small by today's standards, a 3.7-inch 480x800 screen to show off Android 2.1 Eclair. A 5MP camera sat on the back, giving the Nexus One a lot to shout about given that the 3GS came with 3.2MP. To keep things running was a 1400mAh battery, which gave the Nexus One up to 7 hours 3G talk time. Read our Google Nexus One review Google Nexus S Things had changed by the time the second iteration of Google's smartphone, the Nexus S, launched less than a year later at just over £400. Google moved to partner with Samsung to launch Android 2.3 Gingerbread. Google needed its impressive weaponry to fight it out with the iPhone 4, the biggest competitor to the Nexus S at the time. The Nexus S based itself heavily on the Samsung Galaxy S, although coming similarly specced to the Nexus One. A single-core 1GHz processor, 512MB RAM, 5MP camera all seems familiar, but storage was given a boost to 16GB, but no microSD slot. The screen was also improved (although the 480 x 800 resolution was stretched to 4 inches), with Samsung's Super AMOLED technology in use. The battery was also boosted, to 1500mAh for a similar talk time. NFC also made its first Nexus appearance here. Read our Google Nexus S review Samsung Galaxy Nexus By the time the Galaxy Nexus had launched, another phone had garnered our 5 star review, the Samsung Galaxy S2. At £429, it aimed to challenge the iPhone 4S, a phone that was making waves as it improved greatly on the iPhone 4. Paired with Samsung again, Google looked to get some of the S2 magic into the Galaxy Nexus. This meant a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 1GB RAM and 16GB storage. The camera took a boost, but was still measured at 5MP, and the battery was now 1750mAh. As with all Nexus launches, the Galaxy Nexus heralded Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, displayed proudly on a 4.65-inch 720x1280 Super AMOLED display. Read our Samsung Galaxy Nexus review Google Nexus 4 Google decided to move across South Korea for its next Nexus iteration, with LG taking up the reins for the Google Nexus 4 handset. Things were looking a little more difficult for LG, with the market now populated with the iPhone 5, Samsung Galaxy S3 and HTC One X. LG was desperate to get back into the smartphone making market, so its partnership with Google seemed ideal, giving birth to a device sporting a 768x1280 4.7-inch screen, 1.5GHz quad-core processor, 2GB RAM, 8 or 16GB storage and an 8MP camera. It launched with Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, and a 2100mAh battery, giving it 15 hours of 3G talk time. Perhaps the biggest game changer was the £269 price tag, that unfortunately has yet to revolutionise the mobile market pricing in the way we might have hoped. Read our Google Nexus 4 review Google Nexus 5 The Google Nexus 5 was comfortably the best Nexus smartphone to date, when it landed in October 2013. Billed as "the best that Google has to offer", it certainly made waves. LG was the partner of choice once more, and the Nexus 5 welcomed the arrival of Android 4.4 KitKat. With a beefed up 2.26GHz quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM and a 4.95-inch screen full HD display the Nexus 5 was taking on the likes of the HTC One, Samsung Galaxy S4, iPhone 5S and LG's own G2 - but at a price point which made it supremely attractive. Read our Google Nexus 5 review Google Nexus 6 Smartphones have been growing larger and larger, but the Nexus 6 marked Google's first foray into genuine phablet territory. The Motorola-manufactured phone boasted a 6-inch, AMOLED display with a dreamy 1440 x 2560 pixel resolution. Inside there was a 2.7GHz quad-core processor, 3GB of RAM, and 32GB or 64GB of onboard storage. A 13MP camera and a whopping 3,220mAh Qi wirelessly chargeable battery confirmed that there was nothing small about this phone. Unfortunately, that extended to the price tag, which proved a bit hefty for some Nexus fans at £499 for the 32GB model. Android 5.0 Lollipop also debuted on the Nexus 6 and it's the first smartphone to work with Google's Project Fi, a wireless network that switches seamlessly between Wi-Fi and LTE. Read our Google Nexus 6 review The tablets: Google Nexus 7 (2012) With the iPad carving out a market, that could well have been argued to be its own, the lack of Google's official presence seemed to be a little noticeable. This was exacerbated by the rise of cheap Android alternatives often running phone software, and Android Honeycomb only appearing on third party devices like the Motorola Xoom 2. That all changed when Google and Asus took on the likes of the iPad and the Amazon Kindle Fire with its very own Nexus tablet, the original Nexus 7. Launching at the cheap price of £159 for the 8GB version, Google looked to undercut the iPad. For your money, you got a 1280 x 800 7-inch screen, a 1.2GHz quad-core Tegra 3 processor, 1GB RAM, 4,325mAh battery and a 1.2MP front facing camera. There was no rear sensor. It also brought Android 4.1 Jelly Bean to market. Read our Nexus 7 (2012) review Google Nexus 10 (2012) By this point, Google's only foray into the tablet market was at the smaller sized, budget end of the market. This left the gap for the iPad 4 (briefly the iPad 3 as well) to continue to grow the full sized tablet market. Third party devices were still struggling to compete. Despite the New York launch being cancelled due to Hurricane Sandy, the Nexus 10 managed to launch online. The Samsung made device packed an eye-popping 10-inch 2560 x 1600 screen, 1.7GHz dual-core processor, 2GB RAM and two cameras (5MP on the rear and 1.2MP on the front). It also came with 16 or 32GB of storage (no microSD) and a 9000mAh battery, costing only £319. That made it £80 cheaper than the equivalent iPad 4. Read our Google Nexus 10 review Google Nexus 7 (2013) 2013 came around meaning that the annual product refreshes that we are all so used were starting to roll in. The tablet market had changed drastically since the launch of the original Nexus 7, with Apple deciding that it too wanted to get a slice of the smaller cheaper tablet pie in the form of the iPad Mini. This meant that Google had to go back to the drawing board, and came up with the Nexus 7 (2013). RAM was doubled to 2GB to sit alongside the 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 Pro processor, with the same 1.2MP camera on the front, and a 5MP snapper now sat on the back. The screen also became full HD, with the 7 inches now containing 1920 x 1200 pixels. The new Nexus 7 also launched Android 4.3 Jelly Bean. The battery is a little smaller, at 3,950mAh, but still provides up to 9 hours use. Read our new Nexus 7 review Google Nexus 9 No one really expected the Nexus 9 and it slipped comfortably into place between the 7 and 10. Google had collaborated with HTC on phones before, but never a tablet. The Nexus 9 sported an underwhelming 8.9-inch display with a resolution of 1536 x 2048 pixels. There was also a 2.3GHz dual-core processor, an 8MP camera, 16GB of storage, and some front-facing BoomSound speakers. It didn't have a single feature to really get people excited, but as a whole package, the Nexus 9 was fairly well-received. Read our Google Nexus 9 review It was a decent Android 5.0 Lollipop tablet for the £319 launch price, but quick discounts and low sales suggested that Google may have pitched this one a bit wrong. It seems unlikely to go down in history as a classic Nexus, but if you want a 9-inch Android tablet, you really don't have any other options worth looking at. This article is part of Phone Week, celebrating the best bits about brilliant smartphones and tablets as part of the lead up to the TechRadar Phone Awards. To find out what the iPhone 7 could look like, how a phone could survive in space or how to buy the perfect smartphone for you, bookmark TechRadar's Phone Week hub and check out all the great new features coming throughout the week!

Phone Week: An Apple for teacher: how tablets are changing education Posted: 19 Jul 2015 03:00 AM PDT A brave new world "If you're writing poetry, write it. Don't type it in just because you can." The classroom is changing, as new technologies dramatically alter the learning for both teachers and students. And at the heart of this change is the tablet. You might not think of the classroom as a key market for big companies such as Apple and Google, but according to research conducted by the British Educational Suppliers Association (BESA), there will be nearly a million tablets in UK schools alone by 2016. That's indicative of a vast worldwide market. Manufacturers understandably want their share – and it comes with some significant benefits to education too. According to BESA, the iPad has the lead at the moment, with 50% of secondary schools preferring the iOS platform compared with 29% for Android. Apple has confirmed it's sold over 15 million iPads into education alone. That would explain the significant investment in dedicated education platforms: Apple has iTunes U to make virtual courses, iBook textbook creation, an education section in the App Store and the Apple Distinguished Educators program, where Google has only recently launched the Google Play for Education portal to help teachers find dedicated apps and books. The iPad has such popularity in education that the city of Sneek, Holland, there's an institution called the Master Steve JobsSchool. Here, Apple's tablet is more than a convenience – it's the foundation of the whole educational philosophy. Everything is channelled through the digital hub, and teachers are referred to as "coaches". This leads to a bigger question: is the iPad a tool for teachers to use, or could it actually replace them? A tool to make good teachers better Unsurprisingly, the answer from the schools I interviewed was emphatically "no". However, most are hugely enthusiastic about the possibilities offered by the iPad as a tool to allow good teachers to improve their educative skills. "The iPad in itself will not impact results on its own," said a blog post from the de Ferrers Academy, a state school that's been trialling 1:1 iPads for its GSCE and A Level students for three years, talking about the positive impact of the tablet in the classroom. "However, for staff [the benefits are] making effective use of it, the intense focus on leveraging its ability to transform/deliver rapid AFL, effective feedback, independent study/research… and 24/7 access to support and learning resources via iTunes U/Google Drive." To find out how teachers are using the iPads on a daily basis to improve their teaching I met with teachers Daniel Edwards (Director of Innovation and Learning) and Simon Armitage (Director of Communication) at the Stephen Perse Foundation schools in Cambridge, UK, where each child from 11 years old is given their own iPad. One of the things that came up time and again from the teachers I spoke to is the fact that tablets have a camera and large screen, massively opening up the way children can interact with homework, document their work to refer back and improve and more easily share with parents and teachers alike. For instance at the Stephen Perse Foundation schools, a class was set a task to identify 20 household objects, find out how they were made and use this information to explain how globalisation is present in every home. Instead of doing a list or a static video, one pupil looked at the two options and mixed them together, creating an iMovie that showed an animated map to represent the objects, adding in stop motion. "What was great was she clearly had fun and got the whole family involved," said Armitage. "Getting the parents involved is something we've struggled with at schools, but proved to be one of the most impactful areas," added Edwards. "If a child is doing video all around the home, the parents must be asking what's going on, they would have talked about the project, and parents love to see engagement in learning." Even for younger age groups, tablets are having a strong effect on learning, as a growing number of schools publish the children's work for parents to see. Even with strictly controlled use (and limited to one per three children) the children are more aware of what the projects they're doing mean. "If you post [pupil's projects] to a blog regularly, five-year-olds will say 'hang on' before you take a picture and then correct their work," said Edwards. "Trying to get that review process is almost impossible to get into the brain of child that young, so I'm told." The results are in Like the Stephen Perse Foundation schools, the de Ferrers academy has been running an iPad trial for three years, and has conducted studies which show an improvement in A-Level grades through tablet use – including a record result in Maths and Phsyics for the first group of students equipped with their own iPads in 2012. The same study showed a tremendous appetite for the new educational tool from the students, with 82% citing the tablet as having a "positive" or "very positive" effect on their learning experience. This upturn in results and attitude towards the technology is also giving teachers more freedom to develop a closer educational relationship with the pupils. Instead of simply dictating lessons from the front of the class, it lets teachers see where students have learned and where there's need for further clarification. This can come from a simple set of questions answered in an online test – giving instant answers and showing where the gaps in learning might be - to getting pupils to give audio recordings of their voice with projects. This information, and the speed at which it's returned, can then be used to prepare more targeted lesson plans, saving time and helping children learn more effectively in the process. Who's the teacher? Some parents might worry that the iPad will become a crutch for teachers, a way of easily creating lessons that are showy and exciting but don't really teach a child in the same way as traditional methods. But those using the technology believe it can enhance the established systems rather than replacing them. "The curriculum will define the content you require and the skills you would use to teach, but you would always adapt that, however you're teaching. That's the point," says Edwards. "For instance: a seven-year-old is given the water cycle to learn, and they've got to use a definition, an explanation, and a review. They can define it on paper, explain it and then review it by asking other people to comment. "But what the teacher wants is their unique voice. I can get an audio recording of each module from every student and I can get what they understand and don't from their voice – and you get more from that than what they write." Edwards also pointed out how this worked in the opposite direction, with the iPad allowing him to give more feedback without adding time to his working day. "I had one class I marked with written work, and one that I annotated and recorded my voice. When I read out the written feedback, it was about 30 seconds long, where my video was 90 seconds. That's three times as much feedback in the same length of time for marking, because I had this device in front of me." Putting U in the middle At the core of this iPad learning is iTunes U. Apple's online portal allows teachers to create courses that are available to all those enrolled. With over 1.3 billion course downloads already, it allows teachers to set up the lesson materials for each student level the night before and offers students access at any time to the resources used in lessons – meaning pupils of different abilities can be catered for in lesson plans by adding in different elements appropriate to their level. The resources in the iTunes U program are vast: it can include anything the teacher wishes, from web pages to PDFs to videos and pictures. Apps play a big part too, with students being asked to use dedicated tools to help explain elements of lessons more simply. Most of these courses are private, with a code needed from the teacher to get access. However, courses are increasingly being made public, allowing anyone to access to information on subjects ranging from evolution in the Galapagos to advanced geometry and calculus. But open it up as a non-teacher and iTunes U is a confusing place. It looks like a load of subjects with some random documents assigned. So why does Apple's education portal exist? Why are teachers putting their courses online for others to see? "They're not designed for remote learning," said Armitage. "[Teachers] on the outside say, 'Well, how am I supposed to teach using that?' Well, that's your bit." "It's a resource, a different point of view," adds Edwards. "[A teacher] can look at Simon's course from another school and take 15 of those resources and use them in their course. "There are loads of teachers posting content all over the place, telling people what they want to do, with which resources people can look at and use freely. It makes education in learning much easier." Having the courses centralised also allows pupils to manage their own learning – if they miss lessons through illness, all the information is there, rather than leaving the teacher to photocopy courses, send exercise books through and make phone calls to explain what was missed. The other element that attracts teachers to the Apple online portal is iBooks' textbook library. A vast number of volumes have already been created and can be instantly distributed to students, meaning no more back pain from lugging them to classes. But the ebook distribution model also allows teachers to be even more tailored: iBooks Author lets educators create their own bespoke textbooks for their classes. In fact, 45,000 have been created already for that purpose, including some made by the students themselves. These are then published through the Apple portal, making them available for other teachers to look at and include in their curriculum. But who pays for the tablets? Should parents have to pay? The key question that comes up time and again is one of cost: iPads are generally seen as a luxury device for consumers, so how can schools afford to equip students with devices? Should they not be looking at lower cost tablets? Greg Hughes, assistant principal at the de Ferrers Academy, says the school preferred the iPad over other devices due to elements like the App Store, as well as its low failure rate. "Cheaper devices seemed poorer in terms of performance, quality of camera and availability of apps," he said. "We love the fact that the iPad has such an easy learning curve. Students know how to use it almost instantaneously, so we haven't needed to give them any training all, just a few reminders about back-ups and so on. "The students view Apple products as 'cool' and for many of our students from challenging backgrounds, having access to their own device is both aspirational and transformational, for them and their families." The options to make Apple's tablets accessible are varied: from having a limited number of shared devices available for specific lessons, to the offer of school-funded iPads, schools are finding ways to get the devices into the hands of children. According to the BESA study, the preferred method is for the school to pay for and own the devices, although there is appetite in secondary schools for parents to pay for the tablet, as they would for art supplies or school trips. And anecdotally, parents seem to be happy paying for the devices where needed, as tablets and smartphones are already so commonplace that their use in education seems obvious – plus for any students on the Pupil Premium schemes (traditionally used for free school dinners and similar) it seems many schools are keen to use that money to help out with educational devices. But the notion of a school funding the entire deployment of iPads may be more feasible than some might think, with Hughes from the de Ferrers academy calling the experiment "cost-neutral." He pointed to a number of areas where costs have been saved through the deployment of iPads. These included: removing current virtual learning environments (saving about £10,000 a year), reductions in printing and photocopying (£20,000), cuts in computers and IT suite replacements (£45,000) and even moving to digital marking books, which would save thousands on its own. The outlay is significant, as it costs £300 to equip the students with the tablets, a high total when over a thousand students are involved. However, de Ferrers asks for £1 per week per year for full use of the iPad (including being able to take it home) with an option to buy it outright at the end of the course. Given that 65% of students take up this option, the initial cost to the school is reduced by two thirds. Are children safe online? With any new tool, and especially one connected to the internet, there are understandable worries from parents about putting this technology into the hands of children. Who is watching them and making sure that they're not doing anything that can harm them? Both schools I spoke to have robust systems in place to combat inappropriate use of the tablets, ensuring any device connected to the Wi-Fi network has restrictions on explicit or age-inappropriate content. Detailed device management also means the schools can see what apps are being installed on the tablets, allowing swift action to be taken. Both schools also made sure that parents were educated on how the iPad was used in schools, giving them input into what their child is doing online, which Edwards said had proved successful in helping parents understand the role of the tablet. "Often we get the child to get their smartphone out next to the parent so the child can access lots of things on the phone that the parent can't on the iPad thanks to our security," he added. Parents are encouraged to set their own restrictions too: when at home in the family Wi-Fi environment, a separate passcode that only they know will enable them to set the child's privileges on the iPad. Still work to do There are other issues that need to be ironed out before the use of tablets in schools becomes more widespread – the most obvious one being the wireless connectivity required to enable it. On average primary schools are only halfway towards an ideal level of broadband connectivity, according to BESA, although in the case of secondary schools, the situation is much better. It will require investment (both in the equipment and the security software), which adds to the cost of tablet deployment. And besides budget, one of the most pressing issues preventing tablet adoption is the training and support teachers need to use tablets effectively in classrooms. In the schools interviewed, this is primarily handled by one or two teachers engaged with the technology – however, for more widespread adoption there will need to be more readily available help. A number of schemes are being set up to help with this already, including iteach-UK, the iPad Academy and even Apple's own teacher training courses. However, government research is needed to show that the tablet has a huge – and positive – effect on education, otherwise already overburdened teachers aren't going to take time out of their schedule to learn more about something that may not be of use. Making a difference What's been clear from looking at how the tablet is currently used in the classroom is that it's had a transformational effect. It's expanding how teachers are working with students, saving money and helping give pupils more freedom in their learning experience. However, schools using iPads in the manner described above are still rare, with a lot of hurdles to overcome. Teachers need confidence (and training) in the technology, and board-wide agreement needs to happen over the implementation and funding to get the schemes off the ground. Other tablet options from Microsoft and Google will also become prevalent in the future, meaning teachers will have more choice in terms of functionality and cost as tablets become the norm in schools – and anything that makes the transition easier is likely to accelerate the rate at which digital slates become a daily part of education. This article is part of Phone Week, celebrating the best bits about brilliant smartphones and tablets as part of the lead up to the TechRadar Phone Awards. To find out what the iPhone 7 could look like, how a phone could survive in space or how to buy the perfect smartphone for you, bookmark TechRadar's Phone Week hub and check out all the great new features coming throughout the week!

UK High Court outlaws CD and DVD ripping again Posted: 19 Jul 2015 01:22 AM PDT Remember last October, when it became legal to copy your own CDs and DVDs for personal and private use? It was a surprising victory for common sense in our modern digital age. Well, it didn't last long: the High Court has now overturned that ruling after a challenge from musicians union Basca and industry outfit UK Music. Put your ripping software on standby again. So having legally paid cold hard cash for an album or movie, you're no longer allowed to keep a private backup on your computer or indeed burn a copy in case the original gets unusable. Copyrights and wrongs You probably won't get in trouble unless you're sharing your copies with other people, but technically you are breaking the law and wouldn't have an argument if you got caught. "The High Court agreed with us that government acted unlawfully when it introduced an exception to copyright for private copying without fair compensation," Jo Dipple, CEO of UK Music, told the BBC. In the US, there's no specific copyright exception for backups, but it's largely accepted that the practice is allowed if you're not sharing your ripped material with anyone and you paid for it first. Apple Music vs Spotify, Tidal and the rest This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

10 very old apps that still (somehow) work on Windows 10 Posted: 19 Jul 2015 12:47 AM PDT Introduction Perhaps it is a testament to Microsoft's legacy that some popular applications that date from the late 1990s can still run on its latest OS, Windows 10. The operating system, which will launch on Wednesday 29 July, has already been tested (and been seen running) on some very, very old and very, very slow hardware. Many will describe such exercises as utterly futile, and those same people will likely question the point of this article. And that's fair enough, but there are also folks out there who might want to delve into past games or applications for whatever reason, nostalgia or otherwise… And in this slideshow, we are rounding up 10 ancient programs that still run on Microsoft's new operating system. All the testing of these pieces of software was carried out under the latest build of Windows 10 available at the time of writing (10166). We are obviously not responsible for anything that might happen to your computer should you try to replicate what we've done on our test machine. And with that in mind, click on and browse through our array of classic apps. Windows 10 features that will be missing on launch day ACDSee 2.42 About 16 years old Like most of the applications tested here, ACDSee was one of the staple pieces of software you would find on cover CDs (and later DVDs) on most if not all magazines. It is an ultra-fast image browser and organiser that was available as time-limited shareware and was later superseded by freeware rival Irfanview. ACDSee has thrived though and is currently in its 18th iteration. Surprisingly enough, the company is still around after 20 years and has expanded into other creative content verticals including video, technical illustration and image editing. PaintShop Pro 4.12 About 18 years old PaintShop Pro first came to market in 1990, 25 years ago, and almost immediately became a success in the shareware market as a cheap alternative to more expensive image editing software. Developed by JASC software, it introduced the Magic Wand tool to millions and had a nifty image browser as well that, unlike others, used a proprietary index to accelerate indexing. PaintShop Pro was acquired by Corel in 2004 as the market for software cooled down at the beginning of the last decade and is currently in its 17th iteration as Corel PaintShop Pro X7. Its main competitor is Adobe Photoshop Elements. Microsoft Office XP About 14 years old As its name implies, Office XP was launched roughly at the same time as Windows XP. By then, it had already cemented its position as the undisputable leader in the business office suite market. Microsoft changed the name from Office XP to Office 2002 (otherwise known as Office 10) – it was sandwiched between Office 2000 (launched in 1999) and Office 2003 (launched in 2003, strangely enough). The version we managed to download even contained Frontpage, which still works perfectly on Windows 10. WinZip About 17 years old There was a time when the nascent worldwide web brought about a glut of multimedia content, often far too big for our internet connection to download without hiccups. This is where the likes of WinZip and WinRAR came in handy; while they did not do much to help compress multimedia files, they had a nifty feature that allowed a file to be split into manageable bits which meant that if you lost connectivity at any point, you could always download the remaining files rather than start all over again. WinZip's popularity dwindled with the rise of broadband and faster connections, and the fact that Microsoft added a compression feature to Windows. Like PSP, another iconic piece of shareware, WinZip was acquired by Corel and currently stands at version 19.5. Opera 4.0.2 About 15 years old Many of us fondly remember Opera as the ultimate geek's browser. This is an application that was small enough, in its early days, to be run from a floppy disk drive (yes, the 3.5-inch, 1.44MB ones). It was amongst the first to introduce tabbing (known as multiple document interface) and its hotlist. Version 4.0 brought in a new cross-platform core and an integrated email client. The ubiquitous shareware somehow managed to survive all these years as an independent software developer and is currently on version 30. It owes much of its success to its early commitment to mobile browsing with Opera Mobile and Opera Mini. Netscape 6 About 14 years old There was a time when the only major competitor to Microsoft's Internet Explorer was Netscape, from Netscape Communications Corporation. The sixth version of that browser was the first to use the then-recently-announced open-source Mozilla platform (which would give us Firefox). The browser came with an instant messaging client, an email and news client, an address book and an HTML editor. The launch of Netscape 6 was marred by unforeseen issues, some of which were caused as Netscape was being acquired by AOL. Minor updates to version 6 helped improve general performance and stability. Winamp 2.62 About 15 years old The rise of the MP3 audio format, and in the late 1990s, Napster, spawned a whole generation of audio players that made established players like Windows Media Player look old and clunky. Winamp was one of the new kids on the block and the fact that it was free and packed with a lot of features made it an instant hit with audiophiles. Other than the docking feature and the 10-band equaliser, it also allowed users to load their own skins to customise their player and create their own plugins (remember the cool visualisations?). Winamp was purchased by AOL (moving to Radionomy later) and is still going strong. The latest version, v5.666, was launched in 2013. StarOffice 6.0 About 13 years old Few applications have had more expectations pinned on them than StarOffice. When the German company that developed it was acquired by Sun Microsystems in 1999, many hoped that the office suite would grow into a worthy and capable rival to Microsoft Office. That hope grew even more when the source code of the suite was released in July 2000 as OpenOffice.org. But then, Sun got acquired by Oracle in 2010 and OpenOffice was transformed into a "purely community-based project". StarOffice originally included a personal information manager, an email client, an image editor, a web browser and even an HTML editor. iTunes 4.1 About 11 years old Windows users had to wait until version 4.1, a full two years after Apple launched iTunes, before they could use the iPod on their computers. The application worked perfectly well on our test computer and even asked us to upgrade to the latest version (currently 12.2.1). iTunes grew from being a simple media player into an e-commerce platform merged with a multimedia manager. You can now use iTunes as the ultimate repository of all things purchased from Apple. In hindsight, maybe Apple should change the name to iEverything. Microsoft GIF Animator About 15 years old Towards the late 90s and early 2000s, Microsoft spread itself fairly thin, launching a number of applications including the likes of Microsoft Chat, Bob and a few others. GIF animator was one of them and as its name suggests, it did one thing (and one thing only); produce animated GIFs. Microsoft no longer allows users to download it, which is a shame really. Animations could be looped, spun, faded in and out and more. Why would Microsoft launch such an application? Well, why not, we guess… One final note: Other software we tried but couldn't get to run on Windows 10 included Adobe Acrobat 5.0, Project 95, Office 95, Fireworks 2.0, Dreamweaver 3.0, Netscape 1, and PaintShop Pro 3.11.

Phone Week: Your house is getting smarter - and your phone is the brain Posted: 18 Jul 2015 10:35 AM PDT The future of your home Smartphones are nice and feature-stocked these days, but we know what the phone buying hoardes are like: everyone wishes they did more. Sure, you can tweet from them, but we want them to be able to cook us dinner and take the robot vacuum for a walk. The good news is that's a future which may be closer than you think. We're already on our way there, as phones are gradually connecting us more to other devices. For example many smartphones, such as the Samsung Galaxy S6 and HTC One M9, now have infrared blasters, which can be used to control televisions, set top boxes and even air conditioners, removing the need for a separate remote. But as the internet of things takes off (and the universe of things expands) more devices are becoming smart and connected, more and more potential is being unlocked in smartphones; before long they may be the brain of homes everywhere. And if your smartphone is the brain, your router is the heart, as most smart devices are connected via Wi-Fi, so your router keeps it all going and keeps everything connected. Music streaming A lot can be done already, though in many cases it requires additional setup costs. Apple AirPlay lets you stream or mirror photos, videos and games from your iOS device to your HDTV, allowing you to view your snaps on a big screen, but aside from needing an HDTV there's also a middle man in the form of Apple TV, which is required to make it work. That in itself costs £59 ($69, AU$109). On the music front there are things like Sonos, which lets you use your smartphone to stream music to any room in your house, allowing multiple people to listen to different things in different rooms with ease, or just filling your whole house with music. But with a basic one room setup coming in at £169 ($299, AU$399) and the price going up substantially for multiple rooms or higher quality speakers it's far from cheap. On the more affordable side, things like the Unified Remote app for Android, iOS and Windows Phone lets you control a Windows PC from your phone, complete with a mouse, keyboard and custom remotes for media, task manager and more, so you don't have to stay chained to a desk. Similarly the Xbox SmartGlass app gives you a similar level of control over your Xbox One from your smartphone, meaning you can enter text without having to use a clunky controller. Appliances are starting to get smart too. There's now such a thing as an 'iKettle' and no, it's nothing to do with Apple. It's a Wi-Fi enabled kettle that you can turn on from your smartphone. It will then tell you when the water has boiled and even keep it warm until you get there. Even more usefully: it can send a message to your phone first thing in the morning or when you arrive home from a long day at work, asking if you'd like to turn the kettle on, so the water will be boiled by the time you make it to the kitchen. The same firm makes a connected coffee maker too. Unfortunately the price angle rears its ugly head yet again here, as at £99.99 and £179.99 these are quite a lot more than standard appliances. That's particularly problematic when you consider that most users will be apprehensive about upgrading when traditionally a kettle is a device that only gets replaced once it breaks - you'd have to really want that convenience. Other appliances are seeing similar features added. For example LG's ThinQ range - both a fridge and an oven are available - lets you do everything from send recipes (to the oven) and get automatic additions to your shopping list (from the fridge). Speaking of shopping lists, there's no need to write them down any more: you can dictate them to the Amazon Echo or just push a button to have a fresh supply delivered to your door. And when they turn up, why not cook them on the Cinder Sensing Cooker? Another device now available for pre-order that you can control with your smartphone. Warm your home from the bus Warming up the home Behind the scenes things such as your general toastiness are also getting a smart overhaul. Honeywell's evohome system allows you to create up to 12 thermal zones in your home which can be controlled individually, so you're only heating the rooms you're using and then only when you need to. To make things even easier both the heating and hot water can be turned on and off from a smartphone app. Google has raised temperatures by buying out Nest and offering the smart thermostat through the Google Play store; the company also has a new Nest Cam for sale if you want to keep an eye on your house while you're away. All of these devices use apps to control the devices when you are both in and away from the home. In Europe Google is being closely tailed by tado - a heating app that promises to reduce your heating costs by 26 per cent. Even British Gas have got in on the action with Hive. There are subtle differences between all of these systems, but the common thread is enabling you to set your home heating from your smartphone, and even having it adjust automatically without any input from you. Smart security Alongside living rooms, kitchens and heating, home security has also been revolutionised by smartphones. Alarms, motion detectors, cameras, doorbells, locks and more can all be controlled by smartphones now. Take the SkyBell. When someone rings your doorbell you can get an alert on your phone and see a video feed of them. You can also talk to them through your phone and it works wherever you are as long as you have a Wi-Fi connection. So whether you're in the bath or on holiday you can still keep track of who's coming to your house and even communicate with them, giving you security and peace of mind. Then there's the Canary security hub, which is an all in one security device complete with an HD night vision camera, a microphone, a motion detector, an alarm and temperature, humidity and air quality sensors. And it's smart too, gradually learning about the environment of your home so that it's better able to differentiate a genuine threat from something harmless. For example a sudden, dramatic temperature change could indicate a fire, but if you live somewhere that's often very hot it will be smart enough to not keep alerting you about the heat. When it does alert you about something you'll see details of it on your smartphone and can choose how to respond, whether that's by ignoring it, making a call, sending a message or triggering the alarm. Even when there aren't any alerts you can always access Canary remotely from your phone if you just want to check on things. We've already mentioned Google's Nest Cam, and Piper is another up-and-coming home security system that's simple to install, easy to use... and powered by your smartphone. They give you control from wherever you are, just as long as you've got your mobile with you. The setup cost is a stumbling block for some of them, but once you've overcome that they bring you a long way towards having a truly connected home, empowering you to do things you never could before, be it freeing your music or keeping an eye on your home from afar. But this is just the beginning, as work is being done to make household devices even smarter in ways which could revolutionise the home. The future is coming... So what about the FUTURE? More smart kit and new appliances are coming off the production line all the time, and places like South Korea are way ahead of the UK in the connected homes stakes. Samsung has been in the smart fridge game for a number of years, producing touchscreen-enabled units that allowing you to tell them what food you're putting in it. That food index is then synced to your smartphone, so when you go shopping you'll be able to see at a glance exactly what you already have. The fridge can also send an alert to your phone or to your television if the door has been left open. We imagine that's colloquially called the 'sigh-inducing' app. Then there's Dyson's new 360 Eye vacuum cleaner. Automated vacuum cleaners are nothing new, but this one lets you remotely take control of it with your smartphone. You can activate it from your phone and even view maps of which rooms the cleaner has been through. Of course there's a flipside with all this extra tech: you might also be concerned about the energy use of all these connected devices. But actually by having devices that intelligently know when to turn on and off it's likely to actually save you energy, which is one of the points touted with by Honeywell for its evohome. Plus there are smart devices for homes that specifically deal with keeping track or your electricity use, such as the British Gas Smart Meter, so you can always keep on top things. Through the power of apps, smartphones can also potentially add extra functionality to connected devices. You can see the beginnings of this with Philips Hue light bulbs. Out of the box these let you turn your lights on or off and change the colour of your lights with your phone or tablet. However, Philips has also opened the Hue API up to developers, which has led to apps which expand their functionality. For example there's now a 'Hue Disco' app, which lets you program the lights to pulse in time to music, while another will make the lights blink whenever you're tagged in a Facebook photo, which, if you're sufficiently popular, is also a guaranteed way to get a headache. If other smart household items, such as fridges, ovens and televisions open their APIs up to developers then a lot could be achieved. Gaps in functionality could be filled and custom apps could give you even more control of your house from your smartphone. Televisions, for example, could be given access to more content sources or made to support more file types, while apps could keep track of use-by dates for food in your smart fridge. Looking further ahead, devices are likely to start communicating with one another as well as with your phone, as that, after all, is what the internet of things is all about. Samsung's smart fridge does that already to a small extent by being able to communicate with your television, but the real future will come when things become even more automated, minimising the need to control devices at all, giving you a daily roundup of all the bits you need to know. That could mean a toaster that communicates with your kettle to ensure that your tea and toast are both ready at the same time. Or speakers that can communicate with your television and will know to turn music off in that room when you start watching something. Not to mention the curtains that will then automatically close to create a cinematic experience. There's plenty of potential, which is why both Apple (with HomeKit) and Google (with Brillo) have launched initiatives to help control the internet of things living inside your home. That's the real future, a home where all the devices are connected to one another, not just to the internet or to your phone; we imagine most would still like to have a smartphone or similar device at the centre for all the things to kick it all off with a flick of the finger. Your smartphone will give you remote access to all of these things, letting you fine-tune their behaviour and take control when needed, be it to change the channel on your television or take control of your robot vacuum cleaner. This article is part of Phone Week, celebrating the best bits about brilliant smartphones and tablets as part of the lead up to the TechRadar Phone Awards. 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Phone Week: How the smartphone changed the general election Posted: 18 Jul 2015 09:00 AM PDT Voting for Mobile The 2015 UK general election saw something special - the first time the smartphone played a leading part in helping millions of people get a close and real-time view of the unfolding events. But is this just a gimmick by broadcasters struggling to maintain their relevance alongside online user-generated content, keen to be seen hanging with the latest cool-kid social media gadgets? Or is mobile genuinely going to play a pivotal role in the newsroom of the future? TechRadar has spoken to broadcasters and media outlets leading the mobile charge to learn how smartphones and tablets helped revolutionise coverage of the 2015 UK general election. Mo-Jos Reporter Nick Garnett is at the coalface of the BBC's election coverage. As Radio 5 Live's North of England correspondent being mobile is central to his job, and when covering the election his actual mobile is central to it too. He describes how a typical shift revolves around his iPhone: "On an average day I'll turn up with my smartphone to interview somebody, recording the audio and filming them at the same time. I'll then edit the audio package on my phone sitting in my car, and send that from there directly to the BBC's playout systems. "Then I'll edit the video [on my phone] and send that up to our interactive team. Then it's time for the live broadcast," which, 80-90% of the time, Garnett also conducts using his smartphone. Garnett, like many at the BBC, sees so-called 'mobile journalism' as transformative for the industry, not just for the election: "Mobile is the biggest development in broadcast journalism in the last 20 years. There's nothing bigger than this, it's just gigantic." Live in 90 seconds Sky News reporter Harriet Hadfield is another early adopter of smartphone broadcasting. 'Live on Sky News in 90 seconds anywhere with Wi-Fi, 4G or 3G' is her claim, backed up by a showreel full of smartphone-filmed on-location reports. "Broadcasting via smartphone is brilliant for Sky News when we don't have traditional broadcast equipment available," she says. Often it can be about capturing 'that' moment live or offering a live shot of a breaking story until the crew arrives. In the past, we would have lived without the pictures, but for a rolling news service, having access to more live footage offers a definite advantage. She hints that convincing others to take smartphone reporting seriously hasn't always been straightforward. "It's been really interesting in terms of acceptance. Mostly people take a while to warm to the idea - until something happens and it puts us miles ahead of the opposition." Hadfield is careful not to overstate the current role of mobile in the newsroom though: "It's a great addition to our newsgathering, but will never be as good as having a team of Sky News colleagues working together in the field, producing quality pictures and journalism." Broadcasting on the cheap? For Garnett the portability benefits a 2015 smartphone offers are clear: "I used to carry three or four flight cases full of equipment, and now I can carry everything I need in one messenger bag over my shoulder." Cost is a enormous factor too. With a smartphone and basic grab-bag of accessories and apps costing less than £1,000, mobile journalist kit can begin to displace at least some satellite trucks, radio cars and edit suites costing tens or hundreds of times more. Ramp this up to general election scale and no longer does comprehensive coverage become a technical and logistical issue of where strategically to deploy reporters, camera crews and comms trucks. "This is broadcasting on the cheap," he adds, "but it's just as good quality." Alison Gow heads up digital innovation across Trinity Mirror's regional news titles and believes firmly in the power of mobile. As the UK's largest newspaper group Trinity Mirror publishes 240 regional papers alongside hardy nationals such as the Daily and Sunday Mirror, not to mention corresponding online portals and social media accounts. It's Alison's job to make sure news gathering remains on the cutting edge, particularly across a fast-paced general election campaign. "Several years ago a reporter might go on an expensive multimedia broadcast course for a few weeks, and come back to produce very high quality, but very time-consuming video packages that a small proportion of our audience watched," she recalls. Fast forward to the smartphone-equipped reporter of 2015: "If a reporter shoots 30 seconds of video and takes some photos at an incident, edits them with the myriad excellent free apps, then shares them with the newsroom and social media, it's more effective, hits audience need and is cost-efficient. Plus they don't need to cart around pieces of expensive camera kit." And Sky's Hadfield agrees that a smartphone alone is perfectly capable of live network news broadcasts when required. "The point for me is not to have too much stuff as that makes it difficult to carry everywhere with me," she explains, running through her 'live in 90 seconds' mobile kit bag. "I have a light-weight Manfrotto tripod that - crucially - goes high enough to reach a person's eye-line. Then a case that attaches to the tripod plate, with a small light attachment. I use a traditional 416 microphone with a special adapter that makes it plug into the iPhone. "I have a spare phone for internet/email access while broadcasting and sometimes to get IFB [interruptible foldback, an in-ear audio feed from the studio]. "Oh, and a shower cap in case it rains." Live-Streaming the Election "This election is the first where everyone who's involved in outside broadcast is involved in mobile broadcasting," said Garnett ahead of the event. "We're using modern forms of broadcasting in a way that we've never used them before. It's hugely exciting. "We're using Periscope and Meerkat to provide behind-the-scenes coverage from outside broadcasts." Behind-the-scenes glimpses like these are what sets social media content apart from formal news bulletins, often appealing to a younger, less politically-engaged audience. "We're filing huge amounts, the largest we've ever done in terms of video going onto our website, bespoke audio as well. We're getting over a million-and-a-half hits per month," adds Garnett. Up Periscope The Birmingham Mail, one of Trinity Mirror's titles, recently began upping its Periscope too. Joining forces with Twitter it conducted what is regarded to be a landmark for UK social media: the first Periscope hustings (a local debate) with a constituency's parliamentary candidates. Some may dismiss this as a gimmick, but according to research by Twitter 34% of the social network's users aged 18-34 "have changed their vote from one party to another based on something they have seen on Twitter". Livestreaming and social media are potent tools, it seems, by which to engage voters. Going LiveU Of the 650 declarations on the night of Thursday May 7th, Sky News was live from over 270 to provide what it claimed, ahead of the event, would be the most ambitious and wide-ranging results service available. Such an undertaking requires either a lot of satellite vans or a tonne of mobile smarts - Sky chose the latter. Key to Sky's plan was a partnership with LiveU which provides 3G/4G bonded uplink bolt-ons for broadcast cameras to stream live footage back to base over cellular networks. While the pictures themselves were captured by a professional camera, it's the mobile network that did the heavy lifting. Sky News has form with this, most recently broadcasting 32 concurrent livestreams from iPads for its coverage of the Scottish Referendum: YouTube : YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v= As the world increasingly relies on real time information from social networks to feel like they're getting the 'real' news, traditional newsrooms are having to find ways of bringing that immediacy into their coverage - and mobile is the way to do it simply. News on the move It's not just live-streaming and rolling news where mobile made its mark in the latest general election. The BBC has developed its own mobile journalism app for iPhone that can be used by BBC staff to capture video, stills and audio ready to be edited into broadcast news packages. PNg, or Portable Newsgathering, is a 'journalist-proof' app for shooting and securely uploading news back to BBC newsrooms. "An iPhone is essentially a mobile newsroom in your pocket, so if you understand how to use it and the PNg app properly then wherever and wherever you are you can record content that can be available for broadcast on air and online within minutes," explains Marc Settle, mobile journalism and social media trainer for the BBC College of Journalism. As well as ensuring that all uploaded content is tagged to assist editors building a broadcast package, it also prompts journalists to make sure their phone is held horizontally to avoid broadcast professionals' pet hate, vertical video. "If you try to impose vertical screen footage onto a landscape device the two do not match at all. You either have these two nasty black bars either side of the footage, or you have to blur it and fudge the fact that you haven't been able to fill the whole screen." Of the 3,000 iOS devices with PNg deployed across the BBC,1,000 staff use it regularly to file between 300 and 400 pieces of content every week day. That's a lot of coverage. Interestingly, uploads might not come exclusively from journalists or traditional BBC newsgatherers. "I have had BBC people on my course who are in legal affairs or publicity but want to understand how they could use their iPhone to a professional near-broadcast standard such that if a news story happens in front of their nose, they would be able to contribute to the BBC's news machine more quickly and also as easily as a properly-trained journalist." With an army of staff trained in and equipped with the necessary tools for smartphone newsgathering the BBC ensured it remained a formidable media force during the election. The world of User Generated Content Of course, newsgathering is no longer limited just to professional journalists and reporters. Almost anybody with a smartphone is capable of capturing a piece of audio or video that can change the course of an election campaign. Newsflare is an app for both iOS and Android that's dedicated to helping you sell potentially newsworthy smartphone footage to media outlets such as the BBC and Sky News. "People submit newsworthy video for a variety of reasons," says Newsflare co-founder Jon Cornwell. "The excitement of filming a story unfolding in front of you, followed by the excitement of seeing that footage picked up and broadcast/published with the world's media." Not to forget the pretty penny you could stand to make should your video get sold and make it onto the news. But how seriously do news organisations take citizen journalist footage? Very, it turns out: "Rarely these days do you see a story about a breaking event which doesn't feature some footage captured on a mobile phone, dash-cam or Go-Pro," adds Cornwell. The general election in no exception. Already Newsflare has seen video submitted of a parliamentary candidate forgetting her party manifesto, a party rep put on the spot about awkward personal air travel, and (our favourite so far) a fishing boat full of kippers. As broadcasting budgets become increasingly stretched, services such as Newsflare, GuardianWitness or FirstOnSiteNews look set to play an increasingly important role in connecting newsrooms with newsgatherers. Whether it's to form a coalition with a newsroom's existing newsgathering capabilities, to win over marginal seats unreachable by traditional camera kit and crews, or to spin the reporter as a one-man live-streaming news-gathering machine, smartphones and tablets look set for a long term in traditional media as well as social media. So, this mobile general election night we predict a large turnout for livestreaming, a party revolt against crackly telephone lines, and a big swing to Periscopes featuring both happy and humiliated MPs.

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