Saturday 25 April 2015

YAC 6.0

YAC 6.0

Clean up, tune up and protect your PC from malware with YAC. Roland Waddilove tests this popular tool

YAC stands for Yet Another Cleaner, and it's one of many clean-up and tune-up utilities for Windows PCs. YAC is different to rivals, though, because when the free tool is downloaded and installed, there's an option to include YAC Anti-Malware Premium. This costs $29.99 for three PCs, which works out at around £7 per PC.

The clean-up tools included in YAC include the usual system and software junk files that build up on the disk drive and the settings in the registry. There are several levels of registry cleaning, depending on how aggressive and risky you want to be, such as 'Cleanable registry' versus 'Cleanable registry with caution'.

Mydlink Home Monitor HD

Mydlink Home Monitor HD DCS-935L

D-Link adds an even more interesting device to its Mydlink Home range

A few weeks ago, I covered the D-Link Mydlink Home Smart Plug, and almost immediately it sent me more of this range to explore, including this surveillance camera.

The DCS-935L or 'Monitor HD' is much like a dozen other 720p web cameras that I've seen in the past few years on one level. A significant number of them are made of shiny white plastic, can be wall mounted or free standing, use a USB power supply and offer a fixed focal length lens.

Amazon Fire TV Stick

Amazon Fire TV Stick

Can this streaming device fire its way to the top?

Amazon has a long history of releasing hardware in the US first and making the rest of the world wait. It did it with the Kindle, the Kindle Fire, the Fire TV and now it's done it again with the Fire TV Stick. Released in the UK on 15th April, it's actually been available to Americans since November last year. Still, better late than never, we suppose.

But what does it actually bring to a party that already has Google's Chomecast and the Roku Streaming Stick as guests of honour? Can it be the one everyone wants to be friends with, or will it be universally shunned, before slinking off home early?

39 Days To Mars

39 Days To Mars

To infini-tea and beyond

If the Mars One mission involved a ship called the HMS Fearful, we’re guessing there would be fewer people signing up to spend the rest of their lives on the red planet. However that’s exactly what a pair of 19th century Victorian explorers are doing in this Kickstarted project from one-man development team Philip Buchanan.

In a charmingly hand-drawn style full of pistons and cogs, you must aid the hapless Sir Albert Wickes and The Right Honourable Clarence Baxter in their quest through space.

Monstrum

Monstrum

You cruise you lose in this permadeath horror

It’s dark and we don’t know the difference between our breath and the terrified panting of the man abandoned on a cargo ship with only a monster for company.

We managed to slam the locker door closed but it’s out there. Somewhere. We can hear it thundering through the corridors. Peering through the slats doesn’t help. Maybe we’ll just wait in here a little longer…