Lollipop-Powered PCs

Android 5.0.2 live image for your PC?

I was reading the other day about a project that's currently receiving a fair amount of press on Sourceforge.

The AndEX Android x86 Lollipop live CD image is an .iso that enables the user to experience the newer Android OS on their PC as either a fully installed operating system or as a live system that's booted from a CD or a USB device.

There are already a few projects that allow Android to run on a PC, but most of them fall rather short of the mark when it comes to performance, practicality or anything even remotely resembling usability. This new project, from developer Arne Exton, promises to be the most stable and usable Android on a PC yet.

System Mechanic 14.5

Kevin Pocock greets an old pal, still fighting the good fight

Anyone who's worked with a variety of Windows versions will likely have come to know of tweaks and tips to keep their systems in fine condition for longer. For those with less drive to get into the nuts and bolts of their OS, for the last 16 or so years lolo's answer to lifting this particular burden (and doing more besides) has been System Mechanic.

Savage Lands

It's all about survival of the fittest or at least the one wielding the iron club

The recent success of a number of games whereby the character is left in an open world to fend for themselves has quite an effect on the gaming community. The likes of Rust, DayZ, H1Z1 and so on are games that place the player in a first person environment and see just how they last in such a world. It's an interesting concept and one we quite like.

Savage Lands, from developer DigitalDNA Games, is one of the newer entries into the survival fantasy world. You, as the main character have found yourself marooned on the shores of a strange land, where there is a menagerie of beasts and a collection of Harryhausen-esque animated skeletons.

Western Digital My Cloud EX2100

Mark looks at Western Digital new Expert Series NAS box and likes what he sees

No longer wholly satisfied with just making NAS-optimised hard drives, Western Digital has also been developing its own NAS boxes. Last year it produced a range of eguipment that included the single sealed unit devices like the My Cloud Personal Cloud Storage, and the more flexible EX2 and EX4 multi-drive boxes. Now it's come back to expand the 'Expert Series' range further with four new boxes, covering home and small business users who want a fire-and-forget small server technology.

Brother MFC1910W

Michael Fereday foregoes colour to check out a mono laser device

The MFC1910W is a multifunction mono laser product from Brother, bringing together print, scan, copy and fax functionality with a built-in ADF (Automatic Document Feeder) module. The "W" part of the product's model number gives the clue that this device possesses wi-fi capabilities as well as USB connectivity.

The base contains monochrome laser printer, while an A4 flatbed scanner - with built-in ADF module - sits on the top of this device. Positioned between these two elements is a control panel arranged along a protruding lip.

MSI Adora20 AIO PC

Light and stylish, that's how we like our all-in-one PCs

Most all-in-one PCs tend to be high priced, over large and unwieldy setups. Yes, they perform reasonably well, and they do offer the appeal of taking up less overall space than a traditional desktop PC and monitor, but they often sacrifice that appeal in favour of looks or functionality. However, towards the end of last year MSI released the Adora20, which lays the foundations for its newer generation of stylish, functional and lightweight all-in-one PCs.

Dark Souls II: Scholar Of The First Sin

Or: re-learning to sin when you’re winning

It was about an hour in, once we reached Heide’s Tower of Flame, when we realised that Scholar Of The First Sin is exactly what we wanted it to be. Essentially a rejig of the GM Game Of The Year 2014 winner we know and love, this current-gen re-release does much more than simply serve up the PC version’s visuals with the stellar DLC collection.

Alongside such admirable feats, Scholar also manages to force those who have passed through the corridors, caves and climes of Drangleic hundreds of times to rethink their approaches. It forces us, basically, to sheath our cocksure trail blazing and raise our shields in sweet trepidation once more.

Resident Evil Revelations 2

Episodic series proves itself to be infectiously good viewing

Too many zombies. It’s a finger you could poke into the decomposing ribs of games in general – do wash your hands after – but a specific problem for recent Resident Evils. It’s hard to be frightened of the familiar, but ten years of upping the action ante means putting so many undead on the screen that they each become about as terrifying as a mouldy teapot. Sure, you don’t want one to touch you, but nor would you hide behind the sofa every time you clapped eyes on the thing. That fear factor has completely worn away due to their sheer volume.