Windows 10 Mobile Test Drive

Microsoft’s new Windows 10 Mobile could redefine the struggling operating system within the mobile sector when it arrives on its rumoured October release date. With a scalable user interface and more, just how good is it shaping up? Tom Wellburn investigates Build 10149.

Microsoft is betting a lot on Windows 10. The Redmond company has placed its entire future vision on the basis of a fully integrated, scalable Operating System that can be applied to any device regardless of size. With the desktop version of Windows 10 quickly nearing completion, I decided to take the plunge and jump onto the mobile bandwagon. Microsoft has been offering early access to the software for some time through the Windows Insider Program, though previous builds were far too buggy to be considered usable in the long-term. With Windows 10 Mobile slated for a rumoured October release date, I decided to test drive the software for an entire month and see if it was up to scratch. Risky? Incredibly. Let’s see how it goes.

Doom

The return of an FPS legend. It’s about damned time

Powerful word, Doom. Not just in the literal sense of ‘ultimate, unavoidable, apocalyptic badness’ – though it is, to be fair, pretty hefty in that respect. No, all that aside, in videogames, few individual words carry a more sizeable amount of historical weight.

Remembering… Nintendo GameCube

David Hayward recalls a wonderful console from the noughties

In between the Nintendo 64 and the Wii, there was, in my opinion anyway, the best Nintendo console ever released: the GameCube.

This odd looking, purple paint job, lunch box carry handle console was powered by a 500MHz PowerPC processor, had 43MB of memory and a 162MHz ATI Flipper GPU with 3MB of memory on chip. It was amazing. And with it came some of the best Nintendo based games I had ever played.

Assault, Tales of Symphonia, Soul Calibur 2, Resident Evil 4, Metroid Prime and of course The Legend of Zelda: Wind Walker. In fact, as soon as I’m done with this article, I’m off to plug my GameCube back in and get some gaming done.

Submerged

Explore the hidden secrets of this post-apocalyptic water world

Every so often a game comes around that’s a little different from the norm. It could differ in a variety of ways and offer the gamer something other than simply mashing the fire key, or racking up the points in a never ending quest to subdue the enemy.

MyGica ATV585 Android TV Box

Android magic from this tiny media box

Over the last year or so we’ve seen so many tiny Android-based under the TV boxes, with each offering the many benefits associated with the Google Play Store within such a discrete sized media centre.

With so much competition around and to stand out from the crowd then, the manufacturer needs to be able to pull something special out the hat to pique the interest of the consumer. This latest under the TV box from MyGica looks interesting, but does it have the white rabbit ready to wow the audience?

Auslogics BoostSpeed 8

Keep your computer running like a Swiss watch with this latest product from Auslogics

It’s been my experience that the majority of computer users never carry out any essential maintenance on their machines. Naturally most will have a virus killer; there’s been enough scare mongering to ensure that these days such a utility is almost mandatory. Yet they will merrily stand by while their machines get slower and slower for the sake of a little maintenance. Of course I realise that not everyone has the knowledge or perhaps the courage to attempt this anyway. However, there are products out there that are quite capable of doing the job for you, this latest release from Auslogics being a likely candidate.

ModeCom FreePC

An innovative PC from ModeCom that heralds greater portability

It’s not often that I get to see a truly innovative product, but this latest release from Polish company ModeCom certainly falls into that category. Basically it’s a PC squeezed into what has the appearance of a large flash drive. While the name 'FreePC' is just a play on words – at a price of £130, it certainly is not free – there’s no doubt that it’s a remarkable feat to fit a PC into such a small space, (11.0 x 3.8 x 1.0 cm), but let’s firstly have a look at the PC itself.

BenQ BL2711U

A professional monitor for the CAD/CAM user and digital artist

We’ve had a number of BenQ gaming-specific monitors through our doors recently, so it makes a nice change to get hold of one of the company’s higher-end professional models for testing. The BenQ BL2711U is a professional CAD-oriented, 27" UHD IPS LED panel with an abundance of features for those who demand the highest possible quality when working. As UHD (ultra high definition) signifies, this is a monitor that can happily handle resolutions up to 3840 x 2160 and, thanks to the AHVA (Advanced Hyper-Viewing Angle) panel, you’ll get excellent 178° viewing angles and extraordinary colour and clarity through the use of 100% sRGB and Ultra-Vivid technologies.

5 Ways To Kill A Smartphone

A few reasons why getting insurance on your phone might be a good idea

1 Drop It

Two of the things that separate us from more primitive creatures are our opposable thumbs and fine motor skills. They allow us to do all kinds of wonderful things, like fashioning tools and playing musical instruments. But for some reason, these qualities count for very little when you’re holding an expensive smartphone. Obviously not everyone is as clumsy as we are, but we’re sure that at least a few of you have done what we have, where you’re holding your trusty phone in your hand, perhaps while making a call, and it just frees itself of your grip and lands face down on the floor. If you’re lucky, when you pick it back up, it’ll look the same as did before its rapid descent. If not, you’ll find the screen has been scratched or, worse still, cracked. The good news is that you’re allowed to cry.