Warhammer: Vermintide – The End Times

Rats to the left of me, rats to the right of me…

Before we dive into the meat of this review, I should probably point out that I have quite the history with Games Workshop’s Warhammer fantasy world. When I was young’un, I pushed painted plastic soldiers around a tabletop, before graduating to roleplaying in the dark and gritty Old World in the excellent first edition of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay. So I know the setting pretty well.

Remembering… Cover Media

David Hayward recalls those tapes and floppies on the front of magazines

Cover media (or covermount, as it’s known in the industry) is when a magazine packages some extra form of hard media with their publication. Sometimes that media can be found on the cover of the magazine; other times it can be found hidden in a sleeve within the magazine itself. Either way, you get digital content that works alongside the content in the magazine.

Technocracy

This week, we look at a fun little game that’s rather addictive

It’s not often we feature an individual game on App of the Week, so when we do it needs to be one that has managed to weed its way into our brains and take up a considerable amount of our time. Technocracy is one such game.

Although graphically Android games have come on in leaps and bounds over the last couple of years, almost equalling higher-end titles for PC, Technocracy instead relies on its strategy and micro-management to raise it above the competition.

It may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but there’s a lot of fun to be had in planning out what move to consider next, where best to place your limited resources and how to beat the game and come out on top. In our mind, that’s the essence of a good game.

The Easy Guide To Flashing An Android Phone. Custom ROMs

Last week, it was stock ROMs, so this week it’s custom ROMs – ones designed by enthusiasts. Jason d’Allison shows you that the flashing process isn’t the dark art it’s often cooked up to be…

As before, I’m using a Samsung Galaxy Note (GT-N7000). It’s an oldie but a goldie, and given Samsung’s runaway popularity in the Android world, a Galaxy makes sense as the basis for a guide on ROM flashing. The process is pretty much the same across the whole model range. It’s often somewhat different with other Android brands, but this guide still has value as an overview and introduction.

Top 5 Potentially Disappointing Tech Gifts

Yes, it’s the thought that counts, but maybe think a bit harder?

1 Cheap Tablet

With Amazon having just released a £49 tablet, it’s actually pretty easy to get someone a cheap but nevertheless usable device. However, you might decide to go even cheaper and pick up one of those £20 things you saw on eBay or Amazon. Yes, they come from a Chinese manufacturer you’ve never heard of, but how bad can they be? Well, the answer to that is very bad. Very bad indeed. Sure, there are some bargains to be found, but as with most things in life, you generally get what you pay for, so there’s a good chance that the cut-price tablet you’re thinking of getting for someone will be slow, unreliable and will probably break five minutes after being unwrapped.

LeapFrog Epic

Reverting to a second (or, more likely, third) childhood, Michael checks out a LeapFrog product

The different aspects of Explore, Play, Imagine and Create provide the name for LeapFrog’s latest product aimed at young children. This is the LeapFrog Epic, an Android tablet aimed at children aged between three and nine.

AOC I2481FXH

A bezel monitor takes central stage

The AOC Style-line I2481FXH is a one-piece display unit, with the 23.8" LCD monitor panel mounted to a matte silver metal stand. This combination has dimensions of 541 x 403 x 150mm (W x H x D). AOC has described its panel as having a “nearly borderless frame", and I would find it hard to disagree with this observation when it comes to the top and side of the monitor. Having grown accustomed to my old monitor with its 20mm bezel, it was quite a shock to be faced by the barely 7.5mm of black bezel around three side of this unit; I have seen and used smartphones with a wider bezel that that. The bottom of the monitor has a slightly wider strip, giving room to the OSD controls that adjust the screen’s performance and visual output.

eScan Internet Security Suite

Roland Waddilove puts his PC’s security in eScan's hands

When you think of the top antivirus and security companies, eScan is probably not among the names that come to mind. However, the company has a range of products from the basic eScan Antivirus to the top of the range eScan Universal Security Suite. On test here is a package in the middle: eScan Internet Security Suite, which offers more than basic antivirus protection, but it is still reasonably priced. New to the this version is an updated UI, secure delete, USB vaccination, dynamic phishing filter, and eScan Security Network.

Synology DS216Play

Synology’s new ‘Play’ brings even more decoding options to those that need them

Synology first launched a ‘Play’ model back in their x14 series, it was a dual drive NAS box that used the Intel Atom CE5335mm – the same chip that ended up in its four-drive DS415Play a year later.