Logitech Harmony Elite Universal Remote

Decrypting the input mess

As the resident geek in your home, you probably face the challenge that many geeks face – you’re the only one in the house who knows how to get the plethora of devices in your AV cabinet all set to the right mode to operate. In my place, watching streaming media over the PS4 requires far too many steps for my better half to remember, which is why I’m guaranteed a phone call every night I’m away on business trips. Universal remotes promise to solve this problem, but until now everyone I’ve tested has one niggling issue that stops something or other from being fully automated. I’m happy to report that the Harmony Elite is the first kit I’ve used where everything just worked… yet the rapid march of technology has made a big part of this kit obsolete already.

Fallout 4

Building a better tomorrow with Bethesda’s latest wasteland epic

Brace yourselves for what’s about to follow: Fallout 4 is an absolute mess. Before reaching for your Fat Man, however, take note: this is as much praise as it is censure. If there’s one thing that sets Bethesda’s role-playing games apart, other than their ridiculous scale, it’s the junk. Every crevice is packed with knick-knacks, all subject to real-time physics and most surplus to requirements, and it’s this confusing sprawl that makes the landscape feel lived in. There’s nothing quite so human, after all, as the ability to generate clutter.

Layers of Fear

A masterpiece of horror… about a masterpiece of horror?

To be trapped forever by your own tortured psyche: surely there’s no worse fate possible? It looks like Layers of Fear is really going to put that to the test. It’s oozed it sway out of the collective psyche of indie developer Bloober Team, and, if the Xbox preview version we’ve played is anything to go by, it’s an ambitious, clever and strangely beautiful horror game.

Zoner Photo Studio 18

Zoner Photo Studio might be reasonably priced, but is it a serious and viable option for a professional?

Reasonably-priced software is often the most appealing, as no one wants to shell out for more expensive programs that might not meet their needs, or indeed might exceed them.

DxO ONE

It may be small, but is this pocket-friendly camera mighty enough to rival its bigger siblings?

Renowned for premium-quality photo-editing software, DxO took the industry by complete surprise in June 2015 with the announcement of the DxO ONE, its first foray into hardware of this kind. Featuring a one-inch 20.2 MP CMOS sensor, an 11.9mm (32mm equivalent) f1.8 fixed lens alongside the ability to shoot in RAW – all in a lightweight, petite chassis – the ONE boasts an impressive specification. On paper it might sound revolutionary, but how exactly do the specs translate in practice?