PC Pro PDF

p56
And it’s not Google Maps p32
ON TEST
Microsoft Surface
ISSUE 256 FEBRUARY 2016 £4.99
Pro 4: our verdict p60

T
Turn this £49
9 lessons from tech webcam into a
w
entrepreneurs p46 se
security camera p50
C@ntrol MSS
@PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO February2016 Issue256
Inthisissue 32 We donned our driving gloves

to find the best satnav for 2016
FEATURES BRIEFING
COVER STORY 10 Will ISIS turn to hacking?

32 The best satnavs for 2016 The government has doubled its online security
We find out which smartphone satnav app will fund to help prevent attacks by terrorists.
get you briskly past the traffic jams and discover
if there’s still a case for dedicated hardware. 12 The future of the PC market
Computer sales continue to slide. Our infographic
42 Digital camper van illustrates the extent of the crisis.
Davey Winder reveals how he converted a Mazda 3 SUBSCRIBE:
camper van into a mobile office, complete with 14 The new Snoopers’ Charter THREE ISSUES
laptop chargers and high-speed internet. We reveal what the draft Investigatory Powers FOR £1
Bill means for you and your business. Subscribe to
COVER STORY PC Pro today and
46 Nine top tips from 16 What’s next for tablets? you can benefit
tech entrepreneurs Tablet sales have been declining for a long time from our three
Starting a business in the ultra-competitive tech – are they heading the same way as the netbook? issues for £1 offer –
industry is hard. We asked some of the country’s visit subscribe.
most successful tech entrepreneurs for advice. VIEWPOINTS
VIEW pcpro.co.uk now.
COVER STORY
50 Turn a £49 webcam
ebcam
into a security camera
mera
24 DARIEN GRAHAM-SMITH Online retailers
are held back by their shipping methods.
We show how to turn n an inexpensive

camera into an excellent
security to your home
ent way of adding
ome or office.
25 BARRY COLLINS The draft Investigatory
Powers Bill makes little sense.
PROFILE 25 NICOLE KOBIE Having CCTV at your

disposal changes your behaviour.
22 MEEM
We meet the unpaid CEO
of a startup hoping to
o make
26 DICK POUNTAIN How fresh thinking
breathed new life into an old game.
smartphone backup quick

and effortless. 28 CAREERS MARK LISTER (LEFT) Learn what
it takes to become an experience engineer.
3
If we managed ...imagine how
to create a bezel good the rest of
this thin... the monitor is
“...as business monitors go, the
FlexScan EV2750 is pretty special.
EIZO has something of an image
quality reputation to uphold, and
the FlexScan EV2750 does it proud.”
PC PRO magazine
NEW
FlexScan EV2750 – The world’s first fully flat

monitor to feature a 1mm bezel.
WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT?...
www.eizo.co.uk/flexscan
REVIEWS/LABS
56 The Apple iPad Pro is a stonkingly
good tablet and a capable laptop
HEADLINE REVIEWS
Apple iPad Pro 56 Asus RT-AC3200 88
Microsoft Surface Pro 4 60 D-Link DIR-890L 88
Chillblast Fusion Krypton 62 DrayTek Vigor
Asus C201 Chromebook 64 2860ac 89
Samsung Gear VR Linksys WRT1900ACS 89
Innovator Edition for S6 66 TP-Link Archer C2600 90
MSI GE72 2QD Apache Pro 67 ZyXEL Armor Z1 90
Samsung Galaxy
Tab S2 9.7in 68 SATNAVS
Motorola Moto 360 (2015) 70 TomTom Go 6100 34
Huawei Watch 71 Garmin Nuvi 2599LMT-D 35
TomTom 36
APPS Apple Maps 36
Magpie 72 Nokia Here Maps 38
DSCO 72 Waze 38
TunnelBear VPN 72 Google Maps 40
1Writer 73 CoPilot Premium UK & Ireland 40
The Pickle Index 73
Google Translate 73 BUSINESS
Bomgar Cloud for
ROUTERS Remote Support 96
BT Home Hub 5 78 Netop Remote Control 12.2 97
Sky Hub 2 80 NetSupport Manager 12.1 98
TalkTalk HG635 Super Router 82 SolarWinds DameWare
Virgin Media Super Hub 2ac 84 Remote Support 12 100
Netgear Nighthawk X4S 86 Brother DCP-9015CDW 102
Synology RT1900ac 87 Thecus N8880U-10G 104
REGULARS
Editor’s letter 7 Subscriptions 123

The A-List 18 Geek Day Out 128
Readers’ comments 30 One last thing… 130
THE NETWORK
94 Remote support software

We explain what to look for when choosing
remote support software, and subject four
contenders to real-world testing.
74 LABS: ROUTERS COVER STORY
You don’t have to put up with slow Wi-Fi and a lack of features from
your ISP-supplied router. We test eight that can do a better job.
106 How can I recruit IT talent?

Technology comes and goes, but good employees
will stick around. We discover how to find the REAL WORLD COMPUTING
best IT talent.
108 Cheat Sheet: shadow IT

The shady world of hardware, software and
110 JON HONEYBALL The news that Microsoft is going to be even
more insistent on upgrades to Windows 10 in 2016 could leave
a very sour taste in the mouth.
services that flies underneath a company’s IT
department radar.
FUTURES
113 PAUL OCKENDEN Choosing a home-automation system doesn’t
have to be confusing – or expensive – with a little help from
Energenie and the Raspberry Pi.
124 Building blocks: why

technology is going modular
Modular designs could let us personalise
116 IVAN POPE The growth of 3D printing offers fertile ground for
business. Here’s how one man turned his hobby into a viable
business idea.
our wearables and extend the lifespan of
our smartphones, but challenges lie ahead.
126 Learning to hack

118 DAVEY WINDER Davey provides 15 expert tips to help you
protect your data and avoid the schoolboy errors made by
TalkTalk after their recent data breach.
the Internet of Things
We met up with Ken Munro of Pen Test Partners
to find out why you may not want to invest in a
Wi-Fi-connected kettle.
120 STEVE CASSIDY If thinking about IPv4 addresses makes you
dizzy, how about the miles of copper wire powering
everything from your smartwatch to your car?
5
Editor’s letter
Makethat
ideahappen
LIKE ANY DOTING father, I don’t have a favourite article in this myself, not for the man. Creating something amazing with
month’s PC Pro. That would be deeply unfair to, say, our the support and help of a team of others (especially should
brilliant group test of routers: if you’re with BT, TalkTalk, something go wrong, when they’re definitely getting the
Sky or Virgin, turn to p74 and find out not only which blame). Turning an idea into a product or service that
router to switch to, and how to do it, but also how to get people are actually willing to pay for.
more from your existing router if you choose to stick I’m not alone, I know that. There’s a reason PC Pro’s
with the model you’re supplied by your ISP. bestselling MagBook of all time is called How to set up an
Likewise, the insight into contributing editor Davey Online Business, now in its seventh edition (and, yes, on
Winder’s life as he details the fun he had converting a sale at Amazon for £9.99). Indeed, I remember reading the
camper van into a truly mobile office (p42). That’s without first draft chapters, way back in 2009, and thinking to
even mentioning the exhausting hours Dave Stevenson put myself: “Come on, Tim, you should do this.” Especially as
into road-testing the many different alternatives to Google one piece of advice is that you needn’t give up your day job.
Maps, as he tried to figure out whether you’re better off It’s just that, immediately afterwards, I was struck by what
paying for satnav or choosing an entirely different freebie. an excellent idea it would be to have a nice cup of tea and a
Discover for yourself, without so much as a three-point biscuit first. It was a big cup of tea.
turn, by turning to p32. But enough excuses. It’s time to take inspiration from
They’re all lovely pieces, but – oh, hang on, now I have Eben Upton, the man behind the Raspberry Pi, who says:
Jon Bray, our reviews editor, hissing in my metaphorical “You’ve got to think that you’re going to accomplish
ear about the Huawei Watch, iPad Pro and Samsung Gear something that’s worthwhile.” And Blippar co-founder’s
VR, all of which grace a packed section this month. Happy Jess Butcher’s words: “Don’t let yourself be overwhelmed
now Jon? No, he’s not. Okay, we also review a £200 laptop, by the task ahead and use that as a reason not to start.”
gorgeous Android tablet and a blisteringly fast PC. I won’t, Jess, I won’t. After all, as Huddle’s Alastair
So, as I was saying: they’re all lovely features, but there Mitchell points out, you must ask yourself what regret
may just be one that is more equal than the rest. I talk of will haunt you just before you’re struck by a big red bus.
Nicole Kobie’s inspiring article that digests the wisdom of It’s highly unlikely you’ll congratulate yourself on your
the UK’s most successful tech entrepreneurs and squeezes tea consumption.
it into four pages of pure inspiration.
Perhaps I’m biased. The idea of working for myself,
creating my own business, has long been a siren call. It’s Tim Danton
just one that I’ve dialled down into background noise. Editor-in-chief
Every few months, though, it swells up into a full-grown
wail, because there are just so many benefits. Working for [email protected] @timdanton
CONTRIBUTORS
Ivan Pope 3D printing has Nicole Kobie While Paul Paul Ockenden Enough Nik Rawlinson Got a
grabbed the mainstream extols smart home about smartwatches: webcam gathering dust?
media’s attention, but Ivan benefits, Nicole interviews Paul’s been spending time It might just be the vital
has spent years working a security researcher who with automation gizmos ingredient of your own
out how to create a explains why internet- that have convinced him security camera setup.
business based on 3D connected kettles aren’t smart homes are here to Nik explains how to make
scanning. See p116 such a good idea. See p126 stay. See p113 it work on p50
7
February2016 Issue256 @PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO
EDITORIAL
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Tim Danton: [email protected]
DEPUTY EDITOR
Darien Graham-Smith What piece of
REAL WORLD COMPUTING EDITOR tech would you
Dick Pountain: [email protected]
like for EDITORIAL Tel: 020 7907 6000
BRIEFING & FUTURES EDITOR
Christmas? LETTERS [email protected]
Nicole Kobie
TWITTER @pcpro
REVIEWS EDITOR
FACEBOOK facebook.com/pcpro
Jonathan Bray: [email protected]
SUBSCRIPTION ENQUIRIES 0844 844 0083
ONLINE EDITOR
PC Pro, 30 Cleveland Street, London W1T 4JD
David Court “A pro-quality 27in monitor, Dennis Publishing Ltd.
ONLINE TEAM please – the Eizo ColorEdge
Ian Betteridge, Vaughn Highfield, Alan Martin, CG277 will do nicely.” GROUP MANAGING DIRECTOR Ian Westwood
Thomas McMullan, Curtis Moldrich, Sasha Muller
MANAGING DIRECTOR John Garewal
ART & PRODUCTION DIRECTOR OF ADVERTISING Julian Lloyd-Evans
ART EDITOR FINANCE DIRECTOR Brett Reynolds
Paul Duggan “A self-driving car. It’s got GROUP FINANCE DIRECTOR Ian Leggett
FREELANCE DESIGN to be safer than my own CHIEF EXECUTIVE James Tye
Bill Bagnall, Sarah Ratcliffe bleary efforts behind COMPANY FOUNDER Felix Dennis
PRODUCTION EDITOR the wheel.”
Monica Horridge PRODUCTION & DISTRIBUTION
SUB-EDITORS Printed by BGP. Distributed by Seymour Distribution, 2 East
Max Figgett, Vincent Forrester Poultry Avenue, London EC1A 9PT. Tel: 020 7429 4000. PC Pro is
published monthly by Dennis Publishing Limited. Company
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS “An iPad Pro. At last Apple registered in England, number 1138891.
Tom Arah, Steve Cassidy, Barry Collins, has made the iPad I’ve
Jon Honeyball, Dave Mitchell, Mark Newton, always wanted.” COPYRIGHT
Paul Ockenden, Kevin Partner, © Dennis Publishing Limited. PC Pro is a trademark of Felix Dennis.
Nik Rawlinson, Davey Winder This publication may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form
in whole or in part without the written permission of
CONTRIBUTORS
the publishers.
Stuart Andrews, Tom Morgan, David Phelan,
“A new Kindle to replace
Ivan Pope, Dave Stevenson
the one I’ve had for the SUBSCRIPTIONS
past six years. The best Price: UK £49.99; Europe £70; Rest of World £90. Visit
PHOTOGRAPHY & PRE-PRESS
bang for buck I’ve ever dennismags.co.uk/pcpro for our best offers. To renew a
Danny Bird, Henry Carter,
had from a piece subscription, change an address or report any problems, visit
Phil Dawson, Jenni Leskinen,
of tech.” subsinfo.co.uk
Russ Nicholas, James Walker
LIABILITY
ADVERTISING TEL: 020 7907 6662
While every care has been taken in the preparation of this
FAX: 020 7907 6600
magazine, the publishers cannot be held responsible for the
SENIOR ADVERTISING MANAGER
“A fuel cell battery to accuracy of the information herein, or any consequence arising
Ben Topp: [email protected]
recharge my devices – from it. Please note that all judgements have been made in the
SALES EXECUTIVE
but a good one context of equipment available to PC Pro at time of review, and
Jessica Quinney: [email protected]
that works.” that “value for money” comments are based on UK prices at the
GROUP AGENCY DIRECTOR
time of review, which are subject to fluctuation and are only
Paul Lazarra: [email protected]
applicable to the UK market.
BRAND DIRECTOR (TECHNOLOGY DIVISION)
Julie Price: [email protected]
SYNDICATION & INTERNATIONAL LICENSING
GROUP AGENCY MANAGER
PC Pro is available for licensing overseas. Licensing contact:
Hannah Dickinson: [email protected]
“A jetpack, because Nicole Adams, [email protected],+44 20 7907 6134.
STRATEGIC AD MANAGER (DIGITAL)
50 years ago they Reprints and syndication: Wright’s Media, 0800 051 8327
Matthew Sullivan-Pond: 001 646 717 9555
promised that I’d have (toll-free).
[email protected]
one by now.”
AD PRODUCTION TEL: 020 7907 6055
GROUP PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Robin Ryan
DIGITAL PRODUCTION MANAGER Nicky Baker
PRODUCTION CONTROLLER Anisha Mogra
“A smartwatch that I’d
CIRCULATION & SUBSCRIPTIONS want to wear...”
Tel: 0844 844 0083 [email protected]
CIRCULATION MANAGER Emma Read CERTIFIED DISTRIBUTION
NEWSTRADE DIRECTOR David Barker 31,176 (Jan-Dec 2014)
SOFTWARE DOWNLOAD TECHNICAL SUPPORT

[email protected] “Same as ‘Last Christmas’,
another Sonos speaker,
REPRINTS TEL: 020 7907 6625 because I can’t think of
Ben Topp: [email protected] anything worse than a
‘Silent Night’.”
8
Briefıng
Slug Sectionhead
Background and analysis on all the important news stories
The future of the PC market The new Snoopers’ Charter PC Probe

2016 could see more PC makers What does the draft bill mean Are tablets heading the
shutting their doors p12 for you and your business? p14 same way as netbooks? p16
WillISIS turntohacking?
The government has doubled its online security fund to prevent infrastructure
cture
attacks from terrorists – and it’s getting help from Anonymous
ABOVE Sean Sullivan is an analyst at

Finnish security company F-Secure
That doesn’t mean that the

militants training in Syria and
Iraq are learning the finer points
of network penetration, though.
“ISIS almost certainly doesn’t have
the ability to hack critical systems,”
Sullivan said. “But they might not
need to when they can instead
phish somebody with access.”
As with any terrorism campaign,
SHOULD WE BE scared of ISIS when Could cyberterrorism really be as ABOVE It’s unlikely it’s an asymmetrical fight. ISIS only
surfing the web? Chancellor dangerous as Osborne predicts? “I’d that Anonymous needs to get lucky once to succeed,
George Osborne warned in a like to say no,” said Sean Sullivan, an will be able to do meaning that “it’s difficult to say
speech that ISIS terrorists are analyst for the security company ISIS any real harm what the government can really do,”
developing the hacking skills to F-Secure. “Unfortunately, there are said Sullivan. However, he added it
attack hospitals, air-traffic control numerous control systems online “does seem to be a mistake to allow
and other key infrastructure. that probably shouldn’t be.” ISIS to go unchallenged” online.
He told parliament that “the Sullivan suggests that Western
stakes could hardly be higher” as governments should be fighting back
he announced the government against the terrorists. “Propaganda
was doubling its online security accounts have probably been useful
crime- fighting fund to £1.9 billion until this point for intelligence
over the next five years. “If our analysis,but now it would seem
electricity supply, or our air-traffic to make greater sense to attempt
control, or our hospitals were takedowns [of Twitter accounts
successfully attacked online, the and the like],” he said. “Allowing
impact could be measured not just ISIS to continue to have an online
in terms of economic damage but presence plays into its hands.”
of lives lost,” Osborne warned.
“They do not yet have that ■ Anonymous battle
capability,” he said of the terrorist The government isn’t the only
group. “But we know they want it, organisation planning to tackle
and are doing their best to build it.” ISIS online: the loose collection of
10
@PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Briefing News
It’s possible that Five

Anonymous could end stories
up doing themselves not to
more damage than
the terrorists miss
hackers and digital troublemakers
known as Anonymous pledged 3Google’s driverless car
to attack the terrorists’ online pulled over by police
presence, saying it was “at war” CaliforniapolicepulledoverGoogle’stest
after the horror unleashed on the autonomousvehiclefordrivingtooslowly.
streets of Paris in November. Thecarsarelimitedto25mphwhilethey’re
Sullivan isn’t convinced that the beingtrialled,unbeknowntotheMountain
hackers can do ISIS any significant ViewPoliceDepartmentofficer.TheGoogle
harm. “Anonymous has published carwasletoffwithoutaticket,preserving
‘hacking’ instructions – information thespotlessrecordofGoogle’sfleetof
that amounts to little more than 1 Sky warns on porn self-drivingvehicles.
how to search for and report on extortion letters
propaganda reports,” he explained. Skycustomersmayreceiveademandfor
“It will be an endless game of moneyfromrightsfirmGoldenEyefor 4 Leaksuggests
whack-a-mole.” illegallydownloadingpornography,and Samsungmakinga
It’s possible that Anonymous theISPhaswarneduserstoreadtheletters smartflipphone
members could actually end up carefully.GoldenEyehasacourtorderto Rememberflipphones?They
doing themselves more damage getdetailsofSkyusersandaskforpayments, maybemakingacomeback.
than the terrorists. Junaid Hussain, similartoprevious“speculativeinvoicing” LeakedphotossuggestSamsung
a former teen hacker from rival cases–noneofwhichmadeittocourt. ismakingaclamshellmodel
group TeaMp0isoN, served six basedontheGalaxyS6,possibly
months in prison for hacking into withdualdisplays.Ifthatsounds
the address book of Tony Blair. likeasurprisingthrowbackto
Last year, with “nothing to lose”, 2005,it’sactuallynotthefirst
he travelled to Syria to join ISIS flipphoneSamsung’smadein
and was killed this August by a BELOW George therecentpast–itreleaseda
US drone strike. Osborne warned similarmodelinKoreaover
“UK officials would serve the that ISIS are thesummer.
public better if they were to use learning to hack
the criminal
justice system 5 Sky reinvents
to reform 2Microsoftreleases on-demand
and recruit Threshold2forWindows10 with Q
‘hacking’ Windows10hasreceiveditsfirstmajor Skyunveiledthelong-
talent update,dubbedThreshold2,promisinga awaitedsuccessorto
rather than performanceboost,afreshversionofthe Sky+.TheQsystemincludesaset-topbox
to punish Edgebrowserandhandwritingrecognition thatcanrecorduptofourprogrammes
and isolate,” forCortana.However,thoseinstallingthe simultaneouslyat4Kresolution;extenders
Sullivan said. upgradereportedglitches,withsomeusers thatbeamrecordedcontenttootherTVsin
“It would reportingthattheprocessstallshalfway thehomeandboostWi-Ficoverage;andthe
cost far less throughondevicesthathaveanSDcard abilitytowatchrecordedshowsontablets
money.” intheslot. andphoneswhenawayfromhome.
THE RESULTS SPEAK

FOR THEMSELVES
11
PredictingthefutureofthePCmarket
Computer sales continue to slide. While 2016 may see a rebound,
it may also see more PC manufacturers shutting their doors
PC shipments Others Apple HP

Two of the top ten PC makers will close in the next 100,000
Acer Dell Lenovo
two years. That’s the prediction from IDC analyst
Tom Mainelli, and while we’ll have to wait and see
if his forecast is accurate, there’s no question that 75,000
the PC market is struggling.
Windows 10 hasn’t helped much, as most users
simply installed the free upgrade rather than shelling
out for new hardware.
50,000
While the top four manufacturers all saw their
sales slide last year, Mainelli predicted that the two
manufacturers to suffer would be further down the 25,000
rankings – ominous for the likes of Acer, Toshiba
and Samsung. Indeed, the latter has already stopped
selling laptops in Europe, while in 2014 Toshiba 0
said it would “withdraw from unprofitable markets”. Q3/13 Q3/14 Q3/15
The future of Acer look hard to see why, though. While However, Mainelli made it clear his
Acer will be feeling the slight from Mainelli’s founder Stan Shih told Chinese newspapers prediction doesn’t include acquisitions,
comments: it’s the fifth-ranked PC seller, that “Acer will not by any means exit from as the top-ranked PC makers don’t gain
so his prediction that the top four would the market”, he has previously suggested much from buying anyone from the
survive is pretty damning. You need not the firm would “welcome” a takeover bid. bottom of the list. Again, ouch.
Q4/13
Q1/14
Q2/14
Q3/14
Q4/14
Q1/15
Revenue converted
Q2/15 to pounds
Net profit
Q3/15
-£500m £0m £500m £1bn £1.5bn £2bn £2.5bn £3bn
Stable sales Predicted PC sales Sales divide between

None of this means the PC mature and emerging
market is dying, merely Desktops
settling into middle age.
Laptops Emerging markets
PC sales will essentially
be flat over the next five Mature markets
years, IDC predicts, with
300
laptop sales growing by
1.2% and desktop sales
PC shipments (in millions, predicted)
250
sliding by 0.6%.
Desktops will see
200
stronger sales in emerging
47%
markets than elsewhere,
150
while laptop will still
be favoured by those in
mature markets, which
suggests a decision to
100
53%
50
stop selling desktops in
over-saturated developed
0
regions may not be the 2015 2016
worst call for troubled
PC makers.
12
@PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Briefing News
Whatis... AnywhereSIM?
How can Anywhere offer national
roaming if the big players are against it?
The clever folks at Anywhere have teamed
up with Manx Telecom from the Isle of Man.
The UK is covered in mobile not-spots, but one mobile virtual It’s an MVNO using O2’s network, but it also
network operator has stepped up with a solution has roaming deals with EE and Vodafone.
Why isn’t anyone else doing this? We

could all have improved coverage if only
the big providers would allow it, but in
the meantime there are other options.
Telecoms firm Jump, from 24 Seven,
offers a national roaming service to
businesses and is planning a consumer
launch soon, while UK ISP Andrews & Arnold
has an MVNO that uses O2, but can offer
national roaming via a deal with Vodafone
in the Netherlands.
Anywhere can roam What’s the cost?

across the EU, and the If you want the
coverage offered
company is promising by national roaming,
that it will soon work you’ll have to pay for
it. Anywhere has three
beyond Europe, too main plans, all offered
pay-as-you-go with no
Live in a rural area or in a solidly built Unlike EE, Anywhere is a mobile virtual set plans. The Anywhere Home SIM lets you
house in the middle of the city? Then network operator (MVNO). That means it receive calls from any available network, but
you probably know the pain of mobile piggybacks on other networks, using their everything else is done over O2. Calls cost 5p
not-spots – when lack of coverage means infrastructure to offer mobile services. per minute and data 5p per megabyte.
dropped calls and no mobile broadband. Anywhere is hardly the first: Tesco Mobile, The Anywhere UK SIM includes
However, there’s a secret that mobile Giffgaff and other discount operators are national roaming for 10p-per-minute calls
operators don’t want you to know: they all MVNOs. and 10p/MB data, while the top-tier option
could easily allow you to hop onto a rival’s with European roaming included costs 12p
network to get coverage. That’s called So this is another Giffgaff? There’s one per minute for calls and 10p/MB for data.
national roaming, and the government big difference. While Giffgaff uses O2’s Those charges are all more than other
last year attempted (and failed) to force infrastructure, Anywhere uses the networks MVNOs – Giffgaff has a £10 SIM that
the big operators to allow that on 2G of three different operators – O2, Vodafone includes 500 UK minutes and 1GB of
networks. Thankfully, a new player and EE – giving users a wider range of data. Anywhere has said that a
has stepped in with its own solution. coverage. Your phone will automatically pay-monthly option will be available
Here’s how the Anywhere SIM could switch to the network with the later this year, and users will have
help solve your coverage woes. strongest signal, although it the option to upgrade to such
can’t switch midway through a plan for free. You can buy
Anywhere SIM? Sounds a bit like a call – you’ll have to hang a SIM from the website at
Everything Everywhere. The 4G tie-up up and redial if you anywheresim.com.
between T-Mobile and Orange was indeed wander into a
known as Everything Everywhere before low-coverage area. It What’s the catch? The biggest
rebranding as EE, but that’s where the can also roam across “gotcha” is no 4G data, only 3G.
similarities end – and we don’t expect the EU, and the company Although given this is for people in weak
Anywhere to rename itself “A” any time is promising it will soon reception areas, access to 4G is likely to be
soon, either. work beyond Europe, too. limited in those regions anyway.
The results speak for themselves

Independent tests are based on
comparisons with competitive
laser printers
epson.co.uk/workforcepro
FASTER
PRINTING WITH
WORKFORCE PRO
For more information visit www.epson.eu/inkjetsaving
13
Snoopers’Charter: what it means
for your business and broadband bill
The government has unveiled a draft of the Investigatory Powers Bill. Nicole Kobie reveals
what it means for you – and the changes its critics hope take place before it becomes law
IT ’ S BACK : the so-called Snoopers’ It also introduces measures to ABOVE The laws Group, noted another key difference.
Charter has returned, this time in the allow authorities to hack computers, proposed by the “Some of the contentious proposals
form of the Investigatory Powers Bill, bug phones, and require companies government would from the CDB are not included, for
giving security services the power to to help them do so. For the first time, require ISPs to example, forcing communication
force backdoors into tech companies’ the bill also includes a commissioner log all of the sites service providers to collect third-
encryption, sift through our web- for oversight, with some aspects we visit party data,” he told PC Pro. “However,
browsing logs and hack targets. requiring judicial approval. it would oblige telecoms companies
The bill is only a draft and could and ISPs to collect data about the
be subject to many amendments ■ What’s different from websites their customers visit and
before it becomes law, but this time the previous version of keep it for a year. The police could
the Liberal Democrats no longer have the Snoopers’ Charter? access this data through a filter,
the requisite number of MPs to block Dr Paul Bernal, lecturer which was one of the proposals
the bill’s progress, as they did last time in IT and media at the in the CDB.”
in coalition. Here’s the lowdown on University of East Anglia
glia
the potential impact of the legislation School of Law, told PC Pro ■ Should we be
as it stands. that the new bill is moree concerned?
“comprehensive” than Website logging has
Web
■ What does the bill include? the previous version, raised the most concerns.
rai
If passed, these laws would require the Communications “Keeping a record of the
“Ke
internet service providers (ISPs) to Data Bill (CDB), with websites that everyone has
web
log every website Britons visit, as the notable additions visited is an unprecedented
vis
well as collecting communications including “equipment step,” said Killock. “It
ste
metadata (such as who you Direct interference” – which doesn’t happen in the US or
doe
Message on Twitter), but not the is the government’s any EU or Commonwealth
actual content of the messages. “euphemism for country, and we don’t think
cou
ISPs would then be required to hacking” – and bulk should happen in the UK.
it sho
share this data with the security data collection. We would like to see these
services as part of an investigation Jim Killock, proposals dropped.”
pro
concerning national security or executive director Bernal agreed. “Our
Ber
serious crime. of the Open Rights browsing history really
browsi
14
@PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Briefing Snoopers’Charter
should remain private unless there’s sure that their encryption doesn’t
a very good and specific reason to have hidden holes.
collect it,” said Bernal. “The risks
here are huge and not properly ■ What will my
admitted: this is nothing like the business have to do?
‘itemised phone bill’ mentioned by Nothing, hopefully. Under the
[home secretary] Theresa May at plans, the government could ask
all, but a record of pretty much you to take measures to make data
our entire online life.” available, but there’s no blanket
Nigel Hawthorn, marketing requirement unless you’re an ISP.
director of cloud security firm Other than that, Hawthorn said he
Skyhigh Networks, noted that this doesn’t “see it having a huge impact”.
data could leave us less safe. “My He added: “The bill will only affect a
greatest concern with the draft bill is really small percentage of UK tech
that logging internet traffic could act companies and nominally so.”
as a honeypot to criminals trying to
find information that can be used for ■ Will my broadband
extortion,” he told PC Pro. “The recent bills increase?
TalkTalk hack shows that ISPs don’t ABOVE Encryption authorisation. Judicial authorisation Yes, according to ISPs themselves.
always have the best data security, won’t be banned needs to be much more rigorous.” The government has budgeted
and a worrying, albeit unintended, by the bill, and £175 million to pay for storing
consequence of the bill could be backdoors won’t be ■ What does it mean communications and browsing
that more public data falls into the placed in software for encryption? data, but ISPs told a parliamentary
wrong hands.” Encryption isn’t explicitly banned, committee that the total bill would
which many were expecting. “I’m be much higher – and reflected in
■ What’s the good news? pleased that the trailed attack on broadband bills.
However, Bernal said that the bill encryption or the placing of backdoors Matthew Hare, CEO of broadband
isn’t “irredeemable”. Although there into software is not part of the bill,” provider Gigaclear, told MPs that a
are changes he’d make, one benefit said Hawthorn. “Many in the tech typical gigabit connection passes 15TB
of the bill is the “acknowledgement, industry feared the worst, and it’s of data per year. The content must be
at least to an extent, of what they good to see that the government sifted from the so-called metadata,
are doing”. listened to input which then needs to be secured and
Increased oversight – with a
commissioner tracking surveillance Logging internet on this matter.”
However,
stored. “The indiscriminate collection
of mass data is going to have a massive
and data requests, and the new
requirement for judicial review –
traffic could act as a there are still
sections of the
cost,” he said.
is an improvement over previous honeypot to criminals bill that could ■ What can I do to prevent
versions of the Snoopers’ Charter.
trying to find data to force companies the bill from passing?
While it’s a start, Killock believes to provide Submissions to the government’s
that these oversight controls should use for extortion access to data Science and Technology Committee
be even tougher. “The home secretary on a case-by- closed in November, but you can
[Theresa May] claimed that the bill case basis. “The bill asks for powers to still influence the Investigatory
will introduce judicial authorisation compel communications providers to Powers Bill by writing to your MP
to some surveillance warrants, which assist with demands for interception,” or supporting activists such as the
would mean sign-off by a secretary said Killock. “In some cases this might Open Rights Group. The bill is in the
of state and a judicial commissioner,” involve compromising their software draft stage, so the government expects
he said, rather than simply requiring to make the encryption less effective. to make changes as it’s debated next
May’s approval, as is currently the This is something that we’re sure year, before coming into force in 2017.
case. “However, in reality, the judicial companies will be looking into.” “The bill will change the relationship
94
commissioner would only be signing Any company that receives such a between the state and its citizens for
off on the process, not on whether warrant would be unable to disclose the next generation – it’s vital that we
surveillance is justified. This, in it, meaning it could become difficult scrutinise these powers thoroughly,”
effect, would be a rubber stamp, not to trust your service provider or be Killock added.

laser printers
%
REDUCTION IN WASTE
WITH WORKFORCE PRO
15
PCProbe
Tabletcrash:
whatwill
happennext
Tablet sales have been in decline for some time. Are
re slates
heading the same way as netbooks? Stuart Andrews ws investigates
T
here’s no doubt that tablet sales are now in the brought in the stylus with the Galaxy Note. Processors
doldrums. Recent research from IDC claims that moved on from dual-core processors with a basic GPU to
tablet sales have fallen 7% between the second quad-core and octa-core processors with the kind of GPU
quarter of 2014 and the same period this year. That statistic that could have powered a last-generation games console.
is echoed by research from Forrester that suggests the However, tablet innovation has now stalled. Screens
global tablet market has plateaued. Furthermore, a July can’t reach higher resolutions without getting bigger or
report from ABI Research puts tablet sales in the first the differences becoming imperceptible. The battery size
quarter of 2015 down 13% on sales in Q1 2014. and need for strong construction make it impossible to
The two market leaders, Apple and Samsung, are become noticeably thinner or lighter. Features such as a
struggling most: iPad sales are down 17.9% and Samsung stylus or split-screen app view are useful to some, but
tablet sales down 12%, according to IDC. ABI says the big irrelevant to others. While new processors with even more
boys are being hit even harder than that, claiming a 23% powerful GPUs are coming on line, there’s a dearth of
decline for iPads and a 30% decline for Samsung. On the software that really makes use of them. You need high-
other hand, some of the smaller players are growing. performance GPUs to play the next Infinity Blade, Dead
Tablets from Lenovo, LG and Huawei are all doing well Trigger 2 or Real Racing 3, but tablet users are primarily
by competing hard on price. casual gamers, more interested in the next Angry Birds
That said,the signs are worrying. Is the tablet dying, or Clash of Clans. These don’t require new hardware.
or is the hype just dying down, leaving the tablet to find As JP Gownder says in Forrester’s “Global Tablet
its natural level? Forecast 2015 to 2018”: “The iPad Air 2 compares
favourably to earlier generations of iPads: it’s thinner,
■ Why are tablets struggling? lighter, has a better battery life and boasts a somewhat
When the iPad emerged in 2010, tablets were widely faster Wi-Fi connection, but are these incremental features
seen as the disruptive force that would herald a post-PC enough to entice buyers to spend $499 to $829 to replace a
world. By 2011, analysts from Gartner, Forrester and IDC still-functional older iPad?”
predicted massive sales, with the more excitable ones Hubert Joly, CEO of the US electronics chain Best
predicting that tablet sales would eclipse laptop sales by Buy, made the same point in a recent interview: “The
2015. However, while PC sales remain weak, tablet sales issue has been that, once you have a tablet of a certain
have since fallen into decline. Apple’s earnings call for generation, it isn’t clear that you have to move on to
fiscal Q3 2015 showed that the revenue from the iPad the next generation.” That leads us on neatly to our
business was lower than revenue from the Mac business – next factor.
the first quarter in several years where this was the case.
So why has the tablet seemingly fizzled out? 2 Users aren’t replacing tablets
Analysts generally put it down to three core factors. That’s partly because there’s no compelling reason to
upgrade, and partly because tablets are so robust. A
1 Innovation has stalled tablet’s product lifetime seems
For the first few years after the iPad arrived, manufacturers New processors have to be much longer than that of
went into overdrive in an attempt to outdo the competition a smartphone. This was a point
with new designs, high-performance components and more powerful GPUs, made by Apple CEO Tim Cook in
features. Apple, Samsung, Sony and Amazon brought
Retina or Full HD screens into play. Devices became
but there’s a dearth of an earnings call this summer: “The
upgrade cycle is longer,” he said of
slimmer, with the iPad thinning from 13mm to 7.4mm
with the iPad Air. Microsoft’s Surface and Surface Pro
software that makes the iPad. “It’s longer than an iPhone,
probably between an iPhone and a
had click-in keyboards and kickstands, while Samsung the most of them PC. We haven’t been in business
16
@PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Briefing PCProbe
long enough to say that with certainty, but that’s

what we think.”
thin Gartner research director
Ranjit Atwal concurs: “The lifetime
of tablets
tab is being extended – they are
sha
shared out among family members –
and software upgrades, especially for ABOVE
ABO VE Google’s
Google
Google’s
gle’s ■ Reasons to be cheerful
iOS devices, keep the tablets current,” Project
Projec
Pro jectt Tang
Tango
Tango It seems that tablets have little chance against this
he said
sai in a recent report. could help triple threat, but that doesn’t mean that they’re in
revitalise the terminal decline either. Longer refresh cycles might
3 They’re under
unde pressure from phablets tablet market mean lower sales, but consumers are still using their
Just about everyone
e agrees that tablets are struggling to tablets and may one day want to replace them. They
compete with big-screen phones, and that 7-8in devices continue to be a hit with families, too – no other device
are particularly
particul affected. After all, if you’re packing a BELOW Battery is as handy, accessible and inexpensive enough to share
Samsung G Galaxy Note 4, an iPhone 6 Plus or a Google size and the with your kids.
Nexus 6, where’s
whe the value in carrying around a slightly need for strong What’s more, tablet use is growing in the business
larger tablet
table too? “Users of tablets with a screen size construction sector. Forrester’s research shows that more than
between seve
seven and eight inches are increasingly not make it difficult for half of employees are now using tablets for business at
replacing their
th devices,” suggested Gartner research tablets to go lighter least once a week, often in those situations – while in
director Annette
Ann Zimmerman. transit, standing, or for specific workflows – where
In fact, a June 2015 Gartner a laptop isn’t such a good fit. And while these
survey found that 44% of current workers are bringing their own devices to work under
tablet users were planning to so-called Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) schemes,
substitute their tablets with company-purchased tablets are making up an increasing
another device. portion of the market. Expect to see this accelerated by the
“A consumer growth of business-class devices, which was kickstarted
owning a large by Microsoft with the Surface Pro, but has now been
smartphone adopted by manufacturers such as Apple, HP, Dell and
wouldn’t see the Samsung. Despite bigger screens and multitasking
point in renewing capabilities, these are still tablets, but the addition of
or purchasing a clip-on keyboards or a stylus makes them more versatile
slightly larger device productivity devices.
with very similar Innovation also has a part to play. We may have seen
functionalities,” all the tablet can offer in terms of screen resolution
said IDC analyst and physical design, but there’s still potential for
Marta Fiorentini. new power-hungry applications to come along, while
“In fact, smartphones 3D depth-sensing technologies, such as Intel’s RealSense
have additional voice cameras and Google’s Project Tango, could revitalise
capabilities and interest in tablets. The hype might be dying down,
sometimes better but the tablet isn’t dead. It’s no laptop killer, but it
cameras or resolution.” has its own niche to fill.
96
laser printers
SAVED ON ENERGY
CONSUMPTION WITH
WORKFORCE PRO
17
TheA-List The ultimate guide to the very best
products on the market today
LAPTOPS SMARTPHONES
Apple MacBook Pro 13in with Retina display Samsung Galaxy S6
2015 model, from £999 Android, 32GB, free phone,
apple.com/uk £25/mth, 24mths
With its innovative Force Touch uswitch.com
trackpad, Broadwell processors and With the Galaxy S6, Samsung has
the same excellent Retina screen, the finally created a phone as beautiful as it
MacBook Pro is better than ever. It’s is capable. Superb performance, a nigh on
fast, with superior battery life to the perfect display and an astonishingly good
previous generation, and that trackpad camera provide the perfect foil to the most
improves all-round usability. attractive Samsung handset yet.
REVIEW: pcpro.link/almacp15 REVIEW: pcpro.link/algals6
ALTERNATIVES ALTERNATIVES
Asus Zenbook Asus C201 HP Stream 11 Google Sony Xperia Z5 Apple iPhone 6s
UX303LA Chromebook Good looking, well built Nexus 5X Compact Enthusiasts should
and equipped with a An ugly duckling but If you can cope with a upgrade for 3D Touch
The latest Broadwell Core
It has weak points – the decent display, the petite brilliant where it “mere” 4.6in screen, this alone, with extra speed
i7 and a quality screen
screen is okay rather than Stream 11 is as good as it matters: speed, camera, speedy, slender phone and durability as a
make this Ultrabook both
great – but the C201 is ideal gets for the money. £179; and the latest Android has it all. From free, £25/ bonus. 64GB, from
desirable and great value.
for life on the move thanks hp.co.uk REVIEW: 6 action. £339; store. mth, 24mths; uswitch. £60, £39/mth, 24mths;
£734; handtec.co.uk
to its outstanding 12-hour pcpro.link/alhp11 google.com REVIEW: com REVIEW: pcpro. uswitch.com REVIEW:
REVIEW: pcpro.link/
battery life. £200; currys. pcpro.link/alnexus5x link/alsonyZ5 pcpro.link/alapple6s
alzb303
co.uk REVIEW: see p64
TABLETS PCS
Apple iPad Air 2 Yoyotech Warbird RS10
9.7in tablet, 64GB, £479 Base unit, £600
apple.com/uk yoyotech.co.uk
Even faster, even lighter and just as This PC offers serious power,
pretty as ever – the iPad Air 2 takes thanks to an Intel Skylake Core i5
everything that made the original processor overclocked to 4.4GHz,
great and improves upon it. Updated 8GB of DDR4 RAM and a GTX 960
cameras and the arrival of Touch ID are graphics card. Despite this power,
welcome upgrades. Its only real rival it’s quiet in use. An extra £100 will
is the original 32GB iPad Air, now buy a 22in monitor and Zalman
discounted to a tempting £359. mouse/keyboard combo.
REVIEW: pcpro.link/alipair REVIEW: pcpro.link/alwarbird
ALTERNATIVES ALTERNATIVES
Samsung Galaxy Apple iPad Pro Apple iPad Apple iMac Apple iMac Chillblast
Tab S2 8in mini 2 21.5in 27in with Retina Fusion Krypton
Fast, slim and with a The price is hard to A price drop due to the A classy all-in-one with 5K display
gorgeous 8in display, the swallow, but you’re iPad mini 4’s arrival a compact frame, ample A new and revamped Eye-catching design
Galaxy Tab S2 is as good getting so much more makes this old-timer power and a colour- specification improves is matched with speed,
as compact tablets get. than a tablet. It’s fast, more attractive than accurate screen. From Apple’s stunning all-in-one. with the GTX 970 card
£360; handtec.co.uk beautiful and versatile. ever. 16GB, £219; apple. £899; apple.com/uk From £1,599; apple.com/ a superfast star.
REVIEW: pcpro.link/ 32GB, £679; apple.com/ com/uk REVIEW: REVIEW: pcpro.link/ uk REVIEW: pcpro.link/ £916; chillblast.com
alsgts2 uk REVIEW: see p56 pcpro.link/almini2 alimac215 alretina REVIEW: see p62
18
@PCPRO FAC E B O O K . C O M / P C P R O Briefing Bestbuys
MONITORS
Asus PB287Q Eizo ColorEdge CS240
Eizo ticks almost every box
AOC Q2770Pqu
A feature-packed, 27in 2,560
Premium monitor, £360 with the 24.1in, 1,920 x 1,200 x 1,440 display offering a huge
dabs.com ColorEdge CS240. With a highly workspace, an adjustable stand,
colour-accurate IPS screen, a four-port USB hub and a
Not so long ago, a 4K display for less than it’s the first truly professional- three-year warranty. Super PLS
£500 was unimaginable. Asus delivers class monitor we’ve seen at technology gives great viewing
exactly that: a razor-sharp image on a anywhere near this price. angles too. At this price, it’s
28in panel at a very reasonable price. £462; wexphotographic.com a steal. £310; dabs.com
REVIEW: pcpro.link/alpb287q REVIEW: pcpro.link/alcs240 REVIEW: pcpro.link/alq2770
PRINTERS
Canon Pixma MG6450 Canon Pixma

iP8750
Epson Expression
Photo XP-950
All-in-one inkjet printer, £113 Canon’s mid-range inkjet is ideal for Epson’s high-end inkjet all-in-one
printerbase.co.uk anyone with a fancy for prints larger is a fantastic all-rounder for the
than the usual A4. It can print photos enthusiast photographer. It combines
The MG6450 inherits its predecessor’s at up to A3+ in size, and its six-ink high-quality prints with a decent
status as PC Pro’s favourite inkjet cartridges produce immaculate scanner, a great touch interface and
all-in-one, offering high-quality photographs, yet the price isn’t the ability to output photos at up to A3
output at a very reasonable price. extortionate. £200; currys.co.uk in size. £240; parkcameras.com
REVIEW: pcpro.link/almg6450 REVIEW: pcpro.link/alip8750 REVIEW: pcpro.link/alxp950
ROUTERS
Netgear Nighthawk X4S Synology RT1900ac Netgear Nighthawk
AC1900 Extender
802.11ac router, £270 Until now, Synology was known for its The most powerful wireless
broadbandbuyer.co.uk NAS drives, but this 802.11ac router extender on the market, Netgear’s
suggests it may become a major Nighthawk marries five Gigabit
In return for that staggering price, you’re getting player here too. Not only fast, easy to networking ports with fast,
top-end performance, today and in the future – use and packed with features, it also dual-band 802.11ac support and
thanks to support for multi-user MIMO. Bags comes at a price that undercuts rivals a host of features.
of advanced features only add to its attractions. by up to £50. £115; synology.com/uk £110; currys.co.uk
REVIEW: see p86 REVIEW: see p87 REVIEW: pcpro.link/alngex7000
HOME NETWORKING
Synology DiskStation DS215+ Qnap TS-453mini

Superb performance and a
Google Chromecast 2
Network-attached storage, £257 decent range of media and Google’s TV streaming device has
server features – including been improved, finally adding support
amazon.co.uk an HDMI output – make this for 5GHz Wi-Fi. At only £30, it’s a
A versatile dual-bay NAS with great support four-bay NAS drive a great choice no-brainer for anyone looking to
for cloud services, dual USB 3 ports and our for both home and business. beam video from their Android
favourite web-based management interface. £409; ebuyer.com device to their TV.
It’s speedy and packs a lot into a compact unit. REVIEW: pcpro.link/alts453mini £30; play.google.com
REVIEW: pcpro.link/alds215plus REVIEW: pcpro.link/alccast2
WEARABLES
Huawei Watch Apple Watch Sport
The slickest smartwatch experience
Pebble Time
A fun, practical watch that works
Smartwatch, £289 there is, thanks partly to the unique with both Android and iOS. App
scroll-wheel interface and advanced support is comparatively limited,
huawei.com/uk
haptic features. The weakness is but all the fundamentals are covered,
Android watches are gaining in number and class, battery life – expect to charge it and the colour e-paper screen helps
as this excellent debutant from Huawei shows. Its every night – and even the low-end the Time achieve five days of battery
super-bright AMOLED display is the star turn, but it’s Sport model doesn’t come cheap. life. £180, firebox.com
backed up by classy touches throughout. £299, apple.com/uk REVIEW: REVIEW: pcpro.link/alpebble
REVIEW: see p71 pcpro.link/alapplew
19
Briefing Bestbuys @PCPRO FAC E B O O K . C O M / P C P R O
SECURITY SOFTWARE PRODUCTIVITY SOFTWARE CREATIVITY SOFTWARE

Kaspersky Internet Security 2015 Microsoft Office 2016 Adobe Creative Cloud
Another year, another We’ll be honest: there’s very The licensing model won’t suit everyone,
excellent performance little here for anyone upgrading but Adobe’s suite of creative tools keeps
for this super-secure, from Office 2013. However, this getting better, covering everything from
lightweight and unobtrusive security suite. is still the best office suite for professional. photo and video editing to web development.
3 PCs/1yr, £35; store.pcpro.co.uk From £120; office.microsoft.com Complete plan, £46/mth; adobe.com
REVIEW: pcpro.link/alkasis15 REVIEW: pcpro.link/aloffice16 REVIEW: pcpro.link/alcc15
Avast Free Norton Security LibreOffice 5 Scrivener Adobe Steinberg

Antivirus 2015 The interface looks A brilliant package for Photoshop Cubase Pro 8
Still the best free A venerable name in a little dated, and the serious writers: not Elements 14 A big bump in
antivirus, although security, Norton provides lack of collaboration only a word processor, Despite few new performance and
others are catching excellent protection and features is a shame. but a tool that helps you features, this is still the a handful of UI
up. It offers dependable covers up to five devices, But interoperability organise your ideas and best home image-editing improvements keep
protection – and it including laptops, tablets with Word and Excel is manage the process tool around. Consider Cubase at the top of
doesn’t nag you about and smartphones. better than ever, making of composition from subcribing to Lightroom the audio-production tree.
upgrading. Free; 5 devices/1yr, £25; this a fine upgrade. start to finish. £29; and Photoshop proper A worthwhile upgrade.
avast.com amazon.co.uk Free, libreoffice.org literatureandlatte.com instead, though. £60; £326; dv247.com
REVIEW: pcpro.link/ REVIEW: pcpro.link/ REVIEW: pcpro.link/ REVIEW: pcpro.link/ amazon.co.uk REVIEW: REVIEW: pcpro.link/
alavast15 alnort15 allibre alscrivener pcpro.link/alelem14 alcubasepro8
SERVERS STORAGE APPLIANCES SECURITY

HP ProLiant DL80 Gen9 Qnap TVS-EC1280U-SAS-RP Sophos SG 115w
Massive storage capacity combines with a Hungry for storage? Then take note of this 12-bay A security appliance that gets
high-speed Xeon E5-2600 v3 CPU and a scalable 2U NAS, to which you can connect up to eight disk it right on almost every level.
design to push this HP rack server to the top of the shelves for a total of 140 drives. A 3.5GHz Xeon CPU Easy deployment, a huge range
tree. The price is very reasonable as well. £997 speeds things along. Diskless, £3,556 exc VAT; of features and a tempting
exc VAT; insight.com REVIEW: pcpro.link/alhpdl80 lambda-tek.com REVIEW: pcpro.link/alqnaptvs price make this the perfect
choice for SMBs. With
1yr FullGuard, £809
exc VAT; sophos.com
REVIEW: pcpro.link/
alsophossg
HP ProLiant ML150 Gen9 Synology RackStation RS2416RP+ Sophos Cloud

HP’s compact tower server packs in a huge Built with speed and expansion in mind, this 2U rack User-based policies and slick mobile support make this
range of high-end features, alongside impressive NAS offers a feast of storage features and plenty of a top-class cloud solution. Performance is impressive,
expansion capabilities so it can grow as your expansion potential. It’s good value, despite not arriving too. It’s not the cheapest option, but it’s a pleasure
business does. A great buy. £922 exc VAT; insight.com with disks. Diskless, £1,366 exc VAT; broadbandbuyer. to use. 10 users, £510/yr exc VAT; sophos.com
REVIEW: pcpro.link/alhpplml150 co.uk REVIEW: pcpro.link/alsynology REVIEW: pcpro.link/alscloud
BUSINESS PRINTERS BACKUP NETWORK MANAGEMENT

Epson WorkForce Pro WF-5620DWF Barracuda Backup Server 290 Paessler PRTG Network Monitor 15
Shatters the myth that inkjets are only for A beautifully simple appliance that brings together A network-management solution that’s ideal
low-demand use, delivering fast output on-site and cloud backup. There’s block-level for businesses on a tight budget. Paessler’s PRTG
speeds, low running costs and tons of features. deduplication, extensive support for Windows Network Monitor 15 supports a wide range of
It prints at 20 pages per systems and applications, integral Exchange devices, which are included in the price, and
minute, and quality is MLB, and simple deployment and management. licensing is based purely on sensor count, so there
perfectly acceptable – £4,446 exc VAT; barracuda.com are no hidden costs. An excellent way
it can even print glossy REVIEW: pcpro.link/alserver290 to keep tabs on what’s going on in
photos. £187 exc VAT; your network.
printerland.co.uk 500 sensors, 1yr, £1,017 exc VAT;
REVIEW: pcpro.link/ paessler.com
alwf5620 REVIEW: pcpro.link/alprtg15
HP Color LaserJet Enterprise M553x DataFort Critical Care SolarWinds Orion NPM 11.5
HP’s A4 colour laser offers excellent quality, fast DataFort’s managed backup service takes care of Offers excellent value for money, packing in a
printing and a low-power fuser that slashes the time everything, even bringing up virtual clones of your huge number of monitoring features as standard,
to first page. A 10.9in touchscreen display makes it a systems should disaster strike. Per-server pricing including support for 802.11 wireless access points
delight to use too. £618 exc VAT; printerland.co.uk makes it cost-effective too. One server, £350/mth and virtual machines. 250 elements, £4,110 exc VAT;
REVIEW: pcpro.link/alhpm553x exc VAT; datafort.com REVIEW: pcpro.link/aldatafort solarwinds.com REVIEW: pcpro.link/alnpm115
20
DOMAINS | MAIL | HOSTING | eSHOPS | SERVERS
1&1 CLOUD SERVER
TEST THE TOP PERFORMER
BEST!Easy to use –
ready to go
The 1&1 Cloud Server offers unbeatable
performance in terms of CPUs, RAM
and SSD storage! Implement your
cloud projects with the perfect
combination of flexibility and
powerful features.
Load balancing
SSD storage
Billing by the minute
Intel® Xeon® Processor
E5-2660 v2 and E5-2683 v3
1 month free!
Then from £4.99 per month*
1 TRIAL
TRY FOR
30 DAYS 1 CLICK
UPGRADE OR
DOWNGRADE 1 CALL
SPEAK TO
AN EXPERT
0333 336 5509

* 1&1 Cloud Server 1 month free trial, then from £4.99 per month. No minimum contract period. Prices exclude 20% VAT. Visit 1and1.co.uk
for full offer details, terms and conditions. Intel and the Intel logo are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries.
1&1 Internet Limited, Discovery House, 154 Southgate Street, Gloucester, GL1 2EX.
1and1.co.uk
Profile
BACKGROUND INFO ON INNOVATIVE BRITISH COMPANIES
MEEM
Kelly Sumner helped create some of the biggest
titles in video-game history. Now he wants to make
smartphone backup effortless
T
here are many reasons why people want to be
KEYFACTS a CEO of a startup, but a poor backhand isn’t
IN A NUTSHELL usually one of them. Yet after a career that spanned
MEEM is a startup stints as the head of Commodore UK and running games
company with a companies that produced massive hits such as Guitar
simple solution Hero and Grand Theft Auto, Kelly Sumner realised
for smartphone retirement wasn’t for him.
backups: its “I got bored,” said Sumner, explaining why he’s
charger cables back at the helm of a new company, having twice
include a block come out of retirement – the first when he was still
of flash memory only in his early forties. “I was at home trying to
that automatically play tennis and I wasn’t getting any better.”
backs up the Instead of working on his serve, Sumner ploughed
phone’s data when his energy into mentoring startups. This is how he met an
you’re topping up entrepreneur with an idea he believed was so brilliant that
the battery. It’s he decided to help out and run the company himself. Now,
run by former as the unpaid CEO of MEEM – a phone-charging cable that
games executive, also backs up all of the data on the device – he believes he’s
Kelly Sumner. sitting on another billion-pound opportunity.
LOCATION London ■ Game on

Kelly Sumner certainly doesn’t need the hassle of running game publisher GameTek, which was eventually sold to
FORMED 2013 a startup. He joined Commodore when he was 16 as a Take-Two Interactive.
trainee electronics engineer and worked his way up While Sumner was at Take-Two, he helped put together
STAFF 50 to CEO in 13 rapid years. The Amiga-maker famously a last-minute deal to acquire British games publisher BMG
(worldwide) imploded in the mid-1990s, but Sumner moved on to Interactive, which at that time had a middling games
enjoy even greater success, becoming the CEO of US franchise called Grand Theft Auto on its books. GTA went
WEBSITE on to become an enormous worldwide hit and Sumner
meemmemory.com became Take-Two’s CEO, before retiring early and selling
his shares in the company in 2003.
Sumner soon tired of tennis lessons and returned to the
games industry as non-executive director of RedOctane,
where his team came up with the idea for another seminal
gaming hit: Guitar Hero. He took over as CEO in early
2006, but, just months into his tenure, RedOctane was sold
to Activision and Sumner was looking for a new challenge.
After spending some time living in New York, Sumner
returned to the UK, but decided he couldn’t face another
job in the games industry. “I thought, I’ve played in the
Premier League a couple of times, I don’t really want to
RIGHT The concept is play Sunday League now, and I don’t want the corporate
very simple: a phone- bull****, for want of a better word,” he said. Without
charging cable that any financial need to ever work again, Sumner decided
also backs up all of the to start investing in small companies and mentoring
data on the device entrepreneurs, effectively becoming a “Dragon”
22
@PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Profile
FAR RIGHT The cable
offers a foolproof
alternative for those
who don’t want to use
cloud technology
RIGHT Kelly Sumner

has also set his sights
on the tablet and
laptop markets
without the camera crew. “No-one’s paid me a wage, ‘Where is my stuff? Who’s looking at my pictures?’ They’re
no-one’s paid me any consultancy, I’ve done everything not using it because they don’t trust it, and they don’t
for free because – you know something – I was very lucky know what it means. ”
and successful, and I think I’ve got a responsibility to help In fact, Sumner says one of his biggest challenges has
other people.” been to convince people that MEEM can actually make
backup as foolproof as he claims. “When I went round the
■ A backup plan telcos, they were saying ‘it’s not possible’. So when we
It was while scouring for his next investment that Sumner produced the first samples, we had them engraved with
ended up chatting with an inventor called Anil Goel for ‘it’s possible’ just to have a little dig.”
hours. Goel had come up with a stupidly simple device However, with a backup solution as simple as putting
that would stop people losing their photos, videos and a flash memory chip inside a charging cable, there is a
messages every time they lost their phone. Called MEEM, danger that others will rip off Goel’s idea. Sumner is not
the device is essentially a block of flash memory built into blind to the risk. “We have patents and they’re very strong
a smartphone-charging cable, which backs up the contents patents,” he said. “We took the best part of seven years to
of the device every time it’s plugged in to charge. There’s get them approved in North America and Europe. If you
no chance of forgetting backups and no need to set up cloud are charging via a cable and backing up at the same time,
services: all you have to do is enter a PIN when it’s first set you’ve broken our patent. It’s very broad.”
up. It’s perhaps the simplest backup system ever created. The need for an app to handle the backup process gives
Sumner immediately thought it the company another level of protection. “I don’t believe
There are now cloud was brilliant, but Goel was

struggling to get the product off the
either Google or Apple would allow people to infringe our
patents or deliver apps that would infringe our patents.”
backup services built into ground. “He is a really lovely guy,
but he looks like an Indian rock star,” ■ Sharing the spoils
Android and iOS phones, said Sumner. “And with the greatest MEEM has been partly financed by crowdfunding –
but research shows that respect, rock stars don’t often garner
the idea that you’re going to give
£700,000 of its £2.5 million funds have come from investors
online. But MEEM didn’t use Kickstarter or Indiegogo
people don’t use them them lots of money to produce a to create pre-orders for its product. Using Crowdcube,
product, and he’d never produced MEEM gave investors an equity stake in the company,
one before. He needed someone to help him, he really did.” with around 6% of the firm now owned by small investors.
Sumner wasn’t only motivated by helping Goel stop If MEEM hits its ambitious targets, the crowdfunders
sleeping on other people’s floors – he also wanted to find won’t just get a one-off product, but a genuine return on
out if his own achievements were something of a fluke. their investment. The firm aims to sell five million units
“From an ego perspective, I have been very successful, but next year, and 12 million the year after. But that will still
maybe I’ve been really lucky. Grand Theft Auto and leave 499 out of every 500 smartphone owners to chase.
Take-Two? Maybe it was really luck – I don’t think it was. With MEEM cables costing from £50 for the 16GB model,
Maybe Guitar Hero was really luck? I don’t think it was. there’s potential to become a billion-pound company.
How many times can someone be lucky? This will be the The company’s not stopping at smartphones, though:
third time, and in a different industry so, from a personal a tablet version is in the works and Sumner plans to attack
perspective, I’ve something to prove to myself.” the laptop market soon. “Independent research said we
would sell, in the first three years, between 23 and 27
■ Too good to be true? million cables,” he said. “If we did that, I’d be a very happy
Sumner said he came out of his first meeting with Anil Goel man. If we sold more, I’d be even happier.” Certainly
convinced that “if it did what it said it was going to do, I happier than he was batting balls back to his tennis
thought it was amazing”. He then spent the next few weeks coach anyway. BARRY COLLINS
touring all the major telcos in Europe and the US to do his
“due diligence” and find out if there was anything else like
MEEM on the market. “There wasn’t, so I was in,” he said.
There are, of course, now cloud backup services built
Whataboutyou?
into Android and iOS, but Sumner says his research shows Do you work for a British technology company that could be
people simply don’t use them. “Even if you sit in front of profiled in PC Pro? If so, get in touch: [email protected]
the platform holders, they will tell you they [consumers]
don’t use it,” he said. “People really don’t trust the cloud.
23
Viewpoints
PC Pro readers and experts give their views on the world of technology
Enough with
But it didn’t matter. Thanks to Amazon, T-shirts. In my household, next-day grocery
I could sit at my desk and browse a growing deliveries have been a tremendous help
catalogue of products, and whatever I during our daughter’s first months in the
the cowboy selected would almost invariably be waiting

for me in the postroom the next morning.
world; on a larger scale, such provisions
could affect whole sections of society. As
couriers: send
That last part was key: if Amazon had merely the commercial amenities on one’s doorstep
followed the shopping-catalogue standard become less relevant, individuals and young
of 28-day delivery, I’d never have bothered families will find it easier to live further out
in the drones with it, and I certainly wouldn’t have gone

about evangelising the wonders of online
shopping to my friends.
from city centres. They’ll be able to enjoy
more spacious and affordable properties,
and in turn ease the inner-city pressure
Now we’re all accustomed to the that drives urban house prices sky high.
Online retailers live or die by convenience of online retail, providers Entire modes of life are up for grabs, and
logistics, but traditional modes of no longer need to make such an effort. it’s tremendously exciting.
Next-day delivery from Amazon has But all of that rests on logistics. We
shipping are holding us back
become a premium service, and the can’t be receiving bogus email alerts in
pressure to constantly drive down costs the middle of the afternoon claiming that
means some seemingly respectable online our doorbell isn’t working and inviting us
This month my stores are entrusting their deliveries to to drive up to Borehamwood to collect our
wife and I have bargain-basement couriers, with predictably milk and toilet rolls. We need a 21st-century
been counting our disastrous results. I’m sure we’ve all had the delivery system, one that’s capable of scaling
blessings that we frustrating experience of wasting an entire up to handle unprecedented quantities of
live in the age of day waiting in for an important package, stuff being dispatched up and down the
online shopping. only to be told that “you weren’t home” country every day. That can’t just mean
Our new baby girl when the courier allegedly called. investing in exponentially more vans
arrived at the end of It’s a baffling situation, because delivery and drivers: the capacity of our roads
September, and of is the one area where online shops absolutely is a finite resource.
Darien Graham-Smith is course our regular cannot compete with the immediacy of the We need a more ambitious and creative
PC Pro’s deputy editor; household routine high street. The Amazon of two decades ago approach, of the sort that perhaps wouldn’t
when it comes to his has been shredded. was smart enough to realise that fast and emanate from a traditional courier company.
column, next-day delivery The traditional As it happens, you may recall that
cannot be guaranteed. advice has long in 2013 Amazon announced the
been to stock up The pressure to drive down idea of having goods delivered to
in advance on frozen foods and essential customers by aerial drone. At the
household items, on the assumption that costs means online stores are time we all had a good laugh and
you won’t be getting out to the supermarket
during the weeks following the birth.
entrusting their deliveries to congratulated the company for
grabbing headlines with such
Happily, when a next-day delivery of bargain-basement couriers an entertaining notion. But this
groceries and baby supplies is never more summer it confirmed that trials
than a few clicks away, you can take a more of Amazon Air were underway:
ad hoc approach to these things. Install the reliable delivery was a non-negotiable part check the Amazon Jobs website now
requisite smartphone app and you can feed of the proposition; entrusting your logistics and you’ll see 19 openings for full-time
the infant with one hand and order the next to cowboy couriers turns what should be an researchers and developers to work on
load of milk and nappies with the other. easy and enjoyable transaction into days of the project. The company is taking the idea
I’ve been a fan of online shopping since disappointment and frustration, which can perfectly seriously, because it realises that
its earliest days. Back when Amazon was only drive away repeat custom. for online retail to take its next step forward,
still an online bookshop, I was working Taking the long view, it’s an issue of something very much like this has to happen.
at a manufacturing company located on declining importance. I fully expect to see No other approach offers the combination of
a featureless stretch of road out towards the day when consumer goods come down speed and scalability that next-generation
Heathrow airport. There were no shops the line digitally, as recipes to be fed into our shoppers are going to demand.
nearby to speak of, and heading into town 3D printers – but that’s not a solution for the You may have mixed feelings about
after work was a significant expedition. here and now. We’re decades from the point Amazon: its tax arrangements have been
where a domestic machine can assemble a frowned over in these pages before, as have
working loudspeaker or a comfortable pair of reports of the way it treats its employees.
running shoes. And there are plenty of goods But if I had to credit one company with
that won’t be so amenable to the replicator getting the entire online retail industry
approach, from fine wines to vintage cars. off the ground, I’d point to Amazon. I’m
So for now, and for years to come, we need willing to bet it can repeat the feat in a
to sort out the delivery situation. Because it’s rather more literal sense.
not just about how we get our books and [email protected]
24
@PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Viewpoints
Enfew Sffgf Sjf

Alas, there’s a sticking point. WhatsApp don’t stop doing something because it’s
doesn’t have the encryption keys (at least, illegal. It’s tempting to blame technical
not when the messages are sent between incompetence for the Investigatory Powers
fee fndbd gv Android devices). Neither does Apple when

you send texts via iMessage. This is end-to-
end encryption: the keys are stored on the
Bill, but, as IT journalist Rupert Goodwins
said on Twitter, “I suspect that, like the
reality of recreational drug use, the
gffv sv Gfffns devices, not companies’ servers. WhatsApp

and Apple, let alone the mobile networks
government understands, but dare not
admit the understanding.” Whisper it,
Foelvv Lnsff
that transmit the data, couldn’t unscramble but Rupert’s probably right.
your message if they wanted to. Even if the [email protected]
boys from MI5 got very sweaty indeed.
This is what prompted the prime minister
Being Big
That encrypted headline makes as earlier this year to float the idea of banning
much sense as the government’s encryption – an idea that was shot down
faster than a Ukrainian jet buzzing the
Brother is
new Investigatory Powers Bill
Kremlin. Indeed, the Investigatory Powers
Bill makes no mention of banning encryption
like watching
– only the troublesome clause about forcing
It turns out that I’m providers to hand over the keys remains.
a bit of a terrorist. What can the government do if WhatsApp
paint dry
Unbeknown to me, (now owned by Facebook) or Apple can’t
I’ve been yabbering give them the unencrypted data they
away on WhatsApp require? Well, not a lot. Apple introduced
without the first end-to-end encryption following the
clue that the Snowden revelations and has insisted it We know being watched changes
messages I’ve been cannot and will not weaken its encryption behaviour, but so does having
sending have been at any government’s behest. “We have
CCTV at your disposal
Barry Collins is a former jibberished by end- never worked with any government agency
editor of PC Pro. He to-end encryption. from any country to create a backdoor in
can’t do a cryptic Me, practically any of our products or services,” Tim Cook
crossword, let alone everyone under the wrote in a public letter to Apple’s customers. In Nineteen Eighty-
unencrypt an email. age of 25 and the “We have also never allowed access to our Four, George Orwell
chaps from ISIS – servers. And we never will.” describes what it’s
all chattering away without allowing anyone The government could perhaps force like to be watched all
at MI5 to eavesdrop on our conversations. Apple and WhatsApp to stick to server-side the time – “nothing
Theresa May’s none too happy about this, encryption, whereby companies hold the was your own
obviously. If my fellow Lewes FC directors keys and the power to unencrypt data except the few cubic
are going to send WhatsApp messages about demanded by warrant. Indeed, WhatsApp centimetres inside
a striker we’re planning to sign, she wants does this for messages that aren’t sent your skull” – but how
MI5 to know about the non-league Pelé first. directly between two Android handsets, Briefing and Futures editor does it feel to be one
If they manage to pick up any chatter about since it’s still in the process of rolling out Nicole Kobie was pleased of the watchers?
plots to blow up Tower Bridge in the its end-to-end encryption technology. to see Painter No 2 flick When a camera
meantime, all the better. As the well-respected Heise security through a copy of PC Pro. is pointed at us, we
So the government has tabled the team pointed out when it probed WhatsApp’s act differently from
Investigatory Powers Bill, a sweeping piece security earlier this year, “we do not know if normal – the observer’s paradox. Unless
of legislation that gives the government E2E encryption is actually used in all cases you’re the sort that loves attention, most
all sorts of powers to prod into “private” where this is possible, or if it is switched people become wary or nervous. But we
communications, not least the right to off when certain criteria, such as requests also change when we’re the ones peering
demand encryption keys. from intelligence services or when the device through the lens.
In fact, according to the draft of the bill, is in use in a certain country, are met.” The I found this out for myself while testing
the government already has this capability, technical capability exists for WhatsApp a smart security camera, the Netatmo
as part of the Regulation of Investigatory to switch off end-to-end encryption – and Welcome. Point it at a room and the facial
Powers Act 2000. “Ripa requires CSPs it’s invisible to the user (unless you use recognition will attempt to recognise your
[communications service providers] to software to inspect every packet of data). mug, the idea being that it only sends
provide communications data when served Yet, even in the unlikely scenario that notifications when an unknown visitor
with a notice... and to maintain permanent the government forced major tech companies is spotted in your house.
interception capabilities, including to drop end-to-end encryption, it would That’s how I ended up abusing a coffee
maintaining the ability to remove any make little or no difference to organised shop’s Wi-Fi to watch the most boring live
encryption applied by the CSP to whom the criminals. There are plenty of ways for stream of my life: paint drying in my own
notice relates.” The bill will bung together terrorists to encrypt their communications flat. The decorators were in that day, so
this existing right with other new measures, without relying on a CSP. As AAISP’s I slipped out to work at a local café. The pair
such as an obligation on ISPs to keep records Adrian Kennard pointed out on his of painters triggered the camera – a nice trial
of which websites we visit, to create “a brilliant blog (revk.uk), PGP offers end-to- to see if it really worked – but it soon became
single, comprehensive piece of legislation”. end email encryption, and anyone with clear that it was me who was being tested.
the technical chops can set up a A few hours in, a notification popped
VoIP server to handle encrypted up on my phone with a video clip that
If the government forced tech calls. Kennard even produced a showed Painter No 1 idly rifling through
short video showing how you need Post-it notes on my desk and – with
companies to drop end-to-end nothing more than a pen and pad for bemusement in his voice – reading out my
encryption, it would make little “unbreakable end-to-end encryption”
(see pcpro.link/256kennard). By
to-do list, which was clearly very different
from his own. Eventually, his counterpart
or no difference to criminals definition, terrorists and paedophiles told him to get back to work, and he did.
25
Viewpoints @PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO
How fresh
I was immediately furious and felt worked well, Critters ending up as a single
violated. What an invasion of my privacy! smallish block, thanks to the Scratch/Snap
Annoyed and worried, I spent the next few concept of “sprites” (animated screen
hours logging into the site anxiously to
check on the painters via my smart camera,
making sure they behaved themselves. Lord
thinking dealt objects) that took care of all the graphics
with no coding on my part.
Anyhow, this conversion job made a deep
knows how much time I wasted that day – I
was saved a little from my own curiosity by new life into an impression on me. It may not have escaped
you that programming languages have
old game
dodgy Wi-Fi – but it was captivating to watch something in common with religions, in
someone go about their business in my flat. that they attract fanatical adherents
Here’s what I saw: they painted. For who become impervious to criticism. My
hours. And they did a fabulous job, cleaned casual flip from Scratch to Snap was a sort
up perfectly and left like the professionals If programming is a religion of apostasy and I’d enjoyed it, so I began
they were. It wasn’t my privacy being then hallelujah – it’s time to share sifting through my other Ruby projects.
invaded, it was theirs – by me. In the process, I discovered an abandoned
a true story of conversion
When we see camera footage, we expect poker program in Python. I’d flirted with
to see something. It’s surely a consequence Python back in 2002 but quickly abandoned
of Hollywood: when the director’s camera it in favour of Ruby, on almost entirely
gazes at a door, we know a character is about One of the more aesthetic grounds. In those days I was a
to walk through it. Watch a pair of painters frequent topics of fanatical object-orientation nut and I
on video and you expect them to do this column has hated Python’s OOP syntax, which involves
something other than paint. This being been my interest prefixing just about everything with “self”.
real life, they don’t. At least, not often. in programming, I’ve become more ecumenical since,
It’s equally hard not to apply film drama both as an important and that weekend of Snap coding had
to CCTV camera footage. When I looked at economic activity revived my enthusiasm for Lisp-style list
my kitchen on the night-vision mode from and, for me, a programming, so to my own surprise I
my bedroom one night, I felt like I was pleasing pastime: decided to finish that poker program in
watching a horror film, the grainy black and Column for Column in I refuse to call it a Python rather than convert it. I downloaded
white straight out of Paranormal Activity. PCPro if editor_approval “hobby”. My last a more recent version, WinPython 64-bit
Creeped out, I kept expecting someone to == True]. (He also edits such column was 3.4.3, and set to work. Instead of pursuing
sneak into the room or for objects to move of the Real World Computing about Scratch, an the pure OOP architecture I’d started with
their own accord. Of course, nothing of the section.) innovative Lego-like – card as a class, hand as a class, player as a
sort happened, but that didn’t stop me from visual programming class and so on – I rewrote the lower levels
tossing and turning for a few hours before language for teaching children (and adults) using Python’s “tuples” instead. Each card is
drifting off into scary dreams. invented at MIT. I confessed how quickly just a tuple (facevalue, suit), while a deck is a
If we use the Internet of Things to I’d become hooked by Scratch’s blocky 52-piece list of tuples. Soon I’d rewritten the
monitor the world around us, how will it metaphor, despite a few major limitations. whole thing using only tuples and lists, and
affect our minds? What’s the psychological At the end I mentioned that some Scratchers never mentioned a class until I reached
effect of watching and measuring everything? in Berkeley had extended the language to player level. My code shrank to half its size,
Becoming a watcher changes how we think. remove these limitations, and called it ran many times faster and, more importantly,
Big Brother was bad news for Winston Smith, Snap. It was more or less inevitable that a it worked, which the original never really
but it wasn’t healthy for the minds of the wet weekend would arrive when I’d take a had. (Crucial to this success was Python’s
camera operators, either. deeper, non-cursory look at Snap, and when “list comprehension” construct, a fiendishly
Such self-surveillance also affects how it did I was re-hooked several times over. clever one-line trick for building lists by
we deal with the people around us. If you’re Snap looks much like Scratch, similar pattern matching.)
always checking your smart camera or home enough to execute most Scratch programs This taught me a serious lesson, one
sensors to see when your family get home, with little or no alteration, but it adds several that may help you too. Rigidly adhering
it suggests you don’t trust them to give you to a single methodology can be
an honest answer. counterproductive: recognise
Of course, there’s a benefit to such a Programming languages, which tools are right for each job
video feed: it would probably catch theft or and use them, regardless of dogma.
other crimes. But who am I to begrudge a like religions, can attract Cards, decks and hands didn’t
painter curiosity about the space he’s
working in? If I wanted those papers left
fanatical adherents who become need or deserve to be objects
(no inheritance required), while
alone, I should have slid them into a drawer impervious to criticism players did as they have many
before letting strangers into my home. attributes – a hand, a bankroll,
I’ve unplugged the camera. I’d rather a strategy, a personality. When
have my stuff stolen than lose trust in friends features that make it more grown up. In place I wrote the program in strict OOP style I’d
or strangers, and I’d rather have my papers of Scratch’s table-like arrays, it has dynamic actually obscured its structure, in favour of a
flipped through without my knowledge lists as first-class, named objects; it has local class hierarchy the language imposed on me.
than feel anxious and paranoid about the variables, not merely globals like Scratch; and Good programming is an art, one in which
possibility. I’d rather not know than become it supports “continuations” that enable you an eye for structure is even more important
Big Brother in my own home. to pass one block as a parameter to another than a head for logic. Factoring, that is
[email protected] block, a feature from advanced functional breaking down your code into smaller
languages such as Scheme and Haskell. chunks in the best way, and choosing the
Given its similarity to Scratch, learning right data structures, are far closer to musical
Snap was, er, a snap and within a day I composition than science. What a pity that,
was looking for serious programs to convert. unlike mathematics which occasionally
I settled on some I’d written several years ago spawns a Hollywood movie, beauty in
in Ruby, including a visual matrix calculator programming can only ever be recognised
and a simulation of a simple ecosystem called by a handful of fellow programmers.
“Critters”. Both went easily into Snap and [email protected]
26
Our revolutionary NEW
Web Hosting platform
100%
guaranteed
UP TIME
100% guaranteed Smart SSD storage Dedicated SSL

uptime! & intelligent load certificates
balancing
Web Hosting from:
£1.99
per month ex VAT charged at 20%
Call 0333 0142 708

or visit fasthosts.co.uk/hosting
SERVERS • WEB HOSTING • DOMAIN NAMES • EXCHANGE EMAIL
Viewpoints Careers @PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO
MarkLister
Experience engineer
■ What is experience engineering?
It’s the meeting of design and technology. At Ness (ness-ses.com),
we’re a team of 30 designers outnumbered by 3,000 engineers, so
rather than turn all the engineers into designers – which we want
to do subtly – we have to think like engineers.
For the first time, the designers are thinking about user
experience in terms of the features that enable it, and we’re
training engineers to think in terms of experience.
■ What part did your qualifications play in helping you get

your job?
I’ve actually got a degree in physics, so maybe that’s not so relevant,
£25k
aside from the logical approach to problem-solving. There are a After that, you’ll start doing wireframing,
couple of obvious routes into the field. One is taken by people from where the intelligence has been gathered by
agencies who think they would like to work on something meaty. one of the senior researchers and you’re helping
They realise that the enterprise is less impressed by just design them – so you might not necessarily be exposed
for design’s sake, and is far more interested in solutions to Approximate to the client.
recurring problems. starting salary As you work up the chain to become more
People’s artistic leanings are applied to a user experience (UX) valuable to the company, you’re getting closer
logic of information flow where someone says “I’ll let you put a and closer to the client and the person who
lovely design on it, but break the problem apart first”. They drift commissioned the work. That’s the point at
into UX because it’s a way you can quickly map out a problem to which you have to stand up, having examined
find its solution. the problem, and have some interesting and
The other route is taken by developers – people who have knocked challenging questions that will make the
up a few websites, for instance – who like tinkering around with the client think.
96
world of tech, but want their work to be seen by more people. They The next step is to become a UX practitioner,
might lack visual design skills, but that’s okay because the shortage then a UX strategist, before you become a head
we have is of user experience strategists, designers and consultants. of team.
In an interview, I’m looking for people with life experience and
a confident way of speaking, because they’re going to be talking Permanent jobs ■ What advice do you have for someone
to a lot of people. The job isn’t about spending lots of time at your (itjobswatch. who wants to work in the industry?
screen: you spend very little time at your desk and most of the time co.uk) The field of user experience goes back 30 or
interviewing people, talking to people, understanding their pain 40 years. As soon as you start reading about
points with software, and understanding what they would like how Silicon Valley companies got going –
it to do. such as Facebook, which is technology but
I want someone who can step into a room and make everyone in it with an incredible focus on design and data –
part of the debate – someone who sketches out ideas and puts Post-it you’ll discover Lean UX and prototyping.
notes on a whiteboard, and has enough energy and enthusiasm to You’ll easily find people blogging, TED talks
get people to contribute so that, at the end of a session, we have and links to the sites you need to understand
£48k
consensus from a team. the ecosystem quickly. Reading about the
The best way to get into this is to have a hunger for improving Silicon Valley startups is the best place to
software – and that’s a very important skill. It’s the one I’m looking start. Overall, it’s important that you read
for the most. There are plenty of people who can handle the execution up on, and understand, what the title UX
of what we’re doing – turning wireframes into software – but I need Average designer really means before you start
someone who can create wireframes from the page, who has the earnings submitting applications on a job site.
initiative to sketch them out, to gather requirements and explain
them to clients. To do that, you need someone who can jump up
Where to start
on their feet and make ten people talk, because that’s what they’re
paying us to do. I always say there’s a bit of showbiz in releasing
that energy. ■ “The beauty of data visualisation”, TED talk by David McCandless:
pcpro link/256careers
■ What’s the career path? ■ “How giant websites design for you (and a billion others, too)”, TED
The entry point is a researcher with curiosity, hunger and digital talk by Margaret Gould Stewart: pcpro.link/256careers2
savviness, who will do a lot of competitor research, working out ■ What does a UX designer actually do? pcpro.link/256careers3
why certain sites are working better than others and how they’re
generating revenue.
28
Readers’comments
Your views and feedback
from email and the web
Starletter
Thank you for Nicole Kobie’s excellent article (see takes up little room, runs Windows 7 and
Office 2016 nobbled issue 254, p25) on the wonders of the netbook. has good battery life. As a writer, to be able to
For those of us who don’t want to I am on my second netbook. The first was have my HP Mini with me means I can write
hunt through the various ribbons in an Asus Eee PC, which was really a joy to use. anywhere, any time. I have no need for all the
Microsoft Office to find a particular My current netbook is an HP Mini, which has travelled “fancy” additions to many laptops and smartphones.
button, the Quick Access toolbar has to and from Australia, where I used it to Skype home. I use a desktop in my study,
always been a very useful alternative. As a workhorse (or should that be a Shetland but on the road my netbook
Or at least it was as far as Office 2013. pony?), I have nothing but praise. It’s so handy, rules, OK! David Clowes
Now, in Office 2016, it’s been
nobbled by increasing the width
This month’s star letter wins a set of Creative T15 wireless speakers, worth £60.
of the icons and fails to give us an
To find out how they could give your music a boost, visit uk.creative.com
option to switch back to the previous
size again.
It’s said that a small minority of be so much better? Surely you can’t
users customise the Office interface. expect us to believe that O2 prioritises
However, those who spend their lives Giffgaff’s traffic above its own?
analysing how users behave have It seems very odd to me – is this a
missed the obvious fact that the user case of pundits glamorising their own
who adds icons to the Quick Access choices? Patrick Davies
toolbar usually adds as many as they
can fit in across the size of window Tim Danton replies: An interesting question
they use. In Office 2013, my icons – the key thing about the Excellence Awards
– which included some to trigger is that all of the company ratings are based
macros – would have easily fit across on reader feedback. So, if 100 out of 100
the whole of my 23in screen. But, readers who have bought DrayTek’s
for two equal-sized Word documents, routers rate their reliability and speed as
I did have to place the most useful excellent, then they’ll gain higher results
ones to the left and lose a few behind than a rival where only 90 out of 100
the “>>” button. In Word 2016, only readers rate them as excellent. But it’s
just over half of those visible on a not about a specific product, it’s across
half-screen document in Word 2013 ABOVE BBC iPlayer Davey Winder replies: The fact that the all the company’s products (and includes
are now visible, radically impacting still relies on Adobe BBC, and many other providers, do not share customer service).
my productivity when commenting Flash in Chrome, my reservations is a big part of the problem This means our Awards reflect how
on other people’s work. despite our concerns – especially when there are plenty of more satisfied people are with the speed and
Members of the online community secure alternatives available. Ultimately, quality of a product or service, which
who have written about this want though, it’s your choice as to whether you means that other factors – such as how
to revert to Office 2013, because think the security risk is worth taking in much they’re paying for the service – can
there are no enhancements in the exchange for the content provided. Just come into play. That’s probably why
2016 version that outweigh this crass don’t say I didn’t warn you. Giffgaff scored more highly for speed and
piece of design. For the time being, reliability than O2 (although not by huge
I am hoping that Microsoft will The A-List and Awards amounts), but really pulled away for value
remember that most real work is I follow the A-List with interest and for money.
done on laptops or desktops, and put faith in the recommendations, to
fix this “tablet-friendly” feature the extent that I recently purchased Taming Windows restarts
in the very near future – either by BELOW Why didn’t a Netgear Nighthawk router and am As a regular reader, I sometimes
providing the option to revert to Netgear’s router win very pleased with it. find myself in disagreement with
the previous size or, better still, the PC Pro Excellence Then I looked at the Excellence the views expressed in the Readers’
by offering a range of sizes that Awards when it’s in Awards in the latest issue and the top comments. I have no problem
go lower than the previous size. the A-List? rating is DrayTek. Why the sudden with this as everyone has a right
Peter Thomas change? Netgear had been at to their view.
the top for some time, only for it I was, however, surprised to read
Flash to be inexplicably your star letter in issue 254. I upgrade
I followed Davey Winder’s demoted now. my programs when I decide to and
advice (see issue 254, p118) I am also restart when it is convenient for me.
and disabled Adobe Flash confused as to I find Windows updates annoying, but
in Chrome, only to find that how Giffgaff can have never been forced to restart. I
BBC iPlayer didn’t work and get a rating so much have Windows Upgrade set to “always
I wasn’t even able to play superior to O2, the notify”,and I let the upgrades install in
audio on the BBC Three site. network on which the background. When they are
It seems that the BBC does it piggybacks. I can finished, I always choose the option to
not share Mr Winder’s understand customer restart later. This means I can finish
reservations about service being much my work and restart when it suits me.
Flash security. better, but how can If I forget, it will install when I shut
Alan McMinn reliability and speed down. Bill Cooke
30
@PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Viewpoints
Windows 10
Your review of Windows 10 (see
issue 251, p60) was interesting,
Readers’ poll TURN TO
P32 FOR
but was rather lenient on one or We asked you: what kind of satnav do you use? THE BEST
two “features”. In particular, the SATNAVS
“improved Start menu”, which, in
fact, is a dog’s breakfast. The “All 50
apps” list is alphabetic, but it doesn’t
* Note that the total adds up to 124%,
make any sorting or organising easy. so around a quarter of readers (24%)
There are two logical ways
to organise applications. One is
40 use more than one navigation aid.
alphabetically, as with Windows
Percentage
Phone 8.1, and the other is to
group programs into folders 30
A physical satnav
by function. Windows 10 turns
this into a mush.
Programs can each install 20
Free app on phone

(not Google Maps)
Google Maps
their own folders, complete
Don’t use
with whatever links they choose
Paid-for app
satnav
to include. Moving the useful links
10
on phone
out of the folders and into the
alphabetical list and removing
the useless folders is difficult.
Creating and moving links into 0
Type of satnav used
Microsoft adds links
to its Modern UI-style
It’s fair to say we were quite
apps to the alphabetical surprised by the responses to our I put the street name ‘New
list, and they can’t be question, with almost half of PC Road’ into Google Maps and it
moved or hidden Pro and Alphr readers using took me to a road that was still
custom folders by category is a physical satnav device rather under construction Colin T
equally complicated. You need to
open a folder and right-click on
than software on their mobile We ended up on the wrong
a program in it to get to where phone. That could be because side of a river near Hereford.
the link actually lives.
Microsoft also adds links to
so many cars have navigation We had to retrace our steps
its Modern UI-style apps to the features built into the dashboard, and found a sign saying ‘Don’t
alphabetical list, and they can’t
be moved at all, let alone be hidden
either by default or as a media use satnavs’ Ian Greet
away. Furthermore, when Windows deck upgrade, but, either way,
or a particular program updates,
We were in Italy and the
it’s good news for the big-name
it’s back to square one satnav gave us a route, but it
satnav houses, which frequently
So you end up with a list of was very narrow. There was
links to programs, or Modern provide the software that
apps, and folders containing links barely two inches either side
underpins them. Just one in 20
to other programs. If you can’t of the car! Amit Nicholas
always remember what a particular didn’t use satnav at all, having
program is called, you can’t have
it grouped in, say, a folder called
either great map-reading skills, I was delivering a toy plane
“Media” without a load of complicated or an intuitive sense of direction. I had sold and the satnav made
fiddling around. Terry Bernstein
me drive in big circles. It wiped
Jointhedebate out my profit and cost me £30
Join the growing PC Pro community extra in petrol Terry Lewis
on Facebook at facebook.com/pcpro
Never had any problems
Get the latest news and
updates by following us @pcpro
whatsoever and, if the satnav
is out of date, I use my eyes
Email us at [email protected]
Warren Gill BONUS SOFT
WARE Powe
rful zip tool
worth £15
more
Switc
the woh to
best sarld’s
tnav
And it’s
not Goo
gle Map
DITCH
s pxx
YOUR
SUBSCRIBE ISP’S
To subscribe to PC Pro, visit subscribe.pcpro.co.uk. For existing ROUTER
Triple you ROUTTTER
ERS
BE
10
r speed ON TEST
& destroy
subscriber queries, contact [email protected], Create you

ow r
n compan sma
9 lessons y
Virtualis
dead spo
atio
ll businesn for
ses pxx
ts
ISSUE 256
entrepre from tech Turn this

neurs pxx
call 0845 126 0386 or visit subsinfo.co.uk

FEBRUARY
webcam £49
security into a
2016 £5.99
camera
pxx
31
Drive
FASTER
THEBESTSATNAVS
FOR2016
Which satnav app will get you briskly past
the traffic jams, and is there still a case for
dedicated satnav hardware? Dave Stevenson
dons his driving gloves to find out
32
@PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Satnavs
T
hese are challenging times for Google or Apple Maps. Other freebies, such ■ How we test
satnav makers. Smartphones as Waze’s crowdsourced navigation app, are We loaded a car with a test iPhone and our
offer more processing power and also strong contenders for dashboard duty. two hardware contestants and set off across
higher-quality screens than ever, Here, we’ve exhaustively tested each, rating south-east England. Over several hundred
as well as persistent internet connections for ease of use, performance, and how each miles of motoring, we tested each on major
for map updates and traffic information. The app performed when it came to getting us and minor roads, assessing clarity, usability
writing is on the wall for standalone satnav out of traffic and onto free-flowing roads. and ability to avoid traffic.
units: Garmin and TomTom have branched Independent GPS hardware is still out We also timed how long it took to deliver
out into fitness watches, while specialist there, though, and the competition from a plan for a long drive, and each satnav
Mio now produces GPS-enabled dashboard smartphones means manufacturers have had its point-of-interest database probed –
cameras, as well as navigation units. had to up their games to match. We’ve got finding a petrol station with a few screen
There are plenty of options for two high-end devices to see if they can presses can be a lifesaver. Smartphone apps
smartphone-toting road warriors, from tempt PC Pro’s hardened smartphone users have a major advantage here, so we looked
high-end options such as TomTom’s £30 away from their app stores and towards at how easy it was to update standalone
app to standard-issue options such as more traditional satellite navigation. hardware with up-to-date maps and POIs.
33
The
HARDWARE
TomTomGo6100
Great features, giant screen,
worldwide maps and free
traffic reporting, but the
price only suits daily drivers
SCORE ✪✪✪✪✪
PRICE £217 (£260 inc VAT) from
halfords.com
T
he most expensive app or device
on test by a factor of two, the
TomTom Go 6100 needs to offer
every feature under the sun to justify
a price tag nearing £300. The Go 6100
has a decent stab: it’s the only device
or app here to come with worldwide
street maps with free updates, plus
free traffic monitoring and speed
camera updates.
The latter two are delivered via the Go 6100’s chunky 300g weight, ABOVE The Go’s clear map meant we drove with
GPRS – the Go 6100 has an integrated the mount and the ball-and-socket touchscreen is a complete confidence. The system’s
SIM card with a “lifetime’s” supply arm stayed resolutely in place, no generous 6in and traffic alerts also proved uncannily
of free data and, usefully, free global matter what kind of teeth-shaking has a resolution of
accurate, with traffic jams appearing
roaming, so you won’t find traffic roads we treated it to. 800 x 480 with near-perfect precision.
dark spots if you leave the UK. Unlike In use, the Go 6100 was excellent. Routing was sensible, although
the Garmin, there’s no Bluetooth, The menu system is sophisticated and unlike TomTom’s app, you don’t
so no updates via smartphone and clean, with big, clear text that allows get the flexibility when declaring a
no hands-free capabilities. The use for instant comprehension and quick, preference for how you’d like to drive.
of previous-generation internet confident navigation. Its onscreen You can avoid motorways, or opt
means updates occasionally take a keyboard is very responsive – the for the shortest, fastest or most
few seconds to come through after letter you’ve pressed pops up above eco-friendly route, but can’t set
RECOMMENDED
starting up the device, but we didn’t the button on the keyboard to let a preferred maximum speed limit.
notice any lag in use, and 2G internet you know you’ve hit the right one, Elsewhere, the device’s reporting
reaches areas of the UK 3G doesn’t. allowing you to make quick changes of speed limits was flawless,
Installing new maps involves to your route. As with the Garmin,
“The system’s traffic and you can opt to set an alert
downloading them from TomTom’s the Go 6100 includes a hopeless voice alerts proved uncannily if you nudge over, although
website – from around 50MB for those navigation system. System commands accurate, with traffic you can’t set a tolerance.
heading to New Zealand and over 6GB – such as “Hello TomTom” to wake jams appearing with Its integrated internet
for those needing all of Europe or it up – work well, but the system
North America. With 8GB of internal misinterpreted almost every attempt
near-perfect precision” connection receives live
updates of mobile and static
storage, it’s quite plausible the Go to dictate a street name. speed cameras, and you can report
6100 has all the space many drivers The Go 6100’s actual navigational speed cameras you’ve spotted with
will ever need. For those who want chops are second to none. The map two prods of the screen – the modern-
two massive maps at once, there’s a display is big, high-contrast, and the day equivalent of flashing your lights
microSD slot to save you having to voice prompts are easy to understand. to warn oncoming traffic.
rotate maps. Its split screen for motorway junctions For those putting in truly galactic
The capacitive touchscreen is superb, and the combination of mileages, the TomTom Go 6100 is
measures a generous 6in across and top-quality voice prompts and the a luxurious companion. The huge
has a resolution of 800 x 480. As with screen beats all but the largest phones,
the Garmin, that’s a little behind and for seeing what needs to happen
the curve set by smartphones, but next, we’ve no complaints. The menu
it means icons, navigation and the system makes sense and features
map itself are all easily visible. The such as free traffic and speed-camera
steep price also includes a superb updates make it easy to appreciate
dashboard mount that includes a where the extra money has gone. It’s
charging connection for the device also the only device on test to offer
itself, so when you pop it off its free worldwide maps – Nokia’s Here
mount you don’t need to worry is nowhere close for usability. Only a
about unplugging it. The mount handful of drivers will get true value
is magnetic, meaning you don’t for money from the Go 6100, but it
need to persuade it free and, despite leaves nothing out.
34
@PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Satnavs
GarminNuvi2599LMT-D
A crystal-clear map view
makes this a pleasure to use,
while free traffic reporting
works exceedingly well
PRICE £117 (£140 inc VAT)
from johnlewis.com
T
he Nuvi 2599LMT-D has easily
the ugliest colour scheme of
any of our devices or apps on
test. Even CoPilot’s cluttered display
can’t hold a candle to Garmin’s
purple, jaundice-yellow and pastel-
green display. The Nuvi’s 5in display
has a resolution of only 480 x 272,
too, which makes it look decidedly internet connections for updates, it ABOVE The Nuvi’s The Garmin pairs with a
old-school next to the high-DPI uses an internal DAB radio to receive 5in display only hassmartphone via Bluetooth, and its
displays on smartphones. updates every minute. It proved a resolution of 480 internal speaker and microphone can
That’s where the aesthetic exceptionally reliable, alerting us to x 272, which makes also be used as a standard hands-free
complaints end, because the Nuvi jams, slowdowns and road closures it look old-school kit. The main drawback is that using
2599LMT-D had the most instantly to a very high degree of accuracy. It a smartphone to provide data means
intelligible map display of any of the also picked up a road closure that using your phone’s 3G, Bluetooth and
devices or apps here. The map itself others failed to detect. DAB traffic GPS capabilities, prompting plunging
is big, bold and clear, and the extra coverage is for the lifetime of the battery levels. The Nuvi’s integrated
information – your speed, the name device and it’s free. Navigating battery will last two hours – the same
of the road you’re on and your current alternative routes is easy, with as the TomTom GO 6100’s – but a
ETA – is legible at the bottom of the delays and alternatives presented double car charger could be an idea
screen. The next navigation point, in terms of how much time you’ll for anyone wanting to use the
as well as the name of the road you’re save, allowing you to make simple accompanying app.
turning on, appear at the top of the decisions about what to do. Unfortunately, you can’t use the
screen. Motorway driving is made The lack of internet access wasn’t smartphone app to deliver
easier by the presentation of a split a problem elsewhere, too. The “It proved exceptionally map updates. Instead of
screen showing you both the standard Garmin’s extensive POI list is reliable, alerting us to being incremental, or live
map view and a 3D lane-by-lane provided in part by Foursquare, online, map updates are
display showing where you need and a companion smartphone app
jams, slowdowns and delivered to your desktop
to move. for Android and iOS devices can be road closures to a high PC and then sideloaded
Driving with the 2599LMT-D was set to provide live speed-camera, degree of accuracy” to the Nuvi. A map update
a breeze, and we never needed more parking and traffic data. The Nuvi’s for the UK and Europe –
than a quick glance to divine what uncanny ability to spot jams via DAB, the device’s default configuration –
was coming next. The map could plus its already-impressive speed weighed in at a monstrous 6.6GB
occasionally become a tad busy – camera database, meant the £14.99 and took well over an hour to deliver
by default, the device is set to show subscription cost to Smartphone and install. Waze’s on-demand,
nearby petrol stations, motorway Link’s extra traffic and speed camera online approach has never looked
service stations and restaurants, but alerts isn’t tempting – the device so tempting.
it’s a minor complaint, and you can does a good enough job out of the We’re huge fans of Garmin’s map
turn these POIs off. We did, however, box. You also get Live Parking, view – while ugly, it’s undeniably
find the occasional rural road where which allows you to see nearby clear. The big screen is a plus, despite
Nuvi didn’t know the speed limit. car parks, complete with opening its relatively low-tech specs, and the
Overall, the TomTom edges ahead on hours and costs. integrated, internet-free traffic
the driving experience. updates were also excellent. A final
Voice prompts were delivered plus is the dashboard mount – the
in time and with excellent clarity, ball-and-socket arrangement stayed
with British road names arriving resolutely in place no matter the
clearly. The Nuvi also offers voice road conditions.
navigation, but while it readily At £140, it’s relatively expensive
understood commands such as – a smartphone with a decent-sized
“Voice command” – used to prompt screen and, say, TomTom’s app will
the system into action – street names offer stern competition – but for
were misheard with monotonous those without a smartphone, or
regularity. Siri it ain’t. wishing for navigation with a
The Nuvi proved very reliable bigger screen, the Garmin delivers a
when it came to traffic. Unlike terrific combination of performance,
other devices, which rely on features and ease of use.
35
Satnavs @PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO
The
APPS
instructions are equally clear:
TomTom the app recognises when turns
follow each other in quick
WORLD’S BEST
Crystal-clear guidance succession, and creates run-on

sentences such as “take the
and traffic management second exit at the roundabout,
make this the top choice then stay in the left lane”.
The price includes a speed
for frequent drivers camera database: during our
tests we didn’t spot any active
speed cameras that TomTom
SCORE ✪✪✪✪✪ didn’t warn us about. The leaden- ABOVE The maps TomTom simply directed us down
PRICE iOS: £26.99; Android: free footed can also opt for the £1.49 per are zoomed in, but endless cramped country lanes.
for 50 miles per month, £14.99 for month (or £15.99 per year) speed not so much that It’s an expensive app, but for
12 months, or £34.99 for three years camera in-app purchase, which adds you lose context clarity, performance and ease of use
with traffic mobile speed cameras and static units. – critical while at the wheel – nothing
Your speed and the speed limit you’re beats it. Frequent drivers won’t regret
currently in are also reported, and you splashing the cash.
can be alerted if you edge over.
T
omTom’s simple, powerful app Another add-on is the £17.99 per
shows no sign of slipping. Its
appeal lies in its clarity. Its maps
year, or £2.99 per month, TomTom
Traffic. This far outshone rivals such
TomTommeetsAndroid
are cleverly zoomed in by default – as Google Maps and Waze: traffic jams Android users get a slightly different TomTom experience.
enough to let you know what you’re were detected with spot-on accuracy. The company’s legendary reliability and clarity of design is in
doing next, but not so much so that TomTom’s experience shows. evidence, but Android users also get 3D maps, as well as speed
you don’t have any context. You can change the default route type cameras and traffic. On Android, the app is free for the first
The essentials – namely your next and its IQ Routes technology produces 50 miles you drive per month. After that, you can spend either
turn, the total time remaining of your routes that take historical traffic data £14.99 for 12 months’ service or £34.99 for three years. That’s
drive and your ETA – are all clearly into account. Moreover, you can opt a substantially better deal than you get with iOS – the iPhone
displayed in large type. The app also for more economical or shorter routes, users in the PC Pro office wait with baited breath to see if
shows which lane you should be in with no motorways, limited speed TomTom makes the same move on the Apple App Store.
and which road signs to follow as limits or even “winding roads” –
you approach junctions. Speech although, in our test, this meant
AppleMaps
avoiding motorways) and, like Jeremy “30” hardly aided understanding
Clarkson, it’s oblivious to speed when it came to road numbers.
Integration with Siri makes cameras and speed limits. The map
itself is readable, but no match for
It’s a double-edged sword, though,
because Apple Maps’ integration with
this simple navigation app Waze, TomTom or Google Maps.
The distance to your next turn
Siri is incredible. Being able to speak
instructions to Siri while driving saves
appealing, but it wouldn’t is presented in large type at the top
of the screen, along with an arrow
you having to reach for your phone,
and Maps’ system-level integration
be our first choice showing what you’ll need to do. It with its host iPhone means you don’t
doesn’t show which lane you need to have to load the app before you set off.
be in, though, and other information, You can trigger Siri at any point in
SCORE ✪✪✪✪✪ such as your ETA or journey time, is your drive and begin navigating.
PRICE Free displayed in pointlessly small text. That’s handy if you know where
Siri, used to deliver voice prompts, BELOW The map is you’re going, but need to find the
proved harder to understand than readable, but data nearest petrol station.
Waze, and the way Siri omits the final such as the journey Apple Maps is free and effective
A
pple’s much-derided Maps app syllable from numbers such as “20” or time is in tiny text when it comes to A-B routing. It may
has turned a corner of late. For suffice for occasional
non-drivers, the addition of drivers, although
public-transport options has been a Waze is also free
boon, and it’s been a while since its and presents
fans in the PC Pro office have been navigational
led seriously astray. instructions a
Apple Maps proved very accurate little more clearly
when it came to detecting traffic, but visually and much
was often a little conservative in its more clearly
routing, shepherding us along slow, aurally. The ability
winding country lanes instead of to use instructions
suffering a few minutes’ delay such as “Hey Siri,
along the high street. navigate to
Unfortunately, almost everything mum’s house”
else has been left out. You can’t is enormously
choose the kind of route (for example, redeeming, though.
36
Specialists in business-class
Internet connectivity, SIP and Voice over IP
Peregrine Falcon
[Falco Peregrinus]
COPPERSTREAM®
• Copper Ethernet GEA/EFM
The Peregrine Falcon Leased Lines
can dive at speeds • 2Mb to 35Mb
of up to 242 miles • Auto failover (optional)
• From £125 per month
per hour
• Free connection*
FIBRESTREAM®
• Fibre Ethernet Leased Lines
• 10Mb to 1Gb
• Auto failover (optional)
• From £300 per month
• Free connection*
VSTREAM®
• Fibre Broadband (VDSL)
Our FibreStream Internet ® • Up to 76Mb
• Auto failover (optional)
connections transmit • From £21 per month
• Free connection and router
data at up to one Gigabit on most services*
per second
DUALSTREAM®SF
• SDSLM and VStream®
• 2Mb voice and up to
Whatever your budget, we have a 76Mb data
• Auto failover
fast, resilient broadband solution • From £99 per month
to suit your business needs.
Sales 0800 319 6300 • Partner Services 0800 319 6500

Innovative • Flexible • Reliable • Supportive
www.spitfire.co.uk
*Subject to terms and conditions
Satnavs @PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO
NokiaHereMaps
the traffic cops
might not be so
Its global, free and offline accommodating).

Uniquely, Nokia
maps are a killer feature, Here Maps lets you

download worldwide
but Here lags behind in offline maps once
you’ve registered.
other areas The UK map weighs
in at a little over
600MB, while larger
SCORE ✪✪✪✪✪ countries such as
PRICE Free France tip the scales
at over 1GB. This has
benefits for drivers
heading to places
N
okia’s free satnav app makes with little coverage, but the benefits ABOVE The map roundabout when the first exit is
a poor first impression. Its are even bigger for those abroad. view is poor, with a straight ahead, but we learned to live
instructions are spoken by a Offline maps mean no roaming data low-contrast blue with it. Adjustments for traffic are
default American robotic voice that charges, and being able to navigate in, and white palette made on the fly and worked reliably
goes on about “traffic circles” instead say, Namibia or Iceland without in our tests.
of roundabouts. Meanwhile, the app spending pounds per megabyte. The downsides are small – there’s
pings politely but insistently at you if Alas, Here Maps has arguably no speed camera database, but Here’s
you break the speed limit by a single the poorest map view of all. Its POI list is well stocked. We also found
mile per hour. A few seconds in the low-contrast blue and white colour a recurring bug where both the arrow
settings menu fixed both: a 60MB scheme wasn’t easy on the eye, and showing your next navigation and
download produced a far more the 3D angle makes seeing beyond the upcoming road name would stop
intelligible, localised voice your immediate surroundings tricky. updating. For instant comprehension,
Meanwhile, the speed limit The arrow showing your next Nokia’ Here Maps is roughly on a
alert was pleasingly flexible – you navigation occupies a generous fifth par with the decent Google Maps,
can set a tolerance of up to 20mph or so of the screen, though, allowing but is still a touch behind the likes
before it goes off, and you can have you to see what’s next. It’s not always of Waze and TomTom. However, the
different tolerances for speeds hyper-accurate, occasionally showing global, free and offline maps make
between zero and 50mph, and the first exit on a roundabout as being the device a great companion to take
50mph-upwards (that said, 90 degrees to your entry onto the on holiday.
Waze can let users know about closed

roads, accidents and other things
Waze’s voice prompts were among
the best, with its read-back of street
Its crowdsourcing that will affect their journey. Users

can even enter fuel prices.
names and road numbers easily
comprehensible. Its chunky map
features aside, Waze is In reality, reaching for your phone
while driving is distracting. Spotted
display is clear, and it shows not
only your next turn but also the
an interesting, appealing a hazard? You’ll need to choose
whether the hazard is on the road
RECOMMENDED one after that.
Waze’s efforts to avoid traffic
and easy-to-use freebie or not, then choose from a further meant it often dispatched us down
submenu of five different options. very small country lanes, where most
Realistically – and legally – you need will spend their time inching around
SCORE ✪✪✪✪✪ to pull over to use it. Crowdsourcing blind corners rather than tolerating
PRICE Free is also inherently problematic in minor delays on bigger, faster roads.
that you need a crowd: no problem This also meant Waze sometimes
in London, with plenty of “Wazers” BELOW Waze’s produced longer routes. In one
providing hazard updates. Head to layout, reporting case, its first option for a drive was a
G
oogle technically has two the sticks and the number of warnings and instructions 28-minute, 11.4-mile drive that could
entrants in this roundup: it falls off considerably – although so are better than have been covered – according to its
bought Waze in 2013 for $1.1 does traffic. Google or Apple’s own alternative – in the same time
billion. Unlike Google Maps, though, but in only 9.9 miles.
Waze’s emphasis is firmly on driving, Waze is very
offering an amazing amount for free. impressive, whether
Its layout, traffic reporting and voice you actively use
instructions are all substantially its community
better than Google or Apple Maps, features or not.
but it lags slightly behind HERE Maps Clear instructions
by not offering an offline mode. and presentation,
Every Waze user contributes, plus a decent level
either actively or passively, to Waze’s of traffic data,
traffic-monitoring system. If plenty make it highly
of drivers slow down, a traffic jam usable. It’s our
will be declared and subsequent pick of the freebies,
users routed elsewhere. There are as long as you
shortcut buttons available from the can live with its
main driving screen, from which you online-only nature.
38
WERED BY
PO
SP
S
NK
FI
IT
RE U
SIP TR
Specialists in business-class
Internet connectivity, SIP and Voice over IP
Dragonfly
[Anisoptera]
The Dragonfly flies up to 11,000 miles while migrating,

following the tropical rains
Our SIP Communicator™

hosted phone system enables
your staff to work anywhere,
with complete flexibility
Ideal For:
• SME businesses
• New start-ups
• Multiple locations
• Homeworkers
• Seamless multi-site working
Benefits
Cutting edge cloud
• Multiple business call features phone system –
• Free calls between sites save up to 50%
• No up front phone system set up costs against traditional
phone system costs.
• 3 month contract gives maximum flexibility
Sales 0800 319 6300 • Partner Services 0800 319 6500

Innovative • Flexible • Reliable • Supportive
www.spitfire.co.uk
Satnavs
GoogleMaps
it immediately
dimmed the
Clear maps and voice screen on our

test iPhone.
guidance, but the limited This happened
irrespective
feature set reveals Maps of whether
the phone was
isn’t tailored to drives charging, and,
as all drivers
know, reaching
SCORE ✪✪✪✪✪ your destination
PRICE Free isn’t always the
end of a drive.
It’s sometimes
useful for the
G
oogle Maps’ turn-by-turn car map display to
navigation is still in beta, but continue to help find parking ABOVE The blue, data. A further issue for some will be
it doesn’t show. It’s at least on a neighbouring street. yellow and white the lack of offline access. No internet
as fully fledged as Apple Maps, and Google Maps also lacks the screens are very connection means no navigation.
benefits from a clearer map and more easy-access interface of Waze or easy to read However, the benefits stack up
easily intelligible voice instructions. TomTom. For example, big, easy-to- elsewhere. Its traffic reporting is
The blue, yellow and white map hit icons make way for a small text superbly accurate, detecting jams
screens are easy to read and –most box. You can still dictate into it virtually to the metre, and its route
importantly – uncluttered, so it’s (via “OK Google” if you’re using planning proved ultra-reliable in
easy to see at a glance what you an Android device), but you can’t, our tests. Its exhaustive POI list is
have to do. Text instructions are for instance, find a quick alternative also a huge bonus.
kept minimal and to the point, and route around traffic or a roadblock. We much prefer Google Maps’
if there isn’t a turn in the immediate Google’s turn-by-turn display is presentation to the other free apps
future, the instruction “stay on the accomplished and clear, but the here, with the honourable exception
A24” or similar offers of reassurance app itself doesn’t feel like it was of Waze. The background feeling that
that all’s well. purpose-built for drivers. That Maps wasn’t purpose-built for
Its main irritation is that, as feeling intensifies when you notice drivers sometimes niggles, but for
soon as Google Maps declared that the lack of a speedometer or speed less frequent drivers there’s little
we had arrived at our destination, limit alerts, likewise speed camera to complain about.
CoPilotPremium CoPilot’s map view is okay rather

than good. It’s more cluttered than
simplified diagram of upcoming
motorway splits. Voice navigation
UK&Ireland Google Maps, less friendly than Waze,

and lacks the best-of-both-worlds
is pretty good as well: our biggest
complaint is the omission of “the”
Affordable, particularly its approach of TomTom, but it’s easy

to see what you need to do. That said,
from prompts such as “turn left
at roundabout”.
live traffic in-app purchase, we also didn’t feel that the next
navigation – indicated by a mustard-
Its features offset these slight
niggles: you can opt for a speed limit
but not as neatly presented yellow arrow at the bottom of the
screen – was big enough, which
warning, with alerts available from
overshoots as small as 5mph and as
as others means you’ll be relying heavily on large as 30mph. Its POI database is
voice prompts. Other data, such as also comprehensive. For inconclusive
your ETA, is shown in small text on searches, you can also opt to search
SCORE ✪✪✪✪✪ the right of the screen. It makes for Google, Yelp and Wikipedia from
PRICE £15.99 a fairly cluttered approach that’s BELOW CoPilot’s within the app.
bettered by others on test. cluttered screen For iOS users, CoPilot is a tempting
We did like the 3D lane alerts, means you’ll rely app. Half the price of TomTom and
though, with CoPilot displaying a on voice prompts with free traffic detection, its less
C
oPilot Live offers a mid-budget intuitive interface
solution for those frustrated is quite tolerable,
by free apps, but unwilling to although those
stump up for TomTom. The bargains putting in monster
start almost immediately – CoPilot’s mileages are
traffic system, ActiveTraffic, is free for advised to spend
the first year. It’s a good system, too, the extra cash on
accurately detecting nearby traffic TomTom’s almost
and offering reasonable alternative unerring display.
routes. Furthermore, unlike some – For Android users,
such as Apple Maps and Waze – it it’s less appealing:
showed a preference for major roads with TomTom
rather than dogmatically attempting costing £34 for
to route us down completely traffic- three years,
free, windier roads. It also includes including traffic,
an accurate, up-to-date database of CoPilot isn’t such
speed cameras. a great deal.
40
Find your ideal PC at www.meshcomputers.com
WISHING ALL OUR CUSTOMERS LOOK OUT FOR THE
PAST AND PRESENT SA
MESH JANUARY SALES LE
A MERRY CHRISTMAS! ONLINE
“the Mesh Elite Skylake PCA Elite Skylake PCA

exudes quality” £ 969
Inc. VAT & Free Delivery
• Intel® CoreTM i5 6600K Processor

• Gigabyte GA Z170X Gaming Motherboard
• 4GB NVIDIA GTX 970 graphics card
• Fast 16GB DDR4 2400MHz Memory
• 1TB Seagate Barracuda Hard Drive
• 250GB SSD Solid State Drive Free Games
• Aero Cool DS 200 Silent Gaming Case Bundle included
• Raijintek Triton AIO Water Cooler - Assassins Creed

Syndicate, OR
• Microsoft Windows® 10 Home - Tom Clancy’s
• Lifetime Gold Warranty* Rainbow Six Siege
‘Essential Home & Office PC’ ‘Gaming Special Offer PC’

Elite Inspire Elite Hercules GTX
£ 449
£ 779
• Intel® CoreTM i5 6400 Processor • Intel® CoreTM i5 6600 Processor

• Gigabyte H110M Skylake Motherboard • Asus B150M-C D3 Motherboard
• Integrated Intel® Full HD graphics • 2GB NVIDIA GTX 960 graphics card
• Fast 8GB DDR3 2133MHz Memory • Fast 8GB DDR3 2133MHz Memory
• 1TB Seagate Barracuda Hard Drive • 1TB Seagate Barracuda Hard Drive
• Integrated 7.1 High Def 8-channel Audio • 240GB SSD Solid State Drive
• Thermaltake Versa H21 Case • Corsair SPEC-01 Gaming Case
• Microsoft Windows® 10 Home • Microsoft Windows® 10 Home
• Lifetime Gold Warranty* • Lifetime Gold Warranty*
Free Game Bundle
HEROES OF THE STORM KAIJO DIABLO
10.1” Mesh LINX1010B | £ 175

17.3” GE72 Skylake EL | £ 999
• Intel® Atom Z3735G Processor

• Intel® CoreTM i7-6700HQ Processor
• 10.1” LCD Full HD (1280x800) IPS screen • 17.3” LCD Full HD (1920x1080)
• Intel integrated HD Graphics • 2GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M
• 2GB DDR3 Memory • 16GB DDR3 1600MHz Memory
• 32GB internal storage • 1TB 7200rpm Hard Drive
• 2x 2MP Camera (front & rear) • Super Multi DVD RW Optical Drive
• Wireless 10/100/1000 Gigabit LAN • Integrated HD Webcam, Sound Card,
• Bluetooth 4.0, Micro USB, Micro HDMI

• Microphone and SD Card Reader
• Killer Double Shot Pro (GbLAN & WiFi)
• Up to 6 Hours Battery Life
• 5-6 Hours Battery Life
• Microsoft Windows® 10 Home
• Microsoft Windows® 10 Home
• 2 Year Manufacturer Warranty
sales@meshcomputers 020 8955 0731 www.meshcomputers.com

Find us on
0% FINANCE - BUY NOW, PAY DEC 2016 Terms and conditions apply
Please Read: Sales subject to terms & conditions (copy available on our website). Advert does not form part of a contract. Pictures shown for illustration purposes only - colours may vary. Full specifications available online.
Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other countries. All trademarks are acknowledged. At Mesh our PCs are custom built, fully burn-tested with professional CPU
overclocking options - Free overclock configuration is available for an unlocked CPU and when a liquid CPU cooler is selected. 0% Finance - Pay 10% deposit, and pay the rest off within 12 months and pay no interest. *Lifetime Gold
Warranty - Lifetime Labour, 2 Year Parts, 1 Year Free Collect & Return. Sales line open Monday - Friday 9am - 6pm, Saturday 10am - 4pm. Online ordering 24x7. Prices and specification correct at time of going to press on 24/11/15. E&OE.
y
Digitalcampervan
perv
van
M
@PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO
CAM
T here are mobile workers and then
there are truly mobile workers.
Sick of sitting behind my desk, day
in day out, this summer I decided
that I wouldn’t drive to the office every day, but
actually drive my office, giving me the freedom
to work from almost anywhere I pleased. Ladies
and gentlemen, may I present the digital
camper van.
Everything starts somewhere, and
with a project such as this, the base
vehicle determines pretty much
everything else. I opted for a 15-year-
old, grey import Japanese MPV,
the brilliantly named Mazda Bongo.
As a starting point, it ticks all the
right boxes, especially if you have
the model with the electric raising
roof for extra headroom. With only
a tight budget to work with, however,
I opted for the cheaper “tin-top” version,
which is perfect for the kind of day trips
or occasional weekend away that my
usage requires.
42
LEFT The table
folds out from the
Bongo’s kitchen unit
RIGHT When my phone
AN
is in Wi-Fi hotspot mode,
V
I connect via a VPN for an
PER
extra layer of mobile security
Davey Winder reveals how he converted a Mazda

camper van into a mobile office, complete with
laptop chargers and high-speed internet
My Bongo came with eight seats that well as providing eating and working space, up in the middle of nowhere. That’s where
can fold flat to form a huge double bed, the table and benches combine with the the addition of a leisure battery comes in.
and a sliding door for access to the rear. I remaining seats folded flat to form the bed. Unlike the regular starter battery, which
immediately reversed the middle set of seats Much cheaper than hotels when overnight provides a big burst of power to turn your
to give me two rows facing each other and a accommodation is required. engine over, the leisure battery provides a
roomier interior for relaxation or checking The Bongo already has blinds fitted for steady current. I’ve installed a split-charge
email. It didn’t, however, provide enough the side windows in the rear, and I’ve added relay system, which means that both the
space for comfortable laptop use and was some simple curtains to the rear window starter battery and the leisure battery are
crying out for a table. and to isolate the back from the cab. This charged by the alternator as I drive along,
A simple folding table popping out makes it private overnight and keeps the meaning I always have power waiting for
from the side of the van would do at a pinch, harsh sun out during the day. I take a set me when I park. That power is then used
but it wouldn’t provide the kind of dual- of “thermal blinds”, which sucker-cup onto for the lights in the back of the van, the
functionality I required. Instead, I removed the inside of the front and back windows, pump that delivers water from the storage
the rearmost row of seats and replaced with me for those colder nights away. container to the sink taps, the electric
them with a kitchen unit. This comprises cool box that keeps my lunch fresh, and
a gas-powered hob and a sink with pumped Powering up the combination of 12v and USB power
water from tanks below, meaning I could Most camper van conversions – the Bongo is sockets by my table.
make coffee and rustle up vegan sausage no exception – end up with a mains electric These are rated at 1A and 2.1A
sandwiches as required. Better yet, the hook-up fitted to provide 240v power to respectively, which is the same kind
addition of two wooden benches over ordinary plug sockets. These obviously only of power you find on most home twin
the rear wheel arches (and attached to the work when actually hooked up via a long USB chargers. This means I can plug my
kitchen unit) made for a better place to sit cable attached to a socket in your house or phone and my tablet in when I stop and
and type. The table, or desk, folds out from at a campsite - not ideal for getting a bit of be sure they are always charged. That’s
the kitchen unit between the benches. As work done when you find yourself parked essential when your tablet or phone is
43
Digitalcampervan
gitalc
camper van
ABOVE There are 12V and USB power

sockets by my table, with 240V plugs
available when hooked up on-site
also your internet hotspot (more on The Bongo is still a work in

that in a moment). The same unit gives progress, with plans to add
me a standard cigarette-lighter-style 12v solar panels and convert the
socket, which I use to top up the laptop. engine to LPG
How so, given that no laptop runs on a 12v
input? Rather than take the more expensive
and somewhat overkill option of installing
a power inverter to convert the 12v DC feed
into a 240v AC one, I opted for an in-car
laptop adapter that costs a fraction of the That working solution for an
amount. For £25, I have an adapter that just brings me onto office on wheels – unless
plugs into my accessory socket and lets me connectivity, an you’re parked somewhere where
dial up the output voltage I require. With essential for the Chromebook. There are there’s no Three signal, that is.
the help of the bundled charging tips, this all sorts of commercial internet solutions With this in mind, I invested in a PAYG
means I can happily charge my 19v work available for motor homes, most far beyond fallback solution on a different network in
laptop when necessary. As a bonus, it’s a low-budget territory. I don’t want to mount the shape of an EE Buzzard in-car Wi-Fi unit.
totally removable unit, so can be used in a satellite dish or aerial on the roof – the Rather than buying the latest hardware,
other vehicles and as an aeroplane power Bongo is tall enough without adding stuff I got a great deal on the older “version one”
adapter. Of course, the sensible course of to exclude me from even more car parks kit, which I picked up for less than £20,
action is to use as little external power as around the country. Instead, I made use including £10 of data. This acts as a 4G USB
possible, which is where my Chromebook of kit I already had. Wi-Fi hub that plugs into the cigarette
comes in to the picture. My primary means of connecting to the lighter socket. The 12v adapter comes off,
internet is my phone, which is currently a too, leaving you with a standard USB-
Back-of-the-van Moto G running Android. I can run this in powered MiFi stick, which means you
broadband Wi-Fi hotspot mode when required. This can use it in or out of the car. If the Three
I’ve opted for an Asus Flip C100P, which, functionality is easy to set up, complete network lets me down, I simply plug the
as the name suggests, is a fully convertible with WPA2-PSK-protected access. I connect Buzzard into one of my kitchen unit USB
Chromebook that switches from a laptop to to it via a VPN for another layer of out-and- sockets to use the fallback connection.
a tablet in one smooth action. Not only does about security. As well as being secure,
this mean I’m saving valuable space when stable and simple to configure, this kind The road ahead
on the road, since I don’t need to carry two of mobile broadband setup is incredibly The Bongo, which I have named Jean-
devices, but the ridiculous battery life (I can economical. I use a Three SIM that gives Claude, because it’s a fine damn van,
easily get a full eight hours of email, online me 8GB of tethered data a month on top remains a work in progress. As I mentioned,
research and word processing out of of my “normal” usage, at 4G speeds there are already plans to add solar panels
a single charge) does away where available, for a little over on the roof as an off-grid power source for
with the need to worry £20 per month. Unless you’re the leisure battery and my assorted kit. My
about power sources on working in your vehicle to-do list also includes a conversion of the
the move. It’s a quick- every day, or have an “eco engine” to run off liquid petroleum
charging device as well, uncontrollable video- gas (LPG), which is not only half the price
getting me from 10% to streaming habit, that of petrol, but produces minimal emissions.
three-quarters full in just is more than adequate. That just leaves in-van entertainment to
an hour or so. That said, What’s more, since I sort out in the form of an Android Auto
my to-do list has a solar can use my existing system. With suitable touchscreen head
panel installation on it to phone, there’s no need units now available for less than £500, better
enable the sun to top up my to invest in additional integration with phones and increasingly
leisure battery while I’m hardware or contracts. It’s usable apps support, this has already
parked up (rather than requiring the perfect mobile broadband moved up my list a notch or three. In the
the engine to be running for the meantime, my mobile office is up and
split-charge system to work), providing ABOVE A £25 in-car laptop adaptor lets me dial running. Having said that, I might just
an eco-friendly source of power for up the voltage I require and charge my 19V head back inside, at least until it gets a
my laptop. battery when necessary bit warmer again...
44
W
hy work for someone else
when you can make your
own dream come true?
The appeal of starting your
own business is clear: you get to work on
something you’re passionate about and,
if you’re successful, potentially bank a
couple of million pounds in the process.
Yet, for every Raspberry Pi, Skyscanner ALASTAIR MITCHELL | HUDDLE DEBBIE WOSSKOW |LOVE HOME SWAP
or Huddle, there are plenty more that don’t
succeed. A report from the RSA Group
suggested at least half of all new businesses
“You need ‘‘Don’t listen
don’t survive more than five years, while
three-quarters of venture-backed firms
a team of to anyone and
don’t return investor capital, according
to Harvard Business School research. people who everyone who
That doesn’t stop thousands of people
every year from trying, though. “Tech can deliver tells you it will
entrepreneurs are entering one of the most
exciting industries around,” said Marko the expertise never work’’
Balabanovic, innovation director at
government-backed startup supporter and are top
of their field’’
Digital Catapult. “In 2014, 581,173 businesses
registered with Companies House, while
98% of digital companies analysed in
Tech City UK’s recent report were small
businesses. This also means competition is
frenzied, and it takes a lot of determination
to bring products or services to market. No
road to success is smooth – there will be
hurdles, but they can be overcome.”
You’ll need a good idea, the skills and
wherewithal to make it happen, and plenty
of luck. To make the road to startup success
a little easier to traverse, we asked several
leading British tech entrepreneurs to share
their advice. Here’s what it takes to find
success – from those who have made it.
Toptipsfromtech
ENTREPRENEURS Starting a business is hard,
particularly in the competitive
tech industry. Nicole Kobie spoke
to some of the UK’s most successful
tech entrepreneurs for advice
46
@PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Tech entrepreneurs
EBEN UPTON | RASPBERRY PI GARETH WILLIAMS | SKYSCANNER JESS BUTCHER | BLIPPAR
“It’s much ‘‘Create a “Have a big-

easier to shared vision picture vision
sustain a high of where you against which
work rate if want to be as you plot your
you believe in a company’’ course, and
what you’re keep referring
doing’’ back’’
1 KNOW WHO’S IN CHARGE

Going into business with friends or former colleagues is fraught
3 FIND THE RIGHT PEOPLE
Surrounding yourself with the right people is critical. It’s not
with risk, not least if there’s no clear hierarchy. Even Google only staff who have to buy into your company’s philosophy, but
co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page brought in Eric Schmidt outsiders, too. “Take the time to assemble a really top-flight team:
to take over the day-to-day running of the company, before Page top-flight investors and top-flight customers and partners,” said
took the reins back in 2011. Pilgrim Beart, founder of smart-home firm AlertMe and Internet of
Divide power, says Sara Murray, co-founder and CEO of Things company 1248, among others. “Getting to success usually
home-care tech firm Buddi. She argues that 50-50 partnerships takes longer than you think, and there will be plenty of challenges
“don’t work,” adding: “Make it 51-49, because one day you’ll along the way, so choose your fellow travellers carefully.”
need the extra vote.” Alastair Mitchell, co-founder and president of collaboration-
Make sure the chain of command is clear, both internally and software firm Huddle, says finding the right staff is the “classic
legally. “Seek legal advice from the start and have a clean structure,” struggle” for startups.
said Serge Didenko, co-founder of modular smartwatch startup “You need a team of people who can deliver the expertise and
Blocks, which has raised $1.5 million on Kickstarter. “Don’t obsess who are the top of their field, whether it’s development, sales or
over details, but try to find a lawyer friend or a firm that can help marketing,” he said. “A truly successful team should also be full
you structure correctly.” of founders: people who, when they do something, do it better
2 START EARLY
than you could, rather than doing what they’re told. It’s really
exceptional, but it makes the difference between an okay business
and a great business.”
Got a great idea? Don’t sit on it. “Start today,” said Buddi’s Murray. What does he look for when hiring? “People who think big,
“It takes around eight years for a business to become bankable. who are motivated and who have the entrepreneurial instinct,”
Don’t wait for a better idea – get started today.” Mitchell said. “In my questioning, I’m looking for almost the rough
Blocks’ Didenko agrees. “Just do it,” he said. “It’s all about edges – the things on their résumé that look different or reveal
starting hands-on. If you wait for everything to be perfect, you’re an inner drive.”
never going to start. The perfect idea will come to you when you’re The company culture your staff create can be the difference
working on another idea. The perfect co-founder will come when between success and failure, added Jon Reynolds, co-founder
you’ve already started working on it. Start doing something and and CEO of the virtual-keyboard firm SwiftKey. “One of the most
then refine it.” important things I’ve learned along the way is the impact of the
And that means starting young – if that’s still possible. “Do it people that you surround yourself with and the company culture
early,” said Debbie Wosskow, founder of Love Home Swap, the that you cultivate together,” he said. “From the beginning, we’ve
travel home-swapping site. “Starting my first business at 25 meant found that investing in great people is one of the best ways to grow
I had nothing to lose.” the company and increase our chances of success.”
47
PILGRIM BEART | ALERTME SARA MURRAY | BUDDI MARKOBALABANOVIC| DIGITALCATAPULT
“Throwing “Learn to “Tech

mud at the let people do entrepreneurs
wall can be a things you are entering
good initial know you one of the
strategy, but could do most exciting
you have to better” industries
pay attention around”
to what’s
sticking”
4 DO WHAT YOU LOVE

One of the most successful tech ideas to come out of Britain in
Starting a business isn’t a three-month effort – you’ll be at it for
years, so pace yourself. Some startups appear to become overnight
successes, but it doesn’t normally happen straight away.
the past decade is the Raspberry Pi, a barebones microcomputer “Anyone who wants to pursue a startup in the industry needs
designed to encourage children’s interest in programming. Five to be prepared to make a holistic long-term commitment,” said
million of the devices have been sold, but Raspberry Pi creator Huddle’s Mitchell. “It doesn’t matter if you’re the founder, president
Eben Upton said he doesn’t measure success based on his bank or the CEO, you have to be in it for the long haul and you have to
balance. “It would seem kind of strange to start a business because manage yourself, your health and your family life. That’s why I coach
you’ve got to make money,” he said. “You’ve got to think that founders who are currently on this journey to encourage them to
you’re going to accomplish something that’s worthwhile.” find a balance in their own lives. They need to learn how to manage
Upton insists it’s more fun this way. While that may sound the pressure and expectations they place on themselves.”
flippant, he points out that it’s easier to sustain a productive work Finding work-life balance means ceding control. “Entrepreneurs
level if you enjoy what you’re doing. “Most startup companies fail… become the bottleneck to growth because they struggle to delegate,”
but one of the things that makes a difference is the work rate the said Buddi’s Murray. “You have to learn to let people do things you
people who have started the company can sustain,” he said. “It’s know you could do better.”
much easier to sustain a high work rate if you believe in what Jess Butcher, co-founder of “visual discovery” browser Blippar,
you’re doing. I don’t know many people who can sustain a high agrees. She said learning how to delegate “took me far too long,
work rate because of the prospect of a big payday.” aided only by having a baby and an enforced period of time out.”
5 TAKE YOUR HOLIDAYS

The stereotypical startup entrepreneur works 20-hour days,
6 LISTEN AND COMMUNICATE
Those flappy things on the side of your head? Use them. “When
seven days a week, to make their dream come true. While there’s you’re asking for people’s feedback, listen with open ears,” said
some truth to this, you’ll burn out if you don’t take a break. “When Blocks’ Didenko. “Asking the correct question really matters in
you’re working in situations that seem to demand you don’t take getting useful feedback that you don’t necessarily want to hear.”
your holidays, I have learned to always take them,” said Celia But that doesn’t mean you need to heed every word of business
Francis, CEO of Rated People. advice. “Don’t listen to anyone and everyone who tells you it will
“I remember, one summer, working the whole three months never work,” said Wosskow. “That’s an easy thing to say. Seek out
and finding myself completely burned out in the autumn as a result. people who will motivate and support – but also tell you the truth.”
I couldn’t bring my usual positive, creative, fun energy to my team, Make sure you’re also telling customers and investors everything
and it didn’t help me or the company succeed. And, of course, I they need to know – they’re what will make you a success, after all.
missed a chance that will never come back to me to spend time “At AlertMe we – correctly in my opinion – launched our proposition
with friends and family.” to market as soon as we possibly could, when it was barely in a beta
48
@PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Tech entrepreneurs
JON REYNOLDS | SWIFTKEY CELIA FRANCIS | RATED PEOPLE SERGE DIDENKO | BLOCKS
“From the ‘‘Holidays – “Just do it.

beginning, I have If you wait for
we’ve found learned everything
that investing always to to be perfect,
in great people take them” you’re never
is one of the going to start’’
best ways
to grow’’
stage. This was fantastic for shaking out bugs in the technology,
the UX and the proposition,” said founder Beart. “But we hadn’t
realised how clear we needed to be with our B2C early adopters that
8 CHECK YOUR ATTITUDE
Of all the qualities required of a startup entrepreneur, mental
this was indeed a beta, so we had to do a lot of damage limitation, toughness is near the top of the list. “This stuff is hard,” said Love
since we initially failed to meet their expectations. If we had set Home Swap’s Wosskow. “It requires grit. The staying power matters
clearer expectations upfront, I think we could have saved ourselves more than the initial enthusiasm that comes with the idea.”
a lot of pain and still had a lot of good learning.” She and our other entrepreneurs offer advice that holds true to
7 HAVE A VISION
the rest of life: get up early; never burn a bridge; develop a thicker
skin; keep trying. “If you feel like every day you have tried to be
the best you can be, that’s a reason to bounce out of bed the next
What’s the goal of your startup? Does it scale to tens of thousands morning,” Wosskow said.
9 NO REGRETS
of users and hundreds of staff? “The importance of creating a
shared vision about where we want to be as a company is as vital
now, with a team of over 700, as it was when there were three of us
working from my spare room,” said Gareth Williams of Skyscanner, Don’t forget that you chose to start a business — this is your dream,
the booking site that has disrupted how web-savvy travellers find and yours to shape. Throw yourself into it so you’ll never look back
discount flights. “I strongly believe time can barely be wasted in and wonder “what if?” Huddle’s Mitchell has a test for ensuring he
the communication of vision and strategy.” avoids regrets: how would he feel if he were hit by a bus? Other
And while you need to be flexible with that vision, so it can than squashed, that is.
evolve as you learn, make sure you stay focused, advises AlertMe’s “One of the guiding principles in my life – and everyone I know
Beart. “I caused a lot of problems for my first startup because I gets very bored hearing me talk about it – is what I call the big, red
repeatedly rushed after the latest, most exciting opportunities. I bus,” he explained. “It’s basically about the fear of death.
should have worked out which was the most important one and “The idea is to think about what would happen if I were to walk
stuck with it,” he said. “Throwing mud at the wall can be a good out across the street and be struck by a big, red bus. In that brief
initial strategy, but you do have to pay attention to what’s sticking.” moment before it hits me, what would be the thing that I would
The vision for your startup may be so grand that it’s intimidating. regret not having done?
“Don’t let yourself be overwhelmed by the task ahead and use that “Instinctively, people know the right answer, but it can be buried
as a reason not to start,” said Blippar’s Butcher. under so many layers of doubt and questions that it’s sometimes
“Have a big-picture vision against which you plot your course hard to find,” he added. “Starting my own business came from one
and keep referring back, but break it down into a micro to-do list of those moments. I just decided one day that I was going to do this.
and start ploughing through it. You’ll be amazed at how prolific It was at the height of everything going well for me in my job, but
and productive you can be when that to-do list is for your personal I knew if I were staring down the big, red bus without having gone
vision and not someone else’s.” for it, I would regret it.”
49
Turna£49webcam
intoasecuritycamera
Inexpensive webcams are an excellent way to add security to your home
and office. Nik Rawlinson shows how – and explains the pitfalls
I
t’s not long since setting up a video
surveillance system involved a lot of time,
money and mess. Time because it was
complicated; money because you had to
invest in some hefty kit; and mess because
it invariably required drilling, cable-feeding
and housing a recording device.
Not any more. Modern webcams, which
are cheap, flexible and easy to install, do
just as good a job. They often boast high
resolutions, night-vision and – a real
bonus – remote control using simply a
browser and a broadband connection.
In this hands-on walkthrough, we’re
going to explain how to set up your own
office or home security system using a
cheap, easily configured internet protocol
(IP) webcam. We’ve specified an IP camera,
rather than one that connects to a PC over
USB, because IP webcams connect directly
to a router and so can stream to the web
when your computer is turned off.
■ Candid camera
By their nature, webcams can reveal a lot At one point, Insecam was streaming such as keeping cameras out of changing
about you – and anyone else they can see. more than 73,000 cameras, plus details rooms, but it’s still worth reading in full
Before you go any further, you need to secure of the manufacturer, the model and the (pcpro.link/256cctv).
your camera with a robust password. approximate location. This represented, It’s also important to think carefully
Many manufacturers ship their webcams in Eckersley’s words, “a major breach of whether a camera is the best solution to a
with default login credentials, which are privacy and data protection rights [that] perceived problem. For example, might
often the same on all models. Unless you was extremely concerning for us and many better security lighting achieve much the
change them, anyone who can determine same result? Also, be careful where you
what kind of camera you’re using will also
be able to access your live stream, since the
Cameras should not be position any equipment: ensure you record
only relevant footage and minimise
passwords are only a Google search away. deployed as a quick fix, but overspill into other, private areas.
In February 2015, Stephen Eckersley,
head of enforcement for the Information
a proportionate response “Surveillance cameras should not be
deployed as a quick fix, but a proportionate
Commissioner’s Office, wrote to IP camera to a pressing problem response to a real and pressing problem,”
manufacturers, impressing upon them the the ICO explains. “[Before] putting in
need to make their customers aware of the other global data protection authorities”. surveillance cameras… you need to
risk they run in setting up an IP camera He requested that the manufacturers to understand the problem and whether
without changing the default details. whom the letter was sent built in prompts that is an effective and proportionate
His letter (pcpro.link/256ipcam) asking users to change the username and solution. Failure to do proper privacy
highlighted Insecam, a site that streams live password on their device before it was used. impact assessments in advance has been
footage from insecure IP cameras. Is the site a common theme in our enforcement cases.”
doing anything wrong? Maybe not – it isn’t ■ Is there a better solution? As long as you’re happy with this, the
hacking in to anyone’s camera, after all. Still, The ICO can impose fines of up to £500,000 following 12 steps are all you need to know
to avoid having your stream appear in its list for serious breaches of the Data Protection to set up your own security system at
of links, change the password through the Act, so it’s worth familiarising yourself with minimal cost. The process should take
camera’s built-in config pages. its guidance. Much of this is common sense, around two hours to complete.
50
@PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Xxxxxx
Hands-on
Setting up a webcam surveillance system in 12 steps
1
We’re using a
Foscam FI8918W 8W
cam
wireless webcam
ause
with night vision because
it’s relatively cheap (£49
on Amazon) and can be
controlled through the
browser. This meanss
you can pan and tilt to
get a better look at its
surroundings from
wherever you happen n
to be. A lot of rivals
devices are similar.
The key is to look forr a
2
camera that connects ts Position the camera, balancing good coverage with respect for
etwork
directly to your network others’ privacy. Avoid any bright lights between the camera and the
by Wi-Fi or Ethernet and target area. Keep it out the way of pets or they will activate motion
rver.
has a built-in web server. det
detection. Most cameras ship with a 0.75in bracket: don’t worry if the
onl practical location for mounting this is under a worktop or shelf,
only
sin there’s normally a “flip” option to re-orient the image.
since
3 4
Open your router control panel by typing its address into a browser To access the camera remotely, we need to fix its address on the
(find it by typing “ipconfig” at the Windows command prompt and local network. This way, we can route requests to it directly from
using the address beside “Default Gateway”). Click through to the our broadband connection. Uncheck the camera’s DHCP option and
list of devices attached to the router to find the camera’s address. Type this assign it an address that’s not in use on your network. Enter the “Default
into your browser to open the camera’s web server. Change the username Gateway” data from ipconfig in the gateway and DNS server boxes, plus
and password if necessary, then move on to the camera’s network settings. the subnet mask (also from ipconfig) in the appropriate field.
5 6
Reboot the camera, then log in using its new IP address. In the config Open the mail service settings and tell the camera who should receive
pages, look for an alarm service (possibly called “Motion Detect”). the images and how it should send them. We’re going to send them to
Check the option to activate motion detection, then decide whether one person, so we’ve entered their address in the appropriate box,
you want it to email an image of the detected movement, upload it using FTP adding the sending address. We then need to add the SMTP server, SMTP
or both. We want to receive an email, so check that box, click “Submit to port, username, password and security options in the boxes at the foot of
confirm”, wait for the camera to reboot and return to the config pages. the page to match the “from” address.
51
Hands-on @PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO
Setting up a webcam surveillance system in 12 steps
7 8
The easiest way to test the motion detection is to walk in front of the We need to set up full remote access so we can view the live video
camera, then refresh your email inbox. If an email doesn’t appear and online without having to wait for the motion-detect system to trigger.
you’re sure the camera’s settings are correct, check your spam bin: We’ll use a dynamic DNS service that our camera can update every
that’s where ours ended up the first time we tested the system. If there’s time it detects its broadband IP address changing. Our camera supports
nothing there, return to “Alarm service Settings” and adjust the “Motion No-IP, so we’ve signed up for a free account at noip.com and picked the
Detect Sensitivity” option so that it triggers with less movement. subdomain “ovingo.ddns.net” (using your own domain is chargeable).
9 10
We need to add this host name and our No-IP credentials to the We’re also running a server on our network, which we want to
camera configuration, so it can log in to the account and update the access through the regular HTTP port (80). To avoid confusion
system when it detects a change to our router’s IP address. Return or any tricky internal rerouting, we’ll adjust the camera’s web
to the webcam configuration pages, open the DDNS settings and select the server so it’s accessible through port 8080. To set this up, we return to
service you’re using. Enter the username, password and host you specified the “Basic Network Settings” and enter 8080 in the HTTP port box, but
during setup, then save the changes and wait for the camera to reboot. leave all of the other settings, as entered in step 4, as they are.
11 12
The camera now knows what to do when it receives an incoming Now that the router knows where to send requests, when we
connection, but we haven’t built the bridge between it and the type ovingo.ddns.net into a web browser it will update to the last
router. We’ll do this by logging in to the router again, opening virtual known IP address the webcam supplied to the No-IP service,
servers (sometimes called port forwarding) and adding an entry to direct with “:8080” tacked on to the end. The router will spot this, reroute the
incoming connections on port 8080 to our camera’s IP address. We have request through the internal network to the camera and let you – or
also specified 8080 for the private port to match the settings on the camera. anyone with the password – log in and control it remotely.
52
Designed for complete
creative control.
VEGAS PRO 13
Vegas™ Pro 13 delivers complete creative control. This new version includes major enhancements like
advanced archival tools, sophisticated audio metering and Vegas Pro Connect, a control surface and review
system for the iPad. Vegas Pro 13 offers an unparalleled toolset for content creation and delivery, and comes
complete with DVD Architect™ Pro, Dolby® Digital Professional Encoder, and plug-in collections from FXHOME,
NewBlueFX, and iZotope®.
Superior performance and intuitive workflows; spend less time thinking about editing, and more time doing it.
Also available:
• Vegas Pro 13 Edit: core technology in a cost-effect package.
• Vegas Pro 13 Suite: maximum audio and video editing, visual effects,
customizable workflow, and disc authoring.
Learn more at www.sonycreativesoftware.com/vegaspro
Copyright ©2015. Sony Creative Software Inc. All rights reserved. All other trademarks are trademarks of their respective owners. All screen images simulated.
Subscription offer
3issuesfor£1
Plus a FREE 15-piece
screwdriver set
PC Pro’s editorial team are

experts in their field. Between Availablein:
them, they have over a century
of experience in the IT industry Print
and are dedicated to keeping
you up to speed on the latest Quote offer code D1602P
technology developments. Subscribe today with 3 issues for £1, then £24.99
every six months and receive your free gift.
Start your subscription
to PC Pro and we’ll
send you a FREE Digital
15-piece screwdriver
set as a thank you.
Quote offer code D1602D
Subscribe today with 3 issues for £1, then £15.49
You can read PC Pro
in print, on your
iPad, iPhone or
Kindle Fire, or via Print + Digital
our Windows 8 app.
Quote offer code D1602B
Subscribe today with 3 issues for £1, then £28.99
DENNISMAGS.CO.UK/PCPRO Subscription offer
Innextmonth’sissue:
On sale 14 January
LABS
Securitysuites
All the big names are updating their internet
security suites, with many now also offering
mobile device protection. Find out which you
should choose next month.
FEATURES
DIYsmarthome
Is it really practical to build your own smart
home using off-the-shelf equipment? We find
out if the various smart home gadgets can
talk to one another and whether they really
make your domestic life effortless.
Vivaldi:thenewOpera?
After an acrimonious split from Opera – the
browser company he co-founded – Jon von
Tetzchner is back with a new browser,
Vivaldi. Find out all about the feature-packed
browser designed for IT enthusiasts.
You'rewastingyourlife
BONUS SOFTWARE Powerful zip tool worth £15 5more Working longer hours doesn't necessarily
Switch to mean working better – in fact, the evidence
the world’s suggests those late nights at the office are
best satnav
And it’s not Google Maps p32
harming your performance. Find out how to
stop the rot and monitor your performance.
DITCH
YOUR Virtualmachines
onWindows10
ISP’S With Microsoft's Hyper-V letting you run
ROUTER
8
BETTER
ROUTERS
ON TES
T virtual machines in the desktop version of
Triple your speed & destroy dead spots
Windows, Steve Cassidy reveals how to take
Create your iPad Pro & Surface
advantage in a step-by-step walkthrough.
ISSUE 256 FEBRUARY 2016 £5.99
Pro 4: our verdict p56

own company Turn this £49
9 lessons from tech webcam into a
entrepreneurs p46 security camera p50
Orderbefore29Decembertogetthenextissuebeforeithitstheshops:
dennismags.co.uk/pcpro
0844 844 0083 Calls will cost 7p per minute plus your
telephone company’s access charge
Reviews
it. Moreover, at £79, it’s far from Add Apple’s
cheap, but if you want to make Smart Keyboard
the most of the Pro, it’s definitely or a rival setup
a purchase worth considering. and you have
Plenty of apps have already a great laptop
been optimised for the iPad Pro’s alternative,
bigger screen and delicate Pencil. with a decent
Apple’s own Notes app is a joy battery life and
to sketch on, especially with an unparalleled
the virtual ruler, which offers choice of many
spectacular precision. big-screen,
However,the Pencil isn’t touch-enabled
perfect. One of the characteristics apps. The Pencil
of the way a real pencil works is adds a whole new
its interaction with the material, dimension of
and, in particular, the way the usability and is
pencil drags when pushed or an enjoyable
pulled across the surface. There’s peripheral to use.
currently no real way that Apple It’s expensive,
can change this, as the screen though: add it
has to be flat and smooth, but it all up and you’re
remains the best approximation spending more
of a pencil on paper that anyone than £800 for the
has yet come up with. full set of tablet,
Pencil and Smart
■ Performance Keyboard, and
and battery life you can pay even
Apple has included its most powerful are both significant improvements ABOVE The Apple iPad more top boost storage from the stock
processor yet in the iPad Pro. The A9 over the iPad Air 2. Pro’s large Retina 32GB to 128GB. But, despite this, the
chip found in the latest iPhones has I also ran the GFXBench Manhattan display is pin-sharp, iPad Pro is not bad value at all. For
been beefed up with an X, and the tests, which delivered results of 33fps bright and colourful your money, you’re getting a fast,
iPad Pro also has extra RAM. for the onscreen test and 79fps for the capable laptop running on iOS,
Whatever the specs, this is a tablet offscreen test, run at 1080p. Again, and an eye-poppingly good tablet
that feels consistently nippy and these are seriously impressive results: with ear-tingling audio to boot.
responsive. Even when editing video faster than any Android or iOS tablet The iPad Pro marks another major
at 4K resolution, the iPad Pro didn’t we’ve ever tested, and faster even inflection point: it ends the whole
slow down. Tasks from video playback than a mid-2014 MacBook Pro 13 “iPads are only for consumption”
to side-by-side email and web surfing equipped with Intel’s integrated debate. The only people who can’t
were swift and easy to accomplish. Iris Graphics 6100. use the iPad Pro as a creation tool
Apple has said that it’s faster than That said, one of Apple’s guiding are those who need really high-end
many portable PCs, including a few principles has always been to avoid performance: professional graphic
MacBooks, and the benchmarks seem statistics and instead focus on designers and video editors – the kind
to confirm this. For example, a high delivering a flawless user experience. of people for whom 16GB
Geekbench 3.1 single-core result of And this is most certainly the “It’s faster than any iOS of RAM is table stakes.
3,192 and a multi-core result of 5,413 case here. or Android tablet we’ve Most people don’t
The other important fall into that category,
indicator of performance
ever tested and is even and the iPad Pro is more
is battery life, and that’s faster than a mid-2014 than sufficient as a creation
an area in which Apple’s MacBook Pro 13in” tool. For some users –
iPads have always been anyone who sketches or
consistently good. There’s a loves using a stylus – it’s a better
large, rich screen to service creative tool than your average
here and one heckuva big PC or laptop.
battery to power it – a Overall, it’s worth seeing if the
38.5Wh battery, to be iPad Pro’s size and weight suits you.
precise. And in our video- There are other smaller, lighter and
rundown tests, the iPad much cheaper iPads. But, if the large
Pro performed admirably, size appeals, the new Apple flagship
lasting a solid 9hrs 8mins is hard not to like. DAVID PHELAN
(in flight mode, with the
screen set to a brightness of BATTERY: video playback, 9hrs 8mins
170cd/m2) before expiring.
■ Verdict
The iPad Pro is a stunning
machine. It looks fantastic SPECIFICATIONS
and, once you get over Apple A9X processor ● M9 motion
just how big it is, the size coprocessor ● 32/128GB storage ●
becomes a benefit, with 12.9in 2,732 x 2,048 IPS display ● 802.11ac
its immersive screen and LEFT The iPad Pro is Wi-Fi ● 4G (optional) ● 38.5Wh battery ●
giant playground of real almost as wide as the iOS 9 ● 1yr RTB warranty ● 221 x 7 x 306mm
estate for apps to exploit. iPad Air is tall (WDH) ● 713g
58
USE PROMO CODE
PP1215
FOR A 15%
DISCOUNT FOR
ALL OF OUR
PRODUCTS
MicrosoftSurfacePro4
The Surface Pro 4 is mostly
an iterative improvement,
but don’t underestimate
how good that makes it
PRICE £991 (£1,189 inc VAT) from
microsoftstore.com (inc Type Cover)
T
he Microsoft
Surface Pro 4
takes the tried, tested
and rather likeable Surface
Pro 3 form and improves almost
every aspect of it. It’s an iteration
over its predecessor, but don’t make
the mistake of thinking that the
improvements are “only” iterative. There’s still the
As Apple has proven time and again, same ingenious stand, ■ Type Cover
constant iteration leads to products which you can adjust to I didn’t hate the Surface Pro 3’s Type
that end up head and shoulders above almost any angle, so it’s close Cover. I could happily type on it for
the competition. And that’s where to being a laptop-like experience. ABOVE We love the hours, but was always pleased to get
the Surface Pro 4 is. Compare this with the iPad Pro’s screen’s eye-popping back to a proper keyboard. It wasn’t
In case you haven’t seen a Surface keyboard stand, with its one-size- brightness and so much the size of the keys or the
Pro, or you somehow missed the fits-all approach, and you really contrast levels travel, but the slight flex that you
huge multimillion-dollar advertising appreciate Microsoft’s design skills. felt when you hit it.
campaign Microsoft has run since the The body is the same as its The good news is that Surface
first one launched, it’s designed to be predecessor, as are the ports: USB 3, Pro 4’s Type Cover largely fixes this.
the tablet that can replace a laptop. It DisplayPort, and a microSD slot Microsoft has added some much
runs Windows 10, so you can use the hidden are under the stand. Microsoft needed rigidity to the cover – it’s
full gamut of Windows applications, hasn’t taken the opportunity to shift actually hard to bend now – which
and it’s based on an Intel processor – to USB Type-C, which I think is a means the keyboard doesn’t bounce
in our case, the latest Skylake Core shame. This means we’re also stuck in quite the same alarming way. The
i5-6300U – although you can go up to with the weird proprietary power keys themselves are still a bit clicky,
an i7, or even step down to a Core m3. connector, rather than being able but it’s a nice experience, and I’d be
RECOMMENDED
Prices run from £749 inc VAT for to charge from USB Type-C. Perhaps happy to type on it all the time.
the m3 model with 4GB of RAM and next time. The trackpad has also been
a 128GB SSD, up to £1,799 for an i7 One small design tweak that’s improved. It’s now a little bigger,
with 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD. welcome, though, is the addition of and topped with glass, with a
As usual, you’ll have to add on £110 a few magnets on the left-hand side. much-smoother feel. It’s moved
for the (pretty much essential) Type These hold the Surface Pen – which from the “I want a mouse now,
Cover, which means a top-of-the- is included – firmly to the side of the please” category to “I can use this”.
range Surface Pro 4 won’t leave you device. How firmly? Firmly enough It’s helped by a few
much change from £2,000. Microsoft that, on a flat desk, I can drag the “The Surface Pro 4 isn’t nice extra touches. For
is truly following the Apple sales device along just by holding the pen poor value for money: you example, the function
model with this one. and pulling. It’s not quite as secure as key now has a tiny light
are getting design and
an internal docking slot, but it’s close. and acts as function-lock.
■ Design and build quality The biggest question mark over build quality that’s at least The backlighting has also
This isn’t to suggest poor value for the design remains its “lappability”, as good as Apple’s here” improved, although the
money: you’re getting design and as Microsoft has taken to calling it. keys still leak more light
build quality that’s at least as good As with the Surface Pro 3, the 4 is than they should.
as Apple’s here. And, although the helped by the stand’s ability to tilt The Surface Pro 4 keyboard works
design of the Surface Pro 4 doesn’t the screen to a wide range of angles. with the Surface Pro 3 as well. So, if
stray too far from that of the Surface However, while it’s now steady, it’s you have an older Pro, I’d definitely
Pro 3, there are tweaks Microsoft still deeper than using a conventional recommend running out and buying
has made that improve it. laptop, which means people who one as soon as you can.
have short legs are likely to find it
BENCHMARKS less comfortable. ■ Screen
Apple MacBook
Ultimately, it comes down to you. The screen has had plenty of attention
Pro 13in (2015) If you spend a lot of time using your lavished on it. As with the Surface
current laptop on your lap (say, on Pro 3, the Surface Pro 4 has a ten-
OVERALL 44
the train), the Surface Pro will be point touchscreen, which is fast and
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130 140 150
less suitable for you. If, on the other accurate. However, the resolution
hand, you’re likely to use it on a table has been upped to 2,736 x 1,824, which
BREAKDOWN SCORES Image Video Multi
editing editing tasking or desk, it will be perfectly fine. translates to a pixel density of 267ppi,
78 53 26
60
@PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Reviews
and this means absolutely everything probably squeeze about seven hours ■ Verdict
looks super sharp and clear, even to of normal use out of it – not quite a I liked the Surface Pro 3 enough to
old eyes like mine. full day, but close. For the record, buy one after reviewing it last year.
And there’s more good news. We Microsoft claims a nine-hour The Surface Pro 4 is a step up, and it’s
measured the brightness at 388cd/m², battery life for video playback. going to be hard stepping back to the
which is great, while contrast hit Certainly, all-round performance Surface Pro 3 again. The screen is
1,218:1, which is absolutely superb. is good rather than stellar. An overall amazing, the keyboard has improved
Likewise, colour accuracy and sRGB score of 44 in our benchmarks is some and the small design touches all
gamut coverage was difficult to fault. way behind the latest MacBook Pro gladden the heart.
In short, the screen on the Surface 13in. This kind of performance from That said, it’s not the perfect
Pro 4 is amazing. the i5 version makes me wonder how machine. I’d like to see a few more
well the Core m3 option performs – hours of battery life, so I can take it
■ Performance my gut feeling is that it’s likely to into work without reaching for the
and battery life be a disappointment. power adapter. It’s expensive, too.
Microsoft talks about the Surface Spending £1,200 on an i5-based
series as being “no compromise” ■ Pen upgrade machine with 8GB of RAM and a
machines, but whenever you’re There’s one obvious difference to the 256GB SSD gives pause for thought.
creating a compact, light device, pen on the Surface Pro 4: an all-new It’s a lot of money to spend.
the laws of thermodynamics mean eraser on top. As with a regular pencil, Overall, though, Microsoft really
that compromises are inevitable. you just flip the pen over and rub is pushing the Surface Pro line along
You can make a compact computer onscreen to erase things. As before, nicely. There isn’t quite enough here
fast, long-working or cool – but you clicking on the pen top launches to make me want to upgrade from
can’t do all three at the same time. OneNote, while double-clicking a Surface Pro 3, but it’s a good, solid
The compromises Microsoft has allows you to grab part of the screen update, and it remains the hybrid that
made with the Surface Pro 4 are and capture it into OneNote. New, sets the standard. IAN BETTERIDGE
reasonable, and similar to those of however, is the ability to do a long
the Surface Pro 3. It’s a little faster press to launch Cortana. According SPECIFICATIONS
than this year’s MacBook Air, but in to Microsoft, the screen and pen are Dual-core 2.4GHz Intel Core i5-6300U ● 8GB
our battery tests gave out after 5hrs more sensitive too: the Surface Pro 4 is RAM ● 256GB SSD ● 12.3in 2,736 x 1,824 IPS
41mins. Out in the real world, you’ll now capable of sensing 1,024 levels of touchscreen display ● Intel HD Graphics 520
pressure, instead of 256 for the Pro 3. ● microSD slot ● USB 3 ● mini-DisplayPort ●
BATTERY: video playback, 5hrs 41mins The shape of the pen has also ABOVE Super-strong 5MP/8MP front/rear cameras ● 802.11ac
changed a little: there’s now a flat magnets connect the Wi-Fi ● Bluetooth 4 ● 5,087mAh Li-ion
side, allowing it to stick more securely upgraded Pen to the battery ● Windows 10 Pro (64-bit) ● 1yr RTB
to the magnets on the Surface. side of the Surface warranty ● 292 x 8.5 x 201mm (WDH) ● 786g
61
Reviews @PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO
ChillblastFusion While there isn’t
Krypton very much room to

manoeuvre inside
A beast of a machine that the case, upgraders

will appreciate the
will pile through games swing-out bay that
contains two easy-
and demanding tasks while slide-out caddies for
2.5in drives, and the
barely making a whisper way Chillblast’s
engineers have
pre-routed the
SCORE ✪✪✪✪✪ connectors so it’s just
PRICE £763 (£916 inc VAT) from a matter of plugging
chillblast.com them in. Two more
5.25in bays sit empty
at the top, with one
T
here’s a reason why British- external slot cut into
made PCs remain popular with the fascia for an optical
enthusiasts: our PC makers are drive. It’s super-easy to
always willing to push the limits, to access these bays, too:
build something with a bit extra. For the grille at the top of
evidence, just compare and contrast the case simply lifts off.
the Chillblast Fusion Krypton with Equally convenient
anything you can buy from Dell, HP are the three USB ports
or even Alienware. Or let me save you mounted on the front lip
some time – you won’t come close. M.2 Samsung SM951 SSD and we ABOVE There’s a good of the case, with a further four at the
Not everyone will love the expected this system to fly through reason the graphics rear. Only one of the front ports and
Krypton’s design. One member of our benchmarks. And fly it did. card is at the centre: two of the rear are USB 3, which is a
the PC Pro team said it looked like a A score of 136 is the second fastest it’s the heart of this PC bit disappointing, but I was pleased
shredder on steroids, while another we’ve seen, a single point behind to see a full-sized SD card slot and a
loved its “space-age” looks. Beauty, as Chillblast’s own Fusion Centurion microSD slot available. A mic and
ever, is in the eye of the beholder. One (see issue 252, p64). This PC will cope headphone socket sit there too, along
thing I can say with confidence is that with whatever you demand of it. with the power and reset buttons.
it’s striking: few people will walk past The same is true for games. The That monster graphics card offers
this PC without passing comment. graphics card not only looks the part four video outputs: two DVI-I, one
That’s especially true if you keep when gazed at adoringly through the HDMI and one DisplayLink. The
the Krypton in a dark room, where windowed side of the case, it delivers price doesn’t include a monitor to
RECOMMENDED
the subtle blue light behind the grille thumping performance too. Key to match the graphics card’s skills, but
gives it a futuristic glow worthy of its speed is Nvidia’s GeForce GTX 970 Chillblast recommends the 4K, 28in
a Spielberg film. The illumination chipset, which offers a staggering AOC U2868PQU monitor (an extra
belongs to the stonkingly huge fan - amount of power: this PC scored £300 at time of purchase). Nor
200mm in diameter - that ensures 55.1fps in the demanding Heaven does the price include
the case insides are kept cool with benchmark from Unigine (1,920 x “And fly it did. A score of a keyboard and mouse,
minimal noise. Amazingly, despite 1,080, 8x anti-aliasing, top quality 136 is the second fastest but Chillblast offers
its five fans, including two on the settings) compared to 31.5fps from the
we’ve seen, a single point Thermaltake’s E-Sports
graphics card alone, this machine GeForce GTX 960-powered Yoyotech Commander Gaming
is whisper-quiet in operation. Warbird we reviewed last month behind Chillblast’s own keyboard and mouse
This peace belies the beast within, (pcpro.link/alwarbird). Fusion Centurion” set as a bundle for £14.
with Intel’s 3.5GHz Core i5-6600K There aren’t a huge number of Is the Krypton worth
overclocked to a stable 4.4GHz. If upgrade options if you want to push £916? If you’re after this amount of
you want to push it further, the Asus things further, though. There’s only BELOW All the fans gaming performance, yes. I totted up
Z170M-PLUS microATX motherboard room for a single-height card to fit are both large and the prices of all the components, and
offers the wealth of features we’ve into the empty PCI Express x16 slot, quiet, just like the once you factor in the cost of Windows
come to expect from game-focused with one of the two uninhabited PCI Krypton Fusion itself and a two-year, collect-and-return
boards, with Asus’ “EZ” and Advanced Express x1 slots blocked warranty it’s something of a steal. The
modes on offer depending on your by the graphics card. biggest expense is the graphics card
level of knowledge. There’s much (around £275), so just be sure you
The Asus board offers four DDR4 more room for storage want this much power before
sockets, with Chillblast generously expansion, although pressingthe Buy button. TIM DANTON
providing two 8GB Corsair 2,133MHz it will take even the
DDR4 DIMMs. Factor in the 256GB most ardent video SPECIFICATIONS
editor some time to fill 3.5GHz Intel Core i5-6600K overclocked to
BENCHMARKS the supplied 2TB hard 4.4GHz ● 16GB 2.13GHz DDR4 RAM (2 x 8GB) ●
Yoyotech Warbird disk. Two 5.25in bays MSI GeForce GTX 970 graphics card ●
RS10 sit empty just below 256GB Samsung SM951 M.2 SSD ● 2TB
the hard disk, with Seagate Barracuda hard disk ● Chillblast
OVERALL 136
space for a further Kube microATX case ● 600W Aerocool
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130 140 150
two 3.5in drives Integrator PSU ● 2yr C&R warranty (parts &
next to the Aerocool labour) plus 3yr RTB (labour only) ● 278 x 420
editing editing tasking 600W power supply. x 410mm (WDH) ● Windows 10 Home
139 126 134
62
AsusC201Chromebook
It has weak points, but the than IPS. That means
viewing angles are
Asus C201 is ideal for life poor and, to my eyes,
the screen also looked
on the move thanks to slightly washed out.
Normally, that would
incredible battery life prompt howls of derision
in the PC Pro office, but
it’s important to bear in
SCORE ✪✪✪✪✪ mind both the price and
PRICE £167 (£200 inc VAT) the rest of the package. It’s
from currys.co.uk a weak point, sure, but if all
you want to do is browse
the web and use apps such
I
f there’s one thing Asus seems as Google Docs, then it’s
to care about when making perfectly fine. Movie watchers
Chromebooks such as the Asus are likely to be disappointed.
C201, it’s battery life. You can almost Those who value style may ABOVE The C201 is a Likewise, the keyboard. It’s
imagine the company president feel a little self-conscious as they largely plastic affair nothing special at all, with a damp feel
slamming his fist on the boardroom whip this laptop out in Starbucks and the screen feels to each keystroke, but it’s still easy to
table when the C200 was launched when everyone around them is vulnerable to bumps reach high typing speeds. Plus, the
last year, demanding more from tapping away on their MacBooks – only shrunken keys are the cursor
his quivering engineers: “Eleven it certainly isn’t a machine I’d take keys. The only mistake I found myself
hours from an Asus Chromebook, into a sales meeting – but the dark consistently making was hitting the
you pathetic layabouts? That’s blue lid with an updated Chrome power button when I was looking for
not good enough.” logo means it looks respectable Delete. There isn’t, in fact, a Delete
Seen through this (fictional) enough. It’s more smart casual key, only Backspace.
prism, 2015’s updated model makes than business casual. “The touchpad is large for a The touchpad is
sense. While the Celeron inside the The C201 won’t embarrass you Chromebook and reflects a genuine plus. It’s
previous version was light on fuel when it comes to speed, though. unusually large for a
the screen ratio, which I
consumption, the ARM-based If you’re an Intel traditionalist, Chromebook and reflects
Rockchip in this iteration is positively you have nothing to found helpful when moving the screen ratio, which I
weightless. Asus claims a staggering fear from switching between Chrome tabs” found particularly helpful
13 hours, and while my real-world to ARM. I found when navigating between
tests suggest you’re more likely to it responsive in Chrome tabs: run three fingers along
get 12 – with the screen’s brightness every situation I it from left to right and it flicks
set to low – that’s still amazing. threw at it, from between the open tabs. As
Especially when you consider that jumping around with all Chromebooks, there’s
this Chromebook weighs less than Word Online no left- or right-click button: if
1kg (980g, to be precise). Sling it into documents you want to right-click, the easiest
a bag and it’s barely noticeable, and to viewing way is to press Alt at the same
since you don’t need to worry about embedded time as pressing down on
carrying the power supply around videos on the bottom of the pad.
with you, it couldn’t score much the BBC There’s a huge amount
more highly for portability. website and of choice if you’re looking to
Further good news comes if you editing photos spend £200 on a laptop. Never
need to give it an emergency charge: on Pixlr. mind Chromebooks such as the HP
it went from empty to full in less than Naturally, as it runs Chromebook 11, you should also
an hour. The bad news? Although the Chrome OS, I couldn’t run the PC consider the Windows-powered
charging port looks like micro-USB, it Pro benchmarks, but JetStream – the Toshiba Satellite C40-C and HP
isn’t – you need Asus’ specific charger, natural successor to the now defunct ABOVE The C201 feels Stream 11.
which supplies power at 12V and 2A. SunSpider benchmark – returned more smart casual The Asus C201 Chromebook has
Should you decide to take the Asus a score of 44. That outperformed than business casual carved out its own niche, though,
with you on your travels, it’s sturdy my Dell XPS 13, powered by a Core thanks to battery life and portability.
enough to sling into a case. It’s a i5 processor, which scored 42. Its screen isn’t perfect, nor is it the
largely plastic affair and the screen JetStream is a web-app-based most luxurious laptop, but if you
does feel vulnerable to direct hits, benchmark, but in this case it’s want something that you can sling
but little else can go wrong: there’s no 100% relevant because you’ll into a bag for a weekend and not
mechanical disk, only 16GB of eMMC only be using web apps on the C201. worry about chargers, it’s a great
flash storage. This is upgradable Where it falls behind more choice. TIM DANTON
via a microSD slot on the left of the luxurious machines such as the XPS 13
chassis, but Google wants you to – and even behind rival Chromebooks SPECIFICATIONS
store almost everything in the such as the Toshiba Chromebook 2 – is Quad-core 1.8GHz Rockchip RK3288C
100GB of Google Drive storage that the screen. Its 11.6in diagonal holds processor ● 4GB DDR3 RAM ● 11.6in 1,366 x
comes included (the subscription 1,366 x 768 pixels and it looks sharp, 768 TN display ● Rockchip Mali T764 GPU ●
lasts for two years). but it uses cheap TN technology rather 16GB eMMC ● microSD slot ● 802.11ac Wi-Fi
LEFT Charging takes ● Bluetooth 4 ● 2 x USB 2 ● micro-HDMI ●
less than an hour via lithium-polymer battery ● Chrome OS ●

Asus’ proprietary 287 x 194 x 17.9mm (WDH) ● 0.98kg
charger ● model number: C201PA-FD0009
64
WARNING: MORE THAN JUST A PHONE CASE
YO U B R E A K
YOUR PHONE,
WE FIX IT!
THE SHIELDX2 REPAIR & REPLACEMENT PROMISE
If your phone breaks whilst in your ShieldX2 case, we will repair or replace your phone!*
Thin, sleek and transparent, you can barely tell that it is on the phone. We have cases available for new and old phones from
all major brands. Our 12 month Repair or Replacement Promise combined with the shock absorbing ShieldX2 case means
that your phone is protected from things such as:
• Cracked screen • Water damage • Mechanical failures
MORE THAN JUST A PHONE CASE. We have you covered!!!
DROP IT! BANG IT! SPLASH IT! SMASH IT!
*Terms and Conditions apply shieldx2.co.uk

SamsungGearVR
InnovatorEditionforS6
Currently the best taste of
VR – if you own a Galaxy S6
phone, why not give in to
temptation?
samsung.co.uk
T
his is Samsung’s second Gear VR
headset, but don’t be fooled into
thinking the Innovator Edition
is some kind of follow-up – it’s pretty
much the same, only designed to fit a
different handset. While the original
Gear VR would only fit the Note 4, this the Gear VR. The menu is presented as ABOVE There is no cabin). The various video demos
version is designed for the Samsung floating in front of you, and a tutorial are more impressive, usually used
visor at the front – the
Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge. instantly explains how things are Gear VR is a shell for to promote films. For example,
The Note 4 has a larger screen done. Looking at menu items and your phone the Jurassic Park scene sees a
and a lower pixel density than the touching the pad on the side of the brontosaurus coming so close you
S6 and S6 Edge, which you’d think headset selects them, while swiping have to fight the flight reflex.
might make a difference. In practical your finger along a touchpad on The game Dreadhalls also
terms, however, you’d struggle to the side of the headset allows you to impresses. As a slow-paced horror
tell the two apart. It remains a little control menus, and even movement game, it taps into the paranoia
blurry at times – you can see the in the virtual-reality version of wanting to constantly
pixels surprisingly clearly – but of Temple Run. look over your shoulder.
you stop noticing that very quickly. There’s a back The downside of the
Other changes? You can now button on the side, tech soon becomes
charge the phone through the too, which will apparent here,
headset, if you’re willing to be always bring you however: although
tethered via a cable to your laptop back to the main the headset provides
or the mains, and there’s no visor menu should you full head-tracking
covering the phone at the front, but need it, and even allows technology, there’s no
that’s about it. It’s still finished in you to see out of the phone’s connection with the rest of your
smooth white plastic and feels like camera, so you can tell if people are ABOVE The image body. This means you have to adjust
a well-made piece of kit. pulling faces at you in the real world. remains quite blurry which way you’re facing using the
Unlike the Oculus Rift, the Gear Setting up a Bluetooth gamepad at times, but you soon gamepad, which can lead to a strange
VR headset is merely a shell for the isn’t controlled through the headset. stop noticing disconnect between the way you’re
Galaxy phone to fit in. All the heavy This isn’t required for everything, physically facing and the way you’re
lifting is done by the phone – the but any games beyond the superficial looking in-game.
Galaxy S6 or S6 Edge, in this case. require titles one. Samsung sells But I’m nitpicking and this is,
Other phones won’t fit and won’t its own game controller, but any to an extent, just the
be detected. Once connected to the Bluetooth pad will suffice – in theory. “Although the headset growing pains of
micro-USB dock in landscape mode You can connect a PlayStation 4 pad provides full head-tracking a completely new
and clipped into place, the phone to the Galaxy S6, but I found it was technology. While
technology, there’s no
chimes to let you know it’s booting prone to strange key mapping and – there aren’t any truly
into VR mode. worse – it occasionally got stuck and connection with the rest phenomenal gaming
Navigating around this brave new I found myself spinning on the spot. of your body” experiences available yet,
world of virtual reality is a breeze with A Nexus Bluetooth pad fixed the the Gear VR Innovator
problem and opened up a host of Edition for S6 is a great taste of things
meaty gaming experiences. to come, and it’s clearly different
The apps all come from the Oculus enough to be a game-changer.
store, which is integrated with the Before you buy, though, note
BELOW The Gear VR is still headset. Samsung suggests you set that the Oculus Rift is set to arrive
finished in smooth, white up card details beforehand, but don’t in early 2016. Still, VR is an exciting
plastic and feels well made get too excited: the store remains technology and the Gear VR is
pretty barren. There’s a strange currently the best way to experience
mix of glorified tech demos and it. If you want to be at the cutting
existing companies trying to find edge, buy one. ALAN MARTIN
their feet in the strange new
world of VR (including Netflix, SPECIFICATIONS
complete with a virtual living Accelerometer ● gyro sensor ● proximity
room in an exotic wooden sensor ● 196 x 98.5 x 82.5mm (WDH) ● 420g
66
MSIGE722QD
ApachePro
Big, brash and powerful – a
monster of a gaming laptop
at a very reasonable price
given the specification
PRICE £874 (£1,049 inc VAT) from
uk.msi.com
M
SI doesn’t do
middle-of-the-road
laptops – it makes
brash, in-your-face laptops built
for gaming. With the GE72 2QD
Apache Pro, it delivers a 17in
beast packed with powerful respectable 8GB of 802.11ac
components at a modest price. RAM (expandable to 16GB), Wi-Fi, Gigabit
It’s not ugly, despite its size. plus an Nvidia GeForce GTX 960M Ethernet, Bluetooth
The base may be plastic, but the lid supplied with 2GB of GDDR5 memory. 4 and an SD slot.
and keyboard surround are clad in When you don’t need the power of the As you can imagine,
brushed black aluminium. I can’t 960M, Intel’s on-chip HD Graphics with a 17in screen and an i7
fathom why MSI thought it wise 5600 GPU takes over and eases the ABOVE This 17in processor, the Apache Pro devours the
to extend the brushed-aluminium burden on the battery. As for storage, laptop is stylishly battery. It lasted 3hrs 6mins playing
look to the touchpad, though. In the Apache Pro is equipped with a dressed in brushed a 720p video with the screen set to a
reality, it’s still plastic, but lacks the 128GB SSD, plus a mechanical 1TB black aluminium brightness of 170cd/m2, and you can
smooth glide of normal touchpads. hard disk. Windows 10 boots before expect half that figure when you
However, the fact that most keen you know it. play games.
gamers will opt for a dedicated The Apache Pro aced the gaming The worst aspect of the Apache
mouse mitigates this decision. benchmarks, too. It beat the Chillblast Pro, however, is its display. While it’s
Once you switch it on, the Apache Helix 2 (pcpro.link/256chill) – a not drastic enough to ruin games, it’s
Pro has a hallucinogenic haze of laptop that, on paper, should be more not pleasing on the eye. Maximum
ever-changing lights that beam out powerful. Running through BioShock brightness is decent at 281cd/m2, and
from beneath the keyboard. You can Infinite’s benchmarking utility, the a contrast ratio of 1,222:1 ensures that
switch these off but – call me crazy – Apache Pro hit 81fps at 720p in Ultra images pop off the screen, but colour
I rather liked them, especially the mode. Knock up the resolution to accuracy is poor. MSI’s IPS panel gives
option to create a rainbow selection. 1080p and the frame rate drops, but many colours a blue cast,
As with most 17in gaming laptops, it’s still playable. “This is a do-it-all laptop although it does bundle
the GE72 is a desk hog. It measures While the added grunt of the Core designed to replace a an app that lets you tweak
419 x 280 x 29mm (WDH) and weighs i7-5700HQ helps MSI’s laptop get the display.
hulking desktop, not a
a hefty 2.7kg, so you aren’t going to ahead in the games department, the None of that will
want to lug it around. Still, this is a limitation of 8GB of RAM means it falls commuter’s companion. matter if you plug the
do-it-all laptop designed to replace short of the Helix 2 in our general-use It even has a DVD writer” laptop into an external
a hulking desktop, not a commuter’s tests, recording an overall score of 90 display, of course, and as
companion. It even has a DVD writer. compared to the Helix’s 96. soon as you boot up Fallout 4 or run
At the heart of it all is a fifth- Connectivity is great, especially through the plains of Eorzea in Final
generation Intel Core i7-5700HQ when it comes to video. You can plug Fantasy XIV, you’ll stop caring about
processor with a nominal clock speed in two external monitors via the HDMI its shortcomings and remember that
of 2.7GHz, Turbo Boosting to 3.5GHz and DisplayPort outputs, and if you you’ve got a great gaming laptop at a
in times of need. Backing that up is a own two 4K monitors, you can output bargain price. VAUGHN HIGHFIELD
to both simultaneously – although
BATTERY: video playback, 3hrs 6mins don’t expect smooth, full-resolution SPECIFICATIONS
gaming if you do. Quad-core 2.7GHz (3.5GHz with Turbo Boost)
The Dynaudio-branded speakers Intel Core i7-5700HQ processor ● 8GB RAM
pump out a substantial sound, but the ● 128GB SSD ● 1TB hard disk ● DVD writer ●
chassis vibrates at higher volumes. 17.3in 1,920 x 1,080 IPS display ● Nvidia
BENCHMARKS Elsewhere, you have everything you’d BELOW You won’t go GeForce GTX 960M graphics ● 802.11ac
Chillblast
expect from a high-end laptop: three short of ports on the Wi-Fi ● Bluetooth 4 ● Windows 10 ● 1yr RTB
Helix 2 USB 3 ports, one USB 2, dual-band Apache Pro warranty ● 419 x 280 x 29mm (WDH) ● 2.7kg
OVERALL 90
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130 140 150

editing editing tasking
108 104 74
67
SamsungGalaxy
TabS29.7in
The Tab S2 delivers quality
in all the areas that matter RECOMMENDED
– it’s the best-value large

Android tablet around
PRICE 32GB black version, £228 (£274
inc VAT) from simplyelectronics.net
T
here are certain things that
you’re guaranteed to get with
the 9.7in Samsung Galaxy Tab
S2. The first is quality. It’s clear from
the moment you pick it up that this is
a premium tablet, with no hint of flex the two depressible buttons fitted into ABOVE The display Galaxy Tab S2 8in, so it should be no
and a stylish, understated design. The the Tab’s rear. However, in the UK at is one of the best surprise that the two perform almost
second is speed. Inside sits an octa- least, it’s expensive: in the US, you can out available identically in benchmarks.
core processor and 3GB of RAM, which get it direct from Samsung for $150; in For example, it scored 1,268 in
combine to give slick performance in the UK, you must go to a third-party the single-core Geekbench 3 test and
pretty much everything you do. And retailer such as Mobile Fun, where it 4,295 in the multi-core test – within
the third is a magnificent 9.7in display. costs a cough-inducing £150. a percent or two of its brother. While
Even more impressive is that This is a shame, especially when that put the Tab S2 8in in the upper
Samsung delivers all this in a tablet Samsung puts productivity at the echelons of compact tablets, it’s a
only 5.6mm thick. It’s easy to let a forefront of the Tab S2. It preloads more mixed result in relation to larger
stat like that wash over you, so let me Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint rivals. The iPad Air 2 scored 1,683
emphasise the point: it means there’s and OneNote, and that makes perfect (33% faster) and 4,078 (5% slower),
barely 1mm of metal above or below sense with a large 4:3 screen. When for example.
the headphone socket (which sits at paired with the right keyboard, this Its gaming benchmark scores were
the bottom of the device). In a world is a machine that you can actually less impressive. I put it through its
where we’ve come to expect truly do things with. paces in GFXBench 3.1 and found
remarkable engineering as a matter As ever, Samsung can’t help but it stumbled compared to the best
of course, it’s, well, truly remarkable. add its own TouchWiz software layer tablets, typically rendering half the
Naturally, the S2 is light too. At over Android 5.0.2 (Lollipop), but the frames per second of the iPad Air 2
389g, it’s 10% lighter than the 437g end result is easy to get to grips with. or the Nexus 9.
Apple iPad Air 2. Just as importantly, I still prefer vanilla Android, but But, frankly, you can
the Galaxy Tab S2 feels well balanced TouchWiz isn’t overly invasive. “In a world where we’ve get lost in benchmarks.
in the hand, which is rather important come to expect truly What really matters
if you’re going to watch films with it. ■ Screen quality remarkable engineering is that this is a fast
However, Samsung’s designers I’ve already nailed my feelings to the performer in all the areas
need to have a rethink here. When mast regarding the Tab S2’s screen: as a matter of course, it’s, that matter. It’s still more
watching video, my right hand’s it’s one of the best out there. Let me well, truly remarkable” than capable of handling
instinctive position meant my qualify that to an extent, though, as in demanding games such
little finger covered one of the its default setting (Adaptive display), as Hearthstone, and should power
speakers while my thumb all too some might find its vibrant colours through web browsing, most games
easily brushed the back button. This a little too eye-popping. Naturalists and whatever else you throw at it for
isn’t disastrous, but it meant I had to will prefer the Basic mode, but, to my years to come.
position my hand in a certain way. eyes, it turns everything a little drab.
That said, to get the best accuracy, ■ Battery life
■ Design and software you should switch to Basic. In this I was, at first, a little fearful to see that
I described the Tab S2 as understated, mode, it covered 100% of the Adobe Samsung had opted for a 5,870mAh
which could be seen as a backhanded sRGB gamut in our tests, and as it uses battery, significantly smaller than
compliment. Others might call the Super AMOLED technology, contrast the Apple iPad Air 2’s 7,340mAh. In
gold version a little dull and prefer the is perfect. Naturally, it’s darned crisp practice, though, it delivers: it lasted
white or black versions, but it’s too: that’s what happens when you 12hrs 9mins in our video-rundown
certainly the colour I’d opt for if all pack 2,048 x 1,536 pixels into a 9.7in test, an hour and a half longer than
prices are equal. That said, the black screen. That resolution translates into the iPad Air 2. (Note: we’ve changed
version tends to be significantly 264ppi – exactly the same as the iPad the brightness that the battery test is
cheaper, as the gold version only Air 2. run at, so results in other reviews may
appears to be available from a handful
of retailers, such as John Lewis. ■ Performance BATTERY: video playback, 12hrs 9mins
I initially liked the fact that The internals of the Samsung Galaxy
Samsung is selling a keyboard cover to Tab S2 9.7in are identical to its 8in
go with the S2. This cleverly clips into sibling, the cunningly titled Samsung
68
TeraStation™ 1000 Series
Peace of Mind.
not be directly comparable – however,
we did retest the iPad Air 2.)
This is credit to the efficiency of
the processor, which will switch to
Designed in
the lower-power 1.3GHz cores when it
can afford to. If you’re playing games,
then expect much worse stamina.
Likewise, pumping the screen up
Japan.
to its full 359cd/m² brightness will
drag life down.
I was also pleased to see little “You can add up to 128GB
drop-off overnight. Traditionally of additional storage via the
a strength of iPads, the Tab S2 9.7in
microSD slot, so opting for
lasted a full week of light use between
charges, with less than 1% lost while the 32GB model won’t be a
I was sleeping each night. decision you later regret”
■ Value for money
Samsung initially suggested that the
32GB version of the Tab S2 9.7in was
going to sell for £399, the same as the
iPad Air 2, so it’s interesting to see
that the price has already dropped
to below £280 in a number of shops.
At the same time, we’re seeing the
Nexus 9 drop to sub-£200 levels.
However, I’d still say the 9.7in
has the edge on value for money. It
feels and looks significantly superior,
there’s 32GB of storage to the Nexus
9’s 16GB, and the screen is that much
bigger and better. If you can buy the BELOW The S2 has a
Tab S2 9.7in for less than £280 (as we stylish, understated
could at the time of going to press, design without a
but prices do bounce around), the hint of flex
word bargain creeps to mind.
That’s especially true when
you consider you can add up to
128GB of additional storage via
the microSD slot, so opting for
the 32GB model now won’t be
a decision you later regret.
■ Verdict
The Tab S2 9.7in isn’t a perfect
tablet: gaming performance
could be better, while a lack of
accessories compared to the
iPad 2 Air holds it back. Come
on Samsung UK, make that
keyboard cheaper!
However, Samsung hasn’t
compromised in the areas that
matter. As I did right at the
start, I’ll come back to that
screen and the build quality.
Factor in the price, and the Budget-friendly NAS for SMB
Galaxy Tab S2 9.7in becomes The TS1000 series is a reliable network attached
PC Pro’s top choice for larger storage solution with advanced business functionality,
Android tablets. TIM DANTON
rich backup features and simple set-up.
SPECIFICATIONS Buffalo TeraStation – we take care of your data,
Octa-core 1.9GHz/1.3GHz Samsung so you can take care of your business.
Exynos Octa 5433 processor ● 3GB
RAM ● 32GB storage ● microSD slot
● 9.7in 2,048 x 1,536 Super AMOLED
display ● 2.1MP/8MP front/rear

www.buffalo-technology.com
cameras ● dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi
● Bluetooth 4.1 ● 5,870mAh Li-ion
battery ● Android 5.0.2 ● 1yr RTB

warranty ● 169 x 5.6 x 237mm
(WDH) ● 389g
69
Motorola Moto
pixel density of the screen varies
depending on the model you choose.
360 (2015) The smaller 42mm watch has a

slightly sharper display (at 360 x 325
A much better smartwatch and 263ppi) than the 46mm model

(at 360 x 330 and 233ppi), but
than last year’s Moto 360, that’s not a huge difference
and you’ll struggle to tell the
with a longer battery life difference between the two
at normal viewing distances.
and more elegant design The 360 also retains that most
useful of smartwatch features:
inductive wireless charging. It
SCORE ✪✪✪✪✪ supports the Qi standard, so not
PRICE £191 (£229 inc VAT) only can you charge the watch on
from motorola.co.uk the bundled cradle, but also any
other wireless-charging plate that
supports the same standard. You
A
s updates go, there can’t have can even use one of Ikea’s wireless-
been one as sorely needed as charging bedside tables.
this. The first Motorola Moto As for software, you still get the
360 was among the most attractive Motorola Moto Body apps, which
smartwatches on the market, but it record your heart rate, steps and
suffered from poor battery life and calories, plus there’s an expanded
sluggish performance. selection of Motorola watch faces,
The second-gen Moto 360 fixes with three new ones added this time
both those problems by replacing the (the bits that attach the strap to the ABOVE The Moto 360 around. And, of course, it all runs on
ageing 45nm Ti OMAP 3 processor of watch body), which allow you to chop sticks with a backlit Android Wear, which continues to
the original with a 1.2GHz quad-core and change as the mood takes you. IPS panel, instead of improve and mature.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 400. It’s a I was sent the smallest model, an AMOLED display Android Wear’s Google Now-
more efficient unit and that shows complete with slim strap and the based, voice-driven UI suits the
in the watch’s stamina. Even though smaller 42mm body, and apart from smartwatch concept, with only one
the new watch is smaller and has the disturbing flesh-tone leather niggle: Google hasn’t nailed the way
a low-capacity 300mAh battery, wristband, I rather liked it. The apps present and bundle together
it comfortably made it to the end smaller housing is the perfect size notifications. While the Google apps
of every day of my tests, with for my relatively slim wrists, and work perfectly, presenting lists of
room to spare. I suspect that it will be for many individual notifications
With the screen set to off, except people, male or female. Motorola “Buy via the Moto Maker that can be expanded and
for when I raised my wrist to check has got its design spot on this time. website and you’ll be able read in full at a tap, the
notifications, it lasted a solid two Elsewhere, there are few changes experience becomes
to set the size, strap type
days, and the larger 46mm Moto 360 from last year’s model. The watch still inconsistent once
ought to deliver even better stamina has a PPG heart-rate monitor and and the colour of the watch you step outside
thanks to its 400mAh battery. can’t do continuous monitoring. body and bezel” those boundaries to
Nor is the Moto 360 Collection, Instead, it’s set up to carry out spot third-party apps.
as Motorola dubs its watch offering, checks throughout the day and report Slack and Outlook, two apps
restricted to just these two watch back via the watch’s accompanying I use heavily every day, are examples
sizes. There’s a “designed for women” Moto Body Heart Activity app. of this, bundling up multiple
model with a 42mm housing and a The 360 sticks with a backlit IPS notifications into hard-to-read lists
narrower 16mm wristband, plus a panel rather than an AMOLED, on single notification cards that
fitness-focused model – the Moto 360 but there’s nothing wrong with can’t be expanded or read fully.
Sport – that has an embedded GPS so its brightness levels, colours or Still, there isn’t much that
you can track your runs without sharpness. It’s topped with Gorilla BELOW The smaller Motorola can do about that, and
having your phone, and a silicone Glass 3, which remained pristine on housing is the perfect what it has done with the Moto
rubber housing and strap. my review sample, and the whole size for those with 360’s hardware is to be applauded.
Significantly, Motorola has gone shebang is weatherproofed to the relatively slim wrists The second-gen Moto 360 is a much
big on customisation, too. Buy a Moto IP67 standard. more attractive, refined and practical
360 via the Moto Maker website and Motorola has also smartwatch than last year’s model.
you’ll be able to set the size and strap kept the light sensor The Huawei Watch (opposite)
type, the colour of the watch body in place, which wins out for its AMOLED display
and bezel independently from one impinges on the and styling, but the Moto 2 is an
another, and even add a “micro watch’s elegant excellent and highly customisable
knurl” texture to the front bezel for lines. Embedded alternative. JONATHAN BRAY
extra bling. in a small black
Motorola claims there are more segment at the SPECIFICATIONS
than 300 possible combinations and, bottom of the Quad-core 1.2GHz Qualcomm
unlike the Apple Watch, going for a watch face, this Snapdragon 400 processor ●
metal strap won’t leave you bankrupt: ensures you don’t 512MB RAM ● 4GB storage ● 1.37in
choosing stainless steel only adds £30 have to adjust the 360 x 325 IPS display ● Bluetooth 4
to the price. Better still, changing brightness ● 802.11g Wi-Fi ● 300mAh battery ● PPG
straps is now easier than before. manually. heart-rate monitor ● accelerometer ●

Motorola has added a small quick- Note that the gyroscope ● Android Wear OS ● 1yr RTB
release tab to the straps’ spring bars resolution and warranty ● 42 x 11.4 x 42mm (WDH)
70
HuaweiWatch
When it comes to responsiveness,
it’s smooth most of the time, with
the odd stutter and hiccup. It’s no
It’s attractive, packed different to any other Android Wear
with features and the device in this respect, and the

stutters certainly don’t get in
best Android Wear the way of usability.
Battery life is surprisingly
watch you can buy good. Despite a comparatively
small 300mAh power pack –
the same as the smaller Moto
SCORE ✪✪✪✪✪ 360 opposite – it lasted almost
PRICE £241 (£289 inc VAT) two days, with the Always-on
from huawei.com/uk screen option activated and
the brightness set to maximum
during the day and minimum
L
et me beat around no bushes: during the evening. I still found
this is the best Android Watch myself charging the watch most
around, bar none. What lifts nights, just for peace of mind, but
it above the rest isn’t some major it will get you through two working
breakthrough – battery life, speed, days if you forget.
an ultra-sleek design – but a collection As for software, it sports the latest
of little details that edge it above version of Android Wear, and this
the competition. works as well as it does on any other
Take its looks. Compared to other Google-based smartwatch (for a full
Android smartwatches, the Huawei review of Android Wear, visit pcpro.
Watch has a slimmer bezel, thinner link/256wear). The only difference
body and – the aspect so difficult to here is that Huawei supplements the
translate into specs and comparatives their own faces via apps such as ABOVE A super-bright standard install with its own set of
– it exudes style and sophistication. WatchMaker and Facer. And since AMOLED display watch faces, plus a set of apps for
Just like rivals such as the Apple the technology used in the screen separates the Huawei fitness, activity tracking and heart-
Watch and the second-gen Motorola is AMOLED, it makes a big impact, Watch from its rivals rate monitoring. These look very
Moto 360 (see opposite), the Huawei with inky black and vibrant colours attractive, but the only out of
Watch is available in a number of the order of the day. the ordinary feature compared to
different “styles”. These range in It will look good for a long time to other Android watches is Huawei’s
price from a base of £289 inc VAT come, too. The super-tough sapphire stair-tracking function.
for the Classic with a standard black crystal glass screen is more often The one thing that might give you
leather strap, up to £389 for the found on boutique, high-end Swiss cause for concern is the price. The
Active version with a black-plated watches costing many more times Huawei Watch is more expensive than
stainless steel link strap. There’s the price. any other Android Wear smartwatch.
even a rose-gold version of the watch. Inside, things are considerably less It’s pricier than the second-gen Moto
There’s no technical difference exciting. A 1.2GHz Snapdragon 400 360 and LG Watch Urbane, and its
between the Active and Classic provides the power, just like almost base model is only £10 cheaper than
versions, colour aside, and whichever every other Android Wear device the equivalent Apple
one you go for, it looks wonderful. I currently on sale. Then there’s an “The super-tough sapphire Watch. At least the
was sent the basic Classic with black equally predictable 512MB of RAM crystal glass screen is more premium models aren’t
leather strap, but even this cheapest and 4GB of storage. as expensive as
often found on boutique,
version looks stunning, and what’s It connects to your phone via Apple’s finest.
more, it’s extremely comfortable Bluetooth 4, has a heart-rate monitor high-end Swiss watches If you have an iPhone,
to wear. and six-axis motion sensor for fitness at many times the price” the best smartwatch to
It’s the display that steals the tracking, while charging is taken care own remains the Apple
show here, however. It measures of by a magnetic, clip-on puck. This Watch. It does everything and more
1.4in across and, with a 400 x 400 gets the watch from zero to 100% than the Huawei Watch, and isn’t
resolution, delivers the highest pixel in just over an hour. There’s also much more expensive (at least, the
density (at 286ppi) you’ll see on any a barometer, which is used by the cheapest Sport model isn’t).
smartwatch. Most other Android Huawei activity- BELOW The watch If your predilection is for an
devices have 320 x 320 screens. tracking app to gauge charges via this Android smartphone, on the other
Practically speaking, the how many stairs magnetic puck, going hand, this is the best you can buy
difference isn’t huge, but it is you’ve walked up from zero to full in now. From its crisp, vibrant AMOLED
possible to tell the difference and down in a day. just over an hour display to its sapphire crystal glass
if you look closely, and it’s top, and its slimline body to its
the details that count. It’s high-end looks, it nails every aspect
only a shame so many of of the formula. JONATHAN BRAY
Huawei’s 40 preloaded
watch faces fail to take SPECIFICATIONS
full advantage of this Quad-core 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon
glorious screen, and are 400 processor ● 512MB RAM ● 4GB storage
either cheesy or obviously ● 1.4in 400 x 400 AMOLED display ●
computer-generated. Bluetooth 4.1 ● 300mAh battery ● PPG

Still, the screen’s a boon heart-rate monitor ● accelerometer ●
for watch-face addicts and gyroscope
gyr ● Android Wear OS ● 1yr RTB
anyone who likes to create warranty

war ● 42 x 11.3 x 42mm (WDH)
71
Mobile apps
Magpie’s native player, which does money, so if you want to save from
Magpie smart things such as preserving the

place you’ve got to in a video across
the Mac for later viewing on your
iOS device, you’ll have to invest
platforms. If the video isn’t hosted more. There’s also no free
SCORE ✪✪✪✪✪ on either of these platforms, it saves bookmarklet to let you save
PRICE £3.99 a bookmark to the whole web page, just from Safari.
meaning that you can revisit the “It’s certainly nice to In use, Magpie works
page later. start watching a video on exactly as promised. It’s
What it doesn’t do is save the video
the iPad and then move to certainly nice to start
A
pps that save web pages for for offline viewing, so don’t expect to watching a video on
later reading are common. be able to pack your Wi-Fi-only iPad Apple TV, picking it up at the iPad and then move
There’s Instapaper and Pocket, with YouTube videos to keep the kids the exact same point” to Apple TV, picking it up
both of which are cross-platform. And amused on a long car journey. This at the exact same point.
there are also built-in versions, such makes it much less like Instapaper However, because Apple has chosen
as the Reading List apps in Windows or Pocket, both of which save text BELOW If the video is not to build browsing capabilities
10, iOS and OS X. But there isn’t articles for reading offline. It’s hosted on YouTube or into Apple TV, this only works for
anything that does a similar job also worth noting that the OS X Vimeo, you can watch YouTube and Vimeo videos.
just for video. application will cost you additional it on Magpie’s player At present, Magpie is a promising
That’s where Magpie application that’s not quite a must-
comes in. It works on have for your devices, unless you
iOS (both iPhone and watch a lot of YouTube videos and
iPad are supported) like to be able to bounce between
and OS X, and it has platforms. It would be good to see
a tvOS app so it’ll also the list of video providers that the
work on the latest Apple player supports increased, and if
TV. Whenever you’re Magpie could also offer offline
watching a video in viewing by caching the video
Safari (or any other app locally, it would be a highly
that supports the Share recommended product. At the
menu), you can use the moment, though, Magpie is
Extensions menu to save useful for a handful of people,
it to Magpie. If it’s hosted but probably not a product
on YouTube or Vimeo, most users should invest in.
you can watch it in IAN BETTERIDGE
DSCO TunnelBearVPN
SCORE ✪✪✪✪✪ SCORE ✪✪✪✪✪
PRICE Free PRICE Free for 500MB/mth; unlimited, £4.99/mth
T S
his app from VSCO lets you make GIFs, ome VPN apps can be confusing. Very
add simple filters and share via VSCO and confusing. Some VPN apps can be buggy.
your social network of choice. Point the Very buggy. Well, luckily this one is simple
camera, hold down the screen and you’ll record ABOVE This simple to understand and it works well. Very well. ABOVE TunnelBear
a looping clip of up to 2.5 seconds. After you’ve app is a great of Bravo, TunnelBear. VPN is very easy
published, the GIF will be saved on your camera making, somewhat TunnelBear VPN comes with a free tier to understand and
roll both as a GIF and an MP4 video. jittery, GIFs that grants you access 500MB of data per month. works well
In practice, it works a bit like a cross between That means you can download and watch the
Vine and Snapchat – with a simple user interface equivalent of an hour’s worth of BBC iPlayer
that lets you hit the ground running. The app’s video on your Android device before your
minimalist design can sometimes be confusing, credit runs out. Luckily, the paid version
but there’s something charming about jittery of the app isn’t too steep: unlimited use
GIFs that keeps them popular on the internet, for any five computer, smartphone or tablet
and this app is a useful tool for making your devices will cost you a reasonable £4.99
RECOMMENDED
own. THOMAS MCMULLAN per month. DAVID COURT
72
@PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Reviews Apps
Dropbox or iCloud.You can even
1Writer choose to have different folders of
documents on different services,
if you prefer.
SCORE ✪✪✪✪✪ There’s a one-tap preview mode,
PRICE £3.99 which displays your fully formatted
document, while a swipe to the left
brings up a built-in web browser,
so you don’t have to use iOS 9’s
M
arkdown text editors are split-screen view.
scattered across the App Twitter addicts will appreciate
Store, but editors that work the option to include hashtags in
well with iOS 9, iPad, iPhone and iPad docs. The file browser will list all the
Pro are much rarer beasts. 1Writer is hashtags used across your documents,
currently probably the only one – and, letting you jump to any document
thankfully, it’s also exceedingly good. including that term. You can create
1Writer has many similar features to-dos within a document and export
to competitors such as Byword and all of them to Reminders, which is ABOVE The 1Writer extensions, 1Writer uses JavaScript.
Ulysses. There’s a keyboard with an incredibly useful for anyone taking app makes it easy to This has pros and cons. Obviously,
additional layer of buttons that let notes in a meeting. automate tasks such JavaScript is extremely well known,
you drop in links, bullet points and The killer feature for 1Writer is as posting to Medium with a broad developer base. On the
images. Images are automatically its automation capabilities. Unlike other hand, it’s not as powerful as
uploaded to Dropbox, CloudApp competitors such as Editorial, which Python. For example, it can’t access
or Droplr, and files are synced to uses Python as a way of building the native Twitter features in iOS,
which is possible with Python.
That said, it’s still capable of doing
amazing things. Check out the 1Writer
Actions directory and you’ll find
Actions that automate complex tasks
RECOMMENDED
such as posting to Medium, sending
to Pastebin, as well as simpler stuff
such as finding and replacing text.
The drawback of Actions is that
there’s no easy way to access them.
All Actions live under a single modal
pop-up, and you can’t add them to a
quick-access option on the keyboard.
This means they’re less useful for jobs
you’re likely to perform frequently.
1Writer is a well-thought-out and
powerful text editor, which will only
get more powerful as users expand
LEFT The keyboard its capabilities with Actions. It’s not
allows you to drop perfect, but if you want a text editor
in links, bullet points, that makes the most of iOS 9, it’s your
hashtags and pictures best choice. IAN BETTERIDGE
ThePickleIndex GoogleTranslate
SCORE ✪✪✪✪✪ SCORE ✪✪✪✪✪
PRICE £3.99 PRICE Free
E C
qual parts pickle-based cookbook and hances are that you won’t be able to learn
absurd interactive novel, The Pickle every word of every foreign language
Index is a strange, mysterious tale of when you travel, and that’s where Google
a circus troupe on a journey to rescue its ABOVE The Pickle Translate comes in. At first, this may seem ABOVE The app’s
imprisoned ringleader. Each day you’ll be Index covers both overkill - everyone knows you can get stiff translations aren’t
encouraged to amp up your “Citizenship recipes and tales of and stilted direct translations online, so why flawless, but are good
Quotient” by reading and uploading pickle- totalitarian regimes the need for an app? enough for basic tasks
based recipes, and, in doing so, you’ll Simply because the Google Translate app
stumble through a memorable tale of throws in a bit of magic to the mix: point the
fermentation and totalitarian regimes. camera at text, and you’ll get the translation
The Pickle Index is not an ebook, it’s not right there in front of you on your screen, with
a game and it’s not a social network, but no need for fiddly typing and inevitable typos.
it takes strands from all of the above and Sure, the translations aren’t flawless, but it’s
weaves them into an unforgettable oddball enough to tell if the dish you’re about to order
RECOMMENDED
caper. THOMAS MCMULLAN will trigger your seafood allergy. ALAN MARTIN
73
DITCH
YOUR
ISP’S
ROUTER
BT, Sky,TalkTalk and Virgin routers vs the rest
You don’t have to put up with slow Wi-Fi and a
lack of features from your ISP-supplied router.
We test eight that can do a better job
74
@PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Labs Routers
W Contents
ith fibre broadband finally becoming mainstream in the UK, and cable
reaching more customers than ever, there’s a huge amount of choice
when it comes to picking a broadband supplier. However, the equipment BT Home Hub 5 78
supplied by your ISP isn’t always able to give you the best wireless Sky Hub 2 80
speeds, or even a stable connection throughout your home or office. TalkTalk HG635 Super
ISPs typically stick with the same bundled routers for years at a time, so they’re Router 82
quickly surpassed by third-party models from other manufacturers. This is Virgin Media Super
particularly true of wireless speeds: the 802.11ac market has matured rapidly in Hub 2ac 84
the past year, moving from AC1300 – 400Mbits/sec on 2.4GHz and 867Mbits/sec Netgear Nighthawk X4S 86
on 5GHz – to AC1900, AC2350 or even AC3200, which promises 600Mbits/sec on Synology RT1900ac 87
2.4GHz and 2,600Mbits/sec on 5GHz. If you’re still using the router supplied by Asus RT-AC3200 88
your ISP, you could be seriously limiting your maximum wireless performance. D-Link DIR-890L 88
Signal strength also varies wildly between routers, with most ISP-supplied DrayTek Vigor 2860ac 89
Linksys WRT1900ACS 89
models lacking external antennae: replacing it could eliminate Wi-Fi dead spots
TP-Link Archer C2600 90
and extend the range of your wireless network, without you having to install
ZyXEL Armor Z1 90
powerline adapters or wireless extenders.
Finally, your ISP-supplied router is most likely a barebones device, without
Buyer’s guide 76
many extra features. With the right model, your replacement router could also
Feature table 76
double as a basic NAS drive, printer server or multimedia hub for streaming video
Test results 92
content to a smart TV or PC.
How we test 93
It’s not just a case of swapping one box for another, though: how you upgrade
View from the Labs 93
will depend on your ISP and what equipment you’re currently using. This Labs
focuses on the four major UK ISPs and explains how to make the switch from the
basic supplied router to a more capable model.
75
BT Home Hub 5 Sky Hub 2 TalkTalk HG635 Virgin Super Asus RT-AC3200 D-Link DIR-890L
Super Router Hub 2ac
Overall ✪✪✪✪✪ ✪✪✪✪✪ ✪✪✪✪✪ ✪✪✪✪✪ ✪✪✪✪✪ ✪✪✪✪✪
Purchase information
Price (inc VAT) Free with broadband Free with broadband Free with broadband Free with broadband £171 (£230) £208 (£250)
Supplier bt.com/broadband sky.com/broadband talktalk.co.uk virginmedia.com currys.co.uk dabs.com
Dimensions (WDH) 236 x 31 x 116mm 53 x 141 x 140mm 184 x 55 x 147mm 69 x 195 x 215mm 290 x 188 x 58mm 373 x 241 x 157mm
Service & support
Warranty 1 1yr RTB 1yr RTB 1yr RTB Lifetime 2yr RTB 2yr RTB
Manufacturer reliability/overall score 2 75% / 77% N/A N/A 76% / 79% 86% / 87% N/A
Core specifications
Main internet connection type ASDL2+; VDSL ASDL2+; VDSL ASDL2+; VDSL Cable Router only Router only
Concurrent dual-band N/A
1. Parts and labour, UK mainland, unless otherwise stated. 2. Router reliability/overall rating in reader-voted PC Pro Excellence Awards 2015.
Maximum rated link speed, 802.11ac 1,300Mbits/sec 1,300Mbits/sec 1,300Mbits/sec 1,300Mbits/sec 1,300Mbits/sec
Maximum rated link speed, 802.11n 300Mbits/sec 144Mbits/sec 450Mbits/sec 300Mbits/sec 600Mbits/sec 600Mbits/sec
MIMO stream configuration, 802.11ac 3x3 N/A 3x3 3x3 3x3 3x3
MIMO stream configuration, 802.11n 3x3 2x2 3x3 2x2 3x3 3x3
LAN ports 4 x Gigabit Ethernet 4 x 10/100 Ethernet 4 x Gigabit Ethernet 4x Gigabit Ethernet 4 x Gigabit Ethernet 4 x Gigabit Ethernet
USB/eSATA ports USB 2 USB 2 USB 3; USB 2 USB 3; USB 2
Beamforming Universal Universal Universal and explicit Universal
256-QAM on 2.4GHz
On-router security & parental controls

Security types WPA; WPA2; WPS WPA2-PSK; WEP; WPA2-PSK WPA2-PSK; WPA2 WEP, WPA2-PSK; WEP; WPA; WPA2;
WPA2-AES Enterprise WPA-PSK; WPA-PSK; WPA2-PSK;
Where N/A, companies didn’t receive enough feedback to be rated. See issue 254, p34.
WPA-Enterprise WPS
Web content filtering (hidden)
URL whitelisting
URL blacklisting (hidden)
Schedule-restricted internet access (hidden)
WPS button/router PIN / / / / / /
Other
IPv6 support
Wireless repeater functions
Power switch
User-configurable QoS
Media server
Torrent server
Guest network
Android/iOS app / / / / / /
Automatic firmware updates
Buyer’sguide:choosingawirelessrouter
The type of internet connection you access to your ISP login details, you router you’ll be able to completely manufacturers use to sell their
have will dictate which replacement should be able to swap out one box replace your existing kit. compatible routers can be a little
router is right for you. It will also for another – cutting down on cable Cable connections are the least misleading. An AC1900 router
dictate whether you can ditch your clutter and freeing up a power socket. supported by third-party routers, doesn’t actually deliver a link rate
ISP-provided model altogether, or Not all third-party routers have which means you’ll almost certainly of 1,900Mbits/sec; that number
whether you’ll have to use it side the necessary VDSL modems for need to use your existing box in is in fact the sum of the maximum
by side with the new one. fibre broadband connections. If you tandem with any new model you buy. rated speeds over 802.11n and
ADSL customers have the widest buy a router that doesn’t, you’ll need With the exception of the Sky 802.11ac combined.
choice, since ADSL is the most widely to use your ISP-supplied modem Hub 2, all the routers in this Labs These numbers are also related
supported connection among router alongside it. However, VDSL support support 802.11ac. This is undoubtedly to the number of spatial streams
manufacturers. As long as you have is gradually growing, so with the right faster than 802.11n, but the numbers and the channel width your devices
76
LABS WINNER RECOMMENDED
DrayTek Vigor 2860ac Linksys WRT1900ACS Netgear Nighthawk Synology RT1900ac TP-Link Archer C2600 ZyXEL Armor Z1
X4S
✪✪✪✪✪ ✪✪✪✪✪ ✪✪✪✪✪ ✪✪✪✪✪ ✪✪✪✪✪ ✪✪✪✪✪
£208 (£250) £191 (£230) £225 (£270) £96 (£115) £137 (£165) £137 (£165)
dabs.com amazon.co.uk broadbandbuyer.co.uk synology.com/uk pcworld.co.uk dabs.com
165 x 241 x 44mm 121 x 75 x 26mm 285 x 185 x 50mm 206 x 160 x 66mm 264 x 198 x 37mm 297 x 201 x 71mm
1yr RTB 1yr RTB 1yr RTB 2yr RTB 2yr RTB 2yr RTB
91% / 90% N/A 87% / 87% N/A 83% / 86% N/A
ASDL2+; VDSL Router only ADSL2+; VDSL Router only ADSL2+ ADSL2+
1,300Mbits/sec 1,300Mbits/sec 1,733Mbits/sec 1,300Mbits/sec 1,733Mbits/sec 1,733Mbits/sec

600Mbits/sec 600Mbits/sec 800Mbits/sec 600Mbits/sec 800Mbits/sec 600Mbits/sec
3x3 3x3 4x4 3x3 4x4 4x4
3x3 3x3 3x3 3x3 3x3 3x3
6 x Gigabit Ethernet 4 x Gigabit Ethernet 4 x Gigabit Ethernet 4 x Gigabit Ethernet 4 x Gigabit Ethernet 4 x Gigabit Ethernet
2 x USB 2 USB 3; USB 2; eSATA 2 x USB 3; eSATA USB 3; SD card reader 2 x USB 3 2 x USB 3
WEP; WPA2-PSK WEP; WPA2 Personal; WPA2 WPA/WPA2-PSK WEP; WPA/WPA2; WPA/ WEP; WPA/WPA2; WPA/ WEP; WPA/WPA2; WPA/
Enterprise WPA2-Enterprise WPA2-Enterprise WPA2-Enterprise
/ / / / / /
/ / / / / /
are capable of transmitting and 1,300Mbits/sec. Support for kit, you should be able to approach you’ll also need to invest in additional
receiving. A 1x1 configuration multiple antennae and data performance similar to that of a network kit for your PC or laptop if
means one antenna supporting one streams is known as multiple-input, wired Gigabit Ethernet connection. they don’t support 802.11ac.
data stream; 2x2 is two antennas multiple-output technology and It’s worth noting that using multiple That said, even if you don’t own
supporting two data streams. given the shorthand MIMO. devices at the same time will split compatible kit, an 802.11ac router
You can guess 3x3 and 4x4. Even in ideal circumstances, you the available bandwidth, unless you can still improve the reliability of
In practice, a laptop with a won’t see file-transfer rates reach use a Wave 2 router with Multi-User your 802.11n network. Implicit or
2x2 setup would only be able to your router’s theoretical maximum MIMO (MU-MIMO). universal beamforming can eliminate
connect to an AC1900 connection Wi-Fi speeds, thanks to network Remember, also, that upgrading dead spots and speed up your
at 867Mbits/sec – you’d need a protocols, bottlenecks and other your router won’t guarantee the connection in areas that were
3x3-stream device to get the full overheads. However, with the right fastest possible wireless speeds: previously slow.
77
BTHomeHub5
Excellent 802.11ac speeds, but the Home Hub 5 lacks features
PRICE Free from bt.com/broadband
separated through BT’s spartan
web interface.
B
T’s Home Hub is now in its fifth Aside from changing
iteration – and finally delivering wireless settings, enabling
the kind of spec we’d expect dynamic DNS and altering
from the UK’s leading ISP: not only basic port-forwarding
1,300Mbits/sec over 802.11ac, but a settings, not much is
3×3 internal antenna setup. available for tweaking.
It’s supplied free with new BT There are no user-
Infinity and Plusnet fibre broadband configurable QoS settings,
packages, but is also available for for example. BT provides
existing customers to buy separately network-level parental
through BT’s online store. controls for those who want
With both a WAN port, for use them, but the router itself
with an external modem, and a DSL/ is restricted to device-
VDSL port for a direct fibre or ADSL2+ Labs. There’s also no way specific scheduling.
connection, the Home Hub 5 is well to assign access permissions, There are some positives
suited to multiple connection types. meaning anyone on the network will to the Home Hub 5, however.
With no way to put it into a pure be able to open files on a connected ABOVE BT’s Home BT’s Smart Wireless function
modem mode, though, you can’t pair flash drive. You can at least share a Hub 5 is one of the switches wireless channels
it with a third-party router. In fact, printer over the network by plugging best ISP-supplied automatically when it detects
whenever the Home Hub detects it’s it into the USB port. routers interference. This is fairly common
not connected to the internet, every The WPS and reset buttons are among ISP-supplied routers, but
new wired and wireless device you within easy reach on the top of the it does an excellent job, ensuring
connect to it will be presented with router, and it’s fairly compact, with 802.11ac wireless speeds remain high
a pop-up troubleshooting screen. no external antennae. The inevitable when lots of other wireless devices
We expect the four Gigabit downside of this is there’s no way to are present in a room.
Ethernet ports included here, but fine-tune the spread of your network. In fact, performance in general
a USB port is not guaranteed in an By default, the 2.4GHz and 5GHz was impressive for an ISP-supplied
ISP-supplied router. Sadly, it’s not wireless bands share the same SSID, model. Up close, we saw file-transfer
very flexible: it refuses to recognise which can make it difficult to work speeds reach 67.5MB/sec over
FAT16-partitioned flash drives, for out to which frequency your devices 802.11ac using a 3x3 stream Wi-Fi
example. The controller is restricted are connected. It also causes problems adapter. This dropped to 17.3MB/sec
to USB 2 speeds, too, which made file with certain media streamers and on a 2x2 stream 802.11n device, but
transfers crawl to a meagre 4.9MB/sec Internet of Things equipment. that matches both Virgin’s Super Hub
– the slowest result in this month’s Thankfully, the two can be easily 2ac and the TalkTalk Super Router.
GetthemostfromyourHomeHub 5
If you decide to stick with the Home Hub 5, there are ways to make it less
frustrating to use. All of the tips mentioned here use the web interface,
which is available on http://192.168.1.254 by default. You’ll need to enter
a password to change any settings; unless you’ve changed it, you’ll find the
password written on a pull-out card on the back of the router.
Smart Setup is the primary source of irritation. The interface that appears
every time you connect a new wireless device to the router is largely useless
and can stop certain devices from connecting to the internet. Go to Advanced
Settings | Home Network | Smart Setup, then change Enable Smart Setup to
No and click Apply, to make it disappear for good.
The Home Hub defaults to a single, unified, wireless SSID, which causes
problems with devices such as Google’s Chromecast. Giving each band its
own SSID is simple: click Advanced Settings, then 5GHz Wireless, and tick
No on the option that says “Sync with 2.4GHz”. Lastly, rename the 5GHz SSID
in the field below.
Not every ISP-supplied router has a USB port, but the Home Hub does. want to remove it; go to Advanced Settings | Home Network | Devices, click
Plug a flash drive into it and it will automatically be shared across your the link that mentions your USB stick and click Safely Disconnect.
network. If it doesn’t appear, type \\192.168.1.254 into a Windows Run Finally, while you can’t completely switch off the activity LEDs if you find
command, or smb://192.168.1.254 into an Apple Finder window, using the them distracting, you can lower the brightness. Go to Settings | Hub Lights,
Apple+K keyboard shortcut. You’ll need to eject the disk safely when you change the brightness to Low and click Apply.
78
Howtoswitchtoanotherrouter
The Home Hub 5 is also capable at ABOVE Only basic

long range, albeit not at the same settings can be
level as most third-party models. File tweaked using the
transfer speeds fell to 25.3MB/sec over web interface
802.11ac, and to 10.5MB/sec on 5GHz
802.11n using a 2x2-stream iPad mini.
If you don’t have any 802.11ac
hardware, however, the Home Hub 5
isn’t such a great performer. Even Switching out a BT Home Hub for a third-party VDSL router isn’t as difficult as it
with a 3x3 stream adapter installed can be with other ISP-provided routers, but if you aren’t careful you’ll cut access
in our PC, at close range it could only to certain BT TV channels. Make sure that any replacement router supports IPv6
manage 7.7MB/sec file transfers, multicast streams: without this feature, you might find BT Sport no longer works
although a 2x2-stream iPad mini on your TV set-top box.
fared better on the 2.4GHz frequency Once you’ve found a suitable router, however, swapping it out is as easy as
band, transferring at 11.8MB/sec. recording your BT username and password, which can be found via the Home Hub 5’s
Things were worse over long range. web interface. Type
Speeds of 2.6MB/sec on the 2.4GHz http://192.168.1.254
band were the worst of all the routers into your browser and
in this month’s Labs. click Advanced
In spite of this setback, the Home Settings. Enter the
Hub 5 still offers impressive 802.11ac password, which can
performance for an ISP-supplied be found on the card
router. As such, there are only really slotted into the back
two reasons to consider replacing it: of the router (unless
to improve the range for 2.4GHz you’ve changed it),
devices or to gain extra features. and click Broadband.
If you have an older Home Hub Your broadband
with a separate Openreach modem, username should
upgrading to this model would give be displayed in the
you a large speed boost and cut down first box, with your
on cable clutter next to your telephone password below it; to
socket. At £130, it’s cheaper than BELOW Four Gigabit reveal it, click “Show
many of the third-party models on Ethernet ports is characters”. Write
test this month, and the setup process standard; a USB port down both, then
is easier for BT customers if they stick is less common for an disconnect your
to BT hardware. ISP-supported router Home Hub and wire
up its replacement.
With the new router switched on, enter its web interface and look for the WAN
settings page. If it asks for a connection type, set it to PPPoE, then enter your BT
username and passwords in the relevant boxes. You may also need to set your VLAN
ID manually; for BT Infinity it should be 101. Click Save/Apply, then reboot your router.
When it comes back online, you should be connected to the internet.
You’ll then need to make sure IPv6 multicast is enabled, as this isn’t switched on
by default on all routers. Typically, this can be found under Advanced Network Settings
and is usually a checkbox. Make sure it’s ticked, hit Apply and reboot your router. You
should then be able to access IPTV channels again.
79
SkyHub2
Lack of 802.11ac support makes the Hub the least attractive of the ISP-supplied routers
PRICE Free from sky.com/broadband
I
f there’s one area where Sky’s Sky Hub, with the same wireless
Hub 2 scores highly, it’s antenna array restricting it to
convenience. It supports VDSL 2.4GHz, single-band, 2x2-stream
and ADSL connections and, thanks Wi-Fi networks. This is shocking,
to an integrated modem, you won’t since all the other major UK ISPs
need a second box plugged into the have upgraded their bundled
master phone socket. It’s also one of routers to dual-band or even
the only ISP-supplied routers with 802.11ac Wi-Fi. Amazingly for
an internal power supply; the mains a modern router, there’s also
cable might only be a metre long, but no IPv6 support.
it ends in a standard “figure of 8” It’s a similar story with regard
connector, so it can easily be to wired connectivity. The four
swapped out for a longer one. Ethernet ports operate at 10/100
The Hub 2’s best feature is Ethernet, rather than Gigabit
arguably its ability to configure to speeds. Should fibre broadband
your Openreach VDSL connection speeds increase beyond the current
when you first set it up, saving you maximum of 76Mbits/sec during the
the hassle of arranging a visit from life of the router, there would be no
an Openreach engineer just to switch way to use all that bandwidth with
you on at the nearest fibre cabinet. this hardware. There’s no USB port,
Other ISPs charge for this service, so either, so you can’t share external
it could also work out cheaper than storage or a printer over the network.
opting for a different supplier. When Unsurprisingly, the Hub 2
you plug the Hub 2 in, an additional was one of the slowest routers
LED on the front of the unit indicates on test this month: third-party
whether your Sky set-top box is 3.5W with the power-saving mode ABOVE The Hub 2’s models carved out a speed advantage
connected to the internet – no extra engaged. It’s a meagre saving, but ageing hardware of almost sevenfold, thanks to faster
diagnostics are required. one that could add up over time – severely restricts wireless support. Sky’s router
The Hub 2 also has an intelligent especially compared to some of the performance couldn’t even impress in terms
power-saving mode, automatically other routers on test this month, of 802.11n speeds, due to the absence
switching to a low-power state when which can draw upwards of 12W of a 5GHz band. At close range,
no wired or wireless devices are while in use. it could only manage a pitiful
actively using the connection. Typical Unfortunately, this is the extent 11.6MB/sec. Things improved
power draw with the connection in of the Hub 2’s positive traits. It’s compared to the opposition at long
use was around 5W, but this fell to largely unchanged from the original range, but not enough to matter.
GetthemostfromyourHub2
There’s no escaping the fact that the latest Sky One of the best is InSSIDer: version 4 costs
Hub is the runt of the pack when it comes to $20 (£13) to download, but version 3 is now
ISP-supplied routers. However, if you don’t plan free. Once you’ve downloaded and installed it
on swapping it out for a different model any time on a PC with a wireless network card, run it,
soon, there are a few things you can do to make double-checking that your wireless NIC is listed
it slightly better in day-to-day use. in the top-right corner. Click Start and wait for
You’ll need to log in to the web interface the list of networks to be populated. Even if there
to do so, but the default admin username and are networks with hidden SSID names, they will
password aren’t written on the router itself. be displayed as a MAC address.
Unless you’ve changed them manually, you can With all the nearby networks listed, look
get access using “admin” as the username and at the Channel column. You need to find a
“sky” as the password. number between 1 and 11, the Sky Hub’s available
The chief complaint among Sky Hub owners channels, that no other networks are using.
concerns whether the automatic wireless channel Once you have one, log in to the Sky Hub, click
selection is working correctly. This is enabled Wireless at the top of the page, then click on
by default, and while you can force the Hub 2 to the Channel dropdown. Enter your new channel
use a specific channel, there’s no tool in the web and hit Save. Wireless devices will lose their
interface to help you work out which channel is the least congested. Instead, connection while the change goes into effect, but they’ll reconnect
you need to use a third-party program and scan for network clashes yourself. automatically, since the SSID name and password haven’t changed.
80
Sky doesn’t make it easy for customers to replace the Hub 2 with a third-party
router – in fact, doing so when you’re on a fibre broadband package is actually in
breach of the contract’s terms and conditions. If you need technical support, Sky
It’s a shame speed is such a ABOVE The web won’t give it to you while you’re using a different router.
problem, since the Hub 2 has a interface allows That said, switching is possible. Your third-party VDSL modem-router must be
surprisingly comprehensive web users to block sites MER-compatible (MER stands for MAC encryption router, and Sky uses it specifically
interface, at least in terms of web by domain name to restrict third-party routers) and support VDSL option #61 (ClientID field); otherwise,
security and content filtering. While and keyword you’ll need a BT Openreach VDSL modem.
other ISPs force you to use network- To make the switch, you need to establish your Sky username and password.
level restrictions, supplying routers Unfortunately, these aren’t the same as your My Sky or other login details. Thanks,
that lack the settings to set up Sky. Wireshark (wireshark.org) is a free program that can help: once you’ve
controls yourself, here you can block downloaded and installed it, run the program and reboot your router.
sites by keyword or domain name. Hit Start Capture in Wireshark and let it run for a minute or two, until you see
This can be applied on a schedule DHCP packets being captured. Enter “udp port ==67” into the filter at the top of the
basis or across the local network, screen and hit Apply. Click on any of the discovered DHCP packets, then click on the
with one trusted IP address allowed “+” box next to Bootstrap Protocol to expand the options. Scroll through this list until
unfiltered access. Inbound and you see “Option 61:
outbound firewall rules can be Client identifier”.
created with a few clicks, and a Right-click it, select
DMZ is available if required. There’s Copy, then Bytes,
even dynamic DNS support, which is then Printable Text
unusual among ISP-supplied routers. Only. Open Notepad
Wireless settings are the and paste. This
exception, but this shouldn’t should leave you
come as a surprise, considering BELOW The Ethernet with a username
it’s a single-band router. Network ports operate at and password that
security is reasonably well covered, 10/100 Ethernet, looks something
with WPA encryption, and you rather than Gigabit like XXXXXXX@
can toggle whether or not skydsl|123abc. Save
to broadcast the SSID name, this for reference
but there aren’t many more when setting up
settings you can tweak. The your new router.
SSID broadcast channel can If you’re using an
be changed manually, but Openreach modem, now is the time to plug it in and connect it to one of your new
doing so didn’t result in any router’s LAN ports. If you aren’t, plug the VDSL cable into the relevant port on your
meaningful performance new router and switch it on. You’ll then need to log in to your new router and add your
boost over the default Sky login and password in the WAN section, typically under “Special Requirements
automatic mode. from ISP”. Look for “Manual client ID” or a similar phrase; this is where to put your
With ageing hardware Sky details. Click Save/Apply, then reboot the router. All being well, you should now
that severely restricts wired be connected.
and wireless performance, ADSL customers don’t really have it any easier. While you could use the Sky Hub
the Sky Hub 2 is a real in bridge mode, you would be speed-limited by its 100Mbits/sec Ethernet connections,
disappointment. If customers so it makes more sense to replace it with an ADSL modem router. You’ll still need to
weren’t given it for free it follow the instructions above to get your Sky username and password, but you’ll need
would be a travesty, and even to enter them slightly differently in your replacement router. Once it’s set up and
then it doesn’t compare well you’ve logged in to the web interface, look for the WAN Settings page. Enter your
to other ISP-supplied routers. username and password in the relevant boxes, change encapsulation method to
While there are a few useful PPPoA, change VPI to 0, change VCI to 38 and set Multiplexing to VC (if the option
software tweaks, and it’s very is available). After applying your new settings and rebooting your router, you
power-efficient, we strongly should regain internet access.
recommend switching to
a different router.
81
TalkTalkHG635SuperRouter
Better performance than you might expect, but features are lacking
PRICE Free from talktalk.co.uk
D
espite its grandiose name, the produced excellent speeds. At
TalkTalk Super Router looks close range, 77.5MB/sec over
anything but. Don’t let that 802.11ac was faster than both
fool you, though, because the ISP has Virgin’s Super Hub 2ac and
partnered with Huawei to bring its BT’s Home Hub 5, and 17.1MB/
customers a well-equipped product, sec over 802.11n on the 5GHz
complete with a choice of Gigabit band is essentially the best
WAN or VDSL connections for either speed possible from a 2x2
of TalkTalk’s broadband services. stream device. Performance over
This means you won’t need a separate 802.11ac was consistent over
Openreach modem to get online. long range, with a fantastic
You’ll still need to wait for an 32.5MB/sec trouncing all the
Openreach engineer to switch you other ISP-supplied routers and
over at the cabinet if you haven’t had even comparing favourably to
fibre broadband before, but if you pricey third-party models. The
order your package online TalkTalk same can’t be said of 802.11n on
will waive the £50 installation fee. the 5GHz band, with file transfers
There are four Gigabit Ethernet dropping to 8.4MB/sec – the poorest
ports, which will ensure any wired result in this Labs.
devices get the most from your link speeds of up to 1,300Mbits/sec ABOVE The Super Like many ISPs, TalkTalk wants
internet connection. The USB port over 802.11ac and 450Mbits/sec over Router isn’t a looker, its customers to use a network-level
is a useful inclusion, allowing you 802.11n. Annoyingly, however, it but it’s well equipped content-blocking system – in this
to share external storage across a broadcasts its 2.4GHz and 5GHz case, HomeSafe. This checks incoming
network, but the controller only frequencies under the same SSID by traffic for malware, blocks access
operates at USB 2 speeds. This hobbles default, meaning it can be difficult to websites based on categories, and
transfer rates: a top speed of only to tell if your devices are making the restricts access to social networks and
10MB/sec is disappointing and pales most of the 5GHz band. You can games at specific times. You can also
in comparison to other routers. Both change this in the router’s web block specific website URLs, but the
DLNA and SMB media shares are interface, but you can’t have different setup and configuration is all done
supported, at least, and you can also passwords for each SSID. There are no through the TalkTalk web page,
use the USB port to share a printer guest networks, either, which can be rather than on the router itself, and
across the network. frustrating if you need to keep part of the blocks apply to everyone using the
With a 3x3 MIMO antenna your network secure from visitors. connection, not just specific devices.
configuration and beamforming, the With the wireless frequencies split The Super Router has its own set
Super Router can deliver maximum into two SSIDs, the Super Router of parental controls, which can be
GetthemostfromyourSuperRouter
One thing that might encourage you to hold on to your Super Router, rather
than replace it, is the comparatively high 802.11ac speeds; on paper, it’s faster
than all the other ISP-supplied models in this month’s Labs. If you want to
explore its additional features, you’ll need to log in to the web interface by
pointing a browser to http://192.168.1.1. The default username and
password are both “admin”.
By default, the Super Router is set to pick the best wireless channel based
on interference from other devices. It doesn’t always get it right, however, so
it can be better to assign a specific channel manually. After logging in, select
Home Network from the menu bar at the top, then Wireless Settings on the
left of the screen. Open Advanced Settings, then click on the dropdown arrow
next to the channel. Select a new channel and click Save at the bottom of the
page. Any connected wireless devices will lose their connection, but they
should reconnect automatically, since the SSID name and password won’t
have changed.
Sharing external storage on the network is a little more complicated than box next to Enable SAMBA is ticked. Then click on User Settings | Add a User.
plug and play. You’ll need to create a username and password before you can Type in a username and password, decide whether to give the account read
access a flash drive or external hard disk through Windows using SAMBA. and write access or read only, then click Save. You can then map a network
Log in to the router, click Share at the top of the screen and make sure the drive in Windows using the default address //192.168.1.1/.
82
applied on a schedule and to specific ABOVE The web UI

devices, but it’s only available includes a network
through the URL http://192.168.1.1/ map for checking
html/advance.html#parent_control – connected devices
there’s no way to access it normally
through the web interface.
This is a shame, since the rest of
the web UI is sensibly laid out and
perfectly functional. The homescreen
includes a network map for checking
which devices are connected across
wired, wireless and USB, with more
advanced features hidden in separate
menus. Dynamic DNS (DDNS) is Like Sky, TalkTalk supplies both fibre-to-the-cabinet and ADSL broadband. The service
welcome, and not guaranteed in an you subscribe to will limit which routers you can use to replace the Super Router. If you
ISP-supplied router. You also get a have a TalkTalk YouView box, you’ll need to make sure the new model supports IGMP
demilitarized zone (DMZ) and the proxy and IGMP snooping or you’ll lose access to certain IPTV channels.
usual selection of port-forwarding/ Switching is straightforward if you’re on an ADSL package: you need only your
mapping options. Unfortunately, TalkTalk username and password. Your username is almost always your telephone
making any changes can take a while – number followed by @talktalk.net, and if you can’t remember your password you can
the interface is slow to refresh and call 0870 087 5562 from your TalkTalk land line to get a reminder.
must do so after every change. Once you’ve plugged in your new router, log in to the web interface and look for the
TalkTalk’s router is among the WAN settings page. Add your username and password to the relevant boxes and make
fastest ISP-supplied models available sure Encapsulation is set to PPP over ATM (PPPoA) using VC-MUX. Other settings you
over 802.11ac, both at close and long might need to change include VPI: 0, VCI: 38 and MTU: 1432. Hit Save/Apply and reboot
range. The web interface is user- your router. When it
friendly, but it lacks many of the comes back online, you
features that advanced users rely should be connected.
on, including guest networks and VDSL customers
a convoluted bridge mode. Available don’t need a username
for nothing to all new users, it’s an or password; these
excellent starter router that’s miles are provided on the
better than previous TalkTalk network end and
models. Existing users can upgrade can be discovered
for free, too, in exchange for signing automatically by
a new 18-month contract, making your new router.
it fantastic value. The only reasons Plug the VDSL cable
to consider upgrading to a different into the matching port
router is to get faster performance BELOW Users on your router and
on the 2.4GHz band at long range, can choose from power it on. Log in via
or if the meagre set of software Gigabit WAN or the web interface and find the WAN settings page. You’ll need to make sure the
features don’t suit your needs. VDSL connections encapsulation mode is set to PPP over Ethernet (PPPoE), and you must change VLAN
MUX ID to 101. The MTU must also be set to 1492. With those changes made, click
Save/Apply and reboot the router. When it restarts, you should be reconnected to
the internet.
If you’ve bought a router without a VDSL modem, you’ll need to put the Super
Router into bridge mode and use it simultaneously with its replacement. Unfortunately,
it’s not as simple as ticking a box in the Super Router web interface; you must log in,
click on Internet at the top of the screen and then Internet Connection on the left-hand
side. Click on New WAN Connection, then click Edit on the new entry that appears.
On the next screen, call the new connection “Bridge mode” to avoid confusion,
change Access Type to PTM Uplink and Connection Type to Bridged. Tick the box Enable
VLAN and enter 101 as your VLAN ID. In the box below it, marked 802.1p, enter 2. Click
Save, then plug the Super Router into your new router.
Log in to your new router and look for the WAN Settings page. Change the
connection type to DHCP/Automatic IP and reboot. It should now work correctly in
bridge mode. You may also want to switch off Wi-Fi on the TalkTalk router to avoid
creating Wi-Fi congestion for the replacement model.
83
basic, too, with options to enable ABOVE The Advanced

port forwarding and configure Settings screen in the
DHCP, but none for quality of web interface lacks
service, dynamic DNS or parental- parental controls or
control restrictions. dynamic DNS
The one saving grace is the
guest network setting, which
allows you to create up to four
additional Wi-Fi SSIDs for visitors:
two for 2.4GHz, two for 5GHz.
Each has its own security setting,
passphrase and MAC-filtering list,
which makes the Super Hub 2ac
easily the most comprehensive
ISP-supplied router around in
terms of network sharing.
It’s also adept when it comes to
wireless performance, at least at
close range. Over 802.11ac, transfer Because cable broadband isn’t as widely used in the UK as in other countries, there
speeds hit a peak of 69MB/sec. That’s are few third-party routers capable of replacing it completely. Each Super Hub is also
respectable for an ISP-supplied registered to an individual account, with login details saved to its firmware, which
router, beating BT’s Home Hub 5, makes ditching it for another model practically impossible. In fact, none of the routers
but falling behind the TalkTalk in this month’s Labs have a dedicated cable connection; they all rely on a separate
Super Router. All three were modem. That means you’ll need to switch the Super Hub into modem mode when
consistent over 802.11n, with you’re ready to upgrade and use it simultaneously with your new router.
the Super Hub managing 17MB/sec Before you unplug anything, you’ll need to enter the web interface and log in with
with a 2x2-stream device over 5GHz, your password. If you’re still using the default password, you’ll need to supply your
and 11.7MB/sec with a 3x3-stream BELOW As well as WPS pin code. Both can be found on the bottom of the router. From here, click Super
device over 2.4GHz. the cable connection, Hub Settings and then click Modem Mode. Choose Yes in the pop-up that opens and
However, things weren’t quite there are four Gigabit wait for the router to reboot. The Wi-Fi networks and three of the four Ethernet ports
so positive when we moved to our Ethernet ports for will then be disabled, leaving a single Ethernet port free to connect to your new router.
long-range tests, with transfer speeds wired devices If the LED on the front of the router then glows purple, rather than blue, it has worked.
dropping to 22.2MB/sec over 802.11ac. Plug this in to the new unit and log in to the web interface. You’ll need to switch it
Performance remained strong over from router mode to access-point mode; the process for doing so varies between
802.11n, though, with a 3x3-stream models, but it should take only a few minutes. Search for WAN Settings in the web
device managing 7.5MB/sec on the interface, and look for a dropdown box labelled Connection Type. Change this to
2.4GHz band and a 2x2-stream iPad DHCP/Automatic IP then save and reboot. Once the new router has rebooted, you
mini reaching 9.9MB/sec on the should regain internet access.
5GHz band.
The Super Hub is perfectly
suitable for wired networking, but
wireless speeds aren’t the best, and
it lacks many of the features that
come as standard on third-party
routers. This may be to avoid
confusing customers who only need
internet access, but it’s a shame that
features such as parental controls
aren’t available in the Advanced
Settings menu.
If you want more than basic
networking, we thoroughly
recommend setting the Super
Hub to Modem mode and buying
a separate router.
85
NetgearNighthawkX4S
A future-proof and
exceptionally fast router
that’s ready for all types
of connections
broadbandbuyer.co.uk
T
he Nighthawk X4S is a world
first: it’s the only DSL modem
router that supports Wave 2
Wi-Fi, quad-stream on both bands
and multi-user MIMO (MU-MIMO).
Typically, Wi-Fi signals are shared
among devices from a single pool,
with less bandwidth available as fibre modem. With both
more devices connect to a network. ADSL and VDSL modems
MU-MIMO lets a router broadcast onboard, however, you won’t need
a signal from a number of sources two separate boxes next to your phone
to multiple systems simultaneously, line unless your ISP forces you to use
directing separate bandwidth streams its own hardware. The eSATA port is
to up to four devices, as long as the an odd inclusion: while it could be
devices are MU-MIMO compatible. useful for legacy devices, the two
With the addition of quad-stream USB 3 ports on the side will be much ABOVE The X4S processor handling the grunt work.
broadcasting on both frequency faster. We measured file transfers at keeps the Nighthawk There are still plenty of manual
bands and beamforming, the 82.3MB/sec, which is practically range’s trademark settings and all the features you’d
Nighthawk X4S has a whopping quick enough for the router to stealth-bomber looks expect, including VPN access and
maximum bandwidth of 2.53Gbits/ double as a NAS device once you Netgear’s excellent Live Parental
sec, with 800Mbits/sec on the 2.4GHz attach an external hard disk. Controls. This lets you sign up to
band and 1,733Mbits/sec over 5GHz. Connecting a printer to the second the URL blacklists maintained by
However, this presents a problem. USB port will turn it into an Apple OpenDNS in only a few clicks, with
The only way to get the best possible AirPrint-enabled device. the ability to block websites by
wireless speeds is via a 4x4-stream, Netgear has retained the category or apply different filters
MU-MIMO-compatible network outlandish looks used for the original on a set schedule.
adapter, but no such component Nighthawk AC1900, making the X4S Dynamic quality of service
exists. You could use two routers look more like a stealth bomber than (QoS) is another welcome addition,
in bridge mode, but this isn’t a wireless router. It’s huge, but the quickly reconciling individual
representative of real-world use. four removable, adjustable antennae applications running on each
We tested with an AC1900, will let you fine-tune the spread of connected device and prioritising
3x3-stream Wi-Fi card, one of the its wireless networks. network traffic accordingly. This
fastest NICs you can buy today. It The web interface also remains helped prevent video buffering
can’t max out the Nighthawk 4S, unchanged, which is unfortunate: when watching a Netflix stream,
but it indicates what performance compared to Linksys’ excellent Smart even with three smartphones
would be like right now. Wi-Fi or Synology’s SRM, Netgear’s on the network simultaneously
In our close-range tests, user interface feels very basic for BELOW The Netgear downloading an iOS firmware update.
file-transfer speeds over 802.11ac – such a high-end router. At least it’s is seriously quick Netgear’s Genie smartphone app
73.3MB/sec – were seriously quick, responsive, with a 1.4GHz dual-core over close range makes a reappearance, too, letting
albeit not as fast as some tri-band you monitor the network without
models. Taking bandwidth overheads having to log in on a PC first.
into account, 17.1MB/sec over There’s no escaping the fact that
5GHz 802.11n was an excellent result. the Nighthawk X4S is expensive, and
Long-range results over 802.11ac anyone with an ADSL connection
were only average, at 22.2MB/sec, won’t get any benefit from having a
but 14MB/sec over 5GHz 802.11n VDSL modem onboard. It’s already
was one of the fastest speeds we saw exceptionally fast and when MU-
in this month’s Labs. When the right MIMO devices arrive in greater
hardware arrives, the Nighthawk numbers it will stay fast – unlike its
X4S should be blazingly fast; right rivals – even when you have multiple
now, it’s able to hold its own against wireless clients connected at once.
the competition. Features such as dynamic QoS truly
Naturally, there are four Gigabit make a difference to networks with
LAN ports for speedy wired multiple connected devices, and
performance, along with a Gigabit wireless range is excellent. That’s
WAN port for a separate cable or why it’s our top choice.
86
@PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Labs Routerss
SynologyRT1900ac
Great performance, but it’s
a combination of features,
ease of use and sheer value
that earn it an award
synology.com/uk
S
ynology produces some of the
best NAS devices around, but
the RT1900ac is the company’s
first attempt at a wireless router.
Looking at the specification sheet,
there doesn’t seem to be much to
separate it from the competition: it’s
a 3x3-MIMO-stream, simultaneous-
dual-band router, with a maximum features, with many
1,300Mbits/sec link speed over transitioning from DSM. Download
802.11ac and beamforming support. Station, Audio Station, Photo Station
However, the user interface sets the and Video Station are all present and
RT1900ac apart from its rivals. correct, letting you access multimedia ABOVE The inclusion the front of the unit are switched on:
Synology has taken the familiar files or queue up torrent files remotely of an SD card reader turning them off between midnight
DiskStation Manager (DSM) interface using smartphone companion apps means you can add and 7am could help you get to sleep
from its NAS range and reimagined and Synology’s QuickConnect 128GB of flash storage if the router is located in a bedroom,
it as Synology Router Manager (SRM). dynamic DNS service. but they’ll be on during the day
They’re very similar, so Synology NAS With an SD card reader in addition for troubleshooting.
owners will feel right at home. The to a USB 3 port, you could add 128GB There’s little on the outside to
web interface feels like a desktop of flash storage and not need to make indicate the software excellence
OS, with separate windows and room for an external hard disk next within; the RT1900ac is diminutive.
shortcuts to settings and features. to the router. (Don’t expect blistering The two feet on the back help elevate
All the crucial network settings are speeds, though: USB 3 file-transfer the unit to keep it cool, but otherwise
ordered sensibly in the Network performance was merely respectable, it’s a nondescript black box. The four
Center app, with a network map at 53.7MB/sec.) The port can also be Gigabit LAN ports and single Gigabit
showing which devices are currently used with 3G/4G mobile broadband WAN port are par for the course, as
connected and a traffic control page dongles as a backup, in case your are the three removable, adjustable
allowing you to give priority to primary connection fails. A dedicated antennae that let you fine-tune the
specific devices. The grid-based DS Router app is also available for coverage of your wireless network.
parental-control scheduler is Android and iOS for applying parental Wireless performance was very
fantastic, letting you quickly drag controls, checking the number of good at close range, with 78MB/sec
and select blocks of time to limit connected devices and tweaking over 802.11ac narrowly falling behind
access to certain websites. firewall rules. BELOW The the Asus RT-AC3200 but besting all
Even the initial setup is The RT1900ac features a number three antennae the ISP-supplied routers. Over 5GHz
straightforward, with a quick guide of neat touches, such as the ability to are removable 802.11n, 16.6MB/sec is approaching
walking you through each step. It schedule when the activity LEDs on and adjustable the top end of a 2x2-stream device’s
also forces you to create a unique capabilities; other routers are faster,
username and password, which but not by much.
should boost security; many of the Moving to long range, 802.11ac
routers in this Labs default to admin/ performance was consistent, with
admin and don’t prompt you to 27.8MB/sec falling only just behind
change them when you first log in. the fastest models on test. A 5GHz
This simplicity belies a wealth 802.11n result of just 9.2MB/sec is
of options to keep network slightly below average, however.
administrators happy, including With such a strong set of
upload/download limitations performance figures coupled to an
per service or application, QoS amazing price, the RT1900ac would
prioritisation, dual guest Wi-Fi stand up on its own even without
networks and VPN access. The Synology’s fantastic user interface.
dual-core, 1GHz processor, 4GB SRM makes all the difference: it’s
of flash storage and 256MB of RAM responsive, user-friendly without
keep the interface ticking over excluding advanced features, and
smoothly, even when you have unbelievably flexible. It’s better than
multiple windows open at once. any other router UI we’ve used before
A package manager lets you and sets the gold standard for the
download additional services and competition in future.
87
AsusRT-AC3200
number of connected
clients. Widgets and
Blisteringly fast – and graphs simplify more

complex features such as
tri-band Wi-Fi lets multiple QoS and traffic analysis,
but you can also drill
users get maximum down into individual
advanced settings such
wireless speeds as VPN access, web-
content filtering and
access scheduling.
SCORE ✪✪✪✪✪ In common
PRICE £171 (£230 inc VAT) from with most
currys.co.uk tri-band routers,
the RT-AC3200 is
massive, with four
T
he RT-AC3200 is built for Gigabit Ethernet ports, a Gigabit
speed. It features six removable, WAN port and a USB 2 port on the
positional antennae and two rear. It supports dual WAN, letting
3x3-MIMO-stream 802.11ac wireless you assign one of the LAN ports or
networks, giving a maximum link a 3G/4G mobile broadband dongle
speed of 1,300Mbits/sec on each 5GHz as a backup in case your primary ABOVE It’s a large putting other routers to shame.
band. The tri-band router also uses connection goes down. The USB 3 router, but in return Performance over 2.4GHz with a
Smart Connect to steer wireless port on the side is hidden behind a you get truly chart- 2x2-stream iPad mini wasn’t perfect
clients automatically to one of the removable panel and supports Time topping speeds at 9.6MB/sec, but this is still above
three radios, maximising the total Machine backups, network printers average. At range, the RT-AC3200
wireless throughput, although all and storage sharing. However, picks up the pace again, with 30.8MB/
three networks must broadcast file-transfer speeds weren’t sec transfers over 802.11ac, hot on the
under the same SSID to use it. outstanding at 62.4MB/sec. heels of the D-Link.
Finding and configuring features The same can’t be said of wireless The RT-AC3200 is incredibly fast
such as this is a breeze, thanks to the performance, as the RT-AC3200 is over all distances, with Smart Connect
delightfully simple ASUSWRT web one of the fastest routers around over tri-band wireless coming into its own
interface. It has a straightforward 802.11ac. At close range, it managed when several clients use the network
layout, with a network map giving fantastic 84.3MB/sec file transfers, at once. If this is your priority, then
at-a-glance information on the with 17.1MB/sec speeds over 802.11n it’s an excellent choice.
D-LinkDIR-890L devices proved equally fast,

reaching 18MB/sec, and at long
Excellent wireless speeds, range a score of 32.8MB/sec

makes this the
but this tri-band Wi-Fi quickest 802.11ac
router in this
doesn’t stand out from month’s Labs.
The six antennae
the crowd are non-removable,
but they can be
adjusted for fine-
SCORE ✪✪✪✪✪ tuning the spread of
PRICE £208 (£250 inc VAT) from dabs.com your networks. Their
positioning should help
eliminate dead spots, too.
T
he DIR-890L isn’t exactly subtle, All the ports are hidden at
with its huge dimensions, red the back. There’s a single Gigabit
metal finish and UFO-like WAN, four Gigabit LAN ports and
styling, but there’s a good reason it two USB ports, although only one
takes up so much space. It’s a tri-band is USB 3. It’s backed by a fast
router, broadcasting two 5GHz controller, transferring files from ABOVE The D-Link is a welcome touch, showing exactly
networks simultaneously to double a USB SSD at 73.8MB/sec. External recorded the quickest how many wired and wireless devices
the available wireless bandwidth storage can be accessed over the long-range score over are connected at a glance.
and allow two devices to get a internet using D-Link’s SharePort 802.11ac in this Labs Like the Asus RT-AC3200, the
theoretical maximum link speed of smartphone app. DIR-890L will reduce the bandwidth
1,300Mbits/sec over 802.11ac. Smart Previous D-Link routers were strain on a wireless network
Connect means you won’t need to saddled with a clunky web interface congested with multiple devices.
choose which band to use manually that hadn’t changed in what felt like However, the D-Link wasn’t quite as
but, as with the Asus above, this only forever, but the DIR-890L finally fast in our close range file-transfer
works if all three wireless SSIDs moves on. The new-look UI is a tests, while its user interface is neither
share the same name and password. massive improvement, with a simple as comprehensive as that of the Asus,
It backed up the bravado with layout and sensibly labelled tabs nor as intuitive as Synology’s.
performance, managing 74.8MB/sec hiding the more advanced features It’s a fine tri-band router, but until
file transfers over 802.11ac at close from less experienced users. The the price drops it has nothing to make
range. On the 5GHz band, 2x2-stream network map on the homescreen it stand out against the competition.
88
DrayTekVigor2860ac
account for internet calls. One of the
two USB ports can even be used with a
The wireless speeds aren’t 3G/4G mobile broadband dongle for

redundancy in the event of a network
great, but businesses outage. They only operate at USB 2
speeds, however, so transfer speeds
should take note of the were slow – 9.3MB/sec.
While DrayTek tends
extensive features to concentrate on business-
friendly features over
outright speed, on paper
SCORE ✪✪✪✪✪ the Vigor 2860ac looks
PRICE £208 (£250 inc VAT) from dabs.com to be the exception that
proves the rule: it’s the first
with 3x3-stream, 802.11ac Wi-Fi
A
s one of the few dual VDSL/ with a maximum 1,300Mbits/sec link
ADSL routers with integrated speed. Unfortunately, it produced
modems, the Vigor 2860ac disappointing results across the
has proven popular with home users board, managing only 58MB/sec up
looking to simplify their networking close over 802.11ac and 17.1MB/sec
setup by ditching their Openreach over 802.1n. Speed takes a further
modem and separate router. In reality, hit at long range, with 802.11ac file ABOVE The RJ11 specific features. Still, there’s no
this is a router best suited to business transfers falling to 17.3MB/sec and port allows you to question it’s comprehensive.
rather than home use, with more 802.11n dropping further still connect a telephone If you need total control over
office-friendly features than any to 3.7MB/sec. and use the on-router your network, the Vigor 2860ac is
other router in this month’s Labs. It’s a shame: with the ability to VOIP client a seriously comprehensive router
It has six Gigabit Ethernet ports – broadcast four separate SSIDs on that’s ideal for business use. The
two more than most routers, and each band, the Vigor would otherwise web interface is cumbersome yet
enough that it could make the be ideal for segregating different feature-packed, and while wireless
difference between needing a parts of a wireless network. The web performance is disappointing, no-one
separate network switch or not. interface feels antiquated compared comes close to matching its extensive
There’s also an RJ11 port for to Linksys’ widget-based UI or security and network settings. The
connecting a telephone and using Synology’s excellent SRM, and with company performed well in the PC
the on-router VoIP client; it took no search function it takes a lot of Pro Excellence Awards, too, scoring
less than ten minutes to set up a SIP digging through menus to find an overall satisfaction rate of 90%.
LinksysWRT1900ACS a USB 3 port, with an incredible

amount of power behind the
Fans of Linksys routers controller: transfer rates are

blisteringly fast – 106MB/sec –
won’t be disappointed, making this the only router to take
full advantage of external SSDs.
but it’s made to look Linksys’ widget-based
Smart Wi-Fi front-end is still one
average in this company of the most user-friendly on the
market, and it’s even more
responsive here than it was
SCORE ✪✪✪✪✪ on the WRT1900AC, thanks
PRICE £191 (£230 inc VAT) from to a 1.2GHz, dual-core
amazon.co.uk processor and 512MB of RAM
– double what was available in
the old router. There’s still no
O
n paper, the WRT1900ACS search function, but settings and
looks like an iterative update features are sensibly labelled, and you
of last year’s WRT1900AC. can pin the most frequently used tools
Both have 3x3-MIMO-stream 802.11ac to the homepage. The combination
Wi-Fi for a 1,300Mbits/sec top link of the cleanly presented network map ABOVE The Linksys Asus, D-Link and Netgear. Over
speed on the 5GHz band; both have and QoS tools is useful for assigning offers blisteringly fast 802.11n, speeds of 15.9MB/sec and
surprisingly comprehensive open- priorities to specific devices. file-transfer rates 11.2MB/sec are above average. Things
source support, should you want to The upgraded hardware hasn’t don’t really improve at range, with
replace the default Linksys firmware; created extra heat, and Linksys has 22.2MB/sec transfers over 802.11ac
and both have the same distinctive removed the active cooling fan that falling in the middle of the pack.
blue-and-black chassis, a homage was present on the outgoing model. We praised the WRT1900AC as a
to the WRT54G router, which was Considering this rarely spun up speed demon, but the same can’t be
incredibly popular in the 1990s. anyway, it won’t be missed. said of its successor, simply because
Built like a tank, the Linksys has The upgraded hardware has other routers have come further in
four detachable, positional antennas, had a positive impact on network the same time. Wired performance
four Gigabit Ethernet ports and a performance, but only compared to is superb and the web UI remains
single Gigabit WAN port. The eSATA its predecessor. While 61.8MB/sec excellent, but Synology’s RT1900ac
port isn’t practical any more, but it over 802.11ac up close is a respectable outpaces it over Wi-Fi and is arguably
doubles as a USB 2 port. There’s also figure, it falls behind the routers from more user-friendly.
89
Labs Routers @PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO
TP-LinkArcherC2600
because file transfers are rapid; with
an external SSD connected, the C2600
A cost-effective choice if managed 55.4MB/sec.

TP-Link’s web interface strikes a
you want to stick with your fine balance between accessibility and
advanced features, with a new design
ISP-supplied modem, and that’s easy to navigate. The main
screen opens on to a network map,
file-transfer rates are good revealing the number of wired and
wireless devices and anything
plugged into the USB ports,
SCORE ✪✪✪✪✪ but there are also
PRICE £137 (£165 inc VAT) from shortcuts to guest
pcworld.co.uk networks, parental
controls and QoS for
those more at home
R
outers can rarely be described with networking. Those
as stylish, but TP-Link has unfamiliar with the ins and outs
done its best with the Archer of router management can use the
C2600. It’s sleek and compact – until Tether smartphone app instead,
you screw on the four removable which retains most of the features
antennae. As one of only three of the web UI but adapts them for ABOVE The Archer range as well, with 29MB/sec transfer
4x4-stream models in this month’s smaller screens. C2600 was super- speeds over 802.11ac and 11.9MB/s
Labs, it has a theoretical maximum Unsurprisingly, the Archer quick at close range speeds on 5GHz 802.11n.
link speed of 1,733Mbits/sec, which C2600 was exceptionally fast at close over 802.11ac There’s no doubting the price is
could make it seriously fast – if paired range over 802.11ac. We measured right with the Archer C2600. It’s more
with compatible hardware. It also file transfers at 81.5MB/sec, putting than £100 cheaper than Netgear’s
supports 800Mbits/sec on the 2.4GHz it only slightly behind the Asus Nighthawk X4S, despite both routers
band, but only if you have an adapter RT-AC3200 but ahead of all the having 4x4-stream, 1,733Mbits/sec
that supports 256-WAM (TurboQAM). ISP-supplied routers. Naturally, Wi-Fi. TP-Link’s web interface is
The emphasis on speed continues 802.11n speeds fell much shorter, arguably more user-friendly than
on the rear, with four Gigabit Ethernet but 16.4MB/sec from a 3x3-stream PC Netgear’s, but if convenience is
LAN ports and a single Gigabit WAN. over 2.4GHz and 17.3MB/sec from a your main concern, the lack of a
The two USB 3 ports on the side are 2x2 iPad mini over 5GHz are still well modem in the Archer C2600 gives
a welcome inclusion, particularly above average. This was true at long the Nighthawk the edge.
ZyXELArmorZ1 and just 10.7MB/sec on a 2x2-stream

iPad mini over 5GHz 802.11n place
Against tough competition, the Armor Z1 firmly in the middle

of the pack.
nothing but the Armor’s Frustratingly, the 5GHz frequency
band defaults to a broadcast channel
size makes it stand out – not covered by the European 802.11n
standard. This can be changed
even at this price through the web interface, but only in
the Expert section – which is hidden
behind an easy-to-miss link. Apart
SCORE ✪✪✪✪✪ from this oversight, the web UI is
PRICE £137 (£165 inc VAT) from dabs.com relatively clean, with shortcuts to
more advanced features running
along the bottom of the screen
A
ccording to ZyXEL, the Armor and individual settings listed in
Z1 is a Wave 2, 4x4-stream a menu to the left. For novice
router, but unlike the Netgear users, though, the amount of
Nighthawk X4s and TP-Link Archer information present on each
C2600, it’s merely MU-MIMO “ready”. screen could be overwhelming.
It’s classed as AC2350, with a There’s also a smartphone app for
600Mbits/sec maximum link speed diagnosing network issues, running
on the 2.4GHz frequency, versus the speed tests and setting up guest
800Mbits/sec supported by true networks without needing to log
AC2600 routers. in to the router.
That’s not to say the Armor Z1 is Despite the router being huge, the ABOVE The Armor the superfast Linksys WRT1900ACS.
slow, however. It managed to reach a four removable, adjustable antennas boasts more features While the Armor Z1 has all the
top speed of 76MB/sec at close range are placed right at the back, rather than an ISP-supplied advanced networking features usually
over 802.11ac, which is above average than spread around. This is also where router, but it doesn’t missing from an ISP-supplied router,
for a router in its price range. As ever, you’ll find four Gigabit LAN ports perform much better it doesn’t dramatically outperform
802.11n performance is noticeably and a single Gigabit WAN port. Two BT, TalkTalk or Virgin’s own-brand
slower, at 17.3MB/sec, but, again, USB 3 ports are hidden behind a flap models. With TP-Link’s Archer C2600
this is on par with competing models. on the side. Files transferred from an providing faster wireless performance
Unfortunately, results get worse over external SSD at 79.7MB/sec, which is for the same money, there’s not
long range – 25.5MB/sec over 802.11ac above average, but still slower than enough here to make it worth buying.
90
FLAWLESS PERFORMANCE
FLAWLESS RELIABILITY *
GREAT SAVINGS ON THIS PROFESSIONAL

COLOUR LASER PRINTER
£249
NOW FROM
£134.40**
The HL-L8250CDN colour laser printer from Brother, delivering
professional-quality, A4 print to your business. Now with a
FREE 3 year warranty included.
Order today from your preferred Brother Supplier.
* The Brother HL-L8250CDN is certified highly reliable by BLI, completing a 20,000 impression durability test without experiencing any misfeed and no service required. March 2015.
** Promotional pricing of £134.40 inc Vat. Regular suggested mail order pricing of £249 inc Vat. Whilst stocks last. 3 year warranty available until 31st December 2015.
Testresults
Close range, 802.11ac, 3x3, 5GHz MB/sec Close range, 802.11n, 3x3, 2.4GHz MB/sec Close range, 802.11n, 2x2, 5GHz MB/sec
Asus 84.3 Asus 17.1 D-Link 18
TP-Link 81.5 TP-Link 16.4 BT 17.3
Synology Recommended 78 Linkysys 15.9 Asus 17.3
TalkTalk 77.5 Netgear Labs Winner 15.9 Linkysys 17.3
ZyXEL 76 ZyXEL 14.9 TP-Link 17.3
D-Link 74.8 Synology Recommended 14.8 ZyXEL 17.3
Netgear Labs Winner 73.3 D-Link 13.1 TalkTalk 17.1
Virgin 69 DrayTek 12.3 DrayTek 17.1
BT 67.5 Virgin 11.7 Netgear Labs Winner 17.1
Linkysys 61.8 Sky 11.6 Virgin 17
DrayTek 58 TalkTalk 11.2 Synology Recommended 16.6
Sky N/A BT 7.7 Sky N/A

0 25 50 75 100 0 5 10 15 20 0 5 10 15 20
Close range, 802.11n, 2x2, 2.4GHz MB/sec Long range, 802.11ac, 3x3, 5GHz MB/sec Long range, 802.11n, 3x3, 2.4GHz MB/sec
BT 11.8 D-Link 32.8 Asus 12.3
Linkysys 11.2 TalkTalk 32.5 D-Link 12.3
Netgear Labs Winner 10.2 Asus 30.8 Netgear Labs Winner 11.8
Virgin 9.9 TP-Link 29 Synology Recommended 10.4
TP-Link 9.7 Synology Recommended 27.8 Linkysys 10.2
Sky 9.6 ZyXEL 25.5 TP-Link 10.1
Asus 9.6 BT 25.3 ZyXEL 9.6
ZyXEL 9.6 Linkysys 22.2 TalkTalk 7.8
D-Link 9.2 Virgin 22.2 Virgin 7.5
Synology Recommended 8.8 Netgear Labs Winner 22.2 Sky 5.7
TalkTalk 8.2 DrayTek 17.3 DrayTek 3.7
DrayTek 3.7 Sky N/A BT 2.6

0 3 6 9 12 0 9 18 27 36 0 5 10 15
Long range, 802.11n, 2x2, 5GHz MB/sec Long range, 802.11n, 2x2, 2.4GHz MB/sec USB transfer speed MB/sec
Linkysys 14.1 Sky 5.4 Linkysys 106
Netgear Labs Winner 14 Virgin 4.4 Netgear Labs Winner 82.3
D-Link 13.5 ZyXEL 4.4 ZyXEL 79.7
TP-Link 11.9 Linkysys 4.2 D-Link 73.8
ZyXEL 10.7 TalkTalk 3.8 Asus 62.4
BT 10.6 Netgear Labs Winner 3.5 TP-Link 55.4
DrayTek 10.1 Synology 3.3 Recommended Synology 53.7 Recommended
Virgin 9.9 D-Link 3.2 TalkTalk 10
Asus 9.7 Asus 3.2 DrayTek 9.3
Synology 9.2 Recommended TP-Link 3.2 BT 4.9
TalkTalk 8.4 DrayTek 1.8 Sky N/A
Sky N/A BT 1.5 Virgin N/A

0 5 10 15 0 2 4 6 0 30 60 90 120
92
ViewfromtheLabs
Tom Morgan looks forward to a world where all devices include fast wireless
chips – and where manufacturers make it clear what’s inside their machines
W
hen you get something Galaxy S6 and the HTC One
for nothing, you don’t M9 include the technology,
expect it to be the best. and many of the laptops and
That’s definitely the case with many tablets that have passed
ISP-supplied wireless routers; you through the PC Pro Labs
might not have to pay any extra to in the past year have
get one, but compared to almost all supported it as well.
the third-party models on test this Tom Morgan is Even then, 802.11ac
month, they’re disappointingly product editor isn’t as simple as a
basic. Fast speeds are by no means on our sister site tickbox: does your
guaranteed, parental controls are Expert Reviews mobile device include a
often limited to network-level 2x2 wireless antenna
protection, which limits everyone, configuration? Or
and essentials such as guest networks 3x3? A combination
can be missing in action, too. of space limitations
There are plenty of reasons to and price means this is a corner often obfuscate this information. Anyone
upgrade, but the ISPs don’t exactly cut by device manufacturers, so check would think they had something to
make this an easy task. In particular, exactly what you’re getting before hide... and often they do.
Sky specifically prohibits the use of you buy. And what of 3x3? For now, this
third-party equipment with its fibre “Many manufacturers Finding out for sure is an incredibly rare sight in the
broadband packages, although isn’t simple, although wild. It’s limited to premium laptops
considering how abysmal its bundled
seem to obfuscate antennae there are clues: if a such as the MacBook Pro 15in
router is, there’s plenty of reasons to configuration information. manufacturer says (pictured above), in part due to the
ignore that particular clause of the Anyone would think they “supports MIMO”, then fact 3x3 streaming works best when
Ts&Cs. Taking the time to dig out your had something to hide” it almost certainly has a there’s a decent distance between the
login and password from a router’s 2x2 antenna configuration. antennae. If you’re desperate for fast
web interface makes a lot of sense (Don’t be fooled by the phrase downloads, though, you can buy a
when you could double or triple “dual-band”, which simply means 3x3 Wi-Fi adapter, as we used for
your wireless speeds. the device supports both 2.4GHz our testing.
Making the jump from 802.11n to and 5GHz frequencies.) You might then wonder why our
802.11ac is a big part of that, which As a rule of thumb, most premium Labs winner is one step ahead of the
means you need devices to match. tablets and phones will include a current top-end phones, tablets and
You probably already own laptops, 2x2 setup; budget devices may well PCs: we’re still waiting for Wave 2,
phones and tablets that can take make do with a single antenna. 4x4-stream 802.11ac and multi-user
advantage of the extra bandwidth; Laptops are less predictable, so check MIMO (MU-MIMO) to gain any sort
Apple’s MacBooks have supported the small print for clues. Prepare of traction. Why go to the added
it for two years now, flagship to be frustrated, though, as many expense of a router like the Netgear
smartphones such as the Samsung manufacturers seem to deliberately Nighthawk X4s?
Part of the reason, as ever, is to be
ahead of the curve. This may be your
Howwetest router for the next three years, so why
not spend an extra £50 and reap the
All the routers reviewed in this Labs were tested in adapter installed in your laptop, PC or tablet, we benefits later? Besides, you’ll likely
a tightly controlled, real-world environment, letting then repeated each test using a 2x2-stream, 802.11n see the benefits of a router upgrade
us compare each one objectively with the minimum iPad mini 2 to gauge how older hardware copes with today, even without hardware that
of interference from other wireless devices. the same signals. can reach the theoretical bandwidth
We first connected each router to a desktop Some of the routers on test have theoretically limit. The results from this month’s
PC via Gigabit Ethernet. The PC was fitted with an faster maximum wireless speeds than our reference tests show that 802.11n speeds can
SSD to ensure it wouldn’t create a performance equipment can reach, but since there aren’t any USB increase dramatically when you
bottleneck. With the router and PC in one room, we or PCI Express Wi-Fi adapters capable of matching switch out your ISP-supplied router,
set up a second PC with a 3x3-stream, 802.11ac Wi-Fi them, these are mentioned in each review rather and if that model didn’t have external
adapter 2.5m away within the same room to test than on the results table. antennas you could find swapping to
close-range speeds. Where the router supported it, we also tested one that does lets you access the
We used the command-line utility iperf3 to direct file transfers via USB using a Verbatim external internet from rooms in your house
measure transfer speeds over 2.4GHz 802.11n and SSD; this USB 3 drive ensured the router would be the that were previously dead spots.
5GHz 802.11ac connections, before repeating the limiting factor in speed tests. Any device you buy in future
tests at a distance of 15m with a brick wall in the We’ve presented the results in the table will benefit immediately from an
path of the wireless signal. Because you’ll only opposite, which is colour-coded to help you track the upgraded router, so switching today
approach the fastest speeds with an 802.11ac performance of the router you’re most interested in. should prepare your network for the
devices and network adapters set to
launch in 2016 – and beyond.
93
Slug Sectionhead
The Network
Practical buying and strategic advice for IT managers and decision makers
Business Focus The Business Question Cheat Sheet

Choosing the right remote How can we recruit IT talent The dark and dangerous
support software p94 for the future? p106 world of shadow IT p108
BUSINESS FOCUS
How to choose
the right remote
support software
Are you still heading to people’s desks to solve
problems, or stuck using free support software?
Dave Mitchell helps you make the right choice
I
f you’ve ever tried to resolve a ■ Access or support? Good remote support solutions
computer problem over the phone, With a wealth of free remote access provide simple access procedures,
you’ll know how frustrating it can software available, it’s tempting to cut but go way beyond this basic remit.
be. The person with the problem does costs and use one. However, they have Alongside screen sharing and remote
their best to explain it, and you guide drawbacks since many evolved from control, they provide file-transfer
them through the process of resolving the consumer market and lack tight utilities, text or two-way audio chat
it with what seems like a 50/50 chance security, auditing, access permissions services, Registry editors and controls
of success. Sometimes worse. and other features. for rebooting the remote system.
A site visit is often out of the Google’s Chrome Remote Desktop Some scan the remote system
question, and even if you work in a is a case in point. It’s free, but each when you connect and provide a list of
dedicated support department, you system requires a Google account, installed applications. Others collect
may be understaffed and too short must have the app installed and BELOW Netop’ s this information and then store it for
on time to help in person. So, what’s exchange a 12-digit PIN. It’s easy remote inventory is reporting and analysis. This aids the
the answer? Remote support software to use, but lacks auditing and access very useful because it troubleshooting process, with support
– with which you can connect to the controls for the remote system, plus it shows support staff staff immediately understanding the
system, diagnose and fix it, all from restricts you to simple remote control. the installed software hardware spec and what’s installed
the comfort of your own desk. on the user’s PC.
No two businesses have the same
needs, but there’s a huge range of ■ Secret agents
support tools to choose from. This Most remote support solutions require
month, we review four solutions an agent to be deployed on the remote
from some of the biggest names in system, through which support staff
the market, namely Bomgar, Netop, can access and control the machine.
NetSupport and SolarWinds. Some, which may require the agent
They take different approaches to be permanently installed, provide
to providing remote support: one facilities to push this from a central
employs a cloud appliance, while console, making deployment simple.
the others use a central console If you need support for a large
to access remote systems. We’ve number of systems, look for those
put them through their paces in the products with built-in deployment
lab to help you understand which tools. NetSupport Manager is a good
one best suits the remote storage example, as its Deploy tool can be
needs of your business. used to scan the network and silently
94
@PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO The Network BusinessFocus
push the agent to selected systems. Its
custom scripts then determine which
support features will be available.
If you’re unhappy having an agent
permanently loaded, consider the
products that provide an on-demand
agent. This is loaded only at the start
of the support session, and is removed
upon completion.
■ Look, but don’t touch

Poorly configured remote-support
solutions can leave a gaping hole in
your network perimeter. In its 2015
“Global Security Report”, Trustwave
claimed 28% of the data breaches it
investigated were caused by weak
remote access security. four products can, therefore, limit ABOVE Netop’s conditions. However, you can use
You need to make sure that only what may be accessed. WebConnect 2 tool your iOS device as a mobile support
authorised staff can access systems. adds basic cloud- desk. Bomgar, NetSupport and (to a
Security is a key consideration, and ■ Platform support hosted remote control lesser degree) Netop offer free apps
all of the products here have a range of Windows is the prevalent desktop that can be used to view, connect to
features and authentication methods. operating system in most businesses, and control remote systems.
Network endpoints aren’t the only and we had no problems connecting to
security consideration, though: you Windows 7, 8, 8.1 and 10 workstations. ■ Accountability
may want to limit what your support You may want OS X on the guest If your support department has
staff can do. There’s a huge difference list but we found support for the latest service-level agreements, you’ll want
between screen sharing and full version, El Capitan, to be patchy. The to ensure your chosen product has
remote control, so look for products Bomgar and NetSupport OS X agents auditing features that can log all calls,
that can restrict these functions and worked fine, and DameWare uses the activities, chats and resolutions. Even
only allow specific people to use them. built-in VNC Viewer, but Netop said better is the facility to record sessions.
Whether you want staff taking support was still under development. The right remote support solution
control of systems with sensitive or Most Linux distributions are will benefit businesses and boost
personal information is another issue: supported, but you can’t remotely productivity. We do recommend some
the implications may not be only a control iOS devices such as iPads training, though, so that your users
matter of trust but also compliance and iPhones: the use of private apps understand it’s there to make their life
with data-protection regulations. All is in violation of Apple’s terms and easier, and not for you to spy on them.
BomgarCloudfor
console. Custom
clients are
RemoteSupport created from

the appliance’s
Bomgar delivers an easily admin console

and available
deployed, cloud-hosted for all versions
of Windows, OS
support solution with X (including
El Capitan)
watertight security and Linux.
Users aren’t
required to
SCORE ✪✪✪✪✪ configure the
PRICE From £1,395/yr exc VAT Jump Client,
from bomgar.com which will only
connect to the
appliance URL
B
omgar could be the perfect provided when
choice if remote access security the installation
is your biggest worry. With file was created.
physical, virtual or cloud appliance Systems with
options, it’s designed to provide Jump Clients
businesses with a completely secure should see, such as requests to cede ABOVE Secure installed are displayed in the support
environment and unbeatable control control of their machines. You can remote sessions are portal, where support representatives
over what staff are allowed to do. also define group policies for multiple run from the Bomgar can initiate a remote session by
We reviewed Bomgar Cloud for representatives, which have hundreds console, which has clicking them.
Remote Support, which allowed us of available settings and controls. plenty of useful tools Policy settings control whether
to log in to our cloud-hosted VMware Every representative has their the remote user must permit the
appliance through a dedicated URL. own, separate console app, and connection request, which can also be
Once inside, we could create new their login credentials determine set for file transfer, screen sharing and
users or “representatives” from its what support features are available. full control. All remote connections
administrative interface. This made The app is well designed and provides are encrypted with 256-bit AES
it immediately obvious just how separate panes for viewing support and the console loads a new tab for
security-focused Bomgar is. requests and message queues, other the remote system. This includes a
The wide range of user controls group members, clients and systems. screen view and access to other tools,
let you specify what each member of Users needing assistance will send including a command shell, Registry
a support department can and can’t a request through a web portal, which editor and power or reboot controls.
RECOMMENDED
do during a session. Along with access places them in a queue. Depending on The console can have open
restrictions to the appliance, we could your security requirements, you can connections to multiple systems,
also block access to specific end-user show a list of available representatives and we found swapping between
input devices, control file transfers, so that clicking on one initiates a them easy. Meanwhile, sessions can
permit support staff to share their download of the Bomgar Jump Client be recorded, transferred to other
sessions with other representatives, and opens an instant connection to representatives or shared with them,
and run presentations. The full list of that user’s support console. and presentations can run to multiple
features is enormous. At the end of a session, the Jump users through screen sharing.
Session policies let you control Client is completely removed from the If permitted, users can end support
which support tools are available remote machine, but you can install it sessions at any time simply by closing
during a session, and which prompts permanently if you want to maintain the client’s message window. At this
those receiving remote support persistent connections to the support point Bomgar will present them with
a survey to gauge their
“The wide range of user satisfaction with the
controls lets you specify support session, which
is a neat touch.
what each member of a
It took a while to get
support department can to grips with the myriad
do during a session” security policies but,
once we were over this
hurdle, we found that Bomgar
Cloud for Remote Support was
the best at putting teamwork into
support services. It offers an amazing
range of features for the price and
should be a serious contender for
those businesses where security
is paramount.
LEFT The Bomgar REQUIREMENTS

Representative Console/Client: Windows XP/2000 upwards
Console keeps track ● OS X Snow Leopard (10.6) upwards ● Linux
of all support requests ● Blackberry OS 5 upwards ● Android 2.3+
and Jump Clients upwards ● iOS 7 upwards
96
@PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO The Network BusinessFocus
NetopRemote
Demonstrate
mode is also
Control12.2 handy. This shows

the guest’s screen
Affordable remote support on the host

computer,
with handy cloud-hosted allowing support
staff to provide
remote control and stiff visual cues for a
particular task.
security The remote
management
feature is very
SCORE ✪✪✪✪✪ useful, presenting
PRICE One guest/ten hosts, £625 exc VAT views of the host’s
from netop.com hard disks, direct
access to the
event viewer and
B
usinesses looking for a wide task manager,
choice of client connection plus Registry
types will appreciate the editing. In our
options offered by Netop Remote tests, we could see
Control. Along with guest and host running services
components, it offers a cloud portal our tests. Larger deployments can be ABOVE It’s very basic, or shared folders and directly control
for remotely connecting to users’ streamlined with Netop’s Pack’n but Netop’s iOS app the host. We could even log out the
systems and – if you don’t want to Deploy tool, which sends the host to can remotely control remote user and restart the machine.
rely on a third party to host the multiple Windows systems, complete systems on which the Netop’s guest console accurately
support sessions – you can do it all with custom configurations. host has been loaded displays hardware and software
yourself with the optional Netop All of the Netop action takes place inventories, and it correctly identified
WebConnect module. at the guest console, which hasn’t hardware including CPUs, memory
It’s also big on security. Access to changed a great deal in many years, and hard disks on our test systems. It
hosts can be password-protected, and other than a lick of paint. Even so, also got all the OS versions right and
you can authenticate using Windows we found it easy to use, presenting a provided a complete list of software
login credentials and integrate Netop neat row of tabbed folders for each applications, along with
with Active Directory. Netop also function. For example, we used the “The host component their installation dates
offers an optional Security Server Quick Connect tab to browse the worked fine on Windows, and version numbers.
module that both maintains a central network and pull up a list of systems We needed to enter
log-server database and manages running the host software.
but hadn’t been updated to a user’s password every
network authentication tasks. Connecting to a remote host is a support OS X El Capitan at time we connected to their
Each remote PC must have a host simple double-click manoeuvre, while the time of our tests” machine, but this can be
component installed locally, which a dropdown menu provides quick streamlined using the
worked fine on our Windows desktops. access to functions including remote guest’s Netop phonebook. Each entry
However, this hadn’t been updated to control, a file-transfer window, text in the book contains authentication
support OS X El Capitan at the time of chat and audio or video chat. The credentials, encryption options,
LEFT We could keyboard and mouse behaviour and
browse for available more, allowing host connections to
hosts and directly be initiated immediately.
connect to them from The WebConnect 2 portal required
the Guest console the host profiles to be reconfigured
with the portal’s web address, plus a
username and password. It provides
a list of available devices, which can
each be placed into custom groups.
Connecting to the remote host is then
just a matter of entering a password.
The hosted service only allows for
remote control, meaning the range of
support features on offer is basic. We
could lock, restart or shut down the
host, resize the display to fit, and use
the Windows key, but that was all.
Netop Remote Contol is easy to
deploy and use. It offers an impressive
range of features for the price and is
best suited to businesses that want
swiftly deployed remote support
that’s tightly locked down against
unauthorised use.
REQUIREMENTS
Netop Guest/Host: Windows XP/Server 2003
upwards ● OS X up to 10.1 ● Linux
97
The Network BusinessFocus @PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO
NetSupport In theory, you
Manager12.1 can tell which

country the client
The remote support host resides in using

the Geo-Locate
with the most – it’s easy to feature, which
adds a small flag
deploy and offers a great to the top-right
corner of their
range of features icon. Hovering
the mouse over
the flag pops up
SCORE ✪✪✪✪✪ a window with
PRICE 100-249 systems, £33 each exc VAT what appears to
from netsupportmanager.com be the client’s
actual location.
However, take
N
etSupport Manager (NSM) has into account that
one of the longest track records – because it used
in the remote support market the termination
– and it shows. Its central console point of our
seamlessly integrates an unbeatable broadband
range of features, while a one-off fee connection
means it’s great value in the long term. – it was out by
Pricing is based on the number of desktops, nor to a MacBook Pro ABOVE NetSupport’s around 60 miles in our tests.
supported end points, with between running OS X El Capitan. A search tool Control console is a More impressive was the NSM
one and 99 costing £40 each, which made light work of adding them to the pleasure to use and its client, which gathers hardware and
drops to £33 for between 100 and console, and NSM’s dynamic grouping remote support tools software inventories for each system
249 systems. At its foundation, NSM neatly sorted them into categories are extensive and stores them on the Control host.
provides centrally managed remote based on their operating system. We It’s very accurate, showing all of the
control, file transfer, text or two-way then created custom groups in the hardware components for our selected
audio chat (with recording facilities), console and dragged and dropped clients, plus installed software, and
plus detailed hardware and software selected clients into them for easier which applications were running, as
inventory. Furthermore, you receive management. Selecting the Connect well as processes and services.
NetSupport School at no extra charge. option from each client icon pulled The NSM iOS app proved very
This provides monitored training up live thumbnails that showed what handy. With this loaded onto an iPad,
sessions to classrooms. each one was up to. we could view all clients, initiate
Installation proved swift. We Double-clicking a client icon RECOMMENDED remote control sessions, chat, check
loaded the NSM Control component opens a remote session or, if you their inventory, pull up a virtual
and then used the Deploy tool to scan prefer, you can also use a dropdown keyboard and reboot them.
the lab network and push the client to menu to passively view a remote Client connections are secured
selected systems. Each installation screen, start a file-transfer session, using an NSM PIN server running on
took around a minute to complete and have a chat or send a message. We either the NSM Control or another
the utility allowed us to create silent used the viewing window, through system. Once installed, the client or
installations, use different profiles for which we could take screenshots, controlling user can request a PIN,
host groups and specify whether users launch applications, share clipboards, which establishes a connection when
could interact with the client. reboot the client and, where correctly entered on both sides.
We had no problems pushing the supported, have an audio We were impressed by the security
client to Windows 7, 8, 8.1 and 10 conversation using headsets. offerings: clients can be password-
protected, the Gateway
“The iOS app allowed us utility supports a range
to view all clients, initiate of encryption schemes
and you can use Active
remote control sessions, Directory policies. NSM
chat, check their inventory Control also lets you
and reboot them” create different user
profiles that determine
what support staff are allowed to
access on remote systems.
NetSupport Manager is quite
simply one of the best remote support
tools on the market. It provides a
superb range of tools, while including
NetSupport’s School software
and the one-time cost per seat
makes it excellent value.
LEFT We used REQUIREMENTS

NetSupport’s iOS app Supports Windows XP SP3/Server 2003
to remotely control a upwards ● OS X 10.5 upwards ● Linux ●
Windows 10 desktop Mobile Control app for iOS and Android
98
THE EFFECT
The new health & fitness magazine

Free every wednesday
Find out where at coachmag.co.uk
fitter+healthier+happier #coacheffect
The Network BusinessFocus @PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO
SolarWindsDameWare
RemoteSupport12
Not the best designed
central console, but it’s
affordable and easy
to deploy
PRICE For 4-5 technicians, £215 exc VAT
each from dameware.com
D
ameWare Remote Support
is one of the few solutions
that can do most of its work
without an agent installed on each
desktop. It integrates with Active
Directory and provides plenty of tools
for administering domain objects:
containers, groups and users.
However, it does rely on an agent and workgroups in a tree structure, ABOVE The It’s all too easy to end up with ten or
installed on the target system when which placed the servers and DameWare console 20 tabs loaded without realising it.
using the Mini Remote Control utility, workstations on our test setup in can manage large And some of the options hint at
through which you can connect to a separate, easy-to-access groups. networks, but couldDameWare’s age, such as when it tries
system from almost anywhere. This Selecting a system opens a be easier to use to load vintage apps such as NTBackup
can be loaded only for the duration complete overview of its hard disks, and the Windows NT User Manager.
of the support session and, when you with graphs of free and used space, DameWare doesn’t perform an
finish, it removes itself. Otherwise, a table displaying more detail, and inventory on your remote systems and
basic remote control is achieved direct access to Windows’ option store the information, although it will
using Remote Desktop Protocol. to restore previous versions. scan each system’s properties to show
The Mini Remote Control utility The console displays the selected details of its CPU, memory, graphics
can be accessed from the main Remote system’s event logs and running and so on. We could also view all
Support interface or loaded as a processes, and if the remote Registry installed software, but each time this
separate application. We found it service isn’t running, it will start it was selected, the console queried the
easy to use for our Windows systems. for you. We could then remotely view remote system to pull in a list. This
We tested the standalone version, and edit its Registry, and reboot or could then be exported as a CSV file.
but DameWare also offers a Central shut down the system. You’ll only need to use the
Server edition for larger, distributed We loaded a command-line DameWare Remote Support Service
businesses. Both are good value, with prompt, event viewer and agent to access a small number of
licensing based on the number of performance monitor for the remote features, including the remote
remote support technicians and system from the System Tools section. command viewer and console, plus
not the systems being supported. Rather annoyingly, every tool selected the system reboot and shutdown
When first opened, the Remote adds a quick-access tab at the top of commands. When we selected these,
Support console checks the network the central window, which doesn’t DameWare offered to load the service
and presents a list of detected domains close down when you select another. on the target system for us.
DameWare can
“DameWare can connect to connect to Macs using the
Macs using the VNC service VNC service, and we had
no problems with our
and we had no problems MacBook Pro running OS
with our MacBook Pro X El Capitan. You’ll need
running OS X El Capitan” to edit its screen-sharing
options to allow VNC
viewers to connect to the system.
For large networks, the Remote
Support console will look busy and it
includes a few redundant tools. That
said, its agentless architecture makes
it easy to deploy, and basing prices on
the number of technicians make it
good value. DAVE MITCHELL
LEFT DameWare
doesn’t need an agent REQUIREMENTS
installed to give you Console: Windows 7/Server 2008 upwards ●
information about a Clients: Windows Vista/Server 2008 upwards
user’s hard disks ● Linux and OS X (VNC enabled)
100
Download your 30 day
FREE TRIAL
www.netsupportdna.com
Clear, cost-effective, IT Asset Management
Take charge of your IT systems and identify cost savings with our easy-to-use IT asset management
software, NetSupport DNA version 4.
Capture and manage information from all devices and platforms, plus view real-time data of all your IT assets at a
glance with dashboards and custom views.
Inventory and Licensing tools Real-time Enterprise Alerting
Discover new devices on your network Internet and Application Metering
Software Distribution Print Monitoring
Endpoint Security Energy and Power Management
NetSupport DNA also includes mobile apps so you can scan and view device inventory details on the go.
To further enhance your solution, try our optional remote control and service desk components too as part of
an integrated package.
Download your FREE TRIAL for use on up to 50 devices.
Visit: www.netsupportdna.com | Call: +44 01778 382270 | Email: [email protected]

The Network Reviews @PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO
BrotherDCP-9015CDW
the printer’s web admin
console, they extend as
An affordable multifunction far as setting page count

limits for each user and
printer with excellent cloud specifying whether they
could print using colour
support – but colour print or just mono.
The printer driver
speeds are slow can be used to secure
print jobs by assigning
them a PIN. This puts
SCORE ✪✪✪✪✪ the job in the queue
PRICE £172 exc VAT from m4store.co.uk until authorised on the
device itself. Our users
could then walk up to
A
t less than £200, Brother’s the printer, select their
first wireless-only network name on the screen and
all-in-one laser has plenty enter their PIN to release
to offer the SMB looking for a colour the job, which is a simple
multifunction printer (MFP). means of ensuring nobody
Setup is a breeze, courtesy of reads sensitive content if they
a wizard and the 93mm colour happen to be standing at the
touchscreen: we had it up and printer or get there before you.
running on our lab’s test network Brother’s ControlCenter4 utility
in less than a minute. It supports the touchscreen, is loaded during the driver installation
the AirStation One-Touch Secure we were scanning to email – along with a system tray status
System (AOSS) and WPS with PIN, within a couple of minutes. We had ABOVE There’s no monitor and TWAIN driver – and
while mobile devices can connect the choice of dispatching JPEGs document feeder on is preconfigured to use the network
using AirPrint and Wi-Fi Direct. or PDFs, and Brother supports the flatbed scanner, scanner. It provides quick access for
The printer provides standard searchable PDFs and Office formats. so you can only scan copying documents and scanning
print, copy and scan functions (but We could also scan directly to and copy single pages them to OCR, email and local files,
not fax), with built-in duplexing. an FTP server and network folder. while Nuance PaperPort handles
There’s no automatic document Cloud support is great, covering OCR functions and offers handy
feeder on the flatbed scanner, so you OneNote, OneDrive, Box, Google document-management tools.
can only scan and copy single pages, Drive, Dropbox, Facebook, Picasa We only achieved the quoted print
and, although there’s a USB port for and Flickr. speed when printing in mono, with
connecting directly to your computer, Registering with our cloud an 18-page Word document delivered
it can’t be used for scanning to or accounts through Brother’s Web in 60 seconds. Note that there was
printing from memory sticks. Connect portal was easy. Selecting a delay of between 12 to 18 seconds
It ships with 1,000-page starter the Web option on the touchscreen before the first page appeared. Colour
cartridges, but combining the costs of gave us direct PIN-protected access was more challenging: the frequent
Brother’s high-yield toner cartridges to our cloud services, where we could pauses while printing our 24-page
with the drum, transfer belt and waste upload scans, browse remote folders, DTP document reduced the average
bottle gives you a mono page price choose a file and print it out. We also speed to only 7ppm.
of 2.2p and colour for just under 10p, used Brother’s iPrint&Scan iOS app “We used Brother’s iOS app Brother scored well in
which are in line with other lasers in on an iPad to connect to our cloud on an iPad to connect to our our office printing tests,
the sub-£200 price bracket. services, print files and access the
Brother’s Easy Scan to Email is scanner to pull in documents.
cloud services, print files with pin-sharp text and
vibrant colour graphs and
self-explanatory: after registering and Print management and security and access the scanner charts. Complex colour
PIN-protecting our email addresses at are both top notch. Controlled using to pull in documents” fades also transitioned
smoothly through their
various tones. It’s not so clever when
printing mono and colour photos,
though, as the characteristic cross-
hatching produced by the LED
printing technology is obvious.
The Brother is a good choice for
small offices in need of centralised
scan and print services. It’s affordable
and scores highly for security and
cloud support. DAVE MITCHELL
SPECIFICATIONS
600dpi A4 colour LED, 2,400 x 1,200dpi
colour scanner ● 333MHz CPU ● 192MB RAM
● 18ppm colour/mono ● USB 2 ● 802.11n Wi-Fi
● 250-sheet input tray ● single-sheet manual
LEFT Restrictions feed ● duplex ● recommended maximum

can be applied from monthly cycle, 1,500 pages ● 410 x 483 x
the web interface, 367mm (WDH) ● ControlCenter4 ● Nuance
and are backed up by PaperPort 12 SE software ● 1yr on-site
plenty of desktop tools warranty
102
30 Pages Automatic Network
Per Minute two-sided Connectivity Rated 5/5
printing
Built with businesses in mind, this colour laser printer

slots seamlessly into any office’s print setup, with its
impressive speeds, powerful performance and
outstanding colour print quality.
A highly-rated device that is on the PC Pro A-List for business

lasers.
• Ships with 6,000-page black toner & 4,000-page colour toner

• Exceptional print quality with PANTONE colour matching
• Intuitive 10.9cm colour touch screen
• Eco mode & high-yield toners for low-cost prints
Maintain a consistent brand image With up to 1200x1200 dpi resolution, images Make light work of projects with colour Print up to 7,000 pages per month and
through accurately matching your and graphics stay crisp and sharp, while and mono print speeds of up to 30 pages enjoy fewer maintenance hassles,
colours on every print with PANTONE Unison Toner guarantees a consistent per minute, with a first-page-out thanks to the state-of-the-art paper
calibration. quality. in just ten seconds. handling capabilities.
What are our customers saying?
 
Very good service, excellent price. After doing some searches on this printer,
Excellent service, product and value. Superb printer delivered on time.
5 5
Printerbase came up with the best price and speed of delivery. The printer prints
Great service as always from Printerbase. Printer installs easily and
out colour documents quickly and I had no problems with the printer driver,
does exactly what it says on the tin. - Paul Thompson, Glastonbury
even with Windows 10 preview version. - Anonymous
Why choose Printerbase?

Printerbase is one of the largest suppliers of printers, multifunction printers,
toners and inks in the UK.
With a firm ethos of value and expert customer service at our heart, we use our
years of industry experience to provide print solutions that are specifically
tailored to your needs.
FREE NEXT-DAY DELIVERY CALL US FREE ON: OR VIEW THIS PRINTER ONLINE: RATED 4.9
OUT OF 5
ON ALL ORDERS 0800 170 7234 printerbase.co.uk/lex510 by our customers
order before 4.30pm Mon - Thurs
The Network Reviews @PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO
ThecusN8880U-10G brings in manual and scheduled

snapshots for NAS folders and IP
ABOVE The Thecus
N88OU-10G has eight
or Amazon’s Glacier, but Thecus
does provide apps for syncing
It may be short on features, SAN targets.
Once it was up and running, the
hot-swap drive bays
behind its grille
selected folders with Dropbox and
ElephantDrive cloud accounts.
but this rack NAS appliance N8880U-10G certainly delivered the Thecus supports up to 16 snapshots
goods in our performance tests. With for each NAS share or iSCSI LUN,
combines 10GbE-readiness a direct 10GbE connection to an HP which can be taken on demand
with excellent value ProLiant DL380 Gen9 rack server

running Windows Server 2012 R2,
or scheduled for daily, weekly or
monthly intervals. Recovery was a
Iometer recorded raw sequential cinch in our tests, where we deleted
read and write speeds of 1,117MB/sec files from a share and used the web
SCORE ✪✪✪✪✪ and 400MB/sec for a NAS share. console’s recovery feature to restore
PRICE Diskless, £1,399 exc VAT from We saw similar real-world speeds, the entire folder from the latest
lambda-tek.com as our 25GB file-copy test returned snapshot in less than a minute.
sustained read and write results of Impressive stuff.
433MB/sec and 376MB/sec. It’s no NAS snapshots can also be made
T
here are many reasons why slouch for backup operations either, available to authorised users as
storage-hungry SMBs will love averaging a speed of 263MB/sec network shares, allowing them to
Thecus’ N8880U-10G, not least when copying a 22.4GB test folder recover individual files and folders
the uprated spec that gives this 2U containing 10,500 small files. using drag and drop
rack NAS such a big performance IP SAN performance was on the “It’s no slouch for backup in Windows Explorer.
boost. At this price, the inclusion money too, with a 500GB iSCSI target operations, averaging a LUN snapshots are
of a 10GbE adapter makes it even delivering Iometer read and write
speed of 263MB/sec when similarly simple to
more tempting. speeds of 1,180MB/sec and 630MB/sec create and are restored
Thecus’ C10GTR single-port respectively. This is an improvement copying a 22.4GB test folder directly from the
10GBaseT card is bundled, saving over the older N8810U-G, on which with 10,500 small files” web console.
you £158 exc VAT on the standalone the NAS share read and write speeds Thecus is still
price, while the drive itself has a topped out at speeds of 875MB/sec undoubtedly playing catch-up with
pair of embedded Gigabit ports and and 365MB/sec, while IP SAN speeds Synology and Qnap, at least as far
dual 400W hotplug PSUs. Make no reached 1,040MB/sec and 450MB/sec. as storage features are concerned.
mistake: this is a very well-specified Unfortunately, the appliance’s However, the N8880U-10G and its
NAS device. web interface shows how far Thecus updated hardware package does put
To reinforce this, Intel’s 3.3GHz has to go to catch up with rivals such in a very good performance. SMBs
Core i3-2120 CPU sits in the driving as Synology and Qnap. Compared that are after a basic 10GbE-enabled
seat, while the 8GB of DDR3 RAM can to Qnap’s latest QTS 4.2 firmware NAS and IP SAN storage appliance,
be expanded to 32GB. Eight hot-swap in particular, it looks and feels in but without the extra trimmings,
SATA drive bays lie waiting, but dire need of an update and falls won’t get better value anywhere
the lack of physical expansion ports well short on features. else. DAVE MITCHELL
means you can’t increase this using All the key storage utilities
extra disk shelves. However, the NAS are present, with the Data Guard SPECIFICATIONS
stacking feature addresses external app handling scheduled backups 2U rack chassis ● 3.3GHz Intel Core i3-2120 ●
expansion capabilities in other ways, of shares, folders and LUNs (logical 8GB DDR3 ECC RAM (max 32GB) ● 8 x SATA
by making up to five iSCSI targets unit numbers). It can back up to LFF/SFF hot-swap drive bays ● supports RAID
on other appliances available as local storage, external USB devices 0, 1, 5, 6, 10, 50, 60, JBOD, hot-spare ● 2 x
network shares. and remote appliances, and has BELOW The drive has Gigabit Ethernet ● 10GBaseT PCI-E card ●
We tested the appliance with a an extra option for sending data a pair of embedded 2 x USB 3 ● 6 x USB 2 ● 2 x 400W hotplug
quartet of 4TB WD Red drives, and to Amazon S3 cloud storage. You Gigabit ports and dual PSUs ● web-browser management ●
used the Finder utility to discover it can’t back up to Microsoft’s Azure 400W hotplug PSUs 3yr limited warranty
on our lab network. This provided
direct access to its web console and
quick-start wizard – which we opted
to skip for two reasons.
First, it offered us a RAID6 array,
while we prefer the higher capacity
of a RAID5 setup. Second, it defaults
to the EXT4 file system, but we wanted
to use the newly supported Btrfs: this
104
THE BUSINESS QUESTION
HowcanwerecruitIT
talentforthefuture?
Technology comes and goes, but good employees stick around.
Nik Rawlinson discovers how to find the best IT talent
T
he workplace of 2005 was very years’ time and what we were ■ Train to work
different to the one we find recruiting for five years ago. If you Learndirect’s Gavin Hubbard has
today. Windows XP was still in want to be successful, you need to similar thoughts on the correlation
the first flush of youth, a tablet was hire based on the type of person, not between training for the future and
still something we swallowed, and purely skillset, and then invest in staff loyalty. “A good apprenticeship
with the iPhone still no more than those individuals.” programme will lead to better staff
a pip in Apple’s eye, our phones had Investing in employees’ retention,” he said, “and those
buttons, not apps. development – and demonstrating apprentices will go on and do
Each of these technologies, that investment to prospective more within those organisations.”
as they appeared between then candidates – are two parts of what This is all very well for
and the end of the decade, had a Milligan sees as building a highly “To be successful, you need a bank, but what about
transformative effect on how we valued “employment brand”, which to hire based on the type of smaller organisations,
work, play and communicate, and would help a company attract the many of whom employ
opened up massive revenue streams right employees to carry it forward.
person, not purely their only a handful of staff
for any tech-focused company “There are more jobs than there are skillset, and then invest in and lack the resources
that had the foresight to employ a people, so if you’re in a competitive those individuals ” to develop an equivalent
workforce ready to embrace them. situation the candidate holds the training programme
Rather than be blinded by what cards. You have to demonstrate why themselves? Here, many would
technical skills a potential employee someone should even send in their outsource the task to an organisation
has today – which may soon be out CV for an interview with you.” such as Hubbard’s, which runs
of date – consider how well they will Hays’ own studies have revealed programmes for employers of all
cope with the shifting world of IT. that, for the so-called Generation Y, sizes, from multinationals to those
“The nature of IT [means] it’s personal on-the-job development with only half a dozen on the payroll.
constantly evolving,” says James and a clear career path are key draws “We try and look three to five years
Milligan, director of Hays IT. “What that, all things being equal, will hence at what a business is trying to
we’re recruiting for now is different achieve the best response and see achieve,” he explained. “[We’ll] also
to what we’ll be recruiting for in five better levels of staff retention. look at learning trends to make sure
106
@PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO The Network TheBusinessQuestion
we’re not designing a programme particular industries, so if a company
that’s only got a year left in it. We’ll is trying to set up in a geographical
always try and make sure we’re location that doesn’t necessarily have
designing a programme that’s fitting a history [of that type of employment]
[the employer’s] strategy and isn’t in that area, they wouldn’t necessarily
time-bound in any way.” be looking where the experience and
Wherever possible, the training talent pools really are.”
is delivered in a manner that suits It’s a process that works both
Milligan’s Generation Y workforce, ways, though, and Laws believes
and by remote means if that’s that the candidates can employ
practical. “We’ll try and do WebEx, similar tactics when searching for the
stuff that’s mobile-compatible. It’s perfect position. “Keeping up to date
all dependent on the capabilities of with professional bodies within the
the employer and the employer’s industry allows [them] to get a better
premises, of course, but we design idea with how trends are going, keep
the learning journey around that.” up to date with where new industries
are being set up. If [they] get a head ABOVE The flexibilitythan those wedded to a specific
■ Location, location, location start on knowing there’s going to discipline, will be the ones most likely
of a candidate is often
Distance may not be an issue where be a technology-based company or more important than to embrace external change. They’re
training is concerned, but it’s often industrial area opening in five or ten the ones with an enthusiasm for all
their existing skillset
a factor in the recruitment process, years, [they can] make sure [they] that is new, a keenness to learn and an
and any organisation that has the have experience to take advantage ability to bring evolving technologies
luxury of relocating or opening of the opportunities.” into the organisation in an almost
a branch office in centres of existing organic manner. So, how do you find
expertise can thrive. Rather than ■ Looking to the future such a person?
harming your chances, setting up The problem for employers is that the Generally, they’re the ones who are
close to your competition can pay opportunities they can offer are often as interested in what it’s like to work
dividends, since candidates of the driven by external forces. Until Apple for a company as they are in the
appropriate calibre are likely to made changes to iOS and OS X, for remuneration, and with whom a
already be in situ. It’s not always example, they would have had no conversation about the company’s
a case of relocating to the opposite idea that they’d soon need to be culture will help you to sell yourself
side of the country, either. hiring staff with experience in the as an employer.
“We’ve got a lot of information Swift programming language. “Competent, flexible staff, “What you should be
about future trends within specific Often, therefore, the flexibility of a rather than those wedded looking for is someone
sectors of industry and geographical candidate is more important than who is flexible in their
areas,” says Tom Laws of the National their existing skillset, and Hays’
to a specific discipline, will post and has developed
Careers Service. “It may be that, over Milligan said employers with an eye be the ones most likely to in previous roles [so] they
the next five years, there’s going to on the future make hiring decisions embrace external change” can go in and learn and
be a steep drop in demand for one based on a type of person rather than develop, and they have an
particular role to be filled in one a specific ability. interest and passion,” said Milligan.
particular area, whereas on the “Employers recruiting for “Candidates want to know what
other side of a county border it immediacy require a skill,” he it’s like working for a company, what
might be on the rise. explained, whereas “the ones that are the prospects and opportunities,
“Obviously, there are quite a lot of are more strategic in their thinking where is this company going? So it’s
specific areas of the country that are hire on the basis of competence.” the conversation about culture that’s
dominant in the job market for Competent, flexible staff, rather really important.”
Theexpertview SteveCassidy
The IT business has had arrogant indifference to the business was assumed difference between a great sales campaign
what I consider to be a to be a sign of the nature of nerds, bless them. and a total flop.
basic structural problem with When I get embroiled in a longer client Perhaps the hardest part of this kind of
recruitment. For decades, the relationship these days, it is normally (even now, engagement is helping the guy whose face just
dominant model (by which I mean the 30 years on) trying to square the circle of that doesn’t fit at that kind of meeting. Some people
one that makes all the headlines) has been about perception of an abusive relationship, with the can be encouraged to change from an old-school
trying to push the IT skillset as far outside the reality of what soft, soppy humans get up to mindset; others just won’t do it, for reasons their
company as possible. “Get it done by a contractor,” when brought together in a business team. boss can’t figure out. This is when a change of
they cry – and have been doing since well before The indifferent nerd has been largely drawn employer – even of complete industry sector – is
I joined the working population back in 1982. in to the human side of businesses – especially, but best for all concerned and can actually be achieved
For the first two years of my IT career, I was not exclusively, in the small to medium business without acrimony, arbitration, industrial tribunals
one of only six permanent staff in a 100-person IT sectors. It has simply become impossible to or heart palpitations.
department. Everybody else was a contractor. function in business without both IT and someone This isn’t to uphold the sitcom parody view
The rationale of the time was that technical who knows who to call and what to say when it all of nerds, though. One of my most successful
progression – becoming more skilled and goes wrong. That trend has brought IT and IT transplants was unhappy in the legal sector,
experienced – didn’t line up with business workers out from behind the ivory tower of being and now works for a diamond company. It may
progression, so techies were expected to hop just an overhead to be controlled by the financial be irrational of him to want large earth-moving
around companies to pursue their careers. The director, and right forward to the marketing equipment in his employ, but the last thing one
fact that, for some, this fostered an attitude of meetings, where their abilities can make the should argue with in careers and HR is happiness.
107
The Network CheatSheet @PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO
Shadow IT
radar, out of reach of that mitigation, increases
the risk. Mixing personal and corporate data,
using public cloud services to move around
unencrypted company data, and bypassing
carefully considered security controls are never
good ideas. If corporate security is bypassed,
Davey Winder explores the shady world of sensitive data breached and organisational
reputations ruined, then all of a sudden the
hardware, software and services flying

value equation that kickstarted this shadow
IT usage doesn’t look so great.
under a company’s IT department radar ■ So shadow IT is dark and dangerous after all?
Yes, but it doesn’t have to be. The solution to the
problem is pretty simple: shine a light onto the
tech and bring it out of the shadows. Mitigating
the risk is key, and that means taking a more
information-centric approach to security.
Shadow IT is only “rogue” because you haven’t
officially embraced it, and your data is only at
risk because you haven’t properly secured it.
■ Okay, so just ban all unauthorised tech, right?

Wrong. Such policies are unlikely to work in the
real world. If people are using shadow
“Find out which devices, IT to increase productivity because
platforms and services policy is getting in the way, adding
can be officially supported even more restrictive rules will only
make matters worse. Instead, you
and then educate your should be looking at why people are
staff as to the risks” taking the shadow IT route, and fixing
the problems. Think about it this way:
■ Shadow IT? Sounds dark and dangerous – what is it? disruptive technologies only disrupt negatively
Shadow IT is a bit of a catch-all term that covers every piece of when they are misunderstood. Embrace it rather
technology used within an organisation without the knowledge than shadowboxing it, while also recognising
or approval of the IT department. It could be a smartphone, tablet, the security issues. Just give thought as to how
laptop, software application or even a cloud storage service being you can best merge governance and compliance
used by a member of staff to increase their personal productivity. It with shadow IT use into a secure framework.
could also be, at the other extreme, an entire departmental-funded Encourage an environment where you say yes,
system that has somehow bypassed central IT awareness. instead of no, with the caveat that it’s a “yes
you can do it safely like this” response.
■ And what’s it doing inside my organisation?
Truth be told, it’s always been there, but not in great numbers. The ■ That all sounds a bit “ideal world” to me...
cost and technical difficulty of merging your own devices into the Yes, it is, and the educate-and-embrace solution
work environment has meant it’s traditionally been only something is not going to be for everyone. If regulatory
for uber-geeks. Until fairly recently, that is: costs have been driven compliance, or bloody-minded employees,
down, and things have been simplified by technologies such as the prevent this approach, you need to find out what
cloud. As for what it’s doing, well, it’s there to increase productivity. devices and services your staff are using and
Nobody is bringing in their own kit to make work tougher. These secure them accordingly. Investigate which
days, staff are more likely to just get on and use the tech they know devices, platforms and services can be officially
will make life easier for them, without the hassle of asking the supported, enforce the policy using security
company to approve and buy it. controls, and educate your staff as to the risks
and the consequences of ignoring you. It’s far
■ But isn’t that a good thing? better to adopt a middle ground, in which you
Encouraging staff to be as productive as possible is, of course, a discover what unauthorised tech is being used
good thing as far as profitability is concerned. Taken at face value, and why, then apply due diligence procedures
there seems little harm in enabling employees to quickly deploy the to determine which can be used securely and
technology they know, and often already have access to, without block those that cannot.
the hassle of corporate procurement procedures. However, the
consumerisation of IT brings with it plenty of negatives, alongside
the obvious productivity positives. Who is actually paying for it? If
it’s personal kit being brought in by staff, that might be seen as a win,
Thejargon
but what if it’s kit being signed off within a business unit? Who’s to BYOD Bring Your Own Device Security posture This is the
say that deal has added value to the organisation as a whole, rather refers to any personal device approach that your business
than just buying the individual unit the ability to finish a job more brought into the working takes to security and incorporates
quickly? Then there’s the small matter of security. environment without policy, process and protocol.
official authorisation.
■ Are you saying my smartphone is insecure? Endpoint management The
Sort of. I’m saying that your smartphone, seen in the context of the Shadow IT This widens the remit discovery and control of the devices
organisational security policy it has bypassed, has the potential to add applications and services and services that request access
to bring insecurity into the business. The organisation will have a to the BYOD mix. to your corporate network.
security posture, reinforced by policy, protocols and process, which
is designed to mitigate risk. Sneaking in any technology under the
108
For better
bedroom
performance.
Simply plug in and enjoy excellent Wi-Fi coverage in
any room over your electric circuit: devolo Powerline.
BUY IT!
★★★★★ RECOMMENDED
The dLAN® 1200+ WiFi ac Starter Kit enables Wi-Fi

without signal loss anywhere in your home:
• Fastest Wi-Fi connection of all time

• Plug & Play installation
• Award winning German technology
• 3-year manufacturer's warranty
www.devolo.co.uk
Real world
computıng EXPERT ADVICE FROM OUR PANEL OF PROFESSIONALS
JONHONEYBALL
“You’llknowthey’vereachedtheend
oftheroadwhenyousee‘upgrade
toWindows10orwe’llkillthiskitten’”
The news that Microsoft is going to be even more insistent in 2016 could
leave a very sour taste in the mouth
M
icrosoft’s intention to Unfortunately, for many people, Apple CPU
aggressively push Windows the move up to Windows 10 simply You might have been reading on
10 onto more of our machines isn’t compelling enough. If Microsoft various online hysteria farms (sorry,
leaves me with very mixed feelings. had bundled a free Office 365 Home “news websites”) about problems
On the one hand, I genuinely can’t licence with every Windows 10 with the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus
imagine why anyone with Windows upgrade, that would have really processors. It appears Apple decided
8/8.1 would want to stick with it sweetened the deal, but whether it to use two different CPU foundries
when Windows 10 is so much better. dares – given past Department of to make the core CPU for the new
However, I also agree that downloading Justice investigations and monopoly Jon is the MD of phones (TSMC and Samsung), that
a wodge of a Windows 10 install to abuse judgements – is entirely an IT consultancy they differ slightly in physical size,
people’s computers without asking is another matter. that specialises and that the Samsung version uses
“courageous”, as Sir Humphrey would What I think the company ought in testing and what might arguably be termed
say. It’s neither Microsoft’s disk space to do and what its lawyers will let it deploying hardware a more bleeding-edge fabrication
nor its internet bandwidth that’s do could be two very different things. @jonhoneyball technology. I wrote about the issues
being spent (what if it’s over a cellular I don’t expect Microsoft to back down, of supplier component ramp-up in
Wi-Fi dongle, or hotel Wi-Fi because however, as its entire strategy for last month (see issue 255, p130), and
you happen to be on holiday?). The operating systems (outside of the large since then I’ve been able to check this
news that Microsoft is going to be commercial environment) revolves out for myself.
more insistent in 2016 could leave around the ability to get Windows 10 The problem came about because
a very sour taste in the mouth. onto everyone’s device. Without that, people have been running
On the other hand, I understand there’s absolutely no hope of getting “For many Geekbench’s battery test and
the problem. Microsoft is desperate, anyone to take Windows 10 Mobile discovering a significant difference in
people, the
utterly desperate, to get users off seriously, and the tablet opportunities battery life that’s wholly correlated
Windows 7 and Windows 8 and onto will continue to look feeble and be move up to with the CPU fitted to your phone.
10. There’s no downside involved in overshadowed by the massive sales Windows 10 Samsung devices appear not to last as
this because it cuts costs, solidifies of Android and iOS. So expect to see simply isn’t long as TSMC ones. I’ve been doing my
the customer base onto the latest your router lights flickering soon. own tests on my 6s Plus and a friend’s
platform, makes things easier for Expect Microsoft to bypass any
compelling model, which is identical to mine
developers, and is a good PR story. “no, I don’t want you to download enough” except that his has the Samsung chip
Decide for yourself in what order it” settings you might put in play. while mine has the TSMC chip. There’s
those things are ranked in the Expect the adverts to start flashing nothing you can see from the outside
mind of a Microsoft board director. across your screen. You’ll know to tell which CPU is fitted, and you can
So I’m caught between the same rock they’ve reached the end of the road dig as deep into the Settings panel as
and hard place as Microsoft itself: when you see “upgrade to Windows you like, but there’s nothing there –
push hard and take the flack (but 10 or we’ll kill this kitten”, and I you need a small applet called Lirum
gain the benefits) or be a gent and wouldn’t be surprised if we get Device Info Lite to tell which
let things grind on. there eventually... component is in your phone.
Now for the problem. I can
replicate the issues as described with
phones belonging to myself and my
friend, but, at this point, we have to
be very careful indeed. While a wholly
synthetic benchmark designed to
stress all the CPU cores, using a very
tightly looping calculation, might be
of interest to those who also collect
engine numbers from the front of
trains, it’s of very little relevance to
anyone else. I ran both 6s Plus devices
through a set of realistic end-user
LEFT Microsoft workloads, and by the time I got
is utterly desperate really bored, the charge remaining
to move users onto on one phone was 14%, and 15% on the
Windows 10 other. Nothing to get excited about.
110
Jon Honeyball Paul Ockenden Ivan Pope Davey Winder Steve Cassidy
Opinion on Windows, Apple and Unique insight into mobile 3D printing offers fertile Keeping small businesses The wider vision on cloud
everything in between – p110 and wireless tech – p113 ground for business – p116 safe since 1997 – p118 and infrastructure – p120
for a reference-grade measurement

tool for a laboratory.
Back in the real world, though, the
X-Rite i1Display 2 kit is a more likely
choice. It comes in various flavours,
but a full-house kit that can do
screens, print-outs, projectors and
more costs around £1,300, and then
there are cheaper devices for a few
hundred pounds. I’m not sure I’d trust
a spectrophotometer that came with a
two-digit price tag, to be honest. I
have an i1Pro 2 (and the previous i1Pro
model too) and it’s a great piece of kit.
For measuring screens, the best
software comes from SpectraCal,
whose CalMAN software is the
benchmark against which others
are measured. It might surprise you
that the basic CalMAN ColorChecker
software (pcpro.link/256calman)
is free. In less than five minutes, you
can measure over 300 colour points
and pattern changes, and then it will
tell you what’s happening with your
As I said last month, fabrication The required hardware can range ABOVE The difference screen. Creating a correction ICC
yield is a really big economic issue from the relatively inexpensive all between the Samsung profile does cost money, but, at
for a supplier the size of Apple, so the way to the sublimely expensive. and TSMC processors $199, it’s really not much when you
dual-sourcing is imperative simply There really isn’t anything much is of little relevance to consider the cost of wasting photo-
because no-one is big enough to better than the Klein K10-A –you most people paper prints, or of making a colour
supply the entire shipment. For point it at the screen and the device decision that’s just plain wrong in,
myself, I’m entirely uninterested measures it within a fraction say, the fashion biz. ColorChecker
in the whole matter, having shown of second. It doesn’t look at the scales up through various versions
to my own satisfaction that there’s whole screen, as you need only look to the big daddy, the Studio product
nothing to worry about, at least this at a small area measuring 43mm² that does just about everything you
time around. Some other time, some in contact with the screen, 60mm² could want from a desktop computer,
other set of circumstances and the at 10cm and 75cm² at 4m from it. You BELOW Point the including writing out the colour-
outcome might prove different. And can choose how close you want to be K10-A at a display calibration files directly into the
my friend with the 6s Plus and its and how small the measurement spot and you’ll know its memory of colour-calibrated
Samsung chip merely shrugs his becomes, and it will measure from colour accuracy in a monitors from companies such as
shoulders and proclaims it to be 0.00006 to 10,0000cd/m², which is fraction of a second Eizo. It was the work of just ten
the best phone he’s ever owned. minutes to run the software and
I’d have to agree with him, measure my Eizo 30in reference
though some of the work monitor using the i1Pro 2 device,
being done in the Android
world, especially by
Samsung with its
new screens, is truly
breathtaking. It’s hard
to overlook, despite the
limitations of the OS,
infrastructure and
application offerings.
then to inject the calibration values
Colour testing screens directly into the monitor’s memory.
Let’s be clear, there’s calibrated the darkest blackness you can image, For me, the $2,995 I paid for the
and uncalibrated. There’s no middle to something so scorchingly bright Ultimate version has paid for itself
ground. When it comes to screen it would make your eyeballs hurt. many times over – this “everything
performance and colour accuracy, Peak white on an iPhone 6s Plus including the kitchen sink” version
setting by eye simply isn’t good screen is around 570cd/m², so is for serious professionals, and
enough. It might get you close and 10,000 is like looking straight into you can even calibrate multi-panel
work reasonably well, but there’s a floodlight. display walls with it if you want.
still calibrated and uncalibrated. Of course, the Klein K10-A is a You can calibrate all of the devices
Doing it right involves measuring precision instrument and its cost is in your office too, which is critically
the performance of the screen itself, astonishingly reasonable, if you need important if you’re moving photos
using a proper spectrophotometer it. Last time I talked to Klein, it cost from one device to another. It comes
tool and the right software. around $7,000, which is perfectly fine with ten desktop client licences,
111
Real world
computıng
and you’ll need to run its software Apple keyboard and trackpad Audio’s Mu-so network streaming
widget on each target computer to I bought Apple’s new keyboard and speaker system before. It’s an
display the patterns, but they only trackpad, and boy am I disappointed. absolute beauty. It’s head and
cost $49 per device once you’ve used Let’s start with the keyboard. It’s shoulders above anything
the allocated ten licences. It’s horrible (which is odd because I quite comparable, and so completely
interesting that SpectraCal also liked the keyboard on the MacBook). dominates the field that all else is
offers iOS and Android widgets for It has tiny vertical movement, but gaslight. A special pat on the back
free, so measuring your iPhone 6s that somehow feels appropriate for goes to the software-development
Plus’ screen is a snip and the results a device that’s only as thick as a sheet team: keeping software bug-fixed
are very good indeed. No-one should of paper and can almost be put in a and also investing the time to add
have any problems with the colour large coat pocket. When used with new features, across Windows,
accuracy of a standard iPhone 6s or a 27in desktop monitor and a huge Android and iOS, isn’t easy for
6s Plus, as it’s as good or better than multi-core Mac Pro, it’s somewhat a small team. But they’re doing
many of the high-end monitors pathetic and just feels like a toy. I’ll a sterling job. Most importantly,
out there. And I’m very much confess I used it for about 30 minutes they listen to feedback and then
looking forward to measuring the and then put it to one side, never to “We need to implement changes.
forthcoming iPad Pro. be returned. have the ability The latest upgrade allows the
So colour accuracy is either right The new Apple trackpad is to do far more Mu-so to stream very high-quality
or wrong, with no grey area between more interesting, although I find (CD-quality) streams from the Tidal
(geeky joke opportunity missed the whole Force Touch thing hard
aggressive music service. I have to say I’m very
there). SpectraCal CalMAN is the to get on with for a desktop. I don’t pre-caching impressed with this, especially as it
place to go for the best calibration mind it at all, indeed I quite like it, on of data feeds has an offline feature on the iPhone
software and the i1Pro 2 is worth my 6s Plus where it makes sense, but in the UK” client. The quality of the mastering
its weight in gold, but I can see a on a trackpad for a desktop computer seems very good, and the performance
purchase of a Klein K10-A in the near it just felt odd. And the whole “click through the Mu-so is truly excellent.
future. Why? The i1Pro 2 requires its and then click through yet again” App integration is also spot on,
sensor head to be in direct contact gave me a headache. I’ve turned off so full marks to Naim for its
with the screen if used against a Force Touch, and the product feels development work.
computer screen (it’s different for the better for it. I wish I could say the same for
a video projector), but I’d like to be Meanwhile, I’ve also bought Apple’s vaunted Beats 1 service.
able to take off-axis measurements Logitech’s Bluetooth Easy-Switch I listen to background music via
to see how well the picture quality Keyboard. Now this is clever: it can a Bluetooth link between my phone
drops off when you turn a screen pair with up to three devices and and motorbike helmet on long
vertically and horizontally. Some you switch between them with simple journeys, and it’s fascinating to
tablets and smartphones have truly key presses. It has a nice action, feels hear just how badly UK 3G and 4G
terrible off-axis performance, and solid and is usable in every way that networks cope with the sort of
it would be nice to know just how the new Apple keyboard isn’t. It gets continuous streaming demanded
bad they were from a measurement my vote for any application that needs by Beats 1. Using an unlimited 4G
perspective. For that, the Klein is the a compact Bluetooth keyboard. SIM from Vodafone in my iPhone 6s
best. But please keep an appropriate Plus, I can’t keep reliable streaming
sense of perspective – the SpectraCal More hardware working outside of the M25. Even
software, and its bundling of the and upgrades major roads like the A1 and M6
cheap SpectraCal C3 colorimeter Firstly, a shout-out to the wizards BELOW The Logitech appear to have coverage so poor that
for only $149, is a great place for down in Salisbury at Naim Audio. Bluetooth Easy Switch the stream keeps dropping out. I’m
an enthusiast to start. I’ve written about my delight at Naim Keyboard has a nice very disappointed by this because
action and feels solid what clearly works well in London –
and doubtless works just as well in
Seattle and Silicon Valley – doesn’t
hold up well hereabouts. We need
to have the ability to do
far more aggressive
pre-caching of these
data feeds to allow
for interruptions
that could last for
minutes at a time.
Real-time streaming
is a fallacy, as there
are very few occasions
when a truly real-time
connection is required –
listening to a live sporting
event is one of the rare
exceptions to the rule.
News,entertainment and
other general programming,
for example, don’t need to be
absolutely synchronous.
112
Ham radio PAULOCKENDEN

Just a small note to follow up on a
“Oncelimitedtotheunderwater
piece I did about ham radio several
columns ago (see issue 250, p130).
I have now received my licence
authorisation back from the relevant
government department, and can now lairsofBondvillains,home
operate as G1LMS once again after a
break of some 30 years. It was rather
touching to read the editorial from
automationisgoingmainstream”
the head of the Radio Society of Great Choosing a home-automation system can be confusing, but it
Britain, referring to my PC Pro column doesn’t have to be difficult – or expensive
and how much they were looking
O
nce limited to the underwater I’ve recently been playing with
lairs of Bond villains and some devices made by Energenie.
clumsy demos on Tomorrow’s Unlike some of the kit I write about
World, home automation is at the in this column, they weren’t sent to
tipping point of going mainstream. me by a PR agency hoping for a few
I predict that, in a year or two, it column inches: they’re products I
will be a booming growth area. went out and bought out of my own
Let’s take a look at the state pocket. You’ll find many companies
of home-automation technology, Paul owns an agency selling remote-controlled mains
bearing in mind that many of the that helps businesses plugs, which enable you to plug
products and techniques can be as exploit the web, from in lamps or other appliances via
useful in SME as home environments. sales to marketing adapters and supply an RF remote
It’s a topic that normally generates and everything control to switch these appliances
lots of feedback when I mention it, in between on and off. Energenie was a purveyor
so I’m guessing there’s a fair bit of @PaulOckenden of just this kind of device a couple
interest, but if you’re just starting of years ago, but it has continued to
out you might be finding the innovate, creating products such
numerous options perplexing. as a four-socket extension lead
forward to my return to the airwaves For example, you’ll find numerous in which each socket can be
(see pcpro.link/256rsgb). standards on offer – LightwaveRF, switched individually.
I’ve splurged out the remarkable Z-Wave, X10 and more – each The real masterstroke came
sum of £20 for the Chinese-built supported by various manufacturers. when the company started opening
Baofeng UV-5R handheld 2m and On top of these, there are many up its system to external controllers.
70cm walkie talkie, and have made proprietary versions from Initially, this took the form of a small
contact with some of the local hams manufacturers. Then, just when circuit board called the Pi-mote,
through the Huntingdon repeater you thought it couldn’t get any more which, as you might guess from its
GB3OV on 433.125MHz. Paying £20 confusing, there are the offerings name, is an add-on for the Raspberry
for this facility is utterly ridiculous, from big players such as Samsung Pi. This allowed you to switch sockets
and it clearly shows that amateur (SmartThings) and Apple (HomeKit), on or off using simple scripts, which
radio is no longer an expensive hobby. that have recently entered the is where you may start to see possible
Given the knowledge level required automation space. The options BELOW Energenie’s applications for small businesses.
to get through the licence exams, this available are simply too bewildering, power adapter can be Imagine you have a
is a hobby I can recommend to any so it’s no surprise many people walk used with a Raspberry temperamental broadband router
teen who has a technical interest, away. My advice is this: decide what Pi to mend dodgy Wi-Fi that works most of the time but locks
and for any parent who despairs of you need to do, then find a reliable, up once a month and can only be
the hours spent by an offspring on easy-to-use but low-cost way to fixed by cycling the power.
an Xbox or PlayStation shooting achieve it. Ignore the standards Imagine, also, that your ISP
“enemy combatants”. and find something that works, won’t let you swap this router
Now my interest is becoming so that when something better for an alternative model. The
piqued by over-the-air digital data. appears in two years’ time it solution? Plug the flaky router
It looks as though you can tunnel won’t cause you too many tears into the mains via an Energenie
data over the internet between should you decide to upgrade. power adapter, then place
repeaters, and hook up an Android inside your network a Pi-mote-
phone or tablet to your transceiver to equipped Raspberry Pi that’s set
perform slow-scan picture and data to ping an external site every few
transmissions. This sounds like fun. minutes. If these pings fail, say,
I feel an impending somewhat larger twice in succession (to allow for
shopping accident in my near future external glitches), run a simple
to see how much of this really works. command to power down the
[email protected] router, wait a few seconds then
power it up again. This setup
would cost less than £50, plus
perhaps an hour’s worth of time
to get it all configured.
113
Real world
computıng
With a bit of imagination, you you’re actually consuming that much,

can see how something like this since it can’t differentiate between
might form the basis of a simple import and export. It also assumes a
home-automation system. You might standard power factor, which can be
turn lights on at certain times of the a problem at night when your main
day, for example, or use a few simple loads are probably eco-friendly
calculations to turn them on at local lighting and electronic devices. All
sunset rather than a fixed time. such devices present reactive loads
However, with only simple with crazy power factors in which
sockets and one-way communication voltage, current and voltage load are,
from a Raspberry Pi daughterboard, to a large extent, out of phase.
your options quickly become limited. This can really confuse simple
You can expand them a bit by using current clamp meters, but there are
a couple of product updates: an RT other devices on the market that get
version of the Pi-mote board that around this problem using plugin AC
performs two-way communication, transformers (OpenEnergyMonitor)
and an updated socket that measures or foil-based voltage sensors (Eco Eye).
voltage, power (apparent and Combined with a second current
reactive) and frequency. clamp to handle microgeneration,
This arrangement means you can it would make for a far more usable
switch a heater on and off, say, but product, but other than that I’ve
also detect and respond to the warmth been very impressed with MiHome.
of the room. You could also detect What really brings it to life is
whether your TV is switched on, and the fact Energenie has connected
adjust your audiovisual system or its cloud infrastructure to IFTTT,
Velux blinds accordingly. In an office which you may remember I wrote
environment, you might only turn about last month (see issue 255, p113).
on your wireless printer/scanner if At the time of writing, the integration
your PC is also switched on. only offers actions, not triggers, but
This still doesn’t overcome all the folks at Energenie assure me that
the limitations, though – there’s no these are coming soon.
way to interact with the system Even without triggers, you can
remotely, which is what you need do things such as turn on lights at
for a proper automation system. range of sensors and controls has ABOVE MiHome sunset (similar to the Raspberry Pi
Enter Energenie, which has recently been expanded to include the likes is a cloud-based example), or turn on a heater when
refreshed some of its older products of current clamps that monitor your home-automation it gets cold outside. You can even
by adding brilliant new facilities whole-house consumption, light ecosystem use your other home-automation
and packaging them under the switches, wall sockets, relays for products as triggers, to power down
sub-brand MiHome. (Actually, it’s other devices and even radiator valves items in your home whenever your
called “Mi|Home”, but PC Pro’s – meaning you could use it to build smart thermostat is in “Away” mode,
house style doesn’t allow for a poor man’s Evohome system. for example.
such branding frippery.) You can pair new devices with This makes for a lot of flexibility,
The MiHome system includes all your system using the mobile apps or but you can go further still, because
the bits I’ve just described – remote- the website. Either way, the wizard- BELOW The MiHome Energenie has published an API that
controlled sockets, one-way and like walkthrough makes it really app is both feature- you can use to monitor and control
two-way Pi-motes, and monitoring – easy, so you don’t need to be a techie. rich and easy to use your devices. You’ll find the details
but it also adds many more abilities. The mobile apps also include a – a rare treat at pcpro.link/256mihome. Since it
At the heart of a MiHome geofencing facility so you uses simple JSON-formatted
installation is a gateway box that can, for example, turn on requests and responses, you
connects to your broadband router your driveway lights as you can easily interface to it from
and talks to the various MiHome approach your house, almost any programming
devices scattered around your home or make sure the TV is language. I’ve written some
or office. This gateway communicates switched off when you leave simple test scripts to turn
with an Energenie-operated cloud the room. If you work from sockets on and off, and,
infrastructure, which includes a web a small office, you could despite everything going
interface that you can use to control use this facility to switch via the cloud infrastructure,
your devices from wherever you the kettle on just before the processing delay and
happen to be, and to view stuff such you arrive. transmission latency
as historic energy consumption. It works very well. My is admirably short –
There are also apps available for both only complaint is that the actions seem to happen
iOS and Android devices. Alongside whole-house sensor is a almost instantaneously.
the various plug-in adapters, the bit dumb. It has only one I’m really impressed
current clamp, so it can’t with MiHome – it’s a
cope with extra power well-thought-out
sources such as solar panels. ecosystem, and I’m sure
If you happen to be exporting it will only get better
4kW to the national grid, the over time. The fact
MiHome sensor will think Energenie has made
114
the API and IFTTT available shows a look at the big, fat bezel – how could
that it understands the kinds of anyone find that attractive?
things people want to do with home Incidentally, I think I know why
automation, and even without them that bezel is there. If you draw a
the mobile apps and website are square box around the round face
well considered and attractive – you’ll find that it fits exactly inside
something that’s often missing that bezel, so I wouldn’t be surprised
in competitor products. if there’s a square display under there
MiHome doesn’t employ Z-Wave and the bezel is just a facade to make
or LightwaveRF, so it’s essentially a the face appear round. I could be
single-vendor solution, but this has wrong, but once you see how well
pros and cons. It means everything the box fits it’s hard to ignore.
works well together, and that it has Having said all of these negative
a more professional feel than many things, I must admit I now see the
alternative products. It’s also especially since they were nothing ABOVE Is the Vector point of the smartwatch – and it’s
relatively inexpensive, so it’s not new to me. Twelve years ago, I Watch’s combination not for telling the time. It’s not
as though you need to worry about bought myself a Fossil Wrist PDA, of 30-day battery life even about apps. I really don’t need
a huge investment going down the which was a device massively ahead and nice looks too to control music or navigate maps
pan should Energenie go bust. Even of its time. It ran Palm OS (remember good to be true? from my wrist – these are things I
if it did and its cloud infrastructure that?) and was essentially what it prefer to do on the bigger screen
went offline, you’d still be able says on the tin – a PDA on your wrist. of my phone. No, for me, the real
to use the remote control and Back in 2003, there was no way to benefit of a smartwatch is the
Raspberry Pi boards. get permanent internet connectivity notifications it provides as an
on a watch, which meant no alerts extension of my phone, vibrating
You’d better watch out for incoming messages, but it would gently and flashing a message
Regular readers may have noticed that remind you of any appointments on its screen whenever I get an
I hardly ever mention smartwatches and allowed you to look up phone important message.
in this column, and they might be numbers. You could even take I suppose it’s all about being
wondering why. Those who know notes on it using the Graffiti lazy, but a glance at the watch tells
me personally might be more baffled handwriting system. me whether I need to take the phone
still, because for years I was known Mine mostly stayed in its box, from my pocket or not. If only I could
as something of a wristwatch fan, though, and remains pretty well find a smartwatch that wasn’t
collecting various timepieces, old unused. Why? Because, although in pig-ugly and didn’t need to be
and new, from some of the big-name PDA mode the watch could last a week recharged every night...
brands. You can’t beat a nice or two on a single charge, as soon as You can probably guess where
movement. Smartwatches, you switched it to permanently this is leading: I think I may well
though? Meh... display a watch face its battery would have found just such a device. For a
In fact, even before the advent be dead within a day or two. For me, few weeks now, I’ve been testing a
of the smartwatch, I’d pretty well that’s just not acceptable. I wouldn’t Vector Watch. This has an astonishing
stopped wearing watches and my wear a wristwatch with a power “The real battery life of 30 days (and that’s not
expensive timepieces had either reserve of one day, so why would I just marketing guff; it really seems
been consigned to a bank vault or tolerate it in a “Wrist PDA”?
benefit of a to be a genuine figure) and it’s a thing
sold. I’d realised that everywhere This remains one of my biggest smartwatch is of beauty. It comes in oblong and
I looked there was a clock: on the gripes about most smartwatches. the notifications round versions – yes, the round one
wall, in the corner of my computer It’s bad enough I have to make it provides as has a bezel, but it’s nothing like the
screen, on my phone, on my cooker, sure my phone is topped up, and I monstrosity on the Pebble.
on my microwave, on the radio. If simply don’t want another device
an extension The watch, which appears to
everywhere I look there’s a clock, that I have to worry about charging of my phone” be manufactured by a Romanian
why wear one on my wrist? all the time. company (although its marketing
It’s also quite liberating to go There are other things that bug is very “London” indeed), works in
without a watch, since it’s all too easy me about many smartwatches, too. conjunction with a standalone app
to become a slave to time and find Let’s start with their size and weight. that runs on iOS or Android. It
yourself checking every few minutes. I know big watches are currently in doesn’t use Apple or Google’s existing
Sure, you need to get to appointments fashion, but some of these devices smartwatch systems, but rather
on time, but your various electronic are monsters. It’s not so much the employs a Bluetooth LE link between
gadgets take care of that – your diameter that bothers me (although phone and watch to push notifications
phone will probably even alert they can look silly on my skinny and data streams such as weather or
you when it’s time to leave, taking wrist); it’s more their thickness. stock reports. It offers downloadable
traffic conditions into account. A I’ve received a few sent to test over and stylish faces.
traditional wristwatch can’t do that. the years, and I’m always bashing It’s early days yet, and I’ll report
Then along came smartwatches them because they stick out so far. back when I’ve had the watch for
and I could – sort of – see their point, In fact, I was rather embarrassed another month or two, but things
by the condition of one well-known look promising. It’s quite simple
brand’s device by the time I sent compared to other smartwatches,
it back to its PR keeper. but that’s part of why I like it. I think
I also think many of them are plain this is the first smartwatch that I
ugly, as typified by the Pebble Time, might actually be able to live with.
in particular the round version. Take @PaulOckenden
115
Real world
computıng
IVANPOPE grown man weep. I persevered with

the Leapfrog, all the while looking
“Discoveringmachinesthatcould
around at the growing industry and
wondering what the business
opportunity could be. I kept hearing
outputdigitalfilesinrealmaterial that 3D printing was a “solution

looking for a problem”, but it didn’t
wasarevelatorymoment” put me off. I decided to keep looking

for the problem to solve.
The thing about 3D printers, I
The growth of 3D printing offers fertile ground for business. quickly came to realise, is that they
Here’s how one man turned a hobby into a business idea need input to provide output. All the
skill in the world with the printer
and its variety of materials wasn’t
L
ike so many technologies that went from idea to reality: small much use if you didn’t have a 3D file
seem to arrive suddenly in public businesses producing the printed to start with. And I swiftly discovered
view, both 3D printing and 3D parts, kits and software morphed that creating the 3D file to print was
scanning have long and rich histories. into dynamic commercial enterprises harder than the printing part.
The internet itself was over 30 years such as MakerBot and Ultimaker.
old when, in the early 1990s, the What goes in must come out
World Wide Web suddenly and A French-made frog At the same time, it occurred to me
forcefully brought it to the attention By the time I realised that something that the input part of the equation
of a global audience. A complex Ivan is a writer, artist, exciting was happening, the industry was arguably the most interesting.
history of development and research maker and 3D-print was up and running. The first printer Attending the first 3D printing shows
was ignored as the web seemed to guru. His new I got was a French-made Leapfrog, in London, I was reminded, yet again,
arrive fully formed on day one, company, Shapie a state-of-the-art monster that was of the early days of the internet by the
bringing with it thousands of Me, will be launching delivered in a wooden crate that we refreshing variety of exhibitors. These
business opportunities. in 2016 had to unscrew. This printer used ranged from huge companies (Adobe,
We have recently seen the @ivan007 fused deposition modelling (FDM). In showing how to manipulate 3D files in
arrival of 3D printing in the public other words, it took reels of plastic Photoshop) down to individuals who
consciousness, as a combination filament, melted them and squeezed were producing their own brand of
of patent expiry, commercial them out like hot toothpaste until it 3D printer using the RepRap model.
opportunity and public domain built up the desired model in 3D. We were in the “let a thousand
development efforts have brought Although sold as ready to print “out flowers bloom” era of the industry,
an exciting technology to the mass “There was of the box”, I soon discovered that and while I knew that most of the
market. Following close behind a variety of there are many variables to 3D startups would fail, it was fascinating
comes a technology that I find even printing and that it’s really not an to read the embryonic trade press
more exciting: 3D scanning. What,
public domain out-of-the-box experience. I came every day and find out how fast
I wondered, could the business software face to face with 3D-printing things were moving.
opportunity be here? available, but software for the first time. Another element then became
I came to 3D printing about five none of it was At the time, although there was important: Kickstarter. Several 3D
years ago. I wass looking around for a variety of public domain printers launched on Kickstarter
teresting to do and, as
something interesting very friendly” printer software available, and raised incredible amounts
I started my life as an artist, physical none of it was particularly of money, demonstrating a
objects retain a great interest to me. friendly. Again, I was widespread desire to own one.
Discovering thatt machines could reminded of my early Alongside this networked
Alo
output digital files in real material was internet experiences, where development, I started to
dev
a revelatory moment.
ment. It was almost the complexity of actually encounter companies that were
as exciting as discovering the global getting producing networked printer
networks overr 25 years previously. online could tools and management
It was the RepRap
epRap project (reprap. make a systems. I was looking
org), developed by Dr Adrian Bowyer at the birth of a 3D-
at the Universityty of Bath, that brought printing ecosystem,
these machines into the world. Taking and in my quest for
the view that a 3D printer should be opportunities, I
capable of producing
ucing parts for another decided to shift my
3D printer, Dr Bowyer kickstarted a attention to this space.
revolution. Usingng a technology for RIGHT Modern One of the first 3D
which patentss had recently expired, scanners fall into printer companies to get
and an approachach founded on open- two categories: out of the starting blocks was
source philosophy,hy, the concept of light-based and MakerBot. It also started the
building your own wn 3D printer quickly photography-based first online 3D file repository,
Thingiverse (makerbot.com/
thingiverse), where anyone
could upload 3D files for
distribution. Although
MakerBot grew fast – in 2013
it was bought by one of the
116
For body scanning, speed of

process is key: any movement during
photography can ruin the image.
A developer in Amsterdam wanted
to scan his young son regularly as he
grew up and came up with the idea
of using Raspberry Pi computer
boards, with video cameras attached,
to build a large rig for body scanning.
The 3DPI scanner was born (www.
pi3dscan.com). Professional versions
of these rigs using DSLR cameras can
cost hundreds of thousands of pounds,
but he managed to build a 100-camera
setup for less than €10,000. He
developed his own management
software for it and freely distributed
the construction files, kickstarting
another industry in the process. Now
these rigs are available commercially
from various producers.
A complex ecosystem of scanning
big two 3D printer companies, body scanner and were scanning ABOVE The 3DPI rig is has developed and continues to grow
Stratasys – Thingiverse grew even locals and printing them out on a built using Raspberry as more hardware and software
faster. There was an open-source bunch of Ultimaker printers. Pi computers options start to reach the market
attitude and people were encouraged I decided to look more closely and are then integrated with the
to upload their creations for free. at body scanning and discovered existing 3D-printing products. The
The growth of Thingiverse didn’t an embryonic industry with huge 3D-scanning world encompasses
go unnoticed, and other file potential. I was inspired by the dozens, if not hundreds, of sectors:
repositories started springing up, realisation that body scanning was at health and fitness, medical, virtual
including Ultimaker’s version, the same stage as early photography: reality, military, design, body
YouMagine (youmagine.com) and it was slow, painful and expensive, printing and virtual clothing. While
CGTrader (cgtrader.com). These and the results weren’t up to much, these industries are still embryonic,
allowed designers to sell their files, but the potential as the technology they hold huge potential and will
adding that crucial commercial developed was stunning. I imagined eventually find their way into our
layer to the ecosystem. how the Victorians who went to “A complex everyday lives over the coming years.
As 3D printers started to spread, have their photos taken would ecosystem of As for me and my business
two young entrepreneurs decided regard the cameras in our phones, opportunity? Well, my company,
to build a network that allowed and understood that an entirely scanning has Shapie Me (shapie.me), hasn’t yet
people with printers to share them new industry might be on the rise. developed and launched, so I don’t even have a
with those without access to a local The scanning industry, like the continues to product to shout about. What I can
machine. 3D Hubs (3dhubs.com) 3D-print industry, has a history that tell you is that we’ll be developing
is the result of their work and now has been bound up almost entirely
grow as more a platform for the management of
offers access to a global network with high-end industrial uses and options reach personal body scans. No matter what
of more than 20,000 3D printers, prices to match. A combination the market” uses these scans will be put to in the
available for anyone who wants of patent expiry, low-end demand future, my hope is that Shapie Me
to print a 3D file. and innovative approaches is leading will facilitate integration.
to an explosion of new scanners. [email protected]
Body scanning for These fall into two categories:
fun and profit light-based (LIDAR) and photograph-
Around the same time, an
enterprising individual working on
based (photogrammetry). Each
approach has its adherents and, as
Useful links
Coney Island, New York, designed with so many things, it’s horses for Scan-A-Rama
and built his own body scanner using courses. Certainly, it’s too early to pcpro.link/256rama
a Microsoft Kinect (pcpro.link/ declare a winner. Both types are being The Scan-O-Tron 3000
256scanner). He used Kickstarter to developed cheaply as a combination pcpro.link/256scanner
raise funds to scan and print every of hardware and software. So how
visitor to his studio. He also added the can you get involved? Structure scanner
plans for his homemade body scanner At the low end of photogrammetry structure.io
to Thingiverse. The following year, I you can use a free app called 123D 3DPI Scanner
found a local company, 3Dify (3dify. Catch, which stitches together photos pi3dscan.com
co.uk), had built its own Kinect-based on your phone into passable 3D files.
In light-based scanning, a company CGTrader
called Structure (structure.io) came cgtrader.com
up with a scanner that clips onto an Ultimaker’s YouMagine
iPad and again raised millions of youmagine.com
dollars on Kickstarter to turn it into
a real-world product.
117
Real world
computıng
part – wearing both journalist and

DAVEY WINDER consultant hats – in Security Serious
Week (securityserious.com), which
“Ican’timaginehowTalkTalkcould happened during the last week of
October (designated as Cyber Security
havehandledthepost-breach Awareness Month). This was such a

good thing that one can argue it ought
interviewsanyworse” to be monthly, even weekly.

Security Serious Week engaged
leading cybersecurity organisations
Here are 15 expert tips to help you protect your data and avoid the to share their experience, expertise
schoolboy errors made by TalkTalk and resources with businesses and
consumers who could make good use
of them. There were free webinars,
A
s I write, I’m still shell-shocked know how many customers are courses and lectures from some of the
by the TalkTalk data breach – affected yet” than shout, Dad’s biggest names in UK cybersecurity,
and I’m in good company, Army-style, “we’re dooooomed....” and as co-founder and managing
as TalkTalk CEO Baroness Harding More evidence of a lack of post- analyst at IT Security Thing, I put
also appears to be suffering from breach planning was the statement together an A-Z of data-protection
PBSD (post-breach stress disorder). made by Baroness Harding to The tips for it. This guide is still available,
For me, the shock was tempered by Sunday Times, that TalkTalk has as a free downloadable PDF from IT
having spent two decades in the IT “complied with all of our legal Security Thing (itsecuritything.com):
security industry. When TalkTalk Davey is an obligations in terms of storing of click on the “A-Z Tips” link at the top
falls victim to a simple SQL injection award-winning financial information”, but wasn’t of the page. It felt like such a good idea
attack, it might shock, but sadly it journalist and under any legal obligation to encrypt that I’ve extended the theme to this
doesn’t surprise. consultant sensitive customer data such as bank PC Pro column, and here are my 15
I’m not sure whether to blame specialising in privacy account details. That convinced every expert tips to help protect your data.
Baroness Harding or the people who and security issues customer I’ve spoken to that TalkTalk
sent her to face the media without
being properly briefed on how to
answer their questions. Admitting
@happygeek doesn’t care about spending money
1 Lie like a boss
So-called “security questions”
asked of us by sites and services to
that you don’t know whether all, verify our identity have never been
some or any of the data was encrypted secure and have never really verified
doesn’t look good. Maybe she really anything. Anyone can get lucky
doesn’t know, in which case, a) by guessing, or search Google or
what is she doing on TV answering Facebook to uncover your likely
questions? and b) why is she CEO? place of birth, name of your first pet
Or perhaps she did know and or mother’s maiden name. If you have
thought avoidance was better than a to play the security questions game
straight “no”. Neither would surprise then cheat, by which I mean lie, lie
me, given that TalkTalk has fallen and lie again. Invent a different place
victim to a couple of breaches over the of birth, an unlikely name for your
past year and appears to have learned hamster and an outrageous moniker
not much, and implemented less. for your mum. If they sound difficult
Then things went from bad to to protect data so long as it’s only to remember, store them in an
worse, while appearing to get better. the bare minimum to meet legal encrypted note alongside your login
Baroness Harding went on TV again criteria. However, TalkTalk now says details in a password vault service.
to state that “the amount of financial that credit and debit card data was
information that may have been
accessed” was “materially lower than
initially believed and would on its
tokenised – so they do care about data
protection, they just made a pigs’ ear
of communicating that fact after the
2 Close the path of least resistance
Cybercriminals are lazy and will
follow the path of least resistance,
own not enable a criminal to take “The TalkTalk breach. I can’t imagine how TalkTalk and your default settings are open
money from your account”. It’s good breach is an could have handled this any worse, gateways to this path. Do. Not. Do.
that fewer people were harmed by and I speak as a customer, albeit of Defaults. It’s that simple, and it
prime example
this breach – around 400,000, not the business side of the company. applies to everything from your
the four million first suggested. It’s of why an router hardware admin login to
not good, however, that the initial organisation 15 expert tips your social media account settings.
post-breach plan didn’t instruct needs security The TalkTalk breach is an prime
company officers not to spread FUD
(fear, uncertainty and doubt) and to
deal only in known facts. Better to
awareness
from shop floor
example of why an organisation needs
security awareness from shop floor to
boardroom, which must be built in,
3 Play the bad guys at their own game
Security training doesn’t have to
be boring. The best security awareness
say “we’ve been breached and don’t to boardroom” not bolted on, and include a breach- comes from applying the three I’s:
response plan. When your business interaction, immersion and interest.
has just been hacked, you won’t be Use games such as Root the Box
thinking straight, and having a formal (root-the-box.com), a capture-the-
plan of action to follow can prevent flag (CTF) game that will teach your
the sort of schoolboy errors TalkTalk tech staff the skills required to crack
made. That’s why I was happy to take hashes, to get root and to think like
118
SecureScan will look for hidden

internet-facing devices for 100 IP
addresses on your internal network.
10 Use HTTPS everywhere

There’s a good reason why
commerce sites use HTTPS to encrypt
their sessions with a digital certificate.
It’s because it provides additional
protection for your data as it travels
between client and server. Not every
site will cough up the small additional
cost for securing things this way, but
you can still use HTTPS everywhere
(well, almost everywhere) by using
the browser extension of the same
name. HTTPS Everywhere is
a collaboration between the Tor
a hacker. Once you can think like a adopt a “common people” approach ABOVE TalkTalk’s Project and the Electronic Frontier
hacker, you can start thinking about to security, namely “never log in with statements have been Foundation that rewrites requests to
how best to defend against them. administrator rights unless you’re both fascinating and HTTP-only sites to use HTTPS instead.
doing administrator things”. Taking scary to watch It’s free and it works. Use it.
4 Take the insider risk seriously

If you accept that people are the
weakest link in the security chain,
this approach yields the most security
against attacks that seek to exploit the
privileges available to them. 11 Spring-clean your dormant
online accounts
you must also accept that some of We all have a past, and these days
those people will be your staff. What
trips up many organisations is only
considering in-house staff as part of
8 Shred the paper trail
While we naturally concentrate
on our digital data footprint, there’s
most of it’s online in the form of a
digital click-trail. Those who would
do us harm are always looking for an
the risk equation, when in fact all staff a danger we might overlook the “in”, and that can be made easier by
members are a potential risk. This is old- fashioned paper trail. Although leaving the doors to old accounts wide
especially true when outsourcing data “dumpster diving” is no longer so “We all have a open. If you’ve left credit card details
handling, so don’t be afraid to ask a popular with hackers, your bank past, and these on a long-dormant site that’s no
potential contractor what staff vetting statements and other documents longer getting security patches, your
procedures, awareness schemes and provide rich pickings for those who
days most of it’s data is at risk. If you’ve left personal
physical access controls they employ. can be bothered to check your bin online in the information and files on services you
Mitigating risk requires partners to bags. Shredding any documents that form of a digital no longer use, these could also be at
be on the same page. contain personal information is a risk as you’re less likely to check your
click-trail”
simple way to stop all but the most security status there. Delete all
5 Security posture is not an

internal- only exercise
It’s important that your partners and
determined (and a cross-cut shredder
will stymie even them) from getting
useful attack ammunition.
sensitive data from services that are
surplus to requirements, then delete
the accounts completely. Wiping your
contractors “get” data security the digital footprints entirely is all but
same way you do: the whole supply
chain must figure in your overall
security thinking, and unless their
9 Scan your network for free
Use the resources available to you,
and that doesn’t have to exclude those
impossible, but that’s no excuse for
leaving a trail to your credentials.
thinking is on a par with yours, you’re

asking for trouble. Sure, you’re not
responsible for the security policies
on tight budgets: free tools such as
AlienVault’s ThreatFinder, driven
by the Open Threat Exchange (OTX), BELOW Games such
12 Classify it
Only by knowing the value
of all your data – which requires
of other firms, but you are responsible scan for compromised systems by as Root the Box put performing an audit of some kind –
for performing due diligence to ensure comparing log data against a live the fun back into will you know which demands the
they take security seriously enough to threat database, while Tripwire’s security training costliest protection and which can
do business with. Make sure partners settle for less financial investment.
meet your high security standards. The most sensitive data probably
shouldn’t be stored in the cloud,
6 Retire the old and infirm

Programs that are no longer
supported or in use should be retired.
but locally where you have more
control over it. Valuable data must
be encrypted, which costs, whereas
Uninstalling programs you don’t there’s little point encrypting
need and that don’t receive security low-value data that’s already in
updates reduces the threat footprint the public domain. You won’t know
available to hackers. If it ain’t there, what security investment you require
it can’t be exploited. until you know your data inside out.
7 Adopt the principle of least privilege

POLP isn’t a nineties Britpop band,
but rather refers to the “principle of
13 Take control of your keys
Letting your cloud provider
encrypt your data for you sounds
least privilege”, though it does in fact good, until you hear that the powers
119
Real world
computıng
Continued from previous page STEVECASSIDY
“Similarstrandsofcoppermakemy
that be have asked them to unlock
it so they can take a look (but you
won’t hear, because in some cases
they’re legally restrained from
informing you). Keeping control of smartwatchbuzzonmywristand
your encryption keys means no-one
can unlock your data unless you hand
them over, so at the very least you’re
throwaPorschedowntheAutobahn”
still in the “who gets access” loop. If thinking about IPv4 addresses makes you dizzy, how about the miles of
Solutions vary from encrypting data copper wire powering everything from your smartwatch to your car?
before it leaves your own network,
from the use of on-premise hardware
I
security modules (HSM) that generate n networking, we deal a lot in In order to do either, the wire must
and transfer an encryption master key improbable numbers. People are be well made, to a level of consistency
to a virtual HSM within the cloud. often stunned that I can remember that frankly beggars belief. Think
IP addresses after three or four about how to instrument a factory
14 Secure. Audit. Repeat.

Once you’ve employed your
security solutions through policy,
repetitions, because they’re aware of
the pub quiz fact that IPv4 has room
for four billion public addresses. To
full of wire-making machines,
machines that never stop deliberately.
Wire squirts out of the dies and gets
process and practice, you must me, these addresses are intriguing, wound onto the spools faster than
ensure that it’s not merely in place, peppered with the history of the Steve is a consultant a man can run, all day, every day.
but actually working as it should. So organisations that had the foresight who specialises in Software AG brought the CTO of the
undertake a security audit, including to grab them. One understands how networks, cloud, HR wire-makers to their Vegas seminar,
“fire tests” to check just that. Then Bolt, Beranek and Newman are in that and upsetting the and after each flight of fancy from
repeat every six months to keep on list, since they were at the time a large corporate apple cart other panel members about “machine
top of things, and incorporate audit American technology consultancy, @stardotpro learning” or “Big Data” or “customer
recommendations into future policy. but the UK Department for Work and tracking”, he would just say “we make
Pensions? Really? Start perusing the wire”. This is the German sense of
15 Policy matters
A formal security policy
document is essential to underpin
ownership, of the list, with great
swathes taken up by assorted
organisations, and that four billion
humour at its best: what that seminar
needed was someone to provide an
intellectual on-ramp, a way of going
your security strategy as, without it, starts to look as crowded as it is. from something you can see and feel,
anything you implement will be built I wasn’t expecting my trip to Las right the way up to the leading-edge
on weak foundations and prone to Vegas, for Software AG’s Innovation work being done in data analytics in
falling over if pushed hard. Take your World, to give me any especially sharp late 2015.
time and get this policy right: the best jolt out of my comfort zone when it “Wire squirts Once I’d stopped my brain
plans cover not only data protection, comes to numbers, and what that out of the dies boggling at the relentlessness of
but incident response. Consider this actually means for networks and that wire-making factory, I began to
and gets wound
document as a dynamic device that computing. For all those of you who understand why they’d plonked such
can help understand what security find that IPv4 gives you vertigo, that onto the spools a plain and simple example among so
means to your business, and devise it’s far from being some cosy labyrinth faster than a many people trying to sound clever
a structured, real-world, response you can solve using fingers-and- man can run, all about middleware – because that’s
using strategic forethought. This thumb maths, here’s the idea that what Software AG does. The firm has
policy, no matter how brilliant, is gave me that same sense of dread
day, every day” a variety of database and codebase
worth diddly squat if no-one reads about infinities. Copper wire. Not products that glue together various
it, or if everyone reads it but no-one even buried copper wire, the stuff streams of business data into a
understands it. Indeed, if even one over which far too many of us still coherent workflow. And if that
person doesn’t understand it, and that receive our internet service. This sounds wishy-washy, then that’s
leads to a breach, you’ve failed. This is was the ultra-fine, ultra-pure stuff what I intended – describing their
why education is so vital. That means that’s still used to wind around the stuff has to stay a bit wishy-washy
educating everyone in your business, armatures of electric motors. If there’s until a specific client bends it into a
from the boardroom to the shop floor. any other field that’s developed as fast shape that they can use. Such loose
What really matters is explaining as IT over the past decade, it’s electric upfront descriptions are actually
security in a way that’s relevant to the motors. Whether they’re 4mm across symptoms of a healthy consultancy
role of each individual and the threats (pcpro.link/256motor1) for model BELOW What was a and customisation revenue stream.
they might typically encounter on helicopters, or 130 horsepower pigeon doing in the You can always guarantee that
a daily basis, and then maintaining (pcpro.link/256motor2) for middle of a corporate top-flight pundits will go for the sexy-
those efforts to keep firmly on top electric cars, they all use data presentation? sounding, even slightly intimidating,
of an ever-changing threat-scape. copper wire. I got vertigo attributes of a product portfolio, and
[email protected] while thinking about how so the other panel members (and
similar superfine strands of some of us journalists) wasted no time
copper, by passing electric diving into issues such as how a data
current, can make my Pebble space of thousands
smartwatch buzz on my wrist of stock lines and
or throw a Porsche down the sub-types drives
Autobahn at 220mph. the demand for
120
artificial intelligence to design the It watches toner

campaigns of discount coupons being consumption, for
printed in American newspapers. example, so the
I was only too pleased that, at the replacement cartridge
end of each of those explorations of arrives just as its
how analytics makes for disturbingly predecessor is about to
well-targeted junk mail, that German run out. It implements
industrialist at the end of the table variable-price contracts,
would doggedly say “we make wire”. a print-more-stuff,
He has, for example, a system get-a-bigger-bill
that detects changes in the visual arrangement. It
representation of the stream of can figure out
wire – some cameras and software whether a business
developed by the Fraunhofer Institute would do better with
(pcpro.link/256fraunhofer), which a different mix of big
thankfully do not store a 24-bit JPEG and small printers, and
of each 10cm stretch of wire every ten some of Lexmark’s
milliseconds. That’s just the sharp printers are, of course,
end of over 20 different sensor types pretty big. It installs
that sit on his network, reporting on environmental
everything that can go wrong with monitors, room-
the materials and machinery that temperature sensors,
spew forth all that wire. humidity sensors and
Note that isn’t 20 sensors, which all that jazz. This presentation ABOVE Software aquifer. If the building experiences
would be hard enough, but 20 types on the vastness of the “Lexmark AG’s Eric Deffaut outside air temperatures above 20°C,
of sensor. All just watching those Printer Universe” was an excuse takes to the stage at water spouts up from the borehole to
millions of metres of wire – how hot to show some of the most intricate, Innovation World, be sprinkled over the chiller pipes, up
it is, how hard it is, how strong against over-developed diagrams I’ve ever surrounded by in the roof heat exchangers.
tension, how conductive and how seen. Up in the corner of the last technology There were a lot of other data-
thick. For each 100m length of wire, diagram was an innocuous, dashed- centre facts and figures to toy with
a summary of those attributes is line box labelled simply “Pigeon”. during this tour, but, as always, I
stored to disk against the event of a I couldn’t let that go: all that major forgot them and instead listened
warranty or performance claim at corporate-type data presentation and to the little asides and snippets
some point in the future. Maybe it’s then we arrive at “Pigeon”. I had to that the people came out with as we
just my memories of being the guy ask, and it turned out that Pigeon is walked around. In this case, I wasn’t
with the pager, on call throughout Lexmark’s internal codename for encouraged to take pictures, and the
the night, that gave me a special its Internet of Things (IoT) traffic promised “official” shots didn’t make
frisson of fear when faced with this gateway product. It seems that a it to us before press deadline, so you’ll
24/7 cascade of information. That, mental image of a system that flaps have to trust me when I say that 6,000
plus the idea that the data generated about and emits unpredictable square metres of data centre looks
by those sensors has to be kept, but squawks best summarises Lexmark’s exactly the same whichever floor
not really analysed very much – any IoT experience to date. This is not “An image of you step out of the lift onto. Of course,
emergent properties of those wires reassuring after those millions of a system that for a facility that boasts “five-nines”
might not become apparent or be miles of copper wire. In fact, it’s (that means 99.99999%) reliability,
flaps about
subjected to analysis for many another data point on the graph, you’d expect that not much would be
months or years after they leave further support for the Software and emits going on, or at least that what was
the factory. If, like me, you find AG team’s assertion that the place unpredictable happening wasn’t very physically
this disturbing and you’d prefer a where dry technical facts, careful squawks best apparent. Equinix is keen to point out
more familiar, concrete example budgeting and proposal-writing that all of its buildings, new and old,
from our kind of business, then meet the thousand-yard stare, the
summarises get the same reliability score, even
let me discomfort you a little sleepless night and the plaintive, Lexmark’s IoT though the older ones are somewhat
with a secret from Lexmark. emotional board meeting is in experience less energy-efficient than the one with
Yes, the Kentucky-based printer that previously calm and unruffled to date” the, um, borehole in the middle of it.
manufacturer has need for some world of middleware. What I was supposed to be there
heavy-duty database middleware. for was the Equinix Apprenticeship
Not, thankfully, to track their printer Longer than a vet Programme, which takes a couple of
parts manufacture and assembly A tip for you data-centre hosting types: promising people per year and puts
operations (although I’m sure that if you take a load of journalists around them through a four-year day-release
comprises the same kind of dizzying one of your facilities, don’t make a big study and work programme, with an
data abyss as the wire-making thing out of your “borehole”. That NVQ to show at the end of it. Given
factory). Instead, it was there to tempts too many puns from people that this whole programme was put
talk about customer-side printer contemplating a data centre, which is together at Equinix’s behest by local
management. Lexmark makes at by definition a place where nothing is colleges, both in terms of the study
least as much money from managing supposed to happen (especially while programmes and the candidate
printers installed in businesses as it you’re wandering around inside it). selection process, it became clear that
does from making those printers in On this occasion it was Equinix, and the training to become a data-centre
the first place and, at first sight, this if you’re curious, its borehole goes specialist is four years, plus some
is reassuringly familiar. down more than 300 metres into the previous time studying in college
121
Real world @PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO
computıng
on an allied topic. In other words, ago, suddenly getting the

between five and six years overall, muscle together to stand
or longer than training to be a vet. on their own feet again.
Equinix’s UK MD, Russell Poole, Both are doing it on the
was keen to explain that this project back of a sharply increased
had been driven by Equinix, rather interest in backing things
than the colleges coming to them, and up and restoring them,
that it was showing signs of long-term and both came out with
legs for both the apprentices and the the same nightmare
business. I counted at least 12 young scenario. What if you
chaps larking about in that quiet, had to be able to show
engineer-like way in the pauses the lifecycle of a document
between Russell’s speech, the that had become pivotal
data-centre tour, the cyclical in a legal case, and
visits to the boardroom for cross said document was
examination by journalists, and sloppily shared in an
the highly unexpected, but obviously online file repository?
very important bit at the end – they Their solutions are
cracked open the door of a meeting related to backup: both will
room with lots of champagne in it, now do a backup appliance
and announced that the apprentices’ that looks suspiciously like
parents were arriving and would we an old-school internal file
mind awfully if they kicked us out? Big changes in backup ABOVE Training to server. These appliances come with a
Russell explained the hard-nosed In the latter part of 2015’s fast-moving be a data-centre wide range of membership modules
business angle. In common with convention and trade-show season, specialist takes five for the popular public cloud storage
many of the rest of the rack-hosting I’m sorry to say that I managed to to six years – longer services, and can be configured
business sector, Equinix is merciless stand up a couple of people who than to be a vet to periodically snapshot the state
in chasing down the last microwatt are owed an in-print apology. On of your files onto those services,
of efficiency and fraction of a penny the occasion I’m most ashamed of, against the chance that the
on overheads costs. However, it is I chatted with the guys from Arcserve service just loses them (which does
also exquisitely aware that the skills when I was strictly supposed to be happen, as Google users in Europe
required to get to those profit sources sitting with Ray O’Farrell, the CTO discovered this year) or, if you
are a very rare resource in themselves. at VMware. Not regional CTO, not prefer, the far more likely situation
Looking after good technical people even CTO of one product range, but arises of someone thoughtlessly
is an even rarer skill. the CTO. Eventually we sat down deleting something they may
The merciless efficiency mindset and had a reverse interview in later wish to rely upon in court.
tends to lead towards a job market which he mostly wanted to know In the early days of cloud, it was the
that promotes the narrow and what I thought were the hotspots remote data centre that was thought
peculiar advantages of a floating, within the IoT sector – an odd of as the safe harbour and your local,
temporary, on-demand workforce. question from a guy in virtualisation, creaking, ancient and overfilled file
Equinix’s discovery, it seems you might think, but these days that server that was the risky one. Now
to me, is that by giving in to its includes networking. IoT looks like an
“In the early that picture is being inverted, and
distinctly human impulse toward enfant terrible when it comes to types, days of cloud, not because data centres have become
mentoring and educating, it had quantities and eccentricities of traffic. it was the more flaky. The main source of
almost by accident rediscovered My other excuse is that talking unreliability is the sheer spread
remote data
the old industrial tradition of to Arcserve was mandated by of different software providers and
apprenticeship – which, as another its recent amicable split from the centre that their enormous variety of ambitions,
Equinixer pointed out, was doubly Computer Associates (CA) mothership. was thought software development cycles,
strange since American companies That’s a nostalgia trip for old IT types of as the safe security procedures, hosting
don’t think of apprenticeship as a who cut their teeth (and sometimes contracts, SLAs and diligence.
high-status activity, either for the ended up grinding them) on Arcserve
harbour” The churning marketplace in hot
business or for the apprentice. for Novell. It’s also a bit of a criticism collaboration tools makes the plain
On the way back from my visit of CA as stewards of the brand – but old email server of yesteryear look like
to sunny Slough, I had plenty of the new team is pretty upbeat. What a cosy, protected backwater. And the
time while crawling along the M4 I mean by “new team” here is, of people who are bearing the brunt of
to notice a hoarding advertising course, an oddity, because it’s the the bad news when there’s a merger
Heathrow and its environs as a same people who once lived inside or a takedown, or a tornado takes the
great place for businesses to set up an the business unit, but with nice roof off the hosting company, aren’t
apprentice scheme. Pure coincidence, new badges on and a bit of money the vendors of these services, but
or advert positioning, as my cellphone spent on a new logo and some rather the poor guy who made some
crawled past, plugged into my car cute products to show off. sketchy promises about being able
in emergency-satnav duty? Again, that wouldn’t be too to back up and restore all your stuff.
interesting were it not for the fact Little wonder both Arcserve and
that, within a few short weeks, Veritas feel they’d like to have a crack
Veritas emerged from the shadowy at this extended market without
cloak of Symantec. That’s two encumbrance, micromanagement
backup businesses, both of which or interference.
were takeover targets over a decade [email protected]
122
Futures
Slug Sectionhead
We explore the trends and technologies that are set to shape the future
Hacking the Internet of Things The future of desks Geek Day Out
Looking for the flaws in new Altwork’s smart workstation Take a walk through Scottish
mobile applications p126 takes a more flexible approach p127 science history p128
Buildingblocks:
whytechis
goingmodular
Modular designs could let us
personalise wearables and
extend the lifespans of our
smartphones, but challenges
lie ahead. Nicole Kobie reports
Y
our smartwatch vibrates; it’s
running out of battery. Rather
than dashing to the wall for
a power socket, imagine simply
popping out a link in your wrist strap
and slipping in a new battery.
This is the promise of modular What has spurred this swing to ABOVE The Fairphonescanner, NFC payments or dual-SIM
devices: drop in a new camera, a modular hardware? And does it have support. “The number of sensors
2 was the first modular
refreshed battery or extra sensors any prospect of long-term success? smartphone to hit available is really large, but bringing
to upgrade or personalise your the market, beatingit into a single device would be very
smartphone, smartwatch or even ■ Building Blocks hard,” he said. “Big tech companies
Google’s Project Ara
desktop PC. Serge Didenko and his co-founder today are having to compromise
We’re a far cry from this scenario Alireza Tahmasebzadeh have been on the features they include in a
today. Most manufacturers glue in working on the Blocks smartwatch smartwatch, because there’s only so
smartphone batteries, and SD slots are for three years. The inspiration for the many you can fit into a single watch.”
rare enough to be notable in reviews, modular design was a disagreement The Blocks device is a complete
so the few modifications we could over which features to include in their smartwatch, featuring an activity
make are usually off the table. device. “Neither of us could agree on tracker, 1.5 days of battery life, voice
This might be set to change. Google which features were more important,” controls and haptic feedback, and
is working on Project Ara, a modular Didenko told PC Pro. “I wanted all the users can add extra sensors to the
phone that allows you to slot new health and fitness features and my strap for $30 each. “Why should
components into the “endoskeleton” co-founder wanted gesture control we compromise and not include
of the base device. The Fairphone 2 and more business features. We each it when some people will love it?”
uses a similar design ethos, allowing wanted our own personal experiences said Didenko.
users to replace the battery and from a wearable.” Acer believes modular designs
other components. This was also true of the potential could bring mobility to desktop PCs,
It’s not only smartphones. A customers they polled. “They’re not letting you carry around
modular smartwatch, Blocks, has all the same,” said Didenko. Athletes “If your Blocks smartwatch your hard drive to play
raised $1.4 million on Kickstarter, may desire a heart-rate monitor, but is missing a feature you can’t music, your power bank
while Acer unveiled the Revo Build, that may not leave room – physically,
a PC with Lego-like stackable financially or in terms of battery life
live without, there’s no need to charge other devices
or your projector for
components designed to make – for other features, such as gaming to shop for a new watch – presentations, according
upgrading simple, at IFA in September. gesture controls, GPS, a fingerprint you can add another module” to Acer spokesperson
124
@PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Futures Modulartech
Manuel Linnig. This offers “scalability Affordability is another problem.
to your needs or situation,” he said. The base Blocks smartwatch is
currently selling for $295 (£195)
■ Against the grain? on Kickstarter. This includes four
Analysts are sceptical about whether modules, with extras at $30 each.
most people crave a mix-and-match For comparison, the Pebble Steel
approach. “Modular devices are costs only £135.
moving in the opposite direction
from more than ten years of mobile ■ Long-term investment
innovation,” said IHS analyst Ian Not all consumers will be willing to
Fogg. “Device makers have minimised pay more for flexibility, but Didenko
the size of their devices and improved notes that modular wearables may
reliability by removing all moving well have a longer lifespan. If your
parts such as removable batteries, Blocks is missing a feature you decide
hinges on flip phones, slide-out Google has not solved this problem. ABOVE The Blocks you can’t live without, there’s no
keyboards, often dropping memory The pre-beta designs are notably smartwatch allows need to shop for a new watch – you
card slots, too.” bigger than similar smartphones users to make can simply add another module.
Take Apple, the most successful that are tightly integrated.” contactless payments “They’ll be made to last,” he said.
mobile and smartwatch maker. Its While Fogg insists his first via an NFC module Right now, Didenko argued,
devices are “completely integrated” impressions of the Blocks smartwatch rivals’ products aren’t. “The way
and feature no moving parts or are good, he said it will be difficult to tech companies and hardware
replaceable components, Fogg noted, keep the modules robust and reliable manufacturers work today, they
adding that this approach has worked without adding “significant bulk” purposefully make devices that are
across MP3 players, smartphones, on the wrist. “The likely outcome not meant to last,” Didenko said.
tablets and even laptops. “Apple’s will be a bulkier strap design “They do this because they need to
success with tight integration has than competing smartwatches,” ship another device next year and
driven all of its competitors to pursue he said. make you pay an extra $500 or
a similar industrial design strategy, Aside from the difficulty of keeping something for your phone. The
and drop the flexibility of modular devices slim enough to wear, modular whole business model is built around
designs,” he said. designs raise other issues. Didenko building devices year on year that are
Consumers have traded the ability said he and Tahmasebzadeh worked not able to last, because otherwise
to upgrade or personalise devices for for two years with partners to build they won’t get their revenue stream.
slimmer, sleeker devices,he added. “strong and robust” connectors and “We’re trying a great alternative.
“The challenge for companies seeking develop a suitable communication We’re building devices that will last,
to make a modular device... is how protocol, while Acer’s Linnig said and because they’re modular we will
to match the competition in size and the main challenge was to “make get extra revenue from extra modules
weight while maintaining the same sure that all the blocks work together [when customers upgrade],” he
quality components,” he explained. with the magnetic connector” without said “We’re making it good for our
“Early signs from Project Ara indicate interfering with the components. customers and good for ourselves.”
Bitsandpieces:modularhardwareavailabletobuysoonornow
Blocks Acer Revo Build Fairphone 2

The Blocks core is no different to any other The Revo Build is a mini-PC that lets users Having pipped Project Ara to release, the
smartwatch, but you can add modules via customise, without cracking up the chassis, Fairphone 2 is the first modular smartphone
the strap to extend its powers. The modules by stacking “blocks” with different features to you can actually buy. Unlike most modern
are hot-swappable, so you can pop in a the base unit. At launch, the only extra module phones, you can open it up, replace the battery
heart-rate sensor before heading for a run, available is a 1TB hot-swappable hard drive – and unscrew and upgrade components such
but leave it off the rest of the time to save easily added to any PC via a USB cable – but as the camera and speaker – because they’re
battery. Blocks runs Android, but also works there are plans for a wireless power bank, an not glued in, the phone is easier to repair. The
with iOS. It currently costs $285 (£189) for audio block, a projector, better graphics and back cover can also be replaced, and versions
the base watch plus four modules, with more. The Revo Build will cost £199 and come with NFC and wireless charging are being
extras priced at $30 (£20). It’s expected with an Intel Skylake Pentium or Celeron, as considered. The Dutch design will cost €525
to ship next spring. well as 8GB of RAM and 32GB of flash storage. (£373) and start shipping in December.
pcpro.link/256blocks pcpro.link/256revobuild fairphone.com
125
Q&ALearningtohackthe
InternetofThings
KenMunroseesaconnecteddeviceandallhewantstodoishackit.Here’swhatthe
PenTestPartnerssecurityresearcherhasuncoveredaboutsmarthometech–and
whyyoumaynotwanttoturnonaWi-Fi-connectedkettle
THE RUSH TO CREATE the Internet of to the interface after you set up the ■ Is that what you expect to find with
Things (IoT) means manufacturers kettle. It was still the manufacturer’s the coffee machine you’re hacking?
are cramming connectivity into default, which is six zeros, which That’s what we’re hoping to find – or
everything – without making it you can find in the manual for the hoping not to find. But, again, all of
properly secure. That makes Ken Wi-Fi module. these devices deal with heat. Is there
Munro’s work easy: he’s a researcher The consequence of that is, once a way to bypass the thermal overrides
with Pen Test Partners and spends you’ve got that password, the kettle within these devices and make them
his days poking holes in so-called would then disclose the user’s Wi-Fi overheat? Is that going to be possible?
smart devices. key. Once you’ve got that, you have I don’t know. This is speculation at
Do we really need our kettles to basically got everything you need to this point.
connect over Wi-Fi? If we do, how BELOW There is the compromise the user’s network. And One of the other devices we’re
can we make them more secure? potential to bypass now I have control over their DNS. working on at the moment is a
That’s what Munro is trying to the thermal overrides And once I’ve got control over DNS, Wi-Fi- enabled oven. So, obviously,
answer – and while he’s not sure and, therefore, cause I’ve got control over all of their the heat involved is a lot greater,
a kettle or coffee maker needs net the kettle to overheat internet traffic. and there’s much more potential.
access, there’s one upside to his
work: he gets a cuppa at the end.
■ Why did you want to hack

the iKettle?
Because it had the word “internet”
in front of it. Why on earth would you
internet-enable a kettle? I mean, it’s
just a ludicrous concept – it’s a Wi-Fi
kettle as well. It doesn’t work on
mobile data, so it’s not as if you can
tell the kettle to boil as you’re leaving
the office with the intention of it being
warm in 15 minutes’ time when you
get home. You can only tell it to boil
when you’re on the same Wi-Fi
network, so you’re in the house.
■ What did you find when you

hacked it?
For us, it was as bad as
it gets. In order to set
the kettle up on your ■ But you would But what this comes down to
Wi-Fi network, you need to be sitting is that pretty much every sort of
need to give it the outside their consumer home IoT device comes
network key. And house? with a mobile application. And by far
we discovered that, It’s mitigated the easiest way to compromise these
by sitting outside to a point devices is to look for the flaws in the
someone’s house, because it’s mobile applications themselves.
you could send a local. I’ve got
deauthentication to be adjacent ■ Do you have any security advice
message to the kettle, to the house. for IoT manufacturers?
create a fake access However, If security researchers try to get in
point and the kettle you can also touch, you should definitely talk
will then join you. use information to them. That’s because researchers
So that was a “fail” collated on websites are usually well intentioned and
in itself. such as wigle.net to you’ll end up really annoying a
A user had geolocate victims. You can researcher if you ignore them. It’s,
configured the find out if someone’s got a therefore, far better to have a bit
device with an kettle from online databases of friendly, free advice from a
Android mobile and go out and find researcher than ignore and annoy
application. It people to attack. them. Moreover, they’ll probably
failed to change And that’s give you everything you need to fix
the passwords a bit creepy. it for free.
126
@PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Futures
Isthisthefuture
ofdesks?
Crowdfund
this!
OurpickofUKtech
projectsonKickstarter
Altwork’ssmartworkstationgetsyouinto andIndiegogo
theperfectpositiontotype
OpenroutRaspberryPi
L
ying down on the
job isn’t normally
encouraged, but one router
imate
startup has created the ultimate
workstation to do just that – The Raspberry Pi can pretty
all while still comfortably much run anything, eh? The
typing away. low-budget computing board
Research suggests sitting g all is at the centre of many
day at work is unhealthy, and nd crowdfunding projects,
standing desks are now popping ing including this open-source
up in offices. But Californian data we know of” that shows router designed to connect
startup Altwork is taking a more working in a reclined position all your devices, including
flexible approach. Its Altwork is healthier than sitting. Instead, smart-home and Internet
Station can shift into four it argues that the real benefits of Things (IoT) gadgets.
different positions at the touch come from changing position,
of a button: sitting normally, rather than sitting the same Do I really need a router that
standing, collaborating with way all day. does Internet of Things rather than just, you know, the internet?
others by sharing your monitor, Good luck getting your boss Probably not yet, but routers are starting to load up on features
or – and this is the one that to approve an Altwork Station ahead of the predicted IoT explosion – Google has even made its
grabbed our attention – laying for your office, though. The first own, the OnHub. To make sure it can reach all those Bluetooth-
back with your laptop held in version will cost $5,900 (£3,825), enabled IoT devices in the home, multiple Openrout devices can
position above your head. although there’s an early adopter be linked together to create a Bluetooth mesh network.
While that’s likely to help discount that knocks $2,000
ease complaints such as back from that price. It will start Does it offer anything to people who don’t want a Wi-Fi dustbin?
pain or wrist strain, the company shipping internationally at Most routers aren’t very secure, as they’ve been designed for
admits there’s no “ergonomic the end of next year. ease of use rather than keeping networks safe. The Openrout
has a host of security features, including a physical button to
access settings, so hackers can’t get into the management
console by entering the default gateway address and logins.
5 And for all this you need a Raspberry Pi? The computing board
manages the router, but also acts as a mini private cloud, letting
you store up to 25GB of files that can be accessed online. You can
plug in an external hard drive for more storage space. When the
Raspberry Pi is updated, you can easily upgrade the router.
4 2 Will this get backed? Its prospects weren’t good at the time of
publishing, with just one backer for the $100,000 goal. It’s a
flexible funding model, meaning the developer will get all of the
3 cash, even if that target isn’t met. If you want an Openrout, it’ll
cost $200 (£131), but you can also show your support by voting
1 with $1 for an alternative name, Bluroot – which we prefer to
Openrout, though not enough to enter our PayPal details.
Link: pcpro.link/256openrout
1 The Altwork shifts 3 When you lean back, mouse when not in use.
into four positions, your keyboard stays
including the reclining in place using magnets 5 The Altwork Station
“focus” mode. that adhere to a steel supports multiple
plate under the desk. monitors up to 16kg in
2 Users can easily total weight, and a side
move through the 4 It comes with a mount for laptops, but the
positions using buttons steel mouse pad to designers didn’t include
embedded in the desktop. magnetically hold your a cup holder for coffee.
127
GeekDayOut:
Scienceon
theStreets
TaketothestreetsofGlasgowforawalkthrough
Scottishscientifichistory,fromLordKelvintoJamesWatt
I
t’s time to hit the road in the Scottish city’s importance in creating TOP RIGHT The tour taken by University of Strathclyde
name of science. The history of many of the inventions we take for takes in the gruesome students to learn about measurement
technology, from the TV to the granted today. “The tour explores the 19th-century story of from the late Peter Maas and Dr Carol
steam engine, lives in Glasgow’s alleys history and the people involved, and Matthew Clydesdale Trager-Cowan. “Through a walk on
and squares, and you can uncover the visits some of the sites in Glasgow the streets of Glasgow the students
most intriguing stories with a free related to them,” Bruckbauer said. ABOVE LEFT The were asked, for example, how to
Science on the Streets walking “The tour ranges from Lord Kelvin, city-centre tour estimate the height of the Walter Scott
tour by top academics. physicist and namesake for the explores local monument and asked to consider
Dr Jochen Bruckbauer, absolute temperature scale; John landmarks such as what is necessary to allow bridges to
a researcher specialising Logie Baird, the inventor of the Glasgow Cathedral expand and contract during hot and
in semiconductor television; Thomas Graham, cold weather,” Bruckbauer said.
nanostructures at the who developed dialysis; That school trip evolved into
University of Strathclyde, James Blyth, inventor of tours, but Bruckbauer said Science
helps run the strolls the first wind turbine; to James on the Streets is not only for students.
through the past. “The Watt, whose improvement of “We adapt the
tour appeals to people the steam engine kickstarted The tours shine a tour to the age of
who are curious about
the technology that
the industrial revolution.”
However, Bruckbauer’s
spotlight on the city’s the participants,
so it is suitable
surrounds them and favourite is more grisly: the importance in creating for all ages,” he
who like to understand
how things work,” he
story of murderer Matthew
Clydesdale. “Not to give too
many of the inventions said. “We’ve had
whole families,
said – and if that isn’t much away, but the story we take for granted including babies
a perfect description includes a body snatcher, to retirees.”
of PC Pro readers, we Frankenstein-like You’ll want to bring an umbrella
don’t know what is. experiments, an affair just in case it rains, but Bruckbauer
Glasgow’s science and the invention of a assures us that the weather is kind to
and tech history piece of scientific apparatus tour attendees “more often than not”,
is often ignored, that is crucial to the saving although we’re not sure if his weather
the organisers of lives today,” forecasts are strictly scientific...
argue, but the he said. LEFT The first walk The free tours run during events
two 90-minute Science involved working out such as the Glasgow Science Festival
tours shine a on the Streets the height of Walter in June, or you can book your own via
spotlight on the started as a walk Scott’s monument [email protected]
128
@PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Futures
Isitlegaltohack
yoursmartcar?
Accessingdatafromsmartcarsoftwareisnowallowed
intheUS,butwhatabouthereintheUK? OursistersiteAlphrcoversthelatestintech
andscience–herearethetopstoriesfrom
thismonthontheinnovationsthatarejust
overthehorizon.
Dead scary: how games deal in terror

Why are games so good at scaring us, even when we know it’s
only pixels on a screen? Developers use a range of graphical tricks
to horrify us while playing, but it’s not the visuals that make the
joypads jump out of our hands, according to Thomas Grip, creative
director at Frictional Games. “Sounds sound a lot more real than
how graphics look,” he said. While an unseen monster’s sinister
breathing might spark terror, developers must still make the
monster frighten us when it steps on screen, and for that they’re
turning to artificial intelligence. “If the AI does something stupid,
it breaks the horror illusion and the enemy isn’t scary any more,”
noted Falmouth University games researcher Michael Cook.
pcpro.link/256alphr1
V
ehicle owners and car code before. “University
researchers in the US have researchers wanted to present
been given the right to to a conference on the encryption
extract and examine car software applied to Volkswagen key
without breaching copyright fobs,” Owen said. “The owner
for the first time. The ruling of the technology, Thales, and
sides with digital rights activists Volkswagen were granted
from the Electronic Frontier an injunction stopping the
Foundation, who say that it researchers from discussing the
should be considered as fair use. encryption at the conference.”
Manufacturers had argued Over the summer, it
that allowing such access could was revealed that such key
be unsafe. The ruling follows the fobs are insecure – a fact
Volkswagen scandal, in which that could have been made
software concealed higher-than public three years ago, if not Appliance of science to our justice system
-permitted emissions. for the injunction. Is our faith in the justice system misplaced? Psychologists
Brits have limited access suggest yes, saying people aren’t sceptical enough about barristers
to their car’s code, according ■ Right to hack and biases. To help, courts need to
to Mark Owen, partner The law could change mimic scientific solutions.
with Taylor Wessing, who with the EU’s new Data Professor Tim Valentine of
specialises in IP law. “There Protection Regulation, set to Goldsmiths College said
are several laws that may limit be introduced later this year police should use “blind”
the extent to which car owners or early 2016, Owen noted. video lineups for suspect
can ‘hack’ the programming And, while it’s not a new issue, identification by witnesses,
in their cars, namely rights the growth of the Internet of in which even the police
under the copyright legislation Things means more and more officer doesn’t know who
concerning copying of code devices will run code. the criminal is, eliminating
and evasion of technical “While there may be an any chance of accidental
protection measures, rights in argument that people feel they encouragement. “This isn’t
confidential information, and should be able to reverse- a radical idea: clinical trials
the Computer Misuse Act,” he engineer whatever they ‘own’, of drugs have been run
told PC Pro. “The ones most and also that security flaws blind for years,” he said.
likely to apply are confidential should be called out, there are pcpro.link/256alphr2
information and the anti- strong arguments in favour of
circumvention provisions.” limiting this,” Owen said. “The Smart homes step outside
It may seem incredible that more access is made possible, There’s more to the Internet of Things than smart homes. At
it’s illegal to hack the car you the greater potential there will Intel’s IoT conference in San Francisco, the chipmaker showed
paid for, but Owen noted we be for malicious acts, whether off other use cases, including sensors to help keep firefighters
don’t normally own software, through breaches of security, safe by measuring heart rate,
just the right to use it. “This will threats to public safety or access carbon monoxide levels and
usually be subject to restrictions to private information. temperature, and by tracking
making it clear that the licence “Some legal limits need to their location. Connected
does not include the right to hack be placed upon hacking, but sensors can also help boost
the software,” he said. the debates tend to be about agriculture, improve security
Researchers have faced how far those limits should for shops and monitor children.
court action for breaking into go,” he added. pcpro.link/256alphr3
129
Onelastthing... @PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO
It’snotgovernment
snoopingthathas
JonHoneyball
worried:it’swhether
T
he headlines surrounding the recent
draft Investigatory Powers Bill should
come as absolutely no surprise to anyone
who has an even slightly cynical view of
ourdatawillbesafe
politicians, the government process and
the enormous amount of money being spent in
this area by various government departments.
As my late father taught me, “follow the money”, every player in this space has proved themselves incapable of
because that is where the real underlying issues holding data in a secure fashion. That includes central government
will lie. departments, local government and our police forces. After all,
It should be no surprise that the home every policeman is honourable and decent, right?
secretary wants sweeping powers to track The recent huge data thefts from big-brand telcos show how
what we are doing, how we are doing it and naive it is to believe that these companies can hold our data in a
where. This is the internet equivalent of all secure fashion. I could point to Amazon and PayPal as companies
the number-plate recognition systems and that have done a pretty good job so far, but maybe that’s only by luck.
Gatso speed cameras that have been planted Both Theresa May’s mass-surveillance society and our economy
around the road system. are predicated on the collection of insane amounts of data, and the
And the ongoing cry from those who, holding of that is the real issue. There is a huge missed opportunity
strangely enough, have managed to whereby the incoming legislation could have been tempered by
isolate themselves from many of these swingeing fines against those to whom we entrust our data, and are
requirements, is that “you have nothing to then shown to be untrustworthy. If it was, say, £10,000 minimum
fear if you are doing nothing wrong”. As my per person per incident, then companies would invest in proper
good friend and fellow contributing editor security precautions, and it wouldn’t be possible for a few teenage
Davey Winder says, “you have nothing to script kiddies to dive headlong into a company
fear if you have nothing to say”. such as TalkTalk. Companies losing my data
I’m actually not particularly bothered The recent huge data will do me more damage than GCHQ (wrongly)
about the provisions from a government or
GCHQ point of view. Now, before you rip apart
thefts from telcos show deciding that I’m a Russian spy.
And what about virtual private network
this magazine in a fit of pique, let me explain how naive it is to believe tunnelling? A number of companies offer
my position further. The reality is that, if a
government department wants your data,
they can hold our data in these, including F-Secure with its Freedome
product. Want your phone to appear on the
they will come and take it. That’s been the a secure fashion internet in New York? That’s a finger click.
case in the past, and it will be so in the future. Or Paris? Los Angeles? If you tunnel all of your
I don’t like the idea, and don’t approve of it at traffic over a VPN, then there is nothing for the UK ISP to record. So
all, but as sure as a new iPhone in September, where does Her Majesty’s Government go next? To a foreign company
it’s going to happen. to force them to open up their VPN tunnelling protocols? Is that
That might seem defeatist, but the relevant realistically going to work? What if I rent a VPN end point from a
government departments will ensure they company, and use open-source VPN client technology? Just how is
have this stuff, by hook or by crook. Of course, this going to play out?
nothing will help when your world implodes Of course, the answer will be simple – the government will use
because the wrong information is tagged to the its standard toolkit, where everything can be hit by a large hammer.
wrong person, and you’re hounded by everyone I can’t see VPNs being allowed in the long term for home users. It’s
who is supposed to be on your side. But that is as simple as that. And if you’re a business, just wait until you have to
the underlying reality of the government and register your infrastructure (and backdoors) with the Home Office.
judicial process. We can but pray that the Remember, command and control is a very long-term project. The
miscarriages are rare. government can use as much of our money to control us as they wish.
No, the problem is the mechanism required After all, we voted for them. Didn’t we?
to hold this data. My ISP will have to do so for a
year. My telco has to store all those call records. ■ Jon Honeyball is contributing editor of PC Pro. He’s looking for an IBM Selectric
And I don’t know about you, but it seems almost “golf ball” typewriter and a few homing pigeons. Email [email protected]
130
Chillblast [email protected] 01202 068 333 www.chillblast.com
7 TIME WINNER OF PC PRO EXCELLENCE AWARDS
HELIOS 2 Ultrabook 13.3" Fusion ORION i7 Fusion DRONE Fusion KRYPTON

13.3” Full HD (1920x1080) IPS Display Zalman Mini T4-V2 Case Chillblast Kube Case
Intel® Core™ i5-6200U Processor AMD Athlon X4 860K 3.7GHz Processor Intel® Core™ i5-6600K Processor
8GB 1333MHz DDR3 Memory Corsair H55 Liquid Cooler Chillblast Centurion Heat Pipe Cooler
250GB Samsung M.2 PCIe SSD Gigabyte F2A88XM-D3H Motherboard ASUS Z170-M PLUS Motherboard
Intel Dual Band Wireless 802.11AC 8GB 1600MHz DDR3 Memory NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 4GB
720P HD Webcam AMD Radeon R7 370 2GB 16GB 2133MHz DDR4 Memory
Windows 10 Home 64bit OEM 1000GB Seagate SSHD Hybrid Drive 128GB Samsung M.2 PCIe SSD
325(W) x 219(D) x 18(H) mm Aerocool 500W Power Supply 2000GB Seagate Hard Disk Drive
Onboard High Definition Audio Aerocool 600W Power Supply
From £699 inc VAT Windows 10 Home 64bit OEM Onboard High Definition Audio
Windows 10 Home 64bit OEM
From £825 inc VAT From £499 inc VAT
From £869 inc VAT
… with 5 year warranty as standard with all Chillblast PCs
FINANCE AVAILABLE ON ALL SYSTEMS OVER £250*

Terms & Conditions apply. Credit subject to status and affordability.
£15 OFF ANY CHILLBLAST PC WITH THE CODE: PCPDISC1215

* Credit subject to status and affordability. Credit is provided by a panel of lenders with whom we have a commercial relationship - we are not able to provide independent advice.
Terms & Conditions apply. Credit subject to status and affordability.
Intel, the Intel Logo, Intel Inside, Intel Core, Core Inside, Pentium, and Pentium Inside are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries.
Terms and conditions are on the website. All trademarks are acknowledged. Pictures are for illustration only. Prices are correct at time of going to press (23-11-15) E&OE
Stay informed with our
intelligent monitoring systems
at work, at home or on date night
Monitor or control what you want with sensor combinations

and time profiles. SwiftAlert allows you to plug in inexpensive
modules to meet ever more demanding business needs –
its scalabilities are unparalleled.
With 2 and 3D graphics you can map your site in as much detail as you
need, drilling down to buildings, rooms, cabs and sensors. Use ‘Active
Pinning’ to display sensor values and alarm status. The really good news is
your maps, pins and alarms go on the move with you via your phone or tablet. – Fully customisable dashboard
Display status and history using graphical widgets and charts, and integrate – 3D site design service available
multiple cameras. Now you can see while you’re on the move exactly what – Full online demo available
the situation is.
Harpsden, Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire RG9 4HL 01491 410913 www.swiftalert.com [ Online demo ] [ Download app ]

PC Pro PDF

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

PC Pro PDF

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

PC Pro PDF

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

p56

And it’s not Google Maps p32

Pro 4: our verdict p60

Inthisissue 32 We donned our driving gloves

COVER STORY 10 Will ISIS turn to hacking?

We show how to turn n an inexpensive

PROFILE 25 NICOLE KOBIE Having CCTV at your

smartphone backup quick

FlexScan EV2750 – The world’s first fully flat

WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT?...

Editor’s letter 7 Subscriptions 123

94 Remote support software

106 How can I recruit IT talent?

108 Cheat Sheet: shadow IT

124 Building blocks: why

126 Learning to hack

SOFTWARE DOWNLOAD TECHNICAL SUPPORT

Background and analysis on all the important news stories

The future of the PC market The new Snoopers’ Charter PC Probe

ABOVE Sean Sullivan is an analyst at

That doesn’t mean that the

It’s possible that Five

THE RESULTS SPEAK

PC shipments Others Apple HP

-£500m £0m £500m £1bn £1.5bn £2bn £2.5bn £3bn

Stable sales Predicted PC sales Sales divide between

Why isn’t anyone else doing this? We

Anywhere can roam What’s the cost?

The results speak for themselves

The results speak for themselves

long enough to say that with certainty, but that’s

Canon Pixma MG6450 Canon Pixma

Synology DiskStation DS215+ Qnap TS-453mini

SECURITY SOFTWARE PRODUCTIVITY SOFTWARE CREATIVITY SOFTWARE

Avast Free Norton Security LibreOffice 5 Scrivener Adobe Steinberg

SERVERS STORAGE APPLIANCES SECURITY

HP ProLiant ML150 Gen9 Synology RackStation RS2416RP+ Sophos Cloud

BUSINESS PRINTERS BACKUP NETWORK MANAGEMENT

1&1 CLOUD SERVER

TEST THE TOP PERFORMER

0333 336 5509

LOCATION London ■ Game on

RIGHT Kelly Sumner

There are now cloud was brilliant, but Goel was

the cowboy selected would almost invariably be waiting

in the drones with it, and I certainly wouldn’t have gone

Enfew Sffgf Sjf

fee fndbd gv Android devices). Neither does Apple when

gffv sv Gfffns devices, not companies’ servers. WhatsApp

100% guaranteed Smart SSD storage Dedicated SSL

Web Hosting from:

Call 0333 0142 708

■ What part did your qualifications play in helping you get

alphabetically, as with Windows

Free app on phone

subscriber queries, contact [email protected], Create you

entrepre from tech Turn this

call 0845 126 0386 or visit subsinfo.co.uk

Crystal-clear guidance succession, and creates run-on