Home//APC/June 2018/In This Issue
APC|June 2018Tech and trustToday’s big tech brands need the trust of their users in order for their products to operate fully. When you use a free product, you’re giving away some of your privacy in exchange, and this access to your data also allows (in theory) for deeper, more useful product personalisation. If we don’t trust Facebook, Google (and, to an extent, Microsoft) their ad-based business models would literally fall apart. While we’ll be taking an in-depth look at user privacy (and what you can do to safeguard yours) in a later issue of APC, most of the big tech companies don’t score very well — either because they collect too much data, or don’t do enough to protect it. In fact, Apple seems to be the only big tech company that doesn’t…2 min
APC|June 2018Major tech companies vow to prevent cyber warfareWhile US President Trump’s new national security advisor, John Bolton, has made clear that one of the ways to get back at Russia for meddling in US affairs is to launch “retaliatory cyber campaign”, major global corporations are determined to not let that happen. 34 global corporations, including Microsoft, Nokia, Cisco, HP and Facebook, have signed the Cybersecurity Tech Accord, a pledge to ally together and defend consumers against cyber attacks. The accord states that the coalition “will not help governments launch cyberattacks against innocent citizens and enterprises from anywhere”. The agreement will “empower civilians online” and “improve the security, stability and resilience of cyberspace”, with each company promising to not aid governments bolster their cyber capabilities. The companies have also promised to protect against “tampering and exploitation” of products…3 min
APC|June 2018gadgetsAMAZON ECHO SPOT Do you have a soft spot for smart speakers? $199 | AMAZON.COM.AU Smart speakers are pretty good at talking these days, but if a picture paints a thousand words, then Amazon’s new Echo Spot is the most ‘talkative’ smart speaker to land in Australia to date. As the first digital assistant to come with its own built-in screen, the Echo Spot is able to show you anything from the weather to your calendar, in addition to all the handy features your existing smart speaker can do. The touchscreen can even be synced up to security cameras, baby monitors and your smartphone contacts to help you keep an eye on the important things in your life. Plus, it looks quite swish. JB EMBRACE SMART MIRROR Tech…4 min
APC|June 2018Head to head: Mobile CPUsWith the arrival of mobile variants of AMD’s Ryzen chips and laptop variants of Intel’s 8th-gen Core CPUs, there’s some serious competition in the portable processor market. That’s good news, and with it comes a few questions. For instance, does AMD’s Zen architecture work as well on the move as it does on the desktop? And who makes the best processor for a wide range of portable applications? We’ll also try to make sense of how these chips fit into the idiotic array of CPUs that Intel has drawn together under that ‘8th Gen’ banner. Round 1 PRODUCT RANGE AND BRANDING For some time, the weakest element of Intel’s operation has involved branding, marketing and product positioning. The underlying hardware has been fantastic. However, the problem has extended beyond the…6 min
APC|June 2018The Internet of Things leaves privacy and security behindWhen you unbox a Samsung smart TV and turn it on for the first time, companies including Google, Facebook, Netflix, Spotify and more are alerted to the occasion. And that’s before you’ve logged in or even expressed an interest in using any of those services: the TV does all this automatically. The Internet of Things is meant to streamline our domestic lives and, let’s just admit it, make us feel like the Jetsons. But according to a new tool created by Princeton University’s computer science department, a whole range of IoT devices pose significant privacy and security risks. And while the Samsung example above probably won’t ring alarm bells for most (who doesn’t already volunteer all their intimate information with Google and Facebook?), it’s the shadier and more ambiguous ways…3 min
APC|June 2018Quantum simulatorsTo help understand how quantum computers work, there are a large number of simulators. There’s no way that you can simulate one efficiently, but if you want to understand the underlying principles then many of these are excellent. The first one that’s worth exploring is a Bloch sphere simulator. Without having at least a rudimentary understanding of the Bloch sphere, you’ll have trouble understanding what the gates do. Learn more about it at: eecs.ceas.uc.edu/~cahaymm/blochsphere There are many more simulators — most of them are the results of PhD thesis work. For that reason, most of them are not active, only good starts. The few mentioned here are useful for self-education. The JQuantum simulator looks and behaves like a quantum score. Using it is a little cumbersome, but if you’re practising…1 min
APC|June 2018HTC Vive ProVR HEADSET $1,199 (HEADSET ONLY); $1,999 (BUNDLE) | VIVE.COM/AU The HTC Vive has always been the leading virtual reality experience when it comes to room-scale immersion. Although rival headsets such as the Oculus Rift have since expanded to help you physically move around, and the PlayStation VR does it to a point, no other headset has quite been able to replicate what the Vive offers. TECH ME ON HTC is now launching the Vive Pro, an upgraded headset with higher-res displays and a more ergonomic design. On the tech side, there are two big changes. First is an increase in pixels, climbing to 2,880 x 1,600 (1,440 x 1,600 per eye) and representing a 78% increase from the original. Second is high-res audio headphones built into the headset.…7 min
APC|June 2018MSI GE63 8RF-089AUGAMING LAPTOP $2,999 | AU.MSI.COM The GE line has traditionally been MSI’s value gaming-laptop proposition — offering a well-rounded set of powerful components in a package that isn’t cutting edge, but which also won’t cost a fortune. This year’s update keeps the tradition going with a minor price drop, CPU upgrade and some RGB lighting synchronisation. At 2.8cm thick, this range wedges itself into a gaming-specific size bracket with ample internal space for the device’s 8th-gen Intel CPU, dedicated Nvidia GPU and 16GB of memory. A 1080p 120Hz screen was the big new feature on last year’s GE63, and the speedy screen’s return is definitely still a highlight. Mind you, that screen doesn’t have an ideal colour gamut for editing photos or working on design projects, at just…3 min
APC|June 2018ViewSonic VP3881ULTRAWIDE MONITOR $1,699 | WWW.VIEWSONIC.COM/AU Ever since the first 21:9-aspect monitor rolled out five or so years ago, the super-wide format has been about as polarising as it gets with flat panels. Some loved it for its cinematic sizzle, others trash-talked the limited vertical resolution and consequent poor productivity proposition. Each successive generation has upped the ante in terms of vertical resolution. ViewSonic’s VP3881 is a 38-inch monster with no fewer than 1,600 vertical pixels. Thanks to that 21:9 aspect, the horizontal count clocks in at 3,840. In other words, this is a 21:9 respin of the 3,840 x 2,160 standard — 4K or UHD. However you slice it, the VP3881 packs a reasonable number of vertical pixels and, in turn, productivity chops for viewing docs. With this…3 min
APC|June 2018HyperX Alloy Elite RGBMECHANICAL GAMING KEYBOARD $259 | WWW.HYPERXGAMING.COM Nigh on 12 months ago, we took a look at the Alloy Elite and noted that this gaming keyboard’s “feature innovation” rested solely on single-colour LEDs, media controls and a snap-on palmrest. Zoom to now and we’re cranking out this review on what is essentially the exact same board, but with flashier rainbow colours. And we’re perfectly OK with that, thanks to how bloody well the Alloy Elite RGB is built. Weighing almost three packs of mince (1.47kg), the RGB’s solid steel frame is fully up to the task of just sitting in the one spot on your desk. There’s a generously large wrist rest that clips on the fore edge and keeps the overall ramp angle and typing position comfy. Just…1 min
APC|June 2018Razer Nommo Chroma“The result is a good-sounding pair of speakers that don’t break the bank.” 2.0 PC SPEAKER SET $249 | WWW2.RAZER.COM/AU-EN If you’re in the market for a new pair of computer speakers, there’s a slim chance you’ll find anything as cool as the Nommo Chromas — these stereo speakers with RGB underlighting take the boxy form factor we’re used to and flip it on its head. The result is a good-sounding pair of speakers that don’t break the bank — the entry-level models, the Razer Nommos and the Razer Nommo Chromas only cost $169 and $249, respectively. If you’re looking for a little more power, then the Nommo Pros add tweeters, a separate subwoofer and an inline remote (with AU pricing yet to be announced). The Goldilocks of…3 min
APC|June 2018App Store » iOS APPS321 Launch It’s not rocket science any more. FREE | WWW.321LAUNCHAPP.COM It’s easy to be fascinated by the vast expanse that is the dark void beyond Earth’s atmosphere, and one way to learn more about space exploration is via USA Today’s new app. 321 Launch is an augmented reality app that walks you through building your own rocket and launching. You can even get a live feed to an actual launch when it happens. The Launch Simulation part of the app is easy to use and well crafted. You’ll need a flat surface to build your base station and then drag-and-drop virtual pieces to get it all together. Each step comes with its own narration and information panel, making it appropriate for all ages. Once assembled, hit the…2 min
APC|June 2018AMD RYZES AGAINIt’s not an understatement to say that AMD smashed it out of the park with 2017’s release of the multi-headed Hydra that was the Ryzen CPU range. The company’s long-term strategy of releasing CPUs with ever-more cores finally paid off, releasing six- and eight-cored beasts at the same price as Intel’s quad-cored chips, dealing Intel a heavy blow when it came to applications that could make use of so many cores. Ryzen also added SMT, or Simultaneous Multithreading, a technology very similar to Intel’s HyperThreading, allowing each core to handle two threads at once. Add in a very healthy improvement when it came to Instructions Per Cycle (IPC) compared to its last chips, and we finally had a CPU war raging once again. While Intel still retained a slight lead…7 min
APC|June 2018Gigabyte X470 Aorus Gaming 5 Wi-Fi$349 | WWW.GIGABYTE.COM.AU 6 x SATA 6Gbps; 2 x M.2; 10 x USB ports on I/O port; 11-phase power; Realtek ALC1220 codec; 802.11ac Wi-Fi It’s not easy buying a motherboard at the best of the times, what with them all promising almost identical features and claiming to all have the same benefits over each other. Things get even harder when you’re trying to select between two ‘boards made by the same company, in the same range, such as this one, which goes up against the X470 Aorus Gaming 7 Wi-Fi (right). The obvious difference here is the price. At $100 cheaper than the Gaming 7, this is around a third cheaper than its big brother. So we can immediately assume that the hedge trimmers have been taken to…3 min
APC|June 2018A Pi bot’s potentialThe Raspberry Pi was launched six years ago, and since then, it has grown into something amazing. We’ve seen four different major versions (Zero, 1, 2 and 3), and a couple of minor versions, most recently the powerful 3 B+ which launched in March. Online Pi retailer ModMyPi.com was there at the beginning, and was good enough to lend us some treats for this feature. Founder Jacob Marsh offers his take on the Pi’s remarkable success. “I didn’t realise that the Raspberry Pi would grow to what it is now, I don’t think even the Pi Foundation did. ModMyPi was conceived in a university bedroom. Now we have a global e-shop with more than 2,000 product lines, a $5.5 million turnover, seven full-time staff, and a 300 square metre warehouse…2 min
APC|June 2018Building a Pi robot1 ORGANISE YOUR WORKSPACE We know how tempting it is to just dive right in and spill the contents of all the bags over your already messy desk. Don’t do this. Instead, clear a nice workspace, read the instructions carefully and place all the tools you’ll need to one side. If you have to solder anything, then make sure this happens in a well-ventilated area, and have some desoldering wick to hand. 2 FIX THE MOUNTS The motors will usually attach to the underside of the chassis by way of some angled brackets. Find the right holes and attach these brackets with the appropriate nuts and bolts. The DiddyBorg uses metal posts to secure the brackets. Don’t forget to add washers if your chassis needs them. These help to distribute…2 min
APC|June 2018Kit out your robotA simple Pi robot needs little more than a chassis, power source and wheels. But things are more fun when you kit the base construction out with some additional peripherals. We can use well-known Pi peripherals, such as the camera and the touchscreen, in new and innovative ways, or we can use other items — sensors, speakers, servos and more – to really ramp up the excitement levels. GRAB YOURSELF A CONTROLLER Controlling a robot via a web interface is all well and good, but even on a fast network, you’ll experience some degree of latency, which will make driving a little haphazard. A wired controller will work reliably, but obviously, this won’t be much use if you can’t keep up with your robot. With a Bluetooth controller, you can…5 min
APC|June 2018A DEEP DIVE INTO GoogleWhen you think of Google, search engines and emails may come to mind, but there is a lot more to the company than just these runaway successes. It is true that Google dominates search and email, but did you know that YouTube is owned and powered by Google? In fact, so are many other online services that you may already be aware of. Over time, Google has grown from a company that provides the best search engine on the internet to one that can power almost every aspect of our computing lives. Google now provides the most popular email service in the world and enables people to store billions of documents online. It provides ultra-fast broadband and the operating system for the most popular smartphones — it sometimes feels that…4 min
APC|June 2018The mobile revolutionAndroid as we know it today has become the dominant mobile operating system in a market that has been greatly expanded over the past decade. Smartphones and tablets are ubiquitous around the world and Android is well placed to cater for more people than any other platform out there. Google offers Android to any hardware developer that would like to build devices running it, and because of this, we have a plethora of phones and tablets at all price ranges that offer a similar experience. In many ways, it doesn’t matter if Android is running on a budget device or a premium, because the core of the experience will remain the same. Millions of apps are available via Google Play and a range of Google services are designed to work…2 min
APC|June 2018Android everywhereThe logical extension for Android is to take the already mobile form of the smartphone and miniaturise the experience so that you can access the most important features from your wrist. Android Wear devices are essentially watches, but they also do much more than simply tell the time. New emails, messages and notifications will immediately be sent to the watch so that you never miss anything and you can also measure your heartbeat and steps when exercising. You can check the weather, track flights and navigate without ever touching your phone. Just like the main Android operating system, multiple manufacturers have got involved and we now have a variety of Android Wear watches available in all sorts of styles. However, the variety of such devices is fairly limited Down Under,…1 min
APC|June 2018The history of Android continued2013 Thousands of Androids In 2013, it was estimated that there were 11,898 different Android devices available. 2013 50 billion installs Google announced 50 billion app installs from Google Play. 2013 1 million apps 1 millions apps available in Google Play as of July 2013. 2015 Marshmallow Android M was revealed. 2015 On the Edge The innovative Galaxy S6 Edge was released by Samsung in April. 2016 Android 7.0 Nougat is released allowing multiple apps to be open onscreen simultaneously. 2017 Android Oreo The latest Android OS is released. 2018 Android P The next Android OS is teased. (We’re betting on ‘Popcorn’.)…1 min
APC|June 2018ChromecastThe Chromecast is an extremely well-priced accessory that plugs into the back of a TV. Your Android device can then stream films and video clips to it wirelessly to offer a much better experience than watching on a phone or tablet. On top of this, you can ‘cast’ apps to the TV as well and enjoy games as you would with a dedicated games console. Viewing photos is easy and the actual Chromecast app will display a series of customisable photos on the TV when you’re not using it. Support for Netflix, YouTube, Optus Sport and other well-known services is included to round off a complete feature set. The setup process is simple and the system works reliably, which makes it one of the most useful accessories available for your…1 min
APC|June 2018Driverless carsWhen you think of a driverless car, the immediate thoughts tend to turn to safety and not having to make any effort when navigating long journeys. These are valid thoughts and potentially beneficial, but are nothing in comparison to the scope of what Google is trying to do with its Self-Driving Car Project. As it stands, driving is one of the most dangerous, costly and inefficient forms of travel available to us, yet millions of us would struggle without a car. If you visualise a future where driverless cars are commonplace, you can then start to put the pieces together to see where Google is going. Cars that can communicate with each other can each find the most efficient route for every journey. They will always be aware of other…1 min
APC|June 2018Remove Windows 10’s pre-installed appsWindows 10 comes with a number of apps already installed, and while these are designed to help you get started with your new laptop or PC as quickly as possible, you may find that you will never use many of these apps. So rather than keeping them, and having them clog up your Start menu and take up precious space on your PC, you can uninstall them. In this guide, we’ll show you how to find all the pre-installed Windows 10 apps, and help you decide which ones you don’t need. We’ll then show you how to safely remove them from your machine. Also, if you’ve recently bought a PC or laptop, then you may find that the manufacturer has also installed some apps of their own that you will…1 min
APC|June 2018View those PDFs, and annotate too1 OPEN IN EDGE If you often deal with PDFs, it’s possible that Adobe Reader is installed on your PC and will open if you double-click a PDF. To open a PDF in Edge, right-click the file, choose ‘Open with > Edge’. If you like Edge and want to open PDFs in it every time, right-click the file, select ‘Open with > Choose Another App’. Select Edge, then tick the ‘Always use this app...’ box. 2 HIGHLIGHT TEXT One thing you can do with a PDF is annotate it, highlighting part of it and leaving your opinion in a pop-up note to send back to the document’s creator. While PDFs aren’t directly editable, you can save these notes back into the document. To leave a note, select some text then…3 min
APC|June 2018Organise your apps1 GESTURES Swipe with two fingers to slide between pages of apps, hold down Opt/Alt to automatically enter the organisation mode (where the apps quiver and allow you to move them around). Do a four-finger reverse pinch to exit Launchpad quickly, or tap Escape on your keyboard. 2 HIDE APPS Hide unwanted apps by installing the free System Preferences add-on, which is available from chaosspace.de/ launchpad-control 3 FOLDERS Arrange your apps into folders by clicking and dragging one app onto another. This will create a folder that is automatically named for you. Rename the folder by clicking on its title and typing over the highlighted text. 4 PAGES Each dot represents a different page of apps inside Launchpad. You can navigate between pages by swiping with two fingers, or quickly…1 min
APC|June 2018Undisturbed MacDo Not Disturb is also a feature of macOS and can be useful as it enables you to focus on a task without notifications distracting you by appearing at the top right of your screen. The fast way to toggle it is to hold Alt and click the menu bar’s rightmost icon; it will dim when Do Not Disturb is active. Do Not Disturb will stay on until you manually turn it off, or else until midnight or the next scheduled time to turn off (you can change these settings in Notifications Preferences).…1 min
APC|June 2018How to use gestures to navigate on iPad“Enable Multitasking Gestures by going to Settings, then General, and tapping the slider.“ 1 TAP Tapping is the main way you will navigate your iPad. To open an app, you must tap it from your Home screen, for example. You’ll mainly be tapping the iPad to select things like web links in Safari, songs in Music or pictures in Photos. You’ll also need to tap to type on the on-screen keyboard when it appears in numerous apps such as Mail, Messages, Reminders and Notes. 2 SCROLL Scrolling is when you drag your finger up or down the iPad’s screen. This is most useful when the iPad can’t fit all the information on one screen, so you need to slide your finger up to move the screen down and vice versa.…4 min
APC|June 2018The zenith of high-end builds?THE CONCEPT It’s good to have some competition back in the industry once again. Seriously, how long were we plodding on with mainstream quad-core processors? Over eight years? Staggering. The reality is that the computing industry thrives on competition, and as years pass, and more and more manufacturers hit the dirt, the likelihood of us ever seeing such a large paradigm shift again — certainly when it comes to processor performance — is slim at best. AMD’s Zen architecture is, without a doubt, the catalyst for the retirement of that mainstream staple quad-core part. And with it, we’ve seen an accelerated processor arms race between the two top chip manufacturers. As Intel scrambles to try to reclaim the consumer multithreaded performance title, with six-core parts on sale now, and eight-core…5 min
APC|June 2018Alternative approachesSamba is easy to set up and it works across operating systems. It can also be used to share printers over a network using the CUPS service, which is easy to install. NFS also offers benefits for Linux users. Chief of these is that a user’s Home directory can be served over the network via NFS — handy for thin client devices, while storage devices such as optical drives can be accessed as if the user is sat at that remote machine. Installing NFS is simple, and there’s a guide at help.ubuntu.com/community/SettingUpNFSHowTo that will work with Raspbian. If all of this file server talk has sparked an interest, then we recommend using Diet Pi (dietpi.com). It comes with an automatic install script for many different file servers, Pi-Hole and other…1 min
APC|June 2018Machine Learning 101The concept of ‘artificial intelligence’ is driving almost everything at the moment, from cars to healthcare to smart speakers to smart farming. Yet, we say ‘concept of’ because artificial intelligence itself has become a bit of a ‘catch-all’ phrase for anything to do with computers and learning. Nevertheless, when Google recently announced it was transitioning into an “AI-first” company, much of that focus is being trained on the field of ‘machine learning’. It’s one of the top hot-button topics in the tech world at the moment and the scene of vast amounts of university research. However, what we love about machine learning is that it’s also an intensely practical field — this intersection of computer science, statistics and mathematics is being applied to problems in a seemingly endless array of…11 min
APC|June 2018Metal Gear SurvivePC, PS4, XO | $69.95 WWW.KONAMI.COM Despite the troubled circ*mstances of its development, this isn’t as far away from a classic Metal Gear game as it seems. The strangest thing is how much a game marketed as a co-op experience actually focuses on its surprisingly robust single-player mode. Survive stars a grunt in the private army of Big Boss. Following the events of ‘Ground Zeroes’, your character is left for dead. A mysterious character called Goodluck recruits you to travel into a parallel dimension ruled by a parasitic life-form that turns the dead into crystallised nasties. You have to make your way home and rescue survivors. It’s is still a stealth game, lifting the highly praised mechanics of The Phantom Pain and transplanting them into a horror-themed survival…1 min
APC|June 2018chip chatThe King of Kong has lost his crown Mitchell stripped of gaming titles. Billy Mitchell, best known as “that guy from the King of Kong documentary that nobody was rooting for”, has been discovered to be undeserving of his Guinness World Record and gaming titles. An investigation into his highest scores in the arcade games Donkey Kong (in which he was the first to score over one million points), Donkey Kong Jr and Pac-Man (where he achieved the world-first perfect score from 1999) has revealed that the scores were attained on a machine using the Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator (MAME) and not an authentic arcade machine. This being against the Twin Galaxies rules (the organisation that verifies information for Guinness World Records), Mitchell has subsequently been stripped of his world…3 min
APC|June 2018number crunchUS$25 million FORTNITE’S BATTLE ROYALE FOR iOS RAKED IN BIG DOLLARS IN THE U.S. OVER ITS FIRST MONTH While PlayerUnknown’s BattleGrounds’ might be considered the first game to make ‘battle royale’ gameplay mainstream, Fortnite took the popularity of the mode and ran with it — and has managed to gain some serious traction. In its first 30 days, the iOS version has managed to rake in over US$25 million, according to analytics company SensorTower, which predicts it could be grossing more than US$500 million by the end of the year. 5% NUMBER OF WEBSITES STILL USING FLASH PLAYER In July 2017, Adobe officially announced that it will be retiring its Flash technology by 2020, but it may be gone well before then, with less than 5% of websites worldwide still…2 min
APC|June 2018Samsung Galaxy S9+While phone makers and operating system developers of dubious numeracy skip straight from eight to ten, Samsung stays strong and gives us the Samsung Galaxy S9+ (sans notch, even). Only a teardown will tell if this phone is a true contender, or just a weird AR Emoji machine. MAJOR TECH SPECS: ■ Notchless 6.2-inch AMOLED display with resolution of 2,960 x 1,440 (570 ppi) ■ Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 or Samsung’s Exynos 9810, depending on location ■ 12MP OIS dual-aperture main cam — f/1.5 and f/2.4 modes — plus a 12MP 2x optical zoom secondary camera, and 8MP selfie cam ■ Headphone jack and microSD slot ■ IP68 water/dust-proofing rating ■ Android 8.0 Oreo KEY FINDINGS: ■ While it’s no S4, the S9 is a welcome respite from our more recent…2 min
APC|June 2018And the winner is...Despite our reservations regarding the way it markets and positions its products, the overall result is clear. Intel wins. For the most part, that reflects Intel’s much broader product offering. AMD has a single APU die that does duty for its entire range of mobile processors. It does not, for instance, offer any ultra-low voltage parts. Strictly speaking, Intel’s 8th Gen Mobile range only consists of 10 models, and it too lacks models designed to go into the thinnest and lightest of portables. But it’s still a broader and more capable range of mobile processors. That gap will only grow as Intel further fills out the 8th Gen family with more and more models. On a similar note, there are simply far more Intel-powered laptops to choose from. Whatever you…1 min
APC|June 2018Riding the quantum revolutionQuantum computing has caught the attention of large companies, academics and hobbyists alike. This article will cover the history, the different ways to make a quantum computer and the logic behind programming. You’ll also learn about some programming toolkits that you can use to get started. To run a quantum computer, the physics has to be understood so programmers can then manipulate and measure the final results. Scientists have observed quantum effects in photons, electrons and isotopes of many materials. This means engineers use superconducting materials such as niobium and aluminium to construct workable quantum computing systems. The logic gates are made of silicon wafers and are controlled using microwave emitters. These solutions may not be the best in the long run, but they’re the ones that are running now.…10 min
APC|June 2018Toolkits from the big guysTo program yourself requires the standard called OpenQASM. This is the basis for all development kits. Many groups have developed toolkits using this standard. The best known ones are from IBM, D-Wave and Microsoft. IBM decided to use Python to create Qiskit, and you can download this kit from Github. It also has many sources and demonstration collections available. You can learn all about the current development state from there. In both Eclipse and Netbeans, all you need to do is import the code into a project and explore. Don’t forget to install Python 3.5 or higher before you try to compile. IBM’s QE has these examples in their Python toolkit. When you have the sources installed, you can only run simulations on your own computer. If you want to…1 min
APC|June 2018Samsung 970 EvoNVME SSD FROM $161 (250GB) | WWW.SAMSUNG.COM/AU For the last few years, Samsung’s Evo family of NVMe solid-state drives have been ranked as the best SSD by us and many in the industry. Though these drives have never been the fastest, they’re hardly the most expensive — putting them in a middle ground for flash storage that’s five times faster than a typical SATA drive while still being affordable. The prices of Samsung’s NVMe drives have been going down steadily with each successive generation, and thankfully that trend continues with the 970 line. Three years and an equal number of iterations later, the Samsung 970 Evo continues to hold on to that crown. With vastly quicker sequential write speeds, this is incredibly fast, even compared to most modern…2 min
APC|June 2018ASUS RoG Zephyrus M GM501GAMING LAPTOP $3,599 | WWW.ASUS.COM/AU Six-core Intel CPU, Nvidia GTX 1070 graphics, IPS panel with 144Hz refresh and G-Sync support... On paper, ASUS’s latest RoG gaming laptop has all the makings of a high-frame-rate portable powerhouse. But like any laptop, what matters is the detailed implementation. ASUS says the thermal design of the chassis has been carefully tweaked since the previous model. The overall thickness is maintained, but the volumes have been optimised, and the number of thermal fin outlets has increased to four to improve heat dissipation. When the screen lid is lifted, a section of the chassis bottom levers open to raise the entire laptop by 9mm, which allows air to flow through the keyboard and maximise circulation. Nice. Speaking of the keyboard, it’s fully RGB…3 min
APC|June 2018MSI B350i Pro ACAMD 300-SERIES MOTHERBOARD $169 | AU.MSI.COM An ITX Ryzen mobo, with a fantastic overclocking solution, and a kick-ass feature set, all on the B350 chipset. Wait, what? The understated brown PCB, the sub-high-end chipset, the simple, unsophisticated black heatsinks — it all mars an otherwise fantastic assembly of prime components designed to push the Ryzen ITX form factor to new heights. What’s so good about the B350i Pro AC? It all comes down to the power-phase design. There are nine phases in total here (with the closest competing ITX board housing a meager six in contrast), which helps provide the additional grunt needed to balance the power from a Ryzen core. At stock, the MSI B350i Pro topped our X265, Cinebench R15 Multi, Fry Render and AIDA64 memory…3 min
APC|June 2018HyperX Pulsefire Surge RGBOPTICAL GAMING MOUSE $109 | WWW.HYPERXGAMING.COM With this second mouse from HyperX, the rising star of gaming-peripherals has honed its focus while sprinkling on some welcome flourish. While the overall profile is flatter than the company’s first mouse, the Pulsefire FPS, the generally pared-back design and matte-black aesthetic has remained much the same. The most immediate addition to the Surge is its lighting capabilities, showcased by its 360º halo, which can be customised via HyperX’s NGenuity software. The latter’s intuitive and comprehensive, and also allows for the modification of DPI settings, button configurations (including ambidextrous support) and macro management. You can save up to three profiles to the on-board memory for on-the-fly adjustment. The customisation lets you tweak precise DPIs and configure specific lighting zones, if you desire.…1 min
APC|June 2018Windows SOFTWARECyberLink Screen Recorder 3 Deluxe Recording, streaming and editing in one package. $69.99 | WWW.CYBERLINK.COM CyberLink Screen Recorder 3 (SR3) is clear and straightforward, even for total beginners, but at the same time is also surprisingly powerful once you drill into the more advanced options. There’s no shortage of premium screen recording and streaming apps for serious gamers and vloggers, but until now, there’s been a substantial gap between these expensive programs and their free alternatives, which often apply watermarks to your videos or impose time limits, and lack advanced features like picture-in-picture. SR3 gets the basics right, making it easy to capture your entire screen, a specific app (useful for presentations and video tutorials) or a custom area. Moreover, you can also record games with hardware acceleration,…2 min
APC|June 2018Google Play » ANDROIDEdge Action Choice (short)cuts FREE WITH IAP | TINYURL.COM/APC455-EDGE Eyeing off the fancy Samsung Galaxy S9 with its fancy pants edge panel swipe system? Well, close your cycloptic eye, there’s an app that’ll achieve the same result — Edge Action. Simply swipe from the very edge of your Android’s screen and a shortcut panel appears, overlaying the rest of your screen . It’s actually seven shortcuts in one, from most frequent contacts to your favourite apps, quick tools, calendar and more. There are some superfluous functions in there, like the quick tools — Bluetooth toggle, airplane mode and so on — which you can find by swiping down from the top of your screen, and since there are seven shortcut panels, it’s probably quicker to simply go into…3 min
APC|June 2018ASRock X470 Taichi“This is the only board in the roundup to include eight SATA 3 ports.” $339 | WWW.ASROCK.COM 8 x SATA 6Gbps ports; 2 x M.2 PCIe x4; 8 x rear USB ports; ASRock Polychrome RGB lighting Who says you need to blow the bank to have a good night out on the town (or sitting at your desk playing games)? ASRock has yet again upped the ante when it comes to value, with this exceptionally affordable motherboard keeping up with those that cost up to 30% more, in both performance and features. There’s no need to cover the physical PCIe lanes, as they’re the same on every motherboard in this roundup. However, the top two x16 lanes have some of the sturdiest steel reinforcement we’ve seen; if only…2 min
APC|June 2018Gigabyte X470 Auros Gaming 7 Wi-Fi$449 | WWW.GIGABYTE.COM.AU 10 x USB ports; 802.11ac Wi-Fi; Intel Gigabit Ethernet; twin M.2 PCIe 3.0 x4 slots; extensive heat shielding The first thing you’ll notice when unpacking this motherboard is how damn heavy it is. Gigabyte has equipped it with arguably the finest air-cooled heatsinks of any X470 motherboard. An array of aluminium fins around the CPU’s power components are connected via heatpipes, and are backed up by a thick steel plate behind the board. Both M.2 slots also come with heatsinks, and they’re nice and chunky, unlike the slithers of aluminium often seen on other ‘boards. “There’s just a single automatic overclock button, along with two BIOS sliders.” The net result should be a ‘board that can handle the additional heat pumped out by tweakers with…2 min
APC|June 2018Robot PlatformsWe’ll concentrate on bread-and-butter software, namely Raspbian and Python, but there are a number of interesting platforms than can be run on top of, alongside or instead of these. One such platform is Robot OS (ROS, see www.ros.org) which isn’t really an operating system at all, but more of a middleware. ROS is a BSD-licensed project with thousands of contributors worldwide. It can be built from source for Raspbian, but since it provides packages for the Pi edition of Ubuntu MATE, that’s the preferred base. ROS aims to be truly general-purpose robot software that works on many platforms and encourages collaboration. We’re also impressed with the work of Dexter Industries (www.dexterindustries.com),which makes the GoPiGo robot car. This is a kit designed for the classroom, and is programmed using Bloxter, a…1 min
APC|June 2018Keep your robot busy“If your robot has a camera attached, then you can stream the video for a delightful first-person video driving experience.” Having constructed our Diddy, we wanted to know more about what it could do. Not content with making glorious hardware, PiBorg also provides some great code examples to get you started. These will need some tweaking to work on other hardware, but should give you some idea of how to talk to the hardware in Python. Robot kits will provide scripts to deal with all the low-level communication. In our case this is all done through the ThunderBorg.py file (see www.piborg.org/blog/build/thunderborg-build/thunderborg-examples). This handles all the raw I2C coding, so you don’t need to worry about that, and provides much more human-friendly functions such as SetMotor1() , which sets the speed…5 min
APC|June 2018Watch the skiesSo far, we’ve managed to keep our feet/wheels/caterpillar tracks on the ground, but we think we should finish our robotic journey with a brief foray into the world of drones. Keeping a drone in the air is a complicated business. Each motor has to be able to respond as close to instantly to changes in orientation. These are detected by a three-axis accelerometer. Other instrumentation is required, too: gyroscopes, servos and, of course, motors to keep the propellers turning and generate lift. A vanilla Linux Kernel isn’t built to respond within such operational deadlines as this, so it’s common for drones to run a real-time OS (RTOS) such as NuttX, or indeed a proprietary OS. The Linux kernel can be tweaked to get closer to such response times though. The…2 min
APC|June 2018History of Google1998 It’s born Larry Page and Sergey Brin founded Google on 4th September 1998. 1999 Google get their first office dog, Yoshka. 2003 Google AdSense announced. 2004 Time to go public The company grew and became public in August 2004. 2004 Gmail is born Gmail was launched on 1st April 2004 and now has 900 million users. 2006 YouTube acquired Google bought YouTube for $1.65 billion in October 2006. 2009 Chrome announced. 2012 Google Fibre Google Fibre was launched in 2012 to provide ultrahigh-speed broadband. 2015 Getting bigger Google announced revenues of $17.7 billion in the second quarter of 2015. 2016 Google launch their first self-made phone, the Google Pixel. 2017 Google Home Google’s new voice-controlled device is launched.…1 min
APC|June 2018The history of AndroidWhether you were aware of Google’s global prowess or not, one thing is abundantly clear, its mobile operating system — Android — is currently the most used across the globe. Here’s a brief history of the story so far... 2003 Android Inc In 2003, Android Inc was created by Andy Rubin. 2005 Google buys Android Google bought Android Inc and its key staff in July 2005. 2006 LG Prada announced. 2007 The Open Handset Alliance The Open Handset Alliance, which included Google, announced itself in 2007. 2008 Revealed to operate on Linux. 2008 The first Android phone The HTC Dream, powered by Android, was launched in 2008. 2010 The first Google phone Launched in 2010, the Nexus One was the first Google branded phone. 2011 Ice Cream Sandwich OS released.…1 min
APC|June 2018Android tabletsInitially, Android tablets struggled to compete in terms of apps available and even the suitability of each app. Many were simply stretched to fit the larger screen and this led to concerns about usability. But app developers were relatively quick to embrace Android tablets and create apps that were worthy of the platform. Samsung and other manufacturers then jumped on board, and today, we have a vast array of tablets available that push the boundaries of what a mobile device can do. If you want a mobile experience that’s close to a full computer in your hand, a tablet is the ideal way to go.…1 min
APC|June 2018Google Pixel 2The Google Pixel phones run a clean version of Android that Google has not loaded up with extra apps and features. Most manufacturers like to include their own software and hardware tweaks in order to appeal to as many people as possible, but it is often the case that all of this extra baggage actually reduces the effectiveness of the device itself by clogging it up. In the Pixel 2, Google is offering pure Android with a 5-inch HD display (or 6-inch OLED for the Pixel 2 XL). While the upgraded models boast faster internals, it’s the photography chops that really shine here, with the 12.2MP rear camera capable of replacing most point-and-shoot cams. The battery is huge, which means fewer charges, and the speakers aren’t too shabby either. The…1 min
APC|June 2018DronesDrones are currently receiving a lot of attention — much of it is quite negative — but the potential future uses for this technology are actually very positive. Google has already started testing drones in Project Wing to deliver goods to customers, which would potentially greatly speed up receipt and also cut a lot of waste out of the traditional delivery systems we still use today. It sounds bizarre, but Google has tested delivering a package using a drone, which lowers the package by a type of fishing line from 45m in the air. This type of technology would be ideal for so many of the items that we purchase currently and will likely be more environmentally friendly and safer as well. Concerns remain over safety and the privacy implications…2 min
APC|June 2018Project JacquardSome projects sound so farfetched that they cannot possibly be true, but this one is. The idea is for conductive yarns to be sewn into clothing and the like in order to create a surface that can be used to undertake tasks by touch alone. When more are added, they become sensor grids and the potential for this technology is immense. Imagine being able to act on notifications by touching your collar or tapping your trousers inconspicuously. It’s all possible with Project Jacquard and especially so because work is being done to produce the technology at a large scale, which means that, one day, you may be able to pay for things and scan tickets just by walking up to a counter. With no effort whatsoever, a lot of what…1 min
APC|June 2018Remove pre-installed Windows 10 apps1 WHAT APPS CAN YOU EASILY UNINSTALL? When you first use Windows 10, you’ll see a number of pre-installed apps. Many of these can be removed quite easily, while others are more complicated. The easily-uninstalled apps are: Get Started, Get Skype, Get Office, Microsoft Solitaire Collection, Money, News, Phone Companion, Sports, Optional Features, Windows Media Player and Windows DVD Player. 2 QUICKLY UNINSTALL THESE APPS To remove the apps listed in Step 1, all you need to do is find their entries in the Start menu, right-click their icon, and select Uninstall. A small message will appear letting you know that the app, and any associated data, will be removed from your PC. If you’re happy to proceed, click Uninstall once again. The selected app will then be deleted from…2 min
APC|June 2018Organise macOS’s LaunchpadLaunchpad is another great feature, introduced by Mac OS X Lion, mirroring the functionality of Springboard on iOS. Springboard is the app launcher that you’ll find on your iPhone or iPad, which allows you to arrange icons for each of your apps across many Home screens and, if desired, nested into folders you create yourself. Every app you install appears automatically on your Home screen, and the same applies for apps installed on your Mac, with each finding its way onto your Launchpad. However, unlike the iPhone, the Mac App Store isn’t the only means of getting apps onto your Mac, so how do you add, remove and control these non-App Store apps? We’ve collected together a series of hints and tips to help you get the most out of…1 min
APC|June 2018How to1 ACTIVATE DO NOT DISTURB Open Settings and tap Do Not Disturb. Use the topmost switch to turn on the feature; on most iOS devices, a crescent moon is shown in the status bar when Do Not Disturb is active. 2 SCHEDULE QUIET TIME You can turn on Do Not Disturb from Control Centre by tapping the moon icon. You can also have it activate automatically during certain hours: turn on ‘Scheduled’ and tap the From/To box. 3 TURN IT ON A pair of rotating dials will appear, on which you can swipe up or down to set an hour and minute. The From row will be selected; use the dials to set the time when Do Not Disturb will turn itself on. 4 TURN IT OFF Tap the To…1 min
APC|June 2018Get to grips with Docker and app containersEven if you’re totally disconnected with the realm of mortal beings, you’d still surely have heard of Docker and how it can solve all your IT problems. If you have somehow managed to isolate yourself from experiencing the fruits of Docker’s goodness, here’s your chance to absolve yourself. Traditional virtualisation technologies provide full hardware virtualisation. This is to say that the virtual machine or hypervisor takes chunks of physical resources such as CPU, storage and RAM, and then slices them into virtual versions like virtual CPUs and virtual RAM. It then uses these virtual peripherals to build virtual machines that behave like regular physical computers. The isolated virtual environment is useful for testing a new distro, but is an overkill when all you need to virtualise is a single program.…11 min
APC|June 2018Ryzen shineA smattering of lighting, a few braided cables, sexy silver heat pipes, and some sleek tempered glass was all it took to raise this build to the heady heights of a premium PC. The hardware within is powerful, and more than capable of producing the results you need, both in game and out. But was it a breeze to build? There’s always some pitfall, right? Some unexpected, frustrating anomaly to deal with on these rigs. Surely, the H700i isn’t exempt from Murphy’s law? Actually, there wasn’t much in the way of problems this time around. Admittedly, it did take us longer than usual to put this beauty together, and that came down to two hiccoughs. First and foremost: the panels. Both the front and top fascias have the traditional plastic…2 min
APC|June 2018Turn your Android phone into a personal file/media serverPre-paid Android phones now are just super cheap — walk into a Coles supermarket and you can often walk out with a quad-core Android phone for as little as $29. The cheapest phone I’ve ever purchased was a Boost Indy, a pre-paid rebadged ZTE B816 4.0-inch dual-core Android 4.4 phone for just $19. Sure, it’s not an earth-shattering device and I don’t make phone calls with it, but a battery-powered dual-core computer with screen, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi for $19? That’s better value than a Raspberry Pi 3! Think of your phone as a computer and the instant change of mindset opens up the possibilities for pressing even cheap budget phones into many other applications. One example we’re looking at this month is turning your phone into a personal file server.…6 min
APC|June 2018God of WarPS4 | $94.95 | PLAYSTATION.COM/GODOFWAR It’s been many years since Kratos exacted bloody vengeance on the Gods of Olympus for tricking him into murdering his own family, and he’s changed in quite a dramatic way. The Spartan warrior has left Ancient Greece behind and is now living a peaceful life with new family in the Norse realm of gods and monsters. But it’s not just the Norse mythology setting that sets the new God of War apart from previous entries in the series — its action-focused gameplay has been completely deconstructed and reimagined, offering a new over-the-shoulder camera perspective and an axe-based combat system that keeps Kratos mostly grounded. He’s also got a companion along for his latest adventure, with his young son Atreus providing backup with his…2 min
APC|June 2018Age of Empires: Definitive EditionPC | $23 WWW.AGEOFEMPIRES.COM The first AoE introduced the world to Ensemble’s Warcraft-meets-Civilization concept and got a good two years in the spotlight before being outshone by its follow-up. Two decades since its launch and it’s been resurrected. Age of Empires: Definitive Edition is prettier and slicker, but it’s still not as good as its sequel. The visual upgrade is an overhaul rather than just a bit of HD polish, full of new art and animation, but it’s all in keeping with the original style. And it goes beyond aesthetics; the game’s simply cleaner and easier to parse. The result is that it certainly doesn’t look 20 years old, but neither does it look completely new. The systems that set it apart, things inspired by Civilization, were a…1 min
APC|June 2018Warhammer: Vermintide IIPC, PS4, XO | US$30 | WWW.VERMINTIDE.COM The original Vermintide was a delightful Left 4 Dead clone that put the fantasy trappings of the Warhammer universe to excellent use. Instead of boring old zombies, we got to battle hordes of ratmen called Skaven and instead of just shooting our way through, there was robust melee combat. Vermintide II is a massive overhaul that polishes what was there before to a fine sheen while adding huge amounts of variety. After halting the plans of Clan Fester in the original game, our heroes were captured. This game begins with you breaking out of captivity, in an elaborate tutorial level, just in time to discover that the Skaven have now joined forces with the barbarian Chaos Warriors from up north. Now…2 min
APC|June 2018Aussies are opting for faster NBN plans, but complaints still risingThe number of Aussies opting for the higher NBN speed tiers is increasing, according to the NBN Co’s March 2018 report. More than a million premises have signed up for high-speed broadband in the last four months alone. That equates to 37% of homes and businesses now on the NBN50 option, as compared to just 16% from March last year. NBN Co claims that this surge is due to lower wholesale prices that have allowed resellers (RSPs) to purchase more bandwidth. But while the price cuts have led to easy access to high-speed internet, it’s also increasing congestion during peak hours. According to the report, average network congestion is now higher than what it was in February. That’s not the only problem facing the NBN, though. The number of complaints…3 min
APC|June 2018AI and VR in the real worldBeyond the vivid imagination of Hollywood writers and computer game developers, AI and VR lead pretty peaceful lives. Rather than causing the annihilation of the human race (well, not yet anyway), AI is busily going about many useful tasks, from sifting through documents for certain terms to making up cookie recipes and sorting out Lego pieces. VR, too, has many uses for us squishy humans beyond gaming applications. In fact, it’s these alternative uses for the technology that are the most interesting at the present time. With both AI and VR lending a hand in the medical profession, crime fighting and education, it truly is an exciting area to explore. We’ve touched on virtual reality and artificial intelligence many times in this column, but what the hell, let’s do it…2 min
APC|June 2018Inside APCAPC is Australia’s oldest consumer technology magazine — having been consistently in print for over 35 years, since our first issue way back in May 1980 — and we take that heritage and responsibility very seriously. While our focus is obviously on the personal computer — it’s in our name, after all — the very definition of the PC has changed and shifted markedly since the early 1980s. As such, we touch on many other areas of tech too, from smartphones and apps to peripherals, accessories, online services and beyond. We have two main goals: to track down the best of modern tech and also to help our readers make the most of it. We’re also an open church in terms of platforms. We know most people aren’t wed to…2 min
APC|June 2018epinions“When the boss comes a-tapping, the little zone bubble needs to pop.” IN THE HEADPHONE ZONE I was talking with my husband the other day — he’s a graphic designer — and he mentioned a few unspoken rules that his office colleagues all adhere to. One of them in particular stuck out as something that I would dearly love to implement somehow in my own office: “If the headphones are on, I’m in the zone, don’t disturb me.” I unfortunately work in an office where interaction with my colleagues is part of the job, so there’s little opportunity for me to get ‘in the zone’ for a couple of hours and really smash out some work. Someone will inevitably tap me on the shoulder to talk about something... work-related or…2 min
APC|June 2018Encryption may be at riskOne big question is whether encryption systems are at risk with quantum computers. The major concern is the RSA encryption scheme. The scheme is secure because it relies on the condition that factoring a large number into its primes is too time-consuming. When trying to find the prime numbers, there are many strategies, so the simplest one is to guess and try. A trial and error approach isn’t practical, though, since a 2,048-bit number will have millions of solutions. Some strategies can reduce the number of possible solutions, but even the most powerful methods will take years or millions of years. With the right algorithms, a quantum computer could reduce that time to a practical level. Efforts are underway to create other algorithms that aren’t breakable this way. While this…1 min
APC|June 2018THE ORIGINS OF TODAY’S DRONES“Drones have flown into many professional and recreational areas in the last few years.” Thanks to a drop in manufacturing costs, and rapid advances in technology, drones have flown into many professional and recreational areas in the last few years. Drones are being used to help keep firefighters safe, assist rangers in spotting potential poachers, enable news gatherers to report from disaster zones, and keep maps up to date. There are also cinematographers who are using drones to replace traditional film-making equipment, enabling them to get shots that would be too dangerous and expensive to capture using a helicopter. But it’s not just the professionals who are using these devices. Drones are being embraced by non-pros, too, with the advent of drone racing and the impending invasion of throw-and-go flying…6 min
APC|June 2018Apple iMac Pro (Early 2018)“The only thing more amazing than the engineering feat of producing it is the price you might pay for one” ALL-IN-ONE COMPUTER FROM $7,299 | APPLE.COM/AU Apple has packed a workstation with up to an 18-core Xeon processor in a frame the exact size of the regular 5K iMac. The only thing more amazing than the engineering feat of producing it is the price you might pay for one. Apple provided us with a very high-end unit for our review, but the ‘basic’ $7,299 model offers an eight-core, 3.2GHz Intel Xeon processor, a less-potent 8GB AMD Vega 56 graphics card, 32GB of memory, and a 1TB SSD. It’s all hugely configurable — you are able to choose a 14-core processor (for an additional $2,560) or an 18-core option…3 min
APC|June 2018Dell Latitude 52902-IN-1 FROM $3,696 | WWW.DELL.COM/EN-AU Now that 2018 is going to be another year without a new Surface Pro, Microsoft’s competitors are putting out new top-of-the-line 2-in-1s with the idea of making 2018 their year instead. Enter the Dell Latitude 5290 laptop, a detachable device that the Texas manufacturer hopes will capture some of that 2-in-1 territory. The Latitude follows the typical template: it has a deployable kickstand, so the tablet portion can stand on its own, along with a magnetised type cover for easy tablet/laptop conversion, and an extra-large bezel and tactile rear panel for easy gripping. That said, the Latitude 5290 does bring some welcome wrinkles to the 2-in-1 blueprint. It has a nifty take on the kickstand — the leg auto-deploys by holding the tablet…3 min
APC|June 2018DrayTek Vigor2862VacBROADBAND ROUTER $620 | WWW.DRAYTEK.COM.AU It’s been a while since DrayTek last updated its line of small business DSL modem routers, but the new Vigor is a worthy update, modernising many of the features of the Vigor2860 series without departing dramatically from that baseline. Aesthetically, the router is consistent with DrayTek’s previous routers: no frills, with LAN, USB, WAN, DSL and phone ports up front for easy access. Only the power plugs into the back of the router. This isn’t pretty when it’s all plugged in — it’s more like a rack mount in miniature than what you might have come to expect from more consumer-focused routers — but the DrayTek is designed to be practical, not pretty. That approach extends to DrayTek’s firmware itself, which is very…3 min
APC|June 2018ASUS RoG Strix Fusion 500GAMING HEADSET $320 | WWW.ASUS.COM/AU ASUS has produced a few sets of Strixbranded headsets over the last couple of years, with this latest addition boasting “exclusive headset-to-headset RGB light synchronization” tech. Yes, like all ‘gaming’ branded things these days, they glow in a sparkling array of colours. The tech being spruiked here is the ability for multiple pairs of Fusions to sync their LED lights so that, according to ASUS, you and your friends can “crush the competition in perfect sync”. As interesting as this feature might be, let’s be honest... pulsating lights are probably not going to give you any competitive edge in gaming. Luckily, it’s not the only unique feature on offer. The cups sport a metallic-bronze finish, which is certainly eye-catching (if potentially divisive). The…3 min
APC|June 2018Mac » APPSLogic Pro 10.4 Powerful music-making tool gets an upgrade. FREE UPGRADE, OR $320 WWW.APPLE.COM/AU/LOGIC-PRO Logic Pro 10.4 delivers significant new features, including automatic tempo detection. Instead of having to choose a tempo before you record, Logic can listen to you play and adjust the tempo accordingly. You can fine-tune its analysis and it copes admirably with subtle or dramatic tempo changes. It also works with imported audio, so it’s easy to add extra instruments or automation to existing recordings, and you can create DJay Pro-style mixes by daisy-chaining files together ready for Logic to update their tempos. It’s a real boon to songwriters, because you can now record your performance before piling on other instruments and Drummer tracks. There are two new Drummers and two new brush kits.…2 min
APC|June 2018Linux » OPEN-SOURCE SOFTWAREStacer Clean up your system. FREE | GITHUB.COM/OGUZHANINAN/STACER The official project page says this is an optimiser for Ubuntu, but we managed to run and use it on a few other non Debian-based Linux system and it worked just fine. Stacer is a trendy Electron-based desktop program, which shares a similar design with Etcher, an ISO image flashing tool. Both use dark colours by default and offer the easy-to-install AppImage packages that make them portable. However, the modest USB flash tool is nearly 80MB and takes at least five second to start up, whereas the feature-packed Stacer is only 29MB large and starts noticeably faster. Stacer’s dashboard displays CPU, memory and hard disk usage, while a column of monochrome icons sit along the left edge of the window.…3 min
APC|June 2018ASUS RoG Crosshair VII Hero Wi-Fi“The clear CMOS button on the rear I/O panel is a godsend.” $469 | WWW.ASUS.COM/AU 10 x USB ports on rear I/O, including one Type-C; 5 x 3.5mm stereo minijacks for audio out; dual antennae connections; ASUS Aura lighting When we asked the Big Four motherboard manufacturers to supply their premium X470 motherboards for this roundup, we weren’t quite expecting their submissions to be so, well, affordable. When we ask the same question regarding Intel ‘boards, it’s not uncommon to see slabs of silicon going for $700 or more. Yet at $469, and coming in as the most expensive X470 in our roundup, this ASUS motherboard is a prime example of why AMD is still seen as the bang-for-buck platform of choice. You might expect it to come…2 min
APC|June 2018RASPBERRY PI ROBOTSRobotics needn’t be about building intimidating humanoid automatons. We can build machines that can perform all kinds of other useful, instructive or fun functions. Even better, you can power them with Linux. You won’t need costly electronics to build these devices — a Raspberry Pi will do just fine. It doesn’t need to be any more advanced than constructing a LEGO set, either. There are plenty of off-the-shelf kits suitable for any budding electronics enthusiast. We’ll reveal how to put together your own roving robot, and show you a couple of neat Python programs to get you started. And if you’re feeling more adventurous, then why not build your own robotic helpers from scratch? All the components are easy to get hold of, thanks to the growing maker community. If…1 min
APC|June 2018Building the DiddyBorgThe good people at ModMyPi were kind enough to send us a DiddyBorg v2 to play with. We’re super grateful for this and we thoroughly recommend you check out their store next time you need anything Pi-related. The Borg series was designed by PiBorg, brainchild of Timothy Freeburn, who explains that “the DiddyBorg is a six-wheel drive robot and is a homage to the Sojourner Mars Rover”. PiBorg teamed up with ModMyPi back in October 2017. Jacob explains this collaboration: “Tim and I were both around during the genesis of the original Raspberry Pi B. Where I was off making cases, Tim was designing motor-controllers and LED thingies (www.piborg.org/ledborg), so when ModMyPi developed into wider reselling, Tim’s products were some of the first that we picked up. “As the market…2 min
APC|June 2018The Borg seriesResistance is futile. PiBorg’s Borg series consists of three robots: the DiddyBorg (£210, or about $380), the MonsterBorg (£210) and the YetiBorg (£160, about $290). The DiddyBorg’s distinctive flat top makes it possible for all kinds of things to be mounted atop it. A terrifying robot claw, for example. It can be reconfigured with the Multifunction Top to fit an additional Pi, or with the Touch Top to fit the official Raspberry Pi touchscreen. It can also be kitted out with front and rear Pi Cameras, as well as ultrasonic sensors for obstacle avoidance. Then there’s the MonsterBorg, a machine not to be trifled with. Its chunky four-inch wheels enable it to chew up off-road terrain. As you may have read in the News section, PiBorg organises the Formula Pi…1 min
APC|June 2018Aerial flora photographyThe Pi NoIR camera has no infrared filter, which enables it to ‘see’ in the dark, making it useful for CCTV applications. The retail package also includes a slightly quizzical blue gel square. When that blue square (Roscolux #2007 Storaro Blue to give it its full designation) is placed in front of the lens, red and green light are filtered out, and the sensor shifts infrared light to the red spectrum, enabling hyperspectral images of plants to be captured. The actual photo taken is an NGB (Near infrared Green Blue) image, which doesn’t reveal very much. But with a bit of post-processing magic, a composite NDVI (near difference vegetative index) image can be generated, which shows how well the plant is photosynthesising, or more crudely, how healthy it is. This…1 min
APC|June 2018The best of Google’s hidden appsYou will likely know the most popular apps and services that Google runs, but there are other apps that the company has either acquired or developed over time that may surprise you. Some of these apps offer no obvious indication at all that Google is involved, but that they undoubtedly bear all of the hallmarks of the Google system behind the scenes. From community-based navigation to image editing, Google’s reach extends way beyond the obvious and into a variety of areas — many of which we’ve covered in our Android apps section (see page 45). The company is now even delving in to the world of home automation, too. There’s almost no area in the tech world that Google hasn’t attempted to touch. While some apps have been much more…4 min
APC|June 2018The early daysIn the very early days of Android, the iPhone was receiving all of the headlines and was trying to drag early adopters away from traditional phones such as the Treo 650 and other smart niche devices. It was clear, however, that a new approach was needed for smartphones to gain mass market appeal and so Android was quickly developed to offer as complete a system as was possible at the time. Phones dominated by screens were created alongside more traditional units with hardware keyboards, but it would be fair to say that the early versions were somewhat experimental. Just like the iPhone, the features were limited not just by the ability to create powerful software, but also by the slow mobile networks available at the time. Google invested heavily, both…1 min
APC|June 2018The future of AndroidIt’s all too easy to view Android as a smartphone-only platform, but with Google’s expertise in general web connectivity, and with online services being able to connect multiple devices together as one entity, there is a lot to look forward to. You can already send all of your films and photos to your TV using an accessory and you will soon be able to use your Android device as your entertainment hub when driving. Add to this the ability to control various devices in your home and you can start to imagine where all of this will end up. Android does not have a direct affiliation to a desktop operating system like the iPhone (macOS) or Windows Phone (Windows), but this could potentially become an advantage. It could be able…1 min
APC|June 2018ChromebookImagine for a minute an operating system that is always protected from viruses and malware, and which you never need to update. Now, imagine being able to download from thousands of free apps that all work together and having every Google service available to you by just logging in once. It would be wonderful if it could run so efficiently that even laptops and desktops priced way below the average Windows device could run it smoothly and extremely fast. It would also be fantastic if it powered on instantly and you had a choice of devices to run it from that ranged from budget to luxury. Well, stop imagining, because that’s Chrome OS, which runs on a selection Chromebooks, some of which we’ve reviewed in these pages.…1 min
APC|June 2018Project LoonProject Loon is an idea that will appeal to everyone, whether they need it or not. In many rural areas, internet connectivity can be difficult to maintain and this is especially true in some countries. Did you know that two thirds of the world’s population does not currently have access to the internet? This is without doubt because the cost of providing connectivity is not small and the time needed to build the infrastructure is great. Google’s idea is to send balloons into the stratosphere which will be able to send a valid connection anywhere using a vast network of balloons. It sounds daft, but it’s a bit like using satellites to make phone calls, but is potentially much more affordable and thus more accessible to a greater number of…1 min
APC|June 2018Experts solve your computing problems“A typical scenario is to take one full backup a month, then weekly differential backups and finally daily incremental backups.” BACKUP INCREMENTAL VERSUS DIFFERENTIAL My backup tool offers both incremental and differential backups to save on drive storage space. What’s the difference? Lewis Adam Both types of backup take up less room because they only record the changes made since the last backup was taken. Differential backups record the changes taken since the last full backup, while incremental backups record the changes made since the last incremental backup. Incremental backups are therefore smaller than differential backups, but more prone to failure because you need all previous incremental backups, as well as the parent full backup to restore your system. Differential backups only require themselves and the full backup. If your…11 min
APC|June 2018View, edit and annotate PDFs in Microsoft EdgeReading PDFs on your PC sounds pretty basic — all you do is install Adobe Reader, and then just open every PDF file you get with that app. Well, it doesn’t have to be like that. You don’t need to install a third-party app, you can use one that came with your PC. Microsoft Edge’s PDF reading capabilities got a boost in the Fall Creators Update, and it’s now a very capable app for those times only a PDF will do. PDFs are easy to create but not to edit, and since they embed the fonts and graphics used to create their source document, you can be sure that what you’re seeing is just as the original author intended. Using Edge, you can read, annotate and even draw over PDFs,…1 min
APC|June 2018Removing non-App Store appsOne of the limitations of Launchpad is its reluctance to let you remove apps that didn’t originate in the Mac App Store. Unless you’re brand new to the Mac platform, it’s very likely that you’ve got a reasonable collection of apps that didn’t come from here, but when you enter ‘quiver mode’, these apps don’t have a remove option, so how do you get rid of them? There are a couple of solutions: the easiest is to simply drag all your undesired apps into one folder and hide it on a screen all of its own at the end of the screens. The second is to install the preferences pane found at chaosspace.de/launchpad-control. This lets you untick apps you don’t want to appear, removing the link from Launchpad, but not…1 min
APC|June 2018Configure & customise iOS’s Do Not Disturb modeDo you crave time away from the hustle and bustle of daily life? Phones and tablets enable us to be always online, but the boundaries between our digital, work and personal lives are increasingly blurred, meaning we get fewer opportunities to switch off from the distractions that our devices bring, short of turning them off. Apple’s solution to this is Do Not Disturb — a feature which, when activated, silences all notifications, alerts, incoming phone calls, and messages for a set period of time or until you deactivate it. Don’t worry, though; you won’t miss a thing. Your iPhone collects all of the alerts together, while your phone stays dark and silent.…1 min
APC|June 2018Selectively allow calls1 BLOCK ALL CALLS If you really want a bit of peace and quiet with no interruptions — and no exceptions — tap the No One option to silence all incoming calls. 2 ALLOW FAVOURITES You can add Contacts to your Favourites list in Contacts. If you’d like calls from this group to get through to you even if Do Not Disturb is active, tap Favourites. 3 ALLOW GROUPS If you’d like a specific group of contacts to be able to reach you, tap that group’s name in the list below; groups can be managed on a Mac or at iCloud.com. 4 ALLOW ALL CALLS To stop notification banners and alerts and number badges on app icons from distracting you, but still receive calls, choose Everyone.…1 min
APC|June 2018Distros optimised for DockerA Docker container includes both the application along with all its configuration and dependencies. So you can streamline a distro to host containers only. The community has latched on to this, which is why you have several stripped-down container-oriented distros such as Container Linux, RancherOS and Atomic Host. While you can run a container on top of a regular distro, these fine-tuned distros have become the norm for running containers in a production environment. Each of these distros comes with its own set of features that make them suitable for different kinds of deployments. Container Linux (formerly known as CoreOS), is a production-ready operating system that’s built from scratch for hosting containers. One of its advantages is that it automatically detects a new Docker container as soon as it comes…1 min
APC|June 2018Create a cheap, Pi-powered ad-blocker and file serverTo celebrate the release of the new Raspberry Pi 3 B+, we’ll use it to create our own Samba server to store files and media for access across our home network. We’ll then use the same Pi to block ads and create a better browsing experience. SAMBA FILE SERVER First things first: Let’s make sure that we have the latest version of Raspbian. Download this from the Raspberry Pi website (www.raspberrypi.org) and then, using your favourite tool, flash the image to a blank micro SD card. When completed, eject the card and place it into your Pi, then connect your keyboard, mouse, screen, Ethernet and finally the power. Your Pi will boot up and, as this is the first boot, it’ll expand the filesystem to fully utilise the space on…6 min
APC|June 2018Arduino in the real worldMicrocontroller boards, like Arduino, are awesome for the capabilities they give you as a ‘maker’ — you’ve got a mini-computer the size of postage stamp or credit card capable of running complex programming code off a few AA-sized batteries. Yet while many boards include features such as pulse-width modulation (PWM) outputs and analog-to-digital conversion (ADC), they don’t typically interact with the real-world on their own. One reason is that, while computers in general operate in a world of two states (on and off or digital-one and digital-zero), the real world is analog, whether you’re measuring humidity, air pressure, soil moisture, making sound or recording it. This is where the amazing world of Arduino add-ons comes in — if you need to connect, record, measure or move something, there’s usually an…10 min
APC|June 2018Ni No Kuni 2: Revenant KingdomPC, PS4 | $99.95 | WWW.BANDAINAMCOENT.COM When it released in Australia back in 2013, Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch represented a rare, mainstream moment for JRPGs, receiving the kind of attention normally reserved for Final Fantasy games. The reason was its pedigree: while its status as a new Level-5 game was only of interest to diehards, Studio Ghibli’s attachment to the project was key. The studio is, after all, best known as the animation crew responsible for Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, Ponyo and more. It was like a match made in heaven. But Ni No Kuni 2: Revenant Kingdom can’t lay claim to any Studio Ghibli association, so its arrival feels muted. Perhaps to compensate for this, Level-5 has transformed the Ni No Kuni…2 min
APC|June 2018A Way OutPC, PS4, XO | $39.95 | WWW.EA.COM/GAMES/A-WAY-OUT Being able to play a game in co-op feels like a nice added bonus. It’s rare that a game is designed specifically to be played cooperatively — in fact, here, you can’t play without another human by your side or across the internet. From the same brain that created Brothers: A Tale Of Two Sons, this is another narrative-driven co-op adventure, one designed to be experienced together. And if you do, you’ll be rewarded with one of the most cleverly designed storylines in gaming yet. You play as one of two prisoners looking, literally, for a way out. Leo’s already in jail for armed robbery, assault and grand theft, whereas Vincent has just started his sentence after getting time for fraud,…2 min
APC|June 2018QUBE 2PC, PS4, XO | US$25 WWW.TOXICGAMES.CO.UK This sequel makes its predecessor feel like a prototype. It looks better, sounds better, and it’s far more imaginative. From a simple foundation of three coloured blocks, it builds head-scratching puzzles that stump you for 20 minutes — and then make you feel like a genius when you stumble on the solution. You play as amnesiac architect Amelia Cross, who is stranded inside an alien structure. The only way to get out is to solve puzzles using a magic sci-fi glove. In each level, there are squares that you can paint with a wave of your hand. Blue will cause anything that hits it to bounce off, green will produce a cube that can move around the level, and orange creates a…1 min
