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UK cookie law comes into force, now with added confusion

Marc Chacksfield — Mon, 28 May 2012 09:50:00 GMT

Websites in the UK have to change the way they track users from now on, with sites having to receive 'implied consent' from visitors that they don't mind the site keeping tabs on their online movements.

The law has been mooted for some time and originally required 'explicit consent' from site visitors before certain pop-ups and the like are revealed.

But there was a last minute change to the legislation, which means sites have to obtain just 'implied consent' – this is friendlier for businesses but knocks the UK out of whack from the rest of the EU when it comes to the transparency of cookies.

Although it is thought many UK-based sites will not be ready for the law, the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) is looking to report back on sites that are not obeying the directive and there's the slight possibility of a £500,000 fine for those who flout the law.

Implications of a click

As with any new law put into place, confusion reigns over proceedings. According to Rob Rachwald, director of security strategy at Imperva, the law is a good way of teaching consumers about how websites track them but is too vague to have much effect.

"Websites and internet technology have become so complex that it is impossible for a typical consumer to understand the implications of a simple click," said Rachwald.

"This law will hopefully help people understand that cookies are the keys to personal information and present a threat if exploited, stolen, altered, harvested or hijacked."

Rachwald continued: "The legislative thinking is that ambiguity forces the private sector to experiment with different approaches until somewhere, somehow someone finds the right way."

Speaking to the BBC about the cookie law, Dave Evans, group manager for the ICO, believed that businesses have had long enough to prepare themselves for the new legislation: "Given that everyone has had a year [to comply], we're going to shift from that kind of approach to one which will be very much more focused on those people who don't appear to have done anything and asking them 'why not?''

So, if you run a site you better swot up on what you need to do before the cookie monster is unleashed.

StartUp Loans for young entrepreneurs

Marcus Austin — Mon, 28 May 2012 09:45:00 GMT

The Government is to loan over £80 million to young entrepreneurs under the new StartUp loan programme.

The long awaited StartUp loans for young entrepreneurs, is a strings-free** loan, akin to the University Student loans currently available to anyone wanting to enter into high-education. The start-up loans of up to £2,500 are available from today and are available to young people between 18-24, living in England, with a business idea.

In addition to the loan the Government has also committed to providing mentors and mentoring for the entrepreneurs. Additionally they will also receive a free copy of the StartUp Loans Kit, which offers all the guidance you need to start a business plus over £500-worth of offers on products from business cards to websites, netbooks and work suits.

"To be an entrepreneur is more than having a job. It gives you the freedom to make your own mark" James Caan, Dragons' Den

Lord Young of Graffham, Originator of StartUp Loans, and a serial entrepreneur himself, said at the launch, "The StartUp Loan programme is designed to help you create a business plan, and then give you a loan to get started. You will get continuing support from your mentor, and your future will be in your own hands. The limits of your business will be up to you."

Dragons' Den James Caan

Commenting on the launch, Dragons' Den investor and Chairman of the StartUp Loans Company, James Caan said. "To be an entrepreneur is more than having a job. It gives you the freedom to make your own mark, in the way in which you choose, and create your own path to success. It can be challenging, and exceptionally hard work, but the rewards are immeasurable."

So what's the small print? For StartUp loans

**Yes there are strings, it's a loan like any other loan, so you will need to pay it back. You will be required to pay back the loan within three to five years at a fixed APR (annual percentage rate) of 3% plus RPI (Retail Price Index) which is currently 3.5%. You can have a student loan as well as a StartUp loan, and you will need to submit a business plan, and you might be asked to come in for a chat to talk your idea through. Unlike the Student loan there will be a choice of loan providers, but the actual lenders aren't yet confirmed, it's very likely that they will be banks, sorry, there's no escaping the chat with the bank manager.

Entrepreneurs can register at http://businessinyou.bis.gov.uk/ and they will then be directed to a provider once the lenders are decided.

Samsung registers Galaxy Rush, Amp and Helm names

Kate Solomon — Mon, 28 May 2012 09:32:00 GMT

Samsung has laid a claim to three new potential phone names, registering Galaxy Rush, Galaxy Amp and Galaxy Helm with the US Patent and Trademark Office.

The three new trademarks were filed on May 21 and listed as 'mobile telephones; smartphones' so there's a good chance they're intended for phones of some kind.

Does that mean we'll be seeing the Samsung Galaxy Rush replace the Samsung Galaxy S3? Will the Samsung Galaxy Amp be the company's Beats-beater? Can anyone really face going into a shop and asking for a Samsung Galaxy Helm?

Unlikely story

Given that Samsung usually goes for the fairly simple Galaxy Sx format for its high end smartphones, we reckon these are more likely potential choices for mid-to-low end handsets like the Galaxy Ace. But then the Galaxy Note kind of destroys that argument, so what do we know?

And in any case, we'd advise you not to hold your breath for the Galaxy Rush et al – companies register possible names all the time and Samsung has filed plenty of these badboys.

This particular three sound like prime double-bluffers to us, intended to shield the actual product names from prying bloggers' eyes.

Tell you what though, if you're ever after the cheesiest words to pad out the lyrics of the feel good summer pop hit you're penning, we'd advise you to browse Samsung's trademark words – Samsung Solstice, Glint, Trill, Mantra, Vibrant, Impression, Equator, Blackjack, Gem, Fascinate, Mesmerise… they're all in there. Samsung Galaxy Amazing.

Opinion: Why it would be a travesty if Nvidia's Kepler didn't make it into desktop PCs

Jeremy Laird — Mon, 28 May 2012 09:30:00 GMT

I hate to say I told you so. But Nvidia has taken the wraps off a new high end graphics chip, currently known nattily as GK110. It's the biggest, baddest member of Nvidia's Kepler architecture, which powers graphics cards like the Nvidia GeForce GTX 680. And it leaves me with no choice but to say, well, I told you so.

The context here is my recent whingefest regarding the dual-GPU Nvidia GeForce GTX 690. My argument was that the chips inside the premium priced GTX 680 and 690 boards were midrangers that serendipitously turned out to be faster than high end efforts from the competition - read AMD. The real high end Kepler had yet to be seen.

7.1 billion - the magic number

Nvidia has now come clean and GK110 is every bit as magisterial as I'd hoped. The specs aren't completely finalised, but here are some highlights as they currently stand. We're talking about a 7.1 billion transistor chip with up to 2,880 CUDA cores, 240 texture units and 48 ROPs. It's a beast.

For the record, that 7.1 billion transistor figure is big enough to enable Nvidia to claim GK110 to be the most complex single computer chip in Christendom. Roughly speaking, it allows for slightly less than a doubling of many of the key functional units compared with the GK104 chip found in the GTX 680. Lest you forget, currently GK104 is comfortably the fastest single graphics chip on the planet.

Fair to assume, then, that GK110 would be an incredible graphics chip for games and one that would utterly annihilate AMD's top Tahiti GPU, as found in the Radeon HD 7970. But will PC users ever get the chance to experience it?

That's the critical question following GK110's outing at Nvidia's GPU Technology Conference a few days ago. For now, Nvidia has only announced one product that will use GK110. And it's not a graphics card.

Instead, it's part of Nvidia's heavy metal Tesla family, which are effectively co-processors designed to crunch heavily parallelised work loads. Think computational chemistry, bio-informatics, oil and gas surveying, financial modelling, that sort of thing.

Big and complex

Now, it's absolutely true that Nvidia has a track record for rolling out new GPUs in Tesla form first. But things are clearly a bit different for Kepler. For starters, Nvidia is marketing and branding the existing GeForce GTX 680 and 690 as its top-of-the-line graphics cards. In really simple terms, there's not much space left in the GeForce 600 Series nomenclature for a new uber GPU.

That's unlikely to be accidental and ties in with the realities of the hardware side of GK110. For starters, it's so big and so complex, it may not be suitable for desktop PCs. Moreover, Nvidia has loaded it with features that are very desirable for Tesla applications, like high performance double precision processing and ECC cache memory protection, but are pretty much pointless for graphics.

It's an odd situation because, as far as I can tell, GK110 remains first and foremost a graphics chip. But it's not clear if it will ever be used as one. Of course there may be some uncertainty on Nvidia's behalf. We're clearly in a transitional phase when it comes to all manner of computing architectures as CPUs and GPUs converge.

Perhaps GK110 is a stepping stone to future Tesla chips with the redundant graphics hardware stripped out. Whatever, I'd personally love to see Nvidia strap some graphics memory and a DVI port to GK110 and let us see just what it'll do.

These may be the dying days of the conventional performance PC. But it would be a minor tragedy if this monumental piece of silicon mastery never got a crack at what it was primarily designed to do – making games look better than ever before.

Competition: WIN! An iPad 3 with Parallels Mobile app and Desktop 7

Jamie Middleton — Mon, 28 May 2012 08:03:00 GMT

TechRadar has teamed up with Parallels to offer one lucky winner the chance to win an iPad 3, a copy of Parallels Desktop 7 and Parallels Mobile app.

Parallels Desktop 7 lets you run Windows and Mac applications side by side on a Mac without rebooting. It is faster than ever with 90 new and enhanced features, including Mac OS X Lion integration and a Parallels Mobile app.

New iPad support

Used in conjunction with Parallels Desktop 7 for Mac, the Parallels Mobile app for iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch enables users to remotely access and run their Macs and all of the operating systems, applications and files they need right from their iOS mobile device.

And now with support for Retina Display, new iPad users can do all this without sacrificing image quality.

Parallels is the number one selling desktop virtualisation software in the world. Get a free trial at www.parallels.com/desktop.

Click here to enter the competition.

Google could face investigation into Street View 'wardriving' claims

Joe Svetlik — Mon, 28 May 2012 07:57:00 GMT

The ICO is looking into a US report claiming Google knew it was harvesting data, and could prosecute the company in Britain.

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) is studying a report by its US counterpart, the FCC, that claims Google knew it was collecting data using its Street View cars.

The cars collected information from unsecured Wi-Fi networks as they passed snapping roads for its Street View project.

Data remember

A spokesperson from the ICO said: "We are currently studying the FCC report to consider what further action, if any, needs to be taken.

"Google provided our office with a formal undertaking in November 2010 about their future conduct, following their failure in relation to the collection of Wi-Fi data by their Street View cars.

"This included a provision for the ICO to audit Google's privacy practices. The audit was published in August 2010 and we will be following up on it later this year, to ensure our recommendations have been put in place."

The FCC report was published last month, claiming multiple Google employees knew exactly what was going on. The company previously claimed the data harvesting was accidental. It collected the info because an engineer (referred to as "Engineer Doe") thought the data "might prove useful for other Google services."

The document read: "As early as 2007 and 2008, Street View team members had wide access to Engineer Doe's Wi-Fi data collection document and code, which revealed his plan to collect payload data."

Info collected includes instant message conversations, URLs, user names and passwords. As many as one in four home networks could be unsecured, so make sure you encrypt your Wi-Fi.

LG outs 5-inch 1080p mobile screen

Joe Svetlik — Mon, 28 May 2012 07:24:00 GMT

LG has shown off a 5-inch mobile screen that makes the iPhone 4S's retina display look like an 8-bit NES graphic in comparison.

The screen is 1080p HD resolution -- the same as HD TV screens -- meaning it has a pixel density of 440ppi. Compare that with the iPhone's 326ppi, and the fact that Apple's is just 3.5-inches to LG's 5-inches.

It has a 16:9 aspect ratio, so it'll be ideal for watching HD movies on. There's also Advanced High Performance In-Plane Switching (AH-IPS), which is tech that makes sure you get the widest viewing angles possible, quickened response times, and improved brightness efficiency.

It's so high resolution, the naked eye shouldn't be able to distinguish between individual pixels.

Out later this year

And this is no mobile pie in the sky. The screen should be available in products in the second half of this year. Could we see a Galaxy Note-smashing 5-inch mobile coming from LG soon?

The screen is 0.5-inches larger, with 2.2 times the pixel density than its previous 4.5-inch screen. That one had 329ppi. Pah. How quickly it looks out of date.

It's not actually the highest resolution mobile screen to date. Toshiba showed off a 6.1-inch tablet screen with a 498ppi resolution last October. Though we're yet to hear any more from Toshiba on the matter.

LG's screen will be on display for the first time at SID 2012 Display Week in Boston starting a week today.

In Depth: LG: a mass market for OLED TVs is years off

Steve May — Mon, 28 May 2012 06:25:00 GMT

A short walk from the most glamorous circuit on the F1 calendar, LG finally took the wraps off its debut OLED TV, the 55EM960V.

Shown in prototype form at CES 2012 back in January, the revolutionary screen will be available for pre-order from July, with models shipping in the autumn. It will sell for 9,000 Euros.

To help with the Monaco unveiling, LG called upon BBC GP pundit David Coulthard and two-time F1 world champion Sebastian Vettel, as well as supermodel Gemma Sanderson and movie director Jean-Jacques Annaud. Well, if you're the Global Technology Partner for Formula One you're entitled to call in a few favours every now and then.

Hands on: LG 55EM960V OLED TV review

Few would argue that the much-hyped screen looked beautiful at the launch. Impossibly thin at 4mm and weighing a mere 10kg thanks to carbon-fiber reinforced plastic bodywork, it's cutting edge in every sense. Couple that to astounding contrast, vibrant colour reproduction and a response time said to be 100x faster than LED and you have a very special screen indeed.

Vettel described it as "amazing" and "really impressive," adding quite accurately that the high motion resolution would be perfect for sports such as F1.

Jean-Jacques Annaud was similarly impressed, saying he believed the screen's wide viewing angle could change the way people perceive 3D. As a film maker he was also hugely impressed with the clarity of OLED's imagery.

Not mass market

But with a stratospheric price tag, OLED is clearly not a mainstream proposition. Steve Gater, LG's consumer marketing director, agrees. "A mass market for OLED is years off," he says, adding it's not his intention to sell "loads" of OLED TVs.

"We don't think this will happen until the technology gets to a price that's just 1.5x that of an LED screen. What we're doing with this event is saying that OLED is now a core technology for us, that it represents a tangible picture quality improvement for consumers."

In truth, OLED represents a massive power-play by LG Display, the autonomous panel making division behind the brand. Buoyed by the successful gamble that was Passive FPR, it's now ramping up the pressure with next generation displays. Joining the OLED screen in the autumn will be an 84-inch 4K (aka Quad HD) 3D panel, which will retail for the same pocket-numbing price.

Gater is painfully aware of just how treacherous the TV business has become. After all, his brand is just one that has spent the past few years chasing market share, in the process driving the price of high-tech flatscreens down to historic lows.

In the short term, this has been great for buyers – but it's resulted in the biggest names in the business hemorrhaging cash, to the point now where talk of survival and not dominance emanates from boardrooms.

While LG won't be drawn on OLED production line yields (which are probably still poor), it was clear at CES that the company was leading this latest technological charge, forcing rival Samsung to undertake PR damage limitation. Sony could have mounted a challenge, had it not bagged off OLED after introducing the first consumer set, the 11-inch XEL-1, back in 2008.

Says Gater: "We've been working really hard to get ourselves into a position where we still have a TV business in five to ten years time. Thankfully, there will always be people prepared to buy the latest technology. There will always be early adopters."

The white sub-pixel advantage

LG's product and consumer marketing manager George Mead concedes that while LG may be first with OLED, other brands will inevitably follow. "We know other companies are going to produce OLED TVs, but we think we have the edge for a number of reasons. Our 4 Colour Pixel Technology, we think, is the best panel solution."

In a move analogous to its break from the Active Shutter 3D camp, the proprietary OLED panel LG employs features an additional white sub-pixel, which takes the pressure off the blue pixel which historically always fails early; this ensures a long life for the panel "We think we have the best, most scalable panel technology," he says.

Mead notes the challenge now is to put the screen in front of as many people as possible. "It has to be seen to be believed," he says. While the TV offers full net connectivity, a dual core processor and a remote control with voice recognition, "it's the panel which is the biggest innovation of them all.

The contrast level is absolutely incredible. We truly believe this is the future of home entertainment."

Samsung PIN pop-up retail stores begin to appear in London

Chris Smith — Sun, 27 May 2012 22:56:00 GMT

While Samsung certainly mastered the glamorous Apple-esque launch event, when it debuted the Galaxy S3 this month, its attempt at 'one more thing' fell a little flat.

Whereas Steve Jobs' legendary final announcements included the iPod touch and MacBook AIr, Samsung got us all excited only to announce a host of new Mobile PIN retail outlets across London.

Once we all figured out what a Mobile PIN actually was - and to be honest, it wasn't immediately clear - we didn't quite feel compelled to indulge in some Jobsnote-style whooping and hollering.

Makeshift shops where we could buy the Samsung Galaxy S3? Cue polite applause.

Grievous letdown

Regardless of that grievous letdown, the pop-up shops, which will also stock a selection of flagship Samsung Mobile products, are appearing across London and will open on May 29, before the device goes on sale across the nation.

The wrapping has already been taken-off some of the glass structures, including the one pictured here in the massive Shepherd's Bush Westfield shopping centre

More stores will be announced as time goes on.

RIM set to cut 'at least 2,000' jobs next month

Chris Smith — Sun, 27 May 2012 22:12:00 GMT

Research in Motion plans to lay-off over 2,000 staff this Friday, according to reports in the company's Canadian homeland.

The Globe and Mail says the Waterloo, Ontario-based company will make the cuts on June 1 as it struggles to cope with quarterly losses and diminished demand for BlackBerry smartphones.

With around 16,500 employees worldwide, the cutbacks would represent around 12 per cent of its total workforce and would echo the 2,000 jobs it shed last summer.

The job cull "will sweep across departments, ranging from senior positions in RIM's legal division to human resources, finance, sales, and marketing," according to the report.

BB10 or bust

The ailing smartphone giant has also seen a dramatic shake-up at the top in recent months, with co-CEO's Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis stepping aside and Thorsten Heins taking over.

There has also been several high profile executive departures as the reality of the company's current plight has set in.

RIM is placing its faith in handsets running the forthcoming BlackBerry 10 operating system, which it hopes will halt the iPhone and Android-induced slide into smartphone obscurity.

RIM is yet to comment on the story.

Facebook looking to buy Opera web browser?

Chris Smith — Sun, 27 May 2012 21:30:00 GMT

It's all go over at Facebook HQ with IPO strife, Instagram buyouts, rumours of smartphone creation and now reports that the company wants to buy its own web browser.

Pocket-Lint says that the social network has its eye on the Opera browser, which has carved out a niche on Apple and Android mobile devices, but is also available on Mac and PC computers.

Facebook is cash rich, following its stock exchange offering, and acquiring a browser would allow it to push its own functionality through plug-ins and toolbars.

It would also enable the company to compete with the likes of Apple's Safari and Google Chrome rather than rely on those browsers to push traffic to the Facebook.com desktop and mobile sites.

Potential buyers

The report's "trusted source" didn't offer further information on the sums of money involved or the timescale for a possible bid.

The Next Web followed up the report and says Opera Software, which owns the browser, is currently taking to potential buyers.

Facebook to launch own-branded smartphone next year, says report

Chris Smith — Sun, 27 May 2012 20:45:00 GMT

Speculation that Facebook plans to have another crack at building a smartphone has gathered pace in recent weeks and now The New York Times is in on the act.

The 'paper says that Facebook has already hired half a dozen hardware and software engineers who had previously worked for Apple on the iPhone and one who worked on the iPad.

The report brings word from several Facebook employees and outside engineers, sounded out about possible positions, that the company plans to release the phone "by next year."

The renewed efforts come following the social network's rumoured plans to team up with HTC on a handset and earlier plans that were abandoned in 2010.

Peppered with questions

CEO Mark Zuckerberg has, according to the NYT, taken a particular interest and has been interviewing potential suitors for the project, codenamed "Buffy."

The 'paper says that Zuckerberg spoke to one engineer and "peppered him with questions about the inner workings of smartphones. It did not sound like idle intellectual curiosity, the engineer said; Mr. Zuckerberg asked about intricate details, including the types of chips used, he said.

"Another former Apple hardware engineer was recruited by a Facebook executive and was told about the company's hardware explorations."

One Facebook employee told the New York Times, says Zuckerberg is worried that the social network is just an app on other manufacturers' hardware.

Of course, having just (somewhat disastrously) floated on the stock exchange, Facebook is now in a position where it must establish new and increasing revenue streams, so a smartphone may form part of those plans.

Facebook has not commented on the story and the reports says that the company is determined to keep it secret.

Cisco exits the tablet space in pursuit of "choice"

Dan Crabtree — Sun, 27 May 2012 14:48:00 GMT

Cisco announced this week that it will no longer invest in its enterprise tablet, the Cius, citing "market transitions" and opportunities for "the broadest choice of collaboration options" as the impetus.

In a blog post on the company's website on Thursday, OJ Winge, Senior Vice President of Cisco's Telepresence Technology Group, quietly noted that the Cius tablet would receive no further funding.

As with any investment opportunity, Winge said that the company "will continue to offer Cius in a limited fashion to customers with specific needs or use cases."

The Cius was designed with specific needs in mind just one year ago, which is why this discontinuation may be the first many consumers even hear about the device.

Cisco only sold the 7-inch tablet (for $750) to its enterprise partners, touting its network integration as the primary benefit.

To put that in perspective, a Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 (sporting a 8.9-inch display) sells for $480, and among other capabilities it can access Cisco networking devices by IP via its mobile web browser.

Most customers - those without the need to manage a Cisco Unified Phone System of a Cisco UTM Firewall on-the-go - have turned instead to personal pads to meet their mobile computing demands.

B.Y.O.D. takes over

According to the Cisco IBSG Horizons Study from earlier this month, "95% of organizations surveyed allow employee-owned devices in some way, shape or form in the office."

The study also found that 36% of enterprises fully support devices that employees bring from home, like an iPad or Android tablet.

Winge asserted that these findings are evidence of a "major shift" towards B.Y.O.D. (bring your own device) workplaces, where tablets act as personal media and communication devices, then transfer seamlessly into business activities.

Because of this shift, Cisco has reset its sights on software like Cisco Jabber (messaging) and Cisco Webex (remote conferencing), which it already offers for third-party PCs and tablets.

With Windows 8 on the horizon, and the slew of tablets it's slated to support, in addition to the rising popularity of Android tablets following the market expansion of the iPad, it's a tough time for any tablet manufacturer to compete.

Limiting the device to business-only functions now seems ill-fated from outset.

It's with certain reluctance that Cisco relinquishes its in-road to the tablet hardware space. The company, for now, remains cool about the networking arenas it already dominates.

In Depth: Get started with keyboard shortcuts in Windows 8

Mike Williams — Sun, 27 May 2012 11:00:00 GMT

Discover Windows 8 secrets

Let's start from the beginning. Windows 8 opens on its lock screen. You can either tap the space bar, spin the mouse wheel or swipe upwards on a touch screen to reveal a regular login screen. Enter your password to begin.

You can later do away with the lock screen; launch GPEdit.msc (the Local Group Policy Editor) and browse to 'Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Control Panel > Personalisation'. Double-click 'Do not display the lock screen', select 'Enabled' and click 'OK'.

Hands on: Windows 8 review

But the key way to get the most from Windows 8 is to use the keyboard to get around the Metro interface. Press the [Home] or [End] keys to jump from one end of your Start screen to the other, for example, then use the cursor keys to select a particular tile, tapping [Enter] to select it.

It's easy to reorganise, too: press [Win] to return to the Metro screen, then right-click (or swipe down on) apps you don't need and select 'Unpin' to remove them. Why not try sorting your tiles into custom groups while you're at it? You might drag People, Mail, Messaging and Calendar over to the left-hand side, for instance, to form a separate 'Contacts' group.

Click the magnifying glass icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to carry out a semantic zoom, and you can drag and drop the new group around as a block. Right-click within the block (while still in the semantic zoom view) and you'll also be able to give the group a name. This will make it easier to find the tools you need if you go on to add another 20 or 30 apps to your Start screen.

If you're short of time, hold down [Win] and press [Q] (or right-click an empty part of the Start screen and select 'All apps') to see a list of installed applications. Browse the various tiles to find what you need and click the relevant app to launch it. You can also pin these items to the Start screen by right-clicking and selecting the appropriate option. Just type the name of the app if you can't find it in the list.

Master Metro

Metro apps aim to be simpler than old-style Windows applets, which means waving goodbye to menus, complex toolbars and many interface standards. There are usually a few options available on the App bar though, so if you're not sure what to do, right-click an empty part of the screen or press [Win]+[Z] to take a closer look.

The lack of a taskbar can make it hard to find out what's running. Hold down [Win] and press [Tab] to display a pane on the left-hand side of the screen with your running apps. To see this with the mouse, move your cursor to the top left corner of the screen, wait until the thumbnail of one app appears, then drag down. Alternatively, press [Ctrl]+[Shift]+[Esc] to see all your running apps in the Task Manager.

Metro apps don't have close buttons, but apps are suspended when you switch to something else. If Windows needs the system resources, suspended apps will be shut down automatically and will pick up where you left off when they're relaunched. If you want to close down an app anyway, move the mouse cursor up to the top of the screen.

When it changes from the regular mouse pointer to the icon of a hand, hold the left mouse button and drag it downwards. Your app should shrink to a thumbnail, which you can drag off the screen to close it. [Alt]+[F4] also works.

The right-click option is your best friend in Metro. You can use it to get administrator rights, to uninstall apps, and to dismiss applications from the interface entirely. Inside apps Metro's version of Internet Explorer seems to lack a number of major controls. Right-click an empty part of the page and you'll find tabbing options, as well as Refresh, a Find tool, and the ability to pin an internet shortcut to the Start page.

If you're running multiple apps and using a keyboard, use [Win]+[+] to snap an app to the right, or [Win]+[Shift]+[+] to snap to the left. Remember that whatever the interface, you can't snap apps unless your screen resolution is at least 1,366 x 768.

Windows 8 apps can use your name, location and account picture by default. If you're not happy with that, it's easily changed. Press [Win]+[I], click More 'PC settings', select 'Privacy' and click the relevant buttons to disable any details you'd rather not share.

Install anything

Most mobile platforms recommend you only install apps from approved sources, and Windows 8 is the same: it'll only allow you to install trusted (digitally signed) apps from the Windows store. If you're willing to take the security risk (this isn't something to try unless you're entirely sure it's safe), then the system can be configured to run trusted apps from any source.

Launch GPEdit.msc, browse to 'Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > App Package Deployment', then double-click 'Allow all trusted apps to install' and select 'Enabled > OK'.

While you're at it, open the Metro Settings panel (press [Win]+[I]), click 'Settings', change 'Show administrative tools' to 'Yes' and click on an empty part of the Start screen. It's as simple as that. Scroll to the right and you'll find a host of new tiles for various key applets - Performance Monitor, Event Viewer, Task Scheduler, Resource Monitor and more - ready to be accessed at a single click.

Tutorial: How to recover missing or deleted files

Richard Cobbett — Sun, 27 May 2012 09:00:00 GMT

How to recover missing or deleted files

The cold sweat beading on the brow. The panic rising from the stomach. The shaking hand that scrolls the mouse in a vain attempt to locate that incredibly important, but absent file.

These symptoms will be all too familiar to anyone who has accidentally deleted a file, or found that a hard drive or USB stick they've been relying on has become corrupted.

While the Recycle Bin sometimes catches accidentally deleted files, it just as often doesn't, and Murphy's law dictates that you'll empty the Recycle Bin just before you notice your mistake anyway.

Luckily there is a range of software available that can trawl your hard drive and reconstruct lost files. While the programs themselves are rarely glamorous, it's a fascinating process that goes to show that very rarely is anything truly deleted or lost, except if you somehow drop the hard drive into a vat of acid.

While this has obvious security implications if you ever chuck out or give away an old PC or hard drive, it cannot be understated just how useful this software can be. This means it's incredibly important to make the right decision if you're going to trust a piece of software to recover your files.

As you'll see in our group test, while a lot of the products offer similar features and produce similar results, there are big discrepancies in price. We put eight file recovery programs through their paces to find out which ones you should trust.

Brian Kato's Restoration
Website: http://www3.telus.net/mikebike/RESTORATION.html
Price: Free

O&O DiskRecovery
Website: www.oo-software.com
Price: £99

BinaryBiz VirtualLab
Website: www.binarybiz.com
Price: $99

Ubuntu Rescue Remix
Website: http://ubuntu-rescue-remix.org/
Price: Free

PC Tools File Recover
Website: www.pctools.com
Price: £30

TestDisk/PhotoRec
Website: www.cgsecurity.org
Price: Free

Genie Timeline Professional 3
Website: www.genie9.com
Price: £45 (TBC)

Piriform Recuva
Website: www.piriform.com/recuva
Price: Free

Brian Kato's Restoration

It says what it does, and it does what it says

Restoration is a quick and dirty data recovery tool. Options? Choices? Forget it. Everything it does is given to you on a single screen, and it's not very much at all.

Pick a disk. Enter a filename if you're looking for something specific. Decide whether or not you want to be bothered by files with a size of zero (in short, only their name still remains). Press the 'Search deleted files' button to scan your drive. Done.

In testing, Restoration turned up as many files as its competitors and offered a couple of advantages. It's only 400Kb in size, for example, and doesn't require installation. That makes it extremely convenient if you only have one drive and don't want to risk overwriting the very data you want it to pull back. It's also much easier to use than the various Linux alternatives, and is free - two things that never hurt.

The downsides are firmly interface related. There's no indication of how damaged files might be, no way to browse the tree of recovered files by directory, and searching is a slow process. Most frustratingly though, there's no way to restore multiple files at once. The list won't let you group-select anything or do a mass restoration of everything that's uncovered.

The cut-down approach also means that you can forget about restoring from devices like cameras. Even USB sticks are brushed off in the Readme as merely "a user reported that it worked correctly".

Finally, while there is a shredder utility, you're not likely to use it - it zaps all the deleted files it finds, with no targeting whatsoever. For what this is - a quick and dirty recovery tool - it works well enough. There's little reason to choose it over the more powerful utilities though, unless you're looking for a tool to go on a system-restoring USB stick. Even then, you're better off with something a bit more flexible. Like pretty much anything.

BinaryBiz VirtualLab

A data recovery tool that always meets its quota

VirtualLab is an extremely impressive performer, with one unfortunate twist - its pricing model. Unlike most, you don't buy it as an individual program. Instead, you pay as you go, and $40 is only worth a pathetic 100MB of recovered files. That's MB, with an M, and if that doesn't seem stingy, the next level up is $99 for 500GB.

Putting a fixed limit on how much you can recover is odd, but to jump from effectively nothing to half a terabyte is just plain bizarre.

The tools themselves are impressive though. While File Undelete is the obvious go-to, VirtualLab also handles standard partition recovery, supports Mac partition types, and will even have a go at recovering a RAID system.

As far as un-deletion goes, its regular scan is blisteringly fast and the tools it offers to search through what it finds are easily the best of all the programs here. You can browse the directory tree at will, search the recovered files for specific types, or look something up by name - and VirtualLab serves up results instantly.

Exploring further, most screens offer this kind of one-step-further care and attention. When recovering files for example, you can obviously save to a drive (as long as you still have storage in your quota), but this is the only tool here that also lets you output files to an FTP server instead.

On our test system though, we had trouble with the Photos side of the application. For some reason it turned up no images or MP3 files (also covered), despite having found plenty of both in a general File Un-delete sweep.

It's the pricing model that really holds this tool back though. You can try it out with a desultory 1MB of free recovery and see what it can save on your machine if you pay up. For practical use, you're looking at $100 for the 500GB version - 100MB these days isn't worth your time.

PC Tools File Recover

Get your data back without having to fight for it

File Recover is as simple as data recovery gets. Where others have several screens to wade through, here everything is provided on just one - the option to choose a quick scan, deep scan or physical scan, to only target specific file types, and not much more. It also offers a couple of less common options, like the ability to target a single filename, and to recover files from a directory to the right-click menu.

The latter may or may not be very useful though, as it only performs a quick scan, and deleted files are likely to have been moved to the Recycle Bin in any event, and therefore not show up in the search. It offers no support for cameras or other media devices.

While File Recover has no trouble digging up an impressive number of files, if somewhat more slowly than many others here, its recovery screen is lacking. There's no way to filter the results of a scan after getting the list, nor to scan to see if it found a specific file.

Recovered files are colour-coded by how damaged they are, but that's all the detail on offer - no header information for example, as in Recuva.

Most frustrating though is that you can't resize the extremely small window, leaving the important matter of each file's location at the mercy of a scrollbar.

File Recover turned in a solid, but unexceptional performance. It's one of the easier tools to use, and while a bit slower than others, its recovery performance was up to scratch. You'll probably miss the options on offer elsewhere though, and it's worth noting that while the price is lower than many, it's a year's subscription rather than an outright purchase. That's something that makes sense for antivirus software, which needs constant updates. Here, it seems out of place - the basic techniques for data recovery don't change much in the course of a year, after all.

Genie Timeline Professional 3

Help put problems back in the bottle

Genie Timeline offers a different take on data recovery. It doesn't pick apart the detritus on your hard drive or try to salvage deleted files. Instead, it's a live backup tool similar to Apple's Time Machine. Install it, ideally point it to a spacious second hard drive, and it keeps track of and copies anything that you add, delete or change on your primary disk.

The main benefit of this is that you're not just protected against data loss, but far more common data accidents. Yes, Windows 7 has basic versioning support built in, but it's not particularly useful on a minute-by-minute basis, especially if you accidentally overwrite something you've been working on all day.

Genie Timeline also provides a disaster recovery disc creator for pulling files from a broken system, which could come in handy in a crunch. It can scan everything on your system, limit its actions to specific folders, or look for file types like pictures.

It can also make a pseudo-backup of your iPod or BlackBerry, though only by copying backups already made by tools like iTunes.

There are some oddities though. Files aren't restored to their original location, but to a directory of your choice. This makes sense when working with undeletion - the more you mess with a drive, the more you risk damaging files on it - but here, a simple 'put that back' button would be more fitting.

Backups also work on a surprisingly long timer - a minimum of three minutes in the commercial version - whereas tools like Dropbox work live. At the time of writing, this version was yet to be released, but its predecessor's 'Home' edition had an even more questionable 30 minute minimum. Provided you have a second drive, Genie Timeline is a handy way to keep a copy of your most important files, with the advantage that you get something out of it even if disaster doesn't strike.

O&O DiskRecovery

Bring your data back with professional ease

Costing over twice as much as many of its competitors, not to mention facing off against free alternatives, O&O DiskRecovery 7 is on the defensive even before it's been installed. Its primary advantage is its ability to handle formatted and damaged partitions, and very powerful engine, regardless of whether you do a quick or deep scan.

It stumbles in some other ways though, especially post-scanning. This isn't to say that it's complicated to use. In most cases, you just point it to the partition you want to recover, pausing only to specify individual file types if you don't want everything, and whether you want to save files automatically or be presented with a list. One biscuit/ five-course dinner with mints later (depending on whether you used the deep scanner), and it's done.

Unlike many tools, you're not allowed to restore to the disk you're recovering files from - but that's good sense. Just make sure you have another ready. The catch comes if you're looking for specific files. You can't scan for them exclusively, or even target directories - only file types, with the option to add a couple of filters like size and date of creation.

The finished report offers no search box to help drill into it either - an unfortunate omission. The result is that while O&O works superbly if you have a crash or drive-wide disaster to take care of, it's not so effective for day-to-day deletions and recovering from smaller-scale accidents.

If you do end up needing its heavy lifting, there's not much that escapes O&O's eagle eye. It handles hard drives, flash cards, USB sticks and more. Its partitioning support is extremely useful, and the option for an 'Instant' installation if you're bringing it in to clean up is a handy touch.

For general home use though, you can get similar results more cheaply elsewhere.

Ubuntu Rescue Remix

Data recovery for the sysadmin crowd

Ubuntu Rescue Remix is the hardcore solution to bringing your data back to life - with one minor drawback. Specifically, unless you're comfortable with booting it up from a live CD and only seeing a blinking cursor, you should just stop reading now.

There's no GUI and no wizard to talk you through things - just a carefully chosen set of open source tools with the power to bail you out of trouble.

Those tools are split into three categories: Filesystem, Disk and Other. These include TestDisk, as seen separately here, along with Photorec for pulling back media specifically, and Magic Rescue for more general files.

Working as a live CD means that there's nothing to install, which in turn means that you can pull the plug as soon as you realise you've deleted a file and have a good shot at getting it back.

If you're not comfortable with live CD tools, avoid these like a solid chunk of bubonic plague. They're powerful, but choosing the wrong options and firing up the wrong programs can do more harm than your original accident. Together though, they can do far more than any individual program here, and make for an excellent emergency rescue disc for those in the know.

Documentation is primarily provided in the form of manual pages on the disc itself, along with a cheat sheet, and tutorials on the web page that cover the basics. If you'd like to try this pack out without risk, the best way is with VirtualBox (a free virtual machine from www.virtualbox.org).

Create a new disk, mount the ISO and play in the knowledge that you can't harm anything on your real PC. If it proves too much, other boot CDs are available - like www.ultimatebootcd.com - which you may find more approachable. That one also includes TestDisk and Photorec, which are the main tools you're likely to use for regular file recovery.

TestDisk/PhotoRec

A double-whammy of data recovery demons

We're putting these two open-source tools together, because united they can take care of both data-recovery extremes.

TestDisk is the broadsword. It works on whole partitions and non-booting disks, typically in the aftermath of virus attacks or major human error.

PhotoRec is the scalpel. It digs up individual files, from the photos that give it its name to video, documents and archives, and reassembles them as well as possible.

Both come from the world of Linux, so you shouldn't need to glance at the screenshot to expect utilitarian interfaces and the assumption that you know what you're doing. PhotoRec in particular is easier to use than it looks though, with menus to flag the file types you want, and a recovery process that spits everything onto a safe drive for you to sift through.

As the name suggests, it's as good at pulling information from memory cards as hard drives - an increasingly common feature in these tools, but still far from universal.

TestDisk is a much more complicated beast, asking for details like 'disk geometry' and throwing out a stream of jargon. It features analysis tools that will try to work out many of the details if you don't know them, but don't expect to just hit a button and bring back your disks after a crash.

Both tools are small, and neither requires any form of installation. That makes them perfect for emergency USB sticks and custom recovery discs, and together they're not even a megabyte. As a rule, they'll be the go-to tools on any Linux based disc anyway, including the Ubuntu Rescue Remix reviewed here separately.

They're not the ideal tools to try and learn while sweating at the thought of losing a vital file, but they'll definitely help keep you cool if you've already learned the ropes before disaster strikes.

Piriform Recuva

A powerful, free solution that will help you avoid file deletion disasters - even if it can't spell

Recuva is an amazing tool with only one serious flaw: that it can't head back in time and install itself on your PC before disaster strikes. Beyond that, it does everything right. It's fast, it's easy to use and best of all, it's completely free.

As with all tools, you get a standard scan and a much slower deep scan. If you know what you want to retrieve, you can point Recuva towards individual file types (like pictures or saved emails), and destinations from the Recycle Bin to attached devices. Everything is presented in a simple list that can be sorted and searched at your leisure.

Files are flagged according to their quality: green for perfect, yellow for partially overwritten but possibly still of use, and red for unrecoverable. You might still be able to salvage something from these, but don't expect miracles.

You can select many files and recover them at once, with Recuva recommending you do so to a different drive. There's no direct way of putting them back where they came from as if nothing happened, although you can obviously do so by hand once you have them back.

As a bonus, you can also securely overwrite any files to prevent them being recovered (at least without more forensic tools), though their filenames can still be found.

The only annoyance is when searching through potentially recoverable files. This is done via a live search box, but the sheer number of files it churns through as you type brought our quad-core i7 test machine to a crawl. For smaller searches, like 'Pictures', you won't notice. On a full search, it's best to copy and paste queries instead of typing them in one letter at a time.

There's no good reason not to have Recuva on your PC. Other suites may offer more tools, but nothing comes close to its value, reliability and ability to save your bacon.

The award winners

While all of the products we've tested here worked well and did what they promised - which was to recover lost files - we were surprised just how well the free software fared against paid-for. With something as important as data recovery, it's often thought that splashing out on a paid-for app rather than a free one will give you more features and functionality, while delivering peace of mind.

Some people still mistrust free software, especially when trusted brands offer more expensive versions. After all, why would one company give away something that another charges for?

As you can see from this test, the free software excelled, while the paid-for tools just offered more of the same - but for a price. While the paid-for software gives you better presentation and support, but if you know what you're doing either of the two winners will serve you well - they're free and do a great job.

Piriform Recuva

It's powerful, full of features, works incredibly well and is free. Is there anything not to like?

While there's usually a catch or caveat following a sentence like that, Recuva manages to avoid such pitfalls. The best thing we can say about it is that it works well, is easy to use and includes features that even some paid-for applications are missing. If you've lost a file and are looking for a quick and easy way to get it back, make sure you use Recuva.

TestDisk/PhotoRec

When a free program scoops our Editor's Choice award, it can pose a bit of a quandary when selecting the winner of our Value award. Here we felt that while the TestDisk and PhotoRec applications offer amazing power and features for free, they don't match the user-friendliness of Recuva.

You might notice that Ubuntu Rescue Remix scored well, but was only awarded 2.5 stars overall. This is because although it's powerful, we can't recommend it to everyone due to its complexity and the harm it could cause if not used correctly.

Review: Dell Vostro 3555

What Laptop — Sun, 27 May 2012 08:30:00 GMT

Dell has a solid reputation when it comes to business laptops, and the Dell Vostro 3555 is a good indicator as to why.

The performance is just what you need from a reliable business machine while a couple of extra touches make it a pleasure to use. Moreover, the asking price is appealing to anyone shopping on a budget.

For a business machine, nothing is of greater importance than the usability. You're going to be typing a fair amount of reports, emails and other correspondence so it's vital to have a solid keyboard.

The isolation-style keys here are very comfortable and there's a decent amount of travel on each key. You'll have to make your peace with the lack of a numeric keypad, but the backlight on the keys gives them a premium look. What's more, if you leave the Vostro alone for a few minutes, the backlight will shut off to save on power.

The touchpad is very good. It's large and very sensitive, with a couple of chunky click buttons and, like the keyboard, is surrounded by a chrome silver border.

The silver and black look of this laptop is typical of a business machine. The brushed metal exterior and black plastic interior will look just as comfortable at the office or in your study at home.

AMD processor

Instead of the usual Intel chip, the Dell Vostro is built around an AMD A6 CPU. The A6 is part of AMD's Fusion APU range and, while not as recognisable or powerful as Intel's Core range of chips, this processor can more than handle the necessary requirements. It also costs less than Intel's chips, leading to the lower overall price.

The A6 scored a respectable score in our benchmarking tests and is helped along by the 4GB RAM. Although the integrated graphics aren't to be sniffed at, this is certainly a machine you'll want to leave to the office programs - and for that the performance is definitely acceptable.

Benchmarks

Battery life: 106 minutes
Cinebench: 6474
3DMark 2006: 3661

Beyond that, you've got some extra features to take advantage of, such as the fingerprint scanner below the keyboard. This gives you an extra layer of security and an easier way to log in and use the machine.

There's also a quick launch hotkey above the keyboard that you can assign any function to. So, for example, with Skype pre-installed, you could launch it with one click and use the built-in webcam and microphone to set up a conference call. You also have hotkeys for Dell Support Centre and Windows Mobility Centre.

On top of that is the usual connectivity, including an HDMI and VGA port, three USB ports, one of which is USB 3.0, an eSATA port that doubles as a fourth USB and an Ethernet port and DVD RW drive.

We can recommend the Vostro 3555 as it easily checks the boxes we set out for a business machine. Our only gripe was the relatively poor battery life. That said, performance and usability are decent, adding up to a laptop that should well see you through the next couple of years.

Explained: How error detection and correction works

Julian Bucknall — Sun, 27 May 2012 07:00:00 GMT

How error detection and correction works

However hard we try and however perfect we make our electronics, there will always be some degradation of a digital signal.

Whether it's a casual random cosmic ray or something less benign, errors creep in when data is transmitted from one computing device to another, or even within the same device.

If you view data storage on disks, DVDs and USB drives as transmissions from one device to another, they also suffer from errors.

Yet unless the 'transmissions' are obviously degraded (if you run over an audio CD with your car, for example), we're completely unaware that these errors exist.

Early error correction

It wasn't always like this. Back in the late 1940s, Richard Hamming was a researcher at the Bell Telephone Company labs. He worked on an electromechanical computer called the Bell Model V, where input was provide on punched cards.

The card reader would regularly have read errors, and there were routines that ran when this happened to alert the operators so they could correct the problem. During the weekdays, that is.

Unfortunately for Hamming, he could only get computer time at the weekends when there were no operators. The problem was magnified by the fact that the computer was designed to move on to the next computing job if no one corrected the errors.

Hence, more often than not, his jobs were simply aborted and the weekend's computation was wasted. He resolved to do something about it and pretty much invented the science of digital error correction.

At the time, there were no real error correction algorithms at all. Instead programmers relied on error detection - if you can detect that some data contains an error, at least you can ask for the data again.

The simplest method of error detection was the addition of a parity bit to the data. Suppose you're transmitting seven-bit ASCII data across a link (and again, that link could be a form of data storage). The parity bit was an extra bit tacked onto the end of each seven bits that made the number of ones in the eight bits even (even parity) or odd (odd parity).

For example, the letter J is 1001010 in seven-bit ASCII. It has three ones, so under even parity the extra bit would be one (to make 10010101 with four ones), and under odd parity the extra bit would be zero (making 10010100 with three ones).

The other end of the transmission would calculate the number of ones in every eight bits (or at least whether it was even or odd), and check that it matched the agreed upon parity scheme being used. If the calculated parity didn't match the scheme, there was a transmission error.

Early techniques

Let's take our example of Junder even parity. The sender sends 10010101, but there's a random error, a bit gets flipped and the receiver gets 10110101. Since there are five ones in this message, the receiver knows there's been a transmission error. It can't tell which bit got flipped, just that it happened.

The big problem with single parity bits as an error detection algorithm is that it can't detect when two bits are flipped during transmission (or four, or six, and so on).

Another technique that was developed in those early days was repetition - sending the same data multiple times. For example, instead of sending each bit once, we'll send it three times, so that a one gets sent as 111, and a zero as 000. In our example, our 7-bit ASCII J would be sent as 111,000,000,111,000,111,000 (I've added commas to make the triplets more obvious).

If the receiver gets 000 or 111, it assumes that the bit was transmitted without error and is either zero or one. If a single bit in a triplet is flipped, not all three bits are the same and the receiver can deduce that there was an error. Not only that simple deduction though: the receiver can also apply a crude error correction by assuming a majority vote. 001, 010, and 100 would be assumed to be triplets for a single zero bit (there are more zeros than ones), whereas 110, 101, and 011 would signify a one (more ones than zeros).

Although this error detection code is able to detect one-bit or two-bit errors per triplet, it is only able to repair one-bit errors. In doing so, it is extremely inefficient: it triples the amount of data being transmitted. If this technique were still the state of the art, your new 750GB laptop hard drive would only store 250GB of data; the rest would be parity bits.

If you think about it, what we're trying to do with parity bits and the triplets algorithm is to add extra data to the data stream so we can detect and hopefully correct errors. In a perfect world, those extra bits wouldn't be needed - they are, in a sense, redundant - but in ours, they're required for error-resilient transmissions.

One of the problems we've seen up to now is that the error detection algorithms we've discussed so far aren't very efficient. We've been able to detect one-bit errors and two-bit errors, but nothing more. Let's move on to checksums and improve our detection rate.

Checksums

Suppose you're sending your credit card number to an online store. The store wants to make sure that the number you're sending it is at least valid to a certain extent before it sends the number on to the bank for debiting. As it happens, credit card numbers are encoded with a check digit (which is the right-most digit of the full number). If you enter your credit card number incorrectly, the check digit algorithm (known as Luhn's algorithm) will trap it.

Here's how the verification works on 98762345100. Start from the right and double every second digit: 0, 0, 1, 10, 4, 6, 2, 12, 7, 16, 9. Now add up all the digits you see (that is, treat the products as two separate digits when required): 0+0+1+1+0+4+6+ 2+1+2+7+1 +6+9 = 40. The answer must be a multiple of 10, or, equivalently the answer modulus 10 is zero.

Since this is the case here, the original number is said to be valid. If there was an error in a single digit, or a transposition of two digits (one of the most common human errors that happens when writing down a long number), the algorithm will detect it because the check digit will be wrong. (The only transposition error not caught by the algorithm will be 90 to 09, or vice versa).

The check digit is an example of a checksum, a number calculated (the correct term is hashed) from a long message that is tacked onto the end of it for transmission or for storage.

There are several examples of checksums in wide use, the most popular being something small like CRC-32 or something cryptographic like SHA-256 or MD5 (less favoured these days because of academic work that has essentially cracked it). The smaller 32-bit Cyclic Redundancy Check is a great way to detect accidental or random changes to data during transmission or storage. It's easy to calculate in hardware, and is designed to detect not only errors caused by random noise but also due to burst errors, where there is a contiguous set of errors in a frame.

The larger cryptographic hashes are designed to detect malicious errors, and are designed so that it's hard to find or calculate a malicious message that has the same hash as the valid message. That's why when you download a software application, there is usually an MD5 or SHA-1 hash alongside so you can verify that the bits you got were the bits that formed the hash value.

Again, checksums are all about error detection, but not error correction. However there is a way you can use checksums to implement a simple error correction protocol called 2D parity.

Let's illustrate this with a 16-digit number: 9234522314728354. First you write out the digits as a matrix, left to right, top to bottom - see figure 1a. Now you calculate the checksums for each row and for each column.

You can use any checksum you like, but for simplicity's sake we'll use the modulus 10 of the sum. See figure 1b. Now you can transmit the matrix as a longer 24-digit number, reading left to right, top to bottom again: 923485223214724835403173. The receiver can get the number and unpack it, and, to verify that it was received correctly, recalculate the checksums. If all agrees, he can extract the original 16-digit number by throwing away the checksums.

Let's suppose now that there is an error. One of the digits is transmitted incorrectly. The receiver gets Figure 1c. When he calculates the checksums, the results for row three (0) and column three (3) are incorrect.

What can he tell from this? First: that the digit at the junction of row three and column three is wrong. That's the error detection part. Second: now that he knows it's wrong, he can easily calculate what the right value should be. In both cases the checksum is four less than the correct value, so the number at (3, 3) is also four less than what it should be - that is, seven.

If you consider the problem, you can see that we can detect single errors in the original 16-digit number matrix, and in the checksum digits (if a row checksum is wrong but all the column checksums are correct, it indicates an error in the row checksum digit, for example).

Although this technique is rarely used (there are better algorithms), it does illustrate that adding redundancy in the form of checksums (or parity bits) can give you enough information to correct simple errors.

This is roughly where Richard Hamming came in. He devised a system for the most efficient way of adding parity bits to a set of data bits, such that, if there was an error, would also help identify where the error occurred. The constructed sets of data and error bits are known as Hamming codes.

Hamming codes

Let's see how to construct the (7, 4) Hamming codes (that is, the code is seven bits long, of which four bits are data bits).

1. Number the bits starting from one: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. Write them in binary: 1, 10, 11, 100, 101, 110, 111.

2. All of the bits with an index that has only a single one bit are parity bits, the others are data bits. Hence, the parity bits are found at indexes that are powers of two: 1, 2, 4; and the data bits are at 3, 5, 6, 7.

3. Each data bit is included in the calculation for two or more parity bits. In particular, parity bit one (P1) is calculated from those bits whose index has the least significant bit set: 1, 11, 101, 111, or 1, 3, 5, 7. Parity bit two (at index two, or 10 in binary), P2, is calculated from those bits whose index has the second least significant bit set: 10, 11, 110, 111, or 2, 3, 6, 7. Parity bit three (at index four or 100 binary) is calculated from those bits whose index has the third least significant bit set: 100, 101, 110, 111, or 4, 5, 6, 7.

We'll apply this to some example data: 1010. Write it out as x, x, 1, x, 0, 1, 0, where each x defines one of the (even) parity bits we need to calculate. Parity bit one is calculated from bits 3, 5, 7 (which are 1, 0, 0) and hence is one. Parity bit two is calculated from bits 3, 6, 7 and is therefore zero. Parity bit four is calculated from 5, 6, 7 and is one. The complete Hamming code for 1010 is 1011010.

Figure 2 shows this construction and calculation. Let's transmit this and assume that the receiver gets 1011110, with a single bit flipped. We can do the Hamming code calculation on the data bits, get 0010110, and therefore detect that the received code is invalid.

But there's something more we can deduce. If we look at the parity bits, we can see that bits one and four are incorrect, whereas two is right. The common data bit used for the calculation of parity bits one and four is bit five. Since the Hamming code ensures that each parity bit is calculated from a distinct set of data bits, we can conclude that it is data bit five that is incorrect: it should be zero, not one. Hence Hamming codes are not only error detection, but error correction codes.

In fact, through some pretty heavy duty mathematics we can show that Hamming codes are the most efficient way to add parity bits to detect and correct one-bit errors. Hamming codes are less used now, as better detection and correction algorithms have been devised, like Reed-Solomon codes, which can cope with burst errors rather than the less noisy random errors detected and corrected by Hamming codes.

Nevertheless, they are still used widely in RAM, but with an extra parity bit calculated from the previous seven. This extended Hamming code is known as SECDED, for single error correction, double error detection. In fact RAM tends to use a (72,64) code rather than (7, 4) because it boils down to an extra parity bit per eight data bits.

NVIDIA's Tegra 3 to run thirty smartphones in 2012

Dan Crabtree — Sat, 26 May 2012 15:26:00 GMT

At an investor meeting this week, NVIDIA GM Mike Rayfield revealed that the company plans to roll out its Tegra 3 processor in thirty smartphones this year.

Already behind powerful devices like the HTC One X, the Tegra 3 will run a host of other mobile phones in 2012 with its low-profile, quad-core, NEON-enabled CPU, said Rayfield.

Consumers will likely see the 1.4 GHz processor in more Asus, Acer, Toshiba, LG, and HTC phones in the coming months. If the HTC One X is any indication, these devices will be mobile gaming and media powerhouses.

Practically, the Tegra 3 (Kal-El series, named after Superman) supports up to 16 simultaneous active operations on its Cortex A-9 processors, but relies on its fifth "companion core" to take over in stand-by or low-usage mode. This allows the phone to conserve power during down-time and run demanding applications when needed.

Processor purview

While NVIDIA hasn't announced all of the phones receiving the Tegra 3, it does claim that at least 13 of them will have a transfer price under $300. Apparently, the price of power is going down.

It's a good bet that Asus will be a big player in this shift, and it's possible that the rumored Android 5.0 tablet will sport the Tegra 3, or a similar processor from NVIDIA.

"The Tegra 3 will run a host of other mobile phones in 2012 with its low-profile, quad-core, NEON-enabled CPU," said Rayfield.

Also, whatever new phone HTC has been brewing to replace the One X will probably run off a Tegra 3, though the Kal-El series is set to be replaced by the Wayne series (Batman nod) in early 2013.

LTE to the party

In the same investor meeting, NVIDIA announced its plan to begin integrating its new LTE modem, the Icera 410, with the Tegra 3 going forward.

The move comes a bit late, as companies like Qualcomm have already begun integrating network connectivity with its Snapdragon processors, but NVIDIA says that it's confident the quality of its CPUs will make up for the timing.

LTE integration in NVIDIA chips won't happen until the Tegra 3 Grey series (Jean Grey reference) is released in 2013.

Via The Verge

Nokia Lumia 900 Dark Knight Rises special edition coming to UK

Chris Smith — Sat, 26 May 2012 12:07:00 GMT

Phones 4u will sell an ultra limited edition Batman-branded version of the Nokia Lumia 900 in the coming weeks.

The high street retailer told Pocket-Lint that the device will arrive in the UK, Germany and France, but didn't specify just how many would be up for grabs.

The matte black device features the Batman logo etched into the sleek, one-piece polycarbonate frame and is likely to coincide with the release of The Dark Knight Rises in July.

The launch of the Caped Crusader-inspired device, is the second of Nokia's Windows Phone range to tie in with the franchise after the Lumia 800 stuck on a Batman costume in December.

However, while there were only 40 of those devices created worldwide, it looks like there may be a few more on offer for the 4.3-inch Lumia 900.

Coolest Batphone ever

The launch of the coolest Batphone ever continues Nokia's association with the Christopher Nolan-directed franchise.

In The Dark Knight, Bats uses a Nokia 5800 specially equipped with sonar technology. Perhaps the Lumia 900 may may an appearance in The Dark Knight Rises?

Amazon resolves dispute with independent publisher over Kindle books

Chris Smith — Sat, 26 May 2012 11:31:00 GMT

Amazon has come to terms with the Independent Publishers Group following a dispute that saw 5,000 titles removed from the Kindle store.

The spat began in February when IPG refused to a agree to a new contract which would have "substantially" reduced earnings for authors on ebooks and paper titles sold on Amazon.

Reports also suggested that IPG was unhappy with what Amazon was offering, compared with what other publishers in the marketplace were receiving.

The failure to reach an agreement saw the ebook giant remove IPG's titles from the Kindle Store, but continue to sell the paper versions.

More controversy

After long negotiations a deal as now been brokered and the titles are starting to return to the online portal, but not much is known about the terms of the new deal.

The agreement comes following an intense few weeks of controversy over the relationships between publishers and ebook retailers.

Last month Apple and five of the world's biggest publishing houses were sued by the US justice department over allegations they colluded to fix ebook prices.

Some of the publishers chose to settle out of court while Apple, Macmillan and Penguin intend to fight the writ in court.

In Depth: Tech designed to last: 6 of the best

John Brandon — Sat, 26 May 2012 11:00:00 GMT

The kit designed to stand the test of time

Gadgets are not immune from the second law of thermodynamics: they tend to break down. Your new iPhone 4S eventually shows wear and tear (not to mention a few dents and even screen cracks).

An tablet that looks shiny and new one day starts to age over time with grime and dust. Fortunately, laptops, phones, televisions, and even cars are made with long-lasting materials.

These products were designed to last beyond a few months – they could even last a decade.

1. Xplore iX104C5 Rugged Tablet

Rugged laptops and tablets are meant for abuse. They are often used by military personnel and in extreme outdoor conditions. In designing the Xplore iX104C5 Rugged Tablet, engineers at Xplore took a few unusual steps to make sure the product can last. For starters, they used a SSD drive instead of an older magnetic drive commonly used on rugged laptops and tablets.

An SSD drive is much less susceptible to damage and data loss if you drop the tablet. Another major feature that helps the tablet last longer: many components like IO modules and memory cards can be repaired in the field, often by removing just one screw and popping in a replacement part. This means users can do repairs in the field. The tablet uses a magnesium chassis, bumpers to dampen shock, and a rugged internal frame.

2. Moshi

Making a screen protector for the iPad might seem simple. Just fuse a sheet of plastic to a sheet of adhesive and you're done. With the Moshi iVisor XT, the screen protector was tested using thermal cycling techniques: placed in cold and hot conditions repeatedly to make sure the sheet withstands abuse.

The cycling occurs quickly (in case someone uses the product in the car outside and then steps into the house where the heat is blasting) at a range of 28-degrees over a 24-hour period. Moshi uses Statistical Process Control (SPC) during the manufacturing to ensure quality.

This means, they track every slight change in the product from the first prototype through to the final product sold at retail. They might record a slight change in the adhesive strength at one particular edge or material stitching changes.

The reason SPC helps ensure quality is due to the changes that occur when a product is made at high volume compared to the prototypes. They determine changes in the manufacturing that lead to the best cost-savings but still match the quality of the first prototypes – without it, final products would suffer.

3. Pelican HardBack Series Case

Pelican makes cases for tablets, cameras, and other tech gear. The cases meet the MIL-SPEC and STANAG rugged testing requirements, which includes drop tests, impact with a 25-pound dart, water submersion, and extreme hot and cold exposure.

They also use Finite Element Analysis (FEA) modeling, a computer simulation that tests engineering quality – essentially, a virtual drop test. In the simulations, engineers can see what happens structurally when a case is dropped or crushed. Most importantly, when the physical tests are performed, they use a batch of prototypes with several different testers to avoid any surprises.

The cases are made from a polypropylene polymer blend they developed over the last 30 years, instead of relying on existing polymers created for other products.

4. IOSafe Solo G3

One of the true killers for electronics is plastic. While many gadgets will last for several months, if they are made from plastic, it is just a matter of time before the enclosure breaks. Surprisingly, even many network-attached servers and external drives use a plastic case.

The ioSafe Solo G3 is a rugged external drive protected by a metal case and a unique airflow system. "During a fire, the water that's chemically bound inside the insulation steams away, effectively creating a positive pressure space around the hard drive which is continuously exhausted out the vents. The damaging heat can't penetrate the vents because the net flow is always outward," says Robb Moore, the isSafe CEO.

Moore says the Solo G3 is tested extensively for cooling, reliability, and fire protection. The drive is blasted with flames and heated to 1500F for sustained periods – a temperature that would melt most drives. His says the drive is like an aircraft black box that can last for years.

5. Clipa

The Clipa is a simple gadget – you can use it to hang a laptop bag or backpack on a railing or on a chair. The idea is that the clip works like a small hanger. To make sure the product will last, developer TopCor used high strength zinc-aluminum.

During the design phase, the company performed a load test at least 50,000 times, performed abrasion tests on the finish, and tested the spring on the clip up to 250,000 times to make sure the product will last. The tests are conducte don a machine that cycles once per second, or about 86,000 tests per day. They found the clip can hold up to 75-pounds and will break at around 95- to 130-pounds.

Interestingly, they also tested a lubricant used on the backpack clip during the strength tests and found the right blend of a synthetic food grease.

6. G-Form Crash Shorts

G-Form is well-known for the protective cases for the iPhone and the iPad. This new line of protective clothing, including these crash shorts and a padded shirt, uses the same Reactive Protection Technology as the iPad case. The material is made to flex in and then return to the previous state.

The shorts use a material called Thermo Plastic Urethane that is water-resistant and can withstand abrasions. The shorts are designed to withstand heavy abuse, and were tested to withstand commercial laundering, so they will not degrade over repeated use.

Netflix takes credit for Mad Men ratings bump

Chris Smith — Sat, 26 May 2012 10:37:00 GMT

Making earlier seasons available on Netflix has earned Mad Men over a million new viewers, a top executive at the on-demand company has claimed.

The season five opener pulled in 3.5 million viewers when it debuted on US cable network AMC earlier this year, compared with just 2.3 million pairs of eyes for the season four curtain raiser.

Netflix's chief content officer Ted Sarandos reckons the ratings bump can be attributed to subscribers becoming hooked on the stylish, 60s-set advertising drama through the streaming service.

"We brought maybe a million viewers to AMC," Sarandos told an audience at the National Cable & Telecommunications Association convention in Los Angeles.

Lucky strike?

It's an interesting claim, one which may attract more top-level cable shows to throw the older seasons on Netflix in the hope of pulling-in more first-run viewers

However, beyond the boasts, Mad Men makes for an interesting case study. The show was regarded as a bit of a sleeper for the first couple of seasons, but enjoyed a huge publicity boost prior to the start of season five.

Although Netflix will have undoubtedly played a role in the viewership increase, taking sole credit for the increased popularity of Don Draper and co. might be a pitch too far.

BBC iPlayer app set to launch on Windows Phone, says Nokia

Chris Smith — Sat, 26 May 2012 09:52:00 GMT

The BBC is set to launch a version of the iPlayer for Windows Phone devices 'within weeks,' according to a Nokia spokesperson.

The Inquirer has word from the Finnish smartphone giant, and Microsoft's chief Windows Phone ally, that the hugely successful on-demand app will end its self-imposed exile on the platform.

Speaking to the site at the UK launch of the Nokia Lumia 610 handset, a Nokia staff member said: "BBC iPlayer is expected to arrive on Windows Phone within the next few weeks, a sign that the Windows Phone Marketplace is attracting more developers."

Interestingly the 'spokesman,' who probably wasn't authorised to be saying any of this, revealed that Sky Go will arrive on Windows Phone but was a "good few months away."

The final piece of the puzzle

The launch of the iPlayer would be a huge boost for UK-based Windows Phone fanciers, who may have been put off because they can't live without the Beeb's catch-up service.

Indeed, the Windows Phone software itself is beautiful and functional while the Lumia 900 might be Nokia's finest hardware design ever. However, the only missing piece of the puzzle is those content-rich apps.

The current absence of the iPlayer and SkyGo makes it a bold move for iPhone or Android users to ditch their OS and respective app stores for Windows Phone Marketplace. But that could be about to change.

Buying Guide: Best DSLR sensor cleaning kit: 6 tested

Angela Nicholson — Sat, 26 May 2012 09:00:00 GMT

We tested these sensor cleaning products by cleaning the dirty sensors in a number of Canon DSLRs.

We took before and after shots of a plain white wall at a narrow depth of field to show up the dirt and check the effectiveness of the test units. We also awarded marks for ease of use and the speed at which each device enabled a sensor to be cleaned.

Before we see how these camera sensor cleaning products fared, here are some general cleaning tips:

All recent Canon DSLRs automatically clean the sensor each time you switch the camera on or off, with high-frequency vibrations designed to shake off debris. Anti-static coatings on the sensor are designed to repel dust in the first place.

Ensure you have a fully charged battery before cleaning your sensor; power is needed to keep the mirror flipped up for the duration of the cleaning process.

It's worth investing in a number of sensor-cleaning solutions. A blower or vacuum is useful for removing loose dust, and should be used prior to any wet cleaning. A wet swab is usually the best tool for removing stubborn dirt, such as sticky pollen.

Only use proper sensor cleaning swabs that are made in a clean environment and are sealed for protection.

Never use canned air to clean a sensor directly, since the propellant and low temperatures generated could cause irreversible damage to its delicate surface.

Now let's look at the options for cleaning your camera's sensor, with the products in price order.

Kinetronics Speckgrabber

£5.50/$5.95

If there's just one speck of dust or a hair that's spoiling your images, you don't really want to go to the bother of cleaning the whole surface of your sensor, and the Kinetronics Speckgrabber is the ideal tool for removing such stubborn spots.

The soft, washable pad at the end of the Speckgrabber has an adhesive surface so it can be dabbed onto a particle of dirt to pick it up and remove it from your camera. It's very quick and easy to use - provided you can see the dirt you want to remove. However, for a more thorough clean you'll need to look at one of the other solutions available.

4/5

Sensor Cleaning Starter Pack with Photographic Solutions Sensor Swabs and Eclipse Cleaner

£25 (about $40)

These Photographic Solutions Sensor Swabs come in a variety of sizes to suit different sensors, with 17mm swabs being ideal for Canon APS-C format DSLRs. The lint-free microfibre fabric is bonded to the swab handle, so it can't slip off during cleaning, and the flexible blade makes it easy to apply the correct pressure.

Each swab in the pack of 10 is sealed in foil to avoid contamination. Just add a drop or two of Eclipse cleaning solution and you're good to go. A blower is also included in the kit.

4.5/5

Dust-Aid Platinum

£27/$30

This kit includes a wand with a silicone pad and six strips of cleaning adhesive. Before use, the silicone pad is pressed onto a freshly peeled adhesive strip. The pad is then pressed onto the sensor and removed to lift off any loose dirt. Repeated presses at each corner are required to clean the whole sensor surface.

The idea of using adhesive may be alarming, but Dust-Aid Platinum is very effective, and provided it isn't twisted on the sensor, it doesn't leave a residue.

4.5/5

Green Clean Mini Vacuum & Air + Vacuum Power

£28/$40 (vacuum) + £10/$5.85 (compressed air)

Rather than blowing loose dust and fibres around the sensor and mirror box, Green Clean's Mini Vacuum system sucks them out of the camera. The vacuum power is supplied by a can of compressed air - it's the kind that you use to blast dust off the outside of your camera, but when fitted to the Mini Vacuum it produces suction.

The vacuum's plastic hose is around 30cm long, so it can reach into the recesses of most camera bodies to remove loose particles of dirt.

4/5

Lenspen SensorKlear Loupe Kit

£50/$50

Thanks to its LED illumination and 6x magnification, the loupe in this kit enables you to have a clear view of the sensor, and a gap in its collar means you can use it in conjunction with the included Hurricane Blower or SensorKlear II pen to remove dust and debris at the same time.

The blower works well for dislodging loose dirt, while the pen is useful for removing more stubborn marks, but both can be a little fiddly to use within the confines of the loupe.

4.5/5

VisibleDust Arctic Butterfly 788 (with Light)

£75/$80

Although it takes a battery, the VisibleDust Arctic Butterfly is basically a brush for removing particles from sensors with a small light that makes it easier to see what you're doing. As well as the light, the battery powers a small motor that spins the brush to electrostatically charge its bristles to attract dirt.

It's an effective method that works well. However, it's essential to avoid touching the sides of the camera chamber, since this can carry lubricant from the mirror mechanism onto the sensor. It's also important to not touch the brush when replacing its cap.

4.5/5

Review: Panasonic Toughbook CF-19

What Laptop — Sat, 26 May 2012 08:30:00 GMT

The Panasonic Toughbook range has long been the poster child for rugged laptops and the CF-19 is another impressive model.

Unless you regularly work outside or in hostile conditions, you won't need a Toughbook and Panasonic confirms that this model isn't intended for consumer use. But for the engineers and adventurers among you, it's got some great features that make it an obvious choice.

The chunky chassis is built from magnesium alloy and plastic and has undergone both military and industrial testing to make sure it's up to scratch. The CF-19 is vibration, shock, water and dust resistant.

It's not what we'd call slim at 51mm deep, but it is portable, weighing only 2.3kg. It also comes with an attached hand strap which lets you carry it around like a briefcase.

One unique selling point is the swivelling 10.1-inch screen. By rotating the screen 180 degrees on the central hinge, you can fold it down over the keyboard to turn the CF-19 into a mock-tablet. The depth and weight of the machine make it difficult to hold one-handed for any length of time, but the feature certainly has its uses.

The screen itself is a matte TFT display, so you won't have a problem using it in direct sunlight. It's also incredibly bright, so night time or low-light conditions aren't a problem either. The contrast is a little white, so colours and video look washed out compared with other screens, but it doesn't matter as the CF-19 isn't trying to be a multimedia machine.

The 10.1-inch form factor means that the screen has a 4:3 aspect ratio compared with the usual 16:9 widescreen format we've become used to.

Invisible touch

General usability is a mixed bag. We found that the touchscreen was excellent, and although some of the Windows 7 shortcuts are a little small on the 10.1-inch screen, it was generally easy to navigate the operating system this way. This is largely because Panasonic had the forethought to include a stylus that neatly slots into a socket at the bottom of the screen.

Conversely, the touchpad and keyboard are difficult to use. Both are cramped and, for some reason, Panasonic has re-arranged the arrow keys which make skipping around a document very difficult indeed.

Unfortunately, the touchpad isn't any better. It's particularly small and cramped and the response was sluggish - on occasion missing our touch altogether. You can get the hang of using the CF-19 after a while, but it's clear that typing or using the touchpad for any length of time - especially outside or with gloves on - is next to impossible.

In terms of power, the Panasonic CF-19 can hold its own. The CPU is an Intel Core i5-2520M running at 2.5GHz with 4GB of RAM. The CF-19 posted a respectable score in our benchmarking tests and we managed to get several different programs running concurrently without any trouble from lag.

For the majority of work-based programs, this spec is more than sufficient and the integrated graphics chip is capable of handling everything this machine might need. Considering most users will be running bespoke industry software, the Panasonic easily has enough power to keep up.

The on-board storage space is a standard 320GB, but the HDD is shock resistant and can withstand a drop from up to 180cm. On top of this, the CF-19 has space for a 3G SIM card giving you HSPA+ connectivity when you're away from an internet access point.

Covered ports

Every port on the CF-19 is covered with a rubber protector to stop dirt and grime getting in amongst the circuitry. There's also a secure clasp to keep the lid in place and a release catch for the rotating screen.

The machine doesn't lack for ports and connectivity, although there are only two USB ports. Alongside that you also have Gigabit Ethernet, mini FireWire, VGA, 3.5mm headphone and microphone ports, ExpressCard and an SD Card slot.

Another important feature is the battery life, and the CF-19 puts out a strong showing. We ran our BatteryEater benchmark program over a looped HD video with full performance and brightness settings and recorded a 207 minute score. With conservative settings and usage, this should easily get through the standard work day. This means that anyone heading outside or away from the office means they don't have to carry a charger along as well.

Benchmarks

Battery life: 207 minutes
Cinebench: 5700
3DMark 2006: 3045

As far as ruggedised laptops go, the Panasonic Toughbook CF-19 is one tough cookie. There's no doubting the industrial credentials of the design, and the fact that every conceivable port is tightly covered up just helps to make this seem impregnable.

Unfortunately, some obvious concessions have been made in order to keep the form factor small and help portability. We're talking about the usability of the keyboard and touchpad which are very difficult to get used to.

There's also no getting away from the fact that the CF-19 is a pricey laptop. If you were going to pick this up yourself you'd certainly notice the cost. Despite these flaws, we still think the CF-19 succeeds as the niche product it is designed for. Its extensive features and tough design make it ideal for anyone spending their working day out in the field.