Tuesday, 14 April 2015

The £60 Mobile Technology Challenge

Second hand smartphones

Ian McGurren examines whether out of date means out of use

Mobile technology is moving at a frightening pace. What many currently perceive as 'the world of mobile technology' is the world that uses the announcement of Apple's first iPhone as year zero. There are many who argue with this, but there's a clear divide between what was being released before and what was released after the iPhone was first unveiled to the world. Now, that moment seems a distant starting grid in the marathon that the industry is still running, but in reality, it was only just over eight years ago. That same year, The Simpsons Movie was released. The Big Bang Theory started, David Tennant was a hyperactive Doctor, and Leon Jackson won X Factor - and what a career he went on to have... In the intervening time, we have gone from the iPhone to the creation of the App Store, full-touch screen phones, mobile data, HD video recording and playback, tablets. Android and the explosion of apps that have changed our social landscape. Even if you don't buy into mobile technology, it's not an exaggeration to view it as one of the most fundamental changes to how we live that we will see in our lifetimes.

D-Link DCH-M225

D-Link DCH-M225

All around his house, Michael Fereday has been streaming his favourite music

With the model number of DCH-M225, this D-Link offering combines wi-fi extender capabilities with Music Everywhere technology in a device that supports Windows, Mac, Android and iOS platforms. The device itself could easily be mistaken for a 3-pin power plug that looks as if it had been put through a bulking up session which results in body dimensions of 65 x 55 x 42mm (D x H x W).

What Is An Uninterruptable Power Supply?

Uninterruptable Power Supply

James Hunt examines a piece of kit that could save you a whole lot of trouble if the worst happens

If you've ever accidentally kicked the plug socket or tripped over the power cable of your PC, you'll probably know that a sudden unexpected power-down can have dramatic consequences - particularly when it comes to hard drives, which can be accidentally wiped or actively damaged by a sudden power cut.

Of course, even if your PC isn't damaged by unplanned power loss, it can throw other spanners into the works. Maybe a long process you've been running for days is lost, or maybe your plan to remotely access your system while away is thwarted. Whether it's a circuit breaker being tripped, a wider power cut or human error, losing power to your system is always inconvenient. And if you want to prevent it, an uninterruptible power supply is the way to do it.

The Current State Of BitTorrent

The Current State Of BitTorrent

As BitTorrent becomes ever more popular, David Crookes looks at the battles against file sharers, the legalities of downloads and the best software.

There is an irritating, oft-trotted mantra that guns do not kill people, rather people kill people using guns. It's a very skewed slogan, which is roundly - and humorously - scorned on the online Urban Dictionary and in wider real life as it seeks to exploit the idea of the gun as a mere tool that merely performs the particular function asked of it by the operator.

For those who use BitTorrent, a similar argument is put forward. BitTorrent is not the reason for piracy, so the point of view goes, people who use it are. But at least there is merit in this. And that's because for all of the brickbats that are thrown at BitTorrent and for all of the accusations of piracy, it does have many potential good uses. The only problem is that the bad uses get so much of the publicity.