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McAfee call this the ULTIMATE antivirus, identity and privacy protection for all your PCs, Macs, smartphones and tablets, so while you may have purchased it for your PC all those other devices such as your Phone and Tablet are also covered.
Even if you get a box – or card – from a retailer you do not get any media which means you have to download it from the web address given, this may seem like an extra step but of course Anti-Virus needs updating all the time as the bad guys are always updating their threats. So you get the latest version and not one produced weeks or even months ago.
Giving a different viewing aspect to building and other work is the task undertaken by FLIR ONE Pro.
There is no doubt that the photographic ability built into the latest smartphones have improved compared to the models that were on offer over the last couple of years. However I have yet to see an influx of smartphones offering the Alien-like X-ray ability to visualise thermal images of various scenes.
The round of lets be first with 2018 products is now in full swing, here a product that I use on a regular – more than once a week – basis. Unlike a lot of software that is sold on subscription Nero never ‘times out’ so you need good reasons to upgrade like added features.
Not the fastest installer at twelve minutes for the main components but you are kept informed of what is happening, while you will need up to 5GB of space for everything the main components need around 1.5GB. You then need to enter your 39 character serial number, this is only required once so you can then install the other parts when you wish without this inconvenience.
Early in the summer I told you about what Qobuz expected and now after a few months of regular use I can tell you about what I have experienced, and, also what a rare answer from Qobuz has had to say to some of my concerns.
Some people hate a trackpad and as more notebooks are sold today than PC’s they either have to learn to accept one of just maybe find another solution and that solution could be available in the form of a wireless mouse like this small offering from Logitech.
The mouse is small – without being tiny – it is 9.5x5.5x3.5cm and weights a total of 87grams with its receiver. It is powered by a single ‘AA’ battery that is stated to last 18 months. The receiver is tiny at 1.8cm long and 1.2cm of that goes into a USB port so only .6cm sticks out. I tried it on both a Windows 7 and Windows 10 computer and in both cases it worked almost instantly.
Headphones is perhaps the wrong word for these small units perhaps neckphones – my spell checker hates that word so maybe I have just invented it – as they sit behind the neck rather than on top of the head and they are on ear offerings rather than over ear.
The size of the case fits in the palm of the hand so maybe that says more than saying what size they collapse to. 13.5x8.5x5cm is the size of the hard sided zip up case that is supplied and they fit in this with no problem. Rather than press evenly on the ear they fit on where they touch which is the side away from the hinge so not perhaps the best in very noisy environments as the ear can still breathe and therefore extraneous noises can penetrate.
This is both a Notebook and a Tablet computer. It is of course quite light which is nice if you are walking around with it all day but that means compromises the main one for me was the lack of a full size USB port which for some might be a problem.
The Acer Spin 7 measures 32x22.5x1cm and it weighs 1341grams. The diagonal screen measurement is 14inches and the recommended display is 1920x1080.This is an updated version of one the units I got to briefly try during last year’s Glasgow visit. At that point it had Windows 1511 and now via updates it has Windows 1703. It has on/off button on the left and beside this is a volume rocker, both the front and back are clear. The right side has a 3.
I have used Acronis for my regular Backups for several years, while it feels strange in August to be calling a release ‘2018’ I know all manufactures vie with each other to be first and certain software packages always come early.
The big recent talking point is Ransomware and if anyone gets clobbered by this nasty virus then their life will stop until they manage to restore some order. No Acronis is not a virus package it’s a Backup package and one that can wipe your hard drive so you can go back to where your PC was before your last backup and thus you can negate the effects of Ransomware just remember to do regular backups.
If your worry is not the actual stealing of your notebook or computer but people snooping at the data stored on it then the Yubikey could be the answer. If however your notebook or PC is stolen then without the Yubikey the thief still cannot get at the data.
There are a number of different models I was sent two different ones that both work via a USB port. The first a standard thin USB stick size and the second a tiny offering that could reside on a lanyard. Perhaps best of all it can work with external services so you can use you Yubikey to add an extra layer of security to external sites where you might store your files.
This is a small flat circular device that you talk to – and it can talk back – it can also give you information and even play music from a range of sources. Other joys it can tell you time and set alarms to wake you so ‘Alexa’ from Amazon is here.
Some may think Alexa is real as she interprets what you say to a good degree of accuracy but she is just a very sophisticated voice recognition package which needs no training but she is still able to learn and while some of the initial stories coming out about it ordering things for you without you meaning to place the order, this is unlikely to occur by accident.
Something I have heard of previously but until now I have never tried a water bottle filled with tap water and then left for various periods with a stick of charcoal in it. Recently I reviewed a water bottle with a filter to remove impurities for use when no clean water is around, this item is intended to improve the taste of pure tap water.
Before anyone starts taking lumps or charcoal from a fire I assume the stick provided here has been treated as it does not disintegrate like burnt wood. What you get is an 11cm long slightly curved 2cm across round stick black in colour, it goes into the supplied 21cm tall round bottle which is 3cm across at the top and up to 9cm across lower down. The bottle has a cork to fit in the top with a metal clip to hold it in place.
Philips are a trusted name in electronics, the panel division is based Europe, I have reviewed a number of items for the home medical and health division, here something from another division home grooming which they do for both men and women.
This electronic razor is equally useable ‘Wet’ or ‘Dry’. A lot of dry shavers have a problem when shaving once a couple of days have passed since their last use especially on the area below the chin and while you feel fine just after the shave then the irritation starts and also as this hair is somewhat softer there is also the likelihood that it has just been brushed aside rather than removed.
While you may spend many hours staring at it, how much thought went into the selection of your computer screen?
If, like me, you spend many hours sitting in front of a computer, whether for work or more entertaining activities, then some care should be taken regarding the environment and the equipment being used. While much thought may be put into features such as processor speed, RAM and the amount of storage space, the monitor can sometimes be regarded as little more than an after thought even though it fulfils the important role of delivering an insight into the world created by the computer.
It does not seem all that long ago that I reviewed a game entitled Cursed House and now I am entering the world of Cursed House 4.
This is from a Polish company bringing a range of SmartPhones to various parts of Europe including the UK. The first thing I noticed is that it is not light and the volume levels need to be adjusted as they as set rather high by default, ideal for those with hearing loss.
My sample also had another rather interesting setting in that by default Wi-Fi is set to off so you cannot do the standard of inserting SIM, setup Wi-Fi – because no Wi-Fi will be found – then set up your email account etc. before you get to the Home screen. There is sometimes a third option showing of ‘later’ on the Wi-Fi setup screen which allows you to get to the Home screen.
While better known as the developer of mobile phones, Nokia is also active in the area of Health equipment. One such product is the Nokia Body. Not to be confused with an Australian supermodel, the Nokia Body is a weighing machine. It has Body Mass Index features plus rain and weather forecasting capabilities along with its weighing capability.
Available in a choice of white or the black of my review sample, the Nokia Body’s ultra slim body features a large high-strength tempered glass platform on the top of a square unit with dimensions of 327 x 327 x 23mm (W x D x H). Positioned at the top of the reflective mirrored platform is a 128 x 64 pixel viewing window providing large easy-to-read feedback regarding the device’s various functions of weight, BMI and weather forecast.
This is an inkjet All In One meaning it prints, scans and copies. It is a five ink offering with the pigment black cartridge being considerably larger. So it is Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black plus the second pigment black to get the five cartridges.
The Canon Pixma TS6050 measures 35x35x15cm with A4 paper in the small bottom tray. You would need a little more space on top to place things on the flatbed scanner and if you use the rear sit up tray a lot more space above. Some extra space - around another 12cm - for when A4 paper is printed to fully extend the output tray. Paper is inserted in the bottom tray face down and in the rear tray face forward.
This is a Bluetooth tube speaker with bright green ends all round speakers and black rubber sides. None of that really matters as turn it on to a music source of your choice and marvel at the sounds coming from the unit then play the same music through your Notebooks speakers, it’s no contest this unit from Braven is a winner.
The Braven Stryde 360 bluetooth speaker measures 16cm tall and 7.5cm from side to side, it weighs 474 grams. Virtually the whole front and rear of this round tube is all speaker with the top and bottom also being speakers as well, for which the technical term is passive radiators. The front has a black rubber strip with five near invisible buttons mounted over its length, I say invisible as they are imprinted black on black.
MAGIX offers to help put your photos and videos into a format to entertain others.
No doubt, like many others, you have a large, if not vast, collection of photos and videos taking up valuable storage space on your computer. While these images are a great aid to your memory, they can also be put to more productive use by being amalgamated into a visual and audio experience that could be enjoyed by friends and family. This task could be carried out with a software product such as PHOTOSTORY Deluxe from MAGIX.
A Nespresso coffee machine called ‘Expert’ & milk. So if you like black coffee there are cheaper options, but even if you only like a frothy coffee once in a while then this offering from Magimix could well be just the thing.
The work ‘Expert’ here means you have choices as to the size of the cup and even to the heat of the water both things that you do not directly have in most other machines. Yes you can always stop the flow early or even add more over the used pod but you certainly only have one water temperature, with the ‘Expert’ you can choose both. It is 36.5cm wide, 21cm deep and 28cm tall. Both the milk unit and the water tank sit on the right side of the unit.
Not to be confused with the natural phenomena found in astronomy, the Luna Eclipse product is a set of multimedia speakers offering Bluetooth connectivity.
Consisting of a passive and active speaker combination with a remote control unit, the Edifier Luna Eclipse comes with a small multi-language booklet that acts as a User Manual, and various leads. In the case of my review sample, the collection of leads was made up of a two-piece mains power lead with linking switching adapter, a lead with proprietary six-pin connections for joining the two speaker units and an audio lead with 3.5mm jack plugs at each end.
While the blurb that arrived with Secret Investigations: Nemesis indicated that this was an exciting and multilevel detective game involving intricate cases and logical thinking, my experiences with this game were somewhat different.
Secret Investigations: Nemesis casts you in the role of a private detective, who does not even seem to have a name, who is set the task of “investigating” ten different crimes. These crimes are identified as The Mystery of Room 13, Rescuing Fire, Echo of the Past, Last Bus Route, Lost Dog, Forgotten Case, Cursed House, Subway Legends, Missing Elephant and Mysterious Passenger.
Just occasionally I get an email from Hoover about new offerings, one such arrived last week and I selected what seemed an interesting offering asking if one was available for delivery four days later just in time for my weekend cleaning blitz.
The next afternoon it arrived and it therefore sat in my hall for three days waiting to clear up the last weeks mess. Assembly was a matter of extracting it from a tightly fitting box and finding the handle among all the accessories and hose extensions all provided. There is one screw - packed in position with a piece of tape – so a screwdriver is required. The supplied 6 metre power cord is almost long enough to do the whole property from a single power point – another .
Designed for the young at heart (at whatever age), the Honor 9 is the latest smartphone in the range to join the Huawei family of products. With this particular model, Huawei has attempted to combine aspects of quality, appearance and a price point that should appeal to its designated market sector.
With an appearance that seems to whisper “pick me up please”, the Honor 9 is available in a choice of colours. The discerning user can select from Sapphire Blue, Midnight Black or the Glacier Grey colour of the model that I have been reviewing. Incidentally I have heard rumours of a pink model but, as yet, have not set eyes on it to confirm its existence. The Honor 9 has dimensions of 147.3 x 70.9 x 7.45 mm (H x W x D).
A notebook with decent Harman Kardon speakers, a not that reflective screen brushed metal front and a mushroom back which means not much to show finger marks all things that are plus points before we get on to what’s inside.
This Asus Zeonbook measures 32x22.2x1.5cm the last measurement is at the back and it is only 1cm at the front and it weighs 1320 grams. The viewable screen is 31x17.7cm which gives the notional diagonal imperial measurement of 14 inches. The display is 1920x1080. The left side has DC input, USB port, HDMI port, USB 3.1 port and finally a 3.5mm socket for headphones. Both the back and front are clear. The right side has two USB2 ports and an SD card socket.
Magix are a name I first came across years ago and they still continue to publish software products for both home and professional use, most of their products are available to download as a trial once you can get past their ‘I am not a robot’ shield.
Any product that has reached version 12 must have a lot going for it, while I have reviewed other packages from Magix previously some doing a lot of what Sound Forge does this is the first time I have used this package. So in order to help those who have used it before my first port of call was to the What’s New tab. Firstly I gather this is Sound Forge’s first 64bit version. While an expert is probably clear with things like Slice Editing, Soft Cut and Spectral Cleaning.
It is that time of the year when new versions of existing products begun to appear – including MAGIX’s movie editing software.
MAGIX has just released the latest version of its popular Movie Edit Pro software. Now up to version 17, this software is available in a choice of Standard, Plus and Premium editions, each priced appropriately to reflect the product’s feature set. This review is based on the standard MAGIX Movie Edit Pro offering. As part of the initial installation procedure of this product, users are given the option to include a copy of MAGIX Music Maker in the process.
Very different to the original first launched in 2014 and a little bit different to Chromecast 2 launched two years ago. It really is just a matter of plugging into an HDMI port and downloading an App to your phone the link is almost instant and then almost anything on your phone can be ‘cast’ to the HDMI screen be it on a TV or computer.
The original Chromecast was an oversize USB stick which meant at the very least it would obstruct ports either side of the one you connected to and in most cases you would need to hang it from an extension lead. The latest model is small and circular and is attached to a short lead so it gets away from the other ports on the rear of your TV or panel. It has a 1.5metre micro USB to mains lead plug so in most cases this is long enough but you can always use an extension lead if required.
When looking for an IT bargain, one place to check out is the Reichelt superstore.
Supplied by the online and bricks & mortar superstore, Reichelt, the VARTA powerbank is a device that can be used to recharge a mobile device when a mains power source is not available for carrying out the purpose. For those not familiar with the company VARTA, I should explain that this is a German organisation with 128 years experience in the development of solutions involving batteries such as this powerbank device.
With Kestrels and Alchemy, this next game sets you the challenge of rescuing a kingdom.
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