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Following the end of Lockdown, LG offers a speaker to entertain those you invite to celebrate the freedom.
LG Electronics has announced the arrival of its new XBOOM 360 speaker. As the "360" part of the product's title indicates, this product is capable of delivering an all-round omni-directional audio experience that LG feels will be perfect for any listening space or occasion that requires an audio environment. As yet I have not had the opportunity to check out this speaker in situ and, as a result, and this report is based on the information supplied by LG Electronics.
Sometimes the appearance of clothes can be deceptive, you know you wore it yesterday but it still looks pristine, so will you wear it again, perhaps your nose has the answer if that says no you probably do not. However there is something that could turn that no into a yes.
The FreshUp by Bosche is an item to remove smells and odors from your clothes. Not just personal odors but also smoke and food smells. It is 16x6.5x3.5cm and comes with what looks like a slip in glasses case, charging is by USB but for those without a USB port there is also a mains plug front supplied in the box. A full charge of the internal battery is around three hours, while charging a very bright white LED flashes on top of the unit, the on/off button is beside the LED.
As another year passes Corel releases the next version of its Pinnacle Studio video editing product.
Now up to version 25, I have been checking out the Ultimate offering of this Advanced Video Editing software that brings together video editing tools and a selection of creative effects designed to enhance the completed video. Also released at the same time, for those with less demanding needs, are Pinnacle Studio Plus 25 and Pinnacle Studio 25 versions to join the Pinnacle Studio family.
This is one of the few pieces of software that is always installed on my PC or notebook, I have used it for years and apart from a couple of occasions when I have had to do a total reinstall of everything when the hard disk failed all other problems – including my stupidity – have been resolved by visiting my last backup normally to restore files.
For just over a year I have not had other security software and just relied on Acronis – now Acronis Cyber Protect Home Office – to keep me safe from those who wish me harm. Some may wish to make money from things like Ransomware and others just want to prove they can make life difficult.
Can you navigate through this world, return shadowy figures to their normal shape, create potions, defeat enemies in battle and discover the cave city of Ermin-tera in order to recover the sacred relic?
Usually with games of the Match-3 genre, you can look forward to a series of grids with tiles that you need to remove by creating groups. However there are exceptions and Cave Quest is one such title. Developed by MD Studio, this game combines Adventure type activities with various forms of Match-3 game play. I have been looking at Cave Quest's Collectors Edition which contains a number of bonus items.
A doctor, detective and possible victim come together to solve a series of murders.
Shifting its focus to Murder by Moonlight, the next title from e-Funsoft is entitled Crimson Night. This is a Match-3 game involving a series of murder that you are meant to solve as you assist Detective Elliot Moore. As usual you can create profiles to record the progress of individual players. You can also adjust the volume levels used for background music and sound effects plus opt to play the game in full screen mode.
This is a lightweight over ear headset, which can work in a range of situations however it is sold as a Gaming headset. As with so many recent products the unit has to be saleable in many countries and because of this the documentation is minimal and most of it is images. So what do the Philips Gaming Headphones 3000 series have to offer?
The word featherweight appears on the front of the box while 213grams is not that light it is quite light for a corded set of headphones that include a microphone arm. There is 20cm from the tip of the earpiece to the inside of the padded headband; this figure includes 2.5cm of expansion on either side. 16.5cm has the earpieces parallel. Each earpiece can turn through 90 degrees. The earpieces can also move by around 15 degrees forward so should fit almost any head. Each padded earpiece is 9.
And now it is time for yet another instance of the Big Red Bus syndrome as news reaches me of this next product.
No sooner had I send off my report on the arrival of a new speaker system from Tronsmart than information arrived regarding the launch of a new speaker from Fyne Audio. This is a company founded in 2017 as the brainchild of six audio-industry professionals. Based in Scotland, Fyne Audio, the UK's fastest growing audiophile brand, has developed their latest offering which is the F500SP speaker model.
These are small and light even in their charge and storage case they weight only a tad over 50grams. Honor were a new company from China and now they are building a reputation for being a quality company whose products do the job at a reasonable price so what have these wireless earbuds got to offer in a very congested market?
First the figures the buds in their charging case where you should keep them when not in your ears weigh only 51 grams. Each bud weighs only 6 grams and I found initial linking was just a case of opening the case and pressing the button on the side of the case and the Honor Earbuds 2 Lite showed as a link in my Bluetooth settings, once linked each time I put them in my ears I got music immediately from my phone. The outer box is 9.5x9.5x4cm which then contains the 5.
Sometimes mistakes committed earlier can be remedied later.
Do you fancy a trip to the "Spirit World"? If so then e-Funsoft is willing to act as your travel agent. While retaining the touch and feel of a sense of magic, e-Funsoft has taken its love affair with Match-3 game play from the Academy of Magic to Amanda's Magic Book. Now up to version 3, Amanda's Magic Book is subtitled The Spirit World.
When putting together your meals for the day, you might have worries about an increase in your waist size but not if you use the method adopted by this next title.
A poplar board game of yesteryear, and probably still popular in either its original or more modern computer format, is that of completing jigsaws. Recently I have been looking at Tasty Jigsaw Happy Hour 2. Developed by 8 Floor, this game offers you a collection of 500 images which act as the source material image for your jigsaw puzzles. These puzzles can then be completed at your own speed without the need to take up table space within the household.
The problem with most upright cleaners is when you need to move them over obstructions or upstairs they are quite heavy. Now Hoover has produced an upright cleaner that is 30% lighter than previous models but still just as powerful.
The Hoover Upright Pet 300 measures 116cm tall and the foot is 30x23cm. The accessories in with the unit are a small 11cm wide foot and a small 20cm long nozzle to fit onto the hose and a double ended brush, these can either be stored in the box or fitted to the sides of the unit so they never get lost. Next a nice surprise a twelve side A4 manual in Landscape that covers everything and it’s all in English.
If you need help then look elsewhere as this next Adventure game has no Hint feature.
Described as an Action game, although it could easily be designated as an Adventure game, this next title under review is The Wild Case. Developed by Specialbit Studio, The Wild Case casts you in the role of an unnamed character who is sent to investigate a strange phenomena and discover more about the appearance of creatures with glowing eyes. Prior to entering the environment found in The Wild Case, you can make adjustments to the volume levels used by background music and sound effects.
Creative Labs do a lot in sound, most will know this with SoundBlaster range of headphones and earbuds however they also do DAC’s and of course speakers, here a set of rather nice speakers so those who like to fill their rooms with sound can get satisfaction.
They are 20x8x12cm and while by far the simplest way of taking sound from your PC or notebook is via USB and these speakers do that they also need a mains connection to work. If you only have USB then you are still catered for by an adapter in the box but natively the connection is USB ‘C’ and the lead to the master speaker is 1.
With Cinderella relegated to a secondary role, the focus falls on the Fairy Godmother.
As part of the Fairy Godmother series of games, the one based on the story of Cinderella is a Hidden Object Adventure title. Developed by Domini Games, this title conjures up a fresh take on the Cinderella story as the Fairy Godmother is accused of crimes and arrested. I have been looking at the Collector's Edition version of this game which comes with a number of bonus items. The bonus items in Fairy Godmother - Cinderella have been grouped together in an Extras section.
Tronsmart claim you can give your ears a treat with this product.
Tronsmart, a tech brand that designs and manufactures world-class tech accessories, has announced the launch of the Studio 30W SoundPulse® Portable Bluetooth Speaker. Featuring TuneConn™ pairing technology, this product also offers Type-C fast charging and voice assistant capability. It is expected to be available from the Tronsmart website and Amazon.com priced at £69.99 with Amazon UK expecting stock to arrive within the next two months.
This is a battery controlled external camera with Siren and Floodlight and you have the choice of what it can detect, as an example ‘human only’ would be great in my area with the number of cats and foxes that roam around, if can save lots of false alarms that both you and your neighbour's will appreciate.
The Arlo Pro4 Spotlight Camera measures 7x4.5x8cm, the last figure the depth is to the back of the camera the mount can add around another 4cm to the depth. Like so many things today it is linked to your phone and indeed the setup of the unit is on your phone in the Arlo App.
Continuing its two platform approach, Parallel has released the latest version of its Toolbox product.
While Windows like to think of itself as the ultimate desktop operating system, some would doubt this opinion especially with regards to utilities. Even Microsoft seems to agree with this as can be seen by its re-introduction of its Power Tool offering giving users access to various additional features. Parallel is another company that feels Windows lacks some easy to use utility features and has therefore developed its own Toolbox product.
Samsung are one of the most popular brands of Android Smartphones. As with most recent Smartphones the main advances are made with the cameras and for that reason you could say this is a camera phone as a lot of people no longer bother to carry a camera day to day.
The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra measures 16.1x7.2x1cm the last figure is at the large camera area top left .2cm less for the rest of the thickness, it weighs 225 grams. The viewable screen is 7x15.7cm which gives the notional diagonal imperial measurement of 6.8inches. The screen resolution is 3200x1440 and can display 16 million colours. Going around the outside has the volume rocker and below that the on button both on the right side. The base has speaker USB ‘C’ (USB 3.
A new series of Brother inkjet printers
Currently I have only been provided with details of a couple of the new models. However I have been informed that all the new models, including those due to arrive later this year, will offer support for the new Brother Mobile Connect app. Available on Android and iOS platforms, this app will help users to send a file to a printer device from anywhere at any time. The app can also be used to monitor the printer's ink levels and order replacement supplies when necessary.
Modern computer games have changed out of all recognition. This next game is an example of how it use to be.
Dipping into my "oldies bag" I came across of the Mysteryville 2 game. Developed by Nevosoft and originally published by iWin.com, this game is an early example of Hidden Object game play. It is the type of game that would suit somebody taking their first steps into the gaming world of Hidden Object action. Allowing different people to partake in this challenge of Hidden Object and puzzle solving of this game, you can set up profiles to record the progress of each participant.
This is the latest item from Pure to cross my desk, it is a Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and Auxiliary music playing device that has Spotify support and also works with Alexa and the last named can allow you to select what you play on Spotify without leaving the comfort of your chair. Best of all the output from its speaker sounds excellent. So this is not a radio as such but a Smart Speaker with 360 degree playback.
The Pure DiscovR measures 13cm tall when open and is roughly square at 9cm. It works on its rechargeable internal battery and can be used whilst being charged. A USB ‘C’ to USB cable is supplied in the box but no USB plug front, Pure are being waste conscious and they say that any PC or other device can do the job.
By creating mosaics, you can earn the funds to pay for a mechanical horse.
This next game from Digimight shows a change of focus. Rather than deal with the Dwarf Brethren, this game concentrates on the work conducted at Mira's Workshop. While the location of the game may have altered from the forests and mountain homes of the Dwarf environment to the workshop, used by Mira and her friends to deal with mechanical matters, the style of game play remains the same. This is a nonogram game.
Last week I told you about the first eighteen tools in the latest version of Parallels Toolbox perhaps best of all you can choose if it loads automatically on bootup, so many other tools do not give you that option and startup can often be time to make a cup of coffee and a slice of toast and if all you want to do is check your emails then…
Hide Desktop so all you see is the Window you are showing and those other sixty nine icons remain hidden, ideal if you are show someone a presentation, a single click brings all the icons back. Launch this allows you to put several programs together and show the time it takes for them to launch, so you can have several ready to open on a single button touch. Lock Screen means exactly that no one else can ferret around if you have to walk away for a moment.
Rather than a trip to the cinema, a film story could come to you with a game like Righteous Kill.
With a title that might send a shiver running up or down your spine, Righteous Kill is a Hidden Object game developed by Starz Media. As you might suppose from its title, this is a game based on the film of the same title. The film relates the story of New York police detectives, played by Robert De Niro and Al Pacino, tracking down a serial killer.
Combining five different titles featuring the battle between good and evil but are you up to the fight?
Recently I checked out a five title pack from the Focus Multimedia label entitled Darkness & Sorrow. Now it is the turn of a similar offering from the same source. This time the package consists five Hidden Object games brought together under the banner of Angels & Despair. As with the Darkness & Sorrow games, originally launched under the Alawar brand, the five titles making up Angels & Despair have the same heritage.
There are a good number of things that can be done in Windows that are not always that obvious as to how you do them. Sometimes people find a way but often it takes a lot of effort to do it. Here are a package of little things that can make what was hard easy again. Best of all you can download a free seven day trial to see if they are for you.
The first of these is Archive this allows you to just drop items you may need in the future onto a window on your screen and while they are still available just not there in your face. Barcode Generator is a tool that helps you make a barcode you just choose what content needs to be encoded and drop it on a window on screen. Barcode Reader this is something most of us will have used on our phones to download an App here it uses the camera on your PC to read barcodes.
While gamers may take the accolade for success, it is often the keyboard and mouse that is the reason for their success.
Gamers, especially those of the hardcore variety, are a competitive breed who are always looking for ways to improve their performance through the tools they use. Trust Gaming aim to help gamers in this respect with the launch of its GXT 863 Mazz Mechanical Keyboard and its GXT 922 Ybar Full RGB LED Illuminated mouse. While I have yet to see these two products, I have been provided with some details of the keyboard and mouse.
During Lockdown and afterwards I spent a lot of time online with Webinars and various Zoom and various other online meetings both work and friend related, far too often people were moaning about the times they could not get into group simply because Windows was spending ages upgrading, other were getting problems with bandwidth for various unconnected reasons. The polite version from many was I am going to get a Chromebook as they do what you want.
So here one of the latest range that may help them and if there are programs and Apps that you cannot do without them Chrome already allows access to the Android store so Apps on your phone now work on recent Chromebooks. Better still Parallels is just launching a program that allows you to run Windows on your Chromebook. This offering from Acer measures 30.5x205x1.5cm the last figure is the maximum thickness as at the front it is only 1cm thick, it weighs only 1125grams.
Needing hard copies of your documents and images, this next product could help.
Adding to its J5000 range of printers, Brother has introduced its MFC J5335DW model. This particular product is a multi-function device based on its central ink-jet printer capability. Adding extra functionality to the basic printer operation are features delivered by a flatbed scanner, faxing option and an ADF (Automatic Document Feeder) unit. Brother is aiming the J5335DW at the small office / home office market.
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