W

ow! Has it been my

second month here
already? Time truly
flies doesnt it? Next thing you
know, 2013 will be drawing to a close. This month has been a very
exciting one for us here at CHIP Malaysia as there was just non-
stop action in the tech industry back here in Boleh Land and also in
other parts of the world.
So since it has been so exciting, we hear you asking us what
exactly do we have in store for you this month? First up, as you
can see from our cover, we set our sights on hackers. Yes, I know
that weve done quite a few articles on this before, but this time,
we are taking a look at how hackers have moved on from just
hacking your PCs and are now targetting your smart devices. So its
time to get those security solutions up and running.
Other than that, my very lucky colleague Nazrin also managed
to get a flight to Japan and also to grace the halls of this years
Tokyo Game Show. So if you want to know what went down
during the convention, do check out his 6 page article on the event.
If thats not enough, weve also compiled a list of some of the
coolest gadgets that made their debuts at IFA 2013 in Berlin and
we also take a closer look at Intels upcoming mobile CPU,
Silvermont. Another really cool thing that we got to feature this
month is a custom gaming rig called the Gold Digger. If you
thought the modding scene was dead, think again.
Aside from our features, weve also got a glorious spread of
reviews for you, which include some of the things that got us
jumping out of our seats.
Well, thats really about it for this month, please continue
writing to us and dont forget to check out our website, like us on
Facebook and follow us on Twitter as we are constantly finding
ways to bring the latest updates to you as fast as possible.
So thats all from me this month, enjoy the content we have
prepared for you inside and remember to stay safe and live for the
moment.
The Excitement
Never Stops
welcome note
col ophon
Jeremy Cheong

International Members of the Family

China Czech
Republic

Germany India Italy Hungary Indonesia Netherlands Poland

Romania Thailand Ukraine Russia Turkey

Managing Director Noor Azman
Head of Department YK Cheah
EDITORIAL
Editor Jeremy Cheong
Writer Nazrin Zain
Contributors Anand Tuliani, Azril
Malik, Brian Pereira, Deepti Krishnan,
Dushyant Khilnani, Erick Rustomji,
Fabian von, Keudell, Francis DSa,
Jamshed Avari, M. Biebel, Manfred
Flohr, Markus Hermannsdorfer, Michael
Eckstein, Monali Gaikwad,
Tim Lee,Thomas Littschwager, Valentin
Pletzer, Tan Jee Yee
Design & Layout Halijah Ismail
Cover Design Halijah Ismail
SALES & MARKETING
Senior Manager YK Cheah
Consultant Muffadzlee Dato Sufian
ADMINISTRATION
Admin Manager WP Lim
ONLINE

www.chip.com.my
@CHIPMY

CHIP Malaysia
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content
september 2013
Next-Level
Hacking
Even with all our latest gadgets, theres still no way
we are safe from prying eyes and hands of hackers as
they evolve just as quick as our technology. These days,
its not just our PCs that are vulnerable, as anything
connected to the internet is fair game for hackers
065
058
Coolest
Gadgets
From IFA
2013
This consumer electronics show
in Berlin is the place to be when it
comes to the latest device and this
year was no different
050
ItsAll Its All
About
Games
Check out what we saw and
experienced at this years TGS
content
september 2013
038 106
116
109
044 008
FEATURES
038 LegalTECH
Instead of just relying on
technology to play games, we
find out how they can lower the
crime rates
044 The Evolution of A.I.
Ever wondered how far
Artificial Intelligence has come?
Well show you

NEWS & TRENDS
008 Local News
Coverage of the latest news
and events right on our shores
032 World Wired Web
All the latest tech happenings
around the world
038 Security Reports
Monthly dose of security news
TEST LAB
071 Test Lab: The Tools
Test Labs tools of the trade
072 Test Lab Contents
Take a pick and get
started!
080 Reviews
Professionally conducted
reviews following our stringent
tests and benchmarks
PRACTICE
116 Second Life For Old Devices
Dont let that old gadget just
sit and gather dust. Here are some
handy tips for you to get the best out
of older devices
LITE & LEISURE
106 Watch
If you love dinosaurs, here
are some of the best movies
that feature them
109 Company Of Heroes 2
Ever wanted to know what it
feels like to lead an army? You
can in Company Of Heroes 2
REGULARS
001 Welcome Note
006 Letters
119 Tips and Tricks
october 13

chip malaysia
004
content
chi p cd
CHIP CD
Ashampoo WinOptimizer
AIMP
Gaia Family Tree
ChanSort
Multi Commander
Perfect PDF Reader
Wiztree
Format Factory
Novicorp WinToFlash
Universal Viewer
Graphics Drivers
NVIDIA (Windows 7)
AMD Catalyst (Windows 7)
Internet Browsers
Firefox
Google Chrome Installer
Safari
Opera
Compressions Software
WinZIP
WinRAR
PC Essentials
The Monthly 10
A unique stealth puzzle spin in a noir-inspired 2D world, Gunpoint puts you in
the shoes of a freelance spy that breaks into high security buildings to steal
sensitive data. Get past security by making use of the Crosslink, which allows
you to rewire the levels and outmaneuver the guards. And once youre done
with the main storyline, the level editor will allow you to create your own
devious puzzles for other people to solve.
Game Demo
Gunpoint
Movie Trailer
Thor: The Dark World
Entertainment
Networking is all about things and people getting together, but
we all know that there are hurdles to leap to reach total
connectivity. Connectify is a powerful tool that provides two
innovative functions that will enhance your networking life --
one in turning your PC into a wi-fi hotspot, and another in
allowing you to combine bandwidth from all of your computers
Internet connection. We may be bringing it to
you for our Practice session this issue,
but you cant deny that this is one
indispensable tool to keep
around. session. speeds, on
top of CPU usage and
memory usage.
Featured Tool:
Connectify
ChanS
Multi
Perf
W
nt
is issue,
one
letters
readers feedback
september 13

chip malaysia
006
Write to us at letters@chip.com.my. Alternatively, log on to the forums at forum.chip.com.my and make yourself heard! The Letters page is an outlet for you to voice your
views and opinions towards the magazine as well as general tech trends. Feedback sent to us may be edited for suitability without altering the intended point-of-view. The
monthly winners for LoTM will be contacted for further details.
Letter of the Month
Facing The Music
Dear CHIP,
It was good to see my favourite movie 2001: A Space
Odyssey included in your article The Music of Sci-Fi in the
August 2013 issue. However could you please point out to the
author (and to readers that may have been misled) that the
tone poem Also Sprach Zarathustra was witten by Richard
Strauss who was totally unrelated to Johann Strauss Jr., who
wrote The Blue Danube. It appears that the author thought
they were one and the same, as the line Strauss work as
also used elsewhere ... implies.
Errol Mathams
Dear Errol,
After a bit of verification and some input from our very
own in-house movie buffs, you are absolutely right! The
author of the article did indeed make a mistake about the
two, and we do profusely apologise about that. Well be
sure to send him to remedial classes about movie music
and ensure that we dont commit the same mistake again.
And as a sign of our appreciation for your education in this
matter, heres a little gift from us to you - a Kingston Data
Traveler GE9 16GB thumb drive!
The TGS Pilgrimage
Dear CHIP,
I read with great interest in last months issue where you
mentioned that you guys will be attending the Tokyo Game
Show this month! This is of relevant interest to me as I am quite
enthusiastic about the event. Its also one of those rare times
where new gaming consoles are being showcased before they
hit store shelves, and Im deeply interested in what both the
PlayStation 4 and Xbox One has to offer!
Hairil
Dear Hairil,
It is indeed a great time of the year for gamers. Having only
seen and heard about these new consoles through websites on
the internet made us appreciate that we were lucky enough to
be able to attend the event this year. The Sony and Microsoft
showcase had plenty of games from current and next-gen
consoles, and they all look very very impressive. We tried out
games such as KNACK, Titanfall, Final Fantasy XIII-3 and even
some new fighting games that were sure a lot of people would
love!
We have an extensive 6-page coverage of the event this
month in our Features section, so do check it out!
Stuck In A Rut
Dear CHIP,
I have bought and read your magazine since 2005 and whilst
I enjoy reading your magazines every month since I started, Im
currently stuck in a bit of a predicament. I currently have a pile of
your magazines in my room, and due to storage issues, I need
to let them go, but at the same time I still like to re-read them
whenever I like. I understand that you guys also have released
digital copies of the magazine on Zinio for Android and iOS
devices, but unfortunately I have neither of those. Is it possible
for me to have the digital copy of the magazines without the Zinio
app?
Zach CF
Dear Zach,
Thanks for being such a long-time reader and loyal support
of our magazine! We appreciate your support and hope that
youd continue to peruse our publication as your favourite! It
is unfortunate, but we have to sadly inform you that our Zinio
subscription does not go back till 2005, and the more recent
issues are not distributed outside of the service. Our archives
are all production copies and we dont typically give those out
to the public. Your best bet would still be to keep the older
copies, as you can still get the newer copies whenever you do
get yourself an Android or iOS device. We do apologise, and
hope that you understand our reasoning behind this.
Letters
october 13

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008
news
l ocal news
T
hroughout the last nine months,
Samsung has been doing what
they do best and that is by
providing consumers with a constant
stream of smartphones that cater to
every type of user. Their previous
flagship the Samsung GALAXY S4 alone
came in multiple iterations and is one of
the hottest selling devices all around. But
for consumers who know Samsung, they
would have waited till the GALAXY Note
3 arrived, which arrived on 20 September
and it was definitely worth the wait.
With the launch of the Samsung
GALAXY Note 3 and GALAXY Gear, we
are proud to set a new benchmark of
innovation in the large screen mobile and
wearable device category. Samsungs
ongoing smart device leadership
reflects our commitment to listen to our
consumers, who want their daily lives
to be easier and more enjoyable. The
devices enable users to tell the stories of
their lives through dynamic and seamless
expression of their passions across work,
play and life experiences, said Kwon
Jae Hoon, Managing Director, Samsung
Malaysia Electronics.
Like the previous iterations that
came before it, the GALAXY Note 3 is
truly a remarkable device as Samsung
have once again packed it with the
latest hardware and features. Despite its
8.3mm thinness and 168g lightweight,
the GALAXY Note 3 is actually a 5.7-
inch device that sports a Full HD Super
AMOLED display and also 3,200mAh
battery.
In terms of design, the GALAXY Note
3 retains much of Samsungs now iconic
Geared Up To
Explore The
GALAXY
Samsungs GALAXY Note 3 and Gear makes their
grand entrance
Like its predecessors, this phablet packs the latest hardware
and sports a 2.3GHz Quad-Core CPU, 3GB worth of RAM,
32GB worth of internal storage, runs on Android 4.3 Jelly Bean
and has a 13-megapixel rear camera.
The GALAXY Gear will be available in available in other colours
such as Jet Black, Mocha Gray, Wild Orange, Oatmeal Beige,
Rose Gold and Lime Green
(From le): Vincent Chong, Director, HHP Division, Samsung Malaysia Electronics; Kwon Jae Hoon, Managing Director, Samsung
Malaysia Electronics; Jusn Joo, Business Manager, HHP Division, Samsung Malaysia Electronics; and Mahew Ng, Head of Sales,
HHP Division, Samsung Malaysia Electronics pose with the new GALAXY Note 3 and GALAXY Gear
design language but comes with a touch
of class due to the soft and textured-
touch back cover that emulates leather.
Even the S Pen has gone through a
slight redesign and is much slimmer and
comes with many new functions such as
Air Command, which will allow users to
easily access features for all their note
taking needs.
Launched alongside the GALAXY Note
3 was the GALAXY Gear, Samsungs
first foray into the wearable technology
market and also the perfect companion
to the phablet. The GALAXY Gear may
look just like a very stylish watch but it
actually provides users with notifications
and quick previews of incoming texts,
emails and more from the GALAXY Note
3. It can also be used to answer calls and
even record videos and take still images
with its 1.9-megapixel camera.
Samsung GALAXY Gear benefits
consumers by integrating smart
device technology even deeper into
their everyday lives, and bridges the
gap between the mobile device and
fashion worlds to create truly wearable
technology, added Kwon.
www.samsung.com.my
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T
he Android tablet space has grown
tremendously over the past few
years and with so many choices
to choose from, many consumers are
now finding it hard to pick the right one
for them but the good thing is, Lenovo
recently launched three new tablets that
come in different configurations and has
the features that will satisfy the many
different users.
With these latest additions to our
tablet portfolio, weve created devices that
address these customers needs, as well
as devices for more demanding gamers
and multimedia users, said Khoo Hung
Chuan, Country General Manager, Lenovo
Malaysia.
First up on the list, is the A1000, a
seven-inch tablet that is ideal for first time
buyer as it only costs RM499. Other than
the very attractive price tag, the A1000
also comes with features such as Dolby
Digital Plus integrated into the device and
large, front-facing speakers that provides
users with unprecedented audio clarity.
The A1000 also runs on Android 4.1 Jelly
Bean and is powered by a 1.2GHz dual-core
processor, has 1GB worth of RAM and
on-board storage of up to 16GB.
Then for those who want more
processing power, they can always look to
the A3000. Priced at RM699, this seven-inch
lightweight device features a 1.2GHz quad-
core MTK processor, 1GB worth of DDR2
RAM, 3,500mAh battery and 16GB internal
storage. It also comes with a 1024x600 IPS
display and has an optional support for 3G
HSPA+ so users can stay connected and
stay productive while on-the-go.
Finally, for those who prefer large
tablets for content consumption and
creation, Lenovo also launched the S6000,
a 10.1-inch tablet that boasts a 1280x800
LED IPS display, 1.2GHz quad-core
processor, 1GB DDR2 RAM, 32GB internal
storage and 6,340mAh battery. It also has
Tablets Big And
Small For All
Lenovo launches new and affordable Android tablets
Seen here with the new tablets and models are Khoo Hung Chuan, Country General Manager, Lenovo Malaysia (2nd from le)
and Jimmy Chin, Consumer Segment Lead, Lenovo Malaysia (3rd from le)
optional support for HSPA+ connectivity,
which means users wont have to search
high and low for a WiFi hotspot as they
can stay connected wherever they go. Even
with all these features, the S6000 costs only
RM1,099.
www.lenovo.com/my/en
Lenovos A1000 is the ideal tablet for those who love listening
to music, watching movies and gaming during their daily
commutes
The A3000 is for those who tend to do much more on their
tablets such as mul-tasking and possibly even document and
photo eding
With this mobile home entertainment centre, users can
switch seamlessly from entertainment to social media and
more as the S6000 packs quite impressive hardware
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The Best To Come
From Sony
Sony brings a bit of IFA here to Malaysia
S
ony Mobile has finally taken its
gloves off, and is introducing a
wide variety of smart devices that
are sure to bring out the inner geek in you.
In conjunction with IFA, which was held
in Berlin recently, Sony Mobile Malaysia
brought a few of the devices showcased
at the German tech event to Malaysia as a
regional launch.
First off the block is the Sony Xperia Z1,
a premium waterproof smartphone, which
features the best of Sonys technologies
The Z1 features a Full HD five-inch
display and uses Sonys TRILUMINOS
display for mobile, creating rich natural
colours that are reminiscent of Sonys
own HDTVs. Powered by a 2.2GHz
Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor,
Sony has included an equally powerful
3,000mAh battery for long lasting power.
Sonys Battery Stamina mode meanwhile
automatically turns off functions that arent
used when it goes idle to save power, and
can be turned back on.
Sony has also implemented its
acclaimed OmniBalance design using a
solid one-piece aluminium frame with
tempered glass to ensure that the build
retains its precise and premium feel. Much
like its predecessors the Z and Z Ultra, the
Z1 is waterproof and dust resistant (IP55 &
IP58), Besides that, the Z1 is also equipped
with a 20.7MP G Lens, that has an aperture
count of f/2.0, and a 3x clear image zoom,
all powered by a 1/2.3 Exmor RS sensor.
To go with the Xperia Z1, Sony
has also announced a number of new
companion devices, which include the
Sony SmartWatch 2, which can be used as
a second screen for the Xperia Z1, as it is
able to access notifications, act as the Z1s
camera shutter trigger and more.
The other star of the show has got to
be the Sony DSC-QX10 and DSC-QX100
devices, both of which are high-
performance lens-style cameras, which are
designed to be mounted on smartphones,
and operated via the smartphone screen,
connecting to the devices via NFC.
The Sony Xperia Z1 is slated to arrive in
Malaysian stores early October, whilst the
Sony Smartwatch 2 and QX10 and QX100
cameras will be available sometime in the
middle of next month.
www.sony.com.my
Jason Smith, Director of Markeng, Southeast Asia & Oceania, Sony Mobile Communicaons (h from le); Cheong Wah Tong, Head of Market, Malaysia, Sony Mobile Communicaons (centre);
and Mahew Lang, Corporate Vice President and Head of Southeast Asia & Oceania, Sony Mobile Communicaons (h from right), together with models posing on stage with the new Xperia Z1.
The Sony Smart Watch 2 is compable with a wide variety of
Android smartphones
The new lens-style camera, Sony DSC-QX100 can be aached
to any smartphone or used as a point and shoot camera
Introducing the brand new Sony Xperia Z1
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AIO Slate 21
SlateBook x2 -1
SlateBook x2 for RM1,499 and the HP
Slate 21 All-in-One for RM1,099.
www.hp.com.my
F
irst announced at HP World in
Beijing this year, a number of
Android-powered HP devices
have begun making their way here to
Malaysia, where the company aims to
give people more flexibility in how users
access and share their information on
the move.
First of these devices is the HP Slate
7, a seven-inch tablet that weighs in at a
very light 370g, which is also the first of
HPs tablets to offer Beats Audio for the
best-sounding, richest audio experience
on a tablet device. It is powered by
a 1.6GHz dual-core ARM Cortex A9
processor and uses a High-aperture ratio
Field Fringe Switching (HFFS) panel
which offers wide viewing angles and
excellent brightness, regardless whether
youre indoors or out.
The HP SlateBook x2 meanwhile is
perfect for people who want a 2-in-1
device for both work and play, as the
SlateBook x2 is an Android tablet that
comes with a keyboard dock that also
serves as a second set of batteries
for the device. The SlateBook x2 runs
Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, and is powered
by an NVIDIA Tegra 4 processor, which
is excellent for both work and play, and
the 64GBs of storage inside of it ensures
that you have enough space for both.
For those looking for a more
permanent fixture to the house, HP
also has the HP Slate 21 All-In-One
PC, featuring a 21.5-inch Full HD touch
screen display, perfect for family
and friends activities. Also powered
by a Tegra 4 processor, the Slate 21
includes DTS Sound technology and
has the HP TrueVision HD webcam and
Wireless Direct which allows users to
share videos, photos and data between
devices without the need for an internet
connection.
All three devices are already available
in the Malaysian market right now, with
the HP Slate 7 selling for RM499, the HP
Slates Of All Kinds
HPs Android-based devices finally arrive on
Malaysian shores
(From le): Serena Yong, General Manager Prinng & Personal Systems Group Singapore & Malaysia, Loh Wai Mun, Country Category Manager Prinng & Personal Systems Group and James Low,
Market Development Manager Consumer Notebook Prinng and Personal Systems Group
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performance with new workstation-class
storage solutions; graphics and scientific
and other professional software
applications.
www.dell.com.my
T
o do their part in meeting the
demands of the commercial
market, Dell launched a slew of
new Latitude Ultrabooks and laptops
as well as Precision workstations and
laptops. These new offerings from Dell
come with all the latest hardware and
features, making them some of the most
ideal choices for organisations.
The new Latitude 7000 series builds
on the success of the award winning
XPS and Latitude 6430u to redefine
the corporate laptop, complete with
security, manageability, reliability and
beautiful design. And with the Latitude
5000 and 3000 series, weve addressed
the needs of todays dynamic workforce
by enabling easy entry into business-
class computing, said KT Ong, General
Manager, Commercial Business, Dell
Malaysia.
With the new Latitude series of
devices, Dell has done a great job at
balancing sophisticated design, quality
construction and uncompromised
durability to offer businesses of all sizes
a wide variety of solutions. Reliability
is something Dell focused on as these
devices are built with hardy materials.
The added Corning Gorilla Glass
NBT that protects the touch display,
StrikeZone shock absorbers, Fast
Response Free-Fall sensors and rubber
hard drive isolation adds to the devices
overall durability.
The Dell Latitude 7000 series begins
at RM3,800 while the Latitude 3000
series has a price tag that begins at
RM1,900. Both are already available to
purchase. The Latitude 5000 series will
be available sometime in October.
Dell also delivered what are now
their most powerful workstations.
Part of the Precision series comes two
mobile workstations, the Precision
M4800 and M6800 and three new tower
workstations, the T3610; T5610 and
T7610 that are packed with cutting-edge
Its All About
The Latitude And
Precision
The Malaysian workforce gets upgrades from Dell
(From le): Norhizam Kadir, Naonal Sales Manager, Intel Malaysia; KT Ong, General Manager, Commercial Business, Dell Malaysia; Deepak S. Sey, Director, Technology Soluon Group, Enterprise
& Partner Group, Microso (Malaysia) and Wee Liam So, Client Business Development Manager, End User Compung Soluons, Dell Malaysia with the new device
The Latude 7000 series Ultrabooks come in two dierent
designs, the sleek brushed aluminium design features
the touch display while the one in carbon bre has a non-
reecve display
Despite being the more aordable of new Latude line-up,
the 3000 series devices are sll packed with features that
make them ideal for educaon and small business users
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The Samsung Galaxy NX is capable of using Samsungs wide variety of lenses
S
amsung is not done with their camera launches just yet as they have
unveiled the latest in their series of Android-powered cameras in the form
of the Samsung Galaxy NX, the first interchangeable lens camera that
runs Googles Android operating system.
Featuring a 20.3-megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor, the Galaxy NX camera is
powered by a 1.6GHz quad-core processor and runs Android 4.2, with a 4.8-
inch TFT LCD touch display at the back. The Galaxy NX also uses the DRIMe IV
imaging engine, which enables better colour reproduction and greater noise
control.
According to Julian Thean, Marketing Leader for Digital Imaging, Samsung
Malaysia Electronics, the Galaxy NX also features support for an array of wireless
connectivity, including 3G, 4G and WiFi so that you can share your photos
instantly on the internet without having to transfer them to a computer first.
The Galaxy NXs Hybrid Auto Focus system meanwhile combines phase and
contrast detection auto focus types to create crisp and vibrant shots. On top of
that, users of the Galaxy NX get to choose between 13 lenses, which include
ultra-compact pancake lenses to a versatile zoom to a portrait lens.
Equipped with a Samsung Galaxy NX each and a wide variety of lenses, all
courtesy of Samsung, we made our way through the island of Pangkor, shooting
a wide variety of photos, including streets, people and even animals. Having the
freedom to choose lenses when shooting is definitely one of the Galaxy NXs
greatest strengths, besides being able to connect to the internet via 3G and WiFi.
The Samsung Galaxy NX will be available in stores starting 30th of
September, and will retail for RM4,199 for the camera body and a 16-50mm
zoom lens.
www.samsung.com.my
Sun, Sea, Sand
and Samsung
Samsungs brings us to an island getaway to try
out their latest Android-powered camera
Julian Thean, Markeng Leader for Digital Imaging, Samsung Malaysia
Electronics
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to grab more light thus reducing image
noise. This light weight DSLR also has a
new electronic Tru-Finder that boasts a
generous 100% field coverage.
While the NEX-5T and 3000 were the
main stars of the show, some of their
limelight was definitely stolen by the
Cyber-shot DSC-QX100 and DSC-QX10
len-styled cameras which made headlines
at the recent IFA in Berlin. These two
devices can either be used independently
or paired with a smartphone via NFC. Both
these devices will be available in October.
The DSC-QX10 features a 18.2-megapixel
Exmor R CMOS sensor with high-quality
Sony G Lens while the DSC-QX100 features
a large 1.0-type Exmor R CMOS sensor
with 20.2-megapixels and has a wide-
aperture Carl Zeiss Vario Sonnar T lens.
But that wasnt all, as Sony also
showcased three other cameras, one
for those who live a more active life, the
Action Cam HDR-AS30V; another for those
who dream of becoming a singer, the
HDR-MV1 Music Video Recorder and the
last for those who are part of a production
house that is looking to start recording
in Ultra High-Definition 4K videos, the
FDR-AX1.
www.sony.com.my
W
hile smartphones have replaced
cameras as the go-to device
for taking photos for many
consumers, there are just some things a
smartphone cant do such as swapping
out lenses or manually setting all the
aspects of a camera to achieve creative
shots. So to cater to consumers who agree
with those points, Sony Malaysia recently
launched a bevy of new cameras that
caters to almost every user demographic.
First in the spotlight was the new
NEX-5T. This camera retains many of
the same features as the previous NEX-5
such as the large Exmor APS HD CMOS
sensor with 16.1-megapixels and Fast
Hybrid Auto Focus; these features alone
ensure that image quality is still top-notch.
Whats new with the NEX-5T is the ability
to connect directly to a WiFi connection
so users can easily connect the camera
to a smartphone, PC or TV to wirelessly
transfer photos or videos and is also the
first interchangeable lens E-mount camera
from Sony with NFC that allows it to easily
connect with Android devices with just a
touch. The NEX-5T has a recommended
retail price of RM2,299.
For the shutterbug who prefers a
more serious device like a DSLR,
Sony also launched the 3000. With
18 interchangeable E-mount lenses,
photographers will definitely be able to
adapt quickly to their environments and
shots they want to achieve. This DSLR
is built with a 20.1-megapixel Exmor
APS HD CMOS sensor that has higher
light sensitivity, which means it is able
A Camera For
Every Occasion
And Every User
Sony brings out their latest shooters
(From le): Ivy Goh, Head of Markeng, Sony Malaysia; Satoshi Hatano, Director, Sony Malaysia; Kikuo Okura, Managing Director,
Sony Malaysia; Zizan Razak, Sony Brand Ambassador; Lisa Surihani, Sony Camera Brand Ambassador; and Masahiko Ishida, Head
of Digital Imaging Department, Sony Malaysia
Designed for those who are passionate about photography,
the Sony 3000 is versale as it has a slew of features and can
be equipped with a wide selecon of lenses
This here is the Cyber-shot DSC-QX100, which made huge
waves at the recent IFA event in Germany. This 20.2-megapixel
lens styled camera can also greatly enhance a smartphones
shooter
october 13

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due to the rising cases of hack-related
events that had emerged over the past
year. This conference was organized in
creating awareness for participants in
realizing what are the threats involved and
the solutions that participants are able to
implement to their business the next day
Besides just the workshops and
discussions, attendants of ZebraCON
2013 also had the chance to meet and rub
shoulders with leading industry experts
such as Chris Farrow, Office of Risk
Management Compassion International
& SANS Community Instructor; Jim
Manico, VP Security Architecture of
WhiteHat Security, and Dennis Moreau,
Senior Technology Strategist at RSA
Security and many more.
There were plenty of other highlights
during the conference but one of the
best had to be the live demonstration
by Jim Manico as he highlighted the
vulnerabilities of hacking a users credit
card credentials to the audience. The
live hacking demonstration showed that
anyone equipped with the skills are able
to alter sensitive information with relative
ease.
www.zebra-con.com
C
ondition Zebra Inc., held its
inaugural ZebraCON 2013:
International Conference on IT
Security and Risk Management from
the 27 to 29 August at the Berjaya Times
Square Hotel and Convention Centre. The
theme of the convention this year was
Defining the Role of IT Security & Risk
Management was attended by over 300 IT
Security & Risk Management professionals
from local and international organisations.
The conference this year was a
platform for us to achieve greater things
next year. We had tremendous support
from our partners, media as well as our
invited speakers around the world that
have made this years conference possible.
It was the first conference of its kind and
with its success this year, we will be
hosting ZebraCON 2014 in Malaysia and
Australia said Condition Zebra managing
director, Wilson Wong.
Throughout the event, besides the
very informative and interesting keynote
sessions, attendants could also take
part in round table discussions where
they were given the opportunity to pose
their questions and doubts to industry
experts who were at the event. The topics
and trends that were debated during
the conference and two-day workshop
included informative risk management,
strategy development, and PCI DSS
V2.0 compliance. The conference day
ended with a special panel discussion on
managing risk in critical infrastructure.
Wong explained that Internet security
has created a recent buzz in the news
Protecting And
Preparing The Herd
ZebraCON 2013, a look into IT security and risk
management
During his presentaon, Jim Manico showed the crowd how easy it is to hack and steal ones
credit card info
ZebraCON 2013 Organisers and Keynote Speakers
Panel discussion: Failing to plan means planning to fail
The highly sought-aer Expert-led training
october 13

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I
n an event held in their very own
headquarters in Petaling Jaya, Fuji
Xerox Co., Ltd. officially launched their
award-winning trio of A3 DocuCentre
multi-function devices. These new S1810,
S2010 and S2420 were designed to meet
all the requirements of small and medium
businesses and come with the abilities to
copy, print and scan and much more.
The DocuCentre S2010, S1810 are
easy-to-use multifunction solutions that
are perfect for small businesses seeking
to upgrade their daily productivity without
having to bear significant upgrade costs.
They are very high-quality, entry-level
A3 monochrome multifunction devices,
and the stylish design will make them a
welcome addition to any office, said Ken
Lee, General Manager, Fuji Xerox Printer
Channel Malaysia.
The DocuCentre S2420 will meet the
high-volume demands of small to medium-
sized business, managing continuous
usage and large print jobs with ease,
without costing a fortune. The devices
allow businesses to quickly and efficiently
print quality and professional documents
in house.
One of the many appeals of the new
DocuCentres includes the fact that they are
very user-friendly and easy-to-use. This is
because Fuji Xerox has designed the new
printers in such a way that everything is
right at the fingertips of users thanks to
the control and display panel. All three
devices also come with one touch keys that
provide users with easy access to the most
common operations; they also come with
an exclusive key for ID card copying and
paper settings.
This three new devices also feature an
all new design language as they now sport
a wider output space and dark blue output
tray, which offers users better visibility so
that they can quickly and easily locate print
jobs. All three also come with an electronic
Multi-Faceted
Devices Ideal For
SMBs
Fuji Xerox launches affordable, high-quality and
efficient DocuCentres
Simon King, Value Product Segment Manager, Fuji Xerox Asia Pacic (le) and Ken Lee, General Manager of Print Channels, Fuji
Xerox Malaysia (right) giving the new DocuCentre Mul-funcon devices a thumbs up
sort function that makes print large number
of documents a simpler affair.
Efficiency also happens to be one
of the key focus points of the new
DocuCentres and Fuji Xerox have made
certain improvements that helps reduce
the running costs without compromising
quality. One of the ways this is achieve
is that all three have a special tank that
collects unused toner and recycles it, in
turn saving on waste and also time. For
the more eco-conscious organisations,
the DocuCentre S2010 and S1810 also use
EA-Eco toner, which fuses to the page at
temperatures at up to 20-degrees Celcius,
this feature alone helps reduce the printers
power consumption up to 20%.
These three impressive DocuCenters
are already available in the market and are
price at RM5,299 for the DocuCentre S1810,
RM5,599 for the DocuCentre S2010 and
RM6,999 for the DocuCentre S2420.
www.fujixerox.com.my
The DocuCentre S1810 (le) and DocuCentre S2010 (right),
look idencal and share many features but both have a
dierence when it comes to Copy Speed and Print Speed
Like most devices designed for SMBs, they are expandable
and can be ed with oponal accessories. Seen here is the
DocuCentre S2420 with accessories such as the stand, one
tray module and two tray modules ed
chip malaysia

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T
he IT landscape is an ever-changing
and rapidly evolving one and to
keep up with consumers needs
and wants, manufacturers such as Lenovo
have to be constantly on their toes. On 19
September, Lenovo invited members of
the media to a session where they shared
their plans on how they plan to lead the
PC Plus space. PC Plus is Lenovos way
of categorising smart connected devices,
which include devices such as convertible
tablets/laptops.
According to Kevin Beck, Senior
Worldwide Competitive Analyst, Lenovo
Customer Centers, the ever-growing trend
of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) and
Consumerisation has brought about new
IT challenges. Because of these trends,
users are now very reliant on their personal
devices especially at
work, this in turn has
caused quite a bit
of headaches for IT
managers especially
in terms of security
as a poorly secured
device can cause
data leakage and
also becomes a loophole for malware to
enter an offices backend.
Other key points highlighted by Beck
is also the trend of mobile computing
and how many workspaces are now
adopting a more flexible stance in terms
of productivity and entertainment in
the office. Then theres also the need
for constant connection as employees
rely heavily on the World Wide Web for
Coming Of A
New Age
Lenovo ushers in the PC+ Era with Do+
devices
information but also cloud services to store
their files.
To cater to these ever-changing needs,
Lenovo already has a strong line-up of PC
devices that will enable users to do more.
Many of these new PC Plus devices are
part of the ThinkPad family and retain the
same durability, manageability and security
that Lenovo is famous for.
www.lenovo.com/my/en
Kevin Beck, Senior Worldwide Compeve Analyst, Lenovo Customer Centers (le) and Khoo
Hung Chuan, Country General Manager, Lenovo Malaysia were the hosts and speakers for the
session
A
cer Malaysia has made good on
their promise to help the poor as
not only did they manage to raise
RM60,000 for Stop Hunger Now but on 21
September, which was also World Peace
Day, Acer with the help of caring and
generous Malaysians managed to pack
60,000 meals in 6 hours. By the end of the
day, Acer Malaysia with the help of over
250 volunteers churned out an average of
27.8 meal packs or 166.7 meals a minute.
Remy Wong, 25, an Advertising and
Promotion Executive from Kuala Lumpur,
who lent a hand to help pack the meals
said, This is a fantastic opportunity to do
my small part in giving back to society. My
daily lunch costs almost RM10. While it is
just one meal for me, the same amount
can feed up to 10 people via Stop Hunger
Now meal packs. Until now, I didnt realise
that my one lunch can make
a difference to so many
people. I am inspired by
this deed by Acer Malaysia
and Stop Hunger Now to do
my part to help. And I will
definitely be making more
effort to not waste food now!
Ever since they started this
programme with Stop Hunger Now
in July this year, Acer Malaysia has
held various activities such as product
auctions where RM5 from every
product sold at the PIKOM PC Fair,
Malaysian IT Fair and Acer roadshows
went to the cause. Acer themselves
also donated RM10,000 as a kick-off
fund.
www.acer.com.my
Caring &
Helping Hands
Acer Malaysia exceeds goals for Stop
Hunger Now
Carynne Ooi, Regional Markeng Manager of Acer Asia Pacic banging the gong to
announce that the 30888th meals packed
Volunteers adding dehydrated vegetables to the meal pack
october 13

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O
n a bright and sunny Saturday
morning, MSI Malaysia decided
to do a little something to show
their appreciation to their fans who are
also gamers. So on 14 September, they
organised a little gamers gathering for
their fans of their Facebook page. This
event was also MSIs way of getting
closer to their fans and getting to know
them better so that they can further
fine-tune their products to suit their fans
requests.
Before the event was kicked into
high-gear, two lucky fans were invited to
play a round of DOTA 2 with pro-gamers
from the DuskBin team. This gave them
a chance to learn from the pros and also
interact with them. After their game was
over, that was when things started to get
a little more exciting.
First up, Suriya
Konkham, Marketing
Manager, MSI South Asia
was invited up on stage
to give a presentation
on what makes MSIs
gaming notebooks
such as the GT70 and
GE40 2OC Dragon Eyes stand out
against other gaming notebooks from
competing brands. His presentation
covered features the likes of the Killer
E2200 Game Networking, SteelSeries
Keyboard, Cooler Boost technology and
NOS design.
After his presentation was done,
MSI then proceeded to a quiz session
where fans got a chance to take home
SteelSeries accessories such as gaming
keyboards, mice and headphones.
Among these accessories, the lucky ones
were those who took home with them
the limited edition Siberia headphones
which bore MSIs Gaming logo and
colour scheme.
All in all, it was definitely a great day
for gamers who made their way down to
the event but for those who couldnt join
them, MSI looks to have more events
like these throughout the year.
my.msi.com
The First Round
Of Fun
MSI organises get-together for fans of their
Gaming series devices
T
he Ninetology U9 series of smartphones were
launched not too long ago by the ASEAN
company, and just recently, theyve also opened
up their flagship touch point store in Low Yat Plaza,
one of the countrys biggest IT malls here in Kuala
Lumpur.
Eddy Tay, Head of Channel of Ninetology Malaysia
said that the launch of the store had a significant
bearing on the companys rapid growth as one of
ASEANs up-and-coming mobile device maker, having
made its mark in the ASEAN region during the past two
years, and thanked the government for fostering an environment that is conducive for business.
Our flagship Touch Point celebrates this freedom of business and expression with a wide offering of smartphones that caters
to consumers with a wide variety of interests including technology, fashion, sports and so on. Said Tay.
Ninetology has also stated that this is only the first of many touch point stores that they will open, with plans for eight more
stores in Klang Valley underway, and eight more around Malaysia to follow soon after.
Ninetologys Flagship Touch Point Store is located on the Ground Floor of Low Yat Plaza and opens from 10am to 10pm every
day.
www.ninetology.com
Decked To
The Nines
Ninetology opens its first flagship
touch point at Low Yat Plaza
Jerry Lu, Country Manager, MSI Malaysia (5th from le) was all smiles when he was
asked to pose for a photo with some of MSIs most hardcore fans who arrived at the
event even before it began
(From le): Celebrity, Iqwal Haz; Ang Ciang Teng ,CEO of Awesome Producon; Vijian Chan, Chief Markeng
O cer, Ninetology Malaysia; Shian, Chief Finance O cer, Ninetology Malaysia; Sean Ng, Chief Execuve
O cer, Ninetology Malaysia; Ninetology Spokesperson, Z-Chen; Marco Beh, Chief Operaons O cer,
Ninetology Malaysia; Michael Lee, General Manager, Property Management and Operaons of Plaza Low Yat;
Eddy Tay, Head of Channel, Ninetology Malaysia and Celebrity, Sasi the Don
chip malaysia

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I
t seems that BlackBerry really likes
Malaysia as one of their key markets
as they announce the availability of the
widely anticipated BlackBerry Z30 here
in Malaysia. The phone is BlackBerrys
biggest yet, featuring a five-inch display
and BlackBerry 10.2 operating system,
which offers a number of new features and
refinements compared to its predecessors.
The BlackBerry Z30 is powered by
a 1.7GHz, which is propped up by a
2,880mAh battery, the most powerful
processor and largest battery yet on a
BlackBerry smartphone. As mentioned
earlier, the Z30 also has a five-inch screen,
which consists of a Super AMOLED display
that helps makes colours on
the smartphone clearer and
more vivid.
Some of the new features
introduced in BlackBerry
10.2 include BlackBerry Priority Hub, an
improved version of the BlackBerry Hub,
which now allows you to set which e-mails
and messages are more important to you,
so that you can get to them faster than the
rest of the messages.
BBM has also been improved, and can
now be accessed from any app that youre
currently running using the Peek feature,
which also allows you to instantly get to
the message from whatever app youre
The Next Stage
In Evolution For
The Z10
Malaysia one of the first countries to get first
dibs on the BlackBerry Z30
W
ith all the smartphones and
tablets that theyve been
launching over the past few
months, youd be forgiven for forgetting
that the company also has a notebook
division thats just as robust as their
mobile devices department. The Samsung
ATIV Book 9 Lite is the Korean tech
giants answer to your ultra-thin notebook
needs.
The Samsung ATIV Book 9 Lite
features a 13.3-inch 1366x768 pixel
display in two variants, one with a
multi-touch screen, and one without.
Both these models are powered by the
same 1.4GHz quad-core processor, which
is a collaboration between AMD and
Samsung, as it also features a shared
AMD Radeon HD 8250 discrete GPU.
It is
also fitted
with a
128GB
SSD and
4GBs of
DDR3 RAM
to provide
users with
a fast boot speed of eight seconds, and
a wake up time of two seconds. Even
with just a 2-cell 30Wh battery, Samsung
has claimed that the ATIV Book 9 Lite is
capable of lasting up to eight hours on a
full charge.
On top of that, the notebook also
comes with a feature called Samsung
SideSync, which allows users to connect
their smartphones to the notebook and
in turn allow them to view maps, photos
and even edit files on their phones via the
notebook.
The Samsung ATIV Book 9 Lite is
available in two colours, Marble White for
the non-touch variant and Mineral Ash
Black for the touch variant, both of which
are available at Samsung retail outlets for
RM1,999 and RM2,399 respectively.
www.samsung.com.my
ATIV-ate
Your Life
Samsung launches the new ATIV
Book 9 Lite ultra-thin notebook in
two variants
using, without actually leaving the app. Its
certainly a very convenient way to get to
your messages quickly without having to
abruptly stop whatever youre doing.
Malaysia is one of the first few countries
in the world that will receive the BlackBerry
Z30 device, and will be available first
through Celcom on the fifth of October,
with the other telcos joining in two weeks
later. The BlackBerry Z30 will retail for
RM1,998.
www.blackberry.com.my
(From le): Alec Khor, Head of NPC Product Markeng, Samsung Malaysia Electronics; Wong Man Ngee,
Director of Informaon Technology Soluons Business Unit, Samsung Malaysia Electronics; Kwon Jae Hoon,
Managing Director, Samsung Malaysia Electronics; Kim JunHak, Business Manager of Informaon Technology
Soluons Business Unit, Samsung Malaysia Electronics
Deborah Priya Henry, Annamalai Muthu, Managing Director, Malaysia, BlackBerry;
Adrian Faull, Regional Managing Director, Southeast Asia & ANZ, BlackBerry and
Damian Tay, Senior Director, Product Management, Asia Pacic, BlackBerry with the
all new BlackBerry Z30 at the launch
october 13

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T
he gaming industry is one of the
fastest growing industries and
many education institutions are
offering game design as a syllabus. To
help grow the local game developer
community, Siemens Malaysia
organised the SieMyCity: Build Your
Ideal KL Competition and the winners
of the competition were awarded on 12
September.
Prakash Chandran, President and CEO
of Siemens Malaysia, commented, We
created the SieMyCity
Competition to get the
youth of today thinking
about a sustainable
tomorrow. We wanted
the young participants
to understand the
trade-offs involved in addressing real
challenges that cities face climate
change, urbanisation, globalisation,
safety and security. We wanted to
encourage the youth to translate their
approaches to urban sustainability
into a platform that would be fun, yet
educational and informative.
Participants of the contest were
tasked to create a game that also served
as an educational tool that would clearly
visualise the effects of sustainable
development as well as spread a more
relatable vision of sustainability to the
Malaysian public.
SieMyCity saw 11 teams represent
eight different local tertiary institutions
but at the end of the competition, the
team called The Rook from Universiti
Kebangsaan Malaysia who walked
away with the first prize, which was an
all-expense paid trip to attend a short
sustainability course in Berlin. They and
the first and second runner ups also
took home cash prizes and earned the
mentorship of MyGameDev2020 and
the technical support and guidance of
Microsoft. Their games will also have
the opportunity to turn their concepts
into full-fledged games.
www.siemens.com.my
The New
Breeds
Siemens Malaysia uncovers talented next
generation of game developers
W
ant a powerful, yet affordable smartphone
to amp-up your mobile and social media
life? Alcatel has recently announced their
latest flagship OneTouch smartphone in the form of
the Alcatel OneTouch Idol X, featuring a five-inch, Full
HD IPS display and a 1.5GHz quad-core processor in a
slim chassis, running Android 4.2 Jelly Bean.
The Idol X is made to look even more impressive thanks to Alcatels 0 bezel which affords the phone an even bigger
display area in a more portable form factor, thanks to the full lamination technology that leaves no air gap in between the LCD
and touch panel. The IPS technology used with the phone also gives the Idol X the best viewing angles, which come in at more
than 170 degrees.
A 13.1-megapixel camera also allows users to take stunning images with the Idol X, whilst the OneTouch LIVE brings great
apps to the phone, expanding its usability even further.
We are very optimistic with the Malaysian market after having two successful launches and market acceptance since the end
of last year. We want to thank the consumers for their trust with the Alcatel OneTouch. Said Mr. KL Kong, Country Manager of
TCT Mobile Malaysia Sdn Bhd.
The Alcatel OneTouch Idol X is available at authorized retailers nationwide for the price of RM1,099 and comes in the colours
red and black.
www.alcatelonetouch.com/ml/
Another
Idol Born
Alcatel launches the OneTouch
Idol X smartphone
(From le): Jason Khor, Business Development Manager, TCT Mobile Malaysia Sdn Bhd, KL Kong, Country
Manager, TCT Mobile Malaysia Sdn Bhd and Alan Bong, Execuve Director, Ten Ten Telecommunicaons Sdn
Bhd, anked by brand ambassadors
Seen here with President & CEO of Siemens Malaysia, Prakash Chandran and Tan Chin Ike,
Chairman of MyGameDev2020 are the teams from various universies and instuons
who took part in the compeon.
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F
or 17 years, HTC has been a company that constantly
innovates through their smartphones and to celebrate this
milestone, HTC Malaysia officially launched HTC Day at their
concept kiosk at The Gardens Mall on 21 September.
HTC has always been the trend-setter in challenging the status
quo in smartphone technology. We produced the first Android
smartphone and also pioneered the touch-screen feature in
smartphones, said SK Wong. This commitment definitely did not
end there as we launched the flagship HTC One that introduced a full-aluminium unibody and a dual front speaker that no one
has done before.
During this celebratory event, HTC also introduced the HTC Switch program as well as a new customer service procedure in
support of the Heres to Change campaign that was rolled out recently.
HTCs first Heres to Change advertisement featuring Robert Downey Jr., carries the creative message that HTC caters to
a variety of different people through the actors creative, quirky and rebellious attitude. Robert Downey, Jr. is given creative
control and has heavily defined the direction of the ad, said Sirpa Ikola, Senior Marketing Director of HTC South Asia.
Other than that, HTC One X owners also had a chance to upgrade their older device to a new HTC One with a special trade in
program on that day. Finally, HTC also introduced their new customer service whereby customers can have their misbehaving
devices diagnosed or sent for repairs without leaving their doorstep. All it takes is just a call to the new HTC Careline.
www.htc.com/sea/
A Celebration
For Change
HTC Malaysia celebrates 17 years of
change with their very own day
A
s Samsung Malaysia launches new products
almost every other week, the company has
deemed it necessary to upgrade its store in
Gardens Mid Valley to accommodate it all. Deciding
that just refurbishing the store would be kind of boring,
the Korean tech giant also decided to leverage its wide
variety of devices to turn the shop into an Experience
Store for all to enjoy.
Located on the third floor of Gardens Mid Valley, Samsungs new Experience Store is more than just a shop with a lot of gadgets.
Besides rows upon rows of Samsung devices, which include a wide variety of smartphones and cameras, Samsung has also set up
Experience Zones such as the Product Experiential Zone, which houses Samsungs latest products and devices for users to check out.
Other sections include the Kids Zone, where kids can unleash their creativity via Samsung devices, the Smart Home that recreates a
living room environment that is equipped with a wide variety of Samsung products, and even the Smart Academy, where customers get
to learn how to use Samsung devices, including smartphones, cameras and notebooks.
www.samsung.com.my
More Than
Just A
Store
Samsung ups the ante with its
flagship store in Gardens Mid
Valley
New Samsung Experience Store makes its mark in Malaysia The ribbon-cu ng ceremony conducted by Mahew
Ng, Head of Sales Mobile Phone Division, Samsung Malaysia Electronics (third from le), Vincent Chong, Head
of Mobile Phone Division, Samsung Malaysia Electronics (h from le), Kwon Jae Hoon, Managing Director,
Samsung Malaysia Electronics (sixth from le), Wilson Wee, Managing Director, Welfon Telecommunicaon
(seventh from le) and Jusn Joo, Business Manager, Mobile Phone Division, Samsung Malaysia Electronics
(eighth from le)
Seen here with the HTC Malaysia team is Vince Chong, local celebrity and emcee for
the event (1st from le); Sirpa Ikola, Senior Markeng Director of HTC South Asia (3rd
from le) and SK Wong, Country Manager of HTC Malaysia (3rd from right) with the HTC
Malaysia team
october 13

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A
fter the launch of a few new
DSLRs such as the 70D and the
700D, Canon has also announced
the availability of four new point and
shoot cameras in their PowerShot
Series.
Made for professionals and semi-
professionals in mind, the PowerShot
G16 and PowerShot S120 are Canons
top-of-the-line cameras that feature the
fastest auto focus (AF) speeds in any
Canon compact camera today. Powered
by Canons DIGIC 6 image processor
and a new 12.1MP CMOS sensor, the
PowerShot G16 is capable of capturing
image at full resolution of up to 12.2 fps
in P mode and 5.7 fps with AF, while the
PowerShot S120 reaches up to 12.1 fps
in P mode and 5.5 fps with the new AF.
The PowerShot SX510 HS and SX170
IS meanwhile was made for those who
want something even more compact in
mind. Featuring a similar 12.1MP CMOS
sensor seen on the PowerShot G16 and
S120, the SX510 HS has a 24mm 30x
optical zoom lens and has Canons DIGIC
4 processor inside.
The PowerShot SX170 IS is a 16MP
shooter with a 28mm 16x optical zoom
lens, and is able to go up to 32x thanks
to the ZoomPlus function. Similar to the
SX510 HS, the SX170 IS is powered by a
DIGIC 4 processor.
All four PowerShot Cameras are
available at participating retail outlets
now, with the Canon PowerShot G16
retailing for RM1,899, the PowerShot
S120 for RM1,599, the SX510 HS for
RM1,099 and the SX170 S for RM699.
www.canon.com.my
The Latest Quartet
of PowerShot
Canon launches new PowerShot cameras for both
pros and newbies
T
ablets and smartphones are hot-selling commodities in the Malaysian tech space. Whilst both devices are equally as lust-
worthy, wouldnt it be a lot more convenient and cost-saving if you could have both at once? ASUS has just the solution
for you in the form of the ASUS PadFone Infinity.
The PadFone infinity is as sleek as it is powerful. Featuring a slender unibody which is crafted from aerospace-grade
aluminium and a 5.0-inch full HD display, it is powered by a 1.7GHz
Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 quad-core processor and runs Android 4.1.
ASUS is also generous with the storage space as they have provided
users with 64GBs worth of digital space to use.
The main draw of the PadFone Infinity however, is that it
comes with a 10.1 inch tablet dock called the PadFone Infinity
Station, which also offers users a sleek aluminum unibody
build and full HD display much like the phone.
By itself, the PadFone Infinity provides users with 19
hours of talktime, but when docked into the Infinity Station,
you get a massive 20 hour boost in battery life, bringing it
to 40 hours when both devices are fully charged.
The ASUS FonePad infinity is available at all ASUS
retail outlets and participating stores since and has a
recommended retail price of RM2,699.
www.asus.com/my/
Infinity In Your Hands
ASUS announces availability of the ASUS PadFone Infinity in Malaysia
The ASUS PadFone Innity connues on ASUS tradions of mul-faceted
devices
With its impressive capabiles, the PowerShot G16 will sasfy
just about any photographer
For such a compact device, the PowerShot SX170 IS packs
quite an impressive list of features
For such a compact device, the PowerShot SX170 IS packs
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l ocal news
L
ack of storage space is a problem that is starting to creep up with
a lot of smartphone and tablet users as of late. Whilst services
such as Dropbox and Box.net do help, accessing these cloud
storage services require an internet connection which may not always be
available to you, or is sometimes just too slow.
Seagate has just the solution for you in the form of the Seagate Ultra
Mobile HDD, which is designed specifically for smartphones and tablets.
It is also integrated with the Seagate Mobile Enhancement Kit, which
includes Seagates Dynamic Data Driver software technology and this
allows the portable drive be used with smart devices.
The Ultra Mobile HDD has up to 500GBs of storage and uses only
about 01.4W of battery power, which is great as a lot of smartphones and
tablets arent exactly known for long-lasting battery power.
In order to make the pair work, the Ultra Mobile HDD also comes with
the Seagate Mobile Enablement Kit, which makes the connection between
the two devices possible. For those who simply want the Ultra Mobile
HDD for its thinness, there is also an option where users can opt out of
the Mobile Enablement Kit.
www.seagate.com
Portable Storage For Your
Mobile Devices
Seagate ups the ante with portable HDDs for your mobile devices
F
or a gamer, choosing a monitor can be as important as choosing the right
components for a computer, as looks, visuals and features all come into
play as the monitor is the thing youll be looking at the longest when on
the computer, after all.
BenQ Malaysia has finally announced the availability of the BenQ XL Series
of gaming monitors aimed at giving the gamers the best displays money
can buy. The two monitors from this series now available here include the
BenQ XL2420T and the BenQ XL2411T. Alongside this, BenQ is also launching
GROM - Gaming Refresh Rate Optimization Management, the key improvement
incorporated into this new XL monitor, which they describe as a game-changing
display innovation that takes competitive gaming to new heights.
Both these monitors feature BenQs Flicker-free technology that reduces eye-
strain from looking at the monitor for long hours. There are also the Display and
Smart Scaling modes that allow users to customize the displays refresh rate
which ranges from 100, 120 and 144Hz, resolution and also screen size.
The BenQ XL2420T and XL2411T monitors are both available in local stores
right now, for the price of RM1,699 for the XL2420T and RM1,499 for the
XL2411T.
www.benq.com.my
As Clear As Day
BenQs new monitors give gamers a visual
advantage
Seagates latest storage soluon is perfect for the go-
geer who relies heavily on his or her smartphone and
tablet for work and entertainment
S t l t t t l i f t f th
t
For those who want
something that looks
cooler, theres the
BenQ XL2420T
Seen here is the
BenQ XL2411T
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A Pen That Detects
Errors During
Writing
The Kickstarter project
known as Lernstift is for a
pen that has a built-in
vibrator, which vibrates
when a user makes a
mistake when writing. To
achieve this, the
developers have packed a
small Linux computer in
the pen and equipped it
with a motion sensor. It
doesnt matter what
surface you write on, the
pen is able to recognise
these errors. In the
upcoming version of the
Lernstift, it will be
integrated with grammar
rules. In addition, the pen
will also be fitted with a
WLAN module so that it
can be used by children to
play educational games.
Microsoft Opens
More Of Its Own
Stores
Microsoft wants to open more new stores worldwide in
the future so that interested consumers can try out
products of this Redmond company before purchasing
them. To date, Microsoft already has 75 stores just in
America alone. During Microsofts worldwide partner
conference, they announced that there will be more than a
100 stores worldwide. According to a report in the
Financial Times, Microsoft was reported to be in
negotiations with shop owners in England, late last year.
As compared to Apple stores, the number of a 100 stores
planned by Microsoft are considered to be small. The
company from Palo Alto already has 400 stores
worldwide.
MSI Announces
AMD FM2+
Military Class 4
Motherboard
MSI have not forgotten AMD just yet, as they have
just announced that their latest FM2+ motherboard,
the AMD A88X-G43 motherboard will be in the
market soon. The motherboard will support all
current FM2 Trinity, Richland and the upcoming
Kaveri APUs, alongside 3+1 screen Eyefinity
without the need of an external GPU. MSI is also
utilising its Military Class 4 components for this
motherboard, together with OC-Genie 4, the CLICK
BIOS 4 UEFI BIOS and the Control Center software
which combines monitoring, tuning and remote
controlling functionalities.
Monitor
Movements
Using WLAN
Researchers at the
Massachusetts
Institute of Technology
have developed a
technology, which
allows them monitor
movements of people
through walls. To do
so, they used a device
called Wi-Vi that sends
out WLAN radio
signals which is then
processed the signals,
so that the developers
can understand the
movements in a room.
The portable Wi-Vi
device is supposed to
aid rescue services.
With this technology
trapped victims can be
found quickly and
easily in case of
natural disasters.
First
Details Of
Microsofts
Smart watch
Details of Microsofts
upcoming Smartwatch
have surfaced and
according to the
information, the watch
will feature a 1.5-inch
display and a detachable
strap. Apparently, the
display will not be made
of glass but is actually
transparent aluminium
oxynitride, which is four
time harder. The
Smartwatch will also run
on a special version of
Windows 8, has an
internal flash memory
and will be LTE
compatible.
Unfortunately, there is
still no news yet on
when they will be
available.
IS HOW MUCH THE PC
MARKET SHRANK IN THE
SECOND QUARTER OF 2013.
IN THE FIRST QUARTER IT
SHRANK AS MUCH AS 14 %
11%
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A
pparently Microsoft was a model student
amongst the co-operation partners of the
NSA. The English newspaper, The Guardian
found out in July, Microsoft readily revealed to the
secret service on how the coding of user data can be
dealt with. Even before the start of the Webmail
service Outlook.com, the authorities knew about on
how its information exchange was achieved. Even
the time when the service was still Hotmail, NSA
monitored the correspondences of its 420 million
users.
However, Microsoft not only handed the general
key for encoded messages to the secret services: It
also worked at facilitating access for the FBI to all the
data saved in the Cloud SkyDrive. It is predicted that
250 million users were affected by this.
Only nine months after buying Skype, Microsoft
made this messenger interception friendly. Thanks
to a technical adjustment, NSA could read Skype
chats three times more than before. Microsoft
announced in a statement to The Guardian that it
would work with the government only in cases
required by law. Furthermore, the company also
stressed that the government agency received
access to user data only in isolated cases.
It was revealed in June that the government
agency was informed of the security gaps in
products from the users. In addition, Microsoft has
been co-operating with the US secret service since
December 2007. Hence, it was the first amongst the
new IT companies to participate in this. A small note
on the side: Microsofts tagline is: Your privacy is
our priority.
Microsoft
Assisted NSA
In Spying
The software company was not only the
first co-operation partner of Prism but
also the most forthcoming
Intel
Launches
New
Multicore
SoC
Built on its leading
22nm tri-gate
technology and the
new Silvermont
microarchitecture,
Intel launched three
new multicore SoCs
for tablets, 2-in-1
devices, all-in-ones,
laptops and desktops.
The Intel Atom Z3000
series, is currently the
most powerful SoC
for tablets to date and
delivers and ideal
balance of
performance, battery
life, graphics and
features for
consumers and
businesses.
American
Authorities
Unwelcomed
At Def Con
During the recent
hacking conference, Def
Con held in Las Vegas
on August, organisers of
the conference, asked
government service
employees to stay away
for the first time in its 21
year history. The reason
for this is due to the
spying programs of
NSA. Def Con founder,
Jeff Moss was afraid
that some of the
conference participants
would feel uneasy
because of the presence
of government
representatives.
However, there wasnt a
Witch hunt for the
government employees.
Facebook Graph
Search: Privacy risk
Facebook has enabled its social search, known as Graph
Search for everyone who has their profiles with the
language setting in English (US). Unlike Google, it does not
comb through the Internet but through the Social Graph,
i.e. all the data shared by users on Facebook. Graph Search
does not only detect key words but it also understands the
context. For example, if users search for Friends living in
Munich who like BMW, Facebook draws up a list of
contacts matching the description. However, the capacity
of meaningful data linking can be dangerous. Most of the
Like details regarding private information can put the
users in a bad light. The search for Single ladies living in
Berlin who like to drink produces up to a dozen hits. Most
of these exposures can put off potential employers. You
can be protected against this in just three steps:
1. It is advisable to make the status updates and personal
information visible only to friends. The options for this is
given in the Menu Info and in the privacy settings.
2. Even the visibility of old posts, photos and activities
must be set to Private or Only to friends. This can be
done in the Photos menu as well as in the activity
protocols.
3. Moreover the potentially embarrassing Like details
can be deleted.
IS THE APPARENT NUMBER
OF ASSASINATION PLOTS
THAT WAS DISCOVERED BY
PRISM SINCE 2007.
45
P
H
O
T
O
:

R
E
U
T
E
R
S
/
R
O
B
E
R
T

G
A
L
B
R
A
I
T
H
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IN BRIEF
INSTAGRAM CAN
DO MORE NOW
Facebook has upgraded
the features of its
PhotoApp, Instagram
with two new functions.
Users can now record 15 second videos
that can be edited and enhanced with
filters, clips and photos can also be
integrated on Blogs and Websites.
HOLLAND WANTS TO BE FUEL
FREE
The government in Netherlands is
promoting the development of electric
transportation. In the next two years,
Holland will have more than 200 charging
stations for electronic vehicles. There will
be a maximum distance of 50km between
the charging stations. The tank systems are
operated with solar cells and are supposed
to fill batteries of electric cars in 15 to 30
minutes. The Swiss engineering firm ABB
and the Dutch company Startup Fastned
are responsible for implementing these
plans.
FINE INSTEAD
OF WEB
BLOCKING
France has reduced the
fine for illegal
downloads. Pirating content will no longer
result in blocked Internet access but fine
will be issued. The first offense amounts to
RM6,615 and in case of a repeated offense
it is RM13,230. The regulation only affects
consumers. If someone circulates pirated
content, he/she will have their Internet
access blocked for up to a year.
Create 3D Objects
And Buy It On eBay
Exact
eBay has discovered the market for 3D
printing. In July, the online auction house
released a free iPhone App eBay Exact
Beta to the US iTunes store. Users can
configure various printing templates on
their own and order them in 3D. Currently,
at least 18 products are available in the
product range, it mainly made up of
ornaments and technical accessories. The
personalisation options are still limited.
Customers can select the desired material
and the color. Engraving can also be done.
The objects are produced and delivered by
the providers like Sculpteo, MarkerBot and
Hot Pop Factory, The service is only
available in certain parts of the world.
Enabling
Inactive Mail
Addresses
On 15 July, Yahoo released inactive Email
addresses. Users who havent logged in for
twelve months lost access to their
accounts. In the course of the 30 day
deactivation phase, all the private data as
well as the saved data were deleted so that
the new users cannot access it. Similarly,
according to Yahoo, subscribed
Newsletters were cancelled and senders of
Emails were informed that their address no
longer exists. Even online platforms whose
users are registered were informed about
this change. For users who applied for the
free address during this period, he/she was
informed if they got the address they
wanted in the middle of August.
NVIDIA
Teams Up
With Warner
Brother
Studios for
Batman:
Arkham
Origins
NVIDIA has recently announced that it is
working with Warner Bros Interactive
Entertainment and WB Games Montreal
to optimise Batman: Arkham Origins for
NVIDIA GPUs. On top of that, gamers
who purchase an NVIDIA GTX 660 or
GTX 700 and above graphics card from
participating OEMS around South East
Asia, such as ASUS, GIGABYTE, Inno3D,
MSI and Palit will receive the game for
free when it is released worldwide on
October 25 this year.
MasterCard and Visa:
Ban Payments To VPN
Services
Credit card companies MasterCard and Visa
have instructed their Swedish partner, Pay-
son not to process any payments to VPN
providers in the future. Such services ena-
ble users to surf websites using an encoded
connection. This measure is probably ai-
med at fighting copyright violations and on-
line piracy. Anonymisation services related
to customers were done via Email.
Assanges Hide And Seek Costs
RM56,000 Everyday
In June 2012, WikiLeaks co-founder, Julian Assange found refuge in the Embassy
of Ecuador in London. Since then, the British police have been monitoring the
embassy around the clock. According to information by the Metropolitan Police,
the costs for the British tax payers will amount to RM19.4 million until the end
of May. Assange is hiding to escape his extradition from Swedish and American
authorities.
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German Bank
Accounts Robbed
Overseas
Hacked bank account data taken overseas before being used by
hackers
S
ometime in March this year, a group
of criminals installed a number
of Bluetooth sensors underneath
the cash counters in large supermarkets
in the city of Niedersachsen. Within the
next few days that followed, the criminals
were able to hack through the transactions
and obtained credit card data and secret
numbers of the customers in these
supermarkets.
It was stated that records from more
than 800 credit cards were stolen and
saved on a mobile device. With the
data they obtained, the criminals made
copies of the cards, and withdrew money
from bank accounts in countries such as
Equador and India. According to security
specialists, the reason why the criminals
did not use the cards in Germany is
because all of the ATMs in Germany only
accept cards with an EMV chip, which has
various other account data encoded onto it,
which the duplicates dont have.
Card-skimming Security Gets
Tighter
The EMV chip is the sole reason why
card duplication problems never happen
in Germany. The problem however lies
with the rest of the world, including the
USA. However, since April 2013 the US
government implemented what they called
an EMV liability shift, whereby in cases
that involved data theft and fake cards, the
issuer or merchant is liable if their banks
do not support EMV technology. That
being said, many other countries are still
far from implementing EMV technology,
and for those who have such valuable data,
the trip to countries such as Ecuador and
India is worth it for the money that they
can reap from the accounts.
The damage caused by credit card
skimming activities in Germany alone
amounted to eight million Euros (RM35
million) in the first half of 2013.
FACEBOOK: MILLIONS OF USER
DATA LOST
Information from Facebook accounts,
which was blocked by users from
the public was disclosed because of
a software error. Therefore, Email
addresses and phone numbers could
easily be downloaded from users
profiles. According to a Facebook
representative, less than one percent
of users were affected by this error,
this however, still amounts to six
million people.
UBISOFT: USER DATA STOLEN
In the middle of June, unknown
individuals managed to access the
server of the game manufacturer
Ubisoft. Here the hackers had access
to customer names, Email addresses
and passwords. Payment details were
not affected by the skimming. Ubisoft
did not disclose information about
the number of user accounts affected
but they advice all their customers to
change their passwords.
ZAP-HOSTING: ALL DATA STOLEN
The data hoster ZAP-Hosting was a
victim of an elaborate hack attack. The
attackers got access to all the customer
data saved on Hoster because of a
loophole. The attackers copied this
data and deleted the versions on the
ZAP-Hosting servers. Meanwhile,
although the data has been completely
recovered from the attack, the stolen
data is still missing without a trace till
today.
Data Theft Of
The Month
Not cracked so far
The EMV chip grants protecon from skimming but only in certain countries
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High risk
Medium risk
Low risk
10 Percent of
all Windows
XP systems are
infected with a
virus. However,
only 4 percent of
Windows 7 systems
are infected.
Danger Barometer
To get private information, attackers
attract their victims most commonly on
copies of Mail log-in sites.
SOURCE: KASPERSKY
F
ortinet has made a detailed report
about the security flaws in major
retail stores in Malaysia. The
report mentions that a large number of
network infrastructure in these stores
are unprotected, and hackers can easily
gain access to their centralised database
just by hacking into these networks.
The retail industry is fast becoming
a major target for cybercriminals.
For retailers with stores throughout
Malaysia, secure network connectivity
linking all sites to head office is critical
to business operating processes. said
Dato Seri George Chang, Fortinets Vice
President for Southeast Asia & Hong
Kong.
To combat this issue, Fortinet has
urged the Malaysian retail industry to
secure their network infrastructure by
deploying network security services such
as Multi-threat security systems and
in-depth defense for store WiFi.
www.fortinet.com
K
asperskys three month
investigation of the Obad.a Trojan
reveals that the brains behind it
have adopted a new method to spread
their malware. This particular Trojan
is disseminated via botnets, but not of
their own. These hackers piggyback
botnets of other criminal groups, and
as these other groups launch their own
attacks, the Obad.a Trojan takes a ride
along with it, making the attacks a two-
pronged attack.
The most interesting distribution
model saw various versions of Obad.a
spread with Trojan- SMS.AndroidOS.
Opfake.a. This double infection attempt
starts with a text message to users,
urging them to download a recently
received text message. If the victim
clicks the link, a file containing Opfake.a
is automatically downloaded onto the
smartphone or tablet.
www.kaspersky.com.my
S
ince the advent of fast internet,
online gaming has become a
major source of entertainment for
children and young adults, first starting
off with MMORPGs on the computer,
and has now extended to the mobile
platform.
Trend Micro recently conducted
a survey on Malaysians who play
games online, and have found out that
41 percent of these gamers play at
least twice a week, whilst 55 percent
responded that they are social media
gamers. Trend Micro has warned that
hacking, cheating, and theft via online
means are also on the rise as more
people flock to these online games, and
cautioned users against giving out their
personal details to strangers online.
www.trendmicro.com.my
Cyber Threats In
Retail Stores
Piggybacking
Malware
The Risks Of Online
Gaming
THE FOLLOWING
WEBSITES ARE COPIED
30%
20%
12%
6%
E-MAILS
SOCIAL NETWORK
BANKS
PAYMENT SERVICES
SOURCE: BKA
The number of cyber crime cases in
Germany has risen to over 45 percent in
the last ten years.
OF ALL COUNTRIES ARE THE ORIGIN
OF 56% OF ALL PHISING ATTACKS
WORLDWIDE
10% 10%
COMPUTER CRIME IN
GERMANY
Number of the Month:
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
80.000
100.000
60.000
40.000
20.000
0
NUMBER OF CYBER CRIME OFFENCES
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chip malaysia
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l egal tech
T
he Royal Malaysian Police Force is in talks with the Attorney-
Generals Chambers to monitor the movements and
whereabouts of certain accused persons released on bail by
tagging them with an electronic monitoring device (EMD), which
is a new technological security measure introduced by the Security
Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (SOSMA) and the Criminal
Procedure Code (CPC). The police are expected to start using the
EMD in October 2013. Both the SOSMA and the CPC also
introduced new provisions that allow interception of
communications by the authorities.
The SOSMA was enacted to replace the archaic and draconian
Internal Security Act 1950. It provides for special measures relating
to security offences for the purpose of maintaining public order
and internal security. The CPC, on the other hand, sets out rules
relating to criminal procedure in Malaysia for matters such as the
mode of arrest; search of body, property or premises; police
investigation of a case; prosecution of an accused person;
Fighting
Crime
with
Technology
A practicising lawyer specialising
in telecommunications, media
& technology law, Edwin is in a
constant effort to educate users
on the many legal happenings in
the IT world
Have you ever wondered if the technology used in movies and TV
series like CSI are used in real-life? Well they arent as advanced but
they actually play quite a huge role in keeping tabs on ex-cons and
even the prevention of crimes By Edwin Lee Yong Cieh
procedure for trial, etc.
The police claim that this is part of their on-going efforts in
utilising all the existing laws and technology available to combat
serious and organised crimes, in light of the spate of high-profile
shootings and the surge in crime rates in the country.
This article focuses on the two new technological security
measures introduced by the SOSMA and the CPC, namely, the use
of EMD and the interception of communication by the authorities.
The use of EMD
Under the law, a court may, after taking into account the nature of
the offence and the circumstances of the case as being sufficient to
secure an accused persons attendance at court, order for an EMD
to be attached to the accused person while he is released on bail.
Before an accused person is to be attached with an EMD, he will be
given an opportunity to be heard as to why he should not be
attached with an EMD. Failing to comply with the electronic
monitoring requirement will result in the bail being revoked by the
court. Any person who tampers or destroys the EMD shall be liable
to a fine of not more than RM5,000 or imprisonment of up to 3
years, or both, as well as paying for the damage done to the EMD.
The EMD can either be a device, which is attached to a persons
wrist or ankle; a portable tracking device or a site monitoring
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device. These devices have a built-in Global Positioning System
(GPS)and are linked to a receiving centre by means of a fixed line,
radio frequency, satellite or other technology. These devices are
capable of transmitting information to the receiving centre in
regards to where the device is located at a particular time, if the
device is functioning and is also capable of detecting if the device
has been tampered with and will transmit information to the
receiving centre in such situations.
Using EMD to track the movements and whereabouts of
accused individuals has proven to be quite effective in many
jurisdictions around the world. It is said that the EMD will act as a
restraint on recidivists (convicted criminals who return to crime
after they are released from prison) as gangs are unlikely to rely
upon or re-engage with those who are being monitored. EMD can
be used to ensure that the accused person remains in a designated
place or does not enter prescribed areas or approach certain
people such as the complainants or the witnesses. The police will
be immediately alerted if the accused person ignores or goes
against the courts order. It will also be easier for the police to track
down the location of the accused person if he jumps bail.
Interception of Communication by the
Authorities
Under the law, the Public Prosecutor, if he suspects that the
accused is likely to contain any information relating to the
commission of an offence, may authorise any police officer
(a) to intercept, detain and open any postal article in the course of
transmission by post;
(b) to intercept any message transmitted or received by any
communication; or
(c) to intercept or listen to any conversation by any
communication.
The Public Prosecutor also has the power to require a
communication service provider to intercept and retain
communication, and authorise a police officer to enter any
premises to install an interception device. Any information
obtained from such interception shall be admissible in evidence at
trial. Interestingly, the SOSMA even gives power to a police officer
with the rank of Superintendent and above to perform the
interception without authorisation of the Public Prosecutor in
urgent and sudden cases where immediate action is required
leaving no moment of deliberation.
What this means is that, the authorities can eavesdrop or
wiretap telephone lines, emails, letters or even web surfing
habits over social networking sites without a warrant, as long as
the Public Prosecutor considers that it is likely to contain any
information relating to the commission of an offence. Senior police
officers may also do so on their own accord where circumstances
require.
Provisions relating to the interception of communication by the
authorities are not new in Malaysia. Similar provisions are already
found in other legislation such as the Communications and
Multimedia Act 1998, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act
2009, Strategic Trade Act 2010, Copyright Act 1987, etc.
However, the laws cited above are restricted to communication
data only. If the data does not form part of the communication, as
far as the law is concerned, the authorities have no power to
intercept/access or conduct surveillance on such data unless they
have obtained a warrant to access such data.
Many have voiced concern that the Public Prosecutor should
not be given such a broad power to intercept communication.
While it is true that in certain circumstances, interception of
communication may be effective in preventing crime and
collecting evidence, it should be dealt with within the parameter of
natural justice coupled with adequate checks and balances by an
independent body.
For example, in the UK, the police must obtain a warrant from
the Secretary of State before it can carry out interception of
communication. The Secretary of State will only issue a warrant if
it is satisfied that the police have met the tests of necessity and
proportionality. The Secretary of State also publishes an annual
report showing the number of warrants issued in a year. The law
also does not allow the data collected from interception to be used
in court as evidence.
In the US, prior to the 9/11 terrorist attacks, it was extremely
difficult for the authorities to wiretap communication as it must
first obtain a super-warrant (so named because it was harder
than getting a regular search warrant) from the court, and the
authorities were subject to strict oversight and a variety of strong
privacy protection obligations. However, these laws were changed
shortly after the terrorist attacks. Recent newspaper reports
indicate that certain authorities such as the National Security
Agency and the Central Intelligence Agency have flouted these
laws by conducting widespread electronic surveillance on millions
of Americans telephone and Internet communications, with the
help from major US-based telecommunications and Internet
companies. In one lawsuit filed against the US Government, a
thirty-year NSA veteran claims that the NSA had collected almost
20 trillion transactions over the past 11 years.
Conclusion
The police are increasingly turning to technology to fight crimes.
Police cars are now equipped with cameras and GPS monitoring
and tracking devices; crime scenes are videotaped and
photographed; and CCTV security cameras are placed at strategic
locations throughout the main streets and highways.
It remains to be seen as to whether the use of these
technologies is illegal and unconstitutional as it could potentially
amount to a violation of Article 5 (right to life, personal liberty and
privacy) and Article 9 (right to freedom of movement) of the
Malaysian Federal Constitution.
Having said that, it is understandable that while the criminals
are resorting to more sophisticated technology in committing
crimes, the authorities should also step up their efforts in fighting
crimes. The key is always about striking a fair balance between
maintaining national security and protecting the privacy of the
individuals at the same time. This is never an easy task, and one
hopes that the authorities will only exercise these new powers with
restrain, for good cause, and only when absolutely necessary.
The view expressed in this article is intended to provide a general
guide to the subject matter and does not constitute professional
legal advice. You are advised to seek proper legal advice for your
specific situation.
september 13

chip malaysia
040
feature
tech spel unk
Tech Spelunk
Intel Core i7 4770 ES
One of Intels highest-end processors at the
moment, the Intel Core-i7 comes clocked in at
3.4GHz, but can be overclocked to 3.9GHz, just
nice if you need that performance boost for
whatever reason. Second to only the Intel Core i7-
4770K, this processor is more than enough to let
you do whatever you want to on the PC, be it for
office work, watch HD TV series and movies, or
even play the latest games.
ASUS Z87-Deluxe
Were quite sure that this motherboard wasnt chosen
solely due to the fact that it fits the black and gold theme of
the Gold Digger PC, but you wouldnt know that just by
looking at it. ASUS went for an image change with their
Deluxe motherboards, but they also made sure to have a
number of new features such as the Dual Intelligent 4
processors which help improve performance, efficiency,
power and system cooling. Another cool new feature the
Z87-Deluxe has is that it comes with an external Wi-Fi
adapter that to allows the PC to connect to the internet
without needing a cable.
ASUS GTX 770 DirectCU II OC
Weve reviewed the ASUS GTX 770 DirectCU II OC not too
long ago, and we agreed that this card is probably one of
the best bang-for-the-buck graphics cards in the market
right now. The guys at Mod n Go Design must have felt
the same as they decided to go with this one, although its
a bit of a shame they didnt paint the red stripes gold.
Cooler Master Silent Pro Hybrid 1300W
A powerful PC calls for a powerful power supply unit (PSU). Cooler
Masters Silent Pro Hybrid 1300W was called to action, and the whole idea
behind using this particular PSU is that it will allow users to gradually
upgrade their machine without worrying that the PSU wont be able to
support future additions to the Gold Digger.
The Gold Digger
me of
y
eir
e a
cy,
the
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et
elt
h its
brid 1300W
PSU). Cooler
, and the whole idea
ers to gradually
wont be able to
chip malaysia

september 13 041
feature
tech spel unk
Cooler Master Storm Scout 2
The stock front panel of the Cooler Master Storm Scout 2 was replaced with a custom
made panel which was made using acrylic, whilst the top panel was removed to give the
Gold Digger a more naked look. The PSU panel was also modified to make it easily
removable and comes with three plastic rails to keep it secure. Mod n Go have decided
to do away with an optical disc drive and removed the ODD and HDD cages so that there
is more space for the fan. This also allowed the folks at Mod n Go Design to fit in a
360mm radiator for a custom water cooling setup.
Cooler Master
Seidon 120XL
and Cooler
Master Turbine
Master
Mushkin Chronos Deluxe
120GB and Mushkin
BlackLine PC3-19200 16GB
Kit
Mushkin is the brand of choice for the SSD and
RAMs, and it is for good reason. Mushkin has been
an enthusiast favourite for storage and memory
products as far back as we can remember, and
their wide variety of products are of high quality
and excellent performance. In order to fit the
theme, the top part of the Mushkin BlackLines
heatspreaders were painted gold.
ASUS MX279 LED Monitor
The Gold Digger PC features one of the nicest
monitors weve seen in a while, in the form of the
ASUS MX279 LED monitor, which weve reviewed
in this months issue in the Test Lab section in
page 95.
While the PC modding scene has lost it lustre over the years, there are still some die-
hard customisers out there who are still hard at work and creating some of the most
radical looking desktops you will lay your eyes on. This dream machine we have here
was designed by the folks at Mod n Go Design and they prove that the modding scene
is alive and well as they sent us a custom-made gaming PC called The Gold Digger,
which is made with some of the best components available in the market now. To know
more about them and what they do, give their website a visit at http://irenmodz.wix.com/
mngdesign BY CHIP Team
C
Th
ma
Go
rem
to
is m
360
C
S
a
M
M
M
1
B
K
M
R
a
p
t
a
t
h
A
T
m
A
i
p
Cooling is an important feature of any computer, modded or otherwise, and it is with
this in mind that the guys at Mod n Go Design went with Cooler Masters Seidon
120XL cooler and the Turbine Master fans, as both of them are easy to setup and
install. The creators of this beast also made sure to spray-paint them gold to fit with
the Gold Diggers theme.
october 13

chip malaysia
042
feature
the di gi tal rebel l i on
WHISTLEBLOWER, LEAKER AND HACKER
For some, they are heroes and for others they are traitors or even
criminals: Whistleblowers pass on confidential documents, which time
and again proves to be like primary explosives. The publication by
Bradley Manning is even considered as one of the catalyst for the Arab
Spring revolution.
TWITTER REVOLUTION
The riots after the Iranian presidential election in 2009 were
known as the Twitter revolution because the fledgling service
was used to coordinate protests for the first time
P
H
O
T
O
S
:

I
S
T
O
C
K
P
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T
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O
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D
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,
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,

L
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,

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,

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A
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Y
Social networks are becoming the main medium of major protests and revolu-
tions. Before the youth take to the streets, they first gather online
By Benjamin Hartlmaier
Digital Rebellion
40,000
people were on the streets in
Germany on 15th October 2011.
In other parts of the world, about
1,000 demonstrators gathered in 82 countries, to demonstrate for
social change. This day will now be forever remembered as the
climax of a new protest culture, which has its roots in the social
network sites like Twitter, Facebook and Youtube. The young
demonstrators brought together the Hashtag #globalchange,
which was used to coordinate actions in advance over the Internet.
The initiators of the protests already had experience with the
planning of protests over social networks because the so-called
15th October Movement, included the Spanish Group
Democracia Real Ya (Real Democracy Now), the Greek
movement of the Emprten, the occupy movement and other
groups from the Arab Spring revolution.
All the relevant groups, who had previously organised massive
protest on the Internet, were represented on 15th October 2011
(refer to the image on pg 43). The digital rebellion came to a
temporary halt, but it was not over.
25
Twitter users were arrested by police for protests in
Turkey in June 2013. The charge against them was:
they had spread misleading and offensive
information over the short message service. The Prime Minister of
Turkey, Recep Erdogan also termed these social networking sites
as The most pathetic threat to the society. The Turkish
government is now demanding more access to Twitter: The
communication minister of Turkey Binali Yildirim stated that If we
want information, we would want somebody in Turkey who can
give it to us.
10
years in prison the sentence given to the
Anonymous hacker Jeremy Hammond. He pleaded
himself guilty to breaking into the systems of the US
private intelligence agency Stratfor in 2011. The copied internal
e-mails show that the US Department of Homeland Security was
actually commissioned for fighting terrorism and also the spying
of the Occupy Wall Street movement. The ministry gave special
attention to the communications between the demonstrators over
the social networking sites.
S
O
U
R
C
E
:

S
T
A
T
I
S
T
A
.
C
O
M
;

I
P
S
O
S
The passing of
internal slides
revealed that the
monitoring
program PRISM
and TEMPORA,
was used by the
American and
British secret
agencies to intercept Internet traffic
across the world
The US cables
and Stratfor
e-mails, among
others, were
published with
the help of the
Australian
platform. He was
accused of
spying in the US
Edward
Snowden,
formerly NSA
Julian
Assange,
WikiLeaks
The hacker
community has
repeatedly stolen
confidential
documents of
opposing
organisations,
such as internal
E-Mails of the
private US secret service Stratfor in
the year 2010
Anonymous,
Web collective
The publication
of 250,000
diplomatic
telegrams
resulted in an
international
Cable Gate
scandal in April
2010. Since July
2013, Manning stands before a US
military court
Bradley
Manning,
US Army
2,024,166
tweets during the Iran election
were recorded by the Web
Ecology Project research team
during the period between 7
to 26 June. The short
messages came from 480,000
users
65.5 %
of the Twitter posts
about the Iran election and
protests came from 10
percent of the users. Majority
of the users, 59.3 percent,
wrote only 14.1 percent of the
total tweets
chip malaysia

october 13 043
feature
the di gi tal rebel l i on
FAKE MOVEMENTS
There have been countless times where
companies or states produce staged protests
over social networks to cause anxiety. For
outsiders it is often very difficult to differentiate
whether images and videos of protests, which
spreads over social networking sites, are
authentic.
With social unrest these images always
appear to be ripped out of context or falsified.
For example, recently, an alleged protest march
in Turkey turned out to be an old photo of a
marathon in Istanbul.
Completely fake movements are called
Astroturfing. A term, which comes from a brand
name for synthetic turf, indicates the attempt,
civic engagement also called the grassroot
movement of staging, for political or
commercial purposes: the Stuttgart 21 protests
was astroturfing because a marketing agency,
which also worked for the German Railway,
organised a Pro-S21 run.
TWITTER & CO. LED THESE PROTESTS
The social media has played a central role in mass demonstrations over the years: protests were organised over Facebook,
Twitter and YouTube and the latest information were spread across the world in this manner
GREECE
#GREEKREVOLUTION
The mass protests against planned
economy measures by the end of
May 2011 was the first of its kind in
the history of the country; it was
mainly organized over
Facebook. Ten thousand people took
part in the protest
BRAZIL
#CHANGEBRAZIL
Over a million Brazilians
protested against the
government as it over
spent on the 2014 World
Cup preparations at the
expense of public
transport, education and
infrastructure. After the
protest, officials revoked
the fare hike
GERMANY
#BLOCKUPY
In June 2013, the
German police force was
up against
7,000 Blockupy
demonstrators in the
Frankfurt for revolt
IRAN
#IRANELECTION
After the election of Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad as President in June
2009, millions of Iranians protested.
The protestors communicated with
each other mainly over Twitter
TURKEY
#OCCUPYGEZI
There were violent anti-
government protests in
June 2013 after a demo
against a building project
in Istanbul Gezi Park.
Over 8,000 were injured
and caused millions of
dollars of damage
EGYPT
#ARABSPRING
In January 2011, tens of
thousands of Egyptians
occupied Tahrir Square
in Cairo in what is now
known as the Arab
Spring. The government
had to jam Internet and
wireless networks as
social media was main
source of communication
and coordination of this
massive demonstration
USA
#OCCUPYWALLSTREET
Demonstrators occupied the Zuccotti
Park in New Yorks Wall Street district
with the slogan We are the 99% in
September 2011: This was the birth of
the global Occupy movement. 700
protestants were arrested
SPAIN
#SPANISHREVOLUTION
Inspired by the occupation of Tahrir
Square in Egypt, ten thousand
protestors flooded the Puerta del Sol
Square in Madrid in May 2011. It was
also mainly organised over social
networks
The Canadian magazine Adbusters was supposed to be
behind the Occupy movement
The website of action Run for Stuttgart is registered as
a marketing agency
This image is supposed to show
demonstrations in Istanbul but it is
actually a marathon run
october 13

chip malaysia
044
feature
arti fi ci al i ntel l i gence
The Stanford Cart, is the first
autonomous automobile
1971
Stanford
ELIZA is as a chat robot and can carry on a
human-like intelligent discussion.
1966
ELIZA
40 million Furbys are sold in Christmas
gift stores. The cuddly soft toy learns
English as time passes.
1998
Furby
Start-up Anki displays the model cars which
are autarchically controlled by an iPhone App
and thus simulate the racing behavior
2013
Model car
Technological singularity predicts: artificial
intelligence is superior to man itself and will
continue to evolve
2045
Singularity
IBMs super computer Watson wins in
the game Jeopardy against former
champions
2011
Watson
Robot Polly acts as a guide on the seventh
floor of MIT and interacts with visitors
1993
Robot
The term Artificial intelligence was introduced
at the Dartmouth conference
1956
Dartmouth
MYCIN analyses blood infection
disorders and recommends therapies
1970
MYCIN
Dragon Systems begin the
development of the first commercially
usable language recognition system
1982
Language
Wolfram Alpha by Stephen Wolframs
team is the first semantic search machine.
2009
Search
As per Moores Law, PCs will soon
achieve the calculating power
equivalent to the human brain
2029
Draw
Googles autonomous car gets on-
road permission in Nevada
2012
Car
The super computer Deep Blue defeats
the world chess champion Garry
Kasparov in seven games
1997
Football Deep Blue
The first robot football world
champion has 381 participants
feature
arti fi ci al i ntel l i gence
chip malaysia

october 13 045
feature
arti fi ci al i ntel l i gence
Artificial Intelligence
B
ack in 1994, scholar Hans Moravec made a statement,
which goes like this you do not require your body in
order to be live. The Austrian native wasnt just only an
Artificial Intelligence (AI) researcher his specialty is robots.
And they are getting smarter: According to Moores Law, the
processing speed of an average computer doubles every 18
months. If predictions by experts are accurate, computing
machines will be able to process equal amounts of data as a
human brain by 2029. 16 years later, this phenomena will
reach a point known as singularity and this is when machines
will be so intelligent that they will be able to evolve on their
own without the need of human support. This is said be in line
with Moravecs prediction as he said that in the future,
contents of a human brain thoughts, perception and data
processing, will be able to be stored in an artificial device,
making humans almost machine-like. Effectively, this means
humans will no longer be just bound to a fragile flesh shell and
this Singularity phase was also predicted in the movie 2001:
A Space Odyssey by Stanley Kubrick. When the movie was
launched, we had just figured out a way to make searching the
web a much more efficient machine. Even by todays standard,
singularity seems to be something found only in science fiction
but it does make us wonder if we will actually get that far in
the distant future. Nevertheless, it is hard to deny the fact that
Artificial Intelligence has made unbelievable progress in the
last 60 years.
Psychotherapy with Chatbot ELIZA
The concept of AI isnt really that old, it was coined in 1965
at the Dartmouth Conference held in the college it was named
after in New Hampshire. It is defined as a system that
perceives its environment and reacts to it that it maximizes its
chances of success. The first system of its kind was ELIZA, a
chat program that was tested in 1966 at the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology (MIT) in Boston. Although it seems
quite simple now, it was a major breakthrough then as ELIZA
was able to form questions from sentences entered by the test
personnel. When the personnel typed in My head hurts,
ELIZA replied by asking Why does your head hurt?
Moreover, the chatbot was also able to master associations,
for example statements like My father irritates me, led to
answers such as Tell me more about your family. ELIZA
mastered these simple shortcuts so perfectly that subjects
thought they were actually chatting with a real doctor. Years
later, investigator Joseph Weizenbaum reported that the
subjects had asked him to leave during the tests out of respect
for the privacy of their room. He was denied the chance to
keep transcripts of the chats because the subjects responded
too emotionally to ELIZA. Not long after that, AI began being
applied in the medical field: one of the first programs that
appeared was MYCIN in 1970, which was used to diagnose
blood diseases and also analyse and prescribe the appropriate
dose of antibiotics. However, much like ELIZA, MYCINs
intelligence was also limited: when given data from a cholera
patient, it provided the same treatment recommendation for a
blood disorder. Because of this and ethical concerns, MYCIN
was never used on a daily basis despite the fact that it had
more successful hit rates compared to doctors.
AI has come a long way since ELIZA and MYCIN and today,
super computers such as IBMs Watson whose career began
in 2011 is able to win the quiz game Jeopardy against former
champions. In the future, it is expected to be used to rapidly
find out optimal therapies for cancer patients.
Artificial Intelligence victorious in chess,
Jeopardy and football
Once a new level is achieved in AI, it is always tested in a
game: before Watson, the super computer Deep Blue defeated
the world chess champion Garry Kasparov in 1997, and since
that event, robots have also faced each other in soccer world
championships. A total of 381 teams from 42 countries
competed in this championship in 2012 in Mexico. Of course,
robots can do more than just play games. Before Google, Audi
and BMW unveiled their autonomous cars, there was the
Stanford Cart in 1971, which was named after the Californian
University. MIT also has their very own robot, called Polly that
was used to guide visitors to the seventh floor of the institute
in 1993 where AI research was being conducted. Polly
interacted with visitors who had to nod with their feet. In
2005, Honda created Asimo, the first human-like robot who
moved around on two legs. With his help, experts were able to
develop visual prostheses for senior citizens.
Currently, the focus of research is on AI that learns on its
own. Apples voice assistant Siri learns more dialects with
each spoken word. Googles knowledge base Knowledge
Graph is able to automatically create links between the
interests of its users, and the search engine Wolfram Alpha
translates search queries to lexical entries. Artificial neural
networks are expected to make machine learning much more
effective and is modelled on the structure of our brains in
about 16 years however, we will still be smarter.
It has defeated the world chess champion, won in quiz shows and drives cars, but Artificial
Intelligence wont just stop at these triumphs it looks to achieve even more and it may
soon be smarter than a human being By Christoph Sackmann
P
H
O
T
O
S
:

F
L
I
C
K
R

/

D
O
N

D
E
B
O
L
D
,

O
N
I
N
N
O
V
A
T
I
O
N
;

R
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U
T
E
R
S
/
N
E
V
A
D
A

D
E
P
A
R
T
M
E
N
T

O
F

M
O
T
O
R

V
E
H
I
C
L
E
S
/
H
A
N
D
O
U
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;
T
H
I
N
K
S
T
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K

/

I
S
T
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C
K
P
H
O
T
O
;

W
I
K
I
P
E
D
I
A

/

A
L
E
X

N
O
R
T
H
,

A
N
D
R
E
A
S

P
R
A
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F
C
K
E
,

S
T
E
P
H
E
N

W
O
L
F
R
A
M

P
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/
S
T
E
P
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E
N

F
A
U
S
T
THE EXECUTION
This is how Silvermont executes a
program as compared to its
predecessor Saltwell.
1
Take orders Firstly, the order or
its exact logical address is loaded.
In the L1-Cache, the CPU checks
whether the order was already
used; the considerably enlarged
ITLB (Instruction Translation
Lookaside Buffer) stores the related
physical addresses. Then the order
ends up in the command memory.
2
Decoding Two decoders
working in parallel convert the
command into machine operations
understood by the processor. Intel
uses fewer micro-codes ( code) in
Silvermont because the CPU can
also execute macro-operations. This
helps saves decode time.
3
Distributing tasks Silvermont
uses the out-of-order execution: It
saves the micro-operations ( OPs)
in a queue and sorts them in such a
way that it is operated at full
capacity. Saltwell on the other
hand, starts immediately but in a
predetermined order.
4
Execution In the final step, the
execution units (EU) processes the
operations.
OUT-OF-ORDER-EXECUTION
SILVERMONT
IN-ORDER-EXECUTION
SALTWELL
october 13

chip malaysia
046
feature
a vi ew of si l vermont
OP 1
OP 2
INTELS NEW MOBILE CPU
THE PRINCIPLE
Take orders, split them up in
individual steps or operations (OPs)
and then execute this is the
procedure followed by CPUs.
1
In-order execution executes the
steps strictly in the sequence of
their decoding.
2
Out-of-order execution stores
the first steps in a queue and sorts
them in such a way that the order of
execution is optimal for the
processor.
As a major innovator in the world of technology, Intel looks to once again outdo the competition
when it comes to mobile CPUs. The next-generation of Intel Atom processors will feature a new
technology known as the out-of-order execution that ensures non-optimised programs run faster as
the processor develops its own execution that minimises unnecessary load times.
EU EU EU EU EU
RESORTING/REARRANGING
QUEUE
OPS OPS OPS OPS OPS
EU EU EU EU EU EU EU
CODE DECODER 1 DECODER 2
MEMORY FOR MACHINE ORDERS
DECODER 1 DECODER 2
MEMORY FOR MACHINE ORDERS
SSE-REGISTER INT.-REGISTER FP-REGISTER
TAKE ORDERS
DECODE ORDERS
QUEUE
RESORT
EXECUTION
OP 1
OP 2
OP 10
OP 25
OP 3
TAKE ORDERS
DECODE ORDERS
EXECUTION
LOAD ORDERS LOAD ORDERS
ITLB L1-COMMAND CACHE ITLB L1-COMMAND CACHE
COMMAND MEMORY COMMAND MEMORY
CODE
changed
chip malaysia

october 13 047
feature
a vi ew of si l vermont
SILVERMONT:
Atom Power Saver
The next-generation Atom CPUs wont just have improved performance but also greater
power efficiency. This will put Intel in the perfect spot to conquer the mobile market
By Jrg Geiger
I
ntel CPUs are few and far between in tablets and smartphones.
The reason being that although the Atom CPUs are competent,
they consume a lot of power and only has moderate
performance. If you were to take a closer look at the technology, it
is clear that Intel has so far mainly focused on the CPU cores and
the concomitant multithreading (with Intel Hyper-threading). Many
threads processing parallel are required to make this strategy work
when executing a program. It sounds good and has the advantage
to produce a higher data throughput. But hyperthreading is a
complex thing and it is also not practical on a mobile device. For
example, waiting time: If a user wants to play a video on the
smartphone while travelling, it should start as quickly as possible.
But just the decompressing of larger video streams is a tough task
when hyperthreading is used. Instead, a good single thread
performance would prove to be more efficient, as a single core will
be able to put out more computing power.
This is exactly what Intel has improved in the next generation of
its Atom CPUs, codenamed Silvermont. It replaces the
hyperthreading of the current generation of Atom processors,
Saltwell, with powerful physical cores. Not only is Intel certain that
they will have the best performance with Silvermont but they have
also tweaked many details of the CPU to improves its power
consumption. On average, Silvermont is said to use only one-fifth
of the amount of power used by the current generation of Atom
processors.
Three times faster than its predecessor
The secret weapon of Silvermont is known as the Out-of-order
execution (refer to pg 50). Older CPU experts will have heard of
this term as it was used in the Pentium Pro era. Intel didnt use this
technology for their Atom processors as they wanted to rely on
hyperthreading and in-oder execution. A processor executes a
series of machine instructions when running a program. Current
CPUs strictly adhere to the prescribed sequence of commands (in
order) which is often not tailored for the processor. Hence, the
execution units are not properly utilised leading to unnecessary
wait times and longer program execution times. On the other
hand, the out-of-order execution optimises the execution order. As
compared to Saltwell, Silvermont is able to process approximately
50% more commands per clock cycle. The new micro-architecture
is particularly powerful in the crucial integer and floating-point
calculation operations (multiplications and divisions), the core
function of a CPU. According to Intel, this is triple the performance
power compared to its predecessor.
Even the so-called command pipeline, in which the programs
are processed, is not extended. The new Atom CPU saves three
cycles during execution as the CPU doesnt access the data cache.
The topic branch prediction is also interesting, i.e. how efficiently
the processor can predict which commands should be loaded next.
With the help of command structure, it determines which program
points next in line. This prediction is optimised in Silvermont. In
the case of an error in the prediction, the waiting time is shorter
before the processor can continue working again. Therefore, Intel
predicts that Silvermont will be used in more devices compared to
its predecessor.
Intel has also improved Silvermont in terms of caches: The two
cores divide the L2 cache and forms a module. With 1MB capacity,
the cache is also larger than Saltewell. The real advantage is that it
can use one core on its own in single thread mode. This is
definitely a big leap ahead of its predecessor as Saltwell couldnt
divide its cache. Silvermont also has much lower latency when it
comes to accessing the cache. The size of the so-called Translation
Lookaside Buffer for commands has also increased by three times
to 48 entries. This is a big advantage because it contains the
memory addresses of used commands. This also helps shorten the
loading time when a program accesses the same command again.
Even more power efficient
However, the primary objective of Silvermont is saving power.
Intel has determined the framework conditions: The new micro-
architecture Silvermont is manufactured in 22-nanometer process
(Saltwell: 32 nanometers). Moreover, Intel will also be using for the
very first time the new 3D Tri-Gate transistors, which essentially
requires a much lower switching current, works faster and has
lower leakage currents.
The architecture offers a definite freedom of choice as
Silvermont can be scaled for smartphones to servers. Thus, the
highest Silvermont can go will be eight cores; for tablets, Intel will
have four core processors; while smartphones will have at least
two cores. With the new Burst Technology 2.0, the cores can reach
the power peaks faster, and, more importantly, also come back to
moderate clock cycles more quickly. Another amazing feature: the
cores can go into sleep mode independently.
Better performance and lower power consumption, Intel has
really got us excited and we wont have to wait long for a device
equipped with Silvermont, as tablets with the new Atom (Bay Trail)
should arrive during the Christmas season; however, we will have
to wait till early 2014 for new Atom powered smartphones.
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october 13

chip malaysia
048
feature
useful technol ogi es of tomorrow
The most useful
TECHNOLOGIES of tomorrow
A road surface that generates power. A consumable pill that generates a
password. And tiny batteries which are charged in seconds and are powerful
enough to start cars. These inventions arent here yet, but we want them
By Fabian von Keudell
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WLAN IN A SPRAY CAN
Chamtech Enterprises in the USA have invented a liquid
which is made up of several million nano transistors. A
surface sprayed with the liquid will then be able to receive
and send electromagnetic signals that is much better than
the conventional antennae. With this invention, walls will be
able to act as replacement for radio towers.
8
POWER FOR BRAIN
The foc.us-Headset uses mild electrics
shocks to stimulate the brain and helps it
to perform better and improve reaction
time. Its current and firts field of
application is used in computer games. It
is expected to cost around RM824.
2
QUANTEM
COMPUTER
D-Wave is the company that
manufactured the first commercial
Quantem computer. Their customers
include NASA and Google, which are
developing the artificial intelligence of the
quantum computer further.
7
ZOOMING CONTACT
LENSES
Research groups based in the USA and Switzerland have both
been successful in designing a 1.17-millimeter thick contact lens
which has a 3x zooming ability. It is currently in the
experimental stage but is expected to be in the market next
year. This is designed to help patients who suffer from age-
related macular degeneration.
3
PASSWORD PILL
At the D11 conference, Motorola announced a revolution
that will stop the age-old problem of forgotten passwords.
How? With a pill that sends out an 18-bit code when it
comes in contact with our gastric acid, which is then
recorded by an external receiver and forwarded to the PC.
4
PRINT
ANYTHING
Designed by American firm Makerbot,
this 3D printer is ready for launch. It will
cost about RM8,710 and can create
anything - from everyday objects to
medical devices.
9
SUPER BATTERY
Researches from the University of Illinois have invented a tiny
yet highly efficient batteries, which only takes a few seconds to
charge but is also powerful enough to start a parked car. Other
applications of the super battery currently include being used in
smartphones. But when it is finally mass manufactured, the
skies will definitely be the limits for this tiny power source.
5
SOLAR STREETS
American start-up Solar Roadways have created special
solar panels that can be laid out as road surfaces. Its pilot
project was launched this year and is expected to cost the
US government around RM2,477,390. These solar panels
can also be installed with LEDs to display warning and road
signs.
10
DRIVER-LESS AUTO
Rear-end collisions are the second most
common type of accidents all over the world.
So to stop this from happening, Google has
come up with a driver-less car solution. In
fact, Google has actually been testing these
automatic cars in the USA since 2012 and
have gotten excellent results
6
EXOSKELETON
When made available some time this
year, this invention by Ekso Bionics will
truly be life changing as it will allow a
paraplegic to start running again. It can
even hits speeds of up to 3km/h.
chip malaysia

september 13 049
feature
googl e reader al ternati ves
Alternatives
for Google
Reader
Google Reader is dead, but here are
alternatives that will help you love
again By Naina Khedekar
G
oogle has pulled the plug on
Reader, its popular tool for
viewing RSS feeds, due to waning
popularity. Launched in 2005, the service
was adept at bringing everything you
cared about on the Internet to a single
page and synced your feeds across all
devices. While there has been a shift in
the way people access feeds today, there
are enough people who are accustomed
to or use Google Reader extensively on
desktops. For these users, here are some
alternatives.
FEEDLY
Readers demise will benefit Feedly
immensely. Feedly comes across as an
apt and direct replacement as it is the
most popular alternative and has a neat
and slick user interface. It can be easily
personalised with a newspaper-esque
interface or an image-centric view. Feedly
also has a competent app for users
looking for a mobile-friendly RSS feed
service. Available on the Web, Android
and iOS, it seamlessly syncs feeds across
all of your devices, letting you access
feeds on your smartphone or tablet, and
then pick up from where you left off on
your computer. To increase its chances
as the best alternative for Reader, Feedly
has been adding a slew of new features
that improves the app's overall user-
friendliness and versatility.
DIGG READER
This alternative was announced shortly
after Google revealed the imminent
demise of its Reader. It features a Google
Reader-like interface, and you even have
to sign-in using your Google account.
Digg Reader allows users to share stories
on social networks and, obviously, Digg.
It also has a filter that shows all the
trending articles from your feeds. This
reader has some features in the pipeline,
such as being able to view unread items
and marking items as unread. With the
number of quick updates it has been
getting, it looks like Digg Reader is all
geared up to replace Reader, but isnt
there yet.
AOL READER
AOL has also launched its own tool for
viewing RSS feeds and it's called AOL
Reader. It is a simple web RSS reader
that comes without many bells and
whistles, and can be accessed using your
Twitter, Google or Facebook accounts. It is
not as slick as Feedly or Digg's offerings,
but AOL does make it easy to get new
content from several news sources across
categories. It comes with different layout
formats, including a thumbnail kind (card
view) of view that shows the headline
and lead image of every article. Users can
mark articles to read later, and you're also
shown a catalogue of similar or suggested
sites. AOL Reader has a lot of potential as
a web application and AOL is said to be
working on smartphone and tablet apps
so that department will be covered.
MORE ALTERNATIVES
Apart from these, some other options
include The Old Reader and Flipboard.
Desktop users can also take a look at
Reeder (Mac) and Outlook. The Opera
browser also has a default RSS reader.
october 13

chip malaysia
050
feature
tokyo game show 2013
TOKYO GAME
SHOW 2013
We head on over to Asias biggest gaming convention to bring you news on whats
happening in the video game industry
By Nazrin Zain
2
013 is a special year for gamers,
regardless whether youre a part of
the PC or console gaming crowd.
Not only are we seeing more OEM
builders making more components
geared for a gaming PC, but Sony and
Microsoft have also announced that they
will be pushing out their next generation
consoles, the Sony PlayStation 4 and
Microsoft Xbox One to many markets at
the end of this year.
While we may have missed out on the
big announcements from other shows
such as the Electronic Entertainment
Expo and Gamescom, we were lucky
enough to be able to attend Asias
biggest gaming convention, Tokyo Game
Show, which is held annually at the
Makuhari Messe convention centre in
Organisers of Tokyo Game Show 2013 o ciang the launch of the event
chip malaysia

october 13 051
feature
tokyo game show 2013
Chiba prefecture, Japan. It is here where
gamers, journalists and even developers
and businesspeople alike come together
to see what game studios and electronic
entertainment companies have to offer
to consumers this year and next.
Held from 19 to 22 September, Tokyo
Game Show 2013 broke last years
attendance record of 223,573 attendees,
as this years event saw an influx of
46,444 more visitors, bringing the count
to a whopping 270,197 visitors
throughout the four days, and as an
event first, sees over 100,000 visitors
coming in for each of the two public
days on the 21st and 22nd.
The first two days of Tokyo Game
Show were business days, where
journalists, developers and
businesspeople attended the expo to
participate in keynotes, business
meetings, and press conferences so that
they would have a clearer picture of
things to come from the companies
participating in the event.
Sony Brought Out The Big
Guns
The biggest announcement made at
Tokyo Game Show 2013 was probably
made by Sony, as they unveiled that the
APAC market, not including Japan will
be getting the PlayStation 4 in December
this year, a month later than the
American and European market will get
theirs. This also confirms that countries
such as Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand,
Phillipines and Indonesia will get their
next-gen Sony consoles first before
Japan, who will get theirs in February
2014.
Andrew House, Group CEO of Sony
Computer Entertainment took to the
stage and announced the companys
direction, as far as the PlayStation 4 is
concerned, and has promised that
gamers will get more games once the
consoles are out on all of Sonys
markets. Gamers will also get a nice mix
of AAA titles alongside indie titles that
are sure to make video games a more
mainstream source of entertainment.
Besides the PlayStation 4
announcement, Sony also showed more
of the PlayStation Vita TV, a small device
that is connected to the TV via HDMI,
and can be used for a number of things,
chief of which include playing
PlayStation Vita games on the TV,
streaming PlayStation 3 games via
Gaikai and functioning as a remote
streaming device for the PlayStation 4.
On the show floor, we also got to see
the new, slimmer PlayStation Vita which
was announced alongside the
PlayStation Vita TV. The device is indeed
thinner than the original, and whilst the
display size remains the same, Sony has
ditched the OLED display in favour of an
LCD screen, in order to cut costs and
make the PS Vita a lot more competitive
price-wise against its long-time rival, the
Nintendo 3DS.
Not only that, the new PlayStation
Vita also features several new colours
that are sure to entice on-the-fence
buyers who would definitely want a
portable console that fits their style.
As far as games are concerned, Sony
had a wide variety of games on the show
floor, be it for the PlayStation 3 or the
PlayStation 4. Some of these games
include the upcoming Gran Turismo 6,
The new PlayStaon Vita in pink!
KNACK is one of the most ancipated games for the Sony
PlayStaon 4
Over 200,000 people from around the world aended this years Tokyo Game Show
The Sony PlayStaon Vita TV garnered a lot of aenon at
the event
october 13

chip malaysia
052
feature
tokyo game show 2013
Ace Combat Infinity, Dynasty Warriors 8,
Knack, Drive Club, and Resogun,
amongst others.
Microsoft And Its Charms
Microsoft didnt make any ground-
breaking announcements at Tokyo Game
Show unlike Sony, but as the launch of
the Xbox One is just around the corner,
the company has decided to make its
presence felt at the event this year after
last years hiatus.
Whilst more people are certainly
looking forward to a number of Xbox
One titles such as Titanfall, Ryse and
Crimson Dragon, Microsoft has not
forgotten about the Xbox 360, and even
set up quite a number of demo stations
there, featuring upcoming games such
as Armored Core: Verdict Day, Dead or
Alive 5 Ultimate, FIFA 14, Rocksmith
2014 and Splinter Cell: Blacklist.
Testing out Cryteks Ryse, the
gameplay is now different from what
was shown at E3 and Gamescom as the
company tweaked it to reduce the over-
reliance on QTE segments that detracts
from the gamers skill a lot. The game
feels a lot more challenging now, and we
say that in a good way.
Titanfall is of course the Xbox Ones
biggest title yet, as it combines the
traditional FPS genre with some
interesting dynamics, such as mech
piloting. We knew it was a great game
from the get-go, but actually having
some time with it, was a very
unforgettable treat.
We also asked about the launch of the
Xbox One in the Asia region, but
unfortunately it seems that Microsoft has
yet to change their stance on launching
in its key markets before spreading
out to this side of the world.
Games, Games and More
Games
Sony and Microsoft arent the only big
exhibitors at Tokyo Game Show of
course, as publishers and studios such
as Square-Enix, Capcom, Bandai-Namco,
Koei-Tecmo and even the likes of
Rockstar Games created giant waves and
headlines with their demos.
Square-Enix, of Final Fantasy and
Dragon Quest fame were one of the few
big name studio/publishing names at
Tokyo Game Show this year, featuring a
number of games at their booth,
including the upcoming Final Fantasy
X/X-2 HD remaster, Final Fantasy XIII-3
and the recently launched Final Fantasy
XIV.
The company is also the official
publisher of the console release of
Diablo 3 in Japan, and had the game
showcased on the floor as well. Other
upcoming titles that gamers can expect
from them include Drag-On Dragoon 3,
Thief, Skylanders: Spyros March and
also The Evil Within.
Tesng out Drive Club for the PlayStaon 4
The Capcom booth got a massive surge of visitors due to
Monster Hunter and Sengoku Basara 4
The Xbox One on display
The Sony PlayStaon 4 and the variety of DualShock 4
controllers
One of the biggest aracons at Square-Enixs booth
chip malaysia

october 13 053
feature
tokyo game show 2013
Capcom is the other big-name studio
that drew a large crowd at the show, as
they had a number of big-name titles
such as Monster Hunter, Sengoku Basara
4 and another reimagined classic,
Strider.
Capcoms latest Monster Hunter 4 for
the Nintendo 3DS is a humongous hit in
Japan, with hundreds of thousands, if
not millions in the country playing it
right now. At the show floor, Capcom
also unveiled Monster Hunter Smart, a
full-blown Monster Hunter game for
Apples iOS platform.
Strider, or Strider Hiryu as the game
was once called, was a famous game
back in the Nintendo consoles of old,
and Double Helix has been entrusted by
Capcom to bring new life to the title. The
game is super-fast paced, akin to that of
Sonic games, which is a great thing,
because in this one, you either kill the
enemies the second they see you, or
youre the one who will be riddled with
bullets. There are no release dates
confirmed for Strider yet at the time of
writing, but it has been confirmed that it
will be released for the PS3, PS4, Xbox
360 and Xbox One.
Not to be forgotten, Sega was also at
Tokyo Game Show this year, showing of
some relatively futuristic and historic
titles at their booth this year. Some of
their big titles include the two new
Hatsune Miku games, titled Project Diva
F 2nd and Project Mirai 2 respectively,
the former for the PS3 and PS Vita,
whilst the latter is for the Nintendo 3DS
console, both of which are rhythm
games and have been taking the world
by storm as of late.
The new Ryuu ga Gotoku, or Yakuza
as most of us know it also made a brief
appearance at the Sega booth in the
form of a trailer video. Yakuza: Ishin is
Capcoms Monster Hunter Smart was promoted in a big way
at the show
Studios a liated with Sega and their soon-to-be-released
games
Indie games were quite a hit and aracted many visitors
Visitors trying out the PlayStaon Vita TVs funconality
Visitors tesng out the Sony Xperia VR headset
Koei-Tecmo celebrang 30 years of Sangoku Musou
Wargaming.net coming in big at Tokyo Game Show with World
of Tanks
One of the games being shown at the Indie Games Area
october 13

chip malaysia
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tokyo game show 2013
set in the Shogunate-era, eschewing the
modern environments this time around.
The game is slated to make its way as a
PlayStation exclusive as it makes its way
to the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4.
Fighting game enthusiasts will be
happy to know that there are also a wide
variety of such games coming our way
courtesy of companies such as Namco-
Bandai and Arc System Works who are
bringing titles such as Jojos Bizarre
Adventures: All Star Battle, J Stars
Victory VS, Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Z,
God Eater 2, BlazBlue: Chrono
Phantasma, and the upcoming Guilty
Gear Xrd.
Not to be forgotten, there is also
GungHo Online, a company who has
made a fortune with their hit mobile
game Puzzle & Dragons, a match three
RPG game reminiscent of titles like
Puzzle Quest. At their booth, they were
pushing out demos for their upcoming
Puzzle & Dragons Z, a new Ragnarok
Odyssey Ace game, and a video trailer
for their upcoming console debut game,
Lily Bergamo, which is spearheaded by
Grasshopper, and notable game
producer Suda51.
Cool Things at TGS
Tokyo Game Show is usually held in
halls 1-8 of the Makuhari Messe
convention centre. This time around,
however the management has seen fit to
include another hall to that number as
well, as they are introducing a number
of new additions to the event for the first
time.
By expanding their venue, they were
able to add new sections such as the
Indie Game Area, Romance Simulation
Game Area and even a Cloud Gaming
Area which allows even more companies
to take part in the event this year.
With record attendance being set this
year, were fairly certain that Tokyo
Game Show will be hard-pressed to find
more space to sustain all the companies
and people who will flock over to Japan
to see even more next-gen games on the
show floors here.
A large stone replica of Date Masamune from Capcoms upcoming Sengoku Basara 4
A large scale replica of KNACK Donna Burke of Metal Gear Solid fame aended Tokyo Game
Show too!
Evil Geniuses, an internaonally famous game team also made
an appearance
Live digital painng demonstraon by university students
chip malaysia

october 13 055
feature
tokyo game show 2013
AMDs booth at Tokyo Game Show
AMD At Tokyo
Game Show
A
MD also made a big show of force
at Tokyo Game Show this year. And
why wouldnt they? This is public
knowledge by now if youve been following
the gaming news closely, but for the
benefit of those who dont, AMDs APUs
power all three next-generation consoles,
which includes the Sony PlayStation 4,
Microsoft Xbox One and the Nintendo
Wii-U.
According to Steven Liu, Corporate Vice
President and General Manager of the
AMD Client Business Unit, all three
companies came to AMD for their expertise
as the company was the only one in the
processor industry that has the expertise to
combine both CPU and GPU technologies
into one die, which helps in saving both
cost and space for the console.
As it turns out, all three console
makers had the same thing in mind, as they
wanted a component that is not only
powerful, but compact, and instead of
building something from scratch, they
came to us as we have already been doing
something like that for quite some time
now said Steven.
Both the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox
One run on a variant of AMDs Jaguar APU,
both of which are custom modified as the
consoles uses different memory
architecture. Their decision to use our
APUs to power their console caught us by
surprise, but it is a good thing as it shows
that they acknowledge what weve been
doing all this while.
Speaking of AMDs APU technology, the
company is preparing to launch their latest
series of APUs into the market, codenamed
Kaveri, which Steven says will be the
first one to feature what the company calls
HSA, which stands for Heterogenous
Systems Architecture. The company
claims that HSA will help create an
improved processor design that exposes
the benefits and capabilities of mainstream
programmable compute elements, working
together seamlessly.
The Kaveri APUs will be available in
markets around the world by Q4 2013,
During the show, we of course had to speak to the people
behind the brains of the next-gen consoles
which isnt too long after the recently
launched Richland APUs.
Onwards to the more juicy gaming bits,
the graphics arm of AMD hasnt been
slacking off either, as they too have been
busy in their own respect. According to
Ritche Corpus, AMDs Director of ISV
Developer Relations, AMD have recently
announced that a number of AAA titles
such as Battlefield 4 and Thief are
optimised for both AMD Radeon graphics
cards and AMD APUs.
One of the more interesting things to
note, however is that AMD is also going
into the cloud-gaming ecosystem, as they
announced the AMD Radeon Sky Series, a
graphics card made specifically for cloud
gaming servers. Some of the features
mentioned by Ritche include HD gaming at
30 and 60 FPS, minimal latency from server
to end-user, outstanding compression
features that help save bandwidth and
optimal density, which allows more of
these GPUs to be added onto the servers.
An AMD execuve conducng a demo on how a game looks
when using AMDs Eyenity mul-display feature
Steven Liu, Corporate Vice President and General Manager of
the AMD Client Business Unit gave us a tour of AMDs current
and future plans
Feel i ng
di sc onnec t ed?
Its not to say that there isnt any help out there, or that you couldnt really fnd anyone to help and
be a friend -- Its just that youre really clicking in the wrong places.
Join us at our CHIP Forums, to meet kindred people, get tech support and help us give it a new,
strong community.
Head on over to www.chip.com.my today, and make that frst click!
chip malaysia

october 13 057
feature
l ooki ng at the past for answers
T
he ability to travel back in time has captured the
imaginations of generations around the world for hundreds
of years. One of the more universally-recognised examples
is the Back to the Future film trilogy which grossed nearly USD1
billion in theaters worldwide. Being able to go back to a previous
time, observe what happened and then learn from those events to
improve the present and future is a powerful notion.
Wouldnt it be great to be able to actually do that as an IT
security professional?
Traditional detection-only defenses are stuck in the present.
They conduct inspection at a single, initial point in time and they
have no memory. They allow anything they dont recognize
immediately as a threat through and forget that the file ever
existed.
Capitalising on this limitation, advanced malware writers
continuously innovate, use a variety of techniques to obscure
malware and make it much harder to detect in the initial stages.
For example, they may use polymorphic files that change just
enough to fool the signature engines, sophisticated downloaders
to obtain malware on demand from command and control (CnC)
networks and erasable Trojans that delete their own components
making it difficult for forensics investigators to find and analyse the
malware. To ensure success, many attackers even test their
malware against the more popular security tools before launching
attacks. Once a threat does enter a network, most IT security
professionals have no way to go back in time, see what happened,
when it happened, identify the root cause and determine the extent
of the damage and remediate.
To detect, understand and stop these increasingly evasive
threats you need new tools and techniques that enable you to
always watch, never forget and then take action should a file be
determined to be malicious at a later time. In effect, you need to be
able to turn back time.
Technology has advanced to make this possible and Im not
talking about the flux capacitor. Im talking about big data-powered
continuous capability and retrospective security.
Big data adds memory to security. The widespread availability
of affordable storage capacity and processing power along with
sophisticated data mining techniques means we no longer have to
discard files that arent recognized as threats upon initial
inspection. We can collect this data and continuously monitor and
analyse files that have moved across the wire into the network or
from endpoint to endpoint and identify subsequent malicious
behavior whenever it may begin.
Retrospective security uses this continuous capability to let you,
in essence, travel back in time and retrospectively identify which
devices have been exposed to malware, regardless of when the file
is identified as malware. This requires not just tracking every file
but also the full lineage of every action that happens on every
protected device and mapping how the files travel through the
organisation and what the files do on the system. By being able to
determine the scope of an outbreak and root cause(s), you can
quickly switch to response mode during an attack and effectively
determine and implement the necessary controls and remediation
steps. Delving into the rich history that big data provides you can
also identify the point of entry and prevent reinfection,
automatically.
Traveling back in time isnt something to relinquish to science
fiction. Just as advancements in other fields cloning, space travel
and bionics have made seemingly far-fetched ideas reality, big
data analytics is making time travel a reality in security. Now you
can learn instantly from the past and come back to create a more
secure present and future.
Back to the Future
A New Reality in IT Security
Appointed as Country Manager
of Sourcefire Malaysia since
January 2011, Ivan is responsible
for driving business growth and
profitability of the company and
also plays a key role in increasing
customer satisfaction
While actual time travel is still something found only in fiction, many
IT security vendors are looking to its concept to help improve their
solutions that look into past cases and prepare for the future attacks
By Ivan Wen
Displayed here is a brief explanaon on how retrospecve security works
october 13

chip malaysia
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i fa 2013 hi ghl i ghts
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Highlights Of
IFA
2013
Another large and exciting consumer
electronics expo has just come and gone, so
here is our compilation of some of the
coolest gadgets that was at the show!
By Christoph Sackmann and CHIP Team
Samsung S9 Timeless
As always, leave it to Samsung to steal the show
with their latest offerings. The S9 Timeless is an
85-inch Smart UHD TV that has a truly premium
design and 120W surround sound speakers.
Philips 60PFL8708:
TV with a light show
Philips atmospheric LED technology Ambilight finally has a
successor: Ambilight 4 XL utilises 94 LEDs around the screen,
which immerses your living room in the dominating colours of
the picture shown on the TV. Not only does this look incredible
cool but it also gives the eyes a larger and vast field of vision,
which is supposed to be easier on our eyes. The first TV to
feature the latest version of Ambilight 4 XL is the 60PFL8708. But
that isnt all it has to offer, as it boasts a refresh rate of up to 900
hertz. Moreover, it can be connected to the programmable
Philips hue light bulbs, which can make the Ambilight light up
the entire living room.
HOME
Pioneer SBX-N700: raising the sound bar
The flagship of the companys latest range of soundbars is
truly impressive not just in terms of looks but also because of
the features that comes with it. The SBX-N700 is able to
connect to just about any device via Wi-Fi, Mircacast (Wi-Fi
Direct), Bluetooth and DLNA. To give movies buffs and
audiophiles incomparable sound quality, the SBX-N700 uses
Pioneers wide band full-range speaker drive technology and
Phase Control tech that improves sonic performance. It also
comes with a standalone 150W wireless subwoofer that gives
it the boom it needs. Finally, the Pioneer SBX-N700 can also
be controlled using a smart device, all thats required is the
ControlApp, which can be download for free on the Apple App
Store and Google Play Store.
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Sharp Aquos Ultra HD: a
certified 4K experience
4K UHD Resolution TVs is still something
for the more affluent consumer. However,
things might just change as the prices of 4K
TVs are now slowly being reduced. Sharp,
for instance, has priced its 70-inch LC-
70UD1U for only about RM26,000. In
addition to the 4K resolution of 3840x2160
pixels, the LC-70UD1U boasts four HDMI
inputs, two USB ports, WLAN and a SD
card slot. Furhtermore, the TV is THX-
certified. This means that it can show
movies with the settings that are preset in
the studios to maximize your viewing
experience.
Sony FMP-X1: media player
for 4K content
Besides just the high prices for Ultra HD
TVs, 4K has been suffering from the lack of
content. The devices available mostly
upscale full HD films to Ultra HD. Sony has
a better idea though as they intend to
deliver native UHD content to consumers
via a media player. The 2TB hard disk is
preloaded with ten movies, such as Total
Recall and Taxi Driver, all in 4K
resolution. New content can be played via
the USB or SD card slot or rented from a
new online Sony video store. One film
costs about RM26. Downside? It only works
with Sonys BRAVIA TVs.
Unitymedia Horizon: the
multimedia hub
Cable operator and provider Unitymedia
wants to simplify our home networks with
a Set-Top-Box. Horizon is a router, modem
and TV box in one. In addition to a
telephone connection, it comes with
WLAN, four Ethernet ports, HDMI, audio
outputs, USB slots and a 500GB hard disk
for video recording. This allows, content to
be transferred from a PC to the TV or from
a smartphone to a tablet. Its remote control
even features a complete keyboard on the
other side.
ENTERTAINMENT
LG 55EA9800
The other Korean giant also left jaws
hanging with their 55-inch Curved OLED TV.
Another interesting fact is that it uses a
proprietary 4 Colour Pixel technology and is
also the first OLED TV to that is THX
Certified.
Jabra Solemate & Solemate
Mini: soul tunes
IFA wasnt just the place for large and
impressive TVs, it was also the place for
cool and portable devices like the Jabra
Solemate and Solemate Mini. The larger
Solemate seen at IFA was an upgraded
version from its predecessor and now
sports enhanced Dolby Digital Plus
technology and NFC capabilties. As for the
Solemate Mini, this pint-size pocket speaker
isnt just extremely portable but it is also
resistant to sweat, dust and splashes. It too
comes with NFC capabilities and packs two
powerful speakers.
LG 55EA9800
The other Korean giant also left jaws
hanging with their 55-inch Curved OLED TV.
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Nokia Lumia 1020:
41-megapixel smartphone
Nokias latest Windows Phone based Lumia
1020 is the current king of smartphone
photography as it features has a
41-megapixel camera sensor that features
ZEISS opticas, optical image stabilisation
and a Xenon flash. The Lumia 1020 also
sports a 4.5-inch PureMotion HD+ AMOLED
display, a 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdraogn
S4 dual-core processor, 2GB RAM and
32GB internal storage. Other features
include a 2,000mAh battery, Bluetooth 3.0,
support for 4G LTE networks, NFC and Wi-
Fi. Like most Lumia devices, itll be
available in three different colours.
Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga 2
Pro
The original ThinkPad Yoga was one of the
most interesting concepts weve seen for a
notebook in 2012. Lenovo decided that the
time and technology was ripe enough to
warrant a successor, and hence came up
with the Yoga 2 Pro.
Sporting a familiar 13.3-inch display.
Lenovo has bumped up the resolution
count to a QuadHD+ 3,200 x 1,800 pixels.
Theyve also decided to use Intels 4th
generation Haswell processor that reduces
battery power consumption, which, by the
way has been bumped up to nine whole
hours on a single full charge.
Sony Xperia Z1:
The worthy successor
Sonys Xperia Z series has garnered a lot of
accolades and it is about to gain even more
thanks to the successor of the Xperia Z, the
Z1. This beautifully designed smartphone
shares the same design language as its
predecessor and is only 8.5mm thin. It also
boasts a 5-inch Full HD Triluminos display
that produces breathtaking images. Other
than looking good, the Xperia Z1 is also
powerful as it packs a 2.2GHz Qualcomm
Snapdragon 800 CPU, 2GB RAM, Adreno
330 GPU and 16GB storage under the hood.
For those who love photography, it also
comes with a 20.7-megapixel rear camera.
MOBILE
LG OGS DISPLAY
The slimmest full HD-LCD smartphone
display in the world is almost seamless
and will definitely revolutionise the way
smartphones and tablets are designed
Acer Liquid S2
Acer has finally entered the six-inch phablet
game with its own entry in the form of the
Acer Liquid S2. Featuring a 1080p display, it
also has a 13-megapixel camera that is
capable of shooting videos in 4K resolution.
Powered by a 2.2GHz Qualcomm
Snapdragon 800 processor and 2GBs of
RAM, the Liquid S2 is quite the beast of a
phone. The Liquid S2 also has 16GBs of
storage space, which is expandable up to a
whopping 128GBs via a microSD card. Not
only that, its large size is also able to fit an
equally as large 3,300mAh battery, which
should last you longer than your average
smartphone battery.
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NVIDIA Shield:
The portable gaming
handheld
The 5-inch Android portable gaming device
is powered by an NVIDIA Tegra4 CPU; 2GB
RAM and has 16GB flash memory. The
display of this handheld device can be
folded for easy storage. The design of the
Shield also makes it very comfortable and
easy to get used to. PC gamers who buy
their games from Steam will have the
ability to stream those games to the Shield,
which means they can game from just
about anywhere at home. Besides that, it
also runs on Android and has a slew of
Tegra optimised games for users to enjoy.
Sony Vaio Duo 13:
HD-Ultrabook with Haswell
During IFA, Sony showcased their latest
Ultrabook-Convertible, the Vaio Duo 13.
This is the successor to the Vaio Duo 11
that appeared in last years IFA. The 13-inch
version is built with a 1.8GHz Intel Haswell
CPU. As a convertible, users can use its full
HD display as a Notebook or Tablet. The
device runs solely on Windows 8 can be
controlled via touch or mouse/keyboard. It
also features a rear 8-Megapixel camera
and a full HD webcam on the front.
Connectivity options include Wi-Fi, 3G and
LTE and NFC.
HP Pavilion 14:
Chromebook at a low cost
Although Googles very own Chromebook
wasnt very well received due to its
expensive price, HP looks to avoid this
mistake for their Pavilion 14. Said to be
priced affordable, this Chromebook comes
with an Intel 1.1GHz dual-core CPU, 4 GB
RAM, 16GB of flash memory and 100GB
storage on Google Drive. The 14-inch
display has a resolution of 1,366x768. Apart
from Wi-Fi, it sports USB 2.0, HDMI,
Bluetooth and SD card slot. Despite all this,
it still remains to be seen if the online only
Chrome OS will be accepted by consumers.
Samsung Ativ Q:
The hybrid Ultrabook
Yet another interesting innovation from
Samsung. The Samsung Ativ Q not only
rotates the display in four different
positions depending whether it is used as a
notebook or a tablet but, it also switches
the operating system depending on the
mode. As a notebook, the 13.3-inch device
runs on Windows 8 and it runs Android 4.2
in tablet mode. The dual OS can be
switched with just touch of a button.
Another nice features is its display
resolution of 3,200 x1,800. The 1.3kg
Ultrabook also comes with a stylus that
makes it even more versatile.
ASUS Transformer Pad
The new ASUS Transformer Pad first made an inconspicuous appearance at Computex
this year, but has disappeared from the radar since. It then appeared again at IFA a more
polished product, and the official specs of the device are finally revealed.
The Transformer Pad features a 10.1-inch display, with an amazing resolution of
2,560x1,600 pixels, and is powered by a 1.9GHz Tegra 4 quad-core processor, alongside
2GBs of DDR3L RAM. Storage-wise, ASUS has confirmed that it will come in 32GB and
64GB variants, and together with the dock, the Transformer Pad will also get a grand total
of 17 hours of battery life.
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Sony CyberShot DSC-
QX100
The Sony QX100 was easily one of the
most talked about devices at IFA. It may
look just like a plain old lens waiting to be
strapped to one of Sonys DSLRs. But it is
actually a lens made to be used with an
Android or iOS-based smartphone via
Sonys own PlayMemories app. The QX100
features a 20.2MP CMOS sensor, a Bionz
processor and a 3.6x optical zoom lens.
With the app, you can connect the QX100
to a smartphone either via NFC or even
WiFi, depending on your phones
capabilities.
DIGITAL IMAGING
Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom:
Smartphone with a zoom
lens
The Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom is the
device that combines a smartphone and
digital camera into one. It features a
16-megapixel camera and also a 4.3-inch
AMOLED display with 960x540 pixels. It
runs Android 4.1, so users can install a
wide range of photography and
miscellaneous apps on it. While it only has
an internal memory of 8GB, it also supports
microSD cards up to 64GB. Its camera is
similar to that of a compact camera: ISO
100 to 3200, optical image stabilizer, Xenon
flash, 10x zoom and full HD video
Ricoh Theta: A different
degree of photos
This candy bar shaped device may only
weigh 95g but what it does is truly amazing
as it is the worlds first commerical
spherical camera. It captures spherical
images that take in the entire scene in a
360-degree arc around you. While it doesnt
have a display, users are able to view
images via a Flash applet or dedicated
smartphone app. The overall design of the
Theta is as simple as it gets as it only has
three buttons one for the shutter, one for
the power button and one to turn Wi-Fi on
or off.
Canon EOS 70D: Control
remotely with an App
Canons semi-professional SLR camera, the
EOS 70D can be remotely controlled via
WLAN throguh an app installed on a
smartphone or tablet. Images taken from
the 20.2-megapixel camera can also be
directly uploaded on to the Internet or can
be viewed on the TV via DLNA. The EOS
70D also supposedly has a very fast auto-
focus as well as a silent mode for video
recording, in which the shutter speed and
mirror bounce are reduced. The EOS 70D is
operated using a 3-inch touch-screen which
also supports multi-touch gestures.

Lytro Light Field
Camera
This nifty device allows users to focus
a picture after it is taken by shifting
the perspective to create an entirely
different photo. The Lytro has 8x
optical zoom and an f/2 lens that
works beautifully with its light field
sensor. It is also easy to operate as it
only has two buttons. It even comes
with nine image filters.
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Intel Haswell E: Computing
power with 14 cores
It was no surprise when Intel announced
that their Haswell desktop processors will
be getting an extreme version, in fact we
couldnt be happier. Known as the Haswell
E, these processors run have 14 cores but
only 12 cores run effectively. The remaining
two are used only when a core is not
working. These Haswell E processors run
on a new architecture and only work with
DDR4 memory modules. Hence, those who
want to use these ultra-fast CPUs, will have
to buy a new motherboard.
ASUS PQ321Q: Monitor
with 4k resolution
While ultra HD is slowing making its
presence felt in TV market, most of PC
monitors are still on full HD resolution.
ASUS will definitely change that with
PQ321Q as this monitor boasts a resolution
of 3840x2160 pixels or simply put, full 4k
resolution. The display measures
31.5-inches diagonally and is quite large for
a PC monitor. ASUS also mentioned that
the power consumption of the PQ321Q is
about three times higher than a Full HD
monitor and consumes energy of up to
93W. But for those who want an Ultra HD
display, this may be your best bet for now.
Intel SSD 530: hard disk of
20 nanometers
Similar to its processors, Intel has also
reduced the structural width of its Solid
State Drives (SSD). The new flash memory
is just 20nanometers wide per element.
This allows it to pack more disk space on
the same physical area. Initially, Intel will
offer only SSDs with a maximum capacity
of 360G. But later in the year, they may
release a 480GB variant. Only those for
servers, will have a capacity that reaches
2TB. All the SSDs, will utilise the SandForce
SF 2281 controller by LSI.
PC
Acer Predator
G3-605
With the Predator G3-605,
Acer is looking to once
again prove that they
have what it takes to build
solid gaming desktop. It
has a functional design
that makes it easy to
upgrade. It may not have
the most performance-
centric components but
for the estimated price
tag, it is definitely bang-
for-your-buck.
HP Envy Recline
HPs latest all-in-one (AIO) PC, the HP Envy
Recline, is a computer with the most
flexible stand on any AIO PC weve seen
yet. Its hinge allows the Reclines 10-point
touchscreen display, which comes in 23-
and 27-inches, to recline all the way to your
lap, or thereabouts anyway. The Envy
Recline is powered by Intels 4th gen
Haswell processor, and some of the
features that it comes with include Beats
Audio dual speakers, and NVIDIA graphics.
Not only that, it also comes with support
for NFC, which you can use to easily upload
photos to and from your mobile devices
that also have that feature built in.
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T
he advent of the Internet has truly been a boon to many
of us as it allows us to access a wealth of information
and entertainment. These days, we can even find these
information without the need to be connected to a wire as
devices like notebooks, smartphones and tablets can get on to
the net via Wi-Fi or mobile networks. To take it a step further,
we now even have smart homes and some automotive
manufacturers are already working on smart cars. All of which
are designed to make our lives a little simpler.
But even with all our new fangled and attractive gadgets,
there are still some who are slow to adopt them as they always
ask the same questions, Is my data safe? Are
manufacturers doing their parts to help keep my data away
from unwanted access?
The answer to those questions may vary but we know one
thing that is certain, hackers evolve just as fast as technology
and have the ability and multiple methods to get to your data
or even your money without you realising it.
This month, we once again look at the constant evolution of
hackers and how they are now able to penetrate almost every
aspect of our digital lives.
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Industry virus for PCs, hacks over Cloud and attacks on Smart Grids organised cyber
crime is now more aggressive than ever
By Caudio Mller
The New Targets For
HACKERS
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SMARTPHONE
R
ats rats. With this word Nevil Maskelyne, the illusionist,
destroyed the illusion of a secure wireless communication in
June 1903. The inventor, Marconi, and his partner, Fleming,
wanted to demonstrate this and Marconi had planned to send a
morsecode message from a distance of 300 miles to Fleming who
was waiting in London. Maskelyne anticipated it. He simply hacked
it with the help of a simple transmitter in the network and sent
forward his own message: Rats. This was Maskelynes revenge
on Marconi, who obtained the patents for radio communication,
which Maskelyne wanted to utilise. And it was also an order from
the Eastern Telegraph Company whose business was threatened
by Marconis invention. Today, although the technology has
changed, the motives of criminals remain the same. To this day,
hackers manage to get in the system and fool customers who
seem to be readily willing to pay. Only their methods are much
more refined. The most attractive customers large companies,
banks, government organisations who are obviously protected
with the help of an ex-hacker.
Hired hackers review their systems and hunt for loopholes and
vulnerabilities before attackers can exploit them. In most cases, the
protective software normally used in PCs can only block the
unknown malware. Just like any other form of crime, this
protection can only identify. The Maskelynes of today have
developed completely new methods and also benefits from
national Trojans like Stuxnet and more.
The PC Army Against Large Corporations
After the complex exploit kits such as Blackhole and Banking
trojaners like Citadel the experts are now anticipating the next
development stage in the coming months. Components of
industrial Trojans such as Stuxnet and Flame are thus expected to
fuse with normal malware. Stefan Wesche from Symantec
confirmed: The security loopholes exploited by Stuxnet and Co.
increasingly appear in malware kits. These exploits find open
loopholes in Windows or in applications like Java so that they can
inject the malicious code through them. For example, a Botnet
Trojan.
PCs take this as spam or direct it at the company as a weapon
without the user knowing about it. Such DDoS attacks (Distributed
Denial of Service) send a massive number of web queries to the
company server until they collapse. This is not new but the DDoS
attacks get worse with politically motivated groups. The hacker
group Anonymous uses it as their preferred retaliation tool, last
year it they used it against the GEMA for permanently blocking
YouTube videos. The antispam organisation known as The Spam
Haus Project (www.spamhaus.org) also experienced one of the
most notorious DDoS attacks to date in March. Angry spammers
attacked the server with data of up to 85Gbit/s, this is equivalent to
having a two-hour HD movie forced through the pipes every
seconds. Needless to say, the server crashed.
In principle, botnets are huge cloud systems. Why should one
consider them as attacks? There are many legal ones, like the
PC
P
H
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O
:

I
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L
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J
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C
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3.4
million computers were
misused as bots in 2012
across the world
6,700
euros the botnet operators
earn daily with SMS Trojans
SMART-HOME
INDUSTRY
10.1
million unprotected TV
devices are potential
hacking targets
116
cyber attacks
registered worlwide
every day
Pg. 68
Pg. 69
Pg. 70
Pg. 71
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Hacking At A New Level
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You will find various tools, which would protect against
attacks, on the issue DVD under the code HACKER
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PCS & BOTNETS
Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2). The trend just like in the IT
world is to use such services. The resources are better adapted
and is more worthwhile especially when it comes to running
computationally intensive attacks. Martin Dombrowski, an IT
Security Engineer with a security company Imperva states that
Complicated password combinations can be easily and quickly
deciphered with scalable cloud services in a relatively cheap
manner. Unfortunately, due to data protection reasons, cloud
providers only have limited options to protect themselves against
abuse A speaker for the Amazon Web Services says: We do not
check the contents of the cloud instances. The Amazon speaker
also says that DDoS attacks are hardly possible over the Cloud.
Outbound attacks block our manual and automatic protection
system. Here, botnets remain as the first choice but soon they
may be targetting phones instead of computers.
Stealthy Smartphone Bots
About a billion Smartphones have been sold this year, three
quarters of which run on Android. An operating system that is
easily accessible due to the questionable update policies and App
stores whose users do not check the Apps for Malware. SMS
Trojans remain the number one weapon of choice when it comes
to Android. It secretly sends short messages to expensive
premium numbers so that the attacker easily gets the money
through the telephone bill. This business can get very lucrative if
one connects many devices to a single botnet, Symantec
discovered that the Bmaster botnet, which had up to 30,000
devices is able to give the hackers about 6,700 euros (RM29,000)
daily. This is almost 2.5 million euros (RM10 million) in a year.
Till now such Trojans often turn up in the guise of harmless
Apps. Once the infected app is uninstalled, the Trojan goes away
with it. The Trojan Obad is more subtle. It reaches the device via
infected Apps from a third-party app store. Once the app is started,
it prompts users for admin rights and when given the green light,
the Obad Trojan will make its way deep in to the devices system.
So even when the infected app is uninstalled, Obad still remains in
the device. The control server then starts sending Obad the
telephone number, MAC address and device number (IMEI). It will
also receive a list of premium SMS numbers from the server. Obad
is such a malicious malware that it can even infect other devices
via Bluetooth connections to build a complete botnet. Christian
Funk, a virus analyst at Kaspersky says that Obad is clearly more
harmful compared to all the Android Trojans known to date. The
only way to remove Obad entirely from a device is by resetting it to
factory settings. Besides that, when it comes to mobile devices,
hackers are also focusing on getting the precise whereabouts of
their targets by using GPS and WLAN triangulation.This allows
hackers to easily plan for their next attack.
With this method, hackers are able to easily track the change of
a targets location via Trojan. Services such as Google Maps and
Waze, which was recently acquired by Google are both highly
targetted. Tobias Jeske from the Technical University of Hamburg
analysed the service. His verdict: The data protection and
authentication requirements have been implemented inadequately
both in the Google- as well as the Waze protocol. Moreover, at
the hacker conference Black Hat Europe held in March, Jeske
showed how hackers can use the real-time GPS data (Floating Car
Data) of a phone to manipulate the route planning of Google Maps
SIMPLE TOOLS FOR MASSIVE ATTACKS
The attackers can generate a huge number of web queries on the
server with the help of small tools such as RAILgun (DDoS attacks)
and can thus cripple it.
=
4,500,000
=
3,100,000
=
3,400,000
2010
2011
2012
PCS INFECTED WITH BOTNET TROJANS
After the end of Botnet BredoLab at the end of 2010, the number of
worldwide active bot PCs declined but is gradually slowly rising
again.
INFECTED PCs
S
O
U
R
C
E

M
C
A
F
E
E
THE FIGHT AGAINST BOTNET
If the control servers are taken off the grid in a network (which was
the case in August 2012), the magnitude of the botnet dwindle but
usually recovers
2,500,000
2,000,000
1,500,000
1,000,000
500,000
JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JUL AUG SEPT OKT NOV DEC JAN FEB MAR
2012 2013
CUTWAIL
KHELIOS
SLENFBOT
FESTI
MAAZBEN
S
O
U
R
C
E

S
Y
M
A
N
T
E
C
2014 FORECAST
There will be an increase in new decentralised controlled botnets
and aggressive malware by hackers. Also, there will be more
attacks over the cloud.
How to protect yourself: Use the latest anti-virus and the CHIP
security browser Thanks to the integrated access to the
anonymous Tor network, you can use the mobile browser to surf
the web on any device safe from hackers and spies. All you have
to do is extract the browser on to a USB flash drive and run it
from there.
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and Waze.They could even send encrypted data to the telephone
where a Trojan on the device will not only read the data but can
even change it before it is encrypted. Jeske used Android 4.0.4 to
demonstrate that the incorrect traffic info could show a traffic jam,
which in reality doesnt exist. With this ability, hackers can even
create traffic chaos on alternate routes effortlessly.
With these new attack possibilities, cyber criminals always pose
the cost-benefit question: How many devices can I easily get
access to and can I make good money out of it? For PCs, the
answer is yes thanks to simple methods such as drive-by
downloads, which secretly pass on malware to website visitors.
This method is currently not possible for smartphones. Christian
Funk of Kasperksy says that When it comes to smartphones, the
third-party app stores will still be the main methods of infection.
Smart TVs, The Next Targets
The situation is somewhat different for the next connected devices:
Smart-TVs and smart home systems. Most Smart TVs these days
are intergrated with effective security functions. Jens Heider, head
of the Test Lab SecurITy at Fraunhofer SIT says that Some errors
surprise us, as the testing for SSL certificates in data transmission
is so uncertain. Many manufacturers tend to concentrate more
on the functions of the device than on the safety aspects.
Martin Herfurt, safety consultant at n.runs showed us how
easily one can penetrate such devices. He used the HbbTV
interface for his attack, which displayed information on the current
program in transmission. The moment a user changes the channel,
the TV signal transmits a URL that retrieves data from a server in
the existing Internet connection. Technically, the information
displayed is from a website that exports HTML and JavaScript
codes. Hackers can easily hide a script on the site where it loads
malware from another page so that it can spy on the other devices
connected to the home network. Herfurt states None of the TV
senders that I have examined use SSL-protected connections for
HbbTV. Attackers can easily get direct access to the transmitted
data by a Man-in-the-Middle attack and alter it. This is similar to
the attack done by Nevil Maskelyne about 110 years ago.
The question here is, why would anyone want to do that?
Simple! Those who can manipulate the requested website per
HbbTV can cover the TV image with their own image and thus
spread false information in form of a newsticker. This information
warfare that uses (mis) information to create chaos is already in
play, albeit in a different medium. On 23 April, the Twitter account
of the Associated Press news agency shared a horrifying tweet that
goes like this Breaking: Two Explosions in the White House and
Barack Obama is injured. This alleged attack on the White House
triggered a major collapse in the U.S. stock index, the Dow Jones
Industrial, with a price drop of one percent in just a minute.
Although the hoax was quickly identified, the attack showed just
how powerful a simple Twitter hack can be.
Of course, Smart TVs arent the only devices that are vulnerable
to attacks because your whole house may be at risk too. Some call
it the Smart Home but it should actually be called the
Dangerous Home as the technology here does not even meet
the most basic of safety standards. For example: intelligent
electricity meters (Smart Meters). This device transmits the power
consumption data to a network operator, which in turn controls
their networks with the help of this data. These Smart Girds
S
O
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C
E

S
Y
M
A
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T
E
C
DEVELOPMENT OF ANDROID MALWARE
The number of variants per virus strain increases, presumably, be-
cause the attackers invest more time and money in the develop-
ment.
STRAINS
200
180
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
JANUARY 2010 JANUARY 2011 JANUARY 2012
5.000
4.500
4.000
3.500
3.000
2.500
2.000
1.500
1.000
500
VARIANTS
VARIANTS
LOGS
ANDROID VERSIONS AND THEIR LOOPHOLES
The update process of Android indicates that millions of users use
out-dated systems which have unpatched security loopholes.
S
O
U
R
C
E

L
O
O
K
O
U
T
HOW SERIOUS IS THE RISK ACTUALLY?
The chances of being attacked by an Android malware within a
week is higher in places such as India, where users rely more on
third-party app stores
=
5.5 %
=
2,4 %
=
1.7 %
INDIA
GERMANY
USA
MOBILE DEVICES
NAME/VERSION LOOPHOLE USER
GINGERBREAD 2.3 11
ICE CREAM SANDWICH 4.0 6
JELLY BEAN 4.1 3
JELLY BEAN 4.2 3
S
O
U
R
C
E

T
R
E
N
D

M
I
C
R
O
2014 FORECAST
Sophisticated Android Trojans such as Obad are still individual
cases, but the trend is clearly moving towards such complex
threats. Spreading the malware is still a problem for the attackers
as they still have to rely on third-party app stores.
This is how you protect yourself: Download and install apps only
from reliable sources such as the Google Play Store and avoid
third-party stores. A mobile security suite will also prove to be a
worthwhile investment for users.
= 288 Mil.
= 206 Mil.
= 196 Mil.
= 17 Mil.
october 13

chip malaysia
070
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hackers pl aygrounds expand
connect the power stations, energy storage and consumers. Users
should actually benefit from the higher transparency of the
electricity bill and save money (but this is controversial due to the
cost of the equipment). But consumers dont really have a say in
the matter as the implementation is nationwide and is decided at
the union level.
Risks Of Blackouts Due To Smart Meters
A few countries in Europe are already well-equipped with smart
meters and many experts are already predicting the high risks it
has. The first and second generation of the devices were
developed without taking safety into consideration, said Dr. Frank
Umbach of the Centre for European Security Strategies. These
devices were installed en masse in Italy, Spain and Portugal. On
the opposite end, network users utilise the SCADA systems for
controlling the Smart Grids. However, it is a well known fact that
SCADA systems are often implemented with weak security
mechanisms.
Both sides have major loopholes - resulting in a dangerous mix.
Umbach claims that The electricity meter communicates directly
with the systems of the network operators, which means that these
systems are vulnerable , An attack would be devastating if it were
successful: transport networks, logistics, food supplies, health care
and communication networks are the most critical areas as they
affect every aspect of life.
Such an attack is planned between the electricity meter and
network centre that either communicates directly to the power
supply network, which is secure or radio link. This is risky because
the SCADA systems often use vulnerable wireless standards, as it
was invented by Greg Jones from the security agency, Digital
Assurance. If the data and control commands are transmitted via
Software Defined Radio (SDR), hackers could easily listen to it with
radio equipment and manipulate it using a PC. SDR modulates its
radio signals digitally via integrated chips and not hardware
components. Attacks over wireless connections on the critical
infrastrutures will increase exponentially in the coming years,
says Jones. And SDR helps hackers to attack parts of these
networks.
German companies seems to be well equipped for situations
such as these. The transmission via the power line is protected
with an encrypted password. We use a connected VPN network
when transmitting over the mobile network, says Wolfgang
Schley, the speaker of RWE. This is quite similar to the safety
standards achieved by online banking. In addition to this, the
Federal Agency for Safety has developed a protection profile for
the security architecture of the networks or the security in the
Information Technology (BSI). This was done so that there is a
security standard for all devices and providers. It is still doubtful as
to how many other countries would use it if there are loopholes in
other places int he power supply network across Europe. Umbach
says Even if there are security standards, there is still be a risk
that it will be obsolete long before adoption and implemetation.
It is still unclear on how one would respond to the rapid
development of new methods of attacks, without having to replace
the smart meter every two years.
The future of power grids are gloomy at best. In 2011, the Office
of Technology Assessment at the German Bundestag (Parliament)
concluded that It is easy to assume that in the future the
S
O
U
R
C
E

G
O
L
O
M
E
D
A
DISSEMINATION OF SMART TVS
Although the numbers of Smart TVs connected to the network is
still low, its high adoption rate still makes it a very attractive target
NUMBER OF DOMESTIC SMART TV IN MILLION
20
15
10
5
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
4 MILLION
10.1 MILLION
20.1 MILLION
INTRODUCTION OF SMART METERS
Smart electricity meters are extensively used in countries such as
Italy many of these devices are open to attacks.
S
O
U
R
C
E
S
:

E
N
E
R
G
Y

I
N
S
T
I
T
U
T
E

O
F

T
H
E

L
I
N
Z
U
N
I
;
O
F
F
I
C
E

F
O
R

T
E
C
H
N
O

C
O
N
S
E
Q
U
E
N
C
E

E
S
T
I
M
A
T
I
O
N

O
F

T
H
E

B
U
N
D
E
S
T
A
G
FAILURES
IMMEDIATE
AFTER 1
HOUR
AFTER 4
HOURS
AFTER 7
TO 24
HOURS
CONSEQUENCE OF A BLACKOUT
A hacker attack on the power grid has far-reaching and potenti-
ally devastating consequences because these days, almost
nothing works without electricity
12
11
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
E-trains
Railways
Trams
Household devices
Digital landline
Router
Internet
access
Traffic signal
Warm water
system
Cooling from foodstuff Heating
network at
national stations
(fuel pumps)
Radio Digital radio
channels BOS
Barrier
Remaining
telephone networks
Gas and water
provision
Logistic / goods transport
(railway, port)
Medical provision, intensive
stations
SMART TV & SMART HOME
2014 FORECAST
Major hack attacks on Smart TVs arent expected to happen soon
because the circulation is low and the cost is too high. Network
infrastructures however, could be targets for attacks
This is how you protect yourself: Do not disconnect the
necessary radio antennae on the device. Always ensure that the
latest firmware updates for your router and TVs are installed.
S
O
U
R
C
E

S
M
A
R
T

R
E
G
I
O
N
S
Denmark
PIONEER
LATE
ARRIVALS
Czech
Republic
Germany
Portuguese
Estonia
UK
Spain
Italy
Finland
Malta
Netherlands
France
Switzerland
Norway
Ireland
Austria
Poland
Greece
Belgium
Latvia
Romania
Lithuania
Cyprus Slovakia
Bulgaria
Ungarn
Luxemburg
Slovania
U
S
I
N
G

T
H
E

D
E
V
I
C
E
LEGISLATION STATUS
EXTENT
NOT YET
STARTED
NO LAW
LAW PASSED
chip malaysia

october 13 071
cover story
hackers pl aygrounds expand
probability of failure will increase. And Frank Umbach has also
predicted that The risk of cascading blackouts has definitely
increased. Umbach adds that while there have been no successful
attack as of yet, energy network operators are already being
blackmailed as of today. The total amount to date is more than a
hundred million US dollars worldwide.
Pro Hackers On Spy Missions
In most cases, attacks on energy networks - as well as other
companies or political institutions - are rarely the work of an
individual hacker. There are a group of professionals behind it. One
of the most active group currently is the Elderwood gang. They
specialise in Zero-Day exploits, a malware that exploits
vulnerabilities that have no patches. They have a whole collection
of unknown loopholes in stock and they use only one per attack,
until that loophole is identified, said Stefan Wesche from
Symantec. They then exploit a new loophole for their next attack
and also pass the old one to other cyber criminals.
Not too long ago, Kasperksy showed us how these attacks
worked at a recent global cyber espionage action. Operation
NetTraveler spied on 350 political and industrial institutions from
across the globe, including government agencies, research
institutes and energy- and defense companies. NetTraveler was
also active in Germany and Austri. The operation was in action
since 2004 and reached its peak between 2010 and 2013.
The attack strategy was a manipulated Word document
enclosed in e-mails. Those, who opened the file, unknowingly
triggered the attack - Microsoft Office checked for security
loopholes but the malware was installed before these loopholes
could be patched. The malware then sent information from the
computers thanks to the connection with multiple Command-&-
Control servers, it could then install other malware. Kaspersky
found about 22GB of malware on the servers and suspected that
the server operator had already deleted a major part of the
collected data. In addition to system protocols it also included
keyboard notes and digital architectural drawings mainly Office
documents. Christian Funk from Kaspersky says that The person
behind these attacks was interested in special information and
searched for his victim. As expected, the attacks were well
planned and were carried out in a target-oriented manner.
The identity of the attacker remains unknown as in the case of
most attacks. There were rumors every now and then that hackers
were supported by the Chinese, Russian or Iranian government to
attack targets in the USA, Europe or Israel in order to get data on
specific companies or weapon systems. NATO alone registered
about 2500 attacks on its own system 2012, as confirmed by NATO
speaker Oana Lungescu, about ten every month were serious.
However, none of the attack were successful.
Today the network of the self-proclaimed Cyber Armies,
professional hacker groups such as the Elderwood gang and
national hackers is less obvious. This and the increasing quality of
the attacks spells hard times for system administrators and IT
specialists who have to protect their employers systems. Not to
mention the users who are directly (on their devices) or indirectly
(when attacking the infrastructures) affected.

METHODS USED IN CYBER ATTACKS
Hackers often use several methods together during an attack that
is why the success ratio here is more than 100 percent.
W
52 %
W
40 %
W
35 %
W
29 %
W
13 %
HACKING
(E.G. USING SOFTWARE LOOPHOLES)
MALWARE
(E.G. TROJANS, BACKDOOR)
PHYSICAL ATTACK
(E.G. USB STICKS)
SOCIAL ENGINEERING
(E.G. PHISHING)
MISUSE
(E.G. THROUGH USER RIGHTS)
S
O
U
R
C
E

V
E
R
I
Z
O
N
HACKING ATTACKS IN DETAIL
The preferred hacking path remain to be stealing credentials of em-
ployees and then installing backdoors into their systems.
W
48 %
W
44 %
W
34 %
W
8 %
W
14 %
STOLEN CREDENTIALS
BACKDOOR ACCESS
BRUTE FORCE
ATTACK ON THE SQL
OBJECTIVES OF CYBER SPIES
Kaspersky discovered that the spying operation NetTraveler was
mainly used to hunt for information in political environments.
S
O
U
R
C
E
:

K
A
S
P
E
R
S
K
Y
+
11 %
7 %
6 %
16 %
9 %
51 %
DIPLOMACY / GOVT
PRIVATE USER
MILITARY
INDUSTRY /
INFRASTRUCTURE
AVIATION
OTHERS
THE WORLD LEADER IN CYBER CRIME
More than half the reported hacking attacks in the entire world
are reported to start in China as seen from the data traffic. USA is
second on the list.
S
O
U
R
C
E

A
K
A
N
A
I

10 % 4 %
4 %
36 %
5 %
41 %
CHINA
USA
TURKEY
RUSSIA
TAIWAN
OTHERS
INDUSTRY & POLITICS
2014 FORECAST
Attacks on businesses and government agencies are always done
by skilled hackers. They even have custom-made Trojans that are
created to bypass virus scanners.
This is how you protect yourself: The companies must
continuously update their computers and web servers and
immediately close security loophole, if any. In addition to this,
they must also prepare their employees for social engineering
attacks.
S
O
U
R
C
E

V
E
R
I
Z
O
N
DATABASE
OTHERS
chip malaysia

october 13 073
test lab
test bed
TEST LAB: The Tools
Here at the CHIP Test Labs, we adhere to the high requirements set by the CHIP International
Testcenter standards. This means that everything here -- from our own personal knowledge and
to our trusted tools of the trade -- are meant to provide the most optimised, unbiased and
comprehensive review to every product that comes through our doors. As thus, our test bed
tools are specifically picked to get the most out of every test we perform

Motherboards
Intel DX79SI Extreme
Intel DZ68DB Media
Intel DZ77GA-70K
Processors
Intel Core i7-3960X
Intel Core i5-2500K
Intel Core i7-3770K
Graphics
Processing Unit
MSI GeForce GTX
680 Lightning

CPU Cooler
Cooler Master X6
Motherboards
ASUS Sabertooth 990FX
MSI A75MA-G55
Processors
AMD FX-8150
AMD A8-3850
Graphics
Processing Unit
ASUS AMD Radeon HD
6970
CPU Cooler
Cooler Master Hyper 212
EVO
Power Supply
Acbel R9 Series (1100W)
Storage
Western Digital
SiliconEdge Blue 256GB
SATA
Western Digital My Book
World
Memory
Kingston HyperX
KHX1600C9D3K4/16GX
Kingston HyperX
KHX1600C8D3K4/8GX
Operating
System
Windows 7 Ultimate
(64-bit)
Futuremark
PCMark 05
PCMark Vantage
PCMark 7
3DMark 11
Industry
Standard
Benchmark
Tools
SuperPI
AIDA64
SiSoftware SANDRA
EVEREST PC
Diagnostics
PSU, Storage & RAM
AMD Platform
Benchmark Software
Intel Platform
october 13

chip malaysia
074
test lab
contents
1

Ninetology Stealth 4x
2

MSI GTX 780 Lightning
3

Armaggeddon Aquila X5
4

ASUS Maximus VI Hero
5

Canon EOS 700D
6

HTC Butterfly S
7

Dell P2314T Multi Touchscreen Monitor
8

Corsair Force LS
9

MSI Adora24G 0NC
10

Samsung GALAXY S4 Active
11

ASUS RP-N53 WiFi Range Extender
12

Ninetology U9Z1
078
079
080
081
082
083
084
085
086
087
088
089
TEST LAB
The
Technologica
Crux
The month of September is a whirlwind of
activity as IFA happened earlier in the
month, and Tokyo Game Show somewhere
closer towards the end of the month.
Between internationally announced tech
devices, upcoming launches of new gaming
consoles and a large number of soon-to-be-
released games, we also have a lot of
reviews to contend with this month!
The number one product, in our opinion
that we have for you this month is quite
possibly the MSI GTX 780 Lightning, which
we are singing praises of. This is easily one
of, if not the most powerful NVIDIA graphics
card we have in our lab yet, and its a beast.
On the smartphone front, we have the HTC
Butterfly with its whopping 3,200mAh
battery life, the Nokia Lumia 925, which
features a few cosmetic upgrades to its
brother, the Lumia 920 and the waterproof
Samsung GALAXY S4 Active.
We also have a number of notebooks on
hand, which includes the Fujitsu LIFEBOOK
SH782, the ASUS Vivobook S551L and the
Samsung ATIV Book 9 Lite. All of which are
ultrathin notebooks, and each with its own
set of interesting features.
If youre looking for a monitor, we have the
Dell P2314T, the ASUS MX279, or if AIOs
are more your thing, the MSI Adora25G
0NC might just be the thing for you.
9
15
7
14
chip malaysia

october 13 075
test lab
contents
CHIP Editors Choice Award
Awarded to products that receive unanimous
endorsement from all CHIP editors for its overall
brilliance
CHIP Outstanding Award
Reserved for products that combine astute technical
performance with good quality and design
CHIP Recommended Award
Given to products that possess singular quality
worthy of a recommendation
CHIP Awards Ratings
PERFORMANCE : Refers to the efficiency of execution
FEATURES : Rates the abilities and unique characteristics
available
DESIGN : Varies according to product. Finished products -
form factor and build quality. Hardware components -
layout, size and cooling solution. Software - user interface
VALUE : Calculated from the performance and features of
the product in relation to the price
Each product review is rated on a scale
of 1 to 5 for different key parameters:
CONTENTS
13

Samsung GALAXY Tab 3 8.0
14

ASUS MX279 LED Monitor
15

GIGABYTE Aivia Osmium
16

Fujitsu LifeBook SH782
17

CM Storm Pulse-R Headphones
18

Samsung ATIV Book 9 Lite
19

Nokia Lumia 925
20

ASUS VivoBook S551LB
094
095
096
097
090
091
092
093
2
8
11
19
10
13
1 12
6
3
18
16
5
17
4 20
october 13

chip malaysia
076
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fi rst l ooks
PowerLogic A4 Magnum Pro 535 PSU
Behind all the talk about needing a fast processor and a powerful graphics card, many
seem to have forgotten that besides these powerful components, a PC builder also
needs a power supply unit that is capable of handling the power required to make
them come to life. The PowerLogic A4 Magnum Pro 535 PSU is exactly the thing
one needs to build a PC that is not only able to feed the most power-hungry of
components, but also keep ones PC neat and tidy with modular cables. The Magnum
Pro 535 has a standard power rate of 1070W and pure power rate of 535W. Thanks to
its modular design, you can also pick and choose which cables you need, and keep
the rest to ensure that cable tangling is reduced in your PC.
Price: TBA
Contact: Leapfroglobal Distribution Sdn. Bhd.
Phone: (03) 7803 6703
Info: mypowerlogic.com
Experience the Best of Xperia
Sony just rolled out their latest smartphone, the Xperia Z1, which includes all the
features of the Xperia Z, and a little more in the form of a five-inch form factor. Running
Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, the Z1 is powered by a 2.2GHz Qualcomm mobile processor
and 2GBs of RAM, with a 3,000mAh battery keeping everything juiced up. The piece de
resistance of the Z1 has got to be its 20.7-megapixel camera, which uses an Exmos RS
sensor and G Lens which give you images that are unparalleled in terms of quality. Sony
has also seen fit to equip the Z1 with a TRILUMINOS Full HD display, borrowing tech that
is used in making their own HDTVs.
Sony Xperia Z1
Price: TBA
Contact: Sony (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd.
Phone: 1 300 88 1233
Info: www.sony.com.my
7 Inches of Awesome
Phablets are all the rage these days as more users desire bigger screens on their
smartphones. ASUS has just the thing for you in the form of the brand new ASUS
Fonepad 7 that will be making its way here to Malaysia in October. The Fonepad 7
features a 7.0 inch LED backlit display at a HD resolution of 1280x800 pixels, and is
powered by a 1.7GHz Intel Atom Z2560 dual-core processor, based on the Clover Trail+
platform. Users also dont have to fret much about the storage space as the Fonepad 7
comes with 16GBs of built-in storage which is expandable via microSD. ASUS has also
added their own SonicMaster speakers which are typically seen on their notebooks to
the Fonepad 7, giving the phablet an awesome-sounding edge over its competitors as
well.
ASUS FonePad 7
Price: RM999
Contact: Servex (M) Sdn Bhd, Build Technology Supply Sdn Bhd, ECS Acstar Sdn Bhd,
Phone: (03) 8024 6688, (03) 7955 3699, (03) 6286 8222
Info: my.asus.com
Pow
Behi
se
I f
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october 13 077
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AMD-powered AIO
Motherboards, graphics cards and gaming notebooks are not the only things
that MSI have been active on launching these past few months. Theyve also
been looking to increase their foothold in the PC market by launching a number
of AIO PCs, one of which is the MSI AE220. Powered by AMDs latest Kabini
APU, the AE220 features a 21.5-inch touch screen display, which has a flicker-
free technology incorporated into the monitor, this helps to reduce eye-fatigue
when used for long periods of time. The Kabini APU used in the AE220 also
comes integrated with AMD HD8280/HD8330 graphics for a boost in multimedia
performance.
MSI AE220 AIO PC
Price: TBA
Contact: Media Forte (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., AMT PC Distributors Sdn. Bhd.,
Eternal Asia (M) Sdn. Bhd.
Phone: (03) 7960 6868, (03) 3344 1124, (03) 5569 2000
Info: my.msi.com
A Notable Device
The Samsung GALAXY Note series of tablet-smartphone hybrid has been a wild
success, with everyone jumping on the bandwagon since the first Note was
launched a couple of years ago. The Samsung GALAXY Note 3 brings its users
a number of improvements and new features that will definitely leave potential
users drooling. The Note 3 is powered by a 2.3GHz quad-core processor, boasts
3GB worth of RAM and an interal storage of 32GB. The Note 3 also gets a 5.7-inch
Full HD Super AMOLED display and a 13MP camera that is capable of recording
UHD videos at 30fps and slow-motion HD videos at 120fps. These, alongside other
features such as Air Command, Action Memo and Scrap Book will definitely enrich
ones fast-moving lifestyle.
Samsung GALAXY Note 3
Price: RM2,399
Contact: Samsung Malaysia Electronics Sdn. Bhd.
Phone: 1 800 88 9999
Info: www.samsung.com.my
Wreak Havoc Online
Designed for precision gaming, the CM Storm Havoc gaming mouse is a gaming beast
with eight programmable buttons and an Avago 9800 laser sensor that can go up to
8,200 DPI. Up to four macro profiles can be stored on the Havoc mouse thanks to
its 128KB memory, and with its Japanese Omron micro-switches, the mouse
can endure up to five million clicks with no problems. Its ergonomical design,
and large mouse body makes the Havoc a very comfortable mouse to use,
even during extended gaming sessions. The rubber side grips meanwhile
allows gamers to make the most precise swipes without compromising on
comfort and ergonomics.
CM Storm Havoc Gaming Mouse
Price: RM219
Contact: Ban Leong Technologies Sdn. Bhd.
Phone: (03) 7956 6300
Info: www.cmstorm.com
october 13

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fi rst l ooks
For The Tech-savvy Businessman
ASUS has made a lot of notebooks, and as a matter of fact, theyre the first ones to push the
ubiquitous Ultrabooks to the consumer market. According to them theyve never properly
looked into the business market, and such has come up with the ASUSPRO brand for their
line of business notebooks, and one of the first notebooks out of that line is the ASUSPRO P
Essential P45. Powered by a 3rd generation Intel Core i-series processor, the P45 also comes
with ASUS own Super Hybrid Engine II which allows the notebook to last up to two weeks
on standby on a full charge, and will back up your data whenever the battery level gets to
five percent. Not only that, it also comes with a spill-resistant keyboard and an anti-shock
hard drive that protects your data whenever physical accidents happen to the P45.
ASUSPRO P Essentials P45
Price: RM3,099
Contact: Servex (M) Sdn. Bhd., Build Technology Supply Sdn. Bhd., ECS Astar Sdn. Bhd.
Phone: (03) 8024 6688, (03) 7955 3699, (03) 6286 8222
Info: my.asus.com
More Affordable Smartphones Coming Your Way
Ninetology is serving up even more affordable smartphone options our way as they
have just recently introduced the latest model from their U9 line, the Ninetology U9R1
smartphone. Powered by a 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 quad-core processor, the
UR91 features a 4.3-inch display with a resolution of 960x540 pixels. Running Googles
Android 4.1 Jelly Bean mobile operating system, the U9R1 also comes included with a
Ninetology mainstay, support for a dual SIM card option, which is very useful for those
who use more than one number for business and private usage.
Ninetology U9R1
Price: RM699
Contact: 9 Care Hotline
Phone: (03) 5569 3233, (03) 2110 2453
Info: www.ninetology.com
NEX-gen Sony Cameras
With more and more users seemingly demanding that their cameras come equipped
with WiFi or some form of wireless connectivity, Sony has seen fit to do so with their
latest Sony NEX-5T with both WiFi and NFC connectivity options that not only allow it to
connect to smartphones, but also the Internet. The NEX-5T comes equipped with a 16.1MP
APS HD CMOS sensor and a 16-50mm lens, which is great for casual shots. Connectivity
to smartphones via NFC can be done with the Sony PlayMemories app which can be
downloaded from the Google Play Store and the Apple Store, for easy transfer of photos
from camera to smartphone, amongst other things, including turning your smartphone
into an external viewfinder, which opens users up to a whole host of new photography
possibilities.
Sony NEX 5T
Price: RM2,299
Contact: Sony (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd.
Phone: 1 300 88 1233
Info: www.sony.com.my
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41 Million Pixels in One Smartphone
In what appears to be the true spiritual successor to the Nokia Lumia 920, the Finnish
phone-makers have finally one-upped everyone in terms of camera megapixels in the
form of the Nokia Lumia 1020. Everything but the camera seems to have been
lifted word for word from the Lumia 920 books, as the Lumia 1020 is powered by
a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 1.5GHz dual core processor, 2GBs of RAM and a
4.5-inch ClearBlack Display, all housed in a single polycarbonate chassis. The only
notable, and we do mean notable difference here is that Nokia has added a 41MP
PureView camera, which includes features such as optical image stabilization, the Nokia
Pro Camera app, and a stereo microphone as well. There is also the Vyclone app which
allows you to share and mix photos and turn it into a video and share it on various
social media platforms.
Nokia Lumia 1020
Price: RM2,499
Contact: Nokia (M) Sdn. Bhd.
Phone: 1 300 88 1600
Info: www.nokia.com.my
Silent Gaming Keyboard
Mechanical keyboards seem to be all the rage now, and whilst they are great to work and
play with, theyre fairly expensive as well. GIGABYTE has other ideas however as they
eschew the Cherry keys for something different with the GIGABYTE Force K7 gaming
keyboard. The K7 uses scissor keys, a type of switch that has an extremely short
actuation distance, perfect for twitch gamers and touch typists alike. It comes
with anti-ghosting keys clustered around the WASD keys which are often used
by gamers. On top of that are 3-colour backlight illumination settings, with
two scroll wheels that control the volume and brightness of the backlights. It
also has a winkey lock button which can be used to lock the window key from
accidentally being triggered during your gaming sessions.
GIGABYTE Force K7 Gaming Keyboard
Price: RM189
Contact: Nation-Tech Sdn. Bhd., SDS Distribution Sdn. Bhd.
Phone: (03) 4280 6636, (03) 7788 8700
Info: www.gigabyte.my
Ideas For Entertainment
Very rarely do we put the word entertainment and Lenovo together,
but it is exactly that that the company has in mind as it designed,
manufactured and announced the Lenovo IdeaPad S6000 10.1-inch
tablet. The S6000 is a thin tablet, measuring at 0.3-inches thin, and
is powered by a 1.2GHz quad-core processor, running Android 4.2
Jelly Bean. It features a 10.1-inch IPS display, which offers vibrant
colours and wide viewing angles. To top it all off, it also features a
6,300mAh battery, which is capable of providing the tablet 9 hours
of continuous usage, perfect for long hours of travel and bursts of
browsing.
Lenovo IdeaTab S6000
Price: RM1,099
Contact: Lenovo Technology Sdn. Bhd.
Phone: 1 800 80 8575
Info: www.lenovo.com.my
Ide
Ve
bu
m
ta
i
ia
h
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Performance Comes in Small Packages Too
Reduced power consumption is the name of the game when it comes to Intels Haswell
processors, and with that, motherboard manufacturers seem to think that its a good time
to push the Mini-ITX form factor as well, as evidenced by ASUS unveiling the ASUS ROG
Maximus VI Impact Mini-ITX motherboard. Despite being a Mini-ITX motherboard, ASUS
has made no compromise with the Impact. It features the same blackwing chokes used in
the Impacts ATX counterparts, and SupremeFX audio system that is the pride and joy of
the ROG line. In order to make it possible for the Impact to fit in a wide variety of Mini-ITX
casings, the engineers at ASUS have also designed the backplate layout to ensure there is
enough space for better support.
ASUS Maximus VI Impact
Price: RM988
Contact: Servex (M) Sdn. Bhd., Build Technology Supply Sdn. Bhd., ECS Astar Sdn. Bhd.
Phone: (03) 8024 6688, (03) 7955 3699, (03) 6286 8222
Info: my.asus.com
Storing Big Data
Enterprise storage is serious business, as these components are required to not only store
important, mission critical data and a wide variety of other important information as well.
Kingston, a long-time player in the storage ecosystem has just recently announced their
latest enterprise storage in the form of the Kingston SSDNow E50. The SSDNow E50
allows companies to take advantage of enterprise-level SSD performance for tasks such as
data caching, frequently accessed data within applications, online transactional processing
and virtualization performance. SSDNow E50 helps alleviate I/O latencies and server
bottlenecks by providing greater IOPS and higher bandwidth. It also has an advanced
data integrity protection in DuraWrite that extends the lifespan of the SSD by reducing the
number of flash writes via a compression engine that does not compromise data integrity.
Kingston SSDNow E50
Price: TBA
Info: Amble Action Sdn Bhd, Convergent Distribution (M) Sdn Bhd, Ingram Micro Malaysia
Sdn Bhd
Phone: (03) 7665 3939, (03) 2144 1881, (03) 7952 8188
Contact: www.kingston.com
More Android-powered Cameras!
Samsung have launched a couple of Android-based cameras, but none of which is quite
like its latest, the Samsung GALAXY NX, a 20.3-megapixel shooter with the capability to
interchange with Samsungs variety of lenses which were made for their NX range of
cameras. It features a 4.8-inch touchscreen LCD display which is used to access the
cameras wide variety of functions and modes, and comes with 16GBs of storage
space built in, which can be expanded up to 64GBs via MicroSD. On top of that, it
also comes with Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, and much like its predecessor the Samsung
GALAXY Camera, is capable of connecting to the internet via Wi-Fi, where your photos
can be shared instantly.
Samsung GALAXY NX
Price: RM4,199
Contact: Samsung Malaysia Electronics Sdn. Bhd.
Phone: 1 800 88 9999
Info: www.samsung.com.my
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Bigger And Better Than Before
The BlackBerry Z30 is set to replace the companys Z10 smartphone,
boasting several improvements both inside and out to make it a much
more lustworthy smartphone. Whilst the form factor is pretty much kept
the same, BlackBerry has opted to upgrade the screen to a five-incher,
also including a Super AMOLED display that is sure to keep things nice
and bright regardless of the lighting conditions. Not only that, there are
also several improvements on the software side, including the brand new
BlackBerry 10.2 operating system, that has the BlackBerry Priority Hub, a
new and improved Hub experience for the users, and the improved BBM,
which allows users to access their BBM messages even from an app.
BlackBerry Z30
Price: RM1,998
Contact: Brightstar Corp Malaysia, BrightPoint Malaysia
Phone: (03) 7960 4877, (03) 9274 6000
Info: www.blackberry.com.my
Basic Necessities
Its easy to be drowned in news about every big brand out there launching new and
powerful phones every other week, but sometimes all a person wants and needs is a
phone that just works. HTC has got your backs covered with the HTC Desire 500. Powered
by a 1.2GHz quad-core processor, the Desire 500 runs Android 4.2 Jelly Bean and has
1GB of RAM with 4GBs of storage space. Like all of HTCs new phones, the Desire 500
runs Sense 5.0, which includes features such as BlinkFeed, a rapid shutter camera feature
together with its 8MP shooter and as an added bonus, support for dual SIM cards if you
are using two numbers. Definitely great for students, and those who are looking for a
decent smartphone that doesnt break your bank account balance.
HTC Desire 500
Price: RM899
Contact: SiS Distribution (M) Sdn. Bhd., Brightstar Distribution Sdn. Bhd.
Phone: (03) 5569 8878, 1 300 88 2744
Info: www.htc.com
Now in Technicolor!
Apples iPhone event unveiled what everyone with an internet connection
has suspected by now in the form of the iPhone 5C, the companys first ever
smartphone made using a plastic unibody chassis. Powered by a quad-core
A6 processor, the iPhone 5C pretty much mimics the original iPhone in every
respect, with the only exceptions being that the phone comes in a variety of
different colours, and the fact that it come shipped with iOS7 out of the box.
iPhone 5C
Price: TBA
Contact: Apple Online Store
Phone: 1 800 80 6419
Info: www.apple.com/my/
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Dual-SIM is now fast becoming Ninetologys
trademark, which is great for certain
consumers
W
hilst it would be nice to be
able to own an expensive and
powerful smartphone, the reality
is not everyone has the disposable income
to be able to afford one. That being said,
it does not mean that we need to settle
with bargain bin stuff that are subpar
performance wise, as Ninetology shows
with the Stealth 4x smartphone.
The Stealth 4x features a five-inch
display with a resolution of 720x1280,
which is good enough for streaming HD
media and such. It is powered by a 1.2GHz
quad-core processor and runs Android 4.2
Jelly Bean, so users need not worry about
being stuck with an old operating system.
As for storage, the Stealth 4x has 4GBs
of storage space, which is expandable via
MicroSD up to 32GBs, and 1GB of RAM.
Support for dual-SIM operation seems
to be a standard for Ninetology phones as
the Stealth 4x also comes with two SIM
card slots, which is great if you have two
numbers, but dont want to be bogged
by having to bring more devices than
necessary.
Quad-Core
Phones On The
Cheap
Ninetology proves you dont need to take a loan to
own a good smartphone By Nazrin Zain
Ninetology
Stealth 4x
Price
Contact
Phone
Info
RM889
9 Care Hotline
(03) 5569 3233, (03) 2110 2453
www.ninetology.com
Specifications
Operating System: Android 4.2 Jelly Bean
Processor: 1.2GHz quad-core processor
Frequency: HSDPA 2100/900 EDGE / GPRS /
GSM 850/900/1800/1900
Screen: 5.0-inch LCD
Connectivity: Bluetooth, USB, WiFi
CHIP CONCLUDE :
The Ninetology Stealth 4x is one
of the most affordable Android
smartphones out in the market at the
moment. With a 1.2GHz quad-core
processor and Android 4.2 powering
up the five-inch IPS display, owning
a big smartphone does not mean you
need a big wallet as well.
Performance-wise, the Stealth 4x hardly
lagged during our day-to-day tests, and the
lifespan of its 2,000mAh battery life is what
youd expect out of phones of that size and
performance, which lasts roughly around a
day with moderately heavy usage of social
media, web browsing and the occasional
video-watching on YouTube, or from the
SD Card.
Benchmark scores aside, there is
relatively little lag even when we have a lot
of apps running in the background with the
Stealth 4x. The quad-core processor helps
in ensuring that every apps gets enough
processing power to run what it needs,
when it needs it.
As affordable it is, the Stealth 4x comes with
an 8-megapixel camera on the back and a
2-megapixel camera on the front
Performance
Features
Design
Value
RATINGS
Very affordable
Quad-core processor,
Dual-SIM support
Mediocre camera
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3DMark11 (Performance):
3DMark11 (Extreme):
Unigine Heaven:
BENCHMARK RESULTS
15,600 points
5,520 points
60FPS
MSIs flagship NVIDIA graphics card blows
everything else out of the water By Nazrin Zain
MSI GTX 780
Lightning
Price
Contact
Phone
Info
RM3,019
Media Forte (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd,
ScanArt Data (M) Sdn Bhd
(03) 2287 1177
my.msi.com
The positions of the two 8-pin PCIe connectors
are very easy to access
MSI didnt really need to change the ports
as the reference card already had everything
covered
Specifications
Chipset: NVIDIA GeForce GTX780
Core Clock: 980MHz
Memory Size: 3GB DDR5
T
he gloves are off as MSI has finally
taken the lid off their flagship NVIDIA
graphics card, the MSI GTX 780
Lightning, featuring the NVIDIA GTX 780
GPU and the TwinFrozr IV cooling system,
and overclocked cores out of the box.
Right off the bat, upon unboxing the
card, we notice that the 780 is as heavy,
if not heavier than the NVIDIA GTX Titan.
This is in part thanks to the bulky TwinFrozr
IV cooling system, which not only features
three fans, but also a huge cooler and a
GPU reactor that requires three slots in the
expansion bay of your casing to install,
and easily at least 12.5-inches of horizontal
space, which most of todays mid-tower
chassis should provide.
Connectivity-wise, the GTX 780
Lightning features two DVI ports, one HDMI
and one display port, and for those who
are looking at building a multi-GPU PC with
it, it also supports triple-SLI configuration.
Two 8-pin PCIe power pins are required
to power up this beast, and thankfully the
plugs are located at a position where they
are easy to access.
When running our benchmarks,
especially the Unigine Heaven, we noticed
that even during high and full loads, the
GTX 780 Lightning was chugging along
very silently. Whilst its true that a lot of
NVIDIA cards are silent performers, we
were quite surprised that the GTX 780
Lightning was just as silent, despite its
bulk.
Speaking of benchmarks, the GTX
780 Lightning scored well, and averaged
around 75 to 80 frames per second,
which is astounding as most of the time,
even the high end cards average around
60fps, which is more than decent by most
standards. Easy to say this graphics card
is capable of crushing all previous, current
and even upcoming games that will be
coming to the PC market in the near future
A Powerful And
Impressive
Force Of Nature
CHIP CONCLUDE :
There is no doubt that the MSI GTX
780 Lightning is only for serious
gamers who demand only the best
from their gaming PCs. Raw power
aside, this graphics monster is also
silent, something that enthusiasts will
surely appreciate, as theres nothing
worse than a noisy PC when youre
busy fragging.
The most powerful
NVIDIA card in the
market right now
Expensive
Performance
Features
Design
Value
RATINGS
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You also get to switch between four different
lighting schemes, which include Comet
Red, Cosmic Blue, Alien Green and Flaming
Fuschia, or have all the colours rotate
periodically
A
rmaggeddons been on the rise
these past few months as they
have launched a steady stream
of gaming peripherals into the market.
Marketed as affordable, yet quality
products, theyve quickly become the
brand of choice for budget gamers, and
theyre looking to build upon that with
the Armaggeddon Aquila X5 gaming
mouse.
Similar to that of the previous Aquila
X-series of mice, the Aquila X5 is a large
gaming mouse, and features similar
design qualities. The Aquila X5 has
seven macro-able buttons, all of which
are customisable via software and also
comes with built-in memory that allows
you to store your macros inside the
mouse itself, making it a good mouse to
bring around.
The customisable buttons on the
Aquila X5 include the left and right click
buttons, the scroll wheel button, two
side buttons and two CPI buttons. The
Aquila X5 is able to shift from 500CPI to
4,000CPI, and whilst you get to choose
from four preset CPI profiles on the
Just As Good
Gaming mice dont always have to be expensive
By Nazrin Zain
Armaggeddon
Aquila X5
Price
Contact
Phone
Info
RM109
Leapfroglobal Distribution Sdn.
Bhd.
(03) 7803 6703
armaggeddon.net
Specifications
Sensor: Advance Optical Sensor A3050
CPI: Up to 4,000CPI
Frame rate: Up to 6,600FPS
Keys: 7 macro-able keys
CHIP CONCLUDE :
The Armaggeddon Aquila X5 is one
to consider if youre looking for an
inexpensive gaming mouse that
functions as great as it looks.
mouse, this can also be changed via the
provided software.
The mouse also features four distinct
colours for different CPI profiles on the
mouse, including Comet Red, Cosmic
Blue, Alien Green and Flaming Fuschia.
Not only does this make the mouse
more stylish, but also allows users
to easily remember which CPI profile
setting theyre on.
Performance-wise, there is little to
complain about the Aquila X5. Its as
fast or as accurate as you need it to be,
and is ergonomic enough for long hours
of comfortable gaming. The only issues
that may arise out of this is the fact that
some users may find this mouse to be
a tad too large, and the fact that the CPI
buttons are too far up the mouse to be
of use on the fly.
The CPI buttons allow you to switch between
four CPI profiles, but are located a bit too high
up the Aquila X5 for on the fly switching
Performance
Features
Design
Value
RATINGS
Easy to use
Macro keys
May be too large for
some
CPI buttons too high up
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PCMark 7:
PCMark 7 (Productivity):
PCMark 7 (Computation):
PCMark 7 (Entertainment):
BENCHMARK RESULTS
5,210 points
5,321 points
7,440 points
5,760 points
The Maximus VI Hero provides all the power
without the fluff By Nazrin Zain
ASUS Maximus
VI Hero
Price
Contact
Phone
Info
RM845
Servex (M) Sdn Bhd, Build
Technology Supply Sdn Bhd, ECS
Astar Sdn Bhd,
(03) 8024 6688, (03) 7955 3699,
(03) 6286 8222
my.asus.com
This board may have less I/O ports compared
to its high-end brethren but all the necessary
ones are here
Specifications
CPU Support: Intel Core Processor
CPU Socket: LGA 1150
Chipset: Intel Z87 Chipset
Memory Type: Dual Channel Memory
A
SUS has more ROG motherboards
to show as they are targeting PC
gamers of all kinds, and with their
latest iteration, the ASUS ROG Maximus
VI Hero, theyre looking to give value to
gamers who have some money, but arent
all too crazy about all the bells and whistles
the likes of the Maximus VI Extreme and
Formula will give.
As you will undoubtedly notice, the
Maximus VI Hero is pretty much almost
a barebones version of the Formula,
retaining only certain features that gamers
will undoubtedly take advantage of. On
the board are four DDR3 DIMMs, eight
SATA III ports, two PCIe ports which is able
to support both NVIDIAs SLI and AMDs
CrossFireX multi-GPU configuration.
The I/O ports have also been stripped
down a bit, as there are eight USB ports,
with four ports each being USB 3.0 and
USB 2.0. Also included are a PS2 post for
either your mouse or keyboard, an optical
SPDIF out, a HDMI port an Intel LAN port
and 6.1 audio out ports.
Gamers will be happy to know that
ASUS has retained the SupremeFX
audio chipset, which helps enhance the
audio quality of their music and games
enjoyment. Some of the newer features,
such as the SSD Secure Erase is included
as well, a feature that makes it easy for
users to securely wipe their SSDs when
needed.
Performance-wise the Hero functions
just as well as well as its higher-end
counterparts do. With the right setup of
processor and graphics card, the Maximus
VI Hero is able to crunch anything and
everything thats thrown at it. It plays all
the latest games such as Bioshock Infinite,
Tomb Raider and Crysis 3 on high settings.
Definitely one to consider if youre looking
to build a relatively inexpensive gaming
machine.
ASUS Comes To
The Rescue!
CHIP CONCLUDE :
Despite being a relatively stripped
down version of the Extreme and
Formula, the ASUS ROG Maximus
VI Hero is still a worthy gaming
motherboard in its own right. ASUS
has heeded the call for inexpensive
gaming components, and this is
hopefully the first salvo of many
affordable gaming motherboards to
come.
Performs just as well
as its higher-end
counterparts
Not as many bells and
whistles as the
Extreme or Formula
Performance
Features
Cooling
Value
RATINGS
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The Canon EOS 700D is the first in Canons
DSLR range to feature stereo microphones,
which is great for those who love making
home movies
M
uch like the smartphone market,
the camera market has gone
through quite a bit of change
over the last few years and while many
photographers have opted for Micro
Four-Thirds and Mirrorless cameras, there
are still a large number of photographers
who rely on digital single-lens reflex
(DSLR) cameras as they still prove to be
the most versatile devices that produces
incomparable image quality.
Launched a few months back, the
Canon EOS 700D is a mid-range DSLR that
caters to both amateur and professional
photographers as it is very easy to use
due to the touch-interface and also the
performance it has. One of the things we
really loved about the 700D is its design
and relatively small size and light weight.
Despite being made out of plastic, the body
felt really solid. We also liked the enlarged
grip that made handling the device super
comfortable.
For users that are already acquainted
with Canon DSLRs, the location of the
buttons and dials will be very familiar.
Then for those who want an even easier
means of control, the 700D comes with
a touchscreen that is sensitive and
responsive and allows users to tweak every
external control. This touchscreen also
uses the Vari-Angle technology that makes
Solid Middle
Ground
The EOS 700D from Canon is a solid DSLR for
amateurs and seasoned shutterbugs By Jeremy Cheong
Canon EOS 700D
Price
Contact
Phone
Info
RM2,699 (EF S18-55 IS STM Kit)
Canon Marketing Malaysia Sdn.
Bhd.
(03) 7884 6000
www.canon.com.my
Specifications
Lens Mount: Canon EF Mount
Image Processor: DIGIC 5
Effective Pixels: Approx. 18.00-megapixels
ISO: ISO 100 12800 (Standard)
Built-in Flash: Retractable, Auto Pop-up Flash
LCD Monitor: 3-inch Capacitive Vari-Angle
Clearview II LCD
Storage Type: SD / SDHC / SDXC
Connectivity: USB2.0, miniHDMI, Eye-Fi, RC-6
(remote control)
Dimensions: 133.1 x 99.8 x 78.8mm
Weight: 525g (Body Only)
CHIP CONCLUDE :
At the end of the day, we have to
say we were really happy with the
overall performance of the Canon
EOS 700D and dont really have much
to complain about it as it does its job
beautifully. So for those looking to go
from a compact to a DSLR, this would
be one of the best choices to start
with.
shooting from the hip or overhead a very
simple task. One of the nicest additions to
the 700D is stereo microphones located on
the front of the hot shoe; these allow the
camera to pick up sounds even better for
video recording.
Now we come to the most important
part of the review, image quality. To
put it quite simply, the 700D excels in
this department. On Full Auto mode, it
produced very natural looking images that
retained a great amount of detail that was
also sharp, had vibrant colours and very
little noise. The Autofocus though was a bit
of a hit and miss, it was fast when using
the viewfinder but during Live View, it
was quite slow. But this isnt really a deal
breaker as we are quite sure most users
will be using the viewfinder most of the
time.
Performance
Features
Design
Value
RATINGS
Stereo microphones
Good image quality
Easy-to-use
Touchscreen interface
Plenty of creative filters
Slow autofocus in live
view and video
Always on ISO 400
when using flash
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HTC makes obvious and subtle changes with the
Butterfly S By Nazrin Zain
HTC Butterfly S
Price
Contact
Phone
Info
RM2,399
SiS Distribution (M) Sdn. Bhd.,
Brightstar Distribution Sdn. Bhd.
(03) 5569 8878, 1 300 88 2744
www.htc.com
The Butterfly S also comes with HTCs
UltraPixel camera, which takes great shots in
bright and low light environments
Specifications
Operating System: Android 4.2.2 (Jelly Bean)
Processor: 1.9GHz Quad-Core Qualcomm
Snapdragon 600
Frequency: GSM 850 / 900 / 1800MHz,
WCDMA 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 / 2100MHz
Screen: 5-inch Full HD (1920x1080) Corning
Gorilla Glass 3
Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, USB 2.0,
3.5mm audio, NFC, DLNA
Others: HTC UltraPixel Camera,
2.1-megapixel front camera, HTC
BoomSound
Dimensions: 144.5 x 70.5 x 10.6mm
Weight: 160g
T
he HTC Butterfly S is here,
improving upon several points from
the original, which is an excellent
smartphone on its own accord. HTC took
some of the HTC Ones aesthetics, coupled
with some hardware upgrades that
improve upon the Butterflys performance
and looks, without changing too much.
The first thing youll begin to notice
about the Buttefly S, as you unbox it is the
fact that its several millimeters thicker than
the original Butterfly. There is a reason
for this as the Butterfly S is equipped with
a 3,200mAh battery, the largest in a HTC
smartphone yet.
Powered by a 1.9GHz Qualcomm
Snapdragon 600 quad-core processor,
this five-inch giant features the same Full
HD resolution as the butterfly, but uses a
Super LCD 3 display instead, and is scratch
resistant to a certain degree. It also runs on
Androids 4.2 Jelly Bean mobile operating
system and has HTCs latest Sense 5.0 UI
which includes features such as Blinkfeed,
HTC BoomSound and HTC Zoe, features
that were originally on the HTC One.
What HTC has managed to achieve with
the Butterfly S is to make a smartphone
that is otherwise made with a plastic cover
look and feel very premium. Thanks to
the the combination of the powerful and
efficient processor and large capacity
battery life, the phone is not only buttery
smooth performance-wise, but also lasts
longer even with moderate-to-heavy use.
During our usage tests, we managed to
make the phone last for one and a half
days on a single charge. Thats 36 hours
without the need to rely on a plug point or
even a battery pack.
The Butterfly S also comes with NFC
connectivity, which is timely as there are
more and more devices and accessories
that have begun to tap into the technology,
and this opens up the smartphone to a
whole new host of connectivity possibilities
in the near future.
That being said, it is unfortunate that
the Butterfly S does not come with LTE,
as it is finally starting to kick off here in
Malaysia, which is one of the very few
flaws in an otherwise sterling smartphone.
The Evolved
Butterfly
CHIP CONCLUDE :
We dont say this very often, but
if money is not an issue, the HTC
Butterfly S is definitely one we would
highly recommend to those who are
looking for a high-end smartphone.
A powerful quad-core processor
coupled with a high-capacity battery
and one of Androids latest operating
systems, theres almost no reason
why this shouldnt be a first-choice
phone for anyone.
Powerful processor
Large capacity battery
Pricey
Body prone to smudges
Performance
Features
Design
Value
RATINGS
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Dell monitors are famous for their wide array
of video and I/O options, and the P2314T is no
different
P
eople have been waxing lyrical about
Windows 8 being the next big thing
about computing, and how its new
Metro UI would work perfectly well with
touch screen devices. Dell, a company
that has made its credentials known
as excellent computer display makers,
amongst other things has just the thing
with the Dell P2314T multi touchscreen
monitor.
The P2314T 23 inch touchscreen
monitor is designed a bit like a photo
frame, and for good reason. Being a
touchscreen display, Dell wanted to allow
users to use the display in a multitude
of ways, and thanks to the hinged stand,
users can have it propped up or lie it flat on
its back for sharing the display with other
people.
Connectivity-wise, the P2314T comes
with support for VGA, HDMI with MHL
support for smart devices and DisplayPort
1.2. Its a shame that it doesnt come with
DVI support as quite a large number of
graphics cards widely use it and have
stopped supporting VGA connectivity.
There are also USB ports on the monitor
which can be used to plug in portable USB
drives as a convenience.
Touchy Feely
Monitor
Dells P2314T touchscreen monitor fits right at home
By Nazrin Zain
Dell P2314T Multi
Touchscreen
Monitor
Price
Contact
Phone
Info
RM1,399
Dell Asia Pacific Sdn. Bhd.
1 800 88 0301
www.dell.com.my
Specifications
Resolution: 1920x1080 @ 60Hz
Screen: 23-inch
Response time: 8ms GTG
Contrast Ratio: 8M:1 (DCR)
Stand: Tilt
Connectivity: VGA, HDMI x 2
CHIP CONCLUDE :
The Dell P2314T touchscreen monitor
is one of the few models to get
touch screen right. Excellent touch
response, coupled with a vibrant
display and excellent build quality, we
definitely recommend this if youre
looking for a touch display to go with
your Windows 8 machine.
The P2314T supports up to 10 point
touch, and the display is touch-enabled
from edge to edge, meaning that a wide
variety of touch gestures are supported by
this monitor, including two-hand usage.
Touch response is excellent as well as
there is no noticeable lag regardless
whether were using one, two or even ten
fingers on it.
The colour quality is what youd expect
out of a Dell monitor, as the image quality
of the P2314T looks as stunning as the
display itself, which is always a good thing.
The unfortunate thing is that the 8ms Grey-
to-Grey refresh rate might put some people
off, specifically FPS gamers who rely on
the display having a refresh rate thats as
fast as their own reflexes, which is a bit
unfortunate.
The picture frame-esque stand allows users
to play around with a wide range of tilting
options
Performance
Features
Design
Value
RATINGS
Well-built monitor,
touchscreen display
works as advertised
Prone to smudges
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CrystalDiskMark (Sequential Read):
CrystalDiskMark (Sequential Write):
CrystalDiskMark (4K Read):
CrystalDiskMark (4K Write):
BENCHMARK RESULTS
530.2 MB/s
350.0 MB/s
30.8 MB/s
105.0 MB/s
Corsair experiments with new controllers again
with the Force LS By Nazrin Zain
Corsair Force LS
Price
Contact
Phone
Info
RM420
Cudo Technologies (M) Sdn. Bhd.
(03) 2148 1177
www.corsair.com
Specifications
Storage Size: 120GB
Controller: Phison PS3108
Form Factor: 2.5 inches
Interface: SATA III 6.0Gbps
C
orsairs one of the few brands
who have made quite a name
for itself with its line of SSDs,
amongst other things. Theyre also
one of the few companies who have
stubbornly refused to stick with using
SandForce controllers like what most
other brands are doing. Introducing the
brand new Corsair Force LS SSD.
Unlike most other companies that
prefer to use polycarbonate cases
instead of metal, Corsair has decided
that using an aluminium chassis would
be better as it would more likely last
longer than the plastics. Speaking
of durability, like other SSDs in the
market today, the Force LS also boasts
a Mean Time Between Failure time of
1,000,000,000 hours.
As we mentioned earlier, Corsair is
stubborn enough to not use SandForce
controllers like many other brands, and
as the likes of Indilinx and LAMD have
been bought over, they have opted
to use a PHISON controller, which
supposedly grants Corsair some degree
of performance whilst keeping costs low.
We ran a couple of benchmark tests
on the Force LS, and the results were as
to be expected, if not a little surprising.
CrystalDiskMark yielded a score of
around 400-500MB/s for sequential read/
write, which is on par with some of the
mid-range SSDs in the market right now,
although 4K read/write scores were a bit
on the low side of things.
As far as real world read/write speeds
are concerned, the performance of the
Force LS is pretty much average, which
came up to about 60-80MB/s for write
and about 250-300MB/s for read speeds.
All of which is fine, especially since
the Corsair Force LS is marketed as
an entry-level solution. If the 120GB
variant of this SSD is a little too pricey
for your pockets, then theres also the
60GB variant. And for those who dont
mind the price and want a larger storage
capacity, theres also the 240GB variant.
New Controller,
Same Old SSD
CHIP CONCLUDE :
The Corsair Force LS SSD is no slouch
by any means, however its price tag
may be a bit too steep for what it is
offering to the consumers.
Good benchmark
scores
Decent real world
performance
Price Vs. Performance
Performance
Features
Design
Value
RATINGS
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There are plenty of extras ports on the rear but
the location they are placed in makes it a bit
hard to get to them
W
hile MSIs components and
notebooks are normally the
products that are constantly
placed in the spotlight, the company has
actually been making a lot of waves in the
All-In-One desktop department. Just as we
sent the one we reviewed back to MSI, we
then got yet another AIO from them, this
time; it was from their super slim Adora
series.
When it comes to AIOs, the Adora24G is
hands-down the slimmest we have seen to
date, its thickest point is only 21mm, which
is quite incredible. Other than that, this
AIO is definitely stylish and the frameless
display just makes it looks so much better
and will fit perfectly in an office or living
room. MSI have equipped it with the
standard slew of ports and even an optical
disk drive, our only little gripe with the
ports is the placement of the ones on the
rear as they are a bit hard to reach as they
are placed facing downwards.
Another little sacrifice MSI had to make
to retain the Adora24G slim waistline is by
building it using mobile computer parts
and not full-fledged desktop components.
However, on that note, the hardware used
in the Adora24G isnt too shabby either
as it is comparable to an upper midrange
notebook. This means that it is able to
ADORAble 24
AIO
MSI releases yet another AIO that will be a great
addition to a household By Jeremy Cheong
MSI Adora24G
0NC
Price
Contact
Phone
Info
RM4,700
Media Forte (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd.,
AMT PC Distributors Sdn. Bhd.,
Eternal Asia (M) Sdn. Bhd.
(03) 7960 6868, (03) 3344 1124,
(03) 5569 2200
my.msi.com
Specifications
CPU: Intel Core i5-3230M (at 2.6GHz)
RAM: 8GB DDR3
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GT 740M 2GB
SDDR3
OS: Windows 8 (64-bit)
Display: 23.6 Full HD LCD Panel LED Backlit
(1920x1080)
Storage: 1TB 2.5 SATAIII 5400RPM
Connectivity: Wi-Fi, RJ-45 LAN, 4x USB 3.0,
2x USB 2.0, 1x HDMI-in, 1x Microphone-in, 1x
Headphone-out
Extras: 2-megapixel Full HD Webcam, 3-in-1
Card Reader, TV Tuner, DVD Super Multi Drive
Dimensions: 538.28 x 424.55 x 32.95mm
Weight: 10.4kg
CHIP CONCLUDE :
Over the course of their journey, MSI
have definitely made their mark in the
AIO space and with devices like the
Adora24G 0NC, we are sure they will
be around for much longer. Like we
said before, the Adora24G 0NC may
not have the most powerful hardware
but what it has is definitely good
enough and its a trade-off were
willing to accept as we really like how
it looks.
handle less taxing applications and even
some of the latest games.
One of the best things to use the
Adora24G for is of course consuming
multimedia as it has a large 23.6-inch Full
HD display and stereo speakers with Sound
Blaster Cinema technology. The display
is very good as we found colours to be
vivid and accurate and even when we
watched at action movie with fast-paced
action, there was no ghosting whatsoever.
The speakers are good as they were loud
and clear but on higher volume levels,
there were obvious distortions and it also
sounded a bit hollow. But thanks to the
HDMI-in port, you can also use it as a TV
for your game console.
Performance
Features
Design
Value
RATINGS
Slim Design
Full HD Touch Display
TV Tuner
Still on 3rd Gen Intel
Mobile Core series
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A spin-off of the GALAXY S4 for those who
cherish their active lifestyles By Jeremy Cheong
Samsung
GALAXY S4
Active
Price
Contact
Phone
Info
RM1,899
Samsung Malaysia Electronics
1 800 88 9999
www.samsung.com/my/
The S4 Active definitely lives up to its IP67
certification as seen in this picture where we
placed it in water and it still worked after that
Specifications
Operating System: Android 4.2.2 (Jelly Bean)
Processor: 1.9GHz Quad-Core Qualcomm
Snapdragon 600
Frequency: GSM 850 / 900 / 1800MHz,
WCDMA 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 / 2100MHz,
4G LTE
Screen: 5-inch Full HD (1920x1080) TFT LCD
Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, USB 2.0,
3.5mm audio, NFC, DLNA
Others: 8-megapixel rear camera,
2-megapixel front camera
Dimensions: 139.7 x 71.3 x 9.1mm
Weight: 153g
I
n its vanilla offering, Samsungs
GALAXY S4 was already one of the best
smartphones in the market. However,
being the innovators that they are, the
Korean powerhouse decided to use the
GALAXY S4 as a base and come up with
spin-offs that would cater to different
users. Last month, we saw the variant
that was designed for shutterbugs, this
month; we got to play around with the
one that was designed for those who live
active lifestyles. Heres our review of the
Samsung GALAXY S4 Active.
On the design front, the S4 Active
still retains what makes the GALAXY
devices easily identifiable. Some of the
difference which makes quite a difference
is the rubberised and textured buttons
which are much easier to local and give
excellent tactile feedback. While it is still
quite plasticky, it definitely feels more solid
compared to the S4 and we actually found
it much easier to handle.
Other than the design changes,
Samsung swapped the display for a TFT
LCD panel instead of the Super AMOLED
panel. The good thing about this change
is that colours are more accurate and it is
brighter, which makes it easier to see if
under direct sunlight. A must-have when
youre in the great outdoors.
Another change Samsung had to make
to the S4 Active is the rear camera and it
now sports an 8-megapixel camera instead
of 13-megapixel. Fear not though as you
will still get many of the features found in
the S4 and theres even an Aqua mode. In
this mode, the touchscreen is disabled but
you can use the volume rocker as a shutter
button.
On the performance side of things, the
S4 Active still uses the same hardware as
the LTE variant of the S4. What this means
is that it is no slouch in the performance
department and it was snappy and
responsive throughout our time with it. It
was even able to handle some of the more
demanding games. Unfortunately, the S4
Active didnt quite give us the same battery
performance as the standard S4 but that
doesnt mean it is bad as it managed to last
us a full day on moderate usage.
Reactivating
Your Life
CHIP CONCLUDE :
All in all, we have to say that out of
the all the variants that the S4 has,
this is easily the best one. While
Samsung did have to make some
sacrifices to its features, we still feel
that it is a great smartphone.
IP67 Certified
Good overall
performance
Beautiful display
Removable battery
Lower-res camera
LCD display drains
more battery
Plasticky build
No shockproofing
Performance
Features
Design
Value
RATINGS
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There is also an option for you to hook up the
RP-N53 to the modem and have it function as
a WiFi router
ASUS RP-N53
WiFi Range
Extender
Price
Contact
Phone
Info
TBA
Servex (M) Sdn Bhd, Build
Technology Supply Sdn Bhd, ECS
Acstar Sdn Bhd,
(03) 8024 6688, (03) 7955 3699,
(03) 6286 8222
my.asus.com
Specifications
Network standard: 802.11 a/b/g/n
Interface: Ethernet
Operating frequency: 2.4GHz/5GHz
Dimensions: 45mm x 31mm x 85mm
All you need to do to get the device to operate
is to switch it on and press the WPS button on
both the WiFi router and the RP-N53
Performance
Features
Design
Value
RATINGS
Dual-band support,
range extended enough
to cover an entire house
None
ASUS range extender is an affordable way to get
your entire house connected By Nazrin Zain
E
ver had that problem where your
wireless router just cant get to
certain parts of your house, and
its really annoying because youre really
comfortable where you are, but you
move anyway just to get better signal?
Worry no longer as ASUS has just the
thing for you with its ASUS RP-N53 WiFi
range extender wall-plug.
Using the RP-53 is a fairly standard
affair, as all you need to do is to plug it
into the wall, turn it on, and press the
WPS button on the WiFi router and on
the RP-53 itself, and youre all set, your
WiFis range is already extended by tens
of metres!
The RP-53 also comes with some
extra features that makes this device
a pretty enticing one. It has dual-band
support for both 2.4GHz and 5GHz
signals for both local and Internet
connectivity. The 2.4GHz band is in
charge of internet connectivity for tasks
such as web browsing and downloading,
whilst the 5GHz band is excellent for
streaming and online gaming.
Having said that, some people just
want a simple device that can help
them extend the coverage of their WiFi
signal and dont need the extra bells
that come with it. For this, ASUS has
announced four variants of the RP-N53
range extender, which include the N900
and N750/N600 model, which feature the
best coverage range, and has dual-band
support. The two lower end models
meanwhile include the N300 and N150
models, which offers good extended
coverage, but without the dual-band
support.
Now Everyone
Can Wi-Fi
CHIP CONCLUDE :
The ASUS RP-N53 offers a wide
variety of usage options when it
comes to extending the range of your
WiFi signal, support for dual-band
frequencies and ease of use. It also
comes in various models that suits
your usage patterns, so theres that
as well.
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Ninetologys largest devices to-date is bound to
get a large audience By Jeremy Cheong
Ninetology U9Z1
Price
Contact
Phone
Info
RM1,199
9 Care Hotline
(03) 5569 3233, (03) 2110 2453
www.ninetology.com
Like most of Ninetologys offerings, the U9Z1
also supports Dual SIM cards, which is great
for frequent travellers or those who like to
separate their professional and personal lives
While it has a more than capable 12-megapixel
camera on the rear, we are quite sure many
users will rely more on the devices front
5-megapixel camera
Specifications
Operating System: Android 4.2 (Jellybean)
Processor: 1.2GHz Quad-Core CPU
Frequency: GSM 900/1800MHz, WCDMA
900/2100MHz
Screen: 5.7-inch HD (1280x720) IPS Panel
with Corning Gorilla Glass 2
Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, USB 2.0,
3.5mm audio
Others: 12 megapixel rear camera, 5.0
megapixel front camera
Dimensions: 161 x 82.5 x 9.3mm
Weight: 191g
A
SEAN smart mobile device makers,
Ninetology are on quite a roll at
the moment as they seem to have
a catalogue of devices that is filled with
affordable devices packed with top-notch
features and caters to just about every
consumer demographic out there. For
those who long to own a smartphone-
tablet hybrid device, the U9Z1 is quite
possibly the giant you have been waiting
for.
Unlike the X1 we reviewed last month,
the Z1 comes in a super solid aluminium
unibody design that doesnt just look great
but also feels hardy. While the Z1 did
feel a little on the heavy side, the curved
back actually made it quite comfortable to
hold. For such a large device, the Z1 only
has three physical buttons, which are the
volume rockers on the left and the power/
unlock button on the right. We really have
no issues with the buttons as they were
responsive and easy to locate despite the
wide gap due to the screen.
The dual SIM card slots are hidden
underneath a cover on the back of the
device where the camera is located.
Removing that cover doesnt require
much force and sits nice and tight when
snapped back in place. Its quite a shame
that Ninetology didnt include a microSD
slot on this device as were quite sure there
are many users who would love the ability
to store their favourite movies or TV series
on the device for on-the-go consumption.
While the 16GB internal storage isnt
bad, it might not be enough for long haul
journeys.
As for raw performance, the Z1 sports
pretty much the same hardware as the
X1. While it may not be the most powerful
device out there, we still found it to be
snappy and smooth throughout our testing
period. The Z1 also comes with a fairly
large 2,600mAh battery that easily lasted
us a full day of moderate usage; this
includes having push notifications turned
on for a single email account, Facebook
and Twitter. In between we also used it
for light web browsing, gaming and video
streaming.
The Ninth Giant
CHIP CONCLUDE :
Ninetology once again has a winner
on their hands with the U9Z1 as this
giant of a phablet will definitely be
sought after by consumers who love
to consume and even create content
while on-the-go. It may not be the
most powerful device out in the
market now, but what it offers at its
price point and in terms of features
makes it very irresistible.
Affordable
Dual-SIM
Quad-Core CPU
Solid unibody build
Hefty
No expandable
storage
Performance
Features
Design
Value
RATINGS
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The down firing stereo speakers are loud but
are also a bit on the tinny side
A
fter first making its debut at IFA
three years ago, we now have
the third generation of GALAXY
Tabs. The GALAXY Tab devices are now
considered midrange offerings as Samsung
have expanded their GALAXY Note series
to the tablet form factors and those are
their premium devices. But that doesnt
mean the GALAXY Tabs have been handed
the short-end of the stick as the 8.0-inch
GALAXY Tab 3 proves that it can still
impress.
Similar to most of the devices they have
launched this year, the 8-inch GALAXY Tab
3 looks just like any other Samsung device
to date. This means it still retains that same
glossy hyper-glaze look, which we still
arent really big fans of. But if you can look
pass the plasticky exterior, the GALAXY
Tab 3 8.0 is thin, lightweight and yet feels
solid. Youll also find the standard buttons
and ports, an extra IR blaster and also a
microSIM slot if you opt for the 4G LTE
variant. Yes, you read that right; this tablet
actually supports 4G LTE networks.
Despite being a midrange tablet, this
device actually comes with some very
impressive internals that include a 1.5GHz
dual-core CPU, 2GB of RAM and 16GB of
internal storage. It ran smoothly most of
More Than Just
Average
The middle-child of Samsungs mid-range tablet
series is quite a good device By Jeremy Cheong
Samsung
GALAXY Tab 3 8.0
Price
Contact
Phone
Info
RM1,499 (LTE), RM1,099 (Wi-Fi)
Samsung Malaysia Electronics
1 800 88 9999
www.samsung.com/my/
Specifications
Operating System: Android 4.2.2 (Jelly Bean)
Processor: 1.5GHz Dual-Core CPU
Frequency: GSM 850 / 900 / 1800MHz, WCDMA
850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 / 2100MHz, 4G LTE
Screen: 8.0-inch (1280x800) TFT LCD
Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, USB 2.0,
3.5mm audio, DLNA
Others: 5-megapixel rear camera,
1.3-megapixel front camera
Dimensions: 123.8 x 209.8 x 7.4mm
Weight: 319g
CHIP CONCLUDE :
For a midrange device, the Samsung
GALAXY Tab 3 8.0 is actually not too
bad. But then again, it does have a
much higher price tag compared to
other midrange tablets in the market.
But if you really want an 8-inch
tablet that supports 4G LTE for faster
browsing, then this will be your only
choice, for now.
the time but it did start stuttering especially
when we were multi-tasking. With the
hardware it packs, the tablet is also able
to handle some of the more demanding
games although on games like Dead
Trigger, it was just a bit laggy.
Speaking of games and multimedia, the
GALAXY Tab 3 8.0 is quite a good choice
for those who love watching movies and
gaming as its display is and vivid and it
sports down firing stereo speakers that
are loud and clear. However, the speakers
are also quite tinny and distortion is very
obvious on higher volumes. The tablet
does come with a 5-megapixel rear camera
but it isnt something to write home about.
Images produced had nice colours but at
the same time they were grainy and details
were muted.
Like most tablet cameras, the 5-megapixel
shooter on this one produces decent but not
jaw-dropping photos
Performance
Features
Design
Value
RATINGS
4G LTE Support
Super slim
microSD Support
4450mAh battery
Plasticky build
Mediocre camera
Price
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ASUS new monitor is a perfect example of form
and function By Nazrin Zain
ASUS MX279
LED Monitor
Price
Contact
Phone
Info
RM1,299
Servex (M) Sdn Bhd, Build
Technology Supply Sdn Bhd, ECS
AStar Sdn Bhd,
(03) 8024 6688, (03) 7955 3699,
(03) 6286 8222
my.asus.com
As expected from ASUS, the MX279 offers
users a wide variety of display input options
The options panel at the bottom uses touch-
sensitive nubs, which may need some getting
used to
Specifications
Resolution: 1920x1080 @ 60Hz
Screen: 27 inches
Response time: 5ms GTG
Contrast Ratio: 80M:1 (DCR)
Stand: Tilt
Connectivity: VGA, HDMI x 2
A
SUS arent new players to the PC
display game. Theyve launched
several series of professional and
Republic of Gamer displays, all with their
own features and functions. Their latest
though, is probably one of the prettiest
theyve ever made, and we are of course
talking about the ASUS MX279H Full HD
AH-IPS LED backlit monitor.
As we unboxed and fixed the 27 inch
monitor to its metallic circular base, it
became immediately apparent to us how
pretty this monitor is. Not only does the
base add a classy touch to the display, the
screens bezel-less display makes it ooze
an extra ounce of class, making the MX279
such a drool-worthy screen.
Connectivity-wise, the MX279 has two
HDMI ports, and one VGA port. One of the
HDMI ports can be converted into DVI-D
via a HDMI-DVI cable. It also has audio-in
and out ports, as the monitor has a pair of
stereo speakers built-in, thanks to Bang &
Olufsen.
As far as features are concerned, the
MX279 comes with its own SPLENDID
Video Intelligence technology which comes
with six video preset modes that can be
used depending on your needs. These
include Standard, Theatre, Game, sRGB,
Night, Scenery and Game modes.
The MX279s display quality after its
calibrated and properly set is nothing short
of excellent. The AH-IPS display shows
some really vibrant colours when watching
video, and the viewing angles are mighty
impressive as well. It is most apparent
when watching shows that have a lot of
colours and action scenes.
A word of caution however, if you
encounter an issue with the overscan
settings that make your display not use its
full width and height, make sure you check
either AMDs Catalyst or NVIDIAs Control
Panel and ensure that the overscan settings
are set properly.
Pretty To Look
At, Beautiful To
Watch
CHIP CONCLUDE :
The ASUS MX279 is a large PC
monitor with some excellent features
that make it excellent to look at and
view. The AH-IPS panel lends itself
perfectly well, as colours can be as
bright and dark as it needs to be,
and have we mentioned that we love
edge-to-edge screens like this one
has?
AH-IPS panel brings
out some excellent
colours, elegent
design with the bezel-
less display
Overscan issues need
to be addressed
before properly using
it
Performance
Features
Design
Value
RATINGS
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While five macro keys may not seem like
much, do keep in mind that the Aivia Osmium
supports up to five gamer profiles
N
oisy, flashy, heavy and expensive;
these are the words to best
describe a mechanical gaming
keyboard, which is now somehow a must-
have peripheral for gamers everywhere.
But while the first four words in this
review may seem negative, the truth is,
mechanical keyboards are still flying off
the store shelves due to the fact that they
provide gamers with better response
and tactile feedback. Many of the newer
mechanical gaming keyboards such as
the GIGABYTE Aivia Osmium are also
customisable so gamers will always have
everything at their fingertips.
The Aivia Osmium isnt exactly
the newest in GIGABYTEs constantly
expanding line-up of gaming peripherals
but it is easily one of the best. Just by
taking a look at it, you know it means
business as it is solidly built and is
also very sleek. If you prefer a smaller
keyboard, the Aivia Osmium has a
detachable wrist rest, which helps save
precious desk space. The wrist rest adds a
nice slope to the keyboard and we found
it to be very comfortable even after long
hours of use.
Other than that, the keyboard also
sports individual key backlighting,
which is perfect for gamers who like
their peripherals to be flashy. With its
ample real estate, the Aivia Osmium also
Precious And
Irresistible Metal
We finally get the GIGABYTE Aivia Osmium and we
are in love with it By Jeremy Cheong
GIGABYTE
Aivia Osmium
Price
Contact
Phone
Info
RM459
Nation-Tech Sdn. Bhd., SDS
Distribution Sdn. Bhd.
(03) 4280 6636, (03) 7788 8700
www.gigabyte.my
Specifications
Interface: USB2.0
Activation: Cherry Brown Mechanical Switch
Switch Life: 50 million times
Travel Distance: 4mm to the bottom
Peak Force: 45g
Connectivity: USB3.0, USB2.0, Microphone-in,
Earphone-out
Cable Length: 2.0m 10%
Dimensions: 454 x 257 x 45mm
Weight: 1500g 10%
CHIP CONCLUDE :
Like their previous mechanical
gaming keyboards, GIGABYTE has
done a very great job with the Aivia
Osmium. It may not have as many
dedicated multimedia keys or even
macro keys but it has all the features
to get the job done. Of course, the
most important features have to be
response and tactile feedback and
this keyboard excels on those two
fronts.
comes with an extra USB2.0 port and
headphone-out and microphone-in ports.
That isnt all though as this is actually the
first keyboard to feature an integrated
USB3.0 throughput. Instead of dedicated
media keys, the Aivia Osmium comes
with five customisable macro keys right
about the F1 to F4 keys. GIGABYTE have
also bundled four extra keys with special
symbols for your most used keys.
Our review unit is the one that uses
Cherry MX Brown switches. Typing
and gaming with the Aivia Osmium is
just pure pleasure as the feedback and
response is great. Another great thing to
note is the fact that this keyboard features
not just five- or six-key anti-ghosting, but
64-keys. So it is possible to pull off even
the most complicated moves in a game
like Super Street Fighter 4.
These ports actually make life much easier
as they allow users to easily connect
other peripherals such as a gamepad and
headphones to the keyboard instead of their
PCs back I/O
Performance
Features
Design
Value
RATINGS
Cherry MX Brown
Mechanical Switches
Anti-Ghosting
Extra Ports
5 Gaming Profiles
Heavy
Noisy
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Here comes yet another jaw-dropping addition to
the LifeBook family By Nazrin Zain
Fujitsu LifeBook
SH782
Price
Contact
Phone
Info
RM4,299
Fujitsu PC Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd.
(03) 7728 4868
my.fujitsu.com/pc
Fujitsu doesnt skimp on the I/O options, and
have also included a DVD drive on the SH782
as well
Sleek and stylish, the SH782 is also lightweigh
and powerful, perfect for the workaholic on
the move
Specifications
CPU: Intel Core i5-4200U (at 1.6GHz, Turbo
Boost up to 2.6GHz)
RAM: 8GB DDR3
OS: Windows 7
Display: 13.3-inch SuperFine HD-LED Backlit
display (1,366x768)
Storage: 500GB
F
ujitsu hasnt been slacking off when
it comes to notebook releases of late,
and for those who are looking for
a simple but stylish notebook, they need
to look no further than the Fujitsu SH782
notebook.
Powered by Intels 3rd Generation
Core i-series processor and 4GBs of RAM,
the SH782 features a 13.3-inch SuperFine
HD LED backlit display, at a resolution of
1,366x768 pixels, and packs 500GBs of
storage space, although there are a wide
variety of other options as well, including
those with an SSD for a fast-booting
system. In terms of input and output ports,
the SH782 includes three USB 3.0 ports, a
HDMI and VGA port for video output, one
LAN port and surprisingly, a DVD drive too.
If nothing else, the Fujitsu SH782 is
quite the looker. The outer chassis is
decked in hot rod red, and its metallic
sheen oozes class every time we take it
out of the bag to do some work on it. The
interior, once the lid is opened is covered
in all black, which does combine well
with the metallic red from the outside, we
would say.
Performance-wise, the Fujitsu SH782
is no slouch at all, with Intels Ivy Bridge
processor running things at the back. We
were able to do work, watch HD movies
and even play a few games here and there
without the notebook batting so much as
an eyelid at the tasks its been given.
Battery life is another impressive
feature of the notebook as we managed
to get about six to seven hours out of a
single charge, whilst using it continuously
for work, watching videos and using the
internet.
Having said that, we do wish that the
keyboard travel on the SH782 was a tad
bit deeper, as typing on the notebook for
a considerable period of time did leave us
with sore fingers.
Sexy Red Hot
Machine
CHIP CONCLUDE :
If youre looking for a simple, portable
notebook computer to bring around
with you, you cant go wrong with the
Fujitsu SH782 notebook. It has great
performance, an excellent battery life,
and most importantly, stylish looks!
Good performance,
excellent battery life
Shallow keyboard
travel
Performance
Features
Design
Value
RATINGS
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revi ew
O
ften times, when gaming
peripheral companies launch
headphones, it is more often
than not made specifically for gaming,
sacrificing audio nuances in favour
of clarity and locational accuracy. CM
Storm is no stranger to this game,
launching quite a number of their own
headphones. We have to say though, the
CM Storm Pulse-R is quite the looker.
Part of their new Aluminum Gaming
series of gaming peripherals, the
Pulse-R reflects that branding by
having a number of its parts made from
aluminium, which include the head band
and the outer portion of the headphones
cups. CM Storm has also taken the
initiative to make the microphone and
cable of the Pulse-R detachable for easy
storage, and the headphone set also
comes with a protective case of sorts for
quick and easy storage.
The Pulse-R headphones feature
42mm drivers which are excellent for
both gaming and music listening. The
Great For Gaming
And Music
Get the best of both worlds with the CM Storm
Pulse-R By Nazrin Zain
CM Storm Pulse-R
Headphones
Price
Contact
Phone
Info
RM299
Ban Leong Technologies Sdn
Bhd
(03) 7956 6300
www.cmstorm.com
Specifications
Driver size: 42mm x 2
Frequency response: 20Hz 20kHz
Impedance: 50 ohm
Connector: 3.5mm headphone jack
Cable length: 3 metres
CHIP CONCLUDE :
The CM Storm Pulse-R headphones is
one of the most stylish headphones
the company has come up with in
quite a while. Its modular design
means that it can be easily stored
away, and the audio quality is nothing
short of impressive, regardless of
what you listen to with it.
audio quality is great as far as a gaming
headset is concerned, as the mids,
highs and bass are just nicely balanced,
making it excellent for both gaming and
music listening.
What users will also like is the fact
that the aluminium cup plating can
also be detached and customized to
the users liking, adding a touch of
personality to your headphones. The
detachable cable also comes with a
volume control bar and a microphone
mute button, so that you dont have to
fumble around to adjust volume levels.
The Pulse-Rs microphone can also be
detached, depending on your mode of usage.
The detachable cable for the Pulse-R also
comes with a volume control slider and a mic
mute button
Performance
Features
Design
Value
RATINGS
Excellent sound quality
Great build quality
Cups have little air
ventilation
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september 13 099
test lab
revi ew
Samsungs new notebook is a lightweight in
more ways than one By Nazrin Zain
Samsung ATIV
Book 9 Lite
Price
Contact
Phone
Info
RM2,399
Samsung Malaysia Electronics
Sdn Bhd
1 800 88 9999
www.samsung.com.my
Samsungs obsession with thin devices can
also be seen through the design of the ATIV
Book 9 Lite
The ATIV Book 9 Lite comes with one USB 3.0
and one USB 2.0 port, just nice for a mouse and
an external storage device
Specifications
CPU: AMD A8-4555M APU @ 1.6GHz
RAM: 4GB DDR3 RAM
Graphics: AMD HD8550M
OS: Windows 8 Professional
Display: 13.3-inch @ 1,366x768
S
amsung has proven that they have
what it takes to make some of the
best ultrathin notebooks in the
industry, but the challenge for them now
is to make a device that looks just as good
at a more compelling price point. Their
answer? The Samsung ATIV Book 9 Lite.
Borrowing a number of design cues
from their own 9 Series notebooks, the
ATIV Book 9 Lite is quite the looker. Most
of the chassis is made of plastic, but its
done in a manner that still makes it look
like a premium device. The build quality is
excellent, and its great that Samsung has
managed to do that, despite the change in
materials.
The ATIV Book 9 Lite is powered by a
custom-made variant of the AMD A6-1450
APU, a quad-core processor integrated
with an AMD Radeon HD8250 as the
graphics processor. Memory is made up
of 4GBs of DDR3 RAM and 128GBs in the
form of SSD storage.
The ATIV Book 9 Lite starts up as very
fast, almost as if its waking up from sleep
mode, from the point of startup to desktop
takes roughly around 10 seconds, which is
impressive in anyones books. Waking up
from sleep mode typically takes half that
time.
We have no complaints about the ATIV
Book 9 Lites performance, as it does work
and play both considerably well, even
when playing 720p and 1080p videos as
well as some casual gaming at the side
with most settings set to medium. As far
as battery performance is concerned, we
managed to clock in about eight hours of
usage on a single charge.
An interesting feature that Samsung
has added to the notebook is the SideSync
feature, which allows you to synchronise
your Samsung smartphone with the PC
via USB, as well as use it in a keyboard
and mouse sharing mode where your
smartphone becomes an extension to the
PCs display. This is especially convenient if
you have files on the phone that need to be
edited on the fly by using the keyboard and
mouse on the ATIV Book 9 Lite.
Something
Affordable For
Everyone
CHIP CONCLUDE :
The Samsung ATIV Book 9 Lite is a
very affordable Windows 8 machine,
although that being said, it is quite
unfortunate it doesnt come with a
touchscreen display to make full use
of Window 8s Metro UI features. For
its price though, we find it hard to
fault Samsung for that one issue.
Well-built
Long-lasting battery
SideSync only works
with certain Samsung
phones
Performance
Features
Design
Value
RATINGS
september 13

chip malaysia
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test lab
revi ew
The Lumia 925s 8MP camera features an
upgraded Carl Zeiss Tessar lens
W
hen it was first launch, the
Nokia Lumia 920 was lauded
as the best Windows Phone
8 smartphone out there in the market
at the moment. It featured an excellent
polycarbonate build, a processor that didnt
balk when performance mattered and an
excellent camera that has had everyone
raving. Which makes us think that the
Nokia Lumia 925 a peculiar device of sorts.
Starting off with the similarities between
the two, the Lumia 925 features the same
1.5GHz dual core Snapdragon S4 processor
that was used in its predecessor. It also
has the same 4.5-inch build, and the
same camera sensor as well as the same
operating system and apps, as the Lumia
920 has also received the WP8 Amber
update not too long ago, which brings the
Camera Pro app and several other features
on board as well.
The most notable difference about
the Lumia 925 now is the fact that
it comes with a polycarbonate and
aluminium frame, as opposed to the single
polycarbonate block of the 920. It feels a
bit more premium than the 920, but you
More of The
Same
Nokias new smartphone offers mostly superficial
upgrades to its predecessor By Nazrin Zain
Nokia Lumia 925
Price
Contact
Phone
Info
RM1,799
Nokia (M) Sdn Bhd
1 300 88 1600
www.nokia.com.my
Specifications
Operating System: Windows Phone 8
Processor: 1.5GHz dual core processor
Frequency: HSDPA 2100/900 EDGE / GPRS /
GSM 850/900/1800/1900
Screen: 4.5-inch ClearBlack LCD
Connectivity: Bluetooth, USB, WiFi, NFC
CHIP CONCLUDE :
If you dont already own a Nokia
Lumia 920, the Nokia Lumia 925 is a
great buy if you dont mind the limited
selection in colours. It performs well
enough, and the camera upgrade will
certainly make your inner shutterbug
a happy camper.
wouldnt have known it just by looking at it.
Thats not the only difference of course
as Nokia has also upgraded the lens of
the Lumia 925, opting for an upgraded
Carl Zeiss Tessar lens which is coupled
together with the Nokia Smart Camera,
Cinemagraph and Photobeamer apps.
Performance is very much similar to
the Lumia 920, in that the apps function
perfectly well and hardly ever lags. An
interesting thing worth noting however is
the fact that the Lumia 925s front facing
wide angle camera is capable of capturing
photos at a resolution of 1280x960 pixels
and has an aperture count of f2.4, which
provides excellent wide angle shots, perfect
for users who like to take selfie photos.
The addition of the aluminium frame to the
Lumia 925 gives it a more premium feel
compared to the Lumia 920
Performance
Features
Design
Value
RATINGS
Improved camera and
apps
Not much point in
upgrading if you already
own a Lumia 920
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september 13 0101
test lab
revi ew
Yet another high-end beauty from ASUS makes
its way to the market By Jeremy Cheong
ASUS VivoBook
S551LB
Price
Contact
Phone
Info
RM3,499
Servex (M) Sdn. Bhd., Build
Technology Supply Sdn. Bhd.,
ECS AStar Sdn. Bhd.
(03) 8024 6688, (03) 7955 3699,
(03) 6286 8222
www.asus.com/my/
Even despite its 22.5mm thinness, ASUS
managed to fit in an optical disk drive
Specifications
CPU: Intel Core i7-4500U (at 1.8GHz, Turbo
Boost up to 3.0GHz)
RAM: 8GB
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GT 740M with
2GB DDR3 VRAM
Storage: 1TB 5400RPM HDD with 24GB SSD
OS: Windows 8 Pro (64-bit)
Display: 15.6-inch HD Slim (1366x768) LED
Backlit Glare Panel
Interface: 1x COMBO Audio jack, 2x USB3.0,
1x USB2.0, 1x RJ-45 LAN, 1x HDMI, 1x SD
Card Reader
Extras: HD 720p CMOS module webcam,
ASUS SonicMaster Lite, Super-Multi DVD
Dimensions: 380 x 258 x 22.5mm
Weight: 2.4kg
O
ver the years, the competition
in the mobile computing market
has truly heated up as the older
brands have had to face stiff competition
from the likes of ASUS, who have been
producing devices with impeccable
quality, stylish and unique designs and
performance that is on-par with their
devices. Devices like the VivoBook
S551LB from ASUS wont just make
your jaws drop due to its design but also
because of the hardware it packs.
The design of the S551LB is definitely
an attention grabber as it exudes
elegance thanks to the rounded surfaces
as well as minimalistic nature. The
brushed-hairline aluminium texture on
the cover of the S551LB doesnt just add
to the sleek styling of the device but is
also very durable. Besides just looking
great, the S551LB is also very light and
thin. But despite that fact, ASUS have
managed to fit in all the necessary ports
on the device as well as a Super-Multi
DVD drive.
For those of you who spend a lot of
time typing out emails and documents,
the S551LB has one of the most
comfortable full-sized keyboards we
have ever used on a notebook. The keys
are a little bit small side but they arent
cramped so you wont have to worry
about constantly hitting the wrong keys.
The palm rest is also nice and large and
even after long hours of usage, it stayed
cool, at most just turning slightly warm
but never to the point where it becomes
uncomfortable.
At this point, we would like to point
out our first little nit-pick with the
S551LB. Although we love that fact
that it has a touch display that makes
operating Windows 8 less of a chore
with just the touchpad, the display isnt
Full HD. Now this isnt a deal breaker
but it would definitely have been better
especially when it comes to watching
movies and even gaming.
In terms of performance, our review
unit of the S551LB is packed with the
highest-end components and wont
disappoint even the most discerning
user. Even for those who want to play
the latest games, the S551LB should be
able to handle them without a problem
with just a little tweaking.
An Exquisite
High-End Beauty
CHIP CONCLUDE :
Overall, the ASUS VivoBook S551LB is
definitely one of the best ASUS has to
offer at the moment. It may be a little
on the pricey side but you do get a
very powerful and portable notebook
that can handle all your productivity
and entertainment needs.
High-end Specs
Good Performance
Touch Display
Exquisite Design
Not 1080p Display
Performance
Features
Design
Value
RATINGS
october 13

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thi nk
On The Trailing Edge
THINK
Instead of buying the latest and hottest gadgets available in the market, our faithful contributor lives life a
little dangerously by doing the total opposite. This month, he shares with us his experience and thoughts
on why buying an older and possibly cheaper device may be a good thing By Tim Lee
the thoughts of our uncertified tech junkie
A
h, not living on the bleeding edge of technology - you get
slightly older tech at bargain prices compared to the hottest
new stuff and most of the bugs have been ironed out by
willing beta testers, otherwise known as early adopters.
Theres also the possibility that the products manufacturer may
no longer exist.
I woke up to this nasty possibility when two of my most used
everyday gadgets, a BlackBerry PlayBook tablet and a Nokia
Symbian phone, both had their respective manufacturers put on
sale, Nokias mobile devices arm to tech giant Microsoft and
BlackBerry potentially to a financial holding company.
The PlayBook has been an albatross around its makers neck
since its inception. Underdeveloped software, woeful pricing
decisions and a lackluster app store
meant its QNX-based platform had no
chance of competing against the iPad
juggernaut. The OS itself is speedy with
excellent multitasking and office apps
are well covered but the main draw for
me was price. My 32 GB model is built
like a tank and cost much less than the
cheapest Nexus 7 because BlackBerry
had written off a billion dollars of
PlayBooks - these things were sold at
cost to get rid of old inventory and didnt
make a dollar of profit.
Full Bluetooth stack support, USB
host and loads of improved software
were promised in an upgrade to the
BB10 OS that took longer and longer to
arrive... and was quietly canceled this
year. I guess lackluster reception to
BlackBerrys BB10 phones meant there
werent enough people left to work on
the PlayBook once the company started
cutting staff. Now with a sale looming
and even more job cuts waiting, the
PlayBook is essentially a dead end device from a possibly dead
company.
HP Touchpad users and Palm aficionados would be familiar
with that sinking feeling when your favourite tech tool is
abandoned. Luckily for them, HP released WebOS under an open
source license and hackers managed to shoehorn Android on the
Touchpad, extending the useful life of those devices for a while
longer. Unluckily for me, the PlayBook is locked down tight thanks
to its makers fanatical devotion to information security, so Ill have
to live with unfixed bugs and abandoned apps.
Maybe Im a sucker for more punishment because I recently
bought Nokias last Symbian phone, the mighty yet enigmatic 808.
Nokia put the platform on the back burner when it switched to
Windows Phone in 2011 but updates have been trickling in despite
that. Theres also a big hacker community dedicated to coding new
apps and modding the OS. Android, iOS and Windows Phone may
be more sensible when youre constantly connected but if you
spend lots of time outside offline and need a pocket computer,
then Symbian still reigns.
Unfortunately, Nokias madcap development processes meant
the 808 is saddled with a low resolution display and a processor
that would be top rung back in 2010, but is a complete joke today.
Good apps are also as rare as hens
teeth. The only thing that isnt funny
is its astonishing Pureview camera
system - a huge 41 megapixel sensor
produces very clean and detailed
images once downsampled to five or
eight megapixels at the widest view
setting, or you could zoom in a few
times without getting ugly images
like with the usual digital zoom. Its
also nice to buy one more than a year
after launch at less than half the
price. The 808s successor, the newly
released Lumia 1020 on Windows
Phone, is even better but its one of
the priciest phones out there.
In the industry, Apple buyers get
the best treatment because updates
keep coming even for older devices.
An iPhone 4 came out almost two
years ago but it still gets the latest
iOS 7 release, albeit with some fancy
features turned off because the older
hardware cant support them. Its
hard to say the same about support for flagship devices from other
manufacturers.
So by buying old tech, you save lots of money but it might not
be a smart decision when you cant find the apps you need or get
bugs fixed. If youre comfortable with hacking and accepting
unfixed bugs as inevitable, then by all means, take the plunge and
lighten that wallet. If it doesnt work out, your only consolation is
that you spent less on a paperweight than someone who paid full
price on launch day...
chip malaysia

october 13 103
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experi ence
The Little Rebel That Could
EXPERIENCE
the best the Internet has in one click
I
n this day and age, your social network
forms your online identity. From your
Facebook About Me page to the
Instagram of your bacon-&-eggs dinner,
your social networking defines who you
are and what role you play in the online
community. And thats not a bad thing,
really, and as most organisations and
companies today can show you, having a
good and healthy social network presence
is one way to engage the people.
But it gets a little counter-intuitive
when your social network presence is
scattered across the many platforms
available out there. For instance, someone
would have to open your Facebook and
LinkedIn pages separately if they wanted
to get a more wholesome view of your
social network activities. Even on a
personal sense, having your friends
summon four to five browser tabs just to
keep track of you isnt very nice.
Then the idea pops in: what if we find a
way to integrate them all into one page,
where it becomes the front of your social
network life? The front page of your social
network?
And that, ladies and gentleman, is the
core idea behind RebelMouse.
A startup that launched in late 2012,
RebelMouse is quickly gaining traction as
a social networking tool that is not only
new and refreshing, but also immensely
useful. How it works is also simple in
concept: the service can draw in your
social network details, posts and contents
and present them in a sleek, Pinterest-
style page. You can link RebelMouse to
pretty much every major social networks
available, including Facebook, Twitter,
LinkedIn and Instagram.
The result is essentially a homepage
where your social activities can be easily
tracked. The page automatically updates
itself as you go about your social
networking, and somehow always
manages to portray more significant
posts in larger columns, while the rest
populate the sides. You can also post on
your social networks via RebelMouse,
which lets you upload pictures and videos
as well. Theres a quick-post feature that
works more like youd expect on each
individual social network service, but
theres also a more robust posting system
thats quite reminiscent of a blogging
interface.
You can get RebelMouse started in a
few clicks, and all it takes is one of your
social network accounts. Exploring its
capabilities, however, will provide you
with a good wealth of customisation tools
that can let you showcase your page in
the way you like. You can also create
separate pages to filter out specific
content for easier access.
Theres also an option to Power Your
Site, essentially upgrading your account
to a paid one (USD9.99 or RM31.60 per
month). This gives you more power to the
domain and lets you control the branding
and modules on your embedded content.
Businesses and organisations hoping to
jazz up their social networking much more
can certainly find a lot to love here.
Now that its all said and done, lets
start rebelling against the scattered,
unintuitive state of social media today,
and join up RebelMouse to unite them all
in one beautiful, snazzy page.
www.rebelmouse.com
It doesnt take a lot of getting used to as the user-
interface of RebelMouse is super user-friendly
With the ability to create separate pages for
different topics, youll be constantly updated
Social networks are quickly becoming the face of individuals and organisations -- and RebelMouse can
help put it on the front page By Tan Jee Yee
october 13

chip malaysia
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lite & leisure
touch
Keynote
This ought to be your go-to presentation app on the iPad if youre willing to pay for it.
Keynote is powerful, giving you a robust set of tools and features, like being able to
create 3D bars, line, area and pie charts which can be further animated with 3D chart
builds. You can also jazz up the slides with nifty professional-quality transitions, and
the Magic Move function lets you automatically animate objects across consecutive
slides. Keynote also lets you slap in the photos you have on the device. Designing
your slides on the iPad itself is easy, thanks to the touch-and-tap interface. Keynote
looks great on Retina Display, but if you want to make it bigger, you can use video
mirroring to present it on a HDTV. It doesnt get any better than this, even if it will cost
you.
Developer: Apple
Price: USD9.99 (RM32.10)
Power Presenter
If your presentation is saved in a PDF format, then Power Presenter is the way to go.
Power Presenter might not have as much features for a presentation tool, but it lets
you do wonders with a more static PDF presentation. For one, you can mark slides
with your finger and erase them, letting you easier highlight your presentation points
(you can also send the amended slides to your audiences if they need it). The app also
has a whiteboard feature, which will be good for a more spontaneous presentation.
You can hook the app up to a projector, which actually displays its content on both the
iPad screen and on the projection, meaning you dont have to keep looking away from
your device during a presentation.
Developer: Kejian Jin
Price: USD1.99 (RM3.20)
All In The
Presentation
We help you put on a jolly good show with these great presentation apps that no work-centric iPad could
do without By Tan Jee Yee
E
very idea has the potential to be a great one, but the one that gets approved and slapped with accolades and that three year
guarantee contract is the one with the best presentation. And that starts in the meeting room, in front of your clients just
you, your ideas, and your ability to launch fireworks with your speech. Oh, and your PowerPoint slides as well.
In the spirit of convenience, iPads have been taking over notebooks as presentation tools. That, naturally, meant knowing
what sort of presentation apps to get. Here is our humble list of the best presentation tools you really ought to consider.
Spotlight, please!
TOUCH
the best apps to spice up your day
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touch
SlideShark
You might not find the notion of creating presentation slides on your tablet that
enticing, and would really just want an app to run your PowerPoint presentations
nicely. If so, SlideShark will give you the bite you need. This app will let you view
and present your PowerPoint slides with all of the animations, font, colours,
graphics, hyperlinks and videos intact. You can upload the PowerPoint files via
SlideSharks website, or through email attachments on your device. You can let the
slides play automatically or swipe to advance them. Theres also a tool to let you
view your slide notes, timing, and your animation counter. To top it off, SlideShark
throws in 100MB of online storage for free. Did we mention that the app is also free?
Developer: Brainshark, Inc.
Price: Free
Haiku Deck
Sometimes you wish that you can create a presentation like you would write a poem,
but we all know how rigid presentations can be. Haiku Deck, however, wants to
change all that. The free iPad apps basic principles are fascinating in itself; it wants
you to keep thing simple by limiting text and focusing each slide on one idea.
Whatever it is, Haiku Decks slides are beautiful, where each slide can have no more
than two lines of text along with a single, full-bleed photo. The app will offer image
suggestions pulled from over 35 million photos from Creative Commons (as well as
your Facebook, Instagram, Flickr and Picasa accounts). The free app comes with 5
themes, with additional premium ones that you can purchase. If youre aiming for a
different, flowing and more beautiful way of presentation, Haiku Deck is just for you.
Developer: Haiku Deck, Inc.
Price: Free
Quickoffice Pro
Investment into Quickoffice Pro is less of a singular presentation solution, but more
of a wholesome thing that brings that desktop PC flexibility to your iPad.
Quickoffices greatest benefit is in its complete integration with Microsoft Office
utilities, meaning you get to create and edit files in Word, Excel and PowerPoint. The
total support is especially convenient for PowerPoint users on the desktop, and the
tool itself is just as easy to use and adapt to. Additionally, Quickoffices support of
Google Drive will keep your workflow mobile and flexible. Its not the definitive
solution, but its the sort of all-roundedness that people working on multiple
platforms will come to appreciate.
Developer: Quickoffice, Inc.
Price: USD14.99 (RM48.10)
Saduns Whiteboard
The app is as straightforward as implied. This essentially turns your iPad into a
whiteboard, where your fingers become the digital marker pens. You pretty much get
standard whiteboard markers and erasers type, in varying colours and marker widths.
You can also add text in as well as photos. Its a very simple act, but it gets its
moneys worth by allowing you to connect to a TV or projection system via Apple
VGA or a composite/component video-out cable, turning it into as large a digital
whiteboard as you want. Because, well, sometimes you just cant beat the simplicity
and flexibility of a whiteboard presentation.
Developer: Erica Sadun
Price: USD2.99 (RM6.10)
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read
Jurassic Love
WATCH
H
eres a piece of bad news: Pixar has officially announced
that their upcoming flick, The Good Dinosaur, is being
pushed back to a November 2015 release. This is
disastrous, firstly with the fact that we wont be getting ANY
Pixar goodness next year. Secondly, were going to have to
wait for another full year to watch what could possibly be a
good movie about dinosaurs.
Dinosaurs are wonderful movie material. Theyre real, and
theyre shrouded in so many myths and speculation that
writers can easily cook Cretaceous and Atom-Breath together
and still get away with it. Sure, a palaeontologist somewhere
might be getting cold sweat and nightmares, but dinosaurs are
awesome even when you leave the science out of it.
The problem now is that there arent enough good dinosaur
movies around. The last dinosaur flick I could remember is The
Dinosaur Project, which is The Blair Witch Project meets The
Lost World in a fairly dingy and crummy bar. Dinosaurs mainly
stay within the B-movie range, earning their keep with flicks
like Jurassic Attack and Age of Dinosaurs. And as B-movies go,
theyre not very well made.
I blame this on the granddaddy of all dinosaur films: 1993s
Jurassic Park. Steven Spielbergs classic is the definitive
dinosaur movie: it has all your favourite, recognisable
dinosaurs; it brought each of them back to life in grand scale
and epic CGI; it made them chase and eat people; it also dealt
with the science of bringing dinosaurs back, making it
plausible instead of outright fantastical.
Nobody could top Jurassic Park in terms of sheer
awesomeness, which is why its safer for movies to just
include dinosaurs somewhere instead of the whole thing. The
last awesome movies with dinosaurs, I think, would be Peter
Jacksons remake of King Kong. That one came complete with
a T-Rex slugfest, as well as a frantic chase scene featuring
velociraptors and a herd of apatosauruses.
Everythings better with dinosaurs, really, but its not something were seeing much lately on the big
screen. This writer takes a trip back in time for a little dinosaur hunting By Tan Jee Yee
the movies that becomes us
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watch
Most people
remember the first
dinosaur
appearance on film
was on the original
King Kong in 1933,
but the first live
action, dinosaur-
centric film was
1925s silent
fantasy film, The
Lost World. Based
on Sir Arthur
Conan Doyles
novel of the same
name, the movie
features a healthy
selection of
dinosaurs in stop-
motion glory,
including an
Allosaurus, a
Pteranodon, a herd of Triceratops and a very cranky
Brontosaurus.
But before the The Lost World, there was Gertie the
Dinosaur in 1914, which is the earliest animated film to feature
a dinosaur (its also popularly regarded as the first animated
film, though creator Winsor McKay had already made Little
Nemo and How a Mosquito Operates in 1911 and 1912
respectively). Its also one of the nice instances where the
dinosaurs became the central characters themselves,
something we dont
get to see in live
action movies often.
(But I wont
mention Theodore
Rex, because certain
things should stay
unearthed and
forgotten like a
fossil).
Animated feature
films, however,
proved to be good
ways to depict
dinosaurs as
characters rather
than prehistoric
chase monsters.
Most people would
affectionately
remember The Land
Before Time, Don
Bluths 1988 beloved
animated classic. This
one follows a group of
dinosaur children
making a treacherous
journey to The Great
Valley during the
Earths climatic
change that brought
the end of the
dinosaur reign. The
Land Before Time
might not have
depicted the dinosaurs
very accurately, but in
1988 it was pretty
much a documentary
in cartoon form.
There were a few
more dinosaur
animated films, one of
them being Were
Back: A Dinosaurs Story. Interestingly, this was released in
1993, and developed by Steven Spielbergs own Amblimation
animation studio. Its about a group of Cretaceous dinosaurs
being whisked into the future by a scientist, who fed them
brain-washing cereals that tames them in order to let them be
enjoyed by future children. Yeah, it wasnt very good.
Disney also had their own dinosaur project, which was
2000s CGI-film Dinosaur. This one is quite the filmmaking
marvel, successfully marrying CGI dinosaurs with live-action
environments to create some really dazzling and beautiful
scenes. Sadly, the films similarities to The Land Before Time
meant it sunk pretty quickly in the tar pit, now quite forgotten.
Im hoping that The Good Dinosaur to change all that. Pixar
is reimagining dinosaurs as creatures surviving extinction and
now co-existing with
humans in a
harmonious world.
Its a premise that
gets into the big
shoes of the
dinosaurs, and for
once the T-Rex might
not be chasing a
human for lunch. In
fact, they might be
having lunch
together.
It already sounds
very swell.
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read
The XKCD Equation
READ
T
here was a comic published in DeviantArt once that talked
about the vast potential of webcomics and the ways it can
be used to break the boundaries of how one can produce
and read them. No longer are we bound by the restrictions of
pages or the firm grips of a publisher webcomics can be
produced at your leisure and published in a website of your own.
And as folks like Penny Arcade can attest to, it can even become
a lucrative business.
And theres more to this than just the
freedom of publication. Taking advantage of
its digital platform, webcomics can even go
beyond static images by integrating more
interesting means of presentation. Certain
webcomics have even produced animated
GIF panels that when viewed in a whole
with other static panels creates a unique
and striking result.
But thats just scraping the surface of its
potential. Many webcomics have yet to
implement or discover new ways to take
advantage of a digital platform in breaking
traditional comic form. To see just how far
webcomic innovation can be taken, one
should look towards Randall Monroe, and his
long-running webcomic XKCD.
In all appearances, XKCD may look like a
typical webcomic (in appearances, though:
the content is truly exceptional). Randall
Monroes strips feature stick figures that often
discuss about life, art, love and pop-culture
references along with heaps of mathematical
and scientific in-jokes. Occasionally, Monroe
would even supplement his simplistic style
with surprisingly beautiful landscape art.
Sometimes the strips even transcend typical
single-strip jokes, extending into multiple
pages of deep and cerebral writing.
Its a winning webcomic when it comes to writing, but
Monroe takes it a little further using its digital platform. One
simpler but effective execution is by including an alternate text
punchline which readers can only discover by hovering the
mouse cursor over the comic. It offers an extra line of text that
either furthers the comics comedy, or offers an alternative
interpretation.
It gets more impressive than that.
In September last year, Monroe uploaded a strip titled Click
and Drag, which features one giant panel with a never ending
stretch of image that you can drag through with your cursor. The
actual image itself is 165,888 x 79,872 in size thats 1.3
terapixels, forming this vast world that you can explore by
clicking and dragging. The attention to detail is painstaking, as
you can simply start following a random route and still discover
Easter eggs and hidden secrets.
The amazing thing about Click and Drag also goes beyond
its technical impressiveness. What it
offers is a little adventure that you can
experience along with a stick man, and
each cursor drag until the end is an
emotional payoff that hasnt been
provided before.
In March 25th of 2013, Munroe
posted a strip titled Time. This strip is
deceptively simple; it starts off by
merely featuring a picture of two stick
figures a man and a woman sitting
on the ground. The strip is devoid of a
story, or words, or a punchline. But
devoted readers soon discover that the
image changed 30 minutes later, as the
figures have shifted slightly. And for
every half-hour in the following weeks,
the image would change and change to
finally produce an epic, time-lapsed
journey of two people discovering the
disturbing changes of the landscape
around them.
What readers got was a 3,099-panel
comic that, when put together, created
a 40-minute video (which can be
viewed on YouTube). Its a bold and
unique strip that took readers on a
similarly mysterious journey, and
brewed such a fanatical following that
readers took to the Internet to discuss
and trade theories (they even wrote a few songs). The forum
thread on the strip exploded into an over 1,300-page debate. It
was viral. It was incredible.
I visit XKCD regularly, which is still consistent in bringing in
the laughs among scientific and mathematical references that I
can never get. But each time I just wonder what interesting new
ways Mr. Monroe can take us on a journey, using a marriage of
technology and art that has infinite possibilities and far too many
untapped potential. Its the XKCD equation, and one formula that
any webcomic artist can learn from.
The Internet has certainly altered the way we can consume, produce and publish comics, but the one to
truly take it to the next level is a man named Randall Monroe and his one-of-a-kind webcomic
By Tan Jee Yee
the books that shape our world of stories
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T
he real-time strategy genre is very under-represented these
days. Three of the biggest players in the genre are Blizzard
with the Warcraft and StarCraft series; Creative Assembly
with the Total War series; and Relic Entertainment with... let's just
say that these guys have been making strategy games for a really
long time. All of them have their own specific take on it too, with
Blizz opting for the traditional base-building and army-building
gameplay, Creative Assembly going for
massive scale, and Relic... erm...
Relic's strategy games, ever since the
first Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War, have
always flaunted the same distinct style:
less resource management and more focus
on the combat. The RTS veterans chose
to continue this tradition with their latest
outingCompany of Heroes 2. Here's a
quick primer: Company of Heroes 2 is a real-
time strategy game set during World War 2,
much like its predecessor. When Company
of Heroes was launched, it made a giant
wave in the strategy genre because of how
much it truly refined the systems that Relic
had set in place with Dawn of War. Now that we've gotten that out
of the way, let's move on to the actual review.
The game's single-player component is divided into three
partsthe campaign mode, vs. AI skirmishes, and the single-
player missions in Theatre of War. The campaign focuses on
the story of one soldier in the Red ArmyLev Abramovich
Isakovich (we'll call him Lev for purposes of brevity)with the
COMPANY OF HEROES 2
Stalingrad
Strikes Back
By Shunal Doke
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rather interesting 'interrogation' framing device we've seen in
other war games such as Battlefield 3. Lev is languishing in a
Siberian labour camp because he has written stuff in his journals
negatively portraying and questioning the Soviet Union during
World War 2, and has hence been deemed worthy of treason
charges. Each mission comprises Lev explaining his side of
the story in the events that take place during the war. Despite
it being the same old World War 2 story that we've heard
countless times, it feels fresh because of the well-executed
framing device.
But Relic hasn't been able to do as good of a job when it
comes to the learning curve. The campaign attempts to ease
players into Company of Heroes 2's mechanics, but doesn't
manage to be graceful or elegant about it. New gameplay
mechanics are constantly added in missions and you're forced to
use them, but most of the information is lost in the chaos that is
the battlefield. Often, the game leaves it to the players themselves
to figure things out. The first few missions are quite simple
and linear as a result of this, but once you get deeper into the
campaign, things do start opening upthe maps become more
expansive and the missions get challenging. There is even a bit of
room for creativity when taking on certain objectives, letting you
flex your inner Armchair General.
For the history buffs, there's the Theatre of War mode, which
has a bunch of scenarios from 1941 for both German and Russian
armies. There are separate scenarios for single-player and co-op,
and each are challenging in their own way. Essentially, you're
put in situations based on real-life events during World War 2.
The single-player mode is fun, but co-op is definitely the best
Jagdish Limbachiya
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way to experience the Theatre. Rounding up
the list of single-player modes is the versus
AI skirmish mode, which can also be played
in co-op mode. It pits you against the AI in
multiplayer maps and lets you get some
practice before you hit the Find Match button
in multiplayer. Again, co-op is the most
entertaining way to play, but if you're into
one-on-one battles, those are available too.
But let's face it... real-time strategy games
aren't exactly popular for their single-player,
since there's only so much enjoyment to be
had from beating predictable AI. No, what
you want is something more challenging. You
want to play against actual people who can
see your strategies and plan around them,
forcing you to improvise. Company of Heroes
2's multiplayer mode uses a simple auto-
match interface that lets you set options such
as player count (divided in 1v1, 2v2, 3v3 and 4v4 matchups) and
lets you choose if you want to play with players in the same skill
range or those better than you.
The gameplay revolves around capturing points that
automatically keep giving you resources such as man power
and gasoline. There are two types of gamesVictory Points and
Annihilation. Victory Points revolves around players scrambling
around to capture the titular victory points and hold them for a
certain amount of time. There are always three victory points in
any given map, and the player who holds at least two of them
for a certain amount of time wins. Annihilation is pretty self-
explanatorya fight to the death where the last man standing
wins. Depending on the game mode, you'll have to make many
tactical decisions that mostly have to do with keeping your soldiers
alive while you scramble for resources to get reinforcements.
Speaking of keeping soldiers alive,
Company of Heroes 2 has a new gameplay
mechanic that makes doing just that even
more challenging. As if an average soldier's
lifespan in an RTS game wasn't already short
enough, Relic has gone ahead and added
a new temperature system to the game.
Players have to keep a track of their soldiers'
temperatures and make sure that they don't
freeze to death. To make this even harder,
every once in a while, the maps are hit by
blizzards. Apart from the obvious visibility
problems, the blizzard also starts the slow
and painful-looking process of freezing your
soldiers to death. You have to either garrison
them into some kind of building, recall them
to base, or have them stand near a camp fire
to ward off the cold.
The snow and everything around it, looks
quite gorgeous thanks to the new Essence
3.0 engine that Relic had been talking about
before the game was released. The engine is quite adept at
capturing the chaos that would generally ensue when you try
to manoeuvre six of your rifleman squads so that they can try
to take out a tank with nothing but grenades. The foliage looks
beautiful, and raining down artillery on a shack brings it down
as realistically as you would expect. Even the sound design is
greatgunshots sound realistic, and the random, funny things
that soldiers sometimes say lends a nice touch. You really do get a
different perspective on war when you see a soldier respond to his
comrade's death with the line, Damn! He owed me money!
With all the good, however, there is one major point against
this game. Some of the abilities that you can use in the game
are locked out by way of DLC. Sure, you have a lot of abilities to
choose from by default, but a lot of players have been complaining
that the DLC abilities are overpowered. Unless Relic rebalances
them, this will remain a point against the game. Despite our hatred
for launch-day DLC, we're willing to let
this slide, since the game already has a
lot of content. We just hope that Relic
gets around to patching the imbalanced
abilities before people start shouting
pay-2-win! at the company.
Company of Heroes 2 can be likened
to an oasis in the barren wasteland
that is the RTS genre. The gameplay
is compelling, has great depth, and
the concepts are easy to understand.
However, pulling off all you've learned
while trying not to die is a completely
different thing. The game's focus on
offense and tactics rather than on
gathering resources and building
bases also comes as a breath of clean,
fresh air. We can only imagine what
awesomeness Relic will treat us to if it
decides to further refine Company of
Heroes 2's gameplay system.

Company of
Heroes 2
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
PLATFORM : PC
DEVELOPER
INFO
Relic Entertainment
www.companyofheroes.com
REAL-TIME STRATEGY
Fast gameplay; challenging
campaign; fun co-op in Theatre of
War mode.
Overpowered abilities are sold as
DLCs; somewhat steep learning
curve.
Gameplay
Graphics
Sound
Replayability
RATINGS
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Jagdish Limbachiya
GUNPOINT
Firing Blanks
By Sam Mathews
V
ery few games start off with the protagonist falling out of a
multi-storied building and surviving with barely a scratch.
But Gunpoint does. And no, our hero Richard Conway
doesn't have superhuman powers or gets them over the course of
the game. In fact, hes a rather incompetent
spy who manages to acquire a pair of
bullfrog pants. These let you jump vast
distances and allow you to break through
windows and tackle guards while remaining
unscathed.
Like most good games, it takes
place on a dark, rainy night when you
find yourself framed for the murder of
a prospective client. This results in a
chain of missions to clear your name
and find out who the real killer is. Along
the way, youll break into a variety of
buildings and industrial complexes
while avoiding trigger-happy guards.
A few missions in you get access to
something known as the Crosslink device.
This gadget lets you view all the security
features of a building and how theyre
connected, including locations of light switches and doors. Using
Crosslink, you can rewire the controlsfor example, you can
re-route a light switch to open a door or use Crosslink to render
security measures such as cameras and infrared beams non-
functional. As you progress, you gain
access to more complex features that can
be bought with in-game currency. Some
of these let you jam weapons of enemy
security, or simply allow you to break into
encrypted locales. The underlying concept
of the Crosslink is to permit you to create
instances wherein stealthily moving past
is possible.
And its a possibility youd want to
consider throughout the game. The
reason for this is, while you can jump
and prance around without taking an
iota of damage, youll find yourself
dying often by the hands of security
guards thanks to the fact that a single
bullet can end your life. To prevent
monotony, you arent dependent on the
Crosslink alone. Play long enough and

Gunpoint
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
PLATFORM : PC
DEVELOPER
INFO
Relic Entertainment
www.gunpointgame.com
STEALTH PUZZLE PLATFORMER
Slick writing; innovative gameplay
mechanics.
Short; no controller support.
Gameplay
Graphics
Sound
Replayability
RATINGS
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youll have access to devices that let you go through buildings
easier and avoid guards completely. At the end of each
mission, youll receive a ranking based on your proficiency
in avoiding enemies and how much noise youve created.
All along the way youre treated to some rather witty
dialogue and writing. As we mentioned earlier, Conway is quite
a mediocre spy who has found himself in an extraordinary
situation. Youll find yourself chuckling while choosing
responses to clients via text message, as he muses to himself
during a mission and the general absurdity of it all. It even
gets self-referential, with Conway mentioning later that he
stopped paying attention to the plot after the second mission.
The graphics are simple, and have much in common with
old school titles due to an abundance of pixels and sprites. Then
again, you cant expect much from a game that was made using
Gamemaker, a game creation tool thats available for a throwaway
price of $30. However it has its own charm and does a great job
of portraying the bizarre, film noir world of Gunpoint with enough
style and panache to make it believable. In addition, its punctuated
by a riveting soundtrack that further adds to the appeal.
Before you know it, you'll be sunk into a comfortable
rhythm of missions made up of a variety of puzzles and
stealth segments broken up by bits of story and interchanges
between Conway and his clients. The story itself is decent,
and is made better thanks to the healthy dollops of humour.
For a game made by one man over a period of three years
mainly to serve as a portfolio sample for a job interview at a game
development studio, Gunpoint is a pretty little game. In fact, youd
be hard-pressed to imagine that it had such humble origins.
But having said that, it is not without its flaws. For one,
you need a keyboard and mouse to play this game. Do not
expect to whip out a controller of any variety to aid you here.
As it stands, Gunpoint does not support any other method of
control, which is a bit of a downer considering how well the
gameplay lends itself to the use of a controller. Secondly, for
a game priced at $8.99, you won't be at fault to expect more
than a couple of hours of gameplay. Nonetheless, that's what
you'll geta mere two hours of gaming that will be over before
you know it, leading you to get your fix via levels made by
others or yourself, thanks to the game's included level editor.
On the bright side, Gunpoint will work on almost anything
thanks to its simple aesthetics and the lack of a heavy
graphics-intensive game engine. While it's a Windows-
only title at this juncture, the developer has mentioned
that the Mac and Linux versions will be released soon.
We hope controller support is on the way as well.
While Gunpoint stands on its own as a charming piece
of content reminiscent of a bygone era of puzzle and
platforming adventures, it also marks the debut of what
appears to be a rather talented game developer. We wish it
was a bit longer, but that aside, we can't wait to see what
the one-man army that is Suspicious Developments has
in store for us next. If you like your games fun and on the
(extremely) short side, definitely check this one out.
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Jagdish Limbachiya
D
eadpool is what happens when the guys behind the
superlative Transformers: War for Cybertron and
Transformers: Fall of Cybertron games are allowed
to run amok with one of Marvel Comics's most underrated
properties. You don the tights of Deadpool, the self-proclaimed
"merc with a mouth", a highly-trained assassin with a wit
to match his skills. And just like in the
comics, this Deadpool also has multiple
personalities that manifest themselves
via different voices. There's also a lot of
self-referential humour in the game, with
the developers taking funny potshots at
gaming culture
and gamers.
Having said that, Deadpool manages
to stay true to its roots. There is never
a dull moment owing to the dialogues,
which will have you laughing from
beginning to end. From catchy one-liners
to observational humour, the strength
of the writing makes the game worth
playing at least once. The voice acting is
extremely well done, and Nolan North of
Uncharted fame showcases his versatility
with a variety of styles that you'd be hard
pressed to associate with the guy famous
for voicing Nathan Drake.
The game also features a bunch of cameos from the Marvel
universe, such as X-Men staple Wolverine, and the time
travelling Cable. However, the more obscure Mr. Sinister and
Rogue also have roles in the game. With Marvel focusing on
bringing their bigger IPs to movies and games, its nice to
see such fan service involving some of
the more niche protagonists. If youre a
comic buff, youll be right at home.
The gameplay is executed in a rather
interesting fashion: you have both guns
and swords to kill, maim, decapitate and
destroy your foes. However, you can't
use both simultaneously. Rather, you'll
find yourself moving back and forth
between play styles. Opting for guns puts
you in the usual third-person shooter
perspective made popular by games such
as Gears of War, but you can't hide behind
cover this time around. The assortment of
weapons range from the bog standard
pistols to futuristic energy rifles and the
all-but-necessary rocket launchers. When
armed with melee weaponry, you can
get up close and slash your enemies with
katanas, Sais and hammers.
DEADPOOL
Awesome Assassin
Adventures
By Sam Mathews

Deadpool
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
PLATFORM : PC, PS3, Xbox 360
DEVELOPER
INFO
High Moon Studios
www.deadpoolgame.com
ACTION-ADVENTURE
Killer script; great dialogues; fun
combat.
Average graphics; hordes of
enemies.
Gameplay
Graphics
Sound
Replayability
RATINGS
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Deadpool can teleport across the battlefield, which makes up
for the lack of cover mechanics. The tap of a button displaces
you in the nick of time, preventing you from taking enemy fire.
It might seem that the combat is at odds with itself thanks to
several elements at play, but it ends up working quite well.
Before you know it, you'll be running circles around the myriad
mutants, clones and soldiers the game throws at you, smoothly
transitioning between guns and swords, punctuated by the odd
teleportation trick or two. Some might wish that the combat
were similar to other third-person titles like Bayonetta or Devil
May Cry and their seamless switching between pistol play and
short range attacks, but High Moon shows that this method of
implementing combat works just fine too.
There is also a combo system that lets you chain together
an unrelenting string of attacks, netting you experience points
to upgrade your skills. The skills include abilities such as being
able to teleport more frequently and unlocking a wider move
set of powerful attacks. These attacks are labelled 'Gunkata',
and let you decimate the opposition in a shower of bullets and
stabs. On the whole, the combat system is extremely deep and
gratifying, what with plenty of blood and gore along with a ton
of over-the-top moves to indulge in.
The pacing of the game is almost perfect, which is what
makes it so playable. Just when you think things are getting
stale, it throws up a twist or three. Be it making fun of gaming
tropes, self-referential humour, or simply adopting another
genre altogether (like 2D side-scrolling), theres a lot going
on to keep things fresh. The game also has one of the coolest
on-rails set pieces weve seen all year long. The devs have put
in a wealth of originality and love for keeping things different.
In fact, youll almost forget that the environments arent much
and that the game keeps throwing you into gauntlets.
Solid gameplay mechanics and pacing aside, Deadpool
is not without its faults. For one, it looks quite unremarkable
compared to High Moon's Transformers games. If you were
expecting something along the lines of this years heavy
hitters such as Tomb Raider or Metro: Last Light, prepare to
be disappointed. Its surprising that a game running the Unreal
Engine can look so average.
On the bright side, the system requirements are super
lowa dual-core processor and an ancient 88xx series card will
suffice if youre considering playing it on the PC. However, we
do have to note that using a mouse and keyboard combo isn't
the best way to play this game as the default control settings
make it quite difficult to pull of Deadpool's flurry of attacks.
While keys can be remapped, we preferred playing the game
using a gamepad.
Deadpool is an extremely entertaining romp. Though it
lacks the spit and polish weve come to know and expect
from High Moons previous attempts, that doesnt make it any
less endearing. One of the better games featuring characters
from the Marvel universe, it might not reach the epic scales
of Batmans Arkham adventures, but it manages to hold its
own long enough to ensure you crack a smile, if not peals of
laughter. Highly recommended even if youre not a fan of the
comics.
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practice
second l i fe for ol d hardware
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SECOND LIFE
For Old Hardware
Instead of letting your old gadgets gather dust, let us show you how you can easily convert
old devices into handy tools in just a few simple steps
By Frederik Niemeyer
MEDIA CLIENT
with an Android device
You dont need new and expensive devices to create a
wireless media receiver just use an old Android smartphone
1
INSTALLING A MEDIA CLIENT ON AN OLD SMARTPHONE To exchange data,
you must connect all the desired devices to the router. Then, install the BubbleUPnP App
on the old smartphone, which can be downloaded from the Google Play Store. The trial
version is free but the device-remote control is restricted to 30 minutes per launch. The full
version costs RM15. Your media server has remote access to the device, if the option Allow
remote control is activated under the [Menu button] | Settings | Local Renderer
(Standard). Set the Timeout in [Menu button] | Settings | Control | Kill on inactivity to
never. Now, you need to connect the phone to your music system with a USB cable,
connect it to the power supply network and remove the battery your wireless media
receiver is ready.
2
STREAMING FROM SMARTPHONE TO SMARTPHONE Install BubbleUPnP on
another smartphone or tablet. The App works as a client and a server at the same time
and is even capable of transferring media files from the network storage. Switch from the
main view in the Devices tab and select under Renderers the BubbleUPnP client that is
put in point 1. Using Libraries, specify where your music is located: Local Media Server
is the current device, BubbleUPnP Media Server is the old one. Here, you will also find the
released media libraries of the corresponding PCs and the network memory. BubbleUPnP
can now stream music wirelessly from the Library tab on the old smartphone.
3
STREAMING FROM PC TO SMARTPHONE Streaming is even easier from a PC: Click
on Other media libraries in Windows Media Player, wait for the BubbleUPnP Media
Server in the list to appear and select the device. This way, Windows integrates the cell
phone as the playback device in the context menu. Now, stream the music albums and
music files simply by right clicking on the file with Open with | BubbleUPnP. To forward
the media library of the PC to the BubbleUPnP receiver using the new smartphone (see point
2), activate Streaming | Allow automatic playback of the media through devices in the
media player. For this to work, the PC must be in the home network group.
4
STREAMING SPOTIFY, RDIO & CO Music services with encrypted data cannot be
easily streamed using UPnP. To transfer music from these sources from a PC to a
smartphone, you need the additional program Jamcast Server for Windows (RM98 for the
full version or 14 days trial). Spotify streaming works between devices if you install one of
the android root Apps AirAudio or AirPlay on Android AOA service on the transmitter
device and AirBubble for the receiver device.
2
3
4
1
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practice
second l i fe for ol d hardware
3
2
1
1
3
WLAN-REPEATER
with a Win7 laptop
1
POSITIONING A NOTEBOOK AT A SUITABLE SPOT If
you have Windows 7 Notebook and it has a wireless chip, you
can easily extend your WLAN range with it, for instance, all the
way up to the garden. For this, connect your device to the network
and set it up between the router and the location, where you would
like the new WLAN to be set up.
2
INSTALLING CONNECTIFY The easiest way to set up virtual
Wi-Fi is with the tool Connectify; as Microsoft does not offer a
way or user interface to do so. Install the program and also .NET
4.5 and Visual C++ and restart your computer. When asked, allow
net access for the tool through Firewall and start Connectify
Hotspot.
3
SETTING UP AND CONNECTING TO THE ACCESS
POINT Set a password for the new WLAN and select your
network under Internet to Share, either the WLAN of your router
or a connection via connected LAN cable. After clicking on Start
Hotspot, you can login with other devices in the Connectify-me
access point and access the Net.
SURVEILLANCE
via Handycam
1
SETTING UP NETWORK CAMERA APP With the IP
Webcam App from Googles Play Store, an old android
smartphone can be used as a surveillance camera that you can
access and control over a network. For this, connect your
smartphone with your WLAN, open the application and tap on the
Start Server option. Now, note down the IP address of the
smartphone along with the port, connect it to a power supply and
put it in a suitable place. You will be able to see the network
address in the video image of the App.
2
WATCHING VIDEO STREAMS IN THE BROWSER Type
your IP address (for local connection) or your hostname (for
Internet access) followed by the port number (see right), in the
address bar of the browser. With this method, you can access the
camera via the web interface, capture photos and activate the LED
light.
3
WATCHING VIDEO STREAMS ON OTHER DEVICES With
the tinyCAM App, you can keep an eye on events even on
mobile devices. For this, select Manage cameras |
[Plus-Symbol] | Camera vendor | IP Webcam for Android in
tinyCAM and under Hostname, enter the IP address (or your
DynDNS name) including Port number 8080.
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tips & tricks
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OCTOBER 2013
Tips
Tricks
HARDWARE
01
Keyboards
Rectify problems with your
keyboard
Keyboards are one of the most robust
components that a computer has. Every
key on the standard keyboard handles
over hundred thousand of strokes -
without making a mistake. Despite this
fact, keyboards can start acting up
but this is mainly because of external
sources: Dust, crumbs, hair, cigarette
ash, liquids and so on, which often falls
into the spaces between the keys of the
keyboard over the course of time. All
these things affect the mechanics and
can cause contact issues. If the keyboard
is not working properly and it is not
due to a drained battery and pinched or
broken cable then the first you should
do is shut down the computer and
turnover the keyboard once and shake it
vigorously so that the rough and loose
particles will fall out. The next step is
to clean it with a vacuum cleaner and
upholstery nozzle. A possible film of dirt
on the keys and frames can be removed
with the normal wet wipes.
02
Ink-jet printer
General tips for refilling toner
cartridges
If you want to save money by refilling
your ink or toner cartridges yourself,
here are a few basic rules you should
follow to get yourself prepared.
Make sure everything is ready before
proceeding with the task, because
nothing is more annoying than when
you have to search for something
with ink on your fingers. You will
need: Disposable gloves, paper towels,
window cleaner, stationery knife,
disposable syringe with needles and
a drip-resistance base so that the ink
does not stain your table top during
the process. Do not hesitate when it
comes to refilling! As soon as the first
light-coloured stripes are seen on a
print image you should get into action.
This is because empty cartridges dry
up quickly, causing it to clog up very
easily. As for BubbleJet printers, the
nozzles are cooled by the discharging
ink. If the nozzles run dry the excessive
heat can destroy them. Air also plays
an important role while refilling: Of
course the air must basically be cleaned
out from the empty cartridge and the
ink. However, do pay attention while
refilling and make sure the cartridge is
not filled to the brim and that there are
no air bubbles in the syringe and later
in the cartridge. Air bubbles can prevent
the ink from discharging when it lies in
front of the nozzle. Lodged air bubbles
cannot be removed even if you use
reduced or excessive pressure, as the air
can compress and expand. Depending
on the printer and cartridge model,
there are additional hurdles like security
chips or coding that you must deal with
separately. Moreover, there can be slight
variation in colours, light and abrasion
resistance. So, firstly do check on the
Internet to find out which refill method
should be used and what are some of
Dust and dirt are usually the culprits responsible in causing a keyboard to start acting wonky.
Regular cleaning ensures frustration-free typing.
01
If you follow a few fundamental tips, you can
save money and trouble when refilling ink or
toner cartridges
02
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the things to take into account..
We are actually against the storage
of refilled cartridges since these are or
were opened before so they tend to dry
out quickly. You can remove the rest
of the ink residues on the hands by
using soft soap (this can be found and
purchased from a hardware store or
pharmacy)
03
Battery
With a little training a battery's
lifespan can be extended and its
capacity increased
Have you ever felt that the battery of
your mobile phone or camera must be
constantly recharged after a short while?
This is actually because the performance
of the battery reduces over time. Here
are some power-saving measures
for you to try out, so that you can
prevent it from happening. With this,
even smartphones can stay powered
up for awhile longer. To improve the
performance of the battery slightly
better on your own: just simply charge
and discharge the battery in repeated
successions within a short time. Be sure
to always completely discharge it but
simultaneously do not leave it for the
whole day or else it will total discharge
and that could possibly make the battery
unusable permanently.
This tip is particularly handy for
devices, whose batteries are not
compatible or have already lost massive
amounts of running time due to frequent
short time charging.
04
Graphic cards
Solving problems when
mounting and installation
Depending on what type of user you
are, a performance graphics card is
sometimes necessary, so that the latest
games runs smoothly and with high
quality. However, before buying, make
sure to check whether your motherboard
is compatible with the new card. Some
high performance models actually take
up the entire length of the PCIe slots
even on a ATX sized motherboard.
Therefore, you should make sure if it
actually fits into your computer chassis.
Sometimes the hard disk cages or the
fan of the CPU and the cases can get
in its way. These days, the connection
technology will never be an issue:
as the PCIe connection has been a
standard that has been established
for many years. However there are
several different revisions. To ensure
that the card performs to it fullest,
you should compare the specifications
of the motherboard and the graphics
card before making a purchase. The
installation is usually not critical. But
older drivers can cause problems. So
before you start working with driver
removal tools, you should consider a
clean reinstallation of the system. This
often solves all the problems.
05
PC system
Solve vague BIOS messages
during system start
If BIOS error messages constantly
appear during startup and it seems
like it doesn't have any effect on
the operation of the system, it could
probably be caused by the back-up
battery that has run dry. Previously,
this could be easily detected from the
incorrect system time, but now, since
this - as well as other settings - are
synchronised over the Internet. It is no
longer a reliable indicator.
06
KVM-Switch/TFT-Monitor
Take note of the maximum
resolution for displays
If you feel disappointed with the image
quality of your new high resolution
monitor, this can be due to the change
from the older monitor: This is because
most older switches support a maximum
resolution of 1024x768 pixels.
Before buying a new graphic card, you should
check if the computer is big enough to house it
04
While PCs are now able to provide users with
error info easily as they are connected to the
net, empty batteries often go unnoticed
05
The old KVM switches do not support the
current high resolution of flat screen monitors
06
Once in a while completely charge and
discharge your drained battery in successions
to make it fit again
03
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PHOTOGRAPHY
07
PORTRAIT PHOTOS
Never go without a reflector for
portrait shooting
No other accessory is as important as
the reflector for photos of people. A
reflector perfectly illuminates the model
for backlit photos without disrupting
the mood of the picture. Moreover,
a large piece of fabric is also suitable
for shadowing as a wind screen or as
achanging room substitute. When using
a reflector, be mindful about the color
of the foil: a silver foil creates a cold,
golden area rather than a warm light.
For shooting in strong wind, a stable
model with aluminium edges such
as the one by California Sunbounce
is recommended. For home studios,
a blanket which stretches over the
Styrofoam plate is often enough.
08
PHOTO PLANNING
Collect cool photos ideas for the
future
When it comes to taking photos of an
individual, the quality of the image
depends greatly on the subject and
composition of the photograph. This
why it is important to collect sample
images first and have a discussion
in order to find a common concept.
With this method, you can prepare
specifically, organise the necessary
props and clothes and thus save a
lot of time during the actual shoot.
Photography websites as well as
Facebook, women magazines or Google
are some of the best sources for
collecting ideas.
9
NIGHT PHOTOS
Capture dynamic light traces of
vehicles
To achieve images like these, the
camera must be on a tripod in order
to capture the lights of moving trains,
buses and cars because you require an
exposure time that is two seconds or
longer. The more the traffic, the more
intensive the colors will be. When taking
photos of individual cars, the proper
exposure time plays an important role
experimenting helps. Another important
tip is to always wear reflective clothes
when taking photos by the roadside for
safety purposes.The best thing to wear
would be a reflective vest.
10
NIGHT PHOTOS
The trick with the star-shaped
lights
The star-shaped light reflections of
street lamps and signals contribute
considerably to the mood of an image
especially for night city photos. In
order to capture these beams, set the
aperture to f/8 or greater. The smaller
the aperture, the more distinct the star
shapes become. For more intensive
beams, you can use a Star filter. It is
designed with a fine screen in which the
beams are simply reflected.
11
PHOTO ART
Capture the light paintings on
photos with a torchlight or LED
lights
Light paintings are an interesting genre
of night photography. Wear dark clothes
and keep multicolored light sources such
as a torch light or an LED at the ready.
Mount the camera on a tripod, use a
programmable remote shutter and select
an exposure of one to two minutes.
Release the trigger and paint in the
image with the light source. With a little
practice, you will be able successfully
capture amazing pictures.
12
TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHY
Approach the locals
The faces and the habits of natives
often reflect the history and the culture
of a country in a unique way. Be brave
and ask the locals for their permission
to take a photo. The portrait would
CHANGING THE NAME IN IE
You can change the names of saved
favourites by clicking on the
Favourites tab and then selecting
Organise Favourites. You will find
the rename option here.
HIDING ZERO VALUES
To hide zero values in Excel sheets,
open Tools | Options and deactivate
the Zero Values option.
INTERRUPTING PRESENTATIONS
To interrupt PowerPoint
presentations with a black screen,
press [B] or [.].
DISPLAYING PARAGRAPH MARKS
To do this, press [Ctrl] + [Shift] + [+]
in Word for viewing all non printable
characters.
RETAIN TABLE FORMAT IN EXCEL
In Excel, when you paste a table from
one sheet to another, at the end you
will see a small box. Clicking on it,
you will find several useful options
that will help you retain the original
table format.
Quick Tips
The bulb exposures on road scenes look very
spectacular particularly in the evening hours
or at night
9
Before taking a picture of the local people in
another country, always ask for permission
politely and you might get more interesting
photos
12
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definitely enhance your photo album.
13
SUBJECT SELECTION
There is no bad weather just a
different subject
Even when you are on a tour in the
Sahara, there's no way you can avoid a
shower or rainy days during these long
journeys. For days like these, you can
use the reflections in the puddles and on
the flooded streets for very interesting
photos. In severe thunderstorms though,
we advise you to take photos indoors
and not out in the elements.
14
STUDIO PHOTOGRAPHY
Work free from dust to avoid
post-processing
Gloves, microfiber cloths and antistatic
brushes are a must because objects
easily attract a lot of dust and dirt
when lamps are used. Therefore, it
would be beneficial to prepare these
tools accordingly; otherwise you will be
spending a lot of time on retouching. It
is also important to clean the object first
instead of editing the image later.
15
ANALOGUE CLOCKS IN PHOTOS
Always set it to smile
Have you ever wondered why the time
on clocks in photos are often set to
10:10? The answer is the same as our
tip. With this setting of time, a kind a
smile is created on the subject. The
clock virtually smiles at you. However,
this smile can also be created by setting
the clock to 1:50.
16
ANIMAL PHOTOGRAPHY
Capture the most relaxed
moments with no flash
Pets behave particularly relaxed in a
familiar surrounding. Therefore, house or
flats are the ideal places to take photos
of cats, dogs, parrots & others just
make sure the vacuum cleaner is not
running at the same time. You can get
particularly impressive pictures if you
take the photos of animals at eye level.
Most animals are afraid of lightning.
Hence, the constant small flashing
of a studio flash unit may intimidate
your animal model. Therefore, do not
use a flash when taking photographs
in a studio and use continuous light
instead. To capture fast movements of
a pet, there's also the option to use fast
movement exposure, which is less than
the flash synchronisation time of 1/250
second.
17
PORTRAIT PHOTOS
Take shadow-free photos with
hot shoe flashes
Direct flashes while taking a photo
makes the image appear rigid and
artificial and also creates horrible
shadows. If you are indoors and the
ceiling is white and not so high, you
should set the system flash at an angle
or vertically upwards. The ceiling will
serve as an oversized reflector and
reflects the light evenly.
CAUTION! Flashed wooden ceilings
often result in a distinct yellowish red
colour tint on the images. Alternatively,
you can expand the hot shoe flash with
a useful mini-softbox.
18
EVENT PHOTOGRAPHY
Switch to the burst shooting
mode during events
Events are often unpredictable, which
make it difficult to determine the ideal
moments for a photo. Therefore, set
your camera to the burst mode. Now
you can capture many photos in a
short moment. However, remember to
keep a check on the camera buffer. If it
gets full, you won't be able to fire the
trigger for some time. This happens
especially when you are taking photos
in RAW format because the data volume
saved here is considerably greater as
compared to when you take only JPEGs.
It is worth it to wipe the dust off before taking
photos of objects in studio as editing on a PC
takes a much longer time
14
Relaxed animals are perfect photo subjects.
You as a photographer must be able to create
the right atmosphere
16
You should snap as many photos during events
and conferences so that you will be able to
select the best ones later
18
Life is not all colourful and exciting. If the
weather is gloomy, the images often appear
the same
13
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Whether it is during a press conference
or a political event: You should also
know the main subjects. Obtain a list
and stick to the most important faces
in mind now you can concentrate on
these VIPs when taking photos.
19
SUBJECT SELECTION
Evenings are the best for
atmospheric family phots
In nice weather, use the unique
atmoshphere and mood of nature
for your photos. Photos taken shortly
before the sunset appears is particularly
harmonic against the light, for example
at the end of a cordial Sunday walk.
Use a lens hood to reduce reflections.
Also make sure that the subjects are
not flooded in front of the bright
background.
MOBILE
20
iPHONE
Set individual vibrate patterns
for different callers
While setting different ringtones for
different contacts allows you to easily
identify them, it doesn't quite help
when your phone is set to silent mode
during a meeting. With the iPhone,
you can also set a different vibration
pattern for each contact so that with
some practice you can also tell who
is calling. To do this, you have to first
open the Contacts app and select the
respective contact you want. Select
Edit and search Vibrate in the
menu, which is usually set to standard.
In the section "Normal, there already
some typical patterns available which
you can select by clicking on them.
If you want to personalise it further,
you can also "Create a new vibration".
You can easily create the sequence by
specifying a scheme by selecting any
of the grey areas on the screen in the
desired time sequence. The compilation
begins automatically with the first tap.
Subsequently you can test the vibration
with the option "Repeat" and, if required,
"Record it again. If you are happy with
the sequence, select Save and give
the vibration pattern a name. After that,
this pattern will be immediately available
in the menu for selection.
21
ANDROID
Manage search engines access
for Firefox
If you use Firefox on your Android
device, you generally get hits from
Google, Amazon, Twitter and Wikipedia
when you search for a keyword. If you
want to limit the search only to Google
or want to extend it to other search
engines like Yahoo, you do not have the
option to manage the search engines
from the search box like on the PC.
The configuration of search engines
is available in the add-ons menu. For
this, open the settings of the app and
the tap on "Extras" and then on Add-
ons. Besides other possible extensions,
this list shows the set search engines
where the aforementioned four search
enginels are integrated. In order to
switch off any one of it, tap on it and
then on Deactivate in the following
dialog. With the same method, you can
later reselect the search engines later
by tapping on Activate. To insert
additional search engines, tap on the
icon to the right next to "Your Add-ons".
Only in the following dialog, enter the
search keyword as Yahoo or Bing
in the field on the page and then tap on
the green arrow. Search for the suitable
add-on such as Yahoo Search for
Firefox Android in the list. Then open
the detailed display and tap on Add
to Firefox. Confirm the request for the
new search machine by selecting Add.
22
ANDROID/IPHONE/IPAD
Charge your battery free of risk
via USB
Smartphones have to be recharged often
even while traveling. Handy USB ports
used for recharging is now available
almost everywhere; but it could also
pose a risk. The USB connection to an
If the sun has a deep, red shade it will be able
to bring out beautiful romantic subjects. Try it
out.
19
Firefox can use diverse search machines also
under Android however, their management
takes place here with Add-ons
21
USB debugging and the installation of apps
from other sources must be deactivated on
default in Android
22
With the distinct and easily recognisable
patterns of vibration, you can easily tell who is
calling even in silent mode
20
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external systems may result in data
exchange. This is now common not
just for PCs but also other devices.
Depending on the configuration of the
smartphone and external system, it can
lead to automatic connection which
you may not realise.
For example, photos may be
uploading to a service like Dropbox in
the background. On Android, there is
a high possibility that malware may
be installed on the device. Therefore,
the safest thing to do is to switch off
the smartphone completely before
connecting it to the external USB port.
If you want to or have to leave the
device active, you should be careful
while connecting and be aware if the
device is requesting for a mode. If it is,
always select the option Charge only.
In Android's Developer options in the
settings, be sure to check here whether
USB debugging is deactivated.
Also, be sure to go to the Security
settings and deactivate the option
Unknown source in order to prevent
the installation of apps or malware from
unreliable sources.
SOCIAL NETWORKS
23
FACEBOOK
Use the new stickers in
Facebook chat
Besides small emoticons, there are also
larger stickers available, which you can
use in chat messages on Facebook. If
you don't like the pre-installed ones,
you can download more for free. To do
this, open a chat dialog in the Facebook
app. While you can insert the available
emoticons via the plus sign to the left
of the input field, there is a new smiley
to access stickers to the right of the
input field. The first set of stickers is
already available. The lower menu bar
facilitates the access to the recently used
stickers, different sticker collections as
well as the purchase basket of sticker
store. You can select more sticker sets
here and download them free of cost
via the arrow symbol. Scroll through the
respective collection and click the sticker
to send it in the current chat. Unlike the
emoticons, the image is not inserted in
the text, but separately and immediately
without further confirmation. The whole
thing is a rather amusing form of
nudging via images.
TIP On the Facebook website, the
smiley is in the input field. The standard
Smileys and a mini-selection of stickers
are available here you can expand it as
suggested via the Facebook app.
24
TWITTER
Post and delete tweets directly
via e-mail
Although you can enter tweets via
the app from anywhere directly to
Twitter, there is also an option to
tweet via email. This even comes with
some advantages as it offers more
functionality.
To begin, you must log in to the free
service Twittermail. Head to the website
twittercounter.com/pages/ twittermail and
click Sign in with Twitter on the top
leff corner. In a new window, confirm
the link by clicking Authorise app.
On the next page, you can deactivate
all the options for Twitter Counter from
the Settings. Once done, click Save
and go. Then, you will come to the
dialog for Twitter mail Settings. The
Twittermail address generated here
is very important. Here you can take
the suggested encrypted name or you
can change the address in the field.
However, please note that every email
sent there would automatically generate
a tweet in your profile in the future.
Also take note that, addresses that can
be guessed easily, can lead to Spam in
the tweets.
You only have to enter your Twitter
password when you want to forward
images in your tweets. In the field
"Cut of phrase, you can define a
text that marks the end of the text to
be forwarded in the email. With this,
you can prevent the publishing of
your signature too. You can also keep
the field empty and use the two line
breaks as end markers. With the Setting
"Message body, the combination field
What to tweet determines whether
the message should be published on
Twitter. You can also choose "Subject"
for the subject line or for both. Copy the
encrypted mail address in your address
book. Once the "Save settings" options
is clicked, the service will be ready to
use.
Instead of small emoticons, you can also
send nicer stickers via Facebook to share your
moods
23
Get access to Twitter mail in order to tweet more comfortably and reliably via email
24
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picture perfect
events & happeni ngs
03/09/2013 - Models posing with the brand new Lenovo tablets
11/09/2013 - Samsung execs look on as kids have fun at the new
Samsung Experience Store in Gardens Mid Valley
30/08/2013 - Execs and ambassadors officiating the opening of
Ninetologys flagship store in Low Yat Plaza
17/09/2013 - She seems to like the new Sony 3000
enough that shes already shooting photos with it
04/09/2013 - The Alcatel One Touch Idol X features
a Full HD screen, a quad-core processor and a bunch
of other cool features!
17/09/2013 - Introducing the new Sony NEX-5T
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october 13 127
picture perfect
events & happeni ngs
20/09/2013 - The Samsung GALAXY Gear is also great for the
athletic types as it also acts as a pedometer
21/09/2013 - Vince Chong, Sirpa Ikola and SK Wong were all smiles at
the HTC Day event
21/09/2013 - 6 year old Meagan Tan was one of the youngest
volunteers at the Acer-Stop Hunger Now Food Packing event. Here she is
patting down a meal pack
19/09/2013 - Seen here is Simon King and Ken Lee
showing us how easy it is to use the new DocuCentres
17/09/2013 - Sonys Action Cam, is so light you
can even stick on your helmet when you go off-road
18/09/2013 - The successor to the BlackBerry Z10,
the Z30 is a very attractive smartphone
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picture perfect
events & happeni ngs
19/09/2013 - Models and cosplayers lining up in front of the
Sony Xperia booth at Tokyo Game Show
21/09/2013 - Cosplayers promoting Namco Bandais new J-Stars
Victory
19/09/2013 - Dont underestimate them. These girls at the AMD
booth at Tokyo Game Show know their stuff!
19/09/2013 - A model holding up Sonys new
PlayStation Vita portable gaming console
20/09/2013 - A Gundam head is the centrepiece
of Namco Bandais various Gundam-based
games.
21/09/2013 - Over 200,000 people from around
the world attended Tokyo Game Show this year
Tokyo Game Show 2013