Introduction How’s that Steam Machine under your TV doing? The wait for virtual reality to become the future is proving quite torturous really, especially since it’s already been 25 years. And it’s been delayed once again, with the Oculus Rift looking like it’s even further away than we thought. Maybe it’ll scrape in this year, but don’t put money on it. As for the competition, yes, the HTC Vive is
Introduction and choice of platforms Before the IBM PC changed the computer world forever, for many the pinnacle of personal computing was the Sinclair ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64 and the BBC Micro. For gamers these computers defined the first screen generation. As an object of desire the ZX81 may not have won any design awards, but for many it was their first true computer. Anyone who would love a trip
Turning to the private sector It’s been nearly 50 years since Star Trek first referred to space as “the final frontier,” and the passing decades have done little to diminish interest in traveling to this expansive (and very expensive) destination. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (better known as NASA) made headlines back in 2011 with the decision to retire its space shuttle fleet, laying the groundwork for companies with
Apple Watch hands on review The Apple Watch has been ticking away on my wrist just shy of 24 hours, and while it’s no longer called the iWatch, it really is “my watch” and Apple’s most personal gadget yet. The iPhone-compatible smartwatch comes in 38 flavors, with different case materials, colors, sizes and interchangeable Apple Watch bands. None are inexpensive. Starting at $349 (£299, AU$499) and climbing all the way
I’ve screwed up my shoulder The Apple Watch has only been on my wrist for 24 hours, but already I’m missing the Garmin. And that’s after only one run. I’ve been trying to decide whether or not to write about Cupertino’s digi-timepiece in this column given it’s not a ‘proper’ running watch and could hinder my quest to become a triathlete in a ludicrously short amount of time, but given
Introduction and design A long time ago, laptop manufacturers used desktop components to keep costs down. Taiwanese manufacturer ECS, for example, shoved a desktop processor into a laptop form factor without the battery and called it a desknote (desktop and notebook). Now Lenovo has gone the other way, using laptop components in a desktop computer – and it, kind of, makes sense due to economies of scale. Using the same
Introduction Changing operating systems is a painful process: leaving what you know behind for a new and potentially fruitful land, sacrificing some things for others. The grass is, as they say, always greener on the other side; the fruits of Mac OS X look appealing on Windows and vice versa. Each major operating system has its own quirks, flaws and plus points aplenty, whether they be broad application support (Windows)
Chinese e-commerce leader Alibaba Group Holding Ltd and state-owned China Telecom Corp Ltd have tied up to sell inexpensive smartphones aimed at boosting mobile commerce in smaller cities and rural areas. The phones, dubbed “Tianyi Taobao Shopping Handsets”, will come installed with either an app for easy access to Alibaba’s flagship Taobao online shopping platform or its home-grown YunOS mobile operating system, it said in a statement late on Friday.
The chief executive of France’s telecom leader Orange said on Saturday he believed the price war in the national telecoms sector was coming to a close. Stephane Richard also argued in a radio interview for consolidation in the French telecoms sector, saying a market with three operators would function better than with four. “In France we have among the lowest prices in the world for both fixed and mobile telecoms.
It’s only ruddy 7 days in phones, and you’ve been truly spoilt as it’s the second this week after the legal furor of the last one. Consider yourself spoilt. So without further ado, take my hand, and here we go! Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. Catch up on 7 days in phones | Follow Winston on Twitter Nokia returns – but do we need it? Nokia is picking up the pieces and putting them
