Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2021 i TechLife

Once the realm of deep-pocketed enthusiasts, drones are fast becoming a common sight. No longer limited to professionals or those dedicated to the hobby, the last couple of years have seen the pint-sized flying machines become not only more feature-rich, but cheaper and easier than ever to operate. And they come in a range of form-factors and sizes, from a whole host of manufacturers... so finding where to start in the hobby can be quite the challenge. But, hopefully no longer! This issue we’ve got everything you need to know about setting out on your own aerial adventure. From tips on how to start in the hobby, to fun exercises to get your skills sharp, and even how to build one yourself, we’ve got an expert guide to help you…

Windows 10’s H1 2021 update could be in the last stages of finalisation ahead of its launch in the first half of next year – but as we’ve already heard, you probably shouldn’t get too excited about this one. That’s because the H1 2021 update will only be a minor upgrade, according to the rumor mill, much like the October 2020 Update was – and if this happens, it would be an unprecedented move for Microsoft in terms of rolling out a minor affair twice in a row (normally, the first update of the year ushers in major changes). Nevertheless, according to sources who’ve been tapped by Windows Latest, this will be a minor upgrade, and Microsoft is about to finalise the RTM build. Indeed, the RTM release may have…

$1,299, www.olympus.com.au Despite its complex name, the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark IV is a simple, compact entry-level mirrorless camera. And if you’re a beginner or keen photographer looking for a compact body that takes consistently attractive photos, it’s a camera that has to be on your list. Sure, the E-M10 Mark IV is lacking some of the more advanced features being touted by its pricier rivals, like phase-detection autofocus, 4K/60p video and microphone/headphone inputs. But it does a brilliant job as a stills camera that can shoot a little bit of quality video when needed. Build and handling The first thing that strikes you about the E-M10 IV is its diminutive size. It’s small enough to fit into the pocket of regular fit trousers – and that’s with its 14-42mm…

Rapid melt is reshaping coastal Greenland, potentially altering the human and animal ecosystems along the country’s coast. Greenland is losing 500 gigatonnes of ice each year, more than can be replenished by new snowfall. Annual ice loss is 14 per cent greater today than it was between 1985 and 1999. The meltwater is lubricating the ice sheet so that it slides more easily on its underlying bedrock, hastening the continued melt. Researchers combined two types of data from satellite imagery: how fast the ice sheet is moving and where glaciers terminate on their path downhill. When a glacier retreats, its terminus doesn’t reach as far downvalley as it once did. They found that glacier retreat is now the norm in Greenland. Around 89 per cent of glaciers had retreated substantially…

$69, www.bitdefender.com.au Installing Bitdefender Antivirus Plus 2021 is quick, simple and largely automatic. We pointed, we clicked, and within a couple of minutes a reassuring ‘Bitdefender is successfully installed’ message told us it was time to get started. Browsing our system, we found the installer had added Bitdefender’s Anti-Tracker extension to Google Chrome, and Bitdefender Anti-Tracker and Wallet to Firefox. (Anti-Tracker also works in Internet Explorer and Safari, but there’s no support for Opera or Edge). Bitdefender equipped our test system with 13 new background processes and Windows services, some filter drivers and assorted other low-level clutter. That’s not unusual for an antivirus, but it can be a problem if it’s a drag on your system speed. AV-Test’s Windows Home User report for August 2020 found no performance problems, rating…

Weapons have been around for thousands of years, and for most of that time their primary purpose has been to kill people, or at least to inflict serious injury. But in recent years the emphasis has changed. Alongside traditional bombs and guns, there’s a whole new generation of weapons that aren’t intended to kill. In many cases they aren’t even designed to be used on humans, but against technology. The military’s increasing reliance on computers and other tech has seen the rise of electronic warfare gadgets, as well as drones – some very sophisticated, like the X-47B pilotless stealth fighter pictured to the right – and anti-drone weapons. In the realm of ‘non-lethal weapons’, probably the best-known is the taser, which incapacitates its victim by inflicting an electric shock. Then…

$79, PC, Xbox, PS, www.cyberpunk.net Cyberpunk 2077’s world is such an aesthetic joy that it feels disrespectful to fast travel or skip drives in Night City. At times, it feels as if the game has transformed into some living, voyeuristic screensaver, such is its ability to distract with its good looks. It’s not just the way the city comes to life at night either, as the appropriately titled Night City does look ridiculous in the dark – all neon shimmer and glowing reflections, the headlights of your car carving out a path through the concrete or the dust of the Badlands. Night City brings out the beauty in every slice of the day. But it’s always quick to remind you that life within Night City is brutal, raw, and oh…

League of Legends: Wild Rift A MOBA SANS-GRIFT. Free with IAP (iOS Only) Over the past five years there’ve been plenty of new MOBA games to quench the thirst of those looking for a solid strategy experience on the go. Unfortunately, since the slow death of the original, Vain Glory, the bulk of mobile MOBAs tend to follow the Chinese/Korean model, which is a heavy focus on monetisation, confusing event currencies, and poor performance in Oceania. Outside of a few exceptions, namely Mobile Legends or Arena of Valor, any new contenders struggle to reach a population density to avoid long wait times. Riot Games has been surprisingly late to enter the mobile arena with their flagship product, League of Legends (LoL), arguably the most successful game in its genre. Almost…

$299, www.oppo.com This isn’t a phone that will revolutionise the market but nor should anyone expect that from such an inexpensive device. On the plus side, it does offer some neat extras that mean it occasionally stands out a bit amongst a busy crowd of cheap phones. While it’s the low price that’s the main selling point of the phone, the Oppo A53 also bundles in a 90Hz refresh rate, which isn’t entirely unique in this field with the likes of the Realme 6 also sporting that refresh rate, but is still a welcome addition to spruce up an otherwise fairly ordinary phone. Besides the classy display, the Oppo A53 actually looks pretty nice for the price. It has a premium look reminiscent of the Honor 10 Lite, with a…

$79, www.amazon.com.au The new Amazon Echo Dot with Clock (2020) was announced alongside a host of other Echo speakers at the company’s hardware event in September, with the latest new Echo Dot coming with a smart LED timepiece. Like its predecessor, the Echo Dot with Clock can double as a bedside alarm, albeit one that comes with all the smarts of Alexa on board alongside the ability to control your smart home devices (via a separate Zigbee-supporting speaker). It has undergone a rather radical design overhaul over the previous Echo Dot with Clock, sporting a space age-esque spherical design that’s available in both gray and white colour schemes. It’s a bold move from the company; after all, the cylindrical build of the previous Echos became ubiquitous with the idea of…

$299, au.turtlebeach.com As you can tell by its superlative-hoovering title and equally bold $299 price tag, Turtle Beach’s gen 2 Elite Pro isn’t messing about. It’s intended to provide competition to the very best headsets out there. And when you think of the very best out there, the likes of Astro’s A40, Steelseries’ Pro Wireless, and Sennheiser’s GSP 670 all spring to mind… except unlike all the aforementioned models, the Elite Pro 2 is wired. It’s not a straight fight, then. Wired models are becoming increasingly rare at this price point, and although they still offer a response time and fidelity that wireless equivalents can’t quite match in pure numbers, the sheer quality of wireless cans in recent years has seen most of us ditch the cables. The Elite Pro…

As prices have dropped and availability has increased, the range of affordable drones on offer to people has skyrocketed, meaning anyone can get involved and start flying. In this book we’ll take you through all the basics, and examine some of the best drones and accessories on the market. You’ll then find inspirational guides to show you what you can do with your drone, and even build your own. On top of that, discover the amazing ways drones are being used today and how they are changing the world, from protecting wildlife to mapping the world. You will find that throughout this book we’ve also referred to quadcopters and UAVs, but in general we’ve included everything under the umbrella term of a drone. And one final thing to bear in…

“THERE ARE SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES IN TERMS OF WHAT EACH IS USEFUL FOR.” You could go on Amazon right now and take your pick from more than 700 different drones. However, you might encounter a problem when it comes to choosing which one to buy, as you will be swamped with jargon and reviews. Quadcopters cross lines between electronics, hobbyist products and, in some cases, even toys. So, bricks-and-mortar stores that sell any of these could also sell drones. The retail store JB Hi-Fi, for example, offers a number of UAVs, but not every store will necessarily have every product. Once you have an idea of the type of drone you want, and the amount of money you can afford to spend on it, use online sites to narrow down your…

ENSURE IT’S LEGAL • The laws surrounding drones are constantly changing and being readdressed. One of the most important things to do before you even take your drone out for the first test flight is to do some research and understand the basic laws regarding flying a drone in your country. Ignorance is not an excuse, and you don’t want to get on the wrong side of the law before you’ve even got the most out of your drone. There are limits to where you can fly, especially near people, airports and military bases, so check before you head out and about. Use your common sense and always make sure you’re abiding by the rules. KNOW YOUR BOUNDARIES • There’s a reason so many stunning drone videos are of landscapes:…

Not everyone has caught the quadcopter bug yet, but so many people have that you will be able to find someone out there who has answers to your questions. They’ll have them because they’re likely to have been through the issue you’re facing. Groups are brilliant for offering information on the different types of drones and the best ways to use them. You’ll find that there are groups of people online who are interested in very specific machines or uses, such as owners of Phantom products or people who are into shooting location video. There are also groups that are much more general, and people belong to one or more of both sorts. Note that not all online groups (for any subject) are always welcoming to absolute beginners. Don’t take…

Many people see modern drones as something mainly used by filmmakers and hard-core technology geeks. UAVs can be seen as elitist, hard to fly and needing considerable technical skills as well as exceptional hand-eye coordination. In fact, the technology in modern UAVs means that radio-controlled flying is easier and more accessible than ever before. If you’re thinking of investing in a quadcopter of your own, but worry that it may be just a fad and will soon be forgotten at the back of the spare room, here are a few ideas on fun things to do with a drone that anyone can try, which will stop you becoming bored with your UAV. All the family can fly Until a few years ago, the best you could expect from any radio-controlled…

STAR WARS PROPER BATTLE DRONE Available to buy in a number of designs that will be familiar to any Star Wars fan. These quadcopters can battle each other in multiplayer battles using their built-in infrared transmitters. The controller displays lives and provides sound effects. MICRODRONE 4.0 This small drone is ideal for new pilots as it comes with everything a beginner would want. It has three speed settings, self-hovering, it can film in Full HD and perhaps most importantly, a low price point. RYZE TELLO The Tello is an excellent addition to your aviary as well as a great option for beginner pilots. The app has simple commands to make the drone do cool tricks and its propellor guards will protect it in case you have any mishaps. If the…

A DATE COMPLICATION Complications vary from face to face. In the Modular face the Date complication can’t be changed, just switched off. B FULL–SIZE COMPLICATION Lots of on-screen space means this is the most info-rich kind of complication. Here, we’re using the Dark Sky app. C APP ICON Complications can be simple icons, such as the Reminders complication. It doesn’t show anything, it just launches the app. D SMART ICON Some app icons also show key information. Carrot here is showing the current temperature and a simplified forecast; tap for more. E ACTIVE COMPLICATION Complications can show you frequently updated health tracking data, such as your activity or your heart rate. F SMALL COMPLICATIONS Complications are space-aware: this is the smaller version of the Dark Sky complication you saw in…

THIS MONTH Q&A Your questions answered WINDOWS Control kid’s device usage MAC Parallels Toolbox uncovered IOS Manage your screentime ANDROID Take your Android to 11 SECURITY & PRIVACY Flash file security HOME NETWORKING All about ethernet FITNESS Geocaching PHOTOGRAPHY MASTERCLASS Manage ‘field’ patterns DIGITAL DARKROOM Make majestic scenes with the Magic Wand Broken Alienware? My monitor is an Alienware 25 and it says it will display 240Hz, but if I go to my settings to change it to 240Hz the screen goes black and then nothing happens until it reverts automatically to 60Hz. Do I need to have an Nvidia graphics card, or can I use it with an AMD graphics card? Gregory Muenzer TechLife responds: There are two versions of the Alienware 25 monitor, and which model you have…

REQUIRES iiOS 11 or later, OffScreen YOU WILL LEARN How to understand and curb excessive iPhone usage IT WILL TAKE 10-15 minutes Screen Time is designed to show you how you use your phone and help cut down your usage. It’s not perfect, though. Sure, you can limit how much time you spend on your device, but you only get a couple of choices over how to do that. Your usage data is more or less restricted to the number of pickups and notifications you had. It’s fine, but not outstanding. OffScreen offers features that Screen Time lacks, from multiple focus modes to detailed stats on how you use your device. It also incorporates in one place tools that Apple has scattered about iOS (like bedtime reminders), making it much…

The electric convertible and its mannequin passenger were bolted to the top of a Falcon Heavy rocket as a stunt during the SpaceX rocket’s first test launch on 6 February 2018. It’s common for test launches to include heavy payloads, but they’re usually more boring than cherry-red sports cars. Two years later, the Falcon Heavy upper stage and the vehicle at its tip are making their second trip around the Sun. Jonathan McDowell, a Harvard astrophysicist who tracks space objects as a side project, found that Starman passed 7.4 million kilometres from Mars at 06:25 GMT 7 October. That’s about 19 times the distance from Earth to the Moon, and 35-times closer than anyone on Earth has gotten to Mars. The harsh solar radiation environment between the planets would probably…

There’s really only a few XR stories this month that include the opening of a Sydney Zero Latency venue, a bionic and cyborg olympics and a new AR app that lets you walk around 3D true crime scenes. That means that it’s been a big month for AI which managed to make some steps forward in the arts, sciences, business and philanthropic fields. Highlights include a DeepMind project that ‘solved’ protein folding modelling, an autopilot drone plane that can launch satellites in 180 minutes and an AI conspiracy debunked that might help prevent Pizzagate 2. XR Crime Door A gateway to augmented murder mysteries. US$5 per month, crimedoor.com CrimeDoor is an interactive AR app for your smartphone that’ll walk you through famous murder scenes and allow you to discover critical…

Halo: The Master Chief Collection will be getting more content throughout 2021. The future plans are outlined in the last Halo Waypoint blog post of the year, which comes in the form of a Master Chief Collection (or MCC) development retrospective. The post comprehensively outlines some of the new content and features set to come to the collection in the future. More seasons are set to come next year on a regular 2-month basis. Starting off with Season 5 in 2021, 343 plans to continue on to Season 10 before deciding whether to add more seasons after that. Mod support will also be a big focus for the developer going into the new year, with more information set to be revealed next year. The post also teases new Forge items,…

$59.95, PC, www.worldofwarcraft.com Shadowlands bears the heavy responsibility of making up for the frustrations of Warcraft’s previous chapter. In the same way that Legion had to win back fans after the disaster that was Warlords of Draenor, Shadowlands is tasked with making up for the tedious grind and convoluted story of Battle for Azeroth. I’m really beginning to tire of this jolting, up and down pattern of good and bad WoW expansions, especially when other MMOs like Final Fantasy 14 and The Elder Scrolls Online only get better and better with each new update. Shadowlands does make huge improvements over Battle for Azeroth, though. There’s no more infinite grind to breathlessly chase. There’s no opaque armor system like Azerite Armor to suck the joy out of getting that coveted loot…

From $1,749, www.dell.com The Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 (2020), also known as the Dell XPS 13 7390, is a major performance and specification update to Dell’s high-end 2-in-1 range, and could be the finest example there is of this popular best-of-both-worlds form factor. Usually, 2-in-1 laptops function perfectly normally as standard touchscreen Windows laptops. But they also offer a mechanism to flip the screen around and transform the laptop into a tablet, making easier to carry around and use when out and about. The experience of using one is nothing at all like an iPad or Android tablet though and instead is closer to Microsoft’s Surface Pro. It’s a Windows 10 laptop after all, and it runs standard PC software, with touch interactions and an on-screen keyboard replacing the keyboard…

“It’s not smash-your-head-through-a-window slow, but Motorola, Realme, Oppo and Xiaomi phones for similar money run much better.” $199, www.nokia.com The Nokia 3.4 is a low-cost phone sure to appeal to those looking for something they can buy outright without spending a fortune. First impressions are good. Sure, it feels a bit cheap, but the screen is perfectly solid and the Android One interface has a clean look similar to what you’d see with the Google Pixel 4a. You’ll realise the Nokia 3.4 is more of a mixed bag within a day or two. Some of you will eat up the 32GB of storage almost instantly, particularly if you want to install a couple of big games and have a large image library to import. The Nokia 3.4 still has some…

$199, www.amazfit.com The Amazfit GTR 2 is an Android and iOS-friendly smartwatch that costs significantly less than buying the newest Apple Watch or Samsung Galaxy Watch. It offers many of the features you’d expect to spend more money for. That includes a design made from high grade materials, a high quality AMOLED touchscreen display and straps that you can remove to swap out and find new ones. It comes in two design options with both offering the same features across both for fitness and non-fitness features. You’ll get built-in GPS and a sensor that will track heart rate 24/7 and during exercise. It can also take blood oxygen measurements for an additional hit of fitness data. It also works as a fitness tracker and ultimately that’s where one of its…

From $149, www.thrustmaster.com The Thrustmaster TCA Sidestick Airbus Edition is a flight stick made in the image of an Airbus sidestick. It’s an officially licensed tie-in. And as well as the base controller you can get a throttle set and a pack of additional modules that add a real sense of authenticity to sims like Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020. Good news on that front: the Thrustmaster TCA Sidestick Airbus Edition is “plug and play” ready for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020. You won’t need to spend an hour or five configuring its button layout. These are plastic flight sticks, made to last but not with the weight and construction quality of a Thrustmaster Warthog. But at a third of the price, what else do you expect? Give yourself a minute to…

You might have heard of drones in the past, but now you’re able to buy them! It’s not uncommon to watch a video shot from a drone and immediately want to do the same yourself. As you’ll have discovered by now, there are so many uses for drones that more and more are being thought of every day, and in addition to their practical uses, they’re also fun devices to play with. With great fun comes a great range of choices to make. Quadcopters, multirotors and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are serious tools with specific uses and benefits. Every type has different advantages and disadvantages, but they all share the same issue of security. You won’t be allowed to fly a drone over Parliament House, for example, but you need…

“GPS KNOWS WHERE YOUR DRONE IS, AND WILL MAKE DECISIONS BASED ON THAT.” SHELL • Unless you crash your drone very neatly, you will usually just see this shell. It is the casing; the fuselage of the UAV. Bright colours really help you spot this from a distance. ROTORS • You’ll see they’re twisted slightly. Rotors are not straight; they are shaped exactly like aircraft wings, and for the same reason. Their shape affects air flowing over them and that is what produces lift. BATTERY • Your drone isn’t going anywhere without a charged battery. This is perhaps the most limiting element you’ll face. Fully charged ones will typically only power the drone for 20 minutes. LANDING GEAR • In this example, the landing gear is an extension of the…

HOVER YOUR DRONE • When your drone is close to the ground, the downdraft from the rotors is reflected up, and makes it hard to keep the UAV steady. Raise it to 1.5m and then practise holding it still. This is known as hovering and you won’t manage it at first. You may not manage it for a long time, but practise from the start because when you do get it, it is supremely useful. As difficult as hovering is to do, it means your UAV can get steady video shots and is totally under your control. TAKE SHORT HOPS • You’ll become VERY weary if you spend all your time learning to hover, so make sure you alternate that with learning short hops. If you’re in a garden, try…

ACCELEROMETER: An electronic instrument used for measuring acceleration on a given path. ATTITUDE: If you’re new to flying, don’t mix this up with altitude (height). Attitude is the orientation of the UAV, whether it’s tilting forward or flying upside down. AUTONOMOUS: Not subject to outside control, this refers to when a drone is flying by itself on a set path using GPS or other means, rather than actively steered with a controller. BIND: Connecting your controller to your drone. This is like pairing your phone to your earpiece, except it doesn’t normally use Bluetooth of course. CASA (CIVIL AVIATION SAFETY AUTHORITY): Australia’s body in charge of all flight issues and licences. When you read American forums or books, you’ll see reference to their equivalent, the FAA or Federal Aviation Authority.…

Many drone projects are crowd-funded. The cutting-edge, global technology lends itself to this method perfectly. If you wish to speculate on a UAV project like this, do it through recognised sources, such as Kickstarter or IndieGogo. They verify that the projects that exist are worth supporting. Most projects offer perks for supporting them, such as special editions or early delivery. The idea is that, instead of trying to convince one big financial institution to give all the money, they ask lots of people across the world to loan small amounts each. When the project is successful, everyone gets their pledge returned to them in the form of the final product. It pays to read up on each project and check the protections that are on offer from each platform.…

SKILL LEVEL Anyone can do it SUITABLE FOR… Windows 10 Jargon buster! CONTENT RESTRICTION Rules or filters that apply to particular kinds of material such as TV programmes, Xbox games or web pages. ACTIVITY MONITORING Windows records the apps your child uses, the websites they visit and even the things they search for online. PARENTAL APPROVAL When your child can’t do something – in this case, buy from the Microsoft Store – without you giving your permission. Best tip! If you don’t need to control multiple devices, use Settings > Accounts > Family & Other People. Many of us share our devices with family members, and what’s suitable for us isn’t necessarily suitable for them. You probably don’t want younger children accessing the grown-up version of YouTube or being able…

Normally Wi-Fi gets all the press. Nobody ever mentions the old reliable wired networking anymore, so this month we thought we’d try and rectify that a little and take a look at the backbone of nearly all modern local networks: Ethernet. What is it, how has it changed, and how does it work? Can you make your home Ethernet work better, and do you need to? A very brief overview of Ethernet Ethernet is the name of a standardised system for sending data over wired connections. When people talk about “wired” in a local area network context, they pretty much mean Ethernet. Technically speaking, Ethernet is a layer-2 (data link) protocol that manages how data is sent between devices as well as how contention is managed. The term layer 2…

Landscape scenes with carpets of flowers or brightly coloured plants are a popular subject for outdoor photographers. While the lower portion of woodland scenes often need to be managed with care, or on occasion excluded entirely due to numerous distractions, those with flower carpets are full of depth and pleasing balance. The sense of the field of detail extending beyond the frame is a powerful tool as it encourages the viewer to explore the image and adds to the immersive experience. It helps our audience to feel as if they are within the scene themselves, which is ultimately the goal of any photograph we take. “The sense of the field of detail extending beyond the frame is a powerful tool as it encourages the viewer to explore the image and…

Akyor Silkyor US$35, akyor.com Yeah. We know your voice kinda sounds like Darth Vader when you are wearing a mask. It probably has something to do with the fact that Darth Vader’s helmet has a mask in it. While the makers of Akyon Silkyor never explicitly mention that they were inspired by the exemplar health precautions taken by the Dark Lord, it’s pretty hard to deny the Akyon Silkyor mask wasn’t based on Anakin Skywalker’s later-life getup. The makers of this giant silicone face mask do however claim the device offers a 1.5 times better filtration rate over N95 masks worn using only elastic, which is enough to keep the air fresh for the most withered of users. ThreeDeeCases: Mini ITX Case US$4 mini ITX, kck.st/3lc6dY8 While software is totally…

Apple Fitness Plus has launched, and it’s something I’ve been itching to try. Since we first heard about it back on September 15, the idea of expanding the workouts from your Apple Watch into a more interactive and vibrant experience is pretty good. When you take your pick from a number of classes – such as yoga, core, strength or a cycling workout – you’ll start the session and see your live heart rate on the screen, along with the calorie burn and your ‘rings’, Apple’s metric to chart how often you’re moving, exercising and standing each day, filling up in the corner. While I need to test the service more fully, I fired up a 20 minute high intensity interval training (HIIT) workout, chose ‘Upbeat hits’ and got cracking…

Scientists have discovered the fastest possible speed of sound: about 36 kilometres per second. Sound waves move at different speeds in solids, liquids and gases. Within those states of matter they travel faster in warmer liquids compared with colder ones. Physicist Kostya Trachenko of Queen Mary University of London and his colleagues wanted to figure out the upper limits of how fast sound could travel. This exercise was largely theoretical. The researchers found that the answer, which is about twice as fast as sound moves through solid diamond, depends on some fundamental numbers in the universe. The first is the fine structure constant, which is a number that describes the electromagnetic force that holds together elementary particles such as electrons and protons. The second is the proton-to-electron mass ratio of…

Guru can’t control what you do in the privacy of your own home. You’re welcome to use just about any screen as a monitor. The question isn’t one of ‘can I do it?’, but ‘should I do it?’; mostly, Guru would recommend against using non-monitors as monitors, because monitors are meant to be used as monitors whereas non-monitors are not. TVs are built to be enjoyed from across a room, playing content from distinctly non-PC sources. In the case of OLED, though, things aren’t quite so cut and dried. The precision and speed of its pixel updates tends to be vastly superior to that of LCD-based TVs, particularly in newer models like LG’s CX series you’re right up close – particularly if they have a thick rear construction that prevents…

Alba launched on Apple Arcade and PC earlier last month and is developed by ustwo games, who is previously known for other relaxing indie hits Assemble With Care and Monument Valley. The game takes place on the sunny island of Pinar del Mar, home to Alba’s grandparents who she is visiting for the summer. The island has more than 60 animals inhabitants for players to find, photograph, and even save from tricky situations. In the trailer, we see Alba exploring the beautiful coast helping maintain the natural balance of the town from repairing bridges, assisting dolphins who have washed up on the shore, as well as photographing and identifying the local wildlife. The game aims to demonstrate to players that even the smallest actions can make a big difference. Inspired…

$59.95, Switch, PC, Xbox, PS, www.nintendo.com Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 might look like a puzzle game on the surface, the names of two of the biggest franchises in block/puyo busting being a pretty big clue, but behind it’s colourful facade is a JRPG through and through. There’s a huge cast of characters who you’ll slowly win around to join your party, fights that involve hit points and magic points, side quests that help flesh out the world you explore, and a convoluted plot that involves the potential destruction of worlds, as well as a dance-loving fish who talks almost exclusively in puns. Considering that the only way you interact with this world is by battling in Puyo Puyo Tetris matches, it’s a pretty impressive feat that Sega’s puzzle mash-up actually…

US$19.99, Switch, PC Stonemaiergames.com Wingspan is a strategy card game where you build a strategy around the resources and cards available to you. Each turn you take a single action: Play a bird, get some food in the forest, lay eggs on birds in the field, or draw new (bird) cards at the water’s edge. As you add birds to your preserve, they empower these base actions, building an engine of bird actions and card synergies. You might play a Great Crested Flycatcher into the forest, paying a berry and a bug. From then on whenever you take the forest’s action – gaining food – you get to take an extra bug from the birdfeeder. Wingspan excels as a couch multiplayer or Remote Play Together game. Online Multiplayer works well…

$89.95, www.omen.com The Omen Vector Wireless Mouse is part of that growing trend of wireless peripherals. And, it’s a welcome one as long as performance doesn’t take a hit just for that added convenience. In the past, wired connections have always provided a better and faster connection than wireless ones no matter the device. Luckily, that’s no longer the case This new entry from HP, whose name is almost completely absent from the packaging, sets out to prove that you can have a wireless mouse as fast and as accurate as any other mouse out there. And it more than lives up to its promises. But a great gaming mouse needs to do more than that. Can the Vector offer more to set it apart from the rest while still…

$599, www.realme.com Realme has bombarded the budget phone market in recent months with the Realme 7, the Realme 7 Pro, and now the Realme 7 5G. Despite its shared name and superficial similarities, this latest model isn’t merely a tweaked take on one of its brothers. For all intents and purposes, this is the China-only Realme V5, but with a faster chipset and a higher refresh rate display. This different path means that the Realme 7 5G clashes a little with the Realme 7 Pro. It’s better in some ways, and worse in others. Realme’s refined design work continues here with an appealing split-mirror finish that’s just flashy enough, without straying into gaudy territory. This is a weighty, solid-feeling phone too, with barely a hint of the plasticky cheapness that…

$139, www.hyperxgaming.com Despite releasing some of the best gaming headsets like the Cloud Flight and Stinger Wireless, Kingston’s mainline HyperX Cloud series had yet to receive the wire-free treatment. The HyperX Cloud II Wireless hopes to fill that void with some sacrifices. However, mostly everything individuals have loved about the Cloud II and Cloud Core remains. This means the incredibly sturdy aluminum frame still provides hours of comfort and the sound quality is outstanding. Going wireless doesn’t hurt the audio experience due to the 2.4 GHz connection via USB-A. The battery life is impressive with up to 30 hours of battery life as well. Unfortunately, the lack of a dedicated 3.5 mm jack is a sore point considering the versatility offered by similarly priced competitors and Kingston themselves. Design wise,…

$3,499 body only, www.nikon.com.au Nikon may have been late to the full-frame mirrorless camera party, but it pretty much nailed it on the head the first time round. The Nikon Z 6 fast became one of our top choices for shooting, and we had to nitpick to find complaints. Those little issues, though, like a single card slot, have since been fixed and the second-gen Z 6II body is here with additional features that have become popular since the launch of the originals in 2018. What stays the same is the body, control layout and sensor (24.5MP effective resolution), but unlike the first-gen Z 6, the Mark II now benefits from dual Expeed 6 engines that deliver several performance improvements, including 14fps continuous shooting speeds for the Z6 II (up…

Drones are now common enough that there are stores that stock them and, of course, online shops that sell different types. The differences can be as obvious as cost and manufacturer, but more importantly affect how much work you have to do. You’re not likely to ever be able to fly a drone home straight from the shop. There are some that need assembling, and some that just need their batteries charged up first. Drones are highly complex devices that rely on so many different parts. The more your interest and hobby develops, and the more experience you gain, the more you’re going to be aware of these components. You’ll no doubt start off buying a complete drone, but later on you might prefer to assemble one yourself in order…

01 Always ensure you never fly your drone anywhere near people’s bodies and faces. 02 Be sure you’ve switched off the drone’s motor before you switch off the controller handset or remove batteries. 03 Remove the rotors when you’re not using the UAV. Take them off and there is little the UAV can do. 04 Don’t risk flying unless you see weather conditions are good, and you know that this is going to continue. 05 Follow instructions for recharging Lithium Polymer batteries. They need greater care than regular ones.…

Your drone is subject to enormous stresses. Each of its rotors is really trying to spin the entire machine and, although having four or more of them cancels that out, it strains the entire airframe. Drones have to be light too, so there are limits to how strong they can be, and if you want to keep your one working well, you need to know how to maintain it. There are two things you should always do: check the batteries and bring spares. Batteries decline in power over time and if they are not handled well, so get used to having spares when you can and making sure you use them fully. That’s harder in a drone than, say, a mobile phone because leaving them on means leaving the device…

Years ago, if you wanted a quadcopter you had to build it. Now there are several companies producing affordable, easy-to-fly multirotors that fly straight out of the box. But that doesn’t mean the days of DIY drones are over. In fact, there has never been a better time to build your own. Drone components have become cheaper and more modular, and the software that controls them is more stable and easier to use than ever before. Even if your ultimate intention is to fly a Parrot ANAFI or a DJI Phantom 4 Pro, there is a lot to be gained from building your own quadcopter first. You’ll end up with a much better understanding of how the different flight systems work together and you’ll have an aircraft that is much…

The new watchOS 7 will put you to sleep. Not because it’s boring. Far from it. The new OS introduces something that many Apple Watch users have been wanting for a long time: native sleep tracking. And in typical Apple style, there’s more to the sleep tracker than just sleep tracking. As we’ll discover, it’s part of a whole bedtime production that’s designed to help you relax and sleep soundly. That’s not all watchOS 7 has to offer, though. The improvements to Siri are spectacular, and the way Siri Shortcuts work opens up all kinds of exciting personalisation possibilities. There are new features in Maps for cyclists, (although some countries may have to wait a while to get them). There are new faces, new ways to get them, and new…

REQUIRES macOS 10.11 or later, Parallels Toolbox YOU WILL LEARN To record a window movie, manage your clipboard, and make presentations easier IT WILL TAKE 10 minutes The 45 incredibly useful tools in Parallels Toolbox work with both your Mac and in any virtual machine (VM) you’re running in Parallels Desktop. You can use its Record Screen and Take Screenshots tools for any window, including those in an active VM. These are particularly helpful when copying and pasting between an app in a VM and one running native in macOS, or an iPad connected using Handoff. Even if you only run a VM occasionally, you’ll find these tools more generally valuable. If you run a full–screen Windows VM, try Toolbox for Windows, otherwise use the Mac version. Many of them…

An Ethernet switch is a device that connects multiple Ethernet devices. It has multiple ports into which you can plug devices. In the olden times, we used passive hubs, which simply broadcast all incoming traffic on every outgoing port. A switch is more selective. Each Ethernet device has a unique address called a media access control (MAC) address, and the switch remembers which MAC addresses are connected to which physical ports, and when it receives a packet of data flagged for a given MAC address, it will send it on to that port, saving the network from broadcast storms. Most home routers have a switch built in – typically with four ports – but you can expand the network by adding switches and just plugging them into the LAN ports…

“Making a successful selection in Photoshop is often mostly about choosing the right tool for the job.” The Magic Wand is one of Photoshop’s best selection tools, especially if you need to target an area of an image that is uniform in colour or tone, like the backdrop to the bonsai tree image here. The tool works by seeking out similar pixels to the point that you click on, so it can be a huge help while you’re creating a fantastical composite like this, or for any time when you need to quickly lock on to part of an image. Making a successful selection in Photoshop is often mostly about choosing the right tool for the job. There are lots of great tools to choose from: the Quick Selection tool,…