Innholdsfortegnelse for Xmas 2018 i TechLife

IF YOU’VE GOT A STRONG OPINION YOU REALLY WANT TO SHARE, PLEASE LET US KNOW - WE’RE ALWAYS HAPPY TO GET LETTERS AND EMAILS. QUITE A FEW pages of opinions, in fact, starting on page 50 of the very magazine in your hands. I and the rest of the TechLife crew – ably assisted by our pals at APC – have put our heads together to find the best of... well, everything! Best smartphones? We’ve got you covered. Best networking gear? Sorted. From smarthome devices, to laptops, to storage devices, tablets, and a whole mess more. On top of that, we’ve listed our favourite apps, mobile games, console titles, AAA PC and indie games, in a massive list of software. The list has been all year in the making, and…

APPLE HAS MANAGED a marketing masterstroke with the iPhone XR: not only has it delayed the launch of the third of its trio of 2018 iPhones, thus creating some mystery around it, it’s also managed to make this seem like this year’s ‘cheap’ iPhone. Yes, it’s cheaper compared to the recently-launched iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max, but we’re talking AU$1229 compared with AU$1,629, which is hardly budget. To the average price-conscious, brand-neutral buyer this is a long way from a ‘cheap iPhone’. To the Apple fan who wants to stick with the brand though, the iPhone XR offers a much cheaper way to get a 2018 model without having to pay the sky-high prices of the XS duo, without sacrificing that much in terms of features – and with…

BEFORE MICROSOFT INTRODUCED the Surface Pro (2017) last year, the company explicitly said that there was no such thing as a ‘Surface Pro 5.’ Why? Essentially, a future Surface Pro would get a number again when it brought forth “an experiential change that makes a huge difference in product line.” Now, the company has leapfrogged the ‘5’ moniker entirely in launching the Surface Pro 6. By that logic, you wouldn’t be out of line to expect a massive sea change – or at least one or two of the changes that have been requested for years. While the Surface Pro 6 is inarguably the most powerful and longest-lasting (when it comes to battery life) Surface tablet yet, we have a hard time accepting that it’s worthy of the number. Aside…

‘TWAS THE YEAR 1971 when the first email was ever sent. Now more than 40 years later it’s become a heavily depended upon channel of communication. Whether it’s Gmail, Hotmail or Yahoo, the humble email allows us to send text, files and humorous cat GIFs to recipients at the press of a button. But does this technology meet the needs of today’s digital-dependent workplace? Slack is a multi-purpose hub designed for entire companies to engage and interact with one another. Going above and beyond a mere email, Slack allows employees to engage in one-on-one and group conversations, share files, even participate in voice and video calls. Another draw card is Slack’s ability to integrate with a wide range of popular third-party apps and services such as Dropbox and Salesforce. In…

Conserve the Sound TAKE AN AURAL TRIP THROUGH OUR TECHNOLOGICAL PAST. conservethesound.de/en/ “Conserve the Sound is an online archive for disappearing sounds”, the site’s description reads. The project is funded by the Film & Medienstiftung NRW and, while still in beta, offers up a rather extensive library of sounds that would otherwise have vanished from all but memory. When landing on the home page, you’ll be met with a screen full of wonderful images of old-school tech — from pinball machines and typewriters to bilateral Columbus scales — and when you click through to one of the curio’s pages, you’ll be able to hear an audio recording of the device in action. When browsing through the sound library, you can organise the collection by its decade, going as far back…

GOOOOOOAAAALLLLL!!! From $79 | PC, PS4, XO | www.easports.com/au/fifa IT’S OFTEN SAID that football’s a game of cliches. Commentators and pundits are only too happy to lean on a lexicon of well-worn expressions to describe the game, and after two decades of fierce rivalry between FIFA and its perpetual adversary Pro Evolution Soccer, there’s a glossary of cliches just for their relationship. They all ring absolutely true of each series’ latest installments, too: PES is once again superior on the pitch but remains twenty years behind in presentation, while FIFA’s wealth of official licenses and modes will make for a superior overall package. Those high production values are especially apparent in FIFA 19’s story mode, The Journey. This is the concluding chapter of Alex Hunter’s earnest and enjoyable rags-to-riches tale,…

FUJIFILM’S X-T RANGE of interchangeable lens cameras have been some of the best medium-format mirrorless options available to the discerning photographer. With the new X-T3, the camera manufacturer has outdone itself, producing a high-end snapper that’s every bit as handsome as its forebears, but with a considerably stronger feature set than before. With a good helping of fresh technology on board, it’s worth every cent of that four-figure price tag. If you’ve used either of the older X-T cameras, you’ll be very comfortable with the X-T3; most of the changes are on the inside. There’s a brand-new fourth-generation X-Trans CMOS back-illuminated sensor that Fujifilm claims should better support lenses with a maximum aperture of f/1. The new sensor also lowers the native base sensitivity from ISO200 on previous models to…

BEST ULTRABOOK DELL XPS 13 (2018) From $2,099 | dell.com.au Moving the webcam position, adding facial login and a four-mic array, giving Intel’s chips more headroom to perform even better and adding a 4K screen have all evolved the XPS into an even more formidable flagship laptop. In directly addressing the concerns of users, the Dell XPS 13 laptop is refined further than ever before. With all of the improvements made to the XPS 13 for this year, the rest of the laptop world had a lofty benchmark to measure itself against. BEST BUDGET LAPTOP HP 250 G6 $539 | hp.com/au HP’s 250 G6 laptops are available in a variety of specs, but we reckon this Core i3-6006U model strikes the best balance between price and performance – although if…

Stardew Valley $12.99 | www.stardewvalley.net The smash hit farm sim that has broken sales records hits mobile with a perfect port. Grow crops, farm animals, find love and discover secrets in this addictive pleasure. Perfect for tablets. Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Free with IAP | web.mobilelegends.com The ultimate winner of our Mobile MOBA shootout features smooth gameplay, balanced characters, generous freebies and fantastic local support and servers. Recent overhauls have made it a must play. Florence $3.99 | florencegame.com Florence is a beautiful, engaging and extraordinary look at life, love and partnership. A narrative experience full of mini-games and puzzles that examine the ins and outs of human relationships. Monster Hunter Stories $30.99 | www.monsterhunter.com This port of the popular 3DS title brings a brilliant Pokemon style JRPG to your…

Red Dead Redemption 2 $99.95 | www.rockstargames.com The result of eight years hard graft by a handful of Rockstar studios, Red Dead Redemption 2 offers an ornately populated reimagining of the wild west, and a Hollywood-aping narrative to boot. It’s a bravely slow and meditative action game, rewarding patience and careful roleplaying. Chasm $29.95 | chasmgame.com Chasm is a procedurally generated Metroidvania with beautiful pixel art and a grand sense of adventure. In development for five years, the game’s randomised maps may provide replayability but Chasmotherwise lacks any new spins on the genre. It’s comfort food for anyone reared on 16-bit consoles in the 90s. State of Decay 2 $49.95 | www.stateofdecay.com Most open world survival games have you punching trees for hours, but State of Decay 2 takes a…

Forza Horizon 4 $99.95 | www.forzamotorsport.net Forza Horizon 4 offers numerous exotic cars and a beautiful setting to drive around in at high speed. Set in Britain, this year’s entry once again rewards exploration, providing plenty of events and distractions to seek out around its large map. Sea of Thieves $99.95 | www.seaofthieves.com Unless you’re Jerry Seinfeld, chances are you do want to be a pirate. Thankfully, Sea of Thieves allows you to do just that, providing you with a ship of your own and a persistent online world which you can plunder for treasure with yer mateys. HELLBLADE: SENUA’S SACRIFICE $44.95 | www.hellblade.com Though it debuted on PlayStation 4 last year, Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice arrived on Xbox One in 2018, bringing its masterful story of a woman who must…

THIS GIVES US a different view of the market and some different, enticing bargains. TechLife is here to help navigate through what can be a confusing sea of technology and explain what deserves your hard-earned cash. This time round, we’ve focused on major brands’ top ranges and their key models, plus we’ve made recommendations for every price point. We’ve also made some suggestions for people who want smaller and cheaper TVs and are prepared to go off brand – there are things in this space that buyers need to know! But if, like many Aussie TV buyers, you’re spending over $1,000, what should you look for in a new TV? Firstly, with Netflix, Amazon and now Foxtel Satellite TV offering top-quality, Ultra High Definition content, it should certainly be 4K.…

INTERNET Can’t download email with hotel Wi-Fi I recently holidayed in southern Fuerteventura for a week, and was told I could either pay for Wi-Fi access or use the free version that was limited to the hotel’s reception area. I was unable to download any email to my tablet – it kept telling me there was no connection – but did access some random online newspapers and download a free app to my tablet. Is there a reason for this inexplicable phenomenon? BRYAN LITTLE Alex Coxreplies: We suspect this will be down to your hotel’s router’s configuration. Any  network – including Wi-Fi – communicates with the Internet through a series of ports. For example, email uses ports 110 and 995 for incoming POP3 email; ports 143 and 993…

Pages, Numbers and Keynote allow several people to work on a document at one time. When you open one of these apps, its document manager displays recently edited documents, including those edited by people you’re sharing with. In the document, click on the head and shoulders icon to see who is working on it. When multiple people are working on a document simultaneously, each is represented by a different colored pointer. Edits are shown in real time. To see changes made by a specific person, click on the colored dot next to their name.…

THE AV RECEIVER is the powerhouse of the home cinema experience. Binding the sources, the speakers and what you see on screen together, it brings that big-screen cinema magic right into your home, cocooning you in a soundscape of humour, drama, crashes, bangs and wallops from the comfort of your sofa. But AV receivers are imposing machines and, for the newbie, it can be difficult to know where to start. So we’re here to guide you through the process, with tips on what to consider when choosing an AV receiver and on how to get the best performance out of your new home cinema amplifier. You’ll be a pro in no time. CHOOSING YOUR AV RECEIVER AV receivers may look complicated, but they generally all tend to look pretty similar…

EDIT AND PRESENT PHOTOS LIKE A PRO VIEW, EDIT AND ORGANISE WITH ASHAMPOO PHOTO COMMANDER 15 FULL VERSION WITH US$49.99. The new Ashampoo Photo Commander 15 is the comprehensive solution to view, edit and organize your photos, geotagging included! Bring order to your photo library, batch-optimize multiple files at once or create and design your own calendars, greeting cards and slideshows with ease. Control and navigate through your slideshows on your PC while the slides appear on an external display or beamer! With just a few clicks, beginners, amateurs and professionals alike will achieve stunning results. Download link: www.ashampoo.com/techlife STREAMLINE YOUR SYSTEM SEARCH TOOLS SEARCH MORE RAPIDLY AND THOROUGHLY WITH ABELSSOFT FIND MY FILES FULL VERSION WORTH $16. Find My Files impresses with high speed and accuracy, based…

Survival of the sluggish: Being lazy is apparently a good thing, for some species. COULD BEING LAZY SAVE THE HUMAN RACE? New research has found that being lazy is actually the best survival strategy. According to a paper published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, there’s evidence to suggest that species (specifically molluscs) that exert less energy have a better chance of survival than those that have higher metabolic rates. But unless you can live like a clam or an oyster, this strategy isn’t going to work for the human race. The authors of the study calculated the average amount of energy it took for the species to survive, not how much individuals chose to expend as a lifestyle choice. “You can’t just decide to be lazy…

From $69 | PC, PS4, XO | www.bandainamcoent.com/games/soulcalibur-vi SOULCALIBUR 6 CREATES absorbing, satisfying battles with a simple set of commands. You have a horizontal attack command, a vertical attack, a kick, and a block. Special moves ask you to press two buttons at once along with a directional command or two, and aside from a super attack and power-up move on the right bumper, that’s more or less it. You can string together combos of three-or-four blows, but it’s more important to know when to block, when to dodge, and when to strike, and how to deal with bizarre characters like the leather-bound contortionist Voldo. It’s the fighters’ weapons that create real tactical variety. Maxi’s flamboyant nunchaku dance feels completely different to Talim’s tonfa beatdown style, and range management is…

13-INCH MODELS WITH A TOUCH BAR ALSO GAIN “HEY SIRI” SUPPORT TOO AND THE CLAIM OF UP TO 3.2GB/SEC SSD READ RATES HOLDS UP HERE... APPLE’S REDESIGN OF the MacBook Pro in 2016 was divisive for several reasons. For some, nothing but Thunderbolt 3 ports and a continued lack of a discrete graphics processor is a pain in the proverbial. For others, smaller and lighter without stepping down to the less capable 12-inch MacBook or 13-inch Air is a bonus. As with the 15-inch, Apple supplied us with a fully-specced model (Core i7, 16GB RAM, 2TB SSD) for review. So what’s changed since 2017? As on the 15-inch, the improved, quieter keyboard is here, and arguably more important at this smaller size, as it’s popular among students, writers and office…

PITCHED AS THE world’s first ’Thunderbolt 3’ display, this 34-inch quantum-dot LED (QLED) monitor begs one immediate question: what the hell is a Thunderbolt 3 display, and why would you want one? Well, as part of its spec, Thunderbolt 3 includes a DisplayPort 1.2 connection, which lets you utilise basically any video standard you like – be that HDMI, DVI, VGA or DisplayPort itself. Thunderbolt 3 also has plenty of leftover bandwidth in its 40Gbps of total bandwidth to allow for lots of other devices to connect alongside that video stream, so you can get your USB peripherals, storage devices, audio and so on all through the one cable. What this means is that it’s very quick and easy to plug any kind of device into the LC34J791 and have…

Google Messages Free | messages.android.com Google’s Messages has evolved rapidly over the past year and is now hands down the best SMS app on the platform, with new support for RCS, search, AI quick replies, a new fresh interface alongside a very handy web app. Microsoft Launcher Free | microsoft.com Microsoft has surprisingly pulled out the stops with its Android launcher which effectively turns your device into a fully Microsoft experience. It’s smooth, quick, useful and very customisable. Great for anyone who primarily uses MS services. Daydream Free (Requires Hardware) | daydream.com VR on Android has evolved over the past few years to be surprisingly good, and Daydream is easily the best rendition of it. The 2018 headset is great and there are heaps of great apps and games to…

World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth $44.99 | worldofwarcraft.com I love that WoWflashes between serious and goofy. Battle for Azeroth embraces that tonal duality with conviction. The end result is a landscape full of moments that are sometimes bleak, sometimes hilarious, and always fun. Battletech US$39.99 | battletechgame.com/ Harebrained Schemes has taken the hard sci-fi tabletop game (best known to PC players as the basis of the MechWarrior series) and married it to the XCOMformula in a way that brings out the best qualities of both. Phantom Doctrine US$39.99 | www.goodshepherd.games Phantom Doctrine is a solid strategy game, but it manages to make a convincing case that we need more spy games that lean into the mechanics and meaning of espionage. Total War Saga: Thrones of Brittania US$39.99 | www.totalwar.com…

Octopath Traveler $69.95 | octopathtraveler.nintendo.com This staunchly old-fashioned JRPG will definitely not win over naysayers of the genre, but it might make them wish they could be. It’s among the most stunning examples of modernised pixel-art we’ve seen, and it manages to remain breathtaking even during the interminable randomised combat encounters. Donkey Kong: Tropical Freeze $69.95 | donkeykong.nintendo.com The original Wii U version of Tropical Freeze was firmly for the platforming hardcore, but with the arrival of a fully-featured Nintendo Switch version, a new mode makes it easier (relatively speaking) for kids and the uninitiated to play. It’s the best version. KIRBY $69.95 | nintendo.com.au Kirby Star Allies is the latest instalment in Nintendo’s long-running 2D platforming series starring a pink blob. For the very fact that Kirby is a…

MICROSOFT WORD IS a great tool for composing documents, but if you’re only using it to make plain old text documents, then you’re not making best use of all its features. There are plenty of tools built into Word to help make your documents look more vibrant and interesting, and can help you make professional-looking posters, leaflets and work documents, or to make your children’s homework look better than ever. The latest version is Microsoft Word 2016, with Word 2018 coming out later this year. If you have an older version of Word, don’t worry, since some of the tools and features that we mention in this guide will also be available in older versions. If you subscribe to Office 365, then you will have the very latest version of…

INTRODUCED WITH IOS 9 and El Capitan, two-factor authentication (2FA) is a security feature in iCloud. It’s an evolution of two-step verification, which we’ll refer to as 2SV. The latter pushes a security code to a device using either SMS or Apple’s Find My iPhone system; 2FA pushes a notification to “trusted devices” linked to your account. This tells you that someone has requested a verification code and shows you a map of the location where the request was made. You can subsequently reject the attempt to access your account, or allow it and have the code sent to the trusted device which you’re using. In addition to at least one trusted device, you’ll also have to register at least one trusted phone number. Apple encourages you to register more…

THERE’S A CERTAIN amount of art to building the perfect wireless network. To get the best out of your network, it’s not just about getting the right hardware. Even the best hardware can’t defy the laws of physics – and that’s where a little engineering and planning will be required on your part. If you’re having problems getting your wireless network up to snuff, if the hardware isn’t delivering the speeds you need or expect, then perhaps it’s time to take a look at where the hardware is placed. There are materials in your home that wireless signals just don’t like passing through, and you need to make sure that such materials aren’t located between where you want set your router and where you want to use your wireless devices.…

01 ETHERNET CONNECTION The latest AV amplifiers come with all the latest features, such as wi-fi, Bluetooth, Spotify Connect, Tidal, SACD playback, AM/FM tuners, hi-res music streaming and multi-room. How many of these you need will be down to personal preference, so cast an eye over the specs sheet before you buy. Don’t forget an ethernet socket, as it’s more stable and reliable than wi-fi. 02 INPUTS If you have multiple sources, such as a Blu-ray player, games console and set-top box – make sure you have enough HDMI inputs and that they support the latest 4K and HDR specifications (HDCP2.2). Most amps will come with some sort of legacy analogue connections, too. If you have kit that pre-dates HDMI, such as a VHS player, you will be able to…

AVOID EXTENDING YOUR LEGS TOO MUCH If your tripod legs have spindly bottom sections, don’t extend these first – go for the most substantial ones first. Avoid extending the tripod higher than you really need to; even the best ones wobble at full height. MAKE YOUR TRIPOD SOLID It’s no use if the tripod legs are bouncing around on spongy vegetation. Push them through it until they meet something solid. Some tripods have spikes under their rubber feet – use these for extra stability when shooting. CONSIDER THE LENS POSITION If you’re adjusting the angle of the lens, ensure the top leg locks are firmly pushed to their stops. If you’re using a telephoto lens, make sure one leg extends out directly in front, under the barrel, to provide full…

LEATHER IS CLASS. LEATHER IS STYLE. LEATHER IS NUDE BOOMERS SUNBAKING ON A BEACH... HP Spectre Folio LEATHER FOLIO CASE PREINSTALLED. From $2799 | www2.hp.com Leather is class. Leather is style. Leather is nude Boomers sunbaking on a beach. It’s naturally soft but also highly durable. So leather is a lot of things that line up with a premium laptop, but is this flexible biological material really something that is compatible with the rigid logical parameters of a computer… maybe not. Nevertheless, the flagship feature on HP’s new flagship Spectre Folio laptop is a full-grain leather chassis. Some might be tentative of the first ever skin-skinned convertible, but HP is really leaning into the frankensteined Folio, suggesting in launch material that you’ll just want to ‘smell your laptop’. Wear Space…

Smart kid I thought you might be interested in this. My seven year old grandson has been reading TechLife magazine for some time now. He borrowed them from the local library. THERE HAVE BEEN HUGE ADVANCES IN THE YEARS SINCE I FIRST STARTED USING A COMPUTER AND I STILL FIND I AM LEARNING. IN FACT, SOMETIMES I HAVE TO ASK MY GRANDSON SOMETHING ABOUT MY IPHONE OR IPAD.HE KNOWS MORE ABOUT BOTH OF THEM THAN I DO. Often he will ask me if I have seen a certain app or do I know such and such. He seems to have a good understanding of technology and certainly appears to comprehend what he is reading. He seems to be a lot smarter than me. It must be the new generation who…

000000 KANYE WEST EXPOSES HIS ALARMINGLY SIMPLE IPHONE PASSWORD IN THE WHITE HOUSE While visiting the White House to chat to President Trump, Kanye West accidentally revealed to live TV cameras that his iPhone password is just a series of zeros. We recommend you avoid using one of the world’s most commonly used lock-screen codes. Anyway, here’s a quote from the rapper during his chat: “This is our president, he has to be the freshest, the flyest, the flyest planes, the best factories, and we have to make our core be in power.” 30 million DUCKDUCKGO’S DAILY SEARCH VOLUME HAS INCREASED BY 50% SINCE LAST YEAR Although it took privacy-centric search engine DuckDuckGo seven years before it was hitting 10 million daily searches, its next two milestones didn’t take quite…

THERE’S A BATTLE raging between Google and Amazon for the control of the smarthome, with the two companies having launched a barrage of products in an attempt to win you over, and their latest – smart speakers with screens – are the next big theatres of war. In Australia, both companies flagship devices are landing at the same time – there’s Amazon’s Echo Show on the Alexa side of things, with the Google Home Hub alternatively offering a Google Assistant-powered smart screen. The real appeal of these smart displays is that, even moreso than smart speakers, they can act as a central hub to interact with all the varied features of a smarthome, from lights to security cameras to air conditioning and beyond, the addition of a screen does streamline…

$79 | PS4 & XB | www.rockstargames.com THERE’S NO WAY to say the following without sounding wildly definitive, so here goes…. Red Dead Redemption 2 is the best looking video game of all time. Yes, EVER. And that includes Uncharted 4. It’s also the best game of the past five years. Compare this Wild West epic to GTA 3’s blocky Liberty City and its cast of fugly thugs you probably kneecapped on a tiny TV 17 years ago, and the evolution is astounding. At times, it’s scarcely believable how good Rockstar’s latest sandbox looks and feels. COWBOY MEETS WORLD A prequel and companion piece to 2010’s Red Dead Redemption, the story of criminal cowboy Arthur Morgan unfolds like one of Sergio Leone’s sombre yet knowingly playful Spaghetti Westerns. Of course,…

From $69 | PC, PS4, Xo | www.callofduty.com CALL OF DUTY: Black Ops 4’s take on battle royale, Blackout, feels like an unintentional commentary on the series as a whole. It’s a nakedly sales-driven version of one of the most popular trends in gaming right now, expertly-tuned to the whims of a capricious gaming community. Like every Call of Duty since Modern Warfare, Blackout is a rendition of ideas forged by bolder games. But with its usual array of compulsive multiplayer modes and the most instantly-thrilling battle royale mode to date – which saw me lose all the members of my squad, commandeer a helicopter, and then immediately crash into another firefight within 30 seconds of deploying – Blops 4 has reignited my interest in the franchise. Note the lack…

Monster Hunter Stories AN AAA RPG ON YOUR PHONE. $30.99 | www.us.capcommobile.com FRESH OFF THE back of the extraordinarily successful console release of Monster Monster World, Capcom has released an almost direct port of the franchise’s popular 2016 Nintendo 3DS RPG, Monster Hunter Stories. Bumped up with HD graphics and mobile-refined controls, but missing the 3D visuals (of course), Stories is a bright, fun, and exciting game that will suit not only fans of the series but players looking for a longer, more esoteric and quirky gaming experience that provides good bang for buck. It’s a solid bang too – the game clocks in at a wallet-heavy $30.99, although the original released at double the price. To lessen the blow, however, Capcom has also released a fairly lengthy prologue for…

Youtube Music Free with IAP | music.youtube.com Google’s long overdue revamp to Youtube Music features AI tuned playlists, video, chromecast support and a custom auto-generated offline playlist based on your activity. Requires Youtube Premium. Wish Free | wish.com If you want cheap... anything.. Wish is a must have shopping experience. Millions of products, absurdly cheap pricing and shipping. Warning, quality may vary, but that’s part of the fun. Beem IT Free | beemit.com.au Beem IT allows instant and easy payments to anyone with an Australian mobile number. Split a dinner bill or pay back for a sixpack, or send requests for a payment. Ola Free | ola.com A new alternative to Uber, Ola offers drivers a fairer commission system as well as cheaper prices and regular discounts. Availabily is wider…

Moleskin Timepage Free | moleskin.com/timepage Timepage is an absolutely gorgeous and hyper functional calendar that interfaces with AI to give you tips around travel and weather to ensure you are always on time. Very clean and well designed. Hyperlapse Free | instagram.com Hyperlapse allows users with phones that don’t feature image stabilisation to take long, beautiful timelapses, featuring both 10 and 30 second reductions as well as the ability to vary the speeds. Halftone 2 $4.49 | www.juicybitssoftware.com Think your dog, cat, or toddler deserves their own comic book? Halftone 2 allows you to create custom comics using your own photos and images. Fun, simple and easy to use. Civilization VI for iPad Free with IAP | www.aspyr.com Although it has a preview mode, Civ VIon iPad is one of…

Shadow of the Colossus $59.95 | www.playstation.com Fumito Ueda’s 2005 PS2 classic got more than the usual spit-and-polish up-res with this year’s remaster: Bluepoint rebuilt it from scratch. What results is the best way to play Shadow of the Colossus, even while it loses some of its retro charm. God of War $99.95 | godofwar.playstation.com Many bristled at the prospect of a serious and layered re-imagining of Kratos, but Sony Santa Monica pulled it off. The tale of a father and son’s complex relationship is weaved gracefully through what is, at its heart, a set-piece laden 3D Metroidvania. SPIDER-MAN $99.95 | insomniac.games Licensed superhero video games fare much better nowadays, but it still felt unlikely that Spider-Manwould feel as great as it did. That’s mostly thanks to Insomniac Games’ open…

Moss From $39.95 | ww.polyarcgames.com “Epic” and “immersive” are words rarely associated with VR, but this action-adventure title manages to be both. Placing you in the shoes of an adventurous young mouse named Quill, you’ll need to battle enemies, solve puzzles and explore caves, forests and ruins in your quest to defeat an ancient evil. Astro Bot: Rescue Mission $54.95 | www.playstation.com Folk are always declaring that a new, decent piece of VR software is the medium’s breakthrough moment, but with Astro Bot: Rescue Mission, it feels more likely than ever before. A simple 3D platformer on the surface, its sense of immersion and fun is unparalleled. TETRIS EFFECT $54.95 | www.tetriseffect.game Named for the aftereffect of “seeing Tetrisblocks in your mind” that many people experience after playing the classic…

BEST BUDGET TV UNDER $1,200 TCL QUHD ANDROID TV P6 SERIES TCL TVs have been making waves in the US recently and while Australian versions have slightly-different specs, it’s not hard to see what makes them so popular. Available in multiple sizes from 43-to-65-inches, the 55-inch model can be had for under just $999 now while the 65-incher costs just north of $1,500. Picture quality is impressive with colours being particularly vibrant. The panel supports HDR Premium and so contrast and lighting are good too. However, it’s not quite as bright as rivals. Still, the super-thin design punches well above its price tag so it looks good on and off. It runs on Android TV OS so every catch-up and streaming service you could want is supported. Just note that…

THE FEATURES APPLE has added to iCloud have been so numerous that many have arrived unnoticed. That’s a shame, since just a little time spent getting to know how to use them will reap huge rewards. Take, for instance, the feature added in macOS Sierra that allows you to specify that files stored in your Documents and Desktop folders are hosted in iCloud and only those you use most often are stored locally on your Mac (set it up in System Preferences > iCloud > iCloud Drive > Options). The others can be downloaded when you need them, but when you don’t, the storage space on your startup disk is freed up. This brings macOS closer to iOS, where iCloud Drive’s contents are stored on Apple’s servers until you need…

THE “OMNIDIRECTIONAL” ANTENNAS ON A ROUTER AREN’T REALLY OMNIDIRECTIONAL AT ALL. THEY’RE USUALLY ALIGNED SO THAT THE ANTENNA PRESENTS THE GREATEST SURFACE AREA ON THE HORIZONTAL PLANE The reason for this phenomenon is simple: the “omnidirectional” antennas on a router aren’t really omnidirectional at all. They’re usually aligned so that the antenna presents the greatest surface area on the horizontal plane (which is to say, they point upwards). That means they get better reception on the horizontal place than the vertical one. This is good for range, but poor for multi-storey homes. This isn’t true for all routers, and you may find some that work better in your home than others. But rather than buy a new router just hoping that it works better, you should consider a mesh solution…

PHOTO EDITORS CAN be very lazy people. It’s true. We’re sorry to tar everyone with the same brush, but why else would Adobe invent actions? Why else would presets become a thing? And why else would Elements have a Quick mode? Okay, it’s not just photo editors – everyone looks for a quick fix every now and then, and that’s exactly what Adobe offers with the Quick mode section of its Elements package. It’s designed for speed, ease of use and quality too: yes, you can make beautiful edits to your photos in seconds, as well as hours. The Quick mode is intuitive and varied. The Smart Looks present you with filters based on how your image looks, which is pretty clever, and there are tons of different filters to…

THE rule of thumb for shooting sharp pictures without a tripod is to make sure the shutter speed doesn’t drop below the focal length, expressed as a fraction. For example, a 50mm lens shouldn’t be used at a shutter speed slower than 1/50 sec, and 1/500 sec should be the minimum with a 500mm lens. It’s a good idea to factor in the crop factor of the camera sensor too, so a 500mm lens on an APS-C camera gives an effective focal length of 750-800mm (depending on the camera). Your mileage may vary when it comes to this rule. Some photographers are able to take sharp pictures below the minimum recommendation, while others can get blurred results at shutter speeds that are twice as fast. Practising your handholding technique can…